Translator Corner
This is Yukkuridemasu!
This actually hadbeen finished yesterday... Yeah, sorry…
This chapter is atranslator nightmare, though…… What with choosing a correct term to maintainthe ‘otherness’ of the story.
DISCLAIMER: There is noguarantee that my translation is 100% correct. Please correct me if I waswrong.
Translator:
Yukkuri Oniisan
Editor, Proofreader:
So-Chintzy
Postwar Arc
Interlude: Ishidzuka-sama
Whether it was in the Kingdom’s Capital 『Parnam』 or the Dukedom’s Capital 『Van』, the King’s job never changes. Scanning the doc.u.ments that Hakuya hadbrought to the government affairs room and then signing them over. After we hadoccupied Van, the workload that needeed to be done had also increased. Theamount of paperwork that had been ama.s.sed for several days due to the musicprogram plan was painful to see. Even after working from sunrise to sunset andfully utilizing 『Living Poltergeist』, the acc.u.mulated stacks of doc.u.ments by no means decreased. In the end,even in Van, I slept on a bed placed in the corner of the room, so I couldimmediately go to work after waking up.
「There are many rooms in thecastle, so why did you turn this room into your bedroom?」(Liscia)
Liscia, who was helping in the paperwork besides me, spoke out in amazementat how I got to work as soon as I woke up, day after day, constantly staring atthe doc.u.ments that were piled up on the desk underneath the morning rays that slippedthrough into the room.
「Since in the end, I canconcentrate on working from morning to evening this way. There is no reason tomake another room just for me to sleep in. Really, even though Elfrieden’smatters had settled down, Van’s capitulation made the work multiply again. Isthis a black company?[1]」(Souma)
「Don’t say something that isincomprehensible. Here, the next doc.u.ment.」(Liscia)
「Yeah……Eh? This again?」(Souma)
Receiving the doc.u.ment, I sighed after skimming over it. The content was 「The citizens of Van said that they want to hold an outdoor music concert inthe plaza, may this be permitted?」. Even today, I had processednumerous pet.i.tions with similar contents in them. Either it was about a music concert,theatrical play, art exhibition, calligraphy exhibition, or circus troupes, itcovered a wide range of different forms of entertainment. It seems that thanksto that broadcast, the citizens of Van had become conscious aboutself-expression in the arts. This situation is,
「Cultural revival movement Renaissan~ce♪」[2](Souma)
「……What are you saying all ofsudden?」(Liscia)
「……It’s nothing.」(Souma)
Liscia looked at me coldly. Yeah, in order to make this gag come true, firstI must make the phrase『Amidonian Renaissance』 become an established name. Well,the original Renaissance was an act to escape from the influence of Christianityand to revive the culture based on the humanism of Ancient Greece and Rome, butperhaps in Amidonia’s case, the cultural revival was more about freeingthemselves from the military-first doctrine and glorifying the arts andculture.
「But you know… Even if they arelatecomers in the arts, their awakening is too much.」(Souma)
To be honest, I really want them to spare me from their incessant desire tohold events related to the arts. This place was, more or less, an occupiedtown, after all. There is a possibility that an event where a lot of people aregathered could be used to brew a conspiracy or become a target of a terror act,that’s why there was a need to check each and every single event. Well, this wasalso something that I wanted.
「We couldn’t help it, right? Afterall, the broadcast was eye-opening, right? These kind of things have been considerablysuppressed until now.」(Liscia)
「You’re right…… A militarynation wouldn’t permit something like self-expression.」(Souma)
Even if there is just a short sentence written in a book that is negative towardsthe government, it would be a target for book burning. Just by singing a songthat advocated peace, someone could be imprisoned. If there was a play that wasa satire of the government, the troupe leader would be publicly executed…… Amidonia’sgovernment is capable of doing anything without hesitation. That’s why thepeople’s excited att.i.tude towards art was a backlash against the previous regime’sacts.
「Thanks to that my workloadended up increasing.」(Souma)
「No complaining. This is muchbetter than open rebellion, right?」(Liscia)
「Well, yeah…… Perhaps I need toestablish a bureau for events related services soon. I will appoint Margaritaas the bureau chief and make her deal with all the tasks related to the event.」(Souma)
「That’s good…… But you need to dothe paperwork for that.」(Liscia)
「*urrgh*……」(Souma)
In the end, no matter what I do, my work won’t decrease. Just like that, Icontinued working until the afternoon without any changes. When my stomach becameempty and I told Liscia about taking a break for a meal, Poncho Ishidzuka, theMinister that was responsible for matters relating to food, entered the room.Poncho’s perfectly round stomach shook when he stood before me and he made abow with a nervous expression.
「U-umm, Your Majesty, can Ihave a bit of your time?」(Poncho)
He was chattering his teeth. Even if he looks like this, his all-aroundcompetence related to food problems had played an active part in my plan, andso I personally appointed him as a close a.s.sociate, as someone in this kingdomthat I acknowledged his superiority in his field. That’s way, I beg of you, I wish for you to actmore at ease when standing in front of me……
「Did something happen?」(Souma)
「Ah, yes! There is somethingthat I want Your Majesty to see, yes!」(Poncho)
After saying this, Poncho took out something from his bag and then placedit on the desk.
「Something that you want him tosee…… A flower?」(Liscia)
Liscia, who saw it from my side, tilted her head. Yes, what Poncho had takenout was a flower stem. That flower had an appearance similar to a lily. However,the petal’s color, was colored in a marbled colors of pink, yellow and lightbrown, giving off a poisonous shade. If this was a mushroom, then it would besomething that mustn’t be eaten. Although, there was an American candy colored likethis (prejudice).[3]
「What is this?」(Souma)
「Y-yes! This is a flower called『Bewitching Susanna』[4], yes!」(Poncho)
「Ah, Susanna means a lily,[5]but what’s with the “bewitching” part?」(Souma)
「Actually, this flower has astrong hallucinogenic effect, just by inhaling, it could make someone fall intoa condition similar to a sleep-walking state.[6]It is mostly grown gregariously in mountainous region. In the past, there was anincident where an army division, that inhaled their pollen when marching closeto the flower field, was annihilated after falling from the cliff, chasing overa nonexistent enemy army.」(Poncho)
「Scary!」(Souma)
Wasn’t this something that you could consider to be an illegal substance?
「Or rather, why did you bringsomething like this to this place!?」(Souma)
「I-it’s fine. The pollen has alreadybeen removed.」(Poncho)
「……Then it will be alright, Iguess.」(Souma)
「Also the effect won’t appear ifit’s only inhaling the pollen from several flowers. But if it is a place whereseveral hundred flowers were growing, then even putting a cloth to cover the noseand mouth would be futile…… Yes.」(Poncho)
Well, if it wasn’t a high efficiency filter mask, then it would be hard tocompletely remove the pollen. Well I don’t have it, but someone with hay feverwould have a hard time if it’s only with a normal mask.[7]
「Then, did you want to show this flower to me?」(Souma)
「No, Your Majesty. This flower is just something like an extra. What I wantedto show to Your Majesty is this, yes.」(Poncho)
When he said this, Poncho took out something that rolled on the table. Thisis…… a vegetable? It appearance was white, round, rugged, and had numerouscloves like a leek or garlic that was crowded like a pinecone.[8]
「This is?」(Souma)
「This is the bulb of the 『Bewitching Susanna』, yes」(Poncho)
「Bulbs… Ah, lily root!」(Souma)
「Hyaa! ……What’s with you,suddenly yelling…」(Liscia)
When I suddenly yelled, Liscia became surprised. I had unconsciously becomeexcited at the sudden appearance of a high cla.s.s ingredient. Eh? This is lily root?I have seen a fragment of them used for the chawanmushi[9],but this is the first time I’ve seen it in its bulbous state. Certainly, it hadthe same taste like that of a potato.
「……Then, what of it, PonchoIshidzuka Paramedic?」[10](Souma)
「I-it’s Panacotta.」(Poncho)
「Can it be eaten?」(Souma)
「Yes, this is certainly edible.These roots don’t have any hallucinogenic effects.」(Poncho)
「Then what about the taste?」(Souma)
「If it is boiled, it wil havethis delicious soft and flaky tecture. Then these 『Bewitching Susannas』 are growing everywhere inlarge numbers in the Amidonian mountainous region.」(Poncho)
This is good. Lily roots certainly contain carbohydrates. It can be used asa staple food just like potato. If we could harvest this, then wouldn’t it becomea breakthrough to settle the food shortage in Amidonia?
「However, we can’t approach thelocation where the plants were growing due to the pollen, right?」(Souma)
「Yes, furthermore we couldn’tharvest them outside the pollen season as the toxin spread into the bulbs.That’s why it’s not an Amidonian custom to eat this, yes.」(Poncho)
「Then it will be impossible,right?」(Souma)
Even if it’s edible, if it can’t be harvested, then there is no point in……eh? Wait a minute? Then how could there be a bulb right here? Ponchoimmediately took out a map and pointed at the northeastern region of the GrandChaos Empire.
「The people, who lived in themountainous region in the Grand Chaos Empire, harvested Bewitching Susannas andate it as their staple food. They used a special harvesting method, yes.」(Poncho)
「Harvesting method?」(Souma)
「They are using Pongos, yes.」[11](Poncho)
Pongos…… In other words, apes? Poncho nodded.
「The Pongos that lived in themountain have a resistance to the Bewitching Susanna’s pollen. It seems thatthese Pongos dug the Bewitching Susanna’s bulbs and ate it on a routinelybasis. The mountain people in the Empire tamed these Pongos and made themharvest the bulbs.」
I see, it was similar to the cormorants used in cormorant fishing.[12]It seems to be difficult to tame and train them…… but our country have someonewho is an expert in this field.
「Do those Pongos also live inAmidonia?」(Souma)
「Yes. They are inhabiting a mountainnear Van. I already asked Tomoe-dono to do negotiations with the Pongos. Sinceit was well known that Pongos love alcoholic drinks, I believed that they wouldgladly working if we paid them with casks of alcohol as their wage.」(Poncho)
「……It’s a good thing that thework will progress quickly.」
So not only had I made a Rhinosaurus Reserve, but also an Neva Ape Army[13]?Before long, Elfrieden Kingdom would literally become an Animal Kingdom.HAHAHA……
「……Listen, Liscia.」(Souma)
「What?」(Liscia)
「This plan is dangerous, if youthink so then we can stop it, right?」(Souma)
「………」(Liscia)
But she resolutely turned her face away as if to say, don’t demand anopinion for this from me.
◇ ◇ ◇
By the way, one week (8 days) later, among the food rations that were distributedto Van, was a dumpling that was made from Bewitching Susannas’ bulbs (popularname: 『Susanna’s root』[14]). This dumpling, that can either be boiled or fried, became renowned asdelicious, and took a role in pacifying the hearts of the occupied people. Andthen, in Van’s food culture using Susanna’s root, Poncho, who had been helpingto distribute this dumpling, was respected by the housewives that lived in Van,as if he was some kind of deity. They called him 『Ishidzuka-sama』. Perhaps one day he would be deified, just like Biliken-san in j.a.pan[15].
☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽☾☽
Next chapter: Souma’sdate with a loli and a beauty!