MaruMAːMini-novel:nicetrip3

Have a Nice Trip Part 3

"You're going to infiltrate it, right? Let me do it. I'll get the information."

I said that, but there was no way that I had knowledge of any sort of infiltration tactics.

Nowadays I'm considered a capable intelligence agent, but at the time I couldn't even read or write. Not only that, I was a child who knew only a small part of the world consisting of one town, a church, and an internment camp in the wasteland.

Even though I had no idea what I was getting involved in, I just braced myself and clenched my fists and stood before the adults.

"Give me a break. I can't let a child do that." Dunheely Weller frowned and shook his head in exasperation.

"Why not? You can't rely on a woman hired just for money. I'm saying this as someone who was raised by women in a bar so that's the truth. So use me. I won't betray you and I'll definitely be useful!"

"Why do you want to do something so dangerous?"

I'm at a loss for words after being asked that. I had thought he would either agree with a light laugh or give me a blunt rejection.

"Why..."

I search for the closest answer I can think of as I fall silent.

"The people in town... they're... comrades."

My bad lie is seen through immediately. Dunheely is looking down at me with his long arms folded across his chest.

"Is that really what you think? You escaped from there and were enjoying life in town, Josak. So why are you willing to risk your life for the people in the village now?"

"That's..."

I fidget uncomfortably under the gaze of his unique eyes.

It's just like he said. Even though we were all placed in the same circumstance, the people there were not kind to children without guardians. There were some old people who would share bits of their food, but most of the adults were cold towards the children without parents.

The only kind one was Lidona. And even Lidona... The inside of my mouth became pained like a stone had been placed on my tongue.

The reason she was kind to everyone in the village was because she was a Shimaron spy. She was kind for the sole purpose of keeping an eye on the villagers and reporting to the soldiers.

Everyone was betrayed by her. On top of it all, she forced a troublesome newcomer on me.

Newcomer.

The face in my mind changed from a woman with dull blonde hair to a brown-haired child.

"About Conrad..."

He pushed me off a cliff!

"... I... want to know what happened to him."

Even though it was to tell information to his companions, he pushed me into a river when I couldn't swim!

But, it's my fault we ended up being chased in the first place. He was the only one who realized that Lidona was a traitor and he was also the one who told me not to go to her shelter. I deliberately ignored that and nonchalantly left and ended up hearing a secret conversation between her and the soldiers.

And then we were cornered. At the edge of a cliff.

"I mean, you said he saved me, old man... lord... sir? You said that, right? And now he's been caught by a soldier on guard or an official and we don't know what's being done to him. I can't just leave him. I was told to look after him. Someone asked me to."

"Who did?"

"Who? Well... it doesn't matter who."

I can't say that I was asked by a woman who was a flunky for the soldiers.

Dunheely lightly closes his eyes and tilts his head up, then brings it back down with a sigh.

"So be it."

The men around us objected all at once.

---

An important person in the Shimaron military... Even if you say that, there's no way that a high-ranking soldier would be in a backwater town like this.

In this town, the biggest problem is that the epidemic from the large town upstream was on the verge of spreading here. That and one other thing. There was an internment facility for humans who got involved with mazoku between here and that town.

There were many more important issues related to the country. There was the war that seemed about to break out, the political war shaking the country, and laying the groundwork for promotions. As such, the accomplished, high-ranking soldiers were deployed to the country's core and important areas.

So it's unavoidable that an important person assigned to this town would be sitting in a cheap bar chugging down beers even if he just looked like some old man. He's just someone who matches the circumstances.

I stood in the entrance of that cheap bar holding a large basket.

While being forced to wear clothes that were kind of frilly and thin. The thin fabric wrapped around my wrists was seriously irritating.

It would be a lie to say that I wasn't nervous. It's true that in the past I shared the money I made in town and food with the littler ones, but this is the first time that I've worked for someone in earnest and the first time that I've taken on such an important role like gathering information on the military.

Having noticed my nervousness, Dunheely laughed and said, 'Hey now, it's just like listening to gossip at the barbershop.'

"And then, you know, women hang around the well and chat, right? While they're doing their washing. Quietly join in their group and make some noncommittal remarks inconspicuously. That's it."

"Okay."

"Don't get so tense. There's nothing really dangerous involved, but if worse comes to worst, Toth will save you. He'll be drinking in a corner pretending to be a soldier."

The bearded man that had his clothes stolen by me a little while ago points to himself and makes a dejected face. He's wearing a Shimaron soldier's uniform now.

"What's the matter, old bear man? Do you hate guarding a young guy in women's clothes that much?"

"They don't look good on you..."

"What!?"

What a rude man. I make a vow in my heart that the next time I have the opportunity to wear women's clothes, I'll do it flawlessly.

I don't know if it's because he knows the resolution I just made or not, but the high-strung and most meddlesome member of the group, Kuliev, says, "Just so you know, those are not ladies clothes."

"Eh!?"

"You look like a child that regularly goes to bars to sell goat milk."

Goat milk!?

If so, then why exactly did I walk gracefully and wink at people to seem like a woman? All the effort I put forth in between putting this on and coming to this shop's entrance was all for nothing. And on top of everything, my heart sped up a little wondering if I looked like a real woman or not. Give back the heartbeats from my poor chest.

"Yeah yeah yeah, so I'm not a woman."

"What? Did you want to become a lady that much?"

"No, that's not it~."

What exactly is this exhausted and unsatisfied feeling?

Kuliev furrows his brows like a monk who won't shut up about discipline. His expression makes it look like he wants to say, 'impure!'

"That's not good, Josak. I hear that behavior like that becomes a habit. And to start such a thing when you're a child... I don't approve. You won't be able to become a proper adult."

"It doesn't matter to you what kind of adult I become, right?"

"No, it does matter. Regardless of your social status, you are a friend of the young lord after all."

"Don't just decide that we're friends."

In a group consisting entirely of men, there is always a certain percentage of people filling this sort of role. You could say that they're the group's teacher or an incredibly attentive guidance counselor... or His Excellency Lord von Christ Günter-juice.

I understand this fact now, but at the time it was only an irritation to me. His Majesty, who is skillfully evading the tutor's over-protectiveness, is far more mature than my adolescent self despite being around the same age.

"Now now, you two."

So when Dunheely got in between us, I was relieved.

"Don't get fired up, Josak. And Kuliev, stop scolding him for overly specific things. We'll be in trouble if he runs away."

"Runs..."

Ignoring my bewildered look at those ominous words, Dunheely crouches down and looks me in the eye. He sticks his hand in his pocket and digs around.

"I'd like to lend you a weapon to defend yourself with, but it will be even more suspicious if you were holding a sword... Ah, how about this?"

"A flute?"

The object he made me take was a thin, silver flute. It was of a length that would fit into even a child's palm and there was a red string attached to it, possibly because it was meant to be worn around the neck.

"That was made by the friend of my oldest son. People who don't have maryoku can't use it, but it will be able to function as a whistle. If you think you're in danger, blow on it. We'll come right away."

"What's the name?"

"The name? What did she say it was? I feel like it had a strange name, but I can't remember it. The friend's name is Anissina-chan..."

"No, you have another son? Besides Conrad?"

"Hm? Yeah, Conrad is the second son. The other one is a boy named Gwendal. He's not living with us, though. You'll probably meet him someday. He's a bit of a sensitive child, but when you do meet him, please be friendly with him."

Be friendly with him? Well said, yet again.

It was a long time after this before I met His Excellency the Oldest Son whose name was the only thing I was told, but I never imagined that he would be a huge friend who wasn't much older than me.

Dunheely Weller. An unfathomable man.

Well, nowadays His Excellency Gwendal is my important boss. I'm getting along with him properly.

Anyway, that was how I ended up standing in front of the cheap bar on which the owner had personally written 'The town's number one high-class bar' on the wall. When it comes to weapons, all I had was the basket filled with leather bags of goat milk lined up and a flute hanging from my neck. Even I, who possessed the skills to survive in town, did not know which I should use to protect myself with.

However, my eye for picking out who was the most well-off had not dulled.

It was the man who was here in this dim place despite it being noon and was taking up two tables in the back corner. Sure enough, he was a man that had grown fat and stout like a wild pig and was sunk into a slightly too low couch holding a woman on each side. However, one of them stood up while I was watching. She might have disliked having an arm around her waist or she might have gotten annoyed by his peculiar voice that didn't match his body, high and thin like a plucked bowstring.

Or he might have simply smelled like alcohol.

I started from the table near the door and moved along amicably selling goat milk. It would be suspicious if I suddenly approached my target. In times like these, being nonchalant is crucial.

"Goat milk~! Do you need any~!"

Amicably sell goat milk, amicably sell goat milk.

"Goa~t mi~lk! Do you need any~!?"

It steadily got more fun as I went on. I thought that maybe I unexpectedly had some business talent.

Well, it turned out to be true and the business I secretly started while in the military was about to open its third shop. As a matter of fact, I was thinking about using my next vacation to open a high-class lodging somewhere with a good climate and scenery.

I thought Anissina-chan's home territory was nice, but the taxes in the Karbelnikoff territory are high.

As I take my time getting closer to the table in the back, I hear the conversation between the man and the woman leaning on him. The barmaid called him 'Mr. Commander.' I'll take that.

I discretely place a fist-sized leather bag next to the man's salmon. I'm selling goat milk.

"Mr. Commander~, buy some goat milk~."

I had intended to come at him as a naive little girl type, but playing a cute girl doesn't suit me.

Let's switch over to the 'Pure Girl Grows up and Works at a Bar' plan. I even winked.

I'm piling on the freebies.

"Goat milk? I haven't drank that in a decade. I only drink top-class grape wine."

"Goat milk is good for your body~."

The old bear man in the corner of my vision was trying to tell me something by only moving his mouth.

'You.Are.Not.A.Woman'

Leave me alone. This is getting fun.

"Being a commander is a very difficult job, right? So my older sister said to drink goat milk and fortify your strength."

"Older sisterrrr?"

"That's right. My older sister is working in a different store, but she's head over heels for you."

"Head over heels for me? So she's head over heals for me~." Even if that's not so, the satisfied man looks more and more lewd. "Hmmmm, your older sister and me. A fine older sister. A smart woman. If she's your older sister then, yeahhh, is she about eighteen?"

"She's seventeen."

Have fun imagining yourself being popular with young women. Of course, I don't have a single relative. We are imaginary sisters only in this place.

"So, your seventeen year old sister is worrying about my healthhh. I'll buy it, I'll buy all the goat milk."

"Wow, really~? Thank you, Mr. Commander!"

And then the woman at his side pulled his arm roughly. She probably thought her money was going to get stolen away. Even though the person doing the stealing was a seventeen year old girl who didn't even exist in this world not to mention here in this place. Now that I've lived 100 years, I understand. She was jealous of her youth.

"Wait a minute you, this person does not drink goat milk. With that epidemic upriver, it will be bad if he drinks some unknown substance and upsets his stomach."

"Epidemic?" I ask, bringing my hand to my mouth and pretending to be scared. "How scary~. Is it going to come to this town~?"

"You don't have to be so scared. Be like me and this woman." There's a sound from behind of him slapping the woman's ass. He's mistaking her for a horse or something. "If you maintain your body, you'll be fine. You just get a fever and can't move. The only ones having a hard time are the old people who don't eat properly. And even if I catch it, there is loads of medicine in the military storehouse."

"Oh, but if I get sick, I can't buy medicine from the soldiers' storehouse."

"Don't worry. If it's for you, I'll bring you some any time."

The man knocks on his thick — or rather, flabby — arms. A moment ago, there...

"But he doesn't have time to be sick~. I mean, my Commander has a very important mission," the woman says.

"Missionnn?" I asked in my cutest voice. In my heart I was yelling, 'Yes! That! Let's hear that~!' and I was clenching my fists.

"That's right. It's a ve~ry important mission. Right, Mr. Commander? The day after tomorrow, you have to round up those people living in that village in the wasteland, right?"

The village in the wasteland she mentioned is probably the internment facility we were put in. Rounding them up is yet another ominous subject.

But right now I'm a little girl selling goat milk. I can't dig in too deeply with my questions. I have to gather as much information as possible from the position of a mere goat milk seller.

I'm saying this for my own benefit, but infiltration investigations and intelligence gathering are actually hard work.

"Wow, so a lot of soldiers are going to come to this town? I wonder if I can sell a lot of goat milk if they do."

"Reinforceme~nts? Reinforcements aren't going to come. We're just moving those prisoners who are all skin and bones somewhere else. There's no need for reinforcements~."

Move them somewhere else?

Since he's speaking about them like they're luggage, I got a little irritated. Conrad and I are most definitely included in 'those prisoners' he's talking about.

But I can't get emotional here. Keeping your wits about you is important for infiltration. The meddlesome Kuliev taught me that earlier.

"Eh? You're making those people there go to a different place?"

"That's right. Why do you ask? Does your older sister have a lover amongst the guards there~?"

"Of, of course no~t, Mr. Commander. My sister would never date a soldier so young~. If she did, she wouldn't ask me to come check on you~."

Crap, I'm gonna catch his habit of stretching out the end of his sentences.

"But why another place... Did you find someplace better?"

"Of course not." The man grabbed a bottle with fat fingers and drank directly from it. He gulped it down so fast it looked like it would foam over inside his stomach. "It looks like that area can be used as farmland so we're driving them out and moving in farmers~."

Eh?

"Even though it was a wasteland where we thought crops couldn't possibly grow, they've cultivated the place and have somehow scraped together a harvest. So, that place is going to be used as farmland from now on~."

"Then we-... the people there, what's going to happen to them?"

"They'll probably be sent to an even more desolate place~"

"Eh? That's... a little... sad."

"Hm? What's sad about it~?" the man asked while drinking and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Like it was preposterous. "They're all people who got involved with mazoku, you know? How can it be sad? They should be thankful that we're letting them live~."

"Children have nothing to do w-..."

From deep in my throat, something like a hot mass came rising up.

It's different than a cough and also different than nausea. It's something brought on by my rising emotions. The trembling in my body won't stop. I bite my lip trying to suppress my anger somehow and plaster my tongue to the roof of my mouth so it won't start moving on its own. Every part of my face was strained so deep lines have probably formed between my eyebrows like His Excellency Gwendal the Tormented, not the Beautiful.

Someone ordered some alcohol at a distant seat. It was a loud voice that reverberated around the room. When I turn around, the bearded old bear man known as Toth was waving his hand wrapped up in a Shimaron uniform. The server hurries over with a bottle.

After telling me not to stand out, he's attracting that much attention all on his own.

"Hey, you," the woman says.

"Eh, gya, what!?"

The woman leaned forward and grabbed my hair. I realize that my trembling has stopped. It might have been a good thing that I was distracted by the old man.

"You've got a weird hair color. Are you dyeing it even though you're a kid?"

"Eh, no! No, that's my sister's hobby..."

I can't exclaim that there were several women with this hair color in the bar I was raised in. After all, right now I'm in the middle of an infiltration mission and playing the part of a little girl/pure-type selling goat milk. There was no way I would be dyeing my hair a bright color to attract men.

The meddlesome Kuliev said that the fundamental aspect of intelligence gathering was to get the information before they grew suspicious of you. This might be the right time.

When I turned to leave the bar, my hair was yanked forcefully and my balance was thrown off and I ended up with my hands on the commander's chest.

"Ah! Mr. Commander, I'm sorry. It seems like I got drunk on the alcohol fumes~."

However, there was someone who didn't think that my actions were a coincidence. It was the woman grabbing my hair.

"What is this little girl saying? A girl who sells goat milk at bars wouldn't get drunk just by the alcohol fumes. It was on purpose. She grabbed onto you on purpose to get Mr. Commander's attention."

Jealousy is scary. She embraced the man's arm as if to press it into her breasts. Her shining eyes are saying that he belongs to her. She was probably desperate to keep him from getting stolen away. Even so, her opponent was a twelve year old peddler and not even a woman. Just how anxious is this lady?

"I'm not handing over Mr. Commander to some little girl selling goat milk!"

"Oh You-, you-, that's goat-, goat discrimination!" I stepped away while pretending to be a hurt little girl. "Just because you don't have milk of your own! Goat discrimination!"

Now that things have come to this, there's no need to be careful and slip away quietly. The commander called out in a grief-stricken voice at my back as I ran away.

"Wait! Wait, goat milk girl! What's your older sister's name!?"

"Gurrier~!"

I didn't necessarily lie. I just said my own name.

---

There were four large men lined up in the back street I ran into.

All of them were gazing behind me with worried looks. I turned around out of reflex, but there wasn't a single pursuer, pedestrian, vagrant, or kitten.

"... You're looking at me!?"

In unison once again, they all nod in agreement. I've never been worried over by such a large amount of people before so I couldn't believe it. Dunheely's eyebrows droop in exasperation.

"Who else should we worry about?"

"The old bear man."

The Bear Beard that came running after makes a weird 'hyaeh?' noise at suddenly being the topic of conversation.

"Ridiculous. Why do we have to worry about a man that is vying for the first or second spot in skill in our group?"

"But you didn't even need to worry. It went perfectly." This time I show them a clever wink.

"You don't have to pretend."

"But it's true. Right, old man?"

But since even the old bear man I wanted to agree with me said 'he did his job well even though it was pretty difficult,' my situation become even more complicated.

If I say it was easy then they would rub my back telling me not to force myself, and if I told them it was hard, they would rub my head and tell me I did good. Both of these options are uncomfortable.

I refused to be worried about or sympathized with. So, the answer I came up with was as follows:

"Well it was hard, but it's fine because it was fun. It was a cinch."

"If so, then make a happier face. Enjoying your work is the most important."

"Never mind that. Ask for the results!"

I reported to them the important information I gained from the enemy commander on my first infiltration investigation. Although, most of it was leaked by the deeply jealous woman next to him rather than from the commander himself.

The epidemic is encroaching, but it will pass without anything serious happening. If the person is healthy, they will recover after three days of rest. The rounding up of the people at the internment facility was a plan to send them to an even harsher wasteland. The plan would take place in three days and there were no reinforcements.

When they heard that there would be no reinforcements, the companions cheered.

"That's lucky. If it's the amount of guards that the young lord reported to us, we can take care of them by ourselves."

"That's right. Well, and then there's the dogs. One excellent dog can work as well as fifteen worthless soldiers."

"Yeah, and then there's this." I hand over the paper packet I had hidden in my frilly sleeve. It's about the size of a skipping stone. Dunheely placed it on his palm and stared at it intently, but he seemed not to know what was inside. "It's medicine. For that epidemic. It's probably the same as what's stored in the military storehouse."

"Why is it here?"

"I borrowed it — from Mr. Commander's pocket. I wasn't going through that song and dance to distract the woman."

"You stole it?"

It can be called that depending on the region.

Dunheely holds the packet with his fingers and brings it to eye level before clapping me on the shoulder excitedly.

"Well done! Josak, you did well! But under normal circumstances, don't go after people's pockets. Even so, you did well. Quite an achievement. But stealing is a crime. Don't do it anymore."

"Decide if you want to praise me or lecture me."

"Either way, it was quite a feat. With this, even if we end up bringing the epidemic back to Shin Makoku, we can deal with it right away. We should have a specialist analyze this medicine. Kuliev, be careful to absolutely not get this wet."

"H-hey."

Picking out a term that I'd never heard before in their conversation, I couldn't contain my confusion.

Shin Makoku. What's that?

Now I consider it my homeland, but at the time I had never seen it or heard of it. Not only that, I was only vaguely aware of the fact that there were other countries outside of the land that I lived in.

If you put me together with a bunch of toddlers playing a 'name the countries you know' game, I would probably only have been able to answer 'Shimaron!'

"Hey, that Shin, Mako, Ku — what is it?"

The look on Dunheely's face when I asked that.

"Shin Makoku is the land of the mazoku, far across the ocean. It's the country your father was born in."

"I don't have a father."

"You just haven't met him. Children can't be born without a father. Your father is a mazoku, right? So you're going to go to the country your parent was born in, with us."

"With you!? Wait a minute!"

I was flustered at having this suddenly decided for me. I unintentionally stagger and lean against the wall. In the first place, the fact that they would cross the ocean and go to another country is something that an orphan would never think of.

"Wait, a minute, that, you never said anything about going to a country somewhere else. Weren't you just going to let us live a little easier because living in the village was so hard? Weren't you going to let them escape and free everyone? Isn't that why you sent Conrad into the village and you all came here and why I went and asked around in the bar to find a gap in the troops to squeeze through?"

"Of course we will free everyone from the internment camp," Dunheely said as he handed Kuliev the medicine. His side is turned to me so I can't see his face very well. "But the problem is what comes after that. Have the residents decided what they will do once they get over the fence? Do they have somewhere to live?"

"If I go to a big town somewhere, I'll be able to manage. It's what I've done until now. I've gotten by somehow."

"By stealing again?"

"But what else can I do!? Ah, thanks to you I've learned how to gamble, too. I might make money by gambling from now on."

"With those skills? Well, you have an aptitude and you learn fast. Eventually you might be able to win a little. But then what are you going to do after that? Are you going to continue gambling with stolen money until you're an adult? Are you going to continue that until you're old and collapse?"

He finally faces me again and bends his knees and lowers his gaze, looking me directly in the eyes.

I can see the the details in his eyes as much as I'm having the bottom of my heart gazed at. A vast number of silver stars sprinkled in light brown. Yeah, they really are father and son.

"If you truly want to do that from the bottom of your heart, that's fine, Josak. Living in a large town might be fun. You might get unexpected money from time to time and be able to live lavishly. But you can't live like that forever. Things are different now."

"What's different?"

"Remember." He grips my shoulders tightly. Seeing him up close, I notice for the first time that there are inconspicuous scars on his face. "Remember why you all were gathered up. How you were brought there. What kind of life you were forced to live. Even if you manage to get out of the village now, you'll get captured again someday. If it comes to war, those with mazoku blood will be betrayed and dragged into isolation. The same thing will happen again. It won't change until someone stops Shimaron's expansion or until the king gives up. It won't end."

There were numerous scars on the back of his hands and along his arms. It's proof that he has fought all sorts. There is so much strength in his palm on my shoulder that it hurts. Dunheely's tone grows stronger.

"Josak, is your future in this country? Do you think your home is Shimaron?"

While giving my all just to live through a day, it never occurred to me to think about my future. I didn't even imagine what came next.

Until then.

"Come with me, Josak."

Until that was said to me.

---

Dunheely Weller's plan was simple.

Charge into the 'village,' smack down the lookouts and guards, take the residents and escape to the harbor. That's it.

He might have only told me the bare minimum of the plan's details because I wasn't an adult. 'Plans like these are more successful the simpler they are,' he said seriously and his companions all nodded in agreement.

Is that really how it is?

If we believe that commander... or rather, the woman next to him, the relocation of the residents in the wasteland is the day after tomorrow. We still have a day and a half's time. That being said, the faster we move, the more time we have to escape and get some distance. On top of it all, right now the other side was more afraid of the epidemic upriver spreading than of a group trying to release people. We can't let this opportunity pass.

We spent the night climbing the mountain and we moved upstream while gazing at the river from the cliff edge on our left. On the way, I was horrified by looking down the cliff at how fast the river was flowing. It's amazing I managed to get to the town without drowning.

We pass the last of the bushes before dawn and then proceed on horseback across the dry plain until just before the sun rises and eventually we can see a fence. It's a fence that separates the village and the outside world. It's a plain thing made out of warped and twisted wood, but in actuality it is something that doesn't let the prisoners escape and inside is a fortified prison.

We get off our horses at a distance far enough away so the hooves can't be heard and close in while hiding behind rocks that are sticking out in random places.

The village was quiet. This is the time when the residents who were exhausted from struggling during the day are sleeping like logs.

The only lights burning are in the shoddy watchtower and the shed beneath it. Besides those, there are only the campfires burning next to the guards and soldiers. Ironically, because of those fires we can see where all the soldiers are standing at a single glance.

Judging from the number of lights, there are around ten of them. From the fires moving around, there are another five. The soldiers on guard have more numbers than us, but that doesn't mean that our enemy is used to being attacked. If they go up against the old bear man who seems to be proud of his skills and Dunheely's bunch who have plenty of fighting experience, they probably wouldn't be able to hold them off for very long.

"But there must be dogs."

"Let's pray that they're exhausted from being put on patrol all night."

He puts his index finger up to his lips and smirks. His face says that this will be a walk in the park if no dogs show up.

It seems like it really was a walk in the park.

From my perspective of having only seen fights in town, a battle with long swords clashing together was extremely impactful and I panicked thinking it was an all out war, but for those involved it seems like it was just a small scuffle that offered them virtually no resistance.

Even Kuliev who spent all his time worrying whispered, "I wish things could always go this well."

Twelve soldiers were hit on their arms or legs and rendered unable to fight and out of the remaining four, one stumbled and fainted all by himself and two abandoned their posts and ran away. There were several soldiers who came running out of the watchtower and shed, but upon seeing the disaster that had befallen all of their other comrades, they threw down their weapons and surrendered.

Those men who had domineered over the residents here and had even resorted to violence to teach them a lesson ended up like this after being confronted by a professional. They end up meek as sheep.

Instead, the ones who put up a fuss were the horses tied up in the crude stable more so than the Shimaron soldiers. The residents woken up by their braying timidly peek out of their shabby dwellings. Big shadows and small shadows and thin shadows with bent backs. One of them came running forward energetically.

"Conrad!"

"It's Conrart when we're around other people."

"Don't be like that."

They're happy that they were reunited safely and they pick him up and spin him around... is what I thought would happen, but the only one who embraced the young boy was his father. Conrad seems to have a rather calm personality in comparison.

The eastern sky is starting to turn white and scarlet. In the sunlight, the figures of both father and son were clearly illuminated.

Dunheely seems overcome with pride in his son.

"I saw the information you put in his clothes. Well done, Conrad."

"Did it help?"

"It didn't just help. Thanks to that, we managed to take control without a single one of our allies getting injured. We knew the number of people and even procured as many horses as possible. But, it seems like we'll have to have the healthy ones walk. We even bought provisions — all of the fruit that helps with fevers. The people in town probably won't be troubled if they have to go without fresh fruit for a day or two."

The father stuck his hand in his pocket and enclosed a fruit still hard and green into his son's hand. After looking intently at the food in his hand, he holds his hand out to give it back to his father.

"Give it to another child-"

"Don't say something so un-childlike." He folds his son's long fingers around the fruit and pushes it back towards his chest. "Besides, you've worked more than any of us. This is the naturally deserved reward... That's right, as far as the epidemic is concerned, the new manpower you sent over from this place has worked very well."

Dunheely firmly pats my head.

"Looks like you've finally gotten a friend your age."

"We're not friends!"

"We're not necessarily friends..." Conrad says.

He pinches his son's cheek while saying with a laugh, "Don't get embarrassed. I was a little worried because you're always surrounded by ladies, but it seems that Josak wants to become a girl so maybe you'll get along because of that."

"What are you saying!?"

"Is that true?" Conrad asks.

"Of course not!"

"See? You're already on the same page. So, Conrad, we made you wait longer than expected, but how were you in the meantime? Did anything bad happen to you?"

At that, his face turns serious and he starts rubbing down his son's shoulders and arms as if to check him. This time, his son is the one who smiles.

"I'm not really hurt anywhere."

"That's good. Did they lock you up?"

"No, I dug holes."

"Holes?"

After I asked him that, he points to the southern edge of the grounds. We leave Dunheely behind, who was called by one of his subordinates, and walk in that direction.

The residents have finally started to appear from out of their shelters. If there is a door that is still closed, Kuliev and Toth will knock on it and call out.

Conrad stops near the fence. Before his feet is a dark space.

"Thank goodness. It ended without this being used as a grave."

"Is this a grave?"

"I don't know. I was put under surveillance and told to dig so I did just that. That person probably told them not to do anything too bad to me. One a day. It was a lot better than being tied up and thrown into the shed. This way my body didn't get out of shape."

He gives a short laugh. For a well-raised rich kid, it was quite the brave statement.

On the ground that was the very definition of 'dry,' there are around ten holes in a neat row. However, the outermost space wasn't a hole but new soil spread out thinly.

I get a fright and ask, "Did someone die!?"

"No one yet."

"Then that, why is there dirt covering it?"

After falling silent with an 'umm,' he threads his fingers behind his head and answered like he was asking a question.

"It's a trap?"

"... Hey, you made some kind of pitfall trap, but what were you going to do if we fell in it?"

"Ah, I didn't think about that."

"You know, you're kinda stu-"

A woman's scream rang out as if to interrupt our conversation. When we both turn around in unison, shadows that came rushing in from the direction of the stables as fast as thrown stones are running around the residents while growling. The soldiers that disappeared might have let dogs loose.

Even the men who dealt with the random soldiers as if they were pushovers were bewildered by the speed of trained animals. Even if they draw their swords, the animals are jumping at them with bared fangs so it seems like it was all they can do to dodge them. One of the animals keenly spots us and charges at us with a terrifying speed.

The only reason I used 'that' was because it was hanging around my neck with a string and my fingers just so happened to touch it. There was really no deep meaning and I didn't think that I would be able to use it to defend myself from an animal charging wildly at me.

The object I grasped was a thin, silver pipe. I blew as hard as I could into the flute of a length that would fit into a child's palm.

Pfffffffffffff~

Conrad makes a face like he ate a bitter fruit. It didn't make any noise. Thinking I didn't blow into it enough, I try blowing really hard once again.

PFFFFFFFFFFFF~

Panicked, I reach into my pocket and grab a leather pouch, trying to use the leftover goat milk as a weapon. And then Conrad grabs my arm. I don't know if he likes animals or if he has a dog at home, but he's a bit calmer than I am.

"Wait, look."

The dogs have stopped.

A miracle happened next.

All six dogs flip over at once. Not just the one in front of us, but even the ones running around the residents. It's not like they died or were injured, but every last one of them all turn belly up and their legs are twitching as they breathe heavily.

"Wow~."

All of the guard dogs were showing their bellies and drooling while gasping for breath with entranced expressions. It turns out silent flutes were not standard for mazoku.

Now that I think about it, that was the first present I received from Anissina-chan. Indirectly, though. According to what I heard later, the name of this magic-powered device was 'Faithful Dog Dachikou'. Considering that it had an effect even though I, who have no maryoku, blew on it, I can't help but think that it was just a sensual version of a regular dog whistle.

Anyway, it must have been a fairly embarrassing display for these trained dogs, but since they looked like they were enjoying themselves, we left them alone.

However, Conrad and I weren't the only ones who saw this sequence of events.

Everyone watched. Me turning the dogs' bones into jelly happened in front of everyone in the village. All of their gazes turn to me at once.

I feel uncomfortable and mumble, "... What?"

From amongst the people just continuing to stare at me silently, at the back of the crowd starting to form, a lone person spoke.

"Thank you."

It was Lidona's voice.

---

No matter how good the news, you'll get confused if you're told it suddenly.

I was the same. Anyone would be nervous and hesitate if they were told to leave the country they were born and raised in and move to a land they'd never been to before. I mean, it's an unknown place. Unlike nowadays, regular humans didn't cross over country borders all that much and not a single one of the residents had been to them or seen them.

And it was the country of mazoku.

We were sent to this wasteland just because we had something to do with mazoku. If we were told to come, we couldn't agree right away.

But Dunheely Weller was full of confidence urging on these downtrodden people.

"You don't have to live this pitiful life anymore. There are various jobs and fertile farmland. There's plenty of water and greenery. We'll even provide comfortable, stone housing."

So come with me.

"Even raising children will be much better than here where there isn't a single teacher. If you work you'll receive pay so even if you won't be able to live in luxury, you won't starve. You can live as a family — parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren."

One older person muttered 'What is he talking about?' Then an even older woman who looked like she would break apart at any moment spits out foul words.

"You monster! You're planning on tricking us again."

"Were you tricked before? How unfortunate."

"That's right. A man like you came and said that to me and my grandchild. That he'll take us to somewhere like paradise."

"I won't say it's paradise. There's no such carefree place in this world. Wherever you live there will be a degree of difficulty."

"That's right. How long are mazoku pawns like you going to keep hurting me and my grandchild?"

Dunheely didn't mind. What was mixed in with his voice wasn't anger but strength.

"Okay, listen. Life is like a journey. A journey were you walk endlessly without being able to see ahead. Whether it's humans, mazoku, or other forms of life, it's the same for everyone. But it's nice to have a destination at the end of long journey. It's far more comforting to have a place to return to. You might be able to continue a painful journey with a calm heart. No matter the person or what they were born as, they should have somewhere to return to. A homeland. That's what I think."

His comrades were all nodding as they listened, but only his son had a complicated look on his face as he stood next to his father. I was distanced from the two of them, standing leaned against the frame of the watchtower.

"Where we're going is a place where those who have gotten involved with mazoku can live without diffidence."

Say it.

Without making a sound, I try moving only my lips a little.

"I promise that the land I'm in custody of will become your home. I'll become everyone's father, sponsor, and home!"

Say it. Why won't you say it?

"You who stand in between human and mazoku, you are all my sons and daughters. I'll take you all. I'll take you without leaving a single person behind that wishes to go."

You should say the same words to the residents that you said to me. Why won't Dunheely Weller say it?

Suddenly our gazes meet. The scattered starlight in his eyes pierces into the bottom of my heart.

"Hey, everyone," I opened my mouth without any determination or resolve. I've never spoken in front of so many people before so my head is heavy and I feel dizzy, but because I started speaking I can't stop. "Have you imagined it? What this place will be like in five years, ten years. No, it doesn't have to be this place. I'm talking about the place half-human, half-mazoku brats like me are thrown into. I thought about it. I was always thinking about it. While plowing the hard ground."

When I stand straight on my own two legs, the frame of the watchtower leaves my back and I become uneasy.

"What about ten years from now? It might be dry as always. Or maybe it will produce some crops as a farm."

Conrad and Dunheely Weller standing behind him are staring intently at me. With the same eyes.

"But I wasn't there."

I slowly shake my head.

"No matter how many times I imagined it, I wasn't there."

"... You're saying you were dead..?" A mother steeled herself and asked. Her voice sounded like it was wrung out of her throat.

At around the same time someone else speaks — an elder this time.

"You couldn't survive?"

"That's not it... No, that might have been it. I thought so at first. That I probably couldn't survive. But no one knows how many years they're going to live, even me. Isn't that right? I might be alive, but I wasn't there. Even though it was inside my own head. Why do you think?"

I wondered why that was. All this time. But now I finally understand the reason. The grown up image of myself was not in the dry, desolate land. Why?

"... I didn't want to be there."

That's right. I didn't want to be there.

Five years from now, ten years from now, I was afraid to wield a hoe just to survive a single day in this wasteland. I was afraid to live as if crawling on my hands and knees despite not being needed by anyone and not being remembered by anyone. Breathing in a place with no future, without even hope, was terrifying.

So, in the future I imagined, I was never there.

"I'm going."

I unconsciously grab the silver flute. I don't know for sure the reason why, but it was probably because that was the first present I was ever given. A present to me from Shin Makoku.

"This isn't my home."

---

Everyone is moving around with hurried steps. They were desperate to leave the village before the sun rose high in the sky. Although since they had almost no personal belongings, preparations weren't all that difficult.

"Conrad! Josak can't ride a horse by himself yet. Come over here and ride with him!"

"Stop, I'm not going to ride a horse..."

I panicked at Dunheely's words. Yes I cannot ride a horse — I have no experience. But I have two fine legs and, not including a portion of the sick and elderly, most of the others are going to make the journey on foot so I intended to walk with them.

But he bent over and spoke next to my ear.

"Please bear with it. If I don't say something like this then he won't even try to ride a horse. Even though there's no way he isn't tired after being forced to dig that many holes. He's stubborn."

"I got it." Conrad nodded at his father while helping Kuliev take horses out of the stable. He might have won them over while I wasn't around, because there are a couple of little ones clinging to his clothes. We're about to go on a journey taking the pitiable women and elders and taking hold of the futures of the children.

Even so, several old people stubbornly said they would not go. However, every last one of the mothers decided to move to a country they did not know.

What do I mean, 'decided'?

I push the strangely meaningful thought out of my mind. That's for Dunheely to say.

"Take all of the horses out."

Raising my head at the footsteps, I saw Lidona standing there. Maybe it was because her dull hair was down, but she looked a little younger than usual.

"If you do, then the tied up soldiers can't use them. It will take an entire day to get to the nearest town without a horse. If you have that, then you should be able to gain a good amount of distance before pursuers come."

Dunheely ties food to his beloved horse's back and smiles at the woman while securing it properly.

"You're the person who looked after my children, right? Thank you. Thanks to you, Conrad didn't starve."

"I thought he must have been from a splendid home."

"It's not that splendid. He's living in a rundown manor on the outskirts of the country. Hey Lidona, if you want, you can come wi-"

Lidona firmly refuses before he can finish speaking.

"I won't go."

"Because you're human? You don't have to worry about that. I'm human, too."

"That's not it. It's because this place is my destination."

No one knows her circumstances. The gossips spread numerous rumors, but Lidona did not confirm any of them. Although, she didn't deny any of them either.

"Eventually..." She held her hand out to the sun that was almost high and looked up into the serene sky. The smile on her face was clear. Even though she was a woman who laughed as if she were troubled. "Eventually, I thought this day would come. I even felt that it should have come sooner."

"I'm sorry. I'm taking away all of your comrades."

Whether she considered us her comrades is something that I still don't know after almost a hundred years.

But Lidona shook her head silently at Dunheely's apology and handed him an old, yellowed bag.

"Here, this is the little bit of medicinal herbs left over. It will be an issue if you're hit with the epidemic on your journey. They can also be used to bring down fevers."

"This will help. Even though it's not a fatal disease, we have a lot of old people."

Conrad also approaches her after bringing a horse close and acts in a way much like his father.

"Thank you for everything, Lidona."

Why are you showing her gratitude?

Thanks to her, I got pushed off a cliff and you were forced to dig holes.

She was hired by the soldiers and mixed in with us pretending to be innocent and then spied on us. Not only that, she naturally blended in with the villagers for a long year. She infiltrated the village without anyone discovering her true identity.

As I thought the word 'infiltrated' my foot stops as I was about to get on the horse.

It's infiltration. An infiltration investigation. This was the perfect infiltration investigation. Become something, infiltrate, get information. It's an act that both Conrad and I did. However, Conrad did it for a short while and in my case, it was only until an alcohol bottle became empty.

Lidona pulled it off for over a year. With arms that skinny and an exhausted body.

"Don't forget, Josak." She crouched down next to the horse and called my name, her eyes looking like she could cry at any moment. "You're smart, although I don't know what you think of yourself. You know what you need to do in order to stay alive."

"Lidona."

"You can't ruin your life with petty theft and speaking rebelliously. Understood?"

"Hey Lidona, I know that already."

"Yeah, but I'm worried about you. Even though I think I shouldn't, I worry about all of you."

Picking up a fruit that Conrad dropped and folding it back into his grip, Lidona says politely, "Young Masters, have a nice trip."

Only her eyes full of laughter turn in my direction.

---

His Majesty was not only turning his narrowed eyes in my direction, but also his neatly trimmed fingernail.

"Here, it's all curly."

He twirls an orange lock of hair around his index finger. Sorry, in that spot, no matter what I do it hits the collar of my clothes and sticks up.

Speaking of me, I've been looking down on everyone from near the ceiling of the room for a while now.

Now lap-pillow duty has changed and His Majesty has graciously laid my body upon his lap. Rather than his lap, it's more that he has laid the top half of Gurrier's body diagonally across his stretched out legs.

Unfortunately, I can't feel any sensation in my body so I can't tell how soft His Majesty's lap is. But undoubtedly, if I was awake, with my nervousness and excitement I would have been stiffer than His Majesty.

"Come to think of it, even though I hung out with him so much I don't know much about Josak."

"About him?" asks Lord von Voltaire, narrowing only one eye.

"Yeah, like what kind of life he lived or what kind of television shows he watched as a kid... well there's no television. What baseball teams he likes... there's no baseball teams either. Then what kinds of sports he played when he was in school — stuff like that. His past, or rather his upbringing? It's not just Gurrier-chan. Gwen and Günter as well."

After saying that, His Majesty turns his face towards His Excellency the Third Son and Mistress Greta next to him and slightly bows his head. "You, too. Ah, I know everything about you, Greta, because you've told me a lot."

She smiles like a flower blooming. She probably loves her adopted father from the bottom of her heart.

"But I haven't really heard much about things like when you were all young."

That's because there's not much we can tell you, Young Master. I mean, we're so different than the world that you have lived in, we can't amuse you with anything.

If I told you I stole for a living or about the hazing I went through in military school, I would not only not amuse you, I would cause you to worry about me unnecessarily.

However, Lord von Voltaire, who took business seriously, nodded deeply and said something unavoidable.

"Understood. I'll have everyone's resumes sent to you. Their origins and military service are recorded in detail."

This is why I can rest easy with His Excellency. He doesn't have even the smallest fragment of concern about cheering people up and currying favor so I don't have worry about him being distracted by anything but small animals and Anissina-chan. It's a marked difference from his next brother.

The stubborn youngest brother seems to have grasped the heart of the matter and lightly reproves His Majesty, telling him he should have said so.

"Normally you don't say that you want to hear about the past."

"I thought I'd hear about it in time. If one day you wanted to share a happy memory with me, I thought you'd tell me. Although Lady Cherie told me about when you were a baby."

While I was looking down from a place no one could reach, I felt incredibly regretful. If I could speak, I would definitely tell him about my strange experience right now.

Not just that, I would tell him about the brave child Lord Weller was and about his father as well. I would tell him what face he made as he scolded his father and what face he made as he set up a trap and make His Majesty laugh.

I would have been able to laugh with him so much that tears would come to his eyes that looked like the darkness before daybreak.

"So I thought Josak too would think about telling me one day."

I'm thinking it now. I'm thinking it now, Young Master.

Ah, but...

I can't remember for the life of me why I'm in this condition and why exactly I'm on the brink of death. Not only that, I don't know how I can return to your side or why I can't return either.

Loud footsteps echo out from the hall and the door opens flamboyantly. It looks like Anissina-chan has come back from her laboratory after finding what she was looking for.

"I have finally dug it up. The thing that shoots beams out of its eyes from when I was taking care of Lord von Christ! Okiku Günter, once again!"

However, Lord von Voltaire paled immediately after seeing what she held in her hand.

"Wait, Lady von Karbelnikoff, that isn't Okiku Günter!?"

What she was holding was a rust-colored doll. No, it's too solid and cylindrical to call it a doll. It was an object that left quite the impression with a head like countless beads were glued to it and a body that looked brave holding a club. Even His Majesty Yuuri let out a groan like a crushed puppy, 'mugya,' when he saw it.

"Eh! Anissina, that's bad. That's bad! That's the thing you made using the picture you made me draw because you said you were going to research Earth's religion, right!?"

"Eh? It's not... Okiku?"

With a satisfying popping sound, Anissina-chan pulled off the doll's head. As soon as she did that, my hair down to my eyebrows was pulled with incredible strength like the time I was sucked up by a maryoku-powered vacuum.

"Uwah! Anissina, don't open the lid! Isn't that the ultimate soul conversion tube, 'Jee Aye Joe Butsu'!?"

"Joubutsu! Gurrier-chan is going to achieve Joubutsu!"

Your Majesty, what exactly is Joe Butsu? Of course I can't ask that and as I was floating in the air, I was suddenly sucked forward.

It's strange. Even though I'm not supposed to have any feeling in my body, why is there this constricting pull-ull-ull-ull-ull-ull-ull-ull-ull....

Is this Joe Butsu?

---

I could no longer even tell if I was being pulled into that 'Jee Aye Joe Butsu' or whatever or if I was being dragged towards the road that led to the heaven or paradise that His Majesty talks about.

When I finally realized that I wasn't being dragged along by anything but was dragging my own feet along as I walked, there was just a wide, light blue space around me. I continued walking as I couldn't rest or stop, but I couldn't even see how far the path continued.

I was just undeniably calm emotionally thinking only about unimportant things.

If I die like this, I wonder who will take over the store?

Luckily or unluckily I had no relatives and both His Excellency and the Young Master probably have no interest in managing an entertainment venue. Above all, all of the people I hold dear are more affluent than I am. If so, I should have changed it into a state-owned entertainment venue and used all of the profits on children without any relatives.

I should have given all of those made-to-order clothes and shoes to children without relatives...

What a shock. My desires and attachments are all disappearing!

If so, I should have left behind these shoes I'm wearing right now as well. If I'm not mistaken, I wore my favorite shoes that had high heels while I stayed at Blood Pledge Castle... My gaze falls to the ground so I could check what shoes I was wearing.

"What are you doing? Drawing some little kid scribbles on the ground?"

Hearing the same words I had heard a long time ago, my head lifts in reflex.

And there was that person.

He was sitting on some sort of protrusion that I couldn't tell if it was a rock or a stump, fixing me with a gaze that hadn't changed at all. In those warm, brown eyes, there were the same silver stars that were in his eyes, as expected.

As if he could read my thoughts, Dunheely Weller gives a mild refutation. However, his tone was only cheerful.

"You don't need to panic. This isn't that heaven or paradise that your master speaks of. It might turn out that heaven isn't a place like this, but somewhere more lively. Like bars on the side of city streets or the gambling houses around town. You know, like the place where you first gambled. Do you remember? You made a bet with change enough to buy a single set of second-hand clothes while wearing women's clothes."

"And I lost."

"That's right. Faster than a brat can blow his nose."

The man turned away and laughed. He placed his hands on his lap, fingers laced together.

Each and every one of his mannerisms is so nostalgic, I'm about to start crying unintentionally.

"Why are you here? Are you a ghost? If this isn't heaven, then where is this place?"

"This isn't anywhere and I'm not a ghost. So, you haven't died and you're not a soul that can't be reborn and you're not wandering around some town somewhere. I'm your memory, Josak. You're just resurrecting my voice and image out of your memories all on your own."

"Memories...?"

If so...

I tried to step forward firmly, but the warm ground touching the soles of my feet was unsteady and soft like a cloud.

"If so, then do I remember you this clearly? Are you engraved in my memory so deeply that I can reproduce your voice, your eyes, and even what your hair was like so clearly?"

"That makes me happy," Dunheely Weller says and the corners of his mouth lift. That's right. He was a man who smiled a lot. Quite possibly a lot more than his children. "Then what about my words? Do you remember what I said?"

"Probably."

While I gave a vague answer, I was certain. I remember every single last word that this person said to me at that time.

That everyone was his son.

"Then how about this? The day I first met you. I said that when you became an adult, you would have above average intelligence and strength and become a superb worker. You turned out just like that, right?"

"Wait a minute. Then you were that traveller back then...?"

While I'm acting surprised like it was the first time I had heard it, I had felt like I had realized that fact a long time ago. My desire for that to be true had steadily seeped into me and I accepted it as truth from the bottom of my heart.

If it weren't for this person, I wouldn't be alive.

If it weren't for this person, I wouldn't have made it out of that small bar alive and would have returned to being a soul without having met anyone.

My benefactor asked me with a smile, "Has your journey ended?"

I hesitated for a moment, then shook my head. My hair brushes against my cheeks.

"Not yet, I think."

"Then go back." Dunheely raised his chin slightly and pointed to the air behind me. "Go back and experience life to your heart's content. And then when you're done walking that long and difficult path, we'll meet again. Ah, and..."

He says this as if he's just adding on something, but when I see the kindness in his narrowed eyes I understand immediately that this is something important.

"Say hello to my children for me."

"Of course."

Since 'later' and 'goodbye' wasn't appropriate, all that was left was to leave silently.

While I was hesitating finding it difficult to leave, Dunheely calls my name once again.

"Josak."

I knew what he would say in the end after he smiled.

My father who was done walking would definitely say this:

Have a nice trip.

Author's Note

How are you? This is Takabayashi. Ah, I completely understand this is no longer the time to be asking how you are. Just what month is this, or rather, what year!? ... Yes, I'm talking in yearly terms. I've made you wait in terms of years. I'm sorry. This was a short story that I called Gurrier's Past Story and Little Josa Little Con Story (that sounds like you don't have enough concrete), but I've finally finished it somehow. Although now that I've finished, the three books have quite the amount of pages so it became something that I can't casually refer to as a short story. Not only that, but Shibuya, who is more or less the main character of the series, only appears a little bit — unsatisfactory! B-but I couldn't help it. It's a story about the past. In exchange, he appears a lot. The man whose name was the only thing that appeared in the main story, the Second Son's father, aka, Dunheely Weller. To be honest, I hadn't decided what kind of personality he would have or how he would speak until I started writing. But you know, he was a man who was loved by that Lady Cherie so he seems like he would be a chivalrous dandy unparalleled amongst the three kingdoms, huh~ As I worried along those lines, he ended up being a character like that, but what do you think? It would be nice if I haven't shattered the image of Dunheely that you've all had in your minds. Actually, it's likely that no one had an image of him in their head — of Dunheely. No before that, what are the three kingdoms in 'unparalleled amongst the three kingdoms'? (China, India, Shin Makoku?) And chivalrous dandy? Was Date Masamune in Shin Makoku!? That's the bigger issue. Also, didn't I say that the one who was known for having a nice face wasn't Dunheely but his father!? There was also a huge turmoil within myself over that. Well in the end, I calmed down by telling myself 'It's probably okay if you just make him a good Papa'... How was he? Was there any place where he matched the image of Dunheely you've all had in your heads(I'm still saying it)? Actually, the mental picture from the anime is strong, huh, Father of the Second Son? Because I was writing so slowly they have clearly passed me by, GOD DAMN. Shit, now that things have turned out this way, I'm going to break you even more and turn you into an even stranger character! And so, an improper rebellious attitude was born... However, now that I'm done writing, I've come to think that the Father of the Second Son strangely does not resemble the Second Son. How should I say it? He doesn't have the darkness or the lameness. In other words, he's a better person than the Second Son. Well, this is from the point of view of Little Gurrier-chan so he might be being a little glorified. Also, I feel like the Second Son himself is doing better in the present than when he was a child... This was a story of the past that seems like it has problems in many ways, but... I-I've already finished writing it so it is what it is! Yeah, please treat this nicely as it is. It more or less has a happy ending after all. Furthermore, this came out with good timing so I wrote with the intent that if you read this 'Have Trip(Eh, that's how you're abbreviating it!?)' after the new novel from the main story that just came out, 'From Shin Makoku with Love,' you might enjoy it approximately 0.5% more. 0.5% is pretty low... Of course even if you don't read this 'Nice Trip' (If it's abbreviated that way, I end up wanting to tack on 'dreamy mood' on the end), it won't have any effect on the main story so please be at ease. I'm happy if you enjoyed 'HaNi Trip' (Whaaa....) which had the meeting between Gurrier-chan and the Second Son and also the heart-pounding, exciting first time in women's clothes. Now then, now then, while I've been dragging my feet, the MAnime has an OVA out and the third season is starting be be broadcast! T-to think it would go that far! It looks like the DVDs for the third season are about to go on sale as well. Now that I mention it, I wrote about a lot of things in those DVD exclusive booklets too, didn't I? We've north gate pretty far, now that I think about it (Is there a south gate as well!?) I don't know what the 3rd season will turn into, but I think it would have been nice to have been able to be involved. And so, everyone, thank you very much for staying with me through this 'Trip' throughout the ages. If we have the chance, let's meet again in this exclusive booklet.

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