Vol. 1 Chapter 2 – The World Three Hundred Years Later

“Mm… ngh…”

The moment I faintly opened my eyelids, I saw raging flames beyond the darkness.

‘The fires of hell, huh…’

War or not, I had killed many people. There was no way I could have gone to heaven.

And yet, the sensation of damp earth against my back, the pachi-pachi sound of sparks dancing through the air, and the acrid smell of burning that stung my nose, all of it felt strangely vivid for the afterlife.

When I looked up, the moon shone brightly through the gaps between the trees stretching their branches toward the sky.

‘I… died, didn’t I?’

In a panic, I pressed a hand to my neck, but there was not even the sensation of a wound. It was connected.

But then, I became even more confused.

“Why… do I have hands?”

I held both palms up in front of my eyes, and when I timidly clenched and opened them, my fingers and arms moved by my own will.

The arms I should have lost were definitely there.

“What the hell is going on…?”

Still completely overcome with confusion, I sat up and looked around.

A dark, deep forest at night. In the silence, the hou-hou hooting of an owl echoed. Before me, the road continued to the left and right. Apparently, this was a single road cutting through the forest.

What was burning furiously in the middle of the road was a carriage, and the horse that should have been pulling it was nowhere to be seen. Beside the carriage, a man who seemed to have been thrown from the driver’s seat lay collapsed on the ground.

‘What is…this situation? What in the world is happening to me?’

Even when I tried to remember, my memories cut off with Feria’s tearful face, which I had last seen at the execution ground. Within my memories, I could not find a single clue that could explain the situation I had been placed in.

Timidly, I walked over to the fallen man.

The man’s figure was illuminated by the raging flames. He seemed to be around his mid-forties. He was slightly overweight, wearing unfamiliar clothing and an oddly flashy sash around his waist. Judging by his overall air alone, he seemed somewhat like a merchant, but he was a man I had absolutely no memory of seeing before.

The man was clearly dead.

It was not that he had died after being thrown from the carriage, either. On the man’s neck, a wound that looked as though it had been sliced open by a sharp blade was gaping wide and blood was flowing out with a pulse.

‘The blood hasn’t clotted…It hasn’t been that long since he was cut.’

I braced myself while feeling cold sweat trickle down my spine, and searched for any presence around me. The sound of my own breathing and heartbeat was unbearably loud. But there was no sign of anyone else. Had whoever killed this man already gone somewhere?

‘What kind of situation… is this?’

I should have died by execution at the execution ground and yet when I opened my eyes, I was not in heaven or hell, but in the middle of a deep forest whose location I did not know. On top of that, right nearby, there was a burning carriage and the corpse of a man I did not know lying on the ground.

No, up to that point, it was still fine. I did not know the reason or the method, but I could imagine that I had escaped execution and that someone had taken me away from the execution ground. What I completely could not understand was the fact that the arms I should have lost existed.

There was no other way to describe it except the height of confusion.

‘For now, it doesn’t seem like there’s any danger, but…’

While calming my breathing, I sat down on the ground and somehow searched for a clue that would help me understand this situation. Then, through the gaps between the trees, my eyes stopped on the sight of a mountain shining in the distance under the moonlight.

“The Deladi Mountains…?”

Its shape, resembling a reclining dragon, was undoubtedly the Deladi Mountains lying to the north of the royal capital.

Considering the position of the moon and the way the mountains looked, there was no doubt that this was the great forest spreading west of the royal capital, and the single road cutting through it.

Now that my location was clear, I felt like my heart had calmed down just a little.

‘Being alive and having my arms certainly aren’t bad things, but…is this something I can innocently rejoice over?’

As I was thinking that, I heard the rumble of wheels approaching from far away, scattering small stones as they came closer.

As if snapped up by the sound, I raised my face and turned my eyes toward where it had come from. There was a carriage with an unfamiliar lighting device lit on it, no, I could not see any horse. A three-wheeled vehicle like a cart was running straight toward me without any horse pulling it.

Normally, I should have been cautious and done something like hide myself but in my complete confusion, I simply remained sitting there in a daze. Then, when the small cart came right up beside me, it came to a sideways stop with a shrill kikiki sound.

There were two people riding in the vehicle. Both were women.

The one controlling the vehicle from the driver’s seat was probably a maid. I say『probably』because the clothes she was wearing differed somewhat in appearance from the maid work clothes I knew.

First of all, her skirt was ridiculously short. Or rather, it was practically no different from underwear. On top of that, the area around her chest was wide open. Moreover, the fleshy mounds pushing up the fabric were extremely abundant and the valley between them was as deep as a thousand fathoms. Resting atop her inward-curling short black hair was a white headdress, fitting for a maid.

If some noble somewhere had made it compulsory for their servants to wear this outfit, then that noble was undoubtedly a perverted noble.

Next, amid the cloud of dust kicked up by the wheels, the one who stepped down from the cargo bed onto the ground was a young woman dressed in an outfit that could only make me think she was another exhibitionist.

A hitatare around her waist, gauntlets, and greaves. Her extremities were hidden beneath heavy armor, but everything else was practically no different from underwear. It looked as though she had simply put pieces of armor directly over her naked body. Faced with such an outrageously immodest outfit, I instinctively stood up and averted my eyes.hitatare¹

‘I-I don’t know where to look…’

Not to brag, but I have a pure body that has never known a woman.

When I was young, I devoted myself entirely to research and paid no attention whatsoever to romance, and after I became a court mage, my disciples and subordinates obstructed every single new encounter I might have had with the opposite sex, saying,『You have so little experience with women that if someone set up a honey trap, you would definitely fall for it.』

I am even aware that my emotional maturity regarding love is on the level of an adolescent boy.

But paying no mind to my bewilderment, that exhibitionist raised her voice.

“I ask you! Are you Ozma-dono?”

The moment she called my name, my body stiffened without thinking.

Of course, I had no memory of having an acquaintance who was an exhibitionist like this. But in this incomprehensible situation, the appearance of someone who seemed to know me could only be called a salvation.

“Y-Yes, Ozma is me, but…”

At once, her blue eyes opened wide, and an expression mixed with surprise and joy appeared on her face.

“Ohh! Just as His Majesty the Founder prophesied!”

Then, she hurriedly walked over to me and knelt at my feet.

“Ozma-dono! I have come to welcome you! To think I would be granted an audience with the legendary great hero, Ozma-dono… I, Shirley, am deeply honored beyond measure!”

“Yes?”

‘A legendary great hero? What the hell is that?’

As I tilted my head without thinking, she looked up at me with sparkling eyes filled with admiration, like a fresh recruit straight out of the training grounds.

After calling her an exhibitionist so many times, this may sound strange, but on closer look, she was a beautiful girl who still retained a certain innocence within the gallant sharpness of a knight.

She seemed to be around eighteen or nineteen. Her golden hair, like a bundle of shooting stars, was tied up in a ponytail, and her clear blue eyes were like the sky seen from the bottom of the water. Her nose was well-shaped, as though traced in a single smooth stroke, and her lips were fresh and dewy.

Her chest size was somewhat modest but her exposed stomach was toned and her waist drew a beautiful curve. Before I knew it, my eyes were drawn to her alluring buttocks, which looked as though they might sway with a sound.

‘Calm down, me. Don’t stare! What are you thinking, looking at a girl young enough to be your daughter like that!’

As I desperately averted my eyes, the maid on the driver’s seat spoke to the female knight in a flat, emotionless voice.

“Shirley-sama…Ozma-sama is troubled. It appears he has not yet grasped the situation. I believe it would be best to explain the circumstances surrounding him on the way to the royal castle.”

“O-Oh! Y-Yes, you’re right.”

Then, the female knight called Shirley turned her eyes toward the burning carriage and asked me this.

“By the way, Ozma-dono…what exactly is the situation behind this dreadful scene?”

“No, I don’t understand any of this either… When I woke up, I was just here without knowing why…I have no memory of that carriage or the person lying there.”

At my vague answer, she furrowed her well-shaped brows.

“I see…Judging by appearances, the fallen person seems to be a merchant, so he was likely attacked by some sort of night bandits. Once we return to the royal castle, I shall send people to investigate properly. What must take priority now is your safety, Ozma-dono. There is nothing in this world more important than you.”

“R-Royal castle? W-Wait a second! Who exactly are you people?”

The royal castle was now occupied by the Empire. That said, if you asked whether these two were people of the Empire, they did not look that way. More than anything, if they were from the Empire, they would have no reason to treat me so carefully.

Seeing my bewildered state, the maid and the female knight looked at each other.

“My apologies. I am Shirley, a royal guard knight serving Her Majesty the Queen. The maid there is Giselle. It is only natural that you are confused, Ozma-dono. After all, three hundred years have already passed since your death.”

“Huh? Three hundred years?”

The words slid uselessly through my head. I could not really understand what she was saying. My bewilderment only grew stronger.

“In that case, Ozma-dono, please come this way for now. The ride may be rather uncomfortable but it will not be for very long, so I would be grateful for your patience. I shall explain the details as we make our way to the royal castle.”

“W-Wait a…”

“Now, now, the details can wait until later.”

For some reason, the female knight happily pushed me from behind and half-forcibly seated me in the cargo bed. Then, the maid turned around from the driver’s seat and opened her mouth.

“Then, we shall depart.”

At once, something like a windmill attached to the rear of the cargo bed slowly began to rotate. And then, the cart carrying us quietly started moving, despite having no horse to pull it.

***

“Heh-heh…”

In the bushes, I watched the vehicle moving farther away and twisted my lips into a grin.

It seemed my younger brother had successfully managed to take Ozma’s place.

By chance, we had obtained the Founder’s journal or rather, a handwritten copy of it. When we waited at the place written there, at the exact time written there, one man appeared riding a single moto.

He was a stout man who looked like a merchant. His appearance was not one I could ever imagine belonging to a great hero but if he appeared in a place like this at this hour, he could only be the person written of in the prophecy, the great hero Ozma.

Still, I was honestly surprised that my younger brother, Imre, was that good an actor.

After using his polished assassin’s skills to kill the great hero Ozma in a single strike, he suddenly collapsed, which made me panic but that was probably necessary too.

Against the female knight and maid who appeared immediately after that, my younger brother put on an act, as if he had only just reincarnated and could not grasp the situation at all.

Both the maid and the female knight seemed to have completely assumed from the start that my younger brother Imre was Ozma, and at that rate, there should be no fear of him being exposed. As expected of my younger brother, there was no other way to put it.

Impersonate Ozma, assassinate the queen, violate all the women of the royal family and impregnate them, then seize this country. That plan was already as good as accomplished. For the sake of this day, my younger brother had undergone that horrifying body modification in order to captivate women.

“Now all that’s left is… for me to sneak into the royal castle and assist Imre, and everything will be perfect… heh-heh, heh-heh-heh.”

Our clan, which had been oppressed until now! Our assassin clan, which had been forced to live in the shadows! The day when we would reign over this country was already almost here. How could I possibly keep from laughing!

***

As I watched the scenery flying away behind us, I thought over what the female knight had said earlier.

‘Three hundred years have passed since I died?’

It sounded utterly absurd, but if I took this female knight’s words at face value, then I supposed it meant that I had『reincarnated.』

‘If that’s really true, then it’s beyond imagining… It may be pointless to think about it. First, I’ll have to gather information and try to grasp the situation.’

When I glanced beside me, the female knight’s cheeks were flushed with excitement and she was gazing at me in rapture.

I thought I had seen that expression somewhere before, and then I remembered. Long ago, at a theater my secretary Misca had forcibly dragged me to, the young noble ladies watching the opera actors had worn faces just like that.

I did not understand why, but even if she was a girl young enough to be my daughter, there was no way I could stay calm while a beautiful, half-naked woman was gazing at me with eyes like that. I even found myself thinking that if I tried to seduce her, things might go all the way.

‘What am I thinking! Think about your age, your age!’

I shook my head to drive away those wicked thoughts, and in order to calm myself, I decided to ask about something that had been bothering me.

“Could it be that you’re people of the Empire?”

At that, Shirley tilted her head with a blank look on her face.

“The Empire? Do you perhaps mean the Grozny Empire?”

“That’s right.”

“If it is the Grozny Empire, then it perished long ago.”

I was so shocked that I almost rose from my seat, lost my balance, and clung to the frame of the cargo bed as it rattled.

“P-Perished!?”

“Yes. If I recall correctly, it was around two hundred eighty years ago…”

That was certainly shocking. At the time of my execution, the annexation of the kingdom had been imminent. Once the Kingdom of Edvard disappeared, there would no longer be anything in this world capable of threatening the Empire. That was the situation. If it had perished just twenty years after my death, then the only explanation I could think of was some natural disaster.

“T-The Empire… H-How did it perish?”

When I asked that in a trembling voice, for some reason, she proudly puffed out her chest.

“Because His Majesty the Founder of our country destroyed it.”

“…His Majesty the Founder?”

“Yes. His Majesty the Founder attacked and destroyed the Empire, then established a new country. That country is none other than our country.”

Then, with joy seeping into her expression, she declared proudly.

“Its name is the Holy Ozma Kingdom!”

At that moment, I was probably making a very strange face.

“T-The Holy Ozma Kingdom…?”

After all, it was a country bearing my name. And with 『Holy』attached to it, no less. Frankly, I thought this woman might simply be insane.

But paying no mind to my confusion, Shirley spoke rapidly, in a tone that sounded as though she was overcome with emotion.

“Indeed! As for Ozma-dono’s reincarnation, His Majesty the Founder left behind a prophecy concerning both the place and the date. And by command of Her Majesty the current Queen, we were granted the supreme honor of coming to welcome the great hero Ozma-dono!”

“O-Oh…”

It was true that while I was alive, I myself, as a researcher of magic, had concluded that『reincarnation』was theoretically possible. Only theoretically, of course. So I had no objection to the idea that I had reincarnated. Otherwise, there would be no explanation for the existence of both my arms.

I would also, with great reluctance, accept that three hundred years had passed.

A cart running without horses. The clothes these women wore were also quite different from those of the era in which I had lived. No, even the clothes I myself was wearing now were completely different.

The problem was… for some reason, I was being called a『great hero.』

The admiring gaze Shirley directed at me did not seem like acting, and their attitude was frighteningly polite. It truly felt like the way one would treat a person called a 『great hero.』

I certainly could not deny that, as a magic researcher, I had been somewhat well-known. But I was a defeated soldier who had lost to the Empire and fallen so low that I became a vagrant. On top of that, I had been captured in the end and miserably executed. There was nothing about me that warranted being called a『great hero.』

As I fell silent, not knowing what I should say or how I should say it, Shirley seemed to think she had offended me and began speaking even faster in a flustered rush.

“No, y-your dissatisfaction is entirely understandable. I am well aware that, normally, for the return of a great hero, we should hold a grand ceremony and welcome you properly. However, precisely because we are thinking of your safety, we are currently handling this matter in secret.”

“No, it’s not that I’m angry or anything…I just don’t remember doing anything worthy of being called a great hero…”

“Oh, such humility again! You are the hero among heroes, one who left behind countless legends. The people of this country grow up hearing the legends of Ozma-dono as bedtime stories from childhood. Naturally, I myself am no exception!”

“No, that’s why…I think you’ve got the wrong person…”

“Are you saying that you are not Ozma-dono?”

“No, I am Ozma, but…”

“Then there is no mistake!”

Once again, she looked at me with sparkling eyes full of admiration, then nodded firmly.

As for me, I could only feel bewildered.

Unable to bear her passionate gaze any longer, I turned my face in a completely different direction and changed the subject.

“Still… this cart is amazing. How does it move without any horse pulling it?”

When I asked that, she tilted her head with a face that seemed to say she did not really understand what I was talking about.

“It is an ordinary… moto, though?”

“Moto?”

Then, while controlling the cart, the maid cut in over her shoulder.

“Shirley-sama. In the era when Ozma-sama lived, spirit magic was not common. Naturally, not only motos, but even spirit engines did not exist.”

‘Spirit magic?’

I turned my eyes toward the maid, then hurriedly looked away.

Her short skirt fluttered in the wind. Beneath it, I caught glimpses of black string-like underwear with hardly any fabric and her exposed buttocks.

‘What the hell is going on…? In three hundred years, has women’s modesty vanished completely?’

Ignoring what was going on inside my heart, Shirley nodded deeply, as though she understood.

“I see…Of course! In Ozma-dono’s era, ancient-language magic was the mainstream.”

“Ancient-language magic?”

First spirit magic and now ancient-language magic. Terms I had no memory of hearing were being thrown out one after another, and I could only be confused. Perhaps sensing my bewilderment, the maid took over the explanation, leaving aside Shirley, who continued to gaze at me with a somewhat enraptured look.

“I am not a researcher myself, so I apologize for relying on my vague memory of history but three hundred years ago, the Empire succeeded in sealing ancient-language magic. Because of that, the Kingdom of Edvard, which was the center of ancient-language magic, weakened and then perished.”

“Perished…”

I could imagine that the ordinary magic we had used was now called ancient-language magic in this era. The problem was that one phrase,『the Kingdom of Edvard perished.』

At the time of my death, although he had been imprisoned, His Majesty the King was still alive and well. I had thought that even if the kingdom became a vassal state of the Empire, the country itself would be able to survive.

Perhaps what I felt inside showed on my face. The female knight hurriedly took my hand and opened her mouth as if to comfort me.

“I am truly sorry. That was a way of speaking that failed to consider your feelings, Ozma-dono, but Giselle meant no ill. Saying it perished is an exaggeration. More precisely, I have heard that, in the end, the princess married the imperial crown prince and the kingdom was absorbed into the Empire.”

That was an even worse outcome.

To begin with, the conflict with the Empire had started because of the emperor’s absurd remark that he wished to take the Princess of Edvard, famed as a peerless beauty, as the wife of the Empire’s dimwitted crown prince. No, in truth, it had been a trap laid with the expectation that we would refuse. It had been nothing more than a pretext for invasion.

Although His Majesty the King had allowed Her Majesty the Queen and Her Highness the Princess to flee to a neighboring country just before the royal capital fell, in the end, even that had come to nothing.

When I thought of the Empire’s dimwitted crown prince reaching his hands toward that beautiful princess whom all of us subjects had admired, I felt as though my chest would split apart.

I bit my lip and asked Shirley as if clinging to some faint hope.

“But… the Empire perished in twenty years. Right?”

“Indeed. The neighboring country of Mature is a nation descended from the Empire, but it is now a vassal state of our country. I believe there is no issue with saying that the Empire perished.”

Even after hearing that the Empire had perished, the murky feeling in my chest did not clear. With those helpless feelings in my heart, I bit my lip.

‘If the royal family of this country called Mature are descendants of Emperor Grozny, then perhaps I could still take revenge… No, at the same time, it is also possible that they are descendants of Her Highness the Princess…’

As I fell silent, Shirley looked at me anxiously, while the maid continued controlling the vehicle, facing forward the entire time.

A heavy atmosphere settled over us. Only the sound of the wheels echoed through the dark forest.

After a while, when the lights of a city came into view in the distance, the maid picked up a piece of cloth that had been placed on the driver’s seat and offered it to me.

“Ozma-sama, we shall soon arrive at the royal capital. I am terribly sorry, but I would like to ask that you conceal your face with this hood.”

Then, as though following up on the maid’s words, Shirley opened her mouth.

“…Normally, it is taboo for a gentleman to set foot in the chambers of the royal family’s ladies, but of course, Ozma-sama is an exception. However, we still cannot make your existence public yet, so…”

“Yeah… understood.”

It was not as if I really understood anything, but I had no reason to refuse.

I put on the hood and turned my eyes toward the lights of the city visible ahead. It was probably no longer the royal capital I knew, but I recognized the surrounding scenery. That was unmistakably the place where the royal capital Vesta had once stood.

“That is our royal capital, San-Ozmaria.”

‘What the hell is Ozmaria supposed to be…?’

If I were to put what I felt inside into words, it would be,『Please, stop already!』I did not think any of this was my fault, but I was struck by such unbearable embarrassment that I wanted to run away.

The cart continued through the city streets and when we reached the side of the castle gate, the maid raised a lighting device and waved it widely left and right. Then, with a sound, the drawbridge came lowering down.

The royal castle I looked up at had an architectural style completely different from the one I knew. What had once been a rugged stone castle had changed into an elegant structure with white walls.

‘Is this also what the passage of three hundred years means…?’

A moat surrounded the royal castle, with a drawbridge crossing it. On the other side of the bridge, the castle gate slowly opened. When we finished passing through the gate, a beautifully maintained garden spread before us.

Glowing spheres installed on the walls illuminated the entire garden, making it so bright that one might mistake it for daytime. I considered asking Shirley what those glowing spheres were and by what principle they shone, but everything I saw was unusual, and there would be no end to it, so I stopped myself.

After passing through the garden, the maid pulled the cart up beside the building at the back. Immediately, Shirley jumped down from the cargo bed and extended her hand toward me.

“Now then, please come this way. Her Majesty the Queen has been waiting for you.”

“Y-Yeah…”

Although I was still confused, I did not know what else to do except follow them.

After getting down from the cart, I stepped into the royal palace with the maid leading the way and Shirley accompanying me.

The royal castle existed in the same place as the former royal castle, but its architectural style was entirely different.

Just like the exterior, the corridors had changed from the rugged stonework of the past into elegant white walls, and the ceiling, once blackened with soot from torches, now formed a gentle arch and was decorated with golden reliefs.

The place had likely already been cleared of people. Along the way, without encountering anyone, we arrived before what seemed to be the doors to the throne room. Shirley then raised her voice loudly.

“I have brought Ozma-dono!”

Giselle opened the door, tilted her head slightly, and urged me,『Please enter.』

Beyond the doors spread a hall with a red carpet, and from the ceiling hung a massive chandelier. At the far end, on a raised platform, there was a throne, and I could see a beautiful woman sitting there alone. On the chairs lined up to her left, three young women in beautiful dresses were waiting.

The woman on the throne was, of course, most likely the Queen.

‘…She’s young.’

Indeed, she was far too young to be called a queen. She looked to be around her mid-twenties.

A silver tiara adorned her wavy golden hair, and her slightly drooping blue-green eyes looked gentle. She possessed such outstanding beauty that bards would surely rush to take her as the subject of their songs.

Still looking straight at me, she quietly rose from the throne and walked toward me. Then, once she reached my side, she went down on one knee at my feet without the slightest hesitation.

“We have been waiting for you, Ozma-sama.”

The other party was Her Majesty the Queen, the ruler of a nation. Under normal circumstances, it would be unthinkable for someone like her to kneel on one knee.

Shirley cried,『Y-Your Majesty!?』in panic, and I hurriedly knelt as well, lowering my head below hers.

“Ozma-sama, please raise your head. In this country, there is no one more noble than you. This country is something my ancestor created for your sake. Everything in this country, down to every fragment of soil and every blade of grass and tree, exists solely for you.”

The Queen’s words slid uselessly through my head without taking shape.

‘Huh? For my sake? What is? Why?’

As my eyes wandered, unable to hide my confusion, the Queen took my hand and smiled gracefully.

“Do you remember the name Feria?”

“Feria? O-Of course I do…”

The kind girl who had shared bread with me every day. I would never forget her innocent smile, nor the expression she had worn at the execution ground, her face stained with tears.

“The Founder of our country, Feria Balsabar, crushed the Empire that murdered you, and for you, who would one day be reborn, founded this country, the Holy Ozma Kingdom.”

“Wha!? P-Please wait a moment!”

‘I-I don’t understand any of this at all!’

“Ah, no… I did say『of course』but i-it seems that the Feria I know and the person named Feria whom Your Majesty mentioned are different people…”

“No, it is most likely that very Feria.”

“No…but she was such a little girl.”

“People grow. They do not remain little children forever. According to the journal left behind by the Founder, you threw away your own life in order to save her when she was about to be sold to a pimp. Am I wrong?”

“N-No… At the time, it was more like that was the only way…Wait! That quiet little girl destroyed the Empire!?”

“Indeed. Having obtained the large bounty placed on your head, our ancestor Feria, together with her younger brothers, was adopted into the Balsabar family, an imperial noble house.”

Apparently, Balsabar had kept his promise to me.

‘But… if that’s the case, then that only makes me wonder even more. How did things end up like that?’

“Founder Feria studied at the Academy as a child of an imperial noble family and graduated at the top of her class. She then studied abroad in the east, and there, she met an old woman. She was the elder of a barbarian tribe named Zumba. After being granted spirit magic by her, Founder Feria returned home and immediately joined the anti-imperial forces. She raised the banner of rebellion against the Empire, wielded overwhelming power, and destroyed the Empire in just four and a half years.”

Without thinking, I stood there in a daze. Of course I did. That quiet little girl had destroyed the mighty Empire. Even if someone told me to believe it, I would not know how to.

‘But… what the hell is this spirit magic? She was granted it by a barbarian elder?’

This should not have been the time for that, but upon hearing about this unknown magic called spirit magic, my curiosity as a researcher began to throb wildly.

Even so, until I was dragged out as a court mage, I had been the kind of person who shut himself away in a laboratory and devoted his life to researching magic. I was merely someone who had systematized magic and, because I had accidentally succeeded in making it practical as a military force, had been forced to go out onto the battlefield.

I even had the pride that there was no one who knew magic better than I did. So when I was told that there existed magic even I did not know, and that it had been used to destroy the Empire, there was no way I would not be interested.

However, before I could question her about it, the contents of Her Majesty the Queen’s story shot off in an even more unexpected direction.

“After Founding Ancestor Feria finished destroying the Empire, she repeatedly conversed with the Spirit King, continuing her research in hopes of finding some way, somehow, to bring you back to life. And although she was not able to fulfill the wish of resurrecting Your Exalted Self, she did obtain a method to make reincarnation possible.”

“S-so… then I…”

“Indeed. Reincarnation requires a long span of years. Even with the Founding Ancestor’s power, she could not shorten the required three hundred years after death. And so, for the day when you would appear in this world once again, she founded a kingdom. A kingdom where you could devote yourself fully to making children! The Sacred Kingdom of Ozma!”

“………..Huh?”

Apparently, my ears had suddenly gone strange. No, surely I had just misheard that.

“Um, excuse me… A kingdom for what, exactly?”

“A kingdom where Ozma-sama may devote himself fully to making children.”

“I didn’t mishear it!?”

Without thinking, I forgot that the person before me was Her Majesty the Queen and raised my voice.

“N-no matter how you look at it, that’s insane!”

But Her Majesty the Queen continued calmly.

“The Founding Ancestor left in her memoirs that she had heard from her adoptive father, Balsabar, that Ozma-sama’s lingering regret was that he had not been able to leave behind children. And she regretted that she herself had never had the opportunity to carry Ozma-sama’s child.”

“Well, of course she didn’t!? When I died, Feria was still a child!”

“Therefore… the Founding Ancestor entrusted that long-cherished wish to us, her descendants!”

“………………………….What the hell is that?”

My head started to ache.

Maybe, after witnessing my execution with her own eyes, I had planted some kind of serious trauma in her.

“Women born into the royal family do not take spouses. Until now, we have borne children through mating with spirits. I myself have already entered into a bond with the Spirit King, so I cannot carry a child, but I humbly ask that you bestow Ozma-sama’s semen upon my daughters.”

The Queen said this with a smile to me, whose face had instinctively stiffened. She was smiling, yes, but her eyes were not smiling at all. There was a force behind her words that allowed no refusal.

‘…What the hell is this?’

With my face twitching, I moved my neck like a rusted gear and turned my eyes toward the three princesses waiting beside the throne.

‘Making children… in other words, that means doing those things and those kinds of things… right?’

The princesses all looked like they were in their teens. Each of them was beautiful in her own way, but their atmospheres were completely different.

“My eldest daughter, Frederica.”

When Her Majesty the Queen said that, the round-faced princess with a gentle air tilted her head slightly and smiled.

She had drooping eyes inherited from her mother, and a nose bridge that formed a soft curve.

Maybe『soothing type』would be the right way to describe her? Her chestnut-colored hair, light and fluffy as though filled with air, made her already gentle atmosphere feel even softer.

The pale pink dress she was wearing now did not expose much skin, but the assertion around her chest was quite intense. Not only her aura, but even physically, she looked soft.

“Next, my second daughter, Arvin.”

The princess with long black hair gave a『hmph』 through her nose and turned away.

She had a cold atmosphere that somehow reminded me of a sharp blade, and her slightly upturned eyes stared at me suspiciously.

She was wearing a dark blue dress with orange accents. Her chest was a little… no, rather modest, but her arms and legs were long and her figure was beautiful. It would not be wrong to call her the most outstanding beauty among the three, but her expression clearly contained disgust toward me. Actually, the moment our eyes met, she even clicked her tongue openly with a 『tch!』

Her attitude was unpleasant, but rather, it made me feel relieved. Because that seemed like the natural reaction.

“Lastly, my third daughter, Marle.”

The last one was, for some reason, nodding again and again…or so I thought, but she was completely fast asleep.

She was the smallest among the three but with her short outward-flipping hair, sun-tanned skin, and facial features, should I say she looked innocent or should I say she looked mischievous?

She was a girl with a somewhat wild atmosphere, the kind that would make me believe it if someone told me she usually ran around the fields and mountains. What’s more, she only looked around ten years old or so.

The bright yellow and yellow-green dress only emphasized her childishness even more.

‘I mean, having three daughters around this age…just how old is Her Majesty the Queen, anyway…’

Putting Her Majesty the Queen’s age aside, if this had been a matter of telling me to take one of them as my wife, then, giving it a hundred concessions, I might have been able to understand it.

But that was not it. She was telling me to give them my seed. Their mother was telling me to do all of them.

And when it came to the third daughter, at least in appearance, she was around the same age Feria had been when I died. She was completely a child.

Honestly, there was no other way to describe it except that I was seriously creeped out.

“You may embrace whichever daughter you like first, and if you so desire, I would not be opposed to all three together! Rather, I believe that would save all sorts of trouble and be quite convenient.”

“W-w-wait a second, please. Surely the princesses have the right to choose their partner…”

“Whatever do you mean? To bear a child with Ozma-sama is our royal family’s long-cherished wish. It would not be an exaggeration to say that this country exists for that very purpose.”

“That’s absolutely an exaggeration!?”

I instinctively returned to my usual self and raised my voice. I no longer had the composure to worry about my wording.

But Her Majesty the Queen did not seem offended. Instead, as if refusing to let me escape, she grabbed both my hands and thrust her face right up to mine.

“Now! Ozma-sama! Now! Now!”

“Whoa, she’s strong!? No, but… this is…”

Her pressure was incredible! Actually, her strength was incredible too! I had no idea where such strength was hidden in that slender body but Her Majesty the Queen pressed in on me, overpowering me as though we were competing in a martial arts test of strength.

I leaned back, completely overwhelmed. Perhaps unable to keep watching me like that, the maid Giselle suddenly cut in from behind.

“Your Majesty, Ozma-sama has only just reincarnated and is still in confusion. They say that haste makes waste, so perhaps it would be best to leave this matter for another day…”

“Hm?”

The moment she said that, the Queen’s mouth twisted like some thug in the streets and an unpleasant expression appeared on her face.

‘What is with this person? She’s kind of scary.’

“H-hey, Giselle!”

When Shirley hurriedly closed in on the maid for interfering beyond a servant’s place, the Queen gave a single cough, released my hands, and then, in a complete change, showed a gentle smile. But again, her eyes were not smiling.

“You are right. Giselle speaks the truth. Perhaps I was being a little too hasty. Let us leave it at this for today.”

Then the Queen stood up, turned toward me once more, and bowed gracefully.

“Ozma-sama, Giselle here will attend to your daily needs, and Shirley will be in charge of guarding Your Exalted Self. Please give any orders you may have to these two. Now then, Giselle, please escort Ozma-sama to his room.”

“As you command.”

Seeing Giselle bow quietly, I let out a sigh of relief.

For now, it seemed I had somehow managed to get through this situation.

Even setting aside Her Majesty the Queen’s forcefulness, which was completely at odds with her gentle appearance, I was still a man. After seeing the beauty of the princesses, it was not as if I had no feeling that it might have been a waste.

But even if they worshipped me as some great hero, in reality, I was nothing of the sort, so it was obvious that my true nature would be exposed right away. If, when that happened, they accused me of having deceived them, I would not be able to stand it.

‘Still, Feria… how did things end up like this?’

I pictured that quiet, gentle girl in my mind and thought about the three hundred years that had passed while I was dead, as explained by the Queen.

Her Majesty the Queen’s story did make sense, but it was not something I could innocently believe.

“Well then, Ozma-sama, this way.”

“A-ah.”

Guided by Giselle and accompanied by Shirley, I left the throne room.

The moment we entered the corridor and the door closed behind us, Shirley closed in on Giselle.

“Hey, Giselle! Giving your opinion to Her Majesty is far beyond your station! My blood ran cold wondering when she might order your punishment.”

“There is no need for concern. Her Majesty may be a fierce person but she is not someone who fails to understand reason.”

Giselle replied calmly, without changing her expression in the slightest.

Putting aside her forcefulness, to my eyes, the Queen did not seem like someone with such a fierce personality, but judging from Shirley’s reaction, there was probably some kind of precedent.

But honestly, I was saved. If Giselle had not thrown me a lifeline, I might have been overwhelmed by that pushy Queen and ended up committing some outrageous mistake.

‘Seriously, what kind of situation is this…?’

The moment after I thought I had died, I was told I had been reborn into the world three hundred years later, and before I could understand anything, I was granted an audience with the Queen. That alone was already outrageous enough, but then I was told that this country three hundred years later was a kingdom created so that I could make children to my heart’s content. Even as a joke, it was absurdly stupid.

It would have been nice if I were the kind of optimistic person who could happily embrace the three princesses, but unfortunately, that was not my nature. Even now, I was a coward whose mind could not rest, wondering, Am I being set up? Am I being dragged into some kind of conspiracy?

‘I mean…in the first place, are those princesses really okay with this?’

Compared to me, those girls were young enough to be like my children.

Did they accept this situation? No, judging from that black-haired princess’s attitude, she definitely did not accept it.

Their own wills were being ignored, and they were being forced to obey the madness of their ancestor. That was probably the situation.

‘Well, of course. Being embraced by some incomprehensible old man…no way they’d be okay with that.’

Royal marriages were one of the cards used in politics, but in this case, even that did not apply. Taking Her Majesty the Queen’s words at face value, this would amount to Feria repaying her debt to me but I could not imagine that gentle girl forcing unhappiness onto others, even if they were her own descendants.

As I have repeated, I could not believe the story that Feria destroyed the Empire in the first place and it was absolutely impossible that I was some great hero. Maybe, over the course of three hundred years, all sorts of things had been distorted as they were passed down, until misunderstandings gave birth to more misunderstandings, creating this very situation.

If that was the case, then before my flaws were exposed and everyone ended up disappointed, wouldn’t it be happier for everyone if I ran away from here and searched for my own new life?

‘A new life, huh… In that case, I’m interested in this thing called spirit magic. Researching that wouldn’t be bad. Yeah… a life immersed in research. Isn’t that the best!? That said, I still have far too little information. Even if I’m going to run away from here, I’ll need to understand this era much better first…’

While walking down the corridor behind the maid, I turned my face toward the female knight walking beside me.

“Hey, Shirley. If possible, I’d like to walk around outside the royal castle tomorrow or so…”

“Understood. In that case, I shall accompany you.”

I thought she might refuse, but surprisingly, she answered quite readily.

“Is that all right? I thought I was going to be kept under house arrest…”

“Surely you jest. As Her Majesty also said, this country belongs to Ozma-dono. It would be impossible for us to treat Ozma-dono’s wishes carelessly. Of course, for Your Exalted Self’s safety, we will keep the fact that you are Ozma-dono himself hidden for the time being, and your presence here will also be kept secret.”

As we had that exchange, the maid led us deeper into the royal palace, stopped before an especially large door, and turned back toward us.

“Beyond this point is Ozma-sama’s inner palace, his harem.”

“Huh? …What did you just say?”

“I said it is the inner palace, the harem. Ozma-sama is permitted to freely keep any woman he takes a liking to in this rear palace, regardless of whether she is married or unmarried. The princesses have already moved their living quarters here as well.”

‘She just casually said something outrageous…’

Without showing any concern for me as I stood there speechless, the maid threw open the door. Beyond it was a courtyard surrounded by luxurious buildings. The buildings encircling it each rose several stories high.

“The east wing, west wing and south wing are all private rooms for the women you will keep here. There are eighty-two rooms in total. If even that is not enough, Her Majesty has ordered that as many extensions as necessary be added. And the north wing is entirely for Ozma-sama’s own living space, so please use it freely as you wish.”

“…You’re kidding, right?”

It was another『boom』and then one more『boom』of being completely creeped out.

The scale was far too huge. After all, they were saying that about a quarter of the enormous royal castle had been prepared as a rear palace, a harem, just for me. I was left speechless, my mouth hanging open.

“It is already late today, so I shall guide you directly to your bedroom. In the rooms on either side of your bedroom, Shirley-sama and I will be waiting respectively, so if you need anything, please give us any order you wish.”

“A-ah…”

Nodding was all I could manage. I had been completely overwhelmed.

We passed through a glittering golden lobby filled with every possible luxury, went up the stairs, and I was shown into the bedroom.

It was a room so luxurious that even the former king’s private chambers could not compare.

The bed sitting in the center was so large I would not know what to do with all the space, every piece of furniture made from ebony was of the finest quality, and on top of that, they even said there was a private bathing area installed.

“If you require a nightcap, we can prepare wine and a light meal for you. What would you like?”

“Ah, thank you, but… I’ll pass.”

When I lightly declined the offer, Giselle opened her mouth once more.

“In that case, what shall we do about tonight’s night companion?”

“I-I’ll pass on that too!”

When I looked, Shirley was hanging her head, her face bright red.

‘No way… right?’

Once the two of them left the room and I was alone, I let out a long breath and collapsed onto the bed on my back.

Honestly, I was exhausted. Far too much had happened.

Even if my execution had taken place three hundred years ago, to my own senses, it had happened only a few hours earlier.

‘I thought I’d died, and then right after that, I was reborn and passionately pressured into making children… Seriously, what kind of situation is this?’

It was not as though I had sorted out my thoughts or my feelings, but I had to think about what I was going to do from here on. That said, for today, I should rest. I was too tired to think about anything.

I sat up to take off my shoes.

But then, at that moment, I saw my own reflection in the full-length mirror set into the wall, and muttered in shock.

“Who the hell are you?”

Because reflected there was a black-haired handsome man who looked nothing at all like my former self.

***

“Ahaha! Ozma-tan was super handsome, wasn’t he!”

“Did you truly get a proper look at his face? I thought you were asleep the entire time.”

“I did see him! Umm, you know, they say you get tired of a handsome man after three days, right? I thought,『Wow, he’s so cool』stared at him for a while, and then I got bored.”

“That was nowhere near three days, was it?”

“Ahaha, true!”

When Frederica-neesan shrugged in exasperation, our youngest sister, Marle, laughed without a care in the world.

Nee-san was as gentle and laid-back as ever and Marle, though she was my own sister, was so carefree that it was almost absurd.

Apparently, among the three sisters, I was the only one who truly hated the idea of being embraced by Ozma.

After Ozma left the throne room, Mother said,『You girls must actively appeal to Ozma-sama so that he will embrace you』and then returned to her own room.

No matter how much it might be our ancestor’s dying wish, being told to get pregnant with the baby of a man we had just met was nothing short of insane.

It was only a few days ago that we were told of Ozma’s reincarnation. Mother must have known much earlier than that, but she surely did not tell us because she wanted to give us no time to think.

“Still, I am relieved that Ozma-sama is such a beautiful gentleman. If he had been some greasy old man, I would have been at a loss.”

Nee-san’s relaxed way of speaking strangely got on my nerves.

“This isn’t a matter of being at a loss or not! No matter what Mother says, I refuse! Being told to become the property of some man I don’t even know is absolutely ridiculous!”

As I angrily kicked the floor, Nee-san looked at me with an『Ara Ara』expression, as if watching a spoiled child throw a tantrum.

“Arvin, are you still saying such things? With Mother acting the way she is, I think it will be impossible for us not to be embraced unless he rejects us himself.”

At Nee-san’s words, I instinctively lifted my face.

“That’s it! I just need to be rejected!”

If I’m hated so much that he can’t even stand to look at my face, then I should definitely be able to escape this farce about being embraced or whatever. To begin with, I was the useless leftover of the royal family.

Frederica-neesan was a genius at spirit magic and Marle’s spiritification had progressed so far that she possessed physical abilities beyond human limits. The reason Marle was still so young despite being only one year younger than me was because, during a triple jump she had done playfully after her spiritification went too far, she had accidentally leapt through time.

『Hop, step, jum-』And with that, Marle vanished. The last『p』was heard five years later, when she appeared again.

Compared to those two, I was in the lowest class even at the Academy. I was a poor student who was even whispered about as a disgrace to the royal family behind my back. I thought Mother was probably expecting either Frederica-neesan or Marle to bear Ozma’s child and even if I alone was not embraced, surely it would not be a problem. If I made him hate me as much as possible, even Ozma would not go out of his way to embrace a useless leftover like me.

As I was thinking things through like that, Marle asked Nee-san a question.

“Speaking of Ozma-tan, he looked totally different from the statue, you know? Why?”

“Mother said it was because only his soul was reincarnated. She also said that the vessel meant to receive his soul was prepared by the Spirit King…”

“Hmmm… I don’t really get it.”

Right. I certainly did not understand either. It could be taken to mean that the reincarnated soul had entered a body prepared in this era. But then, how exactly had that body been prepared?

“Yes. I do not understand either. But it is not just an ordinary vessel, you know. Mother mentioned it, did she not? The three-piece child-making set.”

“Bufoh!?”

“Gross! A-chan, that’s gross!”

Because Nee-san brought up something ridiculous, I spat out in shock, and Marle hurriedly jumped away. But Nee-san continued speaking at her own pace.

“Apparently, it is written in our ancestor’s memoirs that, so Ozma-sama can make children comfortably, the Spirit King granted his body in this life a huge penis, endless stamina, and one more special power.”

“What does a huge penis mean?”

When Marle tilted her head, Nee-san smiled gently.

“It means his dick is big.”

“Fure-chan’s are big too, right?”

“Oh my, so close. These are breasts. They are not a penis.”

“Oh, I see! Ahahaha!”

“N-Nee-san! Since earlier, you keep saying…pe…! Don’t you have any shame!?”

Even saying it out loud was embarrassing for me, so why was Nee-san so calm about it? Even though she was my own sister, I could only think there was something wrong with her head.

But Nee-san tilted her head as if my attitude was the strange one.

“Mother said that accepting Ozma-sama’s penis is our mission, did she not?”

“D-disgusting!”

“Is it? I find it very intriguing. Our ancestor even founded a nation for the sake of just one gentleman. That thing called a penis must surely be something wonderful.”

From the way she had just spoken, I somehow understood. Apparently, Nee-san did not really know what a p… in any case, what that thing actually was.

That was only natural, if anything. We were born between Mother and the Spirit King, so we had no father, and it was not as though we had ever seen a gentleman’s body.

It was not that we had no chances to speak with gentlemen at balls and such, but of course, no one would get naked in such a place. There were boys at the Academy too, but it was not as if they could casually talk to royalty. In fact, the number of boys I had properly exchanged words with could be counted on one hand, and naturally, there was no chance for me to see a gentleman’s private parts. It could not be helped that Nee-san did not know.

As for why I knew, it was because Arle, who had been my buddy at the Academy until a short while ago, had once shown me a dirty book depicting secret affairs between gentlemen.

That said, there was no way I could tell Nee-san or Marle about a dirty book. While I made a complicated expression, unsure of what to say or how to say it, Nee-san warned Marle.

“But you must not talk about penis with other people, all right?”

“Why?”

“Because if word of Ozma-sama’s reincarnation spreads to other people, things will become troublesome in all sorts of ways, won’t they?”

Nee-san’s warning was not because of shame or public morals. There was a much more realistic reason.

Our country’s state religion was Ozma Orthodoxy. It was a sect that claimed God, Ozma and the Spirit King were one and the same, and the Church’s power now even surpassed that of the royal family. If they learned that Ozma had reincarnated, naturally, the Church would not stay silent.

Of course, the Church was not the only one that would seek custody of Ozma. There were people who claimed to be Ozma’s descendants and even Ozma’s original family, the Clarier family, was still alive and well, though they were frontier nobles.

Even the neighboring countries that obeyed our kingdom as vassal states might very well plot to reverse the master-servant relationship by obtaining Ozma himself. Ozma’s name had that much value.

Mother said that taking Ozma’s blood into the royal family was their long-cherished wish but in my opinion, he was nothing but a troublesome spark waiting to cause a fire. If you considered that whoever managed to win Ozma over could rule this country, then his very existence was nothing other than a dangerous object.

‘But… for me, it’s also a chance…’

It was customary for members of the royal family to form a bond with spirits and have children. Due to the contract with the Spirit King, physical intercourse had been impossible for them from the very beginning.

However, in this generation, now that Ozma had appeared, that contract had been lifted for us three sisters.

If Ozma rejected me, I might possibly be expelled from the royal family. But if that happened, then as an ordinary girl, I might be able to experience the kind of burning romance described in stories. Secretly, I was hoping for that.

***

After guiding Ozma-sama to his room, I visited Her Majesty the Queen’s private chamber.

“Giselle, what do you think?”

“Speaking frankly, I can only say that it was unexpected. Ozma-sama is far more reserved with women than I had imagined. I had heard he was an abnormal lust addict who wished to embrace a woman even just before his execution, so I thought that if he saw the princesses, he would joyfully leap at the chance, but…”

“Indeed…”

Certainly, he possessed a personality completely unlike the great hero Ozma described in the history books.

I had heard that he was an abnormal lust addict, so I had worn my special decisive underwear when I went to welcome him, prepared to respond immediately if he desired me. Yet far from desiring me, he even turned his face away. Ozma-sama showed no sign of such tendencies whatsoever.

At present, there was no other way to describe that person except as ordinary and sensible.

“That said, there is no doubt that he is the great hero Ozma. Bearing his child is the royal family’s long-cherished wish, Founding Ancestor Feria’s wish, and the very meaning of our royal family’s existence.”

Her Majesty the Queen stared intently into my eyes and asked me.

“By the way, Giselle… may I assume that you stopped me back there because you had some plan in mind?”

“Of course. Ozma-sama seems to regard embracing a woman as some serious matter, but I believe that once he embraces someone first, his thinking may change…”

“And you intend to take on that role?”

“Personally, I would welcome it, but we cannot allow Ozma-sama to be drained dry, so I believe another person would be more suitable.”

When I said that, Her Majesty the Queen let out a deep sigh.

“That sounds like talking about pulling a cork out from inside a wine bottle. Getting him to embrace that first woman is the problem.”

“Your Majesty knows the name of Ozma-sama’s first wife, of course. In that case, I believe somewhat forceful methods may be unavoidable. Naturally, this is based on the assumption that Ozma-sama is the hot-blooded man described in the history books…”

Her Majesty the Queen listened to my proposal and nodded slightly.

“I see… It also matches the prophecy left behind in the Founding Ancestor’s memoirs. Very well. Giselle, I shall leave it to you. Make the arrangements at once.”