The Loner Who Conquers the Other World
chapter-276

Chapter 276: The summon of new Marie-san and risky merchandise are a bad influence on the children!

Day 67 – Morning, Souvenir Store Orphanage Branch

I wonder how many people the Stalker Girl’s clan has? They are hiding their faces when they show up, but it feels like I frequently see new people. Are 100 temporary staff ID cards (For Fake Dungeon) that I’ve given them enough? Yeah, let’s ask the next time. When a pretty lady shows up! I mean, this time it’s another middle-aged man!

「Reporting. The former army of the First Prince is expected to reach the Fake Dungeon tomorrow. As for the other party, there are no movements yet, but there are signs of them investigating the dungeon, the number is five. End of report.」

They finally came, or rather, they are late, or rather, the travel speed difference in this world is too much? Raising an army and leaving the capital they are about to reach the Frontier only now. After a long, long march, they are finally about to reach the entrance to the most remote frontier.

Meanwhile, we crushed the First Prince, reached the Capital, opened the Capital Outskirts Branch, raked some profits, captured the orphanage, penetrated the capital, moving into the Orphanage Branch, sending out groups into the beastmen country, captured a middle-aged man, went to kidnap his sister, and then working hard hard at ripping off today as well. Then, tomorrow is a homecoming to the Frontier, where I will arrive still ahead of them? Can this really be considered defensive warfare at this point?

「Follow-up report. The third division lost half of their numbers. To compensate for that they added to their force mercenaries and troops of local nobles. The currently confirmed number is 26,000. There are no changes on the Confederation’s side. End of report.」

I thought that with their banner, the First Prince, captured, they will crumble more, but it seems he was no more than a figurehead. I mean, he was a piggie after all? But how did they even come to the idea of making a pig into a prince, and then gathering around him? By the way, it seems the Capital has a monkey for a prince? Was this actually a Wonderful Animal Kingdom? Is the Playking himself alright? I’m sure that by now, after going through many different experiences and growing as a person, something like an orc as a feudal lord wouldn’t surprise me anymore. Yeah, I’m sort of used to this by now.

「Manager Onii-chan~, Onee-chans are yelling『If there is no breakfast then why not eat manju?』?」

Oh, crap! Another Marie-san has been summoned to this world. They are going Marie hard with some weird logic that would surprise even Marici [1], and make the Virgin Mary look the other way! Yeah, let’s hurry with breakfast preparations.

Moreover, if I don’t give tons of food to the orphans, then I will get scolded by the ladies (aunties) of the Capital who donated tons of food for them. With the shortage of foodstuff in the Capital, the provision is currently being rationed. The only place that has enough to sell it is this souvenir store. So, they are buying it from here and then donating it on the spot, saying that it is for the orphans. It seems that the aunties don’t care for picking sides.

「「「It’s Egg Sandwich-sama~. Egg Sandwich-sama has descended. Aah, so blessed, so blessed.」」」

It didn’t descend or anything! I’m the one making it! Since you’ll eat manju otherwise! I’d rather make egg sandwiches than go through the trouble of making a replacement batch of manju, so just wait a bit!

However, with it making the appearance for the first time, some sort of a strange cult seems to be forming. Well, a group adoring an egg sandwich still sounds more proper than weird fetishists worshiping that old fart. I mean, after all, it can be eaten?

It took quite a while until I was able to make an actually soft bread. It’s a norm for the bread of this world to be hard and dry without any flavor to it, as such, since I couldn’t make sweet buns or sandwiches, the demand for them was already very high for a long time. But the most popular request is chocolate buns… What the hell do you want me to do when there is no chocolate around?! If a chocolate bun was developed without any chocolate available, then you should be very skeptical of that chocolate! Looks like there is no other choice but to look for cacao in this world… Don’t people usually give priority to searching for the way back?

「Make sure to eat mushroom-salad sandwiches as well~. And don’t forget to thank aunties for the meal before eating~ No need to thank the geezer~. Well then, eat up? Kind of? 」

「「「Thank you for the food~.」」」

The orphans’ complexion improved greatly. Everyone has healthy pink cheeks by now. As expected of mushroom doping. They were in quite a precarious condition, but looks like it was enough to cure and make them forcibly recover in one go. However, not sure if that was due to her overworking herself behind the scene, but Shadow Mommy Vice Pres B-san looks tired out. Let’s give her some presents later.

She must’ve been using 『Cure』and『Healing』all night long without getting any sleep herself. I thought that she is sort of quiet today, but she seems to be dozing off, swaying like a boat on the waves, or rather, forget the boat, their majestic sway is more reminiscent of an extravagant passenger ship passing through the great deep towards the continent-san at the opening of the Age of Discovery… Oh no! There are even more morning stars! W-why they bought up even sickles and chains? Or rather, what’s this obsession that the nobles of this kingdom have with fighting with chained weapons!!! I mean, I’ve never heard of a knight or a noble fighting with a sickle and chain before? Alright, just hear me out first?

「I’m telling you, I’m innocent? There is no sin on the romantic highschool boy who merely let his mind drift towards the horizon, gazing at the ships departing into the sea, while thinking that maybe I should offer her some mana potions, since she seems so tired? I was merely watching over, wondering if Slime-sans are doing alright over there? See? I didn’t do anything bad after all!」

「Slime-san『S』? Well, since there are two Slime-san-like things which filled all your thoughts as you were staring at them, it’s GUILTY for you, okay? That『Romantic』clearly comes with 18+ tag, so you are definitely getting a sermon!!」

I got scolded. Which was naturally followed by a sermon. I mean, since Armored Pres-san is not around, the entropy of highschool boy feelings accumulated from underwear manufacturing process that have nowhere to escape carrying the irreversible one-directional highschool boy emotions, makes it really tough with the quantity of highschool boy’s second-law-of-thermodynamic heat keeps rising inside this isolated system?

Finishing the meal and getting through the sermon with crepes I begin preparations to open the store. The orphans started cleanings, while the girls are lining up the merchandise, switching into business (rip-off) mode.

If the support from the Confederation ceases, this place will remain the only thing that can provide the Capital with provision, and all we have to do is hold out until the people open the gates for the Royal Girl and Meripapa-san. I won’t allow anyone to destroy this rip-off district (the slums), nor will I let it suffer. That’s what this overcharging is for, that’s why it has to remain the Rip-off District.

Well, until today, I guess.

The girls are still going to remain for a while though. And I also handed clubs to the aunties so they should do just fine. And the Big Shot from the Second Division also made a pledge that as a person serving the Royal Family he will do everything to protect the people. If the only defense-specialized force of the Kingdom, the Second Division, is going to protect the people, then it surely will be alright. Which undoubtedly includes the orphans and everything else in the Capital too.

If the Confederation pulls out, then the next is the Theocracy. The formerly First Prince’s army is a bait plus disposable scouting force anyway. The real force is elsewhere.

While the Confederation might be able to get off easy with merely some heavy losses and state collapse, the Theocracy is dealing with completely different stakes. After all, without magic stones both the Church and the Theocracy will have no other options but to fall into steep decline. The seriousness of their approach is completely different from the very beginning.

Many countries that had frictions with the Theocracy met their downfall. The Church calls it a divine punishment. What a convenient divine punishment that is.

There is no way calamities can so conveniently occur, and there is also no way a divine punishment can come in the form of an invading army. The Old Fart in question was saying that he is unable to interfere with the world, but his devout believers don’t seem to care about that.

However, that on the contrary makes it easier to read them.

And if the next move is known, it is possible to prepare countermeasures.

It’s vexing that this world has no bookstores, however, books can be helpful even so.

Legends, folk tales, journals of some unknown people, are all information.

And so I made the countermeasures that could be made. I made all of the preparations, regardless of how limited is the choice of options.

No idea if that was enough, but I did everything. I did what I could, if that is still not sufficient, I’ll find a way to handle the rest one way or another.

With skirmishes beginning from tomorrow, they must be planning to take action while the bait is making a racket.

Regardless of how much I ponder about this, in the end, it’s all about simply killing them. After all, I still can’t do anything else.

Since those who can protect have to keep doing so, those who can only kill should go around and do exactly that.

It’s going to end with a carnage anyway, that’s the way things go in other worlds.

That’s why I’m going back to the Frontier.

The business in the Capital is still not finished. And until it’s over I’ll move on my own. If Armored Pres-san comes, that’ll make it two of us. Slime-san won’t make it in time, but will it be able to at least come back for the main guests? I was hoping there would be only three of them, but the report came that there are five. And I was hoping to leave the Pres and others out of this.

It’s a loss if we are too late, but it’s also a loss if the numbers aren’t enough. But if it’s only five, as long as I make it in time, I might be barely able to contend with them. At this point, without enough cards to play, there is no other choice but to go all out.

But even if we do make it in time, it will leave the Capital wide open. That’s why old man McKenzie was a good find. I didn’t really want to pick him up since he is a middle-aged man, but there was a merit to picking him up, or rather, selling him at bargain price gave a profit?

The Confederation shouldn’t be able to pull anything more than petty tricks by now. With old man McKenzie around they can’t make any careless moves.

That middle-aged man was the Hidden Blade of the Confederation. Hence, he is naturally well-informed on the dark side of not only the Theocracy, but the Confederation too, and familiar enough with their playbooks to make countermoves. Therefore, the Confederation and the Theocracy can’t easily send their operatives here anymore. That is a hidden blade specialized for protection.

Today as well. Even today. As soon as the store opens there is a huge line of people bringing huge profits. The magnate of great overcharging with roaring business and roaring crowds. The entrance for the nobles gradually has less and less traffic, but the regular entrance is bustling with people again.

The idiots (nobles) from the Noble District were buying up extravagant garments and jewelry, even pawning off their ancestral weapons and armor for that, but there are also some modestly-dressed nobles at the entrance for regular public. Contrary to the dumb nobles, they are bringing in small quantities of jewelry or art pieces, and purchasing boorish weapons and armor without any ornamentation. The very few real nobles who didn’t side with the second prince and weren’t swayed by the concessions from the Confederation

While I’m going to mercilessly rip-off the idiots (nobles) that came though the entrance for pompous nobles (idiots), the nobles that came though the entrance for the general public are charged fair prices and even get freebies. Infuriated by the disastrous situation of the orphans they tried to do something about it, and as a result were ruined, removed from the main noble faction and driven out of the noble district.

Those nobles alone came to purchase weapons and armor. If the King’s sword, the nobles, is being readied, then, I guess, it’s about time to kick the old man (the king) out of the bed?

While destroying and killing is easy, creating, or maintaining what was rebuilt is not a simple task. There is no worth or meaning to just the Royal Family remaining to stand by itself. There have to be people and nobles, who acknowledge the worth and merit of the Royal Family and thus are willing to support it. There is no point if even one of these three is missing.

The orphans are running around, working hard, getting caught by the old ladies in the process, receiving hugs, sweets, and pocket money from them. Looks like they are now finally able to say thanks with a smile. The first day they would be terrified upon being hugged, shaking as they were given candies and money, but now they are able to smile properly.

And since they are referring to the aunties as『Elder sisters』too, it’s just perfect. Children are so sly!

Laughing and running around, they are working energetically.

That’s why it’s only until today. They are finally able to smile, so I have to make sure it stays that way.

And laughingly have some very unfunny people depart from this world in a very unfunny way.

And then have some unlaughingly unfunny people depart into the other world with a laugh.

It has been just a few days in the Capital, which I thought I might as well burn down right away since it probably doesn’t have anything but middle-aged men… Good thing I confirmed things before burning it down!