MYHLF Vol. 1 Mission 4 Part 1

Mission 4: The Trading Company’s Proposal and Technical Contribution

Seven days had passed since they had taken the Third Prince and his companions under the church’s protection, and Philz had almost crossed paths with his father.

During that time, Philz had been unable to leave the mansion, and he had not even been able to show his face at the Adventurers’ Guild.

“…Father… you’re in the way…”

The words slipped out before he could stop them. He had been right to gather various materials while investigating the Ogres’ route of travel. Without those, he would have been unable to do anything he wanted, and by now his stress would have been piling up beyond measure.

“Well… Fil, can’t you slip out without being noticed?”

His mother, Clarus, who was still spending her days in the same room as him, seemed delighted to have Philz there all day and had been in a wonderful mood the entire time. Even so, she also seemed to want Philz to do the things he wished to do, so she made that suggestion.

“The security arrangements have changed. If I’m found, Canal will be punished.”

“That would be awful.”

“Yeah…”

Philz was waiting for an opportunity to speak with his father, and Clarus had also looked pityingly at Canal, who had once again bowed deeply with an apologetic expression.

He did not know what kind of discussions were taking place among the kingdom’s upper echelons, but at the main residence, they had intended to honor the Third Prince, who had come on an expedition, and have him stay there. Appearance-wise, too, it would not look good for the head of the household to be absent while a prince was staying with them, which was precisely why his father had returned to the domain.

However, in the end, that all-important prince had ended up staying at the church. Moreover, he was there as someone under protection, for an indefinite period.

When the Duke heard the news, he must have been quite astonished. It was not that the prince had fled into a church in the royal capital, but into one in another domain, and not because he had requested it himself, but because the church had filed the application on its own end. The impression it gave to those around them was entirely different.

Protection offered by the church also came with a legitimate reason. After all, it was a place connected to God, who knew the truth. Those around them would naturally assume that the prince was clearly not at fault.

As a result, all sorts of speculation began flying among the commoners, and the rumors spread all at once from the ducal domain to the entire kingdom. The Head Priest was probably involved in that as well. It likely served the meaning of a warning from God to the nobles. That wily Head Priest was frightening when turned into an enemy.

“He’s probably going to linger there for a while longer, having discussions with the Head Priest…”

“Oh? Why? He is the Prime Minister, even if only in title, isn’t he? Shouldn’t he return to the castle and discuss things with the King and the others?”

“Because he’s the Prime Minister. Once all kinds of speculation are flying among the commoners, going back to the castle won’t let him do anything. Well, if Father were an idiot, he’d probably be holding some pointless meeting where everyone shoves blame onto whoever they can.”

He was not incompetent. Philz could not say whether he was truly excellent, but at the very least, he wasn’t a fool.

“Now that the church is involved, all the circumstances will probably come to light, so the nobles who were scheming behind the scenes must be trembling in their boots right about now.”

“I suppose doing wicked things never pays.”

After Clarus heard about the Third Prince and reflected on her own situation as well, she had been furious at the nobles’ inhumanity. She said it was cruel to push such responsibility onto children. Then, once more, she apologized to Philz. She told him she was sorry for being pathetic.

Philz had forgiven her long ago, and he had also heard from God that families like this were apparently common. He could only feel exasperated, thinking that nothing would change unless the nobles’ very awareness changed.

“I wonder if Mr. Vill will come around noon again today.”

“To complain and mooch lunch…”

The day after Philz had shared lunch with his brother Serge and Canal, the knight commander Villans had come to collect the report. Apparently, the vice commander had been hounding him about it. That was when Villans remembered that Philz had said he would prepare it, and he had come rushing over.

Since that was the case, Philz also entrusted him with the copies addressed to the Adventurers’ Guild and the church, and in his own mind, that had put an end to the matter.

However, the next day, Villans came again, claiming that he had received the reward from the Adventurers’ Guild on Philz’s behalf, that he would give Philz sword practice, and so on, finding one excuse after another. And every time, he made sure to aim for a time when he could eat the lunch that Philz prepared.

As for Clarus, she seemed happy to boast about Philz’s cooking skills. Villans’s frank and brisk temperament was pleasant, and his skill at conversation also made a favorable impression on her. By now, their relationship was almost like that of friends.

“What’s wrong with that? We can hear all sorts of things from him.”

“Even so, I’m already hearing it from Ryula, Saul, and the others, so I don’t really need him…”

Philz had been hearing information from outside through the Gods who visited his room. Clarus had received divine protection from the Second God, Ryula, Goddess of Life, and the Seventh God, Saul, God of Commerce. As a result, those two Gods, whom Philz and Clarus could both see, had begun visiting often.

Ryula aside, it seemed even Saul rarely had the chance to speak with priests. There were not many opportunities to speak with priests about matters related to commerce, after all. He said that talking with Philz and Clarus was extremely enjoyable.

However, with the matter of the amulets, Saul would likely be able to speak frequently with the priests from now on as well. He seemed to be looking forward to that.

Incidentally, in each church, there was a position called “chief priest” for the representative of the priests. And because that person was entrusted with the church, there was also a position called “Head Priest” as the representative of the churches in each country. That Head Priest did not look that way to Philz, but he was an important person who governed every church in this kingdom.

“But Fil, you’re using Mr. Vill as a way to contact the outside too, aren’t you?”

“…Well, yeah…”

It was also true that Villans had been useful, delivering bread to the church and carrying letters to the Merchant Guild in Philz’s stead while Philz could not leave. He could be annoying at times, but Philz was grateful.

“Oh, that’s right! Hey, look, look!”

As she said that, Clarus spread her arms and twirled around on the spot. Then, just as she completed one full turn, her simple dress changed into the outfit of a town girl in an apron. In addition, her eyes and hair had also changed to black.

“See? What do you think? What do you think? Do I look like someone you’d see in town?”

“The clothes are done, huh? Yeah, dressed like that, you wouldn’t look out of place walking around town.”

Philz understood that she did not want to show off the results of a magic device’s quick-change and color-changing functions, but rather the clothes themselves. He had watched her steadily working on them, after all.

Clarus raised both hands in delight.

“Yay! You know, you know, I’ve always wanted to try wearing normal clothes like this! Do they suit me?”

“They suit you. Next, if you tie up your hair… Oh, right…”

Philz suddenly remembered something and took out a bundle of about twenty sheets of paper from a drawer.

“Want to try making something like this?”

“What’s this? It’s adorable!”

It was a list of accessories left behind by reincarnated people. Specifically, Japanese-style accessories.

“This one is tsumami zaiku made from cloth, this one is Asian knotwork made from cord, and this one is a mizuhiki ornament made from something like soft wire. Why not make a hair ornament with them?”

“I will! I want to make one! Wow, this is amazing!”

The item that made Clarus’s eyes shine the brightest was the hair ornament drawn on the final page. It was made by combining tsumami zaiku (traditional Japanese fabric flower making), Asian knotwork, and mizuhiki (decorative cord) ornaments all together. It was gorgeous, similar to an ornament worn at a coming-of-age ceremony or wedding.

“The carpet is almost finished too, right? Around the time Villans comes today, he should be bringing a package from the Merchant Guild. I had them gather materials. If it’s just cord, there’s some there too.”

“Then I’m starting right away! I’m trying it right away!”

“Yeah.”

The documents were written in Japanese, but they were properly illustrated, so Clarus, who was dexterous and did knitting as well, would likely decipher them as she looked them over. While watching Clarus happily take some cord in hand and begin staring intently at the materials, Philz spoke to Fasara, the Eighth God and Goddess of Technique, who had appeared at some point before he realized it.

“Did you give Mom a bit of divine protection?”

“You noticed?”

If one received a Blessing at the church, a place where Gods could most easily interfere, the divine protection would settle in more readily and be easier to manifest. However, there were also cases where people received divine protection in places outside of the church.

A Blessing was, in the end, a gift from a God. It was not something humans could choose for themselves. However, later in life, depending on the environment a person lived in and the effort they put forth, their aptitude might bloom and catch a God’s eye, allowing them to receive divine protection. Guardian Beasts were likely the foremost example of that.

“She can work on that with such joy. At this point, it is already a talent.”

“Yeah…”

At first, Philz had felt as though he might be forcing his own hobby on her. But before he knew it, Clarus had been captivated by that joy as well.

“Bring her to the church. Then she should be able to see me too.”

“…Got it.”

Apparently, going to the church would tune her channel, so to speak. If they did that, Clarus would be able to see Fasara directly, and Fasara would be able to instruct her.

“Actually… you’re the one who wants to join in, aren’t you, Fasara?”

“Ha ha. You caught me. Bring her as soon as you can.”

“…Yeah…”

Philz decided he needed to work out a way to escape the mansion as soon as possible. Then, as noon drew near, Villans arrived with a guest.

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Mirana, the head of the Merchant Guild in the ducal domain capital, was a woman who would turn 70 this year.

She was a formidable woman who had overturned the common assumption that a man should be the guild’s head, and her ability was so impressive that even the General Guildmaster, who oversaw the Merchant Guild as a whole, had been forced to acknowledge it.

For about a year now, that Mirana had been keeping an eye on a boy adventurer named Fil.

At first, she had learned of him when her husband, a blacksmith, told her that there was an unusually interesting boy he had noticed. Despite being an adventurer, he had apparently said that he wanted to watch blacksmithing work.

“…He was interested in watching me forge a sword…”

“That’s unusual. He’s still only about ten years old, isn’t he?”

“Yes… I thought he was a girl…”

“Hmm?”

When she heard that, she had merely thought it unusual that her husband, who was the ideal model of a stubborn craftsman, would comment on someone else’s appearance.

However, just a few days later, it seemed he had begun gladly letting the boy into his workshop.

“He brought ore and other souvenirs… and asked me to make earrings… When I let him try making some himself, he was pretty good…”

He had let the boy make earrings, bracelets, and the like. Apparently, the boy had excellent instincts, listened carefully, and was worth teaching.

“Are you planning to take him as an apprentice?”

“…I haven’t thought that far… but if he says he wants to… that would be fine.”

“…!”

That surprised her. Her husband already had two apprentices. Both of them had gone to other countries, become full-fledged craftsmen, then traveled and opened shops in places they liked. There was no need for him to take an apprentice at this late stage.

Skills only had meaning when they were passed onto others. That was why, ever since they first met, Mirana had repeatedly told him until she was blue in the face that he should take apprentices proactively. Now that he had fulfilled that duty, she no longer forced him into social relationships he disliked. Even taking on those two apprentices had involved quite a bit of fuss.

“Well, this is rare indeed… No, it’s a good thing.”

In the end, however, it seemed he still had not brought up the subject of apprenticeship to Fil. Fil’s ability as an adventurer was also solid, and it looked as though he could earn more that way. Therefore, her husband appeared to have decided that if Fil did not bring it up himself, he would not make him an apprentice.

—

The rumor that Fil might actually be the second son of the Duke, the domain lord, first came up when Mirana was speaking with Luiri, the Adventurers’ Guildmaster. Apparently, he closely resembled the woman who had become the Duke’s second wife. However, the boy himself seemed to be hiding it skillfully, so they decided not to touch on the matter.

“What a troublesome origin of birth…”

“…If only he would rely on me… that would be enough…”

“You really are… troublesome by nature.”

“…”

Even toward rough-and-tumble adventurers, he treated others with respect. That was Luiri, the former Special Rank adventurer. Since long ago, he had been a quiet man who never said anything unnecessary. Yet everyone knew that when something happened, he was more dependable than anyone else, and they trusted him for it.

However, because he spoke so little, his feelings rarely got across to anyone. Thanks to his rigid behavior, people seldom misunderstood him in a negative way, but even his genuine goodwill failed to reach others.

“I’ve only met that child a few times, but he is especially bad at discerning goodwill. Well, if he’s a noble child, then I suppose that can’t be helped.”

Among nobles, children born second or later were often placed in unfortunate positions. It was exceedingly rare for the first wife and the wives taken afterward to get along well.

It also had to do with the fact that most first wives were noble daughters. They were prideful and had few people that they could call friends. They knew only relationships where they suppressed others, and they had no knowledge of patience or compromise. There was no way things would go smoothly.

“…Clarus… his mother…”

“…Did you like her?”

“…She was bright… and always smiling… She was like a little sister to me…”

Luiri said that Clarus, who was likely Fil’s mother, had been with him when he came to this domain capital. That was when Mirana remembered.

“Ah… yes… that face! That remarkably beautiful young bard! She was good at dancing too. I think she stayed for about a month… Was that the girl?”

Clarus had still been a teenage girl at the time. Mirana had once heard that Clarus had been traveling away from her parents’ home, and that she had asked Luiri, who was beginning to consider retirement, to escort her as far as this ducal domain.

“…Back then, it seems the current Duke came to watch her in secret several times…”

“Oh my, then he had already fallen for her at that time…”

“Yes…”

After that, when Clarus moved on to another town, Luiri should have accompanied her as far as the royal capital.

Luiri announced his retirement from adventuring in the royal capital, where he was sounded out about becoming Guildmaster. Then, several years later, the Guildmaster of this ducal domain capital retired, and Luiri took that position. Apparently, he parted ways with Clarus in the royal capital and had not seen her since.

“When I heard that the second wife had been a former dancer… I wondered if it could have been possibly be her…”

“And then you heard he resembled that girl… I see.”

Because Fil did not smile, the impression he gave was different, but he resembled Clarus far too much.

“That would certainly weigh on your mind…”

“Yes…”

Of course it would. He would wonder how Clarus was doing.

The townspeople knew that the Duke almost never returned to the domain. The first wife, a former Marquis’s daughter, was also famous for her severe temperament. There had been no rumors about the second wife, who had been welcomed into the household more than ten years ago. Then Fil appeared, and he was clearly trying to support himself. It was only natural that Luiri would be concerned.

“I’ll ask him for you. Matters concerning women are best handled by women, after all.”

“…Please…”

—

Thus, whenever Mirana spotted Fil around town, she began calling out to him.

“Are you eating properly?”

At first, Fil appeared to be annoyed by that meddlesome old woman, but once they started talking, she could tell he was simply embarrassed. As she had expected, this told her he likely was not being treated very well at the mansion. Perhaps he had not received a mother’s love either. That would mean Clarus was not by his side.

“What happened to your parents?”

“…Mother is… bedridden… so I’m out earning money…”

“I see…”

From the tone of his voice, she judged that his mother truly might be bedridden. Mirana’s ability to discern the truth of such things was reliable as a merchant.

“Does it look like she’ll recover?”

“…I’ll do something about it…”

She judged that he was telling the truth. In any case, it seemed almost certain that Clarus was alive, so she left the matter there. Pressing Fil too much would not be good, given his quieter personality.

—

About two years had passed after that. One day, the Head Priest came to visit.

“Hello, Mirana. I apologize for taking up your time.”

“No, no. If I hear that the Head Priest is coming to visit, I’ll make time no matter what. But what happened? For you to leave the church and come all the way here. Did Lord Saul give you a divine oracle or something?”

Unless it was something as important as that, this Head Priest would never go so far as to make an appointment and visit her personally.

“Yes. Fil will soon begin doing all sorts of troublesome things, so I would very much like you to lend him your support.”

“…Come to think of it, he was one of your favorites.”

“Yes! Oh, that prickly attitude of his is just adorable. When our eyes meet, he acts as though he wants nothing to do with me, but whenever he comes near the church, he casually looks around for me. Isn’t that adorable?!”

Mirana knew very well that this Head Priest was an odd one. He appeared younger than her, but in truth, he was probably much older. She had once heard that the higher a priest’s rank, the stronger their divine protection from the Gods became, and that by living within the church, a singular place suffused with the power of God, they lived long lives and looked more youthful.

Many people laughed it off as nothing more than a rumor, and Mirana herself had thought it mere superstition. But after she began speaking with this Head Priest, she had started to feel that it might actually be true. This man was not just a chief priest, but the Head Priest. She had heard that those who became Head Priest held a considerably high position even within the church headquarters. His divine protection must be especially powerful.

Around the time they began having such conversations, Fil started ordering unusual things. Some were ordered through the Merchant Guild, while others were requests made directly to Mirana’s husband.

—

And then one day, her husband called her over and showed her something he had apparently built together with Fil, and she was completely astonished.

“…A cooking station that you can carry around? This small?”

It was a square, box-shaped bag with small wheels, making it portable.

“With this, even merchant caravans could carry one… It won’t take up much space either… What on earth have you made…?”

“A stove? The design keeps magic stone consumption considerably low! There is room inside to store tableware and the like as well…”

“Don’t tell me… with this much mechanism built into it, you’re saying it’s a stove? Let’s see… the red light turned on, but there’s no fire?”

“Heat…”

“Heat?”

“Don’t touch it, you’ll burn yourself.”

“I can feel a faint warmth! Don’t tell me this is enough to…?”

A stove without flame. When she held her hand over it, she could tell that heat was being produced.

“With this, it can be used at home as well! We can sell it to nobles too!”

“Have Rad cooperate as well…”

“Yes, I’ll secure the cooperation of Rad, the magic-device engineer, too. Can other craftsmen make this?”

“They can register it under Fil’s name.”

“I’ll take care of it, leave it to me.”

To prevent the Duke from interfering later on, Mirana personally acted as Fil’s sponsor and created an account for him. She believed it would become necessary from then on as well, and she had not been wrong.

—

That night, on the day the Duke suddenly returned to the domain, and the Adventurers’ Guild and knight order came hurrying back.

“I want to eat that bread…”

“Yeah… me too…”

“I can’t forget that bread…”

Mirana heard many adventurers muttering as much at the tavern. It must have been a special kind of bread. If something like that existed, she absolutely wanted to put it on the market. As she was thinking that, the next afternoon, a steward of the ducal household came to the Merchant Guild with the young lord.

Thinking it might be troublesome, Mirana showed the two of them into a room at the back. Then Serge, the eldest son of the ducal family, spoke with a slightly relaxed expression.

“I’m grateful that the Guildmaster herself is seeing us. To be honest, I wanted to avoid showing this out front and causing a commotion.”

“Oh? That is…!”

She was astonished by the exquisite craftsmanship of the item shown to her, then narrowed her eyes at the distinctive glow of a magic device. Next, she was surprised by the mechanism that opened when Serge pressed the button on its upper section. But more than anything, she was stunned when she saw what was inside.

“Ha… toh…!”

Her breath stopped without meaning to. She caught herself, exhaled, drew in a deep breath, then continued.

“A clock! This small… and it’s moving…?”

“It is functioning properly. And apparently, it will keep time accurately, semi-permanently.”

“What!?”

The word slipped out her mouth before she could stop it.

“Fil says it is ancient technology. Oh, that’s right! Canal, there was a letter, wasn’t there?”

“Yes. He said to give this to Guildmaster Mirana.”

“Y-Yes I’ll read it.”

The letter handed to her bore Fil’s name. Inside, he had written about this clock, the production method for the bread she had been curious about, and the items he wanted delivered. He had also asked her to introduce him to someone worthy of being entrusted with this new technology.

“…I see…”

Calm yourself, she told herself. After blowing out three slow breaths, Mirana closed the letter.

“Ah, forgive me. You came for owner registration, didn’t you? I’ll prepare it at once.”

“Please do.”

Inwardly, Mirana was trembling with excitement, her pounding heart refusing to calm down. This technology had to be protected. That was what she thought. In the past, many technologies had been lost due to nobles fighting over vested interests. The Merchant Guild was the one that regretted that most of all.

Protecting craftsmen from the nobles and nurturing the next generation, that was what the current Merchant Guild valued most. Keeping the economy moving was important, but they absolutely could not allow craftsmen to be preyed upon. They would not let culture decline a second time.

“We must protect this…”

They had to protect what Fil had brought them. And they had to protect Fil himself.

After completing the owner registration without incident, she saw Serge and Canal off. Then Mirana immediately wrote a letter to the Merchant Guild headquarters. It would cause no problem even if someone saw the contents. It contained a greeting and an invitation to meet once in a while. However, if she included this one sentence at the end, conveying her true intent.

【We stand with God Saul】

Among Merchant Guildmasters, that served as a password. It informed them that an ancient piece of technology, or new engineering, had been developed or discovered. The details of the technology could not be conveyed by letter. That was why they would send someone to see it in person, and headquarters would act immediately.

“I must begin selecting craftsmen and also…”

Mirana opened the letter again, checked one answer, and laughed.

“Ha ha! So he chose this place after all!”

Fil had been searching for a house for a while. At first, he had said he wanted a small house where he and his mother could live together, but after the Head Priest came, he said he might run a shop and wanted a larger house. However, large houses were not easy to come by. In addition, any large vacant plot of land would also be near the ducal family’s estate.

So, she had recommended land that was cheap and had been left untouched. It was a place that had become a gathering spot for the poor. Through the Head Priest, most of the poor had found places to belong and scattered elsewhere. However, the land and buildings had been left abandoned in a completely ruined state. It seemed Fil had chosen to buy that place and rebuild the buildings from the ground up.

“I’ll have to arrange for carpenters. When I think of such large sums of money, my heart flutters.”

A few days later, this time, Knight Commander Villans brought a letter from Fil. Enclosed with it were blueprints for the building. On top of that, it contained details on plumbing and other details, these also seemed to be ancient technology.

“Hah, ha ha ha, Now this is another enormous one! The carpenters will surely be beside themselves with enthusiasm.”

Before she could even think it was strange, she felt amused. Time had begun to move forward once again. The clock of technology had started ticking. There was no way she would not enjoy it.

“Let us prepare the title under the Merchant Guild’s name, I won’t let the Duke meddle!”

Even if he was Fil’s father, she would not allow him to take Fil in for his own gains. Having made that decision, Mirana prepared the contract.

Then she caught Knight Commander Villans, who recently seemed to have voluntarily taken on Fil’s errands, and for the first time that day, headed to the ducal household where Fil lived.

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