Author's Note: Since it's long annoying people can just read the first 1/5 and the last 1/5 or so.
Hmn, there's no particular problem with telling them about it. There's no problem but there is a problem. I wonder if I'll be told it's unrealistic and laughed at? Will I be told I'm like a child and looked down on? If as a result of that they were to leave at the same time the contract ends then...Ah, I guess they can't cut the contract from their end huh? Though you know~ Even though I finally made acquaintances of them, and they're reincarnated people I've made into my subordinates. But, there's no way to completely see through the other sides personality and what they're actually thinking in this short period of time. I'm sure that's the same for them as well. I wonder what they could know about me in just a matter of a few months?
I'm not such a fool to believe in illusions like if you hold deep interaction with someone then the amount of time it takes is unrelated. Even my parents who cared so much for me, they listened to and accepted my dream but didn't sympathize with it. I already understand that my dream is that close to being something absurd. However, if I were to talk to them here while they don't worry about me as much as my parents did then let alone sympathize I can only imagine that they might not even try to accept it so it's difficult to tell them about it.
However, someday I'll definitely have to tell them and it's my true feelings that if possible I want them to sympathize and cooperate with me on it. From here on out I need to gather even more people but the majority of them should be following me because I've offering them something to their advantage. Though it would be more unusual to hope for loyalty greater than the compensation given from the start.
Although, I'm not God or anything like that, so I'm not so arrogant that I think I could manage over everything all on my own. If I can't do it myself then trusted retainers are necessary. The problem is whether or not they could pledge loyalty to me in some meanings greater than compensation to me. I don't think I have anything that could captivate their hearts. Of course, my encounter with both of them took the form of coming to their rescure so I'm sure they at least feel a favor towards me. There is right? If there isn't then I would cry from the start.
I'm paying them plenty of compensation and not putting them through a lifestyle where they're especially troubled by anything. I'm sure the way I treat them isn't all that bad as well. I don't think I've dealt with them unreasonably like a slave even once. Therefore, I want to think that they at least feel a debt of gratitude towards me. But, something like loyalty is completely different from that. Since I've gained some amount of information from them you could say we've both benefited each other but even in that case I should have paid even more.
I thought about it for a bit.
"I guess so..Honestly speaking, I don't mind telling you. But, if I tell you then you might scorn me, or at least it's my true feelings that I'm afraid of that happening."
After I said that and Bel opened her mouth.
"Al-san. I just said it but can you really not trust us as that much?"
"It's a bit different from whether or not I can trust you. It was only a few months but we've eaten meals out of the same pot. I trust you two. However, it's different from that. That's right, it might digress a bit but listen to this. Bel, how do you feel about your parents and siblings?"
She was a bit confused when I suddenly brought her parents and family into it so Bel was a bit lost at words but responded.
"Eh? My parents? I think the Koloil family was probably an average sub-Baron family on Orth. It wasn't all that wealthy but there was nothing I troubled about in my life. And I knew that I was loved as I was raised. But..I wonder ..I feel like they aren't my real parents somehow as well. I obviously feel the gratitude towards them for raising me and I can boast that I love my parents and siblings as well but..In the end, in order to search for him I left the house.
However, my current parents on Orth and my parents on Earth I don't feel like there's any difference between them at all inside of myself, might be putting it too extreme. It might not feel the same for you two but when I reincarnated I was 45. In comparison to that my parents at that time were both in their 20s. At first I saw them both as brats. They were both considerably younger than me after all. But, after living together with them and having them care for me I naturally started to be able to respect them. It might have been because I saw the hardships up close to a degree which would have been impossible on Earth."
I use my tough will that's like steel to hold back my right arm that feels like it would go on a rampage at any moment while looking at the two of them and continuing my words.
"Bel, it's strange to say this but listen without getting angry. You left your house because your boyfriend was more important than your parents. Is that wrong? It's not wrong right. No, it's fine. It's only obvious in some ways. Even my parents on Earth were important to me but my wife was more important than that. It's an extreme example but if I were told to choose between them I'm sure I would at least worry over it but in the end I would pick my wife. It's the same as that.
Even the two of you, for example, Bel, even you should have some things you can't say to your boyfriend, but you could say to your family. Ralpha you're the same right? I don't know if you had a boyfriend though it's fine even if it's a friend or best friend. There should be something that you can't tell to him or her but you could tell to your parents or Zenom."
After saying that I looked at Ralpha and then looked at Bel. I don't know if they understood what I was saying or not but it seems that they've digested a bit of it and are nodding.
"And the complete opposite of that is also true. I had things I could tell to my wife but couldn't tell my parents. But, in that case the weight is difference. In this case, if you were to ask, the stronger reason would be in order to not make my parents worried or feel uneasy. In the end my parents would understand, that's why I don't want to let them worry over something like this, or I might end up making them be too careful of certain things is what might be more correct.
Honestly speaking, if we just wanted to go on living I think any of us could go into business or start a restaurant and be able to do a decent job of it. That wasn't the case in the past but thanks to you we've made plenty of source founds after all. If it was just Zenom and I, the two of us then I think we would be plenty to do a small business or store. But you know, I'm sure that what Al is seeking isn't that sort of, several tens of millions or several hundreds of millions amount right?"
That's right. It's in the several tens of billions.
"We tried thinking about various things ourselves. What is it that requires that much money? What is it which is necessary to buy slaves? like that."
"Well, we were able to arrive at several conclusions after thinking like that. 1. Buy a lot of slaves and cultivate some land somewhere then receive official peerage and become a lord. 2. Start an extremely large business. A business that deals between countries. Funds for that business. 3. Save up money and use it for bribes. Use it as money that's needed to find employment as a government official? in the Kingdom of Rombert. Maybe aiming for the royal court sorcerer? 4. It's close to 3 but use the power of bribes to enter the knight group and aim to be a knight. If you're lucky then get picked up by some lord as the leader of a knight group. 5. I'll become the Pirate King! We think it's one of those."
1 and 2 are extremely proper but what about 3 and 4? Even if I didn't do something like that, if it's me then... Well, it's fine. And what in the world is 5? It sounds like a phrase I've heard somewhere before but. Rather~ wouldn't the pirate king be a completely flawed famous criminal? No matter where I go in the world I wouldn't be taken seriously. Though it's the closest among those right now. Well, it's closest to 1 and 5 with a bit more added.
"From the story we just from Al-san then putting aside 3 and 4, it doesn't seem like 1 or 2. Could it be you've eaten the rubber fruit? In Bakuddo."
So even Bel can say jokes...
"It can't be that you're really aiming to be the pirate king but even if that's the case I won't laugh. I already know how strong Al is after all. It's amazing you can use that much magic. Even after I was able to use magic it's nothing at all~"
Ralpha, you might be surprisingly..a good person.
"That's right. Even if we hear Al-san's objective we definitely won't laugh or make fun of it. I guarantee that."
Bel as well, thanks. But you know..
"Thanks you two. It's just like this."
Saying that I lower my head. And,
"But you know, I'm still afraid. A middle-age man at a good age, no I'm already and old man. And you never know what I'm going to say and.."
I'm really grateful for the feelings of the two of them, and happy. They're the same as me and look like brats but the mental age of both of them should be over 30 already. Yeah? Over 30?
"..Just a moment...Wait just a moment.."
I grab the temple of my head with my right hand and face my left hand towards the two of them while organizing my thoughts.
I'm sure it's true that my mentality is being pulled somewhat by my physical age. There's times when I act in ways that are unthinkable for how I originally was as well. During those times I'm acting without feeling it's unusual but afterwards when I try to organize my actions and the results of that time I notice here and there.
In some ways I even think that my dream of "creating my own country" is something like that. The same age as a middle-school student and an immense amount of mana that I could wield violence with, most likely I've already exceeded the special skill levels of that something or other Marquis that is the royal court sorcerer of Rombert Kingdom. Thanks to my unique ability I've realized the rules of leveling up and furthermore I've made use of that to efficiently earn experience points probably three times that of any other person. Even my growth during level up is greater than the average person, this is three times as well.
Thanks to my magic skills and the immense amount of mana that supports those as long as I can detect the enemy first then it's not even a struggle inside of the dungeon. If I were to think about doing it seriously then on Orth where there's no guns or cannons, weapons which can accurately aim from a distance (most likely even if they do exist they can only aim accurately within several dozen meters) then I alone could quite literally wipe out several hundred or depending on the situation an army of around a thousand people. If I just have the time and money then I could hire the skilled blacksmiths and even create something that could be considered large scale weapons of destruction as well.
In this situation I often or always, I don't know which but (probably, I think, always, is more correct. If that wasn't the case then it would be hard to explain.) if I have the mentality of a middle school student then it's understandable that "I want to make my own country". Honestly speaking, when I was in elementary school I looked up to the representative of rising up in the ranks during the Warring States era in Japan, Saito Dosan. Whether it be Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Takeda Shingen, or Uesugi Kenshin, in Japan there's a lot of people who look up to them. Rather, there are good members of society, the managers of organizations, and executives of companies who seriously read the business books of "Techniques to Seize the Human Heart Learned From Toyotomi Hideyoshi" or "Strategic Sight That Can Look Ahead: Oda Nobunaga".
Everyone likes stories of success in life. Even I've read several volumes of books like that. I read quite a few history novels as well. I think a number of people around me at my age we're reading them. At the very least if you're a manager then if you don't continue with your studying it's difficult to seek anymore promotion than that. Even the stiff business books are using the name of popular commanders during the warring states period to make it easier for their readers to pick up.
Putting that aside, if I'm in a situation where my mentality is being pulled by my body then I wonder if that doesn't apply to them as well? If you were to mention 14 years old then it could be considered the age where you're at the entrance of adulthood but in the end it's {low-teen}. There's a limit to it. Even I'm in agony remembering some of my actions afterwards after all. I'm sure they might laugh at me a bit but if I think about their appearance right now, I doubt it will end at just laughing at me. I'm sure they'll at least comfort me.
"Well, I guess it's fine.. My objective is to make my own country. One day I'll found my own country and I want to become the King of that country. I think of it as the period to earn funds for that right now. Since I need as much money as possible after all...Hha ha..It's fine for you to laugh. That's right, it's find to get angry as well."
After hearing my words the two of them exchanged glances and then broke out into laughter...as expected. That's right isn't it. I had a feeling this would happen. That's why I didn't want to say it...With this things will become annoying starting tomorrow. Putting aside Bel, I'm sure Ralpha will make fun of me. In the first place, even Bel said she definitely wouldn't laugh or make fun of me after hearing my objective, and right after saying that it's this...It can't be helped if you say it can't be helped though.
"Did you hear that just now Bel? I'm going to make my own county, (grin)...he said. It's the same right."
..What should I do to this girl?
"Ppu, I certainly heard. But, it's my win right."
Eh?
My win? Win..we're they betting on it or something? Bel and Ralpha were? A quiz on my objective? Huh? What? I was looked down on to this extent? I felt my feelings of anger boil to the surface. These brats, were they playing with me? If they were to laugh at me for it being absurd or childish then it can't be helped. I was prepared to be made fun of for those sort of reasons.
However, they were using the feelings I had hidden away as the target of a bet? There's a limit to how much you can make fun of someone. I don't want to say something annoying but I'm older than the two of them and their employer. If they were to have endured it here and laughed about it hidden from me later then I could have dealt with it. But, saying to my face "we were betting on it" you say? And laughing at me. It seems I have no eye for people. No, even if I say they're reincarnated people it was my own will to keep them by my side. I guess I was just unlucky that these two appeared. They died before they had any experience in society and without learning the method to properly work they started over again from childhood.
Ah, I miss my subordinates from my past life. They were honest people. In a place where we were having a serious conversation they wouldn't blatantly make fun of their superiors. They were splendid members of society that are aware of the {TPO}. There's no way I can know what they were really thinking but they always casually paid their respects to me. I did the same for my superiors as well. I was the vice-director of the sales department in addition to the first section manager so I always treated and dealt with my superiors that were the company director, sales chief, and managers above that with respect. It's not the art of conducting oneself. That's only obvious.
I'm sure right now I have an expression where I'm making a sour face with a vein in my forehead sticking out. I'm so pissed off that if it were when I was 14 years old in my previous life it wouldn't have been strange for me to pick a fight with them. Even though my feelings are being pulled by my physical age, I have experience as well, since my personality is somewhat founded in that experience, I'm sure I'm not just a 14 year old but things that piss me off still piss me off.
"You two..even though just said those things..Shit.."
Line up over there! I'll hit you with a head duster! There's no way I could do it though. But, if I let this go it's no good for their sake either. A preaching is necessary. It's just the right excuse to yell at them. I guess it would be best to let them understand the risks of making fun of your superiors right in front of their face. It's not like I'll say something like respect me from the bottom of your hearts, I don't think something like that at all. It's fine if you want to make fun of me in your heart. There's tons of superiors not worth respect after all. However don't let that out to the surface. Just in the fact that superiors are your superior, just because of that they're an existence worth honoring and respecting. It's a fact that superiors like that far exceed the number of superiors not worth respect. It's precisely because they're people like that they were able to get promoted that far. Otherwise you could say that an organization that promotes and makes use of people like that is one that it's easy to get larger and tougher.
"Al-san, I'll apologize for laughing. I'm sorry. But, it's absolutely not that we were laughing to make fun of it after hearing Al-san's dream. I couldn't but laugh because it was just as I predicted. Please listen. Like we just said we had talked a lot about what Al-san's objective might be.
And then you make evidence to put the blame on some completely different person. With magic. Create some sort of evidence that they can't explain away and after putting the blame on them kill them or something like that. Then you would gradually get promoted and make it to a cabinet minister? Was it? Ah, or regent. Thanks. Just with that sort of feel where you become the highest authority and the King or other royalty are completely afraid of you and live while being careful of your expression. And since we know that sort of Al we'd receive money and live a happy life."
..I thought about yelling at them but they weren't betting on it?
Did you think I would be happy if you said that?
...
It's because out of the population which has more than 100,000,000 people climbing up to prime minister is believed to be quite difficult. It's probably not something that can be done with just the power of an individual and I think most people would understand in their early teens that it would be difficult even making use of money and connections inherited from parents that are politicians. I think it would still be more realistic to aim for a professional sports athlete. Even then if you don't set your sights on it from a young age, do the appropriate amount of training along with being born with talent I'm sure it's difficult. It's the same for talents and performers as well."
Bel...
"Right now Orth is just the same as Al-san said before, the level of the civilization and culture are at best around the warring states era. I think there's a portion which are developed to around the Edo era but there are many places where I think it even might be at the level of the Heian era. Politics are a feudalistic autocracy, social standings are split up by lineage, slaves are only obvious, furthermore there's magic and monsters. There's also the places like a game with Status Open and skills, a strange world. Al-san and we were reborn in this world. Putting it frankly, I'm sure with the knowledge of a Japanese we could do various things in this world.
However, something like that is only obvious. I'm sure even Genghis and Minamoto Yoritomo didn't kill people for no reason at all. They should have at least had the reason of them ultimately being a hindrance to their rule. Even though that's the case the Japanese of the 21st century won't criticize them for being cruel. Because, they only did what was normal during that time. During that sort of time, I'm sure there were more people aiming to become the King or royalty than elementary schooler who aimed to become a politician or prime minister. Of course, I'm sure they can tell it's an extremely difficult path, which is why countless will give up or fail. There's no doubt there were people who laughed saying it was unrealistic.
However, I think that since we have our memories these sorts of things are embarrassing. Since we have the memories were worry about the risks and worry about the failures as well. Of course, if I calmly think about it then I think that founding a country would be difficult and complicated and even if you're blessed with abilities and level ups I think it might be possible to fail and die. But, don't we have our memories and experiences in order for that not to happen? We learned before coming. The examples of success in founding a country in this sort of era. The examples of failure. I think just the fact that we know of that is more amazing than the special level ups or abilities.
Obviously, I like him. I love him. I want to meet him once again. But, if it's just that then it's no different than an objective that's continued since my life in Japan right. That's just how it is but if it was just that then I think it's embarrassing. I'm going to live with him once more in Orth. Not Japan. There's no other choice than to set roots on Orth, give birth to his children, and raise them. I don't him to think when I meet him that I just childishly lived solely for the sake of meeting him without thinking about anything.
It seems that I was able to cover it up, but somehow, I feel like it ruined the mood quite a bit. Though it's something I brought upon myself.