Do I really need to dress up?
Of course you do.
You're meeting with someone who'll be an important trading partner.
That's right...
He sent you that amazing love letter, right?
It wasn't a love letter!
I heard it was full of passion.
Did you tell her that?
You two...
Get her.
Okay.
Right!
Excuse me...
Pardon me.
Chapter 4
If That Happens, I'll Take a Bite Out of the Hero!
Stand up!
Anyone who falls that easily has no right to fight!
Summer's finally here...
Yeah.
Things in the courtyard will heat up even more.
When she first arrived
and learned that the Hero was nowhere to be found,
she was crazy as a badger with an arrow in its behind.
Hold this with both hands.
Wh-Why?
Just do it.
R-Right!
Since the Hero left,
you haven't put any thought into your apparel.
It's not like that!
He's just on a business trip.
Of course.
He hasn't abandoned you yet.
Yet?
But today, you look lovely, ma'am.
Today?
Looking good is an important part of negotiation.
But isn't this a little flashy?
It's cut so low...
Are you ashamed of your ugly, useless flesh?
What?
The Knight and the villagers told me it looks wonderful!
But without a mothering personality to back it up,
it's just useless flesh.
You're pretty harsh today.
If you were meeting a nobleman or a soldier, we would require only sufficient forces.
But you're meeting with Alliance merchants.
So we'll have to rely on you to handle it.
Not being able to help makes me nervous.
If we're lucky, the Hero will return by the time of the meeting...
Even if things go bad, we can run.
We don't need to rely on the Hero.
I'm told if you act too strong, men become uneasy.
Miss, your boobs look great!
I can't wait until the dress is done.
That must be it.
I wonder
what kind of person will be waiting for us.
If things go bad, we follow the plan.
Majesty,
it's time to get dressed.
Yeah.
The Horror Ghosts and Night Ghosts are already in place.
Then it's time.
I'm shocked to meet such a beautiful woman.
It appears your beauty shines as brightly as your wisdom.
These gaudy clothes are
a silly woman's attempt to improve her negotiating position.
I hope you'll laugh and forgive me.
I did expect to see you sooner, though.
I apologize.
This matter is of grave importance to us.
So much preparation was required
to allow one of such low rank as I to handle it.
Very well.
Then let us begin negotiations.
What
is this?
I've never seen it before.
This plant is called corn.
It's an annual plant,
most importantly characterized by its ability to flourish with minimal water.
It requires a temperature of thirty degrees to bud.
Fairly high...
Indeed.
So it's perfect for the wilds of the Central Nations, which have,
until now, been unsuited to raising crops.
That area is enormous...
Merchant,
this could be bigger business than you've ever seen.
You could send men out, to settle in the empty wilderness.
It would take effort and capital,
but a large-scale harvesting operation
on well-organized land will result in more efficient,
more productive farms than have ever existed.
And the villages you found
will become a massive market, completely under Alliance control.
New customers, needing crops besides corn.
Wood, salt, iron, cloth...
Everything you can sell them.
So what you're trying to sell us isn't a product
or a method of harvesting.
It's a new idea.
Can you even sell something like that?
But are you certain?
Once we have this knowledge,
we can advance the plan without you.
What's in it for you?
What do you want?
A prompt end to the war,
one that is neither victory nor defeat.
Impossible...
The war cannot end any way but with our victory!
The Alliance is the biggest sponsor of the war against the demons, right?
We have a duty to give all we can
to the struggle against humanity's enemies!
That's just what you tell people.
It is what we believe.
The high and the low, the north and the south.
Fire and ice. Light and darkness.
As merchants, your job is to stand between these,
to negotiate and trade, then reap the benefits?
Are you a friend to the Alliance?
Or its enemy?
A trading partner.
Your words a moment ago were a betrayal of humanity.
And blasphemy in the eyes of the church.
Your dreams are like your eyes...
The red of blood!
True.
If I were to tread that path alone.
What do you see in the Alliance...
In us that makes you believe we'll help you?
I believe we all have something to gain.
That is what we have in common.
And that is the second strongest bond between heaven and earth.
What's wrong?
Indeed...
You're right!
Be a merchant before you are human.
Be a merchant before you are a faithful servant of the church.
That is exactly what the Alliance instructs!
That's...
I value contracts above all else.
What a coincidence.
So do I.
Let us make one.
A contract that will light the way to our future.
You had me worried for a moment there, Merchant.
I could say the same.
I've never been so nervous in my life.
The royal family itself lacks the fire you displayed.
Let us shake hands to seal the bargain.
When can we get started with the corn?
I'm sorry,
but I still have several experiments and harvests ahead.
I should have it ready by next spring.
That's plenty of time.
I must strengthen my position in the Alliance, as well.
I hope that compass comes in handy.
I'll make good use of it.
Oh, right...
You said having something to gain from one another is the second strongest bond.
What is the first?
What else?
Love.
Amazing!
Wh-Why are you laughing?
Excuse me...
I can't believe you've made me feel this way twice in a day.
You truly are amazing.
Even a child knows that.
Then I suppose I've no choice but to propose.
P-P-P-Propose?
Propose marriage.
I know that!
How can you say such a thing?
You should be ashamed!
Forgive me.
You're right.
I need a dowry and gifts in order to propose...
No, I-I've...
I'll have to treat this as a long-term project.
Stubbornness is like decisiveness.
They are both a merchant's most important weapons.
No, regardless of how much time you spend, I won't...
Will we meet again in the capital? Or on a ship?
Let us meet again.
My beloved.
May I call you that?
No! No!
No!
Old man!
What's wrong, Your Highness?
Have you ever heard of the potato?
Have you tried one?
Yes, they're excellent.
I'm told a wandering scholar brought them to these lands,
and the Lakeside Convent is spreading them.
They've offered us a stable source of wheat, pigs, and sheep.
And they're improving our farming tools, and establishing education facilities.
They've created windmills, as well.
Windmills?
They're like waterwheels,
but they use wind, not water, for power.
If the windmills spread, they'll improve our food situation,
since our country lacks good water sources.
And the people will no longer have to suffer.
I see...
We should just end the war and assist the convent.
If the war ends,
the support we receive from the Central Nations will end.
Our country will not last.
I've always wondered
why we sent a single man to end the war.
That's why...
You must not make hasty judgments.
What is this stack of papers?
It's from the Alliance.
Delivery statements, bills, receipts, specifications.
Everything you had on your purchase list.
And this is twenty percent of the total.
Twenty percent?
I can't go on...
Oh, very well.
We'll have her do them.
Please do.
I'm tired.
There, there.
It's fall already.
It is.
It's fall already, and...
Yes?
Why haven't I heard from him in six months?
Oh, my... Oh, my.
Stop repeating that, in hopes that I'll shut up!
He could at least send word!
He has.
That's not what I mean.
How he saved the fairies...
Or after a battle with the Dragon Archduke,
the Archduke took a liking to him, and offered his daughter in marriage.
Or that the Mage was seen at the Outer Library.
But he's a virgin, the Hero...
Virgins express a strong sense of duty in peculiar ways,
and tend to be dreamers.
I'm sure it'll be okay.
That explanation isn't nearly good enough!
If you stay angry, those wrinkles will never leave your brow.
If that happens, I'll take a bite out of the Hero!
Right, right...
That's enough for today.
Thinking too much is bad for you.
Okay.
Bring me some tea...
Her Majesty says she'll take a bite out of you.
You knew I was here?
A maid's intuition.
You find me every time.
Do you have your latest letter?
I'll write it right now.
I'll bring you some tea, as well.
So not this time, either?
You're avoiding Her Majesty, aren't you?
You are, aren't you?
I've kept from saying anything because I didn't feel
it was my place as a servant to ask, but this is getting nowhere.
I won't tell Her Majesty, so if there is a problem,
please tell me.
Is it what I think it is?
You were approached by harpy girls at an inn,
or a translucent slime girl confessed her love to you,
or a large-breasted cow girl said you were her groom?
How did you know?
With your teleportation spell,
you could come back weekly, if not daily.
But you haven't, and Her Majesty is starting to grow concerned.
It's just that she doesn't need me for anything.
No?
When she first ordered me to be hers, in the throne room...
She told me I'd see something I'd never seen before.
So I thought I'd use my power to put down the demon rebels.
Maybe even close the gate.
I thought that was how we'd end the war.
I thought that's what she meant when she said she wanted my help.
But she never uses me to fight.
Instead, she keeps trying to ensure that I never fight.
It's like she cares too much about me.
I can't say why, but...
Hero...
We made a contract!
She's mine, and I'm hers.
Hero,
Her Majesty...
I know.
I'm not that stupid.
Then why?
When I picture my death,
all I can see is her face, and she seems on the verge of tears.
But...
I'm just scared...
Right now, I guess I'm not much of a Hero.
As a maid, it isn't my place, but let me say one thing.
You belong to Her Majesty.
Everything you have belongs to my master.
Yes, you're right.
Then the hesitation and compassion you feel,
the wishes you're keeping hidden, and the hope...
Your prayers to be with her...
Even the feelings you have for her that you can't express.
All of it belongs to her.
Please do not forget that...
Hey, do your work.
They say the villagers are going to dance...
The boys and the girls.
Oh, the New Year's festival...
I hope the Hero comes back, and our master gets to dance with him.
Yeah.
That's right.
They won't send a Crusade of the Holy Key,
but they want us to defeat the demons anyway?
Damn those Centrals!
I'm sure the Conference of Southern Nations will be opposed.
Except for the White Night Country.
They're the sole country that's strengthened their ties to the Central Nations,
hoping to become stronger.
And because of them, we're going to have a war!
And it'll happen on Bright Light Island!
The one island the demons have taken.
If we were to fight them without entering the Demon World,
that would be the single place we could.
Supposedly, they said two hundred warships and seven thousand soldiers.
Throwing that many people into a naval battle is insane.
If they sink two hundred warships, we lose seven thousand men!
My lord...
We've no plan, and there's no point.
But we must wag our tails and commit troops because the Centrals order it?
It's madness!
I guess it's been decided.
It's this winter!
It's finally time.
Form up!
Y-Yes, ma'am!
You seem excited.
You've heard the rumors that we're going to war, right?
My blood is pumping!
Keep your eyes open, and listen well.
Question whether you're certain this is a good idea.
You carry the weight of many lives and much wealth,
not just your own.
The demons are evil? And the humans are good?
In war, that's irrelevant!
There are only winners and losers.
If you want to go to war, I won't stop you.
I don't have the right.
But I shall not allow you to die.
You are too young and inexperienced.
If you do die, you'll do it with a stupid expression,
not knowing where you screwed up.
So I shall not allow it!
Is what I told them...
Yes?
I told them all that, but...
No matter what I say, I'm just a substitute teacher.
I haven't the right to say anything...
I don't think that's true.
Don't you?
No.
So I, um...
Want to fight... And run...
You want to learn to fight?
Yes.
But all I do with my students is terrify them.
No.
You're a much better teacher than the Hero.
He's too vague.
Yes.
Why am I even doing this?
Because it lets you think he trusts you, right?
Well...
That's what's so wonderful!
That's what let you make that crystal greenhouse.
That shiny, glittering building?
But after building that, the convent's coffers are empty.
It's crazy...
You seem happy, though.
Lately, you seem like the Head Maid.
Do I?
Yup.
But I'm not there yet.
Yes, I can read now.
And I've learned arithmetic,
and I can do many things now.
The villagers are very kind to me, as well.
But I...
Am I...
Am I really human now?
Next Chapter
—You smell good, Demon King. —And I feel safe in your arms, Hero.