Chapter 96
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Moving - 5
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A wave of dizziness hit me as a blue window popped up just like a game's inventory screen. I hadn't wanted to feel that pang of nostalgia from my past life like this.
"If you point at an item in this state with your index finger, it'll go into the inventory."
"Like this?"
Sure enough, following Helen's instructions, the item I pointed at slipped neatly into the bracelet on my wrist.
"This is amazing. Are things like this common in the Holy Kingdom?"
"No, they're not. It's the perfect synergy between a divine relic and Tower of Wisdom technology."
Helen beamed with pride at my delight. Was it because she was so cute that I wanted to tease her?
Feeling mischievous, I kept the inventory open and pointed my index finger at Helen, just in case.
Then...
"Eep?"
It wasn't Helen herself that vanished into the inventory—it was the clothes she was wearing.
"Living creatures can't go in, huh."
"Y-yes, that's right. But animals you've hunted can be stored."
Suddenly naked, Helen calmly covered her chest with her small hands.
But that just made her look even more tantalizing.
Helen, your breasts are bigger than I thought.
They weren't quite Chloe's size, which had grown lately, but Helen had a substantial chest herself.
No, her petite frame made them look even more visually appetizing.
"S-Sian, staring like that makes me embarrassed."
"Sorry. I've been abstaining lately."
I still didn't know how to take things out of the inventory, so I quickly draped my outer garment over her.
"Thank you."
"No, I should be the one apologizing. Sorry for the silly prank."
"It's fine. And to be fair, I wasn't clear enough in my explanation."
As expected, Helen—the angel manifested in nymph form—forgave my prank with grace.
"By the way, this shirt reeks of your scent."
"I was working up a sweat earlier. Does it smell bad?"
"No, not at all. It's... comforting. Makes me feel good."
"???"
Nymph sensibilities must differ a bit from humans'.
"How do I take stuff out of the inventory?"
"Just press the slots that appear on the blue window with the hand wearing the bracelet."
"No way, it actually works? Incredible. Hm?"
While fiddling with the blue window, I spotted something I hadn't put in there myself.
Coke? No way, is this...?
Pulling it out on a hunch, it was exactly what I thought—a bottle from history.
"Carbonated drink, huh. Looks like Ellie from the Tower prepared it for you, Sian."
"The Tower of Wisdom Master you mentioned earlier?"
"Yes."
"Tell her I love her later."
"Huh?"
Helen was momentarily speechless at my absurd words, but I was too busy savoring my first Coke in ages.
"Ahh! That's the stuff!"
The fizz bubbled up from within, spreading through my body via the frontal lobe.
It was still ice-cold, so the inventory must have some built-in refrigeration function.
This thing's a gem! A real gem.
...
The Holy Kingdom had given me a generous stock of their specialty Coke—enough to share with the villagers and still have leftovers.
Everyone had fun reactions. Chloe and Vivian called it an interesting drink, while Sylvia and Clia were hooked on the fizzy tang. Elsia and Elin didn't care much for sweets, so they took one sip and left it alone. For the record, Clara's startled jump at her first taste of carbonation was adorable.
And the Village Chief's reaction was the most memorable.
"That rascal was telling the truth. Who knew a drink this fizzy existed."
"Rascal?"
"Your father. Ian. He teased me endlessly, calling me a country bumpkin... Well, after trying this, I get it—I'm a bumpkin again."
"If not having Coke makes you a bumpkin, then most Imperials are bumpkins."
According to Helen, Coke was quite pricey. The production process was complex, and the ingredients were hard to source, driving up the base cost.
"Heh, fair point."
Anyway, after Helen and I distributed Coke to everyone, she moved on to the next topic.
"When would you like to hold the title conferment ceremony?"
"I hadn't thought about it."
The final reward from the expedition.
They'd promised a viscountcy or higher, so we needed something official.
"Even so, it's an earldom. Will you visit the capital for the ceremony?"
"Earldom?"
Her words made my vision go dark for a second.
Viscount? No, earl?
Had I misheard?
"Helen, there must be a mistake. Earl?"
"Ah... no, it's earl. The council decided to grant you authority and title equivalent to a second-rank Holy Knight of the Holy Kingdom."
"Wait, isn't that too generous?"
"We didn't plan to go this far, but His Holiness the Pope... due to his resentment toward the founding Emperor..."
"....."
Looks like I got caught in the crossfire between the empire's top powers, shrimp shell cracking in a whale fight.
Not that it matters right now.
An earldom might invite trouble down the line.
But I couldn't exactly refuse.
"It's too much."
"We're sorry."
It was so grand that even the giver apologized. An earldom symbolized great nobility and could upend the western power balance. Word was the Anitul Earl family had completely fallen, so I'd effectively taken their place.
Problem is, I have no land, no talent, not even money.
I risked isolating my domain by irking noble society.
Luckily, I had the Holy Kingdom's solid backing. It'd work out somehow. That's not the priority now.
"Where's my territory?"
"Your domain starts with Lugeron Village and can expand as much as you want—provided it's unclaimed land."
"Oh? As much as I want."
The west had plenty of undeveloped areas, thanks to those damn monsters and the Dark Forest.
Helen explained I could claim everything from Lugeron Village westward to the Dark Forest and Titan Mountains, northward to the old Troll Kingdom's snowfields, and even the frozen north beyond where tribal folk lived—building a prosperous domain if I could hold it all.
Not easy.
The west wasn't made for farming to begin with.
The Forest folk, who worship the goddess of nature and harmony Flora, called even the lowest-grade arable land a nightmare. That said it all.
The snowfields' weather had improved lately, but not farm-ready. The frozen north was the same.
I needed fertile land for sustainable crops, at least.
"Hey, Helen."
"Yes, Sian?"
"Can I claim this land for my domain?"
I handed her the land deed my father left behind.
She examined it briefly, then asked in a surprised, agitated voice.
"A deed for unclaimed land in the south."
"You know it?"
"Yes, it's famous. The Holy Kingdom's been watching it. It's the land the Church of Light granted to a hero, after all."
"Hm..."
Father really was a hero.
"Actually..."
I told Helen about my father.
But she didn't know the full story and couldn't give the answers I wanted.
That's when Camilla returned from logging, sipped some Coke, and joined in.
"Ian de Saizer. About thirty years ago, he was a promising candidate for Light Hero in the church."
"Camilla, you know about Dad?"
"It's weird to say this, but he's infamous—not in a good way."
"R-really?"
The Village Chief mentioned rumors of him obsessing over married women, but that couldn't be right?
Thankfully, Camilla's explanation had no such words.
"A criminal who committed blasphemy—the church's greatest taboo—and the first hero to rebel against them."
"Blasphemy... But isn't your Holy Kingdom separate from the church?"
"Yes, completely different."
"If the Holy Kingdom is the imperial faction, the church is the noble faction."
From Helen's explanation, the nobles saw the Holy Kingdom as a thorn in their side.
The emperor himself backed it, granting favorable policies that tilted power their way.
To counter that and prevent more influence shifting to the Holy Kingdom, the nobles created the church as a counterweight, claiming divine will.
In short, the church opposed the Holy Kingdom, with tight noble ties within.
"Religion and politics are inseparable, huh."
"Nothing rules people as easily as faith."
Camilla's tone dropped lower than usual—she clearly had no love for the church.
"Anything else about Dad?"
"No, beyond that, it's just weird rumors."
"Rumors?"
"Judgment from the goddess of justice, Sunna, for blasphemy killed him. Or the goddess of love pitied the hero, erasing his memories for a new life. Groundless stuff."
"The last one's close."
I couldn't confirm Hestia's involvement, but Father met me in the Dark Forest and lived anew.