How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom: Volume 1

When a dark elf pledges their loyalty to someone, they pride themselves on staying by that person’s side and protecting them until the day they themselves die, apparently. That was why Aisha had appointed herself as my bodyguard, and whether it was work time, meal time, or sleep time, she tried to follow me everywhere I went, even into the bath and toilet. I thought it was problematic to have someone who hadn’t even officially been hired yet so close to the king, but she was beautiful, highly loyal, and her skills were well known, so Ludwin and the royal guards turned a blind eye to her. As for Hakuya, who had taken over the post of prime minister from Marx, he said:

“Is it not lovely to be surrounded by such beauties? The princess, Madam Aisha, Madam Juna… it matters not to me which you choose, but please hurry up and give us a child. It will bring stability to the royal house.”

That’s a hell of a thing to say so easily. Good grief.

While I was thinking about that, Liscia came over and poked me in the back.

“I bet you don’t actually mind the attention, do you?”

“Give me a break. Just when I was finally able to get some rest… Wait, huh? Come to think of it, where’s Tomoe?”

“Tomoe is over in Mother and Father’s room. Mother’s taken a liking to her…”

Just a few days ago, Tomoe had come to the castle to live as Liscia’s adopted sister. Of course, as we had promised, her family had come with her, too.

Incidentally, Tomoe’s mother worked at the palace daycare facility, which we had set up as an experiment to help encourage the advancement of women in society. She stayed with the wet nurses, caring for other people’s children at the same time as her own. This daycare facility was a hit with the young maids, who said, “Now I can get married without worrying.”

With maternity leave being nonexistent at present, women were often dismissed the moment they got pregnant. That was why, unless they became a king’s mistress, most of the maids spent their entire lives single.

But I digress. Basically, it meant Tomoe had two mothers in the palace. She had seemed a little bewildered at first, but now both of them adored her.

Liscia stood up and, resting her hands on the back of the sofa, she peeked over my shoulder. “Still, when you have time off, you sew…? Is that a doll?”

“Oh, this? It’s Little Musashibo.”

I finished sewing up the doll’s back, presenting it to Liscia.

“Little Musashibo?”

“Yeah. He’s from my world… Something like a rare and exotic beast, I guess?”

Little Musashibo was a cute super-deformed mascot based on Musashibo Benkei from the city I lived in. A white silk face. A Buddhist priest’s stole and prayer beads. Big bushy eyebrows that looked imposing, but adorable acorn eyes underneath. People liked that gap, so he was well received.

By the way, the city where I had lived had absolutely no connection to Musashibo Benkei. So why Benkei then, you might wonder? Well, “because long ago Saitama Prefecture was known as Musashi Province.” That was the only reason.

Now, you might ask, “Then, wouldn’t Musashi Miyamoto or Musashimaru have worked just as well?” or, “If it’s because of Musashi Province, doesn’t that cover all of Saitama?” but to do so would be boorish.

You don’t think, you feel. That’s just how mascot characters are.

“Urkh… It makes me mad how surprisingly cute it is,” Liscia said, looking at the Little Musashibo doll. “Still, why would you make something like this?”

“Well, actually… turns out my Living Poltergeists works really well with dolls.”

With those words, I focused, and Little Musashibo began to move before our eyes. He used his short little arms and legs to break dance. That he was good at it only made it more surreal.

Liscia stared, dumbstruck. “What is this…?”

“When I use it on a pen, all I can do is make it float around, but with a doll, I can move it around almost as if I were inside it. What’s more, with dolls, the limits on distance go away.”

Up until now, I had only been able to manipulate objects up to 100 meters away, but with dolls, I was able to send them not just into the castle town but beyond the walls.

“That’s certainly impressive, but… What are you going to do, become a street performer?” Liscia looked exasperatedly at Little Musashibo.

“Ha ha, now there’s an idea. Maybe I’ll quit being king and make a living on the road.”

“Don’t be silly. I won’t let you abandon the job halfway.”

“…I know that. Anyway, here’s the important bit.”

I gave Little Musashibo two short swords. When I did, despite being made of felt and stuffed with cotton, Little Musashibo managed to hold two swords that would have felt heavy in the hands of a grown man. Little Musashibo posed like Musashi Miyamoto with his two swords.

Liscia’s eyes went wide. “No way… It’s a doll, right?”