Chapter 430: Touring the Holy Precincts

“Fuuuh…!” (Izumo)

Izumo’s body was trembling.

His face was that of bliss…it goes without saying that he is in ecstasy.

On the way to coming here, he had set his sights on the buildings here, and he said that every minute and every second was sublime.

No, you are already married, so you are on the route to becoming a ruler, right?

Why are you becoming a construction student?

However, it seems like there’s no lie in his words. If he can stay in the Weitz Orphanage, he doesn’t mind cleaning the whole day alone, no, he muttered that he was willing to even become a janitor here.

When he comes out, he would have his eyes shine at the roads, their extensiveness, all the way to every nook and cranny of the pavement. I wouldn’t be surprised even if he were to begin rubbing his cheeks onto the ground if he were to be left on his own devices.

“You don’t really have to be Izumo to get overwhelmed by this…” (Amelia)

Amelia, who was gallantly helping out at the time when Shiki was the one leading, was now standing at the student side properly.

This is a rare instance of a school trip, so it wouldn’t be good to stay on the teacher side forever, and it may be an irregular occasion, but it seems like it was the right choice for me to be in charge of them today.

What a relief.

Maybe because of the part-time job, Amelia has a tendency to behave as a member of the Kuzunoha Company.

I would like her to learn from Jin in that area and act properly like a student.

The person himself seems to be bothered beyond belief after seeing Sofia though.

Today, the representative of the Rembrandt Company will be going through the trouble of coming himself to greet them…is how it was supposed to go, but the designated place was close to the Merchant Guild.

It is the place that had become a vacant lot of quite the size for a good while because of the sector sorting and all that stuff.

I did know that they were building things there, but they made something impressive again.

It is like a palace or a church.

It is of course not even close to the castle of Limia or Gritonia -in size, that is.

The craftsmanship and design applied on it had a vulgar amount of money to it.

It is the handiwork of Rembrandt-san.

He is really good when it comes to this.

Even so, Rembrandt-san has done it now.

Be it the atmosphere and many other factors, it is clear that he used the Goddess churches of Tsige as reference.

If the church and this place were to be lined up side by side, this one would be the higher class and the other one would be the inferior product.

At the very least, that’s what it looks to me.

“A church? But there’s a church in Tsige somewhere else, right?” (Misura)

“Yeah, there is.” (Yuno)

Yuno answers the question of Misura.

Well, Misura is the one closest to the church among these people.

It is natural to associate them.

“This is just my speculation, but it is probably a National Assembly building. Now then, let’s go inside. Rembrandt-san is a busy person. I honestly don’t know the point in meeting you guys. It would be easy to just wrap it up as it being because it is the group his daughters are in though.” (Makoto)

Be it the place, and the places that are not currently present but will be needed from here on, and the fact that Rembrandt-san is involved in this and went through the trouble of calling us here, there aren’t that many possibilities.

“…Sensei, I don’t think that’s the case. Father is in super serious mode, so I think he is thinking of using us for his benefit in some way.” (Yuno)

It is rare to see Yuno giving her personal opinion with an apologetic tone.

“I think father would be pretty serious if it is to inspect your boyfriend, you know? It seems like he opened up half a day for today.” (Sif)

“Geez! Senpai is going to get nervous if you say that!” (Yuno)

Sif jokingly says with an evil smile that their father will be showing up with his doting parent mode and serious mode coexisting.

Half a day of the current Rembrandt-san, huh.

If we were to convert it into his hourly salary, I would say it is enough for several people to play around for the rest of their lives.

“Izumo, I don’t mind you burning it into your eyes, but don’t fall behind.” (Makoto)

“You are not going to say it is okay to just come again, Sensei?” (Amelia)

“Amelia, honestly speaking, if it is a national assembly building, I can’t assure you that anyone here aside from the Rembrandt sisters will be able to come here again. This is the place that might become the center of Tsige, you know? It is technically the castle.” (Makoto)

““!!””

The inside is also fancy.

A fanciness that’s made for the sake of showing to the outside.

There are open spaces here and there that will most likely have things placed in the future.

In other words, it is still incomplete.

There’s the chance that we are heading the route of the super idiotic doting parent?

Leaving aside Izumo who is on the verge of ascending at any moment now, the ones that have come here are the students of Rotsgard that are decently educated. They are all being impressed by the splendid workings of this place as they advance.

If instead of them, it were adventurers of the same age as them, they would make noise about how spacious it is, would wither down more than necessary, or would want to leave as soon as possible.

…I probably would fall into that category.

“This door gives off quite the pressure…no, quite the presence.” (Jin)

Jin mutters slightly overawed.

I agree.

The ones standing at both sides are subordinates of Morris-san and employees of the Rembrandt Company.

A measure only for today, huh.

There’s a slight off feeling here and they are nervous.

“Is the representative inside?” (Makoto)

“Yes, he is waiting for you all.”

…Alone, huh.

Morris-san is…hm? He is outside.

Together with a demon woman… Aah, I see.

Ahead of the opened door was Rembrandt-san.

It really is a national assembly.

It resembles the ones I have seen a number of times in the news.

A big seat at the front, and there’s also seats at the sides…6 seats.

Also, at the front of the big seat, there’s chairs lined in a semi-circular shape.

The second story portion (I think it is called) there’s a protruding area like that of a balcony that’s maybe for viewing?

Is there something like that in the National Diet Building?

…No good. Now that I think about it, I haven’t properly seen the National Diet Building.

“Welcome, exemplary students of Rotsgard Academy. I am Patrick Rembrandt. I work as a merchant in this Tsige.” (Rembrandt)

A tone of voice with more majesty.

And a different kind of pressure from that of an adventurer.

…Ooh, they are getting flustered, they are getting flustered.

A completely different kind of powerful person that they haven’t seen until now, and yet, it is a massive pressure that they definitely cannot ignore.

I see.

Rembrandt-san is trying to teach the students about the power of presence that a political influence has.

I myself have experience in things like this.

Be it Joshua-sama, Lily, or the Priestess.

Rio-san was also in that same vein, huh.

But what Rembrandt-san was giving off was purely strong even when compared to them.

That’s just my own opinion though.

In terms of strength, I would say Princess Lily was quite ghastly.

Just that, it felt like it was mixed.

The current Rembrandt-san overawes both children and adults in a good way.

I think he himself is aware that he is in perfect form.

“…What’s the matter? Respond.” (Rembrandt)

He ushers the students, and they hurriedly give their thanks for the welcome and their self-introductions in order.

In these areas, they act their age even in my eyes.

There’s a lot of young ones in this world that are precocious in the bad meaning of the word, so this is fresh.

“As their teacher, I would like to extend my thanks for the extremely warm reception.” (Makoto)

“Raidou-kun, I understand it is because my daughters are here and it is their first time, but if there’s any sort of event like this in the future from the Rotsgard Academy, I will happily cooperate.” (Rembrandt)

Ah, his supreme ruler mode is over.

Is he going to switch to idiotic doting parent now?

“The academy would be happy too. The load on my shoulders has lessened, too.” (Makoto)

“Hahaha, so, it seemed like you weren’t as surprised by this place as the students. What do you think this place is?” (Rembrandt)

“…The National Assembly Building, I think. Inexperienced as I may be, I have speculated that maybe this place will serve as the place that will carry the government of Tsige from here on.” (Makoto)

“Hoh! Full marks. As expected of you.” (Rembrandt)

“However, there’s a lot of parliamentary seats, and I feel like the assembly hall is a bit too big.” (Makoto)

“I thought that it would be a waste to just use this place 24/7 to handle political matters, you see. I cleared away the seats and desks, and freed it to be spacious to use it as an event hall as well. What do you think?” (Rembrandt)

Using it like the Tokyo Dome or the Budokan, huh.

If we are talking of event halls, there would be the Big…well, a whole lot of places.

But there’s the idea of using a political building for many other means…

I thought it would be used fully for politics.

…No…

“I think it is an interesting idea that only a merchant would think of. The viewing seats above are also for that purpose?” (Makoto)

“Yeah. Of course, they will be used for their original purpose as well. I put my whole heart here so that any citizen -depending on the available amount of seats- can at times take part in the times of politics, and will be able to see where our government will be heading towards.” (Rembrandt)

…What an impressive ideal.

I can tell that’s a public stance, but it is not wrong either.

It is a normal practice of merchants. It is something that I have begun to understand recently.

In my case, I would show in full that it is just a public stance, and that has actually been a source of friction.

Gotta reflect on that.

But well, Rembrandt-san and a number of others would say the back of the back is the front, and would laugh saying it is fine to just stay like that though.

Honestly speaking, I feel like I am being spoiled like a bad grandchild.

“You are going to show the details of the politics to the people?!” (Izumo)

Oh.

That was Izumo.

It is normal to be surprised.

Especially with Lorel where their politics are in a sense sacred.

Their very top is the Priestess-san, so it can’t be helped.

Having commoners participate in politics is something that doesn’t ever happen, and the majority think it isn’t something that should be known.

In exchange, there’s the ideology that the people at the top are supposed to do their all in order to enrich the people and the nation.

It would be one thing if it were a useless feudal lord of a countryside, but the higher you go up, the stronger the sense of responsibility for the ones holding the power.

This is what it means for there to be good and bad.

“That’s right. This Tsige is a nation with no ruler after all, Izumo-kun. There’s a lot of different points from your country, Lorel, but there’s definitely things that can be learned from each other. I think it is a short time, but I want you to learn about this city to your heart’s content.” (Rembrandt)

“…! Yes! Thank you very much!!” (Izumo)

Being called by name so naturally, and having touched about his homeland, Izumo was pretty elated by this.

Rembrandt-san is good.

As for me, I am trying to read his real intentions.

There should also be a reason for the parliamentary seats being on the high side, and it might be an appeal to say that from here on the politics will be steered by even more people than before.

Meaning can be given to even the current empty seats.

It is a whole lot better than there being nothing at all.

“…Uhm…” (Daena)

“What is it, Daena-kun?” (Rembrandt)

“The seats over there seem to be of limited numbers, and see that this is for the ones with posts. In that case, the ones here…do you plan on welcoming nobles and merchants with these many seats?” (Daena)

“…Fumu. First, no nobles will be sitting here.” (Rembrandt)

“?!”

“Nobles don’t exist in Tsige after all. That’s why the ones I will have sitting there are the representatives that the citizens have chosen. It is still in its early stages, but I am calling them the parliament. The members of the noble institution in Limia are apparently called that, and I think it is a word that fits perfectly, so I am planning on adopting it.” (Rembrandt)

“Representatives of the citizens?! Is that separate from what you said about showing everyone the politics?” (Daena)

Daena doesn’t get it.

Representatives of the citizens, huh.

It depends on how they select them, but does that mean Rembrandt-san is going to be adopting democracy?

No, that’s impossible. There’s close to no profit in it.

…I see.

It won’t be used for politics 24/7, and many representatives of the citizens will be welcomed into the parliament means that…

This place is a decoration, huh.

Aah, a place for events.

What a nice way of putting it.

So that means everything is technically just for show.

I glance at the 6 seats that are located at the sides of the chief seat where Rembrandt-san is standing.

What comes to mind are a number of representatives of powerful companies.

I see.

The important and rough frameworks will in essence be decided by the people there.

But that flies in terms of the formalities, and for the small and inconsequential stuff, they will have everyone gather, discuss, and decide fairly.

Uwah.

Scary.

However, if they were to gather this many for the parliament and did a pure majority vote that ends up delaying the decision, it would be counterintuitive.

Having everyone have matching opinions is out of the question.

But showing the stance to do that provides the sweetest of dreams…

This is a learning experience.

“Splendid, Izumo-kun and Daena-kun!” (Rembrandt)

“Eh?”

“You praise us too much.”

“Man, as expected of the exemplary students learning at Rotsgard. This is wonderful, Raidou-kun.” (Rembrandt)

“Thank you. But if you praise them too much, it can get on their heads and affect them negatively, so please keep it to a minimum.” (Makoto)

“I know, I know! Now, everyone, you have been invited to the assembly hall, so let’s talk a bit more about this city and the future it is trying to head to for a bit more. If there’s anything that you are curious about, go ahead and ask -including other matters that come to your mind. Having the chance to exchange opinions with a young and exemplary group is pretty rare. Sif and Yuno as well, for this short instance, let me hear about your opinions not as father and child, but as a merchant and students!” (Rembrandt)

Rembrandt-san would at times show exaggerated gestures with topics of varied magnitudes towards the students in order to liven up the conversation.

He really is good at this.

With that side of him, I think he would easily be able to become a teacher in the Rotsgard Academy.

His ability to pull people is on a whole other level.

He will be talking to them like that, and is probably going to be observing what they pulled out from his words and from where later.

Also, it is true that they are accomplished students of Rotsgard.

From here on, even if the ones with superior grades will be selected, and are sent to Tsige or other cities, they will be entertained in this way by the influential people, evaluated, and most would hold a favorable impression of them.

And in that way, they can slowly but surely control their future careers…no way, right?

The heated discussion with Rembrandt-san where they are being rolled in the tips of his fingers continued on -which was pretty much inevitable.

◇◆◆◆◇◇◆◆◆◇

“There’s a big difference between what I heard and the real thing. Sif, Yuno, your father was a splendid person.” (Amelia)

“That elegance and culture makes it hard to believe he is a merchant on the rise. Also that revolutionary way of thinking that doesn’t become complacent of one’s overwhelming knowledge and conventions. He is a tremendous person.” (Jin)

“To think I will have to greet that person with Yuno… My stomach hurts. It hurts.” (Misura)

“He really is impressive. But being able to advance such a plan that has absolutely no precedent with such conviction…I think is also dangerous. Does he properly have subordinates that are worthy of him?” (Daena)

“The subordinates of merchants and the subordinates of political figures are different after all. But he really is just like the rumors say, the *6th Heaven Demon Lord*. He is way too awesome.” <Note: Not really sure of the meaning behind this. ダイロクテンマオウ. It is apparently linked to Buddhism.>

“Who was that?”

“There’s a limit to wearing a mask. Geez, that father of ours.”

Those were their impressions after leaving the Assembly Building.

Amelia was slightly spellbound there.

Jin seemed to still be in a state of excitement, he was sweating.

Misura was completely swallowed.

Daena was a bit rebellious, but was worrying about his well-being.

Izumo was nodding repeatedly and let out a crazy name.

That name is known in Lorel?!

The Rembrandt sisters seem to be escaping from reality at seeing the way too unexpected side of their father.

Well, you will be having a moving reunion from now on though.

“Boss.”

“Lime, huh. So it was today.” (Makoto)

“Yeah.” (Lime)

“Sif, Yuno.” (Makoto)

I finish a short exchange with Lime, and call Sif and Yuno.

Answering my beckoning, the two come soon after.

When I point my chin at the person that is waiting for them, the Rembrandt sisters open their eyes wide.

“Morris! You weren’t with Papa, so I was wondering what happened to you!” (Yuno)

“Welcome back, Ojou-sama.” (Morris)

Papa.

So she finally stopped calling him father, huh.

It is with Morris-san who is practically family, so it can’t be helped.

“Eh?! To think you would be able to come to Tsige!” (Sif)

“Just some business on the way. I am glad to see you are doing well.”

That person is the one training the spirit magic of Sif.

I heard it was a demon woman, but this is my first time seeing her.

Our eyes met and she lightly bowed at me.

“Are you the center of Tsige’s storm, the representative-san of the Kuzunoha Company?”

“Leaving aside the former, the latter part is indeed me.” (Makoto)

“…Thanks.”

“?” (Makoto)

“The Base was basically a lawless zone, so it is easy for people like me to live in. However, even when Tsige is like this, it is still a normal city on the outside of the wasteland. Even when there’s a variety of races, the odd stares didn’t disappear.”

“…”

“But now that I come after being told by Lime, they don’t seem to be bothered even when there’s a demon. I can use the stores, and can even get lodging. It was surprising.”

“They simply began seeing what kind of person they are instead of what they look like. If it is towards dangerous people, the treatment would be the same as in the past.” (Makoto)

“Fufuh, well, let’s leave it at that then.”

“Since there’s the opportunity, how about having a meal with Sif? We are planning on having dinner now, so if that’s okay with you…” (Makoto)

“That would be a great help. There’s barely a shadow of its former self, so I was troubled wondering where to eat.”

Morris nodded as well.

They didn’t get to have a meal alone.

Sif and Yuno seem to be happy by this, and Lime would be glad to as well.

“Now, it must have been good stimulation, right? You must be hungry now. Then, time for dinner! Don’t get lost!” (Makoto)

Slightly reminding them of the excursion mood, we head to the place where we made reservations.

A truly energetic response came from the students.

With their meeting with Rembrandt-san, they have made clear the objective of this city, the places they want to tour, and the things they want to experience.

If Hazal is available tomorrow, I should add that to the plans as well…

Ah, but…I should at least prepare something similar to a construction full-course for Izumo only.

I thought the only ones doing the moving would be the students and the teachers would be having it easy, but the school trip is pretty busy on this side as well, huh.

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