Chapter 67: Creating a textbook that even monkeys can understand

　After drinking apple juice, the servants began to feel sleepy, so Mifa and the others returned to the girls' dormitory.

""Well then, Luke, good night. ""

"Good night everyone"

I think I'll do some work while Iris is taking a bath.

I had a crayon made by mixing pigments with candle wax at the Navi Studio in the subspace warehouse.

Black: charcoal

Red: A mixture of iron oxide and red clay

Blue: Lapis lazuli crushed into powder

Yellow: A mixture of turmeric and ochre

Green: Azurite crushed into powder

White: Ork bone crushed into powder

"♪ I can add more colors, but which do you want? 』\

"For the time being, these 6 colors are all we need. Navi, I know you were sleepy, thanks for doing your best. "

I shook her while she was dozing on Hati and asked her to make crayons.

"♪ It's okay. This is what you asked me to make the other day, is this what you want? 』\

"Yeah, this is good. The explanations don’t look complicated. You can go ahead and sleep. I'll take over the rest."

"♪ I understand. Good night Master ZZZZzzzz. .. .. 』\

She’s already fallen asleep....I'm sorry, I forced her to wake up.

By the way, what I asked Navi to prepare was a picture book to explain "viruses" and "bacteria".

　However, I don’t intend to convey modern medicine in detail, so I made it a picture book with no text in it. If they discover that there’s such a thing as "bacteria", medical researchers in this world will do their best to investigate it.

　Since a relative was involved this time, I’ll give some hints on the treatment of labor cough, but I think that the development of this world should be done by people of this world.

　I don't know much about it myself, but I don't think it's right to simply teach what I've searched using Navi's information network.

　I put the picture drawn by my avatar on the table in the living room and colored it with the freshly made crayons.

　It's just a coloring book, but it's surprisingly fun because it reminded me of my childhood.

"Huh? lord Luke, what are you doing?"

Iris, who came out of the bath, asked as if she was interested.

"I'm making a textbook of tips on how to cure labor cough for the temple staff tomorrow."

After I said that, Iris became somewhat grumpy.

"What's wrong Iris?"

"...I want you to share that important knowledge with me as well."

　That's right...I promised that I would teach her every day, as my disciple. Iris volunteered to be my maid and even prepared herself to be deprived of her chastity.

"Well, of course, after this was completed, I was going to have you look at it first and get your impression."

"Is that so? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Apparently it was a good idea to say "first", and Iris's expression softened.

"Since you've had a bath, Iris, you should rehydrate first. Can I get something cold?"

She made me iced lemon tea with lemons floating in it....it’s delicious!

"Can you help me color this, then?"

"Yes. Oh? This oil stick is very colorful, isn't it?"

There seems to be something like a "crayon" in this world, and it is called an "oil stick".

　Instead of crushing ore into powder and mixing it with wax, like I did, white bone powder is dyed with a dye extracted from plant juice and then mixed with wax. That seems to be mainstream.

Iris helped me, so it took about 30 minutes to complete.

1st: A figure of a person coughing

2nd: Depiction of black particles popping out of the coughing mouth

3rd: An enlargement of the black grain, showing something spiky like a sea urchin

4th: Depiction of the black grain being sucked into the mouth of someone opposite the coughing person

Fifth: Depiction of black particles entering from the mouth and going into the lungs, where it grows

6th: Depiction of the affected person coughing further and worsening the condition of the surrounding people

I made only 6 pictures.

"Then, I'll explain. Let's compare the model to Emilia's mother. That's the case with the first coughing person. And the second picture is Sasha coughing and some black particles are popping out."

"Luke, what are those black particles? Are they the cause of the disease?"

"Yeah. I used black particles for easy understanding, but in reality, they’re so small that they can’t be seen visually without special tools and skills. The third picture makes it easier to visualize."

"It looks so evil!"

　I made it look like a spiky sea urchin with three white eyes. I drew it like this because I wanted people to see it as something bad for them.

　In reality, the shape and color may differ depending on the type of bacteria. The sea urchin-like shape in this picture is similar to a cold virus...the tubercle bacillus is supposed to be a collection of long, thin pieces.

"Ah, that's just an image. It doesn't have a face."

"Is that so? Then the image is chestnuts...." {TN: Didn't get what the author meant here}

Perhaps the image will be effective for those with such a virus in their system.

"I'll show you some real images specially for you....don't let anyone else see them."

　Navi gave me a lot of images taken with an electron microscope on the internet, so I sent some of them to Iris by e-mail.

"Eh⁉ This is the source of the illness!"

"The one Iris is looking at right now is the source of a cold, looks like this picture, right?"

"Yes! It's a bad-looking spike! Colds also have an invisible source of illness!"

"That's right, and this is the source of labor cough illness."

"That? They aren’t round and spiky."

"Yes. As I said earlier, the color and shape vary depending on the type of illness. The picture I drew is just an image."

"Then, wouldn't it be better and more accurate to show this image to everyone?"

"Illnesses can be treated with the image of eliminating the cause of the illness, so those specialized in medical research have to make an effort. There’s no reason for me to teach everything."

"Well, if it can be cured with the image of black grains, then I guess it's okay...where did you get this knowledge and images Luke-sama? Is it still from the Great Sage?"

What should I do?…….

　In the world I was in, only a few people say they don't know about "bacteria" and "viruses." Nowadays, it’s commonplace to wear a " mask" when going out and to "wash your hands" and "gargle" when you get home. I don't have any medical expertise, but I do have a shallow and broad knowledge from watching TV and the Internet.

"This is the knowledge I got from my research. The Great Sage doesn't even know this either. The images I got with a skill. Don't tell this to anyone."

　Yeah, it's not a lie because I researched it on the internet. The image is not a lie either because Navi itself is like a skill of mine.

"That's amazing!"

Huh? Isn't Iris's favorability rising again?

It's a good sign, so let's attack a little more...It's kind of cute.

"You can treat the illness with the image of black grains, which are the source of the illness and are bad for your body, but if you imagine it being eliminated in the exact form of the real thing, the effect should be maximized. I'll only teach this to my disciple, Iris, but like the question you just asked, you'll probably be asked how you got the skill to see these invisible little things, and other derivative questions, so please keep it a secret."

"I see...I understand! Thank you for sharing this with only me! I'm very happy ♪"

That's cute...I'm glad she’s feeling special. She has a very nice smile.

"In the fourth picture, when a person with labor cough keeps coughing, these black particles come out of his mouth, and the person on the other side takes them into his body as he breathes."

"Then, does the fifth picture mean that the source of the illness increases in the body of the person who inhaled the black grain?"

"Yes. It gets nutrients from the person's body and grows, and it’s a depiction of a person who has a developed labor cough and coughs even more, causing more people around him to become infected. This is the sequence of the spread of labor cough. This is not only with labor coughs but also with colds and diarrhea, such as dysentery, which often occurs in the summer."

"Is the diarrhea prevalent in summer, also caused by an invisible cause of illness?"

"Yes. It seems that there are many types of particles that can be the cause of these bad illnesses but don't worry too much about that. When you cast antidotes and recovery spells, you should strongly imagine that the source of the illness is being eliminated from the body and die."

"I see! I feel like I understand something now!"

Wow! She's looking at me with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Well? Did you understand this picture book?"

"Yes! I think even a monkey can understand this!"

"Monkeys may not be able to understand this, but I think a higher ranking species of orc can."

Apparently Iris's liking for me has risen again.

Chapter 68: Iris's Concoction Recipe

　Together with Iris, I made a textbook picture book about effective treatments for bacteria, viruses and other illnesses. We didn't use any text at all, so it won't be transmitted well by itself, but it was generally well-received by Iris.

"Diana-sama and the others fell asleep on the sofa."

　Following Iris's gaze, Hati is sleeping on Diana's arms with its chin on the arm pillow. Navi slept on Hati and was buried in Hati's fur.

Cute....my servants are too cute!

"If it was just Navi and Hati, I'd carry them to my room...but, it will be a pity to wake them up, so I'll just let them sleep here for today. I'll just put a blanket over them."

　After that, I left Iris and went to my room to sleep on my bed, but I couldn't fall asleep while thinking about tomorrow.

　From my bed, I stared at the ceiling, which was rather bright in the moonlight, I thought about a presentation I had given a long time ago to a hundred people. I was so nervous at that time that I couldn't sleep the day before. I'm nervous because all the important people from the temple are going to be there tomorrow...It's a training session where people's lives were at stake.

I couldn't sleep... I decided to do one more job until I got sleepy.

Navi makes a lot of things in the workshop, but I'm not satisfied without trying it myself.

I take out the medical tools that my master had given me from my inventory.

A mortar and pestle, and a stone mill, a crusher similar to a coffee grinder, newly made at Navi's workshop.

　First of all, I use the mortar to grind the dried turmeric that I bought in large quantities at the Pharmacists Guild into powder.

It's quite difficult to grind it into as fine a granule as possible.

knock Knock!

The door of my room was knocked on

"Luke-sama? May I come into your room?"

"Yeah. Sure."

　Is she here about the Mayflies? {TN: A type of insect}

When Iris entered the room, she looked at the desk and was startled.

"Luke, if you're going to make a potion, why didn't you tell me? Or is it some kind of secret concoction that you can't tell me anything about?"

"What? Is that what it looks like?"

　Ah ~ I see, did she think that when she saw the several kinds of plants I have out now? We made the shampoo together, but she thinks this is a secret concoction because I’m doing it in my room instead of in the living room. Apparently, she didn't come to complain about the Mayflies.

"Turmeric is said to be good for the stomach and liver. The others are also effective for the stomach....In case you're wondering, I majored in pharmacology, so I can tell by looking at the materials. Are you sick? "

　It seems that she made that decision by looking at the dried plants on the table, which I bought at the Pharmacists Guild.

"Ah, it's not like that."

"But....that's coriander, isn't it? It's used as a detoxifying stomach medicine, and this cumin is also used as a stomach medicine and diuretic. This ginger is said to have the same effect. Red pepper and garlic are also used to promote appetite."

At this point, some people will know what I'm doing by looking at the ingredients.

"Well, if you can help me, I'll teach you the recipe for this concoction."

"Of course I'll help you! I am Master Luke's disciple, and if you’re going to make medicine, be sure to call me! I was sure I heard sounds like you were using a mortar and pestle, and a stone mill. But I wasn’t sure, so I decided to come to your room and check...."

"Okay! Don't get angry. I want to grind all this into powder for the time being."

I coarsely grind it with my mortar and pestle, and then Iris grinds it into finer powder with the stone mill (crusher).

　The two of us grind it into powder and put it in a jar. After doing this for about an hour, Iris muttered.

"Luke...is this all..."

Yeah, it's hard as expected. I'm getting tired of it too--

"Hmm, by the way, my Master, the Great Sage, was doing it with magic."

"Great Sage Edward? I think it's probably either [grinding] or [fine grain] magic. I wanted to learn it when I was in the pharmacy department, but I couldn't because I didn't have the aptitude."

Luke also couldn't learn it, so it was a manual process.

"But normally, I don't grind so much at once, so I don't have to worry...up until now, I've been making recovery agents by hand, so, I'm not at all troubled. "

"That's right....Why are you making so much of these this time? Is it related to tomorrow's seminar?"

"It's completely separate from tomorrow."

Ah, now I can use my AP to learn it with [customize]!

I took out my [Status Plate] and looked at the list of available magic.....both skills were there.

　Both skills have proficiency of up to level 10, and it seems [grinding] can make fine powder, but [fine grain] is considerably finer even in the state of level 1, and it seems that level 2 is enough to make my desired powder state, so I used points to acquire [fine grain].

"As I recall, this is how you surround the plants with wind magic barrier...[fine grain]!"

"Oh! Luke, you’re done!"

"This magic called [fine grain] is like a compound magic that cuts at high speed with wind blades."

"I learned that both [grinding] and [fine grain] are high-speed cutting magic that uses either wind blades or physical blades with earth attributes."

I thought it was amazing magic, but...when I actually used it, it was just a miller.

　　A major mail order site sells one for about 15,000 yen if it can produce the powdery texture I want. It was the kind of magic you can easily get from a certain mail-order site that sends you a cardboard box about five times the size of what's inside...

　Unlike with shampoo, I don't need to extract only the ingredients I want, so when I get the ideal powder state, I put it in a jar, label it, and store it in my inventory to keep it dry.

"You won't be teaching me the formula after all?"

Iris asked a question when the plants on the rough desk were gone.

"I'll just grind it into powder today and we’ll continue when we go to the duke's house. I'm making this for Lara-chan, you know."

"Is this a medicine for Lara? Is there something wrong with Lara?"

　From Iris's point of view, I'm sure she's wondering about this, but the day after tomorrow the school will be closed for the weekend, so we'll be heading to the Duke's house tomorrow evening. It's no fun to say what it’s about right now.

"There's nothing wrong with Lara. I'll teach you properly then cause we'll be doing this concoction many times in the future."

"Is that true? It’s a promise. Please teach me properly."

* * *

　When I woke up in the morning, the servants who were supposed to be sleeping on the sofa were sleeping in my bed.

"Good morning, Master!"

"Good morning Diana...you're looking good this morning...but, why are you naked and sticking to me again?"

"This mistress is a dragon and I don't really like to wear clothes. I think it's okay to be naked while you sleep..."

　I'm not going to force you to do that, but if you don’t......I'm going to have trouble keeping my eyes off the subtle bulges. Another reason is that her humanized appearance is that of a beautiful girl.

≪ ♪ Good morning, Master. The saddle you requested for Diana  the other day has been completed ≫

"This mistress doesn't like saddles either...."

≪ ♪ Don't be so selfish. What will you do if master falls? ≫

"Well....I don't want any more accidents like that again."

"Diana....Thank you for that time. I'm alive today because you risked your life to save mine."

　If Diana hadn't sacrificed herself and thrown me into the sky before the crash, my life would have ended in tens of seconds after reincarnation.

"This mistress now has more wisdom than that time....so, I won't listen to such reckless orders anymore."

At that time, she was a 5-year-old Drake, but now Diana has the knowledge of an ancient dragon...

"Well, I would like to take Iris and Emilia to the Duke's house if possible, but is that okay?"

I'm sure Diana didn't want to carry anyone other than me on her back.

"Iris and Natalie are fine, but I don't want to carry anyone else...."

"Natalie....but why are those two good and the others bad?"

≪♪ I wonder, what a dumb dragon...she seems to love them because they make delicious food. ≫

"Aah! You read the voice of this mistress' heart! But, why did you tell on me!?"

　I've only had a few meals with her...but, I feel like I somehow understood what she was doing in the temporary dwarven village. I guess she was being fed.

"Diana, if you put everyone on board, I'll give you a really delicious meat dish using the cows we hunted the other day, how about it?"

"How delicious is it? I don't want it to be just a little delicious."

≪♪ Don't worry, it will be better than anything you’ve ever eaten.≫

"Really! I'm looking forward to it!"

"By the way, how much do you usually eat Diana? You're eating as much as everyone else right now. Is that enough?"

"That's not enough....this mistress will starve and die."

≪ ♪ When you become a servant, you don't need to eat. The same is true for Hati and Diana. In the dragon state, it's less than a bite, so she won't feel like she’s eating anything, but during humanization, she can taste it, and it's just a luxury, so the current amount is sufficient.>>

"Diana, don't lie to me....you just want to eat more. If you lie, I won't give you any cooked meals. I’ll just give you raw meat like I did when you were a drake?"

"No! Raw meat is delicious, but the cooked meat is exceptional! I want to eat the same as everyone else! I'm sorry for lying to you."

"Yeah, it's good to apologize obediently. I'll feed you the same meals as everyone else. Let's get dressed."

　She gave us the consent to put everyone on her back. Surprisingly, Diana, who has the darkness attribute, was able to make weight disappear using gravity magic, so it doesn't matter how many people ride on her back.

　After taking a walk and the usual muscle training, we boarded the royal carriage that came to pick us up after breakfast and headed for the seminar.

Chapter 69: I'll leave the rest to you

　The carriage prepared by the royal family took us to the mansion of the Knight of the King's guard, whom the king asked me to treat yesterday.

"Good morning Luke! I'll be counting on you again today!"

"Good morning."

Zeno-san was there when I got off the carriage...the king himself welcomes me?

"♪ He’s worried about his friends. Also, before master's mind changes, it’s the highest priority for the country to learn how to treat labor cough, so it is also an important job for the king to come and ask for help."

"He doesn’t want to leave it to someone else and put me in a bad mood? It seems like there are people out there who wouldn’t want to get involved with me because of my bad reputation."*

"♪ That's right. In fact, that's very likely. Master is the "Orc Prince" who is notorious even in neighboring countries. It's no wonder Zeno is cautious and moved on his own. "

By the way, Navi is waiting in the subspace.

　Hati and Diana are being taken care of by Mifa and Emilia. Navi, who observed Diana's behavior all day yesterday, decided that there was enough common sense to let her do as she pleases. From now on, Diana will be allowed to do what she wants to some extent.

　When I said that I would hold a recovery magic seminar today, Diana seemed to be more interested in the "Summoning Ceremony" and chose to watch it. It doesn't seem fun to come to a seminar. Besides, I didn't really want to bring my servants here because today we have a gathering of potentially infected labor cough patients. I don't think it's something that can be passed to a god beast or a dragon species, but I didn't feel like bringing them here.

"Luke, you told me that you could treat as many people as I wanted, so today I'm bringing 15 labor cough patients to the guest room of this mansion, that isn’t too many, right?"

　It doesn't matter if they’re a lot because the patients gathered here are going to be everyone's practice subject after I teach them how to treat it.

"Yes, no problem. By the way, I don't see them but the temple officials are here as well, right?"

"Yes, they’re waiting for us in the hall inside. There are seven people from the temple, including the Pope and the Saint. I've also brought three court physicians with me, can they join us?"

　The court physicians? It's troublesome when aristocrats are involved, but considering the position of the king, it's not good to "teach only temple officials."

"Yes, that's fine."

When I entered the hall, the Pope came to greet me as the representative.

"Good morning, your Highness Luke. You discovered an effective treatment for labor cough and decided to teach it to us free of charge. I couldn't sleep last night, thinking, 'If it's true that treatment is possible just how many lives will be saved..."

"Good morning Pope. I hope my explanation is clear to everyone--"

　At first, I was thinking of wearing a mask to hide my identity, but Navi said, "how could there be no one with appraisal magic at a gathering of high-level temple officials."

I briefly introduced myself to everyone and asked them to take their seats in the dining room.

"Well, first of all, I will start with a lecture before the practical training. I worked hard last night to make a picture book that even a monkey can understand, so I will explain in detail how labor cough is transmitted."

"Does your Highness Luke think we’re on the same level as monkeys?!"

　Who is that...isn’t he one of the court physicians that the King brought? As I recall, he was the one who was introduced as the youngest of them.

"It's a figure of speech....even if you show it to a monkey, it won't actually understand it."

"Well, that's fine...I was wondering if you were making fun of us."

"♪ He’s the type who makes a fool of himself. His tone is polite, but in his mind he’s looking down on master. 』

"Is that so? The King has brought a troublesome fellow.』\

"♪ It's true that he’s excellent. He seems to have liked Mifa, and he seems to have gotten irritated when he heard rumors that she had been engaged to Master, so let's overlook it. 』\

"A court physician...has he ever seen Mifa's breasts?”

"♪ Master...what are you saying now...you disappointing Prince"*

"Ugh...because..."

"♪ The examinations of the queens and princesses are done by the female physician. She’s also participating in the workshop this time. "

Is that so?

"Lenglan! If you say anything else I'll have you arrested! Engrave each of Luke's words into your head and learn firmly!"

Zeno-san is angry!

"My King, I'm sorry for the unnecessary remarks!"

"♪ The court physicians were warned in advance that they should never make statements that would offend master."

"Well, moving on...I will accept questions at the end, so please listen silently to my teaching until the end."

I explained everything with the picture book I made last night. Everyone listened attentively to my explanation.

"Do you have any questions?"

The Saint raised her hand.

"Yes, Holy Mother."

"I can't believe that microorganisms do such invisible harm to the body. I've confirmed with my unique skill that His Highness Luke isn't lying, but I can't understand it. How did His Highness, Luke, know that something invisible existed and how did you confirm it?"

　I was asked the same question by Iris yesterday...after all, "How?" I guess that's where I get stuck when I think about it.

　Next to the saint, the female court physician is holding her thumb and index finger in a circle and looks at her palm. What is that? The inside of the circle appears large as if she was looking through a scope.

"♪ It's expansion magic. But that would only look as large as with a magnifying glass. "

When I saw the magic of the female court physician, an idea came to mind.

"The answer to the saint's question is the application of the magic that sensei is using right now. Have you ever wondered how the blue-black mold that grows on bread grows day by day?"

"That’s the magic called [expansion]. Unfortunately, I can't use it. The phenomenon where blue-black mold increases...? I see. If you apply it to the explanation in the picture book, it means that parasites are growing on the bread and feeding on it."

"That's right. Are there any knights with itchy feet?"

"Luke, do you mean athlete's foot?" (Zeno)

"Yes, that's right"

They don't even understand fungus, so how can they call it athletes foot?

"♪ Even in Japan, the words" athlete's foot "and" tamushi " {TN: google it if you want} were already used in the Edo period. It was also properly described in old literature. Since they didn't know the existence of the fungus, at that time they thought that insects in the water and insects in the rice fields sucked and itched like mosquito bites. Athlete's foot = insects in water, Tamushi = insects in the rice fields are said to be the sources."

"Actually, it's been bothering me for a long time....can you do something about it?"

"Can you take off your shoes?"

Wow, it's dirty! Zeno-san OUT! That's athlete's foot!

"The nails aren’t gone but it's athlete's foot."

What? It's not showing with appraisal magic?

"♪ The level of appraisal magic is too low. Athlete's foot isn’t a life-threatening illness, so at master's current skill level, it can’t be seen by appraisal magic."

"Since it's not an illness, it can't be cured right?" (Zeno)

"Did the court physicians say that? No, it's also a nasty illness that can be transmitted to others. The invisible microbes I just showed you are parasitizing between His Majesty's toes. It can be cured as well. "

"Really!"

"Before that...I will collect a little of the skin that is the athlete's foot."

Let's make a lens with water magic.

First, make pure water without any impurities and maintain the shape of the convex lens.

"♪ Master, the idea isn’t bad, but it isn’t possible.』\

"If you stack several lenses, can’t you magnify enough to see the athlete's foot fungi?" 』\

"♪ The lens used in a microscope is an objective lens. It has a complicated structure inside. Just collecting light like a convex lens does not provide enough precision to see bacteria. The image that Navi showed the other day is an electron microscope image. The principle is fundamentally different. "

"Well I thought it was too easy..."

I have no intention of developing and providing an electron microscope.

"♪ If it’s completely original, you can show everyone the athlete's foot fungus right? Navi will assist you, so please create four lenses like before. "

This is what I did according to Navi's instructions.

1. Suspend the skin collected from Zeno-san in the air with [Float]

2. Illuminate the skin from underneath with the magic [Light]

3. Add the magic of [enlargement] to the lens made by water magic.

4. Focus all four lenses created in step 3 on the skin

　The fourth image was a super-enlarged piece of skin with threads that branched out like roots of a tree.

"Oh, I've done it too!"

　Looking towards the voice, the female court physician had completed my original magic, which Navi had predicted would be impossible to imitate, without her support.

"Well-done sensei! These thread-like things are the true nature of athlete's foot. They penetrate into the skin, absorb nutrients from the skin then divide and multiply like slimes. Iris, as my first disciple, why don't you try it first? As I explained yesterday, use your magic with the image of removing this evil thing."

Nominated among the brilliant members, Iris, nervously, treated King Zeno's athlete's foot.

I raise the level of appraisal magic to see if the treatment was successful.

"Congratulations Iris. The King's athlete's foot has been completely cured."

"Really? I'm so glad! Can labor cough be cured in the same way?"

"You and I can only use intermediate magic, so we have to treat critically ill patients many times, but I think it will work."

　The King was happy that his athlete's foot had been cured, but if he puts on those boots, it will come back again.

　I told him that if he didn't clean everything he was using with [Clean], it would reoccur. Then, we went to the guest room where the patients were housed and started the treatment practice of the Pope and others.

"The magic of the Pope and the Saint is amazing...Is that special-grade recovery magic?"

"Yes, that's right...I think His Highness Luke is more amazing. This treatment developed by His Highness is amazing. To be honest, I'm surprised at how effective it is. How many precious lives have been lost so far...?" (Pope)

"This remedy also works for colds. This is probably the best way to cure other epidemics that can be transmitted to other people."

"What! It’s also effective against colds?"

"Each illness has a slightly different image. For example, if you have inflammation of the throat, your fever won’t go down unless you calm it down. Therefore, it’s necessary to have an image of suppressing inflammation. Although, it can’t be said that the cause of the illness is completely cured. I’m still in the process of research, so there’re many things I still don’t understand."

　When a high-ranking magician treats a patient with a severe case of labor cough using the method I taught, the patient can be completely cured with a single spell. As a teacher, I feel frustrated with this much difference in level.

"Navi, I'm scared of the level difference ..."

"♪ That's right. Although the master has a higher understanding of the illness and better treatment efficiency, the results are dramatically different due to the difference between intermediate magic and special magic. The same can be said for attack magic, so level differences are scary. I want you to raise your level as soon as possible."

　On this day, 9 out of the 10 participants were able to learn this treatment. The sister who couldn't learn it was depressed, but I don't know if she didn't have enough imaging ability or she didn't understand it well enough. Well, I'm sure she'll be able to do it soon.

　Iris, who was able to cure athlete's foot, was also able to cure labor cough effortlessly. She showed me a very nice smile,  I wonder if she was happy that she succeeded.

　Oh yeah, the young court physician who was involved with me at first, is currently in a pitiful situation, surrounded by the guard knights and temple knights who had come as escorts. 

　He’s surrounded by a lot of knights and is constantly treating athlete's foot. In any case, the people gathered here today are all heavyweights in the country, so their positions and titles are all superior to the knights.

As expected, I can't casually ask the Pope or the Saint to treat athlete's foot.

That's why they flocked to the young man who had just become a court physician. My condolences.

"I have a lot of other projects I would like to research, so I'll leave the rest to everyone here. I'll give the picture book I made with Iris to the church, so please tell each temple branch about the cure."

　I threw the whole thing to the head of the temple before he could ask me to go to each branch and hold a seminar.

Chapter 70: Distrust of women from past experiences

　The workshop was scheduled for a full day, but it ended in the morning because high level recovery magic can completely cure with a single treatment.

　The dying King's friend has recovered completely, and he will return to the field as soon as his physical strength recovers.

"I left the rest to the Pope, so it was all over in the morning."

"The Pope and the Saint were both happy to take care of it. Even so, Luke was very cool today!"

　I'm currently returning to school with Iris in a carriage. Then, Iris, whose cheeks were flushed in the opposite seat, praised me as "cool", while a bit shy.

"We finished ahead of schedule, so I wanted to get everyone and go straight to the Duke's house."

"It can't be helped....the King would want to make Luke's position clear in order to keep other countries in check."

"I understand that. I'm too urgent to catch up with my feelings ... huh ..."

　I sighed while looking out from the carriage.

.

Actually, when I told Zeno-san that I was going to the Duke's house as it was, he said "Wait".

"I want you, Luke, to attend the closing event of the 'Summoning Ceremony'. If it's okay with you, I'd like to introduce you as Mifa's fiancé there....what do you think?"

That's what he said...

　In short, a divine beast and a Black Emperor Dragon have been summoned in the Kingdom of Forrell, and since the summoner is the fiancé to the Second Princess of the Kingdom of Forrell, he intends to officially announce at the closing ceremony that no one should touch her.

"♪ Master, what do you intend to do? You only talked about having a relationship with Mifa, but when the royal family officially announces the engagement, the marriage will be confirmed. "

"That's right....we’re still shallow as friends, so it's too early to get married."

* * *

　When I returned to my room at school, Mifa and the others were already there waiting. It was just lunchtime at school. I declined the lunch invitation from the King and came here to discuss it with Mifa and Emilia.

"Luke-sama, welcome home. There was a call from my father earlier and I heard about the engagement announcement...."

"I'm home. Yeah, let's talk about that now...Iris and Natalie please prepare lunch."

"I've already prepared lunch for you. Just reheat it and it's ready to serve."

Apparently Natalie has already prepared it.

"Then, I'll be eating..."

I got to my usual seat and started eating, but the air was heavy...

"I'm sorry, Luke. I was going to say we should start by getting to know each other, but the people around me keep pushing the story towards engagement..."

"That's right...you want to marry me, right?"

"Yes. Rather, I can't think of anything else other than Luke-sama....I'm sorry for my selfishness."

"No, that's fine. So it all depends on my feelings...."

"Luke-sama, would you still prefer not to marry someone with a special unique skill like mine?"

"That's not the case. To be clear, we haven't really known each other as friends yet, have we? I know that the royal family's view of marriage is like this, but as I said earlier, if possible, I'd like to marry someone who I share a deep and mutual connection with."

"I'm longing for you, but do you mean that you don't feel the same way about me..."

Ugh, when she says it that way it definitely sounds like it’s the case?

I messed up… I couldn’t bear it if she starts crying.

"To be honest, I haven't been able to organize my feelings yet because I was separated from my fiancee, Lulutier.... I've also been worried about Iris recently."

"So that’s the case....I knew about Iris. It seems that she’s also interested in you...Isn't it?"

Mifa asked Iris a question.

"No, I'm.....Yes, I like him."

If she lied, she would be hated by Mifa....Iris confessed after a short while.

It's all in shambles--

"Navi, what do you think I should do? 』\

"♪ Why are you asking me! I can only say that it depends on your feelings master! 』\

"That's right ~"

For me, I'm not ready to get married, and killing the evil gods is my top priority. {TN: Sorry, at this point I’m not sure if it’s one god or many god’s but I’ll be leaving it as ‘god’s’ from now on}

I can't get married until I've raised my level and dealt with the evil gods.

"♪ Then, here’s some advice from Navi. If you dare to rank women according to Master's standard preferences, there are very few women in this world as good as Mifa. Both Iris and Emilia are good enough to be ranked high. By the way, Erica and Natalie are also in the top rank. If you say something indecisive, such as after getting rid of the evil god, all the good women by Master's standards would have been married by then. Don’t forget that marriage season in this world is early. By the way, Iris and Emilia have three years to spare."

"I forgot that the marriageable age was early. A woman who reaches my standards huh? "

"I've been thinking about it for a while and I think Iris is the ideal image of a bride. She cooks well, does perfect housework, and likes to keep her surroundings clean. She's intelligent, a good conversationalist as a healer, and has good taste.."

Iris looks happy, but Mifa becomes sad when she hears that.

"But, there is something good about Mifa."

"What’s good about me? Is it my breasts?"

"Breasts? Ah, that's one of the attractions, but in that part Iris and Emilia haven't lost, right? It's not the appearance of the chest, but the fact that you can't lie is one thing for me. That’s your most attractive point."

"You like my unique skills that everyone avoids and hates?"

"Yeah. It's not your ability to detect lies, but your inability to tell lies. For example, do you like me?"

"Yes, I love you."

"See, I'm very happy right now, and I feel relieved knowing that you're not lying. If I ask Iris this same question, I can't fully believe her, even if I get the same answer, word for word."

"It's not a lie...those are your true feelings. I never thought that anyone would really like this characteristic of mine."

　I’ve been with three women in my previous life. Thanks to the first two, I have a slight distrust of women.

　My first relationship was in the summer of my second year of high school. My partner was a childhood friend, a classmate of mine and we belonged to the same club. She was the second prettiest girl in our class at the time...but at a level that is not much different from the current Emilia who is disguising her appearance.

　We dated for a little over two years, but she eventually cheated on me and dumped me. The hard part is that I can't say "I have no fault" as the cause of that affair.

After high school, we planned to enter the same national university, and she studied hard. We both passed the entrance exam, but I betrayed her right before I started school and got a job at my uncle's company.

　Having a long-distance relationship and having nothing but a high school diploma in my final education, she thought about her future and ran to the next senior who confessed his love for her after joining the college circle.

.　About half a year after joining the company, the number of calls and emails from her gradually decreased. I thought it was strange, so I consulted a mutual friend who told me that my girlfriend had been having an affair for the past two months and I put an end to it.

　When we broke up, I had some thoughts about her, like, "Why didn't you just break up and go out with him? She had been cheating on me for two months, and yet she would call me on the phone and say, "I love you". She kept lying to me on the phone, saying she loved me and wanted to see me.

　By the time I reincarnated in this world, I had become a highly paid employee, and a mutual friend of ours was hoping we would get back together, but of course I didn't care. Her cheating boyfriend, who graduated from the national university, got a job at a good company, but quit after three months, and when he got another job, it didn't last long. He eventually gave up and broke up with her.

　The next person I went out with was a woman I had worked with on an overseas business trip to learn English during my second year at the company. She joined the company the same year I did, but she was four years older than me because she graduated from the university. I thought she was cute.

　We went to England for language study, but we were taken to a nursery school. The nursery was free of charge, and my uncle's company was paying our salaries. In other words, they threw us in as volunteer maids without any qualifications as maids.

　I'm good at caring for children because of my experience here. I learned origami and how to play the piano for young children while I was studying abroad.

　This study abroad program at a preschool was surprisingly good for learning languages, as the 3 to 5 year olds themselves were learning languages every day. It was impossible not to learn with them.

　Since she was the only person I knew who could speak Japanese, we quickly became friends and had a relationship. However, when I returned to Japan, I found out that she had multiple boyfriends....... I was being four-timed. I knew that she was a carnivorous person with a bit of a high sex drive, but..... I was used for her sexual treatment in the field.

Of course, I broke up immediately...I didn't need the ‘friendship’.

It took me a long time to get along with the third person.

　It was a pretty girl, three years younger than me, a receptionist at a business partner. But to be honest, she's still a wonder girl that I don't really understand.

　The first time we started dating was when I confessed my feelings to her, but it was a bit of a special kind of relationship. The managing director of my business partner made me confess to her as a joke when he signed a contract with me.

I had offered the executive director some very favorable terms for the contract, but he laughed and said, "You can confess to our receptionist now, and if you get the OK to go out with her, you can have these terms. I knew he was joking, but I thought I could get a laugh out of him even if she rejected my confession, so I went to the reception desk and asked the younger of the two receptionists to go out with me.

I said, "If you go out with me, you can get me a five-year contract on pretty good terms. It's just a joke from the executive director of your company, but would you be willing to go out with me for a little while just as a trial?"

I made my request as frankly as I could. She knew that there were no romantic feelings there. After staring at me for quite a while, she replied:

"I understand. Please invite me to a meal tonight."

　It was a very clerical kind of OK......I think I had the opposite look of annoyance on my face, because we had no romantic feelings for each other at all. When I went to tell the executive director that we were going out...

"What? All the guys in our company who confessed were turned down, but...Wait a minute..."

　He confirmed with her at the reception, but of course the answer did not change, and the managing director gave me the contact with good terms as promised.

I was with that girl for about half a year...but I died in the plane accident.

　I went on many business trips overseas and only saw her a couple of times a month. I'm not sure if I'd been able to get along with her, to be honest, because she was a person of few expressions and few words. But when we were together, my heart was always at peace. Even if we didn't talk, we could spend hours in the same room without any trouble.

I wonder how she’s doing?

"♪Are you curious? 』\

"That's right...I didn't know what she was thinking, but she said that I was the first person she was going out with...maybe it was a lie."

Navi then told me about her current situation and feelings at that time via the divine system.

"♪ She entered a women's junior college in escalator style from a girls' school, so she didn't have a chance to get to know men at all. She was confessed to almost every day since she joined the current company, and when she was confessed to by Master, she seemed to have a little fear of men. "

"Huh? How could she say yes to my confession under such circumstances? What do you mean 』\

"♪ The other men were calling out to her in a familiar manner, saying she was cute, asking her to exchange social media contacts, and so on, even though she hadn't even spoken to any of them. It was the same kind of thing that happened at the company's drinking parties, so the fact that Master asked her to go out with him just for the sake of the contract was new to her and hit the spot. "I wonder how he'll react if I just say yes?" That's what triggered it."

"For that reason? After all that girl was strange. What did she think of me in the end? 』\

"♪ You went to an expensive dinner the same night she said yes to your confession, right? 』\

"Yes, I did......It was a way to apologize for the trouble I caused, so I splurged.』\

"♪ Didn't you play the piano to match the atmosphere of the store? 』\

"I did...... She saw the piano in the store and said she had learned it as a child.......』\

"♪ After that, you took her home in a cab without touching her at all, right? 』\

"Yes, you're right. I don't do anything sexually the day I confess my feelings. Maybe that was a good thing, because she asked me when I wanted to go on another date. She said, "When will you ask me out again."

"♪ You had sex on the third date.....That’s fine. Her first time was then, and she had been looking at Master as a marriage partner ever since. Like Master, she felt that you were easy to be with and that your interests were compatible with hers. She found out about Master's death on the news. She was so sad that she had to take a leave of absence from work, but now she’s calm."

"Well, I wasn't sure if it was because of her lack of expression, but I guess she really liked me. I'm sorry that I suddenly died and disappeared....."

This is something that can't be helped, but I'm worried that the people left with only good memories won’t be able to move on...

"♪ She's a popular girl, so I'm sure time will tell."

"I don't want her to fall in love with another man...but, I want her to be happy ~"

"♪ Think of what you’re going to do about Mifa, instead of dwelling on the past? 』\

"Thanks Navi, I've made up my mind."

I've decided to become officially engaged to Mifa.

Chapter 71: Differences between Different World Aristocrats and My Concepts

While Navi and I were talking about my history with women, I was able to gather my thoughts and make up my mind.

I have to note that Luke and I have very different views on marriage.

　For me, dating does not equal marriage, but for Luke, or rather for the aristocracy of this world, dating equals engagement. And unless there's a big reason, it's natural to get married.

It reminds me of the last girlfriend I had--

　We started dating and became man and woman, but at the time I wasn't thinking about marriage.

　Well, of course not....... It had been about six months since we started dating. We had only gone out on dates about a dozen times and had sex three times during that period. I feel bad and a little sad when I think that I got into a plane crash.

　I had told my uncle that I was going out with the receptionist at my business partner, but I hadn't told the rest of my family that I had a new girlfriend. I was pretty depressed when I broke up with my childhood friend, and I worried about her. My sister was especially angry at her for cheating since they knew each other.

Of course, I was not without fault for betraying her and getting a job, but since we had discussed it and she had agreed to it, I was the one who was betrayed.

"♪ By the way, master didn't leave a will for her, right? 』\

"No, I couldn't afford to do that in that situation! I had my hands full just following the goddess's orders and thinking about saving that girl! 』\

"♪ That’s right......you didn't even leave a will for your beloved grandparents, so you didn't have the time or inclination to take into account many different aspects."

"Yes. But after talking to Navi and thinking about my death, I now feel that I want to cherish my relationship with Mifa"

"♪ Did you see some relevance in this story? Did you find any connection between your dead past and Mifa? 』\

"It's not about relevance or anything like that....... I want to answer Mifa's thoughts now when I think that I might die in the extermination of the evil god. I just realized that Mifa is such a fine woman."

　I thought it would be better for me not to get engaged until the defeat of the evil god comes true, for the sake of Mifa, because I don't know whether I would die, but I heard that if I die, there won’t be any hope for this dimension.

"♪ The Goddess seems to think that humanity will be destroyed if Master dies."

"Heavy! What’s with the extinction of humankind!? 』\

　Well, there's no point in thinking about what will happen after I'm dead. I'll just have to live my life to the fullest now.

Now that I've made up my mind, I call out to Mifa, who is looking anxious.

"Mifa, you ask Iris every morning if I did anything to her last night, right?"

"Huh...did you know? Did Iris tell you?"

　Now that I am conscious of getting married, Mifa, who was anxious in front of me, looked even cuter and asked me a nasty question.

Apparently this is an effect that resulted from Luke's memory...I have to be careful.

"I didn't say anything about--"

"Iris didn't say anything. And I'm not blaming Mifa. In fact, I'm kind of happy about that jealousy. I'm not very confident about myself, so it's nice to have someone like Mifa who actually shows her affection in a way that's easy to understand."

"Is that so? My mother warned me that if I pestered you too much, you would end up hating me.."

"Ah, it might be annoying if it goes too far."

"That's it..."

"Yeah, I'm going to officially get engaged to Mifa after this."

"Really! I'm so happy!"

"I'm glad to hear that, but as I said before, I'm not confident in myself. So, just as Mifa is insecure and asks Iris questions every morning, I might ask you sometimes, "Do you like me?" 

"Yes! Please ask me every day!"

"Well, that's too pathetic of me, so I'm going to make an effort so that Mifa won't hate me. I'm going to make an effort to lose weight, which is the most insecure part of my body, and I'm also going to study hard so they won’t say that you’re a foolish princess who fell in love with a foolish pig prince."

"Ufufu, I'm happy with those words."

Next is Emilia--

"Emilia, I'm also going to officially announce my engagement with you at this time."

“…………”

Wow, it’s a recurrence of silence.

"To be honest, I don't see much merit in getting engaged to you now, but I think Duke Guile would want to make it public at an early stage since there might be pressure from his faction if word of me got out."

"Father? You mean a faction dispute?"

"Yes. The other day when I went to the royal castle, the queens advised me against it. It doesn't seem to be as fierce as my family's kingdom of Volg, but they told me to be careful because they all want to surround themselves with influential nobles so that they can have an advantageous say in regular assemblies and budget allocations. The faction to which I belong, with my Divine Beast Hati, Black Emperor Dragon Diana, and Mifa's Holy Beast Spinel, is in effect the highest force in this country. If the world learns about today's recovery seminar, my value will increase even more. And I'm sure they don't want Emilia, the daughter of a duke who belongs to the king, to be added to that list."

　This area is similar to the parliamentary seat battle. If you want a voice, you have no choice but to pull in a faction and increase the number of staff.

"That's right… I'm also taught to be careful not to make easy remarks and use quality words."

"If three years later, Emilia's androphobia has not been cured, she can still marry me. Let's put aside the issue of the succession of Emilia's family for the time being. Even if she has a phobia of men, I'm sure we can become friends in three years. We have a good relationship now that we can talk like this. So, to put it bluntly, it's a camouflage marriage. It's a marriage in form, but it doesn't have to be a man and a woman. Even if it is a formal marriage, it will eliminate those who are courting Emilia and maintain the Duke of Guile's appearance."

"But, my father is urging you to have a child, right?"

"You can ignore that. "I'm trying my best, but it's a gift from God," I'll tell him. It is not necessary for my child to clean up the mess of Duke Guile, who has not taken a concubine in the first place."

　Before the succession problem became serious...when Lara, the youngest child, was very young, the Duke of Guile should have gotten a concubine to make a successor.

　A noble family as large as a duke's has many vassals. If there is no successor and the family goes bankrupt, it will affect everyone below. Even if he adopted a child from among his relatives, his vassals would complain because he was not a direct descendant of Duke Guile. That's why he takes a son-in-law for his daughter and makes the baby boy the next head of the family, but this is where the factions come into play.

　In the aristocratic society where there is male dominance,  even the son-in-laws would have a higher say than Emilia. Although, the dark eyes of Duke Guile wouldn't be so easy to take over.

"I understand. I've always thought that I shouldn't stay like this forever. When I go home, I'll show you my true face and tell you how I became scared of men. I'm an unlucky person, but thank you."

I was surprised....what kind of change of mind is this?

"♪ It seems that master's response was successful. She felt that she shouldn't keep receiving the kindness of Master while hiding her true face forever. Ah, but don't make the mistake of thinking the last part was her being unreasonable. It is a story that has to do with admitting the disguised marriage and getting married, so don't mess with it. "

"I know. Well, I think she’s opened her heart a little again. If she opens her heart, the magic of [Mental Recovery] will be effective, and it's a step forward."

What will happen to my position after that?----

"♪ Will you use the family name of Duke Guile, or are you launching your new family name as Zeno said the other day ..."

"That’s right. When you start a house, you’ll get a bell, right? It's a little tough if you think that all the servants prepared with it will monitor you. "

"♪ But isn't it better than living directly with Duke Guile in the same mansion? 』\

"That's a real problem! 』\

"♪ The kingdom of Volg and the kingdom of Forrell are in a fuss because of Master's divine beast. It seems that tonight, the Kingdom of Forrell will bring together major powers to meet on what to do about Master's position. '

"So the standing position will change depending on the discussion?....Well it was the goddess who gave me Hati though. 』\

Well, Iris first--

"About Iris, I need a little time for this. I have feelings for Iris, and I'm very happy about her feelings, but I can't announce it now. I'm sure the King will have his own agenda, and I'll have to meet with Iris' parents first. Also, if I don't have Mifa's permission, I can't accept it in the first place. I don't want to see my brides fighting each other."

"I understand……"

Iris....don't look so sad.

"I'm fine with Iris..."

"Hmm? What are your true feelings?"

While saying that it is okay, her cute face is frowning.

"... I don't want anyone to have a concubine, but I'm in a situation where I can't say that. As you said earlier, I think your value will increase, more and more every day. In that case, even though it’s a Count’s family, Iris's parents may not be able to withstand the pressure of the people around them. Iris' Michael family is a vassal of the Forrell family, so it’s likely that you will be involved in a Faction conflict, as well as Emilia."

"Oh, come to think of it he was Duke Guile's vassal......Ummm, so Mifa is okay with Iris being one of my fiancées?"

"I'd much rather have Iris than a complete stranger in my side room. But are you sure about that, Luke?　You said that you only needed one wife, but now you've suddenly thrown in so many, I'm worried that you'll get sick of this country and run away."

"I'm not thinking about running away at all. Both of you are too good for me now. That's why I want to cherish this relationship. My favorite word is" Ichigo Ichie ". ―― ”

"What does it mean?"

"'Ichigo' means 'lifetime', and 'Ichikai' means 'one-time encounter', it's a once-in-a-lifetime encounter, and it's a word to cherish never-ending opportunities. I definitely don't want to miss a relationship with women as wonderful as both of you."

　After all, the engagement with Iris could not be decided by ourselves, so we decided to talk about it tomorrow.

We'll have to ask for the opinions of Iris' parents too.