Chapter 7

“Sunset, you say? In that case, if you would like, we still have some time until then, so shall I show you around? I could at least guide you through places like the barracks and training grounds.”

“That sounds good. There are several things I wish to confirm as well. Then, may I ask you to do so?”

Princess Kana readily accepted the suggestion, and as she followed Burley after he said, “This way, then,” she decided to ask about something that had been bothering her.

“When traveling on horseback, what is done with the baggage? There is a limit to how much a horse can carry. Does that not cause difficulties when camping? And you must transport food and such as well, yes? How do you carry all of it?”

“Ah, those supplies are carried by accompanying magicians who possess Magic Boxes. If there is anything Saintess-sama wishes to bring, simply tell them and they will take care of it.”

“A Magic Box?”

“Yes. Would you like to see one?”

“May I? I would very much like to.”

Seeing the princess openly display her curiosity, the commander said he would take her to the magicians’ training grounds, then changed direction slightly as they proceeded. They arrived at an open area surrounded by high walls, with numerous objects resembling archery targets lined up along them.

A large number of people stood before them, dressed in garments resembling traveling cloaks with dark-colored hoods. While chanting something toward the targets, they launched fire and water or slashed at them with blades of wind. The commander called out to one of them, a man who was firing flashes resembling lightning at a target.

“Hey, Henry! Sorry to bother you, but show Saintess-sama your Magic Box!”

Apparently reacting to the word “Saintess,” every gaze in the area immediately turned toward the princess and her companions. A few contained traces of fear, but most were filled with curiosity and hopeful relief,

“That is the Saintess-sama…”

“Then those foxes must be…”

“At last, perhaps now…”

And similar murmurs reached her ears.

Perhaps delighted to be out in a spacious area again after so long, the white foxes ran about while the man who had just been called approached at a jog, watching them with fascination. He was tall but slender, with both eyes and hair of a grayish black, and possessed the appearance of a scholar.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Commander. Saintess-sama, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Henry Gingel, a Royal Court Magician. A man named Bart and I will accompany you on this expedition, so I look forward to serving you.”

“I am Kana. The departure was decided rather suddenly, but I shall be relying on you.”

“Yes. Now then, you wished to see a Magic Box. Personal Status.”

After chanting those words, the magician began making gestures around the area in front of his chest as though flipping through the pages of a book. Apparently, whatever he was seeing was visible only to him.

“I cannot see it. Is that a book?”

“Yes. It mainly records the condition of my body, along with the techniques and abilities I can use. In my case, it also serves as a container for storing my possessions. For example, I can store magical tools used in battle, as well as the Magic Box I am about to show you.”

“Does everyone in this world possess such an invisible book?”

“Everyone possesses a Status, yes, and no one other than its owner can see it. However, its form differs from person to person. Mine is called a Book Type because it takes the shape of a book, but the most common is the Stone Tablet Type. There are apparently rare Crystal Ball Types as well. In any case, it is said to manifest in whatever form feels most familiar to the individual.”

Henry explained that a stone tablet consisted of a thin piece of stone fitted into a wooden frame and was commonly used by young children to practice reading and writing, which was probably why so many people found the form familiar. As he spoke, he pulled something from a place that looked completely empty. It consisted of squares roughly five sun across, arranged four vertically and eight horizontally, and to Princess Kana it resembled a small shōji screen with a picture drawn in each panel.

“My Box is designed so that I can see what is stored inside, like this. If I press this section, I can retrieve one of the items within. The writing in the corner is the name of the stored item, while the number beside it indicates the quantity.”

Inside were portable provisions, pots and bedding that appeared intended for camping, spare weapons, armor, and horse tack, along with oil and wheat, and even potatoes and beans. Looking at the areas he had indicated, she could indeed see what appeared to be writing and numbers.

“To think that so many things can fit inside something so small! How convenient! But how do you put it away again?”

“You store the Magic Box in the same manner you took it out. As for the Status itself, simply say ‘Close’ and it will disappear.”

The princess listened with repeated murmurs of admiration, then turned toward Burley beside her and asked a question.

“Is this Status of yours similar?”

“No. Mine is the most common vertical Stone Tablet Type, and I cannot use storage or a Magic Box. Those are things only magicians with a great deal of magical power can use. Most ordinary Statuses are either vertical or horizontal Stone Tablet Types.”

“I see. Then there are several things I wish to bring with me. Henry, may I entrust them to you?”

“Of course.”

After Henry readily agreed, the commander listened to the several items Princess Kana named and assured her that most had already been scheduled to be taken as relief supplies anyway, so there would be no problem since they merely needed to adjust the quantities.

When Burley mentioned that it was nearly lunchtime, Princess Kana returned to her room and noticed a large book resting on the table alongside her meal.

“This must be what William called a bestiary.”

It was a lavish illustrated volume bound in leather not only on the front and back covers but along the spine as well, and its pages were filled with vividly colored images of ominous-looking creatures. There were all manner of varieties: creatures resembling wild dogs, monkeys, and boars, winged creatures, and things that looked like enormous lizards.

The explanatory text beneath each illustration was written in characters she had never seen before, and although it ran horizontally, its meaning somehow entered her mind naturally.

“These resemble the likes of monsters and malevolent spirits. I see. Perhaps I truly am suited to this task. Still, there are so many kinds. Ah, this one reminds me of 【One Hundred Tales from Various Provinces】.”

That book had been an illustrated collection of ghost stories consisting of five volumes and one hundred tales, and Princess Kana remembered competing to read ahead with her elder brother Yasumasa, who had passed away at a young age. The memory of his smug face as he boasted that he had read more than she had made heat gather behind her eyes, but she bit her lip and endured it.

“Still, it seems this is not the vermin extermination I imagined. It would be more accurate to call it monster hunting.”

After going through the bestiary once, Princess Kana muttered that to herself, then decided to test whether she too could use this thing called a ≪Status≫ that she had seen earlier.

In truth, ever since hearing that everyone in this world could use one, she had been unable to stop wondering about it, but she had felt somewhat embarrassed to try it in front of others. She recalled the incantation the magician had spoken.

“Personal… Status.”

At once, a scroll appeared before the princess. It had already unrolled about one shaku, and as she read the writing upon it, the portion she had finished reading automatically rolled itself up while new sections continuously appeared below.

(Oh, this is…)

“…I do not quite understand what the numbers near the beginning signify, but it is fortunate that I can use the Shafuku Zōkin Art and Ongyō Art. I learned them, but never actually had the opportunity to use them. Hmm, so the Shiki were being created automatically. That explains it.”

Although there were several entries whose meanings she did not understand, she decided that, overall, it was something like a combination of an identity record and a chest that contained practically anything she might need.

“Judging by this, it seems I shall not lack for anything needed in daily life. This truly is the very definition of having every convenience provided.”

Suō and Kaō, puzzled by Princess Kana muttering to herself while staring at her own ≪Status≫, peered toward her.

“Princess, what are you looking at?”

“We cannot see anything at all.”

“It is this thing called my Status. Mine takes the form of a scroll, and it even has information about you two written upon it.”

““Oh! It mentions us as well! Then by all means, please read it to us!!””

At the foxes’ insistence, she read aloud the section describing them. Then—

““Our rank is Kūko?! What wonderful news!””

When Princess Kana had inherited the two of them, they had still been Kiko, so they were delighted to discover that their rank had risen. Perhaps the day when they became Inari Kūko was near, they said, only to counter that such thoughts were far too presumptuous, and Princess Kana watched the excited foxes chatter away.

“Still, how does one retrieve the things inside the Storage Box? Norman seemed to pluck his items out, yet the writing sets appeared merely because I wished for them. Is that perhaps because one is a book and the other a scroll?”

For the moment, she decided to test it with something small and wished for her spring cypress fan. With a popping sound, a cypress fan appeared atop the princess’s hand.

When she opened it, she found a design of cherry blossoms and butterflies, almost identical to the fan she had used while practicing kagura dancing. The sight unexpectedly reminded her of her mother, who had trained her, and her chest tightened. When she wished for it to return, it vanished, so she assumed it had gone back into the Storage Box.

(This truly is a convenient world. Perhaps this too is a kindness from whatever god of this world helped with my summoning, allowing me to live without inconvenience. That does not mean I have the slightest intention of forgiving the summoning itself, however. Still, there were many things in there that appeared useful, so if they can help with exterminating the magical beasts and performing purification, I suppose that will suffice…)

To ensure she could draw the map without difficulty when her Shiki returned at sunset, the princess decided to grind the ink she would need and placed three inkstones side by side. One was for red ink. She recited a purification mantra over water that she had asked a servant to draw for her, then carefully ground the ink while adding the water little by little.

By the time she finally finished preparing the red ink as well, the Shiki began returning one after another. Each dipped its beak or wings into the ink and began drawing everything it had seen as a map upon the paper spread across the table.

Commander Burley happened to arrive just then, and when Princess Kana saw his eyes widen in astonishment at the sight, she laughed and proudly declared that her Shiki were quite excellent.

After roughly half an hour, the map was complete, and Princess Kana stood before it.

“First is here. As I thought, Clutchfield lies at the Demon Gate. Then there is Edgerton at the Rear Demon Gate. However, Dawkins presents an entirely different and very serious problem.”

She frowned as she spoke. Red ink had been used to mark the distribution of magical beasts with dots across the map. Judging from those markings, far more magical beasts were concentrated in Clutchfield than in Dawkins—and by an overwhelming margin.

When she asked the commander how requests for reinforcements were sent from each region, he answered,

“We previously used messenger birds, but their numbers declined after attacks by magical beasts, so now we mainly use express riders whose horses are equipped with special magical tack that repels magical beasts. Relay stations with replacement riders and horses are positioned at key points, and messages are delivered to the royal capital by passing through them.”

“That aspect seems much the same in any world. Then how long does it take to travel from here to here?”

When she indicated the royal capital and Clutchfield, she received the answer that, provided no magical beasts were encountered, it would take approximately a day and a half.

“Do you know where those relay stations are located along the way?”

“I do not know the precise locations, but there should be approximately eight of them along this highway.”

He pointed to a particular route on the map.

“Then they pass through here as well. I see. So that is why this has happened.”

Princess Kana nodded as though everything had fallen into place, then stared at the map for a while.

“Still, magical beasts run rampant outside, while the retainers he relies upon send false reports. William certainly has his troubles. But I find it displeasing that someone would attempt to deceive me. Suō, Kaō. There is no need to show mercy to such a person, is there?”

With those words, she broke into a broad grin.

Upon seeing that smile, Burley felt just a little sorry for the lord of Dawkins.

Bonus Short Story 【The Foxes’ Statuses】

“(Suō) I wonder if we can do it as well?”

“(Kaō) Let us try!!”

After hearing Princess Kana explain the ≪Status≫, the white foxes became curious whether they could use it themselves. While their master was busy grinding ink, they secretly decided to test it in a corner of the room. In that respect, master and servants were remarkably alike.

““Personal Status!””

“(Suō) Oh, it appeared! Mine is a scroll, just like Princess’s!”

“(Kaō) Mine as well!”

“(Suō) Now, what does it say…?”

“(Kaō) Ohh, seeing information about myself written out like this is rather embarrassing…”

At first, both Suō and Kaō happily examined their own Statuses, sometimes even reading portions aloud, but when they reached a certain section, both suddenly fell silent. After hesitating for a while, they simultaneously chanted, ““Close.””

“(Kaō) …Well then, I think I shall go for a little walk…”

“(Suō) I-Is that so? Then I think I shall rest for a while…”

With that, Kaō leaped through the window into the garden while Suō headed toward Princess Kana’s bedroom. Once alone, however, both quietly muttered “Personal Status” once again.

“(Kaō) Now then, should I tell her about this, or keep it hidden…?”

“(Suō) But if I tell her honestly and she asks me to share…”

What they were both staring at, and what had caused them to fall silent earlier, was the very same thing—an item listed among each fox’s possessions.

Fundamentally, once a fox reached the rank of Kiko or Kūko, it no longer needed food, but that did not mean it was incapable of eating. Quite the opposite: spiritually potent foods were delicacies that further increased its divine power.

((The legendary Immortal Realm–Seal fried tofu… drool. Ahh, I cannot stop salivating. Just one piece for now—no, merely one tiny bite from the edge… I shall take one bite and put it straight back…))

Both foxes decided they would stop after eating only a tiny bit. Each took out one piece and timidly nibbled at the edge.

((S-So deliciousーーーーーー!!))

((Suō) This indescribably rich aroma, this profound flavor…)

((Kaō) This noble taste that deepens with every bite—truly worthy of the Immortal Realm Seal…)

And that was all there was to it. Both foxes had intended to nibble only a little from the edge, yet before they realized it, each had devoured an entire piece. And worse—

((Just one more……only one more…))

Needless to say, some time later, both sat dumbfounded after having eaten more than ten pieces apiece.