Luna had marched into the mines with her shoulders pulled back...but a cloud of dust knocked some wind out of her sails. The mines were currently being tested by teams of miners taking shifts. Now that they were active, they were filled with cacophonous chaos: minecarts screeching, wheelbarrows rolling, gears clunking away to bring up rocks from the depths of the shafts. What’s worse, Luna felt like she was going to suffocate on the clouds of dust that came from all sorts of minerals.
“Wh-What is this place?!” Luna screamed.
Meanwhile the miners toiled away with gritted teeth, their faces marred by coal dust and their bodies muddied from head to toe. Even the inside of their ears and nose looked black, their hairs as coarse as wires. Miners in the real world also faced the threat of toxic gas and even the mine itself collapsing—these men really put their lives on the line.
Amid the clamor of the mines, the men dug and dug and dug, exchanging jokes and encouragement in the dark, illuminated only by the string of gas lamps. It was grueling work with a payout that made it all worth it.
Tahara, who’d been calling out orders as needed, turned. “Hey, Little Luna. Took you long enough.”
“What is this place?! The dust is ruining my elegant outfit!” Luna shrieked.
“What’d you expect from a coal mine? If you don’t like it, go check out the beach the Secretary laid out,” Tahara said.
“What do you mean ‘beach’?! What did he do to my village while I was away?!”
“I’d save your complaints for another day, if I were you. Chief’s been in a real mood these past few days...” Tahara shook his head in resignation—even this genius didn’t have a solution to the Demon Lord’s temper, it seemed.
“What kind of mood? Oh, he must have been depressed that I’ve been away. Aww, that’s kind of cute,” Luna said.
“Your optimism scares me sometimes. Hate to break it to you, but that’s not why. The Open Sea looks great and all, but nothing’s been biting.”
“None of that made any sense...” Luna grumbled.
The brilliant Open Sea that stretched beyond Shoreline Beach was supposed to yield seafood of all kinds, regardless of the season. However, no one had been able to fish up anything from the Open Sea in Rabbi—not a single fish. The Demon Lord, who’d been yearning for the Empire’s seafood like an alcoholic yearned for his next drink, became irritated with every day that passed with fishermen bringing in nothing but empty nets. Now he was visibly pissed off. Tahara and Yu were taking the wrath of their creator particularly harshly, as if every little swing in his mood threatened to stop their hearts.
“Idiot. If you want fish, make fisherman fish for them,” Luna said.
“We tried, of course. We got a hundred fishermen we brought over from the Island Legion.”
People of the Island Legion lived in harmony with the sea. All of its residents—men, women, and children—fished. They also had more knowledge about and experience with the sea than anyone else on the continent. When they could yield no results after trying every method in their arsenal, there was nothing more that could be done. Naturally, none of the advisors were designed with any fishing skills, since they had been kept too busy defending the Sleepless Castle with their lives.
Tahara had recruited the Bunnies, on top of all the laborers, and still had nothing to show for it. “Manami’s going to be here soon and I can’t even serve her a decent fish dish. I’m the worst older brother... I don’t deserve her... Forgive me, Manami! Forgive meeee!” Tahara fell to his knees, hands thrown to the heavens in a pathetic gesture unbecoming of the genius advisor who’d solved problem after problem that the Demon Lord had faced so far.
“Where’s that hero, anyway?!” Luna demanded, ruthlessly changing the subject. “On behalf of all Holy Maidens, I will see what he’s made of!”
Curled up on the ground, Tahara grunted and pointed. Luna followed the trajectory of his finger and saw a short man devoutly swinging a pickaxe as if it were an act of worship. Even in that simple act, something about his presence screamed that he was far from ordinary. While the miners worked in shifts and took frequent breaks, Weeb worked from dusk until dawn. “Stubborn” didn’t begin to describe his drive—his obsession—like that of a monk flogging himself.
“So, you’re the hero,” Luna said by way of greeting. “I am the lady of this village, Luna Elegant!” Her voice was filled with the utmost self-imposed authority.
Weeb soberly turned to her, his face and body completely covered in coal dust. Luna’s fire was snuffed out—he looked just like any other miner. “I am Weeb,” the paladin said. “From the bottom of my heart, I apologize for the behavior of the Salamander Knights during the civil war.”
“Hmph. What’s the point of that? Make the Pope apologize, if you want it to mean anything.”
“That will be an ordeal, but I will do everything in my power to try.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter how many times you start a fight with us! You’re never going to stand a chance against me!”
Weeb could only lower his head in gratitude. The barbarism of the Salamander Knights during the war was beyond inexcusable. Their mission had been to wipe out the Satanists; instead, they had turned to hedonistic massacre. Anyone in Weeb’s shoes would have had no defense for them. “I’m sure anyone from the Tzardom would be the last person you want to see here, but I would greatly appreciate your permission to stay in this village for a while.”
“Ah ha! So you can’t get enough of my village either. Very well. I’ll make an exception! When you return to the Tzardom, you’d better brag all about this place!”
“I will try my best,” Weeb simply said before returning to his pickaxe.
Luna watched him for a few strokes, then turned on her heels, already bored. In her eyes, the Paladin seemed like the biggest stick in the mud she’d ever seen. She carried on past Tahara—still curled up on the ground—and quickly escaped the dusty mines. There, Ren was standing in the same spot she had left her. “Huh? Where’d my servant go?” Luna asked.
“She went to see Yu. To thank her for healing her wings.”
“At least that’s a good reason. I’d better thank her too...” Luna said. Her towering self-centeredness seemed to waver only when it came to Eagle. For her best friend, Luna would actually express gratitude or even plead.
“Yu seems to have found her place in this village,” Ren said.
“Huh? Yeah, and she’s saved a lot of people since she’s been here,” Luna remarked.
“Is that so...?”
“Oh? I think I smell something between you two.” Luna smirked, bringing herself nose-to-nose with Ren, pink and onyx converging. “You and...Yu, aren’t friends, are you? Spill it!”
“What makes you say that?” Ren asked.
“I have two older sisters who are the biggest thorns in my side. I can sense these things,” Luna said confidently.
With an elegant sweep of her hand, Ren brushed back her hair. She seemed to assess that nothing she could say would convince Luna otherwise. And Ren and Yu had had no contact, beyond the point of liking or not liking each other. “My standing with Yu aside, do you intend to eliminate the other two Holy Maidens?”
“That’s not what I mean... I’m saying I should be in charge of them!”
“You remind me a lot of my friend. You’re innocent and bright. If I may make a suggestion with that in mind, you should keep yourself free, rather than climb to the top of any system.”