Atelier Tanaka

Book 3: Chapter 1 (2)

Conflict 3

[Sophia-chan’s point of view]

They had been searching through the documents to hopefully find Tanaka-san’s location and were only about halfway through now. Their progress is slow. I can see Ester-sama and Fahren-sama becoming increasingly impatient with each document they look through.

“I can’t find him….”

“With this many documents to sift through it’s not surprising we’re having so much trouble.”

Perhaps their agitation is being caused by the Dragon continuously staring at them.

“You still can’t find him?”

The cake that one of the maids brought out for us is already gone. The Dragon keeps asking that same question, and each time she asks it her voice becomes more irritated.

I’m scared. Staying in this castle will become scary soon. My heart can’t take it.

“J-Just wait a little longer! We’ll find him!”

Ester-sama looked desperate as she scanned through page after page.

Fahren-sama looked serious as he pored over the stack of papers near him.

“Aren’t all these people under your command? Why don’t you know where they’ve sent him?”

“I’ve only recently taken control here so we’ve been going through a period of succession. My predecessor’s senior official is still in control of most things even though I’m technically above him in rank. I’ve been spending most of my time learning about the duties I’ll have to fulfil and about the area I’ve gained control over.”

“I don’t fully understand how the human world works. However, from what I’ve seen here, you’re doing a poor job of controlling your flock.”

“Gu….”

In response to the Dragon’s snide remarks, Ester-sama’s face stiffened.

However, she quickly regained her composure.

“…you’re right. I should more closely oversee the work of my subordinates.”

She’s probably worried about Tanaka-san as well.

She raised no objection to the Dragon’s complaint.

But the Dragon kept up her usual behaviour.

“I’m glad you’re able to understand just how truly incompetent you are. Now that you understand that, find him quickly. Imbecile.”

“….”

She acts more high and mighty than most of the nobility I’ve encountered.

She’s overwhelming.

Because of the tense atmosphere this situation has created, it’s even more painful for me to sit here and do nothing. If there was something for me to do, even if it’s insignificant, I’d feel like I’d at least be contributing in some way. Could I maybe try looking through that smaller stack of papers?

“U-Umm, I’ll help with this….”

I don’t know if this is the best idea. I can read letters, but in this situation, where two well-educated people are having difficulties, how useful will a self-taught maid be? I’m not feeling very confident. Honestly, I feel like I’ll just cause more problems.

“Can you read letters and numbers?”

“Y-Yes…somewhat….”

“I see. Then, you can take this stack.”

“Yes!”

It was stressful talking to him, but I can be useful now. I reached my hand out to grab the top sheet of paper.

After reading the first few lines, this document appeared to be an order for supplies. There was an entire column of approval signatures. Many people with amazing titles had signed this document and at the very bottom was Ester-sama’s final approval. Earlier she said that officials from her predecessor were still doing most of the work, but it still seems she has to give the final approval.

“….”

I don’t understand.

Actually, based on the sheer number of documents here, it would be impossible for Ester-sama to read through all of these in the few days that she’s been here. Perhaps she’s just given a stack of documents and then told to sign at the bottom without even reading it.

Managing a territory must be hard work.

“….”

It must be harder being a nobleman than I thought.

While thinking about this, I continued reading through page after page. Most of them were just orders for supplies. I reached an order with two signatures on it that was dated very recently.

“….”

Is that around ten separate orders for supplies?

Something about that seems off to me.

The large amount of food and weapons seems way too excessive for the personnel that’s listed in each order. There’s also nothing at all related to troop movements among these documents.

In addition to this, they seem to be bringing a large number of knights to Tricklis. In total, the number seems to be around one hundred or so. Moreover, the vast majority of them have all been sent directly to the frontlines. What’s even more strange is the fact that almost all of them have been taken directly from the capital. Is this really okay?

Unlike average soldiers, knights are distinguished members of society. Those that belong to the Central Order are considered to be the elites among all knights. I’ve heard that if they’re killed their families are given a large sum of money. Sometimes, the son of a great noble family is required to serve time in the Central Order before he’s allowed to receive his inheritance.

No matter how serious the conflict is, for someone to be sending these knights straight to the frontlines is more than a little curious.

“…umm, Ester-sama?”

“What is it, Sophie?”

“In regards to this order to dispatch more soldiers, it seems that the number of troops actually mobilized doesn’t match up….”

“Oh, that’s due to us using reinforcements from the Adventurers Guild. For the time being, we’re refraining from dispatching regular soldiers in preparation for a long-term war. This is what Dave told me. That’s why there are large orders for supplies but few soldiers. Most of the army on the frontlines consists of adventurers.”

“I-Is that so. I’m sorry for asking about something I don’t know anything about.”

As expected of Ester-sama.

I should have thought about it properly before asking.

“No, you should ask about things you don’t understand. What we’re looking for is a request for reinforcements from the Guild. We can use that document to find out exactly where he has been sent. I know for a fact I signed off on several of those orders, but there are so many that it’s hard to find the right one.”

“I see….”

I understand what I’m supposed to do.

However, the time limit is what’s stressing me out.

“…I’m growing tired of this.”

The Dragon suddenly said this.

Everyone’s attention became focused solely on her.

“It would be faster to search for him from the sky using my wings than it is to search through all of these papers. This place is too cramped. How can anyone stand to live in such a confined space?”

She stood atop the sofa and opened the nearby large window.

Dragon, you still have cream from the cake on your face.

“Wa-Wait a minute, what are you planning on doing?”

“I’m going to go search for that man. Come with me.”

And, per usual, the Dragon flopped stomach first onto the floor. With a look full of confidence, she looked up at each of us. I can tell just by her expression that she wants us to hurry up and get on.

“I want to go out and search for him just as much as you, b-but it will be faster if we look through these papers.”

“If you want to search for him, then what’s keeping you here? Would you like me to go with my original plan and crush this castle to pieces? Then I can find him without having to deal with you annoying pests.”

“….”

The Dragon was staring intensely at Ester-sama.

She’s terrifying. Her golden eyes with those black slits are so intimidating.

I can’t handle this.

“What’s wrong? Hurry up and get on.”

“But…I’m not sure three people can….”

“I’m telling you it’s fine. Get on.”

She’s saying three people should be able to ride comfortably on her body.

If possible, I’d prefer to stay here and house-sit.

***

When I regained consciousness, I was lying down in a field of grass.

I was surprised that I could feel my body once more. All five sense were intact as if nothing had happened. My body was back to normal. Even my clothes were fully repaired. When I tried to raise my upper body off the ground, I was easily able to do so.

What happened?

I don’t understand.

But it seems that I’m safe. The last thing I remember before passing out is my vision being attacked by Allen’s bare member, a somewhat satisfying sense of superiority, and then darkness. But this is good. With this body, I’ll still be able to pleasure myself while thinking about Edita Sensei.

I looked around at my immediate surroundings to see Allen-san kneeling in the meadow tightly clutching my head to his chest.

Aside from my bloody neck, my head was terribly pale. How is he even able to hold such a disgusting thing? While looking down at my head, he was repeatedly muttering, ‘Tanaka-san…. Tanaka-san….”

Why did I feel my heart twinge a little just now?

Wait a minute. I need to regain my composure.

“….”

If this is the case, I must not have been passed out for very long.

Thanks to that, I’m able to understand the situation a little more.

My recovery magic seems to have regenerated my head onto my body. Was it just prioritizing recovering the smallest portion of my body? Well, either way, I hope I’m healed completely. My head may have been separated from my torso for a while, but it seems my body didn’t suffer any other damage.

It’s still strange though. My head was trying to use the recovery magic while my body was lying on the ground lifeless. It must be that my recovery magic targetted my body and once my brain stem had recovered enough, my consciousness must’ve migrated back to my body.

“….”

As for that last point, I still have a few doubts. However, I do have experience with something like this before.

When I was beneath the atelier, I was able to speak with the spirit of Edita Sensei even though her body wasn’t conscious. This seems to indicate that the soul appears to have the power to exist outside of the body for an undetermined amount of time. Of course, I remember this moment like it was yesterday. The site of Edita Sensei’s nude loli body will never leave my mind. That may be the best experience I’ve had since coming to this world.

My mind somehow floated through the air and reattached itself to my body. No matter how strange it may seem, I have to accept it because it just happened. If I study this strange phenomenon, with Edita Sensei’s assistance, I may be able to learn more about it. And, if I use it properly, I may be able to survive situations like this where I would’ve otherwise died.

“…is my body okay?”

I moved my limbs and confirmed that there were no abnormalities.

I’m still in the same location I was when I passed out. The now crater filled meadow.

It seems that nobody has noticed my revival.

But it doesn’t seem like many other people are still alive.

When the fireballs had started to rain down on the battlefield, many of the soldiers fled. Both the enemy and my allies tried to escape the focal point of my attack. Judging by the fallen soldiers in the meadow, I’d say the majority managed to escape.

This is primarily due to the speed of those fireballs. I drastically reduced their speed. I wasn’t concerned with the lives of the enemy soldiers, but I did want to reduce the number of friendly casualties. This gave most of them enough time to escape, but also served as a scare tactic to make the enemy army lose any desire to fight. The praise I have for my beloved fireballs has no end.

Due to this slow speed, there are still several fireballs crashing down into the meadow.

“Tanaka-san, please come back! Tanaka-san!”

The only person that remained was Allen.

That ikemen was still in the same position as before, cradling my head against his chest.

It seems that his lower body has completely recovered. While wearing nothing at all to cover his crotch, he continued clutching my lifeless head against his chest while desperately crying out my name. This is somewhat embarrassing to watch. At the same time, I’m feeling some strange but pleasant feelings.

Still, it’s rather uncomfortable seeing that ikemen’s penis occasionally press against my chin.

Behind him, several more fireballs came crashing down to the earth. With each massive explosion that erupted from them, violent tremors shook the ground beneath my feet.

It’s a chaotic sight.

It’s a painful scene to look at when that ikemen’s body is exposed right in front of it.

“Tanaka-san! Please, Tanaka-san!”

The long-haired man and Drill-chan were nowhere in sight. Just after the first few fireballs came crashing down to earth, I was able to see the long-haired man escaping with Drill-chan in his arms despite the fact that she appeared to be dead. It appeared that he had used some type of teleportation magic to escape.

That guy is clever. He’s the opposite of Christina who had too much pride and wouldn’t allow herself to flee from a fight.

I even made a mistake while using my ultimate attack. Damn it.

No, I should focus on the ikemen rather than regretting the mistakes of the past.

“Allen, is your body okay?”

I approached him from behind.

“Eh?”

“How are you…?”

I waved one hand and greeted him with a smile.

At the same time, Allen’s scream echoed with a force not quite like anything else I’ve experienced in my life.

“U-Uoooooaaaaaaaaaaa!?”

I was taken aback by his ferocious roar.

I was surprised by how much he was surprised. And he’s still holding my head up against his crotch. His shoulders were violently trembling. He looked at me with astonishment filling his teary eyes.

“Ta-Ta-Ta-Ta-Tanaka-san!?”

“I’m Tanaka.”

“H-H-H-Ho-Ho-How is this possible!?”

“How are you feeling? I hope everything has healed properly.”

From what I can see, his body is completely healed. The only thing he’s lost is his clothing.

Ah, after all, I am bigger. Much bigger.

For the first time since I met him, I feel like I’ve gained a sense of superiority over him.

“I-I’m fine, but more importantly, T-T-Tanaka-san, are you okay?”

“Thanks to some miracle, I appear to be.”

I struck a confident pose in an attempt to show him I’m fine.

With him still holding my head, he’s looking at me like he’s just seen a ghost. I guess he thought I was dead. Well, I guess that only makes sense. I would be screaming as well if our roles were reversed.

But we can’t afford to stay here much longer.

Even if this particular battle has ended, the enemy army could return at any moment.

Unless I want to lose my head again, we should leave immediately.

“But, w-what about this…head….”

“Due to some rather fortunate circumstances, I was able to regenerate onto my body. As for that head, I’m honestly not sure whether I died there and was reborn or if my mind was just transported from my head to my healed body.”

“I-I see….”

“I’m a little embarrassed seeing my head like that.”

I never thought there’d be a day where I told someone my dying request.

And then come back to life shortly after.

“Umm, but then…..”

“What is it?”

“I really don’t understand how this is possible….”

“I still have many questions myself, but for now I think we should leave this area immediately.”

I didn’t want him digging any further.

I was able to stop him from asking anything else and suggest a future course of action.

“O-O-Of course….”

He stood up off the ground. He was still hugging my head against his chest. It seems that he’s forgotten that he’s even holding it.

Looking down at my lifeless expression, my dead face was somehow even more ugly.

“Allen, you should just toss that aside.”

“Eh? Oh, no, this is fine….”

“I’m really not comfortable seeing my decapitated head staring at me.”

“Are you sure though?”

“That head is not me. There should be no problem just throwing it away.”

“…I understand.”

He seemed unsure of what to do, but he knelt down and gently set my head down on the ground.

Just like placing an offering at the foot of a grave.

Even though I would’ve been fine with him throwing it aside, he discarded my head in a very polite way.

“Are you sure about this?”

The ikemen wanted to confirm with me one final time.

Honestly, to me, it’s just like asking the dentist to discard my wisdom teeth. Thinking back to the Sengoku period, If I were the leader of this army, I’d want my body to be hidden in some way. But right now, my head is nothing more than the head of any random soldier that died in this battle.

He really doesn’t need to be concerned about my lifeless potato head.

“I really don’t mind. Let’s get going.”

“I understand.”

He stood back up and returned to my side.

We turned our backs on the fireballs that continued to rain down and began walking in the direction of Tricklis.

Currently, not only the enemy army but our army as well is scattered. It would be impossible to rebuild our army in this place, so we must return to Tricklis.

Then, I will be given more instructions and be sent out once more.

“….”

I wonder how many of Allen’s army managed to escape. And if Klein is among them.

It would be regrettable if he wasn’t able to escape.

***