Chapter 24

About ten days have passed since the meeting at the gathering hall.

The day after the meeting, Amelia and Loreta returned to work, and Mika was entrusted to the church from early morning.

It seems that a secret agreement had been made between the Noisheim family and the church, and Kifurodo and Rady were waiting there.

Mika was taken to the church every morning by Amelia and Loreta and spent time there until they came to pick her up.

I had thought about storming into the church, but it turned out that Mika was being entrusted to the church.

"......I can't understand."

I can't help but mutter, but in reality, I think there's nothing I can do.

I have apparently been upgraded from a person of interest to a person under surveillance, but I have been taught various things during these ten days.

First, the suspicion arose that I had used magic to unfairly manipulate the spring magic power measurement.

This is called "escaping the academy."

Selected children are required to attend the royal capital's magic academy at the age of ten as a national duty, but it seems that attending the marquis's domain's magic academy at the age of eight is a duty of the domain's residents.

When I heard this, I didn't remember it well, but I think Rady mentioned that the magic academy at the age of eight was optional or something.

However, that was my mistaken memory, and it seems that whether the lord establishes a magic academy is optional.

In the Hailhord region where the Linper barony is located, it is stipulated by the laws of each domain that one must attend the magic academy established in the Reutstein marquis's domain.

And this obligation to attend the magic academy.

The punishment for violating it is extremely severe.

The person is sent to some specialized "forced detention facility."

What happens there and what is done to them, even Kifurodo doesn't know.

Moreover, there seems to be no concept of a sentence.

Do they extract magic power until death or brainwash them? It's a complete mystery.

Or, as rumors go, it seems that no one who has been sent there has actually been seen.

That's how rare "escaping the academy" is.

And the punishment doesn't stop there.

The parents are sentenced to three years of labor.

The village chief is not given labor, but is forced to resign as an incompetent and unsuitable village chief.

In a small village where every day is a repetition of the same things, a sudden major incident.

It's understandable that the villagers are in an uproar.

(......If I were told this, of course Amelia would be in a daze. I can understand why Loreta would be half-mad.)

Even if she didn't know, Mika was in a very dangerous position.

But, if that's the case, wouldn't it be better if Amelia and Loreta gave her some advice? I can't help but think.

Since it's true that I learned magic after spring, if they had told me earlier, Mika wouldn't have had to struggle during the meeting.

However, Kifurodo says that this is probably impossible.

Perhaps Amelia and Loreta didn't understand what would constitute "escaping the academy."

It seems that there are no situations in the villagers' daily lives where they have to be concerned about national or domain laws.

They spend their days following the "village rules" that they have learned through daily life.

Even without knowing the laws, as long as they follow the rules set by the village, it's fine.

People like the village chief Horacio, the factory manager, and the former adventurer Diego might be aware of the laws, but it seems that no other villagers are conscious of them.

Still, some people have a vague knowledge of "escaping the academy," and this image has spread among the villagers.

Kifurodo was also indignant at the villagers who irresponsibly told Amelia and Loreta about the "worst-case scenario."

(That was the cause of that one-week hikikomori life...)

Mika remembered the week when the family of three lived together.

They were trembling with fear at the "punishment" that would come in the near future, but still tried to act bravely in front of Mika.

I really feel sorry for Amelia and Loreta.

I was also told about the aftermath of the fire.

During the time Mika and the others were in seclusion, a report was made to the lord about the factory fire.

Normally, Horacio, who caused the fire and damage, would be dismissed and given a severe punishment, but it seems that fires are occurring throughout the country this year.

It was determined that the cause of the fires was largely due to the weather, and Horacio was allowed to remain in his position.

There will probably be some form of punishment like a pay cut, but it seems that it won't be a severe one.

Instead, the focus will be on restoring the factory's functions as quickly as possible to serve as a substitute for the punishment.

So, when Horacio reported to the lord, he immediately returned and worked hard to restore the factory's functions.

Despite having just suffered severe burns.

(No matter how much it was healed with "healing," can he really move so soon? It's more of a mental strain than a physical one...)

I can only marvel at Horacio's toughness, but thanks to him, the factory has returned to about 70% of its original production capacity in just over two weeks.

No matter how hard Horacio worked, the factory was almost completely burned down.

How is it producing anything?

It's thanks to the factory being built unnecessarily large.

It seems that the functions of the spinning mill are also equipped in the remaining factory.

The factory is divided as follows:

- Office, cafeteria, warehouse, etc.

- Weaving factory

- Spinning mill 1

- Spinning mill 2 (the building where the fire occurred)

Originally, there were two spinning mills.

Since the materials used for weaving and the raw silk for sale required different processes, one building wasn't enough.

In fact, that was the original plan.

However, the actual situation is a bit different.

Each of the two spinning mills is equipped with all the production processes.

However, in the past, the processes were divided, and the two buildings operated separately.

Why did they do this?

Of course, it's because fires are known to occur easily.

It's well known that a large amount of cotton dust can fly during work, making fires more likely, so they decided to separate the processes as a countermeasure.

The spinning mill in Rich village doesn't have enough personnel to fully operate both factories.

So, in the past, production was done in one building.

The other building was just a dormant facility.

If the processes were divided between the two buildings, the amount of cotton dust could be reduced.

That's what the previous factory manager thought.

This idea proved to be correct, and while small fires used to occur frequently, they almost stopped after the processes were divided between the two buildings.

But if all the processes are done in the remaining building, won't fires occur again?

This is something Horacio has also considered, and he is making various efforts, such as performing some of the processes that produce a lot of cotton dust outside.

Still, it's not completely safe, so he is carefully monitoring the production volume.

(In the original world, there are dust collectors, but in this world, reducing dust is a difficult task.)

It's a life that was saved.

I don't want Horacio to collapse from overwork or stress.

After the meeting at the gathering hall, Ninetiana sometimes comes to check on Mika.

She brings Dure and stops by as if it's just a walk, talks a little, and then leaves.

Kifurodo and Rady are usually nearby, so they can't talk much about the adventurer, but Ninetiana's concern and presence are truly appreciated.

The village children no longer approach Mika, which makes this even more noticeable.

Originally, Mika didn't interact much with the children, but now they are clearly avoiding her, probably because their parents told them to.

"Alright, Mika. How about a good rub?"

Kifurodo comes to where Mika is sitting on a pew, staring blankly at the statues of the six gods.

He is carrying a large board game and a wooden box.

(...He says "a good rub," but he just wants to do it himself, doesn't he?)

I can't help but smile wryly at Kifurodo's excited approach.

The game Kifurodo is holding is called Boatre Head, a board game in this world.

It's similar to chess or shogi, but the rules are more complex.

The board is divided into 16x17 squares, but each row is offset by half a square.

So, each square is surrounded by 3 squares above and to the upper diagonal, 3 squares below and to the lower diagonal, making a total of 6 squares.

Not only pieces, but also defensive barriers and catapults are placed on the board.

There are also ambush cards, which allow you to place an ambush in one of 12 locations in your territory.

The game feels more like a strategic simulation game's battle part than shogi.

"Mika, you're pretty good, but you still have a long way to go to beat me."

Kifurodo places the board on the pew and starts setting up the pieces with a smile.

(I haven't even said I want to play yet... But, it's fine.)

Thinking it would be mean to dampen Kifurodo's enthusiasm, I reluctantly agree to play.

This game is complex, with multiple pieces moving in coordination, and it's not popular among the common people.

Instead, it's a pastime for soldiers and nobles.

(If it were as simple as shogi or chess, it would be more popular among the common people.)

Boatre Head is like a miniature battlefield.

If it were more game-like, it would be more acceptable to the common people.

One of the difficulties of this game is the initial setup of the pieces.

There are 30 pieces, and 6 of them can be placed anywhere in your territory.

There are some basic strategies, like placing the king in a defensive position or placing pieces in the front for a quick attack.

You can also change your setup based on your opponent's setup.

(No wonder it's not popular, with such a complex setup.)

The complexity means that the game requires careful thought, but the common people don't have that kind of time.

They are busy with various tasks.

Enthusiasts spend the whole day playing, wine in hand, but to the common people, this is an unimaginable pastime.

"......I'm ready. How about you?"

"I'm ready too."

"Alright, let's start. You can go first, Mika."

"Then, I'll go without hesitation. Nice to play with you."

Mika bows and moves a piece.

Kifurodo has set up a defensive formation, while Mika has set up an aggressive one to finish quickly.

(As always, it takes a lot of effort to break through...)

Mika sighs inwardly as he and Kifurodo take turns moving pieces.

Kifurodo prefers a defensive strategy, and if Mika were to follow it, it would take a whole day.

So, Mika tries to break through the defense by aggressively attacking, but always runs out of pieces before he can succeed.

Of course, it's not that simple.

Even in an attack, not all pieces are used.

Some pieces are placed in a defensive position.

In contrast, Kifurodo hardly uses any pieces for attacks, focusing on defense.

There is a significant difference in the number of pieces between the attacker and the defender.

(Still, if I don't show any weaknesses, he'll just turtle up. ...But today, I've set a trap.)

Today, Mika has placed his major pieces in a half-hearted position, not fully committed to either attack or defense.

To the untrained eye, it looks like a clever move that can be used for both attack and defense.

But in reality, it's a half-hearted move that doesn't quite fit either.

Kifurodo, seeing Mika's