Reincarnation into the Barrier Master

When I woke up, Rico was there. I thought it was a dream, but the real Rico was there.

I stare at Riko, unable to recognize reality. Riko slowly approaches my bed.

It's morning. Please wake up.

"... Riko? How did you get here?"

"I've come to bring you breakfast, using the transfer wards created by Linos. Niza's food is not to your liking, is it? That's why I made breakfast and brought it to you. You have an audience with the Dwarf King today, don't you? I don't want to be embarrassed when my stomach rumbles in the middle of an audience."

"Oh, thank you."

Rico brought a basket with several sandwiches in it. And they were still warm. Rico must have gotten up early to make them. Thinking of this makes me so happy that I hug Rico.

I feel an urge to push her down, but I restrain myself.

"I wish you good luck.

"Thanks to you, I'm going to do my best. Thank you. Thank you.

I kiss Rico on the forehead. Rico looks happy. With a smile on his face, he gets on the transfer magic circle and returns to the capital.

Contrary to my expectations, Niza's breakfast was delicious. She had cooked it using the relief supplies I had brought with me. The water, soil, and fertilizers in Krumphal are all quite good. Inevitably, this affects the taste of the food as well, and food produced in Krumphal is very popular in the capital. If you cook with them, you may be able to make almost anything delicious. If I had not eaten the sandwich Liko had made for me, I might have had a few more.

Afterwards Yury comes and leads us to the Dwarf King. The king appeared in a small but luxurious audience hall, a small but stern looking man with a beard and a majestic face.

He was Niza Duke Aemon, King of the Duchy of Niza. The Marquis of Berthaume has come a long way to see you. And I thank you for the vast amount of goods you have brought. Our country will be better off for it.

"Ha ha. My brother-in-law, His Majesty the Emperor of the Heedata Empire, is deeply moved by your country's recent tragedy. If there is anything else I can do for him, he would be pleased to hear from you.

"Well, that's reassuring. I have heard that the Marquis de Baatham will be staying in our country for a while. You may take it easy during that time. I would like to hold a banquet to entertain him again at a later date. The details will be announced in due course. Thank you for your hospitality.

With that, the Dwarf King quickly left. I returned to the room I had been given.

"You're taking it pretty easy, aren't you? I was expecting you to tell me to get rid of the deer as soon as possible."

"Yes, that's right. From what I have seen, I think that the damage caused by the deer should be dealt with as soon as possible.

While we were talking, lunchtime came and we had lunch in our room. We had almost finished eating and were about to go check on Ilimo when a woman visited our room.

"It's nice to meet you. My name is Niza Considine, daughter of the King of the Duchy of Niza. My father wishes to speak privately with the Marquis. May I ask you to come to my father's room?

From the looks of it, she's totally an eighth-grade girl. I had a lot of things I wanted to discuss with the Dwarf King, so I said yes. A woman named Considine led us to the Dwarf King's room.

In the room we were led to was the king with a reddish-purple complexion.

"Well... you must be surprised..."

"What in the world... you look like a different person than you did a moment ago."

The man in the audience chamber was my shadow. I could not let a shadow warrior meet an emissary of the Heedat Empire. I'm glad you could make it."

"For the past year, your father has been ill. I would like to discuss my father's illness with you, Lord Barsam.

What do you mean?

At the same time that my father became ill, a number of members of the royal family fell ill. And with the same symptoms.

What are the symptoms?

"First, you will feel a physical weakness. After that, the pain becomes intense all over the body, and when it subsides, walking becomes difficult, and symptoms such as trembling hands develop. Then, the patient gradually declines.

"Can't it be cured by restorative magic?"

Of course we have tried that. The symptoms improve with an extra heel. But after a while, the same symptoms come back. I have already cast a recovery spell on my father five times, but there is no sign that the symptoms are cured. On the contrary, the restorative magic is almost ineffective now.

"I see... So, what did you want to talk to me about?

"We believe that my father and the rest of the royal family have been poisoned by someone. We ask the Marquis of Bertham to place a ward on my father.

Warding?

"Warding?" "Warding?" "Warding to keep out those who have evil intentions toward my father, and to keep out the poison added by those who have evil intentions toward him. I heard that the Marquis is in charge of the warding of the Emperor of the Kingdom of Heedata. I would like to ask you to use this powerful ward for my father as well.

"Yes, sir. As for the warding, I'll put it up right away."

I put up a ward that would keep out anything malicious and yet block out any poison that might be maliciously placed in the king's body.

"I've put up the warding for now," he said. I think this will prevent any kind of assassination.

"Thank you very much."

By the way, about the deer...

"We'll take care of that.

The king mutters weakly.

"Do you have any countermeasures?"

"There is no solution."

So what are we going to do about it?

"...Perhaps the deer god is angry at the damage to the crops. We Dwarves are proud of our service to the Deer God, but something must have touched his wrath. For now, we just want to be quiet and wait for the wrath to be lifted.

"Father!"

"Considie. The deer have lived in the forest for many years, protecting us from the threat of evil. If we kill the deer now because they are devouring our crops, as you say, the dwarves will have to live in fear of demons for many years to come. And there is also the Great Demon King who resurrected a few years ago, just like our neighboring kingdom of Jukka. Our first priority is to appease the Deer God."

"If you do that, the country will..."

"Don't worry. I'll think about it. You don't need to worry.

"Father! Please reconsider."

Thank you all for your hard work. You may step back.

The press conference is terminated with or without notice. Looking closely, Wang's hands are shaking. He seems to be in very poor health.

We leave the king's room and are once again escorted by Lady Considine around the castle. We thought we were going to be taken to our room, but she led us to another room. There we found Prime Minister Yury and a man who looked like a wizard with a hood over his head.

"I have brought you here because I have another favor to ask of the Marquis," she said.

Lady Considine opens her mouth. As if he had been waiting for her words, Prime Minister Yury opens his mouth.

"I am sure you have seen the devastation in our country. The damage caused by the deer has reached a point where it can no longer be tolerated. The king is opposed to killing the deer, but I and the Lord Considine both believe that the deer should be killed as soon as possible.

Are you asking me to kill the deer?

No, I cannot let the Marquis do such a thing. No, I can't let the Marquis do that. We'll take care of the deer ourselves. I would like you to put a ward over the fields in the village.

"Warding the fields, sir?"

There is a large field behind the palace. This is where the royal family, especially the king, grows the food he eats. So far there has been no damage from deer, but it is only a matter of time before they attack here as well. If this field is destroyed, the fields of the Duchy of Niza will truly be wiped out. We must protect this last stronghold.

"Is it possible that those fields were sprayed with poison?"

No, I don't think so.

A hooded figure answers. From the sound of his voice, he appears to be male.

"My apologies for the delay in introduction. This is Dr. Rekornai. He has been staying with us for several years now, along with some of his men. He is the great benefactor of the development of water purification in our country.

"Water that purifies water?"

Our country is rich in mineral resources. We also have excellent refining technology. Refining minerals and making swords and armor inevitably require water. Until now, the dirty water used for refining was disposed of in ponds and rivers, which made the water in our country dirty. However, with Dr. Koh's water, the water is purified. On the contrary, the water no longer smells. Thanks to you, the watersides of our town and country have become truly beautiful. We cannot thank him enough.

"Originally we were a wandering people. It is only natural that we should contribute to this country that has given us shelter and even a place to study. I do not like aristocrats, Marquis Bertham. But if it means saving this country, that's a different story. I hear that you saved the Krumphal lands from ruin. I would very much like to borrow his help. And after the deer are exterminated, we would like you to work with us to find a way to save the Duchy of Niza from desolation. I know that this is a very serious request. But we want to do it. We beg you to do it."

"No, it's okay. I have orders from His Majesty to work for the restoration of the principality.

"Thank you!"

We all immediately head for the field behind the palace. It looks like a small vegetable garden, but this field seems to be the only one that has not suffered any damage to its crops. I set up the warding as instructed. Then I decided to wait and see for a while, but the problem soon arose.