“…I-Is this really the town of Elk?!”(Rimi)

“…Ohh!”(Marina)

Soma knew about the change in Elk through Ono, but Marina and Rimi didn’t. Soma’s carriage arrived at the vicinity of the town of Elk in the early morning of the second day of the vacation. With the Two-Headed Salamander’s speed, they could have arrived by the nighttime of the previous day, but they decided to slow down and camp for the night because the morning time is a better time to arrive than at night.

Right now in front of the three, the town of Elk could be seen, but it’s a lot different than how they left it. A new wall is being constructed around the town but in a different position. The wall currently being constructed is way further than where the previous one. From the looks of it, it seems that the town was greatly expanded, and the wall is not the only change. Since the wall is not complete yet, many large farms, ranches, workshops, and warehouses could be seen behind the incomplete wall. Looking closely at the wall, Soma could see that it’s inside is being built using the building material produced by the Purification Devices he made, and after engraving numerous Magic Circles on it, it gets covered by an outer layer of white bricks and those white bricks are covered with Magic Circles as well. By looking at the Magic Circles, Soma could guess what their purpose is, and that made him impressed all over again even though he saw it before through Ono. Soma was fascinated the most by the white bricks because he has no knowledge concerning them, and at the moment he is very excited to go and ask Dolan about it.

“…I want to go to Dolan’s office and ask him about those white bricks… but I’ll leave that for later. For now, let’s go to the mansion. Rimi you come and spend this week with us if you don’t have a place to stay at”(Soma)

“…I could go and stay with my uncle…. But, can I really spend the at Soma-san’s house?!”(Rimi)

“You can, but the Lord’s castle might be a better place for you”(Soma)

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“No no no! I want to stay with Soma-san!”(Rimi)

“…Okay (you too, huh)”(Soma)

(That’s Soma for you! Conquering another one!)(Ono)

(Soma, you playboy!)(Sai)

(((Playboy!)))(Kids)

(That’s youth for you…)(Carm)

(Shut up!! And you old man, don’t go reminiscing about your dirty past right now!)(Soma)

(Pervert…)(Ayano)

(G-Guhhh!...)(Carm)

Soma, Marina, and Rimi headed to the opening on the wall used as an entrance, and when they got near the queue the people standing in line waiting for their turn started to panic because of the Two-Headed Salamander heading towards them. Seeing that, a dozen or so of the guards came forwards and headed towards Soma’s carriage pulled by the Two-Headed Salamander. The people standing behind the guards all expected to witness the hailed strength of Elk’s combatants in a fight against the two-headed lizard monster, but those expectations were betrayed when all the guards got on their knees and addressed Soma with a loud voice.

“ “ “Welcome back! Soma-sama! All of Elk have missed you!” ” ”

After that, the guards led Soma inside the town as the people standing in line looked at them in astonishment. And their astonishment was doubled when they saw the princess riding in the carriage with the strange people. The guards didn’t even notice the princess, they were overwhelmed with happiness seeing Soma coming back. The guards took accompanied Soma all the way to his mansion, and once there, they saluted Soma before separating and going to inform the whole town of Soma’s return.

Seeing the guards’ reaction, and the people’s reaction as they went past them, Rimi was surprised to see all of them insanely happy to see Soma back and that made her feel so happy and the whole time she was smiling as she looked at the people. Marina didn’t miss that and seeing Rimi acting like that led her to start trusting the Knight Princess.

Soma led the three as they headed towards the front door, and with Soma Opening the door a group of nearly 40 children ran out of the mansion and tackled him to the ground with a huge hug and they all yelled in unison.

“ “ “Welcome back, Sensei!!” ” ”

Of course, a tackle from a group of children wasn’t enough to drop Soma to the ground, it wouldn’t even have an effect on him. But he dropped himself for them out of consideration.