Daranma Luina tried desperately to maintain composure.

  Yet his heartbeat pounded violently, his breathing grew ragged despite himself.

  Cold sweat ran down his spine, his fingertips trembling pathetically, minutely.

  Hatred, terror, rage, and despair.

  Such tangled emotions threatened to make consciousness fade—desperately, he anchored himself with reason.

  "What's wrong? You seem unwell."

  He wanted to punch that face asking so blithely—thought it, but of course couldn't do it.

  If he attacked, the Lupacid butler behind would subdue him, punishing him for lèse-majesté.

  "This is..."

  "You want to ask what this means?

  My apologies. Stimulating your trauma like this...

  Wait, is this also a word they don't have here?

  A world without tigers or horses..."

  "My lord, please restrain jokes only comprehensible in that other world..."

  "Yeah yeah, I know.

  So then, Luina-dono... ah, that's not your real name, is it?"

  Luina's body stiffened with a start.

  When accepted as a refugee to this country, he'd abandoned his royal name.

  "No, you have your circumstances—keeping your real name hidden is fine.

  I'll call you by the name you registered here.

  So then... you won't believe me, but I'm not Humanita.

  No, rather—being lumped with those types is intolerable.

  Truly unpleasant."

  Saying this, Celeste's face wore a harsh expression, as if genuinely loathing being thought Humanita.

  "Just slightly similar—look closely and you'd realize we're completely different species.

  ...Though for you, the victim, that may be asking too much.

  Well, whether you believe I'm not Humanita or not—doesn't matter particularly."

  As Celeste spoke with haughty gestures while leaning against the sofa back, Luina watched with a coldly burning gaze.

  "You see, I highly value that ability rising to mid-tier trading house in just five years—that effort, and

  that determination working desperately.

  Discrimination, obstruction—there's no way you faced none, right?"

  "...Yes."

  "Lost nation though it is, royalty should've received preferential treatment, yet you chose hiding your status... well, you had reasons. I won't pry into that either.

  You'd grasped information about what I'm doing, so when summoned here, you expected to get a piece, didn't you?"

  Before knowing what sort of person this was—indeed so.

  He'd already obtained information that Regis Celeste resembled Humanita, but knowing through information versus seeing firsthand were entirely different matters. Celeste's true face remained largely unknown outside noble districts, and many didn't know Humanita's appearance well either.

  Though newspapers had carried his news, reporters had never photographed him, so he was known only as a mysterious species.

  Yet meeting him in person brought these indescribable tormenting emotions.

  Precisely because they Piglets were victims trampled by Humanita.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "And I am indeed offering you that opportunity.

  Your people—your compatriots too.

  If our contract goes well, 'Golden Barrel' can become Feridelia Kingdom's purveyor.

  ...The trading house you've raised with desperate thoughts can receive state protection, an opportunity to grow into a major house.

  Depending on circumstances, you might engage in international trade with neighboring countries.

  In that case, opportunities might exist for your compatriots who managed to flee to those countries too."

  Still wary due to the Humanita resemblance, yet what he said was certainly attractive. For a mid-tier house run by refugee-origin minorities, royal purveyor status was attractive—no, welcome.

  "Well, if you absolutely hate it, we can make this conversation never happened."

  Yet the powerful party was proposing this as 'granting opportunity.'

  "Presumptuous though this is...

  May I ask one thing?"

  Reinbardt standing behind Celeste's expression turned slightly stern, but Celeste paid no mind whatsoever, responding calmly.

  "Ah, sure.

  It's mutual interviewing—feel free to ask concerns."

  "Thank you.

  Then taking you at your word, I'll ask without reservation."

  Whether the intense emotions from seeing Celeste's face had mostly settled, Luina could question in somewhat calmer tones.

  "I'm most honored you value my trading house highly.

  However, your words that even Piglet people should become yours...?"

  True, the house centered on Piglet compatriots.

  That said, not all Piglets washed up in this country were employed by the house.

  "Ah, that?

  No, I didn't mean anything strange.

  You know I recently received floating land as fief?"

  "Yes."

  "I need subjects... or rather, staff.

  Rather than talking here, seeing directly with your own eyes would be faster."

  Saying this, rising from the sofa—Luina hastily rose following Celeste.

  "How eager.

  Shall we go then?"

  "Wh-where...!?"

  Not understanding what this meant, Luina lost words, shocked at the spark-scattering door appearing in the room somehow.

  "Been a while~ this reaction.

  Welcome to my fief, floating land 'Tenger.'"

  Facing the 'mysterious ability' of Regis Celeste he'd heard only vague rumors about, then stepping through that door into vast grassland beyond—Luina felt consciousness threaten to fade in a different sense than before.

  "Welcome, my lord."

  "!!"

  Seeing the woman...? seemingly-woman existence greeting their party through the door, Luina fell on his rear from sheer surprise. The clothing aside, where her head should be...

  "Wh-wha-wha-wha..."

  "Good grief, how rude.

  She's my retainer, Vicari Arimecalises Tengeride.

  Is that proper behavior toward a lady?"

  "B-b-but..."

  "Facing an existence of different dimensional phase, my lord who doesn't react is the strange one."

  Seeing Arimecalises deliver this retort calmly, with Reinbardt nodding slowly as if in agreement beside her—watching Celeste grumble "Hey when did you two get so chummy?"—Luina's complex emotions from moments ago vanished somewhere. Rising bewildered, brushing his clothes, he was again shocked that what touched his hand was real grass.

  "Though above the sky... real grassland?"

  "Ah, that.

  I don't really understand the mechanism myself, lord though I am...

  There's a circulating water source, no animals but plant ecosystems seem established."

  Luina couldn't grasp what Celeste was saying.

  Just—he understood painfully that this was a resident of a world beyond his common sense.

  Though he'd suspected Humanita, he felt he had no choice but accept this as something entirely different.

  "S-so then, staff in such a place... you say...?"

  "Ah, interested?

  Here, I'm thinking to build a resort hotel for nobles and wealthy merchants—the rich."

  "Re-zotto?"

  "Well, essentially a retreat for the wealthy.

  Traveling above the sky, resting leisurely away from earthly clamor...

  Doesn't that sound appealing?

  When you were a prince—no, even now, exhausted from work, you've thought about resting your heart's content somewhere different, right?"

  "Haah... of course."

  "If such a place existed above the sky, imagine how special an experience that'd be?

  Managing that resort requires at least 1,000 staff.

  Plus producing vegetables and crops to supply it.

  I heard you Piglets are originally an agricultural people.

  I heard about 3,000 of your compatriots washed up in this country.

  For you agricultural folk, being torn from tillable land...

  You must've suffered considerably."

  "...Yes."

  It felt like the first time since leaving home meeting someone who understood his people—driven from homeland, torn from earth.

  Not all engaged in farming just because agricultural people, but many held attachment to farmland—undeniable fact.

  Yet for those driven from homeland, living hand-to-mouth as day laborers or servants in foreign lands—farmland was but an unreachable dream's reality.

  "Your house's employees, those who've already found settlement places—fine.

  But if others haven't proper employment, I'm thinking to train them here as resort staff, or have them grow crops at attached farms.

  How about it? I can hire staff in numbers, you can find work for compatriots.

  And I have ministers' approval...

  If you Piglets settle visibly and raise productivity before becoming dissatisfied ethnic groups... it aligns with management purposes, so they agreed."

  Dissatisfied groups, management targets—words he'd heard sickeningly often these five years, so nothing new now.

  No, shouldn't be.

  Yet hearing those exact same words from Celeste somehow carried a sense of hope.

  "And well, this is just my presumption—don't take it seriously...

  If you magnificently succeed at monopoly business, contributing to this nation's prosperity—

  Your achievements might be recognized, perhaps you could become a lord somewhere?

  Where you could live together with compatriots—such a place might become available."

  Truly dream-like talk, Luina felt.

  Yet he also felt—compared to days chased by survival, how wonderful would days lived with hope be?

  "My lord, I really think you shouldn't say such things on your own authority."

  "I know that much.

  But letting youth dream is adults' duty and privilege, don't you think?"

  "Please remember that 'physically' you're younger than him."

  "Hey, where'd you hear that phrase!"

  Beside Reinbardt and Celeste's trivial exchange, Luina quietly made his decision.

  'I'll follow this person.'