Yuri Empire

“It’s been a while, Yuri-dono.”

When I went up to Amaterasu’s house, I found a man there.

He was a tall, slender man with white skin. Of course, Yuri already knew who it was.

“Good day, Tsukuyomi. Is there any inconvenience in your life here?”

“No, so far we have been living comfortably.”

“I’m glad to hear that. If there is anything you want me to do, just let me know.”

Tsukuyomi is the brother of Amaterasu.

If Amaterasu is the god who rules the daytime, when the sun shines, Tsukuyomi is the god who rules the nighttime, when the sun does not shine.

Like Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi is a great but gentle deity with a very powerful divine power.

“Thank you very much. I have a favor to ask you, Yuri-dono.”

“Oh, what is it? Can you tell me about it?”

“Can you please find me a job? I’m not dissatisfied with my life here, and it’s a lot of fun to watch the children of men boldly tackle the Labyrinth on the air. It is uncomfortable to do nothing when you have been given a high-class shrine, a place to live, and enough money to pay your bills…”

“… Everyone demands the same thing from me. You may have mistaken me for a meddler or something.”

Yuri chuckled and looked at Roselotte next to her. She smiled but lowered her eyebrows as if she was a little troubled.

“We already have a good number of gods in this city, but only a few of them have regular jobs. You don’t have to worry about it.”

“Well… Every time I see Sukunabikona, he makes fun of me, asking me if I enjoy eating without working and drinking without working…”

“Oh, I see…”

Sukunabikona is the son of Kamimusuhi, and is a god of many powers.

Some of these powers are related to ‘hot springs’ and ‘brewing,’ so Sukunabikona is in charge of the hot springs in the city, as well as the recently completed brewery with Konohanasakuya-hime and others who also have powers related to brewing.

Sukunabikona is a God who takes his assigned tasks very seriously. On the other hand, he has a bad boy personality and likes to make fun of others.

Apparently, Tsukuyomi can’t stand to be insulted by him.

“I’d like Tsukuyomi to grow up a bit more, though.”

Amaterasu, who had left her seat for a while, returned with a troubled look on her face.

On a tray in her hand, she carried four cups of hot water filled with steam.

She had prepared tea for everyone present.

“It’s a coarse tea, but here you go.”

“Thank you.”

I took the teacup that Amaterasu offered me and sipped it immediately.

―――It was green tea.

I’ve been drinking a lot of tea from this world lately. The taste of green tea, which I haven’t enjoyed in a long time, feels like something I’ve missed for a long time.

“This… a strange tea. It is astringent, but not hard to drink.”

This was probably the first time Roselotte had ever tasted green tea.

The way she sipped it, again and again, little by little, suggests that she liked it.

“Tsukuyomi. Since some of us have never met before, I think we should introduce ourselves first.”

“Ah, I’m sorry about that. My name is Tsukuyomi, and together with my sister Amaterasu here, I have been invited from another world by Yuri-dono.”

“I’m Roselotte Eldard. My name is Roserotte Eldard, and I’m husband’s… well, I’m Your Highness Yuri’s fourth concubine.”

“Oh, so you’re one of Your Highness Yuri’s concubines. Well, welcome to our home.”

“I, too, apologize for the sudden intrusion.”

When Tsukuyomi bowed deeply, Roserotte also responded by bowing deeply again and again.

She knows that the other side is “God”. I guess she just can’t help but feel afraid of being bowed to.

“Yuri. I’d like to get a job too if I can.”

“…? Amaterasu already entrusted with the leadership of the gods we’ve welcomed to this land.”

“That’s true, but I have too much time on my hands for that role alone. I would like a job that I can fulfill at the same time, and if possible, one that will be reasonably rewarding.

However, if I become too busy, I won’t have time to go and check on the children at the orphanage where I am entrusted with the chickens. Please keep it moderate.”

“You have a lot of demands…”

Yuri couldn’t help but chuckle at Amaterasu’s completely unreserved words.

But to be honest, it’s easier for Yuri to get along with someone who is so unreserved in expressing his or her needs.

“How about we both play teachers, then?”

“Teacher…?”

“Yes. Recently, the number of people who want to learn to read and write has been increasing rapidly in the country. I’ve been having some trouble finding someone to act as a teacher.”

“I have no objection to the position itself. Both Tsukuyomi and I can only teach Japanese, you know.”

“But it wouldn’t take Tsukuyomi or Amaterasu very long to learn the language of our world, would it?”

“You won’t know that until you try it, but… Thanks to Yuri’s preparation of a good substitute, my abilities and Tsukuyomi’s are much higher than they should be. It is true that with the current us, it’s easy to learn a language.”

As a result of having prepared the highest grade of the divine body, the 『 Yata no Kagami +10 』, Amaterasu’s level has increased to 2520 and Tsukuyomi’s level to 2448.

At this level, they are not only physically strong but also intellectually. Learning one or two other languages would be a piece of cake for them.

“Yuri-dono.”

“What is it, Tsukuyomi?”

“If we were to learn the language of this world and act as teachers. Where would we teach it?”

“Hmmm… Perhaps we can set up some sort of academy in this city and have them teach us. Even though it is an academy, it will probably be a facility that specializes in teaching only ‘reading and writing’ at first.”

“In the future, do you plan to teach other things as well?”

“Yes, I do. I would like to teach a certain amount of math.”

Most of the people living in this world are only able to perform calculations that are in line with their living standards and are used for money transactions.

The only people who can do more than that are those who have stores and have been properly trained as merchants.

Since anyone can earn money by diving in the labyrinth, the poor are no longer seen at all in the Yuri Empire and its allies, and the cities are booming like never before.

In the midst of this, however, only merchants were able to take advantage of the economic boom to make more money.

This is because no one but merchants has the computing power to run a store by themselves. The business itself is an activity that anyone can do, but those who don’t have the background can’t take advantage of the business opportunities.

Yuri thinks that this is a bit of a waste.

If possible, there should be an educational institution that teaches not only reading and writing but also calculation, similar to the so-called “Temple School” of the Edo period.

(TN: 寺子屋 (Terakoya) = Temple School.)

“I see. If that’s the case… Yuri-dono.”

“What is it?”

“I think it might be a good idea to talk to Omoikane about this.”

“… Oh, I see. That’s true.”

Omoikane is the god of wisdom, and also a being that gives wisdom to others.

If we want to create an institution to teach wisdom to many people in the form of education. As Tsukuyomi suggested, he would be the first person we should consult.

“If you don’t mind, I’d like to invite Omoikane to this house.”

“Well… can I ask you a favor? Of course, if it’s not convenient for the other party, you don’t have to force them to do so.”

“Yes. He’s not too far from home, so I’ll call him right away.”

As soon as she had said this, Tsukuyomi walked quickly out of the room.

After watching him go, Amaterasu let out a sigh of dismay.

“I can’t help but notice how careless Tsukuyomi is.”

“Oh, it’s good that he’s active.”

“I’m not sure if that’s something to praise. By the way, Omoikane is very grateful to Yuri for inviting him and his son. I’m sure they’ll help us.”

“Oh, that’s very kind of him.”

If we could get the help of the God of Wisdom, he would probably come up with a far better idea than Yuri had been able to ponder.

Perhaps it would be best to leave all the details of setting up and running an educational institution to him. Yuri thought quietly as she sipped her slightly cooled tea.