I Became the Second-in-Command in a Romance Fantasy Novel

In a typical medieval fantasy, travel inevitably took a long time.
Given the era, well-maintained roads were scarce.
Most means of transport were horses.
Of course, if one used the teleportation facilities employed during summer break, even an airplane from the previous life would seem laughably slow.
But teleporting thousands of academy students would cost an amount that would shake even the Empire’s finances.
So what method did the academy choose?
“A flying ship in a medieval fantasy world?”
“This is the Empire, you country bumpkin from Leon.”

It was a flying ship powered by magic engineering.
“You’re half a Leon country bumpkin now too, aren’t you?”
“Dragged off to some backwater without even a flying ship…”
Violet sighed deeply, complaining about her fate, but after all, she had been living in a rural fiefdom in the Empire.
She probably was boarding a flying ship for the first time herself — no reason to act so superior.

“But doesn’t it feel odd to suddenly have a flying ship appear in a town where they only rode in carriages?”
“This novel’s author wrote whatever he wanted. Many parts broke plausibility, but you have to let the flying ship slide.”
“…They said it was a long-running series.”
“They had a brutal power struggle with the readers, but at the same time, they somehow knew exactly what readers wanted. When things threatened to get bad, they’d develop the romance perfectly…”
Damn.
Violet’s curse slipped out naturally, and I shook my head.
The person who was a devoted reader until the Demon King appeared was Lee Yerin.
Also known as Violet in this world.
“If there’s anything you don’t understand, just think the original author is a son of a bitch.”

It felt similar to how, whenever some incident happened, I got blamed as the root of all evil, Violet.
“Are no strange items going to pop up later?”
“There is stuff like guns using magic in Dale, but that’s after the demon realm opened.”
“So guns do exist…”
They say the development of guns means the end of knights.
Is the future where my homeland is crushed like dogs by magic users approaching?
“Leon’s doomed…”
“It’s not a world where guns solve everything. How are you supposed to catch a Swordmaster with a gun?”

That said, having guns inevitably raised the baseline for magicians.
“Even if there are guns, Leon won’t use them and will stick to swords.”
“Really?”
If needed, I thought about somehow sending Daisy over to Dale during the break to sabotage things.
Thankfully, no need to summon dark mages.

“We’ll arrive tomorrow.”
The flying ship was an enviable item the more I looked at it, but due to technological limits, only the Empire and Dale possessed them — truly regrettable.
“Can’t you get one somehow?”

If we had just that, we wouldn’t need to waste expensive teleportation fees to bring Prince Ellen along.
“You mean the flying ship? In the original, the world went to hell, and the Empire lent a flying ship to Leon for fast travel.”
At my muttering, Violet gave me a slight spoiler about the future.

“Oh.”
As expected of the Empire. I believed it.
“But due to poor piloting, it crashed into the ground just three days after being lent.”
“Damn.”

Such a backward swordsman country. They can’t even use what’s given to them…
“If you’re not going to train magicians, forget about flying ships.”
“But there’s the royal Magic Tower…”
“The people who crashed the flying ship, who do you think they were.”
“…That’s why magic users can’t be trusted.”
When I return to the kingdom, I’ll have to insist on cutting that budget first.
No, maybe it’s because they get that much that things are barely functional.
They have no interest in magicians, so it’s hard to deal with the situation.

“When I get officially hired in the Leon Kingdom, I’ll become the Magic Tower Lord.”
So I tried to check by slightly manipulating Violet.
“How would I become the Magic Tower Lord?”
Thankfully, it wasn’t that bad.

“…For the Leon Kingdom’s Magic Tower, it might be possible.”
“…That’s scary because it really seems possible.”

No way. Does our Magic Tower really have no hope?
I was baffled by Violet seriously pondering this.
“A group of individuals has arrived.”
“Individualists?”
“What nonsense is that?”
“…?”
“…”

The next day, as soon as we arrived at the Lias fief, Uncle Aerin’s words made me blink in disbelief.
Truly, individualists.
No, as soon as I met the Individual Tribe, I knew.
“The Individual Tribe’s war chief is called Arang.”

Two upright ears on the head, thick forearms covered with soft fur.
Closer to a human than an animal, but it was obvious which animal they were modeled on.
A dog.
In other words, a dog beastkin — the Individual Tribe.
Once I understood that, I realized why Boradori cursed the original author so much!
“…I am Adam Smith of the Leon Kingdom.”
“I received the report. You saved Bell from the hands of the dark mages?”
“They’re scum not worthy of being treated like people, but it was a human problem, so a human handled it.”

We awkwardly shook hands as hearty laughter came from the other side.
“As expected of Leon’s people, called the Land of Warriors!”
Though usually called the Land of Knights, to the beastkin they were known as the Land of Warriors.
Well, they’re similar enough.

“……”
When they naturally said ‘Wolf Tribe,’ I should have known.
No, even so, the Individual Tribe crossed the line.
“Why do you look like that?”
“…It’s my first time seeing the Individual Tribe.”

Even I, with some fantasy experience, had never heard that word before.
“Well, people from the Lias fief rarely meet us either.”
The dog, or rather, the canine elder, chuckled, and something leapt onto it.

“Uncle.”
“Yes. Weak Bell.”
“Do you want to die?”
Bell’s short forepaw lightly tapped Arang’s cheek.
…Come to think of it, it was more irritating.
Why was the Individual Tribe’s war chief named Arang? It had the syllable ‘rang’ in it.
So a timeline with Wolf Tribe as Ronin Tribe, and Individual Tribe as Dog Tribe could exist!
“Haha! He got caught by humans because he’s so weak!”
The tapping sounds turned to thuds, but the Individual Tribe’s war chief seemed as sturdy as his body.

“Our nephew has gotten even weaker than before.”
“I heard the dark mages drained a lot of his strength.”
“Hmm. Even if what was there disappears, the experience of building that power doesn’t vanish. Over time, what was lost will be replenished, and he’ll build it up again.”
Arang patted Bell’s head, who was still throwing doggy punches.
He expressed his gratitude to me.
“Once again, on behalf of the Wolf Tribe, I thank you. I heard the war chief Marang of the Wolf Tribe wants to greet you personally, but before that, the clan elder wants to meet you.”
“Me?”
“They say you plan to stay in Lias quite a while. If you’re okay, would you come right away?”

A beastkin village — an unexpected event.
Better ask Boradori about this first.
“I’m still a student.”
“Then nothing can be done. Go ask your teacher.”
So I managed to buy some time with an unbeatable excuse.

Before asking why I had come to the Individual Tribe’s village, I asked Violet °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° about things I couldn’t ask the tribe themselves.
Her answer was hopeless.
“Yes, that’s right. They’re the Dead Tribe.”
When I heard Individual Tribe, I half-wondered if cats would be the Dead Tribe.
Why was this true?

“They’re basically all dead.”
“By the way, birds are the Bird Tribe.”
Violet added this as if it was obvious, and I felt dizzy.

“I want to kill the author.”
“Right?”

I kicked Violet’s calf, who nodded in sympathy.
“Ugh!”
“That’s your fault for letting that happen all the time!”
“Did I only watch that?”
It wasn’t a hard kick, but there’s a weight difference between knights and magicians.
Even a playful tap from a knight could make a frail magic user frown.

“No violence!”
“Ugh…”
I was about to kick again but stopped when I saw tears welling in Violet’s eyes.
Yeah. What had Violet done wrong?
This was all the original author’s fault for writing however they pleased.
Did Violet get early education, make the romance fantasy heroine read romance novels so she got ‘baiting’ traits?
Or did that cause me to become the heroine’s fake boyfriend?
…Or did early self-defense training cause the romance villainess to awaken the kingly talent and conquer the Holy Nation, causing the villainess’s early defeat, and me to be the official fake boyfriend playing both sides?

“……”
“Waaah!”
I sighed and kicked Violet’s calf again as she tried to stand up.
That novel’s readers were no different from the original author.
“Not getting up?”
“If I do, you’ll nag again.”

She whimpered with her face pressed to the floor.
That annoyed me enough to mutter a revival spell.
“Three.”
“……”
“Two.”
“……”
“One.”
“……!”
Violet jumped up with a look of injustice.

“No, what did I do wrong? Is it my fault that the Wolf Tribe is the Ronin Tribe? Or that the Dog Tribe is the Individual Tribe? Or that the Cat Tribe is the Dead Tribe?!”
“Yeah.”
“…I really should change jobs.”
If only she wasn’t my superior.
Seeing Violet mutter like that, I threw her a carrot.
“The Dog Tribe — I mean, the Individual Tribe — invited us. We can bring three.”
“Really?”
“What’s the catch?”
“There is an important one. Can we bring Prince Ellen?”
“Why?”
“He’s sealed, so Daisy is needed.”
“The Swordmaster agreed, but bringing two magicians and a woman?”

It was already a two-timing mess, but this would really fuel the rumors.
“Whether two or three is about the same, right?”
“……”
“Or maybe it’s hidden in some incredibly secret place. You can only hear about it, so try to find it.”
If we can find it, we’ll try.
Looking at the confident expression of that guy,

“Revenge?”
“A little bit.”
I knew there was no other way.
“A date request in the Individual Tribe’s village.”
“Daisy? I’m coming too.”
“It’s not a date. The Saint’s power is needed there.”
“Hey? I’m coming too.”
“Hmm. If you say that.”
“Filthy couple bastards! If you feel sorry for me, then go date!”

Seeing Violet shouting, Daisy burst out laughing.
“Are you sulking because I left you alone?”
“Yeah, I’m sulking. Hey, let go of my arm. Because I got a boyfriend, I’m being pushed aside… Hey, let go. If you want to do it, do it with your man… Wait. Daisy? My arm’s going numb. Seriously, let go?!”
Turning her head quickly with a pleading look, Violet followed Bell closely.
Maybe it was my imagination, but Violet’s face was particularly pale today.

“I’m not running away! Ack! You’re even using Holy Law Magic?!”
Watching Violet’s magic flicker and disappear, I did my best not to look back until we reached the Individual Tribe’s village.