Chapter 440
A place of learning—in Japan, it's a facility one can attend as a compulsory institution, an organization that cultivates knowledgeable human resources through education.
"Everyone, thank you for gathering here today."
However, that's only in Japan. In this world, schools are a narrow gate, permitted only to a select few who have the time and money. For a commoner to enter, they would need either extraordinary effort or extraordinary luck.
Why is that?
The answer is quite simple.
The upper class's monopoly on knowledge and the establishment of a ruling hierarchy.
That sums it up in a word.
I am now about to drive a wedge into that ruling hierarchy, to put a crack in it.
"Today, we will hold a meeting to decide the future direction of this former pioneer village, now rebranded as an academy city."
And doing this all for my own selfish desire for talented people—I suppose I'm quite deeply involved as well.
It was only the other day that I revised the scale of the最初建立的 pioneer village to "Academy City."
Three months have already passed since the incident at the temple. During that time, we've strengthened our defenses while remaining vigilant against the Heretic Church.
We temporarily halted the expansion of the walls and focused on internal construction.
The reason for changing the name to Academy City is that a massive temple has been built in this city.
The number of divine statues enshrined there is eighty-seven.
That's a number you wouldn't find even if you searched the entire world.
Housing all of them required a tremendous scale, leading to部分 of the land originally reserved for the academy being diverted for the temple.
Thanks to that, we had to revise the layout inside the second wall, but as a result, we were able to build a satisfactory temple.
Don and his construction group must be working hard.
As a reward for their efforts, I'll make sure to properly build a sake brewery, so please forgive me.
"Well then, regarding this illustrious first agenda item—"
Gathered in this conference hall are the key figures involved in the operation of this academy city.
"Umm, I think it's time we finally decide on the name of this city, which we've been putting off for so long."
"It really is about time, isn't it?"
"Right, we've always just called it 'the pioneer village,' but it's not a village anymore."
My party members, also the strongest combat force of this academy city.
A red-haired girl with her hair in braids, a merchant with fox ears that twitch in response—Nell.
Her incredible luck has saved us many times, and I'm confident I'll be bowing to her in gratitude many times in the future.
Next to Nell sits Amina, a bird-kin songstress with chestnut hair braided, who has awakened to fashion.
Her singing ability continues to grow, and through interactions with spirits in the form of "live performances," she's an idol who can mass-produce valuable spirit stones that are hard to obtain in this world.
Thanks to her, we never lack materials for magical tool crafting.
In the future, they will become executives, but for now, they are apprentices.
They are here under the guise of assisting me.
Though they are young girls, their status as the most veteran members is a slightly peculiar one. A wave of laughter erupts at their words.
"It can't be helped. Liberta never accepted any of the names we proposed over and over again."
"Indeed."
"Hey, using my name or modifying it was just a bit..."
Sitting next to Amina and shrugging once the laughter subsides is Esmeralda, a duke's daughter who is both a party member and handles diplomacy for this city.
Running her hand through her proud golden hair, she wears a dress befitting a villainess even today, and while letting out a wry smile, she still plays along. Next to her is Ingrid, her assistant, who always wears a maid uniform with her light blue hair tied up in a bun.
Though usually expressionless, she has recently become much better at showing her emotions.
These two use their experience as nobles to maintain our connections with the outside world.
"Because of that, we ended up continuing to call it a pioneer village indefinitely. I had a hard time dealing with the temple because of it, you know."
Claudia, a party member and our liaison to the temple, which holds connections to the gods of this world, looks at me with an exasperated expression.
Utilizing her experience traveling the world and broadening her horizons, she also acts as an advisor.
I consult with her frequently and rely on her help.
"It's embarrassing..."
"No! My lord, there is no shame in bestowing your name upon this city, which can be considered a great achievement of yours!"
As I look away from Claudia's words, a man stands up with great vigor.
Amidst the predominantly Western fantasy-style attire, he wears Japanese clothing—a samurai.
Clenching his sword-calloused hand and passionately arguing is Genjirou, who has transformed from a madman to an enthusiast as history changed.
He is also the general commander of this academy city's military forces.
"Alright, alright, Genjirou-san, calm down. I understand how Liberta feels."
"Hmm, I might side with Genjirou-san? Because it feels like it would leave a legacy for the future, which would be nice."
Sitting next to Genjirou are Judeus, now head of the intelligence division, and Shalia, his deputy.
The two who manage the group called the "Entertainers," which periodically ends up completely naked.
Compared to when he was a noble's son, Judeus has gained composure and dignity, but his tendency to be the straight man still surfaces occasionally.
And Shalia, who tilts her head with cute gestures—a beauty that, to those who appreciate it, could steal their soul, but whose inner self is male.
"Personally, an easy-to-understand name is convenient to use. Don-san, what do you think?"
"As long as it's not some weird name, I don't really care."
In the last corner, sitting opposite me at the head of the table, is Nell's father, Zink-san, who oversees the shopping district and now handles finances.
Thanks to leveling up, he's become much younger, now appearing to be in his mid-thirties.
Next to him is Don, the dwarf leader responsible for construction.
Since life stabilized, he's been meticulous in caring for his beard, the symbol of a dwarf, stroking its glossy strands.
"Ho ho ho, they say the name represents the thing itself. A name symbolizing this gathering. I think it's good to consider it carefully."
"Hmm, as long as I can freely make magical tools, I don't care what the name is."
"Oh, honestly, you."
Gato, the former adventurer, lets out a kindly grandfatherly laugh.
An experienced mentor whom I invited with "Want to try blooming again?" when he was about to give up on his dreams in old age.
Even Judeus and Shalia, who are higher level, rely on him as a living encyclopedia of experience.
Having leveled up, he can already achieve his own dreams, but he still cooperates with me.
In the future, it's decided he will become the principal of the academy.
The couple next to Gato are Percy and his wife Felt, who came to this academy city through Gato's introduction and now manage a workshop producing magical tools and general goods.
Percy is the workshop chief, but he lacks business sense.
In fact, I asked him to attend this meeting, but he himself is aware he's unsuited for such occasions.
It's Felt who compensates for his shortcomings. Like a pair of lovebirds, the two show their closeness even today.
These are the core members of this academy city.
To these, we can add external collaborators like His Grace Duke Edelgard and Esmeralda's younger sister Iris, who is scheduled to come as a diplomat. Though not here now, I've heard from Claudia that the temple has decided to dispatch one archbishop and several barrier priestesses.
As for potential future faces, perhaps Bermuda, who set off for the eastern territory, might also be included.
And standing at the top of all this is me, Liberta—a person reincarnated into this world as what seemed to be an orphan child.
"But even if we say we need to decide a name, we've already submitted our proposals, right?"
"Um, there was the proposal using Liberta-kun's name directly, Nell's slightly modified 'Libertara,' and my proposal 'Libetta.'"
"I also proposed 'Libeta.'"
"Humbly, I also suggested the name 'Liber.'"
"I simply recommended the name 'Liberta.'"
Regarding the main topic of the city's name, their proposals are already in.
Nell, Amina, Esmeralda, Ingrid, and Claudia's proposals all derive from my name.
"I also advocated for my lord's name!"
"I passed. I've never had that kind of naming sense, not since I was young."
"I suggested 'Libetta.'"
Among the combat group, Genjirou pushes for my name, Judeus abstains, and Shalia also modified my name.
"I proposed a slightly twisted name, 'Leave.'"
"Ho ho ho, somehow or other, they all end up close to Liberta-kun's name. I did something similar and named it 'Rita.'"
"Well, everyone here has been helped by Liberta-san, so naturally, they'd gravitate towards something like that."
"That's right. We also had that image strongly. We proposed the name 'Ribe.'"
"I think it's troublesome, so I think using Liberta-sama's name directly is fine."
It's not that someone is intentionally trying to align; Zink-san, Gato, Percy and his wife, Don—everyone naturally ends up that way.
"So, we've put forward our proposals. I think all that's left is for Liberta to choose one or come up with a new one."
"Yeah."
I thought we could discuss it again and get good proposals, but everyone ended up like this.
"Come to think of it, we haven't heard Liberta's proposal yet."
"That's right♪ It's not fair that you made all of us come up with proposals but haven't offered one yourself♪"
"Ugh, it's because I felt like if I said something, everyone would just go with that."
"In reality, if Liberta-kun proposed something, we'd probably think it was fine."
"Indeed. This city was built by you, my lord, leading us."
If I proposed a name like this, everyone would probably agree immediately, making it hard for me to speak up.
When I inadvertently let my true feelings slip at Judeus and Shalia's words, Zink-san and Genjirou nodded emphatically.
"Wouldn't that be fine? If it's a really strange name, we'll object."
This world is generally feudal.
In other words, ideas like consensus-building or democracy haven't taken root.
So, as Claudia says, it's normal to tilt one's head and wonder, "What's strange about the master deciding?"
"...Is it really okay?"
I'm the only one who finds this strange.
In a way, this is also a form of democracy.
Accepting the consensus that everyone wants me to decide, I make a final confirmation.
Seeing everyone nod, I steel myself and announce the name I had in mind.
"Freihait."
I like the word "freedom."
That's why I used the name "Liberta" for my character.
It means freedom in Italian, and I kept using it because I liked the sound and feel of it.
"Freihait" means freedom in German.
"Freihait. Hmm, somehow it sounds like a nice name."
"Yeah, I like it too."
In the end, by choosing a name with a meaning close to my own name, I'm not much different from everyone else.
"It's a word I've never heard before. What does it mean?"
"It has the meaning of 'freedom.' I hope this academy will become that kind of place."
Without explaining its origin, I smiled and brushed it off.