#1135 So Do Your Studies 

Studying?! 

That’s the last thing I want to hear! 
I mean, is there any kid born in Japan who genuinely likes studying?! 

Yet Orkubo and Gobukichi, the very ones who dropped that dreadful word, are all too eager to continue. 

“We thought long and hard about what we’re missing if we want to be recognized as proper people.” 
“And we concluded it was knowledge! Intelligence is the big difference between people and beasts!!!” 

Ah, right…! 

So that’s how they plan to bridge the gap between them—a pair of literal monsters—and humanity. 

But is now really the time to be talking about that? 
We’re still smack in the middle of the inauguration ceremony, you know? 

“For our children’s sake, and so no one can point at us behind our backs, we want to become perfect beings in both strength and intellect.” 
“So the kids won’t get teased for having a goblin for a dad!!” 

I see…! 
I did tell Orkubo and Gobukichi themselves to hold their heads high, but expecting their children to live exactly the same way from birth might be a bit rough on them. 

They’ve clearly been thinking hard about their future roles as fathers… 

“That’s why, in between farm work and child-rearing, we’ve been taking lessons from Sensei!” 

Sensei?! 

Startled, I look around—and sure enough, there he is! 
He’s laughing with total satisfaction. 

“Wanting to learn is a wonderful thing. No matter how old you are, it’s never too late to start. If anything, grown students tend to be more motivated!” 

For someone who loves teaching, this must’ve been a dream come true. 

And now that same teacher is slated to become our Minister of Education in this new Farm Kingdom. 
When it comes to teaching, nobody can top him. 

“In fact, both Orkubo and Gobukichi have been star pupils. They began with reading, writing, and arithmetic, and absorbed it all with astonishing speed. Now they’ve tackled physics, biology, world geography, climate studies, even philosophy. They’re basically flawless, I’d say.” 
“God is dead.” 
“And the abyss stared back at us.” 

Stop right there! 
That’s one of those lines from the ‘edgy philosopher’—the patron saint of teenage angst! 

“To live is to learn!!” 

Gyaaah! 
Sugawara no Michizane just popped out of nowhere! 

He always shows up the second someone mentions studying! 

“Yes! It is by learning that one truly becomes human! Those who do not learn art no better than beasts! People art born equal, yet we see differences only because some choose to study and thus gain intellect! When you have knowledge, you can build wealth and dodge calamity! Without it, thou will not even find the path to success! And the best way to gain knowledge is through learning! Now get to thine studies, all of you!!!” 

Whoa, easy there… 
Once you get Michizane going on the topic of learning, he’s unstoppable. 

Sensei’s been having quite a time trying to calm him down, too. 

“Indeed. Partway through, Lord Michizane joined in their schooling, personally teaching them the history of his homeland in painstaking detail.” 
“Seven-nine-four, cry like a warbler, Heian-kyo!” 
“Eleven-nine-two, let’s make a fine nation, Kamakura Shogunate!!!” 

Please don’t fill their heads with that old-world history! 
Teach them about this world’s history! 

“Thanks to Sensei and Lord Michizane, we’ve grown smarter!” 
“Now when our kids grow up, we can teach them properly!” 

Orkubo and Gobukichi stand proud, faces bright with confidence. 

I see...So that’s what they’ve been up to all this time, especially when I hadn’t seen them around much. They’ve been quietly studying…! 

Teaching your own child...! 
It’s a challenge that lands on every parent’s shoulders eventually. Will I be okay when it’s my turn? 

My eldest son, Junior, is about the age he’d start elementary school in the other world. 
That means I’m probably up next… 

“Uh, can Junior do basic addition at least?” 
“y = a(x–b)² + c” 

Huh? 

“In fact, other orcs and goblins have started studying by following their leaders’ example. The results have been astounding.” 

So now all of our orcs and goblins are…an intellectual elite?! 

All this happened while I was away traveling the globe, laying the groundwork for Farm Kingdom?! 

“Huh… It’s an unexpected twist, but maybe it’s for the best,” Platy murmurs, stroking her chin in a rather scholarly manner. 

I guess raising the overall intelligence on the farm is a good thing, but… 

“There’s a concern about what comes next, actually.” 

Huh? 
I mean, that’s fine and all, but we’re still in the middle of these appointments, right? 
I wanted Panu to be Minister of Dairy, Bacchus to be Minister of Brewing, and Batemy to be Minister of Textiles… 

Oh, whatever! Let’s just appoint ’em all at once! 
Bam, bam, bam, done! 

*** 

So, Platy, what’s this concern of yours? 

“You know how the farm’s been lending more active support to the frontier villages since we decided to found our own nation, right?” 

Yes. 
Back when the plan was just “helping them out,” we held back so we wouldn’t overshadow the settlers’ independence. 
But once we decided to officially establish theFarm Kingdom, we stopped playing shy and started helping in earnest. 

Which means the orcs and goblins are taking center stage. 

They’re strong, fast, and can handle a century’s worth of development in a fraction of the time. 
That should speed things up tremendously. 

“Well, there’s an unexpected downside.” 

Huh? 

“Some people are complaining: ‘I’m not taking orders from an orc or a goblin!’” 

What?! 

They’re talking that way about my friends Orkubo and Gobukichi?! 
How dare they?! 

“It’s mostly the demon settlers. Demons can use spells to control monsters, remember? During the war, they used that magic to force certain monsters into fighting alongside them. I heard orcs and goblins were often used in the Demon King’s Army for that reason.” 

Right, I remember something like that. 

They can only control monsters of a certain intelligence; ones that can understand spoken commands. 
Like orcs or goblins, the so-called 'anthropomorphic monsters,’ who are basically a perfect fit for magical enslavement. 

So to the demon race, orcs and goblins might be awfully familiar as tools of war. 

“They’ve grown up thinking those creatures exist only to be controlled, so naturally their pride’s in shreds if those same creatures start giving them orders.” 

Our orcs and goblins are unstoppable at clearing land; chopping trees, clearing brush, the works. 

With their experience building and tilling on the farm, they can make the place more comfortable in no time. 
Humans and demons would only slow the process down. 

So it’s only logical that orcs and goblins would end up coordinating everyone else’s work… 
…which leads to: 

“Shut up! Don’t tell me what to do, you filthy orc! And you! You’re just a goblin!” 
“Like I said, it’s an ingrained attitude. It might be ethically wrong, but for them, it’s always been, ‘Monsters work for us, never the other way around.’ Their pride just can’t handle it.” 

Nonsense! 
Orkubo and Gobukichi are my buddies, not some tools to be used! 

 I’d hoped to avoid conflict right after forming our new nation, but if we have to force them to change that mindset, so be it! 

“And that’s why this new studying craze might actually help,” Platy says with a grin. “Well, will these ‘humans’ be so high and mighty…if they’re dumber than the ‘tools’ they claim to own?”