#515 Checkout

Morning...

Nothing’s better than Japanese food for breakfast at a ryokan.

Shiny white rice, hot miso soup, grilled fish, farm-fresh pickles, and...

“Natto!”

...Right.

Our guests greet the morning with natto, which Horkofoson distributes herself.

Breakfast is served in the dining hall on the first floor.

We and other guests come down one after another to replenish our energy for the day.

“Ah, if it isn’t Lord Saint. An early bird as always.”

“Good morning, Mr. Lucife.”

“May I join you?”

“Of course!”

I got to know Lucife Focale, the Prime Minister of the Demon Kingdom, quite well through our stay.

We even share a breakfast table.

Sitting with us is Platy feeding Junior porridge.

He’s a big boy now and has been completely weaned.

“You came at the right time. I was thinking of returning to the capital soon.”

“Do you feel fully rested now?”

“Yes, thanks to having spent so much time here. You’ve helped me immensely, Lord Saint.”

The hot spring ryokan, built in hopes of soothing the weary guests, seems to be fulfilling its purpose.

In addition to Mr. Lucife, many other people have visited the ryokan, soaked in the hot springs, relaxed, and taken their minds off of things.

“Oh, Lucife! There you are! Skip your luxurious breakfast and play ping-pong with me!”

...Except for a few noisy people.

“We’re leaving together, Great Demon King.”

“What? But I haven’t fully enjoyed this place yet!”

“You’re disturbing the other guests. If you are the Great Demon King, you should think of your people and not cause trouble.”

“Nghhh!”

The prime minister’s sound argument hit the Great Demon King like a straight fireball. 

“...I speculate that by now, my office has accumulated bundles of papers waiting to be processed, so I’m bound to be busy again.”

“Feel free to come back whenever to relieve your fatigue.”

Not only Mr. Lucife but many others visit this hot spring inn to find their solace.

Achelos, a demon soldier, Argyle, a former military scribe, and Kinmarie, a well digger.

People from different backgrounds gather here at the hot spring ryokan to take a breather.

We are delighted to see that they’re enjoying our facilities. 

It won’t be long before this place becomes a regular tourist attraction in the Demon Kingdom.

“What was so meaningful about coming here was not just the fact that we were able to recuperate,” says Mr. Lucife. “We were also able to interact with other guests. Many of them were working in or alongside the army, but our true feelings lay in soaking in the hot water and sharing each other’s company...!”

Sounds like he had a good time with the other people.

His face shows great satisfaction.

“Their opinions have been helpful and will be used in the future management of our nation. I feel re-energized and am itching to get to work that retirement is out of the question!”

This vacation must’ve boosted his motivation.

Anyway, the passionate Mr. Lucife drags away Great Demon King, who’s reluctant to leave.

After revitalizing at this hot spring inn, Lucife Focale is back on the road with renewed vigor.

Needless to say, I’m pleased as punch to see the fruits of my labor.

“I think it’s about time we take our leave, too.”

Initially, we were here to check out the ryokan’s operation, but it turned out that we were just another guest.

And that too, as a family.

I temporarily left the farm to Gobukichi and his team. My reputation as the owner will be at stake if I don’t return soon. 

“Staying over someplace else was a new experience for us, wasn’t it? We’ll come back again, right, Junior?”

Platy was also happy to get a few days off.

But as for the management of this ryokan from today onwards...

“I need to meet a certain someone and make arrangements...”

* * *

After breakfast, I went to see a woman in kimono.

“Excuse me.”

“Lord Saint, did today’s breakfast suit your palate?”

“It was delicious. Thank you.”

Dressed in a mauve kimono and with an air of serenity, this woman in the room was once an automaton slumbering deep in the mountains of the Demon Kingdom.

Due to certain circumstances, our farm took her and the rest of her kind under our wing. Not long after, they transformed into humans with the power of Hades, the god of the underworld.

At first, we had planned to have her work on the farm, but after the expo, she came to work on the front lines at the hot spring ryokan.

She worked particularly hard, and her leadership role gradually took hold that she became known as the proprietress.

A ryokan is not a ryokan without a proprietress, after all.

Aside from her, the ryokan is currently staffed by dozens of female automatons.

They are all reliable professionals.

“We think it’s time for us to return to the farm.”

“I hope you have enjoyed yourself during your stay.”

Even the way she responds to guests is nothing short of amazing.  

I stayed and observed the situation just in case something happened, but thanks to the proprietress, I became almost a mere guest like everyone else.

“I wondered what I would do if I had to run this ryokan regularly, but with you here, I think we’ll be able to manage.”

I’m thinking of handing over the official management to her.

The humanized automatons, including her, will stay here and devote themselves to running this ryokan.

Our farm will be understaffed because of that, though...

Maybe we could collect more automatons from Mariage’s lab?

“What generous praise. To think Lord Saint would entrust me with such an important task...!”

No need to be so prim and proper.

“We automatons are beings whose purpose for existing is beyond us. We were once lifeless, discarded, and left to decay, but you picked us up and gave meaning to our lives...!”

She kneels on the spot.

“Now that you’ve entrusted this ryokan to us, we will do our utmost to protect it. I especially will live up to your expectations!”

“Okay, take it easy...!”

I’m not saying that we’ll cut any form of communication after we return to the farm. We’ll always be in touch, so if you have any problems, just give us a holler.

Orkubo and his team will be here in a heartbeat if you have any troublesome guests!

* * *

Thus, I entrusted the hot spring ryokan we had built deep in the mountains of the Demon Kingdom to the proprietress, and the rest of us returned to the farm.

That hot spring inn will continue to heal the weary people of the Demon Kingdom...no, the entire world.

Its reputation is already widespread, with the number of people wanting to visit steadily increasing and reservations booked for months.

...Wait up...

Maybe we should build a new hot spring ryokan as soon as possible?

Oh well. I can discuss that with the Demon King and make the necessary arrangements from there, like cooperating with the engineers from the Demon Kingdom and the like.

I also heard that Holcosfon is teaching the art of digging hot springs to the Well-Digging Guild.

I hope that hot springs like this will spread worldwide and give everyone access to relaxation.

If that happens, the world will keep heading toward the path of peace.

I couldn’t wish for anything better, and I’d welcome such a wonderful world in which Junior would grow up in.