Chapter 148: The Rule Of Tanaka Eldoris

Tanaka stood in front of a mirror and looked over his new appearance. His black hair was now brown, his eyes were a different color, and he looked overall very different from the man who used to patrol the castle halls. Even someone who knew him would have trouble recognizing him. "It’ll do." Nira chuckled from his side. "You’re making this harder than it needs to be." "I have my reasons. The last thing I need is for someone from Rosen City to see me and start asking questions about the battle."

Nira tilted her head. "You did flatten a good portion of Rosen City." "Because Zarathiel decided to beat the city’s gates in!" "And you finished the job." Tanaka shot her a glare. Nira laughed and began to transform herself. Her black hair lightened and her face was changing to appear more similar to a light elf. Even her aura was different, hiding the features of a dark elf princess.

Tanaka watched in interest as her transformation ended. "Very nice," he said. "It wouldn’t be possible without my spirit powers," Nira said, adjusting her appearance in the mirror. "Besides, I have no interest in meeting the light elves. If they recognize me, they’re going to ask questions, and I’m not in the mood to answer them today." "Understandable." Nira smiled. "Now we can go shopping without worrying about being seen." "Shopping," Tanaka echoed. "For books." "Indeed, Lord Tanaka. For books." Tanaka suspected she was enjoying this at his expense. He decided not to argue.

---

The streets of Rosen City were busy when they arrived. Merchants lined the road, adventurers browsed the various shops, and several horse-drawn wagons passed by carrying goods to the marketplace. Tanaka and Nira blended in with the large crowd, not attracting any particular attention. The first place they stopped at was a bookstore recommended by a merchant along the eastern entrance. The owner was happy to see them and listened carefully as Tanaka explained exactly what they were looking for.

"Books for a school," he said. "We need reading and writing, math, history, magic and spellcasting. And we need practical books as well; things that people who’ve never been taught would benefit from." The shopkeeper looked them over. "You’re opening a school?" "That’s the idea." "That’s going to need more than a few books," the shopkeeper said. "That’s why we’re here," Nira said. She was already looking over the shelves. Books on medicinal plants, herbal remedies and identifying poisonous animals filled a section of the shelves. Other books on mana theory and basic spellcasting stood in another pile.

"This one would be good for your students," Nira said, showing Tanaka a book that had detailed pictures of various herbs, healing plants and poisonous flowers. "What’s the book’s name?" "It has information on medicinal and poisonous plants native to several continents." "How many copies do you have?" The shopkeeper looked the book over. "Six." "Get us all six," Nira said. Nira gave him a strange look. "We don’t need six copies of everything!" "If we only buy one, everyone is going to have to share it."

"That’s what libraries are for." Tanaka blinked. "A library?" Nira looked at him. "You’re not thinking of opening another business are you?" "I wasn’t." "Good." Tanaka turned back to the shopkeeper. "But do you have any books on opening a library?" Nira covered her face. The shopkeeper chuckled.

---

It took several hours to gather the required books. Tanaka bought basic subjects such as education, math and history. Nira browsed the herbalogy section and found several books that would help with the future teachers’ lesson planning. By the time they left, the shopkeeper had scheduled for the larger collection to be shipped over to Eldoris. Nira looked out over the street from the entrance. "You’ve given yourself quite the workload."

"Someone has to build the kingdom." "Yes, and someone has to make sure you don’t work yourself into an early grave." Tanaka smiled. "That’s why I brought you." Nira studied him for a moment. For a second, she seemed to have no idea what to say. Then she shook her head with a small smile. "You’re not bad at making people feel needed." "I’m not trying to flatter you. I really do need your help." "I’m aware." She looked away for a moment. That was the issue. It was becoming very difficult to think of a reason to stay away. Fortunately, the school still needed teachers, the books had to be sorted through, and Tanaka had plenty of ideas for the next few days. Nira was determined to help with everything he had.

---

They returned to Eldoris later that afternoon. Tanaka barely had the chance to enter the village before Raveana came running up to him. "You’re back!" "Yes. How’s Varkesh?" "Stable." Razer appeared behind her, looking less thrilled with their reunion. "Tharven has everything under control. The other factions are cooperating, the damaged districts are being rebuilt, and the administration is in order." Tanaka nodded. "Good. You can both return to your respective jobs now." Raveana grinned.

"Finally! I was getting tired of that place!"

Razer sighed. "Every day since the battle ended, she’s complained about having nothing to do." "Because there wasn’t anything to do! You could have helped with the reconstruction!" "I did help!" "For about half a day!" Raveana pointed at him. "You weren’t counting!" Tanaka laughed. "All right, all right. You’ve done enough. Stay here for a while." Raveana beamed. "That’s all I needed to hear!" Razer shook his head, but clearly preferred being at home as well.

Then he remember something. "The communication device." Tanaka turned to him. "What about it?" "We tested it between Eldoris and Varkesh. Tharven got the device, and we were able to set up a connection between the kingdoms." Tanaka’s eyes brightened. "It worked?" "We could hear each other just fine. We tested it several times, and it held up." "Excellent!" Tanaka had hoped it would make communication easier, but a successful test was even better than he expected.

"Send my regards to the mages when you see them. This will make running the alliance much easier." Razer nodded. Raveana stretched her arms. "Does this mean we can stop with the message relays?" "Eventually, yes." "Wonderful. I’ll never complain about being bored again." Razer looked at her. "That’s a lie." "Nobody asked you!"

Tanaka shook his head with a smile. Eldoris was growing, and the people foreign to the village were settling into their new homes. The mages were providing their knowledge, the people from Varkesh were adjusting, and the communication device was helping to unite the two areas. For once, the news from Varkesh was positive.

Then a familiar voice cut in on his thoughts. "Hmm." Tanaka turned to see Malachiel approaching from the east road, glancing over the village with mild interest. He had apparently returned from one of his mysterious journeys. An enormous wyvern was at his side. Tanaka’s eyes widened. "Zarathiel?" The Wyvern Lord inclined his head toward the entrance. "Brother." Tanaka stared for a moment before breaking into a grin.

"It’s been a while!" Zarathiel let out a deep, guttural sound that Tanaka had come to recognize as laughter. The battle in Rosen City had been anything but friendly, but the Wyvern Lord had come to see Tanaka as a brother. Their relationship had become one of the strangest Tanaka had ever had. Malachiel looked between the two men. "You two know each other?" Tanaka looked at him. "Of course. We fought in Rosen City." "Ah, so that’s why it was such a mess."

"Malachiel!" The True Dragon laughed. Raveana and Razer approached, greeting Malachiel as old friends who had fought side-by-side during the First War. "You’re back," Razer said. "Apparently." Malachiel looked them over. His gaze swept over the growing village, the unfamiliar structures and the groups of monsters working in unison. Then his eyes landed on the human mages that were helping out near the classroom building. He tilted his head.

"Hmm. I sense some outsiders." Tanaka followed his line of sight. Malachiel looked at him. "Who are they, Tanaka?" He pointed at the human mages, then at the families that had set up camp in Eldoris. His eyes lingered on Nira. The dark elf princess had been standing nearby in her new appearance, watching the meeting unfold.

Malachiel’s eyes narrowed slightly. "And who is that?" Tanaka looked between them. For a moment, he considered explaining everything. Then he smiled. "Well, Malachiel, it seems like you’ve missed quite a bit." The True Dragon’s face brightened. "Excellent." He looked the village over once more. "Tell me everything." Tanaka sighed. He had a feeling this was going to take a while.