Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

After finishing lunch and leaving the small town, they fell into a routine where Ekaterina looked out from the carriage window while Forli explained the crops being cultivated in the surrounding area.

This area was still close to the northern capital. It had been reclaimed long ago and was now a rural region of gently rolling hills. Beyond the endless rows of green ridges that looked like potatoes, she could also see tall clusters that were probably corn.
In her previous life, both potatoes and corn had been brought from South America to Europe during the Age of Exploration. They had apparently arrived in the Empire about two hundred years ago, when trade with the lands beyond the “Summit of the Gods” was established.

And then…
They were still some distance away, but she could already see something wriggling in the fields. The planted leaves were moving.

“Milady, those are the sugar beet. …However, they seem to be making quite a commotion.”

Vegetables. Making a commotion.
She felt sorry for sugar beets in her previous life. But there was nothing else that fit.

How did they even move, anyway? Leaves shouldn’t have muscles or tendons. Magical beasts are mysterious.
But plant-type magical beasts, once they grow into proper adults, apparently pull themselves right out of the ground and start lumbering along. Sugar beets don’t get as far as walking; they just wriggle while staying planted, so maybe their level of weirdness is lower… let’s go with that.
Ahhh, so many things feel wrong with the wording!

“Um… Sir Forli. They seem like very strange crops, but did their cultivation spread easily?”

Even potatoes and tomatoes in my previous life had been viewed with suspicion when first brought to Europe and had taken a long time to spread.
Well, potatoes and tomatoes, which originated in other countries, had already taken root in the Empire, and sugar beets were native to Jurnova, so it wasn’t the same situation… but still, it was confusing!
At Ekaterina’s words, Forli gave a wry smile.

“In the ducal family’s directly managed lands, they were introduced somewhat forcefully about thirty years ago, and the tenant farmers have grown accustomed to them. But even after all that time, they have not spread easily among minor lords and landowners. Once processed into sugar, they become an expensive commodity, so we can purchase them at a good price if they are grown, but at present, the only ones who volunteer to cultivate them are those who have circumstances and need the income.”

Ah—just as expected.
But perhaps that was precisely why Jurnova was able to almost monopolize the production of beet sugar.

“That is understandable as well, for sugar beets are favored by many omnivorous magical beasts. For that reason, they cannot be cultivated near areas where magical beasts live.”

I see. Even in her previous life, damage from wild animals had been a major problem, but in this world it must be incomparably more serious.

Just as Ekaterina was thinking that, the carriage came to a stop.

.

“Milady, Sir Forli. Please forgive the sudden interruption.”

The voice from outside the carriage belonged to Oleg Gardia, who led the escorting knights. In fact, he was the elder brother of Raisa’s twin sons. The twins had dark purple hair so deep it was almost black, inherited from their mother, well-shaped features, and sturdy builds inherited from their father, the vice-commander of the Jurnova Knights. They looked as if they had taken the best traits of both parents.

“What is it, Oleg?”
“Yes, sir. I report that a local resident has come seeking the help of the knights. He says that a one-eyed bear has taken up residence in his sugar beet field and is destroying it.”
“What? In a place so close to human settlements, and in broad daylight?”

…Speak of the devil and he doth appear.
So the sugar beets were making a fuss because their companions were being attacked by a bear.

However, even though the knights were beloved by the people of Jurnova Territory, it was either extremely shameless or the height of desperation to approach knights who were guarding a carriage bearing the ducal crest.
When Ekaterina looked outside the carriage with that thought in mind, she immediately got her answer: a villager was prostrating himself on the ground. This was desperation to the core—a poor, elderly man who looked utterly exhausted.

“Please wait a moment, milady.”

Forli swiftly got down from the carriage and spoke with the man for a short while.
He then returned with a somewhat stern expression.

“Milady, that man says he drifted here from another land and decided to grow sugar beets in a field he rented at the edge of the village in order to support himself and his grandchildren. However, taking advantage of the fact that the field is far from the village, a one-eyed bear has settled there and is trying to eat all the sugar beets. He originally lived in a village deeper in the mountains. Judging by his accent, he is not lying. But six years ago, his village was swallowed by a landslide; his son and daughter-in-law lost their lives, and he and his grandchildren could no longer live there, so they wandered aimlessly. He is buried in debt and pinned his hopes on sugar beets, but if that fails, he says he and his grandchildren will not be able to survive.”

Ekaterina gasped.
What rose to her mind was the list of embezzlements she had been shown by the finance minister, Kimberley—disaster relief funds and reconstruction money that should have been given to villagers struck by landslides and other disasters, embezzled in large amounts.
Was this old man one of the victims?

“However, if we are to exterminate the one-eyed bear, we may not be able to cover the planned distance for today…”
“That is of no concern. I wish to help him.”

When Ekaterina said so firmly, Forli’s lips softened into a smile.

.

The one-eyed bear was not a particularly powerful magical beast, but the knights had not come equipped with extermination gear either. They needed a strategy meeting.
So they all moved to a place where they could see the bear. The carriage was left on the highway in the care of the driver, and Ekaterina traveled on the horse of the knight Oleg.
Regina and the other Jurnova hunting dogs were left with the carriage so as not to put the bear on alert.

The one-eyed bear had a body no different from an ordinary bear, but its head was strangely long, and in the middle of it was a single huge eye, glaring.
Confident that no one would oppose it, it had plopped itself down in the field and was munching away at the sugar beets. The sugar beets flailed about and slapped at the bear with their leaves in feeble resistance. Strangely cute.
Incidentally, they apparently squeal “pii” when pulled out. *…Strangely cute.*

“It has a wound on its snout. It must have lost a territorial dispute with one of its own kind and fled as far as human settlements. That is why it is starving.”

Forli said. As expected of a wildlife-oriented field man—impressive powers of observation for someone of sixty-five.

“The visibility is good, so if we approach, it will notice us immediately.”

One of the knights said, crossing his arms, and Oleg nodded.

“Hm. This might damage the surrounding fields, but shall we charge in on horseback?”
“Yes. If we have the hunting dogs pin it down and then go in from multiple directions at once—”

This way they could share the same mental image in such a brief meeting. True professionals. Cool.

“Um, everyone.”

Ekaterina spoke up timidly.

“I possess Earth magic. If I were to dig out the ground around that magical beast all at once and drop it into something like a pitfall, could we not approach without damaging the field?”
“I see…”

Oleg started to think, then hurriedly shook his head.

“But we mustn’t ask such a thing to you, milady. It is dangerous.”
“No. My brother taught me that the magic of nobles exists to protect the people from magical beasts and the like. And it was I who decided that you would exterminate that beast. If there is something I can do, I wish to do my part as well.”

I know the knights are professionals at exterminating magical beasts, but it’s not as if they have firearms. Their weapons are short spears, which means they have to get close enough to reach.
Even watching from here at a distance, a bear as large as a Hokkaido brown bear from my previous life looks dangerous. If any of them were injured, that would be my responsibility for deciding to exterminate the one-eyed bear. It would mean that I’m the one who caused them to get hurt.
It’s late to realize it, but this is such a wake up call that power comes with responsibility.
As for me, I can attack from a distance with magic. I want them to make use of that.

“Of course, I will do nothing reckless. Even from here, my magic can easily reach that magical beast. …Would that not be acceptable?”

When Ekaterina tilted her head slightly, Oleg fell silent, and Forli gave a soft laugh.

“Words noble and befitting a lady of the knightly order. The men will be deeply moved.”
“Indeed.”

Starting with Oleg, all six knights struck their fists to their chests and bowed their heads to Ekaterina.

“Our Jurnova Knights would not fall behind a mere one-eyed bear, but if anything were to happen to Oleg, it would be conveyed to Erik at Jurnova Castle. We cannot allow His Grace the Duke to be worried.”

Erik was Oleg’s twin younger brother. Though he had the same sturdy build, he had not become a knight at their mother’s wish, and instead served the House of Jurnova as a civil official. The two shared a strong bond, and if something happened to one, it would be conveyed to the other. They could not converse, but they could sense it for certain.
One reason Oleg had been chosen as Ekaterina’s guard was this. If something happened to Oleg, it would mean danger had approached Ekaterina. It was the fastest way to inform Aleksei of his sister’s crisis.
For the record, the older brother Oleg was married, and the younger brother Erik was single.

…I had heard of the bond between twins in her previous life, but it had seemed more like an urban legend than something scientifically proven. But in this world, true to fantasy, it became an unquestionable fact, explained as “they have such magic, though it is weak.”
Still, thinking about it now, just how much effort Onii-sama was putting into confirming my safety. In a world without mobile phones, he had taken every possible measure. As expected of a siscon.

“I will stay with and protect milady. We shall follow her words and accept her aid.”
“I will protect milady.”

Overlapping with the words of Forli, Mina—the maid who always followed half a step behind Ekaterina—said flatly as usual.

“Ah yes, of course.”

Forli nodded without seeming offended, likely because he knew Mina was a combat maid. The knights, however, broke into smiles at the loyal words of the beautiful maid.

“Then let us, the Jurnova Knights, have the honor of fighting alongside milady.”

And thus, the plan was changed