The park's designer

"Ahhh, beautiful..."

A deviant was in the park.

The same park he'd built with his slave. A woman inside, eyes glinting with something eerie.

Staring at trees like they were lovers. Rubbing her cheek on benches like they were pillows.

To anyone watching, she looked like a full-blown menace. Proof? The children playing nearby were huddled in a corner, trembling.

After lingering long enough, the deviant tilted her head at the sandbox.

"What's this, then? Something the king couldn't have made."

Huh? Did she just say that about me?

The king... that's me, right?

"Maybe the king's collection just got bigger. Gotta check it out."

She stared hard at the sandbox, then ran her fingers over it, then—finally—picked up a pinch of sand and licked it slow.

...Yeah. Better not get involved.

I thought that, and started backing away.

The moment I turned around, Risha arrived.

"Looking for you, my master."

"My master!?"

The woman behind me latched onto it.

I cautiously turned. Her—closer inspection revealed she was still just a girl—stared at me, utterly shocked.

And then—pffft.

She suddenly blew a stream of blood from her nose, then collapsed unconscious.

☆

I laid the unconscious girl down on a bench, then listened to Risha’s report beside her.

"Martha has arrived. She says she wishes to meet you, master."

"Ah. Make sure the barrier lets her through."

The absolute barrier of the palace. No one gets in without my permission. So I granted Martha permission.

"Let her in first, have her wait a moment. And she likes sweet things—get her something to eat."

"Understood."

She bowed, then left.

"Hmm."

Just as she vanished, the girl stirred awake.

"Awake now?"

"Yes… wait, what?"

The girl looked at me and panicked.

“O-oh, o-oh, o-oh, o-oh!”

“Huh?”

“T-the King!”

She shot up from the bench, jerking back three stiff steps like a robot, then bowed deeply.

“P-pleased to meet you, Your Majesty! My name is Nina!”

“Huh.”

Overkill.

“…A real King…”

Nina lifted her face. Her eyes were blazing—brighter than any I’d seen before.

The brightest I’d ever seen.

“W-what do I do? I never thought I’d meet the King… I wasn’t ready at all… what do I do—”

What kind of preparation are you even talking about?

I ignored that and asked about her condition.

“Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes!”

“Good. I poured the universal remedy into you, so you should be fine.”

“U-universal remedy!”

Nina looked utterly shocked. She recoiled so hard it was almost comical.

"The secret weapon of that king... it's inside me. The king... is inside me..."

Shaking violently—then sneezing blood again.

This time, she didn’t fall. Instead, she stood there, weeping blood, struck by emotion. A minor horror scene, really.

"...You okay?"

"Yes! I always get like this when I think about the king. I'm used to it. Totally fine!"

"O-oh..."

Is that really fine? No, not really.

Honestly, where even do you start?

She doesn’t seem like a bad kid, but still—getting involved with someone like that? Hmm.

"Ah! King, look at this!"

Nina said that, then pulled out a folded piece of paper.

She bowed sharply, then thrust it into my hands with both palms.

...A love letter?

"What's this?"

"It's a house I designed. All you need is one wooden house, four pillars, and one staircase."

"A house?"

I took the paper, unfolded it.

It wasn’t a love letter. Nina had called it a “house” blueprint.

One word: it’s a house on four legs.

Four pillars stand at the corners, and the house sits atop them. A staircase climbs up to it.

Kind of like an elevated granary.

“Ah. So that’s how it works when you put it together like this.”

The wooden house, the pillars, the stairs—

All things I’d built before. But never this combination. Never thought of it.

“Did Nina think this up?”

“Yes!”

“Nice. Can I take this? Might come in handy somehow.”

“Of course! Ah… the King will surely like it…”

She went dreamy again. Dripped a little blood from her nose.

Getting used to that, now.

“Still… this might actually catch on. Horses? People who use horses? They’d probably love it.”

After all, the ground floor is completely open. Like a stable.

“That’s right. Actually, a neighbor of mine was saying lately they’ve been struggling to find a place to park their cart. With more people coming to Rebeck, those who’ve lived here longer have less land to use.”

“Ah… right.”

She’d gotten a similar report from Yuria, hadn’t she?

“So I thought, what if we could do something about it?”

“Huh. Good. Let’s actually build one and test it out.”

“Thank you so much!”

She sneezed again, blood spurting.

After she finished, Nina pulled a piece of paper from her pocket and wiped her nose.

“Was it okay to wipe with that paper?”

A pointed question. Just barely, she caught sight of something written on the paper.

“Oh… really?”

“Show it to me.”

“Yes!”

This one was also a blueprint—a two-story house with a balcony.

“You came up with this too?”

"Yes. All I need are two wooden houses and the ability to dismantle them. Stack one house on top of the other, slice the upper house in half, and use that space outdoors."

"Exactly a balcony. So, partial deconstruction, huh."

Staring at the blueprint, thinking.

She’d never thought of that before—but yes, it could be done.

Someone’s escaped using just that, after all.

Anyway, this design is solid.

A balcony? That’s a whole new level.

Not just a place to live. A place to live well.

……

Looking at the two blueprints and Nina.

"Any others? Designs like this?"

"Yes!"

Nina nodded, a trickle of blood leaking from her nose.

Horrible. But also, utterly magnificent, that smile.

☆

I came to her house with Nina.

Opened the door and stepped inside.

The room was shockingly simple.

A table, a chair, a pen and paper, and a mountain of pshiny.

That was it. More like a workshop now than a home… an atelier, really.

“Ah… they’re actually letting the king come here. The king…!”

“Sorry to interrupt your awe, but can I see the blueprints?”

“Yes! First, look at this—”

I took the blueprint and studied it.

One wooden house, multiple fences, “to be demolished” written in the corner—apparently, they’d torn down one wall of the house and built a fence all around it.

“What’s this?”

“I heard about it from the cafeteria man. If you put tables and chairs there, you can eat while looking at the sky.”

“Ah, a restaurant terrace. Anything else?”

“How about this one!”

Nina stood stiffly.

Holding a mountain of blueprints, she handed them to me one after another.

Each one was wildly original.

After flipping through about ten, I noticed something.

"Any of these could be made right now. The materials are listed precisely."

"Yes."

"Even this one—only made once, yet you figured it out so well."

"I’ve examined everything the King made. I know every single thing he can create!"

"Hmm."

She’s practically got it all down better than I do.

I stared hard at Nina.

"I need a favor."

"Anything at all, please say it!"

She sneezed blood again.

"I’ll bring Mira here later. You know Mira?"

"Yes! The Second Slave Lady!"

"That’s right."

"Understood... um, what exactly should I have the Second Slave Lady do?"

"There are things I can make at this stage, but haven’t made yet."

"Things like that... I want to know...?"

Nina’s face lit up with greed.

"I’ll tell you."

"Really?!"

"Mira knows them. Look at them, think about combining them—see if you can make something new."

“Things the king didn’t make… unpublished things… the king’s secrets…”

Nina mumbled to herself.

“The king’s secrets… I—”

She erupted in the largest nosebleed of her life, collapsed backward with a thud, and passed out.

For now, shoved a vial of universal remedy down her throat—emergency measures.

Can’t wait.

Risha did something similar, scribbled design plans for something resembling a battleship, but Nina’s idea was even more outlandish.

I’m genuinely curious—what kind of madness will she come up with when she starts combining things I can make?