MISTERLP
It happened just before Souma departed for the Star Dragon Mountain
Range.
On this day, Souma summoned the Kingdom of Friedonia's Minister of
Agriculture and Forestry, Poncho, to the governmental affairs office.
When Poncho entered the room, Souma was seated in his chair, and for
some reason the head maid Serina was standing in the corner of the room.
The presence of Serina, who stood there with a composed look on her
face, seemed to catch his attention, but Poncho first addressed the
provisional king.
"I-I have come at your behest, yes."
"It's good to have you here," Souma answered. "I have a job for you."
"A job, is it?"
Souma unfurled a map of the country on top of the desk. "You know
we built the new city, Venetinova, as a key point for the distribution of
goods, right? In consideration of the city's importance, I decided that,
instead of a magistrate, I would create a new 'governor' post and have that
person manage the city. I plan to entrust it to Weist, who distinguished
himself during the war, but it seems he's preoccupied with the procedures
for changing his domain. That's why, for the time being, I need someone
else to serve as the governor in his place. I want you to do the job,
Poncho."
"Me, manage such an important city?!"
"It's because it's an important city. That, and also because the city has
taken in a large number of former refugees as citizens. If I made the
mistake of leaving it to a prideful noble, there's the risk they would cause
unneeded friction. I want someone with a mild personality, and one who
has ample support from the populace."
"B-But... I lack the experience..." Poncho looked uncertain.
But Souma smiled wryly and gave him his seal of approval. "It should
be fine. I've asked Serina to serve as your assistant. Besides, Komain, who
was formerly the assistant leader of the refugees, is in Venetinova, too.
You know her, right?"
"Y-Yes... Yes. We met a number of times while I was distributing food
support..."
Komain was the young woman who had been the assistant leader of the
refugee camp, and she was the one who'd brought together the former
refugees who'd chosen to cast aside their homelands to become citizens of
the kingdom. Her personality was never timid, even when dealing with
men, and that made her popular. With her help, the citizens would easily
accept Poncho.
"You can consult with the two of them while you work," Souma said.
"I'm counting on you."
Now that the provisional king had told him that, Poncho was unable to
say he didn't want to do it. "Y-Yes. I understand. I'll be counting on your
support, too, Madam Serina."
"If it is my master's order, it would seem I have no choice," Serina said
with a composed look on her face, then bowed. "I will support you to the
best of my abilities."
The fact of the matter was, when Souma had told Serina, "I want you to
go to Venetinova as Poncho's assistant," she had accepted immediately. It
seemed she didn't want to be unable to eat Poncho's food while he was
away from the castle. Knowing that fact, all Souma could do was smile
wryly.
"Well, do your best. Oh, also, I think all the marriage proposals that
have been coming to the castle for you will start to go to that city, so good
luck sorting through all of those."
"C-Come again?" The sudden mention of marriage proposals made
Poncho's eyes go wide and his voice to sound funny. "Th-There've been
proposals for me?"
"Yeah. So, you know one of the reasons for my trip abroad is to
provide an excuse to decline all the requests to meet young women with an
eye to marriage that have been swamping the castle, right? Well, we've
had a number of the same sort of requests for you. For the sake of the
castle, I'd like to have you go elsewhere, too."
"Th-Then, the reason I was chosen to be magistrate of Venetinova was
also..."
"That's part of it, too. I've given you Serina as an assistant, so do your
best."
Having been told that, all Poncho could do was stand there, as if in a
daze.
Some days later, in the office in the governor's mansion in
Venetinova...
"Now then, I'll make a roster of the refugees who've joined us," said
Komain.
"Please do that, yes."
Poncho watched as the girl who had formerly been the assistant leader
of the refugees left the room, papers in hand. This was the last thing he had
needed to give his approval for as governor today.
"Your government duties for the day are finished, but there are still
things that need doing," his assistant, Serina, said.
Poncho, who understood what Serina meant, hesitantly asked, "...So,
how many will there be today? Yes?"
"Five people. A relatively low number," Serina said plainly, causing
Poncho's shoulders to slump.
Whenever his duties were finished, it was time to meet prospective
marriage candidates. The daughters of nobles and powerful merchants who
wanted to marry him were apparently already standing by in the waiting
room. It was a regular work day, so he was getting off with just five, but
on his days off, he was swamped with so many applicants that they had to
form a line.
That was Poncho, the man revered as Lord Ishizuka the God of Food,
for you. He was so popular that he couldn't rest even on his days off. If he
would just marry one of them already, things might settle down a little, but
unfortunately, even with all these offers coming in, not one came to
fruition.
"I'm sorry to put you through this too, Madam Serina," he said.
"This is an order from my master, so don't let it bother you."
Serina accompanied Poncho to all of these marriage meetings. That
was because Souma had asked her to keep a close eye on him and make
sure Poncho didn't fall for a woman or a House that had ulterior motives.
Serina had a cool look on her face as she spoke, and Poncho acted very
obliged to her.
"I'm truly grateful to you, Madam Serina, yes."
"Talk is cheap." Serina turned away, then glanced sideways at Poncho.
"I'd like to see you show your sincerity."
"I understand, yes." With a wry smile, Poncho pulled a certain
something out of his desk drawer. When he placed that long, black thing
on his desk, Serina looked at it intently.
"Is this... seaweed, perhaps?"
"This is a seaside city, after all. I managed to acquire some good
quality kombu. Tonight I'll use the broth from this and eggs to make the
dish called 'chawanmushi' that His Majesty taught me, yes."
"Chawanmushi... What sort of dish might that be?" Her tone was level,
but there was a sparkle in Serina's eyes, and it was clear she was intrigued.
"It's soft like pudding, but it has a taste as deep as the sea, I'm told."
"Ooh... Let's get these meetings out of the way quickly, Sir Poncho."
Serina took Poncho's arm with an entranced look on her face. With
Serina, whose head was no doubt full of chawanmushi, rushing him,
Poncho left the office with a strained smile.
Incidentally, with Serina getting worked up, the bar was about to be
raised for Poncho's meetings with prospective partners, but... that is a
story for another time.
(To be continued in volume 7.)