It had been three days since I came back from the Reverse World.
I gave everyone their souvenirs, and right after Leen and Doctor Babylon
retreated to the research laboratory. Linze and Fam holed themselves up in the
library as well.
That left only Rosetta and Monica working in the garages. They had their
minibots to help them out, at least.
The two gynoids each picked up a minibot and took a look at them.
"So the Gollems are kind of like these guys, huh?" The little minibots tilted
their head as if to ask "What's wrong?" Once they were set back down they ran
back to join their brethren, dashing in a cheery manner. According to Doc
Babylon, they were mindless automatons that obeyed in a similar manner to
summoned beasts.
Compared to the Gollems, the minibots weren't quite up to spec. The Reverse
World seemed to be superior in terms of autonomy.
"My Frame Gear certainly looks nice..." Yumina stood next to me, looking up
at the Frame Gear being constructed nearby.
It was incomplete, but you could see it coming together fairly nicely. It was
clearly a well-armored silver Frame Gear.
"Did you think of a name for it yet, Touya?"
"Yes, I did. Brunnhilde." The long-range attacker Frame Gear, Brunnhilde. It
was designed to deliver powerful sniper shots from afar. It was outfitted with
silver armor, designed to help camouflage it against its surroundings. It was
basically what we'd use for a more subtle kind of assault.
"Brunnhilde... Shouldn't it be you with the Frame Gear named after the
country?"
"Ah, it's just... Everyone else's Frame Gears are named after the nine
warmaidens, right? I think you should have this to complete the set... Besides,
Brunnhilde is close to Brunhild, but it's not quite the same."
The names of all the Frame Gears were taken from the names of the Valkyries
in Richard Wagner's famous opera, "Der Ring des Nibelungen."
■Brunnhilde
Yumina's Frame Gear. Sniper type
Primary Color: Silver
■Gerhilde
Elze's Frame Gear. Melee type, specialized in hand-to-hand combat
Primary Color: Red
■Ortlinde
Sue's Frame Gear. Defensive type
Primary Color: Gold
■Waltraute
Lu's Frame Gear. Guerilla-type, specialized in adaptive combat
Primary Color: Green
■Schwertleite
Yae's Frame Gear. Melee type, specialized in swordplay
Primary Color: Purple
■Helmwige
Linze's Frame Gear. Aerial support type
Primary Color: Blue
■Siegrune
Hilde's Frame Gear. Heavyweight melee type, specialized in swordplay
Primary Color: Orange
■Grimgerde
Leen's Frame Gear. Heavy bombardier type
Primary Color: Black
■Rossweisse
Sakura's Frame Gear. Support type, specialized in area-of-effect skills
Primary Color: White
All the knowledge gained from the creation of these Frame Gears would be
incorporated into my own personal machine, which was set to be created after
Yumina's was done.
It wasn't as if I wasn't capable of fighting on my own, or anything... But going
up against Upper Constructs or stronger creatures quickly tired me out. I
wanted to have a suitably powerful machine just in case the day came that the
Phrase were able to freely pass through the ruined world barrier.
That was why I decided to create the masterwork Frame Gear and have it
assigned to me. Plus, to be honest, who wouldn't want their own personal giant
robot?
"So, Brunnhilde is equipped with a sniper rifle for long-range attacks, but also
has four flying Fragarach blades for mid-range interception. You can also go
more covert with this one due to the stealth function built into the armor.
Though the armor kind of stands out a little when it hasn't got its stealth
function activated..."
"Y-Yes, it is a tad gaudy."
"Well, this is the best color for getting the most out of the stealth function, so
it'll be fine. I'm sure you'll get used to it." It would only stand out at the start of
the battle, once it was active it'd blend in really well.
"The other world has something similar to Frame Gears, right?"
"Ehh... They're more like the minibots. They're also similar to summoned
creatures, in that they obey commands given to them by their masters. There
are even some with special, magical powers!"
"I'd like to see them at some point."
"I just need to build a portal door on the other side, then we can come and go
as we please. After I do that, I'll take you around the city."
"It's a promise, then." Yumina smiled and wrapped her arms around one of
mine.
Still, I had to establish a plot of land in the other world to make a place to
house the portal. I definitely needed a few more trips there, it seemed.
◇ ◇ ◇
"So the matter with Palerius Island is going well. Once the proper proceedings
are done, our ship will go out and— Oh, no!"
The king of Lihnea stood up and grumbled. We were at the baseball stadium,
watching a match between Lestia and Regulus. Regulus had just scored a
double.
It was a friendly match since we'd just got done with our alliance meeting.
The leaders were relaxing here and there, taking in the game.
Apparently, the king of Lihnea was good friends with the knight king of Lestia,
so he was supporting the Lestian team.
The king of Lestia himself was down at the bench, since he was the team's
coach. The ladies of the alliance, those being the Ramissh pope and the
Roadmare doge, were hanging out with my fiancees back at the castle.
"Don't be naive... Regulus won't fall for that, I'm sure. I wonder if they'll win
or lose during this next inning..."
"No, you need to keep an eye on the pitcher. He hasn't changed his speed at
all." The king of Belfast and the emperor of Refreese were both looking down
on the pitch with folded arms. Boisterous laughter came out of their mouths as
they made their own personal predictions.
You guys sound a little ominous there...
The king of Lihnea headed over to console the Lestian team.
It seemed like Cloud and Reinhard had become quite good friends.
"Matches are a good place to vent out stress and have a grand old time! It's
just as the lad, er, Touya, said! This kinda sport is a cultural exchange!
Bwahaha!"
The beastking merrily spoke as he sat in the VIP area, eyes completely
transfixed on the game. His leopard ears were twitching with anticipation.
"There's not just baseball, you know? We could do other sports. Oh, I wonder
if we could organize something like the Olympic games..."
"The old lipid game? What's that?"
"Ah, no. The Olympic games. It's an event that happens every couple years.
Teams from various countries around the world gather together and play sports
and games over the course of several days. It's a way of determining the best
athletes in the world. Like uh... the winner of the Olympic baseball game would
be the world's best baseball team."
"Hoho! Best in the world, eh? Sounds good to me! I'm interested in this!"
The world wasn't quite unified or globalized enough for the Olympics yet,
though. Many of the countries wouldn't be ready for it, and there was still a lot
of poverty worldwide, as well as the risk of magical beasts and monsters. Hell,
there were even areas of the world with dangerous bandit gangs or freaky cults.
We'd have to make the planet a safer place first.
Yulong and Sandora were gone, so that prevented any threat of a large-scale
world war, but the petty criminals who had been kept in check by those two
nations were now free to run rampant.
Yulong's assassins, for example, became contract killers, robbers, or thieves.
Meanwhile, those that used to capture slaves for Sandora ended up turning to
other black market pursuits.
And now the ones that had to deal with them were the countries affected. In
a sense, I had destroyed two large problems and spread several small problems
across the map. That was why I was more than prepared to fully co-operate in
the event that any of these criminals became a major threat.
"That reminds me, lad. You showed us that uh... cully rice, right? It was really,
really good. I'd like to see more of that stuff in Mismede, but the rice can only
be grown in Eashen, right?"
The meal known as "cully" originated in Mismede in this world. They didn't
have access to rice, so they ate it by soaking bread in it and eating it alongside
the bun. Then, when I "came up with" the idea of adding rice to it, it became a
taste sensation. When the meal finally got to Mismede, people couldn't get
enough of the stuff.
"I have a contact in the upper echelon of Eashen right now. I've asked him if
he can see about exporting rice to Mismede. If we could send a few Eashenese
farmers over, perhaps they could start cultivating the stuff in Mismede as well."
Mismede's climate was a lot hotter than Brunhild's, but rice could still be
grown there. After all, there was the Great Gau River as a freshwater source.
The only foreseeable issue I could think of was dangerous insects from the Sea
of Trees or the possibility of magical beasts attacking the paddy.
Then again, such risks could happen in any kind of farmland, and I was sure
that professional farmers knew more about it than I did. In the worst case
scenario, I could just ask Uncle Kousuke for help. He was the god of agriculture
after all.
Eashen was still recovering from the incident with the monkey... or rather,
Hideyooshi. Ieyahsu had settled in at the center of Eashen's government to take
care of affairs, and they'd finally managed to set up the exporting of goods.
In fact, Brunhild was set to harvest its own batch of rice in the fall. I was
looking forward to it.
Oh, three outs.
Lestia's team was definitely more offensively-oriented than the other team.
Lestia was a country of knights, so it made sense that they'd have keen eyes.
Still, what they had in finesse they didn't quite have in brute strength, so there
were no heavy hitters amongst them. They didn't take risks with potentially
dangerous hits, either. They just took shots they were sure of.
Regulus had a pretty balanced team, so their players were pretty versatile.
Their lineup was good enough to match with any opposing team, honestly.
I felt a little sorry for the king of Lihnea, but it seemed like Regulus had the
best team.
The audience was going wild for the match, which was good. The people in
the stands were mostly people from Brunhild, but it hadn't taken them long to
decide which teams they each preferred.
This world didn't have much in the way of fun ways to pass the time, so they
were just enjoying the game itself instead of getting too heavily into the
competitive aspect.
Even if their favorite team lost, I noticed everyone in the audience seeing off
the winners with smiles and a full round of applause.
They never once jeered, threw anything, or generally got angry if their
favorite players messed up. I was glad to see good sportsmanship from
everyone in the area.
The players were all good sports too, but that kind of made sense. Their main
job was working in the knight order, after all. They weren't professional
baseball players who relied on it for income. That was why even though they
were official national teams, the games always had a very casual vibe.
I was just happy to have created a space where everyone could enjoy
themselves.
I looked over and suddenly saw Sue barreling toward the VIP box. Hm?
What's got her in such a hurry?
She whizzed past the men guarding the box and flung open the door before
yelling at the top of her voice.
"Touya! We have a child!"
All the world leaders in the VIP box suddenly turned in place and stared right
at me.
What? Hold on. Yumina said Sue hadn't even started her period yet... No,
wait... I haven't even touched Sue, what the hell?!
"Okay just, hold on a second, Sue. What do you mean by child, exactly?"
It can't be mine... right? That makes no sense.
"Father and mother's child! I'm gonna have a little brother or sister!"
Oh... OKAY. Phew... G-Geez... I don't even know what... Oh man...
I let out a heavy sigh of relief as the king of Belfast walked up to Sue.
"Sue? Al's going to have another child?"
"It's true, it's true! Mr. Raul said so!" Sue was referring to Doctor Raul, the
royal physician of Belfast. That meant it was probably true. It seems like Sue
learned the news through the Gate Mirrors in Brunhild castle, and then ran
straight here.
That meant that the king of Belfast would get a new niece or nephew. If it was
a boy, then that kid would become the head retainer of Prince Yamato when he
ascended to the throne.
Still, if Duke Ortlinde was going to have a kid... then there was only one
explanation. It had to be thanks to the item I'd loaned him.
The Elfrau royal family had granted me a special artifact after killing the
Snorra Wolf Behemoth.
The artifact was said to make it easier for women to become pregnant if they
wore it during sex, so I lent it to Duke Ortlinde to see whether or not the claim
actually held up... and apparently, it worked.
I waited for the game to end then sent all the world leaders home. I sent Sue,
the king, and his guardsmen to Duke Ortlinde's home with a [Gate]. Then, I sent
a message addressed to the duke along with Sue, asking him to return the
artifact now that he was done with it.
I guess the Doctor's vision of the future is becoming a lot more clear each day,
huh...? But... nine kids? Maybe more than nine? That's just... insane.
Well, I was marrying nine women, so it was just one of those things. I guess in
the end, I had to be prepared to give each of them at least one child. But if I
married them at eighteen, that meant that I'd be a dad of nine by the age of
nineteen... Oh, no, there'd still be a few more years before I married Sue... But
the thought of eight children hardly made me feel any better than nine.
H-Hrm... For some reason, the thought of this is a lot scarier than the Phrase
ever was. Honestly, I'm gonna end up having a ridiculous amount of kids...
Though they're not all going to be born at the same time, right? It's not like I'll
be sleeping with them all at the same time or anything... Right?
◇ ◇ ◇
"Good morning, Touya."
"...Morning, Yumina. What are you doing here?" I woke up from my slumber
to see a heterochromia-eyed girl straddling the blanket I was laying under.
"...Didn't I lock the door from the inside last night?"
"You did. I just unlocked it."
I stared at Yumina as if to ask her how the hell she managed to do something
like that, but she just winked back and gave me an angelic smile. "It's one of my
seven special abilities, that's all."
What kind of answer is that?! Come on! And what are the other six supposed
to be?! I didn't exactly mind being woken up by a cute girl, but it was definitely
bad for my heart. Plus, Yumina looked totally innocent and cute in her pajamas,
so it was an extra-powerful attack. It'd been two years since we met, and she'd
certainly grown. She was definitely a lot more feminine in terms of physical
appearance, but she didn't stop surprising me with weird stuff like this, either.
Either way, she was still only fourteen. I didn't think doing anything beyond
cuddling was quite appropriate.
"Don't worry, Touya. I've seen your sleeping face a lot, so I'll be satisfied with
just this for now."
"Wait, what?! How long have you been in here?"
I didn't even notice you... I asked Yumina to leave the room and quickly got
changed.
Before breakfast, I walked out into the training grounds and saw Yae, Hilde,
and Elze doing their regular morning training sessions.
I couldn't see Lu anywhere, so she was probably in the kitchen making
breakfast. That meant we'd be having a Japanese-styled meal... I was looking
forward to that.
"Yo, Touya. Morning to you. Hey, would you mind sparring with me a little?" I
was greeting everyone when suddenly Moroha appeared from nowhere.
Damn it... I should've been keeping a better eye out.
"...Yeah, alright. But could you go easy for once?"
"Hmph, really now? Tsk, fine. Let's just go at it, without magic or divinity, got
it?" Elze volunteered to be the referee, so I took a wooden sword in hand and
got ready to clash with my sister. Even though the swords were wooden, they'd
been enchanted to have enhanced durability. The first strike would've broken
them to pieces otherwise.
They were definitely strong enough to shatter bones, but I definitely didn't
think neither I nor my sister would take enough damage to break anything if we
managed to hit one another. But hey, at the end of the day it would still hurt, so
I didn't want her to land a shot on me.
"Oof!"
Moroha swiped her leg and knocked me off balance, she immediately
followed the strike up with a forward thrust, which made me stumble
backward. She didn't waste a single motion.
I rolled to the side, parried the incoming thrust, and then steadied myself with
my arm before jumping back to my feet. Come on! Gimme a break here... Didn't
I say to go easy on me, Moroha?!
It felt like she was toying with me, like a cat with its prey. I glared at her as my
grip on the sword tightened.
"My liege, are you alright?"
"Y-Y-Yep... J-Just fine..."
Kohaku gently pawed at me as pain coursed through my entire body.
She didn't go easy on me at all... Her status as a god really wasn't just for
show...
I used [Healing] and [Refresh] to restore myself back to peak condition.
Without that magic, I wouldn't have been able to move an inch. Tussling with
Moroha was a dangerous game indeed. I was thoroughly defeated, even with
my abnormally powerful body. It took her less than three minutes to completely
wear me down.
Moroha had already moved on to her next prey, the knights training on the
field.
All things considered, I was glad I got such a rigorous workout before
breakfast.
I came to the dining room and found Linze, Lu, and a half-asleep Leen having
their morning meal.
My fiancees and I all had errands to attend to, so it wasn't common that we'd
all be around the breakfast table at the same time. Sakura, for example, ate
with her mother Fiana about three or four days a week.
The breakfast was, as I'd expected, Lu's Japanese-style feast. We had miso
soup with daikon radish, rice, grilled fish from the dungeon islands, fried eggs,
chopped burdock, tofu, and various pickled veggies.
I wondered if Lu was trying to make food that I specifically enjoyed. She was
definitely getting better at Japanese-styled stuff, even going so far as to
question Eashenese natives about their traditional meals. I was a little worried
about getting fat thanks to all her good stuff.
I finished breakfast and was about to go take care of some paperwork when
my smartphone suddenly started ringing.
Huh... That's weird. The caller was Reinhard, my future brother-in-law. Or
more formally, the knight king of Lestia.
"'Sup."
"Oho! Grand Duke! I'm really sorry to bother you, but I need your
consultation on something... More specifically, the king of Lihnea."
"What about him?" Reinhard, Knight King of Lestia, and Cloud, King of Lihnea,
were close friends. It was likely due to the fact that they were around the same
age.
Cloud never had much in the way of friends when he was growing up. He was
constantly tormented by Zabune, the fake heir to the throne. Reinhard didn't
really have any people he could casually hang around with either, mostly due to
the fact that he was expected to act a certain way as a prince. They had similar
personalities, so it was nice to see their friendship slowly blossom.
I was curious about what the Knight King wanted to talk about in regards to
his friend, however.
"I'm resting right now, but I'll head over in ten minutes, alright? I'll meet you
at the Lestian Castle Gate."
"Very well. Thank you."
I ended the call, quickly flitted through some documents, and told Kousaka
where I was headed. I considered bringing Hilde along with me, but I felt like
this was probably a man-to-man talk about friends and royalty, so I didn't think
she'd have much of a place in the conversation.
I used a [Gate] to reach the Lestian Castle, and two knights were already
there to greet me. They led me into the castle, and I eventually came to a casual
sitting room. Reinhard was relaxing inside.
"Hey there, sorry for the short notice. I didn't really know who else to talk to
about this, that's all..." Reinhard stood up from the couch he was lounging on
and greeted me. I didn't really mind the short notice, it sounded to me like it
was a conversation more serious than a phone call could cover.
Reinhard patted the couch space next to him so I sat down. He then ordered
the knights to leave the room and began talking about what was troubling him.
"You recall that Palouf and Lihnea were once on the brink of war, yes?"
"Oh yeah, that was the whole thing with Prime Minister Wardack's plan. The
situation was stressful for a while, but when Cloud ascended to the throne he
managed to negotiate peace. Is there something wrong over there?"
The largest island in this world was the north-western landmass known as
Palnea. It was divided into two territories. Palouf was in the north, and Lihnea
was in the south. They'd been at a stalemate for years and weren't actively
warring.
The northern nation of Palouf was cursed with harsh winters, which affected
their crop harvest. They'd also had various misfortunes in regards to a
succession crisis and their king dying. Wardack, the former Prime Minister of
Lihnea, attempted to use these various weaknesses to swiftly conquer Palouf
and take its territory.
We managed to intervene and avoid the war, all while eliminating Wardack as
a threat. Then, Cloud rose as the new king of Lihnea and managed to
successfully negotiate peaceful relations with Palouf.
"The relations with Palouf are still going well. Their king died, and his son was
crowned, which settled most of the domestic issues. Trade is also proving
favorable. But there is a small matter of concern..."
"What's that?"
"The late king of Palouf had two children. The first is Princess Lucienne Dia
Palouf, and the second is her younger brother, Ernest Din Palouf. The princess,
Lucienne, is getting along rather well with King Cloud... One might even say that
sparks are flying, you understand?"
"Ohoho, I get it..."
Guess he's about old enough for that to start happening, huh? He's sure come
far since that idiot step-brother of his was leading him around... I hope he can
really enjoy his youth going forward. He's a real great guy.
Still, that begged the question as to what the problem was here.
"The issue is with Prince Ernest. He's inheriting the throne, but he's a lad of
only ten years old. He has a long way to go, and he's being supported by his
uncle and the royal retainers... However, he's very clingy when it comes to his
sister."
"Ah... So he's cautious of the king of Lihnea because he doesn't want his
precious sister to get taken away?"
"Ahaha... Yes, definitely. It's not like I can't understand his feelings, given your
relationship to my own sister. But for now, that's how he feels." Reinhard
smiled at me wryly as he said that.
In my opinion, the little boy wasn't exactly in the wrong here. His dad had
died, he was suddenly thrust into a position of great responsibility, and now he
feels like he's losing his sister. That kind of thing would be almost impossible for
a ten-year-old to deal with.
"So what have the Palouf retainers said?"
"They favor the relationship between the two. They think it would be a
perfect way to solidify bonds between Lihnea and Palouf."
"And what about the two themselves?"
"King Cloud would absolutely take Princess Lucienne as his queen without
question. The princess, on the other hand, is a little..."
"Little what? Reluctant?"
"Not exactly. It's more that she's conflicted on leaving her little brother
behind. She's nineteen right now, which poses a problem. If she waits for young
Ernest to become an adult, she'll end up marrying very late. The king of Lihnea
also needs to secure an heir in his young age. If he's left waiting too long, then
he may have to look elsewhere." Prince Ernest, or rather, King Ernest would be
considered an adult at the age of fifteen, which would mean there'd be another
five years to go... That would leave the princess waiting until she turned twentyfour.
In this world, women typically married around the age of twenty at the latest.
In terms of royalty and nobility, that age was typically a lot younger.
Engagements at the age of thirteen and fourteen were commonplace. Twentyfour was considered an abnormally late age to be married, especially for a
princess, so it was quite a sensitive issue.
Princess Lucienne once had a fiancee amongst the nobles of Refreese, but he
died of sickness before they even met. After that, the matter of her father's
death came about, which further delayed marriage proceedings for her.
King Cloud was apparently fine with waiting the five years until Ernest became
an adult, but as the ruler of the nation, there were countless political pressures
on his shoulders. It simply wasn't a decision he alone could make.
Not to mention the fact that Cloud was the only remaining heir to Lihnea's
royal family. It was likely that the retainers and nobles of the country were
demanding a fresh heir. I was also sure that many highborn families would be
offering their daughters to him in an attempt to connect their families to the
royal one.
Then again, this was a polygamous world. It was still possible he could take on
one of those noble girls and then marry the princess later on.
"You're probably thinking he could take on a noble girl and then marry the
princess later on. That would not do. A girl from a highborn family as the first
wife, and a legitimate princess as the second? The people of Palouf would
consider it a slight against their national pride. If the king of Lihnea was in a
similar position to you and was engaged to many princesses, then perhaps the
situation would be different, though..."
Whoops. Guess I picked up most of the available royals.
I didn't really care about first duchesses and second duchesses or whatever
when it came to marrying me. But in the eyes of the world, Yumina would
probably be the "First Queen" while Lu took the position of "Second Queen."
Hilde would probably be third, come to think of it.
Elze, Linze, and Yae were all of common blood, so Sue would come next. Then
Leen, then Sakura. Sakura was the daughter of the Xenoahs overlord and had
his blood in her veins, but she was an illegitimate child. That fact was also
hidden from public knowledge. Then again, Leen held very high standing with
the fairies, so it was possible that she outclassed Lu's noble status...
Either way, I really had no intentions of ranking my fiancees by importance. I
loved them all in their own ways.
That probably wouldn't stop other countries from speculating, though.
"Well, I think I have the basic gist of the situation. But what do I do about it?"
"If I'm honest? It's King Ernest... He's, well... a fan of yours, Grand Duke. He
doesn't really bother much with King Cloud, but when he hears stories about
you, I'm told that his attention is absolutely rapt. I suppose it's only natural for a
child to idolize their heroes, though."
"...You kidding me?"
Ugh... This is little conflicting... I'm glad the kid likes me, but... I'm hardly doing
things that heroes do... It wasn't like I was going out looking for danger or
committing heroic feats. For the most part, I've just been responding to the
world around me... It was pretty draining. Do I seriously have fans out there?
Why would they care about my mundane exploits...?
"So let me get this straight... I think I've got an idea of what you want here..."
"It's as you may have guessed, yes. Grand Duke, I wish for you to speak with
King Ernest. I wish for you to convince him of the best path for Lihnea and
Palouf's collective future."
Well, I can't say I'm surprised.
I was fairly sure that the Palouf government would want the relationship to
progress to marriage, but obviously, a little boy losing his older sister to another
nation would be potentially traumatic.
I didn't want to forcibly change his mind or anything, if I could have him
happily send his sister off, that's what I wanted to happen. After all, he was only
a little boy.
"For the time being, we should go the king of Lihnea and hear what he has to
say. I'm sure he's got his own opinion, right?" I didn't want to meddle in his
business as an outsider to the whole deal, anyway. If he didn't want my help, I
wasn't going to butt in and give it.
I picked up my smartphone and called King Cloud. He'd just had a meeting
canceled, so he was free to meet with us. Just as I set off to go, the knight king
remembered he had some business to attend to, so I ended up going alone. He
apologized but said that he hoped I could help the situation... He must have
really been good friends with Cloud.
I opened up a [Gate] and hopped through, much to the surprise of one of the
guardsmen.
Whoopsie, should've warped somewhere without any people.
Another guard was expecting my arrival and sent a message to the castle.
Eventually, I was greeted by an old fellow I hadn't seen in quite some time.
"My, my... If it isn't the grand duke of Brunhild. What brings you here?"
"Ah, Marquis Koupe! Or should I say Prime Minister Koupe... It's good to see
you."
His body was definitely tough, almost as if it didn't belong to such an old man
at all. He was clearly hanging on to life tooth and nail to ensure that he could
see a fully revitalized and restored Lihnea before he died.
"I was asked by the knight king of Lestia to help with a matter... One
pertaining to King Cloud and a neighboring princess."
"Oh, I see... Yes. That's certainly been a matter of interest. The king definitely
hasn't shown any sign of choosing another woman as his bride... I suppose
that's likely the fault of the previous king, though. Young King Cloud believes
that a marriage founded on anything other than love would lead only to
misery."
That certainly made sense. I could see why he thought that way.
Cloud's dad, the previous king of Lihnea, was in a loveless marriage to the
former Queen Dacia. That ultimately led to his downfall, as she deliberately
deceived him and began to manipulate his life. Cloud probably didn't want to
repeat the sins of the past, and embroil himself in a political marriage.
That being said, he was a king... He needed to consider his country over his
own feelings sometimes. Even so, that was pretty harsh.
From what I had heard, the former King Schlaf and his wife, Erya, were living
happily together after the throne was handed to Cloud.
I wasn't going to get anywhere without talking to Cloud first. The prime
minister guided me into the castle's reception room, where I could finally talk to
Cloud about it.
"I wish to marry Princess Lucienne and make her my queen. However, the
young king's feelings are important as well. I do not wish to wound them.
Waiting for him to grow is quite fine by me."
"What about your retainers, though?"
"King Cloud... Though it may not be my place to say, there is certainly a lot of
pressure coming from local nobility these days... Our government is primarily
focused on providing an heir, should the worst come to pass..." Koupe spoke,
stony-faced and almost sorrowful. The situation was pretty rough overall. Cloud
didn't have any brothers or sisters, so the Lihnea royal bloodline would die out
if Cloud were to die someday. Personally, I didn't think it was that big of a deal.
Cloud was really young, so he wasn't going anywhere... Barring any unfortunate
accidents, at least.
"Couldn't we just formally announce their engagement?"
"The engagement has been made, but we cannot possibly announce it and
say that the wedding will be in five years. There would be an uproar. The reason
would be discovered eventually, and sour rumors about the young king of
Palouf would begin to spread... They might even call him selfish for wishing to
stay with his sister. That would cause our relations with them to sour, most
certainly..." Koupe once again spoke up with a solemn expression. He wasn't
wrong, but at the same time, the king was basically a child. I didn't want to
think that the world would call him selfish when he was just a little boy.
"And what about the retainers in Palouf? Do they support the union?"
"Yes, they do. There's only one family that speaks out against it, and that's
because they wish for the princess to marry one of their own."
Hmm... I wonder if that family might have been influencing the kid... Maybe
they're telling him that his sister will live a bad life in Lihnea or something...
To be honest, the reputation of the Lihnean royal family wasn't all that good.
Prince Zabune and his behavior had killed it. It was possible that people thought
badly of Cloud just because of familial association with Zabune. But then again,
Lihnea did issue a statement showing that there was no blood relation between
Cloud and that moron, so that shouldn't have been an issue at all.
"Hrmm... Well, I get where you're coming from, Cloud. I'd like to meet with
the king of Palouf if that's alright. Can you guys arrange that?"
"Oh? Very well, that may prove helpful. In fact, I think he'd love to meet you.
He's quite the fan of yours, Grand Duke."
It was a little bit funny, yet weird at the same time... The idea of one nation's
monarch being the avid fan of another world leader. I wanted to meet with him
and use that chance to persuade him to let his sister go. It'd definitely be good
for him and his country if she had some independence.
Plus, I didn't want him getting too attached to her... There was a risk that his
dependency on her could grow over the five or so years.
Welp, guess I gotta figure out the solution to this one... Good grief.
◇ ◇ ◇
"I-I-It's n-nice to meet you, G-Grand Duke! I-I'm Ernest Din Palouf, K-King of
Palouf! O-Oh gosh, I said it... Oh man..."
I met the little boy in the Palouf castle courtyard. He stammered out his
sentence and then reeled backward, wheezing. It almost seemed like talking to
me took everything he had. He seemed incredibly tense.
"It's a pleasure, Your Majesty. I'm the grand duke of Brunhild, Mochizuki
Touya. Please forgive me for the sudden visit. I'm very pleased to meet you."
"N-No! No! D-Don't worry about it!" As I made my greeting, the little king
started shaking his head frantically. He looked terribly flustered. All of his
reactions were incredibly child-like.
He was ten years old, which put him at just a bit younger than Sue. They were
around similar heights. He had neat, blonde hair that was perfectly trimmed. He
also wore a blinding white cape and some ill-fitting fancy garments beneath it.
Honestly, the look didn't suit him. He looked like a little doll someone had
dressed up all fancy.
I'd brought Elze and Linze with me, and they introduced themselves to him.
He wasn't quite as flustered as he was when greeting me, but he certainly
seemed a little out of his depth.
I decide to bring the twins with me for a fairly good reason. The Silhoueska
twins had a lot of little cousins, and they'd often bicker and squabble. Elze and
Linze were good at handling little kids, so I thought they'd be the perfect two to
bring over for support.
I'd initially considered bringing one of my sisters, but that would've ended in
tears.
"The king of Palouf has been looking forward to meeting you, Grand Duke.
He's heard a lot from me, after all."
King Cloud stood next to me and spoke up, causing the little king to turn
bright red in the cheeks. He quickly hid behind a woman who stood beside him.
The woman smiled gently and bowed her head.
"I'm sorry, dear Grand Duke. He's a tad shy around strangers... Please don't
think him rude."
"It's not a problem."
The woman was Princess Lucienne Dia Palouf. She was elder sister to the king
of Palouf, and King Cloud's beloved. Her hair was blonde, just like her brother's.
She wore it long and wavy. Her eyes were a beautiful jade green. If I was being
honest, she wasn't exactly the kind of person you would call beautiful at a
glance. She definitely had a calming, gentle atmosphere to her, however.
She wasn't pretty as a rose and didn't stand out like a sunflower, and she
definitely didn't have the refined grace of a Lily. I guess if she were a plant she'd
be a... dandelion? She was very plain. She had that kind of girl-next-door charm.
She wouldn't turn any heads when she walked around a crowd, but she was
sweet.
"Come on, now... Didn't you have something to ask the grand duke?"
"Hmm?"
The little king timidly walked up to me at his sister's urging. I wondered what
he wanted.
"U-Uhm... C-Could I maybe see the big soldier man?!"
"...The big what now? Oh! You must mean a Frame Gear. I could show you...
But is it alright to make one appear here?"
I didn't want to suddenly make a giant robot appear in the castle courtyard of
another nation, so I turned my gaze toward the royal retainers as if to ask
permission.
One of them started to walk a little closer. He was a calm-looking man who
seemed to be in his fifties, he was clad in a white robe. I wasn't quite sure who
he was, exactly.
"That's Donovan Rembrandt. He's a duke regent. He's the younger brother of
the former king, so he's the current king's uncle..." I was saved. Thankfully,
Linze had recognized my confusion and whispered the answer to me. Even if I
learned stuff, now and then I got a little forgetful... There were a lot of names
and faces in this world, after all. I needed to get better at that.
"I don't mind it. If King Ernest wishes for it, then by all means, please show
him the giant warrior. I'd rather like to see myself..." Rembrandt smiled, his
robe crinkling a bit as he nodded his head. My permission granted, I snapped
my finger and a portal opened above my head.
An enormous tremor rumbled through the ground as the gigantic mech
landed on the ground and shook the courtyard. It was a Chevalier, I didn't think
there was any point in bringing out any of the special ones.
"Woooooow!" The little king stared up at the Frame Gear with stars in his
eyes.
I used my smartphone to make the Chevalier kneel down and open up its
cockpit hatch. The wire hooks that allowed one to climb up there slowly
descended.
"Would you like to sit up in the cockpit? We won't be able to move around,
but I can show you inside."
"Ah...! Y-Yes please!"
I carried the little king in my arms and ascended up to the cockpit. He sat
down in the main seat and grabbed the control systems, his little head bobbing
around with child-like wonder.
Heh... I guess little kids in this world love giant robots too...
"So this is how you beat those gross crystal things and the big Behemoth
guys?! I bet I could do it if I was riding one of these!"
"Mmm... Don't take this personally, but I don't think you can pilot one of
these just yet. It takes a lot of training to become a proper Frame Gear pilot.
You need more than basic piloting, too. You need to have some kind of combat
experience to do well in it."
"Aw..." Frankly, the king of Palouf looked like a meek kid. He seemed like the
type who stayed inside and read books instead of playing outside.
He was a king, so it wasn't like he had to go out very often, and it wasn't
necessary for him to be especially tough. I still believed it'd be better if he was
able to defend himself, though. My grandpa was the one who taught me how to
look after myself... It was pretty rough.
"Grand Duke... Isn't it frightening to hurt others? Don't you get scared when
others hate you or come after you for things you did? I think it's really scary...
Whether I'm hurting or being hurt."
"Well, I agree. I'd like to get through things without hurting people. But there
are things I need to protect, you know? I'd be more scared if I failed at doing
that. If you don't have strength when you have to fight, then you can't do
anything... And I think you can't get through life like that. You have something
you want to protect, don't you?"
"Mhm..." The boy looked down and nodded a little. He was looking through
the monitor display at his sister, who was chatting casually to King Cloud.
"She means a lot to you, doesn't she?"
"...Yeah. I really want her to be happy. I know King Cloud wants to make her
his queen, too... But I get scared, you know? I don't want my sister to go away...
I don't know if I can be king if she isn't here to help me."
Well I'll be damned, this kid's more attentive than I gave him credit for. He's a
little more mature than he looks, at least.
He was probably uneasy due to a lack of self-confidence, and I was hardly in a
position to help him that way. He was a child, and it was normal for a child to be
insecure. A king couldn't afford that, sadly.
I could've easily solved the problem by connecting Lihnea and Palouf's royal
castles with a permanent [Gate] that only Princess Lucienne could enter, but
that would cause problems.
The two nations were definitely friendly these days, but they had a long
history of small-scale conflicts and skirmishes, one that spanned hundreds of
years. If it became public knowledge that Princess Lucienne could freely pass
through to either nation in a matter of seconds, then they'd be in big trouble.
It was possible that rumors would begin that she was spying for one of the
countries or something like that. Brunhild had plenty of rumors, so I couldn't
discount the possibility of it happening here.
The real issue here was teaching the little king how to be more independent,
but I didn't think I was close enough to him to broach that kind of subject.
He had a lot of retainers he could rely on, at least, so they could probably
handle most affairs when he was too shy. He was probably just adjusting to life
as a king, and all the meetings and new people that position brought. At the
very least, he seemed to trust his Uncle Rembrandt who was standing as Regent
for the time being.
If he started believing in himself a little more, I had no doubt that he'd
become a capable king.
"Hey, do you have any kind of specialty? Are you good at magic or maybe
swordplay?"
"U-Uhm, well... I'm not very good at using weapons... a-and I only have the
aptitude for one element..." The boy's shoulders sagged slightly as he muttered.
Aw crap! I might have just gone and damaged his confidence! I started
thinking about how to make him feel better when the boy suddenly turned his
gaze to the camera feed again.
"Oh..."
"Hm?"
In response to his murmuring, I turned to see what he was looking at. He
seemed to be looking at Duke Rembrandt, and a small girl standing by his side.
Hmm... Was she always there? Actually, why's she glaring up here so
intensely?
"Who's the little lady?"
"Uhm, she's from my uncle's... uhm, Duke Rembrandt's house... H-Her name
is Rachael... A-And she might be my fiancee? Sh-She's a candidate, at least."
Ohoho... So even a little guy like this can score a fiancee, huh...? Well, I guess
he is royalty so it's not that out of place... Still, getting engaged to your cousin?
Well, I guess I'm not gonna judge.
The girl on the monitor had blonde, wavy hair held back with a black
hairband. She actually strongly resembled a younger version of Lucienne.
Looking between the two one might think they were sisters. They were cousins,
after all.
They definitely carried different auras, however. Lucienne had a warmhearted nature to her, while Rachael seemed incredibly sharp-edged. The air
around her was straight-up tense. Not to mention the fact that she was glaring
right up at the cockpit with her hands on her hips.
"How old is she, exactly?"
"S-Same age as me..." She was even younger than Sue, but the intensity in her
eyes was something else... Willful, tomboyish, brash... Seemed like she was all
of those things and more, just at a glance.
"Rachael's really cool... She can use four magic elements, and she can even
beat grown-ups in sword fighting... Th-They were calling her a, uh, prodigy... A
once in a lifetime kind of person..."
That certainly sounded impressive. It was probably her prodigious nature
combined with her noble blood that made her a candidate to marry the king.
Given such traits, it was no surprise that she seemed so intense, it would've
been strange for her to seem like a normal little girl, even. However...
"Why is she glaring up here...?"
"Ah... Uhm... th-that's my fault. I-I was planning to have tea with her today...
b-but when I heard you were visiting, uhm... I-I canceled..."
Wh-What?! Oh no, then she's looking up here like that because she's angry!
She's probably angry at me because I'm the reason for it, too! Alright... Think
here, Touya... She'll get even angrier if we keep staying up here, so it's time to
go back down...
The girl narrowed her eyes and stomped her foot into the ground. She looked
really damn mad. We descended to the ground again with the wire hook, at
which point the young girl began a quick walk in our direction. She stood in
front of me, delicately pinched the hem of her skirt, and briskly curtseyed. She
certainly knew her manners.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, Grand Duke. My name is Rachael Rembrandt of
the Rembrandt household, and I am King Ernest's fiancee."
"Oh, how polite. It's a pleasure."
Just calling yourself fiancee, huh? Ernest said candidate... Still, I guess your
little mind's already made up.
"Please forgive us for failing to provide a warm enough welcome, but you did
arrive rather quickly. In the future, perhaps you could go by standard procedure
and schedule a meeting with some leeway."
"Ah... Ahaha... Y-Yes, I'll be sure to do that next time."
She was smiling, but I could see the poison on her tongue. She was absolutely
angry with me. She was probably upset that I'd suddenly butted in on the
afternoon date she was looking forward to... Guess prodigy or not, she was still
a little girl.
"R-Rachael... Y-You should speak a little more..."
"Oh? You're siding with the grand duke, Ernie?"
"U-Uhm... n-not exactly, but..."
Oh boy... If these two get married, I can already tell who's gonna be wearing
the pants in that relationship. Maybe she's the reason the little guy's so
spineless.
She was definitely the textbook definition of a pushy rich girl. I didn't exactly
want her trampling all over the king of Palouf.
She frowned quietly before dusting her hands together and turning to face
me once more.
"Well then, if I am correct, you are a Gold-ranked adventurer, are you not? I
would very much like you to show me."
"Excuse me?"
"I would like you to display this alleged strength of yours that is so fondly
spoken of in rumor. Would you care to oblige?"
The girl began to grin menacingly toward me as if she were issuing a
challenge.
She's not seriously trying to pick a fight, is she?
◇ ◇ ◇
"I didn't really expect this to happen today... Are you sure you're fine with
this?" I was walking to the Palouf Knight's Training Grounds with Duke
Rembrandt when I asked him if he thought this was alright.
Honestly, I wanted to know what Rachael's dad truly thought about the idea
of me fighting her.
"Mmm... I think this is quite fine. She's a very strong girl, though any father
would speak well of his child. That being said, her strength has given rise to
arrogance as of late. I'd very much appreciate it, Grand Duke, if you could break
her spirit a little. I think it would be better for her in the long run to suffer some
humiliation." I wondered if the other knights had just been going easy on her
due to her young age and noble blood, but apparently, that wasn't the case at
all.
It seemed that this world, just like my home, had prodigies as well. One of the
biggest things to look out for with prodigious kids is their egos. You didn't want
to risk them becoming overconfident.
What can start as simple confidence can very easily mutate into arrogance or
even disdain. Then again, the opposite was also an issue. The young king had
little to no confidence in himself.
The duke himself didn't seem to have an issue with the fight, but... Beating up
on a little kid would probably make me look bad. At the same time, I could
hardly afford to lose on purpose. I'd look worse!
"You okay, Touya?"
"Yeah, I guess... I don't really have a choice here. Did you see the look on her
face? She seemed pretty damn self-assured."
"Little kids always have that period where they think they're the best... Even I
had something like that." Elze muttered quietly. I could definitely imagine her
being like that. Linze suddenly let out a gentle sigh.
"You were definitely like that for quite a while, sis... I could hardly even keep
up with you..."
"Ahaha... Well, like I said, most kids have that kinda thing, right? I bet you had
a period of time where you acted funny too, right Touya?"
"...No comment." I knew if I lied Elze would be able to see right through me. I
didn't want anyone to know about my edgy phase...
"Still, a confident kid can still be capable... But that doesn't mean she's not
vulnerable. Make sure she learns during the fight with you, alright? Just don't
lose, and don't try to make it look like it was close. You might feed into her
ego."
Mm... I guess... But I don't wanna completely thrash her. She's still a little girl,
I don't wanna make her cry.
We arrived at the field and found Rachael already doing her warm-up routine.
She'd changed into a tracksuit-like training outfit and was swinging her wooden
sword around. She looked extremely enthusiastic.
Welp. There's nothing else for it... Even if it makes me look bad, I can't hold
back. It's time to dunk on a literal child. Her dad said I can, so it's fine, right?!
Still... She's a little girl... I'll try my best not to actually injure her.
The training field was surrounded by a magical barrier that prevented magical
attacks from escaping, so the audience wasn't at risk.
I headed toward Rachael and picked up a small tree branch that was on the
ground nearby.
"...What's with the stick, Grand Duke?"
"It's my weapon. Should be more than enough for someone like you."
"Tch...! D-Don't say I didn't warn you when this is over, then!" Oh boy... She's
mad. Not that I really care or anything... Besides, her anger will prove to be her
downfall if she doesn't focus. Looks to me like she's pretty easily provoked.
A young member of the knight order stood between us to act as referee.
"Both sides ready? Very well, fight!" The moment the signal was given,
Rachael thrust herself toward me. She was surprisingly agile. However, I easily
dodged the attack by stepping to the left, and I followed the movement up by
lightly tapping her on the head with the stick.
"Tsk?!"
"You shouldn't recklessly leap into battle, Rachael. You need to understand
how your foe moves before you do anything. And when you do leap? Make sure
you prepare a follow-up attack." Rachael suddenly leaped backward with a
thudding sound, before raising her left hand and quickly chanting a spell.
"Come forth, Fire! Crimson Javelin of Flames: [Fire Spear]!" The girl shot a
flaming lance at me from her left hand. I was pretty impressed she could do
that at a young age... But it wasn't good enough.
I stepped to the right, and the spear whizzed right past me. It hit the barrier
and swiftly dispersed.
"Spear spells are extremely easy to track. You'd be better off using that on an
incapacitated opponent, or as part of a combo attack. Maybe you could use it
on someone who was running in the opposite direction. Either way, it's
pointless to use in a battle like this."
"Guh...!" The girl furrowed her brow before preparing her weapon and
charging toward me again. The moment she moved, I cast a spell.
"[Slip]."
"Eeek!" She fell flat on her back, so I walked over and tapped her on the head
with the stick again.
"I-I just fell over! That doesn't count as a loss!"
"Sorry, little lady... But you fell because of one of my spells. It made you slip
over. This spell of mine is actually amongst the top tier of spells in the world,
depending on how it's used, of course." Amazing spells didn't necessarily have
to be destructively powerful ones. I'd been told that recently by Leen of all
people.
"Nngh!" She clambered to her feet and attempted to hit me from the sides.
She was definitely precise with her aim. The way she moved from left to right,
attempting to land a feint attack... She was absolutely a prodigy. The fact that
she was ten felt almost unreal.
But I dodged those attacks with ease and landed a few heavier blows on her
body. I hadn't been training with a literal combat god almost every day with
nothing to show for it, I could read all of her movements.
I kind of wondered if this was how Moroha felt when other people fought her.
"Entwine thus, Earth! Cursed Soil: [Earthbind]!"
"Hoh?" The ground suddenly rose up and wrapped itself around my ankles. It
looked like she'd been concentrating her magic without me noticing.
"Come forth, Lightning! Pure Sparking Javelin: [Thunder Spear]!"
Ha! She's doing what I told her to. Guess she's good at listening, at least... But
it's still not enough, kid!
"Gather forth, Water! Swirling Shield: [Aqua Shell]!"
The bolt of lightning was dispersed by a wall of water and rendered inert.
"Hiyaaah!" The moment my [Aqua Shell] dissipated, she thrust her weapon
toward me. She got pretty close.
But it was still no cigar. I smacked her hand away.
"Owie!"
"Listen. You. Dummy. Don't charge in recklessly. Use your head."
"Shut up! You've barely hit me at all! Attack me, please! You're just running,
you idiot!" Her attitude had shifted, she was being a little more honest now, I
thought. She wasn't going to stop until I actually tried.
Well kid, if you really want me to... Fine.
"Spark forth, Ice! Frozen, Jolting Maelstrom: [Vortex Mist]!"
"Gaaah!" Rachael was struck by a flash of lightning. Her body was wracked
with numbness, and she fell to the ground. I held back and reduced the power
of the spell, so it shouldn't have hurt her that much... Probably.
"Wh-What spell was that?!"
"A combined one. I used Water and Wind magic to create a fog that zaps my
enemies."
"What?! No fair! I've never heard of that!"
Fair or not, it is how it is. Don't complain, you asked for this! Guess I'll dial
back the fancy stuff, though.
"Shape forth, Earth! Pebble From the Ground: [Stone Bullet]!"
"Hngh!" Rachael quickly contorted her body to avoid the rock I blasted her
way. It was a basic Earth spell. She turned to face me, and I launched another
shot her way.
"Better watch it."
"Agh!"
"And another."
"Eek!"
"And another one."
"S-Stop! How come you keep shooting them?! Y-You aren't even doing the
chants! Stop ittt!" Chants ultimately served as guidelines to help connect the
necessary mental link to the right spell. If you were experienced enough, you
could skip that part entirely. You couldn't use that to cast two different spells at
once though, they'd cancel each other out.
Rachael clambered up and started writhing around, desperately trying to
avoid the rocks I was shooting at her. Pfft... This is pretty fun, actually.
"[Slip]."
"O-Ouch!" A little stone smacked her square in the forehead as she fell over
and landed on her butt. It wasn't launched especially hard, but that definitely
had to hurt. Tears started welling up in her eyes.
"Had enough yet? I think we should put an end to this soon, since—"
"I'm not finished!"
"Really now..." Don't you get how many times I've hit you already, kid? If this
was a real fight and I was wielding a real weapon, you'd be dead. I've even been
holding back on the magic, and you're still this banged up.
"Haaah!" Rachael gripped her sword and began charging toward me again. I
easily parried all of her attacks and was curious about why she was so
frustrated. She was probably angry that I'd been half-assing my attacks.
Honestly, people like her were troublesome.
"If you really want me to go all-out, then so be it. Better prepare yourself,
because the next attack is ending the fight."
"Ha, alright! I don't know what you're preparing, but I absolutely won't lose
—"
"[Gate]."
"What?!" I opened up a portal right beneath her feet, and she sank into it like
a stone. Then, a terrified scream rang out... from high in the air.
"Auuuuuuuuuuuuugh!" Rachael was five-hundred meters up in the air,
plummeting down to earth at incredible speeds. I was subtly using Wind magic
to keep her on course, so she'd definitely land right in front of me.
"R-Rachael?!" The young king stared upward in absolute horror, his face
paling as he watched his fiancee rocket down toward the ground.
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!!"
"Blow forth, Wind! Soaring, Spinning Gust: [Whirlwind] & [Levitation]!"
I slowed down her falling speed with Wind magic and abruptly stopped her
about one meter from impact with the ground. I wondered if she'd enjoyed her
freefall.
"Agh... Khah... H-Hah...!"
"Give up yet?" Rachael's entire body was trembling. Her eyes looked glazed
over, and her mouth flapped open and closed like a fish. Even so, she managed
a tiny, muted nod.
...Oh, oh no. This isn't good... I think I was a little too effective here.
"Come forth, Water! Cleansing Downpour: [Waterfall]!"
"Ghah!" A massive amount of water suddenly appeared above the girl, and
then came crashing down on to her. She was soaked head to toe.
The people watching had no idea why I did that, but Rachael simply hung her
head in shame as I gently brought her to the ground.
Aw hell... Is she scared of heights or something? She must've been really
scared if it affected her that much... Still, nobody should notice what she did
now that she's covered in water, at least... You'd think with all that prep work
she was doing before the fight, she'd have found the time to go to the
bathroom...
"R-Rachael! Are you all right?!"
"I-I'm fine! Good, yes!" The soaked little girl stood up, glared at me through
tear-stained eyes, and ran away from the field.
Welp. I definitely overdid it. I feel like I probably just created a traumatic
memory for someone... Does this world have therapists?
"...Oh geez, I've really gone and done it now." I really should've handled that
in a little more tactful manner. I sighed quietly as Regent Rembrandt walked
over to me.
"Seems I had little reason to fret, lad! Seems the lass has learned the meaning
of humility, eh? She's still a beginner, and she has a long way to go yet!"
...I dunno, I kind of feel like the inexperienced one here. It literally just
happened and I already regret it. I basically just bullied a ten-year-old girl until
she peed herself.
I looked over to the spectators and noticed their somewhat-reluctant smiles. I
couldn't exactly blame them, after seeing that.
I wondered what rumors would come out of this... Probably stuff about how
the grand duke of Brunhild has no mercy toward children, or that I'm coldblooded or something...
"I'm really sorry, King Ernest. Could you apologize to Rachael on my behalf,
later? I don't think she'll want to see me again any time soon..."
"Y-Yes. I understand, don't worry. But I don't think that Rachael is upset with
you, Grand Duke. I think she's mad at herself for not being strong enough."
Really...? I'm not so sure about that... And man, getting comforted by a tiny
kid somehow makes me feel worse...
"U-Uhm... Well... Th-Thanks for all your help, Grand Duke..." King Cloud
looked at me with a bit of a grimace. I wasn't too surprised he'd have mixed
feelings on all of this. I'd kind of blundered in, bragged about my cool giant
robot, and then beat up a little girl.
"Why did you use that Water spell at the end, though...?"
"A-Ah... Well, uh... she was getting a little hot in the head, so I wanted to cool
her down." I gave a vague enough reply. I didn't want to mention the real
reason because that would be a slight on Rachael's honor. I'd really done
something terrible, though.
"...You're a very kind man, Grand Duke." Princess Lucienne smiled gently in
my direction. She'd been standing and watching with her brother.
"Huh?"
Oh... You're perceptive, aren't you?
"Ernest. I'll take care of your duties for the time being, so please go and tend
to Rachael."
"Oh, but..." The little guy seemed a little hesitant to leave, so he looked from
his sister to me. I gave him a small nod, and he smiled before bolting after
Rachael. I had a feeling he wanted to go lift her spirits.
I hope she'll be alright... I let out a small sigh, only for my eyes to meet with
Elze and Linze.
"Touya... That was... a little much, wasn't it?"
"Well, you made a nice save at the end, but still..." I didn't need them to say
it. I knew I'd overdone it. Elze also seemed to have noticed why I cast
[Waterfall] back there.
Well, even if you took that last generous act into account, I was still in the
wrong.
"Grand Duke, we've prepared tea. Would you like to follow me?" Princess
Lucienne began guiding us toward the castle. I quietly reflected on how difficult
it was to have a child as your foe. I hoped that I was doing alright with Sue,
Renne, and the children of Brunhild... Honestly, after that ludicrous display, I'd
sort of lost confidence in myself.
◇ ◇ ◇
We were having some tea on the balcony of Palouf Castle, and I'd managed to
compose myself a little better.
I didn't need to fall into a trap of self-hatred. I'd definitely gone overboard,
and some people probably found my actions a little drastic... But it wouldn't
necessarily be a problem if they hated me for it.
Princess Lucienne turned to me.
"Please forgive us for the discourteous behavior that my cousin Rachael has
shown you today..."
"No, don't worry. She's just a child, after all." I certainly didn't have a problem
with it, but I was half-wondering if the Princess was expecting me to get angry
and demand Rachael's execution or something. I wasn't a tyrant or anything!
Those kinds of people were the worst.
"The fight we had was separate from social affairs. I wouldn't see it as a slight
against me or my country, so please don't worry." I didn't really expect the little
girl to forgive me so easily, though...
"I'm glad you feel that way. Ernest and I are thankful to you, Grand Duke."
"By the way, Grand Duke, what do you make of the king of Palouf?" King
Cloud posed a question, which caused the two of them to turn toward me
curiously across the table.
"Let's see, hm... I think he takes instruction well... But I'm worried about his
general lack of confidence." I felt like he was the submissive and negative type. I
didn't necessarily think it was bad, it was at least better than being plain.
When I thought about it, I realized that the boy and his sister were pretty
different but similar in the same way. Neither of them seemed especially suited
for royalty, and they didn't care too much for court etiquette and stuff. Then
again, I did that all the time.
"Does the king of Palouf have any special talents?" Linze turned to the
princess and posed a question. Linze lacked in self-confidence. Well, she'd
gotten better recently, but her self-esteem wasn't so great. She probably saw
part of herself in Ernest and wanted to see if he had any redeeming qualities.
"Talents... No, not really. He has no skill in battle and no talent for magic. He
can kind of play the flute? But not in a way I'd call impressive..." Damn... So the
kid's just mediocre? Well... I mean, he is a king. At least he has that.
If I grew up with a genius like Rachael near me, I'd probably end up finding my
confidence diminishing by the day, though.
"Ah, though..."
"Hmm?" Lucienne looked as if she suddenly remembered something. She
went back inside and quickly came back out with a small box and a folded
board. I recognized it.
"That's a shogi board."
"Yes. Are you familiar with the game, Grand Duke?" Listen lady, I invented it in
this world.
We cleared our teacups and plates, then set out the box. Just as I'd thought, it
was shogi. Well, it was a little different. The pieces were squares instead of fivesided.
"Can the king of Palouf play it?"
"He can. He used to play it from morning till night, but he stopped once he
found himself lacking more opponents." Guess that makes sense. I doubt a
random maid would be able to play shogi with the king... Plus with his
personality, he probably wouldn't just bring it up with someone. He's way too
shy with strangers.
"He typically played against me or our uncle, but I wasn't a particularly good
opponent."
"Has he played against Rachael?"
"He did, but he completely defeated her... Which made her get upset, and she
flipped the table over. They didn't play again after that..." Man... They really are
kids... It's more obvious when I hear stuff like this.
Still, I wouldn't mind playing him. I wonder how good he is.
Almost as if on cue, King Ernest walked out on to the balcony.
"Sorry for my absence!"
"Don't worry about that. How's Rachael?"
"She's okay. Sort of, anyway. She's shut away in her room, but she always
does that when she gets mad..." Hmm... She's probably fine, then. Hopefully,
she eventually comes out, though.
"Hm...? Oh!" The kid noticed the shogi set out on the table.
"I heard from your sister that you're quite fond of the game. I actually created
the game, you know. I didn't think it had already gotten as far as Palouf."
"Wait, really?!"
"Really. Wanna play?" I grinned, proposing a match, which prompted the little
king to start nodding his head up and down. There were practically stars in his
eyes.
We headed indoors and sat down at a small, square table. Then we lined up
our game pieces.
Alright, let's see here... It's been a while, but I should be okay.
"...I can't believe I lost."
"Good game, Grand Duke." I bowed my head, and the little king did so as well.
Three times. He'd beaten me three times.
"Pfft... How miserable. I've never seen you lose so fast, Touya." Elze giggled
slightly as she gave me a sidelong glance. This kid was unusually good at shogi. I
was pretty good at it, myself. But actually playing this kid head-on gave me a
good understanding of just how outclassed I was. I was impressed.
"You're really good. I'd say you're probably the best person I've ever played
against."
"R-Really? I-I've only played against my uncle for the most part, though..." I
wonder if Duke Rembrandt is good at it, too... Hmm... I have an idea. It's a little
short notice but I should be able to pull it off. Let's see if we can build this kid's
self-confidence a little... I opened my mouth to bring up my idea.
"You know... Brunhild's actually hosting a shogi tournament around ten days
from now. Would you like to join?"
"Wh-What?! W-Would it really be okay for someone like me to do that?"
"It's no problem, honestly. You wouldn't be the only member of royalty
participating. There'd be others, in disguise of course. We'd guarantee your
safety, too."
Elze and Linze side-eyed me as if to say "What tournament?" Obviously, I was
ad-libbing this entirely on the spot, so I didn't have an answer for them.
The tournament might have been fake, but I was sure that Duke Ortlinde and
the king of Belfast would want to join, so it wasn't technically a lie.
Besides if I had a tournament and didn't tell them, they'd get mad about it
later on.
I'd just go around and recruit people I knew were talented players, and the
tournament would build itself up through word of mouth after that. "O-Oh
gosh..." Princess Lucienne noticed her brother starting to flail, so she began
talking to him.
"Don't think too hard about it, Ernest. Taking a little trip to Brunhild might
even be good for you! I can come too, you know?"
"...Th-Then yes, I-I wanna play..."
"Sounds good to me." I grinned, then clapped my hands together.
Seems I had some work cut out for me, but the end result was probably going
to be pretty fun.
◇ ◇ ◇
"...This is short notice, but I'm hosting a shogi tournament!"
"...That's short notice, alright." I was back in the town of Reflet. More
specifically, the Silver Moon Inn. I was talking to an older man with a red head
of hair, and a full beard. It was Dolan, Micah's dad.
"So you wanna invite us to participate, eh?"
"Well, yeah. It's not like you'll have any advantages in the contest though, it
just means you get to skip the registration rounds." I'd recruited Dolan, but I'd
also gotten Barral from the Eight Bears Weapon Shop, and Simon from the
general store. They'd been playing Shogi from the moment I introduced it to
this world, so they were more likely to be better than me.
"So, will you play?"
"Damn straight I'll play. We'll show everyone that Reflet is where shogi began,
an' where it's done best." Oh, right. Totally forgot they decided to do that.
"So, lad. How many people are playin'?"
"Uhh... We haven't decided just yet. We've invited a few, and each person
hand-picked are among the best of the best. You and the others will be
participating starting from day two, so you guys don't have to come over until
late on day one."
"Oi now... We can't afford to miss watchin' the people we might end up
facing! We'll come for day one. Micah can watch the place in the meantime."
Dolan nodded his head firmly. I told them I'd pick them up on opening day and
then I left Reflet.
When I returned I called up the king of Belfast and Duke Ortlinde, along with
various other royals, and roped them in as invitees.
We were going to have a baseball tournament and a martial arts tournament
at the same time, so I invited the knights from other nations to come and join in
as well.
I'd organized the other two events to drum up a little more interest, since
shogi alone wasn't exactly brimming with wow factor. Plus, people who weren't
familiar with the complicated rules of baseball and shogi could enjoy the more
simplistic martial arts tournament.
In the end, we had ourselves a pretty crazy lineup...
"...Oh geez, this list is a little..."
"Y-Yes... This is a bit much, even if I understand why they'd want to join..."
Yumina grimaced slightly as she looked over the list of participants.
■Shogi Tournament Participants
The King of Belfast (Belfast)
Duke Ortlinde (Belfast)
The Regulus Emperor (Regulus)
The Refreese Emperor (Refreese)
The King of Palouf (Palouf)
Duke Rembrandt (Palouf)
The Roadmare Doge (Roadmare)
Dolan (Belfast - Reflet)
Barral (Belfast - Reflet)
Simon (Belfast - Reflet)
■Martial Arts Tournament Participants
The King of Mismede (Mismede)
The Knight King of Lestia (Lestia)
Knight Commander Gaspar (Regulus)
General Leon (Belfast)
Captain Lyon (Belfast)
Captain Garm (Mismede)
Baba Nohbuharu (Brunhild)
Yamagata Massakage (Brunhild)
Kokonoe Jutaro (Eashen)
■National Baseball Team Participants
Brunhild
Belfast
Mismede
Regulus
Lestia
Refreese
Lihnea
Roadmare
We ended up having quite the gathering... And that was only the people we'd
invited.
"...Will we have enough security?"
"We'll keep it subtle. I've asked all the people we invited to wear special
protective charms that can't be seen by anyone else, and we'll have their
personal guards come along in disguise, too. Obviously, we'll post guards as
well. I've got Mr. Mittens keeping watch for suspicious people." I'd also asked
that Kohaku summon a couple of dependent animals to keep watch as well.
Frankly, I was more worried about Doctor Babylon... She hadn't said anything
about the shogi tournament, even though I knew she'd want to join... And
neither Moroha nor Karina had mentioned the martial arts contest either... I'd
kind of let on that I didn't want them to participate.
I didn't want them participating if I could avoid it, but I also feared they'd ask
me for something unreasonable in return.
"...It's basically a festival at this point."
"Well, I guess you're right. We're gonna have little events and street stalls up
as well... Just a shame we didn't have much time to prep." It all started on a
whim, after all. I felt a little bad for roping so many people into it, but they all
seemed pretty excited in their own ways, so I didn't mind so much. If we did
something like this again, I'd give more of a grace period for preparation.
Kousaka was just upset that I didn't give him a month of planning time, he
said we could've made a lot of money if we'd been able to hype it all up. I
understood his concerns, but it was just one of those things.
"Yae, Hilde, and Elze want to join the martial arts contest."
"Yeah, but I want them on call for security. There'll be other chances for them
to show their stuff in the future." Those three were unreasonably powerful,
anyway. They were being trained almost every day by Moroha, and they were
influenced by not just my Divinity, but my sisters' as well.
That divine protection on them was really something... If they continued to be
influenced, they'd grow further beyond the capabilities of regular humans.
Although the effect depended on the person being blessed, rather than the
one granting them. Just because they had Moroha's divinity influencing them
didn't mean it'd help them in swordplay, for example. Yumina had manifested
the ability to glimpse a few seconds into the future. I assumed that was because
she was being influenced by my divinity, but the ability itself was probably
something inherent in her that needed to be brought out.
I didn't think it'd be fair to let anyone under divine influence enter a contest
like that. I wanted everyone there to have a good time, in the end. I felt bad for
them, but if I didn't stick to my guns then it could end up being a slippery
slope... Moroha would use it to justify her entry.
As for the old farts Baba and Yamagata, they ignored my protest and said
they'd participate in order to better defend the place.
To be fair, there was always the possibility of people coming in to do harm, so
I let them get away with it. We'd erected various barriers to prevent too much
harm anyway.
"Ah... That reminds me, the pope of Ramissh and Karen wanted to use the
church in town, Touya."
"What for, prayer?"
"They said they wanted to establish themselves a little consultation office, so
they could hear people out and offer religious counsel."
Counsel, huh...? That sounds fine by me, I guess. Those two are the kinds to
dispense life advice, anyway. I wonder if the pope will go in disguise or not,
though... It's kind of a big deal to have her out here.
As I pondered to myself, my phone started to vibrate. Oh, a call!
I took out my phone and looked at the screen. It said that the caller was...
god. I was shook.
"H-Hello?"
"Ah... Touya. I was watching and I wondered... Would it be quite alright if I
participated in this festival of yours? I felt a little bit like sightseeing in Brunhild,
and perhaps speaking in the church about this and that... I promise I'll be no
trouble!"
"...S-Seriously?"
"I would also like to meet with the gods who are down there, and confer a
little. You understand?" He laughed softly, but I was staring forward in shock. I
forced myself to smile as if looking up at my viewer through a fourth wall.
...Ohhh no. Ohhh sweet lord. The big guy's coming... The man himself? Down
here...? Sightseeing?! I-Is the festival gonna be okay?! I mean... Surely he's not
coming down as a full god or something...
Suddenly, the big fuss about gathering all the monarchs, disguising them, and
keeping them safe just felt so... Trivial.
I have no idea what I'm supposed to do