At that point, the adult viewers noticed what was up. The big sister character was the famous Prima Lorelei, Juna Doma.

Because Juna was mostly known for being so beautiful that even the girls wanted her, they hadn’t made the connection with her in this boyish outfit. Her tone of voice was more direct, in keeping with the outfit. While this version of Juna had lost the mature sexiness that made her seem older than she actually was, it brought out a cuteness that was more like what you’d expect of a girl her age.

Little Musashibo turned to “Big Sister Juna” for help. “Big Sister Juna, arithmetic is hard and I don’t know what to do about it. I look at books, but there are just numbers and symbols, and it’s not interesting at all.”

There were a large number of viewers who nodded in agreement.

It had been nine days earlier that Souma had encouraged the people to learn to read, write, and do arithmetic, but those who lived a lifestyle where they didn’t need to do calculations had apparently thought, “Okay, reading and writing, maybe, but what good is learning to do calculations for anyone who isn’t a merchant?”

However, Juna giggled and gave a playful wink to Little Musashibo who was voicing those viewers’ opinions for them. “Oh my, don’t you know that math can be fun?”

“What? Really?” Little Musashibo asked doubtfully.

“It’s true,” she said with great confidence.

A fun, cheery melody began to play again from seemingly nowhere in particular. Juna began singing along with it.

The song was “Fun Arithmetic.” It was from Minna no Uta, or Songs for Everyone, in the world Souma came from. This song, which was sung by Seiji Tanaka, presented addition; subtraction; the fact that when you have a group of ten it moves up to a new digit; and the fact that any number, no matter how large, disappears when multiplied by zero; all in a comical fashion.

Juna and Little Musashibo sang this song, dancing happily in a circle together.

When they finished, Little Musashibo excitedly clapped his hands. “I feel like arithmetic just got fun. If I study, will it be even more fun?”

“Of course,” Juna assured him. “If you study hard, you’ll be able to do even more amazing things.”

Then Juna sang a song for Little Musashibo about all the things he’d be able to do if he studied his arithmetic. It had a fun melody and playful lyrics, but if you were listening closely, it expressed a number of mathematical phenomena. It was exactly the sort of song that belonged on an educational program.

The children who were watching the broadcast innocently imitated Juna and Little Musashibo, singing the lyrics to themselves and dancing. The adults, on the other hand, considered the meaning of the lyrics, nodding along with interest as they figured it out.

In among them there was just one person, Juno, who was thinking about something entirely different.

Did he just lend them his kigurumi suit? No... That can’t be it. Juno was closely scrutinizing Little Musashibo’s movements. The way he moves, it’s just like Mr. Little Musashibo. But the voice I heard was a cute girl’s voice. The hand I saw that time was a man’s hand. There’s a different person inside, but he’s moving the same... What does it mean?

As she pondered deeply, something occurred to Juno.

Now that I think about it, wasn’t there that one time I saw Mr. Little Musashibo delivering a letter to the guild? After the receptionist saw it, she told us there was a banquet being held at the castle. In other words, that letter was from the castle. This broadcast is put together by the castle, too, from what I hear. Maybe Mr. Little Musashibo is connected to the castle somehow?

Juno stared hard in the direction of Parnam Castle which was where the broadcast was coming from.

...I’m curious. I want to look into it, but... I can’t exactly go sneaking into the castle. If they caught me, I’m sure I’d be punished. Hmm, isn’t there any way I can look into it?

While Juno was thinking about all of this, the program continued. When Little Musashibo and Juna’s short theater segment came to an end, the broadcast video moved to another place.

This time it wasn’t a stage but what looked like a great hall. There were around ten three-to-five-year-old children there. Owing to their young age, they weren’t coordinated at all, and they would sit down, run around, lie down, and generally move about freely. These were the children of the castle’s workers who had been left at the daycare center.

Souma had thought the audience for an educational program should be made up of children, so, with the permission of their parents (though, with the king asking them a favor, they could hardly decline...), he had arranged for them to appear. Also, in with the children there was a young girl who looked to be around sixteen years old.

“Hey, isn’t that Princess Roroa?” one astute viewer pointed out.

That girl was indeed Roroa, the former Princess of Amidonia. Roroa was wearing a boyish outfit like Juna’s, and said in a cheerful voice, “Look, everybooody. Your singin’ big sister is gonna come out and plaaaay. One, two, aaaand...!”

“““Big Sister Juna!””” the children called.

With Roroa giving them the signal, the children all called her name together. When they did...

“Helloooo.” Juna appeared again, waving her hands. She stood next to Roroa and said, “Now, everyone, it’s time for a song.”

Then she began to clap her hands.

◇　◇　◇

Meanwhile, back where we were recording in the castle, Liscia was crying out in surprise.

“Roroa?! What is that girl doing?!”

“When I told Roroa we would be making an educational program, she said, ‘Sounds fascinatin’! Darlin’, I wanna be on it, too!’” I said. “She forced me to do it. I had no other options, so I decided to let her be on the show as Juna’s assistant.”

“Can you really go around deciding roles on a whim like that?” Liscia asked skeptically.

“...I have a soft spot where crying children or the sponsors are concerned, you know. Besides, this program is being brought to you by The Silver Deer, which Sebastian is the public face of; but Roroa runs it behind the scenes, after all.”

Right now, our country was providing funding for multiple businesses and for research on a variety of topics. We were heavily focused on foodstuffs, medicine, and the military because those were things that would have an effect on the lives of the people. Thanks to that, the national treasury was always on the verge of collapse.

Eventually, as the population grew, the increase in taxes would make back our money on the investment, but we couldn’t count on it to happen right away.

With that in mind, the finance minister, Colbert, kept a tight hold of the country’s purse strings, and he wasn’t about to allocate funds for some new program that had no record of success. That’s why I had asked Roroa’s company to fund it. Because of that, I was now left with no choice but to listen to Roroa, the investor, when she asked me for something.

When Liscia heard the details, she sighed. “It’s always about money, huh. It’s a hard life.”

“You said it.”

...Though I’m sure Roroa set up her own company with this exact sort of situation in mind.

The truth of the matter was, if Roroa hadn’t invested, I wouldn’t have been able to do this broadcast. Besides, if I didn’t let her have a little of what she wanted, I was probably going to be hit with divine retribution someday.

I looked over to the hall where Juna and Roroa were singing “Musunde Hiraite” with the children.

The children watched Roroa’s exaggerated movements and then imitated her. When I saw them bouncing around, moving their arms and legs, it put a smile on my face. While my heart was being warmed by their angelic behavior, Liscia asked me a question.

“I understand why you want to make an educational program, but why are there so many songs?”

“Don’t you have songs from your childhood that have stuck with you for a strangely long time?” I asked.

“Like lullabies?”

“Yeah, exactly. Songs and melodies get stuck in your head, and it’s easy for people to end up singing or humming them on their own. That’s why it’s more memorable if you use songs in education than if you just taught the material normally, and it’ll spread farther, too.”

For instance, before they taught us “Irohanihoheto” in school, I’d already learned it from Minna no Uta’s “Iroha Matsuri.” Also, I feel like a major part of the reason I could remember the ordering of the Chinese zodiac without getting it confused was because I’d learned a song called “Eto wa Merry-go-Round.” If I still remembered those songs even now that I was an adult, Minna no Uta really was incredible.

Liscia said, “I see...” with a grunt of admiration. “Honestly, I think this was really well thought out.”

“Hm... Well, thinking is my job, after all.”

“It’s not as easy as you make it sound. Thinking about the people and coming up with policies to benefit them.” Liscia was looking at me approvingly... I averted my eyes. “Wait, why did you look away?”

“Well... If you were to ask if it’s really for the people, I’d have to admit a bit of my own self-interest came into it, too...”

“Really? How?” Liscia stared hard at me.

...Well, there’s no helping it, I thought. I guess I’ll fess up.

“We’re holding the wedding ceremony as I formally inherit the throne, right?” I asked.

“Y-Yes, I suppose we are.”

Liscia’s cheeks flushed red when I said the word wedding. It had been just the other night, on New Year’s Eve, that I had proposed to Liscia and she had accepted, and it was still a little embarrassing to think about it. It was adorable when she did that, but... let’s move the story along.

“So, at the wedding, I want to reveal all of my queens, with no discrimination between who’s a primary and who’s a secondary.”

Because secondary queens, whose children would lack the right of succession, had originally been the kings’ concubines, they were seen as lower than the primary queens. As a result, even now that they were treated as queens, there were many cases where they would not be given a big wedding ceremony in front of the people. There had even been cases when secondary queens had felt inferior to the primaries, and so had declined to attend on that basis. They must have feared it would be a seed of later troubles.

I wanted to change that custom.

“Roroa said she was fine with being a secondary queen, but since we are going to be ruling over the Amidonia Region, I want to make her my third primary queen,” I said. “That would make Juna the only one who can’t participate in the ceremony, right? I was thinking, if possible, I’d like everyone to be there together.”

“You’re right. I think that would be for the best.” Liscia nodded and agreed without hesitation. “Aisha and Juna were with us during the hard times, and we got through them together. They feel like war buddies to me. Oh, I don’t mean to leave Roroa out. I think she can be a nuisance sometimes, but the way she’ll play around with me like a little sister is cute. It’s just that Aisha and Juna are special. It doesn’t matter who’s a primary and who’s a secondary; I don’t want anyone to feel neglected.”

“I see... I’m relieved.”

It was a good thing the first primary queen, Liscia, was so tolerant. Liscia and the others got along well, so I hadn’t been worried, but... even so, it was a relief to hear Liscia herself say all of that. Honestly, these wonderful girls were all better than I deserved.

Liscia tilted her head to the side. “But does that have anything to do with this broadcast?”

“Yeah,” I said. “For now, my betrothal to Juna is secret, but that’s going to become untenable as the ceremony gets closer, right?”

“Well, of course. The wedding will be broadcast nationwide.”

“Yep. So, there needs to be an announcement made at some point... I was thinking, when that happens, between the lorelei Juna and the Juna who sings songs with children, which would the people be less upset about... you know...”

Liscia narrowed her eyes and gave me a hard look. “Don’t tell me you planned this program just for that. Did you?”

“Oh, no. The plan itself was meant from the beginning to help educate the people,” I said, trying not to make eye contact. “It’s just, well... I let my own selfish interests get involved a bit, too, you could say...”

Liscia let out a sigh. “You’re hopeless. Do you really have to worry that much about how the people see you?”

“No, no, it’s a pretty critical issue, you know?!”

After all, Juna had become such a national idol that we had gotten petitions from the Congress of the People saying, “Have her on the Jewel Voice Broadcast more often.” If I just announced our engagement the way things were, there seriously might be riots. That was why, in order to keep them under control, I was planning to gradually shift Juna from idol work to children’s songs.

When I told Juna that, as much as it pained me to do it, she said, “If I can sing at your side, sire, I don’t care what position it is in,” and smiled for me.

Judging by the fact she had then immediately recommended a new lorelei, Komari Corda, who could carry on her current style, Juna was enthusiastic about the idea.

And, as we were discussing that, the part where they sang with the children had come to an end.

“All right, everyone, well done,” Juna said.

“And did all of ya out there watchin’ us manage to sing along, too?” Roroa asked.

Juna and Roroa were closing out the segment.

“What’s scheduled after this?” Liscia asked quietly.

“Next up is exercise time. It’s a program to get everyone’s bodies moving.”

“Exercise? Since so far you’ve only been using family members... Is Aisha doing it?”

“No. I’ve brought on a proper expert for the exercise segment.”

“An expert?” Liscia was tilting her head to the side in confusion.

Roroa in the hall took the lead again. “Okay, it’s time for exercisin’. We’re all gonna call the exercise guy together. One, two, aaaand...!”

“““Exercise guuuuuy!””” the children all shouted together at Roroa’s prompting.

“Hahhhh!” A man jumped down from the balcony on the second floor. The man landed stylishly in front of the children, flashed his bright white teeth, then turned towards the screen and gave the viewers a thumbs-up.

The young human man was tall, standing at around 185 centimeters. He had a muscular physique that was apparent even with all of his clothes on. His face, taken as a whole, would have been considered handsome, but his thick, upturned eyebrows, his sharp eyes, and his shining white teeth... Each of the individual parts had a lot of “character.”

The young man put a hand on his hip, then turned to the children and said, “Sorry for the wait, children! Now, move your bodies with me!”

He was a young man who spoke passionate words with a passionate smile.

Liscia watched the young man, her mouth agape, and whispered, “...Who is that?”

◇　◇　◇

Earlier, in the middle of the 12th month, 1,546th year, Continental Calendar.

On that especially cold day...

“We’ve changed the way we produce grain in our territory. It’s greatly increased our food self-sufficiency rate,” the man told me. “Thanks to your transportation network, sire, my domain is more prosperous than ever.”

“Oh, ho,” I said. “I see...”

I was standing next to a burly, middle-aged man and smiling along as he rambled on endlessly. The man’s name was Moltov Juniro. He was the head of one of the ten most influential noble houses in the country, the House of Juniro. Today I had been invited to a banquet they were hosting.

These days, I was being invited to a banquet held by some influential noble or other nearly every day. It seemed that in this country, in the middle and towards the end of the twelfth month, the nobles would invite guests they were close to and hold a banquet. There they would thank them for their interactions throughout the year, and express their hope to remain just as close in the next one.

Well, basically, it was an end-of-year party.

In addition, it seemed that the number and level of the guests they could attract was used as a barometer of the noble’s power and influence. That was why, at this time of year, the nobles invited as many people as they could, especially those of high stature.

Now, if you asked who the person of highest stature in this country was, that would have to be me, the guy who was currently holding on to the throne. Naturally, even if they wanted to, no ordinary noble could invite the king without having any special ties to him. I wasn’t overly fond of these banquets myself, after all. Normally, even if I received an invitation, I turned it down because I was busy.

So if I still had to attend someone’s banquet, that meant they were no ordinary noble. While they might not be on the level of Excel, there were still powerful nobles in this country. It was difficult to turn down invitations from those sorts of people. It’s a superior’s duty to socialize with those who serve under them.

Because I’d turned down so many of them, Hakuya had told me, “Please, at least attend the year end banquets.” Because of that, for the past few days in a row, I had been forced to attend the powerful nobles’ banquets.

While getting even more dressed up than usual for the banquet (It was a very noble-y outfit. Even my sleeves had frills.), I would groan, “Ugh, what a pain,” or, “I don’t wanna go,” or, “This is such a hassle,” and Liscia, who was helping me get changed, would reproach me for it.

“This is your duty as king,” she would say. “As your fiancées, we’ll be there, too, so shape up, would you?”

Like she’d said, Liscia and my other partners were in attendance, too. Even so, they didn’t have it as bad as I did. My fiancées, Juna excluded, were taking turns and each accompanying me one at a time. I, on the other hand, was being forced to attend every single time.

“As you can see, my domain is in excellent shape...” Moltov was droning.

“...”

If you asked what I didn’t like about banquets, it was having to play along with my host’s “hospitality” which consisted of them going on at length about this or that. Even if the food looked luxurious, I didn’t have any time for eating or drinking. What was more, the nobles all tended to talk about the same things.

First was boasting about how they managed their domain. That was no doubt largely because I had added the management of their domains into their performance evaluations. Most nobles tried to show there were no issues in their governance, and the more capable ones took the chance to express exactly how wonderful their managerial skills were.

The evaluations were done by inspectors dispatched for that express purpose, and they would get proper input from the people living in the domain. That made trying to convince me at a banquet all but meaningless, but it was human nature to want to take every chance they could get. If they thought the king was keeping a close eye on them, and it led to an improvement in their people’s lives, that was a good thing. Still, I got sick of having to hear similar accounts at every banquet.

“Sire, allow me to go get a drink for you,” Aisha, my partner for the day, offered in a small voice. The silver dress she’d also worn for the music program she’d helped me host in Amidonia looked good on her now. She must have sensed my exhaustion and was trying to be considerate.

I had just been feeling a bit parched, so I asked her to please do so, and Aisha silently left.

The moment Aisha departed, there was a sudden change in the talkative Moltov’s demeanor.

“...By the way, sire.”

His eyes were sharp, like a snake that had found its prey.

In that instant, I realized I had just screwed up. I’d been through this pattern a number of times already. When the king’s partner left his side, they saw that as their moment of opportunity.

“Would you mind if we talked somewhere else for a little while?”

“...Aisha isn’t back yet, you realize,” I said.

“It won’t take long. I’m sure the two of you will be able to meet back up in no time.”

Having said that, Moltov took my hand and half-dragged me away from there.

Yeah... This was definitely that pattern.

I don’t like this... Moltov may think this is his big chance, but I feel like I’m on pins and needles here...

While I was thinking that, as I had anticipated, there was a single young lady waiting for me when we arrived at our destination. She was somewhere around sixteen years old. She was clearly a lovely young lady of good upbringing.

“Allow me to introduce you, sire. This is my daughter, Siena.”

“Greetings, Your Majesty. I am Siena Juniro,” she said, curtsying.

...I knew it. They saw this as their opportunity to introduce me to young ladies they were related to.

In every era, blood ties to the royal house had been a source of pride for the nobility. If she became my queen, their house would be secure, and she might even give birth to an heir. On top of that, because my betrothal to Juna hadn’t been announced yet, as far as they were concerned, I only had three fiancées. That number was, with the exception of special cases like my predecessor, King Albert (he’d married into the queen’s family), considered low. Because of that, every noble was desperate to sell me on their daughters.

In the mere half year since I had been entrusted with the throne, I had annexed Amidionia and had a lot of other big, showy achievements, so people had big hopes for me. There were always a large number of marriage offers coming in to the castle, and my chamberlain, Marx, was always busy dealing with them.

“It pains me to always refuse them, so could you at least meet some of them?” Marx had asked me with pleading eyes, but it’d sounded like a pain, so I had taken a pass on that.

Even so, I still ended up having to deal with nobles who approached me like this, intent on not missing their chance.

Of course, the nobles weren’t brazen enough to bring these sort of talks up when one of my fiancées was right there, but whether it was Liscia or Roroa or Aisha, they were always guaranteed to create an opening to do it. My opinion of the nobles’ skill in that went right past exasperation and entered into the realm of admiration instead.

Not having much other choice, I greeted the girl. “It’s nice to meet you, Madam Siena. I am Souma Kazuya.”

“I have heard your great name before, sire,” she said. “I had heard you were a great sovereign, blessed with both bravery and wisdom, but I am relieved to see, meeting you like this, that you also seem like a kind person.”

“The rumors about me haven’t just been exaggerated, they’ve sprouted limbs and taken on a life of their own.”

“My, you make them sound adorable.” Siena wore a quiet smile. She seemed like a simple girl. These types were always the hardest to deal with.

It was easy to brush off someone who was blatantly just trying to marry into money and status, but I couldn’t be so cruel to a pure, innocent girl. I mean, it was hard to tell if she was even aware this was an attempt at matchmaking. Well, regardless of how she herself felt about it, her father was definitely trying to marry her into money and status.

Moltov took me a short distance from Siena and spoke. “What do you think of my Siena?”

“...She seems like a very pure and simple young lady,” I said. “Very cute.”

“Oh, I see! If she pleases you, would you consider taking her as your wife?”

“No, I already have three (four, actually) fiancées...”

“Whatever are you saying? You’re still young, sire. You should increase the number of wives you have. For the royal house’s sake. If you’re reluctant out of a sense of duty to Princess Liscia, then I wouldn’t mind her being a secondary queen...”

Talking as fast as a machine gun, Moltov tried to push things along. Just when I was thinking, Ugh, seriously, what a pain. Aisha, can you hurry up and get back already? it happened.

“Hahh, ha, ha, ha! Hahh, ha, ha, ha!”

That passionate laughter suddenly echoed through the hall.

“Ivan?! That idiot!” Moltov, who only a moment before had the face of a pleasant old man offering his daughter to me, now had a sour look on his face as he glared up through the open ceiling at the second floor of the banquet hall.

I followed his gaze to find someone standing on the balcony’s railing.

He was a man in his mid-twenties, tall and muscular. With his thick eyebrows, sharp eyes, and shining white teeth, he had a strangely distinctive face. He was a passionate young man, one who would not soon leave the memories of anyone who saw him.

...No, seriously, who was this guy?

The man shouted and leapt down from the balcony. The moment he did...

Ba-bam!

There was a big explosion right behind the young man. The flames rose up, and there was a roaring blast that shook my stomach. For a moment, I thought he was a terrorist and was about to panic, but for some reason, the other guests around him just looked at the young man with wry smiles.

Huh? What? What am I supposed to make of this?

“Your Majesty!” Aisha finally found me and rushed to my side. “Sire, this could be an attack! Please, stay behind me!”

“...No, there’s something weird about it.”

“Huh? What do you mean, ‘something weird’?”

I looked around, but no one seemed all that flustered. The majority of them were just looking at the young man with wry or mocking smiles. On closer inspection, despite how much fire there had been, the area where the blast had gone off behind the young man wasn’t even mildly scorched.

“Oh my, silly brother.”

When I turned back, Siena was looking on with a troubled look.

“‘Brother’?” I repeated.

“Yes, sire. That would be my elder brother, Ivan Juniro.”

“Um... It looked like there was an explosion to me,” I said.

“That is my brother’s ability. It makes for a gaudy display of fire and noise, but it is something like an illusion. There is no real force behind it. Hee hee. Isn’t he cool?”

“Er... Uh, sure...”

If she was able to write that off as just “cool”... in some ways, this girl might be pretty impressive.

I see, I thought. The people invited here were those who had regular dealings with the House of Juniro. Naturally, they must be aware of the family’s strange son. That was why, even when there had been an explosion, they had only reacted with wry smiles.

Moltov shouted in anger. “Ivan! How can you act so rude in front of His Majesty?!”

“Shut your face, old man!” Ivan struck a pose, and this time there was a flash of lightning behind him. “You greedy old man, trying to take advantage of Siena’s innocence to push her into a marriage! Even if the heavens allow it, I, her brother, shall not!”

When he declared that, there was a fire in Ivan’s eyes. Literally; fire was shooting out of his eyes.

...I dunno what to say. I was starting to have a bit of fun. Moltov, on the other hand, was furious.

“To marry the king is the greatest honor a woman born into a noble house can hope to achieve for herself! What’s wrong with a father wanting his daughter to find happiness?!”

“Siena can decide her own happiness! It’s not something for you to decide for her!” Ivan shouted.

“Shut up! You’re all show, just like your ability!”

“You have the same ability, old man! It’s in our blood!”

Their eyes met and sparks flew. Dark clouds formed between them and lightning struck right in the middle. I’m not speaking in metaphor; these things actually happened. And yet, there was no damage done. It was entertaining to watch, as long as you weren’t involved.

I turned to Siena and asked her, “Hey, uh... Shouldn’t we stop them?”

“They do this all the time,” she replied with a grin.

“Oh, okay then...”

Even during our little exchange, the two of them kept heating up.

“Today is the day I finally beat some sense into you!” Moltov shouted.

“That’s my line! Bring it, old man!”

“Chowahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

“Dahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

As the two approached each other, a bunch of arms and legs appeared between them, punching and kicking and blocking. It was like someone had made a live-action adaptation of Dra**on Ball, and that got me pretty excited. For a while, I watched them enthusiastically, thinking, Yeah, give me more! But then...

“Nearly all of those limbs are illusions,” Aisha said. “It’s just their real bodies in the middle, beating the crap out of each other.”

I went silent. When Aisha, who had seen through it with the kinetic vision of a warrior, told me that, it kind of killed the fun.

Five minutes later, Moltov and Ivan collapsed, both of them falling face-up on their backs at nearly the same time.

“Urgh... Not bad, old man.”

“Hmph. I’m not so far over the hill that I’d let you beat me just yet.”

Okay, it was showy and all, but all they had been doing was whaling on each other, so if they were going to pull that “rivals who’ve communicated through their fists” routine on me, I wasn’t sure how to react... Well, not like it mattered.

Anyway, I walked over to Moltov, who was collapsed on the ground. “Moltov.”

“Wh-Why, sire! We’ve made a miserable display of ourselves! I beg your forgiveness!” Moltov hurriedly got up and apologized humbly, but I waved a hand and told him not to worry about it.

“I didn’t mind. It made for an entertaining sideshow. On that note, there’s something I’d like to talk to you about...”

“Wh-Whatever might that be?”

“Forget Siena. Would you be willing to give Ivan there to me for the good of the country?”

““...Come again?”” Moltov and Ivan both blinked in surprise at my request.

◇　◇　◇

“...And, well, that’s how I hired our exercise guy, Ivan Juniro,” I finished.

“You’ve picked up another weirdo, I see...” Liscia looked at me with exasperation.

Yep, that was her usual response.

Out in the hall, Ivan Juniro the exercise guy gave the children a thumbs-up, flashing his pearly white teeth as he said, “A healthy mind resides in a healthy body. Come, children! Train with me, so you grow up strong, kind, and hardy!”

Though Ivan said that, the children had conflicting responses. There were kids who were all gung-ho about it; kids who were intimidated by his excessive passion and driven to tears; kids who got scared and clung to Juna... and, overwhelmingly the most common response, there were kids whose little brains couldn’t process the man who had just appeared in front of them and stood there staring blankly at him.

When she saw the state of affairs in the hall, Liscia asked me, worriedly, “Hold on, Souma, is that going to be okay?”

“Umm... He’s a bit stiff, I guess? Maybe Ivan’s feeling tense?”

“This is supposed to be exercise time, right?” Liscia asked. “They can’t do it like that, can they?”

True enough, it wasn’t looking like the kids would exercise for us.

In the exercise part of the educational kids shows I was basing this on, there were kids who would run and roll around, attack the exercise guy, and generally do whatever they wanted. But, “I think it’ll be fine,” I said at last. “There’s a trick to it, after all.”

“A trick?”

“Heheheh... Hahaha... Bwahahaha!”

In a woman’s voice, a three-stage laugh echoed through the hall.

“Who’s there?!” Ivan looked around.

When he did, the children shouted, “There!” “Up there!” and pointed upwards. There was someone standing on the second floor where Ivan had been earlier.

“Make the children strong, kind, and hardy, you say?” the woman called. “How risible! We, the Black Group who are bent on world domination, will never allow it!”

Those lines that reeked of expository dialogue were spoken by a woman wearing a mask that covered the top half of her face, a swimsuit-like outfit with a cape that was open in the center to expose her cleavage, and end-of-the-century style spiked shoulder pads. She had two horns sprouting from her temples, dragon-like wings on her back, and a whip-like tail growing out of her backside.

Ivan turned to the woman and shouted, “Just who are you?!”

“I am the evil female commander of the Black Group, Miss Dran,” the woman announced.

Liscia, who was watching at my side, stared blankly for a moment, but she soon came to her senses, turned to me, and asked, “That’s... Carla, right?”

“No. She’s the evil female commander, Miss Dran.”

“Huh...?”

“That’s the evil female commander, Miss Dran, got it?” I said.

“Oh, okay then... Yeah, you know I’m not just going to accept it like that!”

Even as Liscia throttled me, the story was moving along out in the hall.

Miss Dran spread her wings to intimidate Ivan. “If you make the children get stronger, it could get in the way of the Black Group’s plan to conquer the world. I will detain you before that happens, Ivan Juniro!”

With the highly revealing outfit, she was probably so embarrassed that desperation had taken over. There was a real, heated passion in Miss Dran’s performance.

Every time Miss Dran did one of her over-the-top actions, certain parts of her would jiggle. The video quality of the Jewel Voice Broadcast wasn’t all that good, so I didn’t think the viewers would notice, but... honestly, I wasn’t sure where to look. I mean, Liscia was right there, glaring at me.

“Don’t you think Miss Dran’s costume is a little too risque?” she demanded.

“Serina had full control over the design,” I defended. “I should mention, I did tell her to restrain herself because this is supposed to be a kids’ show, but... because I had asked her to help with producing the costume, it was hard to reject it.”

“I knew it...” Liscia sighed. “If anything, wouldn’t Serina herself have made a better evil female commander?”

“Could you say that to her face?”

“Not a chance!”

“I know, right?”

While we were talking about that, Ivan thrust a finger in Miss Dran’s general direction. “World domination?! I will never let you get away with it!”

“Hmph, you’re spirited, but what can you really do? Have at him, my minions!”

When Miss Dran gave the order, a gaggle of men dressed all in black appeared and surrounded Ivan. The key point was to have them keep a slight distance from the children, so as not to make it seem too dangerous.

Ivan fell into a fighting stance, shouting, “Bring it on!”

With that as their cue, the men in black took turns attacking Ivan. Ivan fought them all one-on-one.

Biff, bash, bam!

There was an exaggerated sound effect every time he hit one of the minions. When hit, the minions would flip through the air, or spin to the ground and collapse. It looked impressive, but the sounds came from Ivan’s ability, and them being blown away was all an act, so there was no damage being done.

Incidentally, the children were split half-and-half into those who were scared, and those whose eyes were shining with excitement as they watched Ivan fight. The sounds were pretty loud, after all. There was something to be said for not making the effects too showy.

The children who were frightened naturally huddled with Juna and Roroa, who told them, “Don’t worry, It’s going to be okay,” and, “That guy’s gonna beat ’em up, so ya don’t have to worry,” in order to calm them down.

Eventually, Ivan finished defeating all of the minions.

However, Miss Dran kept her self-assured smile. “Heh heh heh. You’re not bad, Ivan Juniro. Well, what will you do about this, then? Come forth, paper box monster, Danbox!”

“Danbooooox! ...That’s me.” With those words, a monster that looked like a person made out of cardboard boxes appeared.

While it had slanted eyes made out of paper on its face... on the whole, it looked kind of lame. Its silhouette totally made it look like it was constructed out of Le** blocks, and there was a scratching sound every time its joints moved.

Liscia looked coldly at Danbox. “Isn’t that monster a little low quality compared to the rest?”

“We had passion,” I said. “What we lacked was time and budget.”

“It really is a harsh world, huh...”

I couldn’t make a full-sized kigurumi suit by myself. If I was going to order it from somewhere, that would take time. That was why, this time, I had ended up okaying that totally slapdash monster. It was a reminder of how hard things must have been for the people who made the enemy monsters in the early tokusatsu shows.

Still, while it might have looked kind of bland, Danbox was strong. When it attacked Ivan, it lifted the 180 centimeter tall, 90 kilogram man as easily as a surfer picking up a surfboard. Then, like a wrestler showing off their strength, Danbox spun in place, maintaining its pose as it did.

That ridiculous strength that defied its appearance dumbfounded Liscia. “That’s some incredible monster strength. Oh! Could it be, the person inside is...”

“Yep. It’s Aisha.”

“What’re you making your future second primary queen do...?” she groaned.

“It’s a bit late to say that when Juna and Roroa are both already in the program. You want in, too, Liscia? If you act now, the role of Ivan’s sidekick is still open.”

“Not. A. Chance.”

At that point, Ivan began to struggle. “Darn you, let me go!”

“I am Danboooox.”

“Gwah!”

Perhaps Ivan’s words had gotten through to the monster, because Danbox nodded and threw him hard towards a wall that had been prepared for just that purpose. When he slammed into it, Ivan punched through the wall.

By the way, it was made of light materials to make it easy for him to go through, so he was only a little hurt. However, Ivan acted as if he were grievously injured, groaning in pain.

“Urgh, what a powerful monster...”

“Daaaan, bo, bo, box! That’s me.” Danbox laughed (?) triumphantly.

Ivan pulled himself out of the wall, stumbling, then turned to face the children and shouted. “If this keep up, we’re going to lose. All of you good children, lend me your power!”

Roroa and Juna explained to the kids what he meant.

“All right, everyone,” Roroa said. “Go and spin the glowin’ sticks we gave ya. Shout, ‘You can do it!’”

“Let’s all send Big Brother Ivan our power,” Juna told them. “One, two...”

“““You can do it!”””

At those two’s prompting, the children started using the glowing sticks that were about the size of a piece of chalk to draw circles.

We’d handed out those sticks before the program started. They glowed faintly because lightmoss, which was used in the city’s streetlights because it absorbed light and then released it in the darkness, had been kneaded into them.

Ivan continued to act like he was in pain as he turned to the children and shouted, “It’s not enough! Not yet! Do it louder, I’m counting on you!”

It always gets kids fired up when an adult says they’re counting on them.

This time, when they cheered him on, they were louder and more serious than the last. “““You can do iiiiit!”””

“More! Even louder!”

“““You can do iiiiiiiiiiiiiit!”””

The children shouted until their throats were almost raw, and in the next moment...

“All right! I’ve definitely received the kids’ energy!”

Ivan’s body was enveloped in a flash of light. Then, Ivan’s voice echoed from inside the light.

“Transform!”

When it did, a set of metallic armor, bracers, and a modified sallet helm with a full-face visor came flying from out of nowhere. Ivan stood still with his arms and legs spread wide as the pieces “automatically” put themselves on him. That cool transformation scene made the children cheer.

Meanwhile, at that time, I was behind the stage using my Living Poltergeists ability to manipulate the metallic equipment. Yes, I controlled Ivan’s equipment with my ability to make it look like he was automatically being equipped with it. Because, at this range, I could do that even if they weren’t dolls.

Liscia was watching me with the who-knows-how-many-th look of exasperation I had seen from her today. “That’s a horrible waste of your ability.”

“Hey, a trick is a trick, even if it’s just a party trick,” I said. “Now, time to get going.”

“Hey, wait, Souma?!”

Once I had confirmed that Ivan’s gear was fully equipped, I moved next to the Jewel Voice Broadcast’s jewel, making sure I didn’t appear on the broadcast as I did. Meanwhile, in the hall, the flash of light subsided, and the hero dressed in metallic equipment appeared. Ivan struck the transformation complete pose, and shouted.

“Charge! Silvan!”

Once he had given his name, I spoke into the jewel so that only my voice would appear in the broadcast. “Allow me to explain. When Ivan Juniro the Exercise Guy receives energy from children, he transforms into the metallic hero Silvan.” I clenched my fist as I explained with gusto.

It was a genre standard to have narration explain after the hero’s transformation. I wasn’t going to do the thing where they go back and look at the transformation process scene again, though.

With my role finished, I went back to Liscia’s side. She looked horribly exhausted.

“I don’t know, it’s starting to feel stupid to say anything...”

“Tokusatsu is very much a ‘Don’t think, feel,’ sort of thing,” I explained. “If you don’t think about it too deeply, just go with the flow, there’s nothing more fun to watch.”

“...I’ll do that.”

Now then, turning the story back to the hall, the transformed Silvan was strong.

Danbox had been toying with him earlier, but now he showered the monster with a flurry of punches and kicks, keeping it on the defensive the whole time.

Strong. You’re strong, Silvan, everyone had to be thinking. The children were all worked up, too.

“Da, dan... box...” Eventually, Danbox stumbled and took a knee.

Now was his chance!

“Eat this, Danbox! Ultimate Thunderclap Kick!”

When Silvan unleashed a flying kick, lightning raced along the tip of his foot. That lightning-infused kick stabbed into Danbox.

I know I keep saying this, but the lightning was a product of his ability. It was, in effect, just a flying kick, so it didn’t hurt Aisha, the person inside Danbox, at all.

However, Danbox stumbled backwards a few steps.

Leaving behind a cry of, “Da... Danboooooooox! That’s me!” it exploded scattering parts in all directions.

Of course, all that really happened was that it hid while Ivan’s ability generated the explosion effect.

With Danbox defeated, Miss Dran, the evil female commander who hadn’t had much to do while she was watching the two of them fight, stamped her feet in indignation as if she had just remembered what she was supposed to be doing.

“Curse you, Silvan! I’ll let you off lightly this time! When I come back, you’d better be ready!”

With those parting words, she turned and ran off the set to a spot where the viewers couldn’t see her.

Once he had watched her go, Silvan took off just his full-face helmet and thrust his fist out in the direction Miss Dran had gone. “You and your evil organization who are plotting to take over the world, the Black Group! If you’re going to come, then come! I will crush your ambitions time and again!”

Ivan declared his resolve and then turned back to the children. Then, with a smile that seemed a little suffocatingly passionate, he shouted, “Okay, everyone! Let’s train with Silvan Energy Exercises so we won’t lose to the bad guys! Stand a little ways away from each other so you don’t bump into your friends!”

Moments later, a cheerful tune started to play in the hall, and Juna and Roroa came in at just the right moment to split the children up. Then Juna began singing along with the music.

If you want to grow up strong, do your Silvan Energy Exercises. ♪

“Now, let’s start by exercising our upper bodies,” Silvan called. “Everyone imitate a shoujou!”

Eek, eek, eek, ook. Eek, eek, eek, ook.

We are shoujous. Eek, eek, eek, ook.

When Ivan moved in time with the music, the children imitated him.

This exercise routine involved imitating the various animals of this world while Juna sang comical lyrics. Their lyrics were aimed at children, but the exercises themselves were based on the radio calisthenics that most Japanese people would be familiar with (the shoujou imitation was a lateral bending exercise), so they should be a logical workout.

“You do a lot of ridiculous stuff... But this takes the cake,” Liscia suddenly muttered as she watched the exercises. “This is an educational program, right? What’s the meaning behind the short drama earlier and this exercise?”

Not long ago, I bet she would have asked, “Is there some meaning in it?” instead. But now, Liscia had asked, “What is the meaning?” It was a only a few words’ difference, but there was a subtle difference of nuance.

In the first, there was an assumption that there was probably no meaning to it. In the latter, there was a confidence that there must be some meaning and that she wanted to know what it was. I could feel her trust in that subtle change, and that made me a little happier.

“Of course there’s a meaning,” I said. “If we draw in their attention with the short drama, more people will watch. The exercises are good for the children’s health and development. I’m actively trying to spread them. But, more than anything, what I want to spread is the word ‘hero.’”

“The word ‘hero’?”

That was just when, out in the hall, the interlude part of Silvan’s Energy Exercises began.

Ivan turned to the kids and spoke to them. “You’re all doing great! Now then, there’s something I wanted to tell you. To become a truly strong person, you need more than just power. If you forget to be kind, too, then you’re just a brute!”

Then he turned towards the Jewel Voice Broadcast jewel, which is to say towards the viewers, and spoke.

“The truth is, I’d like to be friends with the Black Group, too. If we could talk things over, we might not need to resort to our fists. That’s why, no matter who you’re up against, never give up on trying to understand them. What do you do if they’re still unreasonable and violent, you ask? That’s right! To make sure you can protect those close to you, do your Silvan Energy Exercises!”

The interlude ended at the perfect time, and Ivan began exercising along with the song again.

When she heard Ivan’s words, after closing her eyes for a moment, Liscia said, “‘Being strong isn’t enough. Don’t forget to be kind, too. Never give up on understanding one another’... This is what you wanted to get across.”

She whispered the words again, as if reflecting upon them.

I nodded silently. “When you’re little, the words adults say to you have a strange way of sticking with you, right? Especially if they’re coming from a hero, those words will remain in some corner of your heart even when you grow up. As a bonus, when we say these things to the children, we can count on their caretakers hearing them, too.”

Then I dropped the lighthearted, joking attitude and adopted a more serious tone.

“There’s a lull right now, but eventually every country will have to face the Demon Lord’s Domain. These words are something I’m laying down now to prevent that from turning into an utter quagmire that won’t end until one side or the other is exterminated. Between Tomoe’s ability and the information we’ve exchanged with the Empire, we’ve learned that we can’t lump everyone in the Demon Lord’s Domain together. If possible, before there’s any fighting, I’d like to hold talks with those that seem amenable to them, like the kobolds who spared the mystic wolves.”

“Right...”

“I feel like, when that time comes, the number of adults in this country who are strong, kind, and willing to not give up on understanding the other side will decide this country’s fate,” I said. “If most of them can only think, ‘Exterminate the demons,’ we’re headed straight for total war. The more people there are who think, ‘There must be demons who can understand us,’ the more of other paths we’ll be able to see.”

When I said that, Liscia laughed a little, then poked me in the shoulder. “I’m satisfied with the explanation, but... isn’t this all a bit idealistic for you?”

“It’s a kids’ show, okay? I want the kids to have ideals. Wouldn’t you? I mean, when kids are strangely realistic about things, that’s just unbearable to see.”

“...I suppose you’re right.”

“Besides, it’s an adult’s job to look at reality so that the children can continue to talk about ideals.”

It was the job of a king, too. While searching for a brighter future, I had to prepare for the possibility that a dark future might come, too. In order to remain kind, strength was an absolute necessity. I needed to raise the strength of the nation, expand our arsenal, and set things up so that we could endure a total war if it came to that. To create a nation that was like a great tree with its roots firmly in the ground, one that wouldn’t shake even when the storm came.

While I was thinking about that, it looked like the exercises had finished. Ivan said, “Well done!” and patted a nearby kid on the head. The host, Juna, took over from there.

“How did you like the program we just brought to you, Singing With Big Sis? This time, we are shooting inside the castle, but we’re thinking about doing live broadcasts from theaters around the country in future, too. When we do, we’ll be looking for children to sing and exercise with us, so all you mommies and daddies out there, bring your kids to come play with us! Now, until next time, everyone together now...”

When Juna gave the signal, the children, Roroa, Ivan, and Little Musashibo, who’d subtly snuck back in for the ending, all faced the camera and waved.

“““Bye, bye!”””

With everyone’s voices, this world’s first educational broadcast came to a close.

“It’s so hot... Just let me die...” Pamille moaned.

“Good work out there, Pamille,” Juna told her.

Pamille, who had been inside Little Musashibo, was now groggy from the heat. The kigurumi suit must have been pretty hot inside. Juna was there fanning her.

Next to Pamille was Carla, holding her knees and sobbing in the fetal position.

“Having to be broadcast in that getup... I’m so embarrassed I could die.”

It seemed that having that super skimpy Miss Dran outfit broadcast had left her in a state of shock.

...Yeah, I could kind of sympathize. Serina could be such a complete and total sadist.

“Whose fault was this?” she burst out. “Yours, master?”

“You’re turning on me?! That costume was Serina’s decision, okay?!”

“Ahahaha...” she laughed in a strange voice. “Well, you know, they say a superior is responsible for decisions their subordinates make, don’t theeeey?”

Carla had eyes like some sort of yandere character. I was worried I might get taken out with a squish, or a crunch, or a stab, stab! (I was scared to even describe what I was imagining, so I tried using onomatopoeia instead.)

“Calm down, Carla!” I shouted. “If you kill me, you’ll die, too!”

“I’m so embarrassed I could just die... I’ll take you with me...”

Oh, crap, I thought. That look in her eyes, she’s kind of serious.

“Aisha, help!” I yelled.

“Madam Carla! We’re in the castle, in the castle!” Aisha shouted.

“Don’t stop me, Madam Aisha!” Carla screamed. “If I don’t kill him, I can’t die myself!”

While Aisha was holding her in a pinion, I made a hasty retreat.

Why was I catching all the flak for Serina’s sadistic tendencies? Well, it was just Carla venting her hopeless embarrassment as anger, no doubt.

...Probably.

Now, to get straight to the point, Together With Big Sis was a hit.

Especially with the adults.

I know I’d made it with children as the target audience, but for some reason their parents, guardians, and even adults with no children at all were even more passionate about it.

For the women, it was Little Musashibo’s adorableness, and the slightly-too-passionate-but-still-hot Ivan’s appeal.

For the men, it was the coolness of the first tokusatsu hero they’d ever seen, paired with the sexy villainess played by Carla.

Well, even in Japan, there were sometimes mothers who got even more hooked on a program than their children because they were watching it for the hot actors. It was probably something like that.

That being the case, in the Kingdom of Friedonia, on days when Together With Big Sis was on, rather than children begging their parents to go see it, you would often see parents begging their children.

W-Well, either way, kids were seeing the program, so it was all good, but I got a cold look from Liscia when she found out the situation.

“‘It’s an adult’s job to look at reality,’ he says.”

“W-Well, hey, what’s wrong with adults having dreams?” I stammered.

Liscia stared at me silently.

“...No, seriously, how did it turn out like this anyway?” I muttered.

I felt like the bizarreness level of Friedonia had gone up just a little.

Because dragons could fly continuously across incredible distances, they could cross the sea in a single flight, and that meant they had no reason to be afraid of it. However, wyverns, with their lesser flight range, would run out of strength halfway if they tried to cross the sea. Because of that, they feared going out far enough to lose sight of land. This held true for the Empire’s griffon squadrons, too, which had an even shorter flight range than the wyverns did. (In fact, they were even afraid of rivers if they couldn’t see the other side, so they had it worse.)

“Huh?!” Castor cried. “Now that you mention it, the wyverns were flying in formation earlier, weren’t they?! No, even the wyvern carrying this gondola seems perfectly fine out here in the middle of the sea!”

Finally, Castor was beginning to grasp the situation. However, the more he figured it out, the wider his eyes opened in surprise. His lips were trembling.

“You... What the hell have you created here...?”

“A vessel which carries air power across the sea, and also acts as a base for it,” I said. “In my world, a ship like this was called an aircraft carrier, or just a carrier.”

That’s right. That island-shaped ship was analogous to a carrier, with wyvern knights as an analogue to fighter planes. When I’d seen this world had wyverns and steel ships, I had wondered if maybe I could combine the two to create a carrier. When I’d first started planning it out, the first issue that had been pointed out to me was the wyverns’ fear of the sea.

“So that was when I had an idea,” I explained, “to try and trick the wyverns out of being afraid of the sea.”

I’d gotten the hint I needed from the first of the Thirty-Six Stratagems from my world: “Deceive the emperor to cross the ocean.” It’s about making your strategy look like nothing out of the ordinary, then acting while your enemy’s guard is down. The stratagem had been based on an event when, in order to get the Emperor of Tang, who feared the sea, aboard a boat, his retainers had piled dirt on top of it to make it look like the land. I’d thought that maybe I could use the same trick on wyverns.

First, I’d created a giant ship, then packed soil on top of it. Though a portion was left as dirt, most was covered with grass or trees to create plains and forests. The bridge had been covered in Roman concrete and painted to disguise it as a rocky mountain. Then, in order to lower the wyverns’ stress levels, their stables and everything below deck had been made to look like the inside of a cave.

Basically, I was trying to make the wyverns recognize this carrier as an “island.”

The issue had been how I was going to find the propulsion to move my island-type carrier, but that had been solved thanks to Genia’s Little Susumu Mark V. They weren’t visible from the air, but there were four Little Susumu Mark Vs attached to the sides of this island-type carrier below the waterline. The reason the distribution of the Light model wasn’t further along was because I had prioritized the production of these larger ones.

Now, as for this island-type carrier that we had built, it was still incomplete. It had taken a long time to get the wyverns used to the carrier. Our first priorities had been to give it the bare minimum features required of a ship, make the outside look island-y, and focus on making it seaworthy. In terms of propulsion, the plan was actually to have double the number of Little Susumu Mark Vs (with the current number, it could only go at a crawl), and the area currently being used as a military research and development lab was eventually going to be used for equipment storage and the crew’s quarters. (They were currently camping out in tents on the deck.)

Castor, who had been staring at the half-finished cruiser in a daze, turned to me, his eyes filled with disbelief. “But this thing is massive... Just how long have you been building it for?”

“Hm? If you mean when I started gathering funds and materials, I did that right after taking the throne, you know?”

“Whaa?! Before you fought me and Amidonia?!”

“It was part of my plan to enrich the country and strengthen the military,” I said. “As a trump card against the Empire.”

With my arms crossed, I leaned back in the gondola’s sofa.

“I didn’t know what the Empire was thinking back then, after all. I was working on a plan that would give me a trump card when we had to oppose them. Up against the more powerful and more populous Empire, we wouldn’t stand a chance in a land-based arms race. I thought the path to survival might lie in expanding our air or sea power, where technology plays a much bigger role. Well... at that stage, I was just allocating the funds and materials. Construction only began in earnest after the end of the war with Amidonia.”

Besides, because I had been moving ahead with the new city project at the same time, I hadn’t been able to gather quite enough funds or resources for the project. If Roroa and Colbert hadn’t joined us, giving me a source of funding, and if I hadn’t been able to secure a source of resources by annexing Amidonia, construction might have started even later.

Still, once construction began, ship construction in this world went fast. Actually, I’d felt this way when rolling out the transportation network and building the new city, too but construction in this world went unusually fast.

Because they had magic here, there was no need for large pieces of construction equipment. For instance, if you try to build something large on Earth, you first need to build the cranes and such that will be used in building it. At worst, there were even times you might need equipment to build the equipment you needed to build the equipment... and so on.

However, because there were earth mages who could manipulate gravity in this world, that equipment wasn’t necessary here. Also, an experienced fire mage could handle casting metal and welding in no time. In this world with its strange balance of things that could and couldn’t be done, it felt like it actually took more time to secure the funds and materials than anything else.

I got up and stood in front of Castor, who was still taken aback by everything.

“Well, this is what I’ve been doing as king, Castor,” I said, looking him straight in the eye. “You rebelled against me because you thought I was a usurper. It seems your doubts had already been cleared up by Liscia and Excel’s attempts to dissuade you from doing so, but in the end, you still chose to oppose me, prepared to martyr yourself for your friendship with Georg Carmine. Then you lost and were placed in Excel’s custody.”

Castor lowered his eyes. “You don’t need to tell me that now. I lost... That’s all there is to it.”

“That’s not what I’m trying to say,” I said. “Right now, I’m showing you my power as king of this country.”

“You mean that carrier?” Castor asked.

But I shook my head. “No. The carrier itself isn’t my power. If there is one thing I can take pride in as king, it’s gathering gifted comrades, preparing a place for their talents to shine, and creating a country that could build that carrier. When you see what I’m capable of, does it not seem fitting that you should serve under me?”

Castor shook his head with a wry smile. “You’ve got me beaten completely. I can see clearly now... why King Albert left the country to you. But I’m not fit to serve you.”

“Can I take that to mean you recognize me as the king of this country?” I asked.

“Hm? Yeah, I recognize you. You’re one hell of a king.”

He’d recognized me as king. Now that I had dragged those words out of Castor, I was finally certain of it. I didn’t sense any of the arrogance Castor had had before. In his defeat, and with some polishing by Excel, he had grown as a person. Considering that... I could trust him with it.

I placed a hand on Castor’s shoulder, looking him straight in the eye as I said, “Castor, this carrier is an extremely unique weapon. Though it is a ship attached to the Navy, it carries the troops of the Air Force. In order to run it efficiently, it requires not just knowledge of handling a ship and fighting at sea, but the knowledge and experience to command the Air Force. I want to leave this ship under the command of someone with those skills.”

Castor’s eyes opened wide. “Huh?! No... You can’t mean...”

It looked like he’d figured out where I was going with this. He was a man who had been the former General of the Air Force, yet now he had trained under Excel to learn how to control a naval force.

I grinned as I asked him, “I’m sure you’ve kept studying, even now that you’re in the Navy, right?”

“...Yes, sir! Excel has beaten it all into me!”

Castor rose from his seat, then knelt, putting his hands together in front of him and bowing his head. I placed the captain’s hat I had brought with me on Castor’s bowed head. Because Castor had horns, it had been specially made with holes for them.

“Good,” I approved. “Now, then... Castor who has no family name! I appoint you as the first captain of this aircraft carrier!”

“Yes, sir! I humbly accept, my lord!”

My lord... huh. It was a bit embarrassing to be called that, but it was a sign that Castor had truly accepted me as his lord, so I was more than happy to take it.

While I was thinking about that, Excel, who had quietly watched over the proceedings up until that point, spoke up. “Hee hee, I’m glad. That’s one burden off of my shoulders.” Then she smiled.

I had already told her I wanted to make Castor the captain of this carrier before she’d begun teaching him.

“By the way, sire,” Excel continued. “I do think that carrier is a wonderful ship, but it wouldn’t do to simply go on calling it ‘the carrier’ forever. Why don’t you give it a name now?”

“Hm? Oh... You have a point,” I said. “What would be a good name for it?”

“Let’s see... I think the name of a place, or of the king who built it, would be the most common options. How does Aircraft Carrier Souma sound to you? When you build more of them, they would belong to the Souma-class.”

“Absolutely not.”

I didn’t want that. If I put my own name on the ship that would be the center of our navy, it’d make me seem conceited, and I didn’t want that. Besides, if it had my name, they were going to say things like, “Souma, departing!” and “Souma, withdrawing from the line of battle!” and “The Souma has been sunk!” right?

...There was no way I wanted that. I needed to propose an alternate name.

“Oh, hey, I know,” I said. “Why not give it the name of a carrier from my world?”

“From Your Majesty’s world?”

I nodded. If I had to give it a name, why not use one that existed my world? Let it be one that had never folded in the face of adversity, and that had never given up fighting. It was going to be carrying wyverns, so this was the perfect name.

I looked down at the island-type carrier beneath us and declared, “I hereby name that carrier the Hiryuu!”

Having finished appointing Castor as captain of the Hiryuu, my work was done, and we returned to Lagoon City in the Walter Duchy. Because the sun was already setting when we arrived, we decided we would spend the night at Excel’s mansion.

At least partly because it was a coastal city, we had a dinner that made ample use of seafoo;, and then Juna, Excel, Castor and myself chatted over tea in the parlor.

In the middle of that relaxed atmosphere, Excel suddenly put down her teacup and asked, “Now that I think of it, sire, you have no plans after this, do you?”

It was so sudden, Juna cocked her head to the side and looked at her quizzically. “Grandmother?”

I was puzzled, too. What could she want, all of a sudden?

“Yeah...” I said. “When I get back to the castle, I’m sure there’ll be work for me, but I haven’t brought anything with me.”

“I see. You have time right now, then?” The moment she said that, there was an unsettling glint in Excel’s eye.

I shuddered, feeling a chill run down my spine. I got goosebumps, my every instinct warning me. I sensed... danger? I almost jumped up from the sofa despite myself, when...

Thump!

“Juna?!”

Juna, who was sitting next to me, fell to the side. She was slumped over the arm of the sofa, already asleep.

Even asleep, she sure is charming... Wait, I didn’t have time to think that! I looked over to Excel, who was smiling, a tiny bottle in hand.

“No need to worry. I’m just having her take a little nap.”

“Sleeping drugs?! You drugged your own granddaughter?!”

“It seemed like she would get in the way if she was awake, after all.” Excel put a hand to her own cheek and let out a sigh.

No, no, no, no! She was giving me that, “Oh, goodness, she’s such a handful,” look, but what she’d just done to Juna was pretty nasty!

“I couldn’t help it,” Excel said. “I received a request from the chamberlain to give you some lessons.”

“From Marx?! You can’t mean...”

“What you might call ‘sexual education,’” she smiled. “As an older woman, he wanted me to teach you some things, sire.”

“You’re more than just ‘older’!”

“Oh my, how rude. My body is still full of youth, you know.”

“Not your heart, though!” I shouted.

Excel rose from her seat, slowly closing in on me. “Creating an heir is a serious matter for the country. Especially considering the shortage of royals. Even though your betrothals are essentially already being seen as a marriage, and even though those around you have been encouraging you to hurry up and produce an heir, you’ve yet to lay a hand on the princess, or Juna, or Aisha. It’s little wonder the chamberlain is so worried.”

“N-No... I was hoping to wait until I was a little more ready... you know.”

“That leaves us worried,” Excel said. “It might be forgiven as a youthful indiscretion now, but once you are formally man and wife, if you are awkward and inept when you get down to ‘business,’ it could have an effect on your relationship. That sort of discord between a royal couple can lead to future strife within the house.”

Excel sat down on the back of the sofa, wrapping her arm around my neck. What was this?! I was like a deer caught in headlights, unable to move!

“That’s why the chamberlain asked an experienced woman like myself to give you some direction. Now, sire, let’s move to the bedroom. Until dawn comes, I will be giving you thorough lessons on how to handle a woman. First, let’s start with some classroom lectures.”

Lectures?! I was going to be taking health and physical education classes at my age?! I’d graduated from high school... Wait, I guess they didn’t go into quite that much detail in health and physical education classes.

“Wait, hold on! You just said ‘first,’ didn’t you?!” I shouted.

“Hee hee! In any field of study, it’s best to learn through experience, don’t you think? If you want to, I wouldn’t mind keeping it a secret from Juna and the others, you know? We can consider it a one night indiscretion, and I’ll give you some hands-on training.”

I don’t want it, okay?! I cried out in my mind.

Excel smiled, putting her hands on my shoulders and leaning in close to peer at my face. Yeah, she was definitely having fun seeing my reaction.

I turned to Castor, who was sitting there drinking tea as if nothing was happening, for help. “Castor! You recognized me as your lord, right? Your lord is in a tight spot! Help me, would you!”

“...I did indeed swear loyalty to you, my lord,” Castor set down his tea and said with an all-too-serious look on his face. “However, I would like nothing more than to see the lord I’ve devoted myself to leave behind descendants who will prosper. I cannot get in Duchess Excel’s way. I can only bite back tears as I ignore my lord’s request for aid.”

“You say that, but you just don’t want to get caught up in this!” I shouted.

He pretty blatantly averted his eyes.

I hit the nail on the head, didn’t I, you jerk?!

“Now, sire, shall we be going?” Excel took a firm hold of the back of my neck, then began dragging me towards the door of the parlor.

I was bracing myself to run for it, but I couldn’t even put up the slightest resistance. Even factoring in my own weakness, her strength was incredible. Where did that slim body of hers have that kind of strength?

“No, wait, please, Excel, come on,” I begged.

“Yes, yes. You can just leave everything to this big girl here. I’ll teach you real good.”

“No, I mean... Okay, I’ll take your lessons! Just the lessons! None of that hands-on stuff, okay?!” I screamed.

“...Good grief, I suppose it can’t be helped. But if you find yourself wanting to get physical with me, do tell, okay?”

“As if I would!”

In the end, I was subjected to Excel’s lengthy lectures.

Having to take health and physical education classes from Excel, who looked so much like Juna, was so embarrassing that I thought I might die.

“When we get back! When we get back, I promise I’ll make one for you, yes!” Poncho hurriedly said.

The somewhat sad expression disappeared from Serina’s face.

“That’s a promise,” she said, looking perfectly fine.

It had apparently all been an act to get him to agree to it. Poncho’s shoulders slumped.

Ginger wasn’t sure how to react as he watched this exchange, but Sandria was nodding along.

“I can see your relationship has a lot in common with ours.”

“Oh? But my master is Princess Liscia,” Serina said.

“I didn’t mean it in that way...”

When Serina tilted her head to the side quizzically, Sandria just smiled, not sure what to say. That exchange left question marks floating over the two men’s heads.

With the formalities out of the way, Ginger took Sandria, Poncho, and Serina to a place outside of Ginger’s Vocational School. There was a building for studying farming techniques at Ginger’s Vocational School, and they mostly focused on the study of crops, compost, and selective breeding. However, there were no fields on the school grounds to demonstrate their results. The former slums were near the city walls, so the fields had been planted on the opposite side. The research building and fields were separated by the city wall, but in terms of distance they were close, and it was easy to get from one to the other.

Once they passed through the gate, Ginger led Poncho and company to the fields owned by his vocational school. When they finished greeting the guards who watched the fields, the four arrived in front of two particular fields. Neither field had anything planted in it, but one looked like ordinary black soil, while the other was dry and cracked.

With these fields in front of him, Ginger asked, “You’ve come here today in regards to that line of research, right, Sir Poncho?”

“Yes,” Poncho nodded. “Both His Majesty and I have great hopes for that line of research, after all.”

Ginger shook his head apologetically. “...Let me say this up front. We were unable to achieve the sort of results you’re hoping for.”

The field of research Souma and Poncho had great hopes for was research on one of the “failed experiments” of the overscientist, Genia Maxwell.

Back when the former king had ruled the country, Genia had developed arrowheads with seeds inside them with the hope that the sites of battles would be covered with greenery. With the effect of the light elemental magic the arrows were imbued with, the seeds grew at an alarming speed, and it’d been a massive failure that had resulted in half of her research building nearly being engulfed by plants. The result was that Genia had been transferred to the Forbidden Army, and her research suspended.

However, after the throne had changed hands, Souma had seen a practical use for her research and ordered Genia to resume it. He wasn’t so interested in the arrowhead part; but with plants that grew so fast that they could engulf a building, he could make the desert bloom, and he’d had hopes that it would lead to an increase in the food production rate. However, Genia the genius had already lost all interest in the subject, so Souma had ended up ordering the School of Agricultural Technology at Ginger’s Vocational School to do it instead of her.

But... Ginger explained that they hadn’t been able to produce results.

“We were certainly able to make fast-growing plants. Those plants had two special qualities: growth and proliferation. We were able to eliminate just the proliferation, which meant that the area would no longer be engulfed in green.”

“You were able to control them? Isn’t that a success, then?” Poncho asked, seemingly mystified: but Ginger shook his head with a wry smile.

“We were carrying out this research in the hopes of increasing food production and making the deserts bloom, but... from the results of our research, we learned this won’t be of any help with either of those things. Genia’s spell only speeds up the growth of plants. Sir Poncho, do you know what is needed for plants to grow?”

Poncho thought for a moment, then replied, “Fertile soil and water... as well as sunlight, yes.”

Ginger nodded. “Yes. Of those, the sun is no problem. With some work, the water issue can be managed well enough, too. The problem was fertile soil. Though we’ve accelerated the plants’ growth, the quantity of water and nutrients they require from the soil hasn’t changed. Madam Genia must have known that, too, because her spell included a function for sucking water and nutrients out of the soil.”

With that said, Ginger pointed to the dried and cracked field. “This is what the field looks like after we harvested our fast-growing wheat.”

“...It’s almost like a sandy desert, yes.”

“No matter how much we can accelerate the plants’ growth, fertilizing the soil takes a lot of time,” said Ginger. “As a result, the plants suck all the nutrients and water out of the soil, leaving it dry and cracked like this. Nothing will grow in soil that’s ended up like this.”

“Is there no way to provide a steady supply of nutrients to the soil?” Poncho asked.

“I doubt it. Water, maybe. But continuously supplying fertilizer at a rate that matches their growth just isn’t realistic. I mean, we have a limited supply of fertilizer, anyway. If we exhaust it to raise growth speed, we may not see any growth in productivity at all.”

“Well... That’s no good,” Poncho said.

If the plants that grew were allowed to rot, they would return their nutrients to the soil, but they couldn’t do that with crops that were meant to be eaten. They couldn’t possibly have people return all of the excrement from what they’d eaten to the field, after all.

“That’s why we determined it was a poor fit for growing food,” Ginger said. “Now, as for making the desert bloom, there isn’t the water there to begin with, so it’s impossible. Even if we were to install aqueducts, the speed at which the plants grow would present another bottleneck. They’re just as fast to rot, you see.”

“We can’t always get our way, I suppose, yes...” Poncho slumped his shoulders. With the high hopes he’d had for this research, he couldn’t help but be disappointed that there had been zero payoff for it.

But Ginger shook his head again. “No, it’s not like we have absolutely nothing to show for all our work. Look at the field next to it.”

“...I’m not seeing anything other than soil in it, though?”

“Yes. The only thing here is ordinary soil. We’ve made it into ordinary soil.” Ginger bent down and scooped up some of the soft soil in his hands. “This soil was brought from a dungeon inhabited by many undead monsters. Naturally, when we first brought it here, it was contaminated by the miasma that undead monsters release.”

“D-Did you say miasma?!” Poncho cried out despite himself, his voice unsteady.

Just by existing, undead monsters like skull dragons and zombies gave off a miasma that was harmful to living creatures. Miasma caused disease to spread and things to rot, making it impossible for living creatures to live in that area. What was more, it would get into the soil and stay there for a long time. Because of that, lands where a skull dragon had gone on a rampage or where a horde of zombies had appeared would become unproductive lands where crops wouldn’t grow for a long time.

However, Ginger had picked up a handful of that soil, which should have been dangerous, without any hesitation.

Poncho looked carefully at that soil. “Is this soil... safe?”

“Yes. The miasma is completely gone from it now.”

“How did you do it, yes?”

“It was an applied use of those fast-growing plants we were talking about earlier. There are flowers that bloom only in dungeons with a lot of undead-type monsters.”

Having said that much, Ginger had Sandria go and fetch a single flower. That flower was reddish-purple with greenish-black spots; colors that screamed it was poisonous. It wasn’t the sort of flower you’d want to receive on a celebratory occasion, not even by accident.

“The adventurers who go dungeon crawling call these miasma flowers. They say that if these flowers are growing somewhere, it’s proof that undead-type monsters are active there. That’s why, when they find these flowers in a dungeon, they know to take precautions against miasma.”

“Hm, so there are flowers like that out there,” Poncho said. “I never knew.”

Poncho knew a lot about edible plants. He also knew a lot about plants that were similar to edible ones, but that weren’t edible themselves. That was because Poncho’s knowledge was rooted in his appetite.

That was why, when it came to plants like this one, which was and looked blatantly inedible, he had no interest in them, and wasn’t that well informed about them.

Ginger chuckled. “These miasma flowers, like their name might suggest to you, are nourished by the miasma. That’s why they grow in clusters in dungeons where there are undead monsters. If we use Genia’s spell to accelerate plant growth on these miasma flowers and plant them in contaminated soil...”

“Oh?! I get it! They quickly suck all of the miasma out of the ground!” Poncho clapped his hands.

If the growth-accelerating spell was used on regular plants, they rapidly sucked the nutrients out of the soil. However, the miasma flowers only sucked out miasma.

Ginger nodded. “So we only have to harvest them when they finish growing and dispose of them in an incinerator. They’ve already used up the miasma for their growth, so when we burn them, all that’s left behind is ash. If we do two rounds of that, it goes back to being this sort of ordinary soil.”

“Th-That’s an incredible discovery! With this, we can curb the effect that undead monsters have on our fields and crops, yes!” Poncho reacted excitedly.

Not only had the research he’d had such high hopes for not been in vain, there was even a useful application for it! Then a thought occurred to Poncho.

Come to think of it... When he recruited me, His Majesty said something, yes. That “we will decide if something’s useful or not.” He may have meant to say that there aren’t many things in this world that are completely useless. Like how even I, a person whose only talent is for eating... was able to help this country somewhat...

Poncho was able to feel a little more confident in himself.

While Poncho and Ginger were having a lively conversation like that, Serina and Sandria looked on in exasperation from a short distance away. The two men didn’t so much as glance in their direction, having fun exchanging opinions about research. The two maids had no doubt they’d ceased to exist in the men’s minds.

While looking at her master, Sandria asked, “...Do you suppose all gentlemen are like this?”

“You might be right about that,” Serina said. “I’ve often seen the princess watching His Majesty anxiously like this. I feel like when His Majesty is applying himself to the work of governing, she must find it both reassuring and frustrating to watch him.”

“How is it for you, Serina?”

“Me?”

“Do you feel anxious and impatient right now?”

“Hm? My mistress is the princess,” Serina said without batting an eye. “It’s true that I am close to Sir Poncho, but I would never feel anxious and impatient because I saw him talking to someone.”

Sandria thought about it for a moment and then asked, “...Then, how would you feel if Lord Ginger were a woman? If it were a woman that Lord Poncho was having such a good time talking to right now, would you still not feel the least bit anxious about it?”

Having asked that, she stared hard at Serina.

In response to the question, Serina looked at Poncho and Ginger. What if, right now, Poncho were talking to a woman instead...?

Having pondered the question for a while, Serina finally opened her mouth to answer. “No matter who he was talking to, I don’t think I would think anything of it.”

“...You’re sure?”

“Yes. ...However, if Sir Poncho were to let that person do all of his taste-testing... well... I wouldn’t like that. Even if it were someone like a member of his family, or his wife, a person it was perfectly natural for him to be doing his cooking with... I might still be upset by it. Now, that is odd. I wonder, why would I feel that way?”

Judging by her expression, it seemed even Serina didn’t understand her own feelings. Sandria was a little surprised, but she didn’t ask anything more.

Even Serina herself wasn’t sure if her words just now had come solely from her gluttony. She placed her hand over her chest, which was filled with pent-up emotions.

When I get back to the castle, I will have to have him make me the toasted sandwich he promised. That will help dispel this hazy feeling, I’m sure.

Those were Serina’s thoughts.

In the end, we were each ushered into our seats by Excel with no clue what was going on. From Excel’s perspective at the lectern, going from left to right, we were seated Aisha, Roroa, me, and Juna.

Excel started to write something on the blackboard. When I read it, it said:

“First Lecture — Bridal Training Course”

Yeah, I wasn’t even sure where to start.

For one thing, by “first,” did she mean there were going to be several of these gatherings?! What was a bridal training lecture even supposed to be?! Then Excel tapped lightly on the lectern.

“Now, all of you will be becoming Souma’s brides this year.”

““““...””””

We all got very quiet. We were ready for it, of course, and we even wanted it now, but having someone else point that fact out to us still felt a little embarrassing.

Excel told us, “Though some of you will be primaries and some of you secondaries, the fundamental nature of things will be the same for all of you. There is a husband and a wife, they build a household, eventually children are born, and they become a family. If the family is harmonious, then they will be happy; if it is not, they will become unhappy. The problem is that if there is discord in the royal family, that leads directly to discord within the kingdom. Princess Liscia.”

“Y-Yes!” I responded and stood up without meaning to. It was just like being back in officers’ school.

Excel gave me a serious look and asked, “Princess Liscia, you have no relatives outside of your father and mother, yes?”

“Uh... Yes. That’s what I’ve been told.”

“Why is that?”

“When my mother’s father... that is to say, the king before the last one died, there was a succession crisis, and nearly every member of the royal family but my mother was wiped out.”

“Yes. That was a painful time,” Excel said with a truly pained look on her face. “The three dukes and I distanced ourselves from that conflict. If our military forces had gotten involved, it would have turned into a civil war, after all. We were all desperate to keep our forces in check. Instead, there were bitter struggles within the royal house that set even the closest relatives against one another.”

“Um... was the problem in that conflict ultimately about who would take the throne?” Aisha raised her hand and asked.

Excel shook her head. “We think that was only a secondary factor. The first and foremost cause must have been the former king’s policy of rapid expansion.”

“His expansionism?” Aisha asked.

“Yes. In the time of the king before the last one, our country launched a number of foreign wars that greatly expanded our territory. Meanwhile, the expanded territory sowed the seeds of conflict within the country. The occupier and the occupied; the conquerors and the conquered; the killers and the relatives of those killed... It gave birth to a lot of confrontational relationships like that. There were interventions by other countries that had lost land, too.”

“...Well, my old man had it out for you all pretty bad,” Roroa, the former Princess of Amidonia, said with a shrug.

It was a bit of a relief that she said that like it had nothing to do with her. The Principality of Amidonia had used corrupt nobles to interfere in our affairs a number of times. What they’d done had caused a lot of trouble for me, but it was really just reaping what we had sown.

I was grateful that Roroa, as an Amidonian princess, was taking the stance that it didn’t matter to her. If Roroa, who looked up to me as her “big sister,” ended up resenting me because of a dispute between our countries... I’d be sad about that.

Excel nodded and continued. “Those seeds of discord need to be slowly removed, but the rapid expansion didn’t allow for that.”

Eventually, the old king had died, and the lingering seeds of discord had germinated into the succession crisis. If the people they hated supported one royal, people would back another opposing horse in the race. That was how the dispute over the succession had turned into a proxy war for all of the discord in the kingdom.

“That was why it turned into such a quagmire.” Excel sighed sadly then looked straight at us. “Fortunately, His Majesty Souma’s reign is not so dangerous as that of that predecessor of his. The reason that the country is unshaken even after absorbing Amidonia is that he has worked diligently to create a solid enough base to prevent that. He is not as glamorous as the first king, but rated on the stability of his reign alone, he is the best king this country has ever had. That’s why, even once His Majesty Souma is no longer on the throne, there won’t be an ugly succession war like that one.”

That was Excel’s appraisal of Souma’s reign. Yeah. I agreed with her.

I might think the way he reigned was too roundabout at times, but he was carefully and cautiously moving this country forward. If you considered that he’d been summoned as a hero, I didn’t think there’d ever been such a plain and ordinary hero before. Even so, Souma made me feel secure. Though he himself was weak, he made me feel like I was being protected by something big.

Excel banged on the blackboard. “That said, we mustn’t get complacent! It must never be forgotten that if there are cracks between king and queen, or even between queen and queen, there will be those who appear to take advantage of them. For the sake of the country, you must build a harmonious relationship between husband and wife, and a harmonious household. To help you do that, I will have you take my ‘Bridal Training Course.’”

I could more or less accept what she was forcefully saying. But what was this “Bridal Training Course” that she kept on leading up to?

“Um... why are you the one lecturing us anyway, Duchess Walter?” I asked.

Excel giggled and gave me a confident smile. “I don’t look it, but I’ve been alive for five hundred years. I’ve fallen for my share of gentlemen in that time, but death has always been the only thing that could separate us. I’ve always made sure to have at least one child with each of them, too.”

That was... Okay, yeah, that might be kind of amazing. Now that she mentioned it, Excel only looked like she was in her mid-twenties, but she was a woman who had experienced childbirth. She even had granddaughters like Juna, after all.

Excel puffed up her ample bosom with pride. “I will teach all of you how, as queens... no, as women... to stay with the man you love until death do you part. How you should act as a wife; the way gentlemen think; and everything from how to support your husband, to ways to perform your nightly ‘duties’ in the bedroom in a way that makes your marital relations go more smoothly.”

N-Nightly duties...

The moment we heard those words come up, we all gave pretty blatant reactions. We all must have imagined times we’d be in that sort of situation with Souma.

Roroa was blushing with a wry smile, while Juna’s cheeks turned pink and she covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes wandering. Aisha, meanwhile, had a goofy, happy look on her face, so it was obvious what she was thinking about.

...I could feel my own cheeks burning, too.

When she saw our reactions, Excel coughed politely. “I believe I will have you all start learning about such things now. I already have His Majesty Souma taking individual lessons with me, after all.”

The moment she said that, Juna looked as shocked as I felt.

Some weeks ago, Souma had taken Juna with him and left the royal capital. That was when Excel had drugged Juna, and when she was alone with Souma, she had... well... she had given him some lessons on what men and women get up to at night. I was the only one Juna had told about that. I’d been keeping it a secret from Aisha and Roroa. That was because if they found out, they were bound to cause a scene.

Juna had asked me, as the one who had been with Souma the longest, to subtly ask him what had happened during the time they were together.

“Um, princess...” Juna leaned in and whispered in my ear so that Aisha and Roroa couldn’t hear. “So... what did His Majesty say about that time?”

“The thing is, Souma says he doesn’t remember it,” I whispered back.

“He doesn’t remember?”

“Yeah. He remembers taking lectures about, um... h-how babies are made, but everything after that is a blur.”

When I had asked him about that day, Souma had tilted his head to the side and said:

“I remember everything about the super embarrassing lecture she gave me, but... I don’t remember a thing after that. No, it’s not so much that I don’t remember, but that my mind is refusing to let me recall it, maybe? ...Honestly, what did happen then? I know I was embarrassed by the lessons, and I was feeling really parched... Excel gave me a drink and... It’s no good, I can’t remember anything after that.... No, I feel like it’s best that I don’t remember.”

Souma had tried to squeeze out what he could remember of it, but in the end, he’d seemed to come up empty. It didn’t feel like he was hiding something from me or trying to dodge the issue, though. He seemed like he had truly lost his memory, or sealed it away.

Just what in the world happened to Souma after his classroom lesson? I wondered about that...

“Now, in marriage, as in war, intel is key,” Excel lectured. “Once you know what your partner thinks of you, how they look at you, you can begin to get a feel for how you should act. If you can catch them off guard, and show them a gap between their impression of you and how you act in a way that isn’t displeasing, that can help keep things from getting boring. Know your partner, know what they look at, and your marriage will never be in danger.”

Aisha raised her hand. “You are right, I do wonder what His Majesty thinks of me. But His Majesty is not here, and if we called him, do you think he would be willing to come?”

Excel gave her a wicked grin. I... had a bad feeling about that.

“Have no worries. I have this right here.”

When she said that, Excel unwrapped the white bundle. Inside were a number of white notebooks. Excel gave one of them to each of us.

The cover of mine said “Top Secret” and “Not to be Taken Outside.” This was beyond suspicious...

“Um, Duchess Walter, just what are these notebooks...?” I asked hesitantly.

Excel flipped through her own notebook and said, “Hee hee. About the white notebooks I just gave you, you see... Why, they have what His Majesty Souma thinks about each of you written in them!”

““““Wha?!”””” Everyone looked down at their notebooks in unison.

In this notebook?! No, but... How?

Excel explained it with a strangely glossy and gleaming smile. “These notebooks contain the things I heard from His Majesty during his ‘private lesson.’ When we finished with the classroom lecture, his majesty said he was feeling parched, so I gave him some juice mixed with tequeur. When I asked him all sorts of questions after that, he was very eloquent.”

So that was it! Juna and I looked at one another, despite ourselves.

Tequeur was a very strong alcohol. It had a light flavor, and would go completely unnoticed mixed in with a glass of juice. Souma must have drunk a lot without realizing it, then been thoroughly interrogated by Excel about his feelings for each of us. The embarrassment of it all must have caused him to suppress the memory of it.

While I was thinking about that, I looked at the notebook in front of me. If Excel was telling the truth, that meant this note contained the secret feelings Souma normally kept hidden away deep inside his heart.

Oh... When I think about it, my heart suddenly starts racing...

I wanted to know, but maybe also kind of didn’t... but I did want to know, after all. I mean, I cared enough about Souma that I’d want to know what he thought about us.

While I was thinking about that, Excel, unconcerned with our hesitation, opened her book and continued.

“Now, as I said earlier, the secret to a harmonious marital relationship is to know your partner, and to know how they see you. Let’s look at how His Majesty Souma looks at each of you. First... Roroa.”

“Meowhat?!” Roroa reacted like a startled cat.

“First we will begin with his appraisal of Roroa.”

“Wh-Why me?! Shouldn’t you be doin’ the head fiancée, Big Sister Liscia, first?”

“There isn’t any particular reason for it,” Excel said. “I simply thought we would start with the person who first met His Majesty the most recently.”

“Well, sure, I’m the newcomer here, but... Well, it beats goin’ last, I guess.” Roroa seemed to have reluctantly accepted it.

...Huh? I was going last, then? Urgh... That meant the tension would last longer or me, and I didn’t like that...

Excel pushed her spectacles up, then looked down at her notebook. “Now then, this is His Majesty Souma’s appraisal of Roroa.”

“Wh-What’s this? I’m gettin’ weirdly tense.”

“Ahem... According to His Majesty, ‘I like how Roroa’s so bright and friendly. It’s amazing how she manages to get in close with whoever she’s talking to. She can be a bit black-hearted, but that’s just one of her charms. It makes me happy seeing her treat Liscia like her big sister. Besides, Roroa’s financial sense is out of this world. To be completely honest, the kingdom’s economy couldn’t run like it does now without Roroa and Colbert. I’m grateful to have her with me, and to have her as my fiancée.’”

“O-Oh...” Roroa put her head down on the desk. She was covering her bright red cheeks with her hands. “This... This is pretty darned embarrassin’,” Roroa said, writhing a little.

Yeah, I was a little embarrassed just hearing it. Souma wasn’t the type to come out and say this stuff to us straight, so when he came out with his unvarnished feelings and said things like, “I love you,” or, “I’m grateful to have you at my side,” it really made an impact. Now that it had come to this, I was suddenly very interested in what he thought about me.

While we were agonizing over what was to come, Excel continued reading with an expression like it was no big deal. “Furthermore, when I asked His Majesty, ‘Do you have anything on your mind when it comes to Roroa?’ his answer was, ‘I know it was a war, but it still bothers me that I killed her father.’”

“Wha?!” Roroa stopped writing in embarrassment and immediately snapped back to her senses.

“‘It was a kill-or-be-killed situation, but I’m still her father’s killer. Roroa says they weren’t close, but what if that isn’t how she really feels, and she actually doesn’t want to marry me... There are times I worry about that,’ he said.”

“I-Is he stupid?!” Roroa shouted.

I felt like I’d had ice cold water dumped over my head, too. Oh, right... I realized. If these were Souma’s true feelings, it would include the insecurities he didn’t normally show us. To think he’d felt that way about Roroa... I’d never have noticed.

Roroa got up and stomped her feet in indignation. “Darlin’, you dummy! I’ve already considered all of that! I’m with ya because I wanted to be, so why’re you thinkin’ about that stuff?!”

“Roroa!” I stood up, and gave Roroa a hug. She ceased stamping her feet with tears in her eyes.

I could also understand why Souma would feel guilty when it came to Roroa. It was because Roroa was important to him. Still, even with that said, it was wrong for him not to take her affection for him at face value.

Roroa sobbed and rubbed her face against my chest. “Ohh... Big Sister Ciaaaa.”

“I know. We’ll have to tell Souma off later.”

Aisha and Juna nodded. It might have been something he’d done unconsciously, but he was going to have to pay for making our “little sister” cry.

After waiting for Roroa to settle down, Excel spoke to her. “The reason His Majesty thinks about that is because he loves you and you’re important to him. You understand that, right?”

“...Yeah,” Roroa said. “That’s why, though it’s frustratin’ that my feelin’s ain’t gettin’ through to him, I was a little happy that Darlin’ cares so much about li’l old me.”

“If you understand that, then you’ll be fine,” Excel said to Roroa with a smile.

It had been a bit tumultuous, but now Roroa’s turn was done. Next, Excel called her granddaughter’s name.

“Juna. His Majesty’s appraisal of you is, ‘She’s pretty, she’s beautiful, and that about sums it up. I don’t mean just her looks, or her voice— I mean her heart, too. I feel like, of all my companions, she’s the one who is always taking a step back to look at the larger picture. She’s truly the ideal woman. I wonder sometimes if it’s okay for me to have her as my fiancée, but I wouldn’t want to let anyone else have her. I’m trying to do my best to be a man who is good enough to be her husband, but it’s frustrating that I can’t quite manage it.’”

“So that’s how His Majesty feels...” Juna was wearing a slight, but happy, smile. Well, of course, any girl would after hearing “I wouldn’t want to let anyone else have her”... you know?

Excel kept on reading. “So, when I asked him, ‘Do you have anything on your mind when it comes to Juna?’ his response was, ‘Juna is too mature and not good at letting others indulge her, so when she occasionally lets me spoil her, as a younger guy, I feel really special.’”

“...Excuse me, but I was under the impression that His Majesty and I are the same age?” Juna broke in.

Now that she mentioned it, I had heard that Juna was supposed to be turning twenty this year, just like Souma.

“This is something His Majesty realized later, but in his world, a year is apparently 365 days,” said Excel. “The days in our world are 384 days, so with the gap between the two, you would be a year older in Souma’s world.”

The gap between the two worlds’ years was 19 days. 365 divided by 19... In about 19 years, it would add up to a full year’s difference.

This fact sent Juna into a rare panic. “I-I was older than His Majesty Souma? Excuse me, what did His Majesty have to say about that? He’s not against having an older woman, is he?”

I didn’t think Souma would ever reject Juna just because she was older than him, but she probably couldn’t help but be worried. By the way, when she mentioned the possibility of him not wanting an older woman, Aisha looked like she’d just been hit by a stray bullet. You could never tell how old someone from the long-lived races was by their appearance, after all. We hadn’t been told how old she was right now, either.

Excel gave Juna a big grin. “Don’t you worry. This is what His Majesty Souma said: ‘In my world, there was a proverb: “Find a woman one year your senior, even if you have to wear metal sandals to do it.” Juna is a woman worth wearing metal sandals that won’t wear out, and searching the entire world to find. There’s no problem with it at all.’”

“...I’m glad.” Juna looked deeply relieved.

Next, it was Aisha’s turn.

“His Majesty’s appraisal of Aisha was...”

“Um? Why did you suddenly pause there?” Aisha burst out.

“Well... ‘She’s like a pet.’”

“Say what?!”

“““Oh...”””

“Whaa?! Why do you all look satisfied with that answer?!” Aisha shouted.

No, I mean... You know? When Aisha was with Souma, she was like a pet dog, catching prey for her master and then going, “Praise me, praise me” as she wagged her tail, after all.

“According to His Majesty Souma, ‘Aisha is a strong, noble, and beautiful warrior. It would be fair to call her this kingdom’s greatest warrior. It’s reassuring to have her at my side... or it should be, but I feel like I just can’t leave her alone sometimes. It’s supposed to be her job to protect me, but I end up wanting to protect her... Well, when there was that disaster in the God-Protected Forest, I did see how emotionally fragile she could be, after all.’ To my question of, ‘Is there anything on your mind about her?’ he responded, ‘That I hope we can sit at the same dinner table forever, I guess.’”

“Uwahhh! I’ve failed as a bodyguard!” Aisha wailed. “But still, when he says, ‘I can’t leave her alone,’ and ‘I want to protect her,’ it made me feel a little happy, stupid meeee!”

While Aisha laid her head down on the desk, stuck between feeling happy and pathetic, Roroa patted her gently on the back. It looked like Aisha was in shock, but as for me... I felt a little jealous of her, maybe? If she was like a pet, it meant he cherished her just that much, and I wanted him to say he wanted to protect me, too.

Wait! Have I always been this prone to jealousy?

Hearing Souma praise his other fiancées, I caught myself feeling envious of them, and it shocked me a bit. This was a feeling I couldn’t let myself embrace, wasn’t it? I was the candidate to become Souma’s first primary queen. More than anyone else here, I had to respect the harmony between my fellow queens. I felt the hand I was holding my collar with clench tighter.

At last, my turn came.

“Finally, Princess Liscia... For this one, I should start with his response to my question, ‘Don’t you have anything on your mind when it comes to Princess Liscia?’ I suppose.’”

“Huh...?”

Why were we starting with the “Do you have anything on your mind?” question for me? I wanted to find out what Souma thought of me, just like everyone else had. While I was thinking that, Excel shook her head silently with a smile.

“There’s no need for that. I think his appraisal of you is summed up quite succinctly in his answer to this question. This is what His Majesty said: ‘Nothing.’”

Nothing? He didn’t have anything on his mind when it came to me? No fair... He’d had something for everyone else, hadn’t he? And yet... when it came to me, it was “Nothing”...

Why...?

“Princess!” Excel barked.

I’d nearly gotten lost in my thoughts, but Excel’s voice snapped me back to attention.

“Oh! Sorry.”

“Listen until I’m finished, please. His Majesty continued on to say this: ‘I told her the most important thing on that snowy day. I don’t have anything more to say than that.’ Now, as for what he said on that snowy day... I refrained from asking him in detail, but I think you must have some idea what he meant, right?”

It came back to me. Of all the days I had spent with Souma, there was one day in which I vividly remembered that it was snowing. It had been the 31st day, 12th month, and 1,546th year of the Continental Calendar. Last year’s New Year’s Eve.

“The truth is, this is something... I really ought to have told you before Aisha, before Juna, and before Roroa...”

That night, on the terrace of the governmental affairs office, Souma had said it.

“Liscia... I love you. Please, marry me.”

Souma had proposed to me in the snow that had just begun to fall. He had already told me the most important thing, and there was nothing else left to think about. That was what Souma said.

I see... I had already received them, hadn’t I? The feelings that Souma held dearest. The moment I thought that, there was a warmth in my chest. Then...

Slap, slap, slap, slap... Roroa, Aisha, and Juna all started slapping me on the back.

“Ow...! Hey, stop it! That hurts!” I shouted.

“““...”””

“I dunno,” Roroa said. “It feels mighty unfair that only Big Sister Cia gets it.”

“Ohh... Something special just for the two of you, I’m so jealoooouuuus,” Aisha moaned.

“Oh! Dear, how shameful of me...” Juna said.

When I looked at the jealous Roroa and Aisha, and Juna who was blushing in embarrassment about what she had just done, I broke into a smile.

Yeah... That was right. Everyone could feel jealous, or that things weren’t fair. The fact that I was candidate to be the first primary queen had nothing to do with it. It was a feeling I had just because of how much I cared for a person. That being the case...

“...Hey, Roroa, I’m jealous of the rest of you, too, you know?” I said.

“Hm? Are ya?” she asked.

“Yeah. I wanted to be told, ‘I like this about her,’ or, ‘I don’t want to let anyone else have her,’ or, ‘I want to protect her.’”

“Hmm. Well, maybe that’s just how it goes.”

That was why I had to accept it, not deny it. Because I realized this feeling was important.

With all of our appraisals over and done with, Excel clapped her hands together.

“Now, you all understand what Souma thinks of you. From here, I think we’ll go into some more practical knowledge of how to improve your marital relations.”

“‘Practical knowledge’?” I echoed without thinking, for which Excel gave me an incredibly nice smile.

“Didn’t I tell you at the very beginning? In this lecture, I teach you how you should act as a wife, the way gentlemen think, and everything from how to support your husband to how to perform your nightly duties in the bedroom in a way that makes your marital relations go more smoothly. I’ll be ever so very thorough teaching you about that.”

““““...”””” We all fell into dead silence.

Right. Now that she’d mentioned it, she had said that was what this course was about.

“Um, Grandmother? Setting the other parts aside, well... D-do we absolutely have to take your lectures on our nightly, um, ‘d-duties’?” Juna asked.

“L-Like Juna said,” Aisha added. “It’s just too embarrassing...”

“I’m a little interested, y’know?” Roroa put in.

“R-Roroa!” I shouted.

“Huh? You ain’t interested, Big Sister Cia?”

“That’s... Maybe a little, but...”

While we were acting reluctant, Excel gave us a look that seemed to say, “I’ve already planned around you feeling that way,” and she patted the remaining black bundle confidently.

“Oh my? You’re sure you want to pass up this opportunity? If you take my lectures to the end, you’ll receive one of these in commemoration.”

As she said that, Excel unwrapped the black bundle, and inside there were notebooks just like before. However, these books were thin, and their covers were black. Their covers carried the even more dangerous sounding, “Documents Contain Top Secret Classified Information,” and “Dispose of by Incineration After Reading.”

They were being treated like forbidden books, but Excel opened one up and began flipping through it as if to show it off to us.

“This black notebook contains the [censored] that His Majesty Souma wants you to do for him, or that he wants to do for you, and the situations involved.”

““““Huh...? Whaaaaaa?!””””

The look in everyone’s eyes changed.

[Censored]? Wait, seriously?! I thought.

“I heard all of this after plying him with even more tequeur, so I’m sure of it,” Excel said. “In short, these notebooks contain the naked truth about his desire for the four of you that His Majesty Souma normally keeps under control and hidden away.”

So this was it!

Juna and I looked at each other once again. Little wonder he had suppressed the memory. If he’d remembered blabbing about all of this embarrassing stuff, I was sure he’d never be able to look any of us in the eye again.

Everyone looked intently at the black notebooks. Excel made a show of flipping through one of them so that only she could see.

“My, how interesting. It seems he wants to do different things with each of you. With Roroa... Hoho. With Aisha... I see, so that’s how he likes it, huh. With Juna... Oh, my, to be so young again. And with the princess... Hee hee.”

Hee hee, what?! What exactly was written in there?!

Though Excel was beautiful as she gave us a sidelong glance with a seductive smile, she also looked like a demon lord. I dunno... I had to feel sorry for Souma after all this.

“Um... Duchess Walter? I think those notebooks are going a bit far...” I hesitated.

“Oh, you don’t want them, then? In that case, they’ll have to be burned like it says on the cover...”

““““We want them!”””” the four of us shouted in unison.

Excel nodded with satisfaction.

...Sorry, Souma. But I’m sure this is for the good of the kingdom. While making excuses to my absent husband-to-be, I gave in.

“Now, let’s begin the lecture,” Excel said with satisfaction.

This was how the first lecture of Excel’s Bridal Training Course began.

The course content, naturally, made us feel embarrassed sometimes, but Souma’s fiancées took the lessons seriously. That included me, too.

Well, of course, I wanted that black notebook... I felt it was necessary for building a stable household and a stable country.

So that we could all live happily ever after.

◇　◇　◇

Now, about these black notebooks: it is said that, in later days, the candidates to become queens would ask Excel to produce them regularly. At first, they would incinerate them when they finished reading them, but eventually they started to store them somewhere safe, thinking they could be useful again in the future.

In later years, an historical scholar who discovered a box containing several of these booklets attempted to announce their contents at an historical conference, but he stopped just before the announcement claiming the discovered documents were “forgeries.” There were reports that a group of suspicious men had made contact with him a few days prior, but the truth of those rumors remains in the darkness.

“...You give me too much credit,” I said. “I haven’t done anything heroic. I was only able to rebuild the country because I was blessed with good subordinates; and though I drove off Amidonia, the annexation was just something that happened as part of the flow of events afterwards.”

“The flow of things is a fate beyond human knowledge,” Mary said. “Surely you must have been under divine protection, sire.”

Divine protection, huh... That was the sort of opinion I would expect from a religious person. Not that I bought into it.

“Nah, that flow was created by one person in particular,” I said. “I’m not the one you should praise, but the Sovereign Princess of Amidonia, who made the decision of a lifetime.”

“Roroa Amidonia, you mean. Though still young, she took on two countries and found the path to the greatest benefit for her people. I admire her as a fellow woman.”

I was pretty sure Roroa had hated her country, though.

When Roroa’s elder brother Julius had been Sovereign Prince of Amidonia, the Orthodox Papal State had incited their followers in the country into a rebellion. That rebellion had been put down by Julius, but Roroa was angry that her people’s blood had been shed as a result.

Honestly, I had wanted Roroa to be here, as the candidate to become my third primary queen and the one who shouldered this country’s finances; but in consideration of her enmity towards the Orthodox Papal State, I had decided to have her wait in the governmental affairs office with Juna and everyone else. Roroa wasn’t the type to let it show, but I didn’t want to make her hold her emotions back.

But... just how serious was this girl when she said that?

Her tone of voice was plain, and I couldn’t detect any particular emotion in it. She didn’t seem to be plotting anything, either.

If she could speak like this while knowing what her country had done, she was a great actor, but it was entirely possible that she had lived a sheltered life and knew nothing of her country’s actions.

...No, if it had been either of those two, she would have shown more emotion. She was entirely too quiet.

If it were the former, she would probably have appealed more to her sincerity in an attempt to deceive me. If it were the latter, she should have been more enthusiastic about being here to do the right thing. However, Mary’s attitude seemed to say she was here to do something perfectly normal.

That might have been how a country’s emissary was supposed to act, but in her case, I felt like she took it to an extreme. I could feel that off feeling I’d had before growing in my chest.

In order to keep that feeling from showing on my face, I asked her straight out. “Well then, Madam Mary, what business are you here on today?”

“Oh, that’s right,” Mary said, and bowed her head meekly. “I did come here today with a request for you, Your Majesty.”

“A request?” I asked, having a bad feeling about where this was going; and Mary answered me with a smile that didn’t let me sense any ill intent.

“We would like you to adopt Lunarian Orthodoxy as the state religion of the Kingdom of Friedonia.”

A state religion...

State religions. They were a concept that had by and large been abandoned in the developed countries of Earth. I think countries used to use state resources for the defense and worship of a particular faith. They turned religious festivals into state functions, if I recall.

...Whatever the case, as long as we were a multiracial state, it wasn’t a realistic proposal.

“Madam Mary, do you understand what it is you’re requesting of me?” I asked. “If a multiracial country like ours were to give one religion preferential treatment, it would end up splitting the state. Are you asking me to make that sort of foolish mistake?”

I took a somewhat stronger tone as I said that. I did it to indicate that I was irritated with what she had said. I might not always seem like it, but I had gained enough authority that people called me a great king. If I hadn’t been such a big deal, getting mad over such a little thing would probably have worked against me. However, her expression didn’t change in the slightest.

“We aren’t asking you to give us preferential treatment. We would appreciate it if you would, but for now, just adopting us as your state religion is enough. In Lunarian Orthodoxy, we preach tolerance for others. That applies to other religions, too. We don’t drive out followers of other faiths or demand they convert.”

Then Mary raised her palm towards the ceiling.

“The moon in the sky changes with the seasons, and her face changes depending on the day and place from which you see her. Furthermore, the patterns of the moon look like an animal to some, and a person to others. Faith is the same way. Even if our views differ, we all still worship God. What we see as Lady Lunaria, those of other faiths simply see as something else.”

I was silent.

That was an awfully poetic opinion. If she was speaking her true feelings, then that certainly was tolerant, but... I just didn’t think the way her country acted was in line with that.

“But you don’t recognize Mother Dragon worship, now do you?” I asked.

“God is in the sky, and in our hearts,” said Mary. “If you worship something that exists, it’s purely out of fear for that thing. What is Mother Dragon going to do for her worshipers? Is it not true that the Star Dragon Mountain Range has no relations with any country other than the Nothung Dragon Knight Kingdom?”

“It’s natural for fear of something greater than yourself to develop into religious faith,” I said. “Isn’t Mother Dragon a symbol of nature itself, beyond the realm of human knowledge?”

“It’s a difference in the way we think,” Mary explained indifferently. “We think of faith as the bond that arises from God thinking of mankind, and mankind thinking of God. To us, Mother Dragon worship looks like an illicit love for Mother Dragon. We cannot recognize that as a legitimate faith. Of course, we understand that there are people who think that way.”

She wasn’t saying anything especially out of the ordinary, I supposed. If anything, she came off as logical. If these were her personal views, I almost wanted to talk with her at length about it some time. But there were some premises she was wrong about.

“This seems like a good opportunity, so I’d like to hear your opinion on something,” I said.

“What might that be?”

“I hear that spies from some other country have been sending spies to the royal capital recently...”

“To this country, you mean? It seems awfully stable, so it’s a surprise to hear that.” Mary said that without her expression changing in the slightest, of course. There had been no fluctuation in her emotions this entire time.

When it went this far, I had to start thinking she might not actually know anything about the Orthodox Papal State’s dark side.

“When one of my subordinates dispatched one of those spies, I’m told that the spy said, ‘Curse you, you infidel.’ They must have been a follower of some religion. You also believe in God, so perhaps you understand what the spy’s words meant, Madam Mary?”

“I am not that spy, so I couldn’t tell you, but...” Mary seemed to think for a moment, then replied without getting particularly worked up about it. “They probably saw their own life as a trial given to them by God. Those who would oppose them were unbelievers. In short, that was how they judged your subordinate to be an infidel.”

“So, basically, it wouldn’t matter if he was a follower of another religion or not?”

“From what you’ve told me, that was the sense I got. I apologize for my self-centered view.”

“...No, it was educational,” I said.

What was it? I felt I had less and less of a feel for her. I couldn’t sense anything like a motive behind Mary’s words. She gave serious answers to my questions.

...In that case, was this a negotiation?

In negotiations, both sides had goals, and the two sides bounced ideas off one another until they reconciled their differences. That was why they concealed information that was to their disadvantage, in order to lead the discussion in a direction that was advantageous to them. I couldn’t sense any sort of attempt to lead the conversation whatsoever in the way she was speaking and acting.

“...Let’s get back on topic,” I said at last. “You wanted to make Lunarian Orthodoxy our state religion, right?”

“Yes.”

“So, what merit is there for our country in doing that? Also, if you say you’re tolerant of other religions, it shouldn’t matter who is worshiping what. Why is Lunarian Orthodoxy seeking to become our state religion?”

“I will answer your first question,” Mary told me. “If you make Lunarian Orthodoxy your state religion, we are prepared to recognize Your Great Highness as a saint. You are already a king, so you would become a holy king. In addition, I will most likely be dispatched by the Orthodox Papal State to serve as your personal bishop. I will serve you as I would God.”

With that said, Mary bowed her head.

It was going more or less how Roroa had said it would. I’d never expected that the saint herself would come to serve me, though.

“The way you say that, it’s almost like you’re coming to marry me,” I commented.

“If Your Holy Majesty wishes, you may do with my body whatever you might please. I will offer my body and heart to you as I do in service to God.”

“I haven’t said I’m going to accept this holy king thing yet.”

“Forgive my presumption.” Mary bowed her head once more. She didn’t look like she felt guilty at all... or rather, the look on her face made me think she didn’t even realize she had done something wrong.

When I mentioned the marriage thing, Aisha jumped a little, but Liscia didn’t seem surprised in the least. All she did was stare at Mary with a serious look on her face. How did Mary look in Liscia’s eyes?

“And?” I asked. “If I become a holy king and have a saint dispatched to me, what merit are you saying that will give this country?”

“This country has grown to a scale where it is comparable to the Gran Chaos Empire. That is a product of your virtue, no doubt. If you gain the influence of Lunarian Orthodoxy as well, this country will have gained a degree of power that outstrips that of the Empire.”

“There’s another bold claim,” I said. “But the Empire still has more territory and more power than us, you know?”

Well, there were areas where our technology was ahead of theirs, but I wasn’t going to let that slip.

Mary silently shook her head. “Four in ten of the people living in the Empire are followers of Lunarian Orthodoxy. Those numbers are the result of Mother Dragon worship being unable to gain much of a foothold because the Empire fought the Star Dragon Mountain Range during the period in which they were expanding. In other words, close to half the population are followers of Lunarian Orthodoxy. If this country were to get into a conflict with them, with our influence it would be possible to break up the Empire.”

“You say some pretty scary things as if they’re nothing,” I said. “We have no intention of getting into any conflicts with the Empire.”

“It was merely a hypothetical. In short, I am telling you that you can gain the power to rival the Empire; the power to be the strongest among mankind’s nations.”

...Yeah. Well, looking at the relationship between the princes of Middle Ages Europe and the Roman Catholic Church, it wasn’t unthinkable. With the power of the ruler and the church combined, they would rule the country and drive out foreign enemies. It was an easy way of handling things. But that was only if you turned a blind eye to the power struggle between the ruler and church that would occur afterwards.

Right now, we were trying to move forward into a new era. I didn’t want to go imitating something people had done in olden times. “If I may say a word,” Hakuya, who had been silently watching things unfold up until now, spoke up. “I’m sorry to do this to Madam Saint, but I would like to speak with His Majesty for a short while.”

“Please do.”

With the saint’s permission, Hakuya walked up close to me. Then, leaning in and bringing his mouth to my ear as I sat on the throne, he whispered to me, “You seem out of sorts, sire.”

“Yeah...” I whispered back. “For some reason, I can’t get into the right mindset. I feel like there’s something weirdly off about her.”

“In regards to that, I think we need to think of her as separate from them,” he whispered.

“We do?”

Hakuya nodded. “I’ve been observing all this time, and I believe she’s been exhibiting a lack of emotion.”

“Yeah, I noticed that, too.”

“I’m sure that the Orthodox Papal State had some reason for sending her here, but perhaps Madam Mary herself has no idea what that is? Could she have come here as just a saint, only to communicate the will of the upper echelons of the Orthodox Papal State, like a sort of messenger kui?”

“Huh?! She’s just a messenger, then?”

Mary wasn’t a negotiator, then?! That made a lot of sense... It had never felt like I was negotiating while I was talking with her.

I’d assumed she’d been given model questions and told what to answer if I asked certain things, and she had been negotiating with me based on that. That would explain why, when I’d given her questions they wouldn’t expect, like about that spy’s mindset, she’d given me frank and honest answers.

Either that, or it was possible she had been told to answer questions like that honestly. Even if her negotiation partner tried to extract vital information from her, if she hadn’t been told anything, she would just honestly answer, “I don’t know,” after all.

This wasn’t even a negotiation anymore. It was like having a text reader read out my e-mail for me.

I glanced over to Mary. When she noticed my gaze, she cocked her head to the side a little with no expression.

...I see, I realized. In a way, she is like a Diva.

In my world, there was an anthropomorphized text reading program called a Divaloid. It had gotten famous because you could use the synthesized female voice to read passages, or to sing songs, and it had caused a big boom, especially on video sharing sites. They’d added illustrations of a cute girl to it, and she’d even held live concerts as a virtual idol.

When I was talking to Mary, I felt like I was talking to one of those.

“Hakuya... How do you think we should negotiate from here on?” I whispered.

“I believe it would be good to ask for an answer to your second question from earlier,” he whispered back. “However, what you should weigh is not her own reaction, but the intentions of the Orthodox Papal State.”

“...Got it.”

Once Hakuya was back in his earlier position, I spoke to Mary.

“Sorry for the wait. By the way, I never did get an answer to my second question from earlier. Why is Lunarian Orthodoxy seeking to become our state religion?”

“For the sake of all mankind,” Mary said without hesitation. “The north of the continent has now become the Demon Lord’s Domain. Though its expansion has stopped for the time being, for as long as the Demon Lord’s Domain exists, mankind will never have peace. In order to attain peace, it will be necessary to invade the Demon Lord’s Domain and exterminate the root of the problem. However, the demons of the Domain are powerful, and it is impossible for any one country to face them alone. All of the nations of mankind must cooperate.”

It stood out as a hard-line position, but... that was understandable, I suppose.

Mary continued, “That is why we want you to become a holy king. With your power and our authority combined, it will be possible to unite all of the different nations, I’m sure. If you request their cooperation after you have unified the other countries, even that empire will follow your commands. Two out of five of their citizens follow Lunarian Orthodoxy, so they won’t be able to afford to ignore you. In that way, all of mankind will be united, and we will invade the Demon Lord’s Domain. Then, with the Demon Lord who is the root of all evil slain, we will liberate the north of the continent.”

Mary spoke all that without hesitation. It sounded like she was talking about the Crusades. In order to reclaim our lost land, we would be uniting countries through the power of religion. And so, they wanted me to become a holy king and wave the flag for that cause.

But... I’m sure that’s just the public face of it.

Only once I saw the people behind Mary would I be able to get the full picture of what their intentions were. Mary probably honestly believed this was to retake the north, but the people behind her probably thought differently.

The bit about uniting the nations of mankind caught my attention. There was already a system in this world trying to unite all of mankind: the one that Maria was leading, the Mankind Declaration. It was a flawed treaty, but, for the moment, it seemed to be serving its function.

For the Orthodox Papal State, they couldn’t be happy about a situation where Maria, who was (from their perspective) a “false” saint, was the leader of that pact and winning respect for it. The more Maria did to distinguish herself, the weaker the influence of their own saint would be, after all. A theocracy ruled through its religious authority. In other words, the loss of authority was a matter of life and death for the state.

That was why the Orthodox Papal State probably wanted to set up another body for international cooperation separate from the Mankind Declaration. They needed to create a new system where they could assert their authority. And they had picked me to do it.

I looked over at Hakuya. When Hakuya noticed me looking, he closed his eyes and nodded once, then shook his head. He’d likely reached the same conclusion I had.

In light of that, he was hinting to me that, “We shouldn’t accept this offer.”

...Well, of course not. That being the case, there was something I should ask.

“By the way, what will happen if I refuse to adopt you as our state religion?”

“It would be disappointing, but we would have no choice but to accept,” said Mary. “We can’t force you into accepting.”

They were backing down surprisingly easy. I thought they’d say something like, If you don’t accept our demands, we’ll have all of our followers in your country riot, or something like that.

While I was thinking that, Mary continued, “However, I suspect,” her expression still not changing. “I suspect that we would end up waiting.”

“Waiting?” I asked.

“Yes. We could only wait until either you have a change of heart, or a new candidate to become the holy king appears.”

I inhaled sharply in surprise.

Urkh... So that was how they’re going to play it, huh. Basically, if any country started to get stronger, or a ruler began to become famous, she was saying, “We’ll take this exact same offer right to them.” If they did, her earlier comment that “Two in five of the Empire’s citizens are followers, so if we feel like it, we can split their country” would be something that might happen to our country, too.

Mary might not have intended it that way herself, but it was one heck of a threat.

This is... I shouldn’t decide on this right here and now.

I didn’t want to accept it, but if I was going to refuse, I needed to tell them that only after carefully considering the countermeasures available to me. At the very least, I wanted to have a lengthy discussion with Hakuya about it.

I rose from my seat and said to Mary, “I understand your request, Madam Mary. However, I cannot give an immediate answer due to the gravity of the request. I would like time to think it over. We will continue this discussion at a later date.”

“But of course,” she said. “I will be praying that you make a good decision.”

Mary meekly took her leave. The negotiations hadn’t been concluded, but she didn’t look disappointed at all to me.

I looked closely at Mary’s face. I had been looking at it the entire time we had been negotiating, but it felt to me like her expression had hardly ever changed. She was like a doll.

A doll... Artificial...?!

That was when I realized it. What exactly it was that felt “off” about her.

◇　◇　◇

By the time my meeting with Mary came to an end, it was already late at night.

When we returned to the governmental affairs office, Roroa and Juna greeted us there. I spotted Carla with the maids standing by in the center of the room, too.

“Welcome back, darlin’... Wait, what’s wrong?!” Roroa cried.

“Um, is something the matter, Your Majesty?” Juna ventured.

The two had been smiling at first, but once they saw my face they instantly took on looks of concern.

Ha ha... Was the look on my face right now that bad? It might well have been.

Juna touched her fingers, soft and cold like little white fish, to my forehead. “You don’t seem to have a fever, but... are you not feeling well? Would you like to take a little rest?”

“Hey, Big Sister Cia! What happened to darlin’?!” Roroa burst out, rounding on Liscia.

“Don’t ask me! I don’t know!”

I said, “Oh... It’s okay, I’m fine,” weakly brushing Juna’s hand away, then sat down at the governmental affairs office’s desk. Then: “Sorry. Liscia, Aisha, Juna, Roroa... could you come over here?” Then: The four of them looked to each other, and slowly came over to me. When they got close enough, I spread my arms wide and gave all four of them one big hug.

“Eek?!” Liscia yelped.

“My word!” cried Aisha.

“Oof...” said Juna.

“Wait! Darlin’?!” Roroa shouted.

They all let out weird little cries of surprise, but I ignored that and hugged them tight.

For anyone watching from the side, it might have just looked like we were forming a scrum; and it wouldn’t have been very sexy, but I could feel the warmth from all four of them. That let me finally calm myself. Once I had gotten a good full minute of that, I released them.

Liscia fixed her now-slightly-messy clothes and asked me, looking a little angry as she did, “Geez... You’re going to give us some explanation for what that was all about, right?”

The concern for me that I could hear hidden behind the anger in her voice made me a little happy.

“Yeah, I’ll fill you in.”

“Souma, you got like that towards the end of the meeting, right? What exactly happened?” Liscia asked.

“The whole time, there was something about that girl, Mary, that felt... off to me,” I said.

“Something that felt off? Nothing she did seemed suspicious to me, though.” Aisha cocked her head to the side in confusion.

I shook my head. “It’s a little different from what you’re thinking. The first time I saw Mary, I thought she was incredibly beautiful. But... at the same time, I felt she was strange somehow.”

“Strange? Whaddaya mean, strange?” Roroa asked.

“I should have found her attractive, and yet I couldn’t see her that way. That’s how it felt.”

“Hm... She seemed like a cute girl to me, though,” Hakuya said.

Yeah... Probably no other person would have noticed it. I’d noticed because of who I was, and because of that, I’d been able to discern the truth behind it.

“I didn’t notice it myself at first, either,” I said. “But the moment I thought she was doll-like in her lack of emotion... or artificial, to take it a bit further... I realized what it was that had felt off to me the whole time. She... looked like them.”

“Looked like them? Who?”

When she asked me that, I put my hand down on Liscia’s shoulder. “Like you, Liscia.”

“Huh?! Like me?!”

“Yeah. And like Aisha, and like Roroa, too.”

“Huh? Did she?”

“Like me, too?”

Aisha and Roroa looked at each other after hearing what I said. I looked over to Hakuya.

“Hakuya, if you were to describe Mary’s face for those of us who weren’t there, how would you express it?”

“Well, let me see... she had regular features, silver hair, and it was tied back in two tails...?!” Hakuya seemed to have picked up on it, and his eyes went wide.

I nodded. “Here’s how I’d describe her. Her regular features were like Liscia’s. Her silver hair was like what Aisha has as a dark elf, and her hairstyle was like Roroa’s. In other words, Mary’s face was like a composite of Liscia, Aisha, and Roroa’s faces.”

“O-Our faces?!” Liscia yelped.

Yeah. The reason I hadn’t been attracted to her, despite her being so young and beautiful, was because of the disconnect with my expectations. If one day, out of nowhere, Aisha had suddenly gained human facial features, that would surprise me, and if Liscia or Roroa’s hair had turned silver, it would be only natural for me to think something felt off.

Aisha raised her hand and said, “Wait, hold on. If she has a mix of all of your fiancées’ features, what part of her do you suppose would have come from Juna? From what I saw, her figure was average, too.”

“See, that’s it,” I said. “From what I saw, Mary has practically nothing in common with Juna. If I had to give you something, I’d say those sensual eyes of hers were similar, but that’s a little weak as far as traits go. That’s got to have been a coincidence. Also... can one of you tell me what the difference is between Juna and Liscia, Aisha, and Roroa?”

“I’m the only one who’s a secondary queen candidate,” said Juna. “Besides, I’m also... the only one whose engagement to you hasn’t been announced yet!” Juna clapped her hands as she figured it out.

I nodded. “My engagement to the other three has been announced already, but we haven’t been able to announce Juna’s yet because of her work as a lorelei. In other words, it’s not known that she’s my fiancée. So, when we think about how Mary, who has the defining characteristics of all my fiancées except Juna, was sent here, combined with the fact that the Orthodox Papal State’s spies have been growing more active in the castle town, we can infer that the spies were collecting intel on what my fiancées looked like. They did this in order to create a woman I would like, or at least not find unpleasant, and send her to me as a saint.”

“Souma, that’s...” Liscia began.

“Yeah... When I said, ‘The way you say that, it’s almost like you’re coming to marry me,’ do you remember what Mary said in response?”

“If Your Holy Majesty wishes, you may do with my body whatever you might please. I will offer my body and heart to you as I do in service to God.” Mary had said that without hesitation.

A girl tailored to my tastes had been sent to me, and that girl had said, “You may do with my body whatever you might please,” and, “I will offer my body and heart to you.” Then, as if asking for compensation, they had tried to push their own demands through. In other words...

“For the Orthodox Papal State, the saint is a honey trap laid for state-level actors,” I said.

“What they’re doing is the same as the nobles trying to sell their daughters to you...” Liscia said, sounding exasperated.

Honestly, for a country ruled by men of the cloth, they came up with some vulgar ideas. It looked like, as a country, the Orthodox Papal State was a very human enterprise.

“Once I figured out what felt off about her... I asked Mary about how she was selected to be a saint,” I said. “When I did, she kindly gave me a thorough explanation.”

I was told that the saint had been chosen from among the nuns of the central church by the divine revelations contained in the Lunalith. Most of those nuns had originally been orphans, and there were nearly fifty of them. Most likely, the goal was to keep a diverse stock of potential saints for any rulers they wanted to seduce.

The nuns were trained at the central church, and raised learning the doctrines of the faith in a place cut off from the secular world so that they would become obedient believers. Then, if they reached a certain age without being chosen as saints, they were sent out to churches in each region as bishops.

“That’s... terrible,” Aisha said with open revulsion. “Then they really are like dolls. It’s as if they have no will of their own.”

“Now, now, Big Sister Ai,” Roroa interjected, “it doesn’t sound like that bad of a deal to me.”

Aisha was critical of the system, but Roroa seemed to be of a different opinion.

“No matter what country ya go to, there ain’t nothin’ harder to run than proper orphanages,” said Roroa. “If they don’t get educated by the time they’re old enough to work, they’ll just end up bein’ used for cheap labor. It’s rare to find places like ours that teach readin’, writin’, and arithmetic. For girls who come up out of the orphanages... often, sellin’ themselves is the only thing they can do. If they’re bein’ lifted up from that situation, given food, clothing, and shelter in the church, don’t ya think that’s fortunate for them?”

“But they’re being raised so they can be given as offerings to foreign rulers, you realize?” Aisha shot back.

“I’m not sayin’ I like it. But usin’ girls to form bonds is somethin’ every house, noble, knightly, or greater, does. I mean... in a way, I used myself politically like that, too.”

“Oh...”

When Roroa pointed that out to her, Aisha was at a loss for words. It was true, when Roroa had arranged her own marriage in order to protect her people, you could say she had been making use of her position as a woman.

“Sorry...” Aisha apologized.

Roroa simply said, “Think nothin’ of it,” and waved her hand. “Besides, I’ve never heard of there bein’ multiple saints. In other words, for all o’ the nuns other than this Mary girl, it won’t be happenin’ to them. Even for the saint, sure, callin’ her an offerin’ makes it sound bad, but if a lord does lay his hands on ’er, she’s set to marry into money. I married for political reasons, and I’m plenty happy now, so it’s up for her to decide whether or not she’s happy with it in the end.”

Roroa said that firmly. She really... was a strong girl.

“I agree with Roroa’s opinion,” I said. “I don’t like their methods, but it’s not a system we need to say anything about. I mean, it’s another country’s issue, after all.”

“Well... why do you look so torn up, then?” Liscia asked, looking me straight in the eye.

I put a hand to my head. “What shocked me... was that Mary had accepted she was a saint, and was willing to go along with it knowing exactly what that meant.”

◇　◇　◇

As the meeting was ending, I asked Mary about one thing that was bothering me.

“Madam Mary, do you have no doubts about being treated as a saint? Suddenly being saddled with the dignity of your country, having to appear before a foreign king, and being expected to tell that king, ‘I will offer my body and heart to you.’ It’s too great a burden for one person to bear. I would have thought a life like that would be too cruel for an ordinary young girl to take.”

Mary smiled and said, “By the will of Lady Lunaria, I was blessed with the great honor of becoming a saint. The saint is the face of the Orthodox Papal State. Having been granted this role, rather than live for my own feelings, I want to fulfill the duties I’ve been given. Because that is what is best for the country, and, in turn, for all people.”

“...You’d abandon your self for the sake of others?” I asked.

“It is my natural duty as one who has received a greater honor than most. I would think, as a king, you would understand that, wouldn’t you, sire?”

I was silent.

“Living the way others want you to,” she said. “I believe it is a wonderful way to live, and one I can be proud of. For the people who revere me as a saint, I intend to give myself fully to serving them.”

For the people who revered her as a saint... huh.

She must have believed with all her heart that living the way others wanted her to was a thing she could be proud of. When I saw Mary’s smile, the words of another saint flashed through my mind.

“I may be an empress, but I’m still just a human being. Instead of being worshiped as a saint, I want to remain a person, and to be loved as a person.”

For one, being a saint was something to pride herself on, and she chose to act like a saint.

For the other, she rejected being a saint, and insisted on being a person.

”I would think, as a king, you would understand that, wouldn’t you, sire?” Mary had asked.

Which path will I choose...?

◇　◇　◇

“There was a time... when I thought the same way Mary does,” I said to my assembled companions, as if I were confessing my sins at church. “You remember, right, Carla? What happened during the battle with the forces of the principality?”

“That time, you mean...?” Carla, who had been standing by in the corner of the room, said in a whisper.

I was referring to the time during the war with Gaius VIII and the corrupt nobles when, in order to protect my heart from the pressure bearing down on me, I had walled myself off and tried to focus solely on playing the role of king. If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have been able to bear the weight of all the lives being lost on my orders.

“We’re people, so we suffer due to the size of our responsibilities,” I said. “We’re people, so we agonize over the decisions we’ve made. That time, when I was forced into a war I didn’t want, but that I had no choice but to fight, little by little, without realizing it, I began acting as a system called ‘the king’... like I was a machine. Because if I was a machine, I didn’t have to suffer, or to think and agonize over things.”

“Souma...” Liscia had a worried look on her face, but I gave her a wry smile and shook my head.

“When Carla asked me, ‘Aren’t you afraid to die?’, I realized how warped it was for me to be ready to accept dying as king. Thanks to that, I was able to stop short of it. When I think how things would have turned out if Carla hadn’t pointed it out to me then... I shudder. I could well have ended up like Mary. When I think about that, it makes me feel bad.”

When I thought of what it would be like if a version of me that had become the system called a king had been here now standing in front of Liscia and the others... it scared me.

Could the me who had become able to accept everything because I was the king make Liscia and the others happy? ...No, he could not.

”I want to remain a person, and to be loved as a person.”

Yeah... That’s right, Madam Maria, I thought.

If I couldn’t notice Liscia and the others’ tears, if I couldn’t make Liscia and the others smile, even if it meant suffering under a heavy burden and agonizing over the decisions I made...

I didn’t want to become a mere system.

“Yeah. Me, too. I’d rather be a person.”

“Souma?” Liscia asked. “...Eek!”

I got down off of the desk, walked to Liscia’s side, and hugged her slender body tight. My sudden action left Aisha, Juna, and Roroa all dumbfounded.

“Whuh?!”

“Oh, dear me.”

“Whoa, Big Sister Cia, that’s no fair.”

With the three of them staring at us, Liscia turned a bright shade of red, her eyes darting about rapidly. “U-Um... Souma? Could I ask you to let go of me, maybe? This is a little embarrassing... Everyone is watching...”

Liscia said that, but I ignored her and kept hugging her. If she really didn’t like it, I knew Liscia was more than capable of pushing me away.

I held onto Liscia as I said to Hakuya, “I won’t become the holy king. I won’t let the Orthodox Papal State get their way, either. I do have a policy in mind that sidesteps the Orthodox Papal States’ scheme, but... it’s probably only good enough to stall for time. If we’re going to come up with a more fundamental solution to the problem, all the followers of Lunarian Orthodoxy in the country will be a problem. I do hope it can disempower them, or render them harmless...”

“Hold on, why are you talking about serious stuff while holding me like this?!” Liscia cried.

“Hm... In that case, let me handle the countermeasures for that,” Hakuya said. “I have some ideas of my own. I’ll be borrowing Kagetora and some members of the Black Cats for my purposes.”

“You, too, Hakuya! Why are you holding an ordinary conversation?!”

“Got it,” I said. “Let’s bounce ideas off each other and work on our plans tomorrow.”

“By your will.”

“Ignored?! I’m being ignored?!”

“Thanks, I’ll be counting on you. Now then...”

Scratching my cheek, I turned to Aisha, Juna, and Roroa.

“Sorry, but could you leave Liscia and me alone tonight?”

“““?!”””

The moment they understood what those words meant, Aisha, Juna, and Roroa’s eyes all bulged in surprise. And as for Liscia, who had been protesting for a while now...

“Uh... Uh...”

It seemed she couldn’t even form words properly, and she was just opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish. Liscia was usually so dignified, but when I thought, Hey, she makes faces like this, too, it was kind of funny.

“D-Darlin’, does that mean you two’re gonna...”

Roroa came back to her senses and tried to get some answers out of me, but Juna laid a hand on her shoulder and stopped her.

“Roroa.”

Then she said something to Roroa and Aisha in a whisper before turning and giving me a deep bow.

“Now then, Princess, Your Majesty, we will be taking our leave of you now.”

With that said, Juna quietly departed.

“Erm... Good night, Your Majesty, Princess,” said Aisha.

“Murgh... Big Sister Cia! Tell me how he did later, ’kay?”

Aisha and Roroa followed Juna out of the room.

“Well, until tomorrow, then,” said Hakuya. “Rest well.”

“I-I will be standing guard outside the room... Please, take it easy, Master...”

With Hakuya and Carla being the last to leave, Liscia and I were left alone in the room.

I picked up Liscia, who was frozen stiff.

Hey, she was pretty light. She did have a bit of muscle on her, but on the whole, she had a slender figure, so the weight difference between us made it easy for me to lift her up. When I sat her down on the simple bed that was sitting in the corner of the room like always, Liscia finally came back to her senses.

In the candlelight, we sat side by side on the bed, staring into one another’s eyes.

“U-Um, Souma? This means... what I think it does, right?” she asked with her face beet red.

My cheeks started to feel hot, too. “Uh... Yep. That was... kind of the intention...”

“O-Oh, I see...”

“...Can’t we?”

“No! It’s not that we can’t! I mean, I’ve been waiting for this...” Liscia hurriedly shook her head. Her words were trailing off and getting weaker, though. “B-B-But why now, all of a sudden? You held out on me so long.”

“Oh... Yeah, well... I was thinking I should wait until the kingdom’s more stable, until I was able to take responsibility for it, until we had gone through all the steps, but...”

Aw, geez, this was really embarrassing! I scratched the back of my head.

“But... When I saw Mary, and thought about how I want to be a person... I just couldn’t hold back any longer. I wanted... to act on a human impulse, and to have you accept me for it.”

“I-I see...”

That, and Maria’s words, “I want to remain a person, and to be loved as a person,” probably had an effect on me, too.

I wanted to be a person, and I wanted to love Liscia and the others as a person.

I wanted Liscia and the others to love me as a person.

I felt that way strongly, and I couldn’t hold back any more.

...Well, at a time like this, I wasn’t about to tell her that another woman’s words had that deep an effect on me, though.

“Um, but... having our first time in the governmental affairs office, it sure isn’t very sexy,” Liscia said, tripping over her words, as she folded her top which she had stripped off and set it aside so that it wouldn’t wrinkle.

I took off my shirt, too, and pulled Liscia who was now in nothing but her white underwear close to me.

Was I the one trembling, or was it her...? It might have been both of us. Neither of us were used to this, and we embraced each other awkwardly. We kissed once, and then...

“Well, do you want to take this somewhere else?” I whispered in Liscia’s ear.

When I did, Liscia grinned and silently shook her head. “No. Here is good. I mean, this is...”

...the place where you and I first met, after all.

◇　◇　◇

“Nngh... Hm?” I murmured.

When the light shone in through the window and woke me, Liscia’s face was right in front of mine.

We were sharing a single pillow, so it was pretty close. She was sleeping peacefully.

With each shallow breath Liscia took, her soft chest rose and fell under the covers. Just the sight of her like this left me with an indescribable mixture of glee, embarrassment, and love, and I reached out to touch her cheek.

When I did, “Murgh...” Liscia twisted as if something was tickling her and then slowly opened her eyes.

She was probably still half-dreaming. She didn’t seem to know where she was, and she started looking around restlessly. Then she noticed my face right next to her own.

“Oh... Souma. Morning...” she said with a grin. It was a smile as gentle as the morning light that was shining in.

Her reaction was unbearably cute, so I hugged her close and placed a kiss on her half-closed left eyelid. Still groggy from sleep, Liscia let out a ticklish laugh.

“Geez, Souma, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Hmm, I’d love to keeping looking at you like this, but... Sorry, Liscia, get up, please.”

“...Huh?” she asked.

As I gave her a gentle shake, this time Liscia’s eyes opened fully. The moment her eyes snapped open, Liscia’s face turned red so quickly, I could almost hear the comedic exploding sound effect as it did. Most likely, when she’d gotten a handle on the current situation, all of her embarrassment had flared up at once. Of course, that included enough for last night, too.

I softly patted Liscia on the head. “Good morning, Liscia.”

“M-Morning. Ohh... Don’t look at me so much.”

“Don’t look at you? I saw a whole lot last— Mmph!”

Liscia shoved a pillow in my face.

“That doesn’t make it any less embarrassing!” she cried.

Liscia hugged the blanket to herself and glared at me kind of resentfully.

Yep, she sure was cute. I almost wanted to jump her right there. But instead, I just pushed the pillow aside and stretched.

“Yeah... I don’t think I ever want to do it in the governmental affairs office again.”

“...Why not?” she asked.

“Because this is our workplace, so I’ll have to ask them to clean up after us right away. I want to flirt with you more, and it’s a pain having to get up.”

“I-I see...”

I got out of bed and slipped on the clothes I had been wearing yesterday. I hadn’t brought a change of clothes, so I would have to go back to my room to get one.

After quickly getting dressed, I asked Liscia, “So... are you feeling okay?”

“Y-Yeah... I do feel a little sluggish, though...”

“Okay. Let me be the one who asks the maids to clean up, then.”

“Yeah,” she said. “Could you do that for me?”

I planted a kiss on Liscia’s forehead and then left the governmental affairs office.

When I left through the door, I was met by a red-faced Carla, who was averting her eyes, and a gently-smiling Serina. I understood why Carla was there, since she had been standing guard, but why Serina?

Serina showed a slight, impassive smile and said, “You two had fun last night.”

Wow... That line, when someone actually says it to you in real life, it’s really frustrating.

“...You’re up early, Head Maid,” I said.

“I am the princess’ personal maid, after all.” With that answer, which I wasn’t sure qualified as one, Serina gave me an elegant bow.

I thought, Oh, yeah, she’s definitely having fun with this... but I knew if I said anything, there would be three times as many verbal daggers coming my way, so I stayed silent. It was better to let sleeping sadists lie. If you could turn a blind eye to her bad habit for bullying cute girls, she was extremely competent at her work.

“Serina, Carla... Take care of Liscia and the room for me,” I said.

“Understood,” Serina said. “Let’s get to it, Carla.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am!”

Serina and Carla bowed to me and then entered the room. A moment later, from inside...

“S-Serina?! I’m still naked here!” Liscia shouted.

“We need to clean up, so please, get out of bed already. If you don’t, I will have Carla carry you out of this room, bed and all.”

“Hold on, Carla! Don’t lift the bed!”

“...Sorry,” Carla said. “If I defy the head maid, I’ll be humiliated myself later...”

“Eeeek!”

...Well, I heard those voices and a lot of banging.

Okay, Liscia. Live strong, I thought.

“Now, then...” I slapped my own cheeks. It was time for a change of mindset. With my relationship with Liscia having grown deeper, I felt like I needed to be ever more determined.

In order to defend my beloved family, I was going to put one over on the theocracy.

“Well, off to scheme with Hakuya, I guess.”

I skipped off down the corridor.

◇　◇　◇

—Days later.

I had sent a message to Saint Mary who was staying at the Lunarian church in Parnam to inform her that I would be holding another meeting with her. Mary had responded that she would come to the castle at once.

And so, once again, Mary and I faced one another in Parnam Castle’s audience chamber. It was an audience with the same faces, and standing in the same places, as the last one. I hadn’t been able to focus during the previous one because something had felt off about Mary, but now that I knew the trick to it, I could look at her with a clear head.

Seeing her again after a few days, Mary was still beautiful, and still doll-like. I exchanged brief pleasantries with her, then decided to get straight down to business.

“Now then, regarding the matter of making Lunarian Orthodoxy our state religion...”

She waited silently.

“If you can accept two conditions, I don’t mind doing it.”

“Conditions...?” Mary tilted her head to the side questioningly.

I answered her in as light a tone as I could manage. “Oh, it’s nothing too difficult. The first is that you not make me the Holy King of Lunarian Orthodoxy. I don’t want you one-sidedly starting to call me that, either. I want a firm agreement on this point.”

“Why is that? If you became our holy king, you would stand above adherents of Lunarian Orthodoxy in every country, you know?” Mary looked perplexed.

I shook my head with a wry smile. “That’s because I’m not an adherent of Lunarian Orthodoxy myself. Even if someone like me was suddenly named holy king, I’m sure there would be resistance from the believers. I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline the position.”

“Oh... I see.”

Though Mary acted disappointed, she meekly backed down on the point.

Of course, the reason I’d given her was just a front. I had no desire to be their holy king, or anything like that, and I couldn’t let us regress into a country where the church controlled education, either. My goal here was to prevent the Orthodox Papal State from naming me holy king and making me carry the flag in their conflict with the Empire.

“Now, as for the second condition... I’ll have Prime Minister Hakuya explain this one,” I said.

Hakuya brought a hand to his chest and bowed before taking one step forward. “Allow me to explain. The other condition we are presenting is that we want to invite a bishop from the Orthodox Papal State to come here and manage the believers of Lunarian Orthodoxy within the country.”

“Of course we can do that,” said Mary. “I had intended to come here myself.”

Hakuya replied, “Oh, we could never ask that of you,” and waved his hand. “We have no desire to impose on a saint. We have a specific individual we would like to invite here as our bishop.”

“You have someone you want to invite here? Who might that be?”

“Bishop Souji Lester.”

Mary was silent. The moment she heard the name, her brow furrowed just a little.

I only saw it for that one instant, but it was a look of revulsion. It was the first human reaction I had seen from doll-like Mary.

Mary asked Hakuya with a slightly stiff expression, “Sir Hakuya, are you... aware of what kind of man he is?”

“Yes. I have heard that he is very sharp.”

“No, he is just cunning,” said Mary. “I cannot say... that I would recommend him. He extorts large amounts of money from the believers, drinks heavily, toys with women, and engages in many other such indecent behaviors. Normally, as a man of the cloth, he would have sworn off such desires, but that man is mired in the secular and does as he pleases. His Holiness and the cardinals view his behavior as an issue. I, myself... also find him unlikable.”

It was a firm rejection. He was a man that even this doll-like girl would hate, it seemed. Now I was interested.

“How did a man like that become a bishop?” I asked.

Mary’s lips drew taut. There was a short pause before she opened them again to say, “This is... an embarrassing thing to talk about, but we in the priesthood are supported by the donations of the followers. There were cardinals who defended Bishop Souji because, regardless of his methods, he was able to bring in large donations...”

Ah... I was starting to see how it worked.

Most likely, this Souji was paying bribes to a number of the cardinals. Even if their saint wasn’t, the upper echelons of the church felt very human, and very rotten. That was why even if they wanted to remove him, they couldn’t.

“However,” Mary said to Hakuya, “there are now voices in the church saying that he should be expelled. I believe it is only a matter of time until he is excommunicated. Do you want to invite a man like that here?”

Even as she looked at him with clear opposition in her eyes, Hakuya never broke his quiet smile. “That sounds just perfect to me. If you mean to expel him, we will take custody of him here in our country. His Majesty is quite fond of gathering talented personnel, you see, and he has told me that if there is a bishop like that, he wants to meet him.”

I had no recollection of ever saying such a thing. I didn’t know a thing about this Souji, or even what his name was, after all. However, I had been told in advance that this Souji would be a key player in Hakuya’s plot, so I nodded as if it were true.

Mary looked at Hakuya with apparent displeasure. “If he is to come here as a bishop, that would place him at the head of all believers of Lunarian Orthodoxy in this country. I cannot see how he would be up to the task.”

“If he is insufficient, we can simply have another person come at a later date,” said Hakuya with a chillingly cold look in his eyes. “If he does not live up to our standards, I would not object to disposing of him personally.”

Wow... Hakuya sure had one villainous look on his face. He had a clever-looking face to begin with, so the cold smile fit him well. Honestly, he was pretty scary.

Mary was overwhelmed by his intensity for a moment, and then found herself unable to say any more. “...Very well. If, under any circumstance, he is unable to come, I will take his place.”

Hakuya inclined his head. “Yes, if that happens, please do.”

The two of them looked straight at one another, each trying to suss out the other’s motives. The doll and the villain stared one another down, and not only did sparks seem to fly, a chilling air descended on the whole room.

This air was off-putting for both Liscia and me, and Aisha, who wasn’t used to this sort of atmosphere, looked a little sick. Regardless, that was everything settled.

To summarize what had been decided here, it would come down to these three points:

The Kingdom of Friedonia would accept Lunarian Orthodoxy as its state religion.

The Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria would not name me holy king.

Souji Lester would be dispatched by the Orthodox Papal State as a bishop.

With the matter settled, Mary bid us farewell and departed. She hadn’t been able to make me into their holy king, but she had been able to get Lunarian Orthodoxy adopted as our state religion, so it was a decent result for her. I figured that with this, she ought to return to the Orthodox Papal State quietly.

I waited for the report that she had left the castle, and then I was finally able to feel a little less tense.

“Whew... Do you think that more or less handled it?” I asked.

“Most likely,” said Hakuya. “The saint believes that she has accomplished something, I’m sure.”

Then he laughed.

Just as planned... was what Hakuya’s laugh seemed to say.

I shrugged and told him, “Hakuya, you’ve still got your villain face on.”

“...Pardon me,” he said, and resumed his usual nonchalant expression.

I asked him, “So, have you made preparations for welcoming that bishop, Souji, or whatever his name was?”

“Yes. The Black Cats led by Sir Kagetora have already infiltrated the Orthodox Papal State. I am sure they have already accompanied Sir Souji to a place near the border. I assume that they will have brought him back to the royal capital within a few days.”

Looking at the intelligence-gathering ability he’d demonstrated by knowing about the bishop named Souji, as well as the preparedness he’d shown by taking steps to protect him, this was the sort of meticulous attention to detail that I had come to expect from our Black-robed Prime Minister.

“But did you really need to send the Black Cats to escort him?” I asked.

“From the saint’s reaction, it seems they are hesitant to dispatch someone who seems likely to embarrass their country as a bishop,” Hakuya said. “In order to secure our promise that we would recognize Lunarian Orthodoxy as our state religion, she accepted our conditions here, but once she returned home, there was the risk that she would renege on them for ‘some reason.’ For instance, we might be told that Souji was injured in an accident, and so they’d be sending someone else... or some other such story. That’s why I decided to have the Black Cats go and bring him back first.”

Injured in an accident... huh. In my mind’s eye, I could imagine the Orthodox Papal State doing it. There was no guarantee he wouldn’t “go missing” into a prison, or “die of a sudden illness” that was actually an assassination, either. If he had taken that much into account, I had to hand it to Hakuya.

“Honestly, I’m impressed you can scheme as much as you do,” I said teasingly.

Liscia, who was standing next to me, gave me a cold look. “You’re quite the schemer yourself, aren’t you, Souma? I mean, in a way, you’re deceiving that poor, innocent saint.”

“Don’t make me sound so bad,” I said. “I haven’t told her any lies.”

There had been no lie when I’d told her I would make Lunarian Orthodoxy our state religion.

“However, we might be working under different definitions of what a ‘state religion’ is,” I added.

“Honestly... It’s all in how you word things.” From the exasperated look Liscia gave me, I must have had a pretty villainous look on my face, too.

◇　◇　◇

A few more days after that...

The royal castle in the Kingdom of Friedonia announced that all faiths and religions were to be registered with the state, and that all religions that received recognition in this way would be considered state religions. In other words, the meaning of a state religion in the kingdom was changed to be the same as a religious corporation.

King Souma appeared on the Jewel Voice Broadcast for the first time in a while to address his people.

“In this country, up until now, every person, every family, and every race has worshiped whatever gods they pleased,” he announced. “In addition to the faiths with the most believers, those being Mother Dragon worship and Lunarian Orthodoxy, the dark elves worship the godbeast said to protect the God-Protected Forest, and there are those who worship sea and mountain gods, as well. We all come from different races and have grown up in different environments, so it’s very natural that things have turned out this way.”

The people who lived in inland cities, in mountain villages, and in seaside towns all nodded in agreement with his words. They lived in different places, so it was a given that the things they feared and the things they worshiped would be different.

The image of Souma continued speaking to the people of his country.

“This is a multi-racial state. In our country, the customs of many different groups have melted and mixed together, creating new forms of culture every day. I believe faith should be the same way. What this kingdom needs isn’t unity under one god. I think it’s the harmony that comes from recognizing the freedom of individuals to choose what they want to believe in. Just as you have beings in which you believe, so do others. I would like for all of you to accept that, and to please be tolerant. If you are, I am sure that others will be tolerant of your beliefs, as well.”

The people only half-believed what Souma said.

In this country where the media had not yet developed, they had limited knowledge of other religions. Basically, they had no idea what was taught in the churches of other faiths. That was why they were doubtful. Suspicion gave birth to ogres in dark places and turned dried pampas grass into ghosts.

Even if a group were simple mountain worshipers, those who were suspicious of them might think they were a secretive evil organization. Souma was well aware of that.

“What do we need in order to cultivate that tolerance?” Souma asked. “Mutual understanding. No matter how I tell you to be tolerant of other faiths, we can’t accept evil religions that do things like sacrifice virgins in order to summon devils. I won’t ask you to be tolerant of such religions. However, I’m sure it’s hard to tell if another person’s religion is good or evil from the outside.”

Here Souma paused, and stressed: “And that’s why we’re nationalizing religion.”

He continued, “I want the representatives of each faith-based organization to register their religion with the country. If you pass the examination, your religion will be recognized as a state religion, subject to further investigations once every few years.

“The examination process is simple. You need only pledge not to engage in illegal activities such as killing, robbing others of their possessions, or engaging in sexual violence in the name of your religion.

“Harming people is generally against the rules, too, but some religions out there might engage in self-harm. For questions about the specific details, such as whether giving someone a tattoo constitutes harm, please consult your local authorities. I’ve provided them with specific guidelines, such as accepting things when people ask for it on their own, but forbidding things when they are forced on people who don’t want them, so please follow their directions.

“If any religion can’t make this pledge, or refuses to register, they will be dealt with by the authorities, so please be aware of that. Our people would have trouble sleeping at night if people who follow such dangerous beliefs were allowed to live near them, I’m sure. I want you to understand this.”

With all of that said, Souma took a deep breath. Then he continued on, as if speaking to each of his people personally.

“Finally, I believe that faith is something that exists for the living, not the dead. In order not to drag our sadness with us, to live through the pains of our daily lives, and to live our lives as good people, we should have faith. I pray that no person will be harmed by that faith.”

I pray that no person will be harmed by that faith.

This was the thing that Souma most wanted to say.

Ever since the Demon Lord’s Domain had appeared, the people had had no end of things to worry about. In times like this, religion became more active as the people’s hearts relied on it for support, and when religion grew more active, conflicts between different religions and sects arose. The people’s support would turn into something that hurt them.

There might not have been many people in the kingdom who fully understood that. However, his words would stick in their ears.

As if trying to change the mood, Souma clapped his hands. “Well, that’s enough serious talk. Now that every religion that registers will be becoming a state religion, we have a little event planned. Roroa will explain.”

“Righty-o! Just you leave it to me!” Roroa exclaimed.

When Souma stepped aside, an adorable girl with her hair tied back in two tails came to stand beside him.

“Howdy-do, I’m the former Princess of Amidonia and Souma’s third fiancée, Roroa. How’s everyone in the Kingdom of Friedonia doin’ out there?”

Witnessing her inexhaustible supply of cheer, the people of Elfrieden were dumbfounded, while the people of Amidonia smiled wryly and said, “That’s just like our princess.” The serious atmosphere that had been building up until that point vanished as if it had all been a lie, and it had never been there to begin with. Even King Souma was stunned.

“...That’s the tone you’re doing this in, Roroa?” Souma asked.

“It’s fine, darlin’,” Roroa said confidently. “Since I’m on Juna’s Together With Big Sis, the people already know what kind of character I am.”

“I thought that casting choice was pretty forced, though...”

Souma slumped his exhausted shoulders. He seemed less like her fiancé and more like a big brother being run ragged by his little sister; but the people of the kingdom felt at ease watching them.

Then Roroa turned toward the screen, put her hands on her hips, and said, “Now, we’re gonna be makin’ all of the religions that register with us into state religions, but I’ve got a li’l request for ya all when you’re registerin’. If any of you have interestin’ festivals for your gods, be sure to tell us, would ya? In Darlin’s world, I hear that some religious events have been turned into national festivals, and believers and non-believers alike enjoy ’em together. Why don’t we have ourselves a real good time doin’ that in this country, too?”

Roroa threw her arms up and the people cheered. It seemed that even if they didn’t understand what she was saying, they had reacted to the word “festival.” They were excited that something fun was going to happen.

Incidentally, right after that, Roroa whispered, “Besides, if we make a festival of it, that’ll get the money movin’, and that’d just tickle me pink,” but her voice was low enough that it only made Souma who was beside her smile wryly.

Roroa winked at the screen. “Well, since I’m sure just talkin’ about it isn’t givin’ ya all a good sense of what I mean, I probably oughta give ya a concrete example. So, Old Man Souji, come over here and explain for the people.”

“Oh, come on, Little Miss Roroa, calling me an old man is a bit much...” The one who appeared saying that was a human man, about forty years old, with a muscular body. He spoke with a wry tone, rubbing his smooth head which was as tanned as the rest of his body. “I’m still a Lunarian Orthodox bishop, you know.”

Now that he mentioned it, the man was wearing the uniform (?) of a Lunarian Orthodox priest. That (?) is there because he wore it loosely... Too loosely in fact, and it had been modified to an almost scandalous degree. The long sleeves were cut short, and his pants and ceremonial robe only went down to just below the knees. When this fit and tanned man wore the outfit, it looked like a samue, an outfit that Japanese Zen Buddhist monks wore while engaged in simple physical work.

Roroa voiced an objection. “An old man’s an old man. Besides, I think it’s a bit much for you to be callin’ the soon-to-be third primary queen ‘little miss.’”

Those were fighting words, and the man responded in kind. “Don’t add in the octopus part! Now listen here, little missie, you’re going to be a married woman soon, so you’d better develop at least one kind of overflowing sexiness.”

“Wh-What was that?! Just you watch...” Roroa suddenly struck a pose and tried to moan erotically, but the man just chuckled.

The fact that he had laughed at the best sexy pose (?) she could manage sent Roroa into angry mode, and Souma had to hurriedly pin her arms behind her back.

“Let go of me, darlin’!” she shouted. “I can’t boil that octopus like this!”

“Calm down, Roroa. I thought you were cute,” Souma said and patted her on the head.

Roroa’s head spun to look at him. “...Ya mean it?”

“Sure, you were real cute.”

“Hm... Well, I’ll forgive him, then.”

That’s all it took?! thought the people watching. These people weren’t familiar with husband and wife manzai comedy routines, so they didn’t know exactly what they were being shown, but they were relieved that everything had been resolved peaceably.

Souma smiled wryly and said to the man in the customized priest’s uniform, “Now then, Sir Souji, if you could handle the rest of the explanation.”

“Understood, King Souma.”

With that said, the man took one step forward.

“Greetings to you, people of Friedonia. I am the bishop who has been sent by the Orthodox Papal State of Lunaria to organize the faithful in this country: Souji Lester.”

“...It’s still only noon, you realize, clergyman,” I said. “Is this Merula?”

“Hello, King Souma,” the hooded Merula waved to me cheerily.

It was Merula, right? It would be a problem if people found out she was a high elf, so she was probably trying to keep a low profile.

Souji knocked back his drink, and said with glazed eyes, “Whew... It sure is a festival. Don’t be such a stiff. Aren’t you out on the town with Aisha and Tomoe? You’ve got a beautiful flower on each arm, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah... Have to spend time with the family, you know.”

The reason I was heading out in secret today was to survey the castle town, but also to have a date with Aisha.

Though I had... um... developed my relationship with Liscia, I hadn’t laid a hand on any of my other fiancées yet. That was to prevent a troublesome birth order of the children, in order to prevent it developing into a succession issue. Especially with Roroa, who was in the dicey position of being the sovereign princess of a former enemy state; for her sake, and the sake of the child who would eventually be born, I couldn’t go laying a hand on her yet.

It probably wouldn’t be an issue if I laid a hand on my secondary queen, Juna, whose children wouldn’t have the right to inherit, or on Aisha, who was from a long-lived race and would have trouble conceiving to begin with, but they were holding back out of consideration for Roroa.

Honestly... they were all such lovely women.

Well, the result was that Liscia now had my other fiancées asking her to, “Hurry up with the heir already,” and she’d complained to me, “I swear, the pressure is making my stomach hurt.”

...I kind of felt bad for her.

Ahem... Anyway, even if I couldn’t lay my hands on them, it was important that I still do other things with Aisha and the others.

When I explained that to Souji, he said, “Hmm. Must be tough having to be a family man when you’re so young,” as if it was none of his problem, and then he knocked back his mug and polished off the rest of his wine as if rubbing it in my face. “Pwah!”

“Don’t you think you’ve had more than enough?” I asked.

“In Lunarian Orthodoxy, wine is sacred. In other words, by pouring this liquid into my body, I’m accumulating virtue.”

“That absolutely sounds like the excuse of a drunkard,” I informed him. “You really are irresponsible.”

“But it’s convenient for your people that I’m so irresponsible, right?” Souji grinned.

...Honestly, this octopus-headed old man.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Well, yeah. I mean, Hakuya’s plan is to use you to sever the believers from the homeland.”

“Well, you scratch my back, I scratch yours, Your Majesty. I’ll slack off with everything I’ve got.”

“I’m counting on you,” I said. “Now then, I should get back to Aisha and Tomoe.”

“Sure. May God’s protection and peace be upon you and your family.”

Hearing the delinquent bishop’s prayer behind me, which it was hard to know how serious he was about, I headed back to where Aisha and Tomoe were.

Liscia seemed to think it was a coincidence, but when I considered the dream I’d just had...

It was a dream, and yet not a dream... Is that it?

I had a premonition that something was about to happen again, and I let out a small sigh.

◇　◇　◇

The next day...

While I was still concerned by the events of last night, I was working like usual in the governmental affairs office when an exhausted Prime Minister Hakuya came in.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “You look horribly tired.”

Hakuya walked over, and then said to me with a tormented look, “Your Majesty... Could I ask you to get away from the castle for a while?”

“...Come again?”

Get away from the castle? He was telling me to get out of the castle? I was kind of the king here, you know?

“You’re overthrowing me?” I asked. “Really, Hakuya, if you want the throne, it’s okay, I don’t mind letting you have it.”

“Don’t talk nonsense. I don’t want that thing.”

“‘That thing’? Now listen...”

“It’s fine. Just listen. Just recently, you announced the date of your wedding ceremony, right?”

When Hakuya asked me that, I nodded.

The other day, I’d announced that I, who was still just a caretaker who had not formally ascended the throne yet, would carry out the coronation ceremony which would make me the fourteenth king, along with my wedding ceremony with Liscia and the others, at the end of this year. I had decided to do it this way because handling the big events all at once would be easier on the national treasury.

However, Hakuya said it was causing a problem.

“The castle is now being flooded with proposals from nobles, as well as from the kings of medium-sized and small states in the Union of Eastern Nations, all of whom want to form marital ties with you, sire. They’re hoping to slide in now, before the marriage ceremony happens.”

“It’s a last minute rush of suitors, then?” I said. “Can’t you just refuse them?”

“We could, but... these are all houses whose position makes it hard to refuse when they say, ‘Even if you are going to refuse, we would like to meet with you at least once before you do.’ Recently, the number of marriage proposals brought to the castle has been on a rising trend, and the section responsible for them is about ready to burst at the seams.”

“...There are that many people sending me marriage proposals?” I asked trepidatiously.

“No, they aren’t just for you, sire. The single men at your side who are seen as having promising futures, every one of them, have been receiving a fairly large number of marriage proposals, too.”

So if they couldn’t marry into the royal family, they at least wanted to marry a retainer with a promising future. That was probably an easier challenge for them to clear than becoming a member of the royal family, after all. Honestly... if you were to say that this was all nobles ever did, it would be true, but... still, it was impressive that they could keep it up like this.

“Incidentally, the most popular of your retainers is Sir Poncho,” Hakuya said.

Poncho? Now there was a surprise.

“Not Ludwin, the handsome captain of the Royal Guard?”

“It’s true, Sir Ludwin is incredibly popular, but the House of Arcs is a great house, and the only people who can propose to him are of the nobility and the knightly class,” said Hakuya. “On that point, Sir Poncho is of low birth, and so even common mercantile families send marriage proposals to him. Furthermore, while Sir Ludwin feels out of reach, many women seem to think they could easily seduce Sir Poncho.”

“...He’s being taken lightly, huh.”

If the marriage proposals were piling up for Poncho, that meant he was popular, too. Though he was pudgy and rotund, he was also a gentle and considerate young man. More than that, his food was delicious. On top of that, he had led the country to a solution for its food crisis; and if you considered the way he was almost worshiped as a god of food in the Amidonia Region, there had to be a lot of women who would want to marry him.

Poncho was known for giving ground when pushed, which they had seen from his appearances on the broadcast programs. For any woman even slightly confident in her appearance, it might not have been unreasonable that they thought they could push past his defenses with sheer momentum. In point of fact, Poncho was not very good at fending off those sorts of advances.

Hmm... I was happy to hear that a good retainer like Poncho was a hit with the ladies, but I was hoping he would continue doing good work for me in future, so I didn’t want anyone too weird catching him.

“Have you taken countermeasures?” I asked.

“Yes. I have already asked Madam Serina to act as Sir Poncho’s assistant. She attends arranged marriage meetings with him, and drives off women who approach him purely out of personal ambition.”

Oh... No need to worry, then. If Serina was there as Poncho’s assistant, it would probably be fine.

There were some issues with Serina’s personality, but she was extremely graceful and beautiful. If she was at his side, the women who were only a little confident in their appearance, and who thought they could seduce him, would back down.

I had often asked her to serve as Poncho’s assistant before this, but Serina always said things like, “When I go to such efforts on a gentleman’s behalf, I hope he will get his act together a little more. I am working very hard, so please, treat me to a meal again sometime.”

Though she complained, and it was obvious she was only doing it because she wanted his food, she seemed to be proactive about looking after Poncho. Poncho loved both to eat and to cook, and Serina was hooked on the junk food from Earth that he and I were developing together.

Serina seemed unaware of it because she had let her sadistic tendency to bully cute girls get out of hand, but it felt like he had completely tamed her with food. He was a timid man you couldn’t leave alone, and she was a strong-willed woman who tended to meddle, so they got along well and... Wait, huh?

“Serina attends Poncho’s marriage meetings, right?” I asked.

“Yes. I hear that many women excuse themselves when they see what the woman standing next to him looks like.”

“Isn’t that like... Serina’s unconsciously ‘sheltering’ Poncho?”

“...”

...

We looked at one another, awkward looks on the faces of liege and vassal alike.

...Yeah, it was best we not get involved in this matter. It would be uncouth for us to butt in and say anything. For the moment, I decided to change the subject.

“Ahem... Anyway, I’ll bet it’s not just Ludwin and Poncho, is it? You must have a significant number of proposals coming your way, too, don’t you?”

Hakuya was handsome, and he was the closest of all the men close to me. I couldn’t imagine the ladies and nobles of the world would let him get away. When I brought it up, Hakuya got a look on his face like he had bitten into something unpleasant.

“I... have no intention of taking a wife just yet.”

“It’s not that you aren’t interested in women, though, right? Are you one of those guys who thinks marriage is too much of a hassle?”

“No,” said Hakuya. “I do intend to have a wife and children some day, but I want to find and choose a partner for myself. I wouldn’t want someone else to force a marriage on me.”

“...You’re saying that to me?” I asked.

For Liscia and me, our betrothal had been totally forced on us. Even with Aisha and Juna, they’d both initially approached me with other motives because of their positions; and when it came to Roroa, she had brought her whole country with her so that she could protect the people of the principality through marrying me. I hadn’t met a single one of them in an ordinary way.

When I pointed that out, Hakuya bowed his head to me, more flustered than I would have expected from him. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to speak ill of your betrothals, sire...”

“It’s fine. I mean, in my world, the majority of people thought the way that you do.”

In Japan, marriages were generally for love and with the consent of both parties.

In this world which hadn’t managed to throw off the feudal system, the higher their position in society, the less freedom people had in that regard. In particular, when it came to the marriages of the knights and nobles, their meaning as a bond between houses was majorly important. Like with Ludwin and Genia, or Hal and Kaede, there were cases where the houses were already associated with one another, but those were rare exceptions. In most cases, the higher up you went on the social ladder, the more the house’s expectations determined one’s marriage choices.

Though, that said, if someone had enough authority, like I did, it was an issue that could be dealt with. It had come up with my betrothal to Juna, but if we had arranged to have her adopted into a noble family, it would have been possible to adjust the status difference between us.

In Hakuya’s case, he was the Prime Minister of this country, so he could do something like that. So, in this case, it was an issue with Hakuya’s views on marriage.

Well, if there was one thing I could say, it was that no matter how it got started in the first place, love was love. My bond with Liscia and the others was so deep now that I couldn’t imagine parting with them.

“Hey, some loves have started in a relationship that was forced on people, you know?” I asked, speaking fondly of my own loved ones.

Hakuya looked taken aback, then smiled a little. “...I suppose you’re right. When I see you and your family, sire, I start to think that maybe it would be all right.”

“But for now, you still have no intention of marrying anyone?”

“I apologize.”

Hmm... Well, if he wanted to wait for his ideal woman to appear, I supposed that was an option. Maybe he had already met someone like that, and was engaged in a one-sided love right now.

“But as your king, let me say, you had better start training your heir in case the worst should happen,” I said. “I’m sure you’d like to be able to settle into an easy retirement nice and early, too, right?”

“That’s true. I think I’ll look for a good time to take on an apprentice.”

“Oh, I guess an apprentice works, too. Come to think of it, you’ve been teaching Tomoe, haven’t you?”

Tomoe was my little sister by adoption, and I loved her dearly. Recently she had been learning reading, writing, and arithmetic from Hakuya, and he was apparently teaching her this country’s history, too. I’d heard that she was an enthusiastic learner, and Hakuya was responding to her by becoming an enthusiastic instructor.

When I brought it up, Hakuya smiled wryly. “I gave in to your little sister’s drive to be of help to her big sister. Though she is not especially clever, she does have passion, so I believe she may become an accomplished individual given time. Though, that said, I have no desire to place my heavy burden on your little sister’s shoulders.”

“Haven’t you already turned into a doting teacher?” I asked.

“My opinion is based on a calm evaluation.”

Hmm... Well, if Hakuya was thinking about this stuff in his own way, that was good enough, I guess.

“Hey, wait! How did we get onto this topic again?” I asked.

“From talking about how we’re swamped with marriage proposals for you, sire,” Hakuya said. “And on that note, I want you to get out of the castle for a while. If you are not present in the castle, it is easy to refuse the nobles who insist on you ‘just meeting them once.’”

Oh, right. If I wasn’t present, I couldn’t meet them even if I wanted to. His plan was to be evasive and avoid giving any straight answers while we waited for this wave to subside, no doubt.

“But what about my government work in the meantime?”

“Fortunately, there are no pressing concerns, and the country is stable right now. For your ordinary government work, you can use that creepy ‘Factory Arm’ machine of yours and it will handle the job just fine, won’t it?”

“Don’t call it creepy,” I said. “Well... I guess you’re right.”

He was talking about the human arm-type manipulator that Genia had developed: the Factory Arm #1. By attaching the Factory Arm #1, which could move like a real human arm, to a mannequin, I was able to perform my government work from a distance. It was creepy to look at, so it wasn’t popular with those who had to visit the room, like the bureaucrats or the chamberlain, but it was a very handy thing to have.

It was true that, so long as I had it, there was no need for me to stay in the castle.

“So, once I’m out of the castle, what are you expecting me to do?” I asked.

“Well, in order to provide an environment where it’s easy to shut out nobles who want to meet with you, while also being closed off and easy to secure, I was considering a short-term enrollment in the Royal Academy or Royal Officer’s Academy for you, but...” Hakuya pulled out a single letter. “Now that something like this has arrived, I believe I will send you abroad.”

“Abroad?” I inquired, looking at the letter. There was a dragon crest on the wax seal.

Hakuya bowed his head. “I took the liberty of opening it and perusing the contents. It is a letter of invitation to the Contract Ceremony in the Star Dragon Mountain Range.”

“Madam Mother Dragon sure works fast, huh.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

Hakuya looked at me questioningly, so I explained to him what had happened last night. When Hakuya heard I had spoken to Mother Dragon in my dreams, he had an excited look on his face that I didn’t often see from him.

“What an honor that must have been!”

“You seem awfully high strung. Hakuya, are you one of those Mother Dragon worshipers?”

“Oh, no... It’s true that my family were Mother Dragon worshipers, but I’m not that pious myself.”

“Okay, then what has you so excited?” I asked.

Hakuya shrugged his shoulder exasperatedly. “The only nation the Star Dragon Mountain Range has formed diplomatic relations with is the Nothung Dragon Knight Kingdom, but there are rare occasions when Mother Dragon will make an exception and invite a specific individual to have them form a riding contract with a dragon. From what I’ve heard, the first king of this country was also invited to form a contract with a dragon.”

Oh, the first king, who’d been summoned from another world like me.

Bringing together the various races, founding the Elfrieden Kingdom, forming a contract with a dragon... he’d sure acted a lot more like a hero than I ever had. Excel probably knew all about those times, so maybe it would be good to talk to her about his achievements at length sometime.

“Well, unusual as it is, is it really something we should be in such a rush to go do?” I asked.

“There is something in common between you and the first king, sire. You were both summoned from another world. That’s why, for some, you remind them of the first king. If you manage to form a contract with a dragon there like the first king did, the number of people who view you and the first king in the same light will increase. If the people respect you more, the country will become even more stable.”

“I’d be borrowing the authority of the first king, then,” I mused. “That sounds like it’d lead to inflated expectations, and I don’t like it.”

“Be willing to put up with that much, please. You are doing your job as a ‘king,’ but your title as ‘hero’ is being left to rot. In order to avoid losing to the Empire or the Orthodox Papal State in terms of dignity, considering that both of them have saints, I’ve been thinking we need something prestigious.”

“I get what you want to say, but... don’t get your hopes up too high, okay?” I hedged. “It’s not guaranteed that I’ll be forming a contract with a dragon. I mean, I might only have been called there as a guest of honor.”

Having warned Hakuya, I rested my cheeks on my palms and thought about it. For a start, if I were to assume it was already decided I would be going to the Star Dragon Mountain Range... then the next thing to decide was who I would take with me.

“...So, there you have it, it’s been decided I’m going to the Star Dragon Mountain Range.”

It was a few hours later. I had gathered my companions in the conference room for the announcement.

Present were my four fiancées, Liscia, Aisha, Juna, and Roroa, as well as Prime Minister Hakuya, Captain of the Royal Guard Ludwin, Finance Minister Colbert, my honorary little sister Tomoe, and the maids Serina and Carla, for a total of eleven people, including myself.

“You’ll be going out of the country, right? Are you going to be okay?” Liscia asked, sounding concerned, so I nodded.

“I’ll have the Black Cats watching over me from the shadows along the way. Mind you, I really can’t have them enter the territory of the Star Dragon Mountain Range with me. Still, once we’re in the Star Dragon Mountain Range, there probably isn’t anyone who’d try to mess with us. Besides, I’ve been given permission to bring a few companions with me into the Star Dragon Mountain Range. Hakuya, how many was the limit again?”

“Up to five was what the letter said.”

Nodding in response to Hakuya’s answer, I turned to face the rest. “That being the case, I want to bring about five people. We’re going incognito, so I don’t want to stand out, but it’s outside the country, and we don’t know what might happen. That’s why, as much as possible, I want people who are capable warriors. Aisha, I definitely want you with me.”

“Yes, sir. I will protect you with my life, Your Majesty.”

“That’s no good,” I said. “You’re already recognized by the people as a candidate to become my future second primary queen. I know it’s weird for me to say this when I’m the one who needs protecting, but don’t say you’ll give your life for me. Make sure you protect yourself properly, too.”

“Y-Yes! Understood!” Aisha bobbed her head up and down, nodding.

Next I looked to Liscia. “On the other hand, the one person I can’t take with me this time is Liscia.”

“...Can you give me a reason?” Liscia asked with a look of discontent on her face. She clearly wasn’t satisfied, but she was willing to hear me out first.

“If I’m the top authority in this country, you’re number two,” I said. “We estimate the trip abroad will last about a month. We can’t have the top authority and his number two both away for that long. I’m sure there’s no risk to our lives, but think what would happen if something delayed our return. In the event that happens, I need to have left behind someone who can run the country for me.”

“...You’re right. It’s unfortunate, but... I can accept that,” Liscia said with a sigh.

I regretted it, too. She was a reliable girl, and I really did want to bring her.

Liscia brought a hand to her chest, as if trying to shift her mindset. “I’ll hold down the fort while you’re gone. In exchange, can you try not to be too reckless?”

“Yeah. I’ll be relying on you.”

With Liscia having accepted it, I turned to Juna next.

“As for Juna, who can handle both fighting and intelligence gathering, I’d really like to have you along, but we can’t take you off the educational program for too long, now can we?”

“...That’s right. It’s a shame.”

“Oh, oh! Me! Me! I wanna go!” Roroa raised her hand and started hopping up and down trying to get my attention.

Colbert immediately pinned her arms behind her back. “Y-You can’t, Princess! We’ve expanded to so many different enterprises, I need you here to help manage them all! Besides, you have to appear with Juna on the educational program, don’t you?”

Roroa’s shoulders slumped. “Aw... but I wanted to go on vacation with Darlin’, too.”

“It’s a trip abroad, okay?” I said. “We’ll all go on a family vacation together eventually.”

“We’d better, darlin’!”

Of the remaining members, I looked to Carla.

“Carla, I want you to come as a bodyguard, too.”

“M-Me?!”

“Out of everyone here, I’m looking for someone with martial ability and nothing important to do, so you’re the most appropriate choice.”

“U-Understood, Master!” Carla cried.

“Carla, take care of Souma for me, would you?” Liscia walked over to her and took her hand gently.

Carla let go, took a step back, and saluted her. “Leave it to me, Liscia. I swear my master will come back unharmed!”

While watching that exchange between two friends out of the corner of my eye, I addressed the group.

“For the rest, they’re not here, but I think I’ll take Hal and Kaede. Hal’s martial prowess comes guaranteed, and I know him well. Kaede’s a powerful earth mage, too, after all. For now, I think I’ll take those four as my companions. Everyone, work on that assumption and...”

“U-Um! Big Brother.” Tomoe hesitantly, but using a clearly audible voice, raised her hand.

“Tomoe? What is it?” I asked.

“T-Take me with you, please!”

“““Whaa?!””” everyone cried out in surprise.

The timid Tomoe, who did everything she could to stay out of the way of the adults in the castle, was suddenly acting aggressive. Maybe the only one who wasn’t surprised was her teacher, Hakuya.

“Um... it’s outside the country, you know?” I said. “It could be dangerous, too...”

“I-I want to see more of the world! Not just the castle. I want to see more of everything, and to eventually be someone who can support my big brother and sister!” Tomoe clenched her fists tight as she made her appeal.

We had been protecting Tomoe up until now, but she’d said she wanted to be able to support us. Tomoe was eleven years old now. If she’d been a boy, it’d be a period in her life where she’d still be doing stupid stuff; and as a girl, she was about to hit a sensitive period. I was happy to see this change in her as a member of the family, and also concerned.

“Sire...” Hakuya said. “If possible, I would like you to take your little sister along.”

I was still at a loss for words.

“During this period, I have judged that broadening her horizons will help her to grow,” he continued.

“Well sure, even in my world there was a saying, ‘If you love your child, let them go on a journey,’ but still.” I crossed my arms and thought about what to do.

“Please, Big Brother...” Tomoe pleaded with teary eyes.

When she asked me with those cute puppy dog eyes that reminded me of this old commercial with a chihuahua, I really struggled to come up with my answer.

We had things covered in terms of martial ability. With Aisha and Halbert there, we could respond to almost any situation.

But still... it could be dangerous...

I was conflicted between my concern for her as as her big brother, and my desire to grant her wish as her big brother. After nearly two minutes of agonizing over it... in the end, I gave in to the earnest look in Tomoe’s eyes and raised the white flag.

“Okay... I’ll allow it. But only after you’ve gotten permission from Tomoko.” That was Tomoe’s mother. “If you can’t get her permission, I can’t take you with me. Also, none of us will be talking to her about this matter. You need to convince your mother on your own. Is that still okay?”

“Yes!” Tomoe energetically nodded.

I don’t know what happened between Tomoe and Tomoko after that. However, in the end, Tomoe managed to convince her.

When Tomoko appeared alongside Tomoe later, she must have been worried deep down. “Your Majesty, please take care of my daughter,” she said, and bowed her head to me resolutely.

It seemed the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. I meant that in a good way, of course.

Well, my companions for the trip were decided.

Off we would go.

Onward to the country of dragons, the Star Dragon Mountain Range.

Afterword

Thank you for purchasing the fifth volume of Realist Hero.

This is Dojyomaru. Because of the generation I come from, Zyuranger is the sentai hero team that I’m most attached to. I wanted a Zyusouken...

Now then, in the web version, this was where the title changed to How a Realist Hero Redeveloped the Kingdom and a new chapter began. From here on, the number of supporting characters in the cast fills out, the number of stories focused on supporting characters increases, and the story turns into an ensemble cast piece. There are an awful lot of characters, and I’m sure I will be causing Fuyu a lot of trouble to come up with designs for all of them, but I hope to continue working together in the future.

It was right just around this point in writing the web novel that illustrator Mizuka Sasa sent a drawing to support me, and I received an incredible map from a person called Tofu-chan-san. It made me aware that all sorts of people were reading my work. There are people who point out typos, missing words, and inconsistencies, too. I’m grateful to everyone.

Now then, a teaser for the next book.

Souma departs for the Star Dragon Mountain Range, but then it turns into a tale of boy-meets-girl that’s unusual for this story. That black girl will be making an appearance, too.

...What am I going to do about the Ensemble Arc? I’ll need to think of a good way to work it in.

Now, I give my thanks to Fuyuyuki for the wonderful illustrations, my editor, the designers, the proofreaders, and everyone who now holds this book in their hands.

This has been Dojyomaru.

Bonus Short Stories

Program Production Conference

Late in the 12th month, 1,546th year, Continental Calendar.

On this day, I called Juna and Roroa in to the conference room in order to hold a meeting about the educational program for the enlightenment of the people that we would be launching in the new year. I was involved with this broadcast program as the planner, Juna was the performer, and Roroa was the sponsor.

“Now then, at its most essential, this program is centered around Juna and Little Musashibo teaching math and other academic subjects to the people through the medium of song. However...” I interwove my fingers in front of my mouth, then said to the two of them, “I think that, on its own, would be weak. People become hesitant to study if it’s boring.”

“Ya got that right,” Roroa agreed. “I like arithmetic ’cause it’s good for makin’ me money, but I dunno when it comes to classical literature and the like. There ain’t no way some third party could really know what the author meant to say.” She spread her hands up in feigned defeat.

Juna chuckled. “Actually, because there’s no right answer, if you can just say something that sounds right, then it is. I find that easier. With arithmetic, even the slightest error in your calculations gives you a wrong answer.”

“Well, some people are stronger in the sciences, while others do better in the humanities,” I said. “I was in humanities, so my opinion is closer to Juna’s. Though history was more my thing than literature.”

“Which do ya think Big Sister Cia and Big Sister Ai are?” Roroa asked.

“They’re both specialized in athletics, I’d say.”

Juna giggled. “No doubt about that.”

It went without saying for Aisha, but, having had Georg as her mentor, Liscia could come up with some meatheaded ideas sometimes, too. Our family’s first and second most powerful warriors might be sneezing right now.

“Well, that being the case,” I said, “studying is something of an annoyance, so to get the people to watch a program that pushes them to do it, I think we need some sort of hook. If all we have is Juna and Little Musashibo singing fun songs, I think that’s maaaaybe a little weak.”

“But isn’t Big Sister Juna popular ’round the country?” Roroa asked.

“Well, yeah, she has incredible popularity as a lorelei. But this is an educational program. It’s important that the way she sings here be fun, not deeply emotional. Also, due to its nature as an educational program, I can’t go dressing her up in pretty dresses.”

“Big Sister Juna’s got too many things chainin’ her down, y’mean.” Roroa nodded in satisfaction.

Well, after all, with an eye to the coming announcement of my betrothal to Juna, shifting her image from “Juna the lorelei” to “Juna the girl who sings songs for children” was part of my intention here.

“I think if we have Juna and Little Musashibo as a set, the kids are sure to watch,” I said. “The problem is the adults. When I consider the literacy rate and level of academic achievement in this country, it’s really the adults that I most want to watch it. Children are flexible when it comes to learning, but adults have their values locked in place already.”

“You’re right.” Juna nodded in agreement. “’I’ve never needed to do it before, so why should I have to start now’... is something they seem likely to say. Especially the ones who need to study the most.”

Yeah, there were sure to be people like she described.

“That’s why, in order to hook those adults, I think we’ll roll out another project I’ve had in the works, too,” I said. “I just found the perfect man for the job.”

“Another project?” Juna asked.

“A hero program.”

Recently, I had uncovered a man named Ivan Juniro who could produce special effects like explosions in the form of an illusion. I was moving forward on the production of a hero program with him at the center.

“Being the cool hero who fights against bad guys is a fantasy for many boys and young men, so there should be demand for a show where women can watch a really cool guy. By combining these two things with an educational program, I want to get them to watch it while they tune in for the hero program.”

That was my impassioned argument, but Roroa seemed doubtful.

“I get what you’re sayin’, darlin’, but I just don’t understand what this hero program thing is supposed to be. Never seen one myself, after all. What’s it actually like?”

“Well... The early tokusatsu shows were about a really strong human with a secret identity easily defeating the bad guys. In ********* Zukin, ****** Kamen, and Kaiketsu *****, they would hide their identities with a cloth wrapped around their face, or a pair of sunglasses.”

“I dunno, for a secret identity, they weren’t hidin’ it very well,” Roroa said.

“...Those were early days, so please overlook the attention to detail on things like that being a bit weak.”

By the way, this was all stuff I’d picked up from Grandpa. He was a big fan of those sorts of tokusatsu heroes, and he’d had a collection of faded posters that were important to him.

“Things developed from there, and heroes who transformed, rode vehicles, and formed fighting teams appeared later, but... I don’t think we can do anything too elaborate with this country’s current level of technology. We should take our lessons from the early tokusatsu shows to start out.”

“I think it sound interestin’, but... makin’ the program’ll be expensive,” Roroa said. “If I can speak as a sponsor here, I’ll be wantin’ some way to make money off this whole endeavor.”

Roroa’s request was only to be expected.

“When it comes to hero programs, there are always tie-in goods,” I told her. “The items the hero uses when he transforms and fights become toys that the children will want. If your company handles the associated merchandise, I think you should turn a tidy profit if the show is a hit.”

“I see... Yeah, I’m thinkin’ we can make this work.” She must have done a quick mental calculation of the profits, because Roroa was grinning in satisfaction.

Meanwhile, Juna wore a pensive look as she asked, “I do think it will catch people’s attention, but... the viewers you mentioned are children, young men, and women, right? You’re missing older men, aren’t you?”

“...Yeah, that would be the problem, wouldn’t it?” That sharp observation had me scratching my head. “It’d be good if we had something to draw in the middle-aged men who are too old to get fired up over heroes.”

“That’s easy,” Roroa said with a blank look on her face. Huh? Easy? Then Roroa suddenly struck a sexy pose and moaned. “If we’re gonna hook old men with somethin’, it’s gotta be sex appeal.”

“Yes, yes, very cute,” I said.

“Hey, quit pattin’ me on the head.” Roroa puffed up her cheeks indignantly.

When Roroa tried striking a sexy pose, she only came off as a kid trying too hard to seem like an adult, but sex appeal, hmm... if I was going to put some of that in a hero show...

“An evil female commander, maybe. Some of them wore pretty sexy outfits.”

“I like it,” Roroa said. “A voluptuous bad girl’d do quite nicely.”

“But who could we have play her?”

When I said that, the room went silent.

If I were looking for someone voluptuous among those close to me, Aisha and Juna both had the figure for it, but the sexy evil commander was a villainous role, not something I wanted associated with a future queen of the country.

I pondered. “Hm, if only I had someone with a great figure, who was willing to wear sexy outfits, who would play a villain if I asked them to... Hey, wait.”

“...Hm?” Roroa asked.

“Um, Your Majesty, isn’t that...” Juna said slowly.

It seemed the three of us had come to the same conclusion.

She’d be perfect!

◇　◇　◇

“Achoo!”

“What’s wrong, Carla?” Liscia asked. “Did you catch a cold?”

“Oh, no, I’m fine. Someone must be talking about me.”

Hello, Miss Dran.

Castor’s Marine Diary

Early in the 2nd month, 1,547th year, Continental Calendar — Lagoon City

It was winter, but on this morning, the skies were clear and the temperature was warm. Aboard a single cruiser stopped in the military port at Lagoon City, someone was singing off-tune.

“I’m a sea hardy dragonewt. Instead of flying, the sea is my route. Keep her steady! Keep her steady! Lai-la-la-lai-lai-lai.”

The voice belonged to the former General of the Air Force, Castor, who was currently in the custody of Excel Walter after having taken part in Georg’s rebellion. He was in the middle of swabbing the deck while singing a song that he was making up as he went along.

“D-Duke Vargas, what are you doing?” A middle-aged human man ran over to Castor. He was the second-in-command on this cruiser.

“Huh?” Castor shouldered his mop, and looked at the man sideways. “Can’t you tell? I’m swabbing the deck.”

“That’s a job for the young marines. If a former duke like you does it, it will make the lower officers feel tense and the higher-ranked officers feel awkward.”

Castor responded with a somewhat self-mocking smirk, “I’m a fresh recruit now. Hasn’t Duchess Walter told you to treat me like one, too?”

Under Excel’s custody, Castor participated in training as a common marine by day, and received instruction on the Navy’s operations from Excel by night.

Castor had been bewildered about suddenly having to learn about the Navy at first, but with nothing to do while in the custody of another house, and also because of his deeply ingrained military mindset, he was enjoying the opportunity to serve in a military force, even if there were differences between the Air Force and the Navy.

“Also, don’t call me Duke Vargas,” Castor added. “I’ve been stripped of my family name.”

“Ah... Sir Castor, then. No, but still, you’re also Duchess Walter’s nephew...”

Though Castor had accepted his new position, those around him had not. Because he had formerly been one of the three dukes, and also husband to the daughter of Excel, the top of the National Defense Force (though he and his wife were officially separated), the people here didn’t know what to do with him. The higher up in the chain of command someone was, the more apparent that became.

Castor noted the second-in-command’s response and exasperatedly said, “Don’t worry about it. I’m just Castor now. Besides, I don’t dislike swabbing the deck. When I was in the Air Force, I took care of my own wyvern. It’s something I’ll ride, and be entrusting with my life, so, in that sense, a ship and a wyvern aren’t so different. By cleaning her every nook and cranny like this, I’ll get a feel for the shape of the ship.”

“I wish some of the young marines who whine about having to clean up could have heard you say that,” the second-in-command said with a sigh.

He himself had been a fresh recruit once upon a time, and he had hated his days of swabbing the decks and getting sunburned daily. It wasn’t until much later that it had taught him important lessons little by little. Castor’s ability to immediately understand that was impressive, but no less than might be expected from the man who had commanded an entire army for many years.

Castor rested his chin on the end of his mop which was pressed against the deck. “Besides, if I don’t work, I can’t go out drinking.”

“Is it an issue of money? ...Come to think of it, what were we doing about your salary?”

They had been ordered to treat Castor as a new recruit, but he was technically under Excel’s custody, and wasn’t formally a marine. Naturally, that meant he wouldn’t be drawing a salary from the National Defense Force.

Castor’s shoulders slumped. “I’m living entirely off of Duchess Walter’s pocket money.”

“Um... Is money tight?” the soldier asked.

“No, she gives me a good amount for someone being kept in custody. I don’t have any living expenses living in the Walter mansion, either... But still.”

“Is there something that dissatisfies you?”

“This is Duchess Walter we’re talking about,” Castor said. “She holds it over me. If I don’t take my training as a marine seriously, and I don’t learn how the Navy operates from her, there’s no telling what she’ll say to me. She’d start needling me with a smile on her face, I’m sure.”

“...I understand.”

The second-in-command sympathized with Castor’s situation.

The marines all referred to Excel as Mom out of respect, but they were also well aware that she had a personality that went much too far to simply be referred to as playfully mischievous. She had a beautiful, shapely body that made her look like a woman in her mid-twenties, and she was highly accomplished in both military and political strategy, but only a fresh new recruit who didn’t know her true nature could sincerely be happy to have her call out to him.

Castor let out a deep sigh. “I wish I could go back and warn my younger self who was pining after Duchess Walter: ‘Stop. That woman is more than you can handle.’”

“So you went through that, too, did you, Sir Castor? Every man in the Navy falls for the beautiful Duchess Walter at some point. Naturally, that love never comes to fruition, and only brings agony when they think back to it years later.”

“I know how they feel,” Castor said. “But once in a very long while, some crazy bastard manages to shoot an arrow through her heart. That was how Accela was born, after all.”

“Oh, now that you mention it... No, it’s nothing.” The second-in-command started to say something, then stopped.

Castor grew suspicious and asked, “What? If something’s bothering you, then say it, please.”

“No, um... Your wife is Duchess Excel’s daughter, so there were rumors that you went after her daughter because Duchess Walter rejected you...”

“...Oh. Yeah, I’ve heard those rumors.”

Castor shrugged his shoulders in exasperation. It was true, rumors like that had gone around for a while. Though when word had gotten around about how close he and Accela were... or rather how much she had him under her thumb, the rumors had faded away on their own.

“Well, the truth is a little different. The opposite, you could say...”

“Huh? What does that mean?!”

“It means, well... Let me keep it a secret.”

“Ohhh, now you’ve got me curious.”

Seeing the look of genuine interest on the second-in-command’s face, Castor smiled wryly and said, “Well, how about you treat me to some drinks tonight? If you do, I’ll tell you all about what happened back then.”

“I’ll show you the best place around.”

And so, the two went out for drinks that night.

Incidentally, the place the second-in-command introduced Castor to was the sort where you enjoy talking to pretty ladies while you drink, and this lead to some troubles later, but Castor couldn’t have known that yet at this time.

The Fiancées’ Guarding Techniques

From the end of 1,546th year to the start of the 1,547th year, Continental Calendar

Around this time, the provisional King of Friedonia, Souma Kazuya, was receiving invitations from the kingdom’s nobles to attend banquets and other social functions on an almost nightly basis.

It had been decided that Souma’s coronation and his wedding to Liscia and the others would happen towards the end of the 1,547th year, so the nobles were desperate to slip in women from their houses and have them become Souma’s fiancées, too.

He could turn down the requests from minor houses, but with major houses, he couldn’t ignore them because it risked having an effect on the kingdom’s politics. Souma had to at least attend those events, while gently letting down the nobles who were trying sell him on their daughters.

While doing so, it was important that he have a partner. If one of his fiancées was always at his side, it made it harder for the nobles to recommend their own daughters to him. His three official fiancées, Liscia, Aisha, and Roroa, as well as his as-yet-unannounced fiancée, Juna, each took turns at his side.

“Souma is the king, so we just have to accept that he’s going to need to take other wives for political reasons, both domestic and foreign,” Liscia advised his other three fiancées. “Still, we can’t let a woman with ulterior motives become a queen. We need to guard Souma properly and keep those with a lust for power from gaining a marital connection to the royal house.”

Aisha, Juna, and Roroa nodded.

On this day, Liscia was attending a social function as Souma’s partner.

While there were many women in showy dresses, for some reason Liscia was alone in wearing her uniform.

“...Why are you in uniform, Liscia?” Souma asked.

“It’ll be easier to move around in if anything happens, don’t you think? Besides, my uniform was designed just for me. I can wear it to any party without feeling embarrassed about it.”

“Hm... It’s like a convenient student uniform that you can wear to weddings and funerals, huh?”

“Well, yes, but... don’t you have anything else to say about it?” Liscia puffed up her cheeks a little, which made Souma smile wryly.

“You’re always telling me to act more like a king, but you don’t act much like a princess yourself, you know. I don’t remember ever seeing you in a dress.”

“Urgh, well, that’s because I don’t really like them...”

“I’d like to see you all dressed up, though.”

“...I’ll think about it.”

The two of them were chatting pleasantly. Meanwhile, the women who had come to this social function hoping to marry into wealth watched from a distance, biting their handkerchiefs in frustration.

What’s with that vibe?! It makes me hesitant to talk to him! they all thought.

Liscia’s Guarding Technique: Unconsciously creating an atmosphere that no one else could intrude upon.

On this day, Roroa was attending an influential noble’s birthday party as Souma’s partner.

Even though it was a birthday party, almost all of the nobility held these in banquet format, so about the only difference was that the participants needed to give presents to the house celebrating a birthday.

Incidentally, in Souma’s case, his attending the event already counted as a present, and so he did not have to offer any further gift. In exchange, he had to talk with the noble the party was for. It was an opportunity for the nobles who wanted to send their daughters to be his queens.

However, the little tanuki of Amidonia was having none of that.

Roroa stood in the middle of the hall, spread her arms wide, and raised her voice. “Now then, ladies and gentlemen, I was feelin’ bad about comin’ to this here party without any gift to bring. That bein’ the case, here’s a little surprise darlin’ prepared for all of ya.”

“Hahh!” A person suddenly dropped from the ceiling. He was a muscular man wearing a silver mask and a red scarf. It was the hero who was the talk of the kingdom, Overman Silvan. “Charge! Silvan!”

“There ya have it,” Roroa said with satisfaction. “We brought the super popular Overman Silvan with us.”

The nobles cheered. Silvan was popular with adults, too, and they all tripped over themselves rushing over for the chance to shake his hand. Even the host of the party himself forgot what he was doing and joined them.

As he watched them, standing arm in arm with Roroa, Souma’s shoulders slumped. “Is this country... going to be okay?”

“Mwahaha, this’s great fun,” she cackled.

Roroa’s Guarding Technique: Her frightening ability to set things up in advance.

On this day, Juna was attending a masquerade ball as Souma’s partner.

It was a noble banquet, but the host for this one had had something very specific in mind. He’d had the participants all wear masks and participate in a dance party. The plan was to encourage people to get to know one another better without worrying about the size of their houses or the existence of a spouse or betrothed, but most of the women were here targeting Souma.

Even with a mask on, Souma’s appearance was well known, so he was quickly identified. Now the women would make their move towards Souma... only they couldn’t.

“““...”””

That was because an image of otherworldly beauty was standing by his side.

Between the beauty of her face, which they could discern even through her mask, her beautiful, glossy blue hair, her amazing figure, and her graceful movements, she was like a concentrated mass of feminine appeal, and it made the other women in attendance feel so vastly inferior that they couldn’t even approach.

Meanwhile, Souma was talking to the woman beside him in a slightly worried tone. “Do you think this is okay? We haven’t announced our engagement yet.”

Juna chuckled. “Right now, you and I are just another man and woman wearing masks, sire.”

Juna’s Guarding Technique: Crush the competition with her overflowing grace.

On this day, Aisha was attending a banquet as Souma’s partner.

Here, too, the nobles were watching closely for their chance to build ties with Souma.

“Oh, Your Majesty, it’s a pleasure to—Eek?!” a noble screamed.

“Why, Your Majesty, how good to see you. What do you say, would you care to join me for—Whoa?!”

Every time a noble tried to approach Souma, the woman at his side would project her warrior aura at them to intimidate them. Though she was a beautiful dark elf girl in a silver dress, she made the nobles feel like they were being glared at by a sword tiger, and they couldn’t approach Souma.

Aisha wasn’t even aware of what she was doing; she was just on guard against anyone who approached Souma because it was her duty as his bodyguard. So...

“Hello, Your Majesty,” a woman said. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Your Majesty, please, tell me about the war in Amidonia,” another woman begged.

“Oh. No, um...” Souma stuttered.

Because of that, Aisha didn’t use her oppressive aura against young women who clearly meant Souma no harm, and so the women had a surprisingly easy time approaching him.

The women closed in on Souma, convinced this was their chance to make him like them. “Your Majesty, after this, why don’t we go find some place where we can be alone together...”

“...Sire,” Aisha said, tugging on his sleeve.

When she gave him a look with eyes almost like an abandoned puppy’s, Souma couldn’t leave her alone, and he excused himself from the women so that they could go somewhere with less people.

“Are you okay, Aisha? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”

“...No, I’m fine now. However, let’s remain here a while longer.”

Aisha leaned in close to Souma, begging him to indulge her. She finally had Souma’s attention all to herself, so Aisha was smiling in satisfaction.

Aisha’s Guarding Technique: The ability to switch between presenting herself as a capable warrior and a lost puppy.

This was a battle these women absolutely could not afford to lose.

Fried on the Grill Every Day

Late one night in the 2nd month, 1,547th year, Continental Calendar

On this day, the Kingdom of Friedonia’s Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Poncho, and the head maid, Serina, had come to Ishizuka’s Place in Parnam Castle together.

This was where the recipes from Earth that Souma and Poncho had recreated were served on an experimental basis, and everyone who worked at the castle was welcome.

However, because the hours of operation were from evening until late at night, in the end, only those who had night shifts were able to go here. Business hours were already finished for the day, and Poncho and Serina were alone inside the shop.

There was a reason these two were here: to fulfill the promise made earlier that day.

“Okay, I’ll make you a toasted sandwich, yes.”

“Thank you,” Serina said.

It was the promise to make Serina a toasted sandwich.

Poncho picked up a cooking tool that looked like two frying pans stuck together. “Though, they’re easy to make, yes. You put a piece of bread on one side of this toasted sandwich maker, place the filling on top, then put another piece of bread on top of that, and then you just close the sandwich maker and cook it on both sides. For the filling, I’ll use the usual ham and cheese, yes.”

Poncho explained as he skillfully prepared the sandwich. Poncho normally came across as a bit dull-witted, but his spirit of adventure when it came to food and his skill in preparing it was nothing short of brilliant. He turned over the sandwich maker, crisping the bread on both sides, removed it from heat when it was just right, then opened the device, took out the sandwich, and cut it into two. Melted cheese leaked out from the sides as he cut it.

Poncho then put it onto a plate and served it to Serina. “Here you go, yes.”

“Oh, this wonderful scent really does stimulate the appetite, Poncho.” Serina looked at the sandwich in an enraptured state that you would never imagine from her usual impudent attitude. Then, picking up one piece, she slowly bit into it. “Hot...!”

“A-Are you all right?! Perhaps you should wait for it to cool a little more...”

“...No, I’m fine. It’s hot, crispy, and delicious.”

Serina munched away at the toasted sandwich. Poncho, who was relieved to see she was all right, explained to Serina as she ravenously devoured the sandwich, “The toasted sandwich is fried in a press, so even bread that’s gone a little stale is delicious served this way, yes. If you cut off the crusts and cook it well, you can seal the filling inside, so they’re convenient for carrying around, yes.”

“It’s a wonderful dish. I enjoyed every last bite.” Serina, who had finished eating, wiped her mouth with a napkin.

Poncho liked seeing others enjoy his food as much as he did eating it himself, so her satisfied expression was a delight for him to see.

Then Serina noticed a sweet smell of some sort. The smell seemed to be coming from a pot that was over the fire.

“...Is something boiling?”

“Oh, that’s right, yes.” Poncho hurriedly rushed over to the pot, opened the lid, and stirred the contents with a spatula. This caused even more of the sweet smell to fill the air. Serina looked into the pot from beside him. Inside there was a green lumpy substance that was thick and boiling.

“Are those... peas?”

“Yes, they are, yes. Peas boiled with sugar, yes.”

“In sugar? It’s not a soup?”

“No. According to His Majesty, it’s called anko, yes.”

“Anko?”

“It seems, in His Majesty’s world, they used this anko to make sweets. I’m currently attempting to recreate it through a process of trial and error under orders from His Majesty, yes.”

For anko, it was standard to use azuki beans, but those weren’t available in this country (though they might have been in other countries), so Poncho was substituting green peas in his attempt to create anko.

While stirring the pot, Poncho added as if he had just remembered, “Come to think of it, one of the most famous dishes to use anko in His Majesty’s world was one called taiyaki, yes.”

When she heard the name, Serina seemed dubious. “Taiyaki... They put anko on fried fish? It doesn’t sound very delicious.”

“Oh, no, it’s not fish, it’s a sweet that’s shaped like a fish, yes. It’s like a toasted sandwich with anko as the filling, or something like that. Would you like to try maki—”

“Unquestionably!” Serina responded eagerly.

Poncho smiled wryly as he laid bread in the toasted sandwich maker like before, put the green pea anko from the pot on it, then placed another piece of bread on top and cooked it on both sides. He split the finished toasted anko sandwich in two, and this time (because they were taste-testing it), they each took half.

“Oh... This is delicious, too,” she said.

“Yes. I think it’s very delicious, yes.”

Serina had an enraptured look on her face, while Poncho smacked his gums in satisfaction and smiled. Once this one piece of equipment was created, it was easy to make them. If the supply of sweeteners like sugar became more plentiful, they could probably be sold in street stalls. That was what Poncho was thinking, but then he noticed a pensive look on Serina’s face.

“What’s the matter, Madam Serina?”

“Oh, it’s nothing... This just tasted so much more delicious than the toasted sandwich I had before, so I was a little mystified.”

“You have a sweet tooth, I see, Madam Serina.”

“No, not particularly, it’s just... it tasted delicious because it put me at ease... or something like that. It’s strange. Even though I felt that both were delicious.”

“Hm...” An idea occurred to Poncho. “Do you think it could be because we shared it? With any food, it tastes better shared with another person than when you eat it alone, yes.”

“...I see.”

It all fell into place for Serina. Eating with another person was delicious. Eating with Poncho was delicious. That was the answer.

“I’m convinced. Well then, so that I can continue to enjoy delicious food at its most delicious, Sir Poncho, let’s continue eating together in future. No, please feed me.”

With that said, Serina gave him a soft smile.

Watching the beautiful head maid who was known as a total sadist smile, Poncho couldn’t help but stare at her for a while in fascination.

On a Corner During the Spring Announcement Festival

The last day of the 3rd month, 1547th year, Continental Calendar

“Granny, I’m here to bring spring!” a child cried.

“Oh, how good of you to come. Here, have a candy.”

This bright, sunny day was the day of the Spring Announcement Festival.

The children dressed up as fairies and handed out flowers to adults, and the adults gave them candy in return. The happy voices of children could be heard everywhere. In the city of Parnam which was celebrating the festival, the Lunarian Orthodox bishop Souji Lester was sitting at a balcony seat and tipping back a glass of wine.

“Sure is peaceful,” he remarked cheerfully. “Wine tastes best when you can drink it in the middle of the day, surrounded by the voices of children at play.”

“You enjoy drinking at any time of day, and you know it,” said the woman sitting across from him who was wearing a hood low over her eyes. This was the high elf, Merula Merlin, who had accompanied Souji to this country. “You’re a bishop, aren’t you, Souji? Is it okay for you to be getting hammered on a festival day?”

“When the bishop’s away, the people will play. It’s best for the believers in this country if I’m not motivated to act on orders from the homeland. I’ve gotta be properly lazy.”

“You can make anything sound innocuous if you word it right...”

While Merula took a sip of her wine with an exasperated look on her face, Souji laughed heartily.

“Why don’t you go join in the festival, then? With your mostly curveless body, I’ll bet you could get them to give you candy.”

“Who’re you saying has the body of a child?! I’m too tall, so it obviously wouldn’t work!”

“Well, if you had the height of a child, too, this place wouldn’t let you drink.”

While mollifying the angry Merula, Souji looked out towards the street.

Maybe because of the festive atmosphere, the people coming and going all seemed excited somehow. It was a peaceful scene, but just how many of them were followers of Lunarian Orthodoxy? In the Orthodox Papal State where they were constrained by the teachings of the church and placed great weight on maintaining appearances, the Spring Announcement Festival had never been this big of an event.

Honestly... It makes you question which of our countries is really the one blessed by God. Souji smiled wryly as he tipped back his drink.

Then he noticed a pair who stood out a little bit from the crowd approaching from across the street.

“It sure is lively,” the girl said. “Oh, Hal, what do you think that stall is for?”

“Whoa, Kaede, don’t pull so hard!”

The young officer with distinctive red hair was being pulled along by the hand by a bespectacled beastman girl with fox ears. It was Halbert and Kaede. These two had been training aboard the Hiryuu until the other day, but they had returned to the royal capital for their first extended vacation in a while.

Halbert scratched his head and sighed. “Honestly, it’s a rare day off, so I wish you’d let me take a break. I’m exhausted from days and days of hard training, okay?”

“It’s because this is a rare day off that we have to use it to its fullest, you know?” Kaede asked.

“Look, that might be fine for you, since you do mental labor...”

“Oh? You aren’t having fun with me, Hal?”

When Kaede asked that with upturned eyes, Halbert looked away shyly.

“I-I never said that...”

“Well, that’s good, you know. I’m always making you follow harsh orders, so I wanted to make sure you have all the fun you can today, you know.”

Kaede wrapped herself around Hal’s arm. When his adorable childhood friend pressed up so close to him that he could feel her body warmth, Halbert wasn’t entirely displeased with the situation.

“...Sigh. If only you could be this cute during training.”

“Hee hee! Then do you want me to cling to you like this in training, too?”

“Stop it. The jealous glares I get from the other guys are bad enough as it is.”

Halbert was with Kaede, who had become like the idol of the National Defense Force, a lot, so he was confronted with jealous glares from the other men on an everyday basis. They knew each other because their families were close, and Halbert and Kaede were both thinking it was about time they got engaged, but Halbert felt a pain in his stomach whenever he thought about having to announce it.

“The dratroopers who serve under me are always teasing me about it, too. It’s a real problem.”

“Hee hee, it just goes to show what a lucky guy you are, you know,” Kaede said playfully.

Halbert couldn’t say anything in response.

Souji, who had been listening in one their conversation, smiled wryly. Hey, Bro, the way things are going, she’s going to have you so whipped in the future.

Souji downed the rest of his glass.

But, well, even the king is so beholden to his fiancées that he has to spend his day off currying their favor. Maybe the women having the upper hand in marriages here is typical of this country. Man, I wouldn’t want that to happen to me.

While Souji was pitying Halbert, Merula looked at him with disdain. “What are you grinning about?”

“Hm? Oh, nothing much. Just thinking that the bachelor’s life is nice and easy, that’s all.”

Then Souji poured himself another glass.