Chapter 4 – Resurrection of Demon Queen (4th)

 

 

 

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Short Update:

As of today I’m lowering the release rate of Atelier Tanaka to once every two weeks. Unfortunately the interest in this series has been continuously dropping and so did the number of people supporting it. When I picked up this series, I honestly told you that I try to make a living as translator (look here) and since I don’t simply toss text into DeepL or GoogleTranslate, edit the result, and call that a translation, but actually translate everything with my own brain, I have to choose where I invest my time and effort.

I gave this series one year of weekly translations, hoping that support would naturally grow over time. This didn’t come to pass. As such I’ll apply the same ruleset I’ve been applying on Madan no Ou and Hakai no Miko: 25 Patron supporters for a weekly release on Patreon, 40 Patron supporters for a public weekly release, 75 Patron supporters for two releases per week on Patreon, and 100 Patron supporters for two public releases every week.

Currently we’re at 28 Patron supporters. I’ll keep the public release at once every two weeks for as long as some people keep supporting this series, but naturally I’ll consider dropping it, if support dwindles even further.

By the way, the readers of Madan no Ou managed to go from 0 to 40 supporters within a year (despite having had ~3 years break in translation). So it’s quite possible.

 

Cheers, Shasu

 

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The day after the unforeseen rendez-vous with His Majesty spelled the arrival of the long-awaited moment. This ordinary Japanese flat-face and Richard-san had met in the parlor of the mayor’s mansion. For a rare change of pace we were all alone. Sitting on sofas, we faced each other, only separated by the table set up between us.

“It has been a long time since our last meeting, Tanaka-san.”

“Indeed. Nice to see you again after all this time, Richard-san.”

His expression as we exchanged greetings was, no different from usual, adorned by a broad smile. His eyes were two narrow streaks, marking the boundaries between upper and lower eyelids like thin lines drawn onto an empty canvas. However, as soon as that line opened up once, it revealed a splendid second layer underneath, spelling a defeat for someone like this eternal one-layered Japanese flat-face.

“Thanks to you having become a topic, Tanaka-san, I was able to come back much faster than I had anticipated. Personally I expected things to take a bit longer, but I guess this much should be expected of an esteemed man such as yourself.”

“I am overjoyed to hear such good news.”

“Still, even I was shocked to learn of you having involved the princess in your little execution uproar.”

“Forgive me. Various events led to this…”

“No, no, I must beg for your pardon as my preparations were not in time to prevent all of this.”

“No, not at all. It is I who must beg for your pardon for all the troubles I caused you.”

Just as I had estimated, he had apparently made all sorts of moves at the imperial court. Because of that, we were able to carefreely proceed with our redevelopment of Dragon City without encountering any unnecessary hindrances thus far.

“I think now would be the best time to make a move.”

“I understand.”

So the time has finally come. Because of the little incident with His Majesty the other day, I thought that it might be about time to get started very soon. I was spot on with this.

“Please allow me to go ahead and offer you a suggestion from my side.”

“Of course, I am all ears.”

“Tanaka-san, why do you not use this opportunity to become independent?”

“…You mean as in independent of the Penny Empire?”

“Yes, I do.”

“That is a bit…”

Richard-san’s suggestion has gone slightly beyond what I had assumed. If possible, I’d like to refrain. Especially in light of Neumann’s situation.

In the first place, it’d bring us no benefit whatsoever to become an independent country. At most it’d only serve to bolster the tiny conceit of this virgin bastard to a small degree. Rather, the troubles involved in preparing the proper format as a country would be overwhelmingly bigger. We’d be bogged down with bustling activity, despite having but one city.

Privately I believe the best option is to be a noble who leeches off a stable and peaceful country. Fortunately the Penny Empire is an extremely feudalistic country, so once you enter noble society, you’re basically set so much for life that you can spend the rest of your life lazing around all day long. It’s comparable to being a regular employee of a legal company with a strong hold on the taxed market.

“Hehehe, half of this was said in jest, I must admit.”

“Please don’t startle me like this. You gave me a little shock there.”

Or rather, what’s up with that creepy hehe’ing there. It’s my first time to see this man laugh like that. He usually smiles as well, but he’s someone who doesn’t voice his laughter overly often.

“To be more precise here, let us propose an independence towards His Majesty.”

“Oh, I see. So that’s the idea.”

“Under the current circumstances, we will be able to negotiate fairly beneficial terms for our side.”

Leaving aside whether that’s true or false, I think we’ll be able to have a reasonable degree of influence. It’s not just Richard-san’s word standing for it either. The fact that I obtained the rank of baron in the past also allows me to put a certain extent of trust into his words.

“Are you alright with this, Tanaka-san?”

“Yes. It would be wonderful if you could proceed with such a form in mind.”

“Thank you. Now that we have decided, let me get started right away.”

Richard-san jumped from his sofa full of energy. Of course, this ordinary Japanese flat-face took the liberty to follow him on this.

“Is it okay for me to interpret this as us heading to Charis next?”

“I can leave at any time, so please call out to me whenever your preparations are in order. However, since I do not wish to lose the current momentum, I would be delighted if we could head over as soon as possible. I would like to depart within a few days at the latest.”

“Very well. Please allow me to get everything ready within today.”

“As always, you are quite flexible. That is a big hel…”

Just as we concluded our future plans at a nice pace, the parlor’s room was suddenly thrown open. On top of that, with such a vigor that I feared it would be thrown out of its hinges.

When it comes to people entering rooms without knocking beforehand, this ordinary Japanese flat-face could only think of one.

『We’ll talk in here! This place is fine! This place!』

“U-Umm, if you suddenly open it like t-that…”

Sure enough, it was the Loligon. And following her were Sophia-chan and moreover, Edita-sensei too.

It was quite funny to watch Richard-san become quite startled.

“Is something the matter, Christina-san?”

With the Loligon as the other party, it couldn’t be helped. With her accompanying us in our actions, she was in a situation of being tied down by our circumstances. For this very reason, I’d feel awful to confine her with any further human rules. Therefore I regarded the acceptance of this much behavioral freedom of hers as indispensable based on the idea of communication between foreign cultures.

Some day I’d love for her to cheerfully trespass in the room of this ordinary Japanese flat-face while he is in the middle of pleasuring himself.

Understanding whom he was dealing with, Richard-san also closed his half-opened mouth.

『Uh, it’s in use!?』

“Well yes, we are currently using it. But, we are mostly done by now.”

『I-I see! Then we’ll use it! We’ll talk in here!』

This dragon apparently wanted to have a chat in this parlor.

“Hey, we c-can talk anywhere, so I don’t think w-we need to expressly d-disturb others. As you can see, no one e-else is present either, s-so they must be talking about s-something important, don’t you think?” Edita-sensei pointed out shrewdly.

Sophia-chan trembling next to her was adorable.

It’ll be fine. Even if you leak some pee.

“No, it is fine. We truly were about to wrap up things over here.” Suddenly I remembered while looking at sensei’s face, “By the way, Edita-san, do you have a short moment?”

“W-What is it?”

“We were planning to depart for Charis today. You will not mind us relying on you for the transfer, will you? We will head back here ourselves, so if it’s not too much trouble, I would like to request you to take us there.”

“Ah, that’s what you meant, huh? Sure, I-I don’t mind.”

Yahoo, this lowers the travel time to zero!

“Tanaka-san, I have come here on a reasonably fast airship…”

“She excels at a special magic called space magic. She can transfer us to a place like Charis in an instant. It will result in you leaving your airship behind here, but if you say we should hurry, I think this would be the quickest method to do so.”

“Holy smokes! That sounds marvelous!” Richard-san roared loudly.

For an instant it looked as though the thin lines indicating his eyes would be opening. Edita-sensei appeared to be rather smug about his praise, too.

“W-Well, something of this l-level is no trouble f-for me! After all is said a-and done, I’m the strongest! Yep, t-the strongest! Something like expressly t-traveling by flying through the air is so o-outdated! That’s no more t-than an utter waste of time!”

“Nothing less of you, sensei.”

My blond, thicc-legged loli sensei looked cute as she pushed out her chest triumphantly. Yet, it triggered someone in this room to openly exhibit her discontent while watching sensei act like that.

『……That’s nothing special, is it?』

The Loligon had become sulky. She probably wasn’t amused about sensei being praised so much.

Up until now, the Loligon had taken care of a lot of our transport-related business, be it for work, vacations, or private business. We had gone all over the place while sitting on her back. That in itself caused people like Sophia-chan to completely treat her as an alternative taxi, regardless of whether she was aware of it herself or not.

However, nowadays this seems to be a matter of a distant past with the rise of Edita-sensei. The Loligon was in a position similar to that of the steam engine when electrical energy went through huge progress. Thinking back on it now, the Loligon had previously pulled a very frustrated expression whenever sensei used her magic. Thanks to that, this ordinary Japanese flat-face lost the opportunity of savoring a panty flap. ¹

That tiny tail slightly jutting out of her panties was a sight for sore eyes.

“Heheen, a-are you possibly frustrated by my magic?!”

『N-Not at all! I’m not frustrated or anything like that! Absolutely not!』

On the one hand she complains about being used when we put her to use, but now that she’s not needed any longer, that in itself hurts her mood. She’s a dragon with a fairly annoying character.

“No matter h-how fast your wings might be, they’re m-meaningless in front of my magic!”

Sensei acted all smug here. Putting her hands akimbo, she suddenly stuck out her chest.

『Gururururururu』

“gh…”

As if she wasn’t satisfied with just being frustrated, the Loligon now adopted a threatening posture while growling. In response to that, sensei quickly faltered with her body quivering.

“U-Umm, I think it is wrong to fight. Q-Quarreling is…”

And the one remonstrating the two squabblers was Maid-san who looked like she was going to start crying any moment now.

Most recently, those three have become quite close. They form a party with an extremely good balance. To the extent that they even came to this parlor together. It’s not like they’re on bad terms. I guess they just wanted to have a little girls’ talk. However, I actually wonder whether these three actually have a common topic they could talk about. It’d be a lie if I said that I’m not interested in what they were going to talk about.

However, since we’re in a tad of hurry right now, this ordinary Japanese flat-face is going to butt in at this point.

“Christina-san’s wings and Edita-san’s magic; both have advantages that make it hard to clearly identify which of the two is better. Personally I think it would be best for both of you to compensate for each other’s lacking part by capitalizing on the parts you excel in.”

『Humph! Who would cooperate with the likes of that elf!』

“Certainly, my magic o-only allows me to teleport to places I remember. If it’s a place I don’t know, using this dragon’s wings is much more efficient to get around than m-my magic.”

『……』

The Loligon’s competitive mindset hit thin air after losing its opponent. Somehow she now looked like a dog who failed to bark.

“Okay, please forgive me, Edita-san, but I would like you to take care of it for us please.”

“Okay, I got i-it.”

As always, sensei, as the goody-shoes she is, immediately agreed to it. Inevitably it made our mayor look pitiful.

Because of that, this virgin’s heart felt warm and fluffy.

 

＊

 

It took one jump to reach Charis with Edita-sensei’s magic. And after receiving further guidance by Richard-san, this ordinary Japanese flat-face arrived at the royal palace. Since all of this took a mere hour, it felt awfully quick.

This time it’s going to be a battle we cannot afford to lose. Our party members are Richard-san, me, and the princess. All three of us are currently attending the palace together. Sensei, who had been so kind to bring us to the capital, also offered something along the line of assisting us if necessary, but I politely asked her to go back home since we would be fine.

In short, us three are the full force our side is mustering.

As for the princess, I didn’t really want to bring her with us, if possible. Having her with us is like carrying a bomb in your belly. But, considering the mental state of His Majesty, it’d have been unreasonable to not have taken her with us. If I take our goal into account, his trust is the minimum we require.

“……”

By the way, currently we’re waiting in the waiting room adjacent to the audience hall. At the moment, Richard-san has headed out to get an appointment with His Majesty. Along the way, he’d told me that we wouldn’t need to wait overly long since he had previously mentioned that he’d be bringing this ordinary Japanese flat-face with him and requesting an audience.

And, certainly due to those preparatory steps he had taken, he came back after a short while.

“Tanaka-san, he has time for you right away,” Richard-san peeked into the room after knocking on the door lightly, giving us a clear go-sign.

“Very well.”

“Hehehe, it must be a first for my father to experience being on the side of the supplicants.”

It’s finally come. The presentation is based on the hard work we have pulled off during the last few weeks.

This ordinary Japanese flat-face got up from his sofa, and said to the princess, “Please forgive me for troubling even you to come all the way here, Your Highness.”

“No, I don’t mind. I wanted to speak with my father after a long while anyway.”

“It gives me a peace of mind to hear you say that.”

A person, looking very much like an imperial knight was kneeling reverently behind Richard-san, facing our destination while holding out an arm. A wide difference to my visit together with the Noble Mage and Ester-chan, despite nobility being involved in both cases. It makes me wonder just how much power the lord of the FitzClarence House holds.

“This way, Tanaka-san. I will take you there.”

“Okay, thank you kindly.”

This ordinary Japanese flat-face being kindly guided by a powerful man like him must be an honor and luxury. The imperial knight person stared in amazement at this busamen after hearing that line out of Richard-san’s mouth.

As usual, you shouldn’t mess with Ester-chan’s home.

 

＊

 

We arrived at the audience hall which I had visited many times in the past. After entering together with Richard-san, this ordinary Japanese flat-face rapidly advanced across the red carpet with big strides. Everything proceeded as previously arranged.

Even after spotting His Majesty in front of me, I didn’t change my pace, eventually reaching the place where guests would usually stand when having an audience with the emperor. Under normal circumstances, one would kneel down and bow their head at this point, but this was the etiquette during an audience in this country.

Today, we challenged the emperor while standing stock still. All of this was based on Richard-san’s advice.

Of course, this caused a loud stir among the present nobles.

And after witnessing the whole sequence and seeing us break the etiquette, the prime minister cried out, “Wha-….!”

He was standing right next to the throne while looking down on us. His eyes were widened with shock. His mouth was partly gaping open, too. Apparently, our current behavior is fairly problematic to him. And because of that, this ordinary Japanese flat-face feels somewhat good about it.

“Y-Y-You are in the p-presence of H-H-His Majesty!! How dare you!!”

“It’s fine. Don’t mind it,” His Majesty directly addressed that time-keeper dude.

“B-But! P-Permitting such a r-rude conduct…”

“I’ve said that it’s fine.”

“gh…”

The prime minister closed his mouth after being chided by His Majesty.

After hearing the exchange between the two, the noise among the present nobles became especially loud. Seeing how all of them without exception were astonished, Richard-san must have kept this whole matter secret even from his own faction. I feel like lowering my head at that man.

“So, what did you want to talk about, Richard?”

“Thanks for giving me the opportunity to speak,” Richard-san’s voice thundered across the hall.

Without caring about the pressure from the surroundings, he talked loud and clearly. It made him look very cool.

“Today we wish to consult Your Majesty about the treatment of the Radius Plains area which used to be governed by former Baron Tanaka over here. For this reason, I took the liberty to set up this occasion. I am truly thankful for you giving us the chance to have an audience with you.”

“Spare me the boring yapping. Just tell us what you want.”

“Okay, I would like to pass the duty of explaining the details to you to this person.”

I wonder how much Richard-san has told His Majesty in advance. Oh well, it doesn’t change what I have to do anyway.

Just as we had agreed on in advance, this would now become my stage.

“Your Majesty, long time no see.”

“…Rumors told me that you had been executed, though?”

“I had also believed that this might be how far I go, but just when I was about to give up on everything, I fortunately had the honor of being found by Her Highness, a deeply compassionate woman. Because of that, I was able to survive until today. Her Highness is a truly wonderful lady.”

“nk…”

His Majesty’s face cramped up slightly. Noticing that, the nobles standing on the floor became noisy once more. Their hushed whispers were loud enough that you could hear them if you strained your ears. The majority seemed to be struck by shock and surprise. But, if I recall the events thus far, it surely feels quite refreshing to see them all so flustered.

“Thank you for granting me an audience on this occasion.”

“It’s fine. Hurry up and speak.”

“Very well. I am terribly sorry, but I shall take you up on that offer. I know it is a very selfish wish, but I want the former Tanaka Barony in the Radius Plains to become an independent, new country.”

“ng…”

His Majesty’s face turned quite grim. However, apparently this was something within the range of what he had already anticipated. Probably he had feared that such a topic might come up at the point when Her Highness came under our protection. Just the other day, His Majesty had been dragged into Edita-sensei’s magic and confirmed the actual location with his own eyes.

On the other hand, the other nobles with the prime minister in the lead looked like they had been taken by surprise.

“You’re going to found a nation while sheltering Her Highness the Princess? Isn’t that nothing short of treason!? That’s a rebellion, you know!? What is a foreigner like you prattling about anyway!? Duke FitzClarence, why are you standing next to such a criminal!?” The prime minister rattled on with his face bright red.

The noise inside the audience hall had reached its climax, too. People had started to wildly talk all over the place while being in the presence of His Majesty. It was an uproar as if someone had stabbed a beehive. Casting some fleeting glance, I spotted even some folks who looked like they’d come punching at me any moment.

“Please do not misunderstand. All I do is for the sake of the Penny Empire.”

“…Go on, Tanaka.”

“Okay,” this ordinary Japanese flat-face continued after being prompted by His Majesty, “as everyone should already be aware of, the demon queen has revived. She is different from the fakes which the Great Holy Land had impersonated in the past. She reincarnated from the previous demon king who had been sealed away five hundred years ago, in other words, she is a genuine, bona-fide demon queen. And all of you should have heard of her power by now.”

“……”

“Nowadays the depraved Great Holy Land does not hold the strength to defeat the demon queen. If you leave her to them, mankind will eventually be defeated by the demon queen. On the other hand, our country holds the power to resist her.”

I repeated the line which I had previously told the emperor in the jail. Taking into account various things such as the magic circle which had appeared over the royal palace just a few weeks ago, or the low-ranking demons which had shown up in various areas, there is a remarkable difference in credibility to my words compared to back when we talked in the jail. I’m sure that someone in the position of His Majesty should have heard about all the damages in the neighboring countries.

“…Go on.”

“Y-Your Majesty! You must not! You cannot listen to a fiend like him!”

“I have said that he may go on. Prime minister, shut your mouth.”

“But…”

The time-keeper started to sweat profusely as he got flustered. If this ordinary Japanese flat-face had been alone, he probably wouldn’t have been hustled to such an extent, But, with Richard-san standing next to this busamen, he was losing his countenance.

I’m pretty sure I’d be panicking right now, if I was in his shoes. He hasn’t recovered his house in a lifetime by showing off after all.

“In light of this I have come today to offer the present emperor of the Penny Empire an alliance and friendship as a neighbor who shares the closest relation to our nation. As representative of the Penny Empire I would like you to announce this arrangement to domestic and foreign audiences while at the same time acknowledging our nation.”

“Aren’t you quite impertinent there, Tanaka?”

“I know it is rude, but our country’s main force possesses enough power to eradicate the Penny Empire three times in one night. The dragon from some time ago is no more than just one smaller part of the military forces we call our own. We can exhibit a strength going far beyond that during this very day, if you so wish.”

Only this time I took the liberty to give it to them straight. The faces of the nobles froze as they shivered in terror. So far all of them had chatted as they pleased, but now all of them had fallen silent, staring this way. I’m sure the Loligon’s maternity strike must have become quite a rumor even on the imperial court.

It’s a somewhat rough way of handling this whole matter, but I cannot afford to back down here. It’s a necessary measure for the restoration of Neumann’s honor.

“…You think you can establish a country with military might alone?”

“No, I do not think so.”

“Do you honestly believe that you have set up a system as a nation needs in such a short span of time?”

I don’t think so, which is why I’m doing something so roundabout. His Majesty is probably aware of that part, too.

For example, the food self-sufficiency rate of Dragon City is less than ten percent. If our neighboring countries colluded and cut off traffic of people and goods to our city, we’d probably run out of food quickly. It’d likely be possible to resolve things with force, but that would make our nation no different from a bandit hideout.

Therefore I’m here to fully appeal to our yandere nation by hinting at that possibility.

“Even if I call it a country, we only have one city thus far. Moreover, it is a small town that cannot be compared in scale to the capital of Charis. Leaving aside the future, I believe it will work out well enough, if we hold out during the time when the other countries get destroyed by the demon queen.”

“…I see,” His Majesty nodded with a somewhat resigned expression.

I wonder what he’s thinking right now.

“Your Majesty, you must not listen to that man! You cannot lend your ear to such nonsense! In the first place, if we acknowledge that crook, we will not be able to escape retaliation by the Great Holy Land! We will be taken apart by our neighboring countries before we can even be destroyed by the demon queen!”

“I understand as much as well.”

“What we should think about is nothing but the reign after the demon queen. Even if we get through the demon queen’s attacks unscathed, it will all be for naught if it results in us being shunned and hated by the other countries, doesn’t it!? Assuming these people were to defeat the demon queen, it would be fine and all, but if not, we will have completely lost all face!!”

“……”

His Majesty was obviously very troubled. But well, it makes sense that he’s worrying. After all is said and done, the prime minister is quite insistent on his point as well, so now His Majesty must feel very conflicted as he’s being jolted back and forth in his view between two people.

However, originally a ruler should be that sort of being. A ruler’s duty is to make decisions and take responsibility.

The worries bogging him down right now are appropriate for the pay he’s being given. Me ending up assessing the Penny Empire’s imperial family as being upright is based on the saddening value system that has been drilled into me as a corporate slave.

“So what is it going to be?” This ordinary Japanese flat-face put on some pressure.

In response, His Majesty opened his mouth, looking like he resolved himself. Apparently he’s decided how he’s going to deal with us.

“Tanaka, I have understood what you’re trying to tell me.”

“Thank you.”

Everyone’s attention was focused on His Majesty’s every word. Of course, the prime minister was frantically appealing with his eyes that this was a very, very bad idea while standing next to the throne. The other nobles down on the floor listened attentively with bated breaths. Thanks to that, the hall had fallen deadly silent and an atmosphere of intense interest lingered.

“But even so, it’s difficult for me to accept it just like that.”

“As what kind of reply can I take this then?”

When I casually cast a glance at Richard-san’s face, he was smiling as brightly as ever. He must be happy because things were proceeding as he had forecast them. Recalling all the changes in His Majesty’s expression up until now, I cannot believe that he struck some sort of backdoor deal with His Majesty in advance.

For things to advance as he wants to such a degree speaks of what a fearsome man he is.

“As for the matter of the Radius Plains, I’d like to entrust that region to you once again.”

“You mean as Baron Tanaka of the Penny Empire?”

“…No, I shall prepare a position for you that is appropriate for the territory.”

Woohoo, I did it! Yay! Neumann, this ordinary Japanese flat-face finally pulled through for you.

Suddenly loud voices could be heard from all over the audience hall. The nobles were as excited as soccer fans during the league finals when the winning team had been settled by a goal in overtime. Moreover, they weren’t for the team that won, but the losing side.

You couldn’t feel any joy in their voices. All of them were merely surprised and shocked.

“I understand. I shall humbly accept this arrangement.”

“So be it then.”

At last I obtained a firm promise from His Majesty. With this it’s equal to having already cleared the audience event. I was a lot happier about the sense of fulfillment hitting me than I had imagined.

“Y-Your Majesty! Please wait! That man! That man is…!”

The time-keeper geezer kicked up a fuss about this and that, but I didn’t care. His Majesty didn’t pay any attention to him either. It’s probably alright to consider this as a victory for this ordinary Japanese flat-face and Richard-san.

I felt very relieved about it. Maybe the matter with Sophia-chan from the other day might have worked in my favor here. While it’s only now after all this time, I probably should be grateful of Maid-san’s high LUC.

But, suddenly His Majesty addressed this busamen, “However, I’d like to confirm one thing. Is my daughter truly safe?”

His eyes kept glancing at his daughter who stood next to this ordinary Japanese flat-face. But well, it makes sense for a parent to make sure of their child’s safety. This was yet another reason why this ordinary Japanese flat-face brought her with him today. If the princess hadn’t accompanied this busamen in good health, it’d have been impossible to talk about anything. Naturally, this ordinary Japanese flat-face had asked her in advance to act as his ally on this occasion.

“Yes, I will…”

…promise that.

Just when I tried to go on like that, the princess in question interjected.

“F-Father, please save me. I hate it. I totally hate it! This foreigner forced himself on me over and over again, treating me like his plaything. I can’t stand that sort of life anymore! Please, please rescue me, Father!”

Oh, seriously? The princess’s fetish got triggered after coming here, huh? The battle moves on to a bonus stage.

“W-What was that…!?”

His Majesty’s eyes, which had lost all vigor, flew wide open. At once, his face became like that of a demon.

“Wh-!?”

Next to this ordinary Japanese flat-face, Richard-san also got nervous with a terrified look. Just when I thought his entire body might start trembling as if hit by several lightning strikes, his narrow eyes widened, probably to observe the princess, who had spoken just now, and this busamen, who was the target of her speech.

“Father, I beg you. Please save me. I…I can’t hold out any longer…”

“T-T-Tanakaaa!? What have you done to my beloved daughter!?!”

The king jumped up from his throne. The chair fell backwards with a bam. He tightly clenched his fists with a force as if he was going to rush at me any moment.

Oh, shit. This is bad. Once people become like this, they don’t listen to anything anymore. What makes the problem worse is the extreme difficulty to disprove the princess’s testimony. If Mercedes-chan’s words are true, the princess’s vagina has no hymen anymore, meaning she didn’t have any maidenhood to speak of from the very start. For her to use her own bitch attribute like this now of all times is what you’d expect of a sadist like her.

In addition, many nobles were also present in the audience hall. And going by their attire, all of them are nobles of fairly high rank. Her declaring that her chastity had been robbed by some unknown, foreign Asian bastard in front of all of them was nothing short of making her own value plummet to the bottom. It’s probably set in stone that the grade of her future husband is going to drastically decrease now. In the worst case, she’ll be a bird in a cage.

And yet, she opted for that bold coming-out.

Damn it, this princess seriously risks her own life to make others fall. If she’s been so consistent with this up until this point, it actually deserves my respect instead. Does that something inside her make the princess get it off from watching despair to such an extent? It’s something I’d love to get Gogguru-chan to check for me.

But well, only this time, she chose the wrong target, I guess.

“Your Highness, how was the night you spent with me?”

“Eh?”

The princess turned my way with a startled expression. I’ll allow myself to have some fun here. Or in other words, sexual harassment of a royal in presence of the public. As if I’d ever let such a juicy opportunity slip away.

“To me it seemed like you enjoyed yourself quite a bit.”

“Wha-!? T-That’s not true! I felt like dying right then and there! Having my clothes torn off without a say whether I like it or not, and then having my shameful body stared at with lecherous eyes…I absolutely cannot stand such a disgrace!”

“Considering all that, you shook your hips quite passionately. It’s always you who forces me back up after I’m drained from screwing you, begging for more, isn’t it? Thanks to that, I’ve been sleep-derived for days in a row most recently.”

“……T-That’s not true at all!”

You oppose lies with other lies. I mean, it doesn’t have a sliver of truth to it anyway.

“Still, even I didn’t know of that preference of yours. I’ve been wondering for a while now, but when did you lose your virginity? When I checked back with some imperial knight, I heard that you fucked around with quite a lot partners.”

“Ugh…”

And now I’ve blended in a bit of truth too. How about it? What do you think of my wonderful act?

 

 

 

“Is something the matter? Your face looks bright red.”

“S-S-Shut up!”

“Isn’t your lower body just throbbing because it’s desiring my cock? I see. I guess it cannot be helped. Once we get back to my city, I will fuck you right away. You won’t be able to sleep tonight. I will give it to you hard, baby. I promise.”

This is just my own, selfish imagination, but up until now, she probably finished off all her targets with a deadly finishing blow. Now she must feel quite flustered as she’s facing a major difference to what she had planned at first.

Even during the whole execution arc, she had been fairly stunned and overawed when this busamen got a step ahead of her.

“I-It’s all lies! All of what he is saying isn’t true!”

“It’s nice to call a lie a lie, but can you point out which parts exactly are untrue?”

“gh…”

“If you have truly received my seed, I won’t hesitate to marry you as my queen and found a country. There is nothing as auspicious as gaining royal blood for our new nation.”

Yep, the princess had brought calamity upon herself. It was a huge mistake she would never be able to fix in her position right here and now. That move, which might have been her usual trick in the past, proved to be the worst possible option in this situation.

“Well, our country could also be brazen and call itself Penny Empire.”

“T-That’s…”

“To be very frank about this, there isn’t any honor as big as this.”

The princess is the king’s successor. Thus her face has become ghastly pale now.

In the unlikely event that she couldn’t amend those lies, all of the negotiation His Majesty did just now will have lost its meaning. What would be waiting ahead of that would be the independence of the former Tanaka territory and a one-sided coup d’etat against the Penny Empire. As someone who had watched the Loligon’s breath together with us, she can likely imagine the outcome of such a development very easily.

His Majesty’s reign would end today as well. This wasn’t some irrelevant story about a small, provincial town announcing its independence.

Of course, as far as this ordinary Japanese flat-face was concerned, this was an undesirable development. All the effort up until today was based on the idea of restoring Neumann’s honor. What mattered here was him rising in rank within the Penny Empire, and him owning that adulterer from before in the empire.

But, all of that was tightly locked away in my chest. No one knew about it. Watching the situation unfold from the side, one would probably regard this as a lot more fun than me simply being given peerage. When it comes to being the proud lord of an independent territory, all nobles yearn for it. Then again, this is the point where our whole conversation had started.

Her eyes naturally turned towards her father. The king had recovered a bit of his composure and asked, “Angelica, don’t tell me, you truly…”

“……”

The princess reflexively lowered her face the instant she was asked. The audience hall had fallen deadly silent. No matter how long you waited, not a single soul was uttering a word. The silence would stay for as long as the princess remained silent. And she also understood that part, I believe.

With her facial expression having completely changed from being tear-stained to troubled, it was a clear sign that she had started to wrack her little head about this and that. Everyone gathered in the hall waited for the princess’s reply.

Eventually, she lifted her face again, spelling the continuation of words.

“……Forgive me, Father. I was also opposed to this sort of act.”

She conducted herself very meekly. Without giving anyone the chance to say something, she added, “But, I was begged by the prime minister to do this at all costs. He wanted me to have Baron Tanaka’s reputation lowered as much as possible. For that reason I even relied on such filthy lies. Ah, sorry, Baron Tanaka. The baron is innocent here. I really…I really didn’t want to do this. I swear.”

The brunt of her next attack was directed at the time-keeper geezer.

“Wha-…!?”

He, who had awfully many expressions for his age, now looked completely shocked. His mouth gaped wide open.

But, that’s only natural. It’s definitely a lie, after all.

Having judged that it’d be impossible to capture this ordinary Japanese flat-face, she swiftly switched to the prime minister route. In addition, she slashed the idea of trying to smooth things over or defending her chastity, something she ought to have done as a normal person, and instead fully switched to satisfying her own fetish. It’s a call so extreme that it’s actually refreshing.

“Father, I told a huge lie. There is no fault to be found with Baron Tanaka. All of it is something I reluctantly did because I was told by the prime minister to listen to his advice if I’m truly considering the fate of this country. Ah, woe, what a foolish woman I have been!”

“W-What are you talking about, Your Highness!?”

The royal bitch was pulling off a RL drama. I can already smell the downfall of the time-keeper geezer. It looks like it’d be smart to play along here.

Once I cast a fleeting glance at the princess, our eyes met for an instant, causing the corners of her mouth to rise into a grin.

Being deceived is offending, but I’d hate it if they’d sent assassins after me again. That old coot is very likely the source behind Ester-chan’s case and the incident at the resort. If this much keeps happening, even a layman in court matters like me can tell.

Above all, her having targeted the prime minister as counter to this ordinary Japanese flat-face right now and here is the perfect proof. This girl likely knew about him having ostracized this ordinary Japanese flat-face. Thinking back on it now, the imperial lesbo I met inside jail had also dropped his name.

That’s why the princess smiled. Probably.

With that said, we will take the liberty to go along with this.

“Your Majesty, could I request you to make your verdict?”

I pushed His Majesty. Of course, I mean I pushed his consciousness on the time-keeper geezer.

“Prime Minister, a man like you…I had trusted you, and yet…you involved my daughter in such silly nonsense? While being in the position of prime minister, you used my still very young daughter…”

“T-That is a misunderstanding! It is Her Highness’s misunderstanding!”

Time inside the audience hall was in a state of flux. A flow of facial expressions, starting with the emperor and advancing to the princess and the prime minister. And this busamen had a hunch that all of this, which had lasted until now, would come to an end soon. Everyone would likely exhaust everything at hand to defeat the other.

If you watched this chain of events from the side, you could tell that Richard-san would be the sole winner in this mess. Thanks to that, the focus of all nobles present remained affixed to him. Very likely, a great number of nobles would gather underneath him as soon as this audience was over.

When I peeked at his face, he was showing his usual, amiable, broad smile, watching things unfold as if nothing of it concerned him. I have a premonition that the Penny Empire’s power structure has drastically shifted on this fine day.

Such were the thoughts I harbored in my chest, but――

“E-Excuse me!”

The audience hall’s door was loudly slammed open. And because it was such a loud noise, everyone present simultaneously turned around to the source of the noise, wondering what was happening now.

Suffering another unhinged door opening, this ordinary Japanese flat-face ended up getting startled again. At the same time, he couldn’t help but to somehow have a very bad feeling about this. That’s because he recalled the tone of that voice.

Naturally the eyes of everyone were now directed at the hall’s entrance. And the one standing there was a bitch very familiar to me.

“…L-Liz?”

That questioning voice came from no one other but her father. And next to his daughter who was staring at him…ahh, I wonder why…?

Biting on a gag and having her body covered by a bamboo mat that was locked to her body with chains ―― Saint-sama. She, who was being set afloat with magic, dropped to the ground with a thud in response to Ester-chan suddenly stopping. As soon as she landed you could hear a weak, muffled groan. Something similar to a collar had been put around her neck and the chain connected to it was held by the bitch.

“Mmph! Mmpf! Mmpf!”

Saint-sama frantically appealed while squirming like a caterpillar.

Without constraint or care, Ester-chan stepped on her head. Moreover, she made sure to forcefully and continuously put pressure into her foot, causing Saint-sama’s cheek to kiss and rub the floor. The prisoner’s hair was an unkempt mess and her skin was mud-caked. You could immediately see that she had been treated pretty roughly.

“Your Majesty! I have come to bring the root of all our problems!” Loli bitch roared with a smile blooming all over her face.

It was a smile that was refreshing and nice to look at. A smile full of confidence and belief that she was doing the right thing.

 

 

“……”

This time it was Richard-san’s turn to have a ghastly pale face. But to be brutally honest here, I have no clue what’s going on. However, if I had to think of at least one thing, it’d be that. Look, I mean, Penny Empire, you absolutely rock.

 

＊

 

The location was still the audience hall, just as before. The attention of absolutely anyone present was glued to Ester-chan. The beautiful girl, who was wrapped up in a bamboo mat at Ester-chan’s feet, was Saint-sama as I could firmly confirm after having met that woman many times.

And with His Majesty, the prime minister, and Richard-san in the lead, all the dignitaries inside the hall apparently had reached the same conclusion. After looking at Ester-chan, wondering what was going on, they were all likewise shocked. Their expressions screamed, “Eh!? For real!?!?”

“L-Liz…that person…”

It might be my first time to see Richard-san so flustered. But well, I can totally feel him.

This busamen was presently quite surprised, too.

“The saint of the Great Holy Land!”

“Thiiiis laaaaaaaaaaass! WHUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTT!”

Ester-chan looked super triumphant. The prime minister, on the other hand, could only scream in madness, his eyes completely frenzied and bulging.

Well, it makes sense. For a conservative, this fact must be devastating.

I mean, just when he tried to grab the food lined up on the table one way or another while taking it slow, things had completely changed with her entering the stage and flipping over the whole table. Moreover a lot of the scattered food was right now falling down on Richard-san’s head.

However, without minding the appeals from around her, Loli Bitch addressed the emperor.

“Your Majesty! As Viscountess FitzClarence I shall inform you about the Great Holy Land’s criticism of Baron Tanaka! The opinions brought up by said country beforehand are all nothing but lies! All of them are false charges!”

A dignified noise thundered into every nook and cranny of the wide audience hall. An audience with the emperor by kicking Saint-sama was a new style going beyond every imagination.

“V-Viscountess FitzClarence, the person over there is…”

“The husk of what is called the Saint of the Great Holy Land. The real person inside that husk is not only one of our country’s citizens, but also an extraordinary swindler who has continued to trick people all over the world for a long time! All about the relation between hero and demon king as it was passed on across the last few hundred years is false. I heard her admit so personally!”

“……”

Moreover, it’s already after things have been cleaned up.

Ester-chan, you couldn’t have chosen a worse timing for this. You’re currently in a state of being one week behind your classmates with the newest drama and anime episode as only your home can just receive the local broadcast due to your home’s location while everyone else in your class watches TV East. And to add insult to injury, she herself hasn’t noticed that fact at all.

Because of that, His Majesty was extremely troubled.

“Your Majesty! We should punish her right here and now! It is time to execute this crook!” Ester-chan appealed while being extremely agitated.

She was glaring at Saint-sama with bloodshot eyes. As if she was staring at the killer of her parents.

“C-Calm down, V-Viscountess FitzClarence! It’s never good to rush! You hear!? Don’t rush! Is that person over there truly Saint-sama of the Great Holy Land? No, why has Viscountess FitzClarence arrested Saint-sama in the first place…?” His Majesty directed his eyes at Richard-san.

However, he had no response to this.

“…Liz, why did you wrap up Saint-sama in a mat and bring her here?”

He did his utmost to ask his beloved daughter with a tone and manner of utmost calm. The part about wrapped up in a mat was the keypoint for this ordinary Japanese flat-face.

To begin with, considering Saint-sama’s stats, it seems exceedingly difficult for Loli Bitch to pull off something like that. Even the Noble Mage would have his fair share of trouble with this. If it’s not Gogguru-chan or DeviantLonghair taking her on, most others would have likely turned the tables on them.

Did she possibly level up at some point or something?

 

Name: Elisabeth FitzClarence
Sex: Female
Race: Succubus Half
Level: 118
Job: Sorceress
HP: 14230/14230
MP: 32100/32100
STR: 2500
VIT: 6562
DEX: 10601
AGI: 5134
INT: 45190
LUC: 1030

 

Doesn’t seem all that strong to me. Those values are all within the range of humans. I don’t think they’re too different from the Noble Mage’s. And they don’t look overly promising for allowing the capture of Saint-sama.

In that case, I should take a peek at the bound woman then.

 

Name: Ido S. Elmez
Sex: Female
Race: Human
Level: 375
Job: Saint
HP: 110/3110
MP: 615/5674
STR: 701
VIT: 865
DEX: 912
AGI: 687
INT: 1059
LUC: 5420

 

For real!? She’s grown weaker. But, why?

As I pondered various possibilities, my eyes were naturally drawn to the unfamiliar accessory installed around her neck. It’s got a design vividly reminding me of the slave collar worn by Dark Chubby some time ago.

“……”

I guess this should be the cause in all likelihood. I remember this sort of status abnormality from Edita-sensei, too. In sensei’s case, it came from the demon queen being sealed and so on.

But, how did this bitch manage to put a collar on Saint-sama? Moreover, just recently she had been staying in Dragon City, so when did she travel to the Great Holy Land? I’m super curious what sort of great adventures she’s experienced!

“Your Majesty! Execute here right now and here!”

“W-Wait…Waaaaait, Viscountess FitzClarence.”

I can totally sense the drive of somehow wanting to bring down Saint-sama as soon as possible from today’s Ester-chan. Because of that even His Majesty stared at her with a cautious look as if handling explosives. I can’t get a look at Richard-san’s expression anymore either.

“Viscountess FitzClarence, you should at least unplug her mouth…,” His Majesty proposed to Loli Bitch.

“Don’t joke around! She’s only going to insult you if you allow her to speak! I can’t stand to listen to her prattling! That’s why…yes! We should kill her! Right away! We must get rid of her at once! Not even a fragment of trash exists in this world that would justify for this woman to live on!”

That’s what you call a perfect breakdown in communication. Just what did Saint-sama do to shake her heart to such an extent? Or rather, she’s completely behaving out of character. At least, going by the way of speaking and acting that Ester-chan used after losing her memories.

“Ester-san?”

“W-What is it!? If it was me, I’d immediately…”

Just as she had spoken a few words, Loli Bitch looked like she had suddenly realized something. At the same time as her eyes flew wide open, her mouth closed.

“…Ester-san?”

“……”

What happened to all her energy up until now?

She had now started to act reserved, looking into the far distance.

“W-What might it be, former Baron Tanaka? Do you have any business with the FitzClarence Viscounty?”

“……”

This girl has definitely recovered her memories, hasn’t she? Otherwise, there would be no reason for her to be so desperate. But, in that case, what’s her intent in trying to hide that fact?

“……”

“……”

This virgin and the bitch stared at each other. There exists no better way to waste some time.

“Ester-san, I would like to confirm the situation…”

“I-I’m a ducal daughter! I think I have already told you before, but why do you keep addressing me with such an improper name!? Papa might have taken a liking to you, b-but i-i-i-it’s wrong t-to c-c-c-call me s-s-so f-f-f-familiarly!”

“…Please forgive me.”

It sounds like she doesn’t want me to talk to her. But, sure, that makes sense, I guess. As a result of two memories having mixed in her head, she objectively confirmed the memory of having fallen in love with me, I guess. At the same time, she may have seen Allen’s handsome-guy-style in a new light. As such, I can fully understand her wish to seal away even that reality.

I got it, Loli Bitch. Thank you very much for all the great memories. Also, the fact that you made a move for the sake of this busamen makes him extremely happy.

“Forgive me, Viscountess FitzClarence.”

“I-It’s fine as l-l-long as you get it!”

“By the way, about the woman over there…”

“Eh? Ah, y-yes! You’re right! Totally right!”

But, I’d like to get an explanation. What happened for things to have turned out like this? I’d like her to allow me to properly confirm that.

“Could you please tell us the details? I am certain I am not the only one here who is eager to hear about them. At this rate, we will not be able to settle what has to be settled. That would trouble you as well, wouldn’t it Viscountess FitzClarence?”

“I-I’ll explain! I’ll give you the full explanation, okay!? Down to the last detail!”

“Okay, I would be obliged if you could do so by all means.”

As soon as I nodded very meekly, Loli Bitch started to explain. According to her, things started rolling when she heard about the degradation in relations between the Great Holy Land and the Penny Empire from Her Highness the Princess. Feeling unsure about the real state of the relationship, she apparently headed to the Great Holy Land by herself to get down to the truth. The whole thing escalating into the representative of a country being wrapped up in a bamboo mat and getting kidnapped is, well yeah, a rampage as it’s typical for her.

By the way, she used the new space magic researched by Noble Mage to move between countries or something like that. When she mentioned it, it reminded me of having heard about it. I recalled Noble Mage frantically taking notes when we had visited the demons’ ruin protected by DeviantLonghair a while back. Without me being aware of it, that magic has apparently taken concrete shape. As always, he’s an incredible middle-aged dude.

“There exists no reason to forgive this wicked woman who continued to deceive the whole world for centuries!”

“Yes, of course, I do understand where you are coming from.”

What should I do about this? I asked myself as I gazed at Saint-sama lying on the ground.

Acting like all of this never happened is probably not an option. In the unlikely event she were to return to the Great Holy Land, the Penny Empire’s international standing would be in dire straits. So far things ended with bashing this ordinary Japanese flat-face, but it’s pretty clear that the whole country would be denounced as heretics next. If things went really badly, countries all over the place could start a war on the empire. In such a case, the Penny Empire would be finished without having to wait for the demon queen’s invasion.

Moreover, Loli Bitch completely skipped the scene of her overpowering Saint-sama. As someone in the position of knowing her status, this is a part that bothers me no matter how I look at it. However, given other nobles being present in the audience hall, I’m hesitant to ask her about that right now. There exists a lot of information that shouldn’t be leaked, so I’ll leave it alone for the moment.

“Your Majesty, it is very regrettable, but I have also prepared myself for the worst,” the time-keeper geezer suddenly muttered.

His eyes looked like he had given up on something.

“Prime Minister…”

Perceiving that, the king as the one on the receiving end of the mutter put on a grave expression. Both probably were able to understand each other with that short, sparse exchange. For better or worse, associating with each other over a fairly long time allowed both to comprehend from the look they exchanged.

After a short while, His Majesty straightened himself while facing this way and spoke up, “Baron Tanaka, I’d like to confirm once more.”

“What might that be?”

“All you have said up until that point is no lie or falsehood, correct?”

“Yes, of course it is all true,” I responded while nodding.

Thereupon, His Majesty stood up from the throne and declared with a loud voice, “I, 39th Emperor of the Penny Empire, shall grant the rank of count to that person.”

His majestic voice echoed throughout the audience hall. It was the moment this busamen had eagerly awaited.

“As of today, Count Tanaka shall pledge to exert all his efforts at any time to make the Penny Empire flourish. In return, the Penny Empire promises now and here to provide all assistance you might require.”

Several detail questions popped up in my mind in regards to what I was told just now. However, since I was able to push our interests, even if somewhat forcefully, in the current power relationship between our Dragon City and the Penny Empire, I don’t see any particular problems with this.

In concert with His Majesty’s announcement, this ordinary Japanese flat-face assumed a humble posture again while correcting his seating posture at the same time. Even though it’s only now after all this time, he genuflected on the red carpet.

“I shall respectfully accept.”

Immediately following, the crowd of nobles gathered in the audience hall all raised their voices at once. They were for the most part shocked and surprised.

Some said, “Ooooooohhh!”, while others exclaimed, “For real!?” and some such. They were unintentionally overwhelmed by this.

As that ruckus was going on, the prime minister took one step forward from the emperor and spoke up, “Saying something like this to a bastard like you pains my heart. Yeah, there is nothing as vexing as this. But, we have no other path we could take. Therefore, I shall take the liberty to tell you: Count Tanaka, we believe you that your words thus far haven’t been untrue.”

“Please allow me to pledge on this occasion that I have not told a single lie.”

Just for today, this guy who would usually claim that it was no option whatsoever, consented, albeit reluctantly. I’ve never expected for a day to come when I’d join forces with that prime minister geezer.

Thanks to the mess created by Ester-chan, the Penny Empire’s royalty and nobles felt like they were at the edge of a cliff. Very likely the sudden disappearance of Saint-sama must have already become a topic in the Great Holy Land. No, we’re talking about Loli Bitch here. Far from making Saint-sama disappear under the cover of chaos, it’s quite possible that a flashy battle took place out on the streets in plain sight.

Of course, it’s likely that a hundred or two hundred complaints about Saint-sama’s safety are going to come in. In contrast to that, we who wrapped up the person in question in a bamboo mat and kicked her, have no decent options left we could choose. It’d be one thing if it was the common citizens who don’t have a clue about the situation, but the royals and nobles will probably find it difficult to escape outside the country thanks to their conspicuous positions. Just like a certain Gogguru-chan from somewhere. If someone were to hide them under such circumstances, the Great Holy Land and their allies would criticize those people as heretics.

As such, everyone of the Penny Empire had only one path left they could take. Defeating the demon queen before anyone else. And obtaining an international position that would allow the empire to shrug off any criticism by the Great Holy Land.

“Good grief, things have gone completely south…”

Those words of the prime minister said everything without hiding anything. However, in this case, the question was how to handle Saint-sama.

Her face was currently being changed thanks to Loli Bitch stepping down on it. Her cheek was getting crushed, her nose was twisted, and her mouth was gagged. The weirdo face of a beauty is cute. When a vagina isn’t protected by a hymen, I can truly enjoy such weird faces without any scruples. How lovely.

“Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!”

Quite the energetic one, isn’t she? She probably intends to struggle to the bitter end. Her powerful glare, which was filled with the will to live even under these circumstances, was directed at this ordinary Japanese flat-face.

“Shut up! You’re in the presence of His Majesty, so keep it down, you wench!”

However, her face was immediately pressed down and rubbed against the floor by Ester-chan’s foot. It’s a spectacle I’d love to show to Edita-sensei.

“Mmmmphhh! Mmmmmmmmmmmmpphhh!”

Seriously, what should we do with this?

As this ordinary Japanese flat-face pondered the question, His Majesty said, “…Prime Minister, I’d like you to quickly carry out the punishment.”

“I suppose you are right, Your Majesty. We surely cannot leave things to be like this.”

The time-keeper geezer swung his arm. At the end of where he swung his arm lay Saint-sama who was wriggling on the ground.

This busamen reflexively cast his magic. Public works magic at full power. It created a stone wall so as to block the space between the prime minister and Saint-sama.

But, that proved to be a bitter miscalculation.

“gh…”

In response to the prime minister swinging his arm, gusts of wind rushed between the nobles gathered in the audience hall. It was an Air Cutter-like spell. Of course, the wall created by this ordinary Japanese flat-face didn’t extend to all sides. The wind easily severed Saint-sama’s head.

It seems like the prime minister’s gesture was no more than an order. Meaning a unit carrying out his instructions existed elsewhere. What a very aristocratic way of handling things. I suspect those are the ambush troops he had actually prepared for Richard-san and me.

“rg!?”

The severed head separated from the neck and rolled across the floor. The whole place around it, alongside Loli Bitch who stood nearby, was dyed crimson red. Some splashes even reached the location of this ordinary Japanese flat-face. I guess it was necessary to do it here so as to also show it to the present nobles.

Either way, it was an overly pitiful end for Saint-sama. Freed from its neck, the collar audibly rolled into the audience hall.

“…Count Tanaka, this is?” The prime minister asked while gazing at the wall that had appeared all of a sudden.

I also received a silent, questioning look from His Majesty. Somehow I could feel an amazing pressure from those two. I feel like it’s my first time to perceive His Majesty and the prime minister as statesmen. I considered them to be energy-conservation extremists who loved to be left alone, but I guess they get going when it’s necessary.

“I felt the wish to take charge of Saint-sama in Dragon City.”

With that out of the way, this busamen cast his healing magic at full throttle. His heart was beating hard out of excitement due to the scene which clearly reminded him of the married woman from a while ago.

Having said this, I don’t have any obligation to rescue her. Just, I can do so. And likewise I can kill her again in the following instant.

I felt I was casting the healing magic at her this very moment while holding such a position. What vile conceitedness, I must admit.

“…What do you intend to do with her after taking charge of her?” His Majesty asked, as might be expected.

Currently his dignity was around 30% stronger than usual. The magic circle, which was visible in the middle of the site, was shining underneath Saint-sama’s torso which had lost its head just moments ago. Faint light began to be emitted as her fallen body was healed. It was a sight I had witnessed on countless occasions so far.

However, despite this, there was no change to her body.

“…Count?”

“It looks like her body has already expired.”

“Of course it has. She lost her head.”

“……”

Maybe the timing for my heal was a tiny bit too late. Still, I feel like she’d have revived with her stats before the weakening. Ester-chan also revived from a similar state.

In the past, this ordinary Japanese flat-face was wrapped up in the same way and experienced surviving through a similar situation.

But, you couldn’t see any change to Saint-sama’s body. Just like back then with Nannuzzi-san. I’m sure the target’s own strength plays an important role in the ability to resurrect someone.

“Come to think of it, some time ago rumors about you having been decapitated made their rounds on the streets, Count…”

“Your Majesty, such miracles never come to pass.”

“……”

Anyway, Saint-sama had a much lackluster end than I anticipated. I had felt she would survive through everything, even if mankind was wiped out by the demon queen or if she became the sole person in this world. I’d have never dreamed that she’d meet her end in some backwater, feudalistic country at the hands of an unknown magician.

Right now I can palpably feel the meaning behind the saying that all world things are transitory. And because of that, I also feel an incomprehensible sadness.

She was someone I did have a few exchanges with. But everything is over once you die, isn’t it? Well, if I consider that she kindly offered me almost ten virgins, I feel in a pinch of lingering attachment. Knowing that I won’t ever have any maids introduced to me by her, an extreme grief spreads in my chest.

Terrible feelings of guilt welled up in me. Thinking back on it now, Saint-sama was the first person to have introduced girls to this virgin bastard.

“……”

Even if she was going to pass away anyway, I still wanted to see her off after paying back my debt to her. How regrettable.

“Ah…aaahhh…aaaaa…ahaa!”

Just as I came to that conclusion, something weird went on with the princess. She collapsed to the floor, landing on her knees, while moaning in a lewd way. Her eyes were fixated on Saint-sama while being wide open. Her face was bright red.

“Aaaaahh! Aahh!”

At the same time she was noisily pissing herself at Sophia-chan levels. In no time, a puddle of piss formed on the floor.

“A-Angelica!? Angieeee!”

“You there! Take Her Highness to her room!”

As His Majesty panicked, the prime minister gave his order in a similarly loud voice.

Being led away by the imperial knights who had run up to the princess, Her Highness retired from the audience hall. To the very end her eyes were constantly pinned on the corpse of Saint-sama. Seeing how she was obviously blushing, it must probably be ‘that’.

I’d have never thought that she’d feel such pleasure from this that she’d cum. Her Highness is the real deal, seriously.

And because of that, this ordinary Japanese flat-face has a hunch that the Penny Empire’s future will be very bleak if Mercedes-chan doesn’t do her best. Somehow this squirting empire feels super dangerous.

“……Excuse me.”

Muttering this quietly, this virgin pulled back his stone wall. It was a retrieval under the cover of the chaos triggered by Her Highness.

However, this led the prime minister to retort.

“Count Tanaka, you surely won’t tell us that you were about to team up with the saint, right?”

“I have met her in person a few times. I just felt reluctant to see her executed right in front of my eyes.”

“The Great Holy Land is our enemy, you know? It’d be good if you could rid yourself of such a mindset.”

“Sir Prime Minister of the Penny Empire, you are quite strict, aren’t you?”

He has completely resolved himself in his own way, it seems. It’s the total opposite from what he was saying a while ago. It’s such an extreme turnaround that it’s actually refreshing.

Even though it’s not like this ordinary Japanese flat-face officially received his peerage yet, the time-keeper geezer has been calling this ordinary Japanese flat-face Count Tanaka in the presence of the other nobles. The prime minister has shown us an extraordinary level of pickiness in these types of exchanges, so I think it’s safe to regard the conversation just now as a manifestation of his determination.

The feeling of being depended on by an older member of the same sex gives you a relatively bad aftertaste, doesn’t it? Tanaka-kun, I’m counting on you. Tanaka-kun, you can do it. Or stuff like that.

If I have to be relied on, I’d choose a pretty girl under all circumstances. I feel like working myself to the bone for that sake.

In that regard, I’d have been much happier to be relied upon by Saint-sama.

“Things have become very chaotic. We shall continue tomorrow.”

With those closing words by His Majesty, the audience came to an end for the day.

 

＊

 

【Sophia-chan’s Point of View】

 

In the evening this maid caught sight of Ester-sama in the corridors of Mayor-san’s mansion.

Over the last few days, I didn’t see her in the mansion and Allen-sama was worried, too. I was personally asked by him whether I knew where she had gone. I tried to look for her, but I couldn’t find her anywhere. But, it looks like she has come back now.

I hurried over to her with my feet pitter-pattering.

“U-Umm, Ester-sama! Allen-sama has been worried about you…”

I took the liberty to use her name so as to make her stop.

In response, Ester-sama came to a halt and turned around to this maid.

“Oh my, Sophia. It has been several days since our last meeting, hasn’t it?”

“Ah, y-yes.”

Her elegant conduct was a role model of very aristocratic demeanor. Just her movement alone as she came to a halt and turned around made me aware of our difference in status. Even though I wish I will be just like her some day, she has reached such distant heights that I don’t feel like I will ever be able to reach her level of perfection.

“Are you on your way to take a bath?”

“Y-Yes! I thought it would be nice to enjoy some hot water…”

“If you like, would you be fine entering the bath with me?”

As she pointed out, this maid was holding her bath set in her arms. Thanks to Tanaka-san’s considerate discretion, my bathroom set has been set to consist of the same items as those used by the nobles. A treatment completely different from my time back at home. Because of that, I cannot help but to enjoy a bath every day.

By the way, Ester-sama has completely disregarded my message from Allen-sama. Maybe she hasn’t heard what I said.

“O-Okay! I would be honored to rinse your back!”

“In that case, I will rinse your back in return. I’m going to fetch my bath tools, so could you wait for me for a moment? Ah, if you tell me the bath’s location, I won’t mind if you enter ahead of me, though.”

“T-T-T-T-That would b-b-b-be outrageous!”

Also, I don’t quite understand the reason for it, but our sense of distance feels closer compared to before. I never expected that I’d be invited to take a bath by her, so I ended up being at the end of my wits.

“However, Allen-sama has been worried about your absence…”

“It’s no problem to ignore it. I’m no child, so I will be gone for a few days every now and then, right? Rather than that, the bath is what matters now. All sorts of things happened over the last few days, so I have been slightly exhausted. I’m totally in the mood to enter a bath and let my fatigue slowly fade away.”

“……”

“Is something the matter, Sophia?”

What could it be? It’s a weird feeling. Is it what you call something being out of place?

Thinking back on it now, Ester-sama has been calling me Sophia right after she recovered from her bad physical condition. At first, I thought it might have happened in a hurry and out of simple honesty. But, maybe…just maybe…this could be…

Haven’t Ester-sama’s memories possibly come back? Otherwise, this distance between us would be impossible.

But, if that’s the case, why is she hiding it? At the very least I haven’t encountered any occasion of the others speaking about Ester-sama’s memories. Everyone has equally socialized with her on the assumption that her memories won’t come back. Assuming her memories returned now, Ester-sama seems to have been hiding that.

Of course, it’s also possible that this maid is simply being left out. However, the behavior of the others is too normal for that.

“…Sophia?”

“Ester-sama, h-have your memories come back by chance?”

“gh…”

When I directly confronted her about it, I got a reaction out of it. Her nicely-shaped eyebrows twitched, albeit only faintly. As I thought, her memories have come back, haven’t they? There is no doubt at this point. But, why is she keeping quiet about it?

I brooded about that question, but no matter how long I pondered, I didn’t hit upon an answer.

“…Umm, d-does Tanaka-san know about it?”

“……”

“If you like, I-I could tell him from my side…”

“It’s fine. Forget it, Sophy.”

Suddenly a shadow crept onto her face and she confessed to me. As I thought, she recovered her memories.

“You’re probably aware of it as well, but even if I might have lost my memories, I treated him cruelly, not once but even twice. At this point, I’m too ashamed to face him. I lost all qualifications to be at his side.”

“No, that is definitely not true…”

“And yet, I still want to think of him.”

“……”

“And I want to be of use to him when he’s in trouble.”

What a frail and weak story. It’s completely devoid of the Ester-sama I know.

“For that reason, I’m fine just looking at him from a distance. Simply being able to follow him with my eyes is plenty of happiness for me. I can discover the tiny bits of joy in that. That’s why I’m okay with this. Even if I don’t get him to care about me any further, I’m alright with it.”

“Ester-sama…”

Her heart appears to be still yearning for Tanaka-san.

“Could you keep it a secret, Sophy?”

“…O-Okay.”

Let’s agree here for now. But, I won’t give up. Whatever others say, this maid shall do her best to support Ester-sama. I shall exhaust all my devotion in order to repay her for all the kindness she has blessed me with so far. I want her to tell me anything as long as it’s something I can do.

“Ah, but, umm, is it okay…to make just one request?”

“Yes! Please tell me anything!”

“In that case, umm, i-i-it’s a c-consultation of sorts, but could you pick up the trash can the next time you clean his room and bring it to my room?”

“…Eh?”

“I-I-I’d like to have t-t-he trash c-c-c-can from his room. The t-t-trash can…installed in the room. I think you as a maid can pick it up without drawing any suspicions…”

“……”

“The trash can…from his room…”

What should I do?

 

Ester-sama broke.

 

＊

 

On the day after the Saint-sama murder case, we proceeded to make another appearance at the castle.

By the way, last night all of us went back to Dragon City with the kind help of Edita-sensei. The core reason for this was to be found in the meaninglessness of just this ordinary Japanese flat-face participating, or in other words, it was necessary to drag the main guest over in the truest sense.

Moreover, I requested Richard-san to make various preparations at the imperial court for that sake. As a result of that, Neumann was currently kneeling next to this ordinary Japanese flat-face in the audience hall.

At the moment we were waiting for the emperor to appear while maintaining a humble posture in front of the empty throne.

“…zh…zh…”

When I cast a fleeting glance to check on Neumann’s state, he was scared shitless. I think it’s my first time to see him so frightened.

Given that I had asked him to accompany me without briefing him on the whole situation, you could describe his current state as only natural, I guess. But I mean, it’s quite possible that he’d turned me down if I had told him ahead of time. Or rather, I’m pretty sure he’d have declined right off the bat.

I might be meddling in things that are none of my concern.

But, this ordinary Japanese flat-face would like Neumann to keep him company on achieving this one goal here and now.

“…zh…zh…zh…”

Having noticed my look, Neumann stared back at me as if he wanted to tell me something. He was implicitly demanding an answer from me as to why I had brought him to a place like this.

Even if the throne was currently vacated, it was difficult for him to have a relaxed chat in presence of the throne, so he simply looked at me with a frantic expression.

Moreover, next to him knelt Shotachinpo.

Him joining us here was a request from Richard-san. Our Duke apparently didn’t forget about the promise he gave him. By the way, just like Neumann, he hadn’t been briefed on the reason for this audience either.

Contrary to a grown man like Neumann, Shotachinpo seemed to be awfully calm about this whole situation. He was kneeling with a nonchalant air surrounding him. I guess him being a former noble isn’t just for show. He totally fits in this circle.

But, I don’t really know what to say about him crossdressing even in a place like this.No different from usual, he was wearing his school uniform. With a miniskirt, as usual. I mean, you can describe it as proper clothing. But, if you look at him from behind, the skirt’s contents are visible. What’s the idea of going with a black low-leg cut?

Meanwhile, the announcement of His Majesty’s entrance thundered across the hall. But I couldn’t check his appearance because I was lowering my head. Still, I could determine from his boots clacking on the floor that he had stopped right in front of us after moving over from a corner of the hall.

At last.

“Raise your heads.”

His Majesty instructed with a majestic tone, making one wonder where yesterday’s confusion had vanished.

The one raising their faces in response to this were the ikemen, the busamen, and the Shotachinpo.

By the way, today Ester-chan and Richard-san were normal spectators. Just like the other nobles who crowded the audience hall, they lined up along the red carpet, gazing at us. However, the nobles’ attention never really ceased to be directed at those two either.

They were part of what you’d describe as the FitzClarence faction.

“Baron Tanaka, it is good to see you again today.”

His Majesty addressed me with a welcoming greeting. Next to him stood the time-keeper geezer.

“As for the performance of those people, I have also heard about it from the Prime Minister.”

“It was a pleasure, Your Majesty!”

This sort of exchange was quite practiced. It probably took place many times over.

Grasping the established routines in advance helps, as it then becomes nothing special to get nervous about. The troublesome matters had all been completely wrapped up yesterday. Today I’d just receive what I was supposed to receive from His Majesty and go back. Thanks to that, I had enough composure to notice smaller, unrelated matters.

“Using the dragon obeying you, you blocked the blow from the fiendish demon king that had been unleashed on Charis. Because of this, many of my subjects were protected from its threat while it also allowed my palace to escape unprecedented calamity.”

What His Majesty recited here was the most recent hot news of the Penny Empire. The part of me effectively stealing the Loligon’s achievement is something I would like to compensate for in some sort of way, if possible.

“The Pussy Republic, which got struck by the same blow, lost its royal castle, we hear. Moreover, we continuously receive similar reports from other countries, which share diplomatic ties with the empire. The level of their damages goes beyond our imagination.”

His Majesty’s eyes wandered to the prime minister for a split second. In accordance with that, the geezer sang my praises.

“It’s said that the royal castle of the northern, major power was struck down just the other day. Moreover, that place got attacked by demons, resulting in the knight order vanishing. The majority of their nobility was dragged into the conflict and it sounds like that has become the trigger for a coup d’etat in the country.”

“Uh-huh, the present demon king is one terrifying being.”

“Absolutely so, Your Majesty.”

“Therefore we cannot ignore Baron Tanaka’s achievements on this occasion.”

“Yes, I believe so as well.”

The two nodded at each other as if having arranged it in advance.

With this taking place in front of their eyes, the gathered nobles all raised voices full of admiration. It was the moment when a flat-faced, yellow outsider from who-knows-where would be welcomed as a member of the Penny Empire. The other nobles had been informed of that fact.

On the other hand, the matter with Saint-sama was treated as if it never happened. It wasn’t even brought up as a topic. At this rate, they probably plan to sweep the whole matter under the carpet. Diplomatically it’s basically a stance of we haven’t seen anything, we haven’t seen anything, and we don’t know anything.

Big organizations sure are scary as fuck, aren’t they?”

“Baron Tanaka, this is an honor we haven’t bestowed in the past.”

“Yes, Your Majesty! I am greatly obliged.”

“Based on your paramount achievements, we shall appoint the rank of Count to you anew.”

An especially loud stir could be heard from the nobles. A special promotion by two ranks as I had been told during the strife yesterday. Since this came from the emperor who was known to be stingy and slow to start working, I had thought that it’d definitely fall short of one rank during the real presentation. As in me becoming Viscount Tanaka. It was totally unexpected for me to see him follow up on his own words.

It’s an unbelievable career if you set Mercedes-chan’s urination scene in Charis’s dungeon as a starting point. I’d have never anticipated becoming a Count. It’s a status where you won’t even get scolded when you kidnap the daughter of a lower-ranking noble family and fuck her silly, not to mention ordinary towngirls.

Oh damn, that’s some insane shit. Power is dangerous.

When I cast a glance at the prime minister’s face, he was revealing a lewd smile. Kinda like asking me, “You got it, right? Right?”

So this is political power, huh? He hasn’t served as long-time prime minister of a feudalistic country for giggles. He’s fully familiar with the way how to use the carrot and stick policy. Receiving an unexpected reward, my heart was reflexively filled with delight. No matter what I do, I now cannot avoid feeling vexed. Still, you can say this and that, but I’m truly happy here.

Honestly, I want to fuck the daughters of low-ranking nobles while being allowed to run my mouth as I want thanks to my newly gained authority. But, that’s not today’s main dish.

“Also, I heard that those, who had supported you during your hard struggles, would accompany you today.”

“Yes, indeed, Your Majesty! It is as you say!”

The time has finally come. Do you know just how long I’ve been waiting for this very moment? Let me use the opportunity to push with full force.

“They’re the people who worked together me, while clearly understanding the danger of the current demon queen, to protect the peace of the empire. If you do not have an objection, I would like to be allowed to introduce them myself.”

“Mmh, so shall it be.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

This part followed what Richard-san had told us before.

“This here is Sir Ashley Aufschnaiter , the eldest son of the Aufschnaiter family. I was taught about the dangers of the current demon queen by him who had studied abroad at the Academy City. Without him, protecting the Penny Empire would have been impossible.”

The instant the name Aufschnaiter appeared, the nobles simultaneously raised their voices. Somehow they keep being surprised ever since yesterday. I wonder, don’t they get tired of it?

When I took a short peek, I could hear words full of jealousy, asking why a person of the Aufschnaiter family and so on. I heard that quite some time had passed since their purge, but it sounds like the impression harbored of the Aufschnaiter family still remains as bad as ever.

But, if you place something like that in Richard-san’s hands, it’ll play out just as you can see. The FitzClarence family has recently been on the rise.

By the way, normally it was planned for Gon-chan to line up here, not Shotachinpo. But, because he wasn’t overly keen about reviving his family, and as he didn’t appear to have much interest in nobility, Shotachinpo was allowed to accompany me in exchange.

Last night he had told me at the place I prepared to consult with him one-on-one that this ordinary Japanese flat-face’s knight order was far more valuable to him than a peerage in the Penny Empire. And man, I must admit that moved me to tears against my will. Seriously, ikemen are so damn unfair.

Because of those circumstances, Shotachinpo became the family head of the reborn Aufschnaiter family.

“And the person next to me is a man called Neumann. He has been serving in your imperial palace as a government official to begin with. Currently, he is single-handedly managing the municipal government in my territory. His support is the main reason why I can stand in front of you like this.”

Shotachinpo was an extra here and didn’t matter either way, but I had to promote Neumann with all I had. Beginning with today, it’s indispensable for me to charge ahead with my Neumann family revival project at full strength from the very beginning.

“Despite his appearance, I can vouch for Neumann possessing outstanding talent in literary and military arts. He always takes command at the forefront during disputes. For a period of time, I also learned a lot under him. If not for his assistance, the development of our city would have remained a mere dream, I am certain.”

Now is the time to go all out on exaggerating. He himself was looking at me with eyes, pleading to stop.

Neumann, that’s how you do it. This is what you wanted to do. This right now! It feels much better than imagined.

“Hmm, is that so?”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

“If you say so Count, it must be the truth.”

“It is as I say, Your Majesty.”

It’s the phrase I happened to hear from the Noble Mage at some point. And this settled it.

“We shall extol those achievements, which supported Count Tanaka’s great exploits behind the scenes. As a reward, Ashley Aufschnaiter shall be granted the rank of Viscount and an appropriate territory, and Neumann shall be assigned a post at the imperial court and the rank of Baron.”

“I feel deep gratitude in light of your generous consideration, Your Majesty.”

This ordinary Japanese flat-face replied to His Majesty as representative of the other two. After all, Neumann was completely confused, looking at this busamen with an expression dyed in utter disbelief as if he couldn’t understand his own situation. This busamen felt that he looked kinda cute like that.

“Very well, in addition to the peerage granting ceremony for these people…”

The audience time passed with this and that. It took some time, but with this my mission was complete.

Neumann, this ordinary Japanese flat-face got it done.

＊

 

After the audience ended, I returned to the waiting room with Neumann and Shotachinpo. Upon entering, I found Ester-chan inside. Apparently she had withdrawn from the audience hall ahead of us. However, I couldn’t see Richard-san next to her. I’m sure he was talking about this and that with the other nobles.

“G-Good work out there!”

“Your kind words are wasted on me. Rather, thank you kindly for honoring us with your presence.”

She jumped up from the sofa as soon as she saw us. And then she briskly walked up to us. It was fun how Neumann froze, becoming all nervous as if it was normal.

“It’s been a while since we met in the castle like this, hasn’t it?”

Loli Bitch’s eyes wandered to Neumann.

“Y-Yes!”

He straightened his back with a snap and saluted. As always, he’s weak against political power and titles.

When Drill-chan had walked through the corridors in the mayor’s mansion while holding a bath towel in her hand as she was just out of the bath, she had apparently experienced the same interaction with Neumann upon meeting him on the way. I had heard something like that from the side that got startled. Just imagining it, it must have been a funny scene to watch.

“I think we’re going to have a long association from now on, so please take care of me.”

“Yes! I-It will be a pleasure to work with you!”

At this rate, it looks like he’s also going to get along with Richard-san. That man likes fellows with such a feel.

“However, umm, if possible, I would like to make a comment.”

“Is something wrong?”

“I have been told about working at the imperial court as Baron during the earlier audience. But, I would like to work under Count Tanaka for a bit longer. I know that this is very selfish of me, but I strongly wish to turn down the conferment of peerage.”

Hey, hey are you for real, Neumann? Even though you’ve been able to return to the capital at long last. Moreover, as a noble.

Something like that won’t be tolerated. Mostly, by this ordinary Japanese flat-face.

“Neumann-san, how about you consider things calmly for a bit first?”

“No, please allow me to state it clearly because it’s this sort of opportunity. Honestly speaking, I hold no interest in working at the central government any longer. Certainly, all kinds of things have happened up until now. I do have my own feelings and regrets about the past events. But even so, I enjoy working under you right now.”

“……”

If I’m told something like that, it puts me in a bind as to how to answer. What should I do?

At this rate, Baron Neumann’s life as a noble will end on the day it started. That’d be far too saddening.

As this busamen was getting flustered by the second by the whole situation, Loli Bitch spoke up.

“I don’t mind, you know? I will inform Papa about it.”

“Ester-san!”

All of a sudden, he used her name.

“However, the rank of Baron granted to you by His Majesty is nothing we can do anything about from our side. For the present, it will take the shape of us having you work as Baron Neumann under Count Tanaka, but you don’t mind, do you?”

“…..Y-You have my deepest appreciation for being s-so considerate of me. Thank you very much.”

“You can rely on me whenever something troubles you. I will assist you.”

“I am terribly sorry for making you do all this. I appreciate your kindness.”

Ester-chan, you’re a truly good woman, aren’t you?

Because I almost fell in love with her due to that casual scene, it’s truly vexing, isn’t it? Neumann also looks like he’s going to start crying any moment now.

I guess I will take the liberty to change the topic at this point, also to protect his honor as a man.

“By the way, Elisabeth-sama, there is something I would like to ask you about, if you allow.”

“…What might that be?”

She reacted after a short pause. Her eyebrows twitched.

“It has already been bothering me yesterday, but how did you manage to bring Saint-sama all the way to Charis? I met her in the past and I remember her to have had power as appropriate for a person representing a whole state,” I asked while remembering her status which you could rightfully describe as strongest among humans.

If there’s any human going beyond her, it’d be Sophia-chan, I think. Or the previous hero who’s said to have passed away 500 years ago.

“I-It wasn’t anything that difficult!”

“Were truly okay? The other party was a genuine saint. It would be a tragedy if she had cursed you by some chance. If there is anything bothering you, I would be more than happy if you could tell me on this occasion. Of course, we will not tell anyone else about it.”

“gh…”

Edita-sensei apparently had a painful experience with that person as well. This Loli Bitch is at a high risk because she doesn’t show her weaknesses to others.

“How about it?”

“I-I’m alright!”

“Really?”

“However, what I’m about to tell you might sound very ridiculous, so I’d like you to not laugh at me. Even I cannot quite believe it to this very day. But, all of it is true and because of it, I could overwhelm that woman.”

“I would never laugh at anything you tell me.”

Though I cannot promise anything if she suddenly pulled some funny faces at me. I think a fellatio face would definitely suit her though. I’d like a picture of her where she pushes her tongue and lips against a glass window.

“Right, yes…I suppose you’re right. If you go this far, I will h-honestly answer you…”

“Please,” I nodded deeply so as to express my seriousness.

In response, Loli Bitch timidly started to narrate.

“…I-I got help from goblins.”

“Goblins, you say?”

What’s going on? I kinda don’t get the meaning.

“I-I’ll omit the details, but I met goblins, who said that they know you, during my journey! And, a-after various things happened, I got them to cooperate with me, allowing me to catch that woman. Those goblins were incredibly powerful.”

“……”

Seriously? No need to guess. It must have been the medicinal plant goblins.

This is the biggest surprise by far today.

“Ah, which reminds me, on our parting I got this from them…”

Ester-chan rummaged through a bag for some reason. Eventually, she held out a coin in her hand. A gold coin of the Penny Empire.

“gh…”

“Goblins also know the value of coins. I was very surprised by that.”

Oh noes, I feel a bit like crying. Even though I managed to hold my tears back during the talk with Neumann, I’m now on the verge of bawling due to a Penny gold coin.

For real? Medicinal plant goblins, you’re not kidding, are you? Or rather, what were you guys doing in a place like the Great Holy Land?

“What’s wrong? A-Are you okay!?”

“No, those are somewhat great news, so I have been overcome with emotions.”

“I-Is that so?”

“Ester-san, thank you. You brought me wonderful news.”

“They told me to give you their regards and immediately went off somewhere, but umm, did s-something possibly h-happen with them in the past? Sorry, I haven’t asked for their destination, but if it’s like that, I’ll go back to the Great Holy Land right away and…”

“No, you do not need to go that far.”

I wonder just how much of a great adventure those siblings are experiencing right now. They aren’t traveling all over the world, are they?

“So you really met those goblins after all…”

“Were the older brother and his younger sister doing fine?”

“Yes, absolutely! Even in the face of high-ranking priests and holy knights, they easily tore them apart and tossed them away, tore them apart and tossed them away. Thanks to that, I had to totally revise my view on goblins! I believe they’re hiding an unbelievable potential!”

“I see.”

As might be expected, I assume that’s limited to the medicinal plant goblins, though. But well, how to describe it…? It’s a situation where I feel genuinely sorry. Since she had to go as far as relying on unknown goblins, her quest in the Great Holy Land must have been accompanied by considerable difficulties. This time I caused trouble for Ester-chan again.

Her influence on this ordinary Japanese flat-face receiving the rank of Count is quite big, too. If not for her great efforts, the prime minister wouldn’t have been dragged into this and the special two-rank promotion wouldn’t have happened. The same also applies to the restoration of Shotachinpo’s family which followed consequently. ²

“…Ester-san, thank you kindly.”

“Eh? F-For what? Y-You’re putting me on t-the spot, if you thank me all of a s-sudden!”

Moreover, limited to this time, it seems like she did it completely out of good intentions without any ulterior motives. After recovering her memories and returning into being Allen’s sexfriend, she still did this for the sake of this busamen.

That reality made me happy from the bottom of my heart. I’m sure this is how a free pussy must feel. Moreover, my chest is overflowing with euphoria as if I was allowed to experience a lovey-dovey situation between a couple.

“I will definitely return the favor someday.”

I ended up sensing something akin to the connection with a war buddy who survived the same battlefields. In the case of this girl, she gives me more of an impression of being a guy without dick than a woman. An ikemen of the finest quality. (T/N: same sentence ending as Ester has been using ~wa)

“I-It’s not like I did t-this for you or anything!”

“It still makes me happy. Thank you very much.”

“rh…”

It seems like I’ll be able to get a good rest tonight.

 

＊

 

Having finished the audience, I decided to head to the lodging house of the Royal Academy. It was based on the idea that it wouldn’t be bad to check things over there every once in a while.

Now that I’m thinking about it, it’s been quite a long time since I’ve been there last. Ever since I took up residence in Dragon City, I spent my time in the city without really coming back here. Still, it looks the maintenance has been carried out diligently and the rooms were sparkling clean without dust being visible anywhere.

Thanks to that, it seemed like I’d be able to spend the night here comfortably.

I had split up with Neumann and Shotachinpo right after leaving the waiting room. As far as I understand it, several formalities are tied to the conferment of peerage. We promised to meet up at the FitzClarence residence again tomorrow and then went our separate ways.

By the way, if you ask why we’re using the FitzClarence residence as a meeting point, it’s because Richard-san apparently has something to tell us in private. We were told to come in our best suit. Very likely he’s planning to introduce us to the members of his faction, just like some time ago. It’s very appreciated.

Ester-chan was asked to help out at home and subsequently went over there.

And thus I was now all by myself for a rare change.

“……”

Thanks to that, it’s extremely quiet around me right now. The living room is filled with nothing but silence. Well, almost. I can still hear my own breathing. But, experiencing this, the last days of ridiculous busyness feel like a lie. My neighbor Loli Bitch and my housemate Sophia-chan are absent as well, so I kinda feel like this here is a space somewhat disconnected from the world.

“…It’s a very soothing, gentle feeling.”

That’s probably because I managed to achieve my goals without a hitch. Now I’m wrapped up by a feeling of liberation.

“……”

However, it’s a bit lonely. Probably because the presence of people has suddenly vanished around me. In the past, every day was like that. Considering it like that, it’s whining about first world problems.

“……”

Some people in this world constantly bicker about being lonely this, lonely that, lonely whatever. To be honest, back then I wasn’t able to understand it at all. I never harbored any doubts about spending my nights alone. Rather, I felt more comfortable that way.

But, if it’s now, I might understand things a tiny bit better. Once you experience the joy of being in a big group, you apparently fear being isolated. Getting used to it for better or worse triggered a change in me going beyond what I imagined.

I wonder whether I should go for dinner in a lively place.

Just as I was in the middle of pondering about such useless crap, I heard a gratifying knocking sound from the entrance door. It was the announcement of a visitor.

“Ah, I am on my way. Please wait a moment.”

I got up from the sofa and hurried over to the door. I wonder who it might be. My expectations leaped quite a bit.

Maybe it’s Neumann. If you consider past track records, Ester-chan is a candidate for such sudden, unannounced visits. It’s also possible that some person from the academy has come to contact me, seeing how I’ve been away from here for such a long time. I did outsource all the formalities to the Noble Mage.

“Thank you for waiting…”

The instant this ordinary Japanese flat-face opened the door, he froze.

I mean, for some reason Shotachinpo was standing right in front of my eyes.

“U-Umm, old man, I’ve got a request…”

This is a perfect surprise attack. He’s armed with knee-high socks, twintails, and his usual mini-skirt uniform on top. Moreover, while he’s fidgeting around, he’s staring at me from below with upturned eyes in his typical style. I think this is definitely going to become a part of my dark history since I’ve already passed my thirties.

Are you really sure about this, 20-years-old Shotachinpo-san?

“…What might that be?”

“J-Just one day will be fine, so could you l-let me s-stay here for the night?”

“Huh?”

“It was rather abrupt for me to come to the capital, so I didn’t bring any decent amount of money and I’ve got no one else I could rely on, s-so when I wondered what I should do, I remembered having previously heard that you live in the academy’s dormitory…”

“Oh, I see.”

Now I understand. Or rather, this was completely my misunderstanding.

For him, who only has enemies in the capital, it’s the worst possible situation. Getting way too flustered over Neumann’s promotion, I did something terribly rude to Shotachinpo.

Thinking back on it now, he totally had that atmosphere about him even in the waiting room.

“Sorry, I hurried you on from my side without considering your circumstances. Rather, I feel sorry that I failed to notice this. Please, come in. Are you thirsty? If you are hungry, I will prepare something to eat.”

“Eh? Ah…eh?”

“You must be tired, right? I will get the bath ready if you wish to wash off your sweat.”

“T-Then, i-if possible…w-water please…”

“Certainly, I will get it right away. Please wait over there.”

Such things are really the worst, aren’t they? I feel terribly guilty.

 

＊

 

Shotachinpo and I had dinner with just the two of us in the living room’s dining section. A noble’s feast (according to Maid-san) stood on the dining table. All sorts of dishes, which I had the kitchen on the first floor prepare, were lined up.

It’s been a while since I last ate the food here, but it’s as delicious as always. It makes my cheeks slacken.

“Umm, i-is this really okay? Somehow I feel like having waltzed in here as if it’s normal…” Shotachinpo asked me while shyly picking his food.

I wonder what’s going on. He seems extremely reserved compared to the past.

“I have invited you, so you don’t need to worry about it.”

“B-But! Until now, you’ve been avoiding me, old man!”

“Now well, that’s a different matter.”

“…I don’t get what you mean.”

Please get it, for fuck’s sake. It’s no love. NO LOVE.

“By the way, it might sound a bit sudden, but congratulations on having restored your family. From now on you can brazenly call yourself Aufschnaiter.”

“Huh? Ah, y-yeah…”

“Is something the matter? Aren’t you happy about this?”

“To be honest, it’s not a nice feeling since it feels like I snatched your and Gonzales’s achievement away from the sideline. I haven’t done anything. Gonzales likes his current life a lot more than he expected and he was also surprised by the sincerity of that noble.”

“It might be as you say, if you take the events so far into account.”

“Right?”

“However, starting with today, you are Viscount Aufschnaiter.”

“…Yep.”

“This is just a little imaginary assumption by me, but if Gonzales-san were to be present here, I’m sure he would say the following to you: A man has to take responsibility for his own words.”

“Ugh…,” Shotachinpo’s face cramped up upon hearing this busamen’s remark.

It looks like I hit him where it hurts with this. Even after this and that, it seems like he’s still kinda bad with Gon-chan.

“Do you not want the Aufschnaiter family?”

“O-Of course not!”

“Isn’t it fine then? Do your best to grow your family and then look back at Gonzales-san and Richard-san in triumph.Well, for the present the Aufschnaiter family might become part of the FitzClarence family’s faction, though.”

“…You’re right…I guess. Okay. I will do my best.”

“I believe that to be for the best.”

It’s not that I don’t feel any anxiety about the Aufschnaiter family’s sense of justice and reasoning. But well, since his specs are high no matter what you say, I’m sure he’ll be able to take the family in a good direction. I think he’s the type of guy who can confront Richard-san head on and still make things work.

“By the way, Ash-san, did the formalities at the imperial court go well? It seems like Neumann-san would be still on the move, though.”

“Ah, if it’s that, Duke FitzClarence seems to be taking care of it.”

“I see.”

Most likely Richard-san had called out to Neumann and Shotachinpo. And Neumann probably turned down his offer. He’s the type of guy who will do all the work he can handle himself. And understanding properly that this method is much faster than leaving it to others is typical of him, too.

I suspect that this only led to Neumann#s value increasing inside Richard-san’s mind.

“W-Was that possibly bad?”

“No, I think it’s alright. Rather, in your case it’d be dangerous to carelessly walk through the imperial palace without waiting for Richard-san’s introduction. It’s quite possible that it’d actually cause more problems. I doubt that he hasn’t considered things that far himself. I’d call it a good decision instead.”

“T-Then it’s fine…”

“Don’t worry, it’s fine. He doesn’t think badly of you.”

“…Okay.”

But, it’s something that just crossed my mind, but is the Academy City going to be alright with this? He’s mentioned that he’s sent a temporary school absence notification, but now that he’s received territory like this, I’ve got a hunch that he won’t be able to go back for a year or two. I think it’d be a waste for him to drop out even though he’s such a promising student. Moreover, he’s still quite young.

“On another note, is your school going to be okay?”

“Ah, if it’s that, I’ve been thinking that it’s about time to quit anyway.”

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t consider the academy boring, but my family is more important to me, so…”

“I understand.”

Come to think of it, he has been bullied or something like that, right? His memories of the time there probably aren’t the nicest.

I’m somewhat acquainted with the headmaster of the Academy City, so I’ll consult with him when I find some free time. Maybe he can approve of a system to make credit points interchangeable with those in the academy of Penny Empire. The director of the Penny Empire’s academy is the Noble Mage, so it should work out one way or another.

“But you see, personally I consider studying to be important as well.”

“That doesn’t make impossible things possible, right?”

“Assuming there existed some sort of method for you to continue your studies, would you do it?”

“I’d be happy to do so. Yep, really.”

“I think you’re a great person for becoming so invested for the sake of your family, but your diligent tackling of your studies is also very wonderful. The experience of being a student is something precious you can only obtain now.”

Going through life at school, create any girl you want to be and graduate while crossdressing; that’s Shotachinpo’s version of a fulfilled, happy youth. It’s also this ordinary Japanese flat-face’s means to escape the BL route.

That’s what you call a win-win situation.

“G-Got it! I’ll do my best!”

“Yes, please do so.”

But still, I’m truly jealous of him. It’s really nice to be young. Springtime of youth sure is nice.

“…Somehow, you’re much kinder than usual, aren’t you?”

“You think so?”

“It’s just like the time when we had just met.”

“……”

Back then I didn’t know that you’re a guy. Also, today I caused you trouble because of my blunder. But, if I were told something like this in the present situation where I cannot talk back too strongly to the other party because I’m indebted to them for having helped me out, I’d have been extremely troubled as well.

“Umm, i-is it possibly…about me being…”

Shotachinpo stood up from his chair.

This ordinary Japanese flat-face’s body immediately froze as he didn’t know what the other party was planning to do.

In the very next moment, the skirt gently fell to the ground. It revealed the black low-leg which I had confirmed during the day as well. The extremely skimpy cloth surface resulted in an exceedingly dangerous level of coverage.

“…We’re in the middle of dinner. Please wear your clothes properly.”

I could sense the aura of a playboy, comparable to that of Allen. No, in the case of my current company, I’d rather say analboy. But either way, it doesn’t change the nasty sound of it.

“Umm, j-just the tip…I’ll be fine with just the tip!”

“……”

Just where did you meekness up until now go? He’s currently showing me the face of a bitch in heat. As I thought, I shouldn’t have let him in after all.

 

＊

 

On the next day, I coincidentally met Neumann while walking through the city together with Shotachinpo.

“Oh? I didn’t expect to meet you here, Neumann-san.”

“Hmm? Oh, Tanaka. And Viscount Aufschnaiter too.”

We were just on our way to the FitzClarence estate. And despite having obtained noble titles, we were all walking laboriously. Thanks to that, we ran into each other just as we approached the noble district, likely because we had the same destination.

“Where did you go yesterday?”

Right after asking, I thought that I messed up. Now I’ve done it. I mean, at present his wife and another guy were fucking at his home.

“I stayed over at an inn that’s not too far away from here.”

“I see.”

I guess I’ve got a little screw loose, seeing how I took this as a good conversation topic against any better judgment. If this was a business partner from my former world, it’d have connected to a little chat about the quality of hotels and so on, though.

“Speaking of that, where did you stay, Tanaka?”

“At the dormitory of the Royal Academy.”

“Ah, now that you mention it, you mentioned something along those lines a while ago, didn’t you?”

“Yep.”

After answering, I thought that I messed up once again. Now I’ve done it. I mean, Neumann’s eyes are clearly pinned on Shotachinpo.

“…You guys got that sort of relationship?”

“Sorry, but I don’t like these types of jokes.”

“I-I see. Forgive me.”

I felt the eyes of Shotachinpo on me, seemingly wanting to tell me something, but I took the liberty to ward them off. Although we experienced a little accident last night, things passed without a hitch. We ate dinner, had a talk, took a bath, drank some wine, and then both of us headed to separate rooms ―― this ordinary Japanese flat-face to his private room, and Shotachinpo to the guest room.

I made sure of it.

When I woke up in the morning, my shirt being wet with night sweat bothered me, but well, it probably came from me having slept on a high-class bed for the first time in a while. It’s nothing I need to particularly mind. And the quality of my sleep was sufficient, too.

“By the way, I’d like to confirm one thing, if I may.”

“What is the matter?”

“…Why am I a noble?” Neumann suddenly asked with a serious face.

I pondered whether I should settle it with a joke, but receiving his unwavering stare, I judged that to be difficult. I decided to answer with harmless words as I had no other choice.

“The matter of your achievements is just as it has been explained during the audience with His Majesty.”

“Yeah, yesterday you sure ran your mouth, saying whatever you want.”

“No, not at all. I just stated the truth, didn’t I?”

“True, you haven’t lied, but if someone asked me whether you spoke the truth, I wouldn’t know how to answer them.”

“You think so? I think it was a flawless argumentation.”

Usually, conversation would be over with this. Going by his tone, Neumann was interacting with me just like he did before receiving the Baron peerage, but he always drew a clear line in regards to social status. As such he wouldn’t pursue matters any further, once I distanced myself.

However, today alone he plunged in further into the topic.

“You are feeling indebted to me, aren’t you?”

That’s spot on. But, that’s simply how it is, right? I think it’s unavoidable. People live as people after all.

“Yes, indeed.”

“Is it because of that?”

“I cannot deny this. But, it is also true that you have achieved a lot for us. Also, ever since we met for the first time, I always thought that our relationship might consist of such very human and unfiltered exchanges.”

“…I see.”

“Yes,” I nodded without any reservations.

I wonder since when it has started that I felt a certain aversion to the word friend. Nowadays that term is quite disconnected from me. If it wasn’t for that, I might have been able to feel slightly closer to him. How to put it…? This could be yet another shadow of a selfish will I used to have.

“………”

“………”

For some reason, Neumann looked far into the sky with distant eyes. This ordinary Japanese flat-face followed his example.

Eventually, he responded with words once again.

“Thanks, Tanaka. I feel honestly happy about your consideration of me.”

“Hearing you say that makes me happy as well, Neumann-san.”

I felt my heart warming up a bit. My heart was now so calm that I didn’t even mind the skin Shotachinpo exposed under his skirt.

Afterwards, we walked towards the FitzClarence estate in a bright mood while having a lighthearted, random chat. Watching the scenery of the city change suddenly is fun.

Even though we were in the nobles district all the time, the buildings gradually became more impressive and solemn as we approached the center of the city, or in other words, the royal palace. Even the buildings near our destination which had scales close to public halls of provincial cities at first, were now like huge business centers as you could see them in urban centers.

And the building standing out the most even among those monstrosities was the very destination we were heading for.

“Somehow, quite a big number of people are lining up over there.”

“It seems so.”

Ahead of us, rows of people were lined up at the frontage of Ester-chan’s home. No wait, those aren’t just people. You can also see carriages between the rows.

They must have to do with today’s event, I suspected, but Richard-san would never make his guests wait outside. In that case, it seems like it’s highly likely some problem brewing or some special people.

The ones forming a line were all nobles. I could spot a few commoners here and there, too. Going by their attire, they should be officials working at the imperial court and merchants with a reasonable amount of influence. All of these people had formed a queue alongside the estate’s wall, starting at the main gate of Ester-chan’s home.

“I guess we should try to ask them what is going on.”

“N-No, most of them are nobles. It’d be a hassle if it turned into a dispute if we addressed them wrongly, right?”

“I see.”

Neumann appeared to keep forgetting that he himself was now a nobles as well. But well, there’s no doubt that we have a tricky position in the imperial court, so it wouldn’t be good to cause troubles for Richard-san here.

If it’s the words of Neumann, who’s not just anyone, I’ll follow them.

“Certainly, what you say sounds very reasonable, Neumann-san. Let us refrain then.”

“Mmh, I think that is a wise decision.”

“We might be able to understand what is going on here once we meet Richard-san.”

“That’s how it is.”

After Neumann agreed with a nod, we headed for the main gate of the FitzClarence estate. The queue was fairly long. Almost as long as the queues outside of gaming or anime stores in Akihabara at their best time. The variety of people was quite stunning too. You also had all sorts of carriages from huge monstrosities to small wagons.

And when we were gazing at the queue, I could also feel the stares of the people who were lining up.

I wonder how long we’ve been walking for now?

Suddenly I discovered familiar faces at the corner of my ever-changing sight. It was a meeting I wished to have avoided for the rest of my life, if only possible. That person was standing in a huge group of officials.

If we talk about our respective positions, we stood out a lot more as we walked past the queue compared to them who were disappearing in the huge group of other people. Moreover, with this flat yellow guy in tow, it was virtually impossible to mistake us for someone else. The instant our eyes met, their eyes widened in shock.

“N-Neumann!?”

“Dear!”

It was no one else but Neumann’s wife and her loverboy. Immediately after discovering us, they loudly called out for Neumann. Because of that, this drew the attention of everyone lining up in the queue. Even the nobles, who had been resting inside their carriages, showed their faces in the windows, starting to gawk at the situation over here.

“…Joseph, huh?”

“Hey, Neumann! What’s the deal with you being a Baron!?”

The adulterer stepped out of the queue and walked over to us. His appearance as he quickly approached us with long strides was fueled by a considerable amount of anger.

“That and the yellow guy over there, you’re the noble who had been executed on the city square the other day, aren’t you!?”

The chain of disputes surrounding this ordinary Japanese flat-face and Neumann had already reached the ears of the adulterer, or so it seems. He isn’t working at the imperial court for nothing. It probably doesn’t take much time for such information to reach him. At least it seems to be much faster for him than some rural noble.

“Well, you put me in a bind if you question me about that…”

He cast a fleeting glance at this ordinary Japanese flat-face while looking annoyed. But, even if you he’s looking for me to give my opinion, I have nothing I could tell him.

Now then, what to do about this?

We’re on a street with many onlookers, so we’ll end up with things escalating into a huge pain, if this or that happens.

“…Are they your acquaintances?” Shotachinpo asked with a doubtful voice after hearing the vague exchange between us adults.

“You could call them that…”

I was troubled how to answer this while remaining evasive.

Thereupon, the wife took one step forward, leaving the adulterer’s side and addressed Neumann, “Dear! I-I was wrong!”

She used a loud voice, causing everyone’s eyes to reflexively gather on her.

“I truly cherished you! But, you got another job in Trichris and I felt lonely, so I temporarily deluded myself. I didn’t mean it seriously! Even now you’re my only, true love!”

“gh…”

Neumann’s face changed upon hearing his wife’s words.

“I got an offer from this person here. He told me he’d prepare a post as a government official for me if I came to him. Y-You were working away in the countryside and I had various costs such as the house’s loan or the school fees for our daughter, you see? Because of that I couldn’t turn him down and had sadly no choice to go along with it. Even though I didn’t want to!”

I wonder what sorts of emotions are swirling in his chest right now. I suspect it’s nothing I want to imagine. Yep, it’s better not to.

“H-Hey, what are you saying all of a sudden!? Wasn’t it you who seduced me because you wanted a job at the court!? Why do you change it now into me having lured you into this!? Moreover, you even threw out your own daughter! I stopped you, didn’t I!?”

“ng!?”

Neumann’s expression changed when his daughter’s came up in the conversation. It looks like they had touched upon something they should have left alone.

“T-That’s not true! S-She left on her own a-accord! I haven’t done anything to her! Don’t tell me you believe I don’t know!? How you’ve looked at her with lewd eyes! I saw it many times!”

“L-Like hell I’d look at a young girl like that!”

The adultery couple continued to get all excited without us even understanding what they were trying to say. Still, I’d like them to give it a rest. Because they were shouting so loudly, we continued to gather more and more attention by the minute.

“Excuse me, but this sort of conversation shouldn’t…”

Just when this ordinary Japanese flat-face tried to intervene, Neumann spoke up. His face was…yep…pretty scary. Really, really scary.

“Forgive me. I’ll admit to being a worthless, weak-minded man. I was unable to fulfill my role as family provider. As such I think it’s only natural for you to have left me. However, I have severe doubts about you justifying your own actions by using our daughter as an excuse.”

I recalled the happy expression of his daughter when she reunited with him in Dragon City some time ago. She’s a super nice girl. She also emitted the feeling that she’d fuck her papa in the future. At least I sensed the resourcefulness of possibly reverse raping her papa in a fit of enthusiastic desire from her.

“W-Wrong! I also love that girl! Seriously, okay!?”

“Wait! Hey, weren’t you going to give birth to my child!?”

Letting this go on any further is dangerous. Even a virgin like me understands as much.

Neumann was tightly clenching his fists.

No good, no good.

“Please wait a moment. You should choose a better time and place for this sort of talk…”

I spread my arms to the side and stepped several steps forward in order to wedge myself between the two. At the very same time, someone else suddenly got involved.

“Count Tanaka, what is the matter for you to be in such a place?”

It was Richard-san. Richard-san had shown up. Sophia-chan’s papa was next to him as well.

Seeing him entering the scene, the nobles, who were lining up along the street, started to stir. Up until now they had formed a neat queue, but now they started to busily move as if trying to surround him. Even we, who stood close to him, will probably get swallowed up in the encirclement.

“Oh my, Duke FitzClarence. Please forgive us for causing you so much trouble.”

This busamen greeted him in a manner that exceeded my usual interaction with him by 70% in exaggeration.

After all, I cannot afford to reply to him in the same way as in Dragon City while standing on a street of Charis. All the more so, if the attention of others is directed at us.

“Is there some sort of problem?”

“No, it is nothing that…”

I couldn’t finish saying significant.

For Neumann it’s an extremely crucial issue.

What should I do? What would be the best answer here?

For an instant I faltered on how to respond under these circumstances.

Thereupon, no one other than the person in question replied in this ordinary Japanese flat-face’s stead, apparently having perceived his predicament.

“It is nothing. Please forgive us for having caused you trouble,” Neumann knelt down and lowered his head respectfully.

It was a posture of total obedience accompanied by a lot of pomp and glory. Compared to yesterday’s trembling in the audience hall, he seemed like a different man today. He conducted himself as if he had been a noble since birth.

“Please stand up, Baron Neumann. You do not need to be so formal around me.”

“No, that is impossible.”

“In that case, let us change the location. Many people are watching us over here, so I believe this place to be unsuited for further discussions. The people over there are also welcome to accompany us. If necessary, I can also arrange for an appropriate location on another day.”

Richard-san suggested while letting his eyes wander around the people looking at us.

This ordinary Japanese flat-face also thinks that this is a good idea.

But, Neumann muttered with eyes that made clear he had decided something, “Thank you very much for your kind consideration. But, that won’t be necessary.”

“It doesn’t seem to me like that, however.”

Richard-san cast a fleeting glance at the adulterer and Neumann’s wife.

“It’s a trivial family problem. And all of it is over now. After all, I have a wonderful daughter whom I love above everything else. I do not need anyone else in my family. As such, I can only wish for their happiness.”

After finishing his statement, Neumann turned his eyes to the adultering couple. His expression had completely changed compared to before, now looking oddly refreshed.

Isn’t that the face of a man who made his closure?

“H-Hey, Neumann! Introduce me! Sorry about your wife!”

“Dear, why are you saying something like that!? I’m your wife, am I not!?”

Richard-san, a man who’s very sensitive when it comes to human subtleties, obviously had understood the situation to some extent with only that much. Meanwhile, a question mark was floating above the head of Sophia papa.

“If that’s how it is, I understand.”

“Thank you very much for your accommodation.”

“Don’t mention it. Like you, I also have a daughter whom I consider a treasure. Hence I can understand your feelings. How about we have a meal together with our daughters in the near future? I would love to talk about various things with you.”

“It would be my pleasure.”

“Thank you. Well then, for the present, please follow me this way. We shall welcome you.”

Being urged on by Richard-san, Neumann got up and started to walk. The destination was the main gate of the FitzClarence residence.

With the chain of events taking place in front of him, Shotachinpo had become frightened.

“H-Hey, is this okay?”

“He decided for it to be like that, so we have no choice but to silently watch over him, I think.”

After prompting Shotachinpo who had shrunk back from all the happenings, this ordinary Japanese flat-face followed the other two.

The ones left behind were two speechless people: the adulterer and the former wife. Moreover, the big number of nobles, merchants, and people in charge of this country’s affairs such as court officials.

All of them walked as if clinging to our back, striving to be the first. But, this also came to an end as soon as we reached the gate. They weren’t permitted to proceed beyond that point. At the same time of the servants closing the gate, they were locked out.

 

 

They loudly called for Richard-san, but he didn’t look back once.

This is just my own imagination at work here, but they had probably lined up in front of the residence for the sake of changing their current faction.

“……”

The backs of the two walking ahead of me looked awfully refined to me. Their appearance as they headed towards the entrance of the mansion while cheerfully talking with each other, seemed almost as if a movie scene was playing out over there.

The people gathered in front of the gate also gazed at this scenery. And while this might be imprudent of me, this reality took a weight off my chest.

This ordinary Japanese flat-face felt extremely elated.

We have safely reached the end credit roll of Neumann’s great adventure.

 

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Translation Notes:

1. It’s one of those silly JP terms for retarded nonsense that has no equivalent in English. Basically it’s about when a girl wears a skirt and the skirt flaps/folds up, revealing her panties.
2. By the way, the author plays a little word pun here: the “consequently” is written as トコロテン方式 in Japanese. The トコロテン part of that also means prostate orgasm as a gay slang term.