Chapter IV: The Little King and the Prodigious Girl
It had been three days since I came back from the Reverse World.
I gave everyone their souvenirs, and right after Leen and Doctor Babylon retreated to the research laboratory. Linze and Fam holed themselves up in the library as well.
That left only Rosetta and Monica working in the garages. They had their mini-bots to help them out, at least.
The two gynoids each picked up a mini-bot and took a look at them.
“So the Gollems are kind of like these guys, huh?” The little minibots tilted their head as if to ask “What’s wrong?” Once they were set back down they ran back to join their brethren, dashing in a cheery manner. According to Doc Babylon, they were mindless automatons that obeyed in a similar manner to summoned beasts.
Compared to the Gollems, the mini-bots weren’t quite up to spec. The Reverse World seemed to be superior in terms of autonomy.
“My Frame Gear certainly looks nice...” Yumina stood next to me, looking up at the Frame Gear being constructed nearby.
It was incomplete, but you could see it coming together fairly nicely. It was clearly a well-armored silver Frame Gear.
“Did you think of a name for it yet, Touya?”
“Yes, I did. Brunnhilde.” The long-range attacker Frame Gear, Brunnhilde. It was designed to deliver powerful sniper shots from afar. It was outfitted with silver armor, designed to help camouflage it against its surroundings. It was basically what we’d use for a more subtle kind of assault.
“Brunnhilde... Shouldn’t it be you with the Frame Gear named after the country?”
“Ah, it’s just... Everyone else’s Frame Gears are named after the nine warmaidens, right? I think you should have this to complete the set... Besides, Brunnhilde is close to Brunhild, but it’s not quite the same.”
The names of all the Frame Gears were taken from the names of the Valkyries in Richard Wagner’s famous opera, “Der Ring des Nibelungen.”
Brunnhilde
Yumina’s Frame Gear. Sniper type
Primary Color: Silver
Gerhilde
Elze’s Frame Gear. Melee type, specialized in hand-to-hand combat
Primary Color: Red
Ortlinde
Sue’s Frame Gear. Defensive type
Primary Color: Gold
Waltraute
Lu’s Frame Gear. Guerilla-type, specialized in adaptive combat
Primary Color: Green
Schwertleite
Yae’s Frame Gear. Melee type, specialized in swordplay
Primary Color: Purple
Helmwige
Linze’s Frame Gear. Aerial support type
Primary Color: Blue
Siegrune
Hilde’s Frame Gear. Heavyweight melee type, specialized in swordplay
Primary Color: Orange
Grimgerde
Leen’s Frame Gear. Heavy bombardier type
Primary Color: Black
Rossweisse
Sakura’s Frame Gear. Support type, specialized in area-of-effect skills
Primary Color: White
All the knowledge gained from the creation of these Frame Gears would be incorporated into my own personal machine, which was set to be created after Yumina’s was done.
It wasn’t as if I wasn’t capable of fighting on my own, or anything... But going up against Upper Constructs or stronger creatures quickly tired me out. I wanted to have a suitably powerful machine just in case the day came that the Phrase were able to freely pass through the ruined world barrier.
That was why I decided to create the masterwork Frame Gear and have it assigned to me. Plus, to be honest, who wouldn’t want their own personal giant robot?
“So, Brunnhilde is equipped with a sniper rifle for long-range attacks, but also has four flying Fragarach blades for mid-range interception. You can also go more covert with this one due to the stealth function built into the armor. Though the armor kind of stands out a little when it hasn’t got its stealth function activated...”
“Y-Yes, it is a tad gaudy.”
“Well, this is the best color for getting the most out of the stealth function, so it’ll be fine. I’m sure you’ll get used to it.” It would only stand out at the start of the battle, once it was active it’d blend in really well.
“The other world has something similar to Frame Gears, right?”
“Ehh... They’re more like the mini-bots. They’re also similar to summoned creatures, in that they obey commands given to them by their masters. There are even some with special, magical powers!”
“I’d like to see them at some point.”
“I just need to build a portal door on the other side, then we can come and go as we please. After I do that, I’ll take you around the city.”
“It’s a promise, then.” Yumina smiled and wrapped her arms around one of mine.
Still, I had to establish a plot of land in the other world to make a place to house the portal. I definitely needed a few more trips there, it seemed.
“So the matter with Palerius Island is going well. Once the proper proceedings are done, our ship will go out and— Oh, no!”
The king of Lihnea stood up and grumbled. We were at the baseball stadium, watching a match between Lestia and Regulus. Regulus had just scored a double.
It was a friendly match since we’d just got done with our alliance meeting. The leaders were relaxing here and there, taking in the game.
Apparently, the king of Lihnea was good friends with the knight king of Lestia, so he was supporting the Lestian team.
The king of Lestia himself was down at the bench, since he was the team’s coach. The ladies of the alliance, those being the Ramissh pope and the Roadmare doge, were hanging out with my fiancees back at the castle.
“Don’t be naive... Regulus won’t fall for that, I’m sure. I wonder if they’ll win or lose during this next inning...”
“No, you need to keep an eye on the pitcher. He hasn’t changed his speed at all.” The king of Belfast and the emperor of Refreese were both looking down on the pitch with folded arms. Boisterous laughter came out of their mouths as they made their own personal predictions.
You guys sound a little ominous there...
The king of Lihnea headed over to console the Lestian team.
It seemed like Cloud and Reinhard had become quite good friends.
“Matches are a good place to vent out stress and have a grand old time! It’s just as the lad, er, Touya, said! This kinda sport is a cultural exchange! Bwahaha!”
The beastking merrily spoke as he sat in the VIP area, eyes completely transfixed on the game. His leopard ears were twitching with anticipation.
“There’s not just baseball, you know? We could do other sports. Oh, I wonder if we could organize something like the Olympic games...”
“The old lipid game? What’s that?”
“Ah, no. The Olympic games. It’s an event that happens every couple years. Teams from various countries around the world gather together and play sports and games over the course of several days. It’s a way of determining the best athletes in the world. Like uh... the winner of the Olympic baseball game would be the world’s best baseball team.”
“Hoho! Best in the world, eh? Sounds good to me! I’m interested in this!”
The world wasn’t quite unified or globalized enough for the Olympics yet, though. Many of the countries wouldn’t be ready for it, and there was still a lot of poverty worldwide, as well as the risk of magical beasts and monsters. Hell, there were even areas of the world with dangerous bandit gangs or freaky cults. We’d have to make the planet a safer place first.
Yulong and Sandora were gone, so that prevented any threat of a large-scale world war, but the petty criminals who had been kept in check by those two nations were now free to run rampant.
Yulong’s assassins, for example, became contract killers, robbers, or thieves. Meanwhile, those that used to capture slaves for Sandora ended up turning to other black market pursuits.
And now the ones that had to deal with them were the countries affected. In a sense, I had destroyed two large problems and spread several small problems across the map. That was why I was more than prepared to fully co-operate in the event that any of these criminals became a major threat.
“That reminds me, lad. You showed us that uh... cully rice, right? It was really, really good. I’d like to see more of that stuff in Mismede, but the rice can only be grown in Eashen, right?”
The meal known as “cully” originated in Mismede in this world. They didn’t have access to rice, so they ate it by soaking bread in it and eating it alongside the bun. Then, when I “came up with” the idea of adding rice to it, it became a taste sensation. When the meal finally got to Mismede, people couldn’t get enough of the stuff.
“I have a contact in the upper echelon of Eashen right now. I’ve asked him if he can see about exporting rice to Mismede. If we could send a few Eashenese farmers over, perhaps they could start cultivating the stuff in Mismede as well.”
Mismede’s climate was a lot hotter than Brunhild’s, but rice could still be grown there. After all, there was the Great Gau River as a freshwater source. The only foreseeable issue I could think of was dangerous insects from the Sea of Trees or the possibility of magical beasts attacking the paddy.
Then again, such risks could happen in any kind of farmland, and I was sure that professional farmers knew more about it than I did. In the worst case scenario, I could just ask Uncle Kousuke for help. He was the god of agriculture after all.
Eashen was still recovering from the incident with the monkey... or rather, Hideyooshi. Ieyahsu had settled in at the center of Eashen’s government to take care of affairs, and they’d finally managed to set up the exporting of goods.
In fact, Brunhild was set to harvest its own batch of rice in the fall. I was looking forward to it.
Oh, three outs.
Lestia’s team was definitely more offensively-oriented than the other team.
Lestia was a country of knights, so it made sense that they’d have keen eyes. Still, what they had in finesse they didn’t quite have in brute strength, so there were no heavy hitters amongst them. They didn’t take risks with potentially dangerous hits, either. They just took shots they were sure of.
Regulus had a pretty balanced team, so their players were pretty versatile. Their lineup was good enough to match with any opposing team, honestly.
I felt a little sorry for the king of Lihnea, but it seemed like Regulus had the best team.
The audience was going wild for the match, which was good. The people in the stands were mostly people from Brunhild, but it hadn’t taken them long to decide which teams they each preferred.
This world didn’t have much in the way of fun ways to pass the time, so they were just enjoying the game itself instead of getting too heavily into the competitive aspect.
Even if their favorite team lost, I noticed everyone in the audience seeing off the winners with smiles and a full round of applause.
They never once jeered, threw anything, or generally got angry if their favorite players messed up. I was glad to see good sportsmanship from everyone in the area.
The players were all good sports too, but that kind of made sense. Their main job was working in the knight order, after all. They weren’t professional baseball players who relied on it for income. That was why even though they were official national teams, the games always had a very casual vibe.
I was just happy to have created a space where everyone could enjoy themselves.
I looked over and suddenly saw Sue barreling toward the VIP box. Hm? What’s got her in such a hurry?
She whizzed past the men guarding the box and flung open the door before yelling at the top of her voice.
“Touya! We have a child!”
All the world leaders in the VIP box suddenly turned in place and stared right at me.
What? Hold on. Yumina said Sue hadn’t even started her period yet... No, wait... I haven’t even touched Sue, what the hell?!
“Okay just, hold on a second, Sue. What do you mean by child, exactly?”
It can’t be mine... right? That makes no sense.
“Father and mother’s child! I’m gonna have a little brother or sister!”
Oh... OKAY. Phew... G-Geez... I don’t even know what... Oh man...
I let out a heavy sigh of relief as the king of Belfast walked up to Sue.
“Sue? Al’s going to have another child?”
“It’s true, it’s true! Mr. Raul said so!” Sue was referring to Doctor Raul, the royal physician of Belfast. That meant it was probably true. It seems like Sue learned the news through the Gate Mirrors in Brunhild castle, and then ran straight here.
That meant that the king of Belfast would get a new niece or nephew. If it was a boy, then that kid would become the head retainer of Prince Yamato when he ascended to the throne.
Still, if Duke Ortlinde was going to have a kid... then there was only one explanation. It had to be thanks to the item I’d loaned him.
The Elfrau royal family had granted me a special artifact after killing the Snorra Wolf Behemoth.
The artifact was said to make it easier for women to become pregnant if they wore it during sex, so I lent it to Duke Ortlinde to see whether or not the claim actually held up... and apparently, it worked.
I waited for the game to end then sent all the world leaders home. I sent Sue, the king, and his guardsmen to Duke Ortlinde’s home with a [Gate]. Then, I sent a message addressed to the duke along with Sue, asking him to return the artifact now that he was done with it.
I guess the Doctor’s vision of the future is becoming a lot more clear each day, huh...? But... nine kids? Maybe more than nine? That’s just... insane.
Well, I was marrying nine women, so it was just one of those things. I guess in the end, I had to be prepared to give each of them at least one child. But if I married them at eighteen, that meant that I’d be a dad of nine by the age of nineteen... Oh, no, there’d still be a few more years before I married Sue... But the thought of eight children hardly made me feel any better than nine.
H-Hrm... For some reason, the thought of this is a lot scarier than the Phrase ever was. Honestly, I’m gonna end up having a ridiculous amount of kids... Though they’re not all going to be born at the same time, right? It’s not like I’ll be sleeping with them all at the same time or anything... Right?
“Good morning, Touya.”
“...Morning, Yumina. What are you doing here?” I woke up from my slumber to see a heterochromia-eyed girl straddling the blanket I was laying under.
“...Didn’t I lock the door from the inside last night?”
“You did. I just unlocked it.”
I stared at Yumina as if to ask her how the hell she managed to do something like that, but she just winked back and gave me an angelic smile. “It’s one of my seven special abilities, that’s all.”
What kind of answer is that?! Come on! And what are the other six supposed to be?! I didn’t exactly mind being woken up by a cute girl, but it was definitely bad for my heart. Plus, Yumina looked totally innocent and cute in her pajamas, so it was an extra-powerful attack. It’d been two years since we met, and she’d certainly grown. She was definitely a lot more feminine in terms of physical appearance, but she didn’t stop surprising me with weird stuff like this, either.
Either way, she was still only fourteen. I didn’t think doing anything beyond cuddling was quite appropriate.
“Don’t worry, Touya. I’ve seen your sleeping face a lot, so I’ll be satisfied with just this for now.”
“Wait, what?! How long have you been in here?”
I didn’t even notice you... I asked Yumina to leave the room and quickly got changed.
Before breakfast, I walked out into the training grounds and saw Yae, Hilde, and Elze doing their regular morning training sessions.
I couldn’t see Lu anywhere, so she was probably in the kitchen making breakfast. That meant we’d be having a Japanese-styled meal... I was looking forward to that.
“Yo, Touya. Morning to you. Hey, would you mind sparring with me a little?” I was greeting everyone when suddenly Moroha appeared from nowhere.
Damn it... I should’ve been keeping a better eye out.
“...Yeah, alright. But could you go easy for once?”
“Hmph, really now? Tsk, fine. Let’s just go at it, without magic or divinity, got it?” Elze volunteered to be the referee, so I took a wooden sword in hand and got ready to clash with my sister. Even though the swords were wooden, they’d been enchanted to have enhanced durability. The first strike would’ve broken them to pieces otherwise.
They were definitely strong enough to shatter bones, but I definitely didn’t think neither I nor my sister would take enough damage to break anything if we managed to hit one another. But hey, at the end of the day it would still hurt, so I didn’t want her to land a shot on me.
“Oof!”
Moroha swiped her leg and knocked me off balance, she immediately followed the strike up with a forward thrust, which made me stumble backward. She didn’t waste a single motion.
I rolled to the side, parried the incoming thrust, and then steadied myself with my arm before jumping back to my feet. Come on! Gimme a break here... Didn’t I say to go easy on me, Moroha?!
It felt like she was toying with me, like a cat with its prey. I glared at her as my grip on the sword tightened.
“My liege, are you alright?”
“Y-Y-Yep... J-Just fine...”
Kohaku gently pawed at me as pain coursed through my entire body.
She didn’t go easy on me at all... Her status as a god really wasn’t just for show...
I used [Healing] and [Refresh] to restore myself back to peak condition. Without that magic, I wouldn’t have been able to move an inch. Tussling with Moroha was a dangerous game indeed. I was thoroughly defeated, even with my abnormally powerful body. It took her less than three minutes to completely wear me down.
Moroha had already moved on to her next prey, the knights training on the field.
All things considered, I was glad I got such a rigorous workout before breakfast.
I came to the dining room and found Linze, Lu, and a half-asleep Leen having their morning meal.
My fiancees and I all had errands to attend to, so it wasn’t common that we’d all be around the breakfast table at the same time. Sakura, for example, ate with her mother Fiana about three or four days a week.
The breakfast was, as I’d expected, Lu’s Japanese-style feast. We had miso soup with daikon radish, rice, grilled fish from the dungeon islands, fried eggs, chopped burdock, tofu, and various pickled veggies.
I wondered if Lu was trying to make food that I specifically enjoyed. She was definitely getting better at Japanese-styled stuff, even going so far as to question Eashenese natives about their traditional meals. I was a little worried about getting fat thanks to all her good stuff.
I finished breakfast and was about to go take care of some paperwork when my smartphone suddenly started ringing.
Huh... That’s weird. The caller was Reinhard, my future brother-in-law. Or more formally, the knight king of Lestia.
“‘Sup.”
“Oho! Grand Duke! I’m really sorry to bother you, but I need your consultation on something... More specifically, the king of Lihnea.”
“What about him?” Reinhard, Knight King of Lestia, and Cloud, King of Lihnea, were close friends. It was likely due to the fact that they were around the same age.
Cloud never had much in the way of friends when he was growing up. He was constantly tormented by Zabune, the fake heir to the throne. Reinhard didn’t really have any people he could casually hang around with either, mostly due to the fact that he was expected to act a certain way as a prince. They had similar personalities, so it was nice to see their friendship slowly blossom.
I was curious about what the Knight King wanted to talk about in regards to his friend, however.
“I’m resting right now, but I’ll head over in ten minutes, alright? I’ll meet you at the Lestian Castle Gate.”
“Very well. Thank you.”
I ended the call, quickly flitted through some documents, and told Kousaka where I was headed. I considered bringing Hilde along with me, but I felt like this was probably a man-to-man talk about friends and royalty, so I didn’t think she’d have much of a place in the conversation.
I used a [Gate] to reach the Lestian Castle, and two knights were already there to greet me. They led me into the castle, and I eventually came to a casual sitting room. Reinhard was relaxing inside.
“Hey there, sorry for the short notice. I didn’t really know who else to talk to about this, that’s all...” Reinhard stood up from the couch he was lounging on and greeted me. I didn’t really mind the short notice, it sounded to me like it was a conversation more serious than a phone call could cover.
Reinhard patted the couch space next to him so I sat down. He then ordered the knights to leave the room and began talking about what was troubling him.
“You recall that Palouf and Lihnea were once on the brink of war, yes?”
“Oh yeah, that was the whole thing with Prime Minister Wardack’s plan. The situation was stressful for a while, but when Cloud ascended to the throne he managed to negotiate peace. Is there something wrong over there?”
The largest island in this world was the north-western landmass known as Palnea. It was divided into two territories. Palouf was in the north, and Lihnea was in the south. They’d been at a stalemate for years and weren’t actively warring.
The northern nation of Palouf was cursed with harsh winters, which affected their crop harvest. They’d also had various misfortunes in regards to a succession crisis and their king dying. Wardack, the former Prime Minister of Lihnea, attempted to use these various weaknesses to swiftly conquer Palouf and take its territory.
We managed to intervene and avoid the war, all while eliminating Wardack as a threat. Then, Cloud rose as the new king of Lihnea and managed to successfully negotiate peaceful relations with Palouf.
“The relations with Palouf are still going well. Their king died, and his son was crowned, which settled most of the domestic issues. Trade is also proving favorable. But there is a small matter of concern...”
“What’s that?”
“The late king of Palouf had two children. The first is Princess Lucienne Dia Palouf, and the second is her younger brother, Ernest Din Palouf. The princess, Lucienne, is getting along rather well with King Cloud... One might even say that sparks are flying, you understand?”
“Ohoho, I get it...”
Guess he’s about old enough for that to start happening, huh? He’s sure come far since that idiot step-brother of his was leading him around... I hope he can really enjoy his youth going forward. He’s a real great guy.
Still, that begged the question as to what the problem was here.
“The issue is with Prince Ernest. He’s inheriting the throne, but he’s a lad of only ten years old. He has a long way to go, and he’s being supported by his uncle and the royal retainers... However, he’s very clingy when it comes to his sister.”
“Ah... So he’s cautious of the king of Lihnea because he doesn’t want his precious sister to get taken away?”
“Ahaha... Yes, definitely. It’s not like I can’t understand his feelings, given your relationship to my own sister. But for now, that’s how he feels.” Reinhard smiled at me wryly as he said that.
In my opinion, the little boy wasn’t exactly in the wrong here. His dad had died, he was suddenly thrust into a position of great responsibility, and now he feels like he’s losing his sister. That kind of thing would be almost impossible for a ten-year-old to deal with.
“So what have the Palouf retainers said?”
“They favor the relationship between the two. They think it would be a perfect way to solidify bonds between Lihnea and Palouf.”
“And what about the two themselves?”
“King Cloud would absolutely take Princess Lucienne as his queen without question. The princess, on the other hand, is a little...”
“Little what? Reluctant?”
“Not exactly. It’s more that she’s conflicted on leaving her little brother behind. She’s nineteen right now, which poses a problem. If she waits for young Ernest to become an adult, she’ll end up marrying very late. The king of Lihnea also needs to secure an heir in his young age. If he’s left waiting too long, then he may have to look elsewhere.” Prince Ernest, or rather, King Ernest would be considered an adult at the age of fifteen, which would mean there’d be another five years to go... That would leave the princess waiting until she turned twenty-four.
In this world, women typically married around the age of twenty at the latest. In terms of royalty and nobility, that age was typically a lot younger. Engagements at the age of thirteen and fourteen were commonplace. Twenty-four was considered an abnormally late age to be married, especially for a princess, so it was quite a sensitive issue.
Princess Lucienne once had a fiancee amongst the nobles of Refreese, but he died of sickness before they even met. After that, the matter of her father’s death came about, which further delayed marriage proceedings for her.
King Cloud was apparently fine with waiting the five years until Ernest became an adult, but as the ruler of the nation, there were countless political pressures on his shoulders. It simply wasn’t a decision he alone could make.
Not to mention the fact that Cloud was the only remaining heir to Lihnea’s royal family. It was likely that the retainers and nobles of the country were demanding a fresh heir. I was also sure that many highborn families would be offering their daughters to him in an attempt to connect their families to the royal one.
Then again, this was a polygamous world. It was still possible he could take on one of those noble girls and then marry the princess later on.
“You’re probably thinking he could take on a noble girl and then marry the princess later on. That would not do. A girl from a highborn family as the first wife, and a legitimate princess as the second? The people of Palouf would consider it a slight against their national pride. If the king of Lihnea was in a similar position to you and was engaged to many princesses, then perhaps the situation would be different, though...”
Whoops. Guess I picked up most of the available royals.
I didn’t really care about first duchesses and second duchesses or whatever when it came to marrying me. But in the eyes of the world, Yumina would probably be the “First Queen” while Lu took the position of “Second Queen.” Hilde would probably be third, come to think of it.
Elze, Linze, and Yae were all of common blood, so Sue would come next. Then Leen, then Sakura. Sakura was the daughter of the Xenoahs overlord and had his blood in her veins, but she was an illegitimate child. That fact was also hidden from public knowledge. Then again, Leen held very high standing with the fairies, so it was possible that she outclassed Lu’s noble status...
Either way, I really had no intentions of ranking my fiancees by importance. I loved them all in their own ways.
That probably wouldn’t stop other countries from speculating, though.
“Well, I think I have the basic gist of the situation. But what do I do about it?”
“If I’m honest? It’s King Ernest... He’s, well... a fan of yours, Grand Duke. He doesn’t really bother much with King Cloud, but when he hears stories about you, I’m told that his attention is absolutely rapt. I suppose it’s only natural for a child to idolize their heroes, though.”
“...You kidding me?”
Ugh... This is little conflicting... I’m glad the kid likes me, but... I’m hardly doing things that heroes do... It wasn’t like I was going out looking for danger or committing heroic feats. For the most part, I’ve just been responding to the world around me... It was pretty draining. Do I seriously have fans out there? Why would they care about my mundane exploits...?
“So let me get this straight... I think I’ve got an idea of what you want here...”
“It’s as you may have guessed, yes. Grand Duke, I wish for you to speak with King Ernest. I wish for you to convince him of the best path for Lihnea and Palouf’s collective future.”
Well, I can’t say I’m surprised.
I was fairly sure that the Palouf government would want the relationship to progress to marriage, but obviously, a little boy losing his older sister to another nation would be potentially traumatic.
I didn’t want to forcibly change his mind or anything, if I could have him happily send his sister off, that’s what I wanted to happen. After all, he was only a little boy.
“For the time being, we should go the king of Lihnea and hear what he has to say. I’m sure he’s got his own opinion, right?” I didn’t want to meddle in his business as an outsider to the whole deal, anyway. If he didn’t want my help, I wasn’t going to butt in and give it.
I picked up my smartphone and called King Cloud. He’d just had a meeting canceled, so he was free to meet with us. Just as I set off to go, the knight king remembered he had some business to attend to, so I ended up going alone. He apologized but said that he hoped I could help the situation... He must have really been good friends with Cloud.
I opened up a [Gate] and hopped through, much to the surprise of one of the guardsmen.
Whoopsie, should’ve warped somewhere without any people.
Another guard was expecting my arrival and sent a message to the castle. Eventually, I was greeted by an old fellow I hadn’t seen in quite some time.
“My, my... If it isn’t the grand duke of Brunhild. What brings you here?”
“Ah, Marquis Koupe! Or should I say Prime Minister Koupe... It’s good to see you.”
His body was definitely tough, almost as if it didn’t belong to such an old man at all. He was clearly hanging on to life tooth and nail to ensure that he could see a fully revitalized and restored Lihnea before he died.
“I was asked by the knight king of Lestia to help with a matter... One pertaining to King Cloud and a neighboring princess.”
“Oh, I see... Yes. That’s certainly been a matter of interest. The king definitely hasn’t shown any sign of choosing another woman as his bride... I suppose that’s likely the fault of the previous king, though. Young King Cloud believes that a marriage founded on anything other than love would lead only to misery.”
That certainly made sense. I could see why he thought that way.
Cloud’s dad, the previous king of Lihnea, was in a loveless marriage to the former Queen Dacia. That ultimately led to his downfall, as she deliberately deceived him and began to manipulate his life. Cloud probably didn’t want to repeat the sins of the past, and embroil himself in a political marriage.
That being said, he was a king... He needed to consider his country over his own feelings sometimes. Even so, that was pretty harsh.
From what I had heard, the former King Schlaf and his wife, Erya, were living happily together after the throne was handed to Cloud.
I wasn’t going to get anywhere without talking to Cloud first. The prime minister guided me into the castle’s reception room, where I could finally talk to Cloud about it.
“I wish to marry Princess Lucienne and make her my queen. However, the young king’s feelings are important as well. I do not wish to wound them. Waiting for him to grow is quite fine by me.”
“What about your retainers, though?”
“King Cloud... Though it may not be my place to say, there is certainly a lot of pressure coming from local nobility these days... Our government is primarily focused on providing an heir, should the worst come to pass...” Koupe spoke, stony-faced and almost sorrowful. The situation was pretty rough overall. Cloud didn’t have any brothers or sisters, so the Lihnea royal bloodline would die out if Cloud were to die someday. Personally, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. Cloud was really young, so he wasn’t going anywhere... Barring any unfortunate accidents, at least.
“Couldn’t we just formally announce their engagement?”
“The engagement has been made, but we cannot possibly announce it and say that the wedding will be in five years. There would be an uproar. The reason would be discovered eventually, and sour rumors about the young king of Palouf would begin to spread... They might even call him selfish for wishing to stay with his sister. That would cause our relations with them to sour, most certainly...” Koupe once again spoke up with a solemn expression. He wasn’t wrong, but at the same time, the king was basically a child. I didn’t want to think that the world would call him selfish when he was just a little boy.
“And what about the retainers in Palouf? Do they support the union?”
“Yes, they do. There’s only one family that speaks out against it, and that’s because they wish for the princess to marry one of their own.”
Hmm... I wonder if that family might have been influencing the kid... Maybe they’re telling him that his sister will live a bad life in Lihnea or something...
To be honest, the reputation of the Lihnean royal family wasn’t all that good. Prince Zabune and his behavior had killed it. It was possible that people thought badly of Cloud just because of familial association with Zabune. But then again, Lihnea did issue a statement showing that there was no blood relation between Cloud and that moron, so that shouldn’t have been an issue at all.
“Hrmm... Well, I get where you’re coming from, Cloud. I’d like to meet with the king of Palouf if that’s alright. Can you guys arrange that?”
“Oh? Very well, that may prove helpful. In fact, I think he’d love to meet you. He’s quite the fan of yours, Grand Duke.”
It was a little bit funny, yet weird at the same time... The idea of one nation’s monarch being the avid fan of another world leader. I wanted to meet with him and use that chance to persuade him to let his sister go. It’d definitely be good for him and his country if she had some independence.
Plus, I didn’t want him getting too attached to her... There was a risk that his dependency on her could grow over the five or so years.
Welp, guess I gotta figure out the solution to this one... Good grief.
“I-I-It’s n-nice to meet you, G-Grand Duke! I-I’m Ernest Din Palouf, K-King of Palouf! O-Oh gosh, I said it... Oh man...”
I met the little boy in the Palouf castle courtyard. He stammered out his sentence and then reeled backward, wheezing. It almost seemed like talking to me took everything he had. He seemed incredibly tense.
“It’s a pleasure, Your Majesty. I’m the grand duke of Brunhild, Mochizuki Touya. Please forgive me for the sudden visit. I’m very pleased to meet you.”
“N-No! No! D-Don’t worry about it!” As I made my greeting, the little king started shaking his head frantically. He looked terribly flustered. All of his reactions were incredibly child-like.
He was ten years old, which put him at just a bit younger than Sue. They were around similar heights. He had neat, blonde hair that was perfectly trimmed. He also wore a blinding white cape and some ill-fitting fancy garments beneath it. Honestly, the look didn’t suit him. He looked like a little doll someone had dressed up all fancy.
I’d brought Elze and Linze with me, and they introduced themselves to him. He wasn’t quite as flustered as he was when greeting me, but he certainly seemed a little out of his depth.
I decide to bring the twins with me for a fairly good reason. The Silhoueska twins had a lot of little cousins, and they’d often bicker and squabble. Elze and Linze were good at handling little kids, so I thought they’d be the perfect two to bring over for support.
I’d initially considered bringing one of my sisters, but that would’ve ended in tears.
“The king of Palouf has been looking forward to meeting you, Grand Duke. He’s heard a lot from me, after all.”
King Cloud stood next to me and spoke up, causing the little king to turn bright red in the cheeks. He quickly hid behind a woman who stood beside him.
The woman smiled gently and bowed her head.
“I’m sorry, dear Grand Duke. He’s a tad shy around strangers... Please don’t think him rude.”
“It’s not a problem.”
The woman was Princess Lucienne Dia Palouf. She was elder sister to the king of Palouf, and King Cloud’s beloved. Her hair was blonde, just like her brother’s. She wore it long and wavy. Her eyes were a beautiful jade green. If I was being honest, she wasn’t exactly the kind of person you would call beautiful at a glance. She definitely had a calming, gentle atmosphere to her, however.
She wasn’t pretty as a rose and didn’t stand out like a sunflower, and she definitely didn’t have the refined grace of a Lily. I guess if she were a plant she’d be a... dandelion? She was very plain. She had that kind of girl-next-door charm. She wouldn’t turn any heads when she walked around a crowd, but she was sweet.
“Come on, now... Didn’t you have something to ask the grand duke?”
“Hmm?”
The little king timidly walked up to me at his sister’s urging. I wondered what he wanted.
“U-Uhm... C-Could I maybe see the big soldier man?!”
“...The big what now? Oh! You must mean a Frame Gear. I could show you... But is it alright to make one appear here?”
I didn’t want to suddenly make a giant robot appear in the castle courtyard of another nation, so I turned my gaze toward the royal retainers as if to ask permission.
One of them started to walk a little closer. He was a calm-looking man who seemed to be in his fifties, he was clad in a white robe. I wasn’t quite sure who he was, exactly.
“That’s Donovan Rembrandt. He’s a duke regent. He’s the younger brother of the former king, so he’s the current king’s uncle...” I was saved. Thankfully, Linze had recognized my confusion and whispered the answer to me. Even if I learned stuff, now and then I got a little forgetful... There were a lot of names and faces in this world, after all. I needed to get better at that.
“I don’t mind it. If King Ernest wishes for it, then by all means, please show him the giant warrior. I’d rather like to see myself...” Rembrandt smiled, his robe crinkling a bit as he nodded his head. My permission granted, I snapped my finger and a portal opened above my head.
An enormous tremor rumbled through the ground as the gigantic mech landed on the ground and shook the courtyard. It was a Chevalier, I didn’t think there was any point in bringing out any of the special ones.
“Woooooow!” The little king stared up at the Frame Gear with stars in his eyes.
I used my smartphone to make the Chevalier kneel down and open up its cockpit hatch. The wire hooks that allowed one to climb up there slowly descended.
“Would you like to sit up in the cockpit? We won’t be able to move around, but I can show you inside.”
“Ah...! Y-Yes please!”
I carried the little king in my arms and ascended up to the cockpit. He sat down in the main seat and grabbed the control systems, his little head bobbing around with child-like wonder.
Heh... I guess little kids in this world love giant robots too...
“So this is how you beat those gross crystal things and the big Behemoth guys?! I bet I could do it if I was riding one of these!”
“Mmm... Don’t take this personally, but I don’t think you can pilot one of these just yet. It takes a lot of training to become a proper Frame Gear pilot. You need more than basic piloting, too. You need to have some kind of combat experience to do well in it.”
“Aw...” Frankly, the king of Palouf looked like a meek kid. He seemed like the type who stayed inside and read books instead of playing outside.
He was a king, so it wasn’t like he had to go out very often, and it wasn’t necessary for him to be especially tough. I still believed it’d be better if he was able to defend himself, though. My grandpa was the one who taught me how to look after myself... It was pretty rough.
“Grand Duke... Isn’t it frightening to hurt others? Don’t you get scared when others hate you or come after you for things you did? I think it’s really scary... Whether I’m hurting or being hurt.”
“Well, I agree. I’d like to get through things without hurting people. But there are things I need to protect, you know? I’d be more scared if I failed at doing that. If you don’t have strength when you have to fight, then you can’t do anything... And I think you can’t get through life like that. You have something you want to protect, don’t you?”
“Mhm...” The boy looked down and nodded a little. He was looking through the monitor display at his sister, who was chatting casually to King Cloud.
“She means a lot to you, doesn’t she?”
“...Yeah. I really want her to be happy. I know King Cloud wants to make her his queen, too... But I get scared, you know? I don’t want my sister to go away... I don’t know if I can be king if she isn’t here to help me.”
Well I’ll be damned, this kid’s more attentive than I gave him credit for. He’s a little more mature than he looks, at least.
He was probably uneasy due to a lack of self-confidence, and I was hardly in a position to help him that way. He was a child, and it was normal for a child to be insecure. A king couldn’t afford that, sadly.
I could’ve easily solved the problem by connecting Lihnea and Palouf’s royal castles with a permanent [Gate] that only Princess Lucienne could enter, but that would cause problems.
The two nations were definitely friendly these days, but they had a long history of small-scale conflicts and skirmishes, one that spanned hundreds of years. If it became public knowledge that Princess Lucienne could freely pass through to either nation in a matter of seconds, then they’d be in big trouble.
It was possible that rumors would begin that she was spying for one of the countries or something like that. Brunhild had plenty of rumors, so I couldn’t discount the possibility of it happening here.
The real issue here was teaching the little king how to be more independent, but I didn’t think I was close enough to him to broach that kind of subject.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login