Well, I thought that would finally be the end of our conversation with the Queen. Apparently not.
Click.
“Hmm, sounds like an interesting conversation. Mind if I join you?”
A man with short, golden hair—the exact same shade as Sue’s—and a powerfully muscular build had just entered the reception room. He’s a handsome man with a clean-cut appearance, and he was dressed in lavish clothing. Anyone could tell at a glance that he was the king of this country.
“You must be Shun and Shiro. My daughter Sue has been in your care. As her father, I thank you.”
“Y-Your Majesty, please, raise your head!”
The King had suddenly bowed to Shiro and me, leaving me completely flustered.
One of his attendants poured the King some tea, and the conversation resumed.
“Actually, I intend to make a grand announcement at the beginning of the new year declaring Sue a member of the royal family. However, that antiquated law will inevitably stand in our way. No one knows better than I do just how troublesome it is to change a law.”
“Even so, shouldn’t you have given Sue a little more protection?”
“I know. But if we assigned her too many guards, the nobles in each territory would become suspicious. To avoid that, I worked out a plan with the Southern Margrave. Though that bald-headed old tanuki interfered with it.”
The King continued explaining things to us while casually helping himself to the snacks and tea.
For the most part, what he told us was the same as what the Queen had already explained.
“When I heard from the Southern Margrave that Sue had teamed up with an adventurer who was practically a monster in terms of strength, I seriously considered beating the man to death.”
“I… was almost beaten to death?”
“Hahaha! Relax. Sue would occasionally send word telling me what a good man you were.”
“Y-Your Majesty!”
Sue hurriedly clamped a hand over the King’s mouth, but seriously, what on earth had she been telling His Majesty about me?
Well, at least that explained why Sue had been carrying the communication magic tool that the Margrave family also used.
“Anyway, the accomplishments you and Sue have achieved throughout your travels are quite significant. Under normal circumstances, I would grant you a title and make you a member of the landed nobility. Unfortunately, we just dismissed the very Minister of the Interior responsible for handling such matters.”
“So that means I won’t be becoming a noble just yet?”
“I can still award you medals and other honors at my discretion. But without a noble title, I simply can’t send Sue off to marry you.”
“F-Father!”
The King grinned mischievously as Sue repeatedly smacked him without the slightest restraint, but at this point, I didn’t even know what I could say anymore…
“Sue is going to become Shun-oniichan’s wife!?”
“Yaaay! Yaaay!”
“That makes me happy!”
Shiro and the others had taken the King’s words completely at face value and were absolutely delighted.
“Your Majesty, Sue is only twelve years old, isn’t she? Don’t you think it’s a little early to be talking about an engagement?”
“What?! Are you saying my daughter isn’t good enough for you?!”
Apparently, the King absolutely doted on Sue. He shot to his feet, pointed directly at me, and shouted at the top of his lungs.
This conversation was getting completely out of hand.
“Dear, calm down!”
Crack!
“Gheh!”
“““Ooooh!”””
The Queen’s powerful punch landed squarely in the King’s face, and that finally got him to settle down.
Yeah… Shiro and the others actually started applauding. Emilia-sama’s incredible strength with her fists must have definitely been inherited from her mother.
“For the time being, it would be best for Shun to stay at the baron’s residence together with Sue. And I would like you to exterminate the rats lurking in the royal capital.”
“In other words, you want us to do in the royal capital what we did throughout the various margrave territories?”
“Shun, you certainly are quick to understand. I’ll have Sue relay the details to you. For now, I want you to attend the military council of senior officials tomorrow.”
“Ow…”
And so, I had barely arrived in the royal capital before getting dragged into something huge. Both Sue and I were completely exhausted.
And once again, I was reminded that when it came to who was really at the top of this country……it might not be the King, but the Queen.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
Previous ⚜ Table of Contents ⚜ Next
