by Dojyomaru
“It was pretty hard. If you’re going to swing it around as a cudgel, a cylindrical shape is better than a conical one, so I consulted with Madam Genia and Madam Trill, and this is what we came up with. Scattering countless blades across the end of it was inefficient, so we used two grooves, similar to a hand drill for punching holes in wood, to make a shape that would dig through things. The drill section was reinforced with Merula’s magic, so it’s pretty strong.”
Putting her hands on her hips, Taru thrust her chest out with pride.
“If I were to name it, it would be... the Drill Cudgel.”
As Taru went on plainly explaining the change to the weapon, Kuu clutched his temples.
“No, it’s more than I expected, and I’m glad you made it for me. I never expected you’d make what I wanted a reality. You’re pretty stubborn, right, Taru? I was expecting you’d blow off a silly request like this.”
“This is... a show of my resolve.” Taru touched the Drill Cudgel softly and spoke in a serious tone. “The things you want to do, the wishes you want granted, the things you want to accomplish... I want to support you in all of them. Even if people say it’s reckless or crazy, I won’t reject it. I’ll do everything I can with my skills, and I’ll make it happen for sure.”
“Taru... You...”
Kuu reached out to her. When he did, Taru took his hand and pressed it to her own chest.
“For as long as you keep facing forward, driving toward your dreams, I will be right behind you supporting you. Because in my heart, I want to break through with you.”
“Does that mean... you’ll accept the engagement?”
Taru nodded slightly.
Kuu was so full of emotion he tried to hug her, but just as he was about she said, “Wait,” and held up a hand to stop him.
Kuu screeched to a sudden halt.
Taru asked, “Can I put one condition on it?”
“S-Sure! If it’s something I can do, then anything!”
“Well, then...” Taru walked over to Leporina, taking her hand.
“Huh? Taru?” Leporina asked.
“Come with me,” she said.
Then, hand in hand with Leporina, the two stood in front of Kuu, and Taru said, “If we’re getting married, I want it to be with Leporina, too.”
““Huh...? Whaaaaa?!””
This made both Kuu and Leporina’s eyes go wide with surprise.
“U-Um, Taru? Why would you suddenly...?” Leporina began.
“I can support Kuu on the technological front, but I have a lot of weaknesses elsewhere. I can make weapons, but I can’t fight alongside him, and I’m too shy to be much use in social situations, either. You can help Kuu at times like that, right, Leporina?”
While Leporina stared at her in confusion, Taru snorted.
“There may be a time when I’ll need to accept him taking a wife who can do the things that I can’t. If so, I want it to be you.”
“Taru...” Leporina said, moved.
“H-Hey! Don’t just decide this on your own... Taru’s the one I...”
Kuu tried to interrupt, but Taru jabbed a finger in front of his nose.
“You’re always being so reckless. I hear you were being reckless in the Union of Eastern Nations, too.”
“W-Well, yes, but...”
“No matter how much I worry, I can’t help you on the battlefield. But Leporina can defend you, and fight alongside you. If Leporina is with you, I can feel a little more at ease waiting. I will support you at home, and Leporina will support you outside. You don’t hate Leporina, do you?”
“Well, no, I don’t hate her... but that doesn’t mean...”
As Kuu stammered, Taru kept pressing him.
“Before, you were saying, ‘Will you be my wife?’ to King Souma’s little sister.”
“I was just trying to get your attention!” he yelled.
“I know. You were always flirting with girls, then glancing in my direction. I kind of knew you wanted me to get jealous.”
She was right. When she said all these things that saw right through his vanity, Kuu wanted to find a hole and hide in it.
As he was feeling that way, Taru faced him straight on and said, “But you never tried to hit on Leporina. Even though she’s a cute girl, and you’ve known her even longer than you’ve known me. That’s because you knew how Leporina feels, right? If you hit on her when you had no plans to follow through, you’d end up hurting her. That’s why you never did.”
Kuu was silent.
“M-Master Kuu...?” Leporina asked hesitantly.
She’d hit the nail on the head again. She completely saw through Kuu. That was probably because, though she treated him brusquely, Taru had been watching Kuu all of this time.
“Leporina’s always been thinking of you,” Taru said. “And you don’t hate her. I like Leporina, too. So... I don’t want her left out.”
“Oh, fine, I get it! I give, I give!” Kuu raised his hands in surrender. Then, awkwardly, he looked to Leporina. “Erm... there you have it. Will you be my wife, too?”
Leporina must have been overcome by emotion. She was smiling as big tears streamed down her face. “Master Kuu... Yes! I know I have many shortcomings, but please take good care of meeee!”
Taru rubbed Leporina’s back. Leporina who had been so happy about their engagement, and Taru who was so eager to protect him that she welcomed Leporina.
With those two wonderful girls in front of him, Kuu seemed to have made up his mind. “Ookyaaa! If that’s how it is, I’m going to be a man and look after both of you!”
“That’s wrong,” said Taru. “We’re the ones who’ll be looking after you.”
“Taru’s right,” Leporina agreed after sniffling.
With the two poking fun at him to the very end, Kuu wasn’t able to act cool.
Chapter 5: The Black Tiger’s Delivery
— Night of the 1st day, 3rd month, 1,548th year, Continental Calendar — Parnam Castle —
The leader of the Black Cats, the intelligence and covert operations unit that reported directly to the crown, was summoned by Souma to the governmental affairs office in Parnam Castle.
When Kagetora entered in his usual imposing black tiger mask and black armor, not through the office door, but the glass door leading onto the terrace, Souma pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed.
“I have come at your behest,” Kagetora announced.
“...Can’t you use the normal entrance?”
“People are suspicious of me in this outfit. It wouldn’t do to have one of the maids fainting again.”
“It’s a bit late to say this, but that outfit’s not very sneaky at all, is it?”
It might melt into the darkness, but Kagetora looked intensely out of place anywhere there was light. However, Kagetora shook his head.
“If need be, the attention of others can be diverted using enchantments. More importantly, what is it you have called me here for today? I am led to believe you have some important task for me.”
“Yeah. This is a task I can only entrust to you.” Souma’s face grew serious, and he drew a rectangular object from the drawer of his office desk.
It was a metal case.
It was a rectangular prism, 15 centimeters x 20 centimeters x 40 centimeters, with no ornamentation on its surface, but there was a big lock on the top side, which was where the lid was.
Looking at the simplicity of the design and the attention paid to defending it, you could infer how important the contents must be.
Souma passed that metal box to Kagetora.
“I want you to deliver this to my father-in-law in the House of Elfrieden. I’m asking you like this because I mean for you to deliver the item personally. It must remain sealed until it’s in Father’s hands.”
“You mean the former king, Sir Albert?” Kagetora stared at the metal box.
It was a tightly sealed box.
The sender was the current (provisional) king of the country.
Th
e recipient was the former king.
And then there was the care taken in sending it with the leader of the Black Cats.
It was almost as if some dangerous object that might shake the country was inside.
What in the world could possibly be in the box?
“May I inquire as to the contents?” Kagetora asked.
“You may not. I cannot tell you.”
Having said that, Souma now passed a letter with a wax seal to him.
“I would like you to give this letter to Father along with the box. It contains the key to this box. Have Father read the letter in your presence, and when he has finished, you are to carry out the orders within.”
“...Understood.”
Kagetora bowed his head and accepted the box and letter.
Though the delivery was nothing if not mysterious, he knew the young king. There had to be some deep thought at work here, so Kagetora would ask no more. Now all that remained was to carry out the task with which he had been entrusted with precision.
Kagetora was about to leave from the terrace in the same way he had arrived... and then it happened.
There was a knock at the office door.
Kagetora tried to hide himself, but Souma said, “Wait,” and stopped him.
“It’s me. May I come in?” It was a woman’s voice. That voice belonged to Liscia.
Souma said, “Go ahead.”
The door opened, and Liscia and...
“My lady?!” Kagetora exclaimed.
...of all people, the former queen, Elisha, entered with her.
“It’s been too long,” Elisha said formally. “Sir Car... I mean, Sir Kagetora.”
She was as graceful as ever, and despite now being a grandmother, she was still a beautiful lady.
It turned out that, having heard from Souma how difficult raising twins as their first children was, she had rushed to their side to support them.
Liscia and Elisha each held one of the children, Kazuha and Cian. Liscia glanced to Kagetora, who was standing stunned in one corner of the room, nodding to him with a soft smile.
Seeing her, something hot welled up in Kagetora’s eyes, deep within the mask.
That tomboyish princess... she’s a mother now...
This room now held three generations of royal princesses. The scene made Kagetora want to pinch the bridge of his nose, but he desperately hid his emotions, not wanting to let them be discovered.
While Kagetora struggled, unbeknownst to anyone, Souma asked Liscia, “Did you already finish giving milk to Cian and Kazuha?”
“Yes. They both drank a lot today, and now they’re sound asleep. Cian fell asleep at my bosom, but Kazuha was excited for some reason, and she just wouldn’t go to sleep.”
“Hee hee, Kazuha is just like you were when you were little,” Elisha giggled. “You were a rambunctious little thing, you know? Always quick to try and sneak out of bed.”
“M-Mother. It’s embarrassing when you bring up things I can’t even remember...”
Elisha’s talk about old memories was turning Liscia’s cheeks red.
With a wry smile at their conversation, Souma took a peek at the twins’ faces. Kazuha was asleep in Liscia’s arms, Cian in Elisha’s.
“Oh, honestly,” Souma sighed. “If it weren’t for my duties, they’re so cute that I could stare at them all day.”
“Oh, geez, don’t be silly,” Liscia said. “You’re the king, Souma, so keep yourself together.”
“Hee hee hee! Liscia, you sound just like I used to.”
Liscia’s chastising Souma for acting like a silly parent seemed to amuse Elisha.
While Kagetora stood there, feeling out of place in this homey environment, Liscia peeked in his direction.
Then she walked over. “Um... Sir Kagetora?”
“...What is it?”
“Could you hold her for me?”
With that said, she handed Kazuha to Kagetora.
It seemed Kagetora was uncharacteristically dismayed by the proposal. “No, I... I would scare the child were I to hold her...”
“It’s all right.” Liscia looked at Kagetora with complete sincerity. “You closely resemble a man I loved and respected. I’ve heard from mother. That person once held me when I was Kazuha’s size. And he adored me like I was his own daughter. So... there is no chance that this girl, my daughter, would dislike you.”
“Princess...”
Kagetora took off his gauntlets, and hesitantly accepted Kazuha.
He had thick, burly arms, but because Kagetora was a feline beastman, his arms were covered in fur.
Though the fur tickled Kazuha for a moment when he took her, she soon began breathing softly with a look of total calm on her sleeping face.
Children are always sensitive, because there’s still so much they don’t know about the world. That sensitivity must have let her pick up on the fact that these arms belonged to one who would protect her unconditionally.
A minute later, Kagetora returned Kazuha to Liscia.
“I am grateful that you offered me this valuable experience.”
“Hee hee. Souma may continue to cause a lot of trouble for you in future, but please don’t push yourself too hard, and take care.”
Seeing Liscia’s concern for Kagetora, Souma was just a bit upset. “Trouble? Now that’s just not fair.”
“Oh, my! Jealous of Sir Kagetora, are we, son-in-law?” Elisha teased.
Souma shrugged in resignation. “I won’t deny it, Mother.”
Even as Liscia said, “Yeesh,” she was smiling.
Feeling his lips turn upward beneath the mask thanks to the warmth around him, Kagetora said, “Pardon me,” and then vanished into the darkness of night from the terrace.
— In the evening of the next day —
Kagetora was now in the previous king Albert’s former domain, secreted away in the mountains.
He arrived at Albert’s mansion and was led by a maid, who looked somewhat intimidated by his appearance, to the living room.
Though it was now the third month of the year, it was still cold in the mountains, and a fire burned in the large hearth. Albert was already in the living room, and he greeted Kagetora with a smile.
“Ohh, Sir Car... Sir Kagetora. Good of you to come.”
“Yes, sir.” Kagetora saluted. “I am pleased to see you seem in good health.”
Albert slapped him on the shoulder. “None of that, none of that! I’m retired now. Let us cast aside the restrictions of liege and vassal, and treat one another, instead, as old friends.”
“No... If you’ll forgive my rudeness, I do not believe we were that well acquainted.”
“...You never change. That personality of yours is as troublesome as ever.”
With a sigh at Kagetora’s stubbornness, Albert extended his right hand.
“Then let us become friends now. If you would treat me as if you were an acquaintance I’ve known for a long time now, I would be pleased.”
“...Yes, sir. If that is what you wish, I will do so gladly.”
Kagetora took Albert’s hand, and they exchanged a firm handshake.
Albert had Kagetora sit on a sofa near the fireplace, and he himself sat at a spot across a small table from him.
Then, folding his hands together above his knee, Albert asked, “So, what business have you come on today?”
“Sir, I have come bearing a delivery for you from my master, His Majesty, King Souma.”
Kagetora passed over the metal box he had received. Then, from his pocket, he produced the letter which was the other thing Souma had entrusted him with, and gave it to Albert.
The former king looked at the metal box, and said, “Oh, my, what could it be?”
“I also received this letter from my master. He says you are to read it in my presence. The key to this box should be enclosed with it.”
“Hmm. Understood.”
Albert accepted the envelope. Breaking the wax seal and pulling out the letter ins
ide, he began reading it. He occasionally would go, “Mm-hm, mm-hm,” or, “I see...” as he read, and when he finished, he folded up the letter.
He took the key to the metal box from inside the envelope. Holding it in two fingers, he looked to Kagetora.
“The letter, it said you are to follow my orders while you are here, you know?”
“Yes, sir. I have been ordered to do so by my master.”
“Hm... Be sure you remember those words.”
With that, Albert put the key into the lock holding the box shut. There was a clink as he turned it, and the lid slowly opened.
Kagetora was watching in anticipation, waiting to see what important item might be inside, but...
“Hm?”
Inside was a single bottle of wine.
What... exactly is this supposed to be? Kagetora’s eyes went wide.
He’d been made to carry what seemed like an important box, but in truth, he had only been bringing a bottle of wine to Sir Albert.
Kagetora began to think his master might be having a laugh at his expense, but then...
“Hm?! That wine?!” Seeing the brand of wine, Kagetora’s eyes bulged beneath his mask.
Seeing Albert’s reaction, Albert smirked. “Oh, my, how strange. You shouldn’t know anything about this wine.”
“No... It’s nothing. It was just my imagination.”
“This wine, you see? When my daughter Liscia was born, I sent it to an old friend. A wine made in the year of her birth, in the hope that he would always protect her. My friend often said, ‘I intend to drink this wine on the day the princess is married.’ That friend is no longer with us now, but...”
As Albert spoke, he gestured for one of the maids to come closer, then ordered her to bring two glasses and something for dinner.
After that, Albert leaned back in the sofa, looking down at the letter once more.
“It seems my friend entrusted this wine to my son-in-law. However, my son-in-law says he has no taste for wine and it would be wasted on him, so he would like for me to drink it. It would be a problem if I were falling down drunk on their wedding day, so I am to drink it as a pre-celebration. ‘It would be awkward to drink it alone, so have the one I sent to bring it to you join you’... is what it says. Will you join me, Sir Kagetora?”