How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom: Volume 10 (Premium)
Page 24
“You will be taking both of us as wives. You’ll need it, won’t you, dear?” Serina covered her mouth with the list to cover her girlish smile.
Incidentally, though Serina did not know this, the word “honeymoon” in Souma’s original world came from a tradition where the groom would drink mead for the first month after marriage, in order to increase his sexual fortitude, while the newlywed couple stayed cooped up in the home and worked hard at procreating. It seemed this family’s honeymoon would be an intense one.
The Drill Princess Wants Out
While Souma’s marriage was in progress, the third princess of the Gran Chaos Empire, Trill, stood in front of Souma and the others, her hands together on her chest and her head lowered.
“To King Souma, and all his queens, congratulations. In place of my elder sister, Empress Maria, I pray for your great happiness and the continued friendship and development of our two nations.”
This was a day of celebration, so she wasn’t in her usual outfit for working on machinery but instead a dress befitting a princess of the Empire. Because of that, her impressive portions, which contrasted with her short stature and were normally covered up by a blacksmith’s apron, stood out all the more. Basically, she stuck out in all the right places. Like they say, clothes make the man. Or the woman, in this case. Dressed like this, she looked the part of a princess for sure.
When Trill’s remarks were finished, Souma stood up.
“Thank you, Madam Trill. We, too, would like to continue our friendship with the Empire. Please, communicate that to Madam Maria.”
“I most assuredly will.”
With her respects paid, Trill retreated to the seats for foreign guests. She sat and maintained her composed expression, but internally she was impatient.
Urgh, I want to get out of here, fast!
Trill had been thinking that the entire ceremony. It wasn’t that she didn’t respect Souma and his queens, and it wasn’t that she didn’t care about relations between the kingdom and the Empire either. It was because the kingdom and the Empire were engaged in a joint research project together that Trill had been able to come to this country where the people who were the object of her admiration, the House of Maxwell, were. She was grateful to Souma for proposing the idea, and that was why she was attending this ceremony.
However, while this ceremony was happening, the sole heir of the House of Maxwell, Genia, was getting married to Ludwin. Trill called Genia her “big sister” out of respect, and she wanted more than anything to be at her wedding.
I have complicated feelings about it being a wedding to Lord Arcs, who wants to monopolize Big Sister, but Merula and Taru will both be attending, and I’d hate to be the only one left out. Maybe I should just slip out...? But if I did that, who knows what Big Sister Jeanne would say later...
Jeanne, who was Maria’s younger sister and Trill’s elder sister, had acridly told her not to let loose once she went to the kingdom. Because of the joint development project for the drill, there was probably no chance she would be suddenly hauled back to the Empire, but if she went too far, she would likely be forbidden further contact with Genia. The reasoning being that, as long as she was in the kingdom, she could give orders to others for the joint development project.
I would hate that! Not being able to meet with Big Sister Genia!
While she was looking around furtively, wondering what was happening with Genia, Trill noticed something. She saw Kuu, who was sitting next to her, give Leporina, who was sitting across from him, an order. Leporina made an unpleasant face, but got up and left the room immediately.
“Umm... Sir Kuu?” Trill whispered. “Where did Leporina go?”
Kuu smirked. “Ookyakya! Oh, she’s making a little trip to Genia and Lord Arcs’s wedding. I ordered her to go snatch the bouquet when the bride throws it.”
“Big Sister Genia’s bouquet?!” Trill’s eyes went wide. “That’s not fair! I want it, too!”
“Ookya? No, no, you’re not going to be getting married anytime soon, right? Me, Taru, and Leporina will probably be next, so it’s a perfect fit.”
“That’s not—! ...the issue here.” Her voice rose for an instant, but Trill returned to a whisper and continued. “Then give me the bouquet after she’s caught it. You only need to be the ones who caught the bouquet. After that, you should be done with it.”
“That’s, well... I guess you’re right.” What Kuu wanted was the superstition, not the flowers themselves.
“Right?” Trill pursued. “If the bouquet is just going to wither, I’ll make it into dried or pressed flowers and keep it as a family treasure.”
“A family treasure...?” Kuu repeated. Could the wedding bouquet of the kingdom’s foremost researcher really become a family treasure for the imperial royal family? He looked a bit exasperated. “You’re, uh... not much better than me, huh.”
Trill had managed to make Kuu, who was always recklessly causing trouble for Taru and Leporina, this exasperated. In a way, she might be someone really special.
“Well, when the wedding ceremony’s over, I’m planning to slip out, though,” Kuu added.
“Huh?! No fair! I want out, too!”
“Hm? You want me to carry you on my back? It’s fast if we cut across the rooftops.”
“...No, I think I’ll call a carriage.”
This was a conversation that took place in one corner of Souma’s wedding ceremony.
Kuu Joins In
“And I’m here.”
Having slipped out once the coronation and wedding at the castle were over and all that remained was the party, Kuu was now landing at the site of Ludwin and Genia’s wedding.
He was “landing” because he had taken a shortcut across the rooftops between the castle and here. In the same formal attire he’d worn for the coronation, at that.
“Ah! It’s Master Kuu!” Leporina cried.
Noticing Kuu’s arrival, Leporina and Taru rushed over.
“Hey, Leporina,” Kuu said. “Did you catch the bouquet like I told you to?”
“I did, but... it was pretty embarrassing. The other women glared at me.”
“You’re making her act recklessly, like always,” Taru complained with exasperation, holding the bouquet Leporina had caught.
However, Kuu laughed it off without seeming to care. “Hey, where’s the harm? I’m sure that bouquet wanted to go to the next bride, too.”
“Then Leporina should hold it, too.” Taru offered her the bouquet, but Leporina hurriedly shook her head.
“No, no, you should hold on to it, as the first wife.”
“We’ll be getting married at the same time, so that doesn’t make a difference.”
Seeing Taru and Leporina trying to push the bouquet off on one another, Kuu sighed. “Then how about you split it?”
““That feels kind of bad.””
“O-Okay...” Kuu faltered. Thinking about it, it seemed a little ominous to split up the symbol of two loving people’s happiness, so they were right to firmly object.
Leporina came back to her senses and said, “Wait, Master Kuu, shouldn’t you go pay your respects to the bride and groom first?”
“Huh?! Whoops! You’ve got a point there.”
Kuu quickly brought Taru and Leporina with him and headed over to where Ludwin and Genia were. It seemed they were speaking to Genia’s fellow researcher, Merula.
“Lord Arcs—no, I guess from today on, it’s Lord Maxwell-Arcs, huh?—and Genia, congratulations.”
Ludwin wore a soft smile. “Why, Sir Kuu. How good of you to come. A visit from the son of the head of the republic is too great an honor for a single humble servant of His Majesty, like myself.”
“Ookyakya! No need to be so stiff. Genia’s been taking good care of our Taru, so you’re like family, even if we are from different countries.”
“Hee hee! You have a point. Taru’s always good to me, too,” Genia giggled. “People like us always put logic and reason first, but T
arie always delivers parts that meet our demands. Nothing could make us more grateful.”
“No... Master Kuu tells me the development of the drill will benefit the republic, so I’m happy to be a part of that,” Taru said with a little smile.
Ludwin, who was watching the two of them warmly, asked Kuu, “You were at the castle, right? How did His Majesty and the others look?”
“Oh, it was real austere and impressive,” Kuu said. “Bro did great during the coronation, and his brides looked pretty in their wedding dresses.”
“I’m glad.” Ludwin smiled. “I see. It was unfortunate, as the former Captain of the Royal Guard, that I couldn’t be there to help.”
“Hey, don’t sweat it. It was Young Miss Roroa... or is it Queen Roroa now? Anyway, it was Queen Roroa’s idea to have weddings all around the city. Having a wedding with your cute wife here is helping support Bro. Think of it as a perk of the job.”
“...Yes. I do think I’m fortunate.”
“Ookyakya! You’re not afraid to say it, huh?” Kuu laid a hand down on Ludwin’s shoulder. “Well, anyway, congrats. When we get married, we’ll send an invite to the House of Maxwell-Arcs, so be sure you come, okay?”
“Sir Kuu, your marriage will be in the republic, right? I am a vassal of another country, you realize?”
“Like I care. I’m inviting Bro, too, so come with him as a bodyguard.”
“...Very well. I’ll be looking forward to it.”
The women beside them were talking, too.
“I’d like to raise the revolving speed of the drill, Merula,” said Genia.
“Even if we increase the efficiency of the enchantment, there are currently limits on how much stress we can put on the revolving parts.”
“It’s not just power; it needs to release heat, too.”
They had started discussing the drill at some point. If Trill had been here, instead of still in the castle as the imperial ambassador, the discussion would have been even more lively. Unable to join in the conversation, Leporina, who was a girl, but not a researcher girl, was left standing on the sidelines.
“Research girls from three countries, all standing together. This is a happy sight in its own right, I’d say,” Ludwin put in.
“If only they’d chosen a sexier topic than a drill, sure.” Kuu shrugged.
“Hee hee! Well, that’s fine, isn’t it?” Leporina said, hugging Kuu from behind.
“Hey, what are you hugging me for?” he objected.
“I have nowhere else to be, so give me some attention. I have Taru’s permission.”
It seemed Leporina had gotten more forward in her approach to Kuu after receiving the okay from Taru. Kuu acted unhappy, but scratched his cheek like he wasn’t entirely unwelcoming of this turn of events.
“Stop hugging me from behind,” he said.
“Hm? Why?” she asked.
“You’re taller than me, so it makes me look pathetic.”
“Pfft! Ahaha!” Leporina burst out laughing.
It seemed this was to be a wedding of many smiles.
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Copyright
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom: Volume 10
by Dojyomaru
Translated by Sean McCann
Edited by Emily Sorensen
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2019 Dojyomaru
Illustrations by Fuyuyuki
All rights reserved.
Original Japanese edition published in 2019 by OVERLAP, Inc.
This English edition is published by arrangement with OVERLAP, Inc., Tokyo
English translation © 2019 J-Novel Club LLC
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property.
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Ebook edition 1.0: October 2019