The Overlord’s Prongs sprouted from his head beneath a bed of bright red hair. His skin was pale and his ears were pointed like knives. He was adorned in a beautiful regal cape, colored red and gold. Indeed, this man was Sakura’s father... The overlord of Xenoahs.
After I fought against Gila, the Dominant Construct, I met up with him to explain what had happened. I also met the patriarch of the Frennel household, Sirius. He was the overlord’s personal guard, as well as Spica’s father.
The moment I explained the situation to the overlord, he dashed out of his fortress at full speed. He was... insanely fast. But given the circumstances, that was pretty understandable. I didn’t think about using [Boost] or [Accel], since I knew exactly where he’d be heading. That much was obvious, at least.
Anyway, that was how we both found ourselves at the Frennel household.
Spica and Swellra found themselves dumbfounded by his sudden entrance.
“Now now... Please calm yourself.”
“H-Hmph. Are you siding with the grand duke here, Sirius?”
“In a sense, yes. Or perhaps I’m siding with Lady Farnese.” A rather youthful dark elf appeared from behind me. He was Spica’s father, Sirius. His skin was dark brown like the rest of his family’s, and his hair was long and silver, tied up in a small knot. He looked incredibly young, a trait common to his race... But honestly, even the overlord looked young enough to be in his twenties. I wondered if the overlord’s lineage had long lasting lives. I also wondered if that meant Sakura would stop aging at a certain point, too.
“If we look at the facts, the grand duke saved Lady Farnese, saved my daughter, and saved Xenoahs itself. Would you not agree, Your Vileness?”
“Buh...” The overlord wrinkled his nose and sighed. I wondered if Xenoahs would be alright with a guy like that at the helm...
Fiana moved before the overlord, crouched down on one knee, and began to talk.
“Overlord Zelgadi... Our Farnese is an adult now, and she is capable of choosing her own path in life. Our daughter wishes to return to Brunhild with the grand duke, and live at his side. I would like to join my daughter as well. I appreciate what you have done for us up until now, but I ask that you grant our humble request.”
The overlord froze up on the spot, his mouth hanging open in surprise. After a brief delay, he suddenly started stammering and flailing his arms around.
“W-W-Wait a sec! Hold on! Fiana! Y-You and Farnese? In Brunhild?! Absolutely not! I cannot allow it!”
“Dear Overlord... I am not your bride. I am my own woman. My life is my own to dictate.”
“I-I... I know that, but...!” The overlord faltered in the face of Fiana’s icy declaration.
S-Scary... Kind of reminds me of my own mother... She yelled a lot too. At any rate, the overlord definitely looked like a child being scolded in this situation.
“Th-Then you shall become my queen! My first and second wives have long since passed, so you’ll simply...”
“I refuse.”
“Really?!”
Fiana smiled gently and completely shot down the overlord’s proposal. S-Super scary... I guess this is the power of a mother, huh...? Even so, she’s being a little too curt with a demonic overlord, isn’t she?
I realized pretty fast that Fiana would be a perfect hire as a schoolteacher. The ability to keep even the overlord in line would surely prevent students from becoming unruly.
“If I marry you, then our Farnese would have to become the overlord upon your passing. Neither her nor I wish that fate, so I must decline.”
“Guh... But... Farnese is my daughter as well, no? That doesn’t mean I control her, but I still should have a say.”
“Yes, you’re right. She is your daughter, so please come and visit her more often... In Brunhild, I mean.”
“Gh... Buh...” Fiana’s smile broadened as the overlord slumped his shoulders in defeat. He took a deep breath, in and out, and then started walking toward me. Then, he bowed his head. His spirit honestly looked crushed, so I felt a bit sorry for him.
“Please... Please take good care of my daughter.” In that moment, he wasn’t speaking to me as the overlord of Xenoahs. No, he was but a simple concerned dad. And because of that, I wanted to reassure him.
“Absolutely. I’ll do my best to protect the tw—” I was about to continue my sentence when he suddenly placed both hands on my shoulders and raised his head. His eyes glared into mine, and further beyond. The deathly stare emanating from the demonic man pierced my very soul. Frankly, I thought I was gonna poop my pants.
“I will never, ever forgive you if you make my little girl cry. Is that understood?”
Wha... Is this a threat? Am I being threatened right now? Sakura, who was hiding behind my back, suddenly came out and stared the overlord down.
“My happiness is contingent upon being in the grand duke’s presence. I have the permission of Linze and his other brides-to-be, so I shall join his family. Is that understood? You bother me, Overlord. You are unsightly.”
“Whuh?!”
“Ohoho... You’re moving along that fast, Farnese? I can’t wait to see what my first grandchild looks like.”
Wait. What?! Hold up! No way, she got permission?! When did that happen?! Why’d they strike without me knowing?! Fiana looked on with a happy face as the overlord slumped to his knees. He sniffled a little bit, too.
“B-Bother you...? U-Unsightly...? F-Farnese said I bothered her...”
Did it really hit you that hard? Geez... I ignored the sniffling overlord and turned to face Sirius.
“By the way, your daughter is a member of my knight order.” Spica moved to face her father after I spoke.
“Father. I will stay in Brunhild and protect Lady Farnese with my life. I swear upon our family name and honor.”
“I understand, sweetheart. You walk your own path in life, after all. I pray for your continued happiness. Your mother and I are proud.”
“Father... Thank you.” The two of them embraced. I could see tears forming around their eyes. Frankly, their physical appearances threw me off. Without any outside context, you’d assume they were lovers.
Sirius seemed to be a very understanding father, though. A stark contrast to a certain overlord... I turned my gaze back towards Zelgadi. He was still mumbling.
“I’m not a bother... am I? N-No way... I-I’m a good dad, right? It’s only normal to be worried... It’s normal! Th-There’s nothing wrong with my feelings.” I decided not to pay too much attention to him, and I doubly decided never to become like him.
“So... were you able to determine exactly who orchestrated the plot to kill Sakura... Er, Farne?”
“As troubling as it is to admit, we’ve found neither hide nor hair. If I did find him, though, I’d rend the flesh from his bones.”
Sakura held on to my arm as her father responded to my question. I could see the bloodlust in his eyes as he thought about the mastermind.
“If you don’t mind me saying, I think it was likely planned by someone who would be troubled by Farne ascending as overlord.”
“I realize what you’re trying to say, Grand Duke. You believe one of my sons may have been behind it, but I assure you that isn’t the case.”
“How can you be so sure?” The overlord slumped back into the armchair and folded his arms. He was looking at me for the most part, but his gaze turned to Sakura every now and then.
“Let’s take First Prince Faron, for one. If I were to describe him positively, I’d say that he has a one-track mind and is very goal oriented. If I were to describe him negatively, I’d say that he’s an idiot. He’s a fair and just person, and I can’t possibly imagine him ever considering assassination. If someone came to him with such an underhanded idea, he’d be more likely to kill that person on the spot.”
“And the second prince?”
“Second Prince Farese... He’s a coward. Meek. The kind of person who’d sooner just not become the overlord than go to the lengths of assassinatio
n. In that boy’s mind, there are only books, books, and more books. He hates danger, and avoids trouble at every turn.”
He certainly seemed quick to judge his own sons. It was far different from how he treated Sakura. If I were to guess, I figured he was the kind of guy who wanted to dote on his cute daughter, but wasn’t too interested in lavishing praise upon boys.
He probably wanted to announce her as the new overlord the moment that her prongs appeared, but Fiana likely put a stop to that. Sakura didn’t want to rule, after all. That seemed reasonable to me, since it would’ve brought forth a whole mess of problems.
Still, the situation seemed to be a mess enough regardless.
“So who could it be?”
“It may be my late first wife’s family. The Ribbuck household... Or it could be the Arnos household, which is the family of my late second wife. It’s also entirely possible that it could have just been greedy nobles, as well.” It’d be advantageous for the family related to the prince who ended up becoming the overlord. That certainly made the Ribbuck and Arnos suspicious.
“Which of the two princes is currently in line for succession anyway?”
“I’m unsure. Both of them carry some modicum of magical might, but they fluctuate by day, and are fairly evenly matched.” This is getting more annoying...
“Have either made any friends in Yulong?”
“Not that I know of. The Ribbuck estate is located along the border of Yulong and Xenoahs, however. It wouldn’t be impossible for them to make such ties. Still, the Arnos are a family of traders. While we don’t officially dabble in international trade, we can’t write them off. They could’ve easily made mercantile connections with the outside.”
Both of them sounded pretty suspicious to me. However, I was just getting tired of it at this point. It would’ve been pretty easy if I could bring Her Holiness the Pope over from Ramissh and use her mystic eye to quiz everyone about whether or not they’d collaborated with Yulong. That sounded like a smart idea to me, but I also couldn’t realistically bring the pope over for something like that. Bringing all the suspects over to Ramissh wasn’t gonna cut it, either.
Maybe the storehouse has a lie detector in it or something... Well, even if there is one, I can’t really submit it as evidence.
Sakura’s memories definitely confirmed that they were Yulong assassins, but Yulong had been so thoroughly trashed that they were no longer traceable.
I wondered if they’d pipe down if it was officially announced that Sakura wasn’t going to ascend to the throne, but kind of doubted it. They’d probably move to target the other prince, and then maybe some kind of pro-Farnese faction would rise up. Things would get dangerous for Sakura in that case.
I wanted to take care of the situation thoroughly before taking her back to Brunhild, but wasn’t entirely sure where to start...
◇ ◇ ◇
A man slinked into a dark alley, heading toward his designated meeting point. He was in the corner of a grimy looking warehouse street, somewhere on the outskirts of the Demonic Capital, Xenoskull.
The particular warehouse was once owned by a powerful merchant family, but it had long since been abandoned. It was never sold due to property damage here and there, as the costs were simply too much to make it worth it.
The man, clad in a black hooded cape, opened up a heavy metal door and entered the abandoned building.
Moonlight illuminated the room, shining in from a hole in the ceiling. The place was empty. Still, the light of the moon guided the man toward his contact. It was a man clad head to toe in black, one wearing an ornate mask.
“What’s going on here. We agreed not to meet after you had taken care of business, did we not? Or are you looking for work after what happened in Yulong?”
“...Isn’t there another target in the way?” The plump, hooded man waddled over toward the black-clad man. He grinned at the muffled question and pulled his hood down, exposing his fat face. He was a demonkin, or more specifically, a creature known as a mephisto. The easiest way to tell was his blue-white hair that glimmered in the dark.
“Well now... I’d certainly appreciate it if you removed the first prince, but what would you demand in turn? You want us to move weapons through the black market again?” After the man spoke, another voice bellowed out from behind him.
“...That’s it, huh? That was your deal? You gave Xenoahs weaponry to these Yulongese men, and hired their assassins in exchange?”
The fat little man turned around in search of the voice. His eyes bulged wide in horror when he realized who it came from.
“O-Overlord Zelgadi?!” The man staring him down was none other than the overlord of Xenoahs. Zelgadi von Xenoahs. It was at that moment I canceled [Mirage], revealing my true form.
“Wh-What the... You...?!”
“Eyes on me, devil boy. I arranged this. Now, let’s see... Severus Arnos, right? Seems your father is completely unaware of what you’ve been doing. When he found the letter and the mask, he had no idea what they meant.”
The plan was simple. I’d left two things near the possible suspects, in their bedrooms. A letter with this address and a note saying, “We need to talk about the last job,” along with a black Yulongese mask. Then, I summoned various mice to keep watch on the reactions.
Everyone except this man either threw the stuff away, didn’t understand the meaning, or yelled at people for pulling stupid pranks. Severus Arnos, on the other hand, walked right into it.
He immediately stashed the mask in a drawer and crumpled the letter into his pocket after reading it.
He was heir to the Arnos family. The merchant house that Second Prince Farese descended from. In other words, he was Farese’s uncle. And so, he would eventually succeed the Arnos Merchant Corporation.
“Vermin... I cannot believe you were responsible. Your father is shamed by you! Your company, your legacy! Disgraced! Just who do you think you are?”
“Y-Your Vileness! You’re surely mistaken! I had nothing to do with the death of the princess, I promise!”
“And who exactly mentioned death, I wonder? Who exactly mentioned the princess?”
Severus completely froze in his tracks. He’d slipped up. Only a few people knew about the situation with Sakura, and even fewer people knew about the assassination.
Severus had a lot to gain by killing her and securing the second prince’s ascent. He’d be uncle to the overlord, after all. It’d be an enviable position, one few merchants ever found themselves in. He’d have the ability to interfere with political affairs. That was probably what he wanted, but there was no hope now.
Sirius and his elite guards charged into the warehouse. The day of reckoning had come.
“Arrest him. I’m fully entitled to pluck his eyes from his skull and skin him alive... but we’ll save the torture for when I question him.”
“Yes, Your Vileness! Secure the criminal!”
Severus offered no resistance as he was surrounded by rope and hogtied. Then, the soldiers dragged him off.
“So, we’re settled now?”
“Don’t be foolish, Grand Duke. Now the work truly begins. First, we need to make Farnese’s existence a matter of formal public record, lest the charges we levy against Severus mean nothing. However, Fiana and Farnese refuse to have anything to do with Xenoahs’ royalty, which is why we must immediately announce her divorce from my family as well.”
“Uh... Then, you mean...”
“Naturally, Grand Duke, we shall formally announce your engagement.” Sirius cut right to the chase.
Well... Crap. I mean, it makes sense but... I had no way out of the situation at all.
Touya used Escape Rope!
Professor Zelgadi: There’s a time and place for everything, but not now.
It kind of felt like that sort of thing, honestly.
“Uhm, well... I-I have a few fiancees already, so...”
“Hm? So? That’s not all that weird. I had two wives, myself. For men of
status like us, what’s one or two brides?”
“Eight... I have eight others...”
“EIGHT?!” The overlord of Xenoahs froze in his tracks. Then, he suddenly planted both of his hands on my shoulders and forced a smile in my direction. His grip was... almost painful.
“My dear Grand Duke, let’s have ourselves a very detailed discussion, yes? We should be done by the morning. We’re going to be seeing a lot of each other in the future, so let’s get some sake and have a nice. Long. Chat.”
I was terrified. I tried to tell him I was a minor, but most countries treated fifteen as an acceptable age to drink. He agreed not to make me drink anything, but that didn’t make me feel any better. His eyes were screaming for blood.
Touya (very frantically) used Escape Rope (again)!
Professor Zelgadi: There’s a time and place for everything, but not now. Not ever.
I was done for.
◇ ◇ ◇
Ultimately, Sakura’s engagement to me was announced without a hitch. Her existence was brought to public knowledge as well.
Severus’ crimes were exposed at nearly the same time. The shock made the second prince’s grandfather, the head of the family, formally retire. He was succeeded by his youngest daughter’s husband.
In terms of Xenoahs’ laws, the entire family could’ve been condemned for the actions of the heir. However, the second prince took it upon himself to abandon the throne, so the family was spared as a result.
The second prince had no interest in becoming overlord anyway, and that might’ve actually been what spurred Severus into action. Speaking of him, Severus himself was consigned to the guillotine.
I brought Fiana and Sakura with me to Brunhild afterward. It was a really long trip, and I was really tired after talking things through with the overlord. I swear, he was a real noisy drunk.
Yumina and the others happily accepted Sakura, and were relieved when we all returned together.
“That means we’ve got all nine wives, huh? Guess there aren’t any more surprises to come.”
“I am glad that every one of you is so pleasant, I am.”
“Hm... But y’know, he could still take mistresses. Nothing was ever said about that.”
In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 10 Page 4