by Dojyomaru
The children watched Roroa’s exaggerated movements and then imitated her. When I saw them bouncing around, moving their arms and legs, it put a smile on my face. While my heart was being warmed by their angelic behavior, Liscia asked me a question.
“I understand why you want to make an educational program, but why are there so many songs?”
“Don’t you have songs from your childhood that have stuck with you for a strangely long time?” I asked.
“Like lullabies?”
“Yeah, exactly. Songs and melodies get stuck in your head, and it’s easy for people to end up singing or humming them on their own. That’s why it’s more memorable if you use songs in education than if you just taught the material normally, and it’ll spread farther, too.”
For instance, before they taught us “Irohanihoheto” in school, I’d already learned it from Minna no Uta’s “Iroha Matsuri.” Also, I feel like a major part of the reason I could remember the ordering of the Chinese zodiac without getting it confused was because I’d learned a song called “Eto wa Merry-go-Round.” If I still remembered those songs even now that I was an adult, Minna no Uta really was incredible.
Liscia said, “I see...” with a grunt of admiration. “Honestly, I think this was really well thought out.”
“Hm... Well, thinking is my job, after all.”
“It’s not as easy as you make it sound. Thinking about the people and coming up with policies to benefit them.” Liscia was looking at me approvingly... I averted my eyes. “Wait, why did you look away?”
“Well... If you were to ask if it’s really for the people, I’d have to admit a bit of my own self-interest came into it, too...”
“Really? How?” Liscia stared hard at me.
...Well, there’s no helping it, I thought. I guess I’ll fess up.
“We’re holding the wedding ceremony as I formally inherit the throne, right?” I asked.
“Y-Yes, I suppose we are.”
Liscia’s cheeks flushed red when I said the word wedding. It had been just the other night, on New Year’s Eve, that I had proposed to Liscia and she had accepted, and it was still a little embarrassing to think about it. It was adorable when she did that, but... let’s move the story along.
“So, at the wedding, I want to reveal all of my queens, with no discrimination between who’s a primary and who’s a secondary.”
Because secondary queens, whose children would lack the right of succession, had originally been the kings’ concubines, they were seen as lower than the primary queens. As a result, even now that they were treated as queens, there were many cases where they would not be given a big wedding ceremony in front of the people. There had even been cases when secondary queens had felt inferior to the primaries, and so had declined to attend on that basis. They must have feared it would be a seed of later troubles.
I wanted to change that custom.
“Roroa said she was fine with being a secondary queen, but since we are going to be ruling over the Amidonia Region, I want to make her my third primary queen,” I said. “That would make Juna the only one who can’t participate in the ceremony, right? I was thinking, if possible, I’d like everyone to be there together.”
“You’re right. I think that would be for the best.” Liscia nodded and agreed without hesitation. “Aisha and Juna were with us during the hard times, and we got through them together. They feel like war buddies to me. Oh, I don’t mean to leave Roroa out. I think she can be a nuisance sometimes, but the way she’ll play around with me like a little sister is cute. It’s just that Aisha and Juna are special. It doesn’t matter who’s a primary and who’s a secondary; I don’t want anyone to feel neglected.”
“I see... I’m relieved.”
It was a good thing the first primary queen, Liscia, was so tolerant. Liscia and the others got along well, so I hadn’t been worried, but... even so, it was a relief to hear Liscia herself say all of that. Honestly, these wonderful girls were all better than I deserved.
Liscia tilted her head to the side. “But does that have anything to do with this broadcast?”
“Yeah,” I said. “For now, my betrothal to Juna is secret, but that’s going to become untenable as the ceremony gets closer, right?”
“Well, of course. The wedding will be broadcast nationwide.”
“Yep. So, there needs to be an announcement made at some point... I was thinking, when that happens, between the lorelei Juna and the Juna who sings songs with children, which would the people be less upset about... you know...”
Liscia narrowed her eyes and gave me a hard look. “Don’t tell me you planned this program just for that. Did you?”
“Oh, no. The plan itself was meant from the beginning to help educate the people,” I said, trying not to make eye contact. “It’s just, well... I let my own selfish interests get involved a bit, too, you could say...”
Liscia let out a sigh. “You’re hopeless. Do you really have to worry that much about how the people see you?”
“No, no, it’s a pretty critical issue, you know?!”
After all, Juna had become such a national idol that we had gotten petitions from the Congress of the People saying, “Have her on the Jewel Voice Broadcast more often.” If I just announced our engagement the way things were, there seriously might be riots. That was why, in order to keep them under control, I was planning to gradually shift Juna from idol work to children’s songs.
When I told Juna that, as much as it pained me to do it, she said, “If I can sing at your side, sire, I don’t care what position it is in,” and smiled for me.
Judging by the fact she had then immediately recommended a new lorelei, Komari Corda, who could carry on her current style, Juna was enthusiastic about the idea.
And, as we were discussing that, the part where they sang with the children had come to an end.
“All right, everyone, well done,” Juna said.
“And did all of ya out there watchin’ us manage to sing along, too?” Roroa asked.
Juna and Roroa were closing out the segment.
“What’s scheduled after this?” Liscia asked quietly.
“Next up is exercise time. It’s a program to get everyone’s bodies moving.”
“Exercise? Since so far you’ve only been using family members... Is Aisha doing it?”
“No. I’ve brought on a proper expert for the exercise segment.”
“An expert?” Liscia was tilting her head to the side in confusion.
Roroa in the hall took the lead again. “Okay, it’s time for exercisin’. We’re all gonna call the exercise guy together. One, two, aaaand...!”
“““Exercise guuuuuy!””” the children all shouted together at Roroa’s prompting.
“Hahhhh!” A man jumped down from the balcony on the second floor. The man landed stylishly in front of the children, flashed his bright white teeth, then turned towards the screen and gave the viewers a thumbs-up.
The young human man was tall, standing at around 185 centimeters. He had a muscular physique that was apparent even with all of his clothes on. His face, taken as a whole, would have been considered handsome, but his thick, upturned eyebrows, his sharp eyes, and his shining white teeth... Each of the individual parts had a lot of “character.”
The young man put a hand on his hip, then turned to the children and said, “Sorry for the wait, children! Now, move your bodies with me!”
He was a young man who spoke passionate words with a passionate smile.
Liscia watched the young man, her mouth agape, and whispered, “...Who is that?”
◇ ◇ ◇
Earlier, in the middle of the 12th month, 1,546th year, Continental Calendar.
On that especially cold day...
“We’ve changed the way we produce grain in our territory. It’s greatly increased our food self-sufficiency rate,” the man told me. “Thanks to your transportation network, sire, my domain is more prosperous than ever.”
&n
bsp; “Oh, ho,” I said. “I see...”
I was standing next to a burly, middle-aged man and smiling along as he rambled on endlessly. The man’s name was Moltov Juniro. He was the head of one of the ten most influential noble houses in the country, the House of Juniro. Today I had been invited to a banquet they were hosting.
These days, I was being invited to a banquet held by some influential noble or other nearly every day. It seemed that in this country, in the middle and towards the end of the twelfth month, the nobles would invite guests they were close to and hold a banquet. There they would thank them for their interactions throughout the year, and express their hope to remain just as close in the next one.
Well, basically, it was an end-of-year party.
In addition, it seemed that the number and level of the guests they could attract was used as a barometer of the noble’s power and influence. That was why, at this time of year, the nobles invited as many people as they could, especially those of high stature.
Now, if you asked who the person of highest stature in this country was, that would have to be me, the guy who was currently holding on to the throne. Naturally, even if they wanted to, no ordinary noble could invite the king without having any special ties to him. I wasn’t overly fond of these banquets myself, after all. Normally, even if I received an invitation, I turned it down because I was busy.
So if I still had to attend someone’s banquet, that meant they were no ordinary noble. While they might not be on the level of Excel, there were still powerful nobles in this country. It was difficult to turn down invitations from those sorts of people. It’s a superior’s duty to socialize with those who serve under them.
Because I’d turned down so many of them, Hakuya had told me, “Please, at least attend the year end banquets.” Because of that, for the past few days in a row, I had been forced to attend the powerful nobles’ banquets.
While getting even more dressed up than usual for the banquet (It was a very noble-y outfit. Even my sleeves had frills.), I would groan, “Ugh, what a pain,” or, “I don’t wanna go,” or, “This is such a hassle,” and Liscia, who was helping me get changed, would reproach me for it.
“This is your duty as king,” she would say. “As your fiancées, we’ll be there, too, so shape up, would you?”
Like she’d said, Liscia and my other partners were in attendance, too. Even so, they didn’t have it as bad as I did. My fiancées, Juna excluded, were taking turns and each accompanying me one at a time. I, on the other hand, was being forced to attend every single time.
“As you can see, my domain is in excellent shape...” Moltov was droning.
“...”
If you asked what I didn’t like about banquets, it was having to play along with my host’s “hospitality” which consisted of them going on at length about this or that. Even if the food looked luxurious, I didn’t have any time for eating or drinking. What was more, the nobles all tended to talk about the same things.
First was boasting about how they managed their domain. That was no doubt largely because I had added the management of their domains into their performance evaluations. Most nobles tried to show there were no issues in their governance, and the more capable ones took the chance to express exactly how wonderful their managerial skills were.
The evaluations were done by inspectors dispatched for that express purpose, and they would get proper input from the people living in the domain. That made trying to convince me at a banquet all but meaningless, but it was human nature to want to take every chance they could get. If they thought the king was keeping a close eye on them, and it led to an improvement in their people’s lives, that was a good thing. Still, I got sick of having to hear similar accounts at every banquet.
“Sire, allow me to go get a drink for you,” Aisha, my partner for the day, offered in a small voice. The silver dress she’d also worn for the music program she’d helped me host in Amidonia looked good on her now. She must have sensed my exhaustion and was trying to be considerate.
I had just been feeling a bit parched, so I asked her to please do so, and Aisha silently left.
The moment Aisha departed, there was a sudden change in the talkative Moltov’s demeanor.
“...By the way, sire.”
His eyes were sharp, like a snake that had found its prey.
In that instant, I realized I had just screwed up. I’d been through this pattern a number of times already. When the king’s partner left his side, they saw that as their moment of opportunity.
“Would you mind if we talked somewhere else for a little while?”
“...Aisha isn’t back yet, you realize,” I said.
“It won’t take long. I’m sure the two of you will be able to meet back up in no time.”
Having said that, Moltov took my hand and half-dragged me away from there.
Yeah... This was definitely that pattern.
I don’t like this... Moltov may think this is his big chance, but I feel like I’m on pins and needles here...
While I was thinking that, as I had anticipated, there was a single young lady waiting for me when we arrived at our destination. She was somewhere around sixteen years old. She was clearly a lovely young lady of good upbringing.
“Allow me to introduce you, sire. This is my daughter, Siena.”
“Greetings, Your Majesty. I am Siena Juniro,” she said, curtsying.
...I knew it. They saw this as their opportunity to introduce me to young ladies they were related to.
In every era, blood ties to the royal house had been a source of pride for the nobility. If she became my queen, their house would be secure, and she might even give birth to an heir. On top of that, because my betrothal to Juna hadn’t been announced yet, as far as they were concerned, I only had three fiancées. That number was, with the exception of special cases like my predecessor, King Albert (he’d married into the queen’s family), considered low. Because of that, every noble was desperate to sell me on their daughters.
In the mere half year since I had been entrusted with the throne, I had annexed Amidionia and had a lot of other big, showy achievements, so people had big hopes for me. There were always a large number of marriage offers coming in to the castle, and my chamberlain, Marx, was always busy dealing with them.
“It pains me to always refuse them, so could you at least meet some of them?” Marx had asked me with pleading eyes, but it’d sounded like a pain, so I had taken a pass on that.
Even so, I still ended up having to deal with nobles who approached me like this, intent on not missing their chance.
Of course, the nobles weren’t brazen enough to bring these sort of talks up when one of my fiancées was right there, but whether it was Liscia or Roroa or Aisha, they were always guaranteed to create an opening to do it. My opinion of the nobles’ skill in that went right past exasperation and entered into the realm of admiration instead.
Not having much other choice, I greeted the girl. “It’s nice to meet you, Madam Siena. I am Souma Kazuya.”
“I have heard your great name before, sire,” she said. “I had heard you were a great sovereign, blessed with both bravery and wisdom, but I am relieved to see, meeting you like this, that you also seem like a kind person.”
“The rumors about me haven’t just been exaggerated, they’ve sprouted limbs and taken on a life of their own.”
“My, you make them sound adorable.” Siena wore a quiet smile. She seemed like a simple girl. These types were always the hardest to deal with.
It was easy to brush off someone who was blatantly just trying to marry into money and status, but I couldn’t be so cruel to a pure, innocent girl. I mean, it was hard to tell if she was even aware this was an attempt at matchmaking. Well, regardless of how she herself felt about it, her father was definitely trying to marry her into money and status.
Moltov took me a short distance from Siena and spoke. “What do you think of my Siena?”
“...She seems lik
e a very pure and simple young lady,” I said. “Very cute.”
“Oh, I see! If she pleases you, would you consider taking her as your wife?”
“No, I already have three (four, actually) fiancées...”
“Whatever are you saying? You’re still young, sire. You should increase the number of wives you have. For the royal house’s sake. If you’re reluctant out of a sense of duty to Princess Liscia, then I wouldn’t mind her being a secondary queen...”
Talking as fast as a machine gun, Moltov tried to push things along. Just when I was thinking, Ugh, seriously, what a pain. Aisha, can you hurry up and get back already? it happened.
“Hahh, ha, ha, ha! Hahh, ha, ha, ha!”
That passionate laughter suddenly echoed through the hall.
“Ivan?! That idiot!” Moltov, who only a moment before had the face of a pleasant old man offering his daughter to me, now had a sour look on his face as he glared up through the open ceiling at the second floor of the banquet hall.
I followed his gaze to find someone standing on the balcony’s railing.
He was a man in his mid-twenties, tall and muscular. With his thick eyebrows, sharp eyes, and shining white teeth, he had a strangely distinctive face. He was a passionate young man, one who would not soon leave the memories of anyone who saw him.
...No, seriously, who was this guy?
The man shouted and leapt down from the balcony. The moment he did...
Ba-bam!
There was a big explosion right behind the young man. The flames rose up, and there was a roaring blast that shook my stomach. For a moment, I thought he was a terrorist and was about to panic, but for some reason, the other guests around him just looked at the young man with wry smiles.
Huh? What? What am I supposed to make of this?
“Your Majesty!” Aisha finally found me and rushed to my side. “Sire, this could be an attack! Please, stay behind me!”
“...No, there’s something weird about it.”
“Huh? What do you mean, ‘something weird’?”