by Dojyomaru
“Ohh, that’s not happening,” Jeanne said with a broad smile.
“In that case, please give up,” Hakuya responded with a grin.
““Hee hee hee.””
From there on, the negotiations went smoothly, keeping that relaxed (?) atmosphere.
Normally, negotiations were carried out with stubborn haggling, each side digging in their heels to get the most beneficial deal for their own country. However, Hakuya and Jeanne were both sharp, and they both knew where the point of compromise lay from the beginning, so it was just a matter of trading ideas until they arrived at that point. Because of that, thirty minutes after negotiations began, the vast majority of matters were already settled.
With the negotiations finished...
“Whew,” Jeanne let out a sigh. “When I negotiate with you, things always go so smoothly. Though it does mean I can’t let my guard down for a moment... I wish the hardheaded folks around here could learn a thing or two from your example.”
“I agree, but... it’s really a matter of who I’m talking to. If you didn’t have the ability to spot points of compromise, and weren’t such a trustworthy and reliable partner, it wouldn’t go like this.”
“That’s very true... Well, shall we put on some tea?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
They each stood up, beginning to prepare tea for themselves.
For these two very busy people, their meetings were scheduled to be an hour long and no longer. However, because their negotiations went so smoothly, they almost never used up all of the time allotted. So, at some point, it had become their custom to enjoy tea together, talk about recent happenings, and gripe about their respective masters.
Though it was being done over a simple receiver, the two of them very much enjoyed this time together.
Jeanne had a sip of tea and took a moment to relax. “Whew... About the ambassador thing, I wish I could have gone myself. If I had, I could have seen you in person without the screen between us, and we could have had wine instead of tea...”
“I don’t hold my alcohol that well,” Hakuya replied with a wry smile. “Though it’s not like I can’t drink at all...”
“Oh, now that’s a surprise.”
“The alcohol goes to my head quickly,” he explained. “Once I’ve had two glasses, I’m out like a light in no time.”
“Hee hee. If I had to, I could always nurse you when you did?”
“I’d feel pathetic, as a man, so I’d rather you not have to do that.”
“Ahaha... Haha...” Jeanne’s smile gradually shrank. “Well... I say that, but it’s not like I can leave the Empire. I have my duties; and besides, without me here, my sister would truly be all alone.”
“...How can she be alone?” Hakuya asked. “Surely there are more capable people in the Empire than there are stars in the sky.”
“That’s not how I meant it. There’s a difference between retainers and family.”
Jeanne lowered her eyes, the discussion clearly paining her.
“My sister is working her hardest to carry the empire our father left to her. She has many retainers who swear loyalty to her. However, they can offer my sister no comfort. Normally, that would be the duty of us, her family, but I’m busy with my duties, and our youngest sister is an eccentric... Well, let’s just say I can’t count on her to do much in that regard. I think I ought to find her a husband that will marry into our family; but the throne casts a long shadow, and only men of ambition will approach her. Even if a man of no ambition were to try to approach my sister, the ambitious ones would simply get in his way, I’m sure...”
Hakuya was silent.
The empress’ solitude. When he heard that, Hakuya thought of his own master. Of Souma, who, when he wasn’t preoccupied with politics, spent his time surrounded by his four fiancées and his honorary little sister, not caring one whit about keeping up a dignified appearance.
When Hakuya saw him acting so un-regal, many times he had complained, “Your vassals are looking. I know this is your private time, but please, get it together a little more;” but perhaps it was important for Souma to have that time. To keep himself from falling into solitude.
When that thought occurred to him, Hakuya smiled a little.
“Hm? What is it, Sir Hakuya?”
When Jeanne asked him that suspiciously, Hakuya gave a big shake of his head and responded. “No... I was just thinking that, surprisingly, it may take just one feeling to fill in that solitude.”
After that, their pleasant time together continued for a little while longer.
Chapter 2: The Kingdom’s Secret Weapon
The middle of the 2nd month, 1,547th year, Continental Calendar
“Ohh! Why Your Majesty, welcome and thank you for gracing us with your presence.”
When I passed through the door into the Jewel Voice Broadcast studio that we had set up in the castle, a well-built middle-aged nobleman welcomed me with an exaggerated flourish.
This was Moltov Juniro, the father of Ivan Juniro, who played Silvan, the Kingdom of Friedonia’s first tokusatsu hero.
“Hey, Moltov,” I said. “How are things going on the program?”
“Sire, we’ve been doing our best to follow the example you set.”
The truth was, the other day, partly because his son’s Silvan had become so popular, I had decided to go all the way and appoint Moltov as the director of broadcast program production. I’d done that because I wanted to be able to keep the programs in production even when I was busy.
Moltov, like his son Ivan, had an ability that made it so there was no need for special effects, so I’d decided that would make him a good pick for the position.
Moltov stroked his beard and said, “Well, this program-making business is deeper than you might think. There are things the people want to see, things that they don’t want to see, things that we want them to see, things that we don’t want them to see... It’s quite difficult to strike a proper balance.”
Moltov groaned in consternation.
I was relieved to see him taking his job so seriously. “Do you want to quit?”
“No! I appreciate the challenge!” Moltov responded with a lively smile.
Somehow, I felt that that was a better look for him than when he was trying to foist his daughter Siena off on me.
On that subject, Siena, who was now appearing alongside her brother Ivan as a supporting heroine (something similar to **ckle in St**nger), had said with a gentle smile, “I believe my father has found his purpose in life. There are a limited number of ways to rise in stature as a noble. You can distinguish yourself in the military or administration, or you can become a maternal relative of the Royal House. Those have always been the only ways, so he had been wholeheartedly pursuing them. However, Your Majesty, you taught my father something: the joy of creating a broadcast program to entertain the people. Thank you so much.”
Sigh... She was such a good daughter, I almost had to doubt she was actually a blood relative of that boisterous father and son.
Anyway, let’s get back on topic.
Like Siena had said, Moltov was enthusiastically working on creating broadcast programs.
I extended my hand to him. “I have great expectations, Moltov. If you keep developing your craft, I’m sure eventually I’ll be leaving a jewel in your care.”
“My word! You’d give me a jewel?!”
“Yeah. I’d want you to use it not for public broadcasts, but to open your own broadcasting station.”
In other words, making him a private broadcaster. If all we had was a public broadcaster, there were limits to the number of programs that could be produced, after all. In order to make such a thing happen, there would need to be further advances in technology, and the appropriate laws would need to be put in place, so it couldn’t happen right away. Still, it was best to start preparing for five, ten years from now.
Moltov gave a jolly laugh. “You’ll be giving me my own independent stati
on, huh! The dreams are endless!”
“Yeah. So, work hard for it.”
“Leave it to me!” Moltov thumped his chest proudly. “By the way, sire, what were you doing here today?”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right. I think Juna was supposed to be around here somewhere...”
“If you mean Ms. Juna Doma, she is currently shooting the educational program.” Moltov pointed towards the studio.
It just so happened, Juna was currently in the middle of a live broadcast for the educational program. The song she was currently singing and dancing to was a children’s song from the other world with a slightly Asian style. The way Juna looked as she danced with the strings wrapped around her sleeves fluttering was just like a celestial maiden. It made me want to pray, “Close the pathway through the clouds.”
Eventually the broadcast came to an end. Juna noticed me and rushed over, still in her stage outfit. “What’s going on, Your Majesty? I didn’t think you were planning to come here today, were you?”
“Well, no, I wasn’t, but... I had a favor I wanted to ask of you.”
“Of me?” Juna asked.
I nodded. “For about three days, starting tomorrow, I’m going to be away from the castle to meet with someone. I’d like to have you escort me.”
“I don’t mind, but... you’re leaving the capital unattended for three whole days?” Juna tilted her head to the side, looking slightly perplexed. “With all due respect, won’t the government’s work be impeded by your absence?”
“Oh, that should be fine. That thing I had Genia developing is complete now.”
“What... am I supposed to say...?” Juna was at a loss for words.
I had waited for Juna to get changed, then we’d gone to the office. Now she was looking at the thing I had been talking about.
Yeah... I could understand.
I had put in an order with Ludwin’s fiancée and self-proclaimed “overscientist,” Genia Maxwell, to have her develop a certain thing for me.
My ability, Living Poltergeists, could imbue objects with a part of my consciousness; could make them float; and could allow me to see them from an overhead view; but it was only effective within a range of a hundred meters or so. If I had a pen doing paperwork in the governmental affairs office, I had to stay within a one hundred meter radius of it at all times. Because of that, during the time just after the handover of the throne when things had been really busy, I’d never left the capital for more than a day unless there was a crisis.
Also, as you already know, this ability’s effective range could be ignored if the target was a doll; but, unfortunately, dolls weren’t able to write very well. It was easy to write when I was controlling the pen directly, but for some reason, it was unusually hard to do it when I had a doll holding the pen. It was like using a remote control to operate a robot arm that was holding a pen. It took an awful lot of focus, and what I wrote still ended up looking like chicken scratch.
I couldn’t have messy writing on important documents. There were a lot of documents where it could cause major problems if they were misread.
In the end, even though dolls negated the range limitation of my ability, that hadn’t changed the situation which was keeping me from leaving the castle for an extended period of time. I’d known that if I’d had a machine that could write letters, I could do my work from a distance, and that would let me leave the castle without worries.
That was around when I’d discovered the highly capable Genia.
She had used dragon bones as a basic frame, combining them with various mechanical and organic parts to create the mechanical dragon, Mechadra. I’d figured, Maybe she could create a doll that moves like a human hand.
With that thought in mind, I’d made the order, and just the other day, Factory Arm #1 (named by yours truly) had been completed.
From the side, it looked like an arm had bizarrely sprouted from an L-shaped platform. In simple terms, it was like a prosthetic arm or a manipulator. However, it was strangely realistic and human-like in a way that was creepy and off-putting. That much was evident from Juna’s reaction to seeing the thing.
Oh, Genia, why did you have to make it so realistic?
Well, I’d experimented with using Living Poltergeists to control Factory Arm #1. The artificial arm moved smoothly, grasping the pen and writing letters on a piece of paper.
...It was twice as creepy in motion. So this was the “uncanny valley,” huh?
“When the bureaucrats see this thing doing work, they’re always scared stiff,” I said. “Oh, and when the maids bring tea, they often scream and faint.”
“I completely understand how they feel.” Even Juna’s smile was twitching a little as she said that. It did look like something out of a horror story, after all.
“In any event, now that I can have Factory Arm #1 do work for me, I’m able to travel outside the capital,” I said. “I’m already having a number of them made.”
“Having a whole bunch of them moving... I don’t even want to imagine what that looks like,” Juna said sounding apologetic, but I agreed with her.
The arm dolls, in an empty room, writing endlessly. Even imagining it was grinding away at my SAN stat.
Juna shook her head, trying to put the image out of her mind so she could get things back on track. “But, sire, why do you want to have me with you as your partner? Wouldn’t the princess, Aisha, or Roroa do just as well?”
“Hmm... Considering who I’m dealing with this time, I want you to lend me your strength,” I said. “I think for the others... they’d be no match for her.”
“Her? Who are you talking about?”
“National Defense Force Commander Excel Walter.”
“...I see. Grandmother, huh? That’s why you want me.”
Juna seemed satisfied with that explanation. However, she soon cocked her head to the side quizzically.
“But, sire, Grandmother has been your ally all along, hasn’t she? When you say they’d be no match for her, is there some reason you would be taking a stance against her?”
When I saw the worried look on Juna’s face, I said, “Oh, that’s not it,” and shook my head. “The reason we’re leaving the capital for three days is to survey the progress on a project I’ve had Excel working on; but aside from that... I’ve heard that Marx recently made contact with Excel.”
“The chamberlain? Now why would he do that...? Was it for something important?”
“Oh, no, nothing that important. He didn’t seem to be making any secret of it. He was just getting her advice on some things, but... it’s what he was getting advice about that worries me...”
“...And what do you think he was getting advice about?”
“It seems... it had something to do with a ‘sexual instructor’ for me.”
The moment I said that, Juna winced a little.
Sexual instructors were a custom of the upper classes in this country. (The knights, the nobility, and higher.) When a man came of age, an “experienced woman” would be dispatched. To ensure that he wouldn’t embarrass himself when he took a wife, she would teach him, well... “bedroom etiquette,” and other such things.
It was standard for those lessons to be taught at a desk like a health and physical education class, but there were some houses that included “hands-on learning.”
I scratched my head awkwardly. “I’m turning twenty this year, and I’ve got beauties like Liscia, Aisha, and you by my side. I guess they thought that, as a healthy young man, if they just left us alone, I’d lay my hands on at least one of you eventually, so it never came up before. But because I’ve taken so long, Marx has gotten impatient, and he’s been saying that maybe some education is needed. It seems Hakuya agreed with him on that.”
“I see... So that’s what it was.” Juna nodded, her expression still twitching.
This country’s Royal House was on the verge of extinction due to the succession crisis that had broken out upon the death of the king before the last on
e, so Marx was always badgering me to “hurry and produce an heir.” While the wedding had yet to take place, I was already betrothed to Liscia and the others, so it apparently didn’t count as premarital sexual relations in his mind. That was how bad the shortage of royals in this country was.
“And so, the two of them turned to Excel, who’s five hundred years old and has a bounty of experience when it comes to romantic affairs,” I went on. “‘We don’t have a good woman for the job in mind,’ they said. When they did...”
“...I have a bad feeling about this.”
“...Excel raised her hand and volunteered herself.”
“The nerve!” Juna shouted, something she rarely did.
It seemed that, when she imagined her betrothed (even if that was still a secret) possibly having relations with her grandmother, she couldn’t maintain her composure. She showed a mixture of panic and anger.
She can make expressions like that, too... That’s kind of refreshing, I thought.
Incidentally, when Marx had come to her for advice, Excel had said, “Oh my, in that case, why don’t I teach him for you? I have a decent amount of experience in that field, after all. If you’d like, I can even handle the practical lessons personally, you know? I come from a long-lived race, so it’s not that likely that I would get pregnant. Hee hee,” with a laugh that made it hard to tell just how serious she was.
According to Marx, giving the lie to her mid-twenties appearance, her eyes had had the glint of a snake that had found its prey.
...I suppose she wasn’t from the sea serpent race for nothing.
When I told Juna that, she pressed a finger to her temple, looking worried. “I’ve heard about this from Aunt Accela.” That was Excel’s daughter and Carla’s mother. “When she was still a young girl, Grandmother would tempt the men who fell in love with my aunt and tease them.”
“Wow... That’s pretty awful...”
“No, she only did it with the ones my aunt had no feelings for herself. It was to make them give up on having an illicit affair with her daughter, but... my mother once told me, with an exhausted look on her face, ‘I never wanted to have to see classmates who had tried to woo my mother and been shot down.’”