2
Just as Yuzuriha predicted, Toko arrived much earlier than scheduled.
Right after Toko’s arrival, security troops for the signing ceremony started showing up, then government officials, chefs and maids for the subsequent party, and even fashion designers to tailor party dresses—a huge help.
Upon hearing our explanation, Toko was clutching her head in exasperation.
“No, no, no, this is crazy…! The discovery of orichalcum alone would shake the entire continent, but an exposed vein of it!? And a child version of the wandering white-haired vampire to boot!? This is way too unbelievable! I don’t understand any of it!”
“Relax Toko. I don’t get it either.”
“Don’t try to act all calm and poised, you stupid big-boobed duchess! You’re no help at all!”
“Hmph. It’s only natural my partner would achieve such results after you unleashed him on the countryside as a nobleman.”
“I mean I expected something, but not two giant bombshells that could upend the world! That’s beyond anyone’s expectations!!”
Right in front of me, Toko san and Yuzuriha san were engaged in some mysterious argument, but that’s beside the point.
“Toko san, please calm down for now. Here, have some tea.”
“Ah, thank you. …As expected, Suzuha’s tea is delicious.”
“I’ll have some tea too. Now Toko, as the queen, how will you formulate your future policy?”
After gulping down the tea, Toko san took a breath before answering Yuzuriha san.
“Well, for now I’ll just put that on hold.”
“Why is that?”
“Because we lack too much information. ──The Orichalcum and Unyuko alone, if used properly, have the power to unify the entire continent. But if mishandled, there’s a huge risk of blowing up the entire continent instead. So first, we have no choice but to gather as much information as possible, right?”
“I see. And until the information is gathered?”
“We’ll just have to leave it to Suzuha nii for now. Fortunately, things seem peaceful at the moment, so Suzuha nii shouldn’t cause any trouble, right?”
“I agree.”
“Right? Well, perhaps mining the Orichalcum a bit would be okay?”
“It’s better not to do even that. Even if it seems safe, if some special mining method is required and the Orichalcum gets damaged, it would be unforgivable.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“For now, we should focus all our efforts on the upcoming signing ceremony…Fufu. It will be the first international debut for me and my partner. Now about the dress – hmm, a pure white wedding dress is out since Toko took that for her coronation…Perhaps a white layered kimono…?”
“Hey, I didn’t mean it like that!?”
“Oh? Can you swear to the heavens you had no such intentions?”
“…No, sorry. As an apology, I’ll cover all the costs, so the three of us – Yuzuriha, Suzuha and I – can match in our dresses–“
Right before me, important matters I didn’t quite understand kept getting decided one after another.
I was truly impressed by the queen and duchess.
*
Toko san wanted to see the prisoners, so I guided her to the underground chambers.
Nobles’ castles usually have underground prison cells for holding criminals and torture chambers.
Befitting its history as the margrave’s castle, this castle’s prison is nearly as large as the royal palace’s dungeon, but it is currently completely full.
The captured enemy commanders are crammed in there so tightly.
At the sudden appearance of the enemy queen, the prisoners began yelling at Toko, but the maid Kanade leading us simply said:
“Shut up.”
And just like that, they fell silent in an instant.
“…Hey Suzuha, what’s the deal with this?”
“Well, our maids are so skilled that she also serve as prison guards. I only found out later, but apparently the prisoners tried to revolt together at first. And Kanade single-handedly–“
“Beat them to a pulp.”
Kanade puffed out her chest with a smug look.
Well, saying she ‘beat them to a pulp’ is probably an exaggeration.
“From what I heard, one night Kanade fought against hundreds of rebelling prisoners all alone, and completely crushed every single one.”
“I see.”
“Apparently she inflicted quite brutal punishment too.”
Realistically, there’s no way a maid could beat up hundreds of soldiers alone.
She’s not Yuzuriha.
So I assume it’s an embellishment, but since Kanade insists, I can’t really argue.
“Oh? What kind of ‘brutal punishment,’ Suzuha?”
“According to Kanade, she shattered their pride from the core, shattering their very will to resist ever again by thoroughly breaking their spirits.”
By the way, she wouldn’t tell me the details, saying it was a “maid’s secret.”
So while I don’t know exactly what Kanade did, there’s one thing I do know.
The next morning when the patrol soldiers discovered them, every single one of those fierce enemy men were huddled naked, hands covering their rears, trembling like scared puppies.
“They are important hostages, so we were told not to be too rough. But if they tried a jailbreak, well, can’t be helped.”
“Better than being killed, I guess.”
“Right?”
So regarding this incident, I could only smile wryly while praising Kanade.
After hearing my story, Toko san seemed to have a realization.
“–That could actually be quite useful.”
“What do you mean?”
“Looking at the prisoners’ faces, I can see many of them are lords or heirs of powerful Uentas nobles. So if we thoroughly traumatize them, condition their very souls never to defy us…!”
“Eh?”
“Suzuha nii’s maid could do it, so Suzuha nii himself should be able to as well…Yes, if we utterly hammer into their souls the fact that you are monstrously strong, able to crush them all with just a finger if you wanted…!? With this group, we’d have enough influence over the Uentas nobility that if done right, we could even hope for internal conflicts…!”
Toko san mumbled to herself,
likely having thought up some grand conspiracy,
given her rather sinister expression.
“Hey Suzuha nii, I have a request!”
“What is it?”
After a moment’s thought, Toko replied:
“From today until the prisoners are returned after the signing ceremony, I want you to hold daily training sessions right in front of them.”
“…Pardon?”
“You’re going to be training with Suzuha and Yuzuriha anyway, right? I want you to make sure the prisoners all witness it up close and personal, in all its overwhelming intensity!”
“Well, I don’t mind that, but…?”
“Oh, and demonstrations would be good too! Like Yuzuriha pulverizing a boulder with a single punch, or Suzuha’s roundhouse kick sending a bear flying into the horizon. That way, Suzuha nii’s monstrous strength capable of dominating such beasts would really stand out!”
“…Understood, I suppose?”
While I didn’t understand Toko’s intent, when I checked with Suzuha and Yuzuriha, they were both chomping at the bit to agree.
Apparently they were just happy to have an excuse to train instead of desk work.
So
from that day until the signing ceremony, we would be training in front of the prisoners.
For some reason, the prisoners’ faces grew paler by the day,
but I decided not to worry about it since Yuzuriha and Suzuha seemed to be having so much fun.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
3
Even that day, as I was grappling with the mountain of paperwork in the office, an unusually cheery Suzuha came in and said:
“Brother, want to go swimming in the lake?”
“The lake?”
“Yes. Apparently there’s a lovely lake near the castle, Toko san told me about it. Supposedly it’s a hot spring lake formed from underground hot waters, keeping a comfortable temperature for swimming all year round, even in winter. And she’s even having swimsuits made for us.”
“Why swimsuits too?”
“Well, to explain – after the peace treaty signing ceremony, there will apparently be a party held for the attendees. For that, Toko san called in a designer to make new dresses for the party, including for Yuzuriha and me.”
“I see.”
While I understand that’s how the noble world works, being of common roots, I can’t help but feel a bit out of place.
Couldn’t Suzuha just wear that nice dress we had tailored for the Sakuragi victory parade?
But as if reading my mind, Suzuha admitted shyly:
“When I tried on that old dress, the chest area was way too tight.”
“……..”
“My bust seems to have grown about three cup sizes since that dress was made. The designer said it’s just my growth spurt, but forcing myself into that would make my restrained chest spill out the sides in a very erotic way…”
“Got it, we’ll get you a new dress.”
“Thank you, brother.”
I certainly have no intention of making my little sister wear something indecent.
“So while getting measured for the new dress, the idea of swimsuits came up too. For our…ample assets, only custom swimsuits would fit properly in the chest area. And since Toko san offered to cover it from the royal budget along with the dresses, it seemed like a good opportunity.”
“How generous of her.”
“Yes. In exchange, she asked me to invite you to the lake with us – or rather, since we’re getting swimsuits made, we should go swimming. So what do you say, brother!?”
I don’t like it when you stare at me with expectant eyes.
Even those expectant eyes can’t sway me when the answer is already clear.
“–Suzuha, do you really think I can go in this situation?”
“Ah…”
As I gestured to the piles of paperwork with a sigh, even Suzuha seemed to get it.
Ayano, who was working on the documents with me, flashed Suzuha a bright smile without stopping –
a truly terrifying one that said
“Try leaving and see what happens.”
Still, Suzuha didn’t give up, like a duchess being threatened “You absolutely must succeed in recruiting him. Fail, and…you know what will happen, don’t you?”
“But brother, taking breaks is important too! Yes, we could all go on a little excursion – Ayano, Kanade, even Unyuko!”
“It’s impossible. With the prisoners here and potential early VIP arrivals, we can’t all just leave, you know?”
“…Indeed. This paperwork could use some assistance from the young ladies, if only to give us a bit of leeway?”
“My apologies.”
Suzuha admitted total defeat.
Granted, while Yuzuriha probably wouldn’t help much with documents, Toko san could in theory.
But of course, having the queen do such work is out of the question.
“That’s why it’s rejected. Before Ayano san goes on vacation, I have to somehow get this work done.”
“Oh, is Ayano san taking time off?”
Come to think of it, I hadn’t mentioned it to Suzuha.
“Yeah. She said she has an important matter coinciding with the signing ceremony. Right, Ayano san?”
“My apologies, Your Excellency.”
“It’s fine. If there weren’t special circumstances, there’s no way someone as capable as you would be working here. It has to do with an important visitor from the Uentas Principality, right?”
“…I appreciate your understanding.”
I have no intention of prying, but I suspect there is a high-ranking Uentas official that Ayano san absolutely does not want to meet at the signing ceremony.
Otherwise, Ayano san herself would be one of those high-ranking officials…no, that can’t be right.
But even if that were the case, it’s no surprise that Ayano san’s work performance is excellent in every sense of the word. I can’t afford to say anything unnecessary that would cause Ayano san to leave.
Mainly because then I’d be drowning in paperwork.
“By the way, Your Excellency – the Duchess of Uentas looks quite similar to me, but please don’t read too much into it.”
“Is that so? Could that be related to your ‘important matter’?”
“…I cannot explain the details.”
“I see.”
Ayano san will be returning to her homeland, the Uentas Principality, in a few days.
Determined to get as much work done as possible until then, I renewed my resolve to work overtime.
Visit the request page If there’s a Japanese Light Novel (LN) or Web Novel (WN) you’d like me to translate
When the donation goal progress bar above hit 100% one novel will be chosen for translation
| Table of Contents | Next* |
Support the Author by Buying the Original Books!
