Chapter 1: The Valley of the Maid
1
Before my eyes lay a scene of utter devastation—a mountain of lifeless bodies.
The grand dining hall of Lohengrin Castle, with its long table capable of seating dozens,
now bore witness to the last flicker of a dying flame.
“……No, it’s not fair……Big Brother……!”
With a dull thud,
Suzuhaa’s head slumped onto the table like a marionette whose strings had been cut.
In her right hand—a sea urchin gunkan.
In her left—the leg of a king crab.
Watching this spectacle from a small table in the corner were two figures:
me and Her Majesty, Tōko.
“Whoa!? Suzuhaa-nii—did Suzuhaa finally bite the dust?”
“So it seems. By the way, Tōko-sama, would you care for more tea?”
“Thanks. Could I get a cup?”
Under normal circumstances, a professional maid should be the one serving tea to Her Majesty, but for now, I was the best she had.
With clumsy hands, I poured the tea and handed it to her. Tōko-sama took a sip and let out a satisfied sigh.
“Ahh… peace…”
“…Peace indeed…”
All while Suzuhaa, Yuzuriha-san, and even Kanade and Unyu-ko—who had been snacking under the table—lay defeated before us.
That the two of us were casually sipping bitter green tea in the midst of this carnage? There was, of course, a perfectly good reason.
It had been a month since the victory parade in the royal capital.
At last, Tōko-sama had fulfilled a long-standing promise—the very reason I’d been saddled with the title of Margrave of the Frontier.
Needless to say, that promise was…
An all-you-can-eat sushi feast.
And not just that.
“Since we kept you waiting for so long, it’d be rude if I didn’t show some extra sincerity—so I brought more than just sushi!”
With those words, Tōko-sama had also brought—A mountain of crab.
Not just any crab—King Crab, the pinnacle of luxury ingredients, a delicacy so revered it could silence even a crying child.
Faced with such a dazzling spread, none of us could resist.
“Big Brother… this isn’t a dream, is it…? (gulp)”
“Even in a ducal household… ingredients of this caliber are rare…! (gulp)”
“As a maid… it’s my duty to test for poison…! (gulp)”
“Unyuu…! (gulp)”
While I, as the nominal Margrave, was forced to maintain some semblance of decorum in front of Tōko-sama, the four of them stared at the feast with bloodshot eyes, swallowing hard.
What happened next? Well, it should be obvious—
After receiving a report from the chefs, Tōko-sama let out a wry laugh.
“Wow, they even polished off the other dishes. I brought enough that it should’ve been impossible to finish, but they actually ate everything…”
“Yeah… sorry about that. The cost must’ve been insane.”
“Nah, don’t worry. Compared to the royal budget, it’s pocket change. Really.”
“Is that so?”
This time, Tōko-sama had gathered the finest ingredients and chefs, then used a royal-class teleportation artifact to transport everything directly to Lohengrin Castle—a feat that left me stunned.
Apparently, the conditions for using such an artifact were extremely strict.
Which made sense.
If something like that could be used freely, the very foundations of trade and warfare would collapse.
“Do you think Suzuhaa enjoyed the sushi and crab?”
“Ah, yes. …Of course.”
My response was slightly stiff. Because, honestly?
I wanted to join Suzuhaa and Yuzuriha-san in their no-holds-barred, all-you-can-eat marathon. I wanted to forget everything and gorge myself, too.
But with Her Majesty present, I couldn’t exactly let loose.
As a result, I’d only managed to eat about thirty servings of sushi and crab.
Compared to Suzuhaa and Yuzuriha-san, who had devoured well over a hundred each, it was a laughable difference.
Sad, but… this must be what they call “Noblesse Oblige.” Probably.
—Honestly, being a commoner sounds way better.
Just as I was lost in thought—
“Oh, right. There’s something I wanted to discuss with you, Suzuhaa.”
“What is it?”
I’d suspected Tōko-sama had a reason for coming all the way out here.
If it were just about delivering food, she wouldn’t have needed to make the trip herself.
“It’s about Unyu-ko and Orichalcum.”
“Yes?”
“I’ve been looking into it myself, but it’s been… tricky.”
According to Tōko-sama,
there were almost no reliable records on Orichalcum or Unyu-ko—the Wandering Silver Haired Vampire—in modern literature. They were currently scouring ancient texts and folklore for clues. Not surprising, considering one was a legendary metal and the other was a demon said to slaughter all who saw her.
Of course, since domestic sources had their limits, they’d expanded their search overseas—where new problems had arisen.
“Friendly nations like the Uentas Principality are fine, but some countries don’t even have diplomatic ties with us.”
“I see.”
“And those isolationist countries? They’re often the ones with the oldest records.”
“Makes sense.”
“If we barge in carelessly, we risk being threatened or taken hostage. But sending a massive military force isn’t an option either. That’s where you come in—you’d have a different perspective than us.”
“Ah, so that’s the plan.”
It was true—as a former commoner, I wouldn’t be worth much as a hostage.
And if things went south, I could easily blend in and escape among the populace.
Because, at my core? I’m still just a commoner. Fufufu.
“…Whatever you’re thinking, Suzuhaa-nii, you’re absolutely wrong.”
“Huh!? Why!?”
When I asked, she told me my smug face said it all. Damn it.
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2
After Tōko-sama returned to the capital and Suzuhaa and the others finally recovered,
I sought advice from Ayano-san about the investigation.
“Your Excellency conducting the investigation personally… I see.”
Ayano-san, now the de facto chief administrator of my domain, fell into thought.
At a glance, she was unremarkable—a mob-faced person like me—but beneath that exterior was a hyper-competent bureaucrat who single-handedly managed the affairs of Lohengrin Territory.
(Though I hadn’t told anyone yet, I secretly hoped to repay her efforts one day by finding her a good marriage partner.
That way, she’d stay here forever.)
But right now, the issue was my prolonged absence.
“Ayano-san, what do you think?”
“I believe it’s acceptable.”
“You do?”
“Queen Tōko’s proposal is understandable, and the matter is urgent. Moreover, keeping Your Excellency confined to paperwork is a waste of your talents.”
“True, I’d much rather be out hunting bandits or something.”
“If we let you loose on bandits, you’d probably end up hunting down international criminals… but putting that aside, the Territory will manage.”
“Good.”
The root of this mess traced back to a month ago—after the victory parade in the capital.
At the celebratory banquet, I’d been forced to take over the lands of our defeated enemy.
As a result, the Lohengrin Territory had more than doubled in size.
No wonder I wanted to complain.
“Managing the original territory was hard enough—why did it have to expand?”
Ayano-san gave me a look usually reserved for idiots.
“…Wasn’t it because Your Excellency single-handedly annihilated a million soldiers…?”
“Well, yeah, but none of them were even close to Yuzuriha-san’s level. Hell, I doubt any of them were as strong as Suzuhaa.”
“Obviously. If even a hundred Suzuhaa-level fighters existed, this continent would’ve been conquered long ago—likely by a sibling duo ruling through marriage.”
“You’re exaggerating, Ayano-san.”
She tended to overestimate my and Suzuhaa’s combat abilities—probably because she wasn’t well-versed in military affairs.
“Regardless, the influx of personnel from Duke Sakuragi’s household should cover the administrative workload.”
The one who extended a helping hand to me—suddenly struggling with my territory doubling in size—was Duke Sakuragi.
In other words, Yuzuriha-san’s father.
Around the same time Tōko-san arrived, he sent a considerable number of administrative officials to the Lohengrin Territory.
“I’ve seen it with my own eyes, but the Sakuragi ducal house is truly putting in serious effort. Every single one of these personnel is undoubtedly top-tier, capable of handling high-ranking bureaucratic duties in a major nation with ease. Even for a ducal house, gathering that many exceptional talents and sending them to our territory must have been quite the ordeal.”
“Yeah… Not just Yuzuriha-san, but her father, Duke Sakuragi, is really a good person, huh? To go that far in supporting someone like me…”
“On the contrary, I believe it’s precisely because it’s you, Your Excellency, that they’ve offered their utmost support?”
“…Can’t really deny that…”
Duke Sakuragi… somehow seems to have an inexplicably high opinion of me.
＊
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