MaruMA:Volume10:Short Story

His Majesty the Maou’s Elegant Day

Life with a Daughter is Really Great

Greta is back three days earlier than expected.

A little later that afternoon, I receive the report saying that Greta has returned to the country, and so I hurry up the stairs connecting the halls, taking two steps at once in a mad dash.

The girl who had for some reasons become my daughter, isn’t only the remaining member of a lost royal family, she is also Shin Makoku’s princess.

To ensure her education is completely impartial to both human and mazoku sides, she is currently studying in our ally country, Cavalcade.

Though we exchange letters regularly via pigeon mail, but it’s really been a while since we last met.

Lord Weller, who usually accompanies me when I jog, even laughs and tells me to calm down.

“Your Majesty, there’s no need to hurry so, it’s not like she’s not leaving immediately.”

“Even so, I still want to meet her a second earlier! Conrad, when you have kids of your own someday, you’ll know how I feel.”

“I think even a bachelor will understand those feelings.”

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

Sliding past the slippery stone corridor in one movement, I’m now standing in front of the ornamental door

“Your Majesty, you’re ba…”

Before the soldier can even complete the word, I push past the door and rush into the living hall where my beloved daughter awaits.

“Greta!”

“Yuuri!”

That face with reddish-brown hair and little wavy curls, those handsome red-brown brows, and sun-tanned olive skin, blooms into a smile as she turns around to look at me.

“Welcome home, Gre… Uh…”

I’m ready to rush over to my beloved daughter, but I stop in pure animal instinct.

There’s something here, there’s an unknown life form in the house.

Bzzz! Boom!

My premonition is right, because a large black object flies over my head at a relatively fast speed.

I even feel a gust of wind over my head.

“W-what is that?!”

Bzzz! Boom!

My ears are filled with sound and impact of fastball whooshing past me.

The enemy flies everywhere at top speed, but the breakneck speed also causes it to knock into the living hall walls.

“Greta are you okay…”

“I’m fine, Yuuri.”

Smiling broadly, the girl runs over to me, her arms stretched straight to hug me tightly.

Only her head knocks into my temple, the pain making me nearly forget to breathe.

Bzzz! Boom! Boomboom! Bzzz!

As father and daughter are enjoying our piece of paradise, the black object continues to whiz along, not learning its lesson and still ramming desperately at the wall.

“Your Majesty, Your Majesty--!”

I look towards the source of the voice, only to see the beautiful Royal Instructor and his subordinates hiding behind the throne deep in the room.

That familiar bald head is glittering in the afternoon sunlight.

“What’s up? Günter.”

“It’s dangerous, Your Majesty! Please don’t mind us, and leave this room immediately!”

“That’s right, Your Majesty! That guy is really dangerous! That guy is really dangerous!”

Lord von Christ Günter and his merry men who he likes a lot for some reason, are all desperately warning me with expressions of dread.

“Yuuri, listen to me, Günter and Dakaskos are exaggerating. I already said it isn’t dangerous at all.”

Just as I’m pondering over who to believe, the black object whizzes past my head at an incredible speed again. It hits the ceiling above, and even bounces back down.

“Ah, so it’s a rare insect.”

One of the last to enter, Conrad is the calmest. He pushes me and Greta from behind, making us squat down.

“Lie low, right now it’s only spinning around the ceiling.”

“Spinning? Waa--! It’s flying with a buzz! W-w-what is that thing? What weird thing ambushed Greta?!”

“You misunderstood, Yuuri! I wasn’t ambushed, that’s a friend I made on the way here!”

“A friend? You made friends with a rare insect?”

Since Conrad already called it a ‘rare insect’, then something that makes a disgusting noise and flies all over the place should probably be an insect.

“Mn! It’s the reason I could get back three days earlier!”

“Greta, you didn’t let that thing carry you back, did you?!”

The girl’s large eyes narrow in humor.

“Don’t be silly, Yuuri, human can’t fly in the air. It’s nothing like what you imagined, it was actually a large flock of buzzing cicadas that helped tow our boat. The speed really was incredible, it was no different than surfing the waves!”

Buzzing cicadas?

That’s a cicada? You say that huge thing is a cicada?

Just then, Conrad lets out an admiring sigh that doesn’t fit the moment at all.

“That’s right, that’s a legendary creature. Your Majesty, if that really is a buzzing cicada, then it should have made that once-in-six-hundred-years voyage across the sea to get here. Greta, where did you hear the name of this cicada from?”

“From the insect-loving captain, he was even crying tears of joy because he got the rare buzzing cicada’s leg hairs.”

“Leg… hairs…”

Right then, due to the extreme impact of crashing into a wall, the legendary animal makes a dry ‘pasha’ noise and falls onto the ground.

It’s really huge, way taller than I am.

It’s lying on the ground in an ugly belly-up position, frantically moving its six hairy legs, desperately trying to get back up.

To someone like me who was born on Earth, grew up in Japan, and lives in Saitama district, it doesn’t look like a cicada however I look at it…

“Wait! This shouldn’t be a cicada, it’s the thing that starts with ‘cockro-’, isn’t it?! Isn’t this the one that always shows up in kitchens, the insect that I hate the most and starts with ‘cockro-’?!”

In that instant I’m covered in goosebumps from head to toe.

Just looking at that shiny body, the brown wings, and the long feelers…

“Of course not, Yuuri, no matter how you look at it it’s a cicada!”

“That’s right, Your Majesty, it’s obviously a cicada!”

Really?!

“Is the buzzing cicada you’re talking about that rare insect that hibernates in the soil for seven days, lives on the surface, and has a very strong life force?”

“That’s what the insect-loving captain said too… Hey!”

“Ah, Greta, don’t touch it with your hands!”

How did this happen? My adorable daughter actually touched a cockro-- No, a rare cicada’s stomach with her hands, and even flipped it over.

“Like this is OK already, relax—Greta used to be a cicada in my past life too.”

“Please, Greta! When someone starts talking about their past life, they’re done for!”

“Yuuri, look, they really listen to me! Señor, sit, shake hands! Hey, why aren’t you shaking hands?”

Maybe the giant cock… cicada isn’t in a very good mood, so it refuses to obey Greta.

But regardless of whether it’s a cicada or a horned beetle without horns, forcing a giant insect to shake hands is too much, isn’t it? And yet the girl continues to repeat the simple order patiently.

Right now, in the center of the living hall, there’s the persistent scene of a cicada staring down Greta.

Although it seems to be two meters long, it does seem to be a very safe insect.

Even the adults hiding and shivering behind the throne start approaching the child and insect cautiously.

I heave a sigh of relief and then throw my head back.

As a result, right in my field of vision when I look up, meaning that corner of the ceiling that people tend to hate, there’s something exactly the same as the thing just now.

“Waleh!”

It’s a second bug.

“T-twin cicadas?”

“They’re not twins, Yuuri. That one is Señorita, Señor’s wife, they’re really loving too~ Though both are male.”

“Both male?!”

“Yup, that’s right. Just like my fathers, right?”

Although I don’t want to elaborate on what she means by ‘fathers’, but she should mean me and Lord von Bielefeld Wolfram, right?

I just never thought that, in my beloved daughter’s eyes, my position is at the same level as a rare insect, Papa feels so bad he wants to cry~

“I’m great friends with Señorita and Señor, y’know. Right, Señor? Oh yeah, you guys should say hi to Yuuri too!”

“Chiuuii—n!”

“Waa!”

The insect suddenly makes a painful and piercing supersonic wave. It’s the dentist, that’s the sound of the teeth-grinding equipment you only find at the dentist’s!

“He says he’s glad to meet you.”

“I get it, I get it! Please spare me!”

Even if that really was a sound of happiness, it still has a great destructive force against Japanese people.

Even though it’s a rare opportunity, but I am really unable to be good friends with rare insects.

On another note, since when did my daughter become a master at controlling cicadas? Though now isn’t the time to worry about such minor details.

Although I’m not married yet, but since I’ve made it my goal to be a good father, I am now faced with something that requires an immediate decision.

When children make friends with animals, it’s easy to guess what they will say next, and Greta is no exception.

“Yuuri~ Can I keep Mr and Señorita?”

Large red-brown eyes sparkling, Greta tilts her neck and asks.

“Can I, please~?”

When faced with such an adorable plea, surely no father can find it in him to say no.

Or, maybe there is a father like that, but for a sixteen-year-old, unpopular with the ladies, single father, that is mission impossible. “Ahh—Fine! But you can only keep them in the courtyard, and you can’t ever let them onto your bed, got it?”

“Thanks—Yuuri I love you the most!”

Greta wraps her suntanned arms around my neck, her entire body suspending in mid-air.

From her body hugging mine so tightly, there’s a faint smell of seawater.

“Alright, Greta, I heard you!”

Looks like this child learned something else besides history and politics with Mr Hiscliff in Cavalcade.

“I’m so happy, this is great! Señor, Señorita, hurry up and thank Yuuri!”

“Chiuuii—n!”

“Waa~ That’s enough, dentist! There’s no need to thank me anymore, really, there’s no need!” Quick, let them leave the room! Let them fly freely in the sky!”

“Mn!”

But the cicada couple keeps on hesitating and lingering, completely refusing to obey orders.

They’re just insects, but they act spoiled.

“What’s the matter… Ah, maybe they’re hungry.”

“If so, there’s all the more reason for them to look for food outside! Don’t cicadas feed on tree sap? So they should go to the forest and find delicious trees!”

Lord Weller quietly heaves a somewhat meaningful sigh, he seems to know some unspeakable truth.

“This may not be anything interesting, but…”

“Just say it, whatever it is, just spill it!”

“A rare insect’s diet is a bit more unique compared to normal cicadas.”

“What do you mean by unique?”

Conrad uses his thick fingers to rub Greta’s hair as he says,

“They suck blood, not sap.”

Blood!”

That’s not even ‘Oh~ the sweet liquid that flows out from the butts of the pests on the canola flowers’!

“…In other words, they’re terrifying blood-sucking insects?”

This time Señorita makes a ‘Chiuuiin!’ sound with a questioning tone, this seems to be the way they show affection.

“But it doesn’t have to be human blood specifically, and from what I heard, they only need a minimal amount of blood, so we cannot simply conclude that they are pests.”

Something occurs to me suddenly, and I grab Greta’s shoulders frantically,

“Greta, don’t tell me they’ve already sucked your blood on the way here, and now your thoughts are under their control?!”

“No, they didn’t suck Greta’s blood, the insect-loving captain mentioned this before too. He said that buzzing cicadas are chivalrous by nature, so they never feed from a creature smaller than them. Mr Captain let them suck his blood out of respect, but it really was only a little. Just a little blood can sustain them for three, four days, and they even repaid the favor by towing the ship really fast.”

“I see, so it took a lot of energy.”

“Now isn’t the time to admire them, Conrad.”

And the situation is really dire, too.

The chivalrous rare insect couple who allegedly never feed from anything smaller than them, are now busily swiveling their heads to look around them, seemingly having locked onto their target.

They’ve locked onto the odd master-servant combination of the beautiful man with shiny pretty long hair, and the cowardly commoner with his shiny scalp, and proceed to walk slowly towards them.

“Eeek--!”

Günter and Dakaskos let out screams that embarrass even the onlookers, and are even being forced slowly to the sides.

“Just a tiny bit of blood, Günter! Just a little bit! It’s like being pricked by a needle… probably.”

“E-e-e-even so, Your Majesty! I didn’t live to this day only to supply blood to this kind of cicada… Uyaaaa!”

“Ah, if we’re pricked by that kind of tube! Ahh, save me! Blin!”

Farewell, I thank you two from the bottom of my heart. Lord von Christ Günter, Lilit Latchie Etcetera Dakaskos.

We will never forget your brave sacrifice.

Conrad and I watch the two men pinned onto the ground by the passionate giant cicadas, and chat in calm tones.

“They are cicadas, after all. Only cicadas have tubes like that, not cockroaches.”

“Let’s put that aside for now, Your Majesty. Do you want to organize a party to welcome Greta home tonight?”

“Mn, let’s do that, and it’ll be enough to invite just a few close friends. Also, don’t call me Your Majesty! Don’t forget that you were the one who gave me my name.”

“Sorry, Yuuri, I just can’t get rid of that habit.”

And then Greta hugs my waist, lifting her head and looking at me with those wide innocent eyes,

“Yuuri, tell me, do you like them? Do you like Señor and the others? Does this help your rare animal collection?”

“Rare animal collection?!”

Why would I collect something like that?

We only planned to invite a few familiar friends and family to Greta’s coming-home party, but under an unusually energetic Günter’s planning, it became a rather large-scale banquet.

“You look lively, Günter.”

“That’s right, Your Majesty! It’s unbelievable, right now I’m mentally, spiritually and emotionally in top form. There’s no way to describe it, as though there’s some force welling up from deep within my body.”

Günter with his beautiful face flushed red, grips his fists and says, panting non-stop in between, as though he’d gulped down an entire Red Bull in one go.

“Ha--! My spirit has been released from all manners of obstructions, ha--! I feel like a brand new person, ha! Come to think of it, it must have been because of the rare insects’ feeding, allowing me to decisively abandon all the conservative views tying me down, ha---!”

“I think you abandoned a lot of things a long time ago.”

As for my situation, I’m tied down as it is dealing with the people taking this opportunity to ask for a meeting or offer gifts, and at the end I couldn’t find time to stay with my most important Greta.

By the time the banquet finally ends, it’s already late in the night, long past a good child’s bedtime, and also a baseball boy’s bedtime.

Taking off her boots, Greta makes a noise of dissatisfaction as she walks on the ice-cold floorboards bare-footed.

Perhaps because she wears higher heels like an adult, the girl’s soles are red and swollen.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

“Ehh—Why can’t I sleep with Yuuri?”

Looking at her upset expression, I can’t help but hesitate at her question.

But Greta’s already ten-years-old, and even though I live in a Japanese townhouse, otherwise known as a ‘Little Rabbit House’, I’ve been sleeping alone since I started elementary school, so I need to train her to sleep alone in her room as well.

Sobbbb—It hurts to be apart from my kid~

It’s just like what they say, you only learn to appreciate your parents when you have kids of your own. Greta frowns her handsome brows, saying,

“And I thought that since Wolf isn’t around today, I can have the spot beside Yuuri all to myself.”

“But Greta, unmarried young ladies should always sleep alone, y’know!”

“Then Greta will marry Papa now!”

“Father and daughter cannot get married.”

I think to myself,

‘How many times will I get to hear such touching words?’

And then I wipe away my tears inwardly. In that sense, I really am like a dad.

“How—Bo—ring—And I even wanted to teach you Mr Shiny’s special one-of-a-kind secret relaxing massage!”

“O-one-of-a-kind secret?”

To be honest I kinda want to try, but I’m forced to pass tonight.

Just then, Miss Anissina walks past us, with a few drunkards tied up and tossed over her shoulders.

As for what she plans to do with those men, that seems to a secret we must never ask about.

“Aiya! Your Majesty, look at you, all panicked and flustered. If it’s a problem my magical inventions can fix, I’m more than eager to help. Please do not misunderstand, my goal isn’t to ask for a higher budget, I simply wish you can draw a description of before and after use, as well as answer a survey on your thoughts.”

She suddenly tosses her high dark red ponytail, then roughly throws down her drunk luggage.

“Then, Greta, to ensure that you won’t feel lonely tonight, please use this masterpiece of mine.”

I’m not sure if it was majutsu or really a magical invention, but Lady von Karbelnikoff Anissina pulls out half a dozen pillows from goodness knows where.

“This is called ‘Magical Invention Pillow Army’s I Wanna Sleep In Your Arms’! Right, which do you want? The Red Sleep Troop for that burning hot sense of justice and a dead sleep, the Blue Sleep Troop for a cool and handsome guy to sing you a lullaby, the Green Sleep Troop with herbal fragrances for a good night’s rest, the Yellow Sleep Troop that guarantees you will say ‘I can’t eat in anymore’ in your sleep, and the adult-only pillow that ensures a naughty dream—the Pink Sleep Troop. And the ultimate one is this, the Silver Sleep Troop that lets you relive happy memories. By the way, although the all the outside wrappers are dirt-yellow, but they’re all made of sandbear bamboo leaves that allegedly emit electrons.”

“Amazing! So you’re using the power of magical inventions to increase sleep quality?”

“There’s also the Spoiler Pillow for finding out the ending to a story you haven’t finished watching, and the Repentance Pillow that creates an intense discomfort that will ensure the user never gets any sleep. Right, Greta, choose a magical invention pillow that you like.”

“Hmm, Greta wants…”

These pile of streamlined pillows that the world has never seen the likes of before, seems to have chased away all the child’s weariness.

“It’s best not to choose the pink one, that one suits your father better, everything other than that is okay.”

Finally Greta takes the long green pillow, then mischievously leaves a goodnight kiss on my cheek before leaving my bedroom.

Left behind, we look at the pile of sleeping apparatus with no idea what to do next.

Perhaps following my gaze, Conrad silently says by my ear,

“You’ve been staring at the pink pillow since just now… Do you want to try?”

“Of course, for a guy without any luck with the ladies, that’s the basic entertainment. It’s the same as wanting to sneak a peek at the paid channels on hotel TVs.”

The half of Lord Weller’s face I see has no hint of displeasure, just the expression of a kindred soul.

“Since you sound so determined, then I won’t stop you, go ahead and take it. Your Majesty is in the middle of puberty, and you should learn how to take responsibility for your own actions.”

“But Günter is looking over here with a scary glare.”

“…I see.”

He touches his chin with his thumb and pointer, thinking for a moment, then he picks up the pink pillow.

And Günter says with an expression of surprise,

“Conrad, you want to take the pink pillow?”

“Your surprise makes me feel rather uneasy now, but after all I am a lonely bachelor. Or do you want to use this pillow? If so, you can have it.”

“N-no, I don’t need it! How could I do something so shameless! Besides I’m the kind of person who can’t sleep at all if I change pillows!”

“You’re really sensitive, huh! Then here, Your Majesty, take this one, occasionally indulging in memories of the past isn’t a bad idea.”

Conrad hands over the silver pillow, but if it’s not the pink one, everything else is the same to me, so he tells the disappointed me in a small voice,

“We’ll exchange later.”

“Then I’ll give the remaining red and blue ones to Lord von Voltaire to try then. Which magical invention pillow will triumph in the end? What torture…I mean. what kind of sleep will Gwen endure this time? It’s so intriguing.”

So she doesn’t plan on trying out any one of the pillows herself, relying on everyone else to collect data.

Anissina always looks so happy, and those sky blue eyes shine with a gleam of danger different from knowledge and curiosity even this late at night.

Poor Gwen, all I can do is wish him a happy and fulfilling life.

“That’s great~ The substitute batter in the training match hits a high ball out of the park, it’s out of the park…”

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to have an option to choose the dream settings.

Normally, Covenant Castle’s morning activities start really late. After Lord Weller and I complete our daily jog, only then will everyone else in the castle start their activities.

The people in the kitchens and army camps would naturally get busy with their own duties, but in truth the ones in charge of the castle’s operation, Lord von Christ and Lord von Voltaire, almost always use flexible working times.

But today is an exception.

Before dawn even breaks, Conrad wakes me up, saying there’s a special agenda today.

“Did you have nice dreams?”

“Mn… I kept dreaming that I was swimming with a lot of scary male maidmers… Does that count as a happy experience from my past?”

“Childhood memories tend to be very blurry. I’m sorry we couldn’t exchange, because by the time I got back to the room you were already sound asleep.”

I sit on the bed and stretch hard.

Maybe because I slept all curled up, the muscles around my spine feel taut.

“Exactly! That awkward banquet wore me out so much, so I accidentally fell dead asleep within three seconds. I didn’t even notice that Wolf came back early in the morning.”

Lord von Bielefeld who had only returned early on the second day, yawns hugely next to me.

“Really~ Your pretty boy image is all ruined.”

“Shah yaw twap (Shut your trap)!”

“Although the two of you just woke up, and you’re not completely clear-headed yet, I must ask you to finish your breakfast as quickly as possible. Anyway, we have to finish this before Greta wakes up. Wolfram, are you eating breakfast?”

Conrad waves the servant in without waiting for an answer. The familiar servant enters quietly, pushing a silver breakfast cart,

“You’re eating, right, Wolf? If you don’t eat breakfast you won’t grow taller. Oh, yeah, you’re already eighty-two, you probably won’t grow anymore anyway.”

“I’m fine with just tea, I drank a bit too much last night.”

Despite being a blonde-haired green-eyed pretty boy, he actually drank until he was hung over. After hearing him say that, I notice that his face is a little swollen too, and maybe it’s psychological, but it looks like his skin is also a little oily.

“Oh, yeah, you actually left halfway through the event yesterday, where did you go… Ah, sorry, I accidentally intruded into your privacy there. Truth is I didn’t mean to ask you about your love life.”

Besides, in a moment you’ll be boasting about it until even the dog is tired of it.

“What love life? Of course not, I had just had an old acquaintance come visit. Don’t think that I’m frivolous like you!”

“Yes yes yes, sorry.”

I try an egg dish from the plates on the food trolley.

“But still—I’m slightly a bit relieved now.”

“Relieved?”

“To know that you have friends of your own age too. Ah, even if it’s a different age group, that’s fine too! Because you look so young yet you’re cooped up in the castle all the time, so I was worried that maybe you didn’t have friends. You should be the one to initialize old boys gatherings sometimes, and meet up with your friends from your student days.”

“Thanks for being a busybody!”

He just leaves the hot red tea he took on the tabletop on the bed, taking not even a sip.

The pretty boy who seems to have low blood pressure hides back into the covers.

Looks like he plans to sleep until the afternoon.

“Hey, that’s really unhealthy, how could he have drank until he can’t even get out of bed.”

Seeing his younger brother look so messed-up, Conrad smiles exasperatedly.

“There’s no choice, looks like Lord von Bielefeld is on sick leave today.”

“What did you mean by special agenda? What are our plans exactly?”

Carrying my steaming hot breakfast, I move to the living hall, buttoning up my familiar student uniform with one hand, and getting ready for a hard day’s work.

“Allow me to explain about the drill!”

The tall man completely HIGH so early in the morning, walks past the large open doors fabulously. It’s Lord von Christ, tossing his long pale grey hair.

“G-Günter. Why are you so spirited today?”

“Of course! Good morning, Your Majesty. The weather today is sunny as usual, the southwest breeze makes the temperature exactly the same as it was in previous years, so overall it’s a very suitable day for an assassination drill.”

“Assassination drill?!”

Rows of black-clothed ninjas immediately float into my mind. ‘General, your petty life is mine!’ And shuriken, smoke bombs, suiton no jutsu, nyanmage, Nikko Edomura. Is it Nikko? Or is it Edo? Is it a zoo? Or a village? Tell me properly!

And now, y-you want m-me to do that sort of thing?!

“T-this country requires that their king must personally participate in assassination missions? N-no way, assassination isn’t a good thing. Although it definitely isn’t a good thing, but if the circumstances force for it… Eh—maybe it’s safer to follow Golgo? You guys know that I’m not strong enough to bat fatal home-runs, and I don’t have shoulders hard enough to block a runner’s head either.”

“T-that’s too much, Your Majesty!”

The super beautiful man’s brows slant downwards exaggeratedly, and he even shakes his head with a nervous force, that immaculately combed long hair of his floating left and right with it.

“We would never let Your Majesty the Maou personally take action. This is for His Majesty’s personal safety, a drill to strengthen the people’s reaction in the face of emergency.”

“Ahh, so that’s what it was! So you’re not telling me to practice killing other people, you want me to practice how not be killed by others. Ahh—That’s great, I thought I’d be forced to hold a rifle with a red laser point, and then to draw my eyebrows real thick.”

“This is a duty all generations of Maou have diligently performed every year… Except for Her Majesty the Former Maou Cheri.”

“Why was Lady Cheri the only exception?”

“About that…”

Günter looks into the distance with a sorrowful gaze, as though reliving some bitter memories.

“Because there is no one in this world who can possibly hurt Lady Cheri. Not only that, even if a hundred powerful soldiers were sent after her, they still wouldn’t be able to hurt a hair on her head.”

“So strong, is she really that amazing?”

He unknowingly heaves another long and meaningful sigh.

“More than that. Any man who approaches her with the intent to kill, will always be completely bedazzled by her and suffer the consequences…”

“Wait a sec, Günter, if you say it like that then it means something else altogether. You mean Lady Cheri has had to face plenty of assassination attempts?”

And I thought Shin Makoku’s security was really good, who knew it’s not peaceful at all.

“I understand what you mean. It’s because I’m a novice that’s easy to assassinate, so I have to rely on anti-assassination drills to learn how to deal with danger?”

“You misunderstand, Your Majesty! Günter never thought of you as some novice! Your Majesty is like… Right, if you want me to describe it, you’re like a hundred lilies ‘no’dding in the valley wind, or a saint full of wisdom and ‘vi’sion, or a single blossom blooming in the dry desert crevi‘ce’.”

“—Rather than listening to your convoluted logic, I’d rather you tell me directly that I’m a novice.”

“Anyway, we have to complete this task before Greta wakes up.”

Conrad pours steaming hot tea into a cup as he continues,

“If that child hears the word ‘assassination’, I fear it will hit her hard. At first we had planned to do this before she returned, but we didn’t expect her to arrive early with the rare insects’ help.”

“—That’s right.”

This reminds me of my exciting first encounter with Greta.

Although she had no other choice, the truth remains that that child held a knife and tried to take my life.

And just because the past cannot be changed, she herself is very depressed about it.

A ten-year-old girl has to fight desperately against her past mistakes.

“I don’t want Greta to be tortured any further. All right, I’ll finish eating immediately, let’s start as soon as possible.”

I bite into the fragrant bread fresh out of the oven, looks like there’s no time to savor my food today.

The drill in the city… is like going into a haunted houses, learning how to keep calm even as soldiers jump out from behind the corners of the streets, dressed as monsters, and then… Having successfully passed this stage, we still have to lead our companions away from the streets, and after that it’s time to practice during a procession through the city square.

“…There’s no one on the streets, huh.”

The stone white and cream streets, usually teeming with people, are currently surprisingly silent.

“Well, of course. For this assassination drill, we have long since notified all of the city’s inhabitants that before twelve, this area is an off limit ‘Pedestrian Hell’.”

“Pedestrian Hell… If we conduct a drill in a set piece like this, it won’t have much effect when dealing with the actual situation…”

“Usually this time in the morning is when the market and the shopping street is the most crowded, otherwise known as the business golden period.”

“Waa, goodness! Actually there’s absolutely no need to ask all the citizens to cooperate with a drill about something that may or may not happen.”

“But all the people of Shin Makoku are Your Majesty’s servants, as long as it’s beneficial to Your Majesty, they should close their shops and cooperate fully, waiting in their houses with bated breath and praying that the drill goes smoothly.”

“Günter, listen to me! I don’t want to be hated by the people due to something like this…”

Just when we’re turning around the corner of a shop with a sign saying ‘Cow AND Frog’—

“Archers, get ready--!”

“Waa!”

Lord von Christ’s beautiful face hardens, and he issues orders with his clear melodic voice.

This is coming from somewhere that can be considered the roofs, and suddenly a group of archers we couldn’t even see a second earlier stand up. Terrified, I hold my head and squat down, afraid of getting hit.

But the cream of the crop chosen from within the borders of Shin Makoku, aren’t aiming at us, but the wooden boards that suddenly popped up in the corners of every house.

There are ten of them altogether, and different people are drawn onto each one.

Not only are they colored, each is drawn to the character’s size. There’s the vendor selling bananas, an old man with a crystal ball, a housewife with a bunch of stuff in her arms.

Hmm? A housewife?”

“What is this! You accidentally shot a missus going shopping?! Really, that’s horrible. How could you harm the innocent citizens?”

Lord von Christ puts his arms on his hips, laughing heartily,

“Your Majesty, please examine the things in that woman’s hand carefully.”

“Eh?”

I look closely at the woman painted onto the board. She looks like an extremely normal housewife, even holding a bag full of groceries. There’s even a baguette poking out by about 15 centimeters.

“Is there anything especially weird…”

“Please examine that baguette. It may look like bread, but it is in fact the sheath of a sword! Why would a young housewife doing groceries hide a weapon such as a long sword? Because that woman is an enemy assassin disguised as a housewife, thankfully our excellent national security saw through her ruse.”

“Eh, but that looks a lot like a normal bread. Even if it is a sword, maybe her husband just asked her to collect it from the blacksmith’s, if so, what should we do? That’s the same as a wife helping her husband collect his suit from the dryers!”

“I-I understand, but that is impossible.”

Lord von Christ still pretends to be calm, flipping the two-faced board over and reading the words on the back.

“Evil Association Female Employee Number Three, codenamed ‘Pure Love Young Missus’. Although she looks cute, her heart is cold and cruel. However hard the mission, she can calmly carry out her orders, without a shred of personal emotion. Her weapon is the throwing knife hidden on her thigh. The thing sticking out from the bag may look like a sword, but it is actually bread… Phew~ Thank goodness, she really is the enemy.”

“So that really is a baguette! By the way, are all these human-shaped pop-up boards so detailed?!”

“But of course, Your Majesty. Because these are all the masterpieces all the human-shaped pop-up board specialists spent an entire year creating. Also, this one is codename ‘Working Vendor’, and that’s ‘Ludicrous Fortuneteller’, and the one fallen over there is the coordinator, ‘Cat-Loving Khrushchev’.”

“Khru… so he likes cats? Wait, there isn’t a need to create such detailed human-shaped pop-up boards, is there?”

I suddenly feel sympathy for the boards that had been shot through and fell behind shop corners and barrels. Why do I care so much about something so petty?

Lord von Christ tilts his face skywards, saying proudly,

“Why do you think about the hundred per cent hit rate, Your Majesty? Are you satisfied with our national security’s performance… Mmph!”

Suddenly there’s the sound of splattering mud, and something dirties Günter’s beautiful hair.

Turns out a bird just gliding over dropped a ‘bomb’ onto his head, the sticky white-and-green fluid oozing down his forehead.

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

The previously silent Conrad shrugs and says,

“Looks like we’re not prepared to face aerial attacks.”

“Don’t tease Günter like that, Conrad, that’s mean. If it was just a few centimeters off… See, it might have gotten me, now Günter’s more or less taken the poop hit for me.”

“…That’s right.”

“Ah?”

The two of us can’t really hear what the Education Minister is saying with his head bowed, so we ask in unison. Lord von Christ Günter’s clenched fist is shaking.

When he raises his solemn face, his eyebrows are arched high, his mouth pressed tightly shut in anger, his violet eyes burning with an almost visible blue-white flame.

“That bird… That bird is a terrorist aiming for His Majesty! What are you standing around for? Get that impudent bird for me at once! And after you catch it use a pan and make a fried bird feast!”

“Wait a sec, wait a sec, Günter! That’s too much! Poop can’t kill anyone, bird poop can’t kill me!”

“Your Majesty, how can you be okay with this! It is obviously a hateful assassin sent by the enemy to disrupt and destroy our country. I heard that there are people in the West who can chant and make birds sing songs, as easily as they would control their own limbs.”

“Are you talking about the Birdman Rally?”

“No, I’m not too sure what they’re called… Anyway, someone, get that bird, g-get it now, now!”

Looks to me like he’s blown his top, this way even I can’t handle him. Shrugging ‘he’s hopeless’, Conrad tells the soldiers waiting with bated breath,

“Lord von Christ has lost his mind, call the supervising officer or Gisela over.”

He has a supervising officer? But before the person in charge arrives, something even bigger happens on the streets of the drill. In this Pedestrian Hell where even an ant can’t get it, and in front of the king protected by the elite national security team, there appears a boy considerably younger than me.

“Your Majesty…”

“H-how did you get in…”

And he’s holding a large sword in his hands.

Although it’s sheathed, you can more or less see its length and weight.

That’s not a weapon a normal child can wield.

“There’s a villain--! I’ll vanquish you!”

“Wait a sec! Calm down, Günter—”

Conrad avoids the agitated Education Minister, scrutinizing the other person’s face.

“I wondered who it was, you’re the blacksmith Zikode’s youngest son, right? I remember he comes in and out of the city to repair farming and kitchen equipment. What’s your name? Why are you holding such a large sword?”

The boy who looks to be about twelve, looks around uneasily with his grey eyes as he says,

“I’m called Helio. Um, um, this is… This is the sword my father made for the king. He said he must give it to His Majesty the Maou…”

“Then Helio, why didn’t Zikode bring it into the city himself? Can’t he just come into the city on the day we accept gifts and ask to meet the king? And there was a notice put up since yesterday, that because of today’s drill, this place is a ‘Pedestrian Hell’ that no one can pass.”

The boy’s voice is shaking so much it’s hard not to feel sorry for him, but we still have to hear him explain clearly first.

“I know that, of course I do. But no matter what, I want to bring this most amazing sword to His Majesty while my father still lives, because this is his greatest dream.”

“While he lives… What does that mean?”

He falls to his knees, his tiny body bowing to me non-stop after I interrupted, pleading,

I’m begging you, Your Majesty, this is my father’s dream ever since he took over the family business and started making farming equipment. He said just once is okay, but he must give the best sword to Your Majesty before he dies.”

The boy offers up the unsheathed sword.

The hilt is engraved beautifully with plants, and there’s not a speck of imperfection on the blade.

Rather than to use it in battle, that intricate sword body would be more useful as a decoration to show status.

I slowly raise my hands, reaching for the piece of art in Helio’s hands.

“We gladly accept.”

“Your Majesty… Really?”

“Of course, really. Tell your father, thanks for giving me such an amazing thing.”

The boy finally relaxes, those grey eyes filled with unease now drowned in tears.

Just as the tips of my fingers are going to touch the cold metal—

“No!”

I’m just thinking, ‘Why is this voice so familiar?’, and before I can even turn around, a gust of wind blows past my waist. I want to reach out for the shoulder of the voice’s owner, but the child’s agile body brushes past my arm, crashing unhesitatingly into the boy standing before me.

“Ah!”

Helio flips backwards and falls to the ground, while the sword held loosely in his hand drops onto the stone ground, making a clear noise. Conrad very quickly picks it up.

“Greta?!”

The girl with her olive skin and red-brown wavy curls is standing between the boy and me, slender arms spread as wide as they can go.

The one who tripped over the blacksmith’s son, is Greta, who was so tired last night she should still be sleeping now.

“I’m not going to let you touch a hair on Yuuri’s head! I won’t let you touch him!”

The reddish-brown eyes are shining like a cat’s, trying to scare the opponent she considers her enemy.

Because of the agitation and nervousness, her shoulders are even shaking slightly.

She only has on a coat over her pajamas, and her hair is still over the place after waking up.

“Greta will never forgive anyone who tries to hurt Yuuri!”

“…Eh… Why would I dare do anything that would hurt His Majesty…”

As a result, Helio is the one shocked despite being older, falling onto his butt as all the blood drains out of his face.

The soldiers from the security squad grab his arms to help him up.

I put my hands on my brave daughter’s shoulders, comforting her,

“You misunderstood, Greta. This child only wanted to help the blacksmith give me a sword.”

“But he held the sword at you!”

“He wanted to give it to me.”

“I don’t care!”

Greta shakes her wavy curls, interrupting me. Her voice comes out like a scream.

“I don’t care, Yuuri! He could very well be lying. Or maybe he made that up so he could get closer to you!”

“How is that possible, he is just a kid, you know?”

“No way!”

It’s just a simple denial, but her voice is full of sorrow, and so small it’s barely audible.

But soon the tone becomes full of intense emotion again.

“Precisely because it’s a kid, it can’t be trusted.”

She roars agitatedly, her back colliding into me. So hot.

“You can’t say it’s not a bad guy just because it’s a kid.”

“Why…”

“Because Greta is a bad kid!”

She’s still standing with her arms wide open in front of me, trying to protect me.

“Greta tried to hurt Yuuri! I tried to—to assassinate you. Even though I’m a kid, even though I’m just a kid, but I’ve done some bad things too, I’ve done things that can never be forgiven, I committed a crime! That’s why you can’t trust them just because it’s a kid! Since he’s holding a weapon, then… then he… is not a good kid!”

The voice slowly becomes rougher, and vanishes. I think,

‘Don’t cry, please don’t cry anymore. You don’t have to try to make up for it so desperately, I don’t want you to fight so desperately with the mistakes of your past.’

I squat down, forcing her to face me, and then I hug her tightly. There’s the faint smell of greenery on her.

“There’s no such thing, all children are good children! They don’t know how to plan anything evil. Greta is a good kid, you were always a good kid. You’re so lively, and brave, and gentle. You should know, you’re my most precious daughter, that I love the most in the world.”

“It’s not like that. I-It’s not… it’s not…”

“Truth is, I know everything, only you might not have noticed. After all, that’s not something you would notice on your own.”

I happen to lower my head, and notice that the girl is barefooted. I’m just about to ask,

‘Why aren’t you wearing shoes?’

But the words get caught in my throat.

She was probably tripped on a stone on the way here, there’s still blood on her large toenail.

“You ran from your room all the way here… barefooted?”

She doesn’t mind bleeding, desperately holding out her arms to protect me.

“Thank you.”

“Because…”

Her slender fingers grab my clothes tightly, tears flowing continuously from her tightly-shut eyes.

“I wanted… to be of help to Yuuri.”

I don’t ask her why.

“Greta wants to help Yuuri. Because if I don’t….”

Conrad puts his hand on the sobbing girl’s shoulder, quietly soothing her,

“Calm down, breathe slowly, and then you’ll gradually stop crying.”

Crying until there’s snot all over his face, Günter hands a handkerchief to Greta, carefully convincing her to leave.

But I grab her shoulders tightly, dispelling Günter’s notion.

“It’s okay.”

The girl’s head is resting on my shoulder, her forehead rubbing on my clothes.

“It’s okay to leave her like this.”

“But Your Majesty…”

“I said it’s okay. Right, sorry for postponing the drill, and the person we were supposed to hide it from found out about it anyway. First, let me explain to you, Greta.”

I turn my attention to her immediately, and use the force in my arms to replace volume as I lecture.

“This has nothing to do with whether or not you can be of help, and besides, I never thought of anything like that. Do you think I would hate a child who can’t help me? Do I look like that sort of person?”

The girl suppresses a sob, looking up at me with wet eyes.

“…Am I that much of a jerk?”

“No, you’re not, that’s just what Greta thought, and Anissina said something like that too, but I just wanted to use actions to show what I thought!”

“You don’t have to think about adult things like being useful!”

“No, this has nothing to do with kids or adults! If you don’t use words or actions to show gratitude, you will eventually lose the love!”

Greta says non-stop, looking completely serious.

“I heard that a lot of married couples split up because of that!”

“Married couples?!”

What kind of an education has Anissina been giving her?

And the scene of everyone trying to hide their sobs, freezes immediately in that moment. It’s all the fault of the shocking truth, ‘So at the end it was the Poison Lady’s doing?’

As for Greta, she looks around her with an expression of admiration,

“I just knew it, everyone straightens up at the mention of Anissina’s name. Anissina really is amazing, looks like she’s respected by everyone.”

Everyone is desperately saying ‘that’s wrong, that’s wrong’ in the hearts.

“Um…”

Having been completely forgotten, Helio asks in the position he was just now. Maybe he feels awkward disturbing the touching father-daughter moment before his eyes, because his voice is tiny and incoherent.

“Is Lady Anissina really capable?”

“She’s very capable!”

“…Yes, capable—”

Greta answers immediately and innocently, but Conrad, Günter and I hesitate for a moment before replying. This shows the difference in our definition of the word.

“Then can Lady Anissina heal my father’s disease? Um… Truth is we did ask for a doctor, but all of them just shook their heads sadly and said they didn’t know what my father’s disease was.”

“Disease? Oh, yeah, you said you came here in your father’s place, and no matter what you had to give me the sword while your father lives… While he lives?! Is he that seriously ill?”

I glance at the sword in Conrad’s hands, and then at the boy’s face. Helio is still unsteady on his feet, and there are streaks of white on his face, probably from where he cried until there were no more tears to cry.

“If you want to heal a sickness, it would probably be better to find Gisela instead of Anissina. Anyway, Helio, where do you stay? We’ll bring the best army doctor over.”

The solemn soldiers start whispering again. Someone mumbles, “And how did it become the Sergeant this time?”

“Ah? What, she’s only a sergeant? I thought Gisela had a higher rank than that?”

“No, her actual rank is a little higher than that.”

Even though he’s her adopted father, Günter is looking at his bottom right. For some reason, his gaze is floating all over the place.

Apparently the women just happened to be having tea together, so the Poison Lady and the Sergeant arrive side by side. The young soldier who first found out about this, reports the news with a face full of tension.

“They are actually together! Heavens~ How can this be, and they’re walking together too.”

His voice is almost off-key.

As the fiery-red hair approaches slowly, the atmosphere increases in tandem.

As usual, Lady von Christ Gisela can only be seen one step behind, her expression gentle.

“It’s much safer if they’re here together… Hey, wait a sec! Why is everyone so terrified?”

I just had to think about the torture Lord von Christ Gwendal had to endure every day, and it isn’t hard to understand why they would be so scared of the Red Demon Poison Lady—Anissina.

But, why are they also so scared of the kind and compassionate pretty lady army doctor with the gentle hands, the healing NO. 1 mazoku Gisela?

What a mystery.

Or perhaps they have some combo attack when they’re together?

※ ※ ※ ※ ※

The blacksmith’s son—Helio takes us to his house on the east of the street where you can see the city walls.

It’s a townhouse with the first floor made into a factory, and the second floor living quarters.

Perhaps considering that the work done there might cause some noise, so his house is at a certain distance away from the surrounding houses.

Plus we had ridden a few horses here without any prior notice, so we would surely cause the neighbors some trouble, and I had started thinking of ways to greet them.

However, there aren’t any faces poking out from behind windows curiously, or any people gathering from elsewhere to join in on the fun.

We’re the only people here as far as the eyes can see, this entire place is just like a ghost town.

“If the people knew Your Majesty was here, it would surely cause a small panic. Although none of your subjects are here to welcome you, please condone that.”

After we dismount, all of us including Greta are wrapped up in dusty capes.

“What? Forget a panic, there isn’t a single citizen here! And we don’t have to worry about a panic or anything, we won’t be discovered if we just walk into the house!”

“The quietness is indeed strange.”

Conrad is suspicious too, but Günter starts bragging.

“That proves the efficiency of the Pedestrian Hell measures, the loyalty of the citizens in the capital is really commendable. But that’s also because Your Majesty is a good king, that’s why all the people… Ah~ Wait! Wait for me, Your Majesty!”

Günter’s expression changes drastically mid-speech.

“You’re not planning to go to the scene of the disease, are you? That’s the house of a patient, and he has a strange disease that even doctors can’t heal! Your Majesty actually plans to enter such a place… Just imagining it, I… There must be blood all over the floor… and a charred odor!”

“What are you imagining weird things for?”

Right then Miss Anissina walks past us suavely, holding a cage with a small bird in her hands.

“Good morning, Your Majesty, how are you? I heard that the assassination drill rather failed due to a small, unexpected incident.”

She probably didn’t say ‘failed spectacularly’ out of her own little kindness. That high dark red ponytail is as proud as ever.

“Always saying how elite and excellent they are, but in the end it’s just a security team made of useless men. Theoretically not even a mudskipper should have been able to get into the Pedestrian Hell, but as a result such a large child forces his way in front of His Majest without any obstruction whatsoever, a team like that can’t be trusted at all. Who knew that Lord von Voltaire is only away temporarily, and the army immediately falls to shambles. Lord von Christ?”

The sky blue gaze stops above Günter.

“There’s poop on your hair.”

“Mmph!”

She really doesn’t hold back with her words, a few of the soldiers pretend to cough and clear their throats.

“Ah, Miss Anissina! That cage is?”

There’s a bright yellow bird tilting its beak in the elaborate silver cage . It’s a canary with a very Brazilian color palette.

“This? This is the ‘Magical Invention Odor Detector—Can Airy. It can determine whether there is poison in the air before we enter a building or cave.”

“Waa~ So if inside is filled with poison, then this canary would have sacrificed itself for us? Although it can’t be helped, poor thing.”

“Poor thing? It won’t die, and never was alive in the first place, because it’s just a magical invention.”

“Eh, but isn’t that canary…”

“I said it’s a magical invention!”

From its short chirps and tilted head, it looks just like a real bird no matter how you cut it.

But not long after I protest, Miss Anissina just opens the door to the factory wide, and holds the cage high towards that direction.

And then the bird chirps hysterically.

“Can can can, can airy--!”

“That’s no surprise. Even I can smell the pungent odor here.”

Helio scratches his head abashedly,

“Sorry, because I was too busy, I forgot to throw away the leftovers.”

This really is a blacksmith’s house that no one had the time to clean.

“What a bother. Even though we’ve already deduced one of the reasons behind the odor, since the Magical Invention Odor Detector has reacted, we can’t go in without any preparations. Now we can only ask Lady von Christ’s father to provide the maryoku, quickly put on the Magical Invention Protection Vest…”

Right then, Gisela suddenly appears in our field of vision.

She crosses her arms in front of her chest, summoning the soldiers to her with one pointer finger.

Her eyes are narrowed in displeasure, and the corners of her mouth are pulled downwards.

T-this is the first time I’ve seen Gisela like this.

All of the soldiers act like rabbits in front of a tiger, shivering as they gather nervously.

“L-Lady Gisela!”

“You…”

She abruptly takes a deep breath.

“Get your asses ready!”

“Eek—”

And then, she goes down the row of soldiers, giving them each a slap… No, giving them each moral support.

“Those people over there don’t have any real combat experience, they’re just the round table team who sit in the safety of their commanding seats and comfortably give orders, you know?! If you let them get ahead of you, then as soldiers aren’t you a disgrace?! Are you going to abandon even that bit of spine you got as big as your tip of your pinky?!”

“We’re very sorry, Sergeant!”

“If you have even a bit of a soldier’s spirit left, get in there now and rescue the patient! You bunch of tortoises!”

“Yes! Understood, Sergeant! We’ll go in now!”

In that moment my entire upper body went cold.

It’s a demon, she really is a Demon Sergeant! And she seems to have an intense enmity towards Anissina.

The image of these two sipping tea at a table together, is really hard to imagine.

After hearing the Sergeant’s king-like orders, the soldiers ignore my look of surprise and immediately rush into the blacksmith’s house, as panicked as hamsters.

They don’t have any poison detectors, or any protection clothes, but within ten seconds they have the leader of the family carted out on his bed.

“Successfully rescued, Sergeant!”

“He’s still breathing, Sergeant!”

“The rotting stench of leftovers is really very strong, Sergeant…”

“Mn! ‘I finally see the Shin Makoku soldier spirit’… Did you think I would say that?!”

Although even we thought that they deserved at least some praise, Sergeant Gisela believes in radicalism.

“You bastards, how could you bring a serious patient with what seems like an open contagious disease next to His Majesty?! Even level one soldiers wouldn’t do something so stupid! All of you, shave your heads bald and go back to the academy!”

“W-we’re really sorry…”

The cream of the crop, scary-looking Shin Makoku national security team that Gunter was talking about now have tears in their eyes.

On the other hand, perhaps Gisela let off all her steam, because her attitude suddenly changes 180 degrees.

No, instead of saying it changed, it’d be better to say she changed back into a normal person.

“Your Majesty, I’m so sorry, we let you see such an ugly sight.”

“N-nah. It’s okay!”

And then I suddenly notice Greta’s moist eyes.

“Greta, were you scared?”

“…Gisela… is so cool…”

Oh, crap!

“Papa, Papa!”

Gisela puts all her energy into pulling the boy hugging his father tightly and the bed away, distancing me from the patient.

Disregarding the risk to her own health, she stays determinedly at the post of a healer, squatting down by the patient’s side.

Right now, all I can see is her bloodless arm, and the man’s thin arm held in her fingers.

Just then, green leaf-shaped spots start appearing all over his skin, the shade of dirt.

“T-this is?”

“What’s the matter—Gisela—”

“This is the mysterious illness that spreads every 645 years—the mugwort fever!”

“W-what did you say--!”

Why does the time period sound so similar to the Taika Reforms? But seeing as Günter and Gisela both look shocked, I can tell that this is a very serious disease.

“No wonder even the doctors are helpless. Because there’s no one who ever really healed the mugwort fever anywhere in the country.”

“Then, has the treatment for this fever been discovered? Since it’s an epidemic from 645 years ago, then the reason behind it should have been discovered long ago, and a complete treatment was found, right?”

“About that…”

Be it her voice or her tone, Gisela has reverted to being a medical officer, and her expression is regretful as she mumbles.

“As it is only a temporary epidemic, and it only spreads for a very short period of time, disappearing before the pathogen can leave any sort of trace, so forget a proper treatment method, we still don’t even know what the cause of the disease is.”

“Eh, so we don’t even know the source?!”

“Yes, and if it really is mugwort fever, then surely all the other adults around here have been infected…”

“It’s bad, Your Excellency!”

A few soldiers, who I think are Lord Weller’s men, aren’t affected by the Sergeant, and are now running over from a house nearby. They had been sent to investigate the area at some point in time.

“What’s the matter?”

“No wonder none of the citizens here reacted to the commotion we caused, it’s because all the people here are sick and bedridden. And forget the normal people here, even the doctor on duty has collapsed onto the couch in the living room. According to our observations, there are five of them in critical condition, and eight just showing the initial symptoms, the situation right now is really hard to determine.”

“And the children?”

“About that, the miraculous thing is that the children don’t seem to be affected at all, they’re just standing at the side helplessly, worried and scared. Anyway, we already brought them out just now.”

Conrad nods, and uses a smoke signal to contact the rest of the medical team.

“Looks like we can’t make rash moves now, it’d be bad if we got infected too.”

So calm, I just hope he won’t suddenly transform his attitude like Gisela did.

“Only the children weren’t infected, that does sound like the symptoms of mugwort fever.”

“I see, mugwort fever…”

Listening to Gisela’s painful report, Anissina looks like she wants to touch her nose.

“What’s with the disdainful look!”

“Because that isn’t poison~”

Maybe diseases can’t pique her curiosity. Like an old uncle, Anissina touches the tip of her nose with her thumb, mumbling,

“But a period of 645 years… 645… 645… The number just seems so familiar~”

I really want to tell her ‘it’s the Taika Reforms, the Taika Reforms’, but I resist. Because if I break her concentration now, I might actually be caught and used in her experiments.

“This feeling of not remembering is agonizing. No, this just makes me want to remember even more… Ah!”

Her face suddenly glowing, Lady von Karbelnikoff claps her hands together lightly, and then says the ominous name I heard just yesterday afternoon.

“It’s the buzzing cicadas!”

Hearing her conclusion, I instinctively defend myself.

“Eh~ I-it wasn’t me, I wasn’t the one who brought those cicadas—”

“Those cicadas? What does that mean? Nah, it’s just that the documents really did state that the exact time the buzzing cicadas cross the ocean to Shin Makoku is once every 645 years. If you count backwards from today, it has been 645 years since the last time, and 645 years between that and the last last time.”

Gisela, who was staring at the patient, raises her head, right now she’s in healer mode.

“The last widespread epidemic of mugwort fever was also 645 years ago, and 645 years before that, there was a disease very much like ragweed fever that caused panic among the people. Back then no cure could be found at all either, and in a very short time it vanished. It’s too bad none of the record were kept from then.”

As for me, I voice a very common opinion as a citizen of the medically advanced Japan. If the times the cicadas fly over and the disease spreads are so much in sync, then…

“We can only guess that the cicadas brought the germs from across the sea…”

“Then won’t the cicadas be useful in the treatment?!”

What--?! That conclusion is a bit too far-fetched, isn’t it? Mazoku thought processes are really hard to understand.

“That must be right, Lady von Karbelnikoff! Heavens~ How come I never noticed it? Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I’m so stupid! Gisela, what the hell do you have in your skull?! Mud? Sawdust? Or rotting cow dung?”

She uses the Demon Sergeant’s tone even when scolding herself.

“If the rumors are true, then the buzzing cicadas should migrate across the sea soon, so we just have to wait for their arrival, and then look for a treatment method together with them.”

The giant cicadas have become an important key in increasing medical technology, huh… Why do I have such an empty helpless feeling?

As for Greta, looking at the two grown women’s expression of excitement, she raises the head that was lying on my lap, and my hands are still on her shoulders too.

“Señor and the others are already here, y’know!”

“What did you say?”

“I said—the cicadas came with Greta to the castle yesterday.”

Anissina immediately shuts her mouth.

Her brows fly skywards suddenly, her sky blue eyes filled with practicality going round as saucers.

“No way? That extremely rare insect the buzzing cicadas are here?! You said the buzzing cicadas have flown here?! Greta, why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“Because most women hate bugs, I thought Anissina would too!”

With one powerful toss of that hair tied high, three unfortunate soldiers on the scene get broken noses.

“The only thing that gives me a headache in the world is roosters! Heavens—What to do? I can’t believe I’m actually lucky enough to see one of the world’s seven rare insects, the buzzing cicadas! No wonder the saying goes, ‘the older you live, the more you see’!”

“T-those cicadas are that popular?”

As expected, the knowledgeable Poison Lady has an unbeatable upper hand.

“It’s exactly as you said, Your Majesty, they are after all giant cicadas that come only once every 645 years! Not only are they known as Shinou’s royal servants, to some scholars, they are the kings of the insect world!”

“Eh—”

“Also, pulp fiction like ‘Terrifying Buzzing Stories’ and ‘The Transformation’ with shocking contents such as ‘can the hero who one morning wakes up as a giant cicada return to normal’, these all use the buzzing cicadas as their creative inspiration!”

“Eh, eeeh—”

“Speaking of which, there’s going to a wall built on the borders of our country and neighboring countries.”

“Eh, eeeeh—eeeeeh—”

“Your Majesty, you’re becoming an answering machine!”

After Conrad taps my shoulder, I finally regain my rational mind. No, I can’t, I was being led right by the nose by Miss Anissina.

“Is that so? We just have to borrow the buzzing cicadas power, and we can save this child’s father and everyone around here?”

“Although we can’t make that conclusion yet, but if we hypothesize according to the documents, the possibility of treating them is fairly high.”

The girl’s warm body moves away from my knees, red brown eyes sparkling in excitement.

“Then, let me call them. Can I? Greta’s going to call them, okay?”

And then Greta raises her little fist, yelling into the sky,

“¡¿Cómo está, Señor?! ¡¿Cómo está, Señorita?!”

Greta, where exactly were you born?

Soon, the ominous sound of wings and the chirping that makes you want to stuff your ears comes from the distance.

“Chiuui—n!”

“Chiuuuuuuuuuuuii-n!”

It’s the dentist, it’s the sound of the dentist’s teeth grinder.

“Chiu—Chiuchiuchiu, chiuuii—n!”

The hot summer babe is here! No, wait, it’s a group of hot summer babes! And that volume isn’t from just one or two cicadas’ sound waves, it’s obviously the sound of a swarm. In no time at all, the sky has been dyed a disgusting brown, they’re here in their swarms.

“Señor, Señorita!”

Hearing Greta’s calls, the two in front of the team immediately land, looks like those two are the leaders of this team, huh. Conrad says this unintentionally, I’m afraid it’s probably his honest thoughts.

“For some reason, she is particularly good with leaders of rare creatures.”

“It’d be even better if they could understand human language.”

Even if they’re good insects, but when faced with my own adorable daughter hugging universe SIZE giant insects, I can still barely watch. And honestly, it’s really bad on the eyes.

“Señor, Señorita, I have something to ask of you. Please, can you help Anissina and Gisela heal these people’s illness?”

“Chiuu--n!”

The two cicadas reply with something, whether affirmative or refusal no one knows, and then they emit sound waves to their companions in the sky. Since I don’t have a good impression of dentists, I can only squat down, crying, while the synchronized cicada team descend in order, performing some special show like ‘The Wonders of Nature’.

When Señor looks at Gisela with his sparkling composite eyes, he notices the seriously ill patient, and makes a rather cute sound.

“Chuui?”

“Ah, Señor!”

Before Greta can stop it, the huge insect has moved across the ground with a speed far surpassing cicadas, reaching the blacksmith who had been carried together with his bed. And just as everyone expected, it sticks the tube hidden in its mouth into the man’s neck.

“Señor, stop! He’s already on the verge of death, how can you still suck his blood!”

But it doesn’t listen to my orders at all.

The Demon Sergeant Gisela immediately makes a demonic ‘tsk’ sound, her hand reaching for the short sword on her waist.

“Spare the cicada, Gisela!”

The one who stops her, is actually her adopted father Günter. And he’s using a tone that suits his beauty too, how rare.

“Please observe the patient carefully, color has returned to his face without us noticing. Although his blood is being sucked, but there’s more color on his cheeks and forehead.”

“It’s true, what on earth is…”

The previously motionless hand starts shaking slightly, his chest, having returned to its normal temperature, is now rising and falling rhythmically. Even if his breathing has become regular, these are obvious signs of recovery.

“Papa!”

Helio, who was pulled to a side, now breaks away from the soldiers and rushes over, gripping his blacksmith father’s hand tightly, even bursting into tears.

I’m a bit lost.

“Wait a sec, wasn’t his blood sucked? Shouldn’t he be even more lifeless?”

“The only one who can solve this mystery, seems to be me, as someone with personal experience.”

“Oh yeah, you too…”

The first victim of the blood-sucking, the spirited Lord von Christ crosses his arm in front of his chest and stands up. Although he didn’t save the day this time, he still looks rather pleased with himself.

“It looks like the legendary rare insects, the buzzing cicadas, much prefer unhealthy blood that has been polluted, and to make the needle they stick inside easier to pull out, they will also insert an anti-coagulant. That liquid is in fact a very effective medicine, for example in the entire last night, the aches in my shoulders and waist never acted up, my face didn’t swell either, and even that Athlete’s foot that itched like crazy is completely healed.”

“…So you had problems like that!”

“And even my beauty meter has increased by 20%, allowing me to head straight down the road towards His Majesty’s affections.”

The fact that his completely baseless confidence can get this exaggerated, is actually a pretty terrifying thing.

“So, Your Excellency—”

As I thought, like adopted father, like adopted daughter.

“If the rare insects can suck unhealthy blood, does that mean they’re the only treatment method for mugwort fever?”

Hey hey hey.

“Not only that!”

Miss Anissina, who was examining the behavior of the rare insects carefully, raises her head forcefully as she takes notes. Her voice is so powerful it causes the soldiers behind to fall, one by one—they were surely knocked down by her head with a lot of strength.

“The migration of the buzzing cicadas across the sea isn’t completely meaningless, we can assume that the reason they fly over here in swarms, is to search for blood contaminated with mugwort fever.”

Hey hey hey, that theory is way farfetched, isn’t it.

“That makes sense… and this way we can explain why they always show up on land during the same time period… if blood infected with mugwort fever is this rare insect’s favorite…”

“Wait a sec, wait a sec, aren’t you guys being too optimistic here?!” I look around me to find someone more unbiased about this. Hopefully someone will understand that this may just be a coincidence.

“If the hypothesis is true…”

“Conrad, why do you think so too?”

Lord Weller touches the bottom of his ear with a finger, thinking before he says,

“This would place the credit on Greta, who had led the rare insects, who were probably lost at sea, to Shin Makoku. If Señor was just a little later in arriving, the diseases would likely spread instantly.”

The cause of all this who had unwittingly contributed hugely to the country forcefully throws her cape to a side, and then brushes past my arm to run towards the patient and the healer (cicada).

“You can’t suck too much, Señor, or it might affect his health!”

Señor, whose shoulder-like part is being held by the insect tamer, obediently lifts its chin. And then its extremely sphere-like composite eyes become moist, as though it hasn’t had its fill.

“Chuiinnn!”

Meaning ‘I’m full’.

Helio’s father miraculously regains his consciousness, touching his sobbing son’s head.

“That’s wonderful, you over there, listen up!”

The healer immediately makes the right decision.

“Patrol this area now, and bring all the infected patients here! Let them undergo Master Señor’s treatment!”

“Understood, Sergeant!”

“Too soft! Or has it been too long since you were trained?!”

“Under~stood! Sergeant!”

The soldiers move even more cleanly than they did during the assassination drill earlier, carrying out the Sergeant’s orders, even singing songs like, ‘The Sergeant’s Mood is Great Today’.

“I-is this all right? Using such a strange treatment method without any proof.”

“This counts as emergency measures, Your Majesty.”

I look to my side, where Miss Anissina’s sky blue eyes are sparkling with ill-hidden curiosity, and she’s smiling a very arroga… No, I mean, a very beautiful smile.

“I will immediately start research on the blood-sucking habits of rare insects and the effect of the liquid upon entering the human body. After there’s only a thin line between medicine and poison, and there’s no better research topic than this. Thank goodness…”

“Eek!”

The gaze like an invader eyeing its prey, has scared Günter into straightening his expression.

“There’s a suitable experimental table… and test subjects, then please leave the rest to me. Your Majesty need not worry about such trivial matters, but firstly you should praise Greta for her contribution. An outstanding Poison Lady should be praised, and idolized, to create even more outstanding Poison Ladies.”

“Poison Lady?!”

“Ah~ No, I meant child, of course I meant little girls.”

Maybe because she heard someone mention her name, the girl with the red-brown hair looks over our way, even mouthing ‘what’s the matter?’ with her lips.

“Are you calling me?”

“We were just saying what a good kid you are.”

I put both hands by my mouth to replace a loudspeaker, and then yell slightly upwards, hoping that everyone in the entire city, in the entire country, can hear me.

“We’re saying Greta is a good kid!”

“Really? Was Greta of help to Yuuri?”

Not only did you help me, you probably saved everyone in Shin Makoku, you know.

The young cicada tamer stands between the two women she respects, working spiritedly.

I heard that childhood experience will decide a person’s future, so chances are high that this child will grow up into a nurse or a mad magician… Greta, to be honest Papa would rather you become an angel in white.

I stand in the distance and admire my daughter’s heroic stance, upon seeing the patients heal one by one after the cicadas suck their blood, maybe out of relief, drowsiness suddenly sweeps over me.

The banquet last night and the unfamiliar assassination drill early in the morning, has caused a lack of sleep in me.

“Your Majesty.”

“A-ya~ Fint ah thell you nough to call me Your Majesty (Didn’t I tell you not to call me Your Majesty), Godfather.”

I’m already yawning non-stop.

“Sorry, I just can’t get rid of that habit. On the other hand, Your Majesty, if you’re tired, you can just hand everything here to Gisela, how about you return to your chambers first for a rest?”

“As the person in charge, how can I…”

“Even leaders should have the heart to trust their subordinates.”

And so, half-refusing half-accepting, I return to the castle, and enter the room that was cleaned up long ago. Wolfram, who had originally planned to sleep until noon, has probably recharged enough, and left without even informing where he was going.

Conrad picks up the silver pillow from the made bed, and then stuffs the pink pillow into my chest with a ‘Please Enjoy’ gesture.

“I promised you.”

“Yahoo--! Being lucky enough to have naughty dreams in broad daylight, makes me feel like I’m doing something bad though.”

“What does it matter? Just take it as a small reward after a hard day’s work.”

“Is that so, that sounds all right.”

Thank goodness Wolfram, who tends to hug me, isn’t here now, so even if I say anything weird in my sleep, I don’t have to worry about being interrogated by, ‘Who was that? Was it a man?!”

“Right, let’s sleep, let’s sleep…”

Just as I take off my shirt, pull up the covers, and get ready to shrink into the mattress—

“Yuuri!”

The girl rushes in without knocking, crosses the living area and bedroom in amazing speed, and in no time at all she jumps onto my stomach.

“G-Greta?”

She’s all smiles, too.

“Anissina and Gisela have learned how to control Señor and the others, so they said I can go play elsewhere, and then, and then!”

Greta even bounces on the bed a few times as she says,

“Greta said she wants to play with Yuuri, and then Günter said, ‘His Majesty is getting ready to rest, if you want to sleep too you can sleep together.’ So he said that because I worked really hard to lead Señor and the others, my reward is that I can sleep together with you, Yuuri!”

Greta hugs my nodding neck tightly.

“I’m so happy--! It’s been so long since I slept with Papa!”

“That’s right, you were studying overseas all the time before, so only for today, I’ll give you special treatment!”

Lord Weller, who was on his way out of the room, walks over with a smile as though he saw a puppy, and picks up the pink pillow.

“Confiscated!”

I raise my hands up high next to my face, I don’t dare object now.

“Oh, yeah, Yuuri, tell me some stories before I sleep. I really want to hear the sequel to ‘Yokohama Jennifer’s Harbor Ultimate Punch’~”

She lies on the bed, supported by her arms, her slender legs swinging here and there like a dolphin.

“You like to hear fighting stories like that! Really, you really are a kid!”

“Eh~ I’m not a kid! My favorite is Poison Lady, and then only Jennifer!”

Just when I mumble to myself, ‘Life with a daughter really is great’, a groggy Greta just happens to turn her head around to face me. But her eyelids have already fluttered to a close, covering her red-brown eyes.

“…No, life with a father is great!”

I reach my hand out to the head that’s leaning on my shoulder, and see that there’s a little swirl right in the middle of her curly hair.

It’s okay for you to keep being a kid.

Please always be a kid.

Until that day when I become a father worth being proud of.

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