Chapter 123
There's trouble at the castle again. The queen is going to enter into a slave contract with me, and I have no idea what's going on.
I have absolutely no idea how things ended up like this.
Apparently, the members of the royal family at the castle are also at their wits' end over the queen's bizarre behavior.
After we all ate, Lilith said she would stay with me, so I prepared a bed and fresh sheets in the house.
Everything was ready, and just as I was about to go to sleep—Lilith came to the tent. Head Maid Mairen-san was following behind her.
If a member of the royal family were to sleep with a man, it would be all over. No one would ever marry her.
"Wouldn't it be fine? I am already yours—no, Kenichi's. What is there to worry about?"
"I only demanded you as a reward, and I still haven't received His Majesty the King's permission..."
"Permission? I obtained it already. Father gave me permission to do as I please."
"Now that things have turned out like this, surely His Majesty isn't going to fly into a rage and send assassins after me, is he?"
"There are four grand archmages, including you. And judging by what happened, Mother will certainly take your side. If things go badly, the castle could disappear. The Kingdom itself might be destroyed."
"No way... But it could happen."
While discussing the crisis facing the Kingdom, Lilith hugged me.
"What do you think, Mairen-san?"
I decided to ask Lilith's head maid, Mairen, just to be sure.
"I will merely follow Her Highness's orders."
"Exactly! Why don't you stay with us too, Mairen? Kenichi likes women like you, doesn't he?"
"I certainly do, but... No, no, that would be a bad idea. Right, Mairen-san?"
"If it is Her Highness's command..."
"If you really go after him, he'll wag his tail with delight."
Wait, wait, is that really all right for the first night? Royalty really is a little strange.
I was worried about His Majesty the King—had his heart broken so badly that he was acting recklessly?
What must it feel like to lose both the woman you love most and your daughter at the same time? And have them both taken by me, no less.
"Lilith, I sleep in this bag... Are you really going to sleep here too?"
"Whether it is on the ground or in the mud, the place does not matter as long as I sleep with Kenichi! Once I abandon the castle, I will have nothing to do with a life of luxury, will I?"
Well, she was right—but if I really made her live that way, wouldn't Lilith and the queen flee straight back to the castle?
Dreams and ideals were different from reality. Then again, the life made possible by my cheat abilities was also far removed from that of the common people in this world.
While we were having that conversation, there was another girl here too. Anemone hugged me as I held Lilith.
"I always sleep with Kenichi!"
The sleeping bag was meant for two people, but could three of us fit inside? They were both still small, so I thought we probably could...
"But if we get inside together, it will be over..."
"I am already prepared! But... I would like you to be gentle..."
"I won't. I won't do anything."
"Why not? You may do it as much as you like. You said you intended to get me pregnant, did you not?"
"No, I didn't."
"Mmph!"
In the end, the three of us got into the sleeping bag. Mairen was outside the tent, sleeping in a bag I had brought out for her.
"Well then, boss, we're going to sleep in the house." "Do your best, nya!"
What exactly were they telling me to do my best at? Nothing had been decided yet, so I wasn't doing anything.
The beastfolk were going to sleep in the house—but if so, I should have slept there from the beginning.
"Sniff, sniff! Sniff, sniff! Is this what a man's scent smells like?"
Lilith was pressing her nose against my chest.
"Isn't that indecent for a princess?"
"I am no longer a princess!"
She was still a princess, wasn't she?
"So I am becoming a woman now? O forebears who dwell in heaven, this night Lilith Lala Kadan shall become a woman."
"What could she possibly see in an old man like me...?"
"Can you think of anyone besides Kenichi who could save a country and defeat wyverns? Age is a trivial matter!"
"Then me too!"
As she said this, Anemone crawled inside my shirt.
"Then I shall too!"
"Hey! I told you to stop that because you'll stretch my shirt!"
The two of them were playing around inside the sleeping bag. They were both still such children.
"Nyaa."
Bell climbed onto us while we were making a racket and began licking my face.
Her tongue was rough, like a file.
"Mom, it hurts when you lick me."
"You're heavy!"
"You are heavy! What in the world is sitting on us?"
And so the night wore on.
I didn't do anything—just to be clear.
I didn't do anything, but I thought about things as I lay there.
The queen's methods had been problematic in many ways, and I could not forgive her for putting my family in danger.
Emotionally, I could not accept it, but it was also true that she had supported the royal family. Besides, given her personality, she must have been isolated and without allies.
The king was at fault too. If he had loved the queen since he was young, surely there must have been some way to save her.
When I considered how those factors had piled up and led to her bizarre behavior, I felt sorry for her.
She was somewhat warped, but she could not be a bad person...
Thinking about it, I felt that under the right conditions, I might be willing to take in the queen.
"Kenichi..."
In the darkness, I heard the princess's voice.
"Lilith, are you still awake?"
"Please save Mother for me."
"I'm thinking about it now, but I don't think I'll treat her badly."
"As expected of my husband!"
Lilith buried her face in my chest.
"But Lilith—did you know the queen was so fixated on the Holy Knight?"
"I did not. I had never heard anything about it."
"Then I wonder if she kept it hidden in her heart all this time."
"It is possible..."
"And when she finally thought her long-awaited Holy Knight had come, I was only getting along with you, Lilith. So she harassed us and lost her temper...?"
"Even though I did not know, I am sorry for what I did."
"You don't need to apologize, Lilith..."
Well, it would depend on how the king and the rest of the royal family responded.
------◇◇◇------
――It was the second day after the brawl in the audience chamber. I heard that the king's condition had improved, so I was going to meet him.
This time, we would not be using the audience chamber, but a private room used for meetings of the royal family.
Only Lilith and I were going. I thought there was no longer any danger, but I went to Akira and the others and asked them to guard my family.
Lilith and I headed deep into the castle, into a place ordinary people would never be allowed to enter.
We climbed a staircase behind a hidden door toward the second floor. After walking several dozen meters down a dark corridor covered with a red carpet, Lilith stopped before a door.
It was a black wooden door with magnificent decorations. Was the carving on it a bird?
Come to think of it, I had seen the same bird on the letter from the king summoning me.
"Is this it?"
"Yes."
When we entered, bright sunlight slanted in and illuminated the round table in the center.
Dark-colored panels covered the walls, giving the room a calm atmosphere, while a golden chandelier hung from the ceiling.
It was not gaudily luxurious. Everything had been chosen to suit the room.
Several people who appeared to be members of the royal family sat around the round table. His Majesty the King sat at the far end.
His face looked swollen, but he seemed more or less all right.
Lilith had called the Round Table Conference a gathering of old fossils, but there appeared to be young people and women among them too.
They all wore white-based dresses or robes resembling vestments, decorated with gold thread. They were elegant, not gaudy or ostentatious like nouveau riche finery.
"It is a pleasure to meet you all. I am Kenichi, a mage—no, I am now the Holy Knight Kenichi. I hope we shall become acquainted."
"How dare you say that? The castle is in chaos because of you!"
A young woman seated at the table raised her voice. Her beautiful golden, wavy hair and sharp blue eyes made her look a little like the queen.
Of course, they were relatives, so it was not strange that they looked alike.
"That is a strange thing to say. I merely saved the country in its hour of need and rescued Her Highness the Princess from wyverns. Well, I also helped the Empire's grand archmage defect, while I was at it."
"Grrr..."
"Kenichi is right! I have explained this to you repeatedly! Who else could have accomplished such a great feat?"
Lilith confronted the members of the Round Table Conference.
"Th-that may be true, but..."
"If you dislike me so much, you need not buy pearls from me, either."
"What did you say?! Who was trying to get them ahead of everyone else?!"
A bald old man with white hair raised his hand.
"I did. My wife begged me to..."
"Even I am restraining myself, you old fool!"
The members of the royal family began arguing loudly among themselves, but I did not care.
"So, what conclusion have you reached? I would like to receive my reward and return home..."
"Well..."
The members of the royal family all looked at the king.
"Would you be willing to take Amaranthus off our hands?"
"So you intend to dump your troublesome problem child on me because you cannot handle her."
"Th-that is correct, but she will not accept anything else!"
"As Alstroemeria said, it is unprecedented for a member of the royal family to enter into a slave contract. If this became public..."
The young royal with the wavy hair was apparently named Alstroemeria.
The members of the royal family each offered their excuses, but none of that had anything to do with me.
"It has nothing to do with me, does it? The only person I demanded was Her Highness the Princess."
At those words, the king at the far end of the table lowered his head.
"As you can see. We can no longer control Amaranthus, and we have given up on her. I will give you my daughter as well, so please take Amaranthus too."
"Kenichi..."
Lilith looked at me anxiously.
Although they were not related by blood, she must have been reluctant to see the woman she called Mother cast out because no one knew what to do with her.
At least to Lilith, the queen had been a good mother.
Besides, her authoritarian and self-righteous actions had been for the sake of the country. She had not seemed to act out of personal greed.
That was probably why she had so few allies and had been struggling alone.
Perhaps her difficulties had reached their limit and led to that sort of bizarre behavior.
Someone had apparently even tried to assassinate her. If I took her in and her severe gaze disappeared from the castle, those people would be overjoyed as well.
There probably would not be many nobles who opposed the idea.
They also attached a condition to giving me the princess in marriage: she would have to be removed from the royal family register.
Apparently, if she remained a member of the royal family, I would gain a claim to the throne.
They wanted to avoid that. As far as I was concerned, I had absolutely no use for a claim to the throne, so I did not care.
"And what do I get in return?"
"Exactly! What is it you desire? Money? Land?"
"Well, I would like enough money to make taking in a member of the royal family worthwhile. And then... the land around the lake near Astrantia where I lived, along with all rights to the highlands above it."
"A map—"
At the king's command, a map of the country was brought out. Even if maps were state secrets, there had to be one somewhere.
Though it was a map classified as a state secret, it was not as precise as a map from Japan. It was extremely rough.
"The lake near Astrantia would be this one, would it not? Lake Astilbe."
"And the highlands nearby would be these—the Ageratum Highlands."
The members of the royal family leaned over the map spread across the table.
Even though it was a map kept in the castle, the lake and the highlands were drawn incredibly carelessly. Since no one had ever been there, they must have been based on imagination.
Besides, it was impossible to tell how many years ago the map had been made.
"Is this place really sufficient?"
It was only natural for the members of the royal family to be puzzled. There was nothing there.
"Almost no one lives there, and there should be no problem with me doing as I please."
"The shore of Lake Astilbe belongs to the Eupatorium Viscounty, but there is no problem with ceding it."
"Besides, the highlands and the far side of the lake are unexplored, are they not? I will survey them as well."
"Hmm..."
No one had ever been there, and no one lived there, but the area was quite large.
Even if I received it and became a baron or something, the expense of governing a territory that large would be high.
"You could simply recognize it as a special exception—for example, by making me a margrave."
"What? A margrave?!"
The royal family's shock was understandable. The title of margrave might sound like a provincial official, but the reality was quite different.
In this Kingdom, a margrave possessed authority equal to that of a marquis.
Most of the territory would be unexplored land, and there would be a high chance of encountering elves and other races that were not allied with the Kingdom.
A margrave governing such territory could not ask the royal capital for permission every time something happened.
The position was granted powerful authority so its holder could respond flexibly—but at present, I had no people, army, or subjects, so there was nothing I could actually do...
"But there is no precedent for a commoner suddenly becoming a margrave!"
"That is precisely why it is suitable compensation for breaking through the lack of precedent all at once. Please understand that taking in that woman carries that level of danger."
"Grrr..."
The members of the royal family sat frozen with their arms crossed.
Apparently, the young royal woman with wavy hair was in charge of the Round Table Conference.
"Besides, you intend to dump the queen on me—and in the meantime, fill the castle with a large number of concubines and produce children, don't you?"
"Ugh! Th-that is correct... Otherwise, the royal bloodline will die out."
"Isn't the royal bloodline itself reaching its limit? If this country's origins lie in the first king receiving a blessing and rising from slavery to the pinnacle of the nation, then it seems to me that a commoner like me becoming a margrave is nothing remarkable."
"W-wait a moment! Who told you that story...?"
"That doesn't matter, does it? So, what will you do? If the queen truly starts rampaging, she will be difficult to stop."
When I looked at Lilith, she seemed a little uncomfortable.
"Ugh..."
"Oh, and one more thing—I would like permission to copy every document in the castle's library."
"What?!"
"There appear to be documents that would cause problems if they became widely known, but if I have become a Holy Knight and am taking in members of the royal family, there should be no problem with me knowing about them, right?"
"Grrr... How would you make copies?"
"I will use a magic item I possess. Of course, it will not damage the books, so there is no need to worry."
"Hmm..."
They looked as if they were about to give in. One more push should do it.
"Besides, it would be better for you to be on good terms with me, because then you will be able to obtain all sorts of wonderful things. You have already purchased hair products from me, after all."
"Yes! They are wonderful! Look at my hair! They are incomparable to the soap we used before!"
The woman ran her fingers through her golden hair, showing off its beauty, and the old man beside her grew angry.
"You little vixen! You have insulted me terribly!"
"Compared with the pearls, those things are trivial!"
No, no, none of that mattered.
"So, what is your decision?"
The members of the Round Table Conference stopped moving when they heard my words.
"Wait a moment."
They moved their chairs with a clatter and began a small round-table discussion in the corner of the room.
No matter how long they discussed it, they had only two choices: accept my demands, or reject them and let the queen go on a rampage that would cause a huge commotion.
I had stated my position. The ball was in their court.
The royal family's discussion continued while the king sat slumped in his chair.
He really was just a figurehead... The queen had probably been fighting against that.
"We have reached a decision. We accept your demands."
The golden-haired woman stepped forward on behalf of the royal family.
"That is a wise decision. Thank you."
The members of the royal family looked sour as I bowed.
My reward was set at 25,000 gold coins, equivalent to five billion yen in Japan.
Apparently, the country's national budget was around 100 billion yen, so I had taken one-twentieth of it.
It might sound expensive, but considering the cost of repairing the impassable pass and the economic losses caused by the halted flow of goods during the repairs, five billion yen was cheap.
The country might have collapsed otherwise.
"Now then, Lord Kenichi—you will be a margrave, but what family name will you use?"
"I would like to use Hamada."
"Margrave Kenichi Hamada. Very well. However, you will need to coordinate with the officials handling practical matters. You should stay here for about another week."
"Understood. In that case, I would like to view the library and begin making copies during that waiting period."
"You have my permission."
The woman glanced at the other members of the royal family, but they all nodded. Apparently, there was no problem.
This meant I could get my hands on every book in that library.
The discussion should have been over, but the woman still did not move away from in front of me.
With her standing directly in front of me, I could not help noticing the ample cleavage of her low-cut white dress.
She resembled the queen, but her body looked soft, so she did not seem like someone who practiced martial arts. She had a feminine figure.
As I wondered about that, the woman slipped her arms around my neck.
"Why don't you let me try out this so-called Holy Knight's power too?"
"Would that be all right?"
"Lady Alstroemeria!"
Lilith shouted, but—
This woman was apparently Lilith's cousin once removed and the queen's cousin.
It was no wonder she resembled the queen.
When I grabbed the woman by both sides and used my power, she dropped into a sitting position on the spot.
"W-wait, wait a moment! This is... Ah! Wait! Eeeek!"
The woman arched backward and began twitching and convulsing. Apparently, she was the type whose reaction came a little late.
I bowed while watching the woman roll around on the floor. There was no reason for me to stay any longer.
"In that case, I shall take my leave."
We left the room and walked down the long corridor together. Lilith lowered her head.
"I was afraid of what might happen, but thank you for accepting Mother."
"At this point, it cannot be helped. I did something rather thoughtless by not consulting my family, though..."
"Yes..."
After we passed through the hidden door, Lilith asked me a question.
"Kenichi, you said your family name was Hamada. What does Hamada mean?"
"I suppose it means a field by the sea."
It actually meant a rice paddy, but since there were no rice paddies in this world, I explained it as a field.
"Then your ancestors lived along the coast and took that family name?"
"I cannot explain it in detail, but I suppose that is more or less what happened..."
Even as I said that, I had no idea how my own surname had originated.
It was not as though I came from a distinguished family, so it was probably arbitrary.
According to my late grandfather, our family had come to Hokkaido in his grandfather's time, and that was when we supposedly acquired the name.
Although the surname was Hamada, the family had settled in the mountains rather than near the coast—perhaps the name had come from the place where my great-great-grandfather was originally from.
Lilith and I headed for the queen's bedroom. She was supposed to be confined there, still wearing the manacles I had put on her.
When we opened the large black door, the queen was lying on a luxurious canopied bed, looking dejected.
She was still wearing the black adamantite manacles and white dress.
"Amaranthus."
At my call, the queen sat up.
"Holy Knight-sama!"
When she got up, she ran to me, pressed herself against me, and began to cry.
"I'm sorry for the terrible things I did."
I removed the black manacles from her wrists and stored them in my Item Box.
"Sniff... sob..."
I stroked her head and gently tried to comfort her.
"I'll take you with me, so don't cry."
"Really?"
When she raised her face, her eyes were swollen and bright red. She must have been crying the whole time.
"Yes—you've done well all by yourself until now. But you can throw everything away now. Come with me."
"Holy Knight-sama!"
Amaranthus began crying again. This was troublesome. We sat together on the edge of the bed, and I tried to calm her down.
"Hmm... Here! It's chocolate. Would you like some?"
I bought a chocolate bar from Shangri-La and held it out to her.
"Chocolate!"
Amaranthus raised her face and began eating the chocolate I had given her.
"Kenichi, don't I get any?!"
"All right, all right. Here."
I gave chocolate to both of them, and they began stuffing it into their mouths with obvious enjoyment.
Their gestures were somewhat alike, which was endearing. They were not actually mother and daughter, but they were certainly relatives.
Since the queen and the king apparently belonged to the main and branch families, the two of them were probably second cousins or so.
In that case, they were definitely related.
"Lilith, according to Akira, the elves possess something called 'Cheche,' which seems to be a raw material for chocolate."
"What?! Is that true?"
"Yes. Since the plant grows in the forest, if we cultivate it, we should be able to produce chocolate in large quantities."
"That could become an industry for our new territory!"
"New territory?"
Amaranthus stopped eating chocolate and stared intently at me.
"Mother, Kenichi is now Margrave Kenichi Hamada, and he will govern the land around Lake Astilbe."
"A margrave... How did you get those people at the Round Table Conference to approve that?"
"Th-that was because of Kenichi's abilities, Mother."
There was no way I could tell her that I had forced them to approve it in exchange for taking her in.
Well, she would probably find out eventually.
"The new territory will need Amaranthus's strength to develop. Will you help me?"
"Of course!"
"Mother, I am going with you too. Let us travel together into a new world."
Amaranthus silently nodded. It seemed that my coming to take her away, along with the nourishment and energy she had gained from the sweets, had lifted her spirits.
"But neither of you will be able to live the luxurious life you had before. You understand that, right?"
"When I went to Sobana with you, Kenichi, I had no trouble at all."
In other words, as long as she could live the way we had there—with my Shangri-La and Item Box—Lilith would be fine.
"It's unfair that only the two of you get to do that!"
Amaranthus was sulking. She must have been envious of the journey Lilith and I had taken together.
"Neither of you will be guests there, so you will have to fulfill your work and responsibilities, all right?"
"That suits me perfectly. Those who do not work shall not eat."
Lilith puffed out her small chest.
"I will be staying here for about another week, so pack your belongings by then. But you will not be able to take very much with you."
"That is true. Still, if we have at least the gold coins and valuables, we will have enough money for the journey, will we not?"
No longer able to sit and cry, Amaranthus stood up and immediately began preparing.
"Is anyone there?!"
At her call, the maids gathered around her. Lilith also began preparing.
I watched the two of them for a while, but they seemed fine. There was nothing for me to help with here.
I decided to return to where everyone else was.