「 Kotori-sama, what do you think of these sweets? I like them so I believe that you’ll like them too 」
「 Kotori-sama, these baked goods are better, right? I’ll feed you. Could you open your mouth? 」
Two girls in gorgeous dresses sit close to me on the sofa, offering the pastries on the table.
「 Uhm, prime minister, who are these girls? 」
「 Aren’t they lovely? They’re my grandchildren. They just happened to come to see me today. I had them come because they want to see you, a man from another world. Girls, take this opportunity to get to know Kotori-dono 」
「 Yes, Grandfather. Kotori-sama, my name’s Holly. I would love to hear about the other world What kind of place is it? Shall we talk about it over a cup of tea sometime? 」
Saying that Holly-chan grips my arm tightly.
This girl’s got blonde hair reaching her chest. She’s probably about the same age as Euphy.
She has a slightly younger face, but she has ample breasts.
It’s foul to have such breasts and wear clothes showing off your cleavage.
Of course, her breasts are soft, and I want to grope them.
「 I’m Catherine. Living in a world that you’re not accustomed to must be difficult. Please talk to me and I’ll be sure to help you out 」
She looked into my eyes and introduced herself, then gently put her hand on my thighs.
This one looks a little older and a bit more mature.
She has beautiful long waist-length black hair.
The skirt has a slit, and her legs are showing glimpses, too sexy.
I want to shove my face in there and lick them.
I heard that two cute ladies want to meet me, but this is definitely not a coincidence. They’re called here
They’re 200% here to entangle me, and it’s kind of refreshing to see the opposite.
Still, the prime minister has some cute granddaughters, doesn’t he.
I’d love to get caught in this honey trap, but you know…
I was introduced to some noble daughters and I got to ogle at them all I wanted, but the prime minister knew that we were about to have a serious conversation, so he let them back off.
So that was really just him showing his hand.
「 So, is your purpose today to ask about Mirai? 」
「 Yes, I wanted to know the progress. Also, here are some gifts 」
Since I’m meeting the prime minister, I didn’t forget to bring some souvenirs.
This time, I handed him the Arita Ware Shochu glass that the gang leader handed me in a bag before.
The prime minister’s fond of watches, but he doesn’t seem to hate these either.
When I handed the glass, he raised it, looked inside, and looked at the bottom.
It’s a design that men like, so I personally would use it for myself.
Oh, he’s already using the glass.
The prime minister put the glass on the desk, filled with his drink, and gulped it down.
It’s not washed, but he didn’t care.
Well, it’s new, so it shouldn’t be dirty.
For a moment, Gerber-san, the knight standing by his side looked surprised. I wonder if he’s concerned about poison?
It’s fine, I don’t have the guts for that.
「 Fufufu, you brought another good one. I’ll use this one regularly. This calls for a good response 」
Oh, he’s feeling auspicious.
The prime minister puts the glass back on the desk and speaks up with a calm expression.
「 Let’s start with the conclusion. I’ve taken custody of Mirai from the King 」
「 Oh? Does it mean that I can take her? 」
「 Yes, that’s right. I’ve already made arrangements with the King and the other parties, and I’m ready to take her out whenever 」
Hey now, this is quite the development
It hasn’t been that long since our last meeting, right?!
「 It sounds like things went fast, but to think that she’s handed off that easily. I thought that it’d be a problem 」
「 Hmm, I think it’s fine to tell Kotori-dono about it 」
He said, then he put his weight on the back of the chair.
「 I’ve mentioned that we were having trouble handling Mirai before, haven’t I? 」
「 Yes, and she locks herself in her room 」
「 And so, we needed to deal with her before long. If she stayed in the castle doing that, the princes would be making a fuss, asking the King what he was doing 」
If she’s recognized as a hero, yet she holes up in her room, there will be complaints.
Furthermore, that’ll lead to some antagonism against the king.
「 The worst case, she’ll be disposed of, and so I asked them to let me take custody of her. The king agreed in exchange for a beautiful woman, and a portion of the taxes on the recently acquired territory. He was fine with it because there are still heroes out there 」
That was close, if we were a little later, I wouldn’t even be able to see her
Well, they didn’t do it so I guess that was a consideration, but seriously, stop.
It’s a topic I don’t want to get into, so let’s pretend that I didn’t hear it.
「 A beautiful lady? She must be quite the beauty if the King himself is interested 」
「 She was a dancing girl brought from the South as a slave. She was a woman to the King’s liking, not only because of her looks but also her breasts. She couldn’t even hold it with both her hands 」
I see. The King loves huge tits.
I’d like to see what kind of woman can make the king of a country fall for her at least once.
It’s not like I’m in the tiny tits faction.
「 And taxes? You said that you obtained a territory, but could it be someplace that was at war with the demons? 」
「 No, no, our country’s quite peaceful except for the conflict with the demons. Recently, there was this family that was having a problem, and they were taken out of their territory in demotion, sending them to a distant place. The territory they owned happened to be adjacent to mine, and so I took the opportunity to raise my land I worked hard for a bit 」
I feel like I know this.
「 ….Is it the Dutchess that attacked the castle the other day? 」
「 Yes, you figured it out In a sense, the conversation went so well thanks to Kotori-dono 」
「 I-I see You’re quite the mischievous man, aren’t you? 」
「 I wonder what you’re talking about? Well, I favor you so you don’t have to worry about that in the future 」
I expected it, but that attack had his involvement.
If not for my teleport ability, that would’ve meant that he would have gotten me, and the ducal estate, two birds with one stone, right?
Well, only because I’m outside the realm of imagination that only half of his plans went off, but I’m more impressed that he created a situation like that and how well he thought this through.
I guess the fact that he’s telling me all this means that he’s trying to convince me.
「 I-I see That’s reassuring to hear. Thank you. Still, I thought that the ducal families were nobles linked to the royal family, was it fine to take them down like that? 」
「 Oh, that’s not a problem Indeed. The Maskiel house is close to the royal family in lineage, but they’ve not intermarried from the previous royal family, and the current king doesn’t place much value on them. However, they had a good dominion, and enough power to provide large troops, so they weren’t treated lightly 」
I see. Then Euphy’s country went after them and they lost all their power.
I knew that there were struggles in such a country.
Oh man, that’s scary.
「 You’ve given us a great cause. We didn’t waste unnecessary opposition to the lords It made the conversations go smoothly. Well, if they had been forced, they wouldn’t have had the strength to resist, and lose most of their knights, and if they were held responsible for killing one of the Five Dragon heads and causing the downfall of many noble families, there wouldn’t have been much animosity from the lords. These are also relevant to Kotori-dono, so I wanted you to know. I’m doing this in good faith 」
Don’t make such a casual appeal because you told me this.
Well, whether it’s true or not is a separate matter, I’m thankful to hear all that.
After finishing my talk with the prime minister, he poured another drink into his glass, swigged it, and put it back on the desk.
He likes it.
Well then, from what I heard from the prime minister, I could just take Mirai now.
If so, I have to ask an important question.
「 Thanks for the valuable talk. I appreciate it. And so, can I take Mirai with me today? 」
「 Of course. If she wants to go, she has my permission. But of course, there are conditions, okay? If you don’t agree to them, it would be hard for me to hand her 」
「 Conditions? Other than the watch I gave as honorarium? 」
「 Of course. Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not asking you to give me anything There’s only one condition. I’d like you to be the manager of the manor I own 」
Manor?
I heard about it, but what exactly is a manor?
「 Err, what could that be? 」
「 It’s okay even if you don’t do anything, Kotori-dono. You just need to take the title of ruling a territory as a quasi-baron 」
「 A quasi-baron? Hm? You mean you’re giving me a peerage? 」
「 Naturally. It’ll be a small territory, and you’ll receive knighthood as well. 」
「 No, that’s… 」
No, wait
This isn’t a honey trap, it’s just a direct and complete capture.
「 I can tell what you want to say with that face Kotori-dono, but these are the minimum requirements just so you know. I’ve been entrusted to look after Mirai, but since I’m formally taking the hero under the King’s protection, you need to have at least a title in this country 」
「 No, that’s… 」
「 A baronet is one of those titles that’s recognized as nobility yet has no power. Besides, I don’t serve the king, but I get one of the titles that I can hand at will, and it’s only an authority to manage a small manor. You don’t have to do anything, and you don’t have to be in this country. I have no intention of telling you to play a role. Well, if you’re interested in that, you may use your knowledge from your world 」
「 Are you sure that there are no obligations? 」
「 There’s none. This condition is only beneficial to you. Don’t you think? It’s a title in our country, so it’s not something you can’t afford to have 」
「 If I’m forced to do anything, I’ll never visit this country again 」
「 You’re too doubtful, Kotori-dono. I understand how you feel, but I will not lie to you, I already made up my mind to treat you with sincerity 」
「 Y-Yeah, can I think about it? 」
「 Yes, of course, 」
Recently, I’ve been thinking that the Nyhied kingdom isn’t that evil.
Well yeah, I didn’t have a good image of them because they just sent me away because I had no ability right after summoning me, that’s different.
It was Mira-chan who summoned me.
If so, this country had no responsibility to me personally, so I’m not the one to complain about it in the first place.
I also got attacked because of my relationship with Euphy, but that was a personal grudge, not a national one.
Huh?
Was there a need to be this repulsive?
Rather, I’m being treated well by a big country now, right?
Furthermore, I’ll get a knighthood, although not nobility, it seems.
The problem is how Euphy feels about that, but she also has the mentality of using whatever’s necessary, so under these conditions, she wouldn’t hesitate to say “Take it”
I’m beginning to think that this isn’t a bad deal, and it’s starting to get interesting.
Managing a manor? That’s like a local village head, right?
I’m not interested in messing with that, but I’m interested in the state of having authority.
I never considered myself to be power-hungry, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have it in me.
If so, I guess I’ll take this offer.
I don’t even know if it’s the right or wrong choice.
However, if they say that it’s the minimum requirement, I might have no choice but to accept it to maintain the relationship and fulfill the goal of bringing Mirai back home.
I looked up from the floor and gazed at the Prime Minister.
「 Very well. I’ll be happy to receive a knighthood from the Prime Minister if that’s the condition 」
「 Ooh, I see. Well said. That’s great 」
The prime minister was delighted at my answer, and then he pulled a wooden box from his desk.
I looked at what it was, then Gerber-san took it from the Prime minister and handed it to me.
「 Can I take this? 」
「 Yes 」
I received a box that didn’t seem suspicious and found a ring inside.
The ring has a gold radiance, flattened at the base, a coat of arms of the Nyhied nation carved into it, and a black gemstone in the middle. A gorgeous ring of such fine workmanship that it could not have been cast.
「 Use that to prove your identity to this country in the future. It works for many, even the commoners 」
「 I see. Should I wear this at all times? 」
「 No, only when you need it. Oh, please return the certification board we gave you before. The ring is much more valid than that so there’s no point in owning it.
Is this stronger than the metal plate ID that I used to meet with the prime minister today?
Are you sure I can have it?
Or is this some kind of aristocracy proof?
I asked for a little explanation and I was right.
「 Well then, we can talk about the details in the future. Now, I’ll hand over the custody of Mirai to you, Kotori-dono, Don’t forget that thing. Let’s come and see her 」
The Prime Minister gives instructions to Gerber-san with a cheerful tone.
He already got the watch, so I’m glad to see that he’s in a good mood.