Chapter 89

I was introduced to Chancellor Count Nurenberg and Her Royal Highness Anneliese in the palace, which was so vast I feared I might get lost. Her Highness is the second daughter of the current King and is nineteen years old.

Wait, isn’t she the person whose name was at the top of the list of candidates for a political marriage with Francea, just as Elke had mentioned? Though it seems the Prince of Francea prefers Juliana instead.

She is indeed a bit chubby, and Juliana certainly has a better figure. However, I don’t think her face is bad at all. Perhaps her full lips and narrow eyes fall slightly outside the aesthetic standards of Saxens. Back on Earth, she’s the type of person you often see in Asian fashion models. One could say her ennui has a certain allure, but because of her round physique, it doesn’t quite come together. And perhaps her biggest drawback is the lack of hair volume; to put it bluntly, it’s a little thin.

“You said your name was Shonai, did you not? Tell me of your birthplace.”

The Chancellor asked immediately. Yoshioka and I had discussed this and already decided on our policy.

“It is Japan.”

As I spoke the truth casually, the Chancellor’s gaze sharpened.

“Nippon, is it…”

Could it be that he actually knows about Japan? Judging by his reaction, he seems to know the place name “Nippon.”

“Let me ask you one thing. Do you know of a place called Nara?”

Nara? That’s Nara Prefecture, right? Of course, I know it; I even went there on a school trip.

“I am aware of it.”

“What kind of place is it?”

Why on earth would the Chancellor of Saxens be asking about Nara Prefecture? I’m not exactly an expert on it myself.

“I have only visited three times. It is an old city built over 1,300 years ago. It is famous for a colossal god-statue called the Great Buddha.”

Calling a Buddha a “god-statue” might be imprecise, but a vague description should suffice here.

“I see, it is exactly as Yuichi said.”

Yuichi? Could he be one of the Japanese people summoned by Saxens as a Hero?

“Our country has three Heroes, and one of them is from the same place as you, Shonai. I have heard that Yuichi is from Nara Prefecture, Nippon.”

I had heard rumors for a long time, but this was the first time I had heard specific details about the individuals who had been summoned as Heroes.

“Where is that person now?”

“Currently, they are dispatched to the provinces. That Yuichi would always say that when it comes to Nara, it’s either the Great Buddha or the deer. He claimed that every Japanese person knows this. He also talked about mysterious foods like persimmon leaf sushi and Nara-zuke pickles. Apparently, a town called Takanohara is his hometown.”

Sorry, but I don’t know much about Takanohara. If I were to write it in Kanji, would it be 高野原 (Takanohara)?

According to the Chancellor, there are other Heroes from America and India as well. Every one of them had gone to the provinces, so I wasn’t able to meet any of them.

“Then, are you and your companion “other-worlders” summoned by some country?”

“No.”

The Chancellor didn’t seem surprised by my denial.

“I suppose that would be the case. If you were other-worlders summoned as Heroes, you wouldn’t be wandering around a place like this.”

Does that mean they are always under state surveillance?

“Then, what exactly are you and Sir Kawagoe?”

“We were called to this world by the God of Space-Time. Currently, we are working under the orders of Lord Seraphim.”

Even the Chancellor widened his eyes in surprise. In reality, it feels more like being a subcontractor for Lord Seraphim. A sub-subcontractor for the God of Space-Time, perhaps? But I figured if I said this, the Chancellor wouldn’t dare interfere with our actions. It’s like a person pretending to be a tiger, except here, I’m an ordinary person “borrowing” the authority of a god.

“Working under the orders of Lord Seraphim…?”

“Yes, we have been tasked with printing the scriptures of Nordism.”

“Printing?”

Ah, right—they don’t know about printing technology. I took a book out of my Spatial Storage to show him.

“It is something like this. This is written in our language, so I doubt you can read it, but we have been ordered to publish scriptures printed by machines in this manner.”

“This is… incredible.”

The Chancellor was engrossed, flipping through a book he couldn’t even read. The Princess didn’t seem to be able to follow the conversation. I took out my laptop and showed her the screen.

“It is planned to look something like this.”

There was a list of characters written in the Saxens language. It was the “Cinderella” story I was writing for Fiene.

“…”

Both of them were speechless.

It was as good a time as any to make a request that was important to me.

“We have been operating in a way that avoids drawing attention, so I would like to ask that you keep our existence confidential.”

“U-Understood. I shall ensure that this secret does not leak out.”

At least that was a relief.

“So, what is the nature of the business for this evening?”

Feeling reassured, I directed my best salesman smile at the two of them. It was just past 6:00 PM. We decided that the detailed conversation would take place after the meal.

It makes me nervous to suddenly be having a meal with royalty and a chancellor. I wonder if my table manners will be okay? Lady Clara hasn’t ever warned me about anything in particular, so I think I’ll be fine. In fact, Yoshioka and I have even been complimented on our good manners before.

The Chancellor, being a capable man, livened up the atmosphere with his skillful conversation, which allowed me to gradually relax. The members of the meal were Her Highness Anneliese, Chancellor Count Nurenberg, and myself.

This is my first time having court cuisine in Saxens, so I’m looking forward to it. The meal started with a carrot potage. It was a heavy, thick potage packed with plenty of heavy cream. The portion was small. Next was a dish with roasted onions and a piece of seared salmon. Was the base of the sauce sour cream? If Yoshioka, our resident gourmet, were here, he would have explained it to me, so I’m really sad he’s absent. The onion, roasted with its skin on, was delicious.

The food was brought out one after another like this. The portion size per plate isn’t large, but maybe there are a lot of courses?

Still, this Princess can really eat. She’s been silently and steadily eating a large goose thigh since a while ago. Judging by her physique, she must love to eat. There are many women around me who eat a lot. Fiene is at the top of that list. Lady Clara eats a lot, too. Squad Leader Beckle also asks for seconds of bean soup every meal. I like people who eat with gusto.

It seems my gaze lingered on the Princess for too long. She returned a slightly accusatory look. My quick glance was apparently her intense glare. I had done something rude. From then on, I concentrated on the food and polished it off silently. I managed to eat every bit of the large amount of food served, right up to the dessert.

We moved to a sofa in another room for coffee.

“How was it? Did the Saxens cuisine suit your palate, Sir Shonai?”

“It was delicious. I was especially surprised by the blue cheese marinated in noble rot wine. That was my first time experiencing such a way of eating.”

It was a dish where cheese was coated in a sauce made by simmering down sweet white wine, and eating it on top of bread similar to brioche was very tasty. If Yoshioka heard this, he’d definitely be jealous.

“I like that, too…”

The Princess opened her mouth for the first time since the initial greetings.

“Her Highness is particularly fond of sweets.”

“That is good to hear. Among the products we handle, we also have sweet confections.”

She had seemed completely disinterested when we were talking about teacups and watches, but it seems to be a different story when it comes to sweets.

“Sweets from another world?”

“Yes. There are chocolates and cakes in this world as well, but since there are differences in the manufacturing methods and raw materials, there are noticeable differences in taste.”

“Is that so? I would like to try them.”

The Princess finally offered a faint smile. However…

“Your Highness, your efforts thus far will be in vain. Please refrain from them this evening.”

At the Chancellor’s words, the smile she had shown disappeared, and her face became as expressionless as a Noh mask. Is she on a diet or something? Although, I feel like she was eating dinner quite heartily earlier.

“What is the point of doing anything now…”

Tears spilled from Her Highness’s eyes. What happened? I was inwardly shocked by the sudden tears.

“Your Highness, you are royalty. You are well aware that a noble status comes with responsibilities.”

The Princess shook her head stubbornly. I felt like a guest who had accidentally walked into the middle of a family argument.

“Is it the responsibility of royalty to pimp myself out to the man who brought shame upon me!? You are telling me to seduce a man whose eyes are turned toward another woman as if I were a harlot, aren’t you, Chancellor?”

“Your Highness!”

“Excuse me!”

Her Highness the Princess stormed out of the room. The Chancellor sighed and slumped deeply into his chair.

“What am I supposed to do…”

To the Chancellor’s mutterings, I could only think one thing: That’s my line…