In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 12 Read online

  Damn it... I should’ve been keeping a better eye out.

  “...Yeah, alright. But could you go easy for once?”

  “Hmph, really now? Tsk, fine. Let’s just go at it, without magic or divinity, got it?” Elze volunteered to be the referee, so I took a wooden sword in hand and got ready to clash with my sister. Even though the swords were wooden, they’d been enchanted to have enhanced durability. The first strike would’ve broken them to pieces otherwise.

  They were definitely strong enough to shatter bones, but I definitely didn’t think neither I nor my sister would take enough damage to break anything if we managed to hit one another. But hey, at the end of the day it would still hurt, so I didn’t want her to land a shot on me.

  “Oof!”

  Moroha swiped her leg and knocked me off balance, she immediately followed the strike up with a forward thrust, which made me stumble backward. She didn’t waste a single motion.

  I rolled to the side, parried the incoming thrust, and then steadied myself with my arm before jumping back to my feet. Come on! Gimme a break here... Didn’t I say to go easy on me, Moroha?!

  It felt like she was toying with me, like a cat with its prey. I glared at her as my grip on the sword tightened.

  “My liege, are you alright?”

  “Y-Y-Yep... J-Just fine...”

  Kohaku gently pawed at me as pain coursed through my entire body.

  She didn’t go easy on me at all... Her status as a god really wasn’t just for show...

  I used [Healing] and [Refresh] to restore myself back to peak condition. Without that magic, I wouldn’t have been able to move an inch. Tussling with Moroha was a dangerous game indeed. I was thoroughly defeated, even with my abnormally powerful body. It took her less than three minutes to completely wear me down.

  Moroha had already moved on to her next prey, the knights training on the field.

  All things considered, I was glad I got such a rigorous workout before breakfast.

  I came to the dining room and found Linze, Lu, and a half-asleep Leen having their morning meal.

  My fiancees and I all had errands to attend to, so it wasn’t common that we’d all be around the breakfast table at the same time. Sakura, for example, ate with her mother Fiana about three or four days a week.

  The breakfast was, as I’d expected, Lu’s Japanese-style feast. We had miso soup with daikon radish, rice, grilled fish from the dungeon islands, fried eggs, chopped burdock, tofu, and various pickled veggies.

  I wondered if Lu was trying to make food that I specifically enjoyed. She was definitely getting better at Japanese-styled stuff, even going so far as to question Eashenese natives about their traditional meals. I was a little worried about getting fat thanks to all her good stuff.

  I finished breakfast and was about to go take care of some paperwork when my smartphone suddenly started ringing.

  Huh... That’s weird. The caller was Reinhard, my future brother-in-law. Or more formally, the knight king of Lestia.

  “‘Sup.”

  “Oho! Grand Duke! I’m really sorry to bother you, but I need your consultation on something... More specifically, the king of Lihnea.”

  “What about him?” Reinhard, Knight King of Lestia, and Cloud, King of Lihnea, were close friends. It was likely due to the fact that they were around the same age.

  Cloud never had much in the way of friends when he was growing up. He was constantly tormented by Zabune, the fake heir to the throne. Reinhard didn’t really have any people he could casually hang around with either, mostly due to the fact that he was expected to act a certain way as a prince. They had similar personalities, so it was nice to see their friendship slowly blossom.

  I was curious about what the Knight King wanted to talk about in regards to his friend, however.

  “I’m resting right now, but I’ll head over in ten minutes, alright? I’ll meet you at the Lestian Castle Gate.”

  “Very well. Thank you.”

  I ended the call, quickly flitted through some documents, and told Kousaka where I was headed. I considered bringing Hilde along with me, but I felt like this was probably a man-to-man talk about friends and royalty, so I didn’t think she’d have much of a place in the conversation.

  I used a [Gate] to reach the Lestian Castle, and two knights were already there to greet me. They led me into the castle, and I eventually came to a casual sitting room. Reinhard was relaxing inside.

  “Hey there, sorry for the short notice. I didn’t really know who else to talk to about this, that’s all...” Reinhard stood up from the couch he was lounging on and greeted me. I didn’t really mind the short notice, it sounded to me like it was a conversation more serious than a phone call could cover.

  Reinhard patted the couch space next to him so I sat down. He then ordered the knights to leave the room and began talking about what was troubling him.

  “You recall that Palouf and Lihnea were once on the brink of war, yes?”

  “Oh yeah, that was the whole thing with Prime Minister Wardack’s plan. The situation was stressful for a while, but when Cloud ascended to the throne he managed to negotiate peace. Is there something wrong over there?”

  The largest island in this world was the north-western landmass known as Palnea. It was divided into two territories. Palouf was in the north, and Lihnea was in the south. They’d been at a stalemate for years and weren’t actively warring.

  The northern nation of Palouf was cursed with harsh winters, which affected their crop harvest. They’d also had various misfortunes in regards to a succession crisis and their king dying. Wardack, the former Prime Minister of Lihnea, attempted to use these various weaknesses to swiftly conquer Palouf and take its territory.

  We managed to intervene and avoid the war, all while eliminating Wardack as a threat. Then, Cloud rose as the new king of Lihnea and managed to successfully negotiate peaceful relations with Palouf.

  “The relations with Palouf are still going well. Their king died, and his son was crowned, which settled most of the domestic issues. Trade is also proving favorable. But there is a small matter of concern...”

  “What’s that?”

  “The late king of Palouf had two children. The first is Princess Lucienne Dia Palouf, and the second is her younger brother, Ernest Din Palouf. The princess, Lucienne, is getting along rather well with King Cloud... One might even say that sparks are flying, you understand?”

  “Ohoho, I get it...”

  Guess he’s about old enough for that to start happening, huh? He’s sure come far since that idiot step-brother of his was leading him around... I hope he can really enjoy his youth going forward. He’s a real great guy.

  Still, that begged the question as to what the problem was here.

  “The issue is with Prince Ernest. He’s inheriting the throne, but he’s a lad of only ten years old. He has a long way to go, and he’s being supported by his uncle and the royal retainers... However, he’s very clingy when it comes to his sister.”

  “Ah... So he’s cautious of the king of Lihnea because he doesn’t want his precious sister to get taken away?”

  “Ahaha... Yes, definitely. It’s not like I can’t understand his feelings, given your relationship to my own sister. But for now, that’s how he feels.” Reinhard smiled at me wryly as he said that.

  In my opinion, the little boy wasn’t exactly in the wrong here. His dad had died, he was suddenly thrust into a position of great responsibility, and now he feels like he’s losing his sister. That kind of thing would be almost impossible for a ten-year-old to deal with.

  “So what have the Palouf retainers said?”

  “They favor the relationship between the two. They think it would be a perfect way to solidify bonds between Lihnea and Palouf.”

  “And what about the two themselves?”

  “King Cloud would absolutely take Princess Lucienne as his queen without question. The princess, on the other hand, is a little...”

  “Li
ttle what? Reluctant?”

  “Not exactly. It’s more that she’s conflicted on leaving her little brother behind. She’s nineteen right now, which poses a problem. If she waits for young Ernest to become an adult, she’ll end up marrying very late. The king of Lihnea also needs to secure an heir in his young age. If he’s left waiting too long, then he may have to look elsewhere.” Prince Ernest, or rather, King Ernest would be considered an adult at the age of fifteen, which would mean there’d be another five years to go... That would leave the princess waiting until she turned twenty-four.

  In this world, women typically married around the age of twenty at the latest. In terms of royalty and nobility, that age was typically a lot younger. Engagements at the age of thirteen and fourteen were commonplace. Twenty-four was considered an abnormally late age to be married, especially for a princess, so it was quite a sensitive issue.

  Princess Lucienne once had a fiancee amongst the nobles of Refreese, but he died of sickness before they even met. After that, the matter of her father’s death came about, which further delayed marriage proceedings for her.

  King Cloud was apparently fine with waiting the five years until Ernest became an adult, but as the ruler of the nation, there were countless political pressures on his shoulders. It simply wasn’t a decision he alone could make.

  Not to mention the fact that Cloud was the only remaining heir to Lihnea’s royal family. It was likely that the retainers and nobles of the country were demanding a fresh heir. I was also sure that many highborn families would be offering their daughters to him in an attempt to connect their families to the royal one.

  Then again, this was a polygamous world. It was still possible he could take on one of those noble girls and then marry the princess later on.

  “You’re probably thinking he could take on a noble girl and then marry the princess later on. That would not do. A girl from a highborn family as the first wife, and a legitimate princess as the second? The people of Palouf would consider it a slight against their national pride. If the king of Lihnea was in a similar position to you and was engaged to many princesses, then perhaps the situation would be different, though...”

  Whoops. Guess I picked up most of the available royals.

  I didn’t really care about first duchesses and second duchesses or whatever when it came to marrying me. But in the eyes of the world, Yumina would probably be the “First Queen” while Lu took the position of “Second Queen.” Hilde would probably be third, come to think of it.

  Elze, Linze, and Yae were all of common blood, so Sue would come next. Then Leen, then Sakura. Sakura was the daughter of the Xenoahs overlord and had his blood in her veins, but she was an illegitimate child. That fact was also hidden from public knowledge. Then again, Leen held very high standing with the fairies, so it was possible that she outclassed Lu’s noble status...

  Either way, I really had no intentions of ranking my fiancees by importance. I loved them all in their own ways.

  That probably wouldn’t stop other countries from speculating, though.

  “Well, I think I have the basic gist of the situation. But what do I do about it?”

  “If I’m honest? It’s King Ernest... He’s, well... a fan of yours, Grand Duke. He doesn’t really bother much with King Cloud, but when he hears stories about you, I’m told that his attention is absolutely rapt. I suppose it’s only natural for a child to idolize their heroes, though.”

  “...You kidding me?”

  Ugh... This is little conflicting... I’m glad the kid likes me, but... I’m hardly doing things that heroes do... It wasn’t like I was going out looking for danger or committing heroic feats. For the most part, I’ve just been responding to the world around me... It was pretty draining. Do I seriously have fans out there? Why would they care about my mundane exploits...?

  “So let me get this straight... I think I’ve got an idea of what you want here...”

  “It’s as you may have guessed, yes. Grand Duke, I wish for you to speak with King Ernest. I wish for you to convince him of the best path for Lihnea and Palouf’s collective future.”

  Well, I can’t say I’m surprised.

  I was fairly sure that the Palouf government would want the relationship to progress to marriage, but obviously, a little boy losing his older sister to another nation would be potentially traumatic.

  I didn’t want to forcibly change his mind or anything, if I could have him happily send his sister off, that’s what I wanted to happen. After all, he was only a little boy.

  “For the time being, we should go the king of Lihnea and hear what he has to say. I’m sure he’s got his own opinion, right?” I didn’t want to meddle in his business as an outsider to the whole deal, anyway. If he didn’t want my help, I wasn’t going to butt in and give it.

  I picked up my smartphone and called King Cloud. He’d just had a meeting canceled, so he was free to meet with us. Just as I set off to go, the knight king remembered he had some business to attend to, so I ended up going alone. He apologized but said that he hoped I could help the situation... He must have really been good friends with Cloud.

  I opened up a [Gate] and hopped through, much to the surprise of one of the guardsmen.

  Whoopsie, should’ve warped somewhere without any people.

  Another guard was expecting my arrival and sent a message to the castle. Eventually, I was greeted by an old fellow I hadn’t seen in quite some time.

  “My, my... If it isn’t the grand duke of Brunhild. What brings you here?”

  “Ah, Marquis Koupe! Or should I say Prime Minister Koupe... It’s good to see you.”

  His body was definitely tough, almost as if it didn’t belong to such an old man at all. He was clearly hanging on to life tooth and nail to ensure that he could see a fully revitalized and restored Lihnea before he died.

  “I was asked by the knight king of Lestia to help with a matter... One pertaining to King Cloud and a neighboring princess.”

  “Oh, I see... Yes. That’s certainly been a matter of interest. The king definitely hasn’t shown any sign of choosing another woman as his bride... I suppose that’s likely the fault of the previous king, though. Young King Cloud believes that a marriage founded on anything other than love would lead only to misery.”

  That certainly made sense. I could see why he thought that way.

  Cloud’s dad, the previous king of Lihnea, was in a loveless marriage to the former Queen Dacia. That ultimately led to his downfall, as she deliberately deceived him and began to manipulate his life. Cloud probably didn’t want to repeat the sins of the past, and embroil himself in a political marriage.

  That being said, he was a king... He needed to consider his country over his own feelings sometimes. Even so, that was pretty harsh.

  From what I had heard, the former King Schlaf and his wife, Erya, were living happily together after the throne was handed to Cloud.

  I wasn’t going to get anywhere without talking to Cloud first. The prime minister guided me into the castle’s reception room, where I could finally talk to Cloud about it.

  “I wish to marry Princess Lucienne and make her my queen. However, the young king’s feelings are important as well. I do not wish to wound them. Waiting for him to grow is quite fine by me.”

  “What about your retainers, though?”

  “King Cloud... Though it may not be my place to say, there is certainly a lot of pressure coming from local nobility these days... Our government is primarily focused on providing an heir, should the worst come to pass...” Koupe spoke, stony-faced and almost sorrowful. The situation was pretty rough overall. Cloud didn’t have any brothers or sisters, so the Lihnea royal bloodline would die out if Cloud were to die someday. Personally, I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. Cloud was really young, so he wasn’t going anywhere... Barring any unfortunate accidents, at least.

  “Couldn’t we just formally announce their engagement?”

  “The engagement has been made, but
we cannot possibly announce it and say that the wedding will be in five years. There would be an uproar. The reason would be discovered eventually, and sour rumors about the young king of Palouf would begin to spread... They might even call him selfish for wishing to stay with his sister. That would cause our relations with them to sour, most certainly...” Koupe once again spoke up with a solemn expression. He wasn’t wrong, but at the same time, the king was basically a child. I didn’t want to think that the world would call him selfish when he was just a little boy.

  “And what about the retainers in Palouf? Do they support the union?”

  “Yes, they do. There’s only one family that speaks out against it, and that’s because they wish for the princess to marry one of their own.”

  Hmm... I wonder if that family might have been influencing the kid... Maybe they’re telling him that his sister will live a bad life in Lihnea or something...

  To be honest, the reputation of the Lihnean royal family wasn’t all that good. Prince Zabune and his behavior had killed it. It was possible that people thought badly of Cloud just because of familial association with Zabune. But then again, Lihnea did issue a statement showing that there was no blood relation between Cloud and that moron, so that shouldn’t have been an issue at all.

  “Hrmm... Well, I get where you’re coming from, Cloud. I’d like to meet with the king of Palouf if that’s alright. Can you guys arrange that?”

  “Oh? Very well, that may prove helpful. In fact, I think he’d love to meet you. He’s quite the fan of yours, Grand Duke.”

  It was a little bit funny, yet weird at the same time... The idea of one nation’s monarch being the avid fan of another world leader. I wanted to meet with him and use that chance to persuade him to let his sister go. It’d definitely be good for him and his country if she had some independence.

  Plus, I didn’t want him getting too attached to her... There was a risk that his dependency on her could grow over the five or so years.

  Welp, guess I gotta figure out the solution to this one... Good grief.

  ◇　◇　◇

  “I-I-It’s n-nice to meet you, G-Grand Duke! I-I’m Ernest Din Palouf, K-King of Palouf! O-Oh gosh, I said it... Oh man...”