“What was that?”
I could tell the mood was shifting after Sariya’s remark. Given who she is to the humans present.
The stated purpose of this tea party is to deepen ties with the princesses from another nation, Sara and the others. To say something like that in front of the guests of honor goes against proper etiquette.
Sariya, as queen, surely understands that much, but whether she thinks it’s acceptable to act that way knowing Sara and the others are demons, or has some other objective, I don’t know. In any case, her sudden words were so inappropriate that I feigned not hearing her and gave her a chance to correct herself.
“I asked if you plan on getting engaged to Tiara.”
Despite understanding the implication of my question, she presses the issue outright. That makes it clear she is seriously trying to get me engaged to Tiara. However, some tried to stop Sariya’s remarks.
“Then how about our Fahren?”
“Yes, they’re a good match in age too.”
“In that case, what about our Lauren?”
The ones who spoke up were Miralene and Maraliefa of the Rosenberg family, and Charlene of the Byreus family. While seemingly agreeing with Sariya’s words, the fact that they responded so smoothly shows they already harbored such thoughts from the beginning.
In response to the sudden engagement proposals, unexpectedly, it was the girls whose names were mentioned who spoke up.
“Mother, what foolish things are you saying!”
“What foolishness. Tiara, you wanted to get engaged to him too, didn’t you?”
“It’s true, I still have those feelings.”
“Then―”
“But Rolando-sama isn’t so weak-willed as to change his mind just because someone tells him to!
Tiara’s voice rings out, chiding Sariya’s words. Bolstered by that, her attitude spreads to the other girls as well.
“Grandmother, Mother. This is something I must accomplish myself. Your meddling is unnecessary.”
“But―”
“Mother? Please don’t make me say it twice… That goes for you too, Grandmother.”
「「……」」
While still smiling, Fahren’s expression carries such overwhelming pressure that the anger contained in it is evident. It strongly implied “Don’t interfere”.
“You too, Mother. We decided to wait until he comes for us himself. Please don’t do anything unnecessary.”
“I’m thinking about what’s best for you―”
“That ‘what’s best’ IS what’s unnecessary. We’re not children anymore!”
The three girls berate their families for their blunders. At that moment, I clap loudly to gather everyone’s attention.
“Now that they have admonished you on my behalf, shall we resume the tea party? Oh, and just to be clear, I didn’t say anything to them. The actions they are taking now are purely of their own volition – please understand that.”
Thanks to them, I somehow managed to smooth things over, but without that, I might have ended up forced into engagements with them. Though if that happened, I could simply never set foot in this country again – it truly wouldn’t be an issue at all.
“Besides, Mother, forcing him like that might just make Rolando-sama flee to another country. He doesn’t have any particular attachment to staying in this one, after all.”
“Haah, I know that already.”
That’s right. If it came down to it, I could just abandon this country and go be active somewhere else. The only reasons I’m still using Schells Kingdom as a base are because my family is here, and I’ve built up a foundation here so far.
And lately, that foundation has reached the point where it can function fine without me, I might even be starting to get in the way. Letting it become independent and leaving it be could be an option.
“However, Tiara, don’t forget your mother’s words contain the worries of a parent for their child. …Though it seems she had other motives this time.”
“Yes, I understand everything completely. She is my mother, after all.”
Saying that, Tiara and I direct critical gazes at Sariya. With those looks directed her way, Sariya looks troubled and uncomfortable. While what she said earlier seemed like a worried mother thinking of her child’s happiness, her true feelings are completely different. Without even needing to read her mind, I’m 90% sure her motive is the sweets served today.
The quality of the sweets I prepared is close to what you’d find on Earth. This world’s cooking techniques are still in their developing stages, with even those called top chefs inferior to the average housewife on Earth who can make standard home cooking.
After eating those sweets, Sariya now wants to be able to eat them anytime. As a result, she took action to draw me into the royal family.
Fortunately, having bore two children with the king, you could say she holds two cards for bringing in influential people. This time she tried to use one of those cards, Tiara, to make me join the royal family.
For nobility, it’s only natural they would want to recruit someone who can make high-quality food and moreover defeated demons and was awarded the Mithril First Class Medal.
While sweets happened to be the reason this time, one way or another, it’s not surprising she would approach me after recognizing I’m an influential figure.
“B-but it can’t be helped―”
“Since we’re only human.”
“…?”
Oops, our jokes overlapped. When Sariya was about to say something resembling a certain famous poet from Earth, I unconsciously blurted it out, but apparently, there was someone else here who knew that reference – Nagartinya.
After polishing off the remaining sweets on her plate, Nagartinya fires her candid opinion at Sariya.
“All you’ve talked about is yourself this whole time. Fortunately, the girls have their hearts set on Rolando-kyun, otherwise this could have ended in tragedy rather than a harmless farce. A forced marriage would be nothing short of devastating.”
“Quiet, you unrelated person. Just who are you anyway?”
It seems she sat down without even introducing herself after leaving the kitchen. While hiding her true identity is necessary, I should have at least made her do a basic greeting.
As I was thinking about that, Nagartinya and Sariya’s staring contest continues, when Nagartinya drops a bomb.
“Who am I? Isn’t it obvious? I’m Rolando-kyun’s lov―”
“Mongolian Chop! From a Choke Sleeper!”
“Guh, gasp, R-Rolando-kyun… t-too tight… can’t bre…”
Sensing she was about to say something weird, I immediately slipped into her bosom and detonated a brutal Mongolian chop to her throat. As she choked, I circled behind her and put her in a choke hold, swiftly knocking her out.
After laying her out on the floor, I smoothly gloss over the incident as if nothing happened.
“Please continue enjoying the tea party.”
『No no no no no』
In response to my words, everyone in the room retorts with the same phrase. Unable to overlook this, Sariya approaches me as the representative and presses me.
“Rolando-kun, is it true she’s your lover?”
“No way. Even if the earth and sky reverse, a natural disaster destroys the world, and the gods wage war bringing about Ragnarok, that could never happen.”
“Y-you don’t have to go that far… I’m starting to feel sorry for the poor girl.”
Hearing my categorical denial, Sariya says something like that. Why? I’m just being honest.
While she seems to have gotten the message that me and that girl aren’t lovers, it appears she still has lingering doubts as her questioning continues.
“Then who in the world is she?”
“Just an acquaintance.”
“You brought a mere acquaintance to a tea party with such distinguished guests?”
“I guess you could say that.”
“…I see.”
Ignoring Sariya’s dubious “Let’s just leave it at that for now,” I pick Nagartinya up off the floor. I can’t just leave her there, so I’ll take her to a bedroom.
“I’m going to take her to a bedroom, so please continue enjoying the tea party.”
Saying that, I hurriedly leave the venue as if escaping the interrogating gazes asking “Just who in the world is that girl?”.
“What was that?”
I could tell the mood was shifting after Sariya’s remark. Given who she is to the humans present.
The stated purpose of this tea party is to deepen ties with the princesses from another nation, Sara and the others. To say something like that in front of the guests of honor goes against proper etiquette.
Sariya, as queen, surely understands that much, but whether she thinks it’s acceptable to act that way knowing Sara and the others are demons, or has some other objective, I don’t know. In any case, her sudden words were so inappropriate that I feigned not hearing her and gave her a chance to correct herself.
“I asked if you plan on getting engaged to Tiara.”
Despite understanding the implication of my question, she presses the issue outright. That makes it clear she is seriously trying to get me engaged to Tiara. However, some tried to stop Sariya’s remarks.
“Then how about our Fahren?”
“Yes, they’re a good match in age too.”
“In that case, what about our Lauren?”
The ones who spoke up were Miralene and Maraliefa of the Rosenberg family, and Charlene of the Byreus family. While seemingly agreeing with Sariya’s words, the fact that they responded so smoothly shows they already harbored such thoughts from the beginning.
In response to the sudden engagement proposals, unexpectedly, it was the girls whose names were mentioned who spoke up.
“Mother, what foolish things are you saying!”
“What foolishness. Tiara, you wanted to get engaged to him too, didn’t you?”
“It’s true, I still have those feelings.”
“Then―”
“But Rolando-sama isn’t so weak-willed as to change his mind just because someone tells him to!
Tiara’s voice rings out, chiding Sariya’s words. Bolstered by that, her attitude spreads to the other girls as well.
“Grandmother, Mother. This is something I must accomplish myself. Your meddling is unnecessary.”
“But―”
“Mother? Please don’t make me say it twice… That goes for you too, Grandmother.”
「「……」」
While still smiling, Fahren’s expression carries such overwhelming pressure that the anger contained in it is evident. It strongly implied “Don’t interfere”.
“You too, Mother. We decided to wait until he comes for us himself. Please don’t do anything unnecessary.”
“I’m thinking about what’s best for you―”
“That ‘what’s best’ IS what’s unnecessary. We’re not children anymore!”
The three girls berate their families for their blunders. At that moment, I clap loudly to gather everyone’s attention.
“Now that they have admonished you on my behalf, shall we resume the tea party? Oh, and just to be clear, I didn’t say anything to them. The actions they are taking now are purely of their own volition – please understand that.”
Thanks to them, I somehow managed to smooth things over, but without that, I might have ended up forced into engagements with them. Though if that happened, I could simply never set foot in this country again – it truly wouldn’t be an issue at all.
“Besides, Mother, forcing him like that might just make Rolando-sama flee to another country. He doesn’t have any particular attachment to staying in this one, after all.”
“Haah, I know that already.”
That’s right. If it came down to it, I could just abandon this country and go be active somewhere else. The only reasons I’m still using Schells Kingdom as a base are because my family is here, and I’ve built up a foundation here so far.
And lately, that foundation has reached the point where it can function fine without me, I might even be starting to get in the way. Letting it become independent and leaving it be could be an option.
“However, Tiara, don’t forget your mother’s words contain the worries of a parent for their child. …Though it seems she had other motives this time.”
“Yes, I understand everything completely. She is my mother, after all.”
Saying that, Tiara and I direct critical gazes at Sariya. With those looks directed her way, Sariya looks troubled and uncomfortable. While what she said earlier seemed like a worried mother thinking of her child’s happiness, her true feelings are completely different. Without even needing to read her mind, I’m 90% sure her motive is the sweets served today.
The quality of the sweets I prepared is close to what you’d find on Earth. This world’s cooking techniques are still in their developing stages, with even those called top chefs inferior to the average housewife on Earth who can make standard home cooking.
After eating those sweets, Sariya now wants to be able to eat them anytime. As a result, she took action to draw me into the royal family.
Fortunately, having bore two children with the king, you could say she holds two cards for bringing in influential people. This time she tried to use one of those cards, Tiara, to make me join the royal family.
For nobility, it’s only natural they would want to recruit someone who can make high-quality food and moreover defeated demons and was awarded the Mithril First Class Medal.
While sweets happened to be the reason this time, one way or another, it’s not surprising she would approach me after recognizing I’m an influential figure.
“B-but it can’t be helped―”
“Since we’re only human.”
“…?”
Oops, our jokes overlapped. When Sariya was about to say something resembling a certain famous poet from Earth, I unconsciously blurted it out, but apparently, there was someone else here who knew that reference – Nagartinya.
After polishing off the remaining sweets on her plate, Nagartinya fires her candid opinion at Sariya.
“All you’ve talked about is yourself this whole time. Fortunately, the girls have their hearts set on Rolando-kyun, otherwise this could have ended in tragedy rather than a harmless farce. A forced marriage would be nothing short of devastating.”
“Quiet, you unrelated person. Just who are you anyway?”
It seems she sat down without even introducing herself after leaving the kitchen. While hiding her true identity is necessary, I should have at least made her do a basic greeting.
As I was thinking about that, Nagartinya and Sariya’s staring contest continues, when Nagartinya drops a bomb.
“Who am I? Isn’t it obvious? I’m Rolando-kyun’s lov―”
“Mongolian Chop! From a Choke Sleeper!”
“Guh, gasp, R-Rolando-kyun… t-too tight… can’t bre…”
Sensing she was about to say something weird, I immediately slipped into her bosom and detonated a brutal Mongolian chop to her throat. As she choked, I circled behind her and put her in a choke hold, swiftly knocking her out.
After laying her out on the floor, I smoothly gloss over the incident as if nothing happened.
“Please continue enjoying the tea party.”
『No no no no no』
In response to my words, everyone in the room retorts with the same phrase. Unable to overlook this, Sariya approaches me as the representative and presses me.
“Rolando-kun, is it true she’s your lover?”
“No way. Even if the earth and sky reverse, a natural disaster destroys the world, and the gods wage war bringing about Ragnarok, that could never happen.”
“Y-you don’t have to go that far… I’m starting to feel sorry for the poor girl.”
Hearing my categorical denial, Sariya says something like that. Why? I’m just being honest.
While she seems to have gotten the message that me and that girl aren’t lovers, it appears she still has lingering doubts as her questioning continues.
“Then who in the world is she?”
“Just an acquaintance.”
“You brought a mere acquaintance to a tea party with such distinguished guests?”
“I guess you could say that.”
“…I see.”
Ignoring Sariya’s dubious “Let’s just leave it at that for now,” I pick Nagartinya up off the floor. I can’t just leave her there, so I’ll take her to a bedroom.
“I’m going to take her to a bedroom, so please continue enjoying the tea party.”
Saying that, I hurriedly leave the venue as if escaping the interrogating gazes asking “Just who in the world is that girl?”.
