Parties weren’t as bad in this kingdom as in Vanel. She was always swarmed by people making business proposals, but at least no one tried to antagonize, deceive, or exploit her. In Vanel, people saw her as nothing more than a king’s illegitimate daughter from a small distant country─exploitable prey. Here, on the other hand, she was thought of as a princess of a great nation, the Lightning Archpriestess who could wield mysterious magic, and the savior of the kingdom. It wasn’t hard to see why she was treated differently.
You’d think that the surrounding countries would send assassins after me or try abducting me or offer me a marriage proposal so I’ll be a member of their nation, but I guess no one is willing to risk that during this pivotal time when we need to be preparing for invasion from the New World. They’re probably also afraid that if they try something funny and get caught, I’ll sic my divine soldiers on them. All the neighboring countries might also kick the crap out of them. It’s all too risky.
I’m also the only person who’s fluent in the New World language and knowledgeable of ships, cannons, and guns. The former crew members of the expedition fleet come close, but they only know how to sail a ship and do simple repairs; they’re not experts on shipbuilding and weaponry.
Well, neither am I, but I have some powerful allies. Professor Google, the commenters on my blog, the vast and infinite world wide web, and the library. Ask me any question, and I’ll come back to you with a good answer the next day. That’s why everyone thinks I’m so smart.
Actually, I’m pretty sure no one thinks that… Whenever someone asks a follow-up question, I always need another day to get back to them with an answer. Which makes it pretty obvious I’m asking someone else for help. Eh, no matter how I get my answers, I’m still useful for shipbuilding and weapons development.
I’m the key person to the development of the latest ships and weapons on the continent, the princess of a powerful country, the Lightning Archpriestess, the savior of the kingdom, a viscountess, and a young bachelorette. I’m gonna draw people in like flies to honey…or roaches to a sticky trap. I’m sure there are a lot of guys who want to court me…
“Indeed,” said Count Bozes. “You’ve been receiving a lot of marriage proposals.”
“You’re kidding me!”
Actually, that shouldn’t surprise me. People seem to think I’m twelve or thirteen, but it’s normal for nobles to get engaged at a young age. If anything, it’s weird that this kingdom’s trio of princesses are still single. Which apparently is because the first princess’s fiancé died…or at least that’s what I heard from Sabine and Chii.
Beatrice doesn’t have a fiancé… Probably Count Bozes’s and Lady Iris’s fault.
Hold up. How did he know to say that? It’s almost like he was reading my mind…
“Because you started thinking out loud,” he responded.
Again?!
“Fine, then… So where are these proposals?” Mitsuha asked.
“I rejected them all.”
“What? Why?! You should’ve at least shown them to me first! What if I got a proposal from a handsome prince or a cute little shota-type?!”
“…Shota? What’s that?”
“Uh, don’t worry about it…”
I look thirteen-ish to the people of this world, so dating a boy who looks my age would mean dating a shota. Speaking of princes, Leuhen─Sabine’s younger brother─is adorable. Their older brother, the crown prince, is a little too “Prince Charming” for me… Being his wife would be exhausting.
“So…” said Mitsuha. “Why are these proposals being sent to you instead of me, and why are you rejecting them?! Don’t hit the cancel button on my happiness! That’s my choice to make.”
“No one delivers marriage proposals directly to the person concerned. They’re sent to their parents, or if they have no parents, their guardian,” answered Count Bozes.
“Huh…”
Noble marriages were more about the families than the individuals getting married, so that custom made sense. Even in Japan, the nosy matchmaker auntie would bring her proposition to the parents first.
I guess it makes sense that the count would receive my marriage proposals, thought Mitsuha.
One thing about his answer caught her attention, however.
“Are you my guardian, Count Bozes?”
“Wha… Do you really need to ask that question, Mitsuha? After all this time…?” He slumped his shoulders.
Now that he’s said it out loud, I guess he is my guardian… He’s always helped me and done guardian-like things.
But wait, you never officially addressed it, Count Bozes! Don’t look so sad! All right, all right, I shouldn’t have said that! I’m sorry!
…Damn it. He used my guilt to get me to commit to attending a party. I swear, skilled nobles and their wily tricks…
Oh well. I’d been thinking it’s high time I show my face in high society again. I may as well use a party of the count’s choosing for the first battleground of my return…
“Well, if it isn’t Viscountess Yamano! Long time no see. Were you traveling? Or were you back at your home country?” one of the party guests greeted.
“I was traveling, actually.”
No one in this kingdom thought Mitsuha would ever move elsewhere, so they weren’t worried by her traveling. I’m certainly not in Vanel anymore.
“Lady Mitsuha, I would be honored if you attended my son’s birthday party next week…”
“Viscountess, if you ever need help with shipbuilding or weapon development, I’d be happy to send you craftsmen from my land!”
“Viscountess Yamano, I’d love to hear more about the clothing made in Yamano County.”
“Could we discuss making a large purchase of your lightning corn?”
“I would like to invite you and Princess Sabine to my estate…”
Oh geez, it’s happening! They’re all flocking to me to shoot their shot! They know they’re none the worse for trying, and if they succeed, then jackpot! Nobles sure love to gamble… Which is ironic, ’cause I wouldn’t exactly consider that a noble pastime! To be fair, some of these people are owners of large trading companies and not a part of any nobility.
To the second person: Ask Count Bozes directly! That’s out of my domain.
To numbers three and four: Those questions concern the development of my territory’s industry, so I’ll set up a place for us to talk later.
Some of these proposals can be annoying… But it’s my duty as the ruler of a territory. My dad used to go out for drinks after work as part of his job. There’s no way drinking with your bosses and clients instead of your close buddies can be fun. It was just another aspect of his job that he had to put up with.
Some salarymen even develop health problems because of all the drinking at client dinners. No one at these noble parties has ever offered me alcohol, though…
“Viscountess Yamano, have you tried any of the delicious foreign cuisine over there?”
“You should try some of those rare fruity desserts!”
“The mixed fruit juice the chef made is exquisite…”
Nooo! My poor figure!
What to do…
Mitsuha looked around at the spoils of war she pilfered from the Noralian fleet─weapons and ammunition, the ship rigging, food, and contents of the safes. I took the entire safes, actually, not just the contents.
The best thing to do with the weapons and ammo would be to sell them to the kingdom so they could be loaded onto their naval ships. There was just one teensy little problem: she’d have to explain where she got them from.
There was no way to hide that she used Traversal to lead the three ships into battle. That was fine; she got permission to do just that beforehand and gave a vague explanation of the two warring countries. She even revealed that Vanel, which Zegleus had declared war on, was one of the two countries, and that she was planning on supporting them in this battle. Word would’ve gotten around from the former Vanelians anyway, and there was no point in lying about such vital information.
The leaders of this country were aware the war with Vanel was caused by a single rogue merchant’s actions, and that Vanel itself was ignorant of the conflict. The only reason the Zegleusians didn’t call off the war was because they knew if they ever encountered Vanel again in the future, they could use the accusation of Vanel invading and making the first strike as leverage for negotiations.