The royal palace had multiple conference rooms. The room they were currently in was on the small and simple end of the spectrum, though one could still lay twenty tatami mats across it. Four chairs surrounded the table.
“My goodness, what a surprise that you were selected for this task, Vice Commander Rhoda! It’s an honor, I must say! We don’t get many opportunities to meet.”
“Yes, the Third Royal Order is often away on duty.”
“Though I suppose we could meet at parties…?”
Zoltan, ever the brown-noser, was in high spirits. He seemed unaware that Seiichirou was in charge and that Orjef was actually just a cover. It would have been a hassle to correct him, and the misunderstanding meant less friction with his elitist attitude anyway, so Seiichirou just kept quiet and turned to the other person in the room.
It was a Sorcery Department civil official who served as Zoltan’s aide. A calm-looking man in his mid-thirties, his name was Qusta. Judging by his demeanor and the fact that Zoltan had chosen him for the task, he was of noble standing.
“It is nice to see you again,” Seiichirou said.
“Yes, it has been a while, Mr. Kondo.”
Seiichirou often saw the man when his work took him to the Sorcery Department.
“By the way,” said Seiichirou, “may I ask about him…?”
“He’s doing fine. He’s been absorbed in researching that magic stone he received not long ago. The other day, he said he’d found a new application for it, and he’s been holing himself up in the lab ever since.”
“Well, that’s good to hear.”
Orjef eyed Qusta and Seiichirou as they nodded to each other. “Who are you referring to?” he cut in.
At this point, Zoltan noticed the change in topic.
“Oh…that would be the assistant director,” he replied, scowling.
“The assistant director, hm? Now that you mention it, I realize that the assistant director is not your aide.”
Zoltan was the director of the Sorcery Department. Orjef was the vice commander of the Third Royal Order. Seiichirou was the assistant director of the Accounting Department. It stood to reason that Zoltan’s aide would be the assistant director, but…
“Absolutely not! He’s not fit to be out in public!”
“Indeed. His talents lie elsewhere, I am afraid.”
The two representatives of the Sorcery Department promptly shook their heads. Having only ever seen the man in question from afar at public junctions, Orjef turned to Seiichirou. “Is that talented sorcerer really such a character?” his gaze asked.
“In the worst-case scenario, he could cause a diplomatic incident,” Seiichirou responded with uncharacteristic graveness.
Orjef decided not to pursue the matter any further.
“I decided to feed him some bait so that he won’t come out of his hole for a while,” Seiichirou added.
“You’re a big help as always, Mr. Kondo,” said Qusta.
Orjef pretended not to hear that, either.
Seiichirou led the entire conference…which perhaps only made sense given the sheer number and variety of documents that needed explanation. Although Qusta presented documents of his own from the Sorcery Department about spells and research methods, the jargon was too specialized for Seiichirou to understand.
From Orjef’s perspective, the explanations were a little too dumbed down, but this made sense—they didn’t need to show their entire hand to a country they didn’t have formal relations with. Camile and the other members of the Legal Department planned to trickle out more information if this tour went well.
It was also reaffirmed at the meeting that while Zoltan and Orjef would serve as the figureheads, Qusta and Seiichirou would provide more detailed explanations as their aides. At the Egorovans’ request, the tour itself would take place in the tower where the Holy Maiden had been summoned, which was also where the Sorcery Department was located. He would have to stay thoroughly contained until it was over.
“The first thing to worry about is the dinner party to welcome them,” Orjef remarked.
“Yes. If they’re bringing a prince, then our royalty will have to meet them,” said Zoltan. “I believe Prince Yurius has it under control.”
Seiichirou was reassembling the stack of documents when he processed that statement.
“………Excuse me?” he interjected dumbly.
“What’s got you so shocked? Prince Yurius is going to be our next king. Of course he’ll entertain foreign guests,” Zoltan said, as if it were obvious.
But that wasn’t the point.
“A visit from foreign royalty means there’s going to be a party, right?” Orjef guessed.
For Seiichirou, these words dredged up flashbacks of presentations with other companies back in Japan. Despair flooded his entire being.
“Do I…really have to participate?” he asked.
“Well, obviously.”
✦ ✦ ✦
“What a pickle…” Seiichirou muttered to himself.
After the conference, he had finished his regular work and gone home. He’d exchanged some cursory words with Milan the maid, then went into his room and sat on his bed.
Who knew there would be a party on the first day?
It made sense that foreign royalty wouldn’t immediately get to work after a long journey, but it hadn’t occurred to Seiichirou that there would be a dinner party. The word “party” didn’t exist in a modern Japanese salaryman’s dictionary.
He had to redo his presentation documents…but no, the bigger problem was that he had to attend the party. What was the dress code? The etiquette?
It had been ten months since he’d arrived in this country. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been to any parties. Maybe he could use the same outfit from that one time… Would Norbert still be up for helping? Or maybe it was better to wear his work clothes since he was a civil official and all? No, that didn’t sound right…
Seiichirou was still wallowing when the owner of the house returned.
“Are you home, Seiichirou?” Aresh emerged from the adjoining bedroom, already changed into more comfortable indoor clothes.
Upon noticing this, Seiichirou lifted his head. “Oh… I bid you welcome, Mr. Aresh.”
“Get out of work mode.”
“Oh, sorry, Aresh.”
Aresh hated it when Seiichirou addressed him formally, but a mere civil official from another world couldn’t speak to a nobleman and a knight commander like an equal, so Seiichirou was only barred from such language while at home. Aresh was always saying that Seiichirou could stand to speak even more casually, but that would take time.
“Having a problem?” Aresh asked, surmising that work was causing Seiichirou’s unusual attitude.
“Not a problem, per se,” Seiichirou answered with a rueful smile, “but there is a dinner party…”
“Oh, yes. I’ve already got an outfit ready for you,” Aresh said casually.
“You do?” Seiichirou’s eyes widened.
It was rare to see that look on his face; there was something guileless about it. Aresh’s lips curled into a smile.
“Your formal clothes and accessories. They’re already prepared. I figured you’d be working right up until the day, so I got someone in the palace to arrange it for you.”
Aresh had read him like a book.
“That…is a big help. Thank you…but how did you know that there would be a dinner party?”
“It’s a diplomatic visit with royalty involved. Of course there’ll be a dinner party.”
Seiichirou couldn’t even muster a groan at this no-nonsense demonstration of nobleman logic.
“More importantly…” Aresh sat next to him on the bed, causing the high-quality mattress to sink slightly under his weight.
A large hand cupped Seiichirou’s cheek, followed seamlessly by a kiss.
“Mm… Aresh?”
Aresh tilted his head and dove in for a second kiss. Feeling the warmth of Aresh’s lips and the arms wrapped around his back, Seiichirou’s eyes flickered open.
“The envoys will be here tomorrow, yes? I need to cast a barrier on you.”
Barrier spells worked as a safeguard against the magic that permeated the world. Although they defended Seiichirou from the poisonous magicules outside his body, it did nothing about the things he ingested. But still, the spell was a great boon for someone like him, whose tolerance for magic was far too meager for a world in which magic was ubiquitous.
But since barrier spells were themselves a form of magic—and a powerful one at that—magic-sickness was assured.
“It’s in two days, actually…” Seiichirou retorted. He’d been thinking of meekly asking for a barrier the day before the arrival, but he didn’t expect Aresh to offer it to him today.
Aresh kept his expression cool; only his purple eyes were clouded with desire. “This one will be extra thick as a precaution. Would you prefer me to wear you down in one night, or would you rather take it slower over two days?” he asked.
Seiichirou mentally weighed his work, the remaining time, and the limits of his stamina.
“The latter, please,” he said with a grimace, after much deliberation.
Aresh grinned.