Happy New Year. This is the first post of the new year.
I've also updated the activity report, so if you're interested, feel free to take a look.
"I'd like to go with this crest, please."
First thing in the morning, I was shown several crest designs and picked out one to hand to the man in front of me.
He was a staff member belonging to the crest management department. Apparently he was technically a noble, but whether from pulling an all-nighter or not, he had dark circles under his eyes and wore rumpled clothes that made him look like an invalid.
"Thank you for your immediate decision."
The man gave a slight bow, carefully tucked the design I had chosen into his bag, drew a large X through the remaining designs, and crumpled them up on the spot.
"Well then, I'll take my leave."
After bowing once more, the man jumped into the carriage that had been waiting in front of the estate and hurried back to the royal castle. It seemed he still had plenty of work left to do.
"Tenma, what kind of crest did you go with?"
Namiatarou poked its face out of the garden pond and approached with an air of keen interest.
I held out a copy of the crest I had just selected, and Namiatarou deftly took it with the prosthetic hand I had made, bringing it in front of its face.
"Ohh! Not bad at all! That's cool! But the shape of Slarin is a little different from what I heard yesterday."
Yesterday, the crest I had decided on represented Slarin as a perfect circle, but this one was closer to a rounded triangle, like an onigiri.
According to the man who brought the sample crests, "A circle would either leave no room for Shiromaru aside from Solomon, or result in a distorted shape, so I prepared both a circle-packed version and a triangle version."
I checked the circle version just to be sure, and indeed, Shiromaru either ended up misshapen or was considerably smaller compared to Solomon.
The triangle version, on the other hand, fit perfectly once Shiromaru settled in.
"This one really does look better... But hey, I'm not in there. What's the deal with that?"
"Come on, Namiatarou, you're not my Familiar. There's no way you'd be included."
I immediately fired back a retort, and Namiatarou's eyes went perfectly round (well, they were already round to begin with) as it started trembling with rage.
"Wh—what did you say?!"
It let out an ear-piercing shriek. Startled by the noise, Grandpa and the others came rushing out of the mansion, but Namiatarou paid them no mind, rolling around and thrashing about the yard.
"This is horrible! Tenma, you're horrible! You used me and used me, and now that I'm no longer useful, you just toss me aside like garbage! You're a demon! A heartless demon, I tell you!"
Namiatarou was shouting all manner of slanderous things at the top of its lungs. Such was the ferocity of its rampage that passersby were peeking through the gate, wondering what on earth was going on.
However, once most of them realized it was Namiatarou causing the commotion, they simply went on their way with a look that said "oh, same old same old." The only ones lingering by the gate were people who enjoyed watching Namiatarou do its thing. They were probably the sort who loved watching animals do funny things.
"Look, I get it, okay... There wasn't time to include Namiatarou in the official version, but I'll make one for personal use that has Namiatarou in it too."
Namiatarou was being so unbearably loud that I quickly came up with this compromise on the spot. At that, Namiatarou froze mid-thrash.
"You'd better mean that. You said it, so don't go back on your word. If you lie to me, you're gonna drink—"
Pufferfish.
"—and I won't forgive you."
It stared me down with a flat, suspicious gaze, pressing the point. But Namiatarou... the way you phrased that, you either turn into a fish or a comedy duo. If it's the former, I could probably eat it up nice and tasty depending on how I cook it, but if it's the latter, I'd seriously want to pass.
"Then let's do a pinky swear! Come on, come on—pinky swear, pinky promise, if you lie, you drink—"
Pufferfish.
"—tea! Pinky sworn!"
Namiatarou forced its mechanical finger to hook around my little finger and then started swinging our hands up and down vigorously while singing. Doing a pinky swear for the first time in who knew how many decades, it hurt so much I thought my finger was going to snap off.
Once the pinky swear was done, Namiatarou produced some cloth and ink from somewhere and began scrawling "VICTORY" across it while crawling all over the yard... at an absolutely staggering speed...
Grandpa and the others had been standing there, dumbfounded by Namiatarou's antics, but once they realized the conversation was about a family crest, they too became thoroughly interested and began leaning in for a closer look.
"Oh my, what a fine piece of work!"
"Truly well done! Seeing it like this, it's a design perfectly suited to you, Tenma."
"I'm proud to serve as your maid too, Tenma!...By the way, where are you going to put Namiatarou?"
Aura, for some reason looking rather smug, casually hit the exact nail on the head of my problem. Seriously, where was I going to put him...
While I was mulling that over, I glanced toward Namiatarou, who was sprinting around the garden, and noticed that at some point Shiromaru and Solomon had started chasing after him. It looked like they'd mistaken it for some kind of game to snatch the "Victory" banner that Namiatarou was waving around.
"Hm? What is it?"
As I watched Namiatarou and the others, I felt a faint tugging at my sleeve. When I turned around, there was Slarin with a tentacle stretched out toward me.
Slarin had extended its body to try and peek at the paper with the family crest on it. Normally it could grow bigger to get a better look, but with Grandpa and the others standing around, it didn't seem able to expand as much as it wanted.
"Slarin, you were one of the models too, weren't you? That's why the crest caught your interest. Sorry I didn't notice sooner."
I gave Slarin a quick apology, then bent down and angled the paper so it could see. Slarin gave a little shake of its body — as if to say it didn't mind at all — and then peered at the crest.
"This outer frame, that's Slarin."
When I explained the meaning of the crest, Slarin traced the outer frame — the part that represented itself — with a tentacle, then reshaped its body into a triangle just like the crest.
We all felt warmed seeing Slarin like that, but it seemed Shiromaru and Solomon thought it was something fun, because they stopped chasing Namiatarou and came charging over here instead.
The two of them peered at the crest the same way Slarin had, and before long all three of them had their heads pressed together. And then—
"Oh my, not human letters, but Familiar letters... no, a Familiar crest, I suppose."
Just as Grandpa had said, the three of them reproduced the family crest on their own.
Shiromaru sat down facing right and struck a howling pose from that position. Solomon hovered in the air diagonally above and to the right, its body bobbing slightly up and down as it flapped its wings — a charming detail, really. And behind those two, Slarin in its Emperor form reshaped its body into a rounded triangle.
"All three of you are amazing!"
When I praised them, all three of them wore expressions of pride — or in Slarin's case, gave off an aura of it.
"Hold it right theeeere!"
That's when someone who couldn't read the mood crashed in.
Ōgoi
He drifted to avoid me and came to a stop beneath Solomon. That seemed to be the spot Namitarou had been aiming for.
"I want to be right here! This position! …Actually, this is the only spot I could even squeeze into, so it works out!"
He made a strong declaration, then capped it off with a punchline—that was so like Namitarou.
I jotted down the rough positions of Slarin and the others on the paper I was holding, then sketched in a side profile of Namitarou—or something resembling him—beside them… I nearly sank into despair at my own lack of artistic talent, but I managed to get through it by convincing myself this was just a draft.
I tucked the clumsy sketch into my bag where no one could see it and checked today's schedule—or rather, the biggest item on it, confirming the family crest, was already done, so despite it not even being noon, I had nothing left to do.
"Since I've got nothing better to do, maybe I'll make some sweet potato yokan for Namitarou…"
I had a huge batch of steamed sweet potatoes sleeping in my bag from when I'd had free time, so today I decided I'd at least finish the kneading step. I headed toward the kitchen, picturing the tools and ingredients I'd need in my head… all while feeling Namitarou's expectant gaze on my back. And then, several hours later…
"Sorry, Namitarou… I messed it up. To be precise, I ended up making something a little different from yokan."
There were so many ingredients that I'd tried mixing in a bit of rice flour to cut down on the setting work—that must have been the problem. What came out was something you could call a uirou knockoff, with a soft, chewy texture… It tasted good in its own way, but…
"Wh-what did you say…?"
Namitarou's face fell into an expression of despair unlike anything I'd seen before. Then he gently placed a piece in his mouth…
"Huh, that's good. This works too."
In an instant, his face lit up with a grin. As long as sweet potatoes were in it, he didn't seem to care much whether it was yokan or uirou.
"Well, it doesn't taste all that different, so don't worry about it. Besides, if you're eating it underwater, this version holds together better, so it might actually be easier to eat."
While saying this, Namitarou held out a gold coin. He probably meant it as payment for this job.
"No, I don't need it. It was a failure in the end, and the ingredients were on Namitarou anyway. This is my way of thanking you for helping out at the tournament."
After a bit of back-and-forth, Namitarou reluctantly tucked the gold coin back into his pocket… It seemed he kept his Magic Bag in there—between his two pectoral fins. He probably had others somewhere too.
While I was musing over that, Namitarou suddenly began prying off one of his own scales.
"Like this… and done! Tenma, catch!"
He flicked the scale at me like a shuriken. It wasn't coming in very fast, so I caught it by pinching it between my thumb and forefinger.
"What the heck is this?"
What Namitarou sent me was a palm-sized,
kite-shaped
scale, with a gap like two identical ones stacked on top of each other, and a hole at the tip.
"That's my reverse scale! Channel your Magic Power and blow into it like a flute three times, and the message will reach my ears from a decent distance — well, I guess about halfway across this continent would probably work."
"A reverse scale? You're a carp! And three times..."
There were so many things wrong with this so-called flute that I swallowed the words I was about to say. I really didn't want to know what happened at one or two times.
"Oh! Just so you know, I think it'll reach me with just one or two times too, so don't worry!"
I held back the urge to blast him with an attack spell, even as he gave me a thumbs-up with his prosthetic hand.
"Well, it does seem convenient, so I'll keep it safe for now."
Until the day I actually used it, this flute-thing would probably just be bag filler.
"Make sure you really treasure it!"
After that exchange, nothing else of any real impact happened that day.
The next day, I was dressed up early in the morning and brought to the Royal Capital by Kurif.
There was apparently some minor meeting to attend, so I needed to arrive early — it was probably around seven o'clock. Since I'd been dragged out without breakfast, my stomach was about to start growling.
"Then, Lord Tenma, please wait in this room. I'll have something light prepared for you right away before the meeting."
I did technically have food in my own Magic Bag, but etiquette apparently demanded that they provide a meal. Since that butler had said he'd prepare something right away, he'd probably bring it quickly, just as he promised.
But putting that aside, after being ambushed while sleeping, I knew that if I let my guard down, drowsiness would creep right back up on me — so I wandered aimlessly around the room.
When I drifted over to the window by chance, I heard the sound of metal clashing from outside, so I opened the window and peered in the direction of the noise.
The sound was coming from a space just beyond the courtyard, and the two people making it were ones I knew. As I focused a little more...
"Aina really has a sharp sense for combat. Those are some deceptively nasty attacks."
"Thank you for the kind words, sir. And since you're already being generous, would you mind taking a single strike for me? Captain of the Royal Guard!"
That was an unusual pairing. No, "unusual" wasn't quite right — it was a combination I'd never seen before. Every time those two were together, there was always someone else around.
It looked like some kind of practical training exercise. Aina's halberd was being swung with considerable speed and force, but Din was using nothing but a single-handed sword, continuing to deflect her attacks with ease. From the look on his face, he was clearly still holding back.
"Tenma-sama, are you interested in those two?"
"Hwagh!"
Having been whispered to right next to my ear so suddenly, I let out a strange yelp and leaped away. The owner of the voice was, as expected —
that
butler, and he was holding a tray loaded with sandwiches and drinks in both hands... How he had opened the door and snuck up behind me in that state was, as always, utterly beyond me.
"No, I simply opened the door and walked normally to stand behind you, Tenma-sama. Is there a problem with that?"
The butler blathered on without a shred of shame. If this man had been an assassin, how many times would I have already been killed by him? The thought sent a chill running down my spine.
"I assure you, I have no intention of bringing any harm to you, Tenma-sama. In any case, regarding those two — whenever their schedules align, they train together over there quite regularly. Originally, Din had tried to recruit Aina into the Royal Guard, so even though she turned him down, he still takes an interest in her development. And since Aina also serves as Maria-sama's bodyguard, she never skips her training."
The way he calmly read my mind and then proceeded to explain the situation so smoothly — this man really was an exceptional butler. Lately, though, he'd started putting that excellence to use for the purpose of teasing me, which was rather annoying... No, now that I thought about it, he'd been exactly like this from the very first time we met.
"Ah, is that so...? That said, Aina is stronger than I expected. We've taken on a few commissions together before, but she was clearly hiding most of her true strength back then. If she'd entered this year's martial arts tournament, she could've made a pretty decent showing, don't you think?"
"Well, depending on the preliminary group, she probably could have made it to the Main Tournament. She wouldn't have won since Tenma-sama was there, but depending on the matchups, she could have aimed for a top placement."
As I talked with Kurif, I stuffed my cheeks with the sandwiches he'd brought and continued watching the two of them train.
"That wraps it up."
"...I yield."
Din knocked the halberd Aina had thrust at him to the ground with brute force, pinned it under his foot, and in the same motion pressed the flat of his blade against her neck. Aina was heaving for breath as she conceded, but Din was only slightly winded.
Din appeared to be giving Aina some advice, speaking to her while interspersing movements to demonstrate. Aina nodded along, occasionally replicating the same motions. Was the flush on her face from the intense exertion moments ago?
"Both of them are skilled in technique, but Din is definitely superior here. Aina is doing her best, but there's too much of a difference in their raw power."
Even the normally reserved Kurif was openly praising Din.
Though Din likely couldn't hear Kurif's words of praise, he noticed us watching and gave a slight, almost embarrassed wave.
I bowed my head in return before closing the window.
"Din's rare blush is quite the sight, isn't it?"
Kurif wore her happiest expression of the day while watching Din and the others. Aina, meanwhile, seemed entirely unaware of our presence, her gaze fixed seriously on Din the entire time.
"Now then, let's set those two aside. As for today's schedule..."
After hearing Kurif's explanation, I spent some time in a meeting with the King and Maria.
And then, when the main event came...
"It was astonishingly anticlimactic... I never thought it would end so quickly."
Less than thirty minutes after entering the audience chamber, the talk of rewards was already concluded.
The flow was like this: We entered the audience chamber where royalty and the court's key ministers waited → After waiting in our designated spots, the King and Maria made their entrance → The King announced my deeds (helping the King, aiding Tida and the others, thwarting the coup before it could begin, etc.) → The contents of the reward were declared → We withdrew... Honestly, I don't think we needed to have that many meetings beforehand. I barely said a word, after all...
However, the moment I left the audience chamber, it had become quite noisy inside, so perhaps that meeting was more about getting our stories straight for that moment.
After that, I was escorted to the room where I'd waited earlier and told to await the King's party.
"Ah, sorry about that. Kept you waiting."
The King and Maria, looking somewhat weary, arrived about an hour after I had withdrawn.
"The Reformist Faction nobles have been incredibly vocal. Even now, Duke Sanga and Marquis Samons are leading the charge, explaining things to those people."
"From the Reformist Faction's perspective, the deciding factor for Tenma's reward could be interpreted as 'because he suppressed a scandal involving one of their own members'... It's truly ridiculous. They should show a bit more magnanimity—just admit that the culprits were different, acknowledge Tenma, and stop objecting to the reward."
Both the King and Maria seemed annoyed at having their decisions questioned and were not in good moods. Unusually, both were irritable at the same time.
"Now, now, Your Majesty and Maria, please calm down. Their lack of magnanimity is clear just by looking at their leaders. There's no use getting angry over every little thing."
Kurif calmed the two of them down while mocking the Reformist Faction. Perhaps thanks to Kurif's usual demeanor, the two gradually regained their composure.
"Well, it can't be helped, I suppose. Besides, even the Reformist Faction wasn't unanimously opposed."
The King nodded to his own words several times, as if trying to convince himself. Maria nodded along as well, though she didn't seem nearly as convinced as the King.
"On another note, has Tenma decided when he'll be leaving the Royal Capital?"
Maria asked, as if changing the subject.
"I'll decide after discussing it with the Dawn Sword members, but I think it'll be less than ten days... Also, I have a favor to ask..."
I decided to consult the two of them about something I'd been considering for a while.
Both of them, especially Maria, leaned in eagerly to hear my request and readily agreed.
"We should be heading back soon. We need to discuss future plans with Grandpa and the others."
"My, my? Has that much time already passed?"
Maria, who had been grumbling while nibbling on snacks, set down the cup she'd been bringing to her lips and spoke in a surprised voice. The King, perhaps exhausted from entertaining Maria, had dozed off at some point.
"Gufu!"
When Maria delivered a blow to the King's side, he jolted awake with a start. Her practiced elbow jab was calibrated to inflict just the right amount of damage while holding back enough to avoid injuring him.
"Dear, since Tenma will be leaving soon, please tidy yourself up. At the very least, wipe the drool from your mouth."
Hearing Maria's words, the King frantically wiped his mouth with his sleeve, though there had been no drool to begin with. It was just one of Maria's little pranks.
"Ah, y-yes. You've really done so much for us. It's not something I can say easily in public, but I think of Tenma as my own son. And I don't mean that simply because he's Ricardo's child. Tenma has done that much for us. If anything troubles you in the future, don't hesitate to rely on the royal family."
The King gazed at me warmly as he said those things... but—
"How long are you going to keep sleep-talking? Tenma isn't leaving the Royal Capital right this moment, you know. Do you plan to say the same thing again when you actually bid Tenma farewell?"
Maria pointedly called out something I'd been stuck on too.
"Your Majesty... it's rather obvious that you were sleeping."
And the finishing blow came from the butler. It seemed His Majesty's HP had dropped to zero.
"Well, putting that matter aside for now... Tenma, you need to be careful in all sorts of ways. You're not the same Tenma you were a few months ago. There may very well be people who are waiting for you to leave the Royal Capital, so if you sense even the slightest anomaly, come find us right away—even if it's the middle of the night. We'll handle it immediately."
I left the room while talking with Maria, but His Majesty's steps were heavy, and he quickly fell behind. He had to stop multiple times before we even reached the entrance. When we parted ways, His Majesty's face was still red, so it looked like he'd be dwelling on that for a while.
After that, instead of heading straight back to the mansion, I went to visit Jin and the others to discuss the day of our departure. We settled on leaving the Royal Capital in the morning, five days from now. Jin and the others said they'd be fine going tomorrow, but if we did that, I'd definitely get scolded... by Maria.
I was vague about *who* would scold me and *what* they'd say, but Lina, of all people, with her sharp intuition, hit the nail right on the head. Well, she seemed to be joking, and when she saw my reaction, she panicked quite a bit, but...
I returned to the mansion after that, but there was quite a bit of commotion waiting for me there as well...
Apologies for the sudden shift, but please, take great care to avoid influenza and norovirus.
The truth is, I've been suffering from food poisoning for three or four days. Fortunately, it didn't seem to be norovirus, so I recovered quickly, but even so, it was the worst I'd felt in over a decade. Wrapped in my futon, I've been regretting my actions from January 2nd.
Everyone, please remember to wash your hands and gargle, and be careful with raw food... From the author, who almost certainly got hit by the sashimi-grade scallop he bought right before New Year's.