Chapter 4

Is this really a banquet?

As I stepped up to the round, opal table, I felt my limbs stiffen from the tension. "This looks more like an military discussion than a dinner party."

The eldest son and the third son were in the room, and both were wearing what seemed like their usual uniforms. Since Conrad is that way, it must mean that full dress for those brothers is being in uniform. Each uniform has the same design but different colors. Gwendal was viridian without a speck of dirt, and Wolfram was a deep navy blue. There are many varying colors for each post. It's easy to tell the difference between land, sea and air.

A man that seems to be a waiter carrying a tray bows his head to me very deeply. But the eldest son and the third son, as they have have what seem to be champagne glasses in their hands, won't even try to greet me. Of course, I wasn't able to bear the awkward atmosphere.

"Good, good evening."

Wolfram laughed through his nose. Being scorned by a person with a nice face makes it at least three times as offensive. Conrad enters while smiling, and places his left hand on Gwendal's back.

"Your Majesty, this is my older brother Lord Gwendal von Voltaire, and over here-"

When he reaches towards the glittering blond he's swatted away as if to say "Don't touch".

"...is my little brother, Lord Wolfram von Bielefeld. Both of them were called Your Highness until the other day; now they're Your Excellency. Of course, they're several positions lower than Your Majesty, so it doesn't matter if you just address them by their names as you wish."

"Don't touch me."

Gwendal is quiet, but the young one is hysteric and yelping noisily.

"Didn't I tell you not to touch me with your human fingers?! I've never even thought of you as my older brother once!"

"Right, right, I get it so I won't pour your drink for you. Because my white cloth is different than yours it'd leave a serious stain."

Looking as if he's really used to it, the second son leaves his brothers. The pretty boy and the idler.

"I explained to you that we have different fathers. You probably noticed that only I, Sir Weller Conrart, am not one of the ten nobles. My father was a traveller of unknown origins; he was a person with no value other than his sword."

Wolfram made an irritated face. Gwendal was indifferent.

"Then, you're a half?[1] Ah, why didn't you say something like half or double?[2] Your mother was a Mazoku, and your father was..."

"Human. With light brown hair and eyes, and penniless."

"And he was a great man."

All at the same time everyone's eyes turned towards the entrance. The Sexy Queen who had such an amazing body that it was almost a crime smiled. It's a tight black dress that made with a lusterless material, has a cut that might reach her navel, and a slit that makes her shapely legs completely visible. She doesn't have a single accessory, as if to say, "I'm the jewel".

She's letting out even more pheromones than when she was nude.

"Mother!"

"Mother?!"

After all, if any of the three called her that, that would make her the mother of three people. Is it ok for the mother of people who are almost one-hundred to only look about thirty?

"Thirty... About fifty... one-hundred and fifty... She's about one-hundred and fifty years old?"

That is, awhile ago I got excited about a woman who is about one-hundred and fifty years old. Her golden curls stretch out elegantly.

"It's been a long time, Conrart. It's only been awhile since I've seen you, but you're looking more and more like the handsome man your father was."

"Mother, you only grow more beautiful as well."

"Oh my, you probably say that to all the girls."

This is a conversation between a mother and son?

She hugs her sons one by one, but they barely look like mother and son except for Wolfram, and even if the eldest, Gwendal, is younger than her, she looks like a skilled older girlfriend spoiling a calm boyfriend. I secretly asked the second son.

"Is he a son brought in from the husband of a second marriage, or something like that?"

"No, I assure you, all three of us were born from that woman."

"Gwen, your forehead is wrinkling again. You won't be able to get the girls that way. Ah, Wolf! Wolf, let me get a good look at your face. Oh, you still look just like me. The men probably won't leave you alone!"

"...Mother, we just saw each other this morning. Besides, even if men liked me it wouldn't make me happy."

"Is that so? Are boys like that? I can't understand the feelings of young men these days. Aah, why couldn't I have had a girl? Boys are so rowdy and they distance themselves from their mothers so fast!"

"That's not true, I wouldn't distance myself from you, Mother!"

"Oh? Really?"

"Really!"

What an silly parent and child.

But, the queen's aim of attack is immediately directed towards me.

"Your Majesty."

"Hyah."

Her captivating body was pressed up against mine, an average body of a young fifteen year old high school student. Our faces were the same height, so close that we could have kissed. Her rose-colored lips shaped into a smile.

"We've met in the baths, didn't we, Your New Majesty?"

"That's, that's right."

"You've gotten so tense that you're stiff, you're really darling. I was thinking that it would be nice if someone like you would become the new king."

"I see." The reason I was becoming stiff is because the first 'big' of your 'big skinny big'[3] is hitting my chest.

"Ne, King Yuuri. You're King Yuuri, right?"

"I see," this isn't the place to respond like an audience member of Alta.[4]

"Do you have a lover?"

"Hyaaah~!"

While she's making strange sexy sounds, their mother is pulled off of me. With an expression that wasn't shy or angry, Gnter forced his way through.

"Please don't fall in love with the new Maoh, previous Maoh!"

"No~, really, Gunter. You sound like a cynical widow!"

"I don't care even if you resent and abuse me. Anyhow, I, if the previous Maoh and new Maoh were to be lovers... No, excuse me, I want to avoid an improper relationship such as being lovers."

"Previous Maoh? Who? This... woman is?"

Not a Sexy Queen, but she was a real queen? The lovely Mazoku in the black dress (or witch) smiled and presented her white hand to me.

"Welcome to Shin Makoku, King Yuuri. I am your predecessor, Lady Cecilie von Spitzweig. Your Majesty was summoned because I said I would step down from the throne."

"Then, this is because of you, uh, no, eh, Lady von Spitzweig Ce... umm, Cecilia? No? Li, e?"

"Call me Cheri. Che, ri. My older brother told me to reconsider it, but I'm tired of a life where I can't love freely!"

Lady Cheri, because you have that sort of motive, I had to become the new Maoh even though I'm still a minor. As her slender fingers grasped me before my eyes, I sighed. Ah, the owner these delicate white fingers, if she could hold onto power for about one hundred more years, I could be sent off to live a normal life in Japan, and when my unfortunate wife died before me, half a year later on a spring day, when I was being watched by my only son and daughter-in-law and cute grandchildren, then I could take a trip to the next world. Wait, what if this is the next world? If that's true, am I dead now...

"What's the matter, Your Majesty?"

My cheerful family planning rises and vanishes like a revolving lantern,[5] rises and vanishes.

What a story.

I've been invited as a guest to a certain country, my teeth chattering from the tension of being in front of a ruler and nobles, and I made a mistake in one instant and drank from what would normally be a bowl to wash your fingers. All the nobles surrounding me laughed scornfully and said, "Doesn't he have any manner", while elegantly dipping their fingers in the bowl. However, only the princess drinks the water out of the finger bowl with a cool face. It seems like she doesn't want to embarrass her guest.

Even if it's called "bowl" it's not a game of American football, so they should be hospitable! That's an anecdote of my mind that warms my heart.

If she drinks all of the water, I wonder if that means she's a kind princess.

I secretly sighed while watching water be poured into silverware nearby.

I want to stop. I feel like I can get along with Conrad, but the eldest son and the third son are hopeless. I'm not sure about Madame Cheri, but I probably shouldn't try to the point of her feigning ignorance about everything.

I arranged the tips of my fingers on both hands and prudently dipped them in the small bowl. And...

"Eh?!"

Everyone else was holding it with both hands and drank it all in one gulp! Damn, I didn't read the textbook of morality very seriously. Conrad has the waiter move back without drinking.

"You seem to know a lot about filth, cleaning yourself with sake."

Wolfram, sitting next to me, is maliciously straightforward. So that was sake. Then it's ok, I can't have alcohol anyway. Not to observe the law, but to preserve the height I want to be and a healthy heart, I won't smoke.

Gnter is a bit away from the round table, giving instructions to the waiters. He isn't a close relative of the Maoh, so he doesn't get a seat at Shinou's dinner. Therefore, there are five people around the table. Sitting clockwise from the youngest.

The new king, myself, His Highness Wolfram, a former crown prince, His Highness Conrart, a former crown prince, His Highness Gwendal, a former crown prince, and the previous Maoh, Cecilie.

When I'm enclosed by Wolfram who hates me a lot, and the pheromone queen, I can't concentrate on eating dinner.I understand the feelings that Wolfram hates me well because until recently he was a prince and he was suddenly demoted. It wouldn't be so troublesome if they had safely stuck to the hereditary system.

Pouring a drink into a faceted glass like from Edo (probably sake again), the waiter lightly leans over and asks about something like an in-flight meal.

"Your Majesty, fish and meat... Bird, mammal, reptile or amphibian, which would you like?"

Which?! If I remember right in the old days of Yakult,[6] I think there was an athlete who may have eaten crocodile, but don't be surprised, this is what's called the difference in food culture. Even in Japan the viper is a popular dish. But it's really eel even though they say it's a viper.

"We, well, in that case, as a growing child, mammalian. No, wait, wait a minute. What kind of mammal is it tonight? It's not something like a fresh monkey or a newborn puppy is it?!"

A reflection of the image of the food market in China.

"It's cow." What a relief.

"The highest quality with eight stomachs and five horns."

"Five horns... Maybe something like gene manipulation, or... Uuh, well, the cow."

Hochinosu, mino, ginoa, yan...[7] It's no good, I can't remember anything else about stomachs. A plate the color and smell of consomme soup and seems to be the appetizer is carried over. I took in hand what I had instead of a knife or fork. A dull, polished silver,

"...This brings back memories, a spork. Well, it is pretty rational. Totally rationally."

In elementary school, at lunch, this served two roles. For soup and hors d'oeuvre of the day.

"So, Your Majesty, what was the country you grew up in like? I wonder how it's different from our world."

The previous Maoh, Cecilie, grips my right hand tightly. At once the temperature of this male high school student who was formerly an unpopular jock goes up by 2 degrees.

"I, I don't know, there's nothing particularly odd, it's a boring world. Ah, but, this world is extremely different. We don't have people who can use magic, and we work more on improving scientifically..."

"Science! I've heard of that. It's a technology where people who don't have magic power or religious power can kill their enemies from far away, isn't it? The human countries seem to be doing that sort of research. It's terrible, the military capability to be able reach further than bows. If humans get that sort of war capability, I wonder if they'll abide by the agreement."

The third son said to his mother with cold eyes.

"I don't think they have those sort of ethics."

"Please don't say such scary things, Wolfram. If that happens, what are we going to do?"

"It's simple. We should stop suppressing our magic. When we fairly have equal war potential, we'll dispose of them because the humans will be too cocky."

"Wait wait wait, I didn't mean that kind of science! In short, well, umm, machines that will do troublesome chores like cleaning and laundry, and machines that will plow fields all at once. In short, stuff to make daily living more comfortable."

Cheri seems sweetly surprised.

"I don't think cleaning and laundry are troublesome. That's the job of the cleaning men and laundry women."

I didn't even think about how the queen lives up to now.

"So, so, instead of people in charge of cleaning or laundry, you'd have a machine."

"If that's so, the servants lose their jobs?

"If that happens, those people work at factories to build vacuum cleaners and washing machines..."

I don't really know if people can live easily.

"Ne, well then Your Majesty, how about love? What is love like between different kinds of people? After all when there's obstacles and opposition, doesn't passion just flare up more?"

I can't figure out what she means by 'different kinds'. She's probably alluding to mazoku and humans, but how should I relate that to Japanese? International marriage? People already aspire to, not even mentioning that they're free to, or a human with a chimpanzee, which rarely happens.

"At any rate, you came from a very distant world. I'm glad you're succeeding the throne. Because of that I can finally leave the castle. It's been my dream for a long time to go on a free love trip."

She's dreamy, I grip my fingers and nod my head at this and that.

"That, that's great."

Great things are brought out to the dining table. The meat of the main dish. A red meat dish that I wouldn't say is favorably rare is in front of me. In front of the previous queen is almost a whole amphibian... No, it is whole. With that sort of face, how could you be eating frogs, Madam Sexy Queen.[8] I tried to recite a haiku.

"You must have been anxious about whether you could do it when you suddenly found out you're a king. I was too. That day a messenger suddenly came, and it was made clear that according to Shinou Genshi Your Majesty had the soul of the next Maoh. But, Your Majesty, don't think about it too much. For the difficult things everyone around you, my brother and my sons, will help you as much as they can."

"Mother!"

Sticking a knife in his bird, Wolfram speaks in a voice that seems aggravated.

"I don't plan on working for this man! I can't agree when it's not clear if he deserves to be the new king."

"Oh, then will you succeed the throne, Wolf?"

Next he scoops up something white that seems to be potatoes, and shakes his head as he puts it on his plate.

"Of course not. Big brother is far more suited to that position than I am. If it was big brother, he would show that those cowardly humans are fools."

Subsequently he picks up a glass for wine or something like a type of alcohol.

Next to him Conrad looks like he isn't listening as he takes a bite of fish. When the youngest child says "older brother", he seems to only mean the eldest brother of few words.

"Right, Gwendal?"

He knives the chicken meat again. He seems to have decided his eating order. The previous queen tilts her head sweetly.

"But Wolfram, don't you know the consequences when the king opposes Shinou's words."

It seems like he's a god-like being and when they don't follow his words, terrible things happen. Then, in the case that I refuse to be the Maoh, will terrible things happen to this country and all its people, or to me, the newcomer?

"Of course, that means Your Majesty, too."

"Eeeh?!"

Conrad answered as if he saw through me.

"What's with that~! I never asked or wanted to be king. Then that's almost coercion."

"...As I thought."

When his spoon should definitely go towards the potatoes as the next in sequential order, Wolfram gave a sideways glance to watch my involuntary reaction towards Gwendal's murmur. Because in that short phrase, there is the sound of contempt.

"From the beginning, you never intended to be the king."

Holding his wine glass too strongly, Gwendal continues without looking this way. His blue eyes seem frozen over; nothing like a timid Japanese person.

"He may have black eyes and hair, but that doesn't matter. Because this person won't become the Maoh. He wasn't prepared from the start. Isn't that right, visitor from another world?"

"Eh... well, yeah..."

I unintentionally reply positively, and Conrad's words interrupt.

"He's only been in this country two days. His Majesty is confused. Don't you think your speculation is ill-mannered, and a bit too arrogant, Lord von Voltaire?"

"But you can't escape the reality. Shouldn't you know that better than anyone? How many sacrifices are made when a king doesn't feel like carrying out his responsibilities? Your Majesty, take my word for it, if you aren't prepared to live as a king please return to your original world immediately."

The man with the most suitable appearance for the Maoh turns to me with an icy smile for the first time.

"As a representative of Mazoku, please go away before the expectations of the people rise."

"But I..."

I want to say that I wanted to go back but stop mid-sentence, because something inside of me seems to block my throat and my voice stopped. It seems like my willpower or pride or a show of courage or something like that is being troublesome.

I face the red beef as I pull myself together. The new Maoh bashing still continued over the table.

On the opposing team, Gwen and Wolf; Cheri was neutral, and Conrad seemed to be fighting alone.

"I especially want to confirm whether he truly has the soul of the Maoh. At any rate, the visitor should return immediately. It would be wise to search for a substitute."

"He is the genuine article, Gwen, the real thing."

"How can you say that so positively?"

Even though I was could only see a rare steak, I could see Conrad's smile. I feel like I can see it. Even when I can only see the back of his head, I can still see his smile.

"I wouldn't mistake the wrong person for Yuuri."

As soon as he finishes his last word, Wolfram flares up hysterically.

"What kind of proof is that?! Just saying you wouldn't be deceived isn't adequate! He probably dyed his hair, and his eyes... He could put on colored contacts or something like that, there are tons of makeshift methods."

"Unfortunately, I can't show you evidence that would make you consent."

"Then don't declare something like that! Mainly, if by chance this guy is the owner of the Maoh's soul, after all, wasn't he raised among humans with a low social status? I can't trust our country to someone like that. It would be a blemish on the great history of the Mazoku."

"Wolfram, this isn't about what position he was born into. It's about how he lives, and how he decides to behave. But if you're going to make such a fuss over it, I'll tell you. His Majesty's soul was entrusted to the Maoh of that world, and he chose a suitable man from his subordinates. So even though His Majesty's father isn't from this world, he still has the blood of a Mazoku flowing through him."

"Ueeeh?! No way, my dad is a demon?!"

Not demon, but, Mazoku. When Japan had fallen into a great depression, bankers were called devils and demons. But, my father really was a Mazoku! How should I treat visitors in the future, as a son?

"What kind of face should I make when I see him, knowing my father is really a Mazoku."

"That should be fine, since when your father sees you, his son's really going to be the Maoh."

The second son is nonchalant. He has a point. That makes it harder.

"But Conrad, why do you know about my fath..."

"Even if his father is a Mazoku, isn't his mother still a human!"

It seemed like he wasn't going to stop attacking under any circumstances. Wolfram gulps down his glass, and because he's beautiful the way he glares this way is all the more fierce.

"You only have half the blood of a Mazoku flowing through your body. It's no wonder Conrart gets along with you, you're both "fake"! The other half of you is filthy human blood and meat, some person of doubtful origins, probably the blood of some girl with loose morals? That kind of person..."

Damnit, when I thought that it was already too late. I always regret what I do afterwards. It was because of this quick temper and flying into a rage that I stopped playing baseball after ten years. There are moments when my small-town sense of justice can't be suppressed. As a catcher, that's a fatal flaw. It's very disadvantageous in life.

Right in front of me I had slapped that beautiful face.

It was a good smack. The sound and angle were good. It was better than a one-base hit, but I how much damage it did to my opponent was immeasurable. As proof, the other party stared this way, dumbfounded. He doesn't make a counterattack. The surroundings became so still you could hear a pin drop, and Wolfram's left cheek, where I hit, was dyed red. Not just his left cheek. His right, too, and his forehead, and the whites of his eyes...

Conrad knocks over his chair as he stands up. This time his complexion is changing.

"Your Majesty, take it back, please take it back immediat..."

"No!"

Cheri slowly puts her knife on the plate. Gunter plunges forward while running.

"I don't plan on taking it back or apologizing! This guy said something he shouldn't have said, he did something he shouldn't have done! I don't care if you make fun of me and insult me! But how can you say someone else' mother, someone you haven't even met, has loose morals?! What the hell do you mean by person of doubtful origins?! That some floozy and a man had a kid?! My mother is a human; no matter how I look at her, she's human. As far as your concerned the human blood flowing in me is dirty! What do you plan on doing? What do you mean by filthy human blood? If someone talked about your mother that way, what do you think you'd do as a son?! That's right, I'm not apologizing."

My temper was always like this, non-stop objections like the Bay Stars. I had the upper hand on Gunter, and continued.

"I definitely won't take it back! He has a pretty face so I slapped him instead of punching him."

"Are you saying you definitely won't cancel it?"

I nodded my head to confirm that, and Lady Cheri clapped her hands in front of her chest.

"How wonderful, the engagement[9] is complete."

Bulbs?[9]

Like the ones you plant to grow tulips?

"You see, Wolfram? Isn't it just like I said? The gentlemen can't leave someone as beautiful as you alone."

With her fingers entwined together she seems to be dancing for joy.

By gentlemen, she means... Me?!

"Because His Majesty is so cute I feel a little bit jealous. But it can't be helped, for the sake of my beloved son." "Wait a minute, settle down, well, someone calm me down. Can someone tell me what's happening? What kind of manners have I violated this time, can someone explain it to me simply?!"

My favorite tutor hangs his head, heartbroken. As if to say, "Oh no..."

"...You didn't violate any kind of etiquette. On the contrary, it's not used by nobles recently, but by an ancient refined, and traditional manner, Your Majesty just proposed."

"By proposal, you can't mean..."

"You asked for his hand in marriage."

Marriage?! In Japan a boy can't ask get married to a girl without permission if he isn't eighteen. Before that, if the type of engagement wasn't a problem, Wolfram and I weren't the opposite sex of each other.

"Ma, ma, ma, marriage?! A man and a man?! And I proposed?! When did I do that?"

"If a noble strikes the other on the left cheek with the palm of his hand, it's a request for marriage. And if the one who was struck shows their right cheek, then they've accepted the request."

"Uwah, no way! B, but, we're both men, booth meen!"

"That isn't unusual."

Damn it all, I proposed to a man who insulted my mother?! The flower of love of the famous couple doesn't bloom as a tulip or hyacinth.[10] Or maybe it's not a famous couple, but the birth of a royal couple?!

Gunter is sobbing. I don't want to think about whether or not they're tears of joy.

"Your, Your Majesty, this sudden proposal is leaving me speechless... No, I should be delighted. With this, Your Majesty can settle down in this country as king..."

"Won't someone please say it's strange that we're both men~!"

"How can you allow something so humiliating!"

Finally, Wolfram seemed to regain himself and shouts at me. He didn't appear to be showing his right cheek. "How can I do anything about it?! No one ever told me I had to make a fist when I punch people!"

"Shut up! This is the first time I've ever been humiliated like this!"

"Heeeh, really? You've had a really blessed life then. When I was told to wash the junior's socks, or was designated the slowest one on the team, that was really embarrassing! If you've lived for eighty years and can't forgive one mistake by another person..."

Agitated by the marriage proposal, Wolfram swept his arm across the table. Dishes and glasses fell to the floor, and a silver knife fell by my foot.

"Uwah, he, hey, that's dangerous. That's reckless. Completely reckless."

"Your Majesty, don't pick up..."

I squatted down and picked up a knife slightly covered in chicken meat.

"You picked it up."

Huh?

I look around my surroundings as I'm squatting; Conrad and Gunter seem to have sorrowful expressions with their heads hanging, and the pretty boy who dropped it in the first place has an angry, sardonic grin.

"You picked it up. Good, noontime tomorrow. The weapons of your choice. If you haven't even been on a battlefield, you're a coward who can't even ride a horse satisfactorily anyway. At least use good armor, and give me a good challenge."

"Wha, what?"

"Prepare to be torn to shreds."

After that he smiled maliciously and left after he apologized to his mother and older brother for leaving during the meal. The mostly useless tutor slumped his shoulders with a sigh.

"You propose and then immediately accept a duel. Your Majesty, I can't understand Your Majesty's mood swings."

"A duel? I was challenged? I was?!"

"Purposely dropping a knife is a silent challenge to a duel, and if you pick it up you are accepting the challenge."

"A duel?! Hey, then, suppose I get defeated, or, I probably will be defeated, but, will, will I die?! I casually pick up a knife to be nice, without even thinking about it, and that guy gets to shoot me to death?!"

With my poor imagination, a cloud of dust flutters around a Western desert as we take ten paces before we turn around and shoot each other, and I can't think of anything but the quick drawing gunman of spaghetti Westerns.[11]

The two people who are in "My Clique" try to comfort their new king, saying "It'll be all right", or "People rarely lose their lives in duels nowadays" or "You should come up with an eccentric weapon that Wolfram would never think of, to surprise him" or "Maybe if you wear a cute animal costume, it'll make him lose his fighting spirit". Gwendal and Madam Cheri watched them silently until they finished their drinks. Then they began talking.

"I knew he had no control over his emotions before... But I never expected him to be this impulsive."

"I know, I never thought he'd suddenly propose a duel."

When I calm down I instantly realize they're overlooking the marriage proposal. I am the so-called child who has returned from another world, who doesn't even know left from right. Surely I couldn't master the customs of Mazoku, moreover of aristocrats.

"But, he's not entirely to blame."

"What do you mean?"

Gwen asked in return with a side glance.

I have a bad feeling about this. The mother was hiding something when it looked like she was suppressing a giggle.

"Well, uhuhu, it's because of the aroma of my perfume in Your Majesty's hair. I left it in the bathroom with the shampoo. Surely you didn't know the effect it had when you washed your hair."

"The effect?"

"I asked a apothecarist to make it; it's something valuable that only works on Mazoku. If someone smells it and likes someone even a little bit, they'll become much more passionate."

"In short, it's something like an aphrodisiac or a love potion?"

"Oh my, what a crude way of putting it."

So if they favor someone they become more passionate. On the other hand, if they hate someone? Lowering his eyebrows slightly, Gwendal signaled a waiter to pour more sake.

"If one hated someone, they could become dangerous... It's no wonder Wolfram is in a frenzy. Mother, you should tell us those sort of things beforehand."

"Oh, why? Isn't Wolf's angry face the cutest? Is there a mother who doesn't want to see her son looking adorable?"

"...No."

"Oh, yes! How did Anissina's experiment with you go?"

"...I'm not ready to die yet..."

I listened dumbfounded as it sounded like a English radio broadcast.

Someone who hates someone else will become more dangerous. Someone who likes someone else will become more passionate. I see, so that's why Gunter was tearing up a little while ago.

(Translated by Emeryl, originally posted on Onadoru Euphoria. Re-posted with permission.)