Afterwards, as had been announced, a banquet was held at the House Lavender's mansion.
Rest was moved by the taste of home he felt here and there in the beautifully arranged dishes, but... due to various circumstances, he ended up leaving the Lavender Margrave's territory that very night.
I'll leave it to your imagination how Rest, a man's man, came to that conclusion, but he managed to bring back the Diamond Bear.
"Now we have all the dishes for the party! As expected of Lord Rest!"
"Good work, Rest! I never thought you'd bring back the Diamond Bear, which is even said to be a legendary ingredient!"
At the mansion of Count Clover's household, upon their return, Official Fiancées Viola and Primula greeted him.
"It was tough, wasn't it, Rest?"
"It was tough... Ah, yeah. It really was, huh."
In response to Viola's question, Rest's expression became utterly exhausted.
It was tough. Really tough.
Having escaped the mansion, Rest ran while carrying the Diamond Bear.
Enhancing his physical abilities with magic, he escaped the Lavender Margrave's territory without sleeping a wink, and arrived back at Count Clover's territory.
"I'm glad I could bring back the Diamond Bear... I'll leave the cooking to you."
"Yes, of course! The wyvern, alcohol, and fish have also arrived, so we have enough ingredients!"
"Leave it to me. The first ceremony of Count Clover's house... I'll make it the best party."
Viola and Primula turned gentle smiles toward him.
It was very reassuring. He felt as if his heart was being cleansed by the peaceful atmosphere, like being in his hometown.
Yuri, Celestine, and Urla were all exceptionally beautiful women and girls, and they all looked up to Rest.
Even so, the two who put him most at ease when he was with them were still Viola and Primula.
"I'm back..."
Gathering the ingredients had been harder than he had expected.
But... the hard work had paid off, yielding substantial results.
In addition to wyvern, alcohol, and takoyaki, they had even managed to obtain a legendary ingredient called the Diamond Bear.
It was sure to become a party that would satisfy the participants.
"Oh, that's right... Please add Celestine and Urla to the guest list."
"Celestine is already on the list. Are you adding Lady Urla Lavender too?"
"Yeah... She helped me hunt the Diamond Bear. Besides..."
Rest trailed off.
He hesitated, wondering whether he should tell the two of them about what had happened in the Margrave Lavender territory.
(Well... she said she'd even bring it up with His Majesty the King. It'll probably come out soon anyway...)
"Actually..."
Despite being overcome with a strange sense of guilt, Rest consulted them about his conversation with Urla.
"…………"
"…………"
When he told them that Margrave Lavender had hinted at Urla's marriage, Viola and Primula looked slightly surprised.
"I never imagined that Margrave Lavender himself would approach the moderate faction..."
"I had a feeling that Lady Urla harbored feelings for you, Lord Rest..."
"Yeah, that's not surprising."
"It isn't."
"Oh... I see..."
It seemed that both of them had already noticed Urla's feelings.
Rest had assumed she bore him some favor, but he never expected she would go so far as to propose marriage.
"Well, it was pretty obvious from her attitude..."
"We've had reports to that effect from Lady Yuri as well... It wouldn't be surprising for you, Lord Rest."
"Don't make me sound like a womanizer... No, looking back at my recent behavior, I can't exactly deny it."
He hadn't actively courted any of them, but recently Rest was surrounded by multiple women. It was a situation that would be unthinkable in Japan.
(For starters, polygamy itself is off the table in Japan... it probably wouldn't have been possible for me to marry both Viola and Primula either...)
And yet, before he knew it, he was surrounded by girls—fiancées, lovers-in-waiting, and the like. I suppose this is what you call the power of reincarnation in another world.
(It's not like I dislike it. It causes me a lot of worry, but I'm genuinely happy they care for me. Still, when politics gets involved, it makes things a little...)
"Of course, we'll send Lady Urla an invitation... but we'll have to consult Father about the marriage matter."
"I agree with Sister Viola. I'll write a letter to Father."
"..."
In response to the sisters' words, Rest nodded silently.
Just when it seemed the necessary ingredients for the party were ready, an even bigger problem had apparently arisen.
The outer moat was being steadily filled in, and it seemed they were about to set their sights on the inner moat as well.
-------------------- [New Work Published] The Golden Exterminator ~The Incompetent Abandoned Hero, But When He Threw Money, the Castle Collapsed~ If you would like, please give this a read too!