After about two hours riding in the king's carriage, Tenma and the others arrived at Kukuri Village.
One thing I figured out from listening to the conversations inside the carriage—the king was a truly outrageous man.
Q: Why go to Kukuri Village?
A: (Official reason) Rumors about strange things happening in the Great Old Forest had recently reached the Royal Capital. It so happened that the decennial inspection of the Haust Margraviate was due, so by going in person, the king wanted to show his subjects how deeply he cared about the kingdom.
(Real reason) The ministers had been getting on his nerves lately, and his stress had been building up to the point where he just needed a change of pace.
Q: Wouldn't a report through the Haust Margraviate have sufficed?
A: (Official reason) Having the king visit for an inspection alone would place an enormous burden on the Margrave. Therefore, rather than that, it would be better to go with a small retinue on the return trip after the inspection, so as not to impose.
(Real reason) Going for a change of pace only to have the Margrave's subordinates tagging along sounded like a massive pain.
Q: Won't this cause problems down the line?
A: (Official reason) In order to ensure a swift response if anything happened, it was necessary for the king to verify the situation personally.
(Real reason) Annoying stuff like that is what the ministers are for, right?
Q: Is the king really okay with all this?
A: (Official reason) Since those around him were all exceptionally capable people, he—your king—was able to carry on as monarch thanks to them.
(Real reason) It's fine because I'm the king!
Excerpts from the above Q&A session.
I'm genuinely surprised coups don't happen more often.
What surprised me the most was—
"Ricardo!"
"Alex!"
*THUD* — two middle-aged men... er, rather, a father and a king, crushed each other in a bear hug.
Apparently, back in their youth, the two of them, along with Mom and Kurif—and someone else who couldn't make it this time but currently serves as captain of the King's Royal Guard—had formed a five-person party and worked as adventurers.
The party had apparently been quite famous during their active years, and they had even slain a dragon. For the record, Grandpa had apparently slain one on his own.
In this world, it isn't uncommon for members of the royal family to become adventurers in their youth, partly as a form of social education.
Incidentally, the King had apparently studied under Grandpa for a time as well.
"He wasn't the sharpest student, and his Magic Power was nothing special either, but he'd do such foolish things from time to that I was never bored watching over him."
That was Grandpa's account of him.
Meanwhile, as for me—
"Tenma, didn't I tell you not to do anything dangerous?"
I had just caused Mount Celia to erupt again.
"Celia, Tenma helped us out. Please forgive him."
*GLEAM*
"It's nothing."
And there you have it—the King is useless!
No wait—Mother, just what kind of person are you?!
"Lady Celia is a friend of Lady Maria—the Queen, Lady Maria von Blumeil Klastin, the King's lawful wife—going back to their days at the 'Magic Academy Elementary Division.' She is the person Her Majesty calls her one truest friend."
Kurif explained from behind me.
"Oh."
"Furthermore, the King is weak before Lady Maria."
"Does she have him wrapped around her little finger?"
"That is correct. Also, Lady Celia and Lady Maria still exchange letters frequently, so..."
"I'd be in trouble if word got out about what's happening here."
"That would actually be more interesting from my perspective, personally."
This butler had a real nasty personality.
"Tenma, what are you talking about?!"
"No, Kurif was... gone!"
When did that butler—
"Tenma, you still haven't figured it out, have you?"
Oh crap! Celia-volcano was charging up her power — was God not here?! ...No, I had met him before, but...
"Celia, why don't you forgive him soon. If he intervened in a fight he couldn't win, that's reckless bravery — but if he did it with a chance of winning, that's courage. And that deserves praise."
"Uncle."
Mom's anger gradually subsided at Grandpa's words.
Oh, Grandpa — are you my God?!
"It's been a while, Lord Merlin."
The King offered his greeting.
"Mm, it has indeed been a while."
Grandpa nodded with effortless composure — their positions were totally reversed.
"His Majesty has tremendous respect for Lord Merlin, much like a father."
Kurif appeared again — ignore him, just ignore him.
"When His Majesty was young, he was quite the little terror. Even with tutors assigned, most ended up quitting because they simply couldn't keep up with his pranks. But after experiencing Lord Merlin's lessons, he apparently began to gradually calm down."
Wow, Grandpa's pretty amazing.
Something along the lines of efficient methods for making people suffer and efficient methods for skipping class, and so on.
"Sounds about right."
"It seems he enjoyed it, and since His Majesty taught him things no one else would, he grew quite attached."
Well, whatever. I'll just chalk it up to the fact that there are plenty of weirdos around me.
"You are rather unusual yourself, Tenma-sama."
Don't read my mind, you eccentric butler! And you're one to talk!
The king and his party plan to spend tomorrow looking around Kukuri Village and the Great Old Forest, then return to the Royal Capital the day after. The king and Kurif will be staying at our place, while the remaining four will stay at Grandpa's house.
It sounded like things would get noisy late into the night, so I decided to turn in early. Goodnight.
That night
"Man, Alex really hasn't changed at all."
Ricardo mused sentimentally at their reunion after more than a decade.
"That's right, why would I change! No matter how old I get, I'm still me!"
"That's essentially the same as saying you haven't grown. Not that it's your fault — you only gained power, after all."
"Kurif's sharp tongue hasn't changed one bit, I see."
Alex's remark was followed by Kurif's, and then Celia's.
"Power exists to be used!"
Boldly declaring it, this country's
king
.
"But Tenma got caught up in all of that because of it."
"I'll make sure to tell Maria about it properly."
Ricardo was smiling, but Celia's eyes weren't.
"Please, Lady Celia."
"Just don't do that! Kurif, you're my butler, aren't you!"
"I am also Lady Maria's butler, you know."
"Oh my, how troublesome."
Even these kinds of exchanges were nostalgic.
"W-Well, setting that aside. When did you even have a kid? You could have at least written to tell me."
Alex, realizing he was at a disadvantage, changed the subject.
"I did tell Maria about it? Oh, and that once Tenma turns fifteen, we'd come visit."
"I didn't hear about that."
For Alex, this was completely out of the blue.
"I thought that if the King found out, he'd throw aside his royal duties and come visit?"
"Maybe so — Alex is the type who might just do that, and sure enough, he's here."
"That's right. He *is* Lord Alex, after all."
The three nodded in agreement at Kurif's words. Alex had no allies.
"W-Well, putting that aside. Tenma is quite the talent, isn't he? In a one-on-one fight, there can't be many in the Royal Capital who could beat him, right?"
"I'd say so. Without magic, Jean among those we brought along this time would be the only one who could somewhat keep up. If magic were involved, even Din would lose."
Kurif stated flatly. Din was a swordsman in Ricardo's party who also wielded advanced magic,
King
He was the captain of the King's personal guard — the man said to be the strongest in the entire kingdom's army.
"Oh? You'd go that far?"
Kurif had served as his party's scout during his days as an adventurer, and was said to possess the sharpest eye for reading an opponent's strength in the whole kingdom.
"I'd love to have him as a guard for my son or grandson."
"...If that's what he wishes... of course."
None of them missed the shadow that crossed Celia's face.
"Is something troubling you about Tenma?"
Celia began to speak, bit by bit, to Alex, who had donned his kingly expression.
That Tenma was a foundling.
That the family name "Ootori" had been written on him, so perhaps he had ties to nobility.
That she was frightened he might leave this house the moment he discovered they weren't his real parents — and so on.
Hearing Celia's words, not only Alex and Kurif but even Ricardo was surprised.
"Celia, you've been carrying that much worry? I'm sorry I never noticed."
Perhaps it was the difference between being a father and a mother, but Ricardo believed that the bond he had forged with Tenma over these ten years was thicker than blood.
Or perhaps it was more accurate to say he was simply being optimistic — believing that even if Tenma's true parents showed up, Tenma would still choose them.
Celia was different.
Unlike a man, she had labored to grow a child inside her own body, endured the pain, and at times risked her life to bring that child into the world. As a woman —
What if Tenma chose the birth mother who suddenly appeared, over her?
What if she ended up having to yield a step to his real mother?
Such thoughts existed within Celia.
That was why she had been overprotective toward Tenma.
To protect him from the woman who gave birth to
Tenma
— a woman she had never even seen —
though of course, she had done so unconsciously. Celia herself believed that was the case.
The men had nothing to say about a birth mother's sorrow.
It was Merlin who broke the heavy silence, opening the door and stepping inside.
Merlin gently placed a hand on Celia's shoulder,
"Fool, you are without question Tenma's mother. Anyone watching him can see that."
Merlin spoke in a gentle voice, then continued:
"He calls you 'Mama, Mama,' and when you scold him, he looks sad, and when you praise him, he beams with joy. Granted, lately he hasn't been listening and has been causing trouble. But isn't that because he's comfortable around you — because he sees you as his mother and doesn't hold back?"
After a brief pause, as though letting the words sink in,
"Trust Tenma more. And have faith in him. You are his mother, after all."
He said.
At those words, Celia burst into tears and
"...yes,"
she murmured, nothing more.
Ricardo held Celia close, stroking her hair.
Alex thought for a moment,
I haven't heard of a family name called Ootori, but I'll keep it in mind. If I find out anything, I'll let you know.
Kurif, too,
"I haven't heard of it either, that's true. The closest in pronunciation would be the Audrey family, but they're connected to the royal family, so... something like that seems rather unlikely."
he added.
After that, the atmosphere was no longer suited to continuing the conversation, and with Celia's fatigue becoming more apparent, they called it a night.
The King was getting increasingly lighthearted.
The guards, the King included, had struggled against the Orcs due to the ambush, the overwhelming numbers combined with the Orc King's Familiar Enhancement throwing them off balance and robbing them of the initiative, and their own complete complacency.
He had Celia get her worries out in the open. How things would change from here remained uncertain.