The print edition of Volume 11 of "Isekai Tensei no Boukensha" went on sale May 10.
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"Kelly and you too, Boss Ganz—please don't cause any trouble at my wedding. Well then, I'll be off."
Absolutely determined not to get dragged into any mess, I gave them a quick warning and tried to make my escape—but Kelly cut me off, and Boss Ganz grabbed my shoulder, so my getaway attempt ended in failure.
"Tenma, tell this guy—stalking is a crime!"
"Huh? …Ow!"
"Boss Ganz is stalking Kelly?!" …or something along those lines must have shown on my face, because Boss Ganz's grip on my shoulder tightened, sending a spike of pain through me so intense I thought my bones were about to crack.
"Well, he pesters me too, so it's basically the same thing, but the one who's really suffered here is my sister!"
"What did you say—?!" When I reacted with exaggerated shock, Jin, Garat, and the female dwarves—who had been watching from a distance—closed in.
"It doesn't matter who you've called—nobody's letting you get away. Now sit tight and listen."
With Jin and the others closing in, Boss Ganz's attention wavered and the force behind his grip loosened, so I tried to slip away once more—but Kelly wasn't having it, and all that changed was who was holding me captive.
At that point, I had no choice but to give up and quietly listen to Kelly's story. ……And after hearing him out, my conclusion was that while Kelly had embellished things a bit, what he was saying was largely true.
"Boss Ganz, why don't you go apologize right away? I doubt it'll work the first time, but it's still better than doing nothing, right?"
"That's right, Boss."
"You should probably get it over with quick."
Jin and Garat seemed to be thinking the same thing I was, because before Boss Ganz had even finished making his case, they'd already taken Kelly's side.
According to Kelly, Boss Ganz's ex-wife was his sister (they weren't actually divorced—Kelly was just saying that), and Boss Ganz had been pestering Kelly relentlessly for news about her. As for why she had left Boss Ganz, the story went that she'd gotten fed up with him because he was a heavy drinker who stubbornly refused any job he wasn't in the mood for, yet when he did take on a job he liked, he'd hole up at the worksite for days without ever coming home. That said, if she really wanted a divorce, she could have at least served him with a divorce notice—and there didn't seem to be any record of that actually happening, so I couldn't take everything Kelly said at face value. ……Still, it seemed like Kelly had the better argument, and the onlookers eavesdropping around us—especially the women—were almost unanimously on Kelly's side. So to avoid making an enemy of myself by openly siding with Boss Ganz, the three of us made sure everyone knew which camp we were on by framing it as "trying to convince" Boss Ganz.
Still, our words must have sounded wishy-washy to Kelly—like we were trying to play both sides—because he shot us a glare. But for me, Kelly was a friend and Boss Ganz was someone I'd received help from on more than one occasion, while Kelly's older sister was practically a stranger, so that was the best I could do. That said,
"Kelly, did your sister actually say she wanted to break up with Boss Ganz?"
"No... that's not exactly what she said, but..."
"Then maybe Kelly should sit down and get his sister's true feelings out of her first. And if it turns out she really does want to break up, I'd be willing to bring the matter of her and Boss Ganz to the King."
I explained that the area where Kelly and Boss Ganz worked fell under the royal family's direct jurisdiction, so we could report it as a case of problems arising between two renowned blacksmiths. Using the King as leverage was the last resort and the worst possible option, but it would guarantee they could get divorced.
Still, that would probably sever my ties with Boss Ganz for good. But if Kelly's sister truly wanted a divorce and the boss just kept opposing it without actually doing anything, then I supposed there was no other way.
It was the verbal equivalent of a fox borrowing a tiger's authority, but the two of them were probably just drunk and lacking their usual self-restraint. Besides, the sister's behavior seemed a bit off too, so this whole thing needed to be discussed calmly with her present. Dropping the King's name should be enough to keep them from causing any more of a scene.
"So Kelly, go have a proper talk with your sister first. Then relay the results accurately to Boss Ganz. Boss Ganz, the rest of the conversation can wait until after that, right?"
This was never really any of my business to begin with, so I had no choice but to force a rough conclusion and leave the rest to the two of them (and Kelly's sister).
While they fell silent, lost in thought, I quietly slipped away from the scene. Jin and Garat tagged along as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and once we'd put some distance between us, they headed straight for the table where the drinks were set out.
Next, I made my way over to where Marcus and Anri were—looking inexplicably exhausted—which contrasted sharply with Serna and the others, who were happily nibbling on dessert.
"Good evening, Serna. Are you enjoying yourself?"
I put off greeting the two exhausted ones and spoke to Serna first.
"Yes! There were plenty of delicious desserts at our wedding too, but since today is the real deal, there's even more variety—it's wonderful."
It wasn't like I'd deliberately used Serna's wedding as a dress rehearsal for me and Primera's, but in the end, we'd drawn on the experience from both Serna's wedding and Albert's—so it wasn't entirely wrong to say that.
"Serna, you really need to stop talking like that. People who don't know the context are going to get the wrong idea."
I could tell Serna wasn't really complaining—she was just teasing me—so I didn't mind. But this wedding involved more than just a commoner like me; Primera and the duchy were connected to it too. Depending on how it was interpreted, a remark like that could technically be grounds for a lèse-majesté charge.
Still, it was well known that Serna was one of my associates, so I didn't think anyone would make a serious issue of it. But for Marcus, it must have been a nerve-wracking thing to hear. After all, he now held the position of auditor for the Gunjou City Council—a promotion from when we'd last met—which made him something like an executive of a subsidiary called the Gunjou City Council, operating under the parent company that was the House of Duke Sanga. Bad-mouthing the parent company and getting personally punished for it would be one thing, but it would be a real problem if the fallout spread to the Gunjou City Council as well.
"There's no need to worry that much, Marcus. Nothing Serna said was really wrong. If there was a small mistake, it's that the dress rehearsal for me and Primera's wedding wasn't at Serna's—it was at Albert's."
At Albert and Elsa's wedding, we'd learned which dishes appealed to the nobles as well. More importantly, we'd figured out which event—the gondola entrance—was better left out altogether, and that was huge.
"From my position, I can't exactly say 'Is that so? What a relief.'"
"The people of the duchy aren't the type to get offended over something like that, so you can afford to be a bit more relaxed about it, the way Serna is. Anyway, why is Anri so exhausted?"
Sena had a certain air about her that reminded me of Aunt Masa and the proprietress of the Manpukutei, so she'd probably end up becoming a tough-as-nails matriarch in the future, keeping Anri firmly under her thumb. She might even get along surprisingly well with Maria.
The Anri who was (slumped in his seat, destined to be) kept under Sena's thumb looked even more exhausted than Marx, slumping into his chair.
"Well, I mean… I never expected Tenma's side of the guest list to be quite so distinguished. Even if I was seated at the far end, being that close to all those people is bound to make anyone nervous. Honestly, I think Sena's the weird one for being so calm about it."
He'd apparently anticipated that Primera's side would have more nobles in attendance, but he hadn't expected Tenma's side to attract such a colorful cast either. Even with Primera being a duke's daughter, they'd figured the fact that people like them had been invited at all meant the gathering would be a more modest affair.
In reality, though, every member of the royal family had shown up, along with so many prominent nobles that you'd run out of fingers counting from the top, and on top of that, the fact that they were among the rare commoner guests meant they'd drawn considerable attention from the duke's side of the guest list—excluding the royals, Marquis Samons' family, and Lion. To make matters worse, both Maria and the King, who knew about Marx and Tenma's connection, had personally come over to talk to them, which was something that just didn't happen under normal circumstances. Apparently, Marx and Anri had been so tense they nearly passed out, but Sena had taken it all fairly stride. Part of it was probably just her temperament, but maybe women really do have more nerve in moments like these.
"I suppose… it might have been better to invite them only to the evening reception."
"No, that would've created its own problems. Officially, Tenma is Sena's life-saving benefactor and former master. More than that, he went out of his way to help during the wedding. Given that connection, we had to attend once the invitation arrived, no matter what. Besides, the fact that I was able to advance to auditor in the council—people will assume Tenma's connection played a role in that, too."
In a city the size of Gunjou, nearly every position on the council was held by someone with noble ties. So for Marx, who had no patron, to have secured a role at all was genuinely rare. Advancing even further from there was almost certainly due in large part to his being acquainted with me—someone known to be close to Duke Sanga. Of course, Marx's own talent and effort were the foundational prerequisites for that success, but there was no denying that knowing me had been the decisive factor. After all, despite my reputation as one of the kingdom's top adventurers, my social circle was remarkably narrow—so in a pinch, Marx's presence could serve as a bridge to me. That being the case, even if only partially, turning down a wedding invitation could be taken as proof that their relationship with me wasn't actually that deep.
"I've had plenty of delicious food prepared, so please enjoy yourselves to the fullest. Even if you let loose a little, I doubt anyone here is going to mind much."
I couldn't say it with absolute certainty, but there were definitely several people in the room who'd be more likely to let loose than Marx and his companions, so all I could do was encourage them to relax and have fun.
After tending to Marx and the others, I made a point of circulating among as many guests as I could, but… most of them were already enjoying the drinks and food perfectly well on their own without any help from me—pretty much the polar opposite of how Marx and Anri had been doing.
"Tenma, stay away from over there. There's a demon of jealousy lurking."
I was walking around looking for someone I hadn't spoken to yet when Amour appeared out of nowhere and tried to steer me away from a particular spot.
"A demon of jealousy… oh, I see."
The "demon of jealousy" Amour was referring to was Chris, silently stuffing her face with meat dishes all by herself.
"Chris has been leapfrogged by Aina, who's the same age, and to add insult to injury, Tenma—the guy she'd been hoping to snag—went and married Primera. So she's definitely drowning her sorrows by devouring the most expensive meat on the table."
I thought that was a pretty rude thing to say, but… the sheer ferocity with which she was eating really did look like she had something to vent about. And she was clearly targeting the priciest cuts, too.
"Oh, by the way, Sanae said she was heading back to her room early. She said Yoshitsune wore himself out running around during the day and hit his limit."
Yoshitsune had been on cloud nine ever since snagging the bouquet during the daytime events, and sure enough, once the evening reception started and he'd had his meal, he'd immediately gone off to row boats on the lake.
Most of the evening reception's attendees had their own accommodations—whether at an inn, the Tamer's Guild, Dawn Sword's lodgings, or their own homes—and the visitors from places like Kukuri Village and Duke Sanga's entourage had their own villas in the Royal Capital. But Hana and the others from the Otteri family, plus Marx and his companions who weren't well acquainted with the Royal Capital, were staying at the manor. Well, since we'd probably be drinking late into the night anyway, most people would end up crashing wherever they happened to be at the time. Still, just in case, rooms had been prepared for the women's group and the nobles—excluding Albert, Cain, and Lion—so it wouldn't hurt to keep an eye out for anyone who looked like they were about to collapse or pass out.
"Also, I was asked to go get Tenma."
I figured maybe Hana had asked him, but when I looked where Amour was pointing...
"To Mother and the others?"
There stood Olivia and the others—my new mothers-in-law. Nearby were Primera, Duke Sanga, Albert, Eliza, and Grandpa, so I figured the two families had something to discuss together. I was curious why Amour had been over there in the first place, but after completing his errand, he headed straight for the table with the food, so I couldn't ask him why.
"Mothers, is something wrong...?"
I hurried over and called out to Olivia, who was closest, only to realize the atmosphere was off. To be more specific, Duke Sanga and Albert, both looking rather pale, were hovering near the distinctly unhappy-looking group of women, while Grandpa sat there sipping tea with a "this doesn't concern me" expression.
That alone told me those two had done something to cause this, but since I didn't know what it was, all I could do was wait for someone to fill me in. If I stuck my nose in at the wrong moment, I might end up standing right alongside those two.
"Um, would you mind telling me what happened?"
I addressed Olivia, who seemed to be the angriest person in the room, and
"This man and Albert made an absolutely unbelievable remark... I asked you to call Tenma here because I wanted to confirm something with you."
she said, then asked, "This might be unpleasant to hear, but is that all right?" I didn't know what would be unpleasant, but I had to agree if I wanted to move forward, so I nodded. What followed was,
"This man said that if Primera and Tenma's child turns out to be a boy, he wants to teach the child all sorts of things—and when Albert heard that, he said he wanted to do the same."
For a moment, I couldn't see what was wrong with that, but then I caught Primera desperately shaking her head in the corner of my vision, and before asking what the problem was, I thought about it a little myself. And asking what exactly was wrong with it was a very
da
nger
ous
re
mark.
I realized. So I said,
"Whether our child is a boy or a girl, as long as they are the heir to our family, Primera and I will be the ones primarily responsible for their education. I'm sure we'll consult you about all sorts of things, but—
"another family— I will not entrust our child to them."
And just like that, I made my declaration. Upon hearing my words, my mothers-in-law nodded with satisfaction, while Primera and Eliza both looked visibly relieved.
Had I simply asked why without a second thought, my mothers-in-law's opinion of me would have plummeted in an instant. After all, if it seemed I had consented to having—
the current
Duke—
himself—
carry out my child's education, and to have the
next
Duke also help—that would raise suspicions that I was trying to use Duke Sanga's grandchildren to seize control of the ducal house.
Even if it was just a slip of the tongue at a drinking party and a matter that would never reach the outside world, there was no guarantee it wouldn't become the foundation of a feud between the Ootori family and Duke Sanga's house.
If this were an ordinary matter involving commoners, it would either be laughed off or settled by punishing the commoner side, but the worst part was—
the Ootori family—
even though they were commoners, if their child was involved, there was a high probability it wouldn't end as mere fantasy. In terms of combat strength, political influence, and bloodline alike.
"Duke Sanga, even at a drinking party, talk like that is a problem. Didn't you say yourself that you don't want to grant the Ootori family's child succession rights to the ducal house? I'm grateful that you dote on your grandchild, but that and this are entirely separate matters.
And Albert. You should be the first one on guard, shouldn't you? I don't know what you're scheming, but don't let Eliza lose all patience with you. Depending on how things go, I may have to reconsider how I deal with you as well."
Duke Sanga had probably just gone into full doting-grandpa mode over a grandchild who didn't even exist yet, but as for Albert, he might have been thinking about drawing the Ootori family into their sphere, or perhaps having my child join the ducal house as a retainer.
Even if that line of thinking was completely off the mark, Eliza might have sensed that rather than her own child, they intended to make Primera's child the heir to the ducal house—
or rather, it wouldn't be at all strange if she had already sensed exactly that.
"Tenma, I need to have a little discussion with my mothers-in-law and about the ducal house, so I'm terribly sorry, but would you mind excusing yourself for a moment?"
It seemed the business I'd been summoned for had been wrapped up, as Eliza asked me to take my leave.
Well, it certainly sounded polite on the surface, but I'd be better off treating it as an order from the future Duchess. I wasn't strictly in a position where I had to obey Eliza's commands, but there was no point in defying her to stay, and appearing too interested would be a bad move, so I quietly took Primera and Grandpa and withdrew.
"Also, Tenma. It seems you've caused some trouble for Marquis Samons and Margrave Haust, so could you pass along my wish to properly thank them later?"
It was only after Eliza mentioned it that I noticed, but no one had been approaching where we were gathered — it was almost unnaturally conspicuous. Part of that was probably everyone being considerate, but more than that, the Marquis and Margrave must have done their groundwork beforehand.
"Understood, sister-in-law. I'll make sure to give your husband a thorough lecture."
"Mother, Father too, please."
When I answered Eliza using a different address than usual, she shot back in a voice tinged with irritation: "Leave it to me!"
My mothers-in-law had responded to Primera in similarly fiery tones.
If I'd given the wrong answer back then, I might have ended up standing right alongside them — the thought sent cold sweat trickling down my back... but even so, the duke and Albert's blunder this time around was hardly something to feel sympathetic about.
"Marquis Samons, Margrave Haust, thank you ever so much for your consideration."
Primera and I went over to express our gratitude, and the Marquis and Margrave, watching Duke Sanga being escorted behind the mansion, said:
"Well, we did give the surrounding guests a heads-up, but nobody needed us to tell them — they weren't about to come any closer on their own."
"Maybe it's because His Majesty visits so often, but everyone seems awfully wary of conversations that might become troublesome."
They said this with a laugh.
"Come to think of it, I never properly introduced my wife to you, Tenma."
So saying, Marquis Samons called over the woman who had been chatting animatedly with Edilia.
"This is my wife, Lucille."
"Lucille von Samons. I do apologize for the trouble our sons have caused you."
The petite woman who introduced herself as Lucille bowed apologetically, but even in that posture, she appeared to be studying me. I didn't want to put it that way, but something about her gave off an untrustworthy air. Just as I was thinking this,
"Mom, that's a bad approach with Tenma."
Cain came over and admonished Lucille. It seemed Marquis Samons had tried to stop her too, but Cain was faster.
"She was probably trying to probe how he really felt about what Geiri did and about the trouble he's been put through, but Tenma isn't a noble, so doing that would only leave a worse impression. Rather than doing something like that, just offering a genuine apology is enough... probably."
"Cain, could you say that with a bit more certainty?"
At Cain's words, Lucille looked up, but this time she was staring intently at my face.
"That's why Cain is telling you to stop doing that."
This time it was Marquis Samons who stepped in, and the unpleasant atmosphere I'd been sensing from Lucille finally subsided.
"Sorry about that, Tenma. Mom has a habit of being calculating—or maybe you'd call it underhanded—where she can't help but size up how to get the most out of someone."
"Cain, that makes Mom sound like a terrible person. Tenma, she may have put you off, but my wife is the most noble-minded person in our household, in the sense that she believes the ideal is for both parties to cooperate and help each other grow..."
"So basically, 'I'll use you, so please use me too. If we both come out ahead, we can become great friends, right?'... That's the vibe."
"Cain, I do choose people based on what I can gain at first, but once we've built a relationship, I'll remain on good terms with them as long as they don't betray me—even if there's no profit in it."
After hearing Cain's explanation, Lucille spoke up as if she found it unfair and added her own correction. Based on Cain's explanation alone, she sounded like someone you wouldn't really want to associate with, but after hearing Lucille's additional comments, I understood what she was getting at... or rather, her way of thinking actually seemed pretty close to mine.
"You could call it noble-minded, but it sounds more like how a merchant or an adventurer would think."
"Yes. My family rose to nobility from a merchant background, so that kind of mindset comes naturally to us."
If Lucille was telling the truth, it seemed like there wouldn't be any problems treating her the same way I treated Cain and Marquis Samons. That said, regardless of all that talk about relationships, there was something I wanted to know. And that was:
"So, how do you think you could extract profit from me?"
It was about how I could be used. I was also curious about what benefits I'd receive in return.
"Well... I don't think you'd need to go out of your way to extract anything. Just by being on good terms with Cain, a considerable amount of benefit flows your way. To give you an example, you could say it was like when Cain got a share of the wyvern subjugation bounty in a border count's territory a few years back. That raised Cain's reputation quite a bit, and it benefited the Marquis household as well... Though, when it comes to returning the favor, we really haven't been able to give anything back, so I do feel terrible about that..."
At the time, I'd been looking out for him so I could jump in and help at any moment, but Albert, Lion, and I had already taken down the wyvern before I had to step in. It had been a tough fight, but you could say the three of us won on our own merits. As for any profit for me, Lucille might say she hadn't been able to return anything, but I was pretty sure she had noticed that Cain and Marquis Samons were lending me their strength and wisdom whenever it came to noble matters. So I thought Lucille was just being modest, but—
"Then there's also the matter of how you saved Geiri's life twice after he did something incredibly rude. No matter how you look at it, we can never repay you enough."
That's what I was told.
"Now that you mention it, Mother has a point. Thanks to that incident, Geiri was largely rehabilitated. If he hadn't changed, we might have had him confined to the domain under the pretext of illness before long."
"Exactly. It worked out because we managed to reconcile right away, but if we hadn't, he probably wouldn't be here right now, and I imagine the Royal Family's impression would have worsened considerably... They wouldn't show it on the surface, of course."
Back then, our relationship with the Royal Family was still thin, but apparently Geiri had taken a disrespectful attitude toward Grandpa, who had stepped in to help, right in front of me. And setting that aside, on the Royal Family's direct territory, he had attempted to seize
a dragon hatchling
from
an adventurer.
That was what he had tried to do. Even if they outwardly showed consideration for the Marquis household, it wouldn't be strange if their inner evaluation had dropped into the negative.
"In a way, you could say Geiri created this connection. It's quite a tangled one, though..."
Cain, Lucille, and Marquis Samons seemed to sink into low spirits at their own words, all three of them wearing dark expressions.
But there didn't seem to be anything I could say about this, so all I could do was wait for the mood to recover naturally—or so I thought, when—
"There's nothing to make a fuss over. It may have started as a bad bond, but now a good relationship has come of it. From where I stand, I'm envious that you didn't actually have to go through any hardship for it."
Count Haust cut in with an exasperated expression. Certainly, the common thread was that someone connected to you had caused trouble, but while Geiri's encounter had been the worst kind and there was still no relationship to speak of, he had immediately bonded with Marquis Samons as fellow Tamers, and Cain had become close enough to be called a best friend shortly after Lion's stalker incident.
In contrast to the Marquis Samons household, the Haust household had had no contact with me for a long time, aside from Lion. What's more, in society, it was even rumored that my relationship with the Count's family was the worst—that I hated Count Haust so much I wanted to kill him. Well, half... or rather, after that incident I really had wondered whether I should just kill him. But as I continued my travels, that level of resentment faded, and I came to feel that some of it had been unavoidable. Still, I definitely couldn't bring myself to be on friendly terms. When I learned the Haust household's finances had gone badly awry, all I could think was that they had brought it on themselves.
"Back then, we barely managed to hold on, and Lion was able to seize that narrow opening of leeway to form a bond with Tenma, so it worked out... but if Lion had failed, I would have seriously had to give up the Count's title and lands."
Thanks to Count Haust's words, the atmosphere around the three members of the Marquis Samons household was returning to normal—but in exchange, the Count himself had begun to wear a distant look in his eyes, cloaked in a somber mood.
After that, the atmosphere improved considerably thanks to Grandpa and Primera, who had been sheltering nearby, and the ever-oblivious Lion... Meanwhile, the Duke Sanga household's discussion continued, and even when the agreed-upon end time finally arrived, Duke Sanga and Albert were not released and did not make an appearance at the after-party. For some reason, Eliza and my mother-in-law and the rest were all participating cheerfully... They may have joined after Primera and I had withdrawn, but at least the two of us hadn't seen them there.
And then, the next day.
"Yo, Tenma! Looks like you had a blast yesterday!"
When Primera and I finally rolled out of bed around midday, Lion (and many others) called out to us in a teasing tone, but—
"There's no way I'd do that with so many perverts probably eavesdropping!"
When I retorted like that, the women present gave Lion a cold look.
"If you weren't there, I probably would've, though~"
"Well, of course—they're newlyweds after all. I think Tenma showed real restraint. He spent the night with a gorgeous babe right next to him who wouldn't have minded if he made a move, and he didn't do a thing."
One person and one beast whispered like that in hushed voices, but I pretended not to hear. By the way, Primera who was beside me first shot Lion a look of contempt for his opening remark, but after hearing the old man and Namitarou's subsequent conversation, her face turned beet red and she fled somewhere.
As for Duke Sanga and Albert, who had been taken somewhere and out of sight, they were later found safe and sound. Apparently, they were sleeping in Jūbei's cabin for some reason.