6
Naturally, everyone but me—Suzuha, Kanade, and Unyuu—ate like their lives depended on it.
No, seriously, they pushed past human limits. It was as if they were challenging the very boundaries of stamina, eating until they were nothing but pale ashes.
And so, the three of them were carried off to their bedrooms by the ducal staff. By now, they were probably sprawled out, bellies bloated, fast asleep.
…Not that I didn’t want to eat my fill too, of course.
But once again, I couldn’t just ignore Yuzuriha-san in front of me and gorge myself on sushi. So, with a heavy heart, I held back.
Thanks to the three of them going wild, the once-packed sushi barrels were now perfectly empty.
Afterward, Yuzuriha-san extended an invitation that was peak aristocracy: “How about some tea?” And so, we relocated to the coffee room.
Incidentally, the “coffee room” was exactly what it sounded like—a dedicated space for enjoying coffee. The sheer number of rooms in this ducal estate was mind-boggling. Apparently, the room next to it was a billiards room. Seriously, how many rooms did this place have?
“I debated which room to choose,”
Yuzuriha-san said as she poured coffee herself.
“Conventionally, hot green tea suits sushi best, but I thought a change of pace might be nice. After all, at Lohengrin Castle, you made me hot tea every day. As a woman, it’d be embarrassing if I brewed it worse than you, no?”
“Not at all,”
“Well, that’s why I invited you to our estate’s pride—the coffee room. It’s not as grand as the parlor earlier, but we don’t let just anyone in here. The first Duke Sakuragi loved this room so much he spent a fortune to have it forcibly relocated.”
“Really?”
I didn’t know how long ago the first Duke Sakuragi lived, but from the way Yuzuriha-san spoke, this room was practically a cultural artifact.
I might as well take a good look while I was here.
“Well, we’re finally alone,”
“I’m really sorry! I’ll give those three a stern talking-to, so at least spare them from severe punishment—!”
“W-Wait, why are you smoothly going full dogeza!? Lift your head!”
“I wanted to properly apologize for earlier too…”
“Honestly. Like I said, I don’t mind at all. No matter how much sushi they ate, it won’t put a dent in the ducal coffers. Besides… I was happy.”
“Happy?”
“Yes. With Suzuha-kun and the others down for the Margrave, I get you all to myself—ahem, I mean, I finally have a chance to talk to you properly.”
After that, we talked about many things.
The royal family, Toko-san, the Lohengrin Margraviate, and Yuzuriha-san’s father, Duke Sakuragi.
Eventually, the conversation shifted to the current Sakuragi Ducal Estate.
“—But this mansion is truly wonderful, isn’t it?”
“You think so?”
“Of course, the building and the food are outstanding, but more than anything, the staff here are all such good people. Everyone has such lovely smiles, their work is swift and precise, and even when Suzuha overate and collapsed, they handled it flawlessly.”
“Fufu, thank you. Coming from you, that praise feels oddly embarrassing. The head butler, Sebastian, leads them—they’re the pride of our house.”
“The head butler?”
“The head butler is crucial. They’re the linchpin of the household, the one who manages the servants.”
“Hmm… Should I hire one too?”
“It’s tricky. Precisely because they’re so important, hiring the wrong person can backfire horribly. A head butler may even manage the territory in the lord’s stead, but if they’re corrupt, they could embezzle for years unchecked. Poor governance has even sparked revolts—or worse, entire territories defecting to enemy nations.”
“Whoa…”
“Even short of that, the head butler oversees hiring and training other servants. A good head butler means good servants, and the opposite is just as true.”
“So Sebastian-san must be incredibly competent.”
For some reason, Yuzuriha-san made a bitter face at that.
Like she couldn’t deny it but really didn’t want to admit it.
“Uh, Yuzuriha-san…?”
“Ah, sorry. —Sebastian is absurdly competent and diligent at his job… but he has one terrible habit.”
“A habit?”
“He delegates everything. And not just to subordinates—if it’s usable, he’ll exploit anything except the lord. Case in point: eight years ago, he tossed ten-year-old me into the military, ranting about how we’d lose the war otherwise.”
“Seriously…?”
“I somehow survived, and the kingdom still stands. So in a way, Sebastian’s a national hero. Unlike your case, though, it’s infuriating.”
“Eeek…”
“Be careful. Sebastian will work you to the bone. If he tries to dump a task on you, feel free to refuse outright. —Oh, speak of the devil.”
The moment Yuzuriha-san muttered that, a polite knock echoed through the room.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT LOCALIZERMEERKAT.PAGES.DEV
“Pardon the interruption.”
“Sebastian, what is it?”
“A report on your companion, Margrave.”
The head butler entered and informed us that Suzuha and the others were fast asleep—and likely would be until morning.
“Sorry for the trouble,”
“Not at all. We were delighted by their appetites—it brought smiles to our faces.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“By the way, I’ve long heard rumors of your exceptional strength—”
“Hold it. Suzuha-kun’s brother is my honored guest. I won’t allow you to exploit him.”
“Perish the thought. However, since your return was sudden, our intelligence gatherers need a little more time. In the meantime, perhaps the Margrave would enjoy some light exercise?”
“Oh, sure.”
Nodding at my response, the head butler spread a map over the coffee table.
“This is the Sakuragi Duchy’s territory. The marked points indicate locations currently requiring attention—bandits or magical beasts.”
Ah, I see.
So he wanted me to go handle them.
“Wait, Sebastian! While waiting for the intel, we were going to the mixed bath for some romantic—ahem, relaxing time—!?”
“That can wait until afterward. —Thanks to you vanishing into some up-and-coming margrave’s care, the bandits and beasts you were supposed to deal with have piled up.”
“Ugh. I can’t argue with that…”
“There are eighty-eight locations requiring extermination.”
“How big are we talking?”
“Bandit groups range from dozens to a hundred at most. The beasts are solitary, but we have reports of cockatrices, fenrirs, and even a kraken.”
All beasts I knew.
Cockatrices were giant chicken-like monsters, fenrirs were enormous wolves, and krakens were… well, giant squid.
They were strong, but since they didn’t swarm like ogres, they weren’t too hard to handle. Plus, they were delicious.
It’d been ages, but kraken sashimi was amazing… gulp.
“What do you think? If you could clear just two or three locations, it would be a tremendous hel—”
“I’ll take all of them!”
” “WH—!?” “
For some reason, both Yuzuriha-san and the head butler recoiled in shock.
But I couldn’t back down now.
I wanted to eat those tasty monsters—no, I mean, I had to offer my help out of pure goodwill!
(And if we happened to enjoy the meat afterward, well, it’d be a shame to let it go to waste!)
(Monster meat doesn’t keep well, so eating it fresh is only logical—r-right!?)
Perhaps overwhelmed by my manly resolve, the head butler stammered,
“B-But these are cockatrices and fenrirs…?”
“I know. They’re delicious—I mean, deadly if mishandled. That’s exactly why I have to do this!”
“I-Is that so…? But there’s no need to overexert yourself…”
“No! I’ve relied on Yuzuriha-san too much. This is my chance to repay the ducal household!”
“V-Very well… We leave it to you…?”
And just like that,
I successfully secured all the extermination requests from the wide-eyed head butler.
Ah, helping others truly is a wonderful thing.
7 (Yuzuriha’s Perspective)
Naturally, the Sakuragi Ducal Estate also had a bedroom reserved for Yuzuriha. After all, there were more than enough rooms to spare, and there was no need to clear out unused ones.
That night, when Yuzuriha stepped into her own bedroom for the first time in years, she narrowed her eyes at how not a single detail had changed from her memory.
“—Lady Yuzuriha. Might I have a moment of your time?”
“Come in. I knew you’d show up—I haven’t even changed yet.”
“Pardon the intrusion.”
It was Sebastian, the head butler, who entered.
“So, what is it…? Not that I even need to ask.”
“As sharp as ever, my lady. It concerns the Frontier Margrave.”
“Fine by me. I am his partner, after all. I’ll talk your ear off all night if you want.”
“No, your delusions are irrelevant—”
“You really haven’t changed at all…”
“There’s no point in flattering you now, my lady.”
Fair enough, Yuzuriha thought.
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