Chapter 459

Day 104 – Evening, Royal Palace

Compared to humanoid races, beastmen possess less magical power, but in exchange boast possibly the highest physical stats among the humanoid races of this world. On top of that, each subrace has its own unique traits, making them the mightiest of the demihuman races.

Proud, holding strength above all, and treasuring their comrades more than anything else, they are said to be a common sight throughout the continent as mercenaries and adventurers before beastman discrimination began across the world. Known for their bravery and ferocity, straightforward and steadfast in character, they combined overwhelming strength and speed with keen senses. The nation that unites them is the Beastmen Country, its official name is… something-something? Well, it’s the Beastmen Country.

「So, Haruka-kun, what’s the first thing you plan to do in the Beastmen Country?」 Pres asked, with deliberate casualness?

「…Buy ingredients? Do some shopping? I guess?」 What else could I say? I was invited, so I’m going since it happened to be along my shopping route? Also kemomimi girls… No, nothing. Just supplies! Didn’t even think about tails?

「Um… what about negotiation or agreements on cooperation?」 Royal Girl asked carefully? What’s the point of asking me this!?!

「Eh?! I’ll negotiate for stocking up, but I’ll leave the rest to General Store-san to deal with.」 Yeah, managing distribution is a hassle. As long as we can get the goods reliably, that’s enough.

「Well, Haruka-kun, the matters of defense planning and future role-sharing, can get quite complicated…」 Meripapa-san stepped in to help the princess, who looked confused.

「That’s Kingdom business, right? That’s basically none of my business. I’ll listen to what the Kingdom has to say, but I have no intention of getting involved with the Beastmen Country or whatever.」 Nope, none at all. Unless, you know, it’s about getting involved with kemomimi girls, then I might not mind getting deeply, deeply, deeeeply involved in… with them… I mean, in terms of like, fostering friendship? Yeah nothing else? I’m not l-y-i-n-g or anything?

「…So you’re saying you won’t help the Beastmen Country? Even though you are having Oda-kun and the others are protecting them at this very moment?」 Pres asked, her gaze flat and sharp. Meetings are such a pain… I mean, there seems to be an issue with communication in the local language? Faulty language.

「I’ll help the beastmen, they’re supply partners, and have kemomimi too? And the Geeks are fighting by their own choice. I just sent them on an errand?」 Yeah, they are just doing errand boys stuff?

「Wasn’t that errand the one where they wiped out the Confederation’s slave-hunting fleet and their harbor, since you gave them a whole pile of torpedos?」 Well, yeah. I had a lot of leftover torpedoes. Since I couldn’t sink the Geeks, I gave them the extras?

「At present, even if the Kingdom shut itself off completely, we wouldn’t suffer in the short term. But for the Confederation and the Theocracy, it would be a matter of life and death? So it’s better to just leave them be?」 It’s too early for negotiations. It’s better to push when the opponent is weakened. Everything they’ve been leeching off the Kingdom should be reclaimed, with heavy interest, or the books won’t balance.

Those talks are pointless. It’s impossible to find a common ground if your goals are entirely different. Different nations mean different priorities and different things to protect. Even if the destination happens to be the same for a while, what each is aiming for is not. The one thing everyone can agree on is that the Church’s high clergy all need to be disposed of. Once the Theocracy is settled, focus can shift to the Confederation. And in all of this, the Beastmen Country is the one party entirely uninvolved.

「As Kingdom’s King, there’s one thing I want to know, do you have any intention of making an enemy of the the Gamerein Commonwealth, the Beastmen Country?」

「Game? If they are going to play with us, I’ll just rip them off in return. That’s an unavoidable part of the great highway of the art of ripping-off, traffic reports are already warning of a congestion ahead, but if you push through, it’ll clear?. The key to a billiards crash(chain-reaction) is the very first break shot, and since the Beastmen Country’s got miso and soy sauce, they’re top priority? It’s delicious, you know?」

Well, putting the country itself aside, it’s a land of kemomimi, fluffy fur, and possibly Japanese cuisine. Which makes it a truly wonderful country, yet lacks a future to a tragic degree… What an annoying country.

「My King, whatever the boy’s personal irritation may be, the Gamerein issue is the Kingdom’s problem. It not something that can be forced onto other, rather, a king should shoulder, isn’t it?」

And for me, it’s got nothing to do with me. I have no right to butt in. This is a matter of this world, and I’m just an outsider, a background mob character to this.

「I understand. I might put in a request, but I never had any intention, or even the standing, to force… We brothers are both fools of kings, our only recourse is to bow our heads, go around asking, and rely on others to grant our wishes. Shariceres, I leave it to you. See, hear, think, and decide for yourself. The path you believe to be right will be the Kingdom’s direction.」

「Father… I, Shariceres Diorer, as royal envoy of His Majesty King Diarusez Diorer, humbly accept this task!」

So the Royal Girl will be calling the shots? Then she’ll need something to boost her prestige. Since she’s apparently a Sword Queen, a sword will do, I guess? Yeah, I don’t want to alter the sexy dress and sexy armor? They are essential for a lady of the noble royal dynamite body bloodline! And the sexy maid attendant is absolutely crucial, too!

The long, pointless, and boring meeting finally ended, and we were shown to our rooms for a break. Armored Pres-san, Slime-san, Dancing Girl-san, and I ended up in a four-person room. Officially, these three are my guards, but two of them are constantly depriving me of combat ability and throwing me into life-threatening situations? This morning’s oral attacks were brutal… both up top and down below!

Clank-Clank? Well, I don’t really need to forge anything with a hammer and anvil, but for some reason the results come out better when I do, and adjustments are easier. My materials this time were some rotten, filthy metal scraps I’d found in the treasure vault on my last visit, labeled 『Royal Sword Diorer – ? ? ? ?, Blessing of the Royal Bloodline』. I reforged and refined them, adding mithrilized steel, fitting them with a black-gold blade, hammering it all together. I aimed for the perfection that I could glimpse through Rajingan, reaching for the very edge of it… And maybe a bit past that? Yeah, just a tip? Kind of?

「Can you give this to the Royal Girl for me? Oh, and tell her it’s better if the ownership is registered to Playking, since I kinda took it from the treasure vault without permission? Yeah, someone just kinda dropped it in there?.」

It probably was a sword with some history to it. Bearing the title of royal sword, it was still blessed despite its ruined state, with four separate 『unknown』in the description. The blade looked ready to crumble at a touch and the hilt barely not splintering in my grip, but it must have been passed down through the ages. Well, I did return it, so it’s fine? Yeah, like, Maid Girl is super mad that I left at the Frontier『Everlasting Trap 』I picked up from this place? She still remembers that? Talk about obstinate?

So, I’ll just cover it up with this… broken sword? The outward appearance was a lavish masterpiece, crafted with extravagant precision, a pretty convincing sight. The performance turned out unexpectedly above expectations too, 『Royal Sword Diorer – ALL 40% UP, Physical/Magical Defense Nullification, Sword Technique Bonus (Greater), Status Ailments Resistance (Greater), Auto Mana Blade, Auto-Heal, Royal Bloodline Only, Blessing to the Owner, +ATT, +DEF』Honestly, it was so good I nearly considered stealing it. Unfortunately, it was locked to royalty. Discrimination! It had a 『Job: Royalty』 restriction! Meanwhile, I’m jobless, restricted by nothing, so why do I wake up every morning wrapped up tightly in chains?

And then, dropping by the training grounds before the bath, a passionate battle the Idiots began (Kill and Destroy Normies), I’m barraging them with magic bullets while taking full advantage of the fencing techniques, scattering caltrops(mines), and hurling down a storm of attack in an aerial assault, but they dodge it all and don’t die? They even deflected a sneak attack with the blow dart purely on instinct.

They nimbly avoided the mines, with beastlike movements slipped past even the invisible magic threads, and leaped at me swinging boomerangs… At this point, it wasn’t about throwing or not throwing, they were still holding it in their grip as their whole dumb selves came flying at me!

Their agility and instincts were no different from those of magical beasts, actually, the Idiots had better reflexes than magical beasts, while they also possessed the degree of idiocy not permitted to humankind. Monsters born from the mana of the frontier will attack you on sight, so intercepting them is fine. But monsters that breed naturally outside the frontier supposedly flee when they sense danger. Well, the Idiots were born outside the frontier too? Their Idiots’ Dads and Moms must’ve worked hard to breed them naturally, yet they have no intention of going back, happily fighting instead… wearing feral grins, coordinating their assault like a hunting pack, cutting down and knocking away the wild beasts and people that came at them. I can’t hiiiiit them, soooo irritating!

「Stop dodging, damn it! If it doesn’t hit, you won’t die! You Idiots are completely useless, you can’t even take a hint! I’m stabbing you with the flaming sword of Normies Explosion under the guise of training here, so get hit and explode already! Read the room and evaporate, will you?」

「「「「No way! And stop trying to blow us up! You’re the one who got all lovey-dovey dancing with someone else’s girlfriend yesterday! Let us beat you up!」」」」