Masquerade

"Wow... This is such a big venue..." Linze quietly mumbled as she glanced

around the ballroom.

There were dazzling decorations all over the place and a huge chandelier

dangling from the ceiling. It was a custom-made dwarven creation with a [Light

Orb] enchantment. I wondered how much it must have cost.

The ballroom's second floor had a large balcony dining area, which offered an

astonishing view of Refreese's coastline. The deep blue of the sea

complemented the light blue of the sky and the white of the city brought the

spectacle together. The view was so breathtaking that I couldn't help but snap a

shot on my phone.

"It's quite similar to that Mediterranean Sea we visited, Touya."

"That's actually what I thought the first time I arrived here."

Leen smiled softly at my response. It was nice that we could share little

thoughts like that now. It really made me thankful that I'd brought the girls

around Earth with me.

"There is a garden below, there is."

Yae was peeking over the balcony railing, so I joined her and looked below.

There was a beautiful blooming bed of flowers right below us. A little brick road

passed through the bushes, flanked by little water fountains and benches.

There was a nice little clearing, too. Looked like a perfect spot for a picnic.

Hilde seemed to think so as well, given how much she was admiring the place.

"I think the idea must be that if you find a partner at the ball, you can come

out here to get a little more privacy..."

"Yeah, that sounds about right. If you can find a partner, at least."

Even though I'd designed the masks to disguise identity, I hadn't really

considered the issue of clothing, so there wasn't really a limit on that. I had a

feeling the more gaudily-dressed people would be more popular. If you wore

something fancy, people would know you were filthy rich, after all. Still, people

who flocked to others because of that would also show their character that

way. It might even be a good way to discern someone's intentions.

As I pondered the matter, Sue scurried up to me from behind.

"Hey Touya, where's Lu?"

"Hm? Pretty sure she's in the kitchen."

Last I recalled, she'd gone off with the Refreese Castle's head chef.

"Isn't it strange for one of Brunhild's grand duchesses to be cooking for a

foreign country?" Sue said as she sighed a little and shook her head in disbelief.

Hey, wait. There's a reasonable explanation for this.

Lu published weekly recipes through her blog on the Cookery app that was on

everyone's smartphones. The pictures of strange dishes and tasty treats

immediately captured the hearts and minds of the royals who saw them. So

naturally, they passed the recipe information on to their chefs, resulting in Lu

becoming somewhat of a legendary chef among the royal kitchen staff.

The head chef at Refreese Castle was a particularly avid fan of Lu's blog. The

emperor knew about this, so he petitioned me directly to ask if she'd be able to

help mentor his staff.

"Lu's food is amazing, it's no wonder people go crazy for it."

"That might not be a good thing..."

Sakura had a point. If the attendees got too engrossed in their meals, they

might spend more time eating than chatting. But hey, maybe people would get

to know each other over their shared love of food. That could be a bonus.

Suddenly, Yumina clapped her hands together. The shock made me jump for a

moment.

"It's time for all of us to get ready! This is our first formal event as grand

duchesses of Brunhild!"

"Uh, wait... Yumina... Do we have to?" Elze muttered in response to Yumina's

decree. She seemed nervous, as did Linze, Yae, and Sakura.

While the blind matchmaking was going on, the second floor would be

hosting a separate event for nobles and dignitaries who were already in

relationships, as well as those too young to be looking for partners. Naturally,

I'd be expected to attend along with my wives.

Prime Minister Kousaka would be there, as well as our head of infrastructure,

Naito. Moroha and Karen would also be attending... unfortunately. They were

technically royalty, since they were posing as my sisters, after all. Granny Tokie

would be staying home, though.

This event was actually a lot more important than the blind date downstairs.

It was a royal gathering of dignitaries from east and west, so it'd be a very highsecurity event. Refreese asked me for some help in beefing up the defenses due

to that fact.

It was a formal party, so we had to look the part. That meant we had to wear

something a little fancier than our usual adventuring getup.

When it came to my wives, the prospect of a party like this divided them.

Some of them were enthused, while others were a little uncomfortable. There

was no helping that. Yumina, Lu, Hilde, Leen, and Sue were used to formal

events, but the others were inexperienced. It was no wonder they felt

intimidated.

I thought it strange that they were still so concerned, though. They had a lot

of experience with royals, so hopefully, this party would be a good chance for

them to deepen their bonds in high society. Then again, they were probably just

concerned about making their debut as formal members of a royal family. They

were my fiancees before, sure... but now they were full-on grand duchesses.

The prospect had to be imposing.

"It'll be okay, guys. We're not hosting, so just take it easy and try to enjoy the

party."

"Easy for you to say... Can't I just work security instead?" Elze asked. It

sounded like she was joking, but I had a feeling she wasn't. Unfortunately for

her, royal wives couldn't be seen doing something like that!

Yae grumbled a bit alongside Elze, then suddenly raised a brow as she noticed

something behind me. I turned to see what she was looking at.

"Sakura-dono... Is that not the overlord, is it not?"

"...Ugh," Sakura noticed her father, then let out a small, disgusted noise.

The overlord of Xenoahs was wandering down the hall in our general

direction. A few demonkin guardsmen were walking with him. Among those

guards was a familiar face. It was Sirius. His daughter, Spica, was a member of

our knight order. He looked young as ever, which was unsurprising given that he

was a dark elf. Even the overlord looked like he was in his twenties, but he was

actually over a hundred.

Hm? Who are the other two guards? Do I know them?

"Oh, if it isn't the grand duke of Brunhild. You're here already?"

The overlord gave me a little wave as he addressed me, but he was only

looking at his daughter. That was rather rude...

I'd gone to all the invited nations the night before to place [Gate] portals for

ease of access at the appointed time. The first one to arrive appeared to be the

Xenoahs party.

The overlord smiled toward Sakura and gave her a timid wave.

"Er... H-How's my little Farnese these days?"

"...Fine."

"How's married life? No problems, I take it?"

"...I'm very happy. Don't worry about it."

"I-Is that right..."

Things between them still felt awkward. Not at all what you'd expect from a

father and daughter... Sakura was far too curt with him, and he was just awful

at knowing how to respond.

Sirius, who seemed to be fidgeting impatiently, suddenly leaned in and

whispered something to the overlord.

"Your wickedness... The introductions, remember?"

"O-Oh, right! Doy! My bad! Hey, you guys. I have to introduce these two to

you. C'mere, both of you."

The two young men behind Sirius and the overlord stepped forward. One of

them was a dark-skinned young man who stood well over six feet. He had

bulging muscles, even on his neck, as well as long, fiery-red hair and eyes that

burned with passion. A little smirk sat on his face. The other was a thin young

man with round glasses. He was closer to my height. His eyes were a lot less

intense than the other guy's... In fact, he looked a little bored. His hair was the

same red as the muscular guy's, but his skin tone wasn't quite as dark. He had a

bit of a nerdy vibe about him, honestly.

However, the most distinctive feature about both of them was the horns

sprouting from the sides of their heads... They were clearly identifiable as the

same types of horns the overlord had.

The overlord's horns were a signifier of his lineage, which could only mean

one thing...

"These are my sons, Faron and Farese. They don't share the same mother as

Farnese, but they're her brothers nonetheless."

That explained why they seemed vaguely familiar. They were the first and

second princes of Xenoahs, Sakura's elder brothers. That also made them my

brothers-in-law. I'd heard about them in the past.

I sure had a lot of brothers-in-law, though... There was Yae's brother, Jutaro...

Reinhard, Hilde's brother... Lu had a brother, probably... Yeah, he was called

Lux. Barely ever saw him, though. There were a few more here and there, too.

And now Faron and Farese had entered the fray... Though, I suppose this was

inevitable. I had a lot of wives, after all.

Prince Faron walked up to Sakura. There was a considerable height difference

between the two, prompting him to crouch a bit to look down at her. For

whatever reason, he was also striking a flashy pose at the same time.

"This is the first time we've ever met, little sis! But I'm yer big bro, Faron!"

"...Are you as stupid as you look?"

"What kind of opener is that?!"

Sakura had said exactly what I was wondering, but that sure was a cold way to

address one's brother. Then again, she probably didn't think of him as family or

anything.

"She has a point, brother. Your introduction was unnecessarily flashy and

boorish."

"Not you too, Farese!"

Poor Faron slumped his shoulders after taking the double-pronged attack.

This was one of those times where you'd say "like father, like son..." He looked

just like the overlord did whenever Sakura gave him a rough time.

It was the glasses-wearing prince's turn to introduce himself.

"I'm Farese, as you just heard. I'm sure you know, but I'm the second prince

of Xenoahs. I've forfeited any and all rights to the throne, however... I apologize

for the trouble my mother's family caused you... I don't believe it's something

that can ever be forgiven, but I feel as though I have to let it be known all the

same."

Farese bowed his head to Sakura. Sakura blinked in surprise at the sudden

apology, and I had no idea what he was talking about... but then I quickly

remembered.

Sakura had once been the target of a malicious, life-threatening plot. In

Xenoahs, the one who holds the overlord's horns and has the most magical

power is the de-facto ruler of the country. Sakura was raised away from the

royal family because her horns never manifested, but once she got older, they

started to grow in... and she also possessed a deep reservoir of magical

potential. In accordance with tradition, that made her the next heir to Xenoahs'

throne. But the second prince's uncle, a man named Severus, conspired to kill

her by hiring Yulongese assassins.

Sakura was gravely injured and lost many of her memories as a result. But

after she got them back, we tracked down the one responsible for the attack,

and the entire conspiracy was unraveled. The second prince didn't actually have

any part of this, but it seemed like part of him felt responsible for it due to his

mother's brother being the one pulling the strings.

"It's fine... If I never got attacked, I wouldn't have met the grand duke or the

others... You needn't mind, Farese."

"Very well... Quite bold, aren't you?"

"Mhm."

Farese smiled a little at Sakura. He had a point. Calling him by name like that

even though he was a foreign prince wasn't exactly normal protocol. Then

again, they were siblings, so it was probably okay... Though there was one

person nearby who seemed to have an issue.

"Hey... Aren't you getting a little too friendly with him, Farnese?! What about

me?!"

"Father... Please don't take it personally, okay? Just calm down."

"Hmph... You're annoying..."

"Oh, now you're both gonna hassle me?!"

The overlord sighed quietly as both his son and daughter spoke back to him.

He was a lost cause, it seemed...

"Uh... Overlord? Will your sons be attending the matchmaking event?"

"Huh? Oh, right... They will, yes. Neither of them have wives yet, after all."

"I'm a little surprised. They're not even engaged?"

"They're too picky... Frankly, it's pathetic that they don't have a partner at

their age. They could stand to learn a bit from you, Grand Duke."

...C'mon, man. Gimme a break. One of my wives is your daughter!

"Hrmph... I'm just a busy, important guy, you know? I could get a wife or two

if I really wanted..."

"Could not... You're just lazy..."

"Grr!"

Sakura was being completely merciless as far as Faron was concerned. She

was treating the poor guy about as badly as she treated her dad. I'd assumed

that his position as prince would've meant he'd be married off by now, but

apparently things worked a bit differently in Xenoahs. Demonkin like him had

long lifespans, so there was less immediate pressure to get married. It was also

seen as a rite of passage to find a spouse on your own.

"What about you, Farese?"

"I'm not exactly interested in marriage. I was simply dragged here by my

brother. That said, I am grateful for the opportunity to visit Refreese, and

finding a partner here might not be the worst thing in the world."

"Mmm... Give it your best and take it slow. You'll find the right person for you

eventually..."

"...Hey, aren't you treating him a little different?"

While she'd had nothing but scorn-filled words for Faron, Sakura was

surprisingly calm and supportive when it came to Farese.

Hrm... I guess Faron's similar to the overlord in personality, so maybe Sakura

finds that part of him annoying...

As I was pondering, Prince Farese called out to me.

"By the way, Grand Duke... Father told me that Brunhild is home to an

exceptional library."

"Huh? Oh, yes. That's right. I can use teleportation magic, so there are books

from all around the world in my personal library."

For a moment, I thought he was referring to Babylon's library, but thankfully

that secret hadn't leaked. He was just talking about the regular one in my

castle.

I'd shown some of the other world leaders during a league of nations meeting

once, so the overlord probably mentioned it to him after that or something.

Most of the books in Babylon's library were in ancient languages, and some

others contained forbidden knowledge that was best kept secret. On the other

hand, there were plenty of regular, interesting, and inoffensive stories there as

well, so I'd copied them for the castle library. There were also some rare books

I'd collected from around the world at the behest of Fam, terminal gynoid of

the library.

"Apologies, but might I come to Brunhild to see it someday? I haven't been

able to stop thinking about it ever since my father brought it up..."

"Are you an avid reader?"

"I am, yes. Sometimes I read to the point that I neglect eating. But there's

little better in life than the pleasures of books, don't you think?"

Huh...? This guy's a bit of an intellectual, especially when compared to his

brother. If he's into books, maybe that'd make him a good match for Princess

Reliel? Then again, there's no guarantee he'd like her particular brand of

novels...

There was no issue with the prince visiting my castle library, so I said he could

at a later date.

After that, the Xenoahs party went off to change into their proper outfits for

the evening. The overlord tried to stay behind to talk to Sakura some more, but

he was dragged off by his sons before long.

Shit, that reminds me... I've gotta get ready too. I haven't worn a tux since my

wedding day...

I parted with Yumina and the others, making my way toward the changing

room set aside for Brunhild's men.

◇ ◇ ◇

The melodic rhythm rang through the ballroom, and the guests finally started

to dance with one another. The majority of the guests were the children of

nobles, after all, so they were all instructed in dancing, and I made sure that the

attendees from Brunhild at least received some degree of instruction as well.

It was a masquerade ball, but dancing was optional. That said, Yumina and Lu

told me that to prevent any embarrassment, everyone from Brunhild had to at

least be willing to get up and dance if invited.

Most of the people dancing now were those I recognized as nobles, while

everyone else was either sitting around the hall or outside the venue in the

garden. And because everyone was wearing masks, people were forced to talk

to one another. That could often lead to either dance invites, or walks in the

garden.

From what I could see, though, people were sticking more closely to those

from their own countries. Maybe that was unavoidable.

"It's nice to see people chatting here and there. Oho, isn't that one of ours?"

The king of Lihnea looked down over the hall, peeking through his opera

glasses. Apparently, all the countries had some kind of identifier that marked

them as members of their own country. Brooches, cufflinks, stuff like that.

"Cloud... Do you really think you should be snooping like that? They're

probably nervous down there, you know?"

"Oh, you're right... Apologies. I was just a little curious."

After a little chastisement from his fiancee, King Cloud handed the opera

glasses back to me.

The girl in question was Princess Lucienne Dia Palouf. She was the elder sister

of King Ernest of Palouf, and in a few months, she'd become the queen of

Lihnea. I liked her a lot, she had a very gentle temperament to her.

Princess Lucienne's comment got me glancing around, and I noticed that

Cloud wasn't the only one peering at the hall below.

I suppose it made sense when you considered that the guests were family or

friends of the royals and nobles up here. It would only be natural to be a little

curious.

I glanced around the second floor and saw all the important dignitaries of

each nation chatting to one another, clinking champagne glasses in their hands.

The actual royals, myself included, weren't quite as eagerly schmoozing our way

through the crowd, however. That said, some of the royals and nobles from the

Reverse World... or rather, the western continent, were fresh faces to the

royals of the eastern continent. I was the only person from this side of the

world who'd had much experience over there, so I had to adopt a kind of

mediator role while letting everyone get to know each other better. In all

honesty, it was kind of a drag, but I gave it my best anyway.

I was done giving the introductions now, though, so it was just a case of

kicking back and relaxing.

I glanced back to Lucienne, who was looking over at the dining room.

"It's been a long time since Ernest has been able to talk with children his age."

"Yeah, I'd imagine so. I'm sure he's more comfortable hanging out with them

than us."

King Ernest was sitting by his fiancee, Rachael. They were happily chatting

with Remza and Alba, the first and second princes of Mismede. Nearby was First

Princess Lilac and Second Princess Milneah of Hannock, as well as Lucrecion, the

former heir to Gardio and now the count of Lowe.

They were all roughly ten, so it was nice to see them getting along. I glanced

over and saw the newly-crowned King of Dauburn talking to my brother-in-law,

Reinhard, who'd also been recently crowned Knight King of Lestia. It was nice to

see new leaders bonding so quickly... Then again, I was a fairly new leader too.

Same went for Cloud, really.

Yumina and the other girls were mingling with the foreign queens and

princesses, likely asking for advice about life as a state figurehead. Elze, Linze,

and Yae were uncertain about how to act, judging from the stiff smiles on their

faces. But that was only natural, really. I was sure they'd learn how to handle

themselves in due time.

The kings, emperors, and other male leaders were all grouped up and

chatting. So far, things seemed to be going without a hitch, so I decided to do a

little looking around myself.

I said my byes to Cloud and headed out to the balcony. From there, I could

see what was happening down below in the gardens. Some men were nervously

chatting up women, while others were sitting at a table and sharing a nice pot

of tea. Everyone was enjoying themselves in their own way. It was nice to see,

but that was all...

It'd be wrong of me to say I hadn't expected this, though. This wasn't

supposed to be a particularly exciting event. Curiously, however, there was a

strange gathering of muscleheads on the balcony. The leaders of Mismede,

Felsen, Lassei, and Egret were all chattering amongst themselves. I hadn't taken

them to be the type to care much about other peoples' romance.

They seemed awfully merry, though, and they kept looking down over the

balcony... For some reason, I had a bad feeling.

"Oho! There you are, Grand Duke! Here to watch?"

"...Watch what?"

The beastking waved his champagne at me, spilling a little in the process.

What exactly were they watching? I hadn't booked any live performances.

Unless they were just... people-watching. That seemed rather dull, however.

I glanced around a little more and suddenly noticed a few members of the

Refreese royal infirmary standing by. Was someone sick, or something?

"Uh... What's going on?"

"Oh, you'll see in a minute, lad!"

The king of Felsen grinned slyly as he winked at the beastking.

"It's inevitable at gatherings like this. Watch and learn."

I didn't understand what was going on at all, but that didn't stop the king of

Egret from tapping me on the shoulder. It was very unusual to see him in a

formal tux instead of his Native American-esque tribal outfit, but he certainly

pulled it off. That didn't surprise me, though. He was remarkably popular with

women for a reason... It was no wonder he had seven wives.

"You've never attended a gathering like this, I take it?"

"I mean... I was an adventurer before I met my wives. I've only really been to

a few fancy parties like this, so I haven't had a chance to attend any courtshiporiented events, no."

"They're young, you know? Youngsters don't tend to yield. And when two

unyielding forces meet, well..."

As if to interrupt the king of Egret, a voice rang out from the courtyard below.

I wondered what was going on.

"Looks like the first one of the night."

"First what?"

I looked down and saw two masked men glaring at each other. Well, they

were more masked teens, but still... The two of them looked incredibly tense,

drawing in concerned glances from onlookers.

"Huh? A fight?"

"But of course. This kind of thing's bound to happen. Usually, if it gets too

intense, the parents of the youngsters will come out and put a stop to it, or the

host will. But at times, it escalates into a duel."

"A what?!"

Aren't those usually to the death?! That doesn't sound very smart!

"Worry not, Grand Duke. Those boys won't be losing their lives today. In cases

like this, we set out rules and have them compete against one another. No

matter who wins, what's important is that there's no bad blood left behind.

Anyone who acts out after the conflict's over tends to lose a little face among

their peers, so it's not really worth it."

"Wait... you guys make them compete? Like what, horse racing or

something."

"Mm... Not usually, no... Though I have heard of a few cases where they

settled their differences over a horse race, so it's not unprecedented. It's

generally peaceful, though."

Peaceful sounded good to me. Better than dueling to the death, at least... It

was smart of them to think ahead and prevent feuding teens from seriously

hurting each other. I was of the opinion that disputes were best solved without

conflict, anyway.

"Anyway, we'll probably have these two fistfight or something."

"What's 'generally peaceful' about that, exactly...?"

That's violent as hell, man!

Noticing my surprised reaction, the king of Felsen laughed out loud.

"It's better to handle things this way when they're young. Good for one's soul

to vent your feelings through your fists in honorable combat than to let your

feelings fester. Plus, we have healers on standby, so it's all good!"

So that's what they're here for?! That's crazy! Is this kind of thing really that

common at parties like this?! You're making me regret arranging this thing,

man...

"Those masks won't come off so easy, right?"

"Huh? Oh, they shouldn't. Even if you get knocked around, they won't come

off without me uttering the proper keyword."

"Most interesting... Usually, fights like these get called off and mediated if the

two men aren't of the same social status, but it seems with these masks a

commoner could even fight a prince."

"Hmph. That's good, if you ask me. Social status shouldn't matter at all when

it comes to the path of the fist. Only thing that counts is how you swing."

The Beastking nodded at the ruler of Lassei, and the two eagerly looked down

over the balcony.

If you're sure this is okay, I guess...

An independent observer stepped between the two men, and it looked as

though the brawl was about to begin. But then, they suddenly headed deeper

into the garden area, followed by a small entourage of onlookers.

"Looks like they realized the spectacle they're making and took their fight

deeper in. Time to follow, eh?"

"...You guys really just wanna watch a fight, huh?"

"Wahahaha! Come on, lad. The main event at parties like this is the

passionate clash between two men, not the will-they-won't-they nonsense of

romance!"

The brawny men all filed out of the balcony area, eager to see the fight. I

stayed behind.

...Pretty sure romance is supposed to be the main event here, guys.

"Geez..."

Some of the bystanders followed to see the fight, but most remained in the

courtyard and resumed their business. A lot of them seemed focused on their

partners, which was nice.

I saw some groups where several men fawned over the same woman and

even vice versa. The masks generally blocked the physical features of the

guests, but some people just had natural charisma that transcended looks.

Conversation, gestures, mannerisms, and general responses... Those were the

best ways to find out about a person's real character.

"Hm?"

A figure down in the courtyard caught my eye. She stood alone, away from

the other partygoers. She was leaning against a tree. Some might call her a

wallflower, a girl who was simply too introverted or shy to speak to others. But I

knew better. She was away from the other partygoers because she was busy

with her phone, frantically typing on it at high speeds.

Not many people in the world had smartphones. They were specially made by

Doc Babylon, after all. Only the heads of nations, their closest staff and family,

as well as my personal friends had them. And I knew for a fact that most of

those people were up on the second floor, talking amongst themselves. Which

could only mean one thing. This girl was Princess Reliel.

She wasn't inside, dancing in the ballroom. Nor was she chatting with the

others outside. The only dance was the waltz of her fingers against the screen.

She was definitely writing some new sordid novel on there.

What an idiot!

If the emperor of Refreese saw her typing away like that, he'd obviously take

it from her again.

"Oho. Nice to see you out here, Touya."

"Waugh?!"

"Hm? Have I bothered you?"

Speak of the devil!

I turned around to see the emperor of Refreese, the king of Belfast, and the

queen of Elfrau smiling my way.

"N-No! Not at all! I'm having a great time! Isn't this fun?!"

"Hm? Oh, well... I'm glad you're enjoying yourself..."

I laughed nervously, walking forward and trying to grab their attention. He

was Reliel's dad, so I didn't want to risk him seeing her down there. I didn't

think a mask would keep him from identifying his daughter. Even I knew it was

her at a glance, after all.

"H-Hey, uh... where's Prince Redis? How's he doing these days?"

"Oh, Redis? He's over there, but..."

"Over there, huh?! Amazing! I wanna give him an engagement gift! Could you

take me to him?!"

I was being pretty pushy, but I needed to get the emperor the hell away from

the balcony. Reliel's little brother, Prince Redis, got engaged to Princess Thea of

Mismede a while back, but I'd never given them anything to commemorate the

event. Well, we did on a national level, but I hadn't done anything personal.

"Hoho. A gift from you, of all people? It must be something interesting."

"Yep, it really is. It's a rare treasure I found on my honeymoon. I think the

prince is gonna love it."

King Belfast chimed in, so I nodded really quickly and prompted the three of

them to follow me into the nearby hallway.

...Wait, why did all three of you come?

Before long, we found Redis and Thea, so I wasted no further time in opening

up my [Storage] and pulling out some interesting items for them.

"Wow!"

"It's so pretty!"

I took out two small glass spheres filled with liquid and fake snow. Inside was

a small diorama scene with a brick house and a reindeer. The little glittering

flakes danced around the area as I shook them.

It was a simple trinket back on Earth, known as a snow globe. Luckily, I'd

bought quite a few of them at the landmarks I'd visited.

The two of them looked positively ecstatic as I handed the snow globes over.

The little prince immediately started shaking his around.

"Is this from Elfrau?"

"Er, no... It's from a, uh... different country."

I didn't exactly want to ignore King Belfast's question, but I wasn't ready for

the baggage that'd come with explaining it was from another world entirely.

Another cool feature about these snow globes was the fact that they'd been

enchanted with [Program], so you didn't have to shake them to make the snow

float around in there.

"Hm... This is quite the wonderful little trinket. It shows the beauty of snow,

even where there's no snow to be found. This may sell..." Queen Elfrau

mumbled as she gazed at the snow globe even more intently than the two kids.

Her expression was scary. It kind of reminded me of Guildmaster Relisha.

I had a feeling Elfrau would probably begin producing snow globes at some

point in the near future.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Ugh... Why do I have to be here? This suuucks!"

At least I've got my phone, I can still make my deadline... So long as I finish

writing this by tomorrow morning, it'll be okay. I'll finish writing my story, get it

printed off, and hand it over to my editor. Easy... I don't have much time left,

though... Dad ruined everything by taking my phone away, and then I had to

deal with all this party nonsense. The costume fitting, the boring old nobles...

Ugh!

Calm down, calm down... Geez. I'm making typos now. More typos mean more

time spent proofreading. I'm getting angrier and angrier, but what else am I

supposed to do?

"Excuse me, are you alone?"

"I am. What do you want?"

Another one. Another champagne-wielding wannabe lover. Great. Just what I

need. This is the fourth time tonight. A golden mask this time around. How

fancy. I thought I'd escape this by leaving the damn hall. Why are you even

talking to me? I'm wearing a mask, hello!

"Would you mind if we chatted a little?"

"I would mind. Begone."

"Hahaha, how standoffish."

Huh? He's staying by my side? I got rid of the other three like this, so why's he

hanging around? What's he peeking at, exactly? He's just being a pain in my

behind!

"That's an artifact created by Brunhild, isn't it? Are you perhaps from that

country?"

"No, I'm not. I'm from... Oh."

"Oh my."

Oh no. I just messed up. These phone things are limited to royals and higherups, right? I basically just outed myself as a big deal.

Now I get it... These creeps keep approaching me because of my phone!

"I've had enough of you, sir. Can you go away?"

"Hey, don't be like that. How about we have a little drink together? There's

some tasty punch at that table over there."

...Screw it. I'm outta here. Phone off, into pocket. If he won't leave, I will. Off I

go and—Did he just grab my arm?

"H-Hey! Let go of me!"

"C'mon, little lady. Just one drink, yeah? I'll make sure we have fun together."

What's with that attitude? I feel sick just looking at him. I can't tell his

expression, since the mask's covering his face, but I don't like this one bit... It

feels like he's smirking at me. It's scary. He's practically squeezing my arm... I

could call for help, or reveal my identity... b-but that'd ruin the party. Or maybe

people would think I was being hysterical. Plus, people might think less of my

dad if I kick up a fuss here...

"How about we go somewhere a little more private, mm? Relax, okay? Just

trust me. We're all friends here."

"Get off me!"

I-I can't overpower him... He's gonna drag me away! Stop! Someone, please

help!

"I don't think the lady likes that, mister."

"Hm?"

Who said that? Oh... Another man? This one's in a black mask and a tuxedo...

"Shut up, white knight. Don't get in my way."

"Oh, I don't intend to get in anyone's way. It just seems to me that the lady

doesn't want your company. Or am I mistaken?"

He's turning to me now... I'm saved. That's it... Shake your head, shake this

guy off, and run to this guy... It'll be okay now.

"Are you alright, milady?"

"Y-Yeah..."

I can barely speak... At least I managed that... Th-That was too scary...

"She doesn't seem to be too fond of your company, friend. Why don't you

pursue someone else, hm?"

"Don't just muscle in on my mark, man! You piece of—! Hngh?!"

Wait... what just happened? The golden-masked guy's on the floor already?

But I barely saw anything happen... The black-masked man moved, grabbed him

by the arm, and then... C-Could it be that... this black-masked man is a trained

knight?

"...Do you really want to take this any further, friend?"

"Screw you... Get off me!"

Oh, he actually let him go... Ah, and now the golden-masked man is running

off... Thank goodness... If the black-masked guy hadn't shown up just now,

ugh... I'm just glad they didn't escalate into a duel. That would've been ugly...

Now I just... Ah!

"Careful, ma'am!"

"O-Oh!"

I must've slumped over without realizing... He's holding me now... But I don't

feel disgusted like I did when the other guy had me in his grasp... What is this

feeling? I've never felt this way before... C-Calm down, let's just sit on this

bench.

"Are you okay? Do you need some water?"

"N-No, I'm fine. Thank you for saving me..."

...It feels like he's smiling, but I can't see it because of his mask... How

annoying, I want to see his smile... Wait, why do I care?

"Now then, I'll be on my way. Please excuse me, ma'am."

"N-No, wait! C-Could you maybe stay a little longer? H-He might come back..."

Wait... why did I just try to get him to stay? O-Oh, geez... My tone sounded so

girly there, too. How embarrassing...

"Very well, then. I'll sit with you a little longer."

"A-Ah...! Thank you so much!"

O-Oh, now he's sitting right next to me... I feel like I should say something. But

I can't think of anything... Aren't I a writer? Why can't I come up with something

as easy as small talk? U-Uhm... Let me think...

"The weather sure is nice today, isn't it?"

"It is."

The weather?! All these ideas in your head... and you bring up the weather?!

A-Agh! Another topic! Come on, you can do this! My head's spinning... Why

can't I come up with something?! What am I even doing here? Augh, I suck at

this... I-I'm pathetic... I can't even hold a conversation. Ugh... Now I'm starting

to cry... This is the worst... Huh? He's offering me a handkerchief?

"Don't push yourself. It's okay. I'll stay here as long as you want."

"Sh-Showwy..."

He probably thinks I'm crying about the man from before. Well, I'll wipe my

tears with the handkerchief, at least... It'd be rude to reject his offer... Maybe I'll

just stay sitting here all night... Maybe gazing up at the sky from here isn't all

that bad...

◇ ◇ ◇

"Ah. Excuse me a moment."

I was talking to a few other world leaders, but my smartphone suddenly

started going off. It was due to a text message, apparently. I shuffled off to a

less crowded corner to check it out.

Let's see here... Huh, Shizuku sent me something? Why's she sending me texts

now, of all times?

Shizuku was one of the three kunoichi girls under Tsubaki's command. She

was also attending the party. I gave the message a look, out of curiosity.

The message header read "Interesting Find," and had a picture attached to it.

The image showed a woman in a peach-colored dress and a red domino mask.

At a glance, she looked completely ordinary... What exactly was so interesting

about her?

"Hm? What's got your face so weird-looking?"

I looked up from the picture and saw Elze walking over to me... I didn't think

my face looked especially weird, but Elze probably had a better grasp of it than I

did.

"Oh, nothing in particular. I just got this weird text."

I didn't have anything to hide, so I showed the image to Elze. I thought

perhaps a woman's set of eyes might notice something I hadn't.

"Those boobs... They're a little big, aren't they? Padded, perhaps?"

"...That's a pretty random observation, but okay."

Elze stared at the image with curious eyes. Sure, the lady's boobs were big,

but that couldn't have been the reason...

Then again, Shizuku's boobs are pretty lacking, same as Elze's, so...

"Yeowch!"

"Were you thinking something rude just now?"

Augh! My arm! You're gonna break it! Guh... My wives are getting way too

good at reading my mind. Bah, whatever. I'm not gonna call her in the middle of

a party, so I'll just go down and find her.

Fortunately, my clothes were fancy, so all I needed to do was slip on a mask

to blend in with all the others down there.

"I'll be back soon, alright?"

"H-Hold up! I wanna tag along!"

...She's that keen to escape her social obligations, huh? I can understand it to

an extent, but you should at least try a little harder...

I glanced back at Elze, who seemed to be a single step away from begging. Her

eyes were pleading.

"Pleaaaaaase. Just for a little while?"

"...Fine."

"Woo!"

Damn you, Elze. You know I can't say no when you make a face like that...

When'd you get so good at using your womanly wiles, anyway?

I felt a little bad about leaving the other girls behind, but I figured it wouldn't

hurt to take only Elze if we weren't out long. Right as we turned to leave the

gathering, Sakura suddenly shuffled toward me at a rapid pace.

"...No fair... You can't just sneak off... Take me too..."

"You heard us, huh?"

"Hehehe... You know my ears are the best in the world... That's your fault,

Grand Duke."

Sakura had a smug expression on her face as she said that. It was pretty cute,

honestly. She was right, though. Her heightened hearing had manifested as a

trait because she benefited from my divinity.

"I wanna get out of here for a little while, anyway... The overlord won't leave

me alone..."

"Ah... That makes sense. He keeps trying to butt in under the pretense of

national interest, I bet."

It was a rare opportunity for the overlord to talk freely with his daughter in an

official capacity, so I couldn't exactly blame him for trying...

"Shall we go, then? Before the overlord finds us, I mean."

"Yep."

I hoped that the overlord wouldn't be mad at me for whisking his daughter

away, but part of me felt it was already much too late for that.

I triggered [Teleport] and transported the three of us to the first floor. It

wasn't necessarily a problem, but Sakura and Elze looked a little too flashy in

their dresses, so I used [Mirage] to make their looks more subdued.

"Now then, Shizuku..."

I used my phone's search function to trace her, and it told me she was out in

the courtyard. It was hard to identify people because of the masks, so my

phone definitely helped.

We walked into a nearby corridor and headed out into the main ballroom,

making our way past the dancers until we were out in the garden area. As we

walked, a male guest attempted to approach Elze. She spotted him and clung to

my arm, shutting him down before he even had a shot.

"I-It's better if we walk like this, okay? We're married, so it's not weird!" Elze

couldn't help but blush as she spoke. She seemed to have forgotten that this

was a matchmaking party, so there'd be no way for onlookers to tell we were

married... But I didn't really mind, to be honest.

"Me too..." Sakura mumbled as she grabbed my unaccosted side. I hoped

people didn't get a bad impression, especially since we were all anonymous.

Out in the courtyard and garden area, the attendees seemed to be enjoying

themselves. Princess Reliel wasn't in the spot I'd seen her at earlier, though.

Wherever she went, hopefully she didn't bump into Emperor Refreese... Didn't

want him catching her on her phone.

"Oho, that's Shizuku over there."

"Is it? I can't tell because of the mask..."

The girl standing by the water fountain was Shizuku, there was no doubt

about it. Or at least, that was what my gut told me. The disruptive effects of the

mask were still in place, so I used my divine sight to confirm.

"Psst. Shizuku."

"Hm? Who's saying my name out here...? Ah! Your highness!"

I quickly slipped my mask off, revealing my identity to the kunoichi. The mask

couldn't be knocked off or forced off, but you were capable of removing it

yourself fairly easily.

"I got your text. Ah, Elze and Sakura tagged along as well."

"Oh, I see. Sorry to bother you..."

"It's fine. I felt like coming down anyway. What's the deal with the person you

buzzed me about?"

"Look over there."

I followed her gaze and saw a group of around five people. There was a

woman there, wearing the same peach dress I'd seen in the photo. Her blonde

hair was tied up in a bun. Age-wise, she didn't look all that older than me. Early

twenties, most likely. She wore a pearl necklace about her neck and had a pair

of sapphire earrings. She seemed like a fairly ordinary woman, all things

considered... Though she definitely had a large pair of boobs on her...

"What's so interesting about her, exactly?"

"Don't you see it? Look, when I go out and spy in other nations, I often have

to disguise myself to get information."

That's true, I remember you being good at disguising in general. In fact, I'm

pretty sure I've seen it firsthand. It's crazy how well she can disguise herself

without using magic...

"Disguising isn't just about your clothing. It involves adjusting your manners,

your gestures, and the way you speak. The slightest mistake can expose you,

after all. That's why I've found myself fixated on the mannerisms of other

people, and... I noticed there's something up with that woman."

Upon Shizuku's insistence, I took a closer look at the woman. Nothing really

stood out, but... there was something a little off about her. Still, I couldn't place

it.

"...She's too pretty and proper."

"Pretty? But she's wearing a mask."

"She doesn't mean her looks, Touya. She means her motions. There's no

deviation when she moves. She always makes the exact same gestures in the

exact same way. It's like she's repeating them over and over again."

Elze's words prompted me to take a closer look, which clued me in on the

issue. The way she spoke, the way she laughed, and the way she gestured or

moved her body all felt rather rigid and pre-prepared. Though, there was

always the possibility that we were jumping to conclusions for no reason.

"...Grand Duke... She's not right..."

"Did you notice something, Sakura?"

...Am I really the only one not picking up on this? I've been called slow on the

uptake before, but c'mon...

"I can't hear it... Her heartbeat, I mean..."

"Huh?!"

No heartbeat? Don't tell me she's a zombie or something... No, she's moving

too fast to be one of those... Plus, she's talking casually, too. Can't be undead.

What the hell is she, then...? No heartbeat, but walking and talking like a

person. Life-like, but not actually alive...

At that moment, a thought popped into my mind.

Don't tell me she's...

I used my divine sight to see through her mask. A beautiful face lurked

beneath, there was no contesting that. But then I focused my gaze even harder,

peering beneath her flesh. Ordinarily, I hated focusing my divine sight in this

way, since I didn't like seeing the people around me as horrible walking

skeletons with flesh and muscle clinging on to them, but I had to test my

theory...

"I knew it!"

"Knew what? Did you see something?" Elze asked. She'd stared into my eyes

as they flashed gold, so she clearly knew what I'd just done.

"That's no human. That's a Gollem."

Both of my wives stood utterly dumbfounded, confused by the revelation...

That woman was a Gollem. Namely, a simulacrum model built to imitate a

human.

There were many different types of Gollem out in the world. Autonomous

models, who acted on their own, were the most prevalent type. However, even

those were fairly diverse. There were humanoid models, miniaturized bipedal

models, and animal models. The crown Gollems and Elluka's Gollem, Fenrir, fit

into that category. They were contracted to a master and performed better

based on how well they meshed with a person. Some could talk, like Fenrir, but

those were rarer than others.

Then there were the vehicular models. They were the kind you could ride

inside, controlling them either directly or indirectly. Some semi-autonomous

models could move on their own. They included things like tanks, trailers,

minibuses, and most any carrier with legs or wheels. Sancho, the merchant

from Allent, had one of them. His was a large bus shaped like a crab. Those

types didn't need a contract, but they did require keys to operate. Some could

be found in ancient ruins, but they were considerably rarer.

Drone models came next. They were similar to the vehicular ones, except

they were controlled either via remote control or voice commands. They had no

will of their own and couldn't make decisions for themselves, so they were

generally lacking in skill compared to autonomous Gollems. Military Gollems fell

into this category.

Ordinance models were after that. They were Gollems that could be worn by

their masters or wielded like weapons. Some could transform, while others had

rigid shapes. They could take the form of either armor or weapons. Some even

resembled power armor like in sci-fi. They were essentially a derivative of the

autonomous models, really. I'd fought someone who'd used one back in

Isengard, but I couldn't remember much about it. Most of them were massproduced, which was why they were given the factory-type designation.

Last, but certainly not least, there were the Simulacrums. They were allegedly

created in the image of humans to act as companions, but the truth of their

origins wasn't entirely clear. My Gollems from the etoile series fell into this

category. Though Ruby, Saph, and Emerl didn't really resemble humans in

appearance.

Still, the body double the witch-king of Isengard had used looked just like a

real human. Same with Norn's maid, Elfrau... which meant some models were

truly indistinguishable from human beings. Such models were insanely rare,

though...

What's she doing at this masquerade?

"What will you do, Grand Duke...?"

"What can I do...?"

"It's not like we have a 'no Gollems' rule, right?"

Fair point, Elze, but... I doubt she's here to find love.

It was true that she hadn't done anything dangerous, but that didn't rule out

the possibility of her being here for nefarious purposes.

"Maybe I should inform Emperor Refreese... It's his party, after all..."

Oh, but first...

I quickly employed [Drawing] to sketch out the face I'd seen beneath the

mask. If I asked around, I could probably get an answer about her identity.

I left Elze, Shizuku, and Sakura behind to keep an eye out, then used

[Teleport] to report my findings to the emperor.

"There's no doubt in my mind... This is the face of Miss Imelda, but... I had no

idea she was a Gollem. Are you sure there's no mistake here, Grand Duke?"

Lucrecion, former prince of Gardio, now count of Lowe, looked utterly baffled

as he glanced over the paper.

"Unfortunately it seems to be true... Did you know about this, Emperor

Gardio?"

I turned to Lancelet Rig Gardio, the young emperor standing next to

Lucrecion.

"I can't say I did, no. I don't understand..." Emperor Gardio replied as he

shook his head.

I glanced over at the pope of Ramissh, who responded with a little nod. That

meant her mystic eye had told her he was telling the truth. That was a relief, at

least.

If that was the case, then... She could have been planted by her family. Imelda

Tryus was the daughter of a noble in Gardio.

"I can think of three possibilities here, darling. The first is that Imelda was a

Gollem from the very start, meaning she never existed to begin with. Then

there's the second possibility, which is that Imelda was born as a person, but

she got swapped out for a Gollem at some point. That's the idea I find most

plausible. Though I don't know if the switch was to infiltrate this party or the

Tryus family at large. And the final option is... that my husband is wrong, and

she's just a normal person..."

"It can't be that, Leen! Sakura couldn't hear her heartbeat, remember?"

"I know, I know... It's just a possibility, silly," Leen replied. She couldn't help

but grin as I grumbled at her hypothesis.

"I've known Imelda since I was a child, so I don't think it's the first one.

Gollems don't grow like people, after all. Therefore, we must conclude that

Imelda was a real person at one point."

The emperor was a member of high society, so it made sense that he'd have

met nobles like the Tryus family throughout his life. That meant there'd been a

switch at some point. Was this the work of the Tryus family, or a third party...?

Was the original Imelda even alive anymore?

"We should take the fake Imelda into custody. Gardio can't overlook this."

"Hrm... As emperor of Refreese, I understand your feelings, but making a big

fuss in the middle of the party could be messy. We don't want to create an

incident."

"We can't leave her as-is, either. It's true that Gollems of her model don't

have skills and aren't as combat-capable as others, but they can still be

dangerous. We must act while there's still time..."

Emperor Gardio and Emperor Refreese both seemed troubled by the matter. I

could understand why. It was a bad idea to sour the evening with a big, flashy

arrest... but it'd be even worse for Emperor Refreese if it called the party off,

since he was doing this for his daughter.

Weapons weren't permitted in the ballroom, and my previous scan of her

body didn't reveal any hidden weapons, either. But if she wanted to, I was sure

she could kill at least one person around her... You could say the same of just

about any attendee, though.

"Hey, darling."

"Hm? What's up?"

Leen beckoned to me, then whispered a suggestion into my ear.

Oho. I like that. It might actually work...

"I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Hehehe... Good luck, darling."

I nodded to Leen, then used [Teleport] to return to Elze, Sakura, and Shizuku.

"...All's well that ends well, eh?" Elze said, grinning as she glanced at Imelda,

who was now slung over my shoulder.

Leen's plan was simple enough. First, Sakura and Elze would go over and get

the Gollem's attention. Then, while she was distracted, I'd use [Invisible] to

sneak up behind her, touch her neck, and use [Cracking] to sever the neural

magic circuits connecting her Q-Crystal to her brain. With the connection

severed, she'd be unable to move. Then, once she's collapsed, Elze and Sakura

would get close to her and mention how she looked faint or anemic. At that

point, I'd come back, fully visible again, and valiantly offer to carry her to the

infirmary on my back. Mission accomplished.

Even though she was a Gollem, she barely weighed anything at all.

These types are authentic, huh? It feels like I'm actually carrying a girl... The

two things pressed up against my back are so accurate... Heh... I wonder what

they're made of...

"Grand Duke... Are you thinking something indecent...?"

"What?! Me?! No way! Not at a time like this!"

"That's right. Touya wouldn't be thinking anything about sizes or softness

when he has his two beautiful wives right next to him, isn't that right?"

"Th-That's right!"

Elze looked terrifying.

I'm not comparing, I'm just curious!

I was sweating buckets, but I managed to covertly open up a [Gate] to the

castle infirmary.

◇ ◇ ◇

As far as this Gollem was concerned, I needed an expert opinion. Thus, I

contacted Babylon and called in our engineer, Elluka. Doc Babylon herself

accompanied her, unfortunately. Fenrir was doing a routine maintenance

checkup, so he stayed home.

When I returned to the Refreese infirmary with the scholarly duo, I found

Lucrecion, Emperor Gardio, and Emperor Refreese waiting for me, along with

their guards.

Imelda (or at least the Gollem that resembled her) remained on the bed. She

was still unconscious. She really did look human at a glance.

Elluka forced open the Gollem's eyelids, shining a light into them. She then

traced her fingers along her throat.

"This is definitely a simulacrum Gollem. Quite the elaborate one, too. One

from the fleurage series, perhaps? Yes, it seems so..." Elluka mumbled as she

rubbed a damp cloth against the Gollem's collarbone, revealing a faint flowerlike mark. Apparently, it'd been covered up by some makeup.

Next, Elluka took hold of Imelda's wrist. She used a thin needle-like object to

prod at the skin, which made a little hissing sound ring out. Within seconds, the

back of Imelda's hand opened. Inside were various transparent threads of light

flowing along her body, as well as a little round spellstone aspected to water.

There was no doubt about it... This girl was absolutely a Gollem.

As an aside, I had Kohaku use a group of summoned beasts to covertly check

for any other Gollems at the party. They were the best ones for the job, since

they could easily identify non-humans by scent. Thankfully, there weren't any

more of them.

"So she's really a Gollem, then..."

"But why? What was the purpose in sending such a life-like Gollem to our

party?"

Lucrecion looked completely confused, while Emperor Refreese glanced

suspiciously toward Emperor Gardio. The Ramissh pope had already cleared

Gardio's ruler of suspicion, but he'd still brought the Gollem with him.

"I'm having this investigated at once. I've already sent a team to the Tryus

estate in our capital. We'll get to the bottom of this..."

As Emperor Gardio spoke, his phone began to vibrate. He stood up and

walked a short distance away, talking to the person on the other side. The

mass-produced smartphones had been presented to the rulers of every nation,

and they came in handy during incidents like this. I'd heard a lot of stories about

how rulers, nobles, and cabinet members had become a lot busier since they'd

received their smartphones, but it was an unavoidable situation.

Eventually, Emperor Gardio returned to us.

"That was my investigation team. They found Ms. Imelda in the closet of her

bedroom. She wasn't injured, she's simply unconscious right now. Though I

think we can safely conclude that the Gollem swap had nothing to do with her

family."

Hrm... There's the chance her family did all that to cover this up, though. Then

again, why would they?

"Tell me more about the Tryus family, would you?"

"They've been loyal to Gardio for generations. The head of their family is also

a stand-up gentleman. He's in charge of all educational institutions in the

capital."

"E-Er, lemme uh... Sorry, let me add something here. When I was crown

prince, I met Earl Tryus many times. He was always a true gentleman who took

his duties very seriously. I doubt he was involved in this situation, personally."

Emperor Gardio's comment was followed up by Lucrecion's own account.

Given both of their testimonies, I had to assume that the earl was innocent. For

now, at least...

Elze quietly looked over Imelda's face as she "slept."

"...Can Gollems like this have their faces changed easily or something?"

"To an extent, yes. While humans can augment their looks with makeup,

Gollems of this type can tweak their skeletal structure, facial shape,

proportions, and so on."

Elze and Sakura quietly stared at Imelda, their eyes glazed over with some

measure of annoyance as they took in Elluka's explanation.

"...No fair."

"It's not fair..."

...Please stop worrying about her breasts. Ugh, this is a pain in the ass. Gotta

change the topic somehow.

I turned to Emperor Gardio, hoping to somehow change the flow of the

conversation.

"S-So, you had no idea she was a fake? Wasn't there any difference in her

mannerisms?"

"Miss Imelda is known as something of an introvert. In fact, I haven't actually

seen her in five years, so pretty much everything about her was different. I just

took it as a given that she was the real deal, as I had no reason to suspect

otherwise."

Not very sociable, huh? That could be why she was targeted, right? It would

make sense to switch someone who wasn't very well-connected.

"Hm... We should get the information from the Gollem itself, I say." Doc

Babylon stated as she rolled her pipe around in her mouth, looking over the

sleeping Gollem all the while.

"Is it safe to reboot her? Might she just attack us?"

"It's always a possibility, but the fleurage Gollems aren't known for their

combat capabilities. If you're worried, we could tie her up."

After Babylon voiced her concern, Elluka produced a length of rope from her

toolbox. Why did she have that on hand, exactly?

"Can't we just override her master control authority before waking her back

up?" I threw my own suggestion out there for them to consider. If we bound

her to a new master, then we'd be able to gain any information we needed and

there'd be no risk of her attacking us.

"Hmhmhm... So you want us to take out her G-Cube, Touya? That's what

you're saying?"

"Huh? I mean, yeah, but..."

"No, no. I totally get it. I understand. I wanna see what kind of boobs a Gollem

like this has, too."

"Wh—?! That's not what I meant! Don't lump me in with you!"

Sure, Doc Babylon was right. To access a Gollem's G-cube, you needed to

open a hatch on its chest, but that was just a means to an end! I wasn't thinking

about it like that!

"...Touya, sweetie... Can we have a little chat?"

"...Grand Duke... You can't act like this in front of your wives..."

"W-Wait! Both of you, no! Please!"

Elze and Sakura both grabbed me from either side, squeezing me just a little

too tightly for comfort.

Just then, Elluka came in from behind Doc Babylon and delivered a swift

karate chop to her head.

"Hey, Regina. No teasing the newlyweds, yeah?"

"Geez, don't be so mean... I just thought I'd add a little spice to their married

life."

That's no spice, you little witch... it's poison! Don't toy with me, dammit!

"Well, I can make myself her master temporarily. Fenrir isn't here, so there

shouldn't be any signal jamming issues. Look away, boys. Synthetic or not, this

isn't for you."

At Elluka's command, I, Emperor Refreese, Emperor Gardio, Lucrecion, and all

the male knights turned to face the wall. This was probably better than that

perverted little creature becoming the Gollem's master, at least.

Part of me wondered if it wouldn't be better to just leave the room, but

apparently it wouldn't take that long.

I heard the sound of fabric being parted. Presumably, that was Imelda's

clothing being removed. The door was behind me, so I'd have to turn around to

leave... There was no escape at this point. I would have to listen to everything.

"Whoa!"

"Hot damn. These are some melons, huh? Almost as big as Flora's... Hm... Soft

to the touch, too. Very realistic. Here, Elze, give them a squeeze."

"A-Ah! W-Wow... What are these made of, exactly?! They're unreal!"

"Heavy... Guh... I can't win... Not with these standing in my way..."

The conversation behind me was growing increasingly awkward. I definitely

should have left the room while I had the chance. It wasn't too bad for me, but I

glanced to the side and saw poor young Lucrecion. He was burning red right up

to his ears.

"Think you can speed up a little? The emperor and the others need to get

back to the party, remember?"

"Oh yeah, you're right. Okie... Lessee here... Open sesame."

After Elluka spoke, I heard the sound of hissing air. She must have opened the

chest hatch. Seconds later, I heard the sounds of mechanical tinkering.

Presumably, that was the sound of them removing the G-Cube and overwriting

the master control.

Even if they placed the G-Cube back after rewriting it, Imelda wouldn't wake

up until I used [Cracking] to repair the pathways I'd severed.

"There we go. Now we just need to dress her again... Hmm... We can forget

the bra, though. Too much effort."

"Hey now..." I voiced my irritation, still facing the wall. Poor young Lucrecion

was mumbling to himself. His eyes were shut and he was doing his best to

drown out whatever he was hearing. I was legitimately concerned for his

mental health after all this.

"Fiiine. I understand how it could be damaging to the young folk. Let's get this

thing back on her, then. Ugh... How heavy... Squishy, too... These heaving

breasts... So voluptuous. My hands sink right into them..."

Please stop narrating. Please. Stop. Narrating.

When the girls eventually finished redressing Imelda, we turned back around.

I glanced over at the Gollem. She looked about the same as before, though her

necklace was now on the bedside countertop and her outfit looked a little more

disheveled.

"Alright, Touya. Can you reconnect her neural lines?"

"Sure thing."

I put my hand on the back of Imelda's neck and activated my [Cracking] spell

to reconnect what I'd severed earlier. Her entire body suddenly shuddered and

her eyes shot open. But those eyes of hers seemed completely devoid of light.

Her gaze was muddled and unfocused. Her entire body began convulsing as if

she was having a seizure.

"I-Is she okay?"

"Give her a minute. Her neural pathways just got restored, so she's

processing. She'll be okay soon."

If you say so... It's a little scary seeing such a life-like Gollem thrash around,

though.

Eventually, Imelda stopped convulsing and opened her mouth. What came

out of it was a cold, mechanical voice.

"Model Number FR-006, Hydrangea has recovered from an unexpected

shutdown. No operational issues detected. Master registration has been

modified. Previous master records will be expunged from—"

"Crap! Touya, sever her circuits again! Quick!"

"Huh?! O-Okay!"

I hurriedly touched my hand to her neck and reversed the last thing I did with

[Cracking]. Imelda immediately slumped back, as if fainting.

"Records... to be... expunnnggged..."

Though she'd stopped moving, she still spoke slowly.

"I screwed up. I didn't think they'd tamper with her Q-Crystal, but it makes

sense if you consider her a spy model. It's only natural to put some kind of

insurance policy in place if you're using a Gollem for recon. Damn it, why didn't

I think of this earlier?" Elluka growled quietly, furrowing her brow. I wasn't sure

what she meant.

"Legacy Gollems have their memories stored in the Q-Crystal in their

foreheads, yeah? The crystal's like their brain. It has several layers of memories,

including personal memory, foundational memory for behavior control, and

accumulated knowledge. You can't erase stuff like their base directive to obey

their masters or their self-preservation instinct, since that stuff's written in on

their most fundamental levels. But the data pertaining to their masters,

personal memories, and directives could be stored in a separate block..."

"Ohhh, I see. And that block could be easily erased under the right

circumstances, hm? Seems like this Gollem was set to erase her memories upon

having her ownership transferred. Likely a defensive mechanism for whoever

sent her." Doc Babylon said, nodding to Elluka with a grin on her face.

Huh? So she's programmed to reset her memory?!

"This is most abnormal, though. On a human level, it'd be tantamount to

erasing all the experiences you've had over the years. On top of that, there are

only a handful of people who could even set about tampering with Q-Crystals to

begin with. This is quite concerning."

Legacy Gollems were usually found in ancient ruins, having remained dormant

for many years. The general memory portions of their Q-Crystals would be the

first thing to go after being inactive for so long, so most excavated Gollems had

no memories of the ancient eras in which they'd been built. Some of the highertier models, like the crowns, kept their memories intact. Yumina's crown, Albus,

was like that.

In Albus' case, if anyone other than the person who controlled it opened up

its hatch, it would trigger its reset ability. It was a similar principle of selfpreservation.

"...Does that mean we're back to square one?"

"I'm really sorry. This was a total flub on my part. I should've thought about

this before rushing on ahead."

Hrmm... I'm the one who suggested taking ownership of her, though. I feel a

little responsible.

"But this might help us narrow down the culprit. There are very few Gollem

technologists who can actually tamper with Q-Crystals like this. They could've

easily been blackmailed or threatened into assisting, but..."

"Then you think it could be one of the five great gollemancers?" Elluka

nodded in response to Emperor Gardio's question. Apparently, Lucrecion could

tell how confused I was, as he began explaining.

"In our world... oh, uh... our continent... there are five incredibly talented

Gollem technologists who are known as the five great gollemancers. Miss Elluka

here is one of them! She's known as the Restoration Queen. There are only

three others at the moment, however, since one of them died recently."

"Oh, really?"

"Why do you sound so surprised? You caused his death, didn't you?"

"Huh?! I did?!"

Elluka's words confused the hell out of me. When had I done anything like

that?

"The witch-king of Isengard, genius. That old fart was one of my foremost

peers."

...Oh, yeah. That'll do it. I guess it makes sense that he'd be one of the top five

Gollem technologists in the Reverse World, especially when you take into

account that massive Gollem he had control over. Plus, he had that

sophisticated body double as well.

"Who are the others, aside from you and the witch-king?"

"Well, there's the professor. You've met him before, Touya."

She was referring to the old man who'd been kidnapped by Yulong. It was

true that he was pretty talented. He'd been able to create a lot out of very little.

I heard he'd gone traveling after that incident, but I wondered where he'd gone

after that. Had he been captured and made to work for evil again, perhaps?

"I don't think he's involved here. He's currently in Panaches, helping their

royal family out with some maintenance work."

Oh, so he's with pumpkin-pants. Gotcha.

The blue crown, Distortion Blau, apparently needed pretty intense

maintenance. It made sense that they'd seek an expert like him for that.

The number of people who could tweak legacy Gollems was limited, and the

number of people who could tweak crowns was an even smaller subset of that

number. Even Nia relied on Elluka to fix up Rouge when it got all busted up.

"And the other two?"

"I'm not sure where either of them are. The Maestro is a bit of a misanthrope,

so he's pretty secluded from all the kingdoms and empires... And the other one

is, well... more of a group than a single person. They're called the Seekers and

they roam around, so they're hard to pinpoint..."

Either way, it stood to reason that one of them was involved in the great

Imelda switcheroo. And I couldn't discount that they'd been threatened or

blackmailed, either.

"That's the only lead we have for now... I suppose we should at least consider

ourselves lucky that no damage was done." Emperor Refreese said as he let out

a small, regretful sigh. I tried getting more information from Elluka so I could

look up the other technologists with my smartphone, but I got no hits. They

probably had some kind of protective measures to keep tracking-oriented

Gollems from finding them.

I could understand not wanting to stand out. If you were someone that

skilled, then every country would want you. I definitely couldn't bear being

hounded sometimes.

"Nothing else we can do, then. We'll have to look into this later. For now, I

still have a party to host."

"O-Oh, uhm..."

As Emperor Refreese got up to leave, Lucrecion raised his hand. I wondered

what he wanted.

"I-I might be able to help get some information."

"Hm? How do you...? Oh, I see!"

I'd completely forgotten, but the former crown prince had a mystic eye. He

could view the residual memories on an object that were left behind when

someone had touched it. It was also known as psychometry. If he used that

power, he could maybe see who touched Imelda. Even if he only gave us

fragments of information to work with, it was better than nothing.

"You could've mentioned this sooner..."

"My mystic eye doesn't always work, and it usually needs me to touch a major

area of focus... s-so I probably have to touch around Miss Imelda's hatch..."

"Oh. Her boobs. I get it now. That makes sense... You're a young man, after

all."

"Wh-What does that mean?! Aren't you younger?!"

Doc Babylon, who looked very much like a little girl, smirked mischievously

over at Lucrecion. The poor kid had no idea that she was the oldest person in

the room.

I wasn't entirely sure about having Lucrecion touch up her chest, but it wasn't

like she was human or anything. It couldn't be sexual harassment if the target

was an object, right?

Emperor Gardio was a little more reluctant, however. He'd been entrusted by

the former emperor to look out for Lucrecion, so something like this was...

well... indecent. It was a tricky situation.

"Then do it this way." Elze untied the ribbon that was binding her hair and

used it to cover Lucrecion's eyes.

His ability was called a mystic eye, but he didn't actually need to see to use it.

So long as he could touch, even being blindfolded wouldn't deter him.

Emperor Gardio seemed a little more okay with this approach, too.

"Alrighty... Men, turn around."

"Ugh..."

As I turned around, I heard Lucrecion mutter something about something

being surprisingly soft. I began to regret everything all at once. I wondered if

this really was a good idea. A blindfold might just make his imagination run wild,

after all.

"Ah! I see it! I can... Oh!" Lucrecion said, seemingly getting a grasp on

something. Hopefully, his mystic eye wasn't picking up the intense, surely

lascivious thoughts that Babylon had had upon touching that chest earlier... I

didn't want her corruptive influence ruining further generations, especially such

an innocent young man.

"I didn't see everything, but I caught something."

As I quietly worried, the psychometry session came to an end. I swiftly turned

back around. Lucrecion's blindfold was off and Imelda's clothes were fixed up

again.

"So? What'd you see?"

"What I saw... or felt, rather... was brief. Voices, flashes of imagery in my

head. But what stood out the most was a pile of Gollems... and two crossed

hammers on a flag."

"What?!" Emperor Gardio seemed concerned by the news, and Lucrecion

merely responded with a somber nod.

"Hammers on a flag?"

"...Dumbass. Aren't you a world leader? Why don't you know your national

flags?" Elluka complained as she scowled at me.

"...My bad."

Gimme a break... There are a lot of countries, you know?

"Only one nation has a flag like that. It's the nation right next to Gardio... One

that was second only to Isengard when it came to magical engineering..."

"Gandhilis, the Steel Nation..." Lucrecion's quiet words echoed out into the

room as if to finish Emperor Gardio's sentence.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Gandhilis? The Steel Nation?"

It was a country to the east of Gardio and south of Allent, if I recalled

correctly. I hadn't been there yet, but the crossed hammers were a feature of

its flag.

"Gandhilis is home to many mines and natural mineral deposits. That's why

it's known as the Steel Nation. They have plenty of trade with Gardio. Most of

our Gollems are made from their mineral exports, in fact."

A mining nation, huh? Makes sense. You need a good deal of rare metals like

adamantite and orichalcum to manufacture Gollems. Wait, are there any

orichalcum Gollems on the western continent? If not, that might be a good thing

for the east to start exporting. Wait, what's Gandhilis' relationship with Allent

and Gardio, anyway? I've never heard much about that...

As if picking up my curiosity, Emperor Gardio spoke up.

"We're neighbors, so we obviously have some formal relationship... but I'm

not so sure it's friendly. We've had a few clashes in the past, after all. Count

Lowe's grandfather was quite a brutal man. He took covert action against

Gandhilis and its mines many times."

So it's like that, huh? That old emperor sure was a piece of work... Didn't he

team up with Isengard to invade Lowe, too? He's the maternal grandfather of

the current emperor and the non-blood-related paternal grandfather to

Lucrecion... What a mess he's left behind.

As I quietly mused to myself, Emperor Gardio spoke up. He sounded troubled.

"I still don't understand any of this..."

"What's wrong?"

"Well, the iron king's a pretty friendly, respectable man. I never really took

him for a schemer. But I suppose any nation would have subterfuge or

intelligence divisions."

That much was true. Even Brunhild had Tsubaki and her agents. Hell, they

were at the party! Belfast also had that secret agent unit, Espion, which

reported directly to the king. I wondered if any of those agents were in

attendance.

Information, ultimately, was a weapon, being a schemer had nothing to do

with it, and sometimes you needed it to protect your country.

That being said, we had no idea if Gandhilis' iron king was involved in this. It

could've easily been a member of his cabinet or a prominent minister.

"This was no attempt at subterfuge or an assassination. A Gollem like that

isn't capable of much more than intel-gathering. Still, we can't overlook the fact

that the real Imelda suffered as a result."

That's not entirely true. The capability part, I mean. She could've sabotaged

something or poisoned someone... Still, just about anyone in attendance

could've done that, so it's a moot point.

Elze turned to look at the Gollem Imelda.

"Hmm... But they went out of their way not to hurt the real one, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, think about it, Touya. Since they didn't kill her, it would've been

obvious that there was a fake Imelda sent to this party. The real one would

wake up eventually, yeah? I'm saying it would've made way more sense to kill

her."

Now that you mention it, that is weird. They don't care about being found out

right after the party? Just offing the real Imelda and burying her somewhere

would've been the safer play, since people would assume she went missing right

after the party. Maybe they didn't want to kill her? Or maybe... they were

ordered not to? I wonder what the deal is here...

Emperor Refreese turned to Emperor Gardio.

"How do you plan to proceed with Gandhilis?"

"It's a difficult situation. The mystic eye's testimony isn't really hard proof,

nor would it be enough to level an accusation. We also have no physical

evidence that Gandhilis is responsible."

"But the flag the boy saw must have been Gandhilis', no?"

It'll probably be worth checking again, just to be safe. If we end up accusing

them and they're not related to it, that'd be a whole mess of trouble.

"It definitely is. I saw that flag many times as a young boy. But you're right,

there's no hard evidence. Me seeing that flag doesn't mean it was Gandhilise

people behind it, even. That said..."

"Hm? Was there anything else?"

"There was a voice. I could barely make it out, but it was a woman's. The

words I could make out included, er... 'Emperor Gardio,' 'in the way,' and 'must

be eliminated'..."

"What?!"

Eliminated? Are they planning on assassinating the emperor?! It's not super

unusual for heads of state to be targeted like that, I guess... I've had it happen

to me a few times. But thankfully, there aren't just shadowy assassination

squads. Each nation has its secretive defense forces as well. It's not that easy to

kill a world leader. Even right now, there are personal guards for the royals in

here. Emperor Gardio has protective Gollems with him too. Something tells me

that nurse sitting in the corner of the room probably isn't a pushover, either. I

bet she could kick the Imelda Gollem's ass if it tried anything.

"Are there any women in high positions in Gandhilis?"

"Not as far as I recall, no... But this makes me uneasy. The woman he heard

may not even be related to the iron king. She could be anyone."

Hrm... We don't really have a leg to stand on here. At the very least, we know

this is likely an assassination attempt... and the person behind it had the real

Imelda incapacitated.

"Ugh. We can't make a case against Gandhilis like this. It may be best to

simply examine the situation further for the time being."

"That's right. If we keep an eye open and spot signs of civil unrest, we can

plan accordingly."

At least we had the fake Imelda in our custody. Or, well, in Elluka's custody.

Hopefully a more thorough inspection could bring us some more answers.

I sent Babylon, Elluka, and the fake Imelda back to Brunhild before returning

to the party. The event continued as usual. Some people coupled up, while

others didn't. On the whole, it could be called a modest success.

Personally, I wondered what had happened with Princess Reliel, but I was

sure I'd hear about it from her father one way or the other. I didn't expect

much from her, though... She'd spent most of the party on her phone from

what I'd seen.

Having a daughter sure sounded rough... The fact that I knew I would have at

least eight wasn't exactly reassuring, either.

I returned to Brunhild, quietly worrying about my own future as a parent.