Bonus Short Stories

The C Clan

One day, I was in the governmental affairs office planning an event to

promote the economy with Roroa.

"Souma, Roroa, do you have a moment?" came a voice.

"Julius?"

"Bro?"

Julius, Roroa's elder brother who had become my White General,

dropped in on us.

"What's up? Got a problem with the military or somethin'?" Roroa

asked.

"No, it's nothing that important."

"Ya get in a fight with Big Sis Tia, then? Did she run out on you?"

"How rude. We get along swimmingly as a couple."

"Yeah, I can't see your little missus doin' that anyway."

"I'm more worried about you," Julius said. "I pray your tendency to

come out and say things like that doesn't make your husband come to hate

you."

"Oh, yeah? If it's a fight you're here lookin' for, I'll give ya one at a

discount."

Watching the two siblings banter, I thought about how much better they

were getting along now. They had been political opponents at one point, but

now looked like any other brother and sister pair you might meet.

Feeling a little left out, I smiled wryly as I asked Julius, "So, Julius,

what did you come here for?"

"Oh, right." Julius returned to his senses and looked at me. "I wanted to

talk to you about my good friend Colbert."

"Hm? What's this about Mr. Colbert?" Roroa asked, cocking her head to

the side.

"You know Colbert will be marrying Madam Mio of the House of

Carmine on the same day as Souma and Madam Maria's wedding, right?"

"Yeah. They're participatin' in the mass wedding event. And?"

"That means he'll be a member of the House of Carmine from here on.

His first name is Gatsby, so that would make him Gatsby Carmine."

"I see... We won't be able to call him Colbert anymore, huh?" I mused.

Colbert's full name was Gatsby Colbert, and Roroa and I both called

him Colbert because we found it easier to pronounce. But he would be

marrying into the House of Carmine soon, which would mean he wasn't a

Colbert any longer.

"That's...kinda sad, huh?" Roroa murmured.

Colbert had been like a second brother to Roroa. Even when she was on

poor terms with her real brother, Colbert had been with her as part of the

Ministry of Finance.

"He's always been Mr. Colbert to me, so not bein' able to call him that is

gonna make it feel he's become a whole different person."

Roroa began scratching her cheek with a troubled smile.

Was it like having a sibling's last name change all of a sudden after they

got married? I was a single child, so it was hard to put myself in her shoes,

but...I could sympathize a little, at least.

"So, I had an idea," Julius said, broaching the subject. "Could you let

Colbert keep his family name as a middle name? I'm aware that the

Carmine name has historical and political significance to this country, but...

For my part, I'd like to be able to keep calling him Colbert."

"Darlin', I'd like you to let him too," Roroa agreed, turning an expectant

look towards me.

"I see. Gatsby C. Carmine, huh?" I thought for a moment, crossing my

arms, then quickly nodded. "Sounds good to me. It'd feel weird to me

having to call him Gatsby or Carmine at this point too."

"But won't there be people concerned about what to call him?" Julius

asked, but I just shrugged.

"That's nothing new. I went from Souma Kazuya to Souma A. Elfrieden,

and soon I'll be Souma E. Friedonia. Where did my first name, Kazuya,

go?"

"That's your fault for messin' up at the start, darlin'," Roroa said with a

slightly exasperated tone.

"It is?" asked Julius.

"Sure is," she replied.

I loudly cleared my throat. "You've got the same sort of problem, don't

you? Julius Lastania."

"Yes, I suppose I do..." Julius said, it being his turn to shrug now. "I

can't very well change my name to Julius A. Lastania now. I wouldn't want

to make Tia and my son Tius bear the burdens of the Amidonia name."

"Hold up, Bro? I'm the one havin' to bear those burdens, y'know?"

"You snatched them away from me, so you'll have to take responsibility

for that."

"Ugh... I wanna give 'em all back to you, with interest."

The two of them started going at it again. They really did get along

better now...

"Anyway, Colbert doesn't want to give up his name, and Mio isn't

demanding he let go of it, right? In that case, I've decided to have him keep

it."

"Yeah!"

"I'll inform Colbert and Madam Mio."

And so, the name Gatsby C. Colbert was born.

Poncho Comes Home

In the noble quarter of Parnam, many properties had once belonged to

the corrupt nobles Souma punished. These properties had since been given

to Souma's newly hired military or civil officials (instead of the old guard,

who didn't want them because of how they came to be uninhabited) or were

used to house foreign guests. Poncho's mansion was one such case.

"Whew, I'm finally home, yes."

Having returned from a trip to the Spirit Kingdom and made his report

to Souma, Poncho was finally able to make it home in the evening.

"I wonder how everyone's been getting on without me, yes."

Poncho was greeted by the mansion's servants, who were largely

managed by Serina, as he passed through the gate, then went and opened

the front door. Two little figures leapt at Poncho the moment he did.

""Father! Welcome home!""

His usual, more rotund build would have absorbed the impact, but he

was currently slimmed down due to both Serina and Komain demanding

another child from him, so he felt the blow hitting his internal organs

directly.

"Gwugh...! I-I'm home, Marin, Maron." Poncho gagged a little before

recovering enough to pat his two five-year-old girls on the head.

Marin was the daughter he'd had with his first wife, Serina, and Maron

with his second wife, Komain. They looked like twins, both pudgy in the

same way their father was, but Maron's skin had a slight reddish tinge,

which made it easy to distinguish them.

"Hey, hey, you went to that place called Abroad, right?"

"Did you bring back gifts? Are there any sweets?"

The girls were begging for food the moment he returned. Oh, yes,

Poncho could have absolutely no doubt that these were his children with

Serina and Komain.

As he returned their embrace, Poncho said, "I did bring back something

for you, but I'd like to see your mothers first, yes."

The twins looked at one another.

"Father kissed our mommies goodbye!"

"Now he's going to kiss our mommies hello!"

"D-Don't say that so loudly, yes."

Poncho was intimidated seeing his daughters be so direct about it. The

servants who were watching from a distance all chuckled.

Then, two women came down the stairs.

"Welcome home."

"Welcome home, Poncho."

It was Poncho's wives, Serina and Komain.

They were in the clothes they were used to wearing at home, a maid

outfit and a traditional ethnic costume. Marin and Maron, who were

hugging Poncho, each cried, "Mommy!" before jumping off of their father

and rushing over to their respective mothers. They both lovingly patted

their daughters on the head.

"Marin, did you greet your father properly?"

"I did! I said, 'Father! Welcome home!'"

"And you, Maron? Did you greet him too?"

"I did! He said he brought gifts too!"

The mothers both smiled wryly at their daughters' boisterous smiles.

Poncho walked over to the four of them at a relaxed pace.

"I'm home, yes. Serina, Komain, did I miss anything while I was away,

yes?"

"Nothing all that important... If I were to reach for something to tell you,

it would be that we were, perhaps, a little lonely? Both at the absence of our

husband and the resulting decline in the number of dishes on the table,"

Serina said without a hint of guilt, bringing a wry smile to Komain's face.

"We don't get to try your experimental dishes when you're not around,

after all. It's so like Serina, mixing love with hunger... I can never tell which

of the two is greater; her love for you or her appetite for the food you

cook."

"Are you not the same, Komain? Marin and Maron would never have

been born if we weren't like this."

"Ah ha ha... I suppose not."

Poncho felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in his heart as he watched them. Back

when he first entered Souma's service, he could never have imagined that

one day his wives and daughters would welcome him home like this. He

savored the happiness as he set down his bag.

"Now then, I've brought back bean tea and spices from the Spirit

Kingdom, and I'm going to use them to fix up a delicious meal for all of us,

yes."

""Yay!""

Marin and Maron raised their arms and jumped into the air when they

heard there was going to be good food. Unable to wait, they picked up his

bag and rushed off to the kitchen with it. When they were gone, Serina and

Komain subtly approached Poncho, planting a kiss on each of his cheeks,

then whispered in his ears.

"Darling, we've had a break because of your trip, but let's get back to

work tonight."

"Marin and Maron have been pestering us for a little brother or sister,

and we need to do our best for them."

Hearing this, Poncho knew he wouldn't be able to gain back his weight

for the foreseeable future.

Watching Smart People Talk Is Nerve-racking

In the gardens of Castle Valois, in the city of Valois—which had just

recently changed from being an imperial capital to a royal capital—Queen

Jeanne and her royal consort, Hakuya, were having tea with Excel Walter,

who had been sent from the Kingdom of Friedonia to help instruct their

fleet. This break was something Hakuya had suggested to give Jeanne some

relief from her heavy workload.

"Oh? Were you ever this considerate to His Majesty?" Excel asked,

chuckling, her mouth hidden behind her fan.

Hakuya shrugged. "His Majesty had many around him like the indulgent

Lady Juna and the adoring Lady Aisha to help him recover. Lady Liscia

was always there, monitoring his mental well-being too, so I never felt the

need to say anything."

"Heh heh, I suppose so. And that's why you act so sweet to Madam

Jeanne?"

"I believe it's only natural that a husband should indulge his wife."

"You sure know how to make an argument..." Excel said, letting out a

sigh that was half exasperated, half impressed.

Then, looking from Jeanne's face to Hakuya's, she snapped her fan shut.

"I see. Madam Jeanne has worked outside as a military officer, while Sir

Hakuya defended her inside as a civil official. It seems the Vargas

household has stayed peaceful because my daughter keeps Castor under her

thumb, but I see that you two have the opposite sort of arrangement."

"What? Sir Hakuya has me under his thumb?" Jeanne blinked, earning a

chuckle from Excel.

"It's about distribution of roles. Things tend to work out much better if

the reliable partner keeps a hold of the more active partner's reins. It's the

same with Madam Mio and Sir Colbert of the House of Carmine who'll be

marrying soon. Sir Colbert does a good job of supporting her. If the reliable

partner doesn't have a hold of the reins though, you end up with Madam

Genia and poor Sir Ludwin, who's going to develop an ulcer from all the

stress she causes him."

Alas, that's just life for them at this point, Excel thought, a cool look on

her face as she sipped her black tea. Then, she smiled at Jeanne.

"It's nothing for you to worry about. Be yourself, and do all you can. It's

the duty of the Black-Robed Royal Consort to manage things appropriately

for you."

"I sense the many long years of wisdom behind those words," Hakuya

said with a smile that seemed plastered onto his face.

Excel returned an identical grin, saying, "Oh, my, I suppose it was much

too soon to talk about this with a little boy who's only an adult in terms of

his height."

"Ha ha ha."

"Hee hee hee."

Sparks flew between them.

They were both sharp, and just bantering in a way they expected they

could get away with, but Jeanne was beside herself with worry watching

them.

"S-So, how are things with our fleet, Duchess Walter?" she asked, trying

to change the topic.

Setting her teacup down, Excel replied, "Well...I can tell you, without

any undue flattery, that this country's fleet is first-rate. Even if you don't

have wonder weapons like the island carriers, you have more than enough

of each type of ship, and they're well serviced and maintained. With such a

large fleet, it's a mystery to me why the Empire never expanded out to sea."

"It seems past emperors were focused on expanding our terrestrial

holdings. Dominating the seas remained a second priority," Hakuya

explained with a serious look on his face. "The fleet was apparently built

with the then Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Union in mind, but only to

clamp down on their piracy."

"And Sister had her hands full with the monsters on land too..." Jeanne

added.

"Yes, I suppose she did," Excel replied with a nod. "However, it's your

time now, and your fleet will be one of the driving forces in this new era."

"Duchess Walter... Yes! I think you're right!" Jeanne responded, full of

energy.

Nodding with satisfaction, Excel said, "Oh, I know," and clapped her

hands together. "Now that I think of it, I brought some tea with me from the

Kingdom. Since we're already indulging, perhaps you would like to..."

"Hold on," Hakuya interrupted, stopping Excel before she could have

the servants prepare it.

Then, with a smile plastered on his face, he turned to Excel.

"This tea wouldn't happen to have something in it, would it? I know that

you've gotten all sorts of information out of King Souma with his wives'

permission, you realize?"

"My, you're so perceptive. And here I was hoping to prepare some

educational materials for Madam Jeanne."

"Huh? Me?! What are you talking about?!" Jeanne blinked in confusion.

Smiling, Hakuya said, "Save that for His Majesty."

"A fine piece of work you are, offering up His Majesty like that."

"I'm honored to receive such a compliment from the venerable Duchess

Walter."

"Hee hee hee."

"Ha ha ha."

They each confronted the other with a smile again.

At the end of the day, Jeanne had spent the whole time on edge.

Hal and Velza's Relationship

"Hey, Velza, are you sure this is where you wanted to go?"

This was the fruit parlor managed by Lucy's family, the Evans

Company. Velza was sitting across from Halbert, in a seat on the secondfloor terrace.

"Given we're celebrating your first day of work and all, I'd have gladly

taken you somewhere more expensive, you know?"

"No. This place is where I wanted to come, Lord Hal," Velza answered

with alacrity.

Today, Velza had reached the age of majority and formally came to serve

at the House of Magna, so they were here to celebrate the occasion. With

permission from Halbert's wives, Kaede and Ruby, of course.

"This is actually where Ichiha proposed to Tomoe. They've been coming

since they got married to flirt with each other too. That's why I wanted to

come here with you, Lord Hal," she said with a smile.

"O-Oh, yeah?" Halbert's heart skipped a beat, seeing her beaming face.

When she looked at him this way, it forced him to see her as a girl, like it or

not.

They were both in civilian clothes today. Velza looked quite handsome

in her uniform, and the women in the military were fangirling over her all

the time. But with the short pants she was wearing now to show off her

healthy legs and just a little makeup, she came off as a pretty, if somewhat

boyish, girl.

"Thank you for waiting."

The waitress came over carrying their food. Velza had ordered a parfait,

while Halbert had ordered coffee. The coffee was a recent import from the

Spirit Kingdom of Garlan, and Halbert had taken a liking to its aroma.

"Now, please, take your time and enjoy yourselves," the waitress said

before leaving.

Velza immediately took a spoonful of parfait, her cheeks melting into a

grin.

"Mmm!"

Despite her usual cool demeanor, when she was eating sweets or in front

of Halbert, her expression turned into something more like what you'd

expect from a girl of her age. Halbert smiled wryly as he watched her.

"Ah ha ha... You're making that look pretty delicious."

"Sweet things have all the happiness of this world packed into them."

With that said, Velza scooped up some of the cream and pudding from

her parfait, offering it to Halbert as if she were going to say, "Say ahh."

Halbert froze up when he saw that.

"Um...Velza?"

"Lady Tomoe was doing this with Ichiha, so I thought I'd try it myself."

"Uh, you're supposed to do that kind of thing with the guy you like..."

"Yes, which is why I'm doing it," Velza replied, leaving no room for

doubt as she pushed the spoon closer. Her eyes were fixed on Halbert.

Relenting under her gaze, Halbert accepted the proffered spoonful,

chewing it with a wry smile on his face.

"To think you liked me so much..."

"Had you not noticed? I thought I'd made it pretty clear."

"Well, yeah, I'd noticed. I mean, you've been working to box me in and

cut off all avenues of escape."

Halbert leaned back in his seat with a sigh.

"Kaede and Ruby are always telling me I need to treat you like a girl,

not a little sister or something like that, and my folks are already treating

you like a member of the family. Then there's your father, Sur, constantly

calling me your groom-to-be. At this point, I've already accepted that you

have every intention of marrying me."

"It took a lot of work, if I dare say so myself," Velza said, puffing her

chest up with pride. Halbert found that a little cute.

"I was kind of expecting you to cool off on the idea eventually..."

"We dark elf women are a passionate bunch. My love for you will never

cool."

"I get that from watching Madam Aisha, but...I'm human, you know?

We live on different time scales."

"You say that, yet you've already married Ruby, Lord Hal?"

"Well...you've got a point there."

"It's okay. We long-lived races know what we're getting ourselves into,"

Velza said, chuckling. "In fact, if we leave you short-lived people alone,

you vanish in no time. That's why I want to treasure the precious moments

that we do have together."

"Oh, yeah? Guess that's one way of looking at it." Halbert scratched his

head shyly. "I'm blessed to have someone who cares so much about me."

"Well, you have Kaede and Ruby too, so consider yourself thriceblessed."

"Ha ha ha. It seems almost excessive."

"Yes. So..." Velza placed her hands over Halbert's which had been

resting on the table. "Live as long as you can, and let's make lots of happy

memories together. You saved a girl from the sand and dirt, and made her

go weak in the knees for you, so please take responsibility for your actions,

okay?"

The coffee tasted sweet as Velza smiled at him.

A Request for Shabon

A little while after a solution had been found to the problem of the

Demon Lord's Domain, Nine-Headed Dragon Queen Shabon and her

partner Kishun visited Parnam.

They were publicly announcing it as a courtesy visit in recognition of

the liberation of the Demon Lord's Domain, but the main reasons were

more practical. We all were going to discuss how to handle Fuuga, and also

negotiate trade. That said, our countries were on good terms, and another

goal of the trip was to introduce my son Cian to his fiancée, Shabon's

daughter, Princess Sharan.

"Look, Sharan! Over here! Over here!"

"Ahh! Wait for me, Big Sis Kazu."

The children were playing noisily in my father-in-law Albert's garden in

the castle.

"It's dangerous to run like that, you two," Cian called after his

playmates.

"Ahh, you too, Lord Cian! And Lady Kazuha, don't pull her around like

that!"

It looked like my daughter, Kazuha, had taken a liking to Princess

Sharan. Kazuha was pulling her around by the hand as Cian toddled after

them, worried. Carla, the maid, watched over them, constantly on edge.

"Hee hee, the children certainly are energetic," Shabon said, stroking the

head of her second child, Prince Sharon, who was sleeping on her lap.

Liscia and I were with Shabon and Kishun in the gazebo, sipping tea as we

took a break.

"Too much energy can be a problem though. Especially with Kazuha,"

Liscia said with a sigh. I could only smile wryly at that.

"She sure does take after you, huh?" I said.

"Hold on, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Just what it sounds like, actually."

"The two of you get along as well as ever, I see," Shabon said, chuckling

at us. "I am envious."

"You say that, but you and Kishun must be getting along pretty well

yourselves," I countered. "I mean, you've popped out two babies already."

"Yeah. And it wasn't twins like it was for me," Liscia agreed.

"Why yes," Shabon replied with a smile. "I do believe we are your

equals when it comes to how well we can get along. Right, Kishun?"

"It's an honor to have you say that..." Kishun replied awkwardly.

For Kishun, Shabon wasn't just his wife, she'd also been his princess, so

the combined feelings of love and loyalty made it hard for him to ever

disagree with her. I could relate...

Shabon set her teacup down with a slight clatter.

"So, what is this favor you wanted to ask of me?" Her expression grew a

little sterner as she spoke. "If it involves the Great Tiger Empire again, is it

a favor that you would be asking of my country?"

"Oh, no, no, this isn't anything so heavy," I said, hurriedly correcting the

misconception. "There's something I want to order from your craftsmen for

my personal use."

"For...your personal use?"

"Yeah, this is it here," I said, producing a rough design I had drawn up.

"Is this a house... No, a shrine, perhaps?"

"Yeah, I knew you'd have designs like this in the Nine-Headed Dragon

Archipelago."

"What's this about, Souma?" Liscia asked.

I pointed to the designs and said, "This is something from my old world,

modeled after the shrines where people in my country prayed to the kami.

The Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago's culture is similar to my home

country's in many ways, so I figured they would have buildings like this

there."

"I see. And your request is to have them build this for you?" Shabon

asked, head inclined to one side.

"No, no," I shook my head. "I want a small one. A miniature. It should

be about the right size to hold this magatama."

I set the comma-shaped jewel, which shone with a dull red light, on the

table. Liscia looked closely at it.

"This thing... You got it from the Demon Lord... I mean Mao, didn't

you?"

"Yeah. It's like a mortuary tablet for all my ancestors. This design I have

is for a kind of house shrine called a 'kamidana,' where you can pray to the

kami at home. I was hoping to put the magatama in one so I could pay my

respects to it there."

"Oh! We do have a similar tradition in the Nine-Headed Dragon

Archipelago."

"There are these little stone shrines by the side of the road, and we pray

to the local gods of each island at them."

Shabon and Kishun both nodded, seeming to have figured it out. If they

were wayside shrines, then were they for gods that watch over travelers,

maybe? Yeah, the tradition really did seem similar.

I offered the designs to Shabon.

"I'd like it made without nails, if possible. Do you think they can do

that?"

"Well, I should think so... Our country's craftsmen are excellent, after

all." Shabon took the plans and rolled them up. "But this certainly is

unexpected. I never took you for the religious type, Sir Souma."

"Yeah, I mean, you rejected becoming the Holy King, so I assumed you

weren't interested in divine authority," Liscia said, agreeing with Shabon.

"Well, I'm not deeply religious, no, but I'm not an atheist either. In my

old country, faith was something a little personal, integrated into our daily

lives."

"What do you mean?"

"We didn't go to church and pray to God, but would think things like,

'The sun god is watching me, so I can't do anything evil,' or 'This is an

affront to my ancestors.' Oh, and also, 'You have to take care of your

things, because everything has a soul inside of it.' Those thoughts could be

seen as sun worship, ancestor worship, and animism, right?"

"Ami... Ani... Uh, I think I kind of get it, aside from that last one that

started with A."

I smiled wryly at the look on Liscia's face as she struggled to

understand.

Picking the red magatama, I held it up to the light. "It's nothing

complicated. It's just that imagining Grandma and Grandpa are watching

over me through this magatama makes me feel a little better."

"Hee hee, I think that is a wonderful thought," Shabon said with a smile.

"We will set about construction with all the respect such a project deserves.

This is a house for the ancestors of Sharan's future partner, so it will need to

be a splendid one."

"Thank you, Shabon."

I felt like this request was going to help strengthen the bond between our

countries.