"Hey, Sabine-chan. Aren't you aiming for the throne?" (Mitsuha)
Pffffftt!!
Sabine-chan, Chii-ane-sama, and Luchen-kun all spat out the juice they were drinking.
"Ah, that's dirty..." (Mitsuha)
"Who’s to blame!!" (Sabine)
Sabine-chan got really angry at me...
"No, Sabine-chan is extremely popular with the people. Especially among retainers... you were already in a state of infatuation with Kirk-san... no, Count Ethnol, the lord at the time of the Direct Complaint Incident. Well, wouldn't it be fine if Sabine-chan became queen? If Sabine-chan goes around inspecting each territory, wouldn't it be easy to dethrone His Highness the Crown Prince?" (Mitsuha)
Ah.
Even though Sabine-chan and I were talking about politics, Chii-ane-sama and Luchen-kun didn't stop eating, drinking, watching Blu-ray discs, or playing games, but now they were now frozen with grimace on their faces.
"No way! Caught between aristocrats, temple powers, big merchants, ordinary people, and other countries, complained by the Prime Minister, being too busy, no time to play, and the food being tested by the poison taster got cold and tasted bad. Who would want to take such a low-level job?! Rather than that, it would be much more convenient and easier for my brother to become the king and say all sorts of selfish things! Onii-sama will never be able to disobey my request..." (Sabine)
"Woa!" (Mitsuha)
I was totally turned off by Sabine-chan...
"Besides, I probably won’t have a groom outside the country." (Sabine)
Ah, I kind of understand that.
Not only she was doted on by the king, the queen, and her older brothers and sisters, it would be a shame if her talent was leaked out of the country. The nobles and citizens would also want Sabine-chan to marry into a noble in the country.
"... Mitsuha-ane-sama, won't you take me?" (Sabine)
"Whaaaaaaat!!" (Mitsuha)
"I could be adopted and have a husband, or marry a man who has been adopted by the Yamano family... That way, no matter what happens in the future, ane-sama and I will always be parent and child" (Sabine)
Ah, that's it...
...wait a minute!
"No, no, why would I adopt a daughter or adopt a child? I'll just get married and have a child! Don't proceed on the assumption that I will never get married!! Besides, the Viscount isn't high enough to marry off Her Highness the Princess!" (Mitsuha)
That's what I claimed...
"That won’t be enough if ane-sama becomes a peerage. Based on the achievements up until now, it wouldn’t be strange to become an count…no, a marquis… eh, that's it!" (Sabine)
"Hmm? What's wrong?" (Mitsuha)
Sabine-chan clapped her hands.
"No, considering ane-sama’s accomplishments up until now, I thought it was strange that the Yamano family remained a viscount.
Although you were made a viscount from a commoner due to your efforts to protect the country from the invasion of the Empire, then the land of Princess Gegege... worked hard to defend the allies, capture the invasion fleets from other continents, build super gigantic battleships, development of new weapon, became the driving force behind the countries of this continent to form an alliance... so I thought it was strange that there was no mention of being promoted in recognition of many accomplishments...
With something like this, it wouldn't be surprising if she became a count, ...no, a marquis. However, there is no talk of promotion at all. That means...” (Sabine)
"What do you mean?" (Mitsuha)
"I'm trying not to let other countries know too much about ane-sama. However, if you look at it from someone who doesn't know the situation well, it wouldn't be strange if you think, 'The reason she's not promoted to rank is because she hasn't actually accomplished anything like that,' or 'Because she's a fake hero, a puppet scarecrow.'" (Sabine)
"Aah!" (Mitsuha)
I see!
Originally, I had no intention of becoming a nobleman, and I had never thought about becoming a nobleman, so I didn't think anything of it.
But this must be an abnormal situation for an ordinary noble who thought that being promoted in rank during his generation was a great achievement to be proud of and something to be proud of in front of his ancestors.
If you couldn't be promoted despite all these accomplishments, no one in this country's nobility would be able to be promoted.
Ah.
Perhaps this was why the Empire took advantage of my power, sending assassins and plotting an invasion of Princess Gegege's country, and this was why I was nothing more than a portable shrine, an ordinary person with no power, or was it because they thought I was a little girl?
...Hmmmm... I don't have any problems with remaining a Viscount, and I don't really want to brag about my dark past. Even now, I feel embarrassed when people call me Archpriestess-sama or Messenger. But I never imagined that it would end up causing such negative effects...
"So, if someone were to officially say, 'Isn't it strange that Viscount Yamano is not being promoted?' there would be no one who could refute that.
If they were to object, they wouldn't be able to be promoted unless they achieve even greater achievements.
Even those who are thinking of creating a second peerage for someone other than their eldest son, will find it hopeless to receive a promotion, and those who argued that even with ane-sama's accomplishments, is not worthy of a rank...
They're probably doing their best to keep things like that from happening, but if the situation changes or someone starts talking about it, it'll probably be a no-brainer.
I can say it, I can ask my brother to say it, also Marquis Bozes, Marquis Aibringer, the Prime Minister...and my father, so there are many pawns that can be used." (Sabine)
She called her brother, father, and the marquis pawns... Sabine-chan, you're such a scary kid!!
"...no, I don't! I have no plans to become a noble and adopt Sabine-chan!!" (Mitsuha)
"...tsk..." (Sabine)
"The princess doesn’t click her tongue!" (Mitsuha)
Ah. But, if she gets married to the heir to the Viscount Yamano family, that means I'd get married in this country! Even if I get married on Earth, I cant't make my child the heir to the Viscount Yamano family. My husband and my children can't come here on their own, so if something happens to me, they'll be left behind. In the first place, I can't force a child whose parents were Earthlings to live in this world.
Also, suddenly bringing a strange child with me. If I said, "It’s my child, and will inherit the Viscount family," it would cause a big fuss.
...So, I guess my only options are to either adopt a child or get married here...
Hmmmmmm….
"Ah, ane-sama, if you don’t want to be my step-mother, you can be my step-sister, okay?" (Sabine)
"Huh? That's..." (Mitsuha)
Wow, Ruhen-kun is turning red! Don't play with your brother's innocence...
Luchen-kun must be 9 years old now...
Well, I was seen as 16-17 years old in Japan, and 12-13 years old in Western countries and this world, so a 3-4 year age difference isn't really a problem. It was common for nobles to marry at an age difference of 20 or 30 years. ...Although, in this case, the man was usually older and the other way around was rare, right?
But the problem was that I'd already looked like this for two years. The fact that my real age was at least 14 years old was probably known throughout the continent. ...that's a little harsh.
And my real age was 20 years old.
...it's pretty tough.
No matter how much I won't age any further, why am I seriously thinking about hiding my true age and marrying Luchen-kun, who is 11 years younger than me?
...ah.
Sabine-chan was grinning from ear to ear... Chii-ane-sama put her hands on her cheeks, her eyes were shining, and she was making a face that said, "Well, well." And then Luchen-kun stared at me with a red face...
"Sabine-chan, take responsibility and sort this out properlyl!" (Mitsuha)
"I don't know. It's ane-sama who instigated me to usurp the throne in the first place." (Sabine)
"Is this a revenge? Aaaaarrgghh!!" (Mitsuha)
Afterwards, in order to obtain her forgiveness, a "One-time selfish ticket" was issued.
...No good.
It was already unclear how much Sabine-chan had in stock, such as tickets that could be used at will, loan points, and single-item coupons for one Japanese products.
I felt like something was going to go wrong someday...
Author's Note
Notice! (^^)/
My work, "I will survive by relying on potions!" Suki-sensei, who is the illustrator for the book version of Narou, will be in charge of the illustrations for the new Narou novel.
Volume 1 will be released on Friday, September 15th! (^^)/
......