Chapter 65: The Sword King and the Spear King Learn an Unexpected Truth

In the room of the new “Spear King,” Julia Deuce… a girl who would likely soon bear the surname Yaranri, I was sitting in seiza.

Standing before me was the man who led the highest tier of our kingdom’s internal administration—the pride of the Swordria Kingdom, Minister of Internal Affairs Gari Leo. In contrast to Minister Depron, who held a similar position, Gari was slender with a sharp, almost excessively meticulous face.

"Your Majesty. I am your subject, and I am not opposed to obeying your orders. However, even if this is meant to establish friendly relations, I must ask you to recognize that interfering in the domestic affairs of another nation—the Kingdom of Yaranri—brings many complications."

"Yes… you’re absolutely right…"

And the truth was simple—he was 100% correct. All I could do was shrink my shoulders and wait for the lecture to end.

The reason this had happened in the first place was because I had asked Julia and the others from the Yaranri Kingdom to help reconcile Shion and Ciel.

As a result, paperwork had been pouring in—so much that the stacks seemed to tower over them. It required specialists to handle properly, so I called in Minister Gari, who happened to be in the city, and asked for his cooperation.

"Are you listening, Your Majesty? I understand it is harsh to expect so much from someone who has only been king for half a year. However, matters involving relations between nations cannot be decided so lightly."

"Yes, yes… this time I’m completely at fault… I’m sorry for making you miss the time you could have spent with your wife and daughter…"

"…That is irrelevant. Mixing private life with work goes against my principles."

If that were true, I would’ve appreciated it if he stopped letting his eyes—hidden behind those gleaming glasses—flicker with emotion. He was definitely shaken.

Realizing he was being watched, Minister Gari let out a deliberate "ahem" and changed the subject. He was fundamentally serious and extremely competent, but when it came to his family—especially his daughter—he tended to lose his composure.

"Julia of the Kingdom of Yaranri, newly appointed Spear King. By order of His Majesty Toma Swordria, I will assist you all. However, my role is strictly support. The main duties remain with you. Is that acceptable?"

"That escalated quickly… I mean, the Sword King is sitting in seiza getting lectured by his subordinate, so the power imbalance is already ridiculous… but I’ll gladly accept. Thank you."

"Understood. I will bring my subordinates tomorrow, so the actual work will begin then. I swear that nothing discussed here will be shared with anyone, even His Majesty. If you are concerned, I can also prepare a magical contract."

"...I trust you, but having it would still make me feel safer, so please do."

Things progressed smoothly from there. Watching it all unfold, I felt that in the end, it’s best to leave things to professionals. When amateurs interfere, things usually only get worse. Even talent alone isn’t enough—what matters is whether it can be properly utilized.

"Well then, Your Majesty, I will begin preparations and take my leave for today."

"Yeah. Sorry for the trouble. When you get back, take a week off. Spend time with your family."

"Thank you very much. Then, I shall excuse myself."

With that, Minister Gari left.

Finally, I was released from seiza.

Looking out the window, the sun had already set. No wonder the room felt dim. I hadn’t even noticed the lighting—it had been that intense.

Five hours of seiza… at this point, I couldn’t feel my legs at all. If I tried to walk like this, I was certain my ankles would snap.

So I tried to stand slowly—really slowly.

And failed.

I fell forward.

"Ah—"

"Fyaa?!"

Where I landed… was right into Hikari, who had tried to catch me. By sheer misfortune, my face buried itself directly into her chest.

A textbook “lucky accident.”

"...Got anything to say for yourself?"

"…………I kind of like this level."

Even if it wasn’t large, the softness there was definitely… a good thing. Yeah. This was absolutely sexual harassment, but my brain wasn’t functioning well enough to care about wording right now.

If this were a normal day, if we were alone, I would’ve been happy—but we weren’t alone.

"Toma-kun, should we go back to seiza? Or… um… i-if you want, you could… use mine too…"

"Please, spare me. The latter is extremely tempting, but I feel like my neck would snap the moment I chose it."

Arisia was red as a beet, trembling between anger and embarrassment, trying very hard to sound scolding.

But honestly… she was more cute than scary.

"You… are you reflecting on your actions? Laughing while your face is buried in someone’s chest… you’ve got guts."

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! MY HEAD IS SPLITTING APART!!!"

My head was grabbed and lifted with one hand. A crushing grip like a vise squeezed my skull, grinding sounds echoing directly into my ears.

I deserved it. So I endured it.

"Honestly… men really just love breasts, don’t they? Well excuse me! Mine aren’t big enough to make you happy!!"

"Calm down, Julia. Julia’s chest is very adorable, you know?"

"...My sister is beyond saving. If I stay here any longer, I’ll be corrupted too. Sword King, I want to go to Swordria. Take me with you."

"No way I’m letting you go!! Layla is my important subordinate!! I won’t let you escape!!"

"...I have no intention of riding a sinking ship with a pervert…"

Even while I was being held up in an iron grip, Julia grabbed Layla’s leg as she tried to cling to me, tripping her and restraining her with brute force.

Thanks to training my second ability of the sacred sword, I could now sense my surroundings even without actively focusing on it.

I was getting used to battle… my body was adapting.

"What? Layla, is there a pervert here? I’ll kick them out myself."

"“It’s you.”"

"...I genuinely can’t understand how you can react like that."

"Please, Leila… think about what you just said…"

"...I think there’s nothing wrong with it?"

A deep sigh escaped from both of them—like it rose from the depths of hell itself.

Leila Traye… I didn’t know much about her, but from what I’d heard, this personality shift must have happened recently. Maybe she hit her head during the fight with Hikari… but I kept that thought to myself.

Because if it were true, I didn’t want to know what they’d make me do about it.

Still… these three seemed closer than before the “King’s War.”

Being possibly taken over by the Spear King must have been extremely stressful. No wonder they changed.

If all Spear King candidates are like this… the future of Yaranri Kingdom is going to be exhausting.

"Julia… if things get hard, call me, okay? I’ll help however I can…"

"If I owe you anything, I don’t know what’ll happen, so no."

She hates me.

That hit harder than expected… but honestly, I couldn’t deny it.

I had done enough for her to hate me.

And then—

The Spear King took over her body. We fought her. All of us, with everything we had. She still couldn’t return to her homeland due to poison.

And now I had asked for help and disrupted her work.

Yeah. That’s a clean three strikes.

Honestly, I should be grateful I wasn’t punched at least once.

"Maybe I should start with a dogeza."

"WHY DOES IT ALWAYS GO THERE?! DON’T DO IT!!"

I was forcibly lifted again.

Julia was bright red, furious, overwhelmed.

"Hey, silver-haired maid!! She’s your childhood friend, right?! Do something!!"

"Hah, you really think I didn’t try to fix him over ten years? This guy’s incurable."

"Sword King!! Aren’t you ashamed of making your childhood friend look like that?!"

"I’m always serious. I don’t think seriousness is embarrassing. I’m sorry for troubling you, Hikari."

"Stop bowing your head already!!"

I was pulled up again.

"...Alright. Enough of that. Just say your request. The reconciliation between Shion Ace and Ciel, right?"

"Finally on topic."

"Honestly, why did it take this long?"

"If you try to apply logic to Toma-kun, your brain will melt. Just accept it."

"Arisia… I literally got confessed to by you the other day… can you please tell me what needs fixing?"

"You’re fine as you are. We’ll support whatever you lack."

"Ah… okay, thanks…"

"...So Shion and Ciel… you want them to go back to being a close mother and daughter?"

"Yeah. They’re really awkward right now."

"...That’s… very difficult."

"Yeah. Both the old relationship and a normal mother-daughter one are complicated."

"Can’t deny that."

And then—

Julia spoke.

"...Ciel is younger than Shion. A younger mother… that’s complicated."

"...Wait what?"

An unexpected bombshell dropped into the room.

Seriously… could you not?