CH 305

zawa…… zawa……

All over the city, the people of the royal capital were gossiping.

“It’s terrible……. The royal family, who did nothing when the Wennar Barony was in crisis, and now, the duchess, who did nothing for the Society, is trying to take over the Society, own it, and monopolize its prestige……”

“Unacceptable! Preying on the saints and ruling over them is an act against the goddess! No matter how royalty they are, such treacherous and outrageous behavior is unforgivable!”

“Even though the Goddess of Mercy has bestowed good fortune upon our country through the efforts of the saints, now the Goddess will abandon us!”

Such voices can be heard all over the capital…….

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“What the hell is going on! Where are these rumors coming from? And how is it possible for them to know those things?” (King)

“No, no matter how you look at it, it is obvious to anyone your intentions in bringing the young lady Elisha into the society as its head. Moreover, under your backings, Your Majesty……” (PM)

The king was shouting, while the Prime Minister gave him a sound argument.

Apparently, this matter was not discussed with the Prime Minister but was secretly worked out between the King and Duke Keriskor.

So the Prime Minister, who was brought into the conversation after the issue had arisen, seemed to be in a very bad mood.

“No, I mean, it is a free and effective way to restore the popularity of me and my son Ale, who has lost reputations in various ways related to Viscount Yamano, and to make the young lady Elisha, who is popular among the people, the candidate as the crown princess.” (King)

Hearing this, the Prime Minister lets out a weary sigh.

“…And the result is the current situation…” (PM)

“Ugh…” (King)

Yes, for some reason … Rumors spread all over the royal capital in a blink of an eye, and the criticism of the royal family from the people of the royal capital, or rather, from the people of the kingdom, was growing intensely.

Moreover, even among the nobles, the king has been criticized as shameless, an outcast who tried to seize control of the children’s social gatherings, for political purposes and use them as a stepping stone, and so on.

In particular, the Wennard Barony, which was saved by the Society, their relatives, and factional nobles, and the nobles whose daughters had joined the Society, began bashing the royal family en masse.

Originally, Mitsuha’s intention was to have a few daughters of barons and viscounts join the Society, but the majority of the Society’s members were the daughters of powerful counts and marquises. The members were also from different factions.

So when those noble families rallied together, there was no easy way to do anything about it, no matter how royalty they may be.

“Marquis Mitchell’s faction has good relations with the royalist faction and is not on bad terms with Duke Keriskor. So I thought he would accept a bold request from the duke!

Certainly, it would be a shame to be deprived of such delicious foods, but it’s still a request from the royal family and the duke, and since he will certainly get something in return, it’s obvious from a political point of view that there’s not much of a loss. That’s why……” (King)

“Ha~a?” (PM)

The Prime Minister sounded appalled.

“No, surely, Marquis Mitchell would judge it that way……” (PM)

“Then why……” (King)

To the king’s questioning tone, the Prime Minister replied ruthlessly.

“That’s because the [Society] is an organization that has nothing to do with Marquis Mitchell, right?

The presiding officer of that organization is not Marquis Mitchell, but his daughter, the young lady Micheline… And the mastermind is, needless to say, Viscount Yamano.

If the young lady Micheline was a puppet of her father, then Viscount Yamano’s products would have been delivered to the royal palace, or they would accept the duke’s daughter, wouldn’t they?

The Society is a fellowship genuinely run by children, not puppets of adults……” (PM)

“…………”

“Maybe this is a deliberate manipulation leak. I don’t know if it’s the work of some nobles or the commoner clerk in the royal palace who was fascinated by the girls of the society…

And what’s more frightening is the speed with which these rumors spread and their accuracy.

Usually, rumors are distorted, altered, and jumbled in the process of spreading. In this case, however, the rumors spread quickly and with total accuracy.

This is unlikely unless someone was intentionally controlling it.

……Anyway, they’ve made it very clear that if you are hostile to the [Society], you are also hostile to the people, the nobility, and those who are supposed to be your allies……” (PM)

“…………”

The Prime Minister also said that the operation to help Baron Wennar was to get the people on their side. And it seems that even the Prime Minister could not detect that the leak source was the [Society] itself.

Moreover, the young girls can complain and discuss their problems with their fathers, servants, and their noble children’s friends.

Additionally, the public relations effect of using Viscount Yamano’s network and the broad face of the Refilia trade……

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“…Duke Keriskor has withdrawn his request to have the young lady Elisha join the Society.” (Mitchell)

Micchan and I grinned at the words of Marquis Mitchell.

Yes, the blatant souls were exposed and criticized, it would be counterproductive for them to keep pushing to join the [Society].

Far from being a great saint, it’s certain that the devil’s minions will be called the saints…

Instead of getting closer to the position of the crown princess, I think she has gone farther away from it this time.

Had she not attempted to do something unnecessary, she might have become the first prince’s fiancée naturally.

I just hope this will be the end of those who have turned on our [Society].

Namu namu…….

=====

I wondered if the messenger had returned from the empire by now, so I showed up at the royal palace in my country.

Of course, to receive compensation.

“Here is the pledge and 2,300 gold coins. They are imperial gold coins, but they have the same value as our gold coins and can be used in our country as well.” (King)

Ah, because the creditworthiness of the country was irrelevant, only the bullion value of the currency.

And to eliminate hassle, all gold coins from neighboring countries have the same value as gold, I guess……

Granted, it was physically the same, but the purity may be slightly different. Of course, that would be compensated for by the size, though.

Ah! So far, the only gold coins I have redeemed on earth have been those of this kingdom, but since it was a new kind of gold, there’s a chance it could fetch a higher price! It’s also possible that the metal they’re mixing to give them hardness may be different from the one used in the kingdom.

In the meantime, the governments of each country will definitely try to obtain them, so if I auction them off…

Moreover, maybe a collector or two will do their best to bid on it…

And the king complained to me, who was giggling like an idiot.

“So when the hell is Sabine coming back……?” (King)

Yes, both my Japanese residence and Colette-chan’s hospital room have air-conditioning and heaters, games, Blu-Rays, novels, manga, and real-time TV broadcasts. Moreover, all the snacks and fruits you can eat.

……Colette-chan is a patient, so she gets guidance from doctors, but Sabine-chan doesn’t care about that.

But for the bath, they demanded that I teleport them to the Yamano Family Japanese Residence just to take a bath.

……Why am I complying with that?

It was a part of the reward for helping me check the recordings, it’s a “Request as part of that reward!” they said…

If they use that against me, I can’t say no……

Moreover, that’s ‘part’ of the reward, just a ‘part’!

And they don’t seem to be satisfied with just that.

Besides, Colette-chan’s reward was entirely untouched and unused. Her reward…

In addition, I owe Colette-chan more than I can ever repay her for this incident……

I wonder how much I owe her for saving my life.

…Well, I’m not worried about Colette-chan, because she’s not the kind of girl who demands extravagant things.

And when Sabine-chan stays at the hospital to sleep, she sneaks into Colette-chan’s bed and they both sleep together.

Two children in an adult bed had plenty of sleeping space.

Normally, the hospital would not allow such a thing, but… well, I guess the higher-ups told them, ‘let them be’…

Damn it, mix me in there as well!!!!

……But as expected, a hospital bed cannot accommodate two children and one adult……

And so, I can only reply with a dry laugh at the king’s complaint…