Chapter 54
Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Party Preparation
As a matter of course, the authority to urgently summon the heads of the four great meritorious houses was a unique privilege guaranteed solely to the Emperor.
"Haa..."
Yet, in the Belverk ducal office, where a chill had settled in, a situation was unfolding that blatantly denied this obvious fact.
"All the house heads are here, right?"
Mana communication orbs glowing sky blue for House Hakfreeit, silver for Marquisate Sharhen, and purple for Marquisate Magnaris.
"Then explain yourselves."
Astridje, having placed the three orbs on her desk, spoke in a frosty voice.
"Explain what, exactly?"
"Exactly. We were just invited, that's all."
"Right! If anything, we're the aggrieved ones!"
In response, the innocent voices of the meritorious house heads echoed through the office.
"What pressure did you put on Kairen?"
But Astridje pressed on relentlessly, her eyes glowing red with a cold expression. After a moment of silence, the heads began their explanations.
"We were simply invited by young Lord Kairen."
"But we're all so busy, aren't we? We had no choice but to pass the opportunity to our children."
"If the Magic Tower conference weren't right around the corner, I would've gone myself!"
At first glance, the heads' responses seemed perfectly logical and unproblematic.
"You sly old foxes."
But Astridje, well aware that every child they'd sent was a treasured lady setting the social world ablaze, scowled deeply and turned her head aside.
"...Emperor, care to say something?"
Then, from the lone golden mana orb placed formally opposite her, the Emperor's languid voice began to leak out.
"Ah, Astridje... sorry about this, but..."
Astridje's expression turned blank at her words.
"The youngest princess got an invitation too."
"What?"
"She said it was a hassle, but when I peeked earlier, she was already packing. Haha!"
Astridje sat dazed for a good while longer, then finally pressed her forehead and bowed her head deeply.
"Oh, and the invitation went to the Crown Prince too, apparently."
"......"
"But he's been down with a high fever since yesterday, so he won't be coming this time. Shame."
Once the Emperor finished speaking, Astridje slowly raised her head, her face etched with exhaustion as she opened her mouth.
"So, to sum it up..."
But the Emperor cut her off with a tone brimming with amusement.
"The descendants of the hero and his hero party are storming the Demon King's castle for the first time in centuries, right?"
"Shut up."
"Eek, scary. You really should've helped your son make some friends."
"Is that your place to say?"
Suppressing the curses rising to her throat, Astridje quietly rested her chin on her hand and began her declaration in a subdued voice.
"In any case, we can't just casually open Belverk's doors."
Immediately, protests erupted from the orbs before her.
"My daughter was really looking forward to it."
"...Ahem, my granddaughter too."
"It's the first time my disciple's left the Magic Tower in three years!"
But Astridje's response was icily firm.
"Not my problem, old timers."
With those words, she silenced them all (though the Hakfreeit border count looked a bit miffed). Astridje continued with a chilling expression.
"If you really want to come into Belverk, try using force."
No one among the prideful meritorious house heads dared object to that.
"Understood? No matter how much it's Kairen's invitation..."
Just as Astridje crushed their complaints in an instant and was about to reaffirm her will—
"Madam Duke, the young master has arrived."
Schwarz peeked her head through the office door, quietly announcing Kairen's arrival.
"...Send him in."
Astridje, who had been pondering slightly, sighed and gestured. Schwarz smiled and opened the door wider.
'First, have him apologize to the heads, then make him withdraw the invitation himself...'
Watching this, Astridje racked her brain to salvage the situation somehow.
"......Hm?"
But when the door opened and Kairen stepped in, she froze mid-thought, her expression turning blank again.
- Ptoo...
Kairen, blowing a party horn with a cone hat on, approached beaming with excitement.
"How'd it go?"
"......"
"They're all coming, right?"
Astridje was at a loss for words when Kairen spotted the house heads' orbs on her desk and started bouncing around joyfully.
"Great!"
Astridje's eyes shook wildly as she watched.
"Hee hee..."
About a minute later, the emergency meritorious houses meeting under Astridje's name concluded triumphantly, unleashing the monumental aftermath of opening the Demon King's castle for the first time in 357 years.
"Focus. Answer based on what you've learned so far."
After the Demon King's castle—no, Belverk's—opening was confirmed, the ducal house grew incredibly busy.
"If an outsider is rude, what do you do?"
For instance, since yesterday, Schwarz had been roaming around giving the new maids intensely rigorous ideological training.
"Curse them with eternal stomachaches!"
"No, that's too much. Just trap them in the shadows and release after a month."
"Can't we just kill them?"
But overhearing the training secretly made things feel a bit unsettling.
"No, not that... Huh, maybe it's fine after all."
Still, trusting Schwarz to handle it properly, Kairen turned away.
"Hey, kid. You're something else."
"...Huh?"
"I threw a birthday party in the capital with my own money and got the cold shoulder, but here you are throwing one in the Demon King's castle."
Before he knew it, Lilien, standing beside him with a face full of dissatisfaction, spoke up.
"In imperial history, Belverk's only opened once before, 357 years ago for that incident. You pulled off something huge. Right?"
"Hehe, yep? So Big Sis, join my birthday party too."
"No, that's not... Sigh, whatever."
But as Kairen, now accustomed to handling Lilien, replied with an innocent smile, she shook her head with a hint of fluster and headed to her room.
'...Alright, time to go.'
Watching her back fondly, Kairen also headed to his room and locked the door.
"Fluffy, come here!"
"...Grrr."
"Eek, no licking."
In the midst of this bustle, Kairen had his own assigned role.
"Lemme see your pups for a sec."
It was training the pups of Fluffy, whom he'd contracted as a familiar last time.
Fluffy obeyed his commands well enough, but her three innocent pups were so playful they often caused mishaps.
Like chasing after maids following him and nipping their ankles, stealing his lunch and fleeing into shadows, or suddenly bringing him Lilien's underwear...
He could manage during normal times, but if it happened with outsiders around, it'd be a disaster. Especially since Fluffy and the pups were magical beasts.
"......"
But Fluffy, peeking from his shadow, was eyeing him suspiciously.
"You trust me, right?"
When he pleaded with the most pitiful expression, Fluffy finally sighed coldly and retreated into the shadow.
"Woof!"
"Yap!"
"Squeak!"
The next moment, three adorably cute wolf pups poked their heads out one by one.
"Woofie, Yappie, and Squeakie!"
"......"
"Nice to see you all!"
For reference, their names—firstborn Woofie, second Yappie, third Squeakie—were based on their cries.
Schwarz, Lilien, and even Mother had struggled not to laugh upon hearing them, but Kairen honestly thought no names fit better.
"Anyway, you guys. Listen up from now on, okay?"
"...?"
"In a few days, four outsiders are coming to our Belverk!"
Gathering Fluffy's pups, he began explaining as earnestly as possible.
"Woof?"
"Squeak?"
Hearing him, they tilted their heads, one ear perked.
Were they not understanding? No, that couldn't be. Fluffy was a top-grade magical beast, so her kids should get it.
"So, no popping out of shadows whenever like usual! The outsiders might get scared..."
Gesturing emphatically to explain—
"...Huh?"
He felt something missing, looked around, and realized one fact.
"Where'd one go?"
Woofie and Squeakie were here... Wait, where's Yappie?
"Y-Yappie!"
"Yap!"
"What are you doing up there...?"
Standing abruptly and scanning around, he spotted Yappie on the desk and sighed in relief.
- Gulp...
"...Huh?"
A sound that shouldn't come from the pup with something in its mouth made him freeze.
"W-What did you eat?"
"...Yap?"
"Yappie! Open your mouth now!"
Snapping to, he lunged, grabbed the pup, forced its mouth open, and shoved his hand in.
"Eek... Eeek..."
"......"
"Y-You swallowed it..."
But Yappie's mouth was empty now.
"Q-Quick, the doctor... No, Mother first..."
Paling and flustering, he suddenly remembered something and sighed in relief.
'...Right, it's a magical beast.'
He'd forgotten momentarily because it looked so puppy-like, but Yappie was a bona fide magical beast.
Last time, when Fluffy deliciously crunched a table knife and he panicked to Mother, she'd said it was just a snack to them.
So whatever it ate should be fine. Still, he'd have to train it not to from now on...
- Whoosh...
As he thought this and looked down at Yappie, it suddenly leaped from his arms to the desk.
"Y-Yappie! No—"
As it grabbed a pen in its mouth, he panicked and reached again to stop it.
- Scribble, scratch...
But Yappie stared calmly at him, then began writing on the desk with the pen. Kairen froze, dumbfounded.
「What's going on here?」
Sentences soon formed on the desk.
"Huh?"
Reading blankly, he soon broke into a cold sweat, staring at Yappie.
「Why am I in the form of a dog?」
No, not Yappie anymore—this her.
"...Uriel Sis?"
What Yappie had swallowed moments ago was the vial of Uriel's hair sample Kairen had left on the desk just in case.