Volume 5 - CH 5.3

The Fiancées’ Guarding Techniques

Around this time, the provisional King of Friedonia, Souma Kazuya, was receiving invitations from the kingdom’s nobles to attend banquets and other social functions on an almost nightly basis. 

It had been decided that Souma’s coronation and his wedding to Liscia and the others would happen towards the end of the 1,547th year, so the nobles were desperate to slip in women from their houses and have them become Souma’s fiancées, too. 

He could turn down the requests from minor houses, but with major houses, he couldn’t ignore them because it risked having an effect on the kingdom’s politics. Souma had to at least attend those events, while gently letting down the nobles who were trying sell him on their daughters. 

While doing so, it was important that he have a partner. If one of his fiancées was always at his side, it made it harder for the nobles to recommend their own daughters to him. His three official fiancées, Liscia, Aisha, and Roroa, as well as his as-yet-unannounced fiancée, Juna, each took turns at his side. 

“Souma is the king, so we just have to accept that he’s going to need to take other wives for political reasons, both domestic and foreign,” Liscia advised his other three fiancées. “Still, we can’t let a woman with ulterior motives become a queen. We need to guard Souma properly and keep those with a lust for power from gaining a marital connection to the royal house.” 

Aisha, Juna, and Roroa nodded.

On this day, Liscia was attending a social function as Souma’s partner. 

On this day, Roroa was attending an influential noble’s birthday party as Souma’s partner. 

On this day, Juna was attending a masquerade ball as Souma’s partner. 

It was a noble banquet, but the host for this one had had something very specific in mind. He’d had the participants all wear masks and participate in a dance party. The plan was to encourage people to get to know one another better without worrying about the size of their houses or the existence of a spouse or betrothed, but most of the women were here targeting Souma. 

On this day, Aisha was attending a banquet as Souma’s partner. 

Here, too, the nobles were watching closely for their chance to build ties with Souma. 

“Oh, Your Majesty, it’s a pleasure to—Eek?!” a noble screamed. 

“Why, Your Majesty, how good to see you. What do you say, would you care to join me for—Whoa?!” 

Every time a noble tried to approach Souma, the woman at his side would project her warrior aura at them to intimidate them. Though she was a beautiful dark elf girl in a silver dress, she made the nobles feel like they were being glared at by a sword tiger, and they couldn’t approach Souma. 

Aisha wasn’t even aware of what she was doing; she was just on guard against anyone who approached Souma because it was her duty as his bodyguard. So... 

This was a battle these women absolutely could not afford to lose.