CH 7

“Inspector General?”

Inside the mansion, at the large dining room in the morning.

I’m eating breakfast after being served by a maid.

My sister came to visit me, and said a job title I wasn’t used to hearing.

“They were sent from the country. They’ll be arriving this afternoon.”

“Arrive you said, does it mean coming to this place?”

“They’re coming to see Hermes.”

Nee-san has a triumphant look.

Ah, bad. This is a bad pattern.

When nee-san looks like this, she brags about me and my appeal, or something like that.

“I’ll ask just in case…… why?”

“His Majesty the King heard that the new Head of the Canoe family had defeated the Slime Lord. That’s why they will come to see if it’s true.”

“Kuh……”

I reflexively frowned.

The thing I did carelessly has not yet drawn to an end huh.

“For that reason, do your best Hermes”

Nee-san who speaks with liveliness, don’t even understand what people cares.

I give up here.

☆

In the afternoon, there are two carriages, and a little over 100 soldiers escorting that.

It arrived at the residence.

First, a middle-aged man descended from one side.

Somehow, he has the image of a great and crafty man, assuming from his air.

The man went to the other carriage, and after saying something, a girl came down from there.

She’s about 16 years old, and her face is tight though it is beautiful.

When I was thinking about such a thing, the other party came.

The girl follows in a form that the middle-aged man leads in front.

The two came in front of me, and stopped their feet.

“Are you Baron Canoe?”

The middle-aged man looked at my countenance, and asked in an arrogant manner.

“Ah”

“I am the Second-class Inspector General of the Kingdom, Mouro Korokos. This here is Her Royal Highness Lina Mi Aegina, First-class Inspector General.”

“Her Highness?”

And Aegina, he said.

I look the young lady seriously.

That name, is from a royalty huh.

“Her highness has numerous concerns, so we have come to visit on carriage personally. Her Highness prefers the truth to any treasure. I recommend you to speak without hiding what you are asked.”

“……Ha”

It’s troublesome.

Troublesome to balance.

I don’t want to get serious, it’s such a hassle thing to tag along.

However, if the other party is a royalty, then it’ll be unpleasant if the house is crushed.

I’ll hand it over to nee-san eventually, and I don’t want to let go of the aristocratic standpoint of “residing in a room”.

I had to carefully assess, how far I could present.

In that sense, I right now, am serious for the first time in a while.

“Did you subdue that Slime Lord?”

The second Inspector General Mouro ―― probably that guy is the assistant, asked.

Most of the time, the royal family do not speak directly to maintain their prestige, so there’s nothing to mind about that.

How to answer his question …… this is not scene to lie just yet.

“Ha”

“How did you beat it”

“Scorched with fire magic.”

Mouro nodded with satisfaction.

As I thought, they came after doing some preliminary investigation to some extent.

“Her Highness practically wants to see it.”

“What did you say?”

When I asked again, Mouro turned to the back, and raised his hand.

Then the soldiers carry something wrapped in cloth.

They place it on the ground, and take the cloth.

Wooden doll ―― it was like a mannequin.

“Do you know this?”

“Haa……”

This is the place where it’s okay to play dumb.

I look a little bothered, and I asked Mouro with my gaze.

Mouro looked down on me instantaneously, and said “Don’t you know this?” with his face.

“This is Mimiyu. A magic tool invented by the person who is considered to be the best puppeteer in history. It looks like a tree, but it’s a thing that can fully set and reproduce the durability aspect of a monster.”

Mouro explains with an astounded face.

It’s certainly been used by adventurer guilds, and they use it when they have a doubt, “Can this guy really defeat the monster that was commissioned?”.

It doesn’t attack at all, but it can completely reproduce physical strength, defense power, characteristics, etc.

If they set it to just a slime, it will look like a wooden structure, but if you attack it, the doll will bounce as it splashes around.

I see, I will attempt it with this huh.

“From past documents, I have set it to the Slime lord’s durability. Destroy this praiseworthily.”

“……Got it”

This is a no-good setting to do it.

Then, let’s suppress the power at least.

Once you fight a monster, you can roughly understand its ability.

The fact that I (accidentally) defeated the Slime Lord won’t go away anymore, but if this is so, let’s leave it to “I’ve just barely done it”.

Lina and Mouro left, while protected by the soldiers.

I and the doll remained in the garden of the mansion, and the others felt like spectators surrounding me from a distance.

Closing my eyes, I remember the response when I defeated the Slime Lord.

Let’s adjust the power, spend about five minutes continuing to scorch it, and make it a scenario that it became like such somehow.

『Fire fire, gather in my hands and make the enemies pay! 』

I fire a magic with a decent chant.

The flames burned the doll.

Oh, its regenerating like the slime huh.

I knew it by knowledge, but it’s a little interesting to actually see a wooden doll being burned and it countering that by regeneration.

The flame keeps burning the doll―― exactly five minutes.

The doll was turned to ashes at the time as calculated.

“It’s like this.”

I report the completion with a faint smug face, that does not make me feel rude.

Then Mouro asked in return.

“It took a long time, but the Slime Lord should have fought back in real combat, though?”

“I was running from place to place. Because I knew that the firepower will surpass that thing at the last moment.”

“That’s how it was.”

Mouro laughs faintly with his nose.

I understood such reaction in my hand, and that’s what I wanted.

“As you can see, Your Highness, there seems to be no doubt that he had defeated it, but I think he was just lucky. “

Right right, nice one Morou-kun, I like your subserviency to the strong.

Lina, on the other hand, didn’t respond, and she didn’t break her face, which she had maintained for quite a while.

Instead, Mouro was.

“I grasped the details.”

Said that with a face that looked down on me more and more.

Alright, mission cleared.

☆

On that day, the house raised a reception.

I didn’t hesitate to do this event.

I entertain the inspector general with all his might.

It’s natural to do this from our house, and it’s just right for me to create an image of “a man who does everything in his power to join the royalty”. (TN: Right, ‘everything in his power’ huh.)

The mountain and sea feasts are lined up grandly, and something like a ball is also open.

Anyway, I did my best to entertain the two inspectors.

“A’re?”

Suddenly, I notice that the leading actress Lina wasn’t there.

Looking around the hall, the door leading to the veranda is open, and there was Lina in a dress over there.

Let’s do an ass-kisser appeal a bit more.

I pursued after her to the veranda, and called out from behind.

“You were here, Your Highness?”

“Baron Canoe?”

Lina glanced at me.

It’s the first voice I’ve heard, but it was a firm and crisp voice that was perfect from the image I received from her.

“You were in such a place huh.”

“Do you like falconry?”

……

Aristocrat, falconry.

It’s also synonymous with playing.

“Yes, I love it, you know. Does Her Highness also like it?”

“I haven’t done it, but I like hawks.”

“Then, then, how about we show you what we own ――”

“A talented hawk conceals its claws, there is a proverb like that.”

“――Eh?”

Lina turned towards me with her body, and observed me.

She has a sagacious and smartly appearance, that looks good on a dress.

“At the time when you were a child, have you ever experienced arm wrestling with an adult?”

“Haa, that is, several times ……”

What? That was, from a while ago.

We’re continuing a conversation which I can’t read her intentions?

“Even though you were serious about it, you can tell just by looking at the other party that they still have some room.”

“I agree. Wahaha, they say.”

“It’s the same for the royal martial arts instruction. After teaching, they intentionally do it for us to gain confidence, but I understand that it was deliberately done on purpose.”

“……”

Somehow, the turn of affairs is suspicious.

Seriously, what the hell, is this.

“So are you. It’s obvious that you were not serious.”

“――!”

Gatsun, I felt the shock of being hit with a mallet in the head.

“Rest assured. I’m not telling anyone. I was not told assess such thing. All I’ve been told was to see if it was true that you were able to defeat the Slime Lord. That’s it.”

“……”

“I don’t know why you are hiding your true abilities.”

Lina turns her heels, and tries to return to the hall.

Just a few words at the end, she says over her shoulder.

“One day, show me the size of that bottomless vessel, and your seriousness.”

Like that.

…… I want to hold my head.

Because I suppressed my power, it feels like I plunged into a deep place.