CH 103

Home Security [Part 1]



George POV



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“Pardon my intrusion.”



An unforeseen situation had occurred, which I had to report to my parents in the drawing room.



The row of diplomats were still prostrated, which makes me wonder whether they have moved at all since the time William was peeking.



“George-kun! You came at the right time!”



The King happily called out to me before my parents could.



I want to immediately report the situation, but I can’t possibly ignore the King.



“Count Stuart doesn’t want to accept his reward no matter what. Could you persuade him for me?”



…how and why did they end up talking about rewards? More importantly, how did the talk about Imperial Japan go?



“No, Your Majesty. We will not accept rewards or anything like that.”



We already confirmed that the reward wasn’t profitable at all during the family meeting. If we had accepted it, it would have only brought more trouble.



“Why won’t you just accept it?”



…the King is so persistent. I thought this talk had been settled at the last party.



“Come on, you guys risked your lives to defeat the slimes. You should be rewarded for that.”



“Your Majesty, as we have said before, we only did the obvious. We can’t possibly accept the reward.”



… had they been going back and forth endlessly discussing this matter? My parents looked tired. Since the King changed his target to me, now they look a little relieved. How mean.



Poor diplomats. Once they are prostrated, it’s not up to them when to raise their heads. Aren’t their legs numb?



“R-Right! Emma-chan! It left Emma-chan with painful memories, so an a-po-lo-gy! I have to give Emma-chan an apology. It seemed to be fairly painful, so… yeah, let’s raise your court rank two ranks higher!”



You won’t give in, huh, King. The Imperial Prince Tasuku next to you can’t make out a word and looks very lost, you know?



“…but Emma has already recovered. ……I mean, is it okay if Emma gives you a reply about that apology at a later date?”



It’s not nice to Emma, but I will have to ask her to refuse it later. It’s not the time for that now.



I glance sideways at the King, who looks satisfied with that acknowledgement, then look at my parents.



“Um, Father. There’s a little… problem.”



“What’s wrong?”



‘Oof, this is the last straw’ is what Father’s expression conveyed eloquently, though he didn’t say a word.



“Ah… You know… Our home… cat—…… security(?) is a bit, you know…”



“Security!?”



Father and Mother were stunned.



In our mansion, there is only the gatekeeper, Uncle Evan. We don’t hire bodyguards, and things like surveillance cameras or emergency call systems (like 911) of our previous life don’t exist in this world.



“Yes. Our home security… Meowcom (cats) and Valsok (spider)[1] are…”



[T/N 1: Meowcom and Valsok come from the name of two famous security companies in Japan, Secom and Alsok. The original text for Meowcom is nyakomu (ニャコム), which is slang in Japanese for how cats always stay inside the house and thus act like home security personnel.]



“Meo—! Meowcom and Valsok!!?”



I glance at Imperial Prince Tasuku for a look at his complexion.



He had a harmless expression affixed on his face.



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end of George’s POV



To explain, we have to rewind to a while back, after Joshua had somehow recovered from the critical hit, dealt by Emma, when a scratching sound came from outside the door to the room.



This was a Koumei-san kind of knock, the sound of her paw scratching the door.



“Meow!”



The three siblings, Joshua, and Martha hurriedly went to the door, knowing it was bad for the cats to be in the hallway.



Even though they had hidden the cats in the back room before the King’s arrival… did they escape on their own?



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Author’s words: Around this time, I was thinking, ‘I also want a Meowcom in my house.’