Persuasion

Maiodoru came in just as I was about to sleep with Niku as my hug pillow.

The scene looked like a man caught cheating on his wife. Yeah, that's… kind of awkward.

I decided to sit up and hear what she had to say.

"Kehma-sama! What is the meaning of this!?"

"Whatever do you mean?"

"About my fiancé! Why isn't it going to be you!?"

Ah, so that's what this is about. I thought she was going to ask about me trying to sleep next to Niku.

"Hmm. I believe I declined from the very start. Furthermore, Kuro is more suited for the role than me."

"Kehma-sama is better! If it's not Kehma-sama, I don't want it!"

Maiodoru thrust her body forward as she said that. Her blue ringlets swayed.

Such vigor. As expected, she doesn't want a slave, and a girl at that, as her fiancé… There's also the possibility that she wasn't told it was a fake engagement. Though one look at Niku should make it obvious that it's fake.

"I'm honored, but unfortunately, I have someone I love. Right now, I can't think of being with anyone other than that woman."

"It's normal for nobles to have multiple wives between the legal wife and concubines. Therefore! If Kehma-sama marries me and becomes a noble, the problem is solved!"

"Oh? So does that mean the lord also has concubines?"

"Yes, though they didn't come to yesterday's dinner."

Is that so… That means there are people other than Maiodoru who are qualified to be custodian of the [Divine Pillow]?

Yeah, Vonodoru. Even if you weren't lying, you never explicitly stated that Maiodoru was the custodian. You didn't let me pin you down on it either… Now then, just how many people are there who qualify as custodian?

"A-also, Kehma-sama, do you prefer boys who cross-dress as girls? If so, I can't become a man, but I can dress as a man and then cross-dress as a woman!"

"… Ah, the person I love isn't Kuro. It's a woman, and she's currently house-sitting back in Golen Village."

I was confused for a moment about who she was talking about, but then it clicked. She must have heard from Vonodoru that "Niku is a man."

Also, a girl dressing as a man and then cross-dressing as a woman? That's just incomprehensible. Though I guess it's a situation you see every now and then in manga and games.

"Then, doesn't that mean Kuro-cha… Kuroinu-sama is already like a concubine to you, Kehma-sama? Adding just one more person, me, wouldn't be a problem at all!"

Maiodoru seemed to be confused about a number of things. You might even call this a rampage.

… Well, she's only about ten years old. It's only natural for her to be confused when her fiancé keeps getting switched around like this.

Having your fiancé decided for you is basically being told "You must love this person from now on." Especially for a child who can't fully accept things yet, at such a sensitive age. No wonder she's going on a rampage.

Thanks to that, I got some valuable information. I wonder if Vonodoru anticipated this would happen?

Oh well. He's the one who slipped up first.

"Well, for the time being, your fiancé is this Niku Kuroinu here."

"But I said, if it's not Kehma-sama—… for the time being?"

"… Oops, did I let that slip? Please keep what I said a secret from the lord."

Maiodoru seemed to properly pick up on the hidden meaning behind my words. How excellent. Is this the result of her aristocratic education?

Maiodoru calmed down quickly.

"Well, um. Kuroinu-sama is kind, surprisingly strong despite appearances, and, um, excellent enough to have been bestowed the title of ventulier at the age of ten. As a fiancé, I couldn't ask for better… except for the cross-dressing and the name. Ah, and perhaps the beastkin part as well?"

"Those are trivial matters."

"… Trivial?"

"Trivial. The appearance can be fixed by changing clothes, and we can just use the name Kuroinu. As for the beastkin point, well, let the racists bark all they want."

Just then, I felt a tug on my clothes. When I looked, Niku was gazing up at me with puppy-dog eyes.

"Um. What's wrong?"

"… I don't want to change my name."

"O-oh, if you don't want to change it, then you don't have to. Just use it as an alias when dealing with outsiders."

"Nn."

Niku nodded. Looks like I got her consent.

"… Is that name really so important to you, Kuroinu-sama?"

"Nn, important."

"I-is that so? But Kuroinu-sama, no matter how I look at you, you only look like a girl."

"Yes, well."

Well, she is a girl after all. She's not even cross-dressing.

… So, can I leave the rest to these two youngsters and sleep until dinner?

That's what I wanted, but somehow it turned into me telling adventure stories again.

I wanted to stop since I was running out of material for my made-up adventurer stories, but not only Maiodoru — even Niku was happily listening.

"And so, Mr. Gold threw down the brown bear, tamed it, and while carrying his favorite axe, practiced riding the bear like a horse."

"Um, would the bear work as a substitute for a horse?"

"I haven't heard any stories about him ending up riding a horse and playing an active role in the end…"

"… Rather, wouldn't it have been better if he just used the bear as his mount from the start?"

Well, I don't know the details of the Kintaro tale that well. There's even a possibility that the bear was actually a human. I don't know though.

"Ah, Kehma-sama. It's almost time for dinner."

"Oh, shall we get going then?"

"Yes, please escort me."

With that, Maiodoru held her hand out toward me. I quietly switched places with Niku.

"… Shall we go?"

"… Yes."

Haha. Don't pout. Get along with each other; you're fiancees now, after all.

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

"—And so, with Kehma-dono's recommendation, Kuroinu-dono has been chosen as Mai's fiancé."

Now then, Vonodoru made the announcement about the fiancé matter before the meal began. He didn't mention that it was fake, though.

The lineup was the same as yesterday. The lady of the house, having apparently been informed beforehand, kept her smile throughout without missing a beat. The eldest son, Rondo, had a somewhat bitter expression, while the second son, Jitterbug, slammed the table and stood up.

"Hold on, that one's a slave! And a girl at that! There's no way someone with such a ridiculous name as Niku is fit to be Mai's fiancé!"

"Jitterbug. Kuroinu-dono is a man."

"That's even worse! I won't acknowledge someone who only looks like a weak woman!"

I wonder how far the fake engagement information was supposed to spread… At the very least, it doesn't seem like Jitterbug was told. Rondo has an ambiguous expression, but as the next head of the family, he might have been informed?

Haah, what a pain. I just want to go back to the dungeon and laze around. Dungeon Masters really belong in their dungeons, seriously.

"Oh my, Jitterbug Nii-sama. Despite appearances, Kuroinu-sama is quite strong, you know? He carried me in his arms and ran all the way from the central district to this house with ease. You couldn't do that, could you?"

"E-even so, he's smaller than me and looks weak!"

"Haah… Kehma-dono, could you have Kuroinu-dono demonstrate some of his skill?"

"I don't mind, but Kuro seems hungry, so can it wait until after dinner?"

With the food right in front of her, Niku had been kept waiting and was clearly dying to eat.

Today's meal was boar steak. Aah, the fragrance of that roasted fat was irresistible. You could tell at a glance that it would be delicious with just salt and pepper. Could Niku, who loves meat, endure this? Absolutely not. Wipe your drool.

Oh, Niku, you know how to use a fork and knife, right? Eh, you'd prefer chopsticks? I'd like to eat this with chopsticks and white rice too, but still.

"Ah, right. It would be a shame to let this fine food get cold. Let's eat."

"Then let's have a mock battle in the garden after dinner. Since we have the opportunity, why don't I be the opponent?"

So we had the mock battle after the meal. And it wasn't against the second son, but the eldest son who loved melee combat.

The result? Yeah, Niku's overwhelming victory.