The Marriage Interview: Part One

I am Vonodoru Tsuia, the lord of Tsuia.

On that day, I was looking over the latest edition of the Aristocracy Listing.

And there I found the name of Golen Village, a village that had only been established last year but was developing at a remarkable pace.

"Kehma Golen…? Hm? If I recall, that village's chief was named Kehma, but… he was a noble?"

Curious, I immediately sent an inquiry.

You can get information on nobles by contacting the administration bureau in the imperial capital.

For ventuliers, the response would include information about their party members and their accomplishments as adventurers. B-Rank adventurers, after all, tend to have made something of a name for themselves and have notable achievements.

A few days after sending the inquiry via magic mail, the information arrived.

According to this, Kehma Golen's party of four were all B-Rank ventuliers, and their achievements included "Five dungeon conquests as a party."

[White Trial] [Cave of Desires] [White Beach] [Bone Cave] [Cave of the Three-Way Struggle]…

… I hadn't heard of some of these dungeons, but they were all conquered by a single party, and three of them were conquered after obtaining their peerage. They even destroyed two of the dungeons.

He conquered two dungeons dangerous enough to warrant destruction permits. In other words, he was clearly a formidable individual. Furthermore――

――"This individual's talent is guaranteed by the White Goddess."

An unsolicited note had been added.

… This is serious. When I saw that line, I froze on the spot and dropped my teacup, shattering it. Such a capable person had built a village right next to Tsuia and was developing it? And his backer was the White Goddess, a figure known to everyone in the Raverio Empire…

No matter how I look at it, this is troublesome. But now that I know, I can't just leave it alone.

Ahh, my stomach hurts. I'm probably going to lose more hair over this…

By the way, along with this information, there was also a reverse inquiry from the imperial capital to Tsuia.

It was a simple confirmation asking whether management of both Golen Village and the [Divine Pillow] under Tsuia's care was going well, but…

I'm not so much a fool that I'd miss the meaning behind such a blatant inquiry… This is telling me to use the [Divine Pillow] as a trump card and establish friendly relations. That's what it means.

Now then, what to do… Should I offer my daughter to Kehma Golen?

It's unlikely, but just in case they're different people, I'll hedge my bets and keep it as just a candidacy.

Perhaps because he's hiding his status, Golen Village's chief is listed simply as "Kehma," a commoner. And Kehma's reputation as Golen Village's chief is excellent.

They say: He's an excellent village chief and the village's top adventurer.

They say: He's a sincere man of honor who helps others.

They say: He's a man of extraordinary wisdom and capacity.

Looking at how remarkably Golen Village has developed, these reports seemed highly credible.

A place that had nothing until last year has been developed, achieving sufficient… no, astounding growth in just one winter. The dungeon mine function is being fully utilized and operations are on track… You'd need extraordinary luck and talent to pull this off.

Even without the White Goddess's backing, his abilities alone would make it worth bringing him into the family.

Well, there are also rumors of him being a lolicon, but that's not unheard of among nobles.

Anyway, I've invited him, so let's meet him in person and judge for myself.

Kehma-dono, having arrived at my estate, was a polite man with black hair and black eyes.

He had brought along a well-groomed dog beastkin slave… That would be one of his party members, Niku Kuroinu.

What a terrible name. This girl is undoubtedly the source of the lolicon rumors. Whether she's the reason he's a lolicon, or he keeps her around because he's one, I can't tell.

"Did I keep you waiting? I'm Vonodoru Tsuia. Perhaps it's easier to recognize me as the lord?"

"I'm Kehma. Pleased to meet you, Lord-sama. I wasn't waiting that long."

"Is that so?"

I'd made him wait in the room for one bell's worth of time, yet he showed not the slightest sign of anger.

… Is he a man indifferent to time, or is he simply maintaining his stance as a commoner? At the very least, the rumors about his magnanimity appear to be true.

I noticed immediately that Kehma-dono wasn't interested in the engagement with my daughter.

For Kehma-dono, a favorite of White Goddess-sama, the status of a lord's family probably holds no appeal whatsoever.

Regardless, I continued the conversation forcefully to maintain a connection. I asked about the village's scale and Kehma-dono's story. Of course, I had gathered information beforehand.

According to Kehma-dono, the whole village was probably capturing around thirty Iron Golems, but just from what we've tracked, forty golems' worth of iron ingots have been exported. Including what we haven't tracked, it should be over fifty.

Normally, village chiefs would exaggerate to increase their own value… but Kehma-dono spoke of it matter-of-factly, even understating it.

In other words, achievements of this level weren't even worth boasting about to him.

Just then, Mai arrived. I had told Mai that Kehma-dono was a marriage candidate.

My clever daughter understood from that alone that Kehma-dono was an exceptional person and seemed very interested.

I also want to bring Kehma-dono into the family. At the very least, I don't want to be his enemy.

But then Kuroinu-dono spoke up: "Regarding this proposal, please allow us to decline."

"… Kehma-dono? Is this your intention?"

A refusal this brazen. I put magical power into my glare to intimidate him, as if to say "Is my daughter not good enough?"

As a lord, and as a father whose daughter's engagement was just refused, this should be right at the line before it becomes outright hostility.

"Yes, I don't intend to marry, you see…"

But Kehma-dono didn't so much as twitch an eyebrow. This level of intimidation would make weak-willed people faint, and even shrewd merchants would break into a cold sweat with their expressions frozen stiff… What tremendous nerve.

As expected of someone the White Goddess vouches for. But at this rate, we'll become enemies. Let me steer the conversation back.

"I like that! Very well, let's respect Kehma-dono's opinion."

"To be able to state your opinion so clearly to Otou-sama… Kehma-sama, you're wonderful!"

After that, thanks in part to Mai's quick thinking, Kehma-dono agreed to remain as a marriage candidate, and after Maiodoru left the room, I explained the pretext I had prepared for borrowing his name as a fiance.

Some brat from Pavera had the audacity to say he wants to marry Mai. He wants to strengthen ties since we're now connected by the tunnel, he says… Rejected.

I've heard rumors he's a prodigy, but I don't want Mai to leave Tsuia. Golen Village is close enough that I'd allow it.

… I know it's a father's selfishness, but my daughter is just too precious.

When I hinted at the [Divine Pillow] as a reward, Kehma-dono showed surprisingly strong interest.

Since the response was favorable, pushing a little more might work.

 

 

By the way, the room I put Kehma-dono in can be observed from behind… According to my spy's report, Kuroinu-dono called Kehma-dono "Tou-sama" and acted spoiled around him, and Kehma-dono himself said they had a "parent-child relationship."

I had also heard Kehma-dono himself call her "important family," and now that I think about it, they both have black hair. That means they share hero lineage.

If those two are together, it wouldn't be strange if they were actually related by blood.

The parent-child claim is very likely true.

Kehma-dono said he's single, so he probably had some relationship in the past that he can't make public.

His daughter is named Niku and even wears a slave collar… There must be something unspeakable about it.

What have I done? Despite their circumstances, I'd said such terribly rude things to Kehma-dono and Kuroinu-dono.

There were rumors about him frequently bringing her to his room to sleep together, but if she's his daughter, that's only natural. And yet people called him a lolicon!

If possible, I'd like to sleep peacefully side by side with Mai too. Would that be possible if I were a commoner? Though there's absolutely no way I could abandon my position as lord.

… I'd like to know the details of his circumstances, but probing any further would be hostile.

I told the spy that was enough for now and had them return to normal duties.

Still, for Kehma-dono's age, his daughter seems quite grown. How old was he when he had her?

Kuroinu-dono is a dog beastkin, so her mother must have been one too, but I don't recall hearing that they mature faster.

Does that mean Kehma-dono is older than he looks? Perhaps he has not only hero blood but elven blood as well?

… Could he possibly be White Goddess-sama's…? No, surely not. Right?

 

＊ ＊ ＊

 

We entertained Kehma-dono with a dinner.

After introducing my family, our head chef (though the only other cook is a single apprentice) served a meal prepared with great care.

The head chef is Tsuia territory's pride, our top cook… or so I believe, but apparently Kehma-dono's inn serves rare and delicious dishes.

A skilled cook working at an inn on the frontier… that single fact alone feels deeply significant.

I can't tell which cook is better without comparing them directly, but there's even a possibility that chef possesses the legendary [Chef] skill that the God of Food, Ishidaka, was said to have… No, that can't be right.

The dinner conversation with Kehma-dono was quite lively and the atmosphere was good.

Though I got the impression that Kehma-dono was being considerate of us.

"Even if you're a rear guard, you can hold your own, right, Kehma-dono? How about a mock battle after dinner for exercise?"

"Hahaha, surely you jest, Rondo-sama. There are countless people better than me."

… Rondo, you're the eldest son. You should focus on administrative work rather than the front lines.

By the way, I had told everyone here by yesterday about how the White Goddess guaranteed Kehma-dono's talent and his achievements in dungeon conquest. Because of that, they were quite positive about the engagement between Mai and Kehma-dono.

Then, while drinking tea after dinner, my wife looked at me and smiled.

Ah, this is her "thinking something bad" face. I can tell because I love her.

"Oh yes, I heard Kehma-san received words of praise from the White Goddess?"

"… The White Goddess?"

Kehma-dono's right eyebrow twitched, a reaction even my intimidation hadn't managed to produce.

"Ahem! Yes, I hear Kehma-dono's inn has an onsen? The White Goddess seems to like it very much."

"Yes, that's right. I hear it's a wonderful inn?"

Waltz, you let that slip on purpose, didn't you.

Apparently she remembered me saying "We still haven't confirmed whether Kehma-dono of Golen Village and Kehma Golen from the Aristocracy Listing are the same person" and wanted to probe for certainty.

What a lovable wife. Please tell me beforehand next time.

Well, this probably helped Waltz also confirm that Kehma-dono and Kehma Golen are the same person. It only moved the needle from 98% to 99%, but…

The reason being, his reaction was clearly "How do you know about that?" Normally, being praised by the White Goddess isn't something you'd hide or forget.

Yet he hid it and questioned back, which means he has some corresponding circumstances.

Circumstances that make him hide his noble status.

Circumstances so profound that he must hide his relationship with his daughter…!

"More importantly, Kehma-dono. Having spoken with Mai, what do you think? She's a good girl, isn't she?"

"Yes, she's too good for someone like me. Wouldn't getting engaged to someone like me only damage her reputation?"

"Oh my, an engagement with Kehma-sama wouldn't be damaging at all. I'd like to know more about Kehma-sama too. Right, Otou-sama?"

Even if the engagement were to be broken off, the fact that she "had been engaged to someone the White Goddess-sama went out of her way to vouch for" might even add to her prestige.

Well, it wouldn't be completely without effect, but it wouldn't cause much damage.

"That's right. It would actually add prestige."

As a lord, I probably shouldn't say this, but if it means my precious Mai's marriage gets delayed, that's a bonus too. Just between us.