131. Princess of the Cave (Former), Princess Ponkotsu 1
(Note: Well, the t.i.tle is [Gankutsu Oujo Aratame, Ponkotsu Oujo], just like the previous t.i.tles, [Princess of the Cave] = [Gankutsu Oujo] and [Ponkotsu Oujo] have similar rhyme in j.a.panese. [Ponkotsu] = [Junk] so I wanted to write [Princess of the Junk/Trash] to match the rhyme, but it sounds so misleading in English slangs. So that"s what the origin of [Princess Ponkotsu]. End of note)
"It is said that Viscount Yamano came to our country to spread the word, and at the same time, had a sublime purpose to introduce the products of her home country and promote trades. And that"s why she set up a shop in the city center to introduce those products…" (Count)
The eyes of the guests are glimmering. Maybe they"re thinking that the [products] include pearls, gems, and other lucrative items. And that the source of those product is a country that produces a large amount of jewelry, which is cheap and circulate widely…
"Now then, Viscount Yamano, if you please!" (Count)
Uwaah, don"t quiver now of all time, Me!!
…But it can"t be helped, can it? What do I have to say, after all that? Impossible.
Alright, Let"s just gloss things over…
"Greetings, Dear Guests, my name is Viscount Mitsuha von Yamano. I came from a distant country that you probably don"t really know. As for the story of my home country, I will fill you in if there is another opportunity… That aside, I would like to thank the host family for inviting me to this party, also for introducing me to everyone here. I"m hoping that we will get along. From now on. please take care of me…" (Mitsuha)
Keep the greetings as simple as possible, and do not even mention my home country. Yeah, Well done.
After that, I will select those who are valuable to me, such as…
Or that what was I thinking, but before I realized, many people surrounded me around as I was trying to return to Mitchan, and they all talked at once.
"Let me introduce myself, I am Viscount Segour. Although our homeland is different. I"m hoping to have friendship in the same virtue…" (V. Segour)
"My name is Count Ralto. Our house always welcomes a beautiful foreign lady such as you. By all means, please visit so then we can talk about the exchanges between the two country…" (C. Ralto)
"I"m Count Beanvict. Please come to our Beanvict house and we shall talk regarding the trade…" (C. Beanvict)
People keeps talking to me one after another….
"I"m Marquis Mitch.e.l.l. It looks like my daughter owes you one…" (M. Mitchel)
… wait, Mitchan"s dad?
Aaahhh, his eyes aren"t laughing!! Are you angry because you"re involved in a strange faction?
Dangerous!
When I thought so, I was unknowingly leaking words from my mouth, in a posture where I"m looking upwards because of height differences.
"…teasing me?" (M. Mitchel)
Aaaahh, just why did you run your mouth carelessly, Me!!! It was a small animal"s dialogue from a manga I read a long time ago!
Baffled. Stunned. Appalled.
Mitchan"s father is hardened with an unfamiliar expression, that no one know how to describe it.
The surrounding people are also frozen, and the silence is spreading.
… What do I do…
After about 10 seconds, the world finally recovered.
No, 10 seconds in such a case is too long! It"s already a long time! It"s an infinite length, comparable to eternity! !
Well, anyway, Mitchan"s dad finally restarted, too.
"… I-I"m not teasing you…." (Mitsuha)
Why do you bother to freeze again at this point, even though you already thawed before!
Finally, he was thawed again, and the conversation resumed. For some reason everyone is listening to our conversations, so there is no fuss from the surrounding.
"I"m sorry, somehow it seems Mitchan has been in a weird position…" (Mitsuha)
"Mitchan? Are you referring to my daughter, Micheline?" (M. Mitchel)
Ah……. Speaking of which, Marquis Mitch.e.l.l is also Mitchan.
I-It"s no use, bear it! I have to endure this!!
This, Strict bearded uncle, Mit, Mitchan. Mitchan…
No, It"s hopeless!
"Buhaha, Bwahahaha!!" (Mitsuha)
Impossible! It"s impossible!!
Mitchan"s dad, who glanced at me as I started laughing, apparently inferred my path of thinking from my appearance. Gradually making his face red…
"Uwahahahaha!" (M. Mitchel)
And a laughing voice that can be heard from the side, unbefitting of a lady.
"Ahahahaha! Mi-Mitcha… ahahahaha!" (Mitchan)
Apparently, Mitchan seemed to understand why I blew out.
Only Mitchan and Mitchan"s dad understand me.
Thought patterns are the same. The points of laughter are also the same.
…No, How can it be?
Finally, the laughter subsided, and we had a chat in the corner of the venue.
“That was a good laugh. It"s been a long time since the last time I laughed enough to think I would die… In addition, I"m not sure when the last time I heard Micheline"s hysteric laughter… " (M. Mitchel)
For some reason, the Marquis seemed most happy to see Mitchan laugh.
Can the daughter of the Marquis open her mouth and laugh in front of a large number of n.o.bles? Normally, one would conceal her mouth with a folding fan and laugh like [ufufu], right?
…Tte, I"m more or less a n.o.ble too!! Moreover, a t.i.tle bearer at that!!
Well, let"s not think too deeply about it.
At the moment, the Marquis is monopolizing me, but there seems to be no one here with higher rank than Marquis Mitch.e.l.l. The party"s organizer is the Count, and president-san of the bank can provide information relatively easily at most to the Count.
Marquis Mitch.e.l.l learnt that there is a birthday for a young lady whose age happens to be close with his daughter, thinking that it might be a chance for his daughter who happens to have few friends to make a friend, and forcibly brought Mitchan who seemed reluctant halfway through here. And that what leads us into today"s event.
And the fact that Mitchan, as well as the Marquis, is together is another reason why n.o.bles can"t break into our conversations. One would be suspicious of adult, not just aristocratic, who bothers children who just getting along with each other.
But, as expected, it seems to be the limit soon. Apparently, the n.o.bles are trying to launch their children as missiles.
"Viscount Yamano-sama, it"s a pleasure to meet you…" (n.o.ble girl)
Here it comes…
I don"t know if they"re children of the Count or Baron, but they"re just [n.o.ble children] who currently have no t.i.tle. I, on the other hand, call myself a Viscount, and everybody imagines my parent to be higher than a Count. And they don"t know whether if I"m calling myself a Viscount because I was the successor of a House that is higher that Count"s, or if it"s because I was given one of the parents" second or third rank.
That"s because I didn"t talk anything about my hands, but I guess they also don"t want to dig into what I don"t want to talk to. Maybe they think that I don"t want talk about my parents because I want to achieve on my own feat rather than using my parents" influence. Well, if they think that way, I"ll be grateful for that misunderstanding.
In the first place, I don"t know if my home country grants women the right to inherit the t.i.tle, too.
…… No, it"s recognized in our country though. If there are no male between their children, or if the boy was disowned, an exception will be added.
Ah, come to think of it, I always referred Zagreus Kingdom, the country that the [general store Mitsuha] is in, as [Our country].
Well, j.a.pan is also [My country]. But it"s not just because I received the t.i.tle, but the people who are important to me lives in Zagreus Kingdom, my dearest country…
But then, what about this country?
The friendly soldier-kun, President-san, Mitchan, Mitchan"s dad, and the others who have met, talked, and took care of me so far…
…Enemy country?
No, indeed, for our country, it is now an [enemy country we are in war with]. But people in this country don"t know that fact at all.
But if we can avoid real wars and full-scale battles, we may be able to bring friendly relations. ….. Though the [Possibility] is not so high.
Well, new continents, new territories, large numbers of slaves, and gold and silver treasures. with such a mountain of treasure laying in front of the n.o.bles, politicians, and merchants where they can easily occupy it, there"s no real reason to not to.
Military soldiers too, will not miss the perfect opportunity to gain credit. Of course, they are determined to actively invite battle invasions.
After all, you have no choice but to prepare for an armed invasion. And before that, we have to delay the exposure of our country, or even our continent, as much as possible, to earn time, and prepare in the meantime. That"s the only option we got…
"Mitsuhsama, Micheline-sama, pleased to meet you. I am Aimia of Count Eriburg"s house!" (Aimia)
"I am, Baron Gellam"s…" (?)
Yeah, girls and boys coming one after another.
Marquis Mitch.e.l.l could not disturb the fellowship between children and left quietly.
Mitchan, who is not good at this, also tried to escape, but I firmly grasped her arm and did not release her.
… I won"t let you go!