Momiji started the day hostile toward us, but that had presumably changed now. Should we maybe work this out just with the people directly involved?
As I debated with myself over how to broach the topic, the tengu aide took out a sealed envelope.
“There is also the matter of this. Our elder, Lady Kaede, has this letter for you, Lord Rimuru.”
He respectfully handed it to me. Rigurd accepted it, and Shuna handled opening and reading it. It began with the sort of verbose, convoluted greetings you often saw in royal correspondence, probing me a bit to guess at where my disposition was, but grew less formal as it went on. Shuna’s face contorted in confusion as she read on.
“‘…I know things are complicated, and there have been a few misunderstandings, but I hope you will treat my daughter well. I remind you of what she told me about making Sir Benimaru turn toward her. I am sure she is not against the idea—’”
Wait, are you sure this letter’s for me?! It really doesn’t sound that way! If I had known it contained stuff like this, I would have dismissed my staff…but it was too late for that now.
“M-Mother?!!”
Momiji leaped back to her feet, snatching the letter out of Shuna’s hands. Rude of her, but I’d just pretend I didn’t see it. Couldn’t blame her. If I were Momiji, I don’t know what I would’ve done, either. This goes beyond infamy and straight into humiliation.
“So… So there were two letters?! Mother, why can’t you be more careful…?”
She slumped back down again. Aha. Kaede must’ve put a message for Hakuro in the letter to me. The tengu aides surrounded Momiji, trying their best to assuage her, but it only had the opposite effect. Times like these, it’s best to just leave people in peace.
“Heh-heh… That’s just like her.”
Hakuro, smirking, walked up to Momiji, taking the crumpled-up letter out of her hand and giving her a nod.
“I see… ‘She has a great deal of strength but is still lacking in technique. As a fellow student of the sword, and as her father as well, I hope that the Sword Ogre will deign it worthy to offer her training and instruction. From your ever-loving Kaede.’ So she still likes me, eh? Heh-heh! Ah, how lucky I am to live to see this day.”
His smile couldn’t have been more sincere.
“F-Father…?”
“Mm-hmm. My name is Hakuro, and I am your father.”
“Father!!”
Momiji’s dark eyes, reminiscent of Hakuro’s, teared up as she hugged him tightly. Father and daughter were reunited. The girl, no longer wary of us, would never doubt Hakuro’s words again.
“I must warn you, Momiji, I am a hard taskmaster on the training grounds.”
“Yes…”
“But I want to see you overcome your challenges and win the heart of Benimaru!”
“Yes, Father!”
Um, what…?
Here I was, nodding my approval at this lovely little family reunion, and now the conversation was going kind of haywire. Talk about bridging a major gap. Hakuro, usually gruff and reserved even in the best of times, suddenly had a daughter…and it turned him into a weepy, doting parent.
“Uh, Hakuro…”
Benimaru’s words failed to reach him. He and Momiji were in their own little world.
“Oh, now I see,” Shuna murmured.
Everyone’s eyes turned toward her. She paid it no mind as she addressed Benimaru, who was looking straight at her.
“My brother, I have a message for you from Sir Alvis.”
“What is it?” a pained-looking Benimaru said.
I could get how he felt. He must’ve been thinking “Please, let’s do this later,” but Shuna was staring at him with a distinct lack of emotion in her eyes.
The message, given with Alvis’s accent, was this:
“‘Sir Benimaru, I have made up my mind. I intend to defeat Lady Momiji in battle and take the right to be your wife for myself—but even in the worst-case scenario, I could always be a concubine, couldn’t I? Either way, I refuse to give up, so prepare yourself!’”
My staff chattered with one another, their curiosity raging.
…
Benimaru just crossed his arms in silence. I’m sure he wanted to bury his head in his hands, but I have to give him props for not doing it. Or maybe it’s more like he was frozen in place, unable to move or speak. Unbeatable in battle, maybe, but powerless against “threats” like these—we’d just discovered an unexpected weak point of Benimaru’s.
Sorry, man. As someone without much experience in love—not zero experience, but not much—I doubt there’s much I can do to help.
“Man, life’s sure hard when women are attracted to you, huh?” I tried.
“Sir Rimuru,” Gobta said reproachfully, “are you serious? Because I think you face some of the same issues…”
Don’t be silly, Gobta. I’m genderless now, remember?
“Eh-heh-heh-heh-heh… I have no interest in silly romance. To me, Sir Rimuru is everything.”
I didn’t ask you, Diablo. If you have no interest, then leave me alone, okay?
But even as I thought this, I could hear my staff gossiping.
“Sir Benimaru is rather popular, is he not? I believe some of the people under my sister Soka’s command had taken a liking to him, too, but compared with Lady Alvis and Lady Momiji, I’m not sure I like their chances.”
“You mean Toka, Gabil? And maybe Saika?”
“Right, right. They’ve already given up on you, Sir Soei, what with Soka staking her claim already…”
“Oh, don’t be silly!”
“No, it’s true!”
“Wow, it’s like a harem, huh? I’m so jealous!”
Come to think of it, Gobta had a point there, in the end. I began to wonder if this was the start of an envious romantic rivalry between Benimaru and him. But still, Alvis was a beautiful, reliable woman. Momiji was a little headstrong but still a nice little-sister type. Between them and all the other girls aiming for a chance, Gobta was right—Benimaru did have something of a harem going. Not that he wanted one…
“A harem, eh?” remarked Gabil. “Yes, that would make anyone jealous.”
“Well, not so fast,” Soei replied. “Benimaru is something of
