Chapter 347 - Coronation

“Your majesty, Queen Melty!”

Having come out victorious against Faubley, Melromark essentially became the world’s strongest country.

Having built up a favorable relationship with the Hero of the Shield, their relationship with Silt Welt improved, and Silt Welt’s evaluation of the new Queen was quite high.

The two countries formed an alliance as if their long years spent lashing at one another had been but a dream.

However, neither side made any changes to their slave policies.

Under the pretense that things would change someday, the two were merely in a union to rid themselves of the wave.

Having gained Faubley’s land, it was unavoidable that things like this would happen to Melromark. It became an unbelievably large country by the standards of the time.

Because of Tact’s influence, the royals that defied him had already been sent to hang.

The remaining ones, who hung onto their lives by clinging to him, experienced a sharp drop in power.

The result was that Melromark was able to take control without much issue.

Well, in a world with deep-rooted belief in the Heroes, there’s no way anyone would wage a war with the country holding all of them.

Because of the wave strengthening monsters, everyone’s in a panic trying to maintain public order as it is.

Ah, right. It’s about Shield Freiden, but after they learned that Tact had experienced defeat, they had a sudden change of heart and a bit of a shuffling of leadership.

They placed all the blame for siding with Faubley on a representative.

It’s an amazingly liberal country. When they feel the direction of the wind change, they take measures like this.

I guess all’s well that ends well.

Normally, their actions would provoke further conflict, but Trash proclaimed that now wasn’t the time for petty squabbles, and we hopped on his bandwagon.

Power is needed everywhere right now, it seems.

It’s just that we shouldn’t place too much confidence in them.

It’s not hard to see the path Shield Freiden will tread down in the near future.

By the way, while the relations between Silt Welt and Melromark were being built, a lot of money was collected from all over the place in the name of world peace.

After peace is achieved, I can see quite a few places making excuses to reclaim it.

And like that, the various actions of various countries were shaken up by Melromark’s victory.

For the general populace, it’s just that the head has changed.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Even though he technically held the blood of Faublian Royalty, Trash immediately gave up his right to the throne upon attaining it.

He proclaimed that he would work to support the country as a Hero.

As a result, the one who bore the brunt of the responsibility was his daughter, the new Queen Melty.

“Long Live Queen Melty!”

The Grand coronation of the new Queen, that takes place in Melromark, involves not only those of the country, but all the allied forces as well.

The enemy of the country, Silt Welt’s Genmu Gramps messenger claps his hands and congratulates her.

Perhaps the past Queen’s wishes have been granted, but Melty herself is…

The coronation takes place on the castle terrace that overlooks the city plaza.

As a Hero, I am also present.

Trash acts as a representative, and he stands next to the throne, crown in hand, waiting for Melty’s arrival.

“From here, we will begin the coronation ceremony for Melromark’s Queen.”

Wearing an extravagant dress that seemed ridiculously hard to walk in, Melty promenades over to Trash.

She stands in front of the throne and lowers her head to Trash in front of her.

Trash: “Now then, Melty Melromark.”

Melty: “Yes.”

We have consulted the girl for argument’s sake. She accepted the position.

She was raised as the future Queen to begin with, so she had no reason to refuse.

“Up until now, you have been working to maintain order in the land governed by the Hero of the Shield. Through your efforts, the land that had once been left to rot has become prosperous once more. It is not a simple feat. With momentum like that, I hope that you will govern our country of Melromark.”

The crowd begins raising its voices.

“From this day forth, you will accept the Duties of Melromark’s Queen and gain the title in its entirety. Henceforth, you will be known as Melty Q. Melromark.”

Melty: “I accept it graciously.”

“Then please take the crown.”

Trash balances the crown on Melty’s head before taking a step back.

“I hereby recognize Melty Q. Melromark’s rise to the throne.”

There is a moment of applause.

That goes without saying, as it is the moment a new Queen was born in Melromark.

And Melty departs from the Terrace to the plaza in order to let the populace get a better look at her. She waves her hand the whole way through.

“Long Live New Queen Melty!”

“Long Live the Queen!”

“Everlasting Prosperity to Melromark!”

The people shout out their various wishes at her.

Though she’s but a small girl, she smiles as she receives the hopes of the people all at once.

Melty: “Everyone! I am the one who has been crowned the New Queen of the country, Melty Q. Melromark. From here on, for the country and the world, let us fight together!”

“Yeah!”

Melty: “Currently, the world is forming itself into a single lump in order to combat the menace that is the wave. The previous Queen, my predecessor, wished for this, and I am also in agreement. I hereby declare that we will succeed her will!”

Deafening applause sounds out once more.

Well, that’s how the coronation went. To put it bluntly, we were done showing the girl off to the people.

“Fuuu…”

In the throne room within the castle, Melty falls back into the throne. She seems exhausted.

The Heroes, the leaders of the country, and the representatives of the allied forces got together to congratulate her.

Her fatigue is understandable.

Firo: “Mel-chan is pretty~. Everyone was cheering for you.”

Firo stands next to her, praising her.

In the honest way that a friend would.

Melty: “Thank you, Firo-chan.”

Naofumi: “You’ve sure made your way up, Melty. For the princess of a small country to become the ruler of the world’s largest must be quite a promotion. You rose up quite a way.”

I offer some cynical words of praise to Melty.

Melty: “What’s with your attitude?”

Naofumi: “Nothing really. I was just thinking of the sort of deeds Your Majesty, Queen Melty, would perform as the ruler of the world’s greatest power.”

Melty: “Good grief… why must I go through something like this…”

Melty unpleasantly grumbles to herself.

As always, her ambition is quite weak, even though her sister wanted so much power.

But, it’s not my problem.

Naofumi: “It’s going to get hectic from here on out. You’ll have to do quite a few pain-in-the-ass jobs for the people, the world… etc.”

Melty: “Isn’t that the same for you, Naofumi!”

Naofumi: “My term’s ‘til the wave’s over, while you have a life sentence. What’s more, unlike me, who just has to do well in battle, you have to do the work behind the scenes. Man, Heroes sure have it easy.”

Melty: “Mu… I’ll have you eat those words. Just watch me!”

With a stiff expression, Melty stands, raises both hands above her head, and declares.

Melty: “For his efforts in the previous war, I hereby grant the Hero of the Shield, Naofumi Iwatani, the title of Archduke!”

Wha-

Naofumi: “You bastard!”

Melty: “Ahahahahaha! You won’t get away with trying to push all the troublesome stuff onto me!”

Naofumi: “I don’t want it even if it kills me! Hurry up and retract it!”

Melty: “As if I would! This is an imperial command! Oh, I’ll add on some more.”

Oh god!

The allied forces representatives begin clapping their hands.

Why is it? She’s acting so lax, and taking on a childish attitude, but no one tries to caution her!

Trash: “Then shall I award some of the Faublian Land we gained during this war to Iwatani-dono? Currently, with the monster problems, they’re facing a bit of trouble, but you should be able to levy a tax of some sort.”

From the Shadows, Trash appears with a map, and Melty fills in the areas to be given to me.

Status is status, but this is quite a bit of land.

If I did end up staying in this world, I think I would be able to play around for the next 100 years with this much.

Naofumi: “Don’t proceed the conversation without me!”

Trash: “But Iwatani-dono, it is a fact that your efforts led us to victory in the war. If I do not award you with some form of reward, my country’s honor will be affected.”

Naofumi: “Trash! That goes for you as well!”

In fact, the biggest contributor should be him.

Without holding any heroic title, he commanded the battlefield.

Trash: “I merely acted as a representative of this country. My role hasn’t changed before, or now.”

Trash’s standing is a fact, and he’s the next most important person next to the Queen… so I guess he’s something like a manager.

But I’m still not satisfied with this.

Melty: “There are plenty of things I have for you to do, Archduke Naofumi!”

Naofumi: “Shut up! Don’t push your troubles onto me! Screw being an Archduke!”

Melty: “It’s not like I want to be Queen either!”

Raphtalia: “Um… both of you don’t have to be that angry at getting promotions…”

Raphtalia is holding her hand out towards us with an apologetic expression.

No idea what she’s talking about.

Originally, I only wanted land so that Raphtalia would have a place to spend her days in peace once I was gone.

So why is it that I have to deal with so many stacks of paper?

I guess it’s the same for Melty.

She was already fighting with the dreadful stacks at my place, but now that she’s Queen, the amount of work will increase without end. It’s easy to imagine.

I truly wonder why Witch wanted the position so much.

Did she plan to push all the work onto her retainers and party?

That sounds likely.

But reality isn’t so generous.

Naofumi: “How did the Pig King manage the country anyways?”

Not much time has passed since Tact took office, so I can’t really look to him.

I’ll bet he entrusted it to the competent women of his harem.

Trash: “Besides crucial decisions, he left it to his subordinates.”

Trash explains.

He did live in Faubley’s Royal Palace before, so I guess he has some knowledge about it.

Trash: “But a capable king who truly cares about the country and its people should take the initiative in tackling the country’s problems. Like my wife did…”

Trash stares out into the distance, and Melty goes quiet.

Well, I’ll bet she spent a long time watching her mother.

Firo: “Is it hard, Mel-chan?”

The future Queen of Filo Rials seems to be completely at ease…

Naofumi: “Yeah, a bit. Firo, you have to make sure to support Melty properly.”

Firo: “Sure! Firo will cheer for her.”

Melty: “Firo-chan, thank you…”

For having lost her mother, and having her sister, the direct cause of her mother’s death, be executed, she’s behaving all prim and proper, but Melty’s gone through a lot.

Trash has become decent, and he’s supporting her, but I’ll bet she’ll feel a bit lighter with Firo by her side.

Trash: “However, for you to award Iwatani-dono with the title of Archduke… as expected of Melty. I’m proud of you.”

Melty: “Eh? Ah!”

Melty’s making an ‘Oh Crap!’ face as she looks at me.

I believe that Archduke is the highest rank among nobles.

Well, I’m not too sure about its level within this world.

Trash: “I’m not sure if Iwatani-dono understands or not, so let me explain. In this country, an Archduke is the one whose importance is only second to the Queen. A rank denoting one’s position as the future king.”

Um… but Melromark is Matriarchal, right?

Trash was a representative when he acted as King.

Trash: “Yes, in the past, I held the title of Archduke as I acted as representative ruler.”

Naofumi: “What?”

Trash: “You still do not understand? To summarize, our majesty, Queen Melty has just acknowledged Iwatani-dono to be her fiancé.”

Naofumi: “Ge!”

Melty is covering her face and mumbling.

Her posture is screaming, ‘ah, right. I forgot.’

Trash: “Due to your position as the Hero of the Shield, we’ll need permission from Silt Welt now that we’ve formed an alliance, but… there shouldn’t be any problems, right?”

On Trash’s proposal, the Silt Welt representatives nod.

“There is no problem. As long as your side agrees to let a few of ours get married to him as well.”

Chance!

If I put Melromark at a disadvantageous situation politically, we can pretend this never happened.

Naofumi: “I refuse!”

Trash: “Is what I thought he would say, so could you, by any chance, adopt the Demi-Humans from his village, or their children–when they come around–into your royal families? We’ll permit that.”

Naofumi: “I refuse!”

“Let’s do that after we overcome the wave. I’ll leave it down to the Hero of the Shield’s generosity when the time comes.”

Uu… this is like when I was teasing Raphtalia with Sadina.

Thinking about the future, if I want to keep the village alive for as long as possible… something like that.

I have no plans of refusing at this point.

Thinking about what’s to come, the villagers, and my… when I think about it, my face turns red.

Melty: “This conversation is-”

Just when Melty is about to bring an end to it…

Trash: “But there is an individual I would like to recommend if the marriage of Iwatani-dono and Queen Melty falls through.”

Trash starts staring at Fohl.

Why is it Fohl?

Fohl: “Eh!?”

A chill runs down Fohl’s back, and he throws his head backwards.

So he doesn’t want to. Well, I guess that’s obvious.

Seeing the scene, the Genmu Gramps nodded.

Genmu: “Yes, if it’s the Hakuko’s lost memento, the Hero of the Gauntlet, I’ll bet there will be a few takers, and it will help bridge the gap between our countries.”

Naofumi: “Wait, wait, wait. Wasn’t it that the Hakuko had lost their power in your country?”

Genmu: “Taking into account the Hero of the Gauntlet’s deeds, I don’t believe it to be a bad move. Even though he contains mixed blood, it’s not that his lineage is bad or anything… also, his position of following the Hero of the Shield no matter what will gain him some acceptance.”

Fohl: “Aniki!”

Fohl’s eyes are asking me for help.

Don’t look at me with those eyes. What sort of commercial is this?

(Note: I’m not sure of the reference, but I imagine a general humane society Ad here)

Fohl is starting to look like a kitten on the verge of tears.

Melty: “Naofumi!”

Eh… if I refuse the marriage, then it looks like those two will be forcefully paired together.

But Melty will probably just keep it up in image alone, and their relationship won’t be that good.

I’m not sure if Trash wants to treasure the keepsake of his little sister, but he seems to be going out of his way for Fohl.

Trash: “Then Fohl-dono, since you worked alongside Iwatani-dono, I’ll have to award you with a title as well. In the unlikely case that something happens to me, I have to give you a position high enough that you will be able to pull this country together-”

Fohl: “Aniki! I’m seriously begging you! Please!”

Melty: “Naofumi!”

Ah, I guess there’s no choice.

Naofumi: “I get it, so calm down, okay? There’s Queen Melty’s age to consider, and her body can’t deliver children yet, correct?”

Melty: “Wha-”

Melty’s really glaring at me now.

There’s no helping it, right? If I don’t put it like this, they’re going to find some excuse to get us hitched.

Trash: “Please do not worry about that. Melty has already developed a body capable of the feat.”

Melty: “Why would father know!?”

Trash: “There was plenty written about Melty in my late wife’s memos…”

Oy, he’s trying to end this on a melancholic note.

And wait, that Queen knew about Witch’s virginity, and she knows about Melty as well?

Just how much surveillance does she have?

No, before that, why is she leaving things like that to future generations?

With one wrong step, she could embarrass them for ages to come.

Naofumi: “N-no, thinking about Melty’s body, I would like to put it off for a while. By my standards, she’s still too wet behind the ears. She’s just a child.”

I’ll leave it vague, and pretend it never happened after I return to my world.

Melty: “What did you say!? I’m already plenty an adult already!”

Naofumi: “Idiot! Be quiet!”

It was then that I remembered the standards through which people were recognized as adults around here.

As long as the parents recognized them as such, they were treated as adults.

A smile full of good intention floats on Trash’s face.

Trash: “Then there are no problems. As she has expressed her opinion, it appears that we can treat Queen Melty as a bonafide adult. And so… Iwatani-dono, I leave Melty to you. I really want to see the face of my grandchildren soon.”

Melty: “Someone please save me!”

When she’s the one who instigated it, why is she crying out for help?

Firo: “Mel-chan, do you want to run?”

Melty’s scream reaches everyone but the oblivious bird beside her.