Chapter 57 – ５７ – The Morikuni Family's Envoy and a Proposal

Debut Match Arc

“Lord Midorikawa Naruki, Lady Minasono Suzumi. Thank you very much for sparing your time for us today. I am Konoe, in charge of external affairs for the Morikuni Family.”

The Morikuni Family had moved quickly.

Indeed, only a few hours after my discussion with Ms. Morikuni, they had requested a meeting for the following afternoon, and it had come to fruition.

I found myself facing an elderly man with the surname Konoe.

Under normal circumstances, this would be problematic.

Ms. Morikuni and I are opponents in the upcoming debut match, and we are currently on the eve of that fight. For the Morikuni Family to contact me at such a timing is something that would invite suspicion from anyone watching; I wouldn’t be in a position to complain if people speculated.

And yet, they had forced this meeting through. It spoke volumes about the Morikuni Family’s power and their level of seriousness.

“Then, I shall keep the introductions brief. These are the documents regarding the engagement between Lord Midorikawa Naruki and Lady Tomoe. Please review them.”

“Understood.”

“Naru, I’ll check them too,” Suzumi said.

“I’m counting on you.”

Given the situation, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call the Morikuni Family’s actions a blatant breach of etiquette. Consequently, while the Morikuni side consisted only of Mr. Konoe and a single guard, our side included not only me and Suzu, but several teachers from the academy.

I couldn’t say for certain that these teachers were my allies… but at the very least, they would provide an impartial account to the outside world of whatever transpired here.

“…”

Now, as for the documents in question…

In conjunction with the upcoming debut match, a Duel was to be held between the Morikuni Family and myself, with Ms. Morikuni and me acting as the representatives.

If I won, Ms. Morikuni and I would be engaged, and I would be granted various benefits as a reward, including the backing of the Morikuni Family.

If Ms. Morikuni won, the entire proposal would be nullified, and the Morikuni Family would be forbidden from interfering with her future marriage prospects.

Furthermore, this Duel had already received state approval, and it was explicitly stated that the Duel itself was established regardless of my own will.

Additionally, it was written that the Morikuni Family would recognize my relationship with Suzu and the others—they would even pay child support for any children born between us—and intended to provide other conveniences for them.

Moreover, it stated that if I wished to increase the number of partners, it would be acceptable as long as they could be counted on one hand.

Ah, I see.

I feel like I’ve glimpsed a part of why Ms. Morikuni hates harems so much.

This level of pushiness, this blatant disregard for the individual in the pursuit of future gain… to put it bluntly, I hate it.

“I see. So, contrary to its name, the Morikuni Family has no intention of protecting the country.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said. Looking at these documents, it seems you only pretend to protect the nation while pursuing your own interests.”

“Now, how dare you—”

Because I found it so repulsive… I spoke clearly, my face twisted in genuine disgust.

The academy teachers didn’t seem inclined to stop me, as long as it remained a war of words.

Suzu was wearing a smile, making it impossible to tell what she was thinking, but she certainly wasn’t planning to stop me either.

Fine then. I’ll proceed.

“Let me ask you: why are you making a proposal that pits Ms. Morikuni and me against each other? Forcing a marriage through such a method looks like nothing more than a plot to destabilize the household later on. Considering the role of the Morikuni Family, such an act only weakens the nation’s defenses. It is a betrayal of the very name ‘Morikuni’.”

“What nonsense. Once Lord Midorikawa and Lady Tomoe are engaged, the stability of the nation will be guaranteed. They may clash at first, but as time passes as a married couple, naturally—”

“If you think this method will actually foster a relationship as a couple, go see a doctor immediately. You’re senile.”

“!?”

At my words, Mr. Konoe—no, the senile old man—turned beet red, his mouth hanging open, unable to utter a word.

“I’m telling you that the first step itself is impossible. For the sake of the country? For the sake of the family? Don’t make me laugh. If you truly wanted to protect those things, the absolute prerequisite would be to protect and cooperate with your own kin. Instead, you’ve not only created a crack in that foundation from the start, but you’ve practically built a grand entrance for conflict. What ‘protection’ are you talking about?”

I could feel my magical power leaking from my body.

Aware of it, I continued to speak, letting my emotions flow.

“The other proposals are the same. The ‘rewards’ for me are rewards in name only. In reality, they are a collar and feed to keep me as a lapdog. And the scope of this extends not just to Suzu and the others, but to a future that doesn’t even exist yet. And you expect me to work to protect the country with this? It sounds more like you’re telling me to work toward the country’s destruction.”

“…!”

The senile old man tried to retort.

But I had no intention of letting him.

I glared at him with everything I had, silencing him.

“Suzu. We’re sending almost all of this filth they call ‘rewards’ back. Is that okay?”

“If that’s what Naru decided, I shall follow.”

“Good. Then, even if I win, the Morikuni Family is to refrain from any further interference with Ms. Morikuni. I will only allow it if Ms. Morikuni herself desires it.”

“Yes, yes,” Suzu chirped.

“Furthermore, this is merely a promise of marriage. Therefore, if circumstances change, I reserve the right to annul it at any time. However, let me make it clear now: if I choose to annul it, it will not be because I dislike Morikuni Tomoe as an individual, but because the Morikuni Family behind her is not worthy of trust.”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Suzu added.

“Since this is also a request from the state, I will fight the Duel seriously. And I’ll take the money, just so people don’t say I’m being unreasonable. But beyond that, I have absolutely no intention of allowing any direct interference with us in the future. This is because I cannot trust a family that gave up on Persuasion so easily and resorted to a Duel over something this trivial.”

“What… this is…!?”

“I don’t care, senile. You dared to put unnecessary conditions on someone’s debut match, a sacred Duel. You should be grateful I’m letting you off with just this.”

Suzu rewrote the documents and shoved them back.

The fact that the academy teachers didn’t interfere even after I went this far suggested they didn’t have a very high opinion of the Morikuni Family’s methods.

“One last thing. I will fight the Duel with all my might. But that is all. Whether I win or Morikuni Tomoe wins, I will not permit the Morikuni Family to interfere with us. Do I make myself clear?”

With that, I stood up and left the room.

✧

“Sigh… That was impossible. If one even thought about trying to control him, they’d go past a burn and end up a charred corpse. Honestly, why did the Master make such a foolish proposal? Now he’s been hated by both Lady Tomoe and Lord Midorikawa.”

In the room after Naru had departed, Konoe sighed.

“We should investigate who actually made that proposal. If it was the judgment of the Family Head himself, we must revise our system to include a safety buffer so this never happens again. This proposal was truly that poor. It was as if desperation had taken physical form.”

One of the teachers, who hadn’t uttered a word while Naru was present, spoke up.

“I can understand the feeling of desperation, though. In truth, Ms. Morikuni is the only one who can call herself a child of the Morikuni Family, and dealing with the unreasonable Duel requests from foreign nations is a pain without the family’s support. Still, they went too far this time, so I support Naru.”

Suzu, having finished fiddling with the button on her chest—which housed a listening device—reiterated her support for Naru.

“But I think this incident proved that there’s no need to force Naru into control. In fact, I think it’s more advantageous for your side to let him be free. After all, if you look at Naru’s Masked Form, you’ll see that he is fundamentally a protector. So, as long as no one does anything unnecessary, he’ll help as much as he can and naturally attract people to him.”

“It seems so. Moreover, Lord Midorikawa did not seem to dislike Lady Tomoe herself. And Lady Tomoe likely doesn’t hate him from the bottom of her heart either. In that case, the best chance of success is for the outsiders to stay silent, watch over them, and simply wait. Knowing that alone makes being called ‘senile’ worth it.”

Suzu spoke with a smile.

Konoe spoke with a somewhat refreshed expression.

There wasn’t a trace of the tension that had filled the room moments ago.

“Though, the most reassuring element might be Lady Minasono’s presence rather than Lord Midorikawa’s. I wonder just how much she has grasped at her age.”

“Fufu. Thank you.”

“However, that is precisely why I wish to ask. Why do you devote yourself so much to Lord Midorikawa?”

At Konoe’s words, the smile vanished from Suzu’s face, and a faint leak of magical power emanated from her.

“Because I love him. It’s as simple as that. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Conveying that any further prying would be sheer tactlessness, Suzu left the room.

“Sigh… For now, shall we send warnings to the other influential families and corporations? Telling them that Lord Midorikawa is not someone to be managed, and that they should not even think of trying to use him.”

“Sigh… Yes. From the academy’s perspective, we would agree that is for the best. Including his surroundings, he is far too well-guarded; anyone who tries to take advantage of him will not get away unscathed.”

And so, peace finally returned to the room.

Incidentally, the listening device was transmitting to three people: Ichi, Marie, and Tomoe.