Isekai GM 19. Nobility

The next few days were quite a pain.

When I visited Paddle in the tavern inn, they were having a party.
Marines and pirates were eating and drinking shoulder to shoulder
Apparently, the Marines wanted to repay their gratitude by holding a banquet for us.

When both Adelle and I arrived at the bar and told them that we got noble ranks and a mansion, the party grew even larger.
The inn’s owner also greeted us in high spirits.

「The Hero of the Blue Sea has come to my inn! Let’s throw a huge party! Oi, bring out more food and sake to serve!!」

When I told my men and the marines that I became the kingdom’s official pirate, all of them were surprised but they quickly shook hands and hugged each other.

「That’s right that’s right! If there are some bastard pirates, there must be some good ones like you guys! Let’s do our best to protect the kingdom from now on!」
「Ou! Never expected Big Boss to join the aristocracy, Big Boss’ true power is truly ridiculous! We are asking for your support as well, fellow brothers in arms!」

Barbarossa responded to a veteran with a lot of battle scars.
Both of them have beer mugs in one hand and other’s shoulder in the other.
The men of the sea indeed get along great with each other. It’s nice to build a good relationship.

And in the morning, most of them were completely useless because of their hangovers.

***

The next day, I visited the house that Earl Allan mentioned… but it’s a ridiculous mansion.
It was at the corner of the nobles residential area, but it has a fountain and a big garden. It was an undeniably beautiful mansion.

「It’s obviously not a house…」

The mansion I imagined is more normal… Just regular big house with a garden. However, what I get is a millionaire mansion like those I used to see on TV.

「This used to be where His Majesty’s younger brother lived… where Adelhide’s father lived…」
「My father’s…」

It seems nobility are fussy about their manors, and there’s a bunch of people who want such extravagant mansion in spite of becoming nobles not too long ago. (TL: Thanks, Tobikage)
This mansion was previously owned by Adelhide’s father.
Since the royal palace maintained it, and the daughter of the previous owner works for me, the other nobles won’t say a word if his majesty gave this mansion to me as a reward for protecting the kingdom. (TL: taking some liberty here. Giving more rational excuse)

Everyone in my pirate group were given good vacant houses near the sea and lived there. It seems they already made friends with the neighbors and often go out drinking and training.

After a few days of moving and cleaning, right now Claudia, Adelle, and I were staying at Adelle’s father’s mansion…

Well, now it’s my mansion, so I’m relaxing at the Toudou residence after a long time.

The reason why there are 2 women at my house is easy.
Since I established my noble status, other nobles and merchants quickly offered their daughters or sisters either as a bride or a concubine.

I don’t have any harem desire in particular. Just one wife is hard enough to handle, what are you going to do with multiple of them?
The main factor was my age. I’m now 28 years old.
They said that I’m too late for marriage in this world.

Earl Allan said something along the line Why don’t you just marry the 2 woman around you?

I almost spit out my coffee.

In this world, polygamy is common and Earl Allan himself has 4 wives.
While I was enduring the torture as I refused wife offer and mistress offer, I was being suspected of having a single-digit-aged girl fetish or over-50-year-old woman fetish.

The damage was real.
My heart started wavering.

Before some rumors about me being homosexual started to spread, I tried asking the girls for help.

「Well, right now we’re at war with the empire. I haven’t been thinking about marriage at all, but…」
「So which one of us will be the wife or the mistress?」
「Ah. I’ll be glad even if you just pretend to be my wife」

It’s only been a couple of weeks since we met. Far from marriage, we haven’t even gone on date yet.
Both of them think for a while… their faces are serious.

「Well… I… personally… don’t mind…」
「Eh? Pretending to be my wife?」
「No, not that. Not pretending but being married for real…」

Adelle blushed and nodded.
Marrying Adelle for real…

「Declaring to be a first wife eh… Then I don’t mind being the second wife. I didn’t say anything but my parents are nobles in the Yamato Country, so it should be fine」
「Et tu, Brutus!!?」
「Who the hell is Brutus?」

(ED: The “et tu, Brute” were Julius Caesar’s last words as Brutus/Brute stabbed Caesar and finished him)

「That’s not important. But this is the first time I’ve heard that you’re a noble」
「But… The noble obligations are troublesome, that’s why I ran away from home. So I think it’s nice to be able to settle down in a place like here」
「Is… Is that so…」

Anyway, Claudia Fyura is just a fake name, and her real name is Yoko Izanami.
It seemed like Yamato Country is a maritime nation who has been secluding themselves until recently.

Since she said I can call her with either name, I decided to call her with her original name.
She would blush and turn away whenever I called her Yoko.
I think she looked cute when she blushed when called with her long-abandoned name without honorifics.

I somehow got an OK from these two.
Even though I felt overwhelmed, it also didn’t feel realistic… right now, I have 2 beauties as brides.
It would be a path leading to a bad end in the real world… but I want to make these two as happy as I can.
I imagined a happy future but quickly change it.

「Thank you, both of you. But right now… can we keep it as… fiancée? Since you know… We are currently at war… I want the proper ceremony after it becomes peaceful」
「You have a point… That’s not a bad idea」
「It’s not like I don’t want to marry immediately, but I don’t mind it either」

Both of them agreed. I know it seemed that I was leaving them hanging… But we have a war to finish.

For the sake of these two.

When I announced my fiancée around the neighborhood, people stopped pushing marriage proposals onto me.
I also refused anyone who wanted to join my pirate crew, since my current quantity and quality are enough.
As a baronet, my military strength is strong enough and I’m quite strong myself.

So now, I’m living in the mansion with Adelle and Claudia (Yoko) as my fiancées.
Once you become a noble, there are restrictions to some extent.
Since we’re at war, we need to contribute in making strategies and be prepared to move immediately.

Everyone in the pirate group were assisting with a sea patrol task.
It seemed our Roxas will help us bond with the marines by cooking delicious food on the marine ship. 『Catching them by their stomach』

Even though we don’t spend time together as much as before, I still contact them in the morning and evening.
Even like this, I’m still the Big Boss.
Minor details like this are important as well.

***

Calming myself down to a certain extent, in the Toudou Residence, we are now waiting for a visitor.

「I made some coffee. This magic artifact called 【Coffee Maker】 is sure useful」
「To be frank, I didn’t think that it would really be that useful」
「Since coffee can be drunk anywhere in the Kingdom… but I can only drink cold beer here and I think this is amazing!」
「Don’t you dare to drink any alcohol. The prince is coming」
「I know! I know!」

Today, the prince is visiting. Yesterday, a butler from the royal palace came to announce that the prince is coming.

「But what does the prince want to talk about?」
「That prince is someone who likes to stand at the frontline. It might be some sort of strategy meeting」
「Since naval combat is completely dominated by Masaki, maybe this time we will talk about land combat」

The sea has settled quite a bit since then.
The Empire’s ships were reduced significantly so that even the neighboring countries can also deal with them.

When I checked the 【Map】, I could see 2 people passing through the gate and heading to the entrance.
Let’s see who they are… It’s the prince… but who is the one next to… oh, it’s Jirou.

Jirou the Shinobi looked like any ordinary soldier.
His face blended in with the people around him… such that only a vague impression was left. (TL: Thanks, elephantNo5)
The earl used up all his sober mind to tell me that information.

When I saw the two, I brought both Adelle and Yoko to greet them at the entrance.
The sound of knocking could be heard and Adelle opened the door.

「Welcome, Prince Leon. Jirou-dono. We were waiting for you」
「Baronet Masaki, you seem to be fine. You survived the flooding marriage proposal from the nobles and the merchants」
「Yes, since I took both of them as my fiancées, everything has calmed down. We will hold the ceremony after the war has ended」
「Is that so? Once the war with the empire has ended, this continent will be a lot more peaceful. And our conversation today will take us closer to that day」

So it is a strategy meeting. I’m the same. I don’t want to prolong the war any longer. There’s nothing better but ending it as soon as possible.

「I understand. I’ll show you to the guest room」

***

「So this is the magic called【Room】. It sure looks amazing」

Prince Leon is Adelle’s older brother, so he’s quite trustworthy. That’s why I decided to tell him about the 【Room】.

「The taste of good old coffee… I never thought that I could enjoy this taste again」

Jirou was deeply impressed with the taste of coffee from the coffee maker, it was the first time he experienced the taste again after such a long time. (TL: coffee from coffee maker is not the same as the manually grinded one, but I prefer the manual grind)

「I’ll treat you whenever I can. There’s also a beer tap so you can enjoy a cold beer」
「Eeeh!! Please do!」

Jirou leaned forward on the table.
Of course, you can drink beer in this world, but it’s lukewarm.
As both of Jirou and I agreed, beer is best served cold.

「Jirou, does a cold beer taste that good?」
「Yes Sir! I am sure the prince would like it as well!」
「I see. Even so, I’d like to finish this matter first. Are you fine with it?」
「How thoughtless of me… I apologize for my misbehavior」

I’ll treat the prince and Jirou some beer and karaage later, maybe I’ll prepare some fried fish as well.
Let’s add the devilish combo into the prince’s menu!

「Masaki, about my business here. I’d like you to participate in the operation to recapture a fort from the Empire sometime soon」
「Recapturing a fort… What is my role in the operation?」
「There’s a nasty person in the fort. I’d like you to attack and attract his attention. You were not even fazed when fighting the Leviathan, therefore, dear father had recommended you for this task. So, can you do it?」
「A decoy right? I think I suit that role well. But who is this nasty person?」

Counter-measures will change depending on the enemy.
It’s better to gather information in advance.

「Let me continue first. There are things that I wanted to tell Masaki-dono as well. Masaki-dono… no… The 『Game Master』 of Britannia Online, Toudou Masaki」

「!?」

Jirou dropped the bomb.
I never tell anyone about the name of the MMO I was worked as Game Master.
But this person in front of me knows it.
If this information spread, there’s a high chance that they can guess the abilities that I kept hidden.

I regret not being careful and watched this person in maximum vigilance.
The air instantly turned heavy, it was a sign of a fight.
Both Adelle, Yoko, and the prince were puzzled at the unexpected change in the air and couldn’t move.
But Jirou broke the heavy air.

「Please don’t be so cautious. I guess I need to introduce myself once more」

Jirou presented a dark brown notebook. The book looked like deteriorated after a long period of time.
Inside the bottom frame was an emblem shining gold, it was covered with a vinyl and some familiar words were written there.

「National Police AgencyーLife Safety Division. Chief of Missing People Countermeasure Department. Police Department. Tanaka Jirou… That’s my position 20 years ago. In search for the missing person since 7 March 2020, Masaki Toudou-san」