Chapter 72: CH 72

My feelings are solidified, so I call King Zeno, Mifa’s father, and he agrees to announce our engagement at today’s closing ceremony.

He immediately came to my room. He looks even happier than Mifa…….

“Thank you, Luke! You’ve made up your mind well! Well, actually, the ministers were so noisy that I was having a hard time~.”

He looks really happy, though his tone is still friendly and light.

“♪ It seems that the ministers were rushing him to get Master quickly married to Princess Mifa before he was taken back to his own country.”

The ministerial position is not a one-man job. The Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Military Affairs and so on, all of whom came in turn and urged him.

“Father, Are the ministers against me marrying Master Luke?”

“Mifa, it’s the other way around. Luke’s father, King Julius has contacted the ministers saying, ‘Give me back my son!’ The ministers are desperate to keep the divine beast and the ancient dragon in this country at all costs.”

I knew they were more important than me!

It’s said that even a single ancient dragon can wipe out a country. …… No country would be foolish enough to start a war against a country with such a dangerous dragon. It’s only natural that they want to keep it in their own country.

“Ah, I’m sorry about my father.”

“No, I think I would act the same way if our positions were reversed. So, I’ll make a formal announcement at the closing ceremony, is that all right?”

“Yes, please give me Princess Mifa. I will take care of her for the rest of my life.”

“Yes, take good care of my daughter!”

“I’m so happy to hear your beautiful words, steki♡  (so handsome).”

Mifa, who was listening beside me, looked so happy. It seems that it was good that I said, ‘I will take care of her for the rest of my life’.

The only thing I’m concerned about is my position and how I will be treated in the future.

“So, how will I be treated in the future? If I get married to Mifa, the story of my being “groomed” by the duke’s family will be dropped, won’t it?”

“I guess so. I think it will be in the form of your family name being established in this country and Emilia marrying into your family as your second wife. The main dignitaries of the country are discussing this matter tonight, and I think the issue will be whether to make you a territory owner or to give you a mansion in the capital and just a title.”

“Ummm, I’m too lazy to manage a territory or something like that, so I think I’ll just take the knighthood ……”

“”No! It’s definitely good to own a territory!””

“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden”　

When I said I didn’t want a territory, not only Mifa, but also Emilia, Iris, Erica, and Natalie intervened, saying they wanted to have a fiefdom.

“The title of Master Luke is guaranteed by his followers, but that doesn’t leave anything for the children who will be born.”

The children’s future…… Mifa is already thinking that far ahead, isn’t she?

“Yes! The servants are contracted to you, Master Luke and will not be inherited by the children. If that were the case, the children would have to defend the family name on their own merit alone. But however much there is a hereditary system, the higher the title, the more merit to the country is required.”

This is Iris’s supplementary explanation.

“I see…so if I have a territory, I can contribute to the country by cultivating the land, increasing the number of farmers and paying a per capita tax on food and other things, right?”

“Yes. The number of generations of successors to the title is very different if you do not have a territory. Without that, the children will have to work hard to get a civil or military position.”

Actually, I don’t know much about the hereditary system because Luke didn’t have any knowledge of this kind of thing.

“To be honest, I don’t know much about the hereditary system. ……What’s the succession generation frequency?”

“”……””

“Luke, you know that the state pays you for your knighthood, don’t you?”

“Yes, I know that. The higher the knighthood, the more money you get, right?”

“Yes, as far as the base salary is concerned. The amount of money that can be hired for each title is determined in order to avoid the situation where a person with a high title cannot hire even a single servant. A frontier count, for example, faces a border or an area with many monsters and beasts and has soldiers to protect him, so the amount is added according to the level of threat.”

“I see. Nobles without vassals are underestimated by the people.”

“If the nobles are no longer respected by the commoners, they have no value in existence. But even if the government pays them a salary, a few houses every few years can’t afford to hire a squire because of debt! If a family falls that far, they have no choice but to be stripped of their titles.”

“They’re called fallen aristocrats.”

“Yes, that’s right. The state has an upper limit to the amount of money it can pay for a knighthood because it cannot afford to be in the red. In other words, there is an upper limit to the number of knighthoods and the higher the amount paid, the fewer the number of knighthoods.”

“What are the most generous titles?”

“From the top, there are grand dukes, dukes, marquises, counts, countesses, viscounts, barons, baronet, medal and knight.”

“I don’t know what a grand duke and a Knight are…..”

“A knighthood is an honorary title given to those who have distinguished themselves among knights. The baronet is an honorary title given to those who have distinguished themselves among the knighthoods. But because it is an honorary title, it cannot be passed down through generations. The Grand Duke is much the same, an honorary title bestowed on a family that has performed exceptionally well within the dukedom of an honorary knighthood as the king’s brother.”

Duke Guile has done a great job of sweeping away the corrupt nobility and bringing his territory into multiple prosperity, and will soon become a grand duke.

“He is soon to become a grand duke. So which title am I going to get?”

“You were originally going to be a marquis, but I think you’ll probably be a duke. Some of the ministers even said that you should be given a grand duke. The influence of the divine beast, the ancient dragon, and the holy beast is so great.”

“Is there an upper limit to the number of dukes?”

“There is…… In fact, this is what worries me the most. Since they are of direct royal blood, they are paid a large amount in order to provide them with the living conditions they deserve.”

“If there is an upper limit on the number of dukes, then when there is a generational change in kings, some will not receive duke titles if they have many siblings. What about that?”

“The maximum number of duke titles is 20. In fact, there are more dukes than marquises. That is where the number of succeeding generations comes into play. If the duke title is hereditary, the number of dukes will continue to increase, so the duke title is limited to three generations after ordination. Up to 3 generations are guaranteed, but the house that has not contributed to the country in the meantime is stripped by the 4th generation. The degree of demotion is determined by the level of contribution of the family, so the family with a territory has an advantage.”

“So there are several duke families created at the time of the king’s accession, but in the meantime they are demoted and some slots are left open…….”

“The princes who will be the first of the duke families receive advanced imperial studies at the royal castle, so most of them are excellent. But I don’t know if they grow up spoiled, but the second and third generations often cause problems and are demoted or stripped of their titles…… It’s a real problem.”

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Currently, there are only 12 dukes in the country.

It’s a hereditary system, but the assessments seem to be very strict when it comes to duke titles.

It’s only natural, since the amount paid is so large.

* * * *

The “Summoning Ceremony,” which began in the afternoon, ended around 3:00. As I expected, there were not many people who could do it at the school or the Adventurers’ Guild, where there were many spectators. If you summoned an orc or something, everyone would laugh at you. Most of the public go to the royal castle or church, where there are no spectators.

The headmaster’s speech is currently being given as the entire school looks on.

“This has been an unusually bountiful year. The wyverns and drakes alone are a great thing, but the summoning of divine beasts and ancient dragons is a world first….. As far as I know, there have only been three cases of holy beasts summoned by Her Highness the Princess. Then, let’s close the meeting by introducing the summoned followers of rank B or higher. First of all, I summoned Pippi-chan the wyvern!”

It seems that only the demonic beasts of B class or higher will be presented in the order in which they were summoned.

The actual “B” class and above demonic beasts are summoned in order to be unveiled in the order in which they are summoned.

Of course, my Diana is also growing as a dragon ……, which stands out as one of the biggest and most conspicuous.

The fact that there is no one behind me means that no B or higher class monsters were summoned in the general section.

“♪ Master, I want the spider silk of Arachne. Could you please call out to the summoner beside me and negotiate with him to see if he will give it to me?』/

“What are you going to do with spider silk? 』/

“♪ There are many ways to use it. Depending on the thickness of the thread, it can be used for clothes, fishing line, etc. 』/

“Fishing Line……I like it! 』/

So, I look at the one who summoned Arachne….. and they are getting along so well!

What’s with the “I can’t have that kind of relationship with a spider woman”!

He’s already screwed up!　He’s already lost it! Just by looking at her, his cheeks turn red and he’s all dewy eyed!

I call out to him next to Mifa.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Eh, Your Highness Luke, what is it?”

Don’t be so nervous…….

“I’m actually in need of the spider silk from your summoned Arachne. I’ll pay you the market rate, so could you give it to me on a regular basis?”

“I’m sorry. In fact, I have already been approached by several places and it has been decided to sell it to a clothing store…… exclusively.”

“Master, I think we should sell to His Highness even if we have to kick the clothing stores out of the deal.”

“But we’ve already signed the contract.”

Arachne put her face close to his ear and started whispering.

“♪ He seems to be the second son of a viscount, and Arachne has convinced him that a nobleman should prioritize his relationship with royalty over his relationship with a clothing store.”

Essentially, lower-class nobles are struggling everywhere to offer gifts and tribute to make connections with higher-class nobles. Only a fool of a nobleman would refuse this opportunity.

“Your Highness Luke, I will accept what you just said.”

Well, of course you will…… you should not pass up this opportunity to be continuously involved with someone related to the royal family.

“I’d appreciate it. I’m not interested in buying everything you have, so you can take the clothing store as is.”

“Thank you for your concern.”

“So, Your Highness. What kind of threads do you want?”

I spoke directly with the Arachne and ordered several different types of thread characteristics and thicknesses.

He gave me all the yarn he currently owned, which made Navi very happy.

I had a business meeting with the Arachne and before I knew it, the unveiling of Pippi-chan, the headmaster of the school, was over and it was time to introduce Drake from the knight department. He was a commoner who had been fussing about not wanting it, but he was proudly astride Drake.

When Spinel and Hati were introduced, there were yellow cheers from the girls, probably because of their cuteness, and when it was Diana, the whole venue let out a loud cry. I knew it would be more exciting if it was louder.

And Navi, who some students giggled at as a “naughty fairy,” sulked again and retreated to her workshop in the [inventory]. ……

The closing remarks of the closing session this time will be made not by the school principal but by the king, Zeno-sama.

“Everyone, thank you for your hard work over the past three days. I have received reports that several rare magical beasts have been summoned this year from summoning magicians outside of the school.”

”King, what kind of magical beasts?”

Several of the students raised questions.

In our Wolg kingdom, this is not possible. It is considered impolite to interrupt the king when he is speaking and ask him a direct question. If the king asks, “Do you have any questions?” even then, it is normal to hesitate.

I think I’m more at home in this friendly country.

”Well, it seems that an ogre came to the royal castle and a big fire dragon came to the temple, though it is an old beast.”

‘ “‘Oh!”

After happily conversing with the students, it seems that the announcement of the example is finally made.

”It seems that many of you already know about it, but I would like to officially announce it once again. Luke, Mifa and Emilia, come here.”

The three of us go up on the stage.

“Luke, the third prince of the Kingdom of Volg, takes this opportunity to announce his engagement to my daughter Mifa, the second princess, and Emilia, the eldest daughter of the Duke of Forrest!”

The audience gave the biggest cheer of the day…… though some of the boys are vindictive.

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