第２６３堀：精神攻撃は基本である (Part3)
I followed Samantha inside.
The government office featured a large desk for signing documents near the window, with a table and sofa set aside for receiving guests. Books were packed into shelves along both walls. It was, in every sense, a proper government office—remarkably similar to the ones Seraria or Rurua had set up. My own office, by comparison, was just a system desk with a computer and some paperwork; it lacked any sort of decoration.
Well, that was beside the point. The issue at hand was Samantha’s father.
To put it in a word: Kaiser mustache. Yes, a magnificent, handlebar-style Kaiser mustache. He stood about 180 centimeters tall, and while he had the same blonde hair as Samantha, his was cut short, giving him the air of a professional athlete. Despite having a daughter of Samantha’s age, he looked remarkably young; while his age was apparent, he showed no signs of physical decline. He possessed the kind of physique that suggested he could start sprinting or working out at a moment’s notice. In short, he was a "nice middle-aged man" who could easily be described as a dashing gentleman.
"…Samantha. Is he the 'good man' you spoke of?"
"Yes. He is a partner worthy of me dedicating my entire life to."
Samantha said this with a smile, but her father observed me with intense scrutiny, looking from head to toe and back again. The sharpness of his gaze made me feel quite uncomfortable. Was this the look of a parent gauging whether a man was worthy of being entrusted with his daughter?
"…My apologies. I am grateful for your protection of my daughter during her journey. Please forgive my late introduction; I am Rosso Sui Huge, Samantha’s father."
"Not at all. I am grateful you could spare the time during such a busy schedule."
*Phew.* So he wasn't the "you shall not have my daughter" type. If he was going to handle this like a normal conversation, I could proceed with ease. If he had challenged me to a duel, I wouldn't have known what to do. Should I have let him win to save face, or shown my true strength and crushed him?
"..."
"..."
The Duke and I stood in silence.
"U-um? Both of you?"
Samantha let out a clumsy sound. Immediately, the butler standing by the Duke’s side—who looked for all the world like a stereotypical Sebastian—whispered into Samantha’s ear.
"It will not begin unless you make the introductions, Milady."
"Ah! M-my apologies. This is Yuki-sama, the leader of the mercenary group that escorted us to Roday."
"A pleasure to meet you. I am Yuki, leader of the mercenary group. Currently, I am a student at the Academy, studying magic just like Samantha. I have come here today to ask for your permission regarding my relationship with her."
Instead of being nervous, it was better to just say it and get it over with. Once the momentum was set, I could handle the rest. Now, how would the old man react?
"…That is a request that should be coming from our side. We desire a connection between Zilba and Enaria. If that can be achieved through someone of Samantha’s standing, I have no reason to refuse."
Did he really just call his own daughter a tool in front of her? This was a problem that went beyond whether or not I’d get his permission. Samantha looked shocked, her eyes welling up with tears. I had to step in.
"Excuse me, but that line of thinking is mistaken."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I want Samantha. As a lifelong partner, status and political interests are secondary. Please do not think that if you make Samantha cry, you will get what you want. Do not think of this as 'someone of Samantha’s standing'—think of it as something that can only be achieved because it is *Samantha*."
I stared him down as I said it.
"You are that fond of my daughter? If you wish, I could arrange a marriage meeting with the Roday royal family instead."
"I want Samantha. I would like you to understand that."
As if I’d ever want to cross paths with the Roday royal family. That was a guaranteed recipe for getting dragged into a headache-inducing mess.
"…*Sigh*."
After a moment of silence, the Duke exhaled, smiled warmly, and opened his mouth.
"You’re a lucky girl, Samantha. It seems he truly sees you for who you are."
"Yes! Yuki-sama is the best husband; he truly appreciates me."
Ah, so the old man had said that on purpose for Samantha’s sake. She was already crying, her eyes bright red as she answered.
"…As you can see, she is a daughter who lacks common sense, but I leave her in your care."
"Not at all. It was precisely because of that honest, common-sense-lacking nature that I was able to meet her."
…Though, it had started with the cliché of being turned away at the gate. At the time, I had intended to use her as a disposable pawn to gain an advantage over the Academy. The truth was, I hadn't intended to get deeply involved.
"However, was it a 'video,' you called it? You are exactly the man I heard about. Truly, one would expect no less from the hero who prevented the raid on Enaria. And to have the skill to wrap Principal Popuri around your little finger, too. If I could, I would have liked to tie you to my eldest daughter as well."
"Video? The hero of Enaria?"
"Hm? I was shown the scene of your confession to Samantha. As for the 'hero of Enaria' business, it is no wonder you are unaware. That disturbance was the unilateral act of Roday’s pro-war faction. Had you and your group not suppressed it and kept the damage to a minimum, Enaria and Roday would have been at war. Because of that, the story of your mercenary group—your origins, the combat prowess of your wives, and your sheer strength—has echoed throughout Roday. There is no one in our upper echelons who does not know of you. Thanks to you, we succeeded in rooting out the agitators. I thank you once again. I am truly grateful that you saved both Enaria and Roday."
The Duke bowed deeply. So that was it. I had indirectly solved Roday’s problems during the Enaria incident. It made sense that the pro-peace nobles in Roday would be desperate to form a connection with us. It was a godsend for them, too.
"Wait, that’s not important! What do you mean, 'video'!? You saw the confession scene!?"
Yes, the political machinations of various nations didn't matter. What mattered now was the fact that her father had seen my confession to Samantha. What was going on!?
"Eh? No, well, this 'camera,' was it? It is a marvelous device that can record the scenery of the moment. I would very much like to introduce it to our country… ah, that is not the point. Let’s see, is it this button?"
The Duke pulled a Handycam—a video camera—out of nowhere and was asking Samantha how to use it.
"Yes. This is the start button."
At Samantha’s confirmation, the footage began to play. It was the scene where I had confessed to her. A familiar sight. I had called her to the Academy courtyard, and we were facing each other.
*『Um, I heard you called for me?』*
*『Yeah, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.』*
*『About something?』*
*『Ah, well, first off, I want to say that if you refuse, it’s no problem at all. It won’t break our relationship.』*
*『?』*
…I was so long-winded! And more importantly, don’t screen my embarrassing black history for everyone to see!!
However, my body wouldn't move to stop it. That was only natural, as Samantha had snuck up behind me and was hugging me tightly. Damn it. It would be easy to pull her off, but now that she had been acknowledged as my bride, I couldn't treat her like that.