「If you keep showing such pathetic sights, that’s exactly why you get chased by dragons! Put some spirit into it and run! Don’t want to? You hate running? Fine, if you’re against it, then the guy who ends up dead last will get tossed into a coal mine full of starving male slaves～! They’ll dig into you as much as they want～!」
The men who had been desperately running suddenly changed the look in their eyes and started sprinting for their lives.
I’d heard that armies use harsh language to make soldiers run, but I didn’t know it meant something like this.
…They’re not actually going to do that, right? A few guys are clutching their butts in terror.
「What’s up, Arg?」
「Oh, nothing… I just remembered Mische saying something like 『I can’t stop getting excited because they’re doing something super manly over there!』 as an excuse for messing up the accounting paperwork, so I came to check it out.」
「I see. Well, it’s not exactly thrilling to watch, is it?」
The muscle prince, dressed in armor instead of his usual clothes, is fully carrying out his original duty as the royal guard captain.
「So, what’s the punishment for?」
「That thing at the wedding the other day.」
「Which part?」
「Letting a medium-sized dragon invade, and this squad being the worst at driving dragons away.」
「Oh～ But the invasion thing was that whole deal, right? According to Frea’s report, Lutte said it 『suddenly appeared out of nowhere』.」
「Even if that’s true…」
He scratches his head roughly, his face twisted like he’s biting into something bitter.
「Lutte’s blessing is trustworthy. But who’s going to believe a story like 『it just popped up out of thin air』? The nobles and generals have already decided we overlooked it, and now everyone’s busy shoving the blame around. Of course, there’s no proof it really did just appear.」
「Yeah, no proof.」
Exactly. It showed up out of nowhere… and then vanished completely.
Some people might find the way it ended, so unlike Noie, suspicious, but for now, no one’s come asking questions.
I never had any intention of saying anything from the start.
「Oh, right, Arg.」
「Yes?」
「Head over to Father’s place tomorrow or the day after. Aniki’s probably preparing the paperwork by now.」
「What is it? I really don’t want any more troublesome stuff.」
「It’s probably one good thing and another good thing.」
「Yay～ Two whole headaches? What kind of harassment is this?」
「You should try listening to your brother seriously for once.」
「So?」
「You little… fine, whatever. One of them is about giving Noie regular days off.」
「Huh?」
I got all defensive for a second because you said it with such a smug grin!
「Exactly what I said. This whole incident proved that both the royal army and the royal guard have gotten way too dull. We’ve been leaving everything to Noie for too long, and it’s finally catching up. So, from now on, we’ll give Noie regular days off and let the soldiers actually fight dragons.
Well, mostly just chase them away, but it’ll put some fire back into those lazy slackers.」
「…Yeah, that sounds good. Not bad at all.」
That way, I can spend a whole lazy day at home with Noie.
「And the other thing is you… you’re getting promoted.」
「There it is! You built me up just to drop me down!」
「You’re the one who said you wanted more work.」
「I’ve been doing plenty already! All the royal guard’s paperwork is piled right on these two shoulders of mine!」
This delicate body is getting crushed under a demonic workload!
「So, we figured we might as well give you a fancy title to match.」
「…Huh?」
「Starting tomorrow, you’re probably the vice-captain of the royal guard. In other words, second only to me in rank.」
「…」
「The work stays the same, paperwork, all of it.」
「It’s literally just a title change!」
You’re a demon, aren’t you!
「Stop yapping like a puppy.」
「I’m going to yap! I’m already at my absolute limit!」
「Yeah, yeah. I’m assigning you two new recruits, so train them up and make them useful yourself.」
「…」
「Also, whenever you go out, four soldiers will escort you. If you can ride a horse, you can head over to Noie and the others whenever you want.」
There has to be a catch coming.
I know it… there’s no way they’d lift me up this high without slamming me back down.
「And?」
「That’s it.」
「Really?」
「Yeah.」
For real? Then this means my workload is actually going to lighten up!
「Yes!」
「You’re way too happy about this.」
「Of course I am!」
Ahh～ Finally free from paperwork from morning till night.
I was barely making it to Frea’s lessons in time as it was.
This happy feeling… I’m definitely sharing it with Noie tonight. I’ll pet her head over and over until she’s purring.
「Alright, back to work～」
「Yeah, good luck.」
My steps feel so light right now.
「Oh, right. I’m… heading out soon for a routine inspection of the provinces, so I’ll be away from the capital for a while. Probably means your paperwork load will triple, but do your best.」
「I knew it! You filthy prince!」
I lunged at him and got instantly countered and knocked flat.
-0-
「So, an eyepatch on one eye?」
「Yes.」
「…Fine, whatever. Sign here.」
For once, the king was actually in his office.
This guy is supposed to be in the castle all the time… but I barely ever see him around.
「With this, you’re officially the vice-captain of the royal guard starting today.」
「So basically, the babysitter for my idiot aniki’s messes, right?」
「Don’t pout like that. Your pay is going up, you know?」
「The catalog-listed wedding gifts are still pouring in one after another…」
「Hm. Earning enough to cover two years of this kingdom’s tax revenue… truly frightening.」
The king chuckles as if utterly amazed.
Thanks to that, the Draguknight family is anything but short on money right now.
「By the way, Your Majesty.」
「What is it?」
「Our house should be finished pretty soon, right? So… I was thinking of taking all the maids currently working in the detached building we’re using. The whole group. Would that be alright?」
The king puts on a thoughtful expression. Guess taking all of them really is pushing it?
「The whole group?」
「Yes. But I’ll ask for volunteers, of course. I don’t want to force anyone and have them quit later. That’d be trouble.」
「Hm… Very well.」
「Really? Awesome～」
No matter how you slice it, those maids are already used to handling Noie, so I didn’t want to let them go.
It’s partly about the work, but they don’t seem all that scared of her either.
「The maids in that detached building are all the ones who turned down my advances. Getting to replace them all at once is frankly delightful. I’ll have to widely recruit and carefully select new maid candidates.」
「Hello?」
I can’t believe my ears at the lecherous king’s words.
「Oh, and Arg. Since you’re poaching them, you’ll settle it with money. You’ll cover the full cost of hiring replacements for every single one you take. That’s the condition.」
「……」
He folds his hands on the desk, nodding happily to himself.
Looks like I didn’t mishear him in any way.
Casually demanding money from his own son like that… Is he a demon or what!
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