Slime Reincarnation

While I was deep in conversation about the darker side of the capital with that handsome blond middle aged man, whoever he was, quite a bit of time must have passed, because he suddenly glanced at his pocket watch and said, "Ah, is it already this late," and stood up.

"Well, I truly enjoyed talking with you about the capital. Seeing the city through the eyes of the common people really does matter. I hope you’ll tell me more sometime."

He said this and offered his hand for a handshake, so I hurried to my feet and reached out as well.

We shook hands firmly, and somehow the grip felt oddly fitting. Hmm... so this old man’s got something to him. If this were one of those popular isekai stories about a middle aged protagonist, he’d definitely have main character energy. Someone from a marquis house... a minister? The chancellor? ...Could he actually be the king!?

Then again, after building him up this much in my head, he could just as easily turn out to be some low ranking knight, a total background character. I mean, I’m the kind of guy who’s never had much luck with things like that.

After the handsome blond man left the room, a maid came in to have my clothes measured, and I was shown to a separate room.

"Fuoo! Mashter!"

When I came back from being measured, everyone had returned from the ladies’ fitting session too. Rina came charging straight at my waist the moment I stepped back into the room.

With a thud, she latched onto my waist head on. Would you please stop tackling me from the front like that!

I gently peeled Rina off and picked her up.

"Did they measure you for a dress too, Rina?"

"Yesh! Rina got meashured for a dress too, sho she can shtand behind Mashter!"

"That sounds wonderful. I can’t wait to see you in your dress."

"Mashter!"

She rubbed her face intensely against my chin. What a cute little thing. I’ll give her extra head pats today.

"Nyehehe~"

"Kiiii!"

Irina, why on earth are you biting a handkerchief and making that strange noise?

If you’re that jealous, come tackle my bedroom door tonight instead. For Irina, I’d even forgive a malicious tackle.

"Yabe san, Yabe san, listen listen!"

"What’s up, Luciana chan?"

"Fileontina san looked so beautiful! The way the dress suited her was on a whole other level!"

Another level, huh. Was it really that impressive?

"That impressive?"

"More than impressive! I thought she was some duke’s daughter or something!"

"Oh my, Luciana san, please don’t flatter me so much. You’re making me blush."

Fileontina pressed both hands to her cheeks, wriggling with embarrassment. Sounds like she got showered with compliments during the fitting. Well, however you looked at it, Fileontina really did look like a noble lady. Irina and Luciana were of course both beautiful and adorable too, but Fileontina had an overwhelmingly aristocratic air about her. If Fileontina ever put on a stern expression, she’d have the kind of beauty you’d expect from the protagonist reincarnated as a villainess in one of those light novels.

...Come to think of it, these women were all candidates to be my wife, or rather, they didn’t hesitate to call themselves my wife already. Irina as the first wife, Luciana chan as the second... wait, an earl’s daughter as first wife, and a frontier count’s daughter as second, is that really alright? And Fileontina as the third feels almost too extravagant, doesn’t it? Also, why was I already worrying about this as if I’d accepted the whole arrangement? Was it really okay to just keep drifting along like this? Maybe I should have a proper, serious talk with them before the audience with the king.

The Coluna Frontier Count returned to the room.

"Lord Fenberg, thank you for your work."

"Ah, Sir Yabe, did the clothing fitting go smoothly?"

"Yes, no problems there. So then, how will the flow of the audience go on the day itself?"

"Well, the actual audience is scheduled to begin at two in the afternoon. We’ll need to enter the castle by ten in the morning to finish the preliminary meeting and get changed, then take a light meal at midday."

"Even though it starts at two in the afternoon, the preparations sure start early."

I said this with a bit of a sigh, sounding somewhat like I was complaining.

"Well, it can’t be helped. After the audience, we’ll head straight home."

"Good, I was worried you’d tell me there was a banquet or a ball afterward."

"I figured you’d say that. There was an offer for one, but I turned it down. I assumed that sort of thing wouldn’t be your strong suit."

"Nice call! That’s a relief."

I let out a breath of relief. Dancing would have been an absolute disaster for me, no question.

"During the preliminary meeting, we’ll be granted an audience with the kingdom’s chancellor, Lord Reberg von Mittamaier, to confirm the details of your accomplishments and discuss the matter of your reward."

"So the actual audience just follows whatever’s already been decided in advance."

"That’s right. What’s said during the audience, and how you’re expected to respond, will all be decided beforehand. There’s no room for improvisation. The content of the audience is built entirely on what gets confirmed during this preliminary meeting."

"I see. Wouldn’t want someone to suddenly demand some outrageous reward right there during the audience itself."

"Exactly, which is why it’s important to iron things out during the preliminary negotiations."

That made sense. Getting the groundwork settled beforehand really does matter for everything.

"Apparently it won’t be anything extravagant, but they say they’ll properly consider the reward. If there’s something specific you’d like, it might be worth mentioning. If you don’t have anything in mind, it’ll probably just come as a reward in gold coins."

A reward, huh... maybe I should think about whether there’s something I actually want.