Chapter 192: It’s Easy to Be Sarcastic to Longdagger 3
Margrave Makikomarkrow, Comsas Dortwil, wished he could clutch his head.
That bastard… Longdagger…
In the Audience Chamber. Unlike the highly centralized Faltar Kingdom, in the Orclaugh Kingdom, which was a personal union, a Count within their own territory was essentially synonymous with a king, even if not called such.
Therefore, the lord’s mansion had an Audience Chamber, and in the Margrave’s domain, it was also the center of politics.
And now, Longdagger was standing in the center of that Audience Chamber. Dressed as a nobleman.
Comsas wondered, had he made some mistake? He was certain he had summoned Longdagger’s entire party.
Meaning, he had summoned Shin Longdagger as an adventurer. So why was the man here dressed as a member of a noble house?
Dealing with him as an adventurer versus dealing with the second son of a foreign noble house were entirely different matters.
Was this harassment?
Comsas quickly scanned the room.
His eyes fell upon Erica Longdagger’s face, looking back at him with a truly dignified expression, full of confidence. She looked as if she were boasting about her husband’s appearance as a nobleman.
A sudden question arose. It seemed unlikely, but did she want to boast that her husband could even pull off formal attire?
“That’s ridiculous.”
His Butler shot him a dubious look for muttering aloud, but Comsas didn’t notice.
Well, surely it couldn’t be something that foolish. Comsas shook his head inwardly.
They were the idiots who had taken their country’s treasure, the Maiden of Light, used rooftops as roads, ventured to the front lines where Majin might be, blown up a Fountain, exploded a building, and split another vertically. But perhaps this meant they weren’t entirely thoughtless.
What was their intention?
If there was one, was it related to compensation? The Fountain wasn’t Longdagger’s fault, but Longdagger had undoubtedly split that building vertically.
Demanding compensation from a commoner individual versus demanding it from a foreign noble were different propositions. What a hassle.
Comsas hadn’t intended to demand compensation in the first place.
Both the explosion and the vertical split were attacks against an enemy one hesitated to even call human. Even Comsas wouldn’t go so far as to hold them responsible for that.
Besides, compared to the overall damage, it was practically a rounding error.
In fact, in terms of monetary damage, it was on the better side. The Majin had rampaged that much in Hecate. The fact that there were many injuries but no deaths was simply a miracle.
Thinking this far, Comsas felt a pain in his stomach.
Part of that miracle was thanks to deploying as many Knights as possible to deal with the idiot (Longdagger) leaping across rooftops while shouting his wife’s name.
What? What was this? Did he have to thank Longdagger?
Comsas casually rubbed his stomach and took a deep breath. He had summoned him as an adventurer; he hadn’t intended to demand formalities from the start.
That was why he had dismissed his retainers.
In that case, there shouldn’t be a problem if he, the lord, casually offered his thanks.
Comsas let out a groan from between his clenched teeth.
“Thank you for coming, Longdagger.”
But well, greetings first.
The Margrave-dono greeted me with a really scary look on his face.
Guided by the tall Butler, we entered the Audience Chamber. It had only minimal decorations, possessing a practical fortitude truly befitting a Margrave bordering the Demon Realm.
Sitting on a chair that was impressive but not ornate, the Margrave’s face, as he stared this way, definitely looked angry.
I’d been told we might be praised, but it looked like I really needed to prepare to lose about half my head.
But well, greetings first. Since I was dressed like this (as a noble), I didn’t feel like I could do it well, but I should probably greet him as a noble.
Just as I thought that and was about to open my mouth, the Margrave-dono raised his hand as if to cut me off.
“I summoned you as ‘adventurers’ today. You may dispense with unnecessary formalities.”
I instinctively looked at Erica, but she blatantly ignored me.
“Ah, well then, it’s a pleasure to meet you for the first time. I am the adventurer, Shin Longdagger.”
Erica and Shara followed with their greetings.
Hearing Erica introduce herself as Erica Longdagger… I never got used to it, no matter how many times I heard it. If I wasn’t careful, a creepy smile threatened to appear on my face.
It seemed the Margrave-dono wasn’t just saying words when he mentioned dispensing with formalities; he looked ready to get straight to the point.
I wish all the nobles in Faltar were like this. Why did they have to talk so long just to invite someone to grab a meal together?
It was mainly just memories from the academy, but nobles tended to have long preambles.
“As for the reason I summoned you today,”
Compared to that, the Margrave-dono’s brevity!
Right, let’s start negotiating what percentage of my head I have to offer up.
“I want you lot to accept a request from me.”
Can we somehow make it just about thirty percent of my head?
Just as I was preparing that response, unexpected words came flying at me.
A direct request from the Margrave-dono?
Afterword
Hooray! A fresh Margrave!
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Currently, I am participating in the short story division of Kakuyomu Con 10.
Wizard Punk! ~Honestly, Thinking Up Titles is a Pain! Basically, When I Reincarnated into a Crappy World, I Got a Crappy Job and Got Dragged into Crappy Stuff! Damn it! It’s Really Freakin’ Crappy!
A short story of about 10,000 characters (probably around 5 chapters total, currently revising).
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093089540860113
TS Magical Girl Backstage Talk
A short story of about 5,000 characters (completed).
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093089663854836
I am participating with the two works above.
Since I’m participating with short stories, if I come up with new ideas, I might enter something additional.
If you’re interested in that, please follow the author’s account.
Wizard Punk! is full of the author’s personal tastes, but
TS Magical Girl is the author’s first-ever TS (Gender Bender) work.
I would be happy if you could read them.