Stranger's Handbook

Chapter 118: Second Book – Epilogue

“As I said, it was a misunderstanding, father-in-law.”

Prince Mars appealed to me frantically.

His clothes were full of blood.

.......Of course, it was his blood.

“Misunderstanding or not, you did try to seduce Bea. It can’t be helped now, can it?”

I grinned at him and readied my long sword.

The edge of my sword was rather chipped but I still went on with it.

I can still cut one or two of his limbs with it if I use my strengthening magic.

“That’s it! That is what you misunderstood!”

He shook his head, half crying.

What now......

“I did not make advances at her. That was the elves’ style of greeting.”

“Ooooh, greetings, you say?”

I threw away my long sword and stared at the prince.

With an expression of relief, he then continued.

“This is a natural greeting among elves, father-in-law......As I thought, you won’t deny it, would you?”

The stupid prince had a smug face now.

It seems that he still doesn’t understand it.

“I’m not well-known when it comes to elven customs. And even if what you’re saying is true, I don’t really care. But, if by any chance, you lied to me, you’ll need to be punished. In short, no matter how I look at it, you still need training.”

I held out my right hand and Bea gave me her favorite weapon, the bardiche.

The prince’s smug face froze in an instant.

“Come now, let’s train you good. From now on, we’ll go with a real-life combat style, okay?”

“His excellency is going to fight for good?.....The black knights unit, go protect the madam!”

“Zest-sama, with that weapon you can go all out and it won’t break.”

(Waaa, I can clearly see his magical power. Dad is amazing as usual!)

Listening to Albert, Bea and the other’s voices, I reopened the prince’s training.

“You did great, master.”

I finished with the training and returned to my room where Suu welcomed me.

She was wearing the trousers suit I prepared for her yesterday.

As one would expect, a steward wearing maid clothes might be just too troublesome.

I changed my clothes which were sullied by blood, and I was enjoying now my tea time.

“Suu, is it normal for elves to sweat talk women as a form of greeting?”

“What? Is that true?”

She looked at me blackly as she prepared the tea.

That’s right, is it not? It’s the first time you heard something like this too.

However, she kind of looks now like a beautiful woman disguising herself as a man......This is rather good.

“Just in case, look into it a little.”

“As you wish. If he tries to seduce madam when master is away, it’ll be too troublesome, right?”

Don’t say that.

At this point you must skillfully deceive me.

Bea and Toto were enjoying their bath together.

I wonder if Albert will soon come back with the prince on his shoulders?

I drank some tea as I thought about that.

Which reminds me, this kind of tastes different.....Even though it’s nothing but normal tea.

I drained my cup of tea and ate some backed sweets when they arrived.

“Your excellency, I brought him back.”

“Good work. Albert, care to join me once in a while?”

“Right. Then, I will have a cup as well.”

“Water......Please, water.....”

The prince looked like he was shipwrecked in the desert or something, as Albert carried him on his shoulder.

Albert sat on the sofa and drank the tea that his sister prepared.

Oi, Albert, don’t blush.

Why do feel so nervous, she’s your sister?

“This is delicious. It’s the first time I’m drinking such a delicious tea, young lady.”

“Onii–sama, did you hit your head or something? What are you thinking, making advances at your own sister?”

She flew into a rage and Albert froze in place.

Even you......What the heck are you doing?

“I bet he only wanted to compliment you, Suu, since you changed beyond recognition. Right, Albert?”

“Yes! That is precisely so!”

I honestly don’t want to start another round of training right now.

I will pretend this never happened.

I successfully deceived them by force, so I could now talk about the main topic.

“So, how is son-in-law-dono’s true strength?”

“Yes. Honestly, it’s below the maids’ unit. Maybe, against the former adventurers’ scouting unit, he could barely win in a fight.”

The prince hanged his head in shame.

Or maybe, he was just to tired that he couldn’t move anymore.

“In this case, Albert, you’ll train son-in-law-dono, so that he can fight at a certain degree. If he’s assassinated at this point, it’ll be all over. He’s just too weak.”

“So-sorry, father-in-law. I’m more skilled in using my head.......”

Yeah, he does have a talent for scheming.

But that’s only for the standards of an isolated country like the elves’.

“Then, prove me your intellect and devise a plan right now. How do you secure your safety?”

“Yes! With father-in-law and your family’s power......”

“Rejected. Do you want me to take along my family and all my followers and march into the elves’ country?”

The prince fell silent.

“Besides, since I’m the hero who achieved spiritification, I might be safe. But, you won’t, you know? If you’re assassinated, everything will be over. We won’t be able to help you then.”

“Then, what about asking the demons for help?”

“That is also no good. They have no reason to help you. Moreover, if the family who committed a mistake like this is still a royal family, they have instead a good reason not to help you.”

“But, that was my mother.....the queen is responsible for.......”

Well, I do understand his feelings.

“As royalty, for you to take back your country.....you need the demons to acknowledge you. What they really want is stability. Do you think that they’ll support someone like who, who might get assassinated at any moment?”

“That’s......It’s exactly like you said.”

The prince bit his lip in frustration.

Did he finally understand what a dangerous situation he was in?

“You must at least become a king who can protect his own body. In times of peace, there’s no problem with being weak, but this is an abnormal situation. If you’re not a strong king, you won’t be able to bring order in your country. Tsubaki is able to protect her own body, and she can also fight. All that’s left now is you.”

“Yes. But, can I even do it?”

“It’s not about being able to or not. You have to do it. You want to marry the woman you love and take back your country, don’t you? Find your resolve already!”

“Understood, father-in-law. I’ll be counting on you!”

He said and bowed. The prince’s eyes now looked somewhat different than before.

I will survive this.....His eyes showed such determination.

Fufu, did I also have these eyes when master trained me?

I’m getting nostalgic......

“You can feel relieved. I will definitely make you a good enough fighter. That’s because I don’t want my daughter to become a widow too soon.......First...”

When I was about to continue, the door opened violently without any knock.

“It’s an emergency! A swarm of dragons is approaching the imperial capital! Per imperial command, his excellency, duke Zest is to be summoned at once!”

Out of breath, a soldier plunged into the room.

His face looked grim.

In fairy-tales, the dragon is an animal who could destroy an entire country all by itself.

A swarm of such dragons, which only appear in fairy-tales, was heading towards the capital.

That’s how the ‘Messengers of Judgement’ which remained in the history books of the empire since unknown times, came to us.