Something I wantâ¦.. There are some things I want so badly.
âAre you sure anything is okay?â
âYeah! Anything!â
Yakult smiled happily and replied to my question. Well, even if itâs impossible, Iâll just say it.
âPlease introduce me to a civil servant!â
I said with determination.
âYes!â
âReally?â
Yakult answered so simply and immediately that I was thrown off. I wondered if it was safe to make such a quick decisionâ¦
âThank you! But is it really that easy for you to introduce me?â
I asked, and Yakult opened his mouth and smiled.
âIn my country, weâve been fighting all the time, so there are a lot of people who are suffering because theyâre not treated as well as the military officers! Donât worry about it!â
I see. If thatâs the case, Iâm sure theyâll be happy to come.
âThen feel free to hire them!â
âAh! But youâll take good care of them, wonât you?â
âOf course I will! Iâll take good care of them!â
It is likely that we will be able to recruit civil servants in an unexpected way. In a world that was about to become war-torn, it was definitely better to hire someone who had ties to a foreign country than someone who might be connected to someone in the same country. It was the best choice for me. I canât thank Yakult enough!
âItâs not enough to thank you for this, but let me entertain you at this humble festival.â
When I said that, Yakult shook his head reluctantly, and then smiled, looked at me and said.
âThen Iâll feel even more indebted to you. From now on, letâs just enjoy the festival as Yakult and Chris!â
Yakult is a really nice guy. Letâs spoil him, shall we?
âThatâs right!â
After that, Yakult and I went out into the city and played around until it was dark.
ââââ
The next morning, Yakult left in a hurry. As a prince and the leader of pot-in-pot, he was very busy, and he must have pushed himself very hard to come here this time.
My coming-of-age ceremony was at noon. The ceremony will be held in a room of the Viscountâs house. The ceremony begins with the presentation of the sword by the head squire of the time, and ends with the squire leaving the room to congratulate me.
I heard that the meaning of the ritual was to encourage the squires to take up swords and fight to protect the people. However, now the sword has been returned to the head squire, and the ceremony has become a mere formality, just as it had ended so smoothly with my brothers.
In the town, I have not told the people about my coming-of-age ceremony so that they can enjoy the festival as casually as yesterday, and not be too conscious of the fact that it is my coming-of-age ceremony.
Iâm currently in the process of putting on some awkward clothes, as the rituals must be performed in formal attire.
âYulis. Canât you do something about these clothes?â
âPlease be patient. Iâm dressing Chris-sama, who canât even dress properly as an adult. Arenât you supposed to say thank you before you complain?â
âSorryâ¦â¦.â
I was steadily being dressed by Yulis.
Fully dressed, I finished my work in the office until it was time for the ritual, and finally the ritual arrived. I accepted the sword from Macbeth as was customary, and opened the door to the ceremony without a hitch.
When I opened the door, I found that it was rather quiet. It was strange that it was so quiet, since there were supposed to be squires, students, and civil servants waiting outside. Whatâs going on?
I walked to the front door and opened it gently. There were three people in expensive looking clothes staring at each other silently, with a few strong men behind each of them, and my people were watching them from a distance. I closed the door softly.