"Touya, look at this." = Normal speech.

'Touya, look at this.' = Thoughts/Telepathy.

(One hour later.) = Time skip.

~Yo, it's God.~ = Phonecall.

"Come forth, fire!" = Chanting.

[Kingdom of Belfast] = Title/Place/Rank/Weapon Name.

{Gate} = Spell name.

=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=

(On the way to [Alephis], the royal capital.)

During the ride to the Royal Castle, Alfred began to explain the reason why the King was poisoned, and all of them paid attention to what the Duke was saying.

"Thankfully they responded quickly and he's still holding on." Alfred explained, sighing as he calmed himself, "However… I may have someone in mind who I think is the culprit, but I have no proof."

"Who?" Touya asked.

"I'm sure you remember the time when Sue was attacked." All present nodded, except for Sally who was just listening in, "I believe it's the same culprit…"

"But why His Highness?" Touya inquired, why would anyone want to assassinate their own king?

"Perhaps it's an assassin from another country?" Yae added, Alfred shook his head.

"If that were the case, it would make this manner simple… However…" He began, "The [Kingdom of Belfast] is surrounded by three countries. The [Reeflese Imperium] to the west, the [Regulus Empire] to the east, and the [Kingdom of Mismede] to the south."

"Of these, we've had a long-standing alliance with the [Reeflese Imperium] and are on good terms… But with the [Regulus Empire] less so."

"How come?"

"After the war with them twenty years ago. We had formed a non-aggression pact, but honestly, it feels less of a treaty and more of a hiatus. But even I don't think they would do something like this. And then there's [Mismede] to the south, I think this is where our problems arise."

"Problem?" Touya raised an eyebrow at the pause.

"During the war with [Regulus], [Mismede] was still an emerging nation, my brother tried to form an alliance with them to create restraints on [Regulus] and bring about new trading opportunities." Just then, Alfred clutched his hands, "But there were nobles that opposed the decision…"

"Against it… Why?" Touya questioned, Yae nodded, having the same opinion.

"Yes, I must concur. Would it not be wise to gather more allies against such a foe?" Linze and Elze nodded as well, agreeing with Yae's statement.

"It's because of racism isn't it?" Sally nonchalantly commented. All parties stared at her as Alfred solemnly nodded.

"Yes. It's because of racism, the majority of people in [Kingdom of Mismede] are demihumans and beastmen, which means the government, army, and such, to the older generation of nobles they see demihumans as nothing more than animals." Alfred sighed, leaning further into his seat.

"So… Because they're a different race, the nobles wouldn't allow an alliance?" Touya narrowed his eyes, "Is their prejudice all that important to them that they'll rather have their own kingdom suffer because of it?"

"Unfortunately, yes, yes they would." Alfred nodded, running his hand through his face, "To the nobles, demihumans are nothing more than savages, little different than animals. However, during the reign of my father, he established a way to refine the view of demihumans and actively sought out ways to cull prejudice. While largely successful, there are still those who lurk in the shadows holding onto these dying ideals."

"What's more… If those nobles succeed in assassinating my brother, then the throne will go to his only daughter, the princess, and my niece. Yumina Ernea Belfast." His hands trembled, "They would use this excuse as a way to marry into the family through their sons. After joining the family, they would most likely undo everything my father worked so hard to achieve and my brother who followed our father's example."

"Then, wouldn't that mean the whole kidding of Lady Sushie was a ploy to control the King through you?" Elze pointed out, having pieced together the plot of this attempted assassination.

"That is correct, Elze, It seems like it was nothing more than just a ploy." Alfred nodded.

"But wouldn't this be a sloppy conspiracy? Surely by now, they would know they'll be the first on the chopping block when all of this blows over?" Touya remarked, there were way too many risks involved in this and that it would be a stupid idea altogether.

"I wish it were the case, but with the growing tension between [Belfast] and [Regulus], the nobles had a bit of leeway while the entire kingdom was distracted. Along with having no proof of their crimes, we can't exactly arrest them on the grounds of accusations." Alfred sighed once more, he wanted nothing more than to execute those nobles, but he had his hands tied.

"Which is why the King must not die." Alfred declared.

"And where do I fall into all of this?" Touya asked, still having no idea why he was dragged into this mess.

"I want you to get rid of the poison in my brother's body with the magic you used on Ellen," Alfred explained. "From there, you can help with the investigations if you wish."

"That does make sense," Elze commented, if Touya was able to cure a person's blindness, then he should be able to cure poison.

Both Yae and Linze wordlessly agreed with her, having the same thoughts about it.

"How? You know some kind of healing magic that gets rid of ailments, Master?" Sally asked, her arms around Touya's neck, ignoring the stares from the ladies present.

"Could you get off him!" Elze snapped, trying to pry Sally's arms off of Touya's neck but proved to be too difficult as the female had a strong grip on it.

"Nah, I'm good, besides, Master doesn't mind, right?" Sally smiled, keeping her iron grip, not budging at all despite Elze's attempts.

Touya wisely kept his mouth shut, letting the scene play out and solve itself. He wasn't going to walk into that landmine of a question, no way.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think we've met, who are you?" Alfred inquired, finally noticing the girl sitting on Touya's lap.

"...It's a long story." He began, explaining the reason why they visited his mansion in the first place.

=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=

([Alephis], at the Royal Castle.)

When they arrived at their destination, they all hopped off the carriage and entered the castle while Alfred led them towards the king's whereabouts.

The inside was very beautiful as expected of the Royal Castle housing the King, but there was no time to lose, as every second wasted the King was closer to his death.

A unit of Royal Guards joined them, escorting the group to their King but were stopped when on the steps walking up the stairs by a fat man in noble clothing.

"Well, if it isn't His Highness, the Duke. It has been quite some time." The man greeted gleefully.

"...Count Balsa." Alfred was less cheery in his greeting, but nonetheless returned the gesture.

"Please relax, we captured the fellow who aimed to take His Majesty's life." The Count boasted.

"What!?" Alfred exclaimed.

"It is the [Kingdom of Mismede]'s Ambassador." Balsa said, his smug smile saying it all, "His Highness collapsed after drinking wine, it was determined that the wine he drank was delivered by the Mismede Ambassador."

"That can't be..!" Alfred denied, not wanting to believe such a thing.

"The Ambassador is being restrained in another room. It shows how monstrous these beasts are, we should remove their head and send it back to [Mismede]." Balsa suggested. Which only served to piss off the Duke further.

"You will do no such thing!" Alfred snapped, raising his voice, "Everything will be decided by my brother! You have no authority over their life!"

"I see." The Count began, "Words are wasted on the likes of beasts, I shall do as you say… However, should the King perish because of this, I won't be able to stop the other nobles you see, I'm sure they'll all say the same thing."

The air around them thickened, the Duke's hand was trembling in anger but held it back, not wanting to create a scene in the Royal Castle while the Count still kept that smug smirk on his face. Elze and Yae frowned, Linze bit her lip, frowning as well, and Sally, she kept a neutral expression. Not even her trademark smile was there.

She stared directly into Balsa's eyes, she already guessed who the Mastermind of this charade was.

'This is definitely our culprit, there's no doubt about it.' Touya narrowed his eyes, staring into Balsa while he was busy messing with the Duke to pay any attention to him.

Touya's eyes then locked with Sally's, she glanced at him and nodded, already knowing what he wanted her to do.

"With that, I shall excuse myself. It seems I have taken too much of your time." Balsa turned to leave, walking down the stairs as he smugly smirked on his face.

"Damn him…" Alfred mumbled, watching the back of the Count's retreating form.

'There's your cue, good luck, Sally.'

'Will do, Master!'

"{Slip}." Touya whispered, chanting the null spell and causing the Count to fall down the stairs unceremoniously.

"Gugyaa-!" The Count fell flat on his face, after falling down the stairs.

While the people present chuckled and giggled at his misfortune, some even whispering that he deserved it, the Count hurriedly tried to save face and leave, not wanting to make a fool out of himself any further than he already had.

With that out of the way, the remaining group continued to their original destination, unbeknownst to any of them except for her Master, Sally sank into Touya's shadow and broke off from the group, following the Count to gather any evidence that she could use to expose him.

Touya just hoped she could find anything useful.

After running through a long hallway, the group and their escort finally arrived at the King's quarters, Alfred was the first one to get in while the others followed suit, the Royal Guards stood just outside, waiting for anything to happen.

"Brother!" Alfred yelled, catching the attention of the people present in the room. He rushed to his brother's side, asking the bald man how his brother was.

"What's his condition!?" Alfred asked, the bald old man sighed grimly.

"I've done all that I could, but even with all my knowledge I've never seen this kind of poison before. At this rate… He won't make it." He lamented.

"Damn it!" Alfred cursed.

"Al… Alfred…" The King coughed, struggling to get his words out of his mouth but nonetheless pulled through, "Look after my wife and daughter… You must… you must- form an alliance with Mismede!-"

"Touya, please!"

"On it!" Just like what he did with Ellen, Touya hovered his hands over the King's body, chanting the healing spell.

"{Recovery}!"

Just like with Ellen back then, a soothing green light enveloped the King's body, getting to work on the poison and destroying it.

After a few seconds, the King's face no longer tightened in pain, he was gradually getting cured until finally he was. The light died down and he stood up from his bed.

"Father!"

"Dear!'

"Your Majesty!"

All the people in the room, sans Touya, yelled out in joy, the King seemingly okay despite his condition from before.

"I'm perfectly fine… The pain is no more, like it was nothing but a bad dream." He mumbled, a young blonde girl and a blonde woman, who Touya thinks is the princess and queen respectively, hugged her father while his wife held his hand.

"He's cured… I have no clue how but he's perfectly fine… How?" The old man commented, bewildered by the effects of the healing spell.

"Good work, Touya." Elze slapped his shoulder, happy to know that Touya once again did the impossible.

"Yes, excellent work as always, Touya-dono." Yae chimed in, proving that he was the right person to follow.

Touya nodded wordlessly, paying attention to the King and the people around.

"Alfred, who're these people?" The King asked.

"These are the adventurers I told you about, and this man here who healed you is Touya Mochizuki, he cured Ellen's eyes and now saved your life." Alfred introduced them, the girls bowing their heads in respect while Touya just nodded.

"Hello, I'm Mochizuki Touya, Touya's my name." He introduced himself, since this was the King, he would greet him the usual Japanese way.

"I see, you were the one who cured Ellen's eyes! I thank you, now you saved my life!" The King thanked him, shaking Touya's hands.

"Well done saving His Highness! Touya, right? I like you!" A man dressed in a military uniform exclaimed, patting Touya's back.

"Brother." Alfred called out, getting the attention of the King, "About the Ambassador."

'Hm? What about the Ambassador?"

"They have been restrained by Count Balsa as the alleged suspect behind your attempted assassination. What do you think?" Alfred explained to his brother.

"WHAT!?" The King shot up from his bed, standing to his feet which surprised everyone, telling him to sit down and not rise up so suddenly.

"What is there for [Mismede] to gain from killing me?! After all the lengths they took to get their Ambassador across our borders!?" He yelled, clearly not convinced by the accusations, "This is the actions of those damn nobles! They always disregard the rights of demihumans!"

"That is true, however, you collapsed after drinking the wine Mismede's Ambassador provided… And many people have witnessed it. This is a difficult situation, Your Majesty." The General remarked.

"But what of the poison in the wine that His Highness drank? Would it not be where our investigations should begin? It may have some special poison the beastmen use." The old man suggested.

"For now let's meet with the Ambassador." The King shook his head, and then turned his attention to the General, "General Leon, bring them here."

"As you wish, Your Majesty." General Leon bowed, leaving the room along with the escort prior and went to fetch the Ambassador.

"Um…" Touya turned around and saw the Princess staring at him.

'That should be Princess Yumina, right?' Touya mused, taking in the figure of the Princess.

"Thank you very much for saving my father." She bowed. Showing her thanks.

"It's fine, no need to bow, please raise your head." Touya waved his hand, the Princess rose and stared directly into his eyes.

He swore he saw them slightly glimmer but decided not to comment on them.

"Is something wrong?" Touya asked, her stare was actually getting uncomfortable.

"...Are you against younger girls?"

"Wha…" Touya blurted out, Yumina's body began to shine in his eyes as he stared more, her fair skin looked so soft and smooth, the way her eyes shined was mesmerizing and her white dress really brought out her features, 'Holy shit, she's so cute…'

"Your Majesty, we have arrived." General Leon announced as he brought with him the Ambassador from [Mismede] in tow.

"Olga Strand. I have come forth." And low and behold, it was Alma's older sister, surprising Touya he never thought that she was the Ambassador.

'Huh, what a coincidence…'

"I'll get to the point. Did you come here with the intent to kill me?" The King questioned.

"I swear that's not the case! I would never do something like serving His Highness poison!" Olga protested.

"I figured." The King shook his head, Olga relaxed as she wasn't being interrogated, "You're not someone to do something that foolish. I believe you."

"But it's true that there was poison in the wine you delivered, Ambassador. How can you defend yourself in this manner?" A green-haired lady with glasses remarked.

"That's…"

'Master, you there?' Sally's voice echoed in Touya's mind, catching his attention.

'Yeah I am, what's the matter?'

'You were right, Balsa is our culprit. I just saw him pay off the guy who declared the wine to be poison and one of the waiters. Telling them that they did a great job framing the Ambassador.'

'Yeah, good job Sally, anything else?'

'Mhm, the poison wasn't actually the wine the Ambassador brought with them, but the glass the King drank was laced with it!'

'Really?' Touya had to admit, that was pretty smart of Balsa to think of, but still sloppy. He smirked, now he just needed to expose the corrupt noble for his crimes, 'All right, meet up with us, I need to check if the glass is still poisoned and then I'm going to expose this trash.'

'Hehe! On my way~!'

"May I say something?" Touya raised his hand, catching the attention of everyone in the room.

"You..!" Olga's eyes widened, finally noticing him.

"You're acquaintances with the Ambassador?" The King asked.

"I'm familiar with her sister, but we've only met once." Touya answered, "Putting that aside, where did the King collapse?"

"The Grand Dining Room, used for important meetings with important people… What about it?" General Leon told him.

"Is it the same as when the King collapsed?" Touya asked.

"Huh? Yes, it's still the same… But the wine has been taken away for examination, so it's largely the same as before." General Leon nodded.

"Could you take me there? I may be able to prove Olga's innocence."

Raising an eyebrow, the General looked at his King who nodded, nodding back. Leon spoke, "Yes, I can, let's go."

"You guys wait here, I'll be right back." Touya said to his friends before turning around and following the General out of the room and into the crime scene.

=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=

(At the Grand Dining Room.)

"This is the wine." General Leon lent the wine bottle to Touya.

"It sure is fancy." Touya commented, appreciating the quality of it.

He inspected the bottle with a keen eye and wordlessly chanted {Search}, and just like Sally said, the poison wasn't the wine but the King's glass.

'She was right, great work, Sally.' Touya praised her through their shared link.

'Thanks Master! But I have something to tell you.' Sally informed Touya, raising an eyebrow, what did she want to tell him? 'Remember our dear Mastermind behind this? Guess what, he's apparently planning to marry off his son to the Princess on the grounds of being the one to find the King's assassin! Hilarious, am I right?'

'That probably would've worked.' Touya smirked, 'Unfortunately for him, we came to the right place at the right time.'

"I pretty much understand. General, please call the King and others here." Touya asked, "Oh, and bring Count Balsa and his son as well. Also I have one favor to ask you…"

Gathering everyone to the Grand Dining Room didn't take long. The only thing that did take long was the Count as he was far from the castle when the news of his attendance was needed.

Just then, the doors to the room opened, Balsa finally arrived with his son in tow. There was nothing to really write home about the young man, other than his handsome looks and taller structure. He was just another son of a noble.

"Your Majesty! You're already ok!?" Balsa exclaimed, hiding his annoyance behind a facade of concern.

"Ah, Count Balsa, As you see, I'm fine. Sorry to have worried you." The King answered in a calm manner.

"I see… hahaha. It's good to see you healthy again." Balsa nodded, though he clutched his hands behind his back.

"Ah, my dear Princess." Balsa's son called out to Yumina.

"..Hello Benson…" Yumina was less enthusiastic in her greeting.

"Mhm! It's always a pleasure to see you again, my dear Princess." Benson commented, not noticing how uncomfortable he was making Yumina.

Touya watched the interaction, if Benson was anything like his father, then that would mean he was bad news as well, but he digressed, maybe he wasn't and aimed to be a better person…

"Once this whole charade is finished, that beast shall be punished."

…Or maybe not.

"There was a time I thought it was the end for me." The King began, "But thanks to that man over there, Touya, he cured my poison and saved my life. I owe him that."

"Ah! I see…" Balsa smiled wryly but as soon as he locked eyes with Touya he frowned.

'That's right, cry about it.' Touya taunted in his head, mentally smirking while keeping a neutral face. 'I'm going to blow your scheme sky high.'

"So, Touya, what do you intend to do with gathering everyone here?" The Court Magician, Charlotte, asked him.

"As you all know." Touya coughed, getting the attention of everyone in the room, "His Highness was served poison. The scene is this dining area."

Touya gestured to the table, the food still there albeit having gone cold from being left there for hours since the incident.

"This is the exact same as that time, nothing has been moved since." He went on, walking to the wine bottle and holding it up, "After having inspected the evidence as well as gathering clues. The culprit of this assassin as well as the Mastermind behind it all is…"

"Here, Among us!" Touya dramatically pointed the wine bottle at everyone's general direction. Everyone's eyes widened at the accusation. Which meant that the culprit was in the same room as them.

'Ha! I always wanted to say that!' Touya remarked, grinning in his mind as he watched everyone's reaction to his declaration. "The culprit is here, among us but to find out who? Let me first explain."

"Firstly, this supposed poisoned wine." Touya once again brought their attention to the wine in his hand, "This is the wine you presented, Olga, correct?"

"It's true- That was from me but I did not poison it-"

"Silence! You have no right to open your mouth, beastwoman!" Before Olga could even explain herself, Benson interrupted her.

"What the heck are you doing!"

"Touya!"

"Touya-dono!"

The horrified screams of Elze, Linze and Yae caught everyone's attention as Touya took a big sip of the wine, straight from the bottle, drinking up a large portion of it.

"Yosh! Now that's what I call high quality!" Touya grinned, wiping off his mouth with the sleeve of his coat.

Elze punched his shoulder, causing him to wince a bit from the blow but nonetheless took it, he turned his attention to his companions and wordlessly mouthed his reasons.

'Just trust me on this.'

They backed off, but he will have to talk to them about this when they get the chance.

"Touya! Are you alright!?" General Leon asked, concerned about the young man.

"Nah, I'm fine." Touya waved his hand and went on, "Besides, this wine was never really poisoned to begin with."

"!?" At his statement, everyone exclaimed various reactions. But for Balsa and his son, they dreaded what he said.

"For starters. This wine is a specially brewed rarity, made in the far east. This is honestly the highest quality wine I ever tasted!" Touya boasted, "But, this wine is the key to finding our culprit."

Pouring a glass with the wine, Touya presented the glass to General Leon who accepted it, "Would you care to try it?"

"OHH! This is truly wonderful! I have never tasted such wine before!" General Leon exclaimed, though it was a ruse as this was what Touya wanted him to do, "What do you think, Count, would you like to taste it?"

"Well… That would be-" Like a deer caught in headlights, Balsa couldn't say anything without drawing any suspicion on him.

"Then, please. Try it." Touya insisted, pouring another glass of wine and offering it to the Count, "We would love to get your opinion on it."

"No! I'm…"

"What's wrong, Count Balsa, will you not drink it?" The King inquired, raising an eyebrow at the Count's hesitance.

"Ah, no- That's not-"

"Then excuse my boldness, but let me help you with that!" Before he could even speak up, Touya shoved the bottle into his mouth and forced him to drink it.

"Father!"

"AHHHHH!" The Count spit out the wine, falling to his knees as he struggled, "The poison! It's spreading! Help- Help me!"

"What have you done!" Benson yelled, throwing a punch towards Touya who lazily dodged it and watched the Count's son fall forwards from his momentum.

"I- I'm dying-! I- It hurts the poison it hurts-!"

"Alright, that's enough of that." Said Touya, slapping the Count in the face to shut him up, "You can stop pretending."

"...What-"

"That glass didn't have any poison in it anymore, so relax." Touya explained.

"...I'm fine-" Before the Count could finish his sentence, he felt the gaze of everyone in the room.

"I'll admit, I was being too forceful, but I had to get straight to the point." Touya began, narrowing his eyes, "...However, how come you thought there was poison in it?"

"I-"

"What do you mean by that, Touya?" Alfred spoke up, crossing his arms.

"The poison wasn't the wine itself, but rather the glass." He explained.

"The glass…? I see, that's why there was no poison detected from it…" Alfred affirmed, understanding what Touya meant.

"I have magic that can sense poison, so it wasn't hard to find out about it. The accomplices are likely the cooks or waiters no doubt." Touya nodded, then he turned to the Count, "All that was left was to find the Mastermind and corner them, wouldn't you say. Count Balsa?"

"What outlandish claims! Do you have any proof of what you said!" Benson interjected, stepping up to Touya and challenging him.

"Yes! Do you have any proof?!" Balsa echoed his son's words.

"Yeah, of course I do. Sally, would you please." As soon as he said that, Sally came out from behind Touya, as if she was always there, which she was.

She was grinning ear to ear, holding up a bottle of purple-ish green liquid in her hands, she then handed it to Touya and explained what it was.

"Hai Hai~! This right here folks is a special kind of poison created from a monster native to [The Empire], when applied, it has a three-two hour window before it takes effect and kills its victim if not treated immediately and even then you're lucky to survive it!" Sally explained, clasping her hands together, "Oh! And don't bother trying to wiggle your way out of this! I have multiple eyewitnesses and accounts for this, along with the other shady businesses you two have done!"

With their only escape gone, the two suspects were cornered, in a last ditch effort to save themselves, Balsa ran. Trying to get out of the room before he could be restrained and arrested by the Royal Guards.

"{Slip}." In his haste he slipped from the spell, hitting his head and knocking him out cold, Touya cast the null spell already knowing the Count would try to escape.

"You trash!" What he didn't know was Benson pulling out a knife and charging straight for him.

Unfortunately for the Count's son, Sally immediately neutralized him.

"AHHHH! YOU- YOU BITCH!?" Before he could even take a step closer to Touya, Sally swung her scythe and in a blink of an eye. Sliced the son's arm off. Benson screamed out on the floor. It took a full second for the pain to finally kick in and register.

Sally shut him up by stomping the back of his head with her boots, and then used her flames to cauterize the wound to stop him from bleeding out.

Benson screamed in pain as the cauterize was anything but pleasant, only to be silenced once more by Sally as she stomped on his head again.

"Aww~ Is daddy's lil' boy angry?" Sally taunted, crouching down to Benson's leveling, smirking smugly as she stared into his eyes, "Are you pissed my Master found out your plan? That you wanted to marry into the family and be with your dear Princess? Are you mad? How about crying some more!"

She then lifted her foot off his head, grabbing the collar of his clothing, staring at him before smiling once again and flung Benson to the door, colliding with it and knocking him out. Just above his father's unconscious body.

Sally dispelled her scythe away, dusting her hands and then turning to the people in the room with a smile that was unnerving to the rest of them, sans Touya who just gave her a disapproving look.

"That was a bit excessive, don't you think?" He scolded her.

"Nah, he got off easy, if it were up to me, he'd get worse." Sally just brushed it off.

Touya shook his head and turned his attention to the King.

"There you have it, Your Majesty, the Mastermind behind it all, Count Balsa and his son, Benson, I trust you can handle the aftermath?" Touya coaxed.

The King nodded and ordered General Leon to get the guards and arrests the Count and his son, along with anyone involved with this attempted assassination on his life.

Just before Touya and his friends were about to leave, the King called out to them.

"Before you leave, Touya, I must invite you to some tea and a chat. Your friends are welcome to join us." He offered.

The group all stared at each other, nodding, why would they decline an invitation from the King?

"Sure, we'd love to."

=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=

(In one of the many rooms of the Royal Castle.)

"According to the General's report, the accomplices were the waiter and poison checker; they were bribed by the Count. And then they were able to verify that the poison used was indeed from a monster native to [The Empire]. Apparently, Benson was able to acquire it through his connections to the blackmarket." Alfred reported, taking a sip of his tea.

"In addition, Balsa confessed to the attempted kidnapping of Sue, with this, everything is solved." Alfred finished, smiling as the case was finally put to rest, everyone involved was arrested and awaiting trials.

"With that, I am once again indebted to you, Touya." Alfred bowed his head.

"It was nothing, nothing at all, Duke." Touya shook his head, just happy to help out a friend in need.

"And through all of this. Like my brother said, we've come to owe you a huge debt." Tristwin, the King of [Belfast], asked, "I would like to repay the man who thwarted this travesty and for saving my life, tell me, what is it that you desire?"

"Nothing." Touya answered truthfully. Causing Elze to sigh as she shook her head.

"You really are selfless y'know?" Elze smiled, admiring the selflessness Touya had. Unbeknownst to her, a small blush appeared on her face.

"Yeah, he is, isn't he?" Linze agreed, sharing the same sentiment as her sister.

Yae kept quiet, staring at Touya as he took a sip of his tea, she looked at her hands and mumbled something to herself.

"It was nothing really, I just happened to come by with my friends on our way to meet with the Duke. I didn't think we'd have to solve something like this, so please, think nothing of it." Touya shook his head, smiling as he gave his reasoning for not wanting to be rewarded.

"Selfless as always, Touya. That's why I like you." Alfred commented, smiling as he was right about the young man's character.

"Quite the puzzling person you are." Charlotte remarked, "Someone who could use {Recovery}, {Slip} and {Search}, three null spells. There aren't many like you, you know?"

"Um, Touya can use all the [Elements] actually, not just null magic…" Linze added in, which got Charlotte's attention.

"Yeah, he used {Gate} to visit the Duke and he knows {Modeling} Too." Elze chimed in, adding fuel to the fire.

"Yeah… I can use all the [Elements] along with null magic." Touya confirmed.

"All…?!" Charlotte trembled in her seat, and then shot up, "If that's true- Then this is a great discovery! Please wait for a moment!"

Charlotte then sprinted out of the room in a rush, those who knew Charlotte laughed at her antics, telling Touya that she's most likely going to get one of the things she's been working on.

Touya smiled wryly, taking a sip of his tea, though he felt like someone was staring. He looked around the table and saw that no one was currently looking at him.

'Huh, it must be my imagination.' He brushed it off as he listened to the King.

"So, Touya, you're the one who made shogi? I had never seen it before Al recommended it to me. It was amusing! I got completely absorbed by it!" Tristwin laughed.

"I'm glad you liked it." Touya smiled, happy to bring a new experience to the King.

"But what do you mean you used [Modeling] to make it, can you show me?" Tristwin coaxed.

He obliged, it was not like it's that difficult to do anyways, Touya asked for a glass and was given one, he used the null spell on it and created a miniature glass figure of Tristwin.

He held it up and showed the King, passing the piece to him. Tristwin inspected the figure and was amazed at how it was in his likeness.

"This is amazing…"

"I wonder if you can make one for us, Touya?" Elze coaxed, nudging his arm.

Touya smiled and said of course he would, they were very dear to him after all.

As soon as he said that, all the girls present blushed as they were viewed as important to Touya, Elze coughed into her hand and looked away. Linze lowered her head and fought down her reddening face. Yae just covered her face with her hands, hiding her embarrassment.

Sally smiled, giggling as she watched their reactions, she was currently hiding in her Master's shadow, monitoring the environment.

'Heh, smooth work, Master.'

Just then, the door suddenly snapped open. This frightened everyone in the room, snapping their heads to the door.

In the door frame was Charlotte carrying a multitude of scrolls, she laid it down on the table and took a scroll, showing it to Touya.

"Can you read this!?" Charlotte asked, frantically breathing.

"Ahh… No, I can't honestly." Touya shook his head.

"I knew this would happen, which is why I got this book!" Charlotte pulled out a large book and opened it, flipping through the pages until she landed at the one she needed, "This is a null spell that can allow you to read any language. You can use it, yes?"

"It says here it does, but I need to know what language it is, do you know it?" Touya asked.

"Yes, it's Ancient Spirit Language. There are very few who can read this, so please if you can."

"Sure." Touya nodded and chanted the spell, "{Reading: Ancient Spirit Language}."

"Alright, 'A degoment that does not possess a meaningful skill through magic, through a soma technique bombarded with magic, will undergo the edos change'." He read, handing back the scroll to the Court Magician. "There's more similar things written, but I have no idea what they mean."

"You can read it! That's amazing!" Charlotte praised as she held up more scrolls, "With this, my research will take leaps and bounds! I'm sorry but can you read this one too!?"

"Hey, let's calm down for a second." Touya held his hands up, pleading for her to stop.

"Yes, Charlotte, please calm yourself." Tristwin ordered gently. Charlotte did so, although reluctantly.

"S-sorry- I got carried away, didn't I?" Charlotte nervously laughed.

"Well, I know how much time and effort you put into your research, so I can understand it, however please be mindful of our guests' personal space."

"You're right! Until now- I've only been able to decipher word by word- even if it took months and years, it might've been the wrong cipher but in an instant! Touya was able to clear those doubts! So please- please assist me in my research-!"

"I'm gonna stop you right there." Touya held his hand, shutting Charlotte up as she was taken back by his decline, "Could I use another glass cup? Your Majesty?"

"Hm? Sure, it's no problem at all, go ahead."

He grabbed a glass and handed it to Touya, he pulled out two copper coins from his pocket and set them together with the glass.

"{Modeling}." Chanting the null spell, he created a pair of glasses and held it up, inspecting the quality before approving it, "Alright, this should be fine. {Enchant: Reading: Ancient Spirit Language}."

"There, try these on." He handed the glasses to Charlotte and she accepted them, "Now, try reading this."

" 'A degoment that does not possess a meaningful skill through magic, through a-'." She read the same scroll and was amazed that she could read it, "I can read it! I can read it now!"

"The effects should be semi-permanent, but if it wears off, you can ask me to re-enchant it again if you want." Touya smiled, walking back to his chair. "That should be all right?"

"Yes! But does that mean I can keep these?"

"Yeah, I did make them for you." As soon as those words left his mouth, Charlotte ran to the door with all she brought with her.

"Thank you very much!" She thanked him, leaving and closing the door behind her.

"Apologies, she has a habit of forgetting everything else once she's engrossed into her work, I try to tell her to get out of it but she just brushes it off." Tristwin solemnly said, sighing at the antics of his Court Magician.

"No problem, I understand it when someone's passionate about something." Touya waved his hand, it wasn't the first time he encountered someone like this and it probably wouldn't be the last.

At the same time, he felt the staring once again and from the corner of his eye, he caught Yumina, nervously taking a sip of his tea, he wondered why the Princess was staring at him so intensely.

After a while, she stopped staring and sighed, seemingly calming herself and preparing to say something, she suddenly stood up and addressed something on her mind.

"Father, mother. I've decided." She began, catching the attention of her parents and everyone else's.

"What do you mean, Yumina?" Tristwin asked, wondering why his daughter spoke so suddenly.

"This man, Mochizuki Touya! I want to marry him!" At her declaration. Touya spat out the tea he was drinking.

"What-!?" Touya coughed, trying to stop himself from choking on his tea.

The other females in his party were all flabbergasted at the Princess' bold declaration that none of them had the time to process what she said until Tristwin raised his hand and spoke up.

"I'm sorry, but could you repeat that, Yumina?" The King asked, trying to wrap his head around what his daughter just said.

"Like I said, I would like you to allow me to marry Mochizuki Touya, father." Yumina repeated. Gesturing to the young man in question.

"What's the reason for such a bold demand?"

"He saved your life, but not only that…" Yumina began, stealing a glance at Touya before continuing, "But he brings smiles to the people around him. Uncle Alfred, Charlotte, his companions. He brings everyone happiness."

"And… And helped when he could've very well declined, then you asked to reward him and he turned it down, his selflessness and kind personality, I fell in love with him… Father, I love him." Yumina declared. Tristwin locked eyes with her until he sighed.

"I see…" Closing his eyes for a moment, he sighed again, "There's no way I can refuse after your insistence, very well! I wish you happiness!"

"Father!"

"Wait- Hold on a second!" Touya interjected, finally recovering from his shock. "First off! Why are you progressing the conversation without my input!? And secondly don't I get a say in this!?"

"Ah, right, Touya, please take care of my daughter." Tristwin remarked, not even taking note of his distress.

"That's not what I meant!" Touya yelled, "Tell me-! Is it really okay to let your only daughter be married to someone like me?! A nobody! For all you know I could just be acting nice because this is exactly what I wanted!?"

"That would be true." Tristwin began, "However, the moment Yumina laid her eyes on you and declared you fit for marriage. You are far from a villain."

"You see, she has the ability to see through someone's deepest desires and character. Her eyes are special, I think you can see that as well." To emphasize his point, Yumina's eyes glimmered slightly, "Her beautiful dual colored eyes are not just for show, it's her power, her {Mystic Eyes of Intuition}. Which allows her to be a great judge of one's character even if they hide it."

"If that's the case then how did she not use it on Count Balsa!?" Touya debated, if it didn't work on Balsa surely it wouldn't work on him, right?

"As much as Balsa is despicable, he really did love this kingdom, his desire was to see it flourish even if he held prejudice towards demihumans. His son on the other hand only wanted Yumina's hand in marriage and he would use any means to get it, whether good or bad." Tristwin explained, causing Touya to dread, he was cornered.

"W-well- In that case, how old is the Princess anyways?" He asked, trying to find another way to wiggle out of this.

"She just turned twelve."

"Isn't that a bit too early to be talking about marriage?"

"No, royal families are expected to be married by the age of fifteen and are engaged younger, even my wife and I were engaged at the age of fourteen." Tristwin shook his head, not seeing what Touya's hesitance was all about.

"There's no way out of this, Master, I suggest you stop stalling and accept it, you wouldn't want to make a girl cry would you?" Sally, who finally decided to step out of the shadows and give her input, said.

"That's-" He turned to Yumina, her eyes started to water a bit which got him to bite his tongue.

"Do- do you dislike me..?" Yumina whimpered.

"N-no, no it's not like I dislike you-"

"Then, there shouldn't be any problems." She immediately beamed, flashing a smile.

'Oh my god- so cute~!' Touya mused before he quickly recovered himself, "Wait. NO!"

"...I like you, yes, but I hardly know anything about you- Wouldn't it be better for us to get to know each other before we even think about marriage? I mean, you might not like me once you do get to know more about me?" He tried to persuade his way. But Yumina shook her head, fixated on the marriage.

"Then, how about this, a two year window, if Yumina manages to capture your heart by then, you two are to be wed." For the first time, the Queen spoke up, "However, if you still have not fallen for her, then we can talk about canceling the marriage proposal."

"Yes, that should be more than enough time to get to know each other, right, Touya?" Tristwin agreed with his wife.

"I mean- I guess-?" Touya fumbled, trying to figure out a flaw in their logic but found none.

"Well, that settles it!" The Queen clasped her hands, "Yumina, be sure to capture Touya's heart in two years, otherwise prepare to live the rest of your life in the Monastery!"

"Yes! Mother!"

"What the hell does that mean?!"

'Ah shit, I got myself trapped! What the fuck do I do now!?' Touya screamed in his head, 'Surely the others don't approve right?!'

Turning his head, he looked for the reactions of his friends, each one varying in reactions to the proposal.

Elze looked sad, almost as if she was beaten to the punch, Linze kept a neutral face but her eyes betrayed her, tears falling from them, Yae looked as if she was ready to leave and cry somewhere private. The only one who wasn't in emotional distress was Sally, she had her trademark smirk on her face. Like she knew this would happen.

What does this keep happening to him?

=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=

(In one of the guest rooms of the Royal Castle.)

"Fucking hell." Touya groaned, burying his face into the pillow.

After the conversation and his subsequent engagement. Tristwin offered them to stay at the castle for the day, saying that they must be tired from all of the events that happened, and he for one, was.

He was just dressed in his pants and black shirt, he folded his coat neatly on a nearby table, along with his boots and gauntlets.

"Just how does this happen…" Turning on his back, Touya stared into the ceiling, pondering at how his life got so hectic so fast.

He tried to find any help from his friends but for some reason, Yumina asked to have a private chat with them, even Sally was invited. He didn't object of course, but he was too tired to even try honesty.

Now, all he could think about is to sleep, he was too tired from everything that has happened.

But then his phone started to ring, picking it up he was surprised to see that the caller was the big G himself, God.

Sighing, he answered the call and listened in.

~Hey, it's been a while, Touya! Congratulations on your engagement!~ He congratulated him.

"How do you… Well, I guess since you're God, you would know about this…" Touya monotoned. "So, why the call?"

~Oh nothing, just checking up on you. That girl, Yumina, she's a good girl don't you think, are you unsatisfied?~

"No, Yumina's cute and I'm sure she'll be beautiful in the near future, she's honest and steadfast, likable, but… That isn't the problem here."

~...Throw them away.~

"What?"

~Your previous morals, whatever rules you lived by in your old world don't apply here. In this world, polygamy is normal and even encourged, if there's someone you like, you can just marry them y'know?~

"Is that so… Wait, no, that's not it-" Touya shook his head, while he did think about it, he didn't mean that right now, "That's not what I meant, I mean my engagement is the problem here."

~What's the problem? God remarked, I'd say go for it, everyone else is rooting for you to get on with them, so what's there to be a problem?~

"Don't be selfish- Wait, what do you mean everyone?"

~All the other gods in heaven, when I showed them your adventures a couple of them got interested.~

"There are other gods..?"

~Yeah, of course there are, I'm not the only god here y'know but I am the highest. The God of Worlds, there are the lesser gods, like the God of Animals, God of Love, God of Blades, and God of Agriculture. These gods are among the few that are interested in you. The God of Love especially.~

"Hey… Tell the God of Love to stay out of this."

~Ha, even if I did, she wouldn't listen, it is her job after all. But listen. Touya, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even look after this world until the next millennium and even then it would just be another world I'd have no time for.~

"What do you mean by that?"

~What I mean is that thanks to you, the lives of those close to you are now improving, take Yumina for example, had you not appeared, she would've been married to Benson and lived a life full of regret and pain. Same with the other four you've captured. They would live lives less favorable.~

~What I'm saying here is, live your life the way you want to, these girls are clearly in love with you even if they can't show it. I want you to be happy and what better way than to spend it with the ones you love?~

~Touya, please consider their feelings, but also consider yours, this is your life after all.~ With that, God hung up the call. Leaving Touya with his thoughts.

"Live a life without regrets…" Touya repeated, staring into the closed screen of his phone, rubbing it with his thumb before he placed it on the drawer. "I mean, I guess I always wanted to settle down and have a family."

He pondered over the words God said, and how much they made sense in a way, but he was still debating on what course of action to take.

He got up from the bed and walked to the window, maybe viewing the scenery would clear his mind.

"It's not like I don't like her, it's just…" Touya dragged on until his gaze fell onto Yumina who was in the garden, sitting on a chair with the other girls, seemingly talking about something. "It's just…"

She smiled, something about her smile stopped his train of thoughts, he couldn't look away at how beautiful she was. Like a shining beacon in a brave new world.

'Maybe, maybe it isn't so bad…' He mused, a smile creeping up, perhaps the best course of action was to see where this'll go.

'Yeah, maybe this isn't a bad thing.' Touya concluded, taking one last glance at Yumina and the others before he walked back to his bed. 'Besides, it's not like our age gap is that far, only by four years.'

With that one last thought, Touya crawled to bed and slid under the blankets, the sweet embrace of sleep hugging him.

=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=

And that's a wrap, Yumina has officially joined the harem and is now actively trying to make one for Touya, but y'know, I always had this one problem with her during her first appearance.

Why wasn't she able to find out that Balsa was the one behind the assassination of her father? It was never dived into in canon so I figured I would give one by saying he was indeed looking out for his kingdom, even if it's twisted.

Oh, and don't bother looking up his son, I made him up just to sell the whole father-son dynamic of plotting against the crown only to get folded.

Also, a little tad bit, but apparently the months here in this New World is around 16 months, so that translates to most of the girls, sans Sue, being actually older than Touya in Earth years.

Ofc, this just might be to cull the age difference, but like God said, normal rules don't apply here. Just food for thought.

Anyways, see you in the next chapter. V_KJ, signing out.

EDIT: Fixed a few things, 13/1/2023