BSPC 07

Chapter 7

“Actually, I was the one who first suggested that the young lady—no, my w-wife—participate in the tournament. I persuaded her by telling her that something good would happen if we won first place.”

“When did you ever say……?”

Tamia was about to protest, but she quietly shut her mouth.

She had somehow managed to sense that this was not the time for her to speak.

“Tamia merely followed my suggestion and did her best to hunt the monsters. I was planning to reveal that I was a prince and formally propose to her after the tournament was over, but everything has been thrown into chaos.”

All thanks to whoever had done such a terrible job managing the monster-generation control device.

At Leon’s final remark, the announcer froze stiffly.

After all, the tournament organizers did bear a large share of the blame for the whole mess.

“I won’t bother figuring out who was right or wrong. I’m a generous man. And……”

Leon crooked a finger at the announcer, who nervously approached him.

“I heard there was a surprise event where we receive an additional ten der for every monster we hunted.”

[Huh? Th-there’s no such event……]

The announcer suddenly swallowed the rest of his sentence.

Leon’s face was terrifyingly close, looking like a lion that had just crawled up from the depths of hell.

I’ll pay for it myself, so say there is one.

The announcer deciphered Leon’s lip movements and displayed a remarkable flair for improvisation.

[Th-that’s right! Hahaha! I suppose His Highness is very familiar with the inner workings of the tournament! Let’s see…… You hunted a total of 342 monsters before the tournament ended, so that comes to an additional 3,420 der!]

“Three thousand der……?”

The life slowly returned to Tamia’s anxious eyes.

Leon immediately noticed and smiled warmly at her.

“Tamia, I told you that if I won first place and collected the prize money, something good would happen, didn’t I?”

“Hmm…… I think you did say something like that……?”

“I’ll give you both the 2,000-der winner’s prize and the 3,420-der event prize. So, will you accept the position of the prince’s consort?”

Tamia’s brain seemed to stop functioning for a moment.

She blinked.

Two thousand plus three thousand……

Good heavens! That was more than five thousand der?!

If I turn this down, I’ll officially be the biggest idiot in the world!

Five thousand der.

With that kind of money, even Father wouldn’t object to her marriage.

In fact, she suddenly found herself more than willing to have her private life published in Babble-Babble—even down to the exact times she went to the bathroom.

“My husband really is the best!”

“Ugh!”

Tamia ran straight over and squeezed Leon in a crushing embrace.

……I suppose I should call for a doctor.

Leon’s body was slowly being reduced to tatters in her arms, completely unnoticed by her.

And so, the awards ceremony began.

[Everyone! Please give your heartfelt blessings to Team 25—no, to His Highness the Second Prince and his wife, and wish them all the happiness in the world!]

“Waaaaaah!”

“Your Highness! Your Highness the Princess Consort! You two were amazing!!”

[And in addition, we will be presenting the 2,000-der prize money along with the event prize, for a grand total of 5,420 der. Please consider it a wedding gift from the tournament organizers!]

“What kind of nonsense is that? Prize money is prize money, and a wedding gift is a wedding gift. Give them separately!”

The audience burst into laughter at Tamia’s shameless obsession with money.

They didn’t realize that she was being completely sincere. They simply assumed it was another amusing joke.

Meanwhile, there was one man trembling as he watched the entire spectacle unfold.

“Tamia…… got married?”

The ordinary-looking man with dull brown hair clenched his fists and ground his teeth before quickly leaving the tournament grounds.

“I have to report this to Father immediately.”

“The prize money…… The prize money……”

Tamia repeatedly counted the gold coins inside the large pouch, as though she couldn’t believe they were real.

“Huh? Husband, something’s wrong. I think there are only 5,419 der here. Huh?”

“There’s a gold coin at your feet.”

“Oh! There is!”

Inside the carriage heading toward the Arderin estate—

At Tamia’s insistence that she absolutely had to give the money to her father before leaving for the Imperial Palace, she and Leon were on their way to the Arderin family’s town house.

“What kind of person is your father, Count Arderin?”

At Leon’s question, Tamia immediately began chattering away.

“My father is incredibly strong! ……I mean, he is. Especially when it comes to monsters—he’s ridiculously good at hunting them. While I can kill ten monsters, Father can easily kill twenty! He can!”

Tamia tried to leap to her feet inside the carriage, only to bump her head against the ceiling with a solid thunk.

Apparently not feeling the pain at all, she spread her arms wide and continued explaining with exaggerated gestures.

“Once, he encountered this monster that was this huge, and he took it down with exactly three arrows! Two in the eyes, and one straight into the belly button, which was its weak point. And then he said, ‘A monster’s size doesn’t matter much as long as you properly identify its weaknesses.’ Ahhh, isn’t that incredibly cool?!”

“He certainly lives up to his nickname, the Monster Devourer. My father-in-law.”

“If you met him in person, you’d fall in love with him too, husband!”

Leon lightly shook his head at Tamia, who was struggling to tack the polite ending onto every sentence.

“I suppose that isn’t going to work. Tamia, you may speak casually to me.”

“Oh! But you’re still His Highness the Second Prince. Is that really okay?”

“We’re married for the time being. What does it matter?”

“Then shall I do that, husband?”

Tamia readily accepted the offer with a bright smile.

Apparently, speaking formally every other sentence had been quite uncomfortable for her.

“Oh, we’re almost there!”

Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, Tamia hopped out and began bouncing excitedly while pointing toward a shabby-looking mansion.

“This is our new home!”

The carriage came to a stop, and Leon followed Tamia out.

Then he slightly frowned.

The garden was completely barren, without a single flowering tree, and the house was barely wider than the palm of his hand.

If they tried to bring in any new furniture, there might not even be enough room for the people to sleep indoors.

“That is the Count’s town house?”

“Yeah! It’s much more sophisticated than the old mansion in the county. It’s a little cramped, but that’s fine. I’ve slept in places much worse while hunting monsters!”

“Do you happen to know how much it cost to purchase this place?”

“Hmm…… I heard Father say he paid thirty thousand der.”

What a scam.

Leon clicked his tongue inwardly.

Thirty thousand der for such a cramped, run-down town house?

And it was located far from the center of the capital, too.

Even being generous, I doubt it’s worth more than ten thousand der.

“When did you move here?”

“A little over a month ago.”

“You’re saying they demanded repayment of one thousand der barely a month after you borrowed the money?”

“Yeah. Why? Is something strange?”

Leon was about to shout that everything surrounding this house was strange when he spotted a man coming out through the door and fell silent.

“Oh, Father! I’m home!”

“Tamia, you’re home early today.”

“Yeah! I made some money. Here—five thousand der!”

Tamia thrust the money pouch at him without hesitation, and Theodore’s eyes widened.

“Y-you made this much money? You?”

“Yes.”

It was an enormous sum.

Theodore’s expression hardened as he pressed his daughter for an explanation.

“Tamia, you can tell me the truth. Did you beat someone up and threaten them?”

“Aw, Father! I told you I don’t hit people anymore! We promised!”

“Then did you perhaps win big at some gambling den? No, no. There’s no way my daughter is clever enough to swindle someone out of their money……”

As the Count suspiciously looked back and forth between his daughter and the money pouch, Leon quietly stepped forward.

“Good to meet you.”

“And who might you be…… Huh?!”

Unlike his daughter, Theodore immediately recognized a member of the Imperial Family.

He hastily dropped to one knee.

“I-I greet Your Highness, the little glory of the Empire! Wh-what brings you to such a humble place?!”

“We’re family now, so shouldn’t we at least know what each other looks like?”

“Pardon? Family……?”

Theodore raised his head in confusion.

And there stood his daughter beside the prince, wearing an apologetic expression.

“Father, I’m sorry. I married His Highness the Second Prince.”

“That’s how things turned out, Father-in-law.”

It was at that moment.

The Countess, who happened to be coming through the door, overheard their conversation and let out a piercing scream.

“What, what did you say?! No! My son-in-law is supposed to be a frail, beautiful young man!”

“I really didn’t want to let her marry someone like this……”

Countess Arderin, Grita, repeatedly dabbed at her tears with a handkerchief.

“My son-in-law is the youngest Sword Master in the Empire and the commander of the Griffin Order! What kind of tragedy is this?!”

“Calm down, dear. They say our son-in-law is exceptionally skilled. Why are you crying so bitterly?”

“What do you know?!”

Grita angrily shook Theodore’s hand away.

“I wanted to spend my life protecting someone, too! But you’re far too strong, and even our precious daughter Tamia can cut through boulders like radishes!”

“Dear……”

“So I prayed that at least my son-in-law would be a delicate man who would awaken my protective instincts. But a Sword Master?! My son-in-law is a Sword Master—aaaaah?!”