#447 The Royal Mermaid Couple Visits

It’s me.

Arowana and Puffer have come to our farm to hang out.

“Already?!”

Didn’t they just get married?

We had a very emotional parting with Puffer before she left the farm, so to see her back here so soon feels... awkward!

I’m still glad they came to visit us, though!

“Sorry, Lord Saint. I’m afraid we’re going to be busy from now on after succeeding the throne.”

Oh right.

He’s no longer Prince Arowana but King Arowana.

He was given the throne at his wedding and is now the regal head of the Mermaid Kingdom.

The responsibility and workload must be incomparable to when he was a prince.

“First, I have to build my regime, so it looks like we won’t have time to visit for the next few months. That’s why we thought of visiting now rather than later!”

I see.

Then please make yourselves at home and unwind as much as you like.

In fact, someone did use to call this place her home until a few days ago.

“How do you do, Your Majesty Queen Puffer?”

“Don’t call me that! The garish sound of it makes my whole body itch!”

Platy openly teases Puffer, our former resident.

“Oh, no. You’ve got it all wrong. I’m only trying to pay my respects to the new mermaid queen.”

“It feels so unnatural! I’ve done my preparations, but being crowned queen this fast is too sudden even for me!”

“Come on, Queen Puffer. Let’s get along, okay, Queen Puffer? We’re giving and taking, Queen Puffer. How about a political purge while you’re at it, Queen Puffer?”

“Stoooooooooooooooooooop!!!”

Platy keeps on her relentless banter.

I was about to stop her, but Arowana beat me to it.

“No, Puffer has to get used to being a mermaid queen. A little teasing shouldn’t hurt. It’d be best if she grows out of feeling upset as fast as possible.”

Huh.

The royal couple sure has it rough. The weight of responsibility on them is different.

“As my spouse, Puffer must support me in my private and public affairs. At the moment, we are short of human resources. Many of the key retainers are retiring along with Father in order not to influence the new regime. I am struggling to select young people to take their place.”

“?”

Huh?

Why is Arowana staring at me while he talks about this?

“...Lord Saint, would you like to be the Prime Minister of the Mermaid Kingdom?”

“No, no, no!”

I can’t believe he wants to recruit me!

“I can’t! I have a farm, and besides, it’s not in my nature to serve in the palace!”

“You have a point... I imagine I’ll be on bad terms with the Demon King if I employ you. I suppose I’ll have to give up on the idea.”

That’s what convinced you to drop the idea?!

Well, at any rate, a strange turn of events was avoided. Good.

“Is the situation that bad that you wanted to recruit Dear?”

“No, we have a lot of talented young people. However, they’re all in lower-ranking positions. It would be rash of me to have them replace our retiring veterans.”

I guess it’s hard to establish a new system.

“But more than anyone else, I’d like to select Hendra!”

I was expecting his name would be mentioned eventually.

But of course. He’s one of the best in the country in terms of ability, personality, and trust from the king.

“However, since he isn’t officially employed, it’s hard to select him for the job. I really want to make him a general, but if I give such a big role to a man who is not affiliated with the military, it will cause friction!”

He’s having a hard time with this, huh?

“If he had at least gone back to his parents’ house, it wouldn’t be a problem, but for some reason, they are still neglecting to stay in contact. I thought Lampeye would help resolve the issue...!”

“They must have their reasons. Lampeye is a rational woman.”

Puffer defends her equal, who has worked with her on this farm for a long time, in a somewhat queen-like manner.

“But I truly want Hendra to be my confidant. Do you know of a way to get him to play an active role whilst minimizing the friction with my people, Lord Saint?”

If I answer that question, wouldn’t I be interfering in your nation’s politics?

Then again, I can’t just ignore Arowana’s worries either...

“How about creating a new position?”

“Oh!”

“You can try to create a position that has less power but can still do a lot. That way, others will not look at Hendra with hostility. And if you say that he’s acting on behalf of the king’s power, people are bound to obey him.”

You know, something like the grand chamberlains during the Edo period.

Hendra has been working under Arowana’s direct orders from the start, so I’d say it’s right up his alley.

After he has racked up a good track record, he can be made a minister or a general.

“Thank you so much, Lord Saint! To think you could so easily answer a politically oriented question like this!”

It’s all because of the history novels I’ve read in my world that I can act like I know my stuff.

“All right, I’ll make sure to talk to Lampeye about this. I think it would be more authentic to do this personally, don’t you agree?”

“Oh, Queen Puffer, you’re becoming more and more fitting into your role, using your connections to get the people your husband wants!”

“Stop making fun of me. Please.”

Platy is still not done teasing the new queen.

“To be honest, I never dreamed I’d be in this position. But I’ll do whatever I can as queen for Hun.”

“And I see you’ve become more aware of it,” says Arowana with satisfaction. “Maybe it was for the best that we waited so long before the wedding. You were fortunate to live here on the farm and develop the ability to lead others. Perhaps Mother had thought that far ahead that’s why she was against our marriage at the start...!”

Um, I don’t think so.

Queen Mahi delayed your marriage as long as possible because she didn’t want her beloved son to leave her.

On the bright side, this gave the couple time to sort things out and shape their minds as king and queen.

This is what made the surprise succession to the throne a reality.

The way things have been arranged also makes me wonder if it was really all planned out.

“Getting married feels nice. I used to think that if you live together, it doesn’t matter what people call you. But hearing ‘husband and wife’ just has a different ring to it!”

Seeing them happy means our hard work was worth it.

We had to do our part and get former Queen Mahi to let them get married, after all.

But it was the couple themselves who persevered the most.

Their wish came true, and they became a married couple.

I wish them all the best in their life together.

“Hey, Queen Puffer. Want some tea?”

“What now? And when will you stop calling me that?”

“I’ve got some pickles here made by our new brewery personnel.”

“Ohh, I see Discus is doing great as my protégé. I was thinking of seeing her after this.”

“Ah, someone else made this batch.”

Puffer eats a pickle and...

“Who made thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis?!”

And she flips out.

“They’re not pickled thoroughly! The bed is not properly seasoned! Who dares to call themselves my heir and make such bland pickles?!”

“Oh? Are you mad? Actually, Angel pickled these!”

Platy seems to be enjoying her daily life.

We also have a son named Junior, and the farm is growing day by day.

I thought there was nothing missing.

It may be a little too late for this now, but I realized something after we attended Arowana and Puffer’s wedding.

“...We didn’t have a marriage ceremony, did we, Platy?”

I’ve decided what we’re doing next.