Chapter 20

Why does a ceremony take so much time and effort?!

Why does a ceremony have to be so glamorous?!

Today is the coronation ceremony.

We’ve been doing a lot of smaller ceremonies for the past few days and this is the main event.

This is the ceremony where the new queen would be coronated to distinguished guests from various countries and organizations.

As the main character of the show, I had been dressed in a luxurious dress in my room since early morning.

The fabric of the dress was covered with pearls! Because of that, the dress was really heavy.

The headdress I wore was also covered with many jewels and was really heavy.

My knees were shaking.

“It’s too heavy… I… can’t take it anymore…!”

“My! You are giving up with just this? Liselotte-sama, isn’t your strength a little bit lacking?”

“…sorry…”

I couldn’t bear the weight and fell forward.

The women around me cried out in surprise. Theresa-san lifted and held me in her arms.

She then rebuked Grace-sama.

“Grace-sama, let’s just give up on this dress. Any more than this, she might just collapse in the middle of the coronation.”

“Ugh… It’s frustrating! I’ve been trying to come up with a design that would make Liselotte-sama’s dress shine!”

By that did she mean inserting that many jewels into the dress?

The woman’s dream was too heavy for my weak strength.

I sobbed into Theresa-san’s chest.

I was laying down on the sofa in my underwear when Mars-sama knocked on the door.

“The king of the Liselotte Kingdom of the Liselotte Continent has arrived, he came from the capital city Liselotte to greet you, Liselotte-sama. He was apologizing for his late arrival because of the storm.”

Those names weren’t some kind of funny puns, they were real.

No matter how many times I asked them to change those names, they just told me ‘I’ll do my best’ but they never changed anything.

I once said that the continent was on the verge of ruins.

When Darius-sama first set foot on that continent.

Corruption and war frequency had reached an extreme level while the people all over the continent were revolting.

Even if the revolution succeeded, eventually they would become corrupt again and oppress the people below them, creating an unending cycle.

The borders between countries were painted with blood. Race, ethnicity, and a lot of other reasons were used as justifications for the people to kill each other to satisfy their ego

Even though the origin of all those wars was to fight against discriminatory acts.

As the war went on and killing each other became a norm, the scale of the battle and hatred shifted from country against country, race against race to village against village.

In the worst case, neighbors and even family members would hate and kill each other.

In the end, everyone became drunk on their own ‘justice.’

A ‘justice’ that was based on killing those who might threaten their life.

A ‘justice’ that eventually turned into justification that killing everyone except yourself is an acceptable act.

As a result of that, the population of that continent decreased drastically to less than 100.000 people left on the continent.

In the middle of that mess, Darius-sama arrived on the continent and dispatched his troops in his quest to search for the last member of the royal family. Along the way, he captured everyone who was in the way.

Towards the captured people, he declared that he would give food to those who obeyed him and then gathered the survivors from all over the continent.

He distributed a huge amount of food that the army had been carrying and taught the people the know-how to capture and process large amounts of food from the sea.

Aside from that, he taught the people about resource management, thus ending the bloody cycle once and for all.

The state of the survivors was a mess, there was no semblance of proper leadership of the countries and the tribes in the continent.

Among the people who survived, some of them spoke up and said ‘We wish to build a new country as a first step forward towards our new future!’

Unanimously they offered to be a vassal country of the Kennel Kingdom and offered to make me their queen.

They began to worship Darius-sama as their ‘o-inu-sama[1]’ for his deed in reforming the continent’s economy.

They also began to worship Shiba-sama, his vice-commander who stayed behind as his proxy as their ‘o-mame-sama[2]’. In addition to that, they built a temple to worship my portrait that Darius-sama brought to them, and because of Darius-sama’s influence, they began to call me ‘goddess’.

And now, the representative of the continent has set his foot in the kingdom.

Survival Intrachia Wolfe Lobo-sama.

In his tribe’s style, his name consists of his tribe name, clan name, family name, and lastly his first name.

As the representative, he showed his eagerness to be annexed by the Kennel Kingdom.

However, we couldn’t just accept that since the scale of his country was the whole continent itself.

He understood that I wasn’t old enough to rule, so we eventually settled that for now, they would be a vassal state of the kingdom with an autonomous government. That would be the state of his country until I gained enough political knowledge to rule the country.

Still, the fact that they unanimously named the continent, the country, and the capital after me, gave me a cold sweat.

After the room was prepared to receive guests, I called for Survivor-sama.

A tall man with taupe hair and sharp eyes entered the room. He looked like he was in his prime.

Behind him was Darius-sama’s proxy, Mameta von Shiba-sama.

He was a beautiful looking man with black hair and large black eyes, his eyes carried a certain amount of wisdom.

Survival-sama had short hair and was dressed in his tribe’s traditional attire, a headdress with a belt and a beautifully embroidered cloak.

He walked through the door while keeping his alert. When he saw me in my silver and purple colored royal garb, his eyes widened.

Then he got down on his knees, before sliding on the ground.

“My queen! I beg your forgiveness for my lateness!! I will take responsibility by offering my head to you—! But, my queen! Before I die, at least please let me take a sniff of your scent!”

DE-JA-VU!

Is this maybe…

I told him ‘It’s okay, I’m not mad at you, so, please raise your head,’ but he still kept his head down. This was troubling me, so I looked at Leonhardt-sama and Darius-sama who had been standing behind my back.

The two of them looked at the kneeling Survival-sama who had a desperate expression on his face and said.

“He is a descendant of a race that migrated from this continent in ancient times, his race is similar to ours.”

“The tales of our royal family had been passed down orally within his tribe, Shiba-san had compiled the tales for them in the ‘Wolfdog Chronicle’”

I knew it. This excessive amount of loyalty was a behavior unique to the Dog-Kins.

I told Mameta-sama to stop Survival-sama who suddenly said ‘I will drink the water of death to atone for this.’

Then I asked him.

“Are there many descendants of the Dog-Kins on the continent?”

“Yes, my queen. The full-scale war that enveloped the whole continent wiped out the majority of the population. Near the end of the war, they couldn’t even keep up with the weapon productions, resulting in only races with superior physical constitutions being able to survive the war. One of the races is the Dog-Kin, who made up half of the population.”

“Ah… I-I see..”

No wonder they were able to rule the continent so easily.

They probably rushed to Darius-sama because they thought that he might have an ideal owner for them.

Moreover, they had been searching and longing for an owner for thousands of years.

Though, as expected, being deified might be a little bit too much for me?

Survival-sama, who had finally raised his head, sent me a confused look with a passionate gaze that felt hot enough to burn me.

At any rate, I thanked him for his hard work based on the report that Leonhardt-sama told me and for his oath of friendship with the Kennel Kingdom.

Then Mameta-sama, the beautiful-looking black-haired man kneeled down and asked me, ‘My queen, please grant a reward to this Dog-Kin who had come from a faraway land to visit us.’

He was talking about the passionate man in front of me.

I told the man to take on his dog form.

He turned into a taupe dog about the same size as Darius-sama.

I’ve seen this dog in a picture book before.

They were called… wolf.

The book said that wolves didn’t get used to people easily, but the man himself told me that he was a ‘wolfdog’, a different breed of wolf.

I gently stroke his stiff fur.

“Welcome to the Kennel Kingdom, I look forward to working with you in the future.”

“Grrr!”

Survival-sama purred in a loud voice, showing his good mood to me.

He begged me to call him ‘Lobo’, so I decided to call him Lobo-sama.

He will be the guest of honor from the new continent.

* * *

Well then.

After hearing the situation on the new continent, I finally put the heavy dress on and headed to the East Wancoaster Shrine, the main shrine of the Dog-Kin’s religion.

Before changing, I told Leonhardt-sama that I want to meet my stepbrother and Dashiba.

My stepbrother was dressed in civilian clothes, he squinted his eyes as if he was glaring when he saw my hair and said, ‘So, it’s finally happening.’

“You know, in reality, the moment you became a member of the royal family, you weren’t considered to be my stepsister anymore. But, whatever happens, I will always think of you as my precious stepsister.”

“I also consider you my precious stepbrother. I’m sorry I’ve dragged you into all this.”

“It’s fine~ I’m just doing whatever I want anyway. But anyway, from now on I really need to add ‘-sama’ whenever I speak to you, huh? I need to get used to it~”

“Yes…”

“It’ll be hard to be together again from now on, huh?”

“…yes…”

“Now, now, don’t be sad~ I’ll get a promotion quickly so we can be together more often, believe in me ‘kay?”

After that, stepbrother left with Dashiba, who had no clue what just happened.

He said he was going to leave Dashiba to the archbishop so he could turn the dog into the Purist Sect’s ‘Guardian Dog.’

As expected of him.

Leonhardt-sama approved of that decision.

Anyway, they finally decided on the dress I would be using.

Instead of just reducing the number of jewels in the dress, they decided to make me wear a white dress with lusters on the fabric itself.

They could have just given me that dress from the very beginning, but Grace-sama said, ‘I wanted to make a design that would shake the world and open up a new era of fashion…’ as she lamented with a distorted expression on her beautiful face.

In the future, when I am strong enough, okay?

I promised her that and set off in my heavy dress and thin shoes.

…also, I was carried on Theresa-san’s back, who had turned into her dog form, whenever we went through a secluded place, that fact was a secret though.

My first expectation was that we were going to ride a horse-drawn carriage instead of a tank this time, since Leondhardt-sama, who had dressed in his Prime Minister’s attire said, ‘We aren’t going to ride a tank, we will ride an antique vehicle instead.’

“Speaking of which, I haven’t ridden a carriage for quite a while.”

“We aren’t going to ride one, my lady.”

“Not riding the horse-drawn carriage?”

“Yes, you can see your ride there, my lady.”

He pointed to a large, gorgeously decorated sled.

For some reason, there were many wheels attached to it.

Could it be… a bad premonition came to me and in that instance, a bunch of dogs wearing cloaks appeared in a row in front of me.

I got a really bad feeling about this!

Darius-sama in his dog form, wearing a magnificent red cloak on his back, proudly proclaimed.

[My queen, you don’t need a horse! For we are the one who would take the role of a horse!]

[We are!]

[The queen’s horse!]

[We will guide you through the coronation with style!]

[…!]

[(Great Dane-san, we can’t hear you…) …for all the splendor!]

[Please accept us without complaints!]

Those people who were making those declarations one after another were the commanders during the civil war!

Aside from Darius-sama, they were Growley von Rottweiler-sama, Ryoma von Tosa-sama, Rascal von Malamute-sama, Apollo von Great Dane-sama, Mars von Maltese-sama and Barbarian von Pitbull-sama.

Also, yes, my guard dog, Mars-sama was also there.

Even though he was the smallest dog among them, he still looked very proud.

Leonhardt-sama escorted me to the sleigh.

[Follow me please, Liselotte-sama, to the most venerable vehicle in the Kennel Kingdom… the dog sled!]

Knew. It.

* * *

For the first time, I went outside the royal castle outside of combat missions.

Accompanying me was Leonhardt-sama, who was next to me.

Also, Mazo von Borzoi-sama was among the commanders that would escort me originally.

He was hiding under the mat of the sled, but since he was a large dog, people noticed him in an instant, and Josee-sama from the Eighth Division immediately picked him up and took him away.

Oh yeah, before she did that, Josee-sama smiled at me while saying, ‘I’m going to take care of this trash.’ That should settle everything, right?

Eventually, we left the castle gate, and finally, I got to see the capital properly.

Under the blue sky, colorful red roofs and white roads made of cobblestones spread out endlessly.

Along the street, there were a lot of people and dogs.

They were throwing flowers and waving flags to welcome us.

“Liselotte-sama!”

[Queen!]

“Please stay with us from now on!”

I was greeted by their smiling faces. The young and the old, men and women, large dogs and small dogs.

I was so moved by it I almost cried.

“I… I…”

“Liselotte-sama, the people are happy that you are here with them.”

“I’m… happy. So everyone had been waiting for me, all this time…”

“You’ve read Abel-sama’s journal..?”

“Yes. I’m sorry that I’ve read it before you had the chance to show it to me, but because of that, now I’ve made up my mind to stay here.”

I heard that Yoch-sama, the Paparazzi Dog, was severely warned after that.

I managed to prevent them from giving further punishment for him since if it were not because of his actions, I wouldn’t have the resolve to fight the terrorists.

For a moment, Leonhardt-sama’s brown eyes showed a little bit of sadness.

“When we first took you here, you always had this lonely look in your eyes. Back then, you didn’t feel that you belong here, this is not the place for you and you keep thinking that you are merely a guest of the kingdom and nothing more.”

“Leonhardt-sama…”

“For Dog-Kins, the most important thing is hierarchy. We can’t simply have an equal standing of friendship with the royalty. That’s why every time a Dog-Kin showed their affection to you, it only made you feel even more lonely.”

True.

I never had any friends.

That was on me because I was a clumsy girl, but still, I felt the loneliness.

And then I was brought here to rule over other people.

To love them, praise them, and scold them.

I would serve as the owner of the dogs.

The relationship between us wasn’t that of friends, but it was a relationship of a parent and children or a master and servants.

Father Abel was the last of the royal family after the death of other members who were his equals.

Perhaps it was because of his loneliness that he earnestly looked for me, kin who he never even saw before.

It took me a while to get used to the unfamiliar forms of affection the Dog-Kins expressed to me.

Even then…

“Leonhardt-sama, I am still grateful to you. If everyone hadn’t found me, I probably would have been dead by now.”

“No, you shouldn’t be…”

“And you know, I’ve grown to love everyone. It’s the fact that I love everyone that made me want to stay with everyone. I don’t care about the hierarchy, I just want to live in this country with all the people that I love.”

“Liselotte-sama…”

I smiled, trying my best to keep the corners of my mouth up slightly so as not to look scary by accident.

“And all of you had your own personalities, no? Everyone has their own wish, no?

I know that Leonhardt-sama treated Darius-sama as a rival and that he was complaining in the office that Darius-sama got to call me ’Lize-sama’, am I right?”

“W-when did you hear that?!”

“It’s a secret. You can call me Lize if you want, Leonardt-sama. All that matters to me is to be closer with all of you.”

“Lize-sama…!”

Leonhardt-sama was so happy that he immediately hugged me and sniffed me.

‘Wait, we are in the middle of the road!’ I was about to tell him, but the sled stopped before I could do that.

[Prime Minister!!]

[Leonhardt-sama!!]

In the end, Leonhardt-sama was forced to accompany Darius-sama and Yoch von Greyhound-sama, who was originally doing his paparazzi work on the roadside, to pull on the dog sled.

The Paparazzi Dog lamented ‘What’s the point of being a paparazzi at the event that you are participating in!’

When we arrived at the shrine, there was a huge church there.

It was a majestic building with magnificent stained glass windows that reflected the sunlight.

I got off the sleigh with Yoch-sama escorting me, during which a grumpy-looking Duke Hainuwele entered my view, standing diagonally in front of me with a blue bruise on his face. That was probably the result of his quarrel with his brother.

Wait, wasn’t he supposed to be one of the guests of honor as a representative of the empire?!

I quickly told the surrounding dogs, ‘Don’t be rude to him!’

He told me to be at ease and said, ‘It’s fine, I’m just here to greet you since I have some business I need to attend to, I will be replaced by another minister as soon as the ceremony ends.’

“This time, the queen had beaten me completely, I’m not sure what to say, all I’m sure about is that I can’t underestimate you anymore. I hope you and I can continue our ‘good’ relationship.”

“Likewise, I do welcome countries that are able to negotiate ‘peacefully’ with us. I look forward to working with you in the future.”

After a ‘heated’ conversation, we had him return to his seat as a guest of honor.

Surely, I wouldn’t be able to beat every plot they set against us.

But still, that didn’t mean I wouldn’t make them taste their own medicine.

I will do my best to protect my dogs.

Having made up my mind, I walked into the church. The ceiling was high and the interior was wide.

As I walked along the carpeted path surrounded by the gorgeous-looking guests, I was bombarded by thoughtful stares.

My dress was heavy and my feet started to hurt already.

People’s expectations of me were heavy and their suspicions of me were painful, it was hard to walk.

I was only ten years old, but I’ve already participated in war and fought against terrorism.

Still, I had no choice but to walk forward.

Among the gazes, there were gazes that said, ‘What is this kid doing here..?’ clearly looking down on me and there was a gaze that said, ‘Goddess..!’ …wait, goddess..?

I quietly shifted my gaze to the person who sent me the latter’s gaze.

It was Lobo-sama.

Has something happened in the new continent?

It wasn’t the time for this, I’ll ignore it for now.

* * *

After giving my oath in front of the high priest, finally, I could wear the crown. It was a red-colored crown decorated with emeralds.

Standing beside me, the Prime Minister, Leonhardt-sama declared.

“On this wonderful day, Her Majesty The Queen, Liselotte-sama was born!”

‘Woah!’ the guests shouted in excitement.

But then came the pledge of loyalty.

Immediately confusion spread among the guests from other countries.

“Wasn’t the pledge involving kissing the queen’s toe?”

“And the queen is a ten-year-old girl, right?”

“…is this country okay?”

Yes, the country is okay!

One after another, the robust-looking Mad Dog Knights and the prestigious high-ranking nobles of the kingdom were kissing my toes.

“Your Majesty, to you, my undying loyalty!”

“My life belongs to you, my queen.”

“Order me to die at any time, I will die with pride!”

They said that with a passionate gaze as they kissed my feet.

Why must it be my feet and not the back of my hand?!

WHY?!

And then…

I heard the muttering of the nobles of the former Humanist Kingdom.

“Are they… maybe… lolicons?”

“Lolicon kingdom? Are we actually a part of a kingdom of lolicons?”

“Lolicon kingdom…? Our country is ruined…”

Aaahhhh I don’t want to hear it!!

But in this situation, I can’t cover my ears!!

Suddenly someone from the guest of honor seat shouted, ‘I would like to pledge my loyalty too!’ It was Lobo-sama.

He was immediately seized, but it looked like he would do his pledge later after this ceremony ended.

My gaze became distant because of the mutterings that I could hear and the shameful play that continued. I feel like my mind flying further away from my body toward the edge of the sky.

Eventually, the coronation ended without incident.

But my mood was immediately lifted.

[[[Long live the Queen!]]]

When I stepped outside, a horde of dogs welcomed me.

Huge dogs, big dogs, medium-sized dogs, small dogs, and tiny dogs.

On the streets, on the windows of the houses, on the roofs, and even on the fences.

They were Dog-Kins in their dog form.

Except for the high-ranking nobles, Dog-Kins seldomly take their dog form, mainly because living in dog form is quite difficult.

But this time, to celebrate the fact that they gained an owner, me, they were taking their dog form to indirectly tell me that they were my dogs.

The scenery surprised the guests from outside the country.

As I rode on the dog sled, the dogs greeted me with their barks.

Flowers were flying here and there and everyone was smiling.

I waved my hand toward the people as I made my speech.

“Ladies and gentlemen! I, Liselotte Mona Budgerigar, swear to do my best to be a good owner for all of you!

That’s why let’s do our best together! Thank you for all your support!”

—And so began the reign of Queen Liselotte of the Kennel Kingdom.

There will be many problems to come from both outside and inside the country, I’m sure.

History always repeats itself after all.

But, I have all of you, my dogs.

My stepbrother, Dashiba, and other people that are dear to me are here by my side.

While it’s hard to discipline those crazy dogs, I know they meant well and the fact that they love me.

I have a long life ahead of me.

I am determined to do my best as the queen of the dogs.

[1] お犬様, basically a guardian deity in a form of a dog, or dog that turned into a guardian deity. I would translate this to ‘Guardian Dog’ or something similar, but, because of the next note, I decided not to.

[2] お豆様, it’s a pun because he is a mame-shiba. Translating it literally would result in something like ‘Guardian Bean’ or “Guardian Mame’ which sounds kinda dumb to me, so I decided to just leave it alone.