âYes, she said she was suddenly not feeling wellâŚâ (Marquis Mitchel)
Ten days later, Count Wonrade and Viscount Efred attended another party, but they were unable to find Viscount Yamano, who was supposed to be present.
â⌠it cannot be helped. Human cannot resist every illness. She left homeland, live alone in another country where the water and food are different, it is not strange for her to get sick. Well, weâve come here anyway, letâs use this chance to talk to everyone. As a nobleman of this Kingdom [Count Wonrade]. It may be good to do this occasionally. Marquis Mitchel, please convey to Viscount Yamano to be careful about her condition and not to suffer any serious illness.â (King)
âAs you wish!â (Marquis Mitchel)
For His Majesty the King⌠No, for Count Wonrade, he is free to attend any party regardless of the factions, whether it is the army or the navy faction. So, he can just wait for the next opportunity. That was all.
âWhat? The viscount is absent again?â (King)
âYes, she is having her monthly visitor, she saidâŚâ (Marquis Mitchel)
âA-Aah, I got it. Although she is still a child, sheâs a woman. It cannot be helpedâŚâ (King)
If itâs not an illness, there is no problem. All he has to do is just to change the date. It is no problem if he can meet a few days late⌠is what the king was thinking.
âŚ
âWhat? She is unavailable today too?â (King)\n
âŚ
âSheâs absent this time too? Whatâs the meaning of this!!â (King)
Viscount Yamano is not absent from all parties. If so, then there may be some reason other than getting ill. However, it seems that she was attending the parties where the King and the Prince were absent due to public affairs or political consideration.
Even if it was coincidence, the odds are too perfectly aligned. At this point, not only the nobles, but the king has realized it too.
âWeâre being avoided, huhâŚâ (King)
Right, every time Mitsuha received the party invitation, she consulted with Marquis Mitchel whether she should attend or not, if she decided to attend, she would send a reply to the party organizer, saying [I may be absent suddenly on the day of the party because Iâm not feeling well recently. Even so, if thatâs alright with youâŚ]. And later that day, she would have the hired messenger boy to send a letter, not to the party organizers, but directly to the party practitioners, asking [Will Count Wonrade and Viscount Efred be present?].
⌠as a result, there were parties that attended by Viscount Yamano as scheduled, and there were parties that received a notice stating that she will be absent due to sudden illness.
If this is repeated many times, information will flow even among the nobles, and then the conditions for [when Viscount Yamano is absent] will be confirmed. âŚRight, it is [Whenever Count Wonrade and Viscount Efred are present].
Normally, it is a tremendous honor for the party organizers, if the king and the prince come to the party even if theyâre in incognito. âŚRight, IF itâs [Normal].
Everyone knows that the purpose of this [Incognito Rush] is to [make contact as an ordinary noble] with Viscount Yamano. With this, the organizer cannot boast the fact that His Majesty has visited their party. And officially, Itâs just attendance of [Count Wonrade] anyway.
âŚthat means, the nobles would have replied [NO] to the question [Would you like the attendance of [Count Wonrade] in exchange of the attendance of Viscount Yamano?].
âHow did this happenâŚâ (King)
Although he was a level-headed king, he still blamed himself for the stupid idea like [Pretending to be an ordinary nobleman] and the stupid misconception his son has made.\nâHow did this happeeeeeenn!!!!!â (King)
(Mitsuhaâs POV)
I came to the port city!!
Yes, the port city where the naval base is located.
My objective is that ship, ummmâŚ. Oh there it is, the latest ship [Leviathan]. One two three⌠there are 32-guns on one side, so there is no doubt that that is the latest 64-guns ship!
Just like the last time, I sit on the same benchâŚ
I waited for about an hour and a half but soldier-kun did not come. Thereâs no way that it would be that convenient huh.
Well, we havenât made a promise, so itâs natural. I thought that they will always go outside around the same time if itâs their day off. Well, I donât know when their day off is, though it would be nice if the lower sailor could go outside once or twice a week.
Well, letâs take it easy.
Oh, sailors other than soldier-kun started talking to me several times⌠persistently.
I told them that I was waiting for someone, but then they asked to let them accompany me while I wait, so I talked with them on the bench, but nobody was as knowledgeable, gentlemanly, polite and interesting as soldier-kun. As expected, meeting with soldier-kun was a beginnerâs luck huhâŚ
No, of course, there are many older officers who are much more knowledgeable than soldier-kun.\n\nWell then, toward the store, Letâs go!!
âŚtte, the glances from soldier-kunâs coevals who are around 5 â 6 years older than him areâŚ
Soldier-kun, werenât you afraid to be seen by your senior? Somehow, you looks very proud, but are you going to be okay? I mean, after you returned to the boatâŚ
And since I came without breakfast today, I gathered information while having a light meal.
âSo that was the extent of the first training voyage huh⌠Then, in real battle, how many opponents it can handle and how long until it run out of cannonball and gunpowder?â (Mitsuha)
âThe guns are the same, so the performance is the same as the 40-guns ship two generation ago? But the difference between the number of guns and the strength of the hull is overwhelmingly advantageous? I seeâŚâ (Mitsuha)
It is somewhat different than what I get from the bigwigs.
And even though the former POWs have been naturalized as citizens of our country, they seemed to think it was like a betrayal if they talk about detrimental information of their home country where their family and friends live. Their mouths were heavier when we asked the information beyond the general knowledge.
It is not easy to force them to talk, and it would be inconvenient if they talked sloppily, but weâve heard everything that they voluntarily talked. Well, we compared what everyone says, and there are still various inconsistenciesâŚ
Well, the lower sailors do not know anything anyway, and even if they are officers, they are the likes of people who bet on such a gamble-like voyage, so it kinda wrong to expect more from them. And itâs been quite a while since they left their homeland too.
Thatâs why, soldier-kun who is willing to share the latest information is the most reliable source.
Okay, just as planned, letâs hand over the prepared present to him. Itâs a folding knife from earth, Iâm sure sailors will have the opportunity to use it.