How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom: Volume 1

I felt something welling up from within me.

…It looks like I won’t be able to just watch any longer.

“King Souma, a word with you, if I may,” I said.

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“King Souma, a word with you, if I may.”

With the awards all handed out, just as I was about to declare an end to the ceremony, the young man in black robes, Hakuya Kwonmin, stepped forward and took a knee. Now his sleepy eyes were wide open. Just by doing that, he mysteriously had an entirely different air about him now.

Feeling something like a slight premonition, I turned to Hakuya and asked, “Do you have something to say?”

“Indeed. Though I stand here on the recommendation of another, it is now my wish to recommend myself.”

A self-recommendation. Does he want to sell me on his merits himself, then?

“Hmm… I’ve already promised you the position of librarian to the palace archives. If you want to make a self-recommendation, does that mean you’re dissatisfied with the post? What is it you seek?”

“Should it be at all possible, I wish to place myself in your service, Your Majesty.”

“But not as a librarian?”

“Correct. With my wisdom, I seek to support your supremacy.”

“M-My supremacy?”

Supremacy is a bold thing to claim, I thought. If he means to support that with his wisdom, what does he plan to become? A general, handling military and foreign affairs, or a prime minister handling internal affairs…?

I looked straight at Hakuya. “Amusing, but do you have a gift great enough to accomplish that?”

“I humbly submit that I do.”

“You can do more than recite the law from memory, then?”

“With all due respect, I believe I have told you as much. ‘Law, literature, technical manuals, I’ll read anything,’ I said. I have information on every field of study stored inside my head.”

“I see…” Now I knew what had been bothering me before. Though he could recite the law from memory, he had said he read all sorts of books. That meant his knowledge wasn’t limited to just law. For him, the laws he’d memorized were just one small fragment of the diverse knowledge he possessed. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

“I sought to judge whether you were a ruler worthy of my service.”

“Then, does this mean I’m worthy?”

“You receive a passing mark, I suppose.”

What insolence, I thought. Still… He’s amusing. Is he boasting, or does he have the skill to back it up…? Either way, there’s no way to know just yet, I guess.

“I’ll leave you to Marx!” I said. “Judge this one’s gift and give him a position suited to it.”

“Very well, sire.”

“Thank you very much.”

Marx and Hakuya both bowed.

A few days later, Marx would rush into the governmental affairs office, crying, “Sire, would you ask me to teach a wyvern to fly?!” It was an idiomatic expression from this world for trying to teach someone who knows more than you.

At this time, I had no way of knowing that this had been my first meeting with the man who would come to be known as the Black-robed Prime Minister.

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In history, there are some scenes which are easily dramatized by later generations. There are some conditions for this:

First, it must be the turning point of an era.

Second, it must have a certain flair when dramatized.

These are the two conditions.

In Elfrieden history, the scene most dramatized in later years was “King Souma’s Gathering of Personnel.” It is said that there are three main characters in this scene.

Seen from Souma’s perspective, this was one of his great accomplishments. From the perspective of the man who would come to be called the Black-robed Prime Minister, Hakuya Kwonmin, it was to become “the turning point of an era.” And from the perspective of a certain other person, it was the turning point in the Cinderella story of their life.

However, there are different theories on who that third person is.

Some say it was the Warrior of the Eastern Wind, Aisha Udgard, who, despite being a dark elf who lived in the forest, swore her loyalty the king, and from that point on was always at his side serving him.

Some say it was the Prima Lorelei, Juna Doma, who was recognized by the king, learned the songs of his country, gave birth to the concept of a lorelei, which was the word that came to mean an idol singer in Elfrieden, and was loved by king and people alike.

Some say it was the Wise Wolf Princess, Tomoe Inui, who, despite being a refugee, was instantly adored by King Souma and Queen Liscia, and taken in as the queen’s adopted sister.

However, the one most featured in dramatizations was Poncho Ishizuka Panacotta.