“It seems that when a doll holds something, its counted as an optional item for the doll. What’s more, it can use any items I equip it with freely. As a test, I gave another doll some weapons and tried sending it to fight monsters. It managed to fight just fine.”
“A doll fighting monsters. Wait… The mannequin from the rumors!”
“Yeah. I used a doll I happened to find around the palace to experiment.”
I had never imagined there would be rumors about it, though. I had tried to do my tests at night when there wouldn’t be people around to see, but maybe that had just made it feel even more like something out of a ghost story.
“Thanks to that, I found out they can hold their own against monsters. On top of that, the more experience they gain, the better the dolls get at moving.”
As I said that, Little Musashibo spread the arms he was still holding the short swords with wide, spinning in circles fast enough that you almost expected a “whoosh” sound effect to pop up. He looked like a big spinning top, but he was actually like a revolving saw turned sideways, so he was more dangerous than he looked.
“Is the training done by the dolls reflected on your main body?” Liscia asked.
“If it were, that would make it one broken ability. Sadly, no; even if the doll learns to use a technique, I can’t reproduce it myself. Maybe it’s because I don’t have the muscle strength for it? My body’s still weak.”
“Hmm… Why not work out?”
“I think it’s a more effective use of my time to improve my ability to control the dolls than to try to get stronger myself. No matter how much I work out, I’m not going to get tough enough that it’s better than keeping three strong dolls around me.”
“That’s not how a hero fights.” Liscia said, exasperated.
Sadly, I had to agree with that assessment.
In fantasy works from my old world, my job class would have been Doll Master or Puppeteer, probably. Those sorts of jobs tended to be mid-range support types. That’s a long way away from the mid to close-range attacker type impression that most people have of a hero.
“When I watch you, I can feel my image of what a hero is falling to pieces…” Liscia said.
“Ha ha ha…” I chuckled. “Don’t worry. I feel the same.”
In roughly a month since I was summoned, all I had done was domestic politics. Since all I planned to do for the next few months was domestic politics as well, could I really call myself a hero? No, I could not. (Rhetorical question.)
Suddenly, a knock came at the door.
“Excuse me,” someone said, entering with a bow.
It was the palace’s head maid and Liscia’s personal attendant, Serina. An intellectual beauty who was five years older than Liscia, she was as talented as she appeared, a woman who knew how to get her job done.
When Serina saw my face, she lowered her head reverently.
“Your Majesty, Sir Hakuya sends word that ‘Sir Poncho and the others have all gathered.’”
“They’re here, huh? I’ve been waiting!” I rose from my seat eagerly, taking Liscia by the hand. “Let’s go, Liscia.”
“Huh? What?!”
When I suddenly grabbed her hand, Liscia blushed.
“Oh, my word, Princess,” Serina said. “To think you would blush just from holding hands… With such innocence, how will you ever attend to your nightly duties with His Majesty?”
“Serina?! What are you saying?!”
“Please, let me hold your child soon. You do know how babies are made, yes?”
“Augh! You’re always teasing me!”
…Serina was a capable maid, but she had a bad habit of being downright sadistic to cute girls. Her master Liscia was no exception to that. Well, I guess that meant their bond of trust was strong enough to allow it. So long as she didn’t turn that sadism towards me, she was a very capable worker.
“Well, we’re heading off,” I said.
“Hey, wait, Souma,” Liscia objected.
“Take care!” Serina called. As we left the room, she saw us off with a bow.
We picked up Aisha along the way, and by the time we arrived at the meeting room, all of those who had been summoned had gathered.
At the round table in the center of the room sat Hakuya the prime minister, Tomoe my sister-in-law, Juna the lorelei, and Poncho Ishizuka Panacotta. If we excluded Ludwin, who was occupied with another matter, and Marx, who had relinquished the title of prime minister to Hakuya and now managed the palace, everyone who had been present for the gathering of personnel was here.
“Your Majesty,” they all said, rising.
“Please, remain seated,” I told them, holding out my hand. “I’m the one who called all of you here.”
Liscia and I took our seats, as well. Aisha was the only one who remained standing, hovering behind me so that she could act at once in case anything should happen. Honestly, it was bothering me having her stand there, so I asked her to sit, but she stubbornly refused.
…Well, we’ll set that aside for now.
“Everyone, thank you for coming,” I said. “I give you my heartfelt thanks.”