CH 259

[…Anyways.] Count Bozes

Aahh, the topic still goes on…….

[What are you going to do?] Count Bozes

No, even if you ask me that…….

Wh, wha, what could I do?……

Beatrice-chan worriedly looking at me in silence.

She was so thrilled with yesterday’s debutante ball and the performances, but that’s not the case right now. And she fully understands that this is a discussion that will affect her life from now on.

Yes, Beatrice-chan is not so stupid as to interfere abruptly in a <serious debate between the heads of their respective families, Count Bozes and Viscount Hime Miko of Thunder>.

Ū…….

Ūu………….

Ū ū ūu……………….

[You shouldn’t bully Mitsuha that much…] Iris

Ooh, here comes the backup from Iris-sama!

[No, I’m not bullying her in any way……. It’s just a little discipline!] Count Bozes

……Oh, yeah, he’s not <angry and blaming>, he’s <scolding> me for my own good. Yeah, I knew that somehow.

[I’m sorry……] Mitsuha

When I apologized, he didn’t scold me further, and we decided to discuss what we needed to consider anyway.

[…Well, we can refuse the engagement application. However, some of them are dukes with royal blood, you know. But, even if they wanted to, they can’t simply make a move. It would be bad to anger the goddess if Beatrice got engaged and married right after she got appointed as a saint. And it’s all because of Mitsuha’s fault.

Eventually, unmarried high-ranking nobles and royalty from other countries may come, but no one would be foolish enough to give away a saint to another country, so the royal officials will stop them.

……The problem is……] Count Bozes

Yeah, about the <alleged saint>…….

The church, upper nobility, and royalty will try to take her in……

Most of the nobles and the King in this country are relatively decent people. And no one would be stupid enough to forcibly take in the saint. However, even the ones with good intentions will say, <We have to welcome the saint!>. Well, it’s not bad to have faith.

……Especially the church, or the church, or maybe the church, and even the church……

Umu, I’ve been into some pretty sticky situations before. Those guys wanted me to become a priestess so bad, even if it was just to register my name.

Apparently, they wanted to take advantage of the name value of the hero who saved the kingdom, <Hime Miko of Thunder>.

I don’t want to get involved in that kind of scam where they take advantage of people’s names.

No, it’s not like they were trying to do anything bad with it. They just wanted to increase the number of donations and worshipers, by selling Hime Miko merchandise and hold some events in the name of Hime Miko of Thunder……

No way in hell I would want that!

[Shall I make Beatrice-chan a <some kind of saint> as it is, or should I explain that it’s because of a secret treasure of my country’s entertainment industry to clear up the misunderstanding?…

Each option has its own advantages and disadvantages, right?

Moreover, everyone knows that I’m involved in this anyways because I gave them advance notice about it……] Mitsuha

Nevertheless, they still think that thing is a <miracle of the goddess>, don’t they……

[To begin with, except for a few people, the general populace of the royal capital believes that Mitsuha has connections to the Goddess.

And if Beatrice, who is related to Mitsuha, is to become a saint, it is no wonder that Mitsuha was given a prophecy by the goddess in advance and was entrusted with the task of laying the groundwork so that the people of the capital would not be surprised and confused by the miracle of the blessing……] Count Bozes

Ah~……

Yes, they think that <I have a connection with the Goddess>, so they’ll think that <I foretold the Goddess’s divine will>, in other words, I made a divine oracle.

If so, the fact that I warned them, or convinced them, or <notified them in advance>, doesn’t matter which option I’d choose……

If that’s the case……

[Then, let’s ignore them!] Mitsuha

[[[Eh?]]]

The Count, Iris-sama, and Beatrice-chan, basically everyone except me, let out a sound of surprise.

[There’s no need to go to the trouble of making a formal statement, is there? Everyone in the capital has seen the facts with their own eyes, so there’s no need for us to go out of our way to explain them, right?

If you try to explain it, then you have to insist that it’s true, and if it’s later found out or contradicted, that won’t be good, isn’t it?

If you don’t explain anything, we won’t be responsible for anything. We don’t have to be responsible for what the people who watched that thing assumed on their own, do we?] Mitsuha

[[[…………]]]

Also, the Count doesn’t have to worry about being screwed over by someone saying, <I’d love to have those [fireworks] at my daughter’s debutante ball!>. He can simply say, <Ask the goddess yourself>.

After thinking about it for a while and being convinced by my explanation, the three of them nodded their heads at me, who said something unusually brilliant……

[But what should I say if they asked me? As expected, if His Majesty the King or the Archbishop asks me, I can’t just ignore it, can I?] Beatrice

Beatrice-chan asked me something that sounded supremely plausible.

Yeah, that’s the problem right there.

[……Be quiet, put a batten on your mouth with your finger, and say, <That’s a secret!>. If you do that, they’ll think that the goddess told you to keep it a secret from them and they cannot impose any further.

Oh, while the nobles and church officials might ask you about it, His Majesty and the Prime Minister won’t, so you’re safe on that front.] Mitsuha

I’ve asked His Majesty and the Prime Minister to let us use the castle grounds as the launch site and I’ve explained to them about the fireworks at that time. Naturally, I’ve told the guards at the castle as well…….

So, a certain number of people from the royal court know the truth. This is another reason why I can’t make Beatrice-chan be a saint.

Well, it’s hard to live a decent life when you’re hailed as a saint.

Leave that kind of thing to a commoner girl who wants to marry the crown prince, okay?

[…Such a spectacular miracle of blessing, and there’s nothing to stop it! It’s as if the goddess turned into a horse… I can’t believe there’s even the slightest inconvenience to her ability to think!] Beatrice

Beatrice-chan complained about that, but…… Yeah, you’re right…….

But well, it doesn’t matter if the non-existent goddess is considered somewhat of a horse…… <someone with a disability in thinking>.

No brave man would be able to openly insult the Goddess. With this level of civilization, religious beliefs, and after the <miracle of the goddess> happened.

All right, that’s it, we’re done with that case!

[……So, how about the preparation for the performance for Her Highness the Third Princess Sabine and His Highness the Second Prince Luchen? One that far surpasses yesterday’s presentation…….] Count Bozes

Ugh……

Moving on to the next problem and the biggest one to boot…

[I’ve been thinking of doing a <flying dragon aerial dance> or <launching a simultaneous dragon breath by the earth dragons>……] Mitsuha

[[[Wha!!!]]]

The Count, Iris-sama, and Beatrice-chan opened their eyes wide and shouted.

……Yeah, I was in a hurry and thought about various things.

The former includes flight formation of the anti-submarine patrol aircraft, aerobatic flights by teams such as the Air Self-Defense Force’s Blue Impulse and the U.S. Air Force’s Thunderbirds, and a formation of combat helicopters flying with <Ride of the Valkyries> blasting on the speakers at maximum volume.

They can’t do on-site training in advance, so they won’t get a good grasp of the ground target for the aerobatic flight, but I can allow them to take aerial photos and make a chart in advance. If we remove the highly difficult techniques from the program, they should manage it…… They’re <professionals in the field>, you know.

For the latter, I’m thinking of tanks, self-propelled artillery, mortars, guided missiles, etc…… Well, something that’s a few tenths the size of Japan’s total firepower exercises.

Of course, the request should not be made to Japan, but to the other countries that are more <flexible>.

If I asked the military of some country through the <Otherworld Roundtable Conference (ISECON)>, they will probably rush in to take it.

…… I’m sure they’ll ask for a certain reward, but I’m sure they’ll take care of it if I give them a bucket of seawater or a couple of Hallucigenia or something like that.

And in fact, I have another must-have idea that I just came up with.

A <laser show> that paints pictures in the night sky using lasers, and <projection mapping> that uses fine particles of gas, water, etc. sprayed on buildings and air as a screen. If I use special equipment to spray water mists in the air from the outer walls and the spires of the castle towering in the night sky, I can make the magic happen……

The audience were amateurs who had never seen such spectacle in their entire lives. It doesn’t matter if they are a little rough around the edges.

That’s already three. If I have this many ideas, I can manage the event somehow…….

[……So, is that something that can be implemented at the Royal Castle?] Count Bozes

Ah……

The aerobatics exhibition, laser show, and projection mapping will be fine, but the Total Firepower Dragon Breath Exercise is absolutely impossible! We’ll have to go to some vast wasteland somewhere……