“I’ve been waiting for you!” The king was moving before Marx could even finish reading the explanation. When he reached Poncho, he took his hand with both hands, not hiding his elation in the slightest. “I’m so glad you responded to my call! You’re the sort of person I’ve been waiting for!”
“Huh… uh… What?” Sir Poncho’s eyes darted around. His brain couldn’t keep up with the situation.
Eventually, his mind caught up, and his face stiffened.
“M-Me, Your Majesty?”
“Exactly! You’re the one this country has been waiting for! More than any of these other gifted people, I’m glad that you came! I always thought that if someone like you was among the civil officials, it would be worth recommending they apply!”
“D-Do you feel that strongly about me, yes?”
“Yeah. Your knowledge from wandering around eating famous and bizarre foods will be the key to saving this country!”
When the king said that, Sir Poncho cried a flood of tears. “I–I… Everyone’s always called me a fatty… An idiot wasting his money on food… As for me, I only went around eating because I wanted to eat, so I thought they were right… Can even my gluttony be of service to this country?”
The king tapped the crying Sir Poncho on the shoulder. “Let them say what they want about you. No matter how trivial something is, if you master it, it’s a gift. Be proud! The appetite you didn’t hesitate to spend your fortune on will save this country! Please, share your wisdom with me!”
Hearing his king’s earnest request, Poncho wiped away his tears with his sleeve. “Y-Yes! If my knowledge can be of help, please use it, yes!” he responded cheerfully.
When I looked around, most of the audience were standing there, mouths agape, unable to digest the situation. In the midst of that, King Souma returned to the throne, then turned to Marx and said, “In this country, there is a tradition of the king rewarding meritorious servants, or those for whom he has high hopes, with a new name, isn’t there?”
“…Ah, yes. That is correct, sire.”
“In that case, Poncho, I bestow upon you the name Ishizuka. In my homeland, this was the name of an ‘insatiable seeker and evangelist of food.’ Work hard, so as not to bring shame upon that name.”
“Ye… Yes, sir! Thank you, yes!”
This was the explosive moment in which Poncho Ishizuka Panacotta was born. The first person King Souma had personally welcomed as one of his retainers was the rotund man with the vigorous appetite, Sir Poncho.
I wanted to cry out for joy. Splendid! This was a king who had his priorities straight!
Whether he would hire Poncho or not had been a touchstone for this king. I had thought that if he failed to recognize the man’s value, but hired him on the potential he might someday be of use, that would be a pass. If he had chosen not to hire him solely based on his appearance, that would be a failure. I never dared to imagine he would welcome him so enthusiastically. This was a happy miscalculation for me.
This man may well save this country.
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.
“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.
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.