Little Musashibo was a cute super-deformed mascot based on Musashibo Benkei from the city I lived in. A white silk face. A Buddhist priest’s stole and prayer beads. Big bushy eyebrows that looked imposing, but adorable acorn eyes underneath. People liked that gap, so he was well received.
By the way, the city where I had lived had absolutely no connection to Musashibo Benkei. So why Benkei then, you might wonder? Well, “because long ago Saitama Prefecture was known as Musashi Province.” That was the only reason.
Now, you might ask, “Then, wouldn’t Musashi Miyamoto or Musashimaru have worked just as well?” or, “If it’s because of Musashi Province, doesn’t that cover all of Saitama?” but to do so would be boorish.
You don’t think, you feel. That’s just how mascot characters are.
“Urkh… It makes me mad how surprisingly cute it is,” Liscia said, looking at the Little Musashibo doll. “Still, why would you make something like this?”
“Well, actually… turns out my Living Poltergeists works really well with dolls.”
With those words, I focused, and Little Musashibo began to move before our eyes. He used his short little arms and legs to break dance. That he was good at it only made it more surreal.
Liscia stared, dumbstruck. “What is this…?”
“When I use it on a pen, all I can do is make it float around, but with a doll, I can move it around almost as if I were inside it. What’s more, with dolls, the limits on distance go away.”
Up until now, I had only been able to manipulate objects up to 100 meters away, but with dolls, I was able to send them not just into the castle town but beyond the walls.
“That’s certainly impressive, but… What are you going to do, become a street performer?” Liscia looked exasperatedly at Little Musashibo.
“Ha ha, now there’s an idea. Maybe I’ll quit being king and make a living on the road.”
“Don’t be silly. I won’t let you abandon the job halfway.”
“…I know that. Anyway, here’s the important bit.”
I gave Little Musashibo two short swords. When I did, despite being made of felt and stuffed with cotton, Little Musashibo managed to hold two swords that would have felt heavy in the hands of a grown man. Little Musashibo posed like Musashi Miyamoto with his two swords.
Liscia’s eyes went wide. “No way… It’s a doll, right?”
“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.
Weren’t you supposed to follow your master’s orders? I thought with annoyance.
…Well, we’ll set that aside for now.
“Everyone, thank you for coming,” I said. “I give you my heartfelt thanks.”
“N-N-N-Not at all! I–I-I–It was nothing!” Poncho stammered.
“Sire, do not bow your head so easily,” Hakuya said. Beside the flustered Poncho, Hakuya had a disapproving look on his face. “If the one at the top abases himself so, there may be those who come to look down on him.”