Episode 20
I Was Supposed to Improve Myself for Marriage Activities, but It Was Pointed Out to Me That I Was Lacking in Other Areas as Well
“By the way, Suzuna, what about you?”
I asked Suzuna, ignoring my own temporary physical discomfort. I’m a little concerned about it, but it doesn’t seem to be a disease of the organs of the heart, so it should settle down in a little while, just like the increase in heart rate right after exercise.
“I used to be popular but I haven’t been popular since I was in early elementary school.”
That’s what you’re saying with your mouth, but you don’t look happy at all.
“You don’t seem too happy about that.’
“It’s not like I’m complaining. I don’t know what to call it… I don’t know how to put it.”
“Hmm. There was something different about you from what you were looking for. But you’re still bewildered because you don’t know what that difference is.”
“Yes, that! I was certainly popular, but I’m not sure if that made me happy. There were a lot of handsome guys, and they were all princes and people with status and power, but whether I wanted to go out with them or marry them was another thing.”
“How?”
“The guys I’ve fallen in love with in the past are all guys I met in my daily life and thought, ‘Oh, he’s kind of nice’. I’ve never fallen in love with someone who wasn’t close to me, such as an idol on TV, a singer, a good-looking actor, or a professional athlete.”
“Hmm.”
“I mean, I don’t think I’m the type of person who likes people for their specs…opposite is also true.”
“What do you mean?”
“I admit that my face is a part of me, but I don’t want people to like me just because of that. Also, with my height, I’m always rejected by people who are like me, but on the other hand, I’m popular with people who have a special habit of liking tall people. But that doesn’t mean it has to be me. It doesn’t make me happy to be liked by someone who says, “I don’t care who you are as long as you’re tall’. That’s why I’ve realized that marriage activity parties and such are not for me.”
“Well, that’s a reasonable conclusion. And I have the same conclusion.”
“What?”
“It turns out that it’s unlikely that you’ll find a match at a wedding banquet that meets your expectations. The women of royalty and aristocracy who attend the marriage banquet want to be the spouse of the ruler of the world. But what I am looking for is a wife who can provide me with a warm home. Since the needs of both parties do not coincide, there is no way an arranged marriage can take place.”
When I said that, Suzuna lightly lowered her eyes and apologized to me.
“I see. That’s right. If you think about it, the marriage activity party is a failure. Sorry.”
It was not my intention to make Suzuna feel guilty. So I took over the conversation.
“No, it’s okay. Failure is the basis of success. In the first place, I didn’t know anything about marriage activities, so it was worthwhile to have a marriage activity party just to find out that we had different requirements. And since there was some harvest, it’s too early to dismiss it as a failure.”
“Harvest?”
Suzuna asked curiously, to which I replied.
“Hmm. It just goes to show you how unattractive I am to the women of this world!”
“Huh? Huh?”
“The fact that my face is ordinary and I look weak is inexcusable. No, it is possible to do something about it with magic, but that seems unfair, so I’ll leave it for now. But other than that, I think improvements are possible!”
“What do you mean?”
“I was told even as a child that I had a poor body. However, after three hundred and sixty years of training in magic, it is easy for me to replace it with physical training, so it is possible for me to build a strong body, even if it takes some time.”
“I see. I think you’re still pretty thin and macho, but I’m sure you look more dependable when you look strong.”
“And as for being uneducated and uninteresting, I need to start studying classical literature and art. As for humor, it is difficult, but if I learn how to talk, I should be able to make conversations more interesting.”
“I think the Demon Lord is a pretty interesting guy, but it’s important to try to make up for what you lack.”
“That’s right. I have worked hard to become a demon lord, so my wife will have to work hard too!”
“Yeah, well, you’re not wrong, but there’s something else you should do. Very important things.”
It seems that Suzuna still has some suggestions for me. There are many things I need to hear from Suzuna, so I’ll definitely have to learn from her.
“Well, what is it?”
“Anyway, first approach women positively … In other words, you have to show that you are willing to talk to her and get to know her. This is the most important thing. I saw the Demon Lord at the party, but you didn’t make any effort to talk to the women or ask them anything about themselves.”
“Ugh!”
I was absolutely stunned. As expected of Suzuna. She had a firm grasp of the inadequacies of my actions. Seeing my situation, Suzuna sighed and continued to talk.
” If you don’t want to marry an aristocrat or a royal you can only marry commoners. And a commoner will never be able to build a warm family as you want.”
“Well, what does that mean?”
I don’t yearn for the aristocratic blood of royalty or aristocracy, so I don’t care if she’s a commoner or a poor person, as long as she loves me and can give me a warm home.
” A common person wouldn’t want to be the wife of the ruler of the entire world. And if she does, isn’t she the same as the aristocrats and royalties you mentioned earlier.”
“Mmm, sure!”
If she points it out like that, she is absolutely right.
“That’s why you will have to hide your identity at first when dealing with a commoner woman. When you truly believe that she really wants to marry you, you will reveal your identity then. Well, you could always pretend to be a commoner in front of your wife and enjoy your double life.”
“I see, you have a point there. In other words, I should hide the fact that I am a wizard, not to mention the ‘Great Demon King’.”
“Not only do you have to hide the fact that you are the ‘Great Demon King’, the ruler of the world, but even wizards are rare, only one in a thousand can become a wizard, and they have a power that is far greater than that of ordinary people, so they would be considered good marriage partners among ordinary people. There must be women who wish to marry a wizard, hiding their true intentions.”
“That’s what I think. But I think you are the type of person who can’t lie or anything, so how can you pretend to be a commoner?”
Suzuna was worried about me, but I can’t let her underestimate me.
“No problem. I am the third son of a poor knight, and my sense of life is close to that of the common people. And I was in a monastery for ten years. I’m familiar with the art of ‘I’m not lying, but I’m not telling the truth either and the art of using pretense to make your true feelings seem plausible.”
Indeed, monasteries and churches are places where one’s faith in God is tested. However, if a simple believer where to see the other side of a corrupt priest or monk who spoke the word of God devoutly on the outside, but did not keep any of his words behind the scenes, he would start to doubt God. However, if a simple believer sees the other side of a corrupt priest or monk who speaks the word of God devoutly on the outside but doesn’t follow a single word he says behind the scenes, that alone will cause him to doubt God.
“So, what kind of ‘setting’ do you want? What kind of status, job, etc? It’s true that you don’t want to go for the ‘high horse,’ but on the other hand, you can also avoid people who don’t have a stable job.”
When Suzuna asked me about it, I thought about it for a while and remembered that I had recently received a petition from a certain group. Oh, that would be just the thing to do as an ostensible task when dealing with the common people!
“Well, I’m going to make a career out of being a stonemason.”
“Oh, a mason? Why?”
“Stonemasons are a specialized group of workers. In addition to building and repairing castle walls, there are many other jobs such as building town buildings, building stone bridges, and paving roads, so there is no need to worry about food. Although it is dangerous to work with heavy things, there is a mutual aid association that provides a generous guarantee to the families of those who are injured or killed. I have recently joined the mutual aid association, so I have no problem calling myself a mason.”
“Hmmm? Isn’t that, by any chance, a mason union? Hmm.”
“What are you so surprised about?”
“Oh, sorry. I was just remembering that the famous secret society in my world used to be a mutual aid association for masons.”
Oh, I see. Wait, that seems somewhat questionable.
“Isn’t it inconsistent for a ‘secret’ society to be ‘famous’?”
“Oh, sure. Well, it used to be a secret, but now it’s famous.”
“I see.”
“By the way, why did you join the masons’ union?”
Suzuna asked me about it, so I told her about what happened just the other day.
“The union protested that they would lose their jobs if I were to do road construction, which could be done by ordinary masons, among the work that I was commissioned to do by various countries. Since it was a legitimate protest, I accepted it and decided that from now on I would only undertake difficult work that would be difficult for ordinary masons. At the time of the discussion, the union leader asked me to join as an honorary member of the union, which I accepted because I was also involved in stone processing and I was considered to be a kind of mason. So I accepted the request to join as an honorary member of the union. After that, they told me there was going to be a meeting, so I went to attend it.”
“Oh, yeah. So, what was the meeting like? Did they have any secret rituals?”
Suzuna was bitingly asking me if there was something that caught my interest. Well, I’m willing to teach her.
“No, there wasn’t much of a ceremony. At first, I introduced myself and discussed the allocation of requests from the various kingdoms, the arrangement of security for the wounded and sick, and that I could heal them with magic, but after that, we had dinner. I didn’t need to eat, so we just chatted and laughed, but everyone else seemed to be enjoying eating and drinking and deepening our friendship.”
When Suzuna heard this, she nodded her head once for some reason, then raised her head and opened her mouth.
“A meeting of a secret society that the demon king joined” sounds like a great idea, but in reality, it was just a social gathering of old men from the mason union. I thought it would make a good story for my novel, but how am I supposed to deal with something like this?”
As she murmured this, Suzuna nodded her head again. I don’t know why, but it seems that I didn’t live up to her expectations. Truly, the world is an unpredictable place.