Me.

　Mr. Arowana and Mrs. Puffa came to visit us at the farm.

"This isn't taking too long!

　They just had a wedding the other day!

　Puffa in particular, after seeing off the farm with such an emotional farewell, was sent home so fast, it's kind of awkward, isn't it?

　I'm glad that you came to visit me, though!

I'm sorry, Saints. I'm going to be very busy from now on, thanks to the sudden handing over of the throne to me, I'm going to be busy enough to die.

　That's right.
　He is no longer the Prince of Arowana, but the King of Arowana.

　He's now the dignified Lord of the Mermaid Kingdom, having been handed over the throne just as a gesture of hospitality at a wedding.
　His responsibilities and workload are far greater than when he was a prince.

For the time being, the new system with me at the helm must take shape as soon as possible. So, it looks like I won't have time to come here for the next few months. So, I guess it's better to do it now while it's still fresh!

　Oh, I see.
　Well, make yourself at home. Think of it as your home.

　In fact, this was my home until a few days ago.

"Hail, Queen Puffa?
Stop calling me that!　It's so ostentatious it makes my ass tingle!

　Puffa, who lived in our house a few days earlier, was being teased by Prathi in a grand manner.

I'm not a tease," he said. I just want to pay my respects to the Mermaid Queen, don't I?
"It's deliberate, princess!　I was prepared for this, but I didn't expect to be handed over the queen so soon. I can't get used to this...?
Queen Puffa, aren't you?　It's a pleasure to meet you, Queen Puffa.　Let's try to maintain some semblance of trust between us, shall we, Queen Puffa?　Purge, Queen Puffa?
''Cease and desist!''

　Prathi was getting super carried away and teasing the current queen.
　I was about to stop her, but Arowana-san stopped me from doing so.

'No, Puffa has to get used to being a mermaid queen too. Now he will be teased a little. It would be ideal if she became completely unfazed by that sort of thing.

　I see.
　The king and his wife must have had a tough time. The weight of their responsibilities is different.

"Puffa must be my companion in private and in public life. We don't have enough people. Many of the old vassals are retiring with their fathers, and they don't want to influence the new regime. It's hard to choose a young person to replace them........hmm?
?

　What's going on?
　Mr. Arowana, did you just stare at me in the middle of a conversation?

"...Saints, would you like to be the Prime Minister in the mermaid kingdom?
"No, no, no, no, no, no!

　What is this, a headhunter?

You can't!　I've got a farm!　It's not in your nature to be a palace servant to begin with!
"Well........come to think of it, if I were to call on the saint-dono, I'm sure he'd have a problem with the demon king, so I'll just have to give it up......

　Is that the point of giving up?
　Well, we could have avoided a strange development anyway. Good.

You're in so much trouble that you want to call your husband in, is the mermaid country that short on talent?　Are you okay?
No, there are. There's a lot of talented young people out there. But. It takes a lot of courage to select a young person for a low position in the original position, to be the equal of a retiring veteran, or...?

　It's not easy to establish a new system, isn't it?
　I knew it.

The person I want to select above all else is that guy!　It's Hendler!

　I knew Hendler-kun's name would come up here.
　I suppose so. He is one of the best in the country in terms of ability, performance, and personality, as well as the trust of the king himself.

It's just that he's a nobody to begin with, and that's why it's so hard to pick him.　I really want to install him as a general, but if I give such a big role to him who isn't even a military officer, that would cause friction!

　He's pondering it.

I've been thinking about it for a while now, but for some reason we're still apart.　I was hoping that Lamp-Eye would take care of that when they got married...?
There's something about Lampwicke, she's a reasonable woman.

　Puffa defends his equals who have worked together on this farm for a long time.
　He has a bit of a queenly air about him.

'But I really want Hendler in my belly. What do you think, High Priestess?　How do you get Hendler to work well and still minimize the friction from those around him?

　I'm the wrong person to ask...?
　If I answer that question, it would mean that I would be interfering in the politics of the mermaid kingdom, wouldn't it?

　But I wouldn't want to overlook Mr. Arowana in his time of need.

Why don't we create a new position for ourselves?
Oh?
For Mr. Hendler. There is less power, but more you can do, and we can create those positions. If you have less power, you won't be looked at by others, and almost everyone will obey you if you tell them you're acting as the king's power.

　Is the system like an Edo-era sycophant?
　Since Mr. Hendler has been working under the direct orders of Mr. Arowana, this will suit his nature.

　When he has proven himself, he can be made a minister or a general.

That's the Holy Spirit!　How easy it is for you to answer such politically oriented counsel!

　It helped that I read a lot of historical fiction in my former world, man.
　I can be a hazy know-it-all!

Then Atai will put him through his ramp eye. It's better to use a private line to get your intentions across accurately, right?
Ever since Princess Puffa decided to use her own personal connections to get her husband's attention, she's been acting like a queen.
So don't make fun of me.

　Prati continues to tease the new queen as usual.

But then again, so did Atai. I never dreamed of being in this position. I would serve the queen for the master.
"Puffa has truly come to realize that she is a queen.

　Mr. Arowana says with satisfaction.

Maybe it's a good thing we waited until after the ceremony. It's fortunate that our life on the farm has helped Puffa to develop the ability to lead others. Wasn't that what your mother was thinking when she stopped us from getting married?

　No, she didn't.
　Queen Sheila had delayed their marriage as long as possible because she did not want her son to leave her hands.

　However, this gave Arawanappafa and his wife time to sort out their feelings and shape their mindset as king and queen.
　This led them to realize the surprise succession to the throne from the wedding ceremony.

　The way things have been arranged, one wonders if it was really planned.

It's good to be married. I didn't think it would matter what they called you if you lived together, but when they call you husband and wife, it's a different story!　You feel like you're making progress!

　If she's that happy, it's only fair that our efforts are worth it.

　We also tried to gather our wits and support to get former Queen Sheila to allow us to marry her.
　The two of us worked the hardest, though.

　They finally got their wish and became a married couple.
　I wish them good luck in their future lives.

Queen Puffa, by the way, would you like a cup of tea?
What do you mean, all of a sudden?　I mean, seriously, you're not going to stop attaching a queen to it, are you?
I've got some pickles in here. Do you want some?　It's the work of the new guy who took charge of the brewery for you?
Oh, yeah, that's good, so we can see if that guy from discus is up to snuff with you. I was going to come see him later, but...
I'm not the one who made this.

　Puffa took a bite of the pickles....

''Who made this nukazuke?

　I snapped.

"The pickle is so sweet!　We haven't even put in the time!　The bed of bran isn't ready for the taste, and it's limp!　How dare you make this kind of cowardly pickles, claiming to be Matthew's successor?
Huh?　Have you lost your temper?　It was actually Angel who pickled it!

　Prathi lives happily every day.

　We had Junior and I, and the farm is growing day by day.
　I didn't think Prathi and I were missing anything in our married life.

　When I attended the wedding of Arowana and Puffa, I realized that I was missing something.
　After all this time.........

'.........me and Prathi didn't have a wedding, did we?

　We've decided what we need to do next.