Isekai Nonbiri Nouka Chapter 1076: The Return of the Unifying King

Hello.

I’m the Conquering King.

The king of the Kingdom of Jidoen.

And I’m also the Unifying King of the United Kingdom of Careland Region.

Please feel free to call me the Unifying King.

Ah, not in a mocking way. With respect.

If respect is too much, courtesy will do.

All right, let’s all say it together.

I can’t hear you!

-0-

I’ve returned from my journey.

It took about a year.

The royal capital… It was a newly established place, and I left not long after we had started living there, so I don’t feel particularly attached to it, but it does feel like I’ve come home.

It seems to have grown to about twice the size it was before I left, but I won’t worry about the details.

And then there’s the reception… Hey, it’s a problem if the guards watching the royal capital’s city gate don’t recognize my face.

Put some veterans on duty.

What?

They are veterans?

They just forgot for a moment?

Don’t forget the king’s face after only a year!

And can’t you see the group of companions behind me?

We obviously look like a royal procession.

Then shouldn’t the king be riding ahead of the procession?

Shouldn’t I be proudly taking my place in the middle of the group?

I was just a little excited because I finally made it home.

Don’t be so harsh.

So, where’s my reception?

You need a little time?

You’re gathering everyone now?

No, no, I told you in advance that I was coming back, didn’t I?

You didn’t receive the letter and messenger?

You did receive them, but you were busy, so you put them off?

Because I wasn’t going to come back anytime soon anyway?

Well, it is true that I returned later than the date I gave in the letter and to the messenger.

All right, all right.

I’ll wait a little.

Hm?

If I’m going to wait, could I move a little farther away?

I’m in the way here?

To think they would treat a king who has accomplished such a great task as an obstruction…

I understand that there are a lot of people coming and going through the gate, but this is the entrance for the king and nobles, isn’t it?

Isn’t it usually quiet?

There are a lot of troublesome nobles, so you have to make all sorts of preparations?

So it’s not quiet at all?

I see…

All right.

Then we’ll wait over there in the shade.

That should be fine.

-0-

There were three people there to welcome me.

One on my right, two on my left.

Probably people who happened to be nearby with nothing better to do.

……

Shouldn’t the guards have joined in too, at least?

They have guard duty to attend to?

Well, of course they do.

Damn.

If this were an ordinary city gate, I suppose this would be enough.

But this is the royal capital.

My royal capital.

Would it hurt to give the king a slightly grander welcome?

Should I be angry?

No. I won’t.

I’ve grown by leaps and bounds during my journey. I’m not going to get angry over something this trivial.

It’s fine.

I’ve mastered a way to calm myself down.

Count bowls of ramen.

One bowl of shoyu ramen, two bowls of shoyu ramen, three bowls of shoyu ramen, four bowls with extra noodles, five bowls of shio ramen to change things up…

I’m calming down.

Ramen really is justice.

I learned about it in one of the countries I visited along the way.

I was a little troubled when they told me they wouldn’t let me leave the country until I learned how to make ramen, though.

Hahaha.

As long as I have the ingredients, I can make ramen now.

I can even make the noodles myself.

-0-

I arrived at the royal castle in the center of the capital.

The guards at this gate remembered me.

Thank goodness.

But the welcoming party was still pretty small.

It seemed that some of the people who run businesses near the royal castle, along with their customers, had joined the reception, but I could tell from their expressions that they were thinking, 「Well, I suppose we have to.」

I had counted all the way to fifteen bowls of ramen, so I was perfectly calm.

-0-

As expected, once I entered the castle, I was welcomed.

I was surrounded by my subordinates.

Oh, sorry.

I made you worry, didn’t I?

Don’t go saying things like, 「You’re finally back.」

It’s not like I was just playing around.

I have plenty of stories about the hardships I went through.

There were even times when I was prepared to die.

Well, first, let me wash off the dust from my journey.

The subordinates who had traveled with me also dispersed…

Ah, they already dispersed before I could thank them!

I thought we were comrades who had shared hardships together!

And those of you surrounding me, where are you taking me?

Honestly, the interior of the building has changed so much that I have no idea where I am, but I can tell this isn’t my private room.

What are all these piles of documents filling the room?

You’re treating this precious paper so carelessly…

Huh?

These are documents waiting for my approval?

Wait, wait.

We should officially announce my return to the people first, then hold a feast to welcome me home, and starting the next day…

What?

Every day a single approval is delayed, a hundred people are inconvenienced.

So if it’s delayed for two days, two hundred people are inconvenienced.

But still…

…These documents have been waiting here for several dozen days?

Some of them have been waiting since the day I left on my journey.

……….

O-Okay.

Bring me the most urgent ones first.

Also, I’ve been away for nearly a year.

I need someone to assist me in making these decisions.

I can’t just sign things I don’t even understand.

Don’t be surprised.

Don’t praise me.

It’s only natural.

In that case, while you sort through the most urgent documents, I’ll go see Lady Tiselle and the others…

Why are you grabbing me?

And why are you using so much force?

Could you let me go?

…….

So the documents in this room are the most urgent, the ones in the next room are the next priority, and the ones in the room beyond that can wait a little longer.

Hahahahahahahahahaha.

You’re joking, right?

They weren’t joking.

And Lady Tiselle is away leading the army in maintaining public order in various regions.

It seems Ekaterize-sensei is touring the farms throughout the country.

What about Lady E3?

She’s controlling the underworld of the royal capital?

What on earth is that girl doing?

No, let her know that I’ve returned.

It’s not exactly a report. I have a letter for her.

I promised to hand it to her personally.

Make it the highest priority.

-0-

It was ten days before I was finally released from the room full of documents.

Did they think I was some kind of prisoner, considering they even had a guard accompany me to the toilet?

Well, I did escape twice.

The reason I didn’t try a third time was because they put a chain with a weight on my leg.

Honestly.

They really don’t understand how a king should be treated.

If I hadn’t learned how to count ramen, along with the arrangement of counting fried rice and gyoza as side dishes, things could have turned out badly.

Still, I won’t forget the face of that civil servant who hit me with a stack of documents while I was counting ramen.

Well, every document they put in front of me did contain important matters.

-0-

After I was released, I went straight to my room… It had been so long that I felt a little uneasy there, but I slept soundly.

The next day, I was finally able to meet Lady Tiselle and the others in the throne room.

It’s been a long time.

All three of you seem a little… well, haven’t you gotten stronger?

Or have you just grown taller?

I almost didn’t recognize you.

Hahaha.

Um, I was able to meet Lady Tiselle’s father safely.

We talked as well.

I think we became good friends.

At least, I feel that way.

I don’t know how he feels about me.

It might be written in the letters I was entrusted with for Lady Tiselle and the others.

The souvenirs and gifts from his side are scheduled to arrive separately.

Huh?

They’ve already arrived?

About thirty days before I returned?

Um, so you’re asking why I arrived thirty days later?

Well, uh, you see…

Riding a dragon is scary, after all.

Yeah.

They offered to send me back from the Five Dragon God Kingdom, but I politely declined and returned by ship instead.

But the ship on the way back was fast.

The seakins escorted and guided us.

We reached a port I knew in no time.

The journey there took much longer, though.

We stopped at various ports along the way.

I think the human countries should hire seakins to escort and guide their ships as well.

Hahahahaha.

「Unifying King」

What is it, Lady Tiselle?

「There were people who set out after the Unifying King, but for some reason, they accomplished their objective and returned before the king did. Why do you think that is?」

…….

「Their objective was the same as the Unifying King’s, to meet my father in Village Five. Strange, isn’t it?」

………

「Could it be that the Unifying King was slacking off?」

I’m sorry I was late.

But I wasn’t slacking off at all…

「You weren’t slacking off?」

I wasn’t!

「Then why did it take you so long?」

I got caught by ramen and had to train!

And I got caught by the Demon King and had to practice greetings!

That’s why I was late!

Using the throne as a shield, I did my best to apologize.

Ah, please stop trying to smash the throne.

-0-

Tiselle「You got caught by ramen? Ramen Queen?」

Conquering King「Her disciple. He became a king and was working hard to spread ramen.」

Tiselle「Couldn’t you get away?」

Conquering King「He was the ruler of a major country, so I didn’t want to make an enemy of him. The Ramen Queen and the Great Master also asked me to deliver messages.」

-0-

Ekaterize「That explains why most of the gifts that arrived ahead of you were ramen ingredients.」

E3「I’d like to have some after such a long time, so please make mine tonkotsu flavor.」

Ekaterize「The same for me. Ah, and make the noodles firm.」

E3「I’ll have mine with regular firmness.」

Conquering King「Ah, tonkotsu takes a long time to simmer, though. How about shoyu… no, miso instead?」