Billy's kids sure liked the samurai state… whenever they had the chance, they left the carriage to play with the snow. Nevertheless, after three days, they reached the capital of the samurai state, and Billy still didn't know how to proceed. They had fewer teachers now, so it would be wiser to start as soon as possible, but Billy's wives wanted to go with him to see the ruler of the state. It was fine, but...
"It seems that they fear my devilish charms or something," Billy thought. "They are exaggerating, and it isn't like I have the Harem Protagonist's skill EX…"
In any case, in the last month, Billy's siblings recovered some of their vigor by training hard every day, so he left his kids with them. At the same time, they headed to the palace of the ruler of the samurai state. As one would expect from the palace of the descendants of a guy who probably like Japanese culture way too much despite being one of them, the place was way different than western type palaces.
It wasn't like those people would see in movies, really old movies, or in CGI. Nevertheless, it was a breath of fresh air since every other part of the continent looked so western-like.
"I know that I am in no position to ask much, but please don't let her get too excited," Sei said. "If she asks too many things, reply with short answers that will end the topic."
"You sure don't hold your ruler in high regard," Billy said.
"You are wrong in that aspect," Sei said. "Still, some things have to be made in order to prevent disasters. Giving too many ideas to her certainly will bring disasters, and I am usually the one who cleans after the messes that she causes."
After entering the castle, Billy and his wives crossed some rooms that made him recall dojos. Or maybe it was because Billy didn't know anything about Japanese culture, and he only read shounen manga. Nevertheless, at least the office of the ruler looked a bit more western like, and she was working on a proper chair and table. It would have been a pain to sit cross-legged on the ground for hours and hours. Even if someone uses a pillow under their legs.
"Your Majesty, our guests are here," Sei said after he knocked on the door.
"Come on in,"
Billy frowned when he heard that voice, and his wives did that as well. The voice was quite high pitched, like a child… Billy didn't want to believe that a child would be ruling that state, but he confirmed that when the door was opened.
"Oh! Welcome, famous heroes," a black-haired little girl said.
The girl was probably three or four years old than Billy's kids, so he really looked surprised. Meanwhile, his wives couldn't help but show complicated smiles, and they thought that Billy was getting too famous among women. Still, the ruler of the samurai state was just a child who wanted to meet someone that looked interesting.
Despite her position as the leader of the state and the fact that she looked like a little princess with her long black hair, brown eyes, and what seemed to be a traditional dress from the region. The girl had an expression on her face that made her look like the mischievous type. No wonder Sei complained that she caused him a lot of trouble.
"My name is Haruna. I am thankful for you all finding the time to pay a visit," Haruna said.
"These are Billy, Kate, Natalie, and Sarah. Your Majesty," Sei said. "Unfortunately, they are traveling around the world to spread the knowledge of their skills, so they won't have the time to talk with you for long."
"Not to worry, I will see the training of our troops pretty often," Haruna said. "I prepared in advance and finished most of the paperwork for the next few weeks. Still, to be completely honest, I am a bit surprised that you finally decided to show yourself. My parents wanted to meet you for the longest time, but Sei said that you didn't want to get involved in politics."
"That is still true even now, but the situation required me to change my approach," Billy replied. "Do you mind if I ask you for how long you have been ruling this state?"
"For around a year, I guess. Why do you ask?" Haruna asked.
"No, it is nothing. I am just a bit surprised," Billy said. "You are really young and have been dealing with many problems after assuming the role of your parents. For doing that for so long, you have my utmost respect."
Something clicked inside his head when Billy heard that the girl's parents had passed out. It didn't seem like an accident or assassination. If they managed to get a daughter that young, they weren't supposed to be that much older, either. Nevertheless, Billy had to investigate the situation before assuming anything.
"Hahaha, this is just paperwork. Anyone can do this much," Haruna said. "Regardless, I have heard from Sei, but I find it hard to believe that you want to train our troops without getting anything in exchange."
"I want something in exchange, your aid to protect this world when the time comes," Billy said. "Do you remember the incident regarding the ice titan? What would you do if I told you that it was something created by someone to decrease the world's population and then test some individuals' powers."
"I would say that such a thing is insanity. We never heard of anyone being able to do such a thing," Haruna said. "There are some rumors about a man able to summon monsters, but they lack credibility since he lived in the central part of the continent. Thus creating something like the ice titan seems impossible."
"Let's go outside, and you will see by yourself that it isn't impossible," Billy said.
