"Please, speak freely. As long as it is within my power, I will absolutely see it done."
"Your Majesty is too kind. What I ask is not some major matter.
It is only that Irene's homeland was long ago destroyed by war, and now she has no fixed place to belong. So I ask that Your Majesty help arrange a Fiore Kingdom citizenship for her."
"Gah...!!"
Toma failed to catch his breath this time and truly toppled straight out of his chair, crashing beneath the table.
"Father!"
"Your Majesty!"
Hisui and the surrounding maids hurried forward in alarm, trying to help him up.
But before they could even reach him, Toma crawled out from under the table on his own, his face flushed red as he gripped the edge of the table and asked excitedly,
"Brother Kabe, you are not joking with me, are you? Lady Irene, are you truly willing to join the Kingdom of Fiore?!"
Under Toma's hopeful gaze, Irene gave a light nod.
"Naturally I am willing, if only Your Majesty does not find me troublesome."
"Of course not, of course not! How could I possibly mind? I am delighted beyond words!"
Toma's face was practically splitting with joy. He felt both the unreal disbelief of a pie falling from the sky and the wild ecstasy of having picked up a Wizard Saint for free.
He immediately raised his voice and shouted,
"Fernando, Fernando, my good steward!
Go handle Lady Irene's citizenship at once. And while you are at it, choose a well-located residence from among the royal properties and transfer it directly into Lady Irene's name!"
Fernando was the royal steward and Toma's trusted confidant. Naturally, he understood just how important Irene's naturalization into Fiore would be for both the kingdom and the royal house.
The moment he heard the king's command, he did not hesitate in the slightest. Just as delighted, he gave his assent and prepared to personally handle the matter.
"Wait."
Kabe suddenly stopped Fernando from leaving. Then he pointed toward Brandish, who had only had a couple of drinks and was already starting to flush, and said to Toma,
"Since we are talking about citizenship, then I would also ask Your Majesty to handle Brandish's registry as well.
Unlike Irene, Brandish's mother Grammi was a genuine citizen of Fiore.
She was once the trusted personal maid of Lady Layla Heartfilia.
It was only after Lady Layla's death that she settled on the western continent.
But the kingdom should still have records of Madam Grammi's old household registration. So I ask Your Majesty to restore the original registration for both mother and daughter."
What was a surprise?
This. This was what a real surprise looked like.
Toma felt like a beggar who, on the same day and in the same place, had been struck by two giant pies falling from heaven.
He was so happy he nearly floated off the ground.
"Restore it, absolutely restore it! Fernando, quick, go, go!"
Toma was so overwhelmed he could barely speak properly anymore. After forcing out those last words, he collapsed weakly back into his seat, clutching his chest and breathing in great gulps.
There had simply been too many surprises. His heart was practically failing under the stimulation.
Seeing this, Hisui hurried anxiously to her father's side and began patting his back to help him breathe.
Kabe was also startled. Fearing that this tiny king might actually be sent off by the grand gift he had just delivered, he immediately stepped forward as well.
Toma's face was flushed, and he looked so overly excited that it really did seem as if he might not make it.
"Father!!"
"Your Majesty!"
The maids nearby also realized something was wrong and all rushed over in alarm.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
After a violent bout of coughing, Toma opened his eyes and tremblingly stretched out a hand toward Kabe.
Kabe immediately grasped it with both hands and, following the motion, dropped to one knee.
"Your Majesty, how are you? Have I done this to you?!"
"No... Kabe... you are Fiore's hero. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. Thank you for everything you have done for the kingdom.
But as you can see, my body is no longer what it once was.
Now the only thing I cannot let go of is my daughter, Hisui.
You have already helped me so much that I am ashamed to burden you with more.
But for the sake of the kingdom, for the sake of Fiore's seventeen million people, I beg you to agree and marry my daughter Hisui!"
By the time Toma finished rattling off that long string of words, Kabe's face had gone completely stiff.
With Kabe's eyesight, he could naturally tell that Toma was perfectly fine. The old man was only a little too excited from receiving so many gifts at once.
Kabe himself had merely intended to put on a concerned act and show a little care for the old guy.
He had not expected this shameless old fox to seize the chance and, acting like he was on the verge of death, suddenly stage a full-blown dying wish and entrust his daughter to him.
'Good, very good. So this is how greedy you are, huh? Bringing you one Wizard Saint and one future Wizard Saint still was not enough.
Now you want to tie me to the royal chariot too. Old man, you really are something.'
Toma watched Kabe's expression shift in an instant from tension, to shock, to confusion, and finally to utter speechlessness.
He knew perfectly well that Kabe had seen through his fake illness.
Even Toma himself, under Kabe's unamused stare, could not help feeling his cheeks heat up.
But since the words had already been spoken, there was naturally no taking them back now.
Glancing sideways at Hisui, who was still frozen in stunned disbelief and had not yet recovered from what her father had just said, Toma threw away the rest of his dignity and directly grabbed Hisui's hand and stuffed it into Kabe's.
"Kabe, this is the greatest request of my life. You must promise me."