Side: Sheila (7th Princess of Gartz)
I am deeply, deeply embarrassed right now.
For almost announcing in front of everyone that Yuki-sama is an apostle of Lilyshe-sama.
And for mistakenly thinking that I was the 'only' woman who could support this man chosen by God.
I'm only a concubine; if I had thought about it for even a second, I would have realized the truth!!
Furthermore, I hadn't considered the risk of exposing the fact that my husband is a divine messenger. I was completely swept away after meeting Lilyshe-sama.
"...Um, you don't have to bow your head that much, you know?"
I bowed my head in a deep apology before Seraria-sama. If things had gone just slightly differently, it could have sparked a world war between the three nations.
"No, I am truly sorry... It was only after hearing from Rurua-sama that I realized the potential consequences. Even though I received a blessing, I was far too reckless."
"It's alright. We didn't expect Lilyshe-sama to act like that either, so your reaction was normal, Sheila. Besides, you wouldn't have guessed that everyone—from Yuki's concubines to me, his primary wife—has already received a blessing, would you?"
"No, my husband is the one prophesied to save this continent. I believe something like that is only natural."
"...I-Is that so?"
Oh, but this blunder. How can I ever earn my husband's forgiveness?
No matter how I look at it, his actions during our meeting were an act. He was shielding a child's ignorance; he is truly a kind man. But he is going to save the continent, so he surely has no need for someone who only drags him down... Even I think someone like me isn't needed...
"Ugh, uuu..."
Tears started falling uncontrollably.
I felt so ashamed for so easily betraying the mission Lilyshe-sama had given me.
"Hey. One of your wives is crying."
"I know."
I heard the voices of Seraria-sama and my husband. Ah, surely he's about to tell me I'm not needed.
"Sheila, it's okay. You are someone I need."
"Eh?"
What does he mean? I am just a princess of a single nation. A worthless child whom no one would miss. And yet, my husband says he needs me.
"W-Why? Even though I've caused everyone so much trouble..."
"What can I say to make you believe me?"
"...Ah."
My husband needs me. Not for my title, not for my body—he wants me to be convinced of my own worth. This man truly needs me. For some reason, I just knew it was true.
"The important thing is to learn. Everyone makes mistakes. I think reflecting on it, thinking about why it went wrong, and using that for the next time is what really matters."
"...Yes, I believe you're right."
"I think you're a fine person who can take this lesson to heart, Sheila. What do you think?"
"...I am still inexperienced, but I look forward to working with you."
It was just as Lilyshe-sama said. This man will surely save the continent. He is someone who looks at what truly matters. He is a wonderful person who won't lose to greed for power or wealth.
That's when a sudden thought occurred to me.
"Um, Yuki-sama. If I may ask something unrelated... how exactly did you come to be recognized by Lilyshe-sama?"
"""Ah!"""
The other wives seemed to realize it only after I spoke.
"Now that you mention it, didn't you say something about suddenly becoming a Dungeon Master?"
"Yes, I heard the same from Onii-san. Where exactly did that happen?"
Everyone's eyes fixed on Yuki-sama.
"Hm? Ah, that? That was a lie. Look, if I told you 'I was brought here by a God,' would you have believed me?"
"""...."""
I believe him, but for some reason, everyone else had complicated looks on their faces.
What's wrong?
"The only reason we can recognize her as a god now is because of everything that's happened."
"...That's true~ If we had met her at the very beginning, we might have thought Onii-san was crazy."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Um... aren't they being a bit too disrespectful toward a god?
"But this explains everything. Why Yuki has all this technology and wisdom, yet hasn't hurried back to his hometown." (Derieu)
"Onii-san was told to save this continent, wasn't he~?"
"...Ah, well, I suppose. Actually being told that sounds delusional." (Derieu)
"Ara? No one here would call your words a delusion. You've shown enough results by now, haven't you?"
Seraria-sama said as she gazed at Yuki-sama.
Results?
"She's right, Onii-san. You created this dungeon, saved El—Seraria-sama, brought us here to live, treated us well, and now you have so many people living in the dungeon and have saved so many lives."
"Ratz is right. My husband picked me up when I was driven from Rithea and heartbroken, helped me stand again, and worked desperately to avoid war. We believe in you." (Rurua)
They all nodded happily.
"Thanks. But in the end, it's only because I have all of you."
Yuki-sama said, looking a bit embarrassed.
I don't know the full details yet, but from the atmosphere, it seems none of these accomplishments were achieved by the wives alone... Yuki-sama was involved in everything behind the scenes.
"But Yuki, you've been gathering strength until now. If you're going to save the continent, do you intend to make a name for yourself? Are you going to take down Roshure or Gartz?"
Seraria-sama spoke as if it were natural.
The "necessary sacrifices" required to build a nation for the future...
Gartz... Is Yuki-sama going to conquer Gartz...?
Even I understand that staying as a lord in this remote area forever won't allow him to save the continent. Saving the continent means unifying it. He must accomplish a great feat that no one has ever achieved before.
"Eh? I'm not doing something that troublesome."
Yuki-sama said that in the most annoyed tone yet.
"Umm, Onii-san. Then how exactly do you plan to save the continent?"
The rabbit-eared girl named Ratz asked the obvious question.
"Weren't you gathering so many people in order to build a country?"
Seraria-sama tilted her head in confusion.
"Honestly, if I wanted to start a war, I could have done it long ago. But I'm not doing anything that troublesome or that would earn me hatred. I went out of my way to create a safe place for people to live. Why would I then force them to throw away their lives?"
"However, Yuki-sama. Then how do you plan to fulfill your promise with Lilyshe-sama?"
When I asked that, Yuki-sama fell into thought for a moment.
"Let's see~ Maybe I should explain everything from the beginning. You'll understand why I built this dungeon city too. Alright, Sheila. Do you know why wars happen?"
"The reason wars happen?"
"Yeah."
I took a breath and answered.
"Wars basically occur over abundant land, resources, and manpower. Nowadays, every piece of land has some country claiming rights over it. Even if it's overflowing with powerful monsters and no one can touch it, it still belongs to someone. In the end, it's all arbitrarily decided by people, but for a country, borders are extremely important. The more land you have, the more people you can support and the stronger your nation becomes. In other words, building and protecting a country is essentially a constant struggle with neighboring countries over land. The clearest and simplest solution to this land struggle is war."
"Mm-hmm. What about you, Seraria?"
"I agree with Sheila. If we were to raise our own flag here, it would mean taking this land from Roshure. Even if Father and my sister knew they would lose, they would still send a subjugation army."
Yes, simply put, the more land a country has, the wealthier it becomes. Though, in reality, as a country grows larger, there are certainly disadvantages, like orders not being transmitted effectively to the furthest reaches.
"I see, I see. I figured as much."
"Yuki, what do you mean? It seems you were just confirming something."
"Heh, Seraria, you really are my wife."
"That's because I've been watching your mannerisms since that day."
The two of them smiled at each other.
...Ah, I'm so jealous.
"Now then, I hope everyone understands the reason wars happen after hearing from Sheila."
"Um, Yuki-san. Sorry, I'm not the smartest, but the recent turmoil and the civil war in Rithea weren't exactly about fighting over land..."
"You're not stupid at all. It's good to ask when you don't understand. Riel is someone who can learn properly. Now, the previous conflict and Rithea's internal struggle were fights necessary to maintain the state."
"To maintain the state?"
"Yes. As you all know, a country isn't held together by just the King or Saint at the top. They need people to carry out and communicate their policies — ministers, soldiers, and so on."
Yes, a nation functions with a King or leader at the top, but they cannot move the country alone.
"If those people say, 'I hate this country!' and turn their backs, then the country—or rather, the King or Saint at the top—becomes meaningless. So, you need to show the people who are helping build and protect the country that 'this country is doing okay.'"
That is exactly right. Neither words nor actions alone are enough. Both are necessary.
"This recent war between Roshuru and Gartz — though We haven't explained the details to Sheila — was mainly Rithea's scheme to assassinate Elju. For Roshure, it was to save the oppressed people of Gartz, secure personnel, and gain land. For Gartz, it was to protect their citizens or take revenge for their people's anger. For Rithea, on the surface it was because a Saintess had appeared in another country and they were losing support. Behind the scenes, it was for refugee relief."
"Umm..."
"Well, to put it simply, Roshure was cleverly used by Loire, but Gartz and Rithea took action to show their people 'Our country is fine.' Soldiers protecting them makes citizens think 'This country really protects us,' right?"
"Ah, I see! So that's what it was!!"
"On the other hand, if they don't do this and the soldiers abandon the people, citizens will start thinking 'Is this country really safe?' right?"
"Yeah, they would."
"If you keep doing that, people will start to think staying in this country is dangerous for them. They'll flee, or they'll start a rebellion to try to make the country better."
"Ah, that's what Crack-san and the others were trying to do. Because Rithea was failing."
"Ugh!!"
Ah, Rurua-sama is clutching her chest.
...Well, from what I've heard, this incident was caused by misconduct from those above.
"Now then, from that perspective, you'd think there wouldn't be any problems if a country just held a ton of land... but in reality, it doesn't work out. Actually, besides these four 'Great Nations,' everything else is just a bunch of small, disorganized groups. Why do you think that is?" (Yuki)
"I wonder why? If you make it bigger, you get stronger, right?"
"Riel, when a country gets bigger, management becomes harder. You'd know if you've helped the police, wouldn't you? Doesn't it get harder when you have more subordinates or more places to guard?" (Seraria)
"Ah, yeah. It's been very busy lately."
"Now imagine that on a much, much larger scale. Just communicating becomes a huge struggle."
"Uwaa."
"That's why there's a limit—roughly the size of these four nations. Even if you grow larger than that, someone greedy will suddenly raise a flag and rebel. If there's distance, the response time is delayed. The larger the country, the more difficult the response becomes."
"Ah, so that's it... Wait?"
"What is it?"
"But Seraria, can't anyone use our 'Call' skill to communicate regardless of distance?"
"""!!"""
Including me, those who understood the meaning of Riel-san's words couldn't hide their surprise.
Yes, the communication skill that comes with the designated protection skill.
"And besides, if Yuki-san makes a 'Gate,' you can go to the place where the gate was made in an instant, right?"
Everyone was stunned by Riel-san's further words. If Yuki-sama is around, the limits of national size from the past can be surpassed. Communication is possible, and military movement is at its fastest.
"Yuki! You could build a nation that could unite the continent!!"
Seraria-sama raised her voice.
I was excited too.
I could see it—with Yuki-sama, any corruption or problem could be dealt with immediately. An ideal nation uniting the entire continent could be formed.
"No, calm down. I have no intention of building a nation."
My excitement cooled at Yuki-sama's words.
Ah, he did say that from the beginning. I wonder what his reason is?
