Side: Seraria
"—And so, I was wondering if we could somehow secure your cooperation."
"I'm asking as well. Please."
Saying that, the Hero Taiki and my husband bowed their heads—what was it called again? Dogeza?
"Seraria. Yuki-san seems to have reflected on his actions..."
"T-That's right. It's natural for young people to have such spirit."
Aria-neesama and my bastard old man both chimed in, telling me to stop being angry.
"T-That's right. If we hear the Hero-sama's circumstances, there's no way this wasn't unavoidable. Many people will be saved. For us, whose goal is to reduce war, this is something we should welcome."
Arshtelle, the Rithea representative, says the same thing.
"Sigh. Sheila, setting the Hero aside for a moment, what should we do with that princess who brought this mess here?" (Seraria)
"I believe beheading her and sending the head back to her country would be appropriate."
Sheila replied instantly with a pleasant smile.
"H-Hey, don't say such dangerous things. If that happens, Rankus will raise an army and come here." (Gartz King)
"That's right, Sheila. Calm down a little." (Teak)
"Indeed. Even if Yuki-san and Aslin-chan were attacked, that would be going too far..." (Sharl)
Sheila's own kin, the Gartz royalty, tried to persuade her to reconsider, but...
"Ara? I am calm. If we send the head, they will be forced to raise an army whether they like it or not. We will then completely crush them, use the Hero's connections to trigger a rebellion in the three subordinate nations to isolate them, and take the royal castle in one fell swoop. Our justification is sound: 'She was beheaded for insulting my husband.' That is more than enough. Even if others make a fuss, if we mention our support for this region... they won't be able to say a word. To begin with, committing a crime in the middle of the street after we went out of our way to permit the carrying of weapons at what is essentially an international ceremony—there is no saving them."
"""....""""
The youngest daughter silenced her relatives in an instant.
Yes, she truly has the talent befitting a wife of my husband. Looking at Sheila, it's clear: Yuki's wives—the group with supreme authority over the dungeon and Weed—are completely in favor of war.
They got cocky just because we were being lenient. It seems we need to show our power once. Rankus is a perfect sacrifice... no, no, a perfect opportunity to demonstrate the power of Weed through war.
"P-Please, don't! If you behead that trash princess, they'll definitely use forced conscription to pad out their numbers! That would mean the people who took care of me will get hurt. Please, just don't do that!!"
The Hero bowed his head again. Having heard his situation, I hold no grudge against him. The others likely feel the same. However, that doesn't mean we can just let this go.
"We understand your feelings, Hero-sama, but what do you intend to do? That idiot princess we have in custody is still howling, asking if we think we can get away with doing this to a country with a Hero, and insisting that you will go on a rampage to save her."
Rurua addressed the Hero.
Honestly, I didn't expect Rurua to get so angry and bark like that earlier. I'm just happy my husband has so many wives who care for him.
But as Rurua says, that idiot princess is bound to start a conflict. She'll surely use forced conscription or whatever it takes to retaliate. Well, we won't lose. After all, we can handle the Hero—their greatest military asset—and the rest are just a disorganized rabble.
"Um, that was actually my plan. If you're willing, would you listen?"
The Hero is strangely humble, just like Yuki.
Hmm... come to think of it, their hair and eyes are the same color. Yuki's hometown was supposed to be... a continent we didn't know about.
While I was thinking about that, the Hero received permission from Rurua and the others and began to explain his plan.
"For now, I'll return without attacking, using the condition that the 'bitch princess' be returned to us. Then, I'll pretend to be burning with rage and hand-pick a specialized force. To ensure no harm comes to the common citizens, I'll select the troops myself and march them here."
"I see. You'll persuade them that you can win without gathering a massive army. You'll claim this retreat was unavoidable, and then you'll 'hand-pick' the force... essentially concentrating the supporters of the King and Princess here?"
"Yes. Then I'll suppress the royal castle with a small force, and I'll personally crush all the troops that come this way."
"...Umu. I think it's a fairly good plan, but wouldn't that leave you with a stained reputation? As a traitor?"
"I don't really care about that. If it's just me, I can survive anywhere. I don't need a good life for the people I care about, I just want them to live safely and healthily."
...What a good-natured person.
Ah, somehow, even though he doesn't look like my husband, I find myself comparing their faces.
"We understand your circumstances and your plan. However, those are strictly your circumstances. Because of those military actions, Gartz will have to gather security, and our Weed will have to suspend trade for that period. Naturally, we'll have to stop accepting travelers as well. How do you intend to compensate us for those losses?"
As expected of Ratz. She's thinking ahead about these things.
"T-That's..."
"Wait. If we bring Taiki-kun over to our side, he's worth more than that."
For some reason, Yuki stepped in to back up the Hero.
What does this mean? They aren't even close; they just met, so what could he possibly know?
"Taiki-kun has been working almost entirely alone since he came to this world. That initiative alone is praiseworthy, and didn't you say you started your own merchant guild to make money?"
"Yeah, like soap. Well, things from my world. I'm making paper too, though making pulp was the biggest pain."
"There it is. I've been rushing things and producing stuff with DP, so setting up actual production here has been on the back burner. For magic items, I'm just working Zargis—one of the Four Heavenly Kings—to the bone, but that's it. So, I want you to teach us that know-how. Is that okay?"
"Yeah, if that's all it takes to get permission."
My husband told him to teach us the production methods for soap and paper.
Hmm, considering the future, that's not a bad deal.
"What do you think, Ratz? Eris?"
"Hmm, it's true that we only have documents for that paper production, so we've been working by trial and error..."
"We still can't produce soap or shampoo, so if we knew how to make them, we could create more jobs and expand our trade variety."
"And if Taiki-kun cooperates with us, I think we can make a lot of progress on joint developments."
"Oh, I'd love to do that. There are a lot of things I want to recreate."
"Right? I've been trying a lot of things, but I've been struggling because I didn't have anyone with the original knowledge."
"Ah, I get it. It's sad when you explain something and it just doesn't get across. So you went through a lot too, Torino-san?"
"I really did..."
I cut off my husband's conversation there.
"Wait a second. I mean, support for the Hero is fine now. But more importantly, what is 'Torino'? You called Yuki that, didn't you, Hero-sama?"
"Eh? No, Torino-san is Japanese, right?"
"...Yeah, I am Japanese."
Ho-hoh?
So he's from the same homeland as the Hero-sama?
"I see. So you were using a fake name? In other words, you are an otherworlder as well?"
"T-There are various reasons!"
"Yes, I'm sure there are. I won't hate you for something like that."
The other wives nodded behind me.
"But you know, even so—or rather, because of that—there are things that make me want to be angry."
"I'm sorry..."
"Yes, you are honestly reflecting like that. And I can tell you truly mean it. But, this particular matter will have to wait until after we hear a full explanation..."
"After?"
I exchange glances with the other wives, and everyone nods.
"We'll squeeze you dry. Not a single drop of grievance left. That much selfishness is acceptable, isn't it? Since you lied, we'll make you take a two-week break, and spend the whole day with us."
"True. If we do that much, I might be able to forgive him~" (Ratz)
"I'm satisfied with that." (Riel)
"I-I like that idea too!"
"It is only natural." (Derieu)
"Should we start seriously considering a collar?"
"C-Collar?! For Yuki-san!?"
The wives were getting excited about their future plans. We've been busy lately, and a little intimacy is necessary. My husband seemed to have resigned himself, as his head slumped forward.
Fufu, don't worry, we won't let you sleep. No, even if you sleep, we'll keep squeezing. Lilyshe-sama's blessing is so convenient; I'll have to go thank her later.
"Um, Torino-san? Can I say one thing?"
Sensing the situation, the Hero spoke to Yuki.
"...What is it?"
"Go explode. In fact, just explode and scatter into a million pieces!! Do you have any idea how much I'm struggling?!"
While the Hero was making a scene, the small shadows who were delighted by the previous talk jumped onto my husband.
"Onii-chan, it's okay, we'll be gentle with you!!"
"It's fine if Nii-sama just stays in bed!!"
"...Fufu, I'm looking forward to tonight."
Yes, if those three are enthusiastic, my husband won't be able to refuse.
As I was smiling at that, the Hero's face twisted again.
"...Y-YOU'RE THE WORST!! POLICE!! OVER HEREEE!! THERE'S A L*LIC0N! A L*LIC0N—A TRUE, PURE L*LIC0N IS RIGHT HEREEEE!!"
"DON'T SAY THAAAT!! I'M INNOCENT, MR. OFFICER!! I HAD NO CHOICEEE!!"
I wonder what that's about?
My husband is desperately shouting and trying to deny it, but since it's a rare sight, I'll leave him be for a while.
Now then, should we start in the bath today? Or in the futon?
