Side: Yuki
Well, my wives seemed satisfied with that half-baked explanation.
When something happens that humans can't accept, they tend to resolve it themselves using their own interpretations.
I suppose they do it because otherwise, their minds wouldn't stay stable.
"Hmm. So what you're saying is, that entire display on the battlefield just now was essentially just a manifestation of your youthful indiscretion, Yuki?"
"Yeah, let's just go with that for now."
Honestly, even if I had just normally subdued those sisters after their morale-boosting speech, they seemed like the type who would throw a tantrum and refuse to listen. It felt like it would be much easier in the long run to completely crush them after making them declare that they would absolutely win.
The demi-humans were already getting scared, and if the battle had caused heavy casualties, it would have created problems in future negotiations with them.
That kind of prideful type is best handled by shattering their ego completely.
If they still throw a tantrum after that, I can just throw them away.
"Ara? How cruel."
"But if I left them throwing tantrums, you girls would've disciplined them yourselves, wouldn't you?"
"Naturally."
"But why do you all approve of Jessica or those sisters potentially becoming wives? More importantly, if more wives join, the number of times I spend with each of you decreases. Isn't there something wrong with that logic?"
"Well... that is a problem, but it's for your sake, Yuki. If you have lots of wives who love you dearly, you won't push yourself too hard, right? Since you're kind, you'll cherish all of us, won't you?"
"Well, of course I cherish my wives."
"Exactly. If there are tons of wives who absolutely adore Yuki, you won't do anything reckless, right? And you won't neglect the children we have, right?"
"Yeah, that's true."
"When I heard that you were brought here to save the world, I touched your heart and understood. You want to live a quiet life, don't you?"
"I do. But I can't. In the worst case, Luna will come crush me."
"You're immortal, so you can just take it slow. We also asked Luna to make us immortal too."
"Wait, what!?"
Seriously? Labilis became immortal?
Does that mean the other wives too? Ahh, I should have put a stop to that right away!
"It's fine. I don't regret it. I don't need to grow beyond this appearance. My race can already have children, and staying forever in the form I had when I met you sounds wonderful. Though Aslin and several others haven't been made immortal yet. Aslin's definitely going to become boing boing. That's something to look forward to."
"So you're predicting Aslin is going to undergo a massive physical growth spurt, huh?"
"Naturally. Her breasts are already displaying highly aggressive development metrics despite her petite frame. I have no doubt that once she fully matures, her chest will comfortably rival my own."
Aslin was quite the gem, wasn't she?
"So, what are you going to do with those sisters?"
"I'll talk with them normally first. That's why I deliberately mentioned the 6 billion."
"I still don't really understand the meaning behind that 6 billion?"
"It's basically a metaphor. 6 billion people from my homeland versus the four million people of the Jilva Empire that those sisters mentioned. If hearing that doesn't make something click, then that's fine. Seraria seemed to understand it instinctively, though. And after experiencing it firsthand, those sisters are probably trembling right now."
"?"
"In short, it was a declaration that there exists a country—a world—capable of supporting 6 billion people. Do you think a country of 4 million can stand against that?"
"Not in terms of numbers."
"Numbers are easy to understand. But it's not just that. 6 billion people means 6 billion people's worth of accumulated technology and knowledge."
"So those sisters lost to the people of Earth through you?"
"Exactly. Four million is nothing. Sure, among them there might be geniuses or people with extraordinary talents. But if that's the case, then our six billion has the advantage. There are simply far more of us. More people means more technology and knowledge being born. It's not absolute, but the odds are overwhelmingly higher. In reality, the Jilva Empire and those sisters couldn't do a single thing against the methods of warfare from my homeland."
"It was completely one-sided."
"Whether I have lots of supplies or not is secondary. What matters is how you choose to fight. In my world, using a gun instead of swinging a sword is simply common sense. Saying, 'Yuki only won because he's overpowered,' or 'Of course he won,' is stupid. You understand, right? Sure, powerful weapons are strong. But one person alone can't do anything. That's why I taught knowledge to the monsters and organized them into an army. That's why I made it possible for them to attack immediately with a single order. None of that is a cheat. It's the result of the knowledge of my homeland. I can't claim any of that as my personal achievement. No matter how you look at it, I'm just one fragment of those six billion."
"Is that why you're always saying you're nothing special?"
"Yeah. Most of these ideas didn't originate with me. They're things I learned back home. The truly remarkable people are our predecessors who built up that knowledge. And the people today who continue striving toward the future."
"You said you were ordinary back home."
"Yeah. Just an average guy. I lived an ordinary life."
An ordinary middle-aged man who worked a regular job, spent his days off playing lots of games, and enjoyed taking naps.
"Yes. You're definitely one fragment of those six billion."
It seemed my intended visual imagery had successfully synchronized with her mind.
Labyris smiled as she said that.
"By the way, you said you wanted to talk with the sisters. What's your objective? Does it connect to the mana depletion issue?"
"It does. More accurately, what bothers me is why those magic swords can still operate normally on a continent suffering from mana depletion."
"I remember seeing that in the documents."
"I distributed copies of that data to everyone as a baseline brief, but you probably didn't understand them, right?"
"Sorry, Yuki. I'm not very smart."
"That's what 'right person for the right job' means. Leave the analysis to me and Zargis."
"Fufu, you really are wonderful... So the magic swords are the problem?"
"Yeah. The activation conditions of those magic swords are also mysterious. You heard from Jessica about the strange stories surrounding them, right?"
"Yes. The magic swords always awaken alongside a princess, wasn't it?"
"Exactly. For some reason, every generation of magic sword users has been female. We were cautious with Princess Marley's sword last time and avoided touching it recklessly. We also wanted more information, so we barely conducted any research on it. But based on Jessica's information about the connection between women and the magic swords, Zargis suspects there's something more going on."
"You think that's the cause of the depletion?"
"No, I don't think it goes that far, but it should provide some useful information. That's why these sisters came at the perfect time."
"To you, Yuki, even legendary magic swords and princesses are just sources of information after all."
...Hm?
Something about what Labyris said caught my attention.
"'Legendary' means it has a clear origin, right?"
"Yes. For people, it's their birth. For objects, when and how they were obtained?"
What Labyris said made it click.
"Who made those magic swords?"
"...Let's ask Jessica."
The two of us left the room to find Jessica, who was currently participating in the viewing party.
Just who created the magic swords, and for what purpose?
They're definitely not something that appears on its own.
