Side: Yuki
"Phew... That about covers everything I can do for now. There are still some minor issues, but at least we'll be able to freely investigate within Jilva Empire territory from here on."
I just finished handing over the perpetrators of the ambush directly to the person in charge—the King—back in the Throne Room.
By the way, if this is an empire, why is he called a "King"? Shouldn't it be an Emperor or something?
Well, if I were to ask a question like that, I'd probably be subjected to a grueling lecture on the long, winding history of the Jilva Empire along with it. I'll save that for when we actually have time to kill.
For now, let's head straight to the dining hall and grab some breakfast.
"Um, by the way, Yuki-san. You said you'd handle the negotiations with the Jilva Empire, but is everything pretty much done now?"
Riel asked as she followed behind me.
"More or less."
I replied, without breaking my stride.
Immediately after, Kaya voiced her discontent.
"...Our immodest forms were seen, and we're just going to leave it at that? ...I'm not satisfied."
"Ah right, you girls were still asleep during the commotion, weren't you? Sorry about that."
Based on my expectations, I figured the likelihood of being targeted was:
Team Labyris > Team Yuki (Me) > Team Tori.
I never expected them to come after the dark horse candidate.
Well, thinking about it from their perspective, Tori's group (excluding Steve) were the ones who rampaged the most in the throne room yesterday. So targeting what they considered the greatest threat made sense.
Still, after everything that happened yesterday, after hearing the rumors, I never thought they'd actually try something. I figured they'd either target me—the unknown commander—or the younger girls I'd brought with me.
"...I was right in the middle of changing clothes."
Tori spoke in an unusually low voice.
"......"
"......"
What is the correct response here?
Should I turn right back around and beat the living daylights out of those intruders again?
But since I failed to act immediately on the spot, doing it now wouldn't really fix anything...
No, I do feel angry that they saw my wife changing, but I can't just lash out because of the negotiations. But what's the right thing to do in a situation like this?
"Sigh. Tori, there's no need to worry. Yuki-san may be completely silent right now, but his mind is frantically racing to figure out a way to make you smile again."
"Really?"
"Yeah... Thanks, Labyris."
It seems Labyris had quietly taken my hand at some point, reading my mind and relaying my thoughts to everyone else.
"I'm sorry. I thought about it a lot, but I honestly couldn't figure out what kind of reaction would make you the happiest."
I decided to just be completely honest with her.
"No, it was wrong of me to throw a selfish tantrum like that. But if it's alright with you, I would love to have steak for dinner tonight."
"Got it. Steak it is."
"Ah—! That's totally unfair! I was caught sleeping with a cute face too, you know! Yellowtail! I want teriyaki yellowtail!"
"...I demand Inari sushi."
Naturally, the other two girls who had shared the room received the same treatment.
Honestly, seeing a young girl's sleeping face is already at the level where you could be sued. Add illegal entry and it's definitely a crime.
Well, they're already captured anyway.
As their husband, it's only natural that I comfort them.
"Well, dinner is settled. First, let's have breakfast."
"""Okay~!!"""
With that settled, we made our way into the dining hall, only for a certain glaring fact to suddenly cross my mind.
"Steve, hold on a second."
"What's up, Boss?"
Steve turned around, still draped in that incredibly shabby piece of cloth.
"Why on earth did you come out looking like that? Did someone steal the armor you were wearing underneath?"
"As if anyone could pull that off, Boss. I'm just wearing this over it normally. I figured if I dressed like this, it would make everyone realize just how miserable of a night I spent inside that stable-ssu."
"I see your point, but you really should stop. Look around you. The castle maids who don't know any better are glaring at you with absolute disgust. They completely think you're stark naked under there."
"Eh!?"
Steve whipped his head around to look at the surrounding maids, who instantly averted their gazes and began moving about frantically as if suddenly overwhelmed with work.
"We know what's going on, but to them you're just a goblin. I guess it's better than having your reputation drop any further."
"No way-ssu! I'm not some naked barbarian!"
Panicking, Steve threw off the shabby cloth, revealing the magnificent set of armor he wore underneath.
The moment that splendid armor was exposed, the maids' eyes locked onto him once more—this time with a remarkably sharp intensity.
"Now it feels like you're being targeted for an entirely different reason."
"...Yeah, looks like it-ssu."
Steve looked thoroughly disappointed, but reality is unyielding.
"Well, given your strength, no one's going to forcibly strip it off you, but make sure you don't get tricked into showing it off only for someone to steal it when you're not looking."
"...I know that much, Boss."
No, you definitely don't.
I've been telling you for a while to be careful of honey traps.
"Everyone's already seated. Let's eat for now."
"Roger-ssu."
Groaning and complaining about it wasn't going to raise Steve's social standing anyway. To the outsiders, he was viewed as nothing more than a bizarre creature capable of human speech who happened to be clad in incredibly expensive armor.
While rumors about a group being utterly defeated by a Goblin were undoubtedly circulating through the castle, the concept was so far removed from their common sense that most people probably dismissed it as a ridiculous tall tale. After all, Steve was tossed into the stables.
Judging by the King's reaction, there seemed to be a few factions plotting behind the scenes, but the fact that my orders regarding his placement were carried out so smoothly proved that this was simply the baseline standard for how Goblins were perceived here.
Setting aside Steve's foolish antics, we finally began eating our breakfast, but...
"Sigh... it's kind of bland, isn't it..." (Riel)
"I know, right? That's exactly why I requested steak for tonight." (Tori)
"...Calling it bland is an understatement. It's on a completely different level." (Kaya)
"Unyu~ the bread is so hard~" (Aslin)
"You should tear it into smaller pieces before eating, Aslin~!" (Filia)
"Well, to the standards of this world, this is probably considered an absolute luxury. They're serving us soup with actual meat in it, after all." (Labyris)
"That's true. I think it's quite luxurious. In my castle, meat soup was only served to soldiers and lower servants about once a week." (Sheila)
"Still, the fact that we've grown spoiled enough to complain about such a luxurious spread means we truly owe Yuki-san a debt of gratitude."
While the ladies carried on their conversation, eating their food with a mutual understanding that this was simply the baseline for the outside world despite their slight complain.
Meanwhile...
"Hey, Boss. This stuff is way too bland. Mind if I pull some curry out of the Item Box and eat that instead?"
"Have a shred of consideration for the people around you, will you?"
Thunk.
"Ow!"
This goblin doesn't seem to have a shred of patience.
"So, Yuki-san. You mentioned 'more or less' earlier, but what exactly happens next? What's our plan?"
Riel asked while tearing apart the hard bread.
"The fact that they launched an assault on you girls today only to be utterly repelled means that the entire upper echelon has thoroughly realized picking a fight with us is an exceptionally bad idea. Granted, those who harbor ill will toward the Jilva Empire will probably try to use us as a tool to stir up chaos, but they won't dare make any reckless moves. One wrong step on their part, and they risk turning us into their enemies."
"Hmm. Now that you mention it, that makes sense. So we'll just stay on standby?"
"Yeah. Until the Jilva side reaches their final conclusion, we're just going to relax and take it easy here for the next two weeks. Though I'll need you all to help me out with some research."
"Ugh, I'm not good at that kind of stuff..."
"Well, I think we'll start moving before the two weeks are up, so I'll leave that to you, Riel. We also need to contact the magic sword users... Olive and Pikmin?"
"It's Olive and Mist."
My bad, honestly, those names just got so firmly associated with those specific images in my mind that they instantly slipped out.
"Alright, I get the gist of it. Which means the real work is finally about to begin."
As Riel spoke, the expressions of everyone sitting around the table turned serious.
"Exactly as Riel said. With this, I believe we've secured complete freedom of movement throughout the Jilva Empire and its allied nations. The sheer scope of our operational area is going to expand dramatically, so our strongest members will either have to operate solo or form duos to explore various regions."
Yes, the hard part starts now.
Using this location in the Jilva Empire as a temporary base, we will investigate the history of the magic swords, search for traces of the Dungeon Master who is believed to have been on this continent, identify the cause of magic power depletion, come up with countermeasures, have the kings from the countries connected to Weed see this continent, and ask for their assistance.
We've finally secured a proper foothold to begin moving in earnest on this continent.
Though, we still have an immense amount of preliminary groundwork left to do.
The biggest hurdle right now is acquiring an accurate map. Since I can't just buy up the surrounding land plots to generate an automated map, we'll have to make do. Let's pray that the map provided by the Zilva Empire turns out to be at least somewhat decent. Worst-case scenario, we'll just have to explore the land while mapping it out ourselves using digital cameras.
"We have a lot of hard work ahead of us. But to celebrate how far we've come—and since I promised Tori and the others a special dinner—let's head back home today and have a lavish feast!"
"""Yay!!!"""
My wives looked absolutely thrilled.
"Yay!!!"
However, there was one particular creature who completely failed to read the room.
"Steve. Feel free to go eat at a tavern by yourself."
"That's so cruel-ssu!?"
Accompanied by casual banter and a healthy dose of laughter, our rather bland breakfast came to a pleasant close.
