Side: Jessica

"Come now, please wake up."

"Mmm... just a little longer..."

In the morning, for the first time, I was looking at Yuki's sleeping face and trying to wake him up.

Not to mention we were both naked in bed together.

...Yes, last night was incredible.

It was the first time I truly became a woman... the first time I experienced that kind of happiness... There are so many ways to describe it, but above all else, I was simply happy.

"...Honestly, this is the first time I've ever seen this expression."

I quietly gazed at Yuki sleeping beside me.

There he was, peacefully asleep, wearing the innocent, youthful expression someone his age should have.

Normally, by the time I'm awake, Yuki is already preparing breakfast. Even if he's still in the room, he's already out of bed.

In other words, I'd never actually seen his sleeping face before.

"...Mmm. Ah, so this is how it feels."

An overwhelming sense of affection for Yuki suddenly welled up inside me.

...Is this what unconditional love feels like?

I wanted to push him down and continue what we did last night.

But today, as always, there's a mountain of work waiting for us in the town of Betan.

I had no choice but to stroke Yuki's head and endure.

"Oh... Jessica, thanks."

He finally opened his eyes.

Though... part of me wished he'd slept a little longer.

"No need for thanks. Good morning."

"Yeah, morning."

We greeted each other and stared at one another for a moment.

"I'll be in your care from here on out... my wife."

"Yes. Please take care of me as well... my husband."

Yeah. I got a really good husband.

Ahh, I want to shout that Yuki is the best husband in the world.

Hmm... Do I also have the potential to become a Yuki supremacist like the other wives?

"Let's get dressed for now. At this rate, I might end up attacking you first thing in the morning."

"...You're right."

I almost answered, 'Please do.'

...Since the next chance will be quite a while from now, I'll either have to share him with someone or do it during the day.

Honestly... He really should indulge himself a little more.

At this rate, we're going to be the ones suffering from frustration. I'm not saying he should imitate those fools who buy slaves simply to satisfy themselves, treating women like disposable objects.

But I think he should spend at least one full day a week focused entirely on us, his wives... Actually, we're the ones suffering from severe Yuki deficiency!

"Oyaoya, if it isn't Jessica. How was your first night?"

Yuki had already gone off to prepare breakfast, leaving me behind.

Since there was nothing else to do, I enjoyed the lingering scent left on the pillow he'd used before finally stepping outside.

That's when I ran into Ratz, and, as expected, she asked me about what happened yesterday.

"Yes... but, honestly, it wasn't nearly enough."

"Thought so. Spending only the nights with Onii-san is way too short."

"Exactly. He should make a day where he takes care of all of us."

"Ohh, that's a great idea. Should we propose it at the wives' meeting?"

"Wives' meeting?"

"Ah, that's right, you didn't know about it yet. It's an exclusive meeting consisting solely of the Onii-san's wives. We get together to share details about what kind of things we did in bed, how many times we did it, and pool our intel to make sure the schedule stays completely fair. Of course, everyone has their own personal boundaries and things they want to keep private, so sharing isn't strictly mandatory. But exchanging notes opens up a lot of fun new techniques in the bedroom!"

"...That sounds profoundly educational. For instance, what kind of techniques?"

Just as I leaned in closer to hear Ratz's breakdown, a third voice chimed in from the side.

"I highly recommend using your chest while staring directly down at his sleeping face."

"Ooh... that's very much like Labyris. I suppose I could do that too, given my size."

As Ratz said, the one who just spoke was Labyris of the succubus race.

For her age, she was very mature, and her chest in particular rivaled mine.

"...While looking at his sleeping face?"

"Yes. Yuki is so defenseless and cute when he's asleep, and the more you do it, the more reactions you get, which makes it fun."

"Ah, I understand. He's more honest when asleep, or perhaps more sensitive."

"I agree with Ratz. Yuki when he's sleeping is very honest about feeling good."

"...So you're saying you experiment on the sleeping Yuki to figure out what he likes?"

"That's part of it. But more than anything... I simply enjoy making sleeping Yuki feel good."

...I see.

It's true that while Yuki isn't completely expressionless, it's very hard to tell what he's thinking. Seeing him change expressions because of me... Yeah, I'll try that next time.

"Hey. Don't have weird conversations first thing in the morning."

"Breakfast is ready~"

"It is!!"

It seems Yuki and the others have finished preparing breakfast.

"Yuki-san, it's not a weird conversation."

"Sheila is correct. This is our home, only family is here. There's no problem talking about our husband's bedroom matters."

"No, Killue, getting a serious reply actually makes it harder to respond... It's a matter of direction. Morning is when the day begins."

"I understand your point, Milord, but we usually talk this much. After breakfast, we should attend to you."

"...I don't have that much stamina."

"""We'll energize you, so it's fine."""

When everyone said that together, Yuki's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"...Something feels wrong here. Or is it my common sense that's the problem?"

"Probably both. Your position is extremely special and unique. Normally, the roles of attacker and receiver should be reversed. You're too passive about bedroom matters. King Gartz officially has seven children including Sheila, but counting concubines it's around thirty. The total number of women, including casual ones, easily exceeds fifty."

"That many!?"

"No, only about twenty are officially recognized as legal wives or concubines. There are times when diplomacy requires embracing women. As you can see, it's strange for someone tasked with saving the world to have fewer relationships than King Gartz."

Killue's words were completely reasonable.

Kings often end up marrying people they don't even want for diplomatic reasons. Some are used only once for political appearances and then ignored.

Meanwhile... Yuki stands far above ordinary kings. Even with sixteen wives, most of them possess little political significance. Normally, someone like me — a knight — becoming his wife would be impossible. I would usually be categorized as a plaything.

Standing beside Yuki requires having appropriate authority. While I have enough strength, I'm still just in the escort category.

"However, taking Milord's personal preferences into account, the wives have collectively agreed to cap the current number at sixteen for the time being."

"Wait, you say 'cap it at sixteen' like that's a small number! That is more than enough! Seraria, Sheila, Rurua, Derieu, Ria, Eris, Ratz, Milly, Tori, Riel, Kaya, Labyris, Aslin, Filia, Killue, and now Jessica. That is a completely packed roster!!"

"Good grief, I wondered what was taking you lot so long, and here you are gossiping in the hallway."

While Killue was explaining to Yuki, Derieu arrived to help carry breakfast — or rather, she quickly took everything away.

"Come now. Everyone else is waiting. Let's go."

"...Right, right."

"Indeed. Milord, we shall resume this lecture immediately after breakfast."

"Ehh..."

We had breakfast as usual, lively and noisy. True to her word, Killue began lecturing Yuki in front of everyone about what a harem truly means.

"Listen, Milord. The act of surrounding oneself with women—having a harem—is often seen as evil or as something with many negative impressions."

"Well, yeah..."

"That perception itself is wrong. Listen—"

The other wives watched with great interest. Even the primary wife, Seraria, looked amused.

"Hey, Derieu. What's up with Killue? Suddenly lecturing Yuki about what a harem is?"

"Hm? Ah, apparently Yuki was whining earlier about how sixteen wives were more than enough for him."

"Ahh, He's always been a little off in that area.. Monogamy might be normal among commoners..."

"No, even among commoners on this continent, polygamy and polyandry aren't that unusual. I've seen plenty in the villages and towns I traveled through."

"Hmm, then it must be Yuki's homeland's influence."

"Well, he made us throw away our common sense, so he should have to throw away some of his too."

"True. He gives us all plenty of love and passes with flying colors, but..."

"That's also part of the problem. Yuki's current position far surpasses that of ordinary royalty. There will be times when he'll be expected to engage in acts of pure political convenience with no love involved. But when that happens, Yuki will frown, won't he?"

"He won't just frown — he'll absolutely refuse. He's a realist, but he's too soft on individuals."

"True. He's smart enough to instantly come up with a solution that doesn't require sleeping with someone."

"And not just any solution. He'll devise one so carefully that it prevents future problems too."

"That's what makes him troublesome. Normally... Someone in Yuki's position shouldn't be wasting time thinking about such trivial matters."

Seraria and Derieu were absolutely right.

Yuki, who must search for ways to save the world, shouldn't be wasting time and brainpower solving political problems for individuals or single countries.

"He himself says it's necessary."

"That's one of Yuki's bad habits. If he does that... He'll end up carrying far greater burdens than simply accepting one woman offered to him."

"Indeed. If he just embraces her to create the fact, he can provide funds and supplies, then leave the rest of the steering to them."

"Right now we've already left most of the steering to Roshure, Gartz, Rithea, the demon territory, the country ruled by Hero Taiki, the New Continent's Jilva, etc., yet we wives are so busy our hands are full."

"That's also a problem. A harem's true purpose is to have the women attend to you, not to make them work."

"Worse yet, out of the entire roster, the only wives whose political lineages actually carry structural weight for an international harem are myself, Rurua, Sheila, and you, Derieu,"

"Leave me out of that calculation. My title as a demon princess is effectively meaningless in human diplomacy."

"Fine, so that leaves three. And over here on the new continent, Sheila's status as a beast-kin princess carries practically zero diplomatic leverage with the human nations."

"Meaning the count drops to two. Furthermore, both of those remaining individuals are currently restricted to light duties due to pregnancy."

"We're seriously lacking in harem members."

"Far from enough. While Yuki and the rest of us view every single member of our circle as an equal spouse, to any outside nation looking in, everyone outside of the three we just named is viewed as a mere common mistress. A grand ruler possessing a harem of effectively three politically relevant figures is an absolute joke."

As they had said... Aside from Seraria-sama, Rurua-sama, Shella-sama... None of us possessed meaningful authority.

Yuki wants individual combat strength and fine-tuned responsiveness, which we certainly have. But when negotiating with people who hold power, we either need to show overwhelming force like we did in Jilva, or deliberately take a lower stance.

On this continent, Yuki has already taken princesses from well-known countries as wives, so there are no issues with negotiations. But on my continent, he's just a mercenary.

"To put it bluntly, on this new continent, even if the rest of us attend to him in public, the locals will simply view us as high-grade bodyguards and nothing more."

"Attempting to wave our old-continent political credentials around over here would just leave the local lords entirely baffled."

"I wonder if he could somehow marry a princess from one of the major powers on the New Continent."

"That's asking for the impossible. Especially with Yuki being the way he is."

The two turned to look at Yuki, who was still listening to Killue's lecture.

"...And that is why, Milord, you still need to take more wives."

"No way!! As a husband, I can't accept reducing the time I spend with Killue and the other wives any further!!"

"...E-Even if you say something like that..."

Killue blushed bright red at that reply.

"How sly."

"Indeed. After hearing something like that... I don't want him touching any other woman."

I agree.

I really do.

However, to reduce Yuki's burden, it is also true that we need a powerful and beautiful princess from the New Continent.

And I am the only one familiar with the New Continent's situation.

"I should look into various candidates and consult everyone at the wives' meeting."

In fact, two escorts — Ria and I — are not enough. Having a princess escort shouldn't be a problem.

The most promising candidate is Jilva's tomboy princess, but...

...Hm? It feels like I've forgotten something important.

* * *

Side: Aegil Thomson

"Heeh~ They gathered this many soldiers in just two weeks. Impressive."

"What are you talking about? From the beginning, they said they'd gather 200,000 troops at the fortress before launching a recapture and counteroffensive."

The two of us stood overlooking the army gathered below us.

After our audience with His Majesty, Prism and I had been appointed supreme commanders.

Our mission was simple: Recover both the Holy Sword and its wielder then continue the invasion into Jilva territory.

"So the preparations had already been underway. But I wasn't originally scheduled to join this battle. I don't have any information on the enemy at all. The fortress, the town of Betan, the town of Sueito? Which one are we attacking? Or are we hitting them simultaneously?"

"I suppose you wouldn't know. This operation focuses on a single point. We'll begin by retaking Betan in cooperation with its lord."

"Betan... If I remember correctly, that's where the lord is someone Prism was indebted to, right?"

"Yes. Everyone mocked him as a recluse, but judging from the spy's report, he's quite the character. He deliberately surrendered and showed submission, then fed us information. Naturally, we verified it ourselves."

"Heeh~ that's amazing. So what's the information?"

"Two demon sword wielders are in the fortress, one is in Sueit, and a mercenary is acting as the commander in Betan. In terms of numbers, there are about 20,000 in the fortress, and about 2,500 in the towns."

Hm?

Did I just hear something strange?

"Sorry, Prism... Did you just say Betan is being commanded by... a mercenary?"

"Yes, that's right."

"How does that make any sense?"

"The lord and I both see it as a trap. Betan is relatively wealthy, so the Jilva army that occupied it would naturally station their main force there, right?"

"Yeah. The harvest yield in that area is the highest in the region."

"So, if we head toward the relatively easier-to-capture Sueito and get intercepted by a Magic Sword user there and get delayed, what happens?"

"If we carelessly split our forces, the Sueito side could be wiped out. Even if not completely wiped out, we could get caught between the fortress and Betan. I see. So they're trying to quickly take Betan — where a seemingly decorative mercenary is the commander — to gain the advantage."

"Exactly. While we have overwhelming numbers, hearing that they took the fortress in an instant means we can't afford to split our forces carelessly."

"So the idea is to firmly establish our foothold first?"

"Yes."

From what I heard, there didn't seem to be any problems with Prism's strategy. I'm not good at strategic planning anyway, and it sounded fine, so I decided to leave it to her. Research is my true field after all.

So, I pushed the report from a single soldier to the back of my mind—

Because it's impossible.

'A light bullet flying from the far rear destroyed the gate.'

What kind of magic could possibly do that?