"Now then, don't make such a face and carry out your duties like a man. Even my daughter, Yuyu, says the same."
"Uu~"
As you can see, Derieu and the rest of my wives all gave birth safely.
As usual, I was knocked out asleep during the whole thing, though.
"That's right. We'll be fine, so please do your best at work, Onii-san. Right, Shance?"
"Ah~"
Ratz and our newborn daughter, Shance, resting in her arms say the same.
"Hey, they were literally just born. There's no way they're saying that!"
When I retorted to the two of them, the other wives spoke up.
"Now, now, Yuki-san, don't throw a tantrum. The negotiations with Enaria are coming up soon, so we need to summarize the prisoner interrogations and figure out what to do with Betan going forward."
"She is right. You have many responsibilities ahead of you, Milord. Please do not worry about us. Naturally, we will protect the children with all our strength."
Both Eris and Killue were holding their daughters just like the rest.
Eris's daughter is Eria.
Killue's daughter is Shael.
They're all so unbelievably adorable!!
"No, I get that, but how can you expect me to just leave behind my wives who just gave birth and my newborn daughters!?"
Anybody who just had kids would take paternity leave! Why can't I take a break?!
"Now, what nonsense are you spewing? It's not as if Yuki is abandoning us."
"That's right. Ever since we gave birth, Onii-san has been glued to our sides every single day, hasn't he?"
"Indeed. From what I hear, it doesn't seem like you've been neglecting the other wives either..."
"The only thing you've been neglecting... is your work."
"Guh...!?"
That's true—for about four days since everyone gave birth, I've left affairs on the new continent completely untouched.
Because, well, our report to the fortress stated that we should refrain from making any big moves due to the presence of an unidentified army, the Enaria army retreated, and Princess Miffy had to report back to her home country to figure out their next course of action. So my hands were completely free!
Besides, that "unidentified army" is just Mino-chan and his crew, and keeping watch over that area is a breeze.
In other words, I have every right to stay by my wives and daughters!
"It seems you are trying to convince yourself in your head that your actions are justified, but that won't work. If you don't do your job, Onii-san, I might grow to dislike you, you know?"
"Or perhaps we should strip Yuki naked and have each of us take turns with him every day."
"Ah, if you're willing to do what Derieu just suggested, I wouldn't mind if you slacked off on work."
Eris said, glaring at me like I was prey.
"Naturally, all of us will be participating, Milord."
"...Alright, fine! I'll go to work! Hey, you over there! Seraria, Rurua, stop approaching me while wiggling your fingers like that! Ria, Jessica, don't try to strip off my clothes!"
"""Tch."""
The ones clicking their tongues in disappointment were every single one of my wives.
Did I do something wrong?! From where I'm standing, I made a completely rational decision!!
"Besides, Rurua, weren't you a former Saintess!? A member of the clergy? Shouldn't you be the ones stopping this kind of behavior!?"
Rurua, who had been wiggling her fingers, stopped and blinked in surprise at my words.
After a brief pause, she crossed her arms in thought.
Because she crossed her arms under her chest, Rurua's breasts thrust forward dramatically.
"Well... if I were still in training, then naturally I would suppress worldly desires. But now, Danna-sama and I share a deep love, and we have an environment where that love can properly flourish. This isn't about indulging in pleasure for its own sake. We're prepared to bear children and raise them together. Therefore, being intimate with my husband is only natural. In fact, it's an indispensable part of human life! Now then... let's head to the bed!"
"Calm down! And, you Seraria! Don't try to help her!"
I somehow managed to hold back Lulua, who was charging at me with a bizarrely impassioned speech.
Seraria clung to me from the side.
The two bodyguard wives didn't even make a move to stop it.
"Hey, you two guard ladies, why are you just watching!?"
"Eh? I mean, I want to do it with Yuki-san too."
"Same here. I want to be with Yuki as well. Oh, and it doesn't have to be on a bed. An open-air bath would be fine too."
"You've adapted way too well, Jessica! Where's your knightly pride!?"
"Huh? Before I'm a knight, I'm Yuki's wife. What's wrong with wanting to be with my husband?"
"Don't answer so matter-of-factly! And could you maybe avoid saying 'want to be with' so directly...? At least set the mood a little..."
When I said that, the room suddenly fell silent for some reason.
Both Rurua and Seraria quietly pulled away from me.
What's wrong? Why?
"...Why are you talking like an innocent young maiden?"
"Ah~ Yuki-san is always like this for some reason, Jessica."
"Phew, why is this husband of ours such a maiden at heart, Rurua?"
"Sigh, I'd like to know that myself, Seraria."
Hey now!
You guys smiled warmly went full "bashful maiden mode", so why are you being so harsh on me!?
"Well, I've completely lost the mood now. Go do your work. And tonight, you'll properly make up for ruining everyone's mood."
"Wait... that counts as owing you!?"
"Of course. I expect you to be twice as passionate as usual."
Seraria smiled sweetly.
Twice as much? Isn't that a bit much...?
"Then I'll have twice as much too."
"Me too."
"Same here."
"All of you..."
Some of them were even sending messages to the wives who weren't present!
Anyway, if I stay here any longer, I'm going to sink deeper into this pit, so I better get to work.
Forgive me, my beloved daughters!!
"He ran away. Well, we'll still get to eat him tonight, so it's fine. Ria, Jessica, please take care of my husband."
"Yes."
"Leave it to us."
* * *
Well, even if I say I'm going to work... There's really nothing I can do until either Jilva or Enaria makes their move.
As for reforming Betan... Reforming sounds great and all, but in a time when we're trying to figure out whether to end this war, we don't have the time or energy for a large-scale overhaul.
It's not impossible, but we'll likely be heading to Enaria soon anyway, which would just double my workload.
"In that case, I guess I'll visit Mino-chan."
Since there's nothing to do at my own post, I might as well iron out the details with Mino-chan.
When we head to Enaria, we'll be moving separately, so I should discuss the finer points with him while I have the chance.
"So that's why ya came to my place, huh?"
"Yep."
I visited the large military dungeon where Mino-chan's army was stationed.
The two of us sat in the reception room, drinking tea.
"Where's John?"
"Same as always. Working the fields."
"He never gets tired of farming, does he?"
Even after coming here, John's love of vegetables hadn't changed... What on earth went wrong with him?
We quietly sipped our tea.
"So, An-chan, if ya really got nothin' to do, wouldn't it be fine to just stay with your wives?"
"If I go back now, I'll end up as the main course in a pleasure banquet until the day after tomorrow."
"Most men would be happy about that."
"I would if I were the one taking the initiative and choosing who to be with. This time it's the opposite. I'll be the one getting toyed with the whole time."
"If I were the one in charge and could pick my partner based on my mood, sure. But this time it's the opposite—I'm the one who's going to get taken advantage of non-stop."
"Sounds like a rough time."
"For some reason, my wives are surprisingly aggressive when it comes to this kind of thing."
"Having a good relationship with your wives ain't a bad thing."
"Well, yeah, I guess so."
We chatted idly while discussing preparations for the expedition.
Then—
CRASH!!
A tremendous noise echoed all the way to the reception room.
"What was that?"
"Beats me."
We looked at each other in confusion.
The fact that no alarm had sounded meant it wasn't anything serious. If an armed group or enemy army had entered the dungeon, the alarms would already be blaring.
That's why this situation is strange. Accidents that make a noise that loud rarely happen around here. hough back at the Weed school, it would be an everyday occurrence.
Thump-thump-thump-thump—
Listening closely, the sound of someone running down the hallway was rapidly approaching.
The footsteps stopped right in front of the reception room door...
BANG!
The door was thrown wide open.
Poking his head through the doorway was...
"...Sob. I'll never be able to get married nowwww..."
Steve—the commander of the monster army—stood there with his clothes in complete disarray.
He was even covering his chest with both hands.
"Gross."
"That's seriously disgusting-dabe."
At that moment, Mino-chan's mind and mine became one.
Our opinions on the sight before us were in complete alignment.
Because, honestly, it was gross.
"So, what happened?"
"Yeah?"
"Boss! Please take me off prisoner interrogation duty-ssu!"
"Wait, the way you phrased that makes it sound like your clothes are torn because of the prisoners?"
"That's exactly it-ssu!! Especially that flat-chested Magic Sword wielder! The second I tried to talk to her, she ordered the female soldier next to her to pin my arms behind my back and try to strip off my clothes!! She's a total pervert!!"
"...Well, I don't really get the whole story, but you're saying you barely escaped here after almost getting stripped naked?"
"YES!!"
"And did you make sure to close the door behind you? This isn't a place where we can just let prisoners roam freely, you know. Especially since I'm here."
If the Enaria side finds out that I'm friendly with Mino-chan... actually, whatever, we can just pretend I'm negotiating with Mino-chan on our end.
"Ah."
This idiot.
Maybe it really was time to retrain the Goblins from scratch.
"There you are!! The talking Goblin!!"
"Aegil-sama, please calm down! We're prisoners, remember? Roaming around freely could cause trouble for Enaria..."
I see.
The one who burst in first was Aegil, the Magic Sword wielder, and the one who followed behind her was... wait, Nork, was it? The one Steve harassed—or rather, stripped out of her armor and clothes.
"Eek!? Stay away, you pervert!!"
"It's alright, it won't hurt. I'm just going to examine your body a little bit. Doing anything to the Minotaur general who leads this place might be problematic, but playing around with you a little should be fine, right?"
"IT IS NOT FINE!!"
Ignoring us completely, the two of them glared at each other.
"Hey, in terms of actual strength, Steve completely overwhelms her, doesn't he...?"
"Course he does, An-chan. He's intentionally acting like that. If he didn't, Aegil-san would end up getting hurt."
"Even so, Steve could just knock her out or use sleep magic, right?"
"Ah, now that ya mention it, that's true. Why isn't he using it?"
"Hmm... Ohh, I get it."
It hit me.
"What is it?"
"Steve is a masochist."
"...I see."
"I AM NOT!! Besides, YOU were the one who told me to gather information, Boss!! What's the point if I just knock her out or put her to sleep!?"
This idiot.
Don't call me "Boss" while facing this direction.
"Hm? Come to think of it, what room is this...? Ah, is this General Minotaur's room? My apologies for the intrusion. We will leave immediately. Nork, let's take that Goblin and head back to our room."
"Ah, yes."
Aegil greeted us completely naturally, leaving us utterly stunned. Only Mino-chan, who was addressed directly, gave a half-hearted reply.
"Ah, 'yes' my foot!! Hey, you're the supreme commander here, Mino-chan! Do something about this!!"
"Ah, my bad. Aegil-san, that Goblin over there seems to dislike it, so I'd appreciate it if you'd stop..."
"Mu, if you put it that way, I can't force the issue. My apologies, Goblin-kun. Please assist me again when you have some spare time."
"NO WAY-SSU!!"
Ah, I get it now. This girl is a mad scientist.
She's the exact same type as Zargis—and the exact same type as that friend of mine.
"Now then, looking closely, it seems there are people here. I don't know why you're in a place like this, but allow me to introduce myself for now. I am Aegil Thomson, a Magic Sword wielder of Enaria. Feel free to just call me Aegil."
"...I am a soldier of Enaria, my name is Nork."
Now then, she introduced herself, but how should I respond?
Might as well be upfront. I was planning to claim I was here negotiating anyway.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Yuki, a mercenary employed by the Jilva Empire to help defend Betan. Feel free to call me Yuki."
"W-Wha!?"
Nork immediately radiated hostility.
Aegil, however, reacted completely differently.
"Hmm, nice to meet you, Yuki. So, does that mean your side is interested in this army as well?"
Aegil turned a cheerful, innocent smile toward me, looking genuinely excited.
Prioritizing her curiosity over enemy, huh... what a dangerous woman.
