Side: Ria
"Ah—they're really panicking down there."
"That's only natural. Even if it's a wyvern, it's still a dragon, after all."
Standing beside Yuki-san as I always do, I watched the soldiers running around in confusion below.
Even back on the continent of Weed, people say you have to prepare for serious damage whenever a wyvern appears. In the New Continent, where monsters themselves are quite rare, seeing one must be an extraordinary sight.
"Ria is right. Even though Vixen-dono said they had been notified, they've probably never actually seen a wyvern before. Look, some of the soldiers are even readying their bows."
"Ah, you're right."
Just as Jessica pointed out, there were panicked soldiers aiming their bows up at us.
They weren't within effective range, but just to be safe, I stepped in front of Yuki-san, ready to intercept anything.
Before long, though, another soldier smacked them on the head and confiscated their bows.
"I am deeply sorry. It seems a young soldier panicked. There was no hostile intent on our end."
Vixen-san apologizes with an expression that genuinely looks apologetic.
Even though this man is supposed to be someone of high status, he really gives off the vibe of a long-suffering hardship post worker—much like the merchant uncle who went out of his way to take me in.
"It can't be helped. From the looks of things, the officers are keeping everyone under control, so it seems the message was properly conveyed. So, should we land in the open area?"
"Yes. That area they're clearing over there will be fine. Please land there first, then move over to the edge."
"Understood. Amanda-san, you heard him."
"Got it! Pretty please, Wy-chan!"
'Gyaaas!'
Wai-chan gives a single roar in response, and the soldiers below stiffen.
Well, if a dragon roars, anyone would assume it's about to attack, right?
For the time being, Jessica and I take up positions beside Yuki-san so we can block any attack, while Cleana and Samantha keep their distance and carefully watch the surrounding area, ready to intercept with magic.
Of course, Eris, Derieu, Rurua, and Ratz were on high alert as well. Labyris and Sheila stood alongside Aslin-chan and Filia-chan to protect them. Ah, and Amanda was naturally being shielded by Eoid.
Vixen-san also waves from inside the cage, repeatedly shouting at the soldiers not to attack... Looks extremely tiring.
Thanks in part to Vixen-san's shouting, we manage to land without any problems and climb out of the cage.
"We have been awaiting your arrival, Dragon Knight-sama!!"
The moment we get down, we hear those words, and all the soldiers standing in formation salute at once... Yep, they seem very well-trained.
Amanda, being addressed directly, clearly wasn't used to it, as her face twitched nervously. Eris gives her a little nudge, and somehow, Amanda manages to respond.
"T-Thank you for the warm welcome. It seems your men are exceptionally well-disciplined. I shall make sure to mention this during our audience."
"""Thank you very much!!"""
Quite a few of the soldiers are pumping their fists in the air.
Well, most people would never get the opportunity to have an audience with royalty, so if they can use this chance to earn even an indirect compliment from Amanda, there might be various bonuses waiting for them later.
While that exchange was taking place, Vixen-san, who had briefly stepped into the barracks, returned.
"Everyone, I have been informed that the royal castle has already been notified, so a carriage should arrive shortly to escort you. Please make whatever preparations are necessary in the meantime. Also, Amanda-sama, regarding the dragon... could you move it over to that far corner?"
"Ah, yes. Understood."
Wy-chan then moves toward the edge of the field.
"Jessica, come to think of it, which one of us is staying behind to watch Wy-chan? We never heard anything about that, did we?"
"Ah, now that you mention it, I haven't heard either. Yuki, who exactly is staying behind?"
"No one's staying behind."
"Eh? But then, what if some idiot tries to mess with Wy-chan?"
"I agree with Ria. Do you have some sort of plan in mind?"
"Of course I do. We're going to trust the soldiers here and leave Wai-chan entirely in their care. Unless they specifically ask us to leave someone behind, it would be rude for us not to have everyone board the carriage waiting for us, right?"
At Yuki-san's explanation, Jessica's face twitched slightly.
Ah, there he goes again.
"In other words, no one besides us can handle Wy-chan anyway, so if the soldiers slack off on guard duty and something happens, it puts us in the advantageous position?"
"Bingo. Ria's really starting to catch on."
"Ehehe. I am Yuki-san's wife, after all."
This is what you call mind-to-mind communication—understanding each other with just a glance.
It really makes me feel like we're a married couple, which makes me super happy.
"However, couldn't they turn it around and make some ridiculous claim that Wy-chan went berserk and caused a disturbance?"
Jessica looked over at Wy-chan sitting all alone with a worried expression.
Ah, true. Making up absurd excuses is a noble's favorite specialty.
"That's not impossible, but it'd be a complete out-of-bounds play for them."
"How so?"
"We've already proven that Wy-chan can safely wait at the Academy and in Rhodei. Even if they bribed some soldiers here and made a huge fuss, the most they could accomplish would be getting a few soldiers injured. They'd also be proving that they can't do what the Academy and Rhodei managed to do."
"Indeed, that would be a humiliation for the nation..."
"Well, unless Wy-chan burned the capital to the ground, they wouldn't have a leg to stand on. And do you think they'd risk that?"
"Not a chance. Their own homes might end up catching fire, after all."
"If Wy-chan somehow made it all the way to the royal castle, the entire kingdom would be thrown into chaos. Even ballistas don't work on Wy-chan—it takes something like an anti-materiel rifle to deal real damage."
"Besides, the Princess and the Court Magic Advisor—who happens to be Cleana's master—are both Academy graduates. Do you really think the kingdom as a whole would conspire to pick a fight with us?"
"No. Doing that would mean picking a fight not just with the Academy, but with the four other nations backing it."
Yep.
From the sound of it, trying to mess with Wy-chan would lead to nothing short of total ruin.
"That's why even if someone acts, it'll probably just be some individual acting on their own. The big shots will all come rushing over to keep us happy. That's why leaving Wy-chan alone is actually more convenient. Having one of our wives stay behind to guard her would cause more problems."
"Eh? Why is that?"
"My official background is a mess involving royal blood from Jilva and Enaria, but on paper, I'm just the leader of a hired mercenary band. People will look at that as an opening and target my wives instead. Wy-chan is a monster you can't reason with, but my wives can be reasoned with—so idiots might think they can persuade you to switch sides, or even try to force themselves on you."
"""We'll kill them."""
All of Yuki-san's wives, including myself, answered in unison.
A natural response. The only person allowed to do those things to us is Yuki-san alone.
"Huh!? W-What happened!? The killing intent from Eris-shishou and Derieu-shishou is..."
"A-A... Well, Yuki-san said there might be some idiot who tries to make a move on his wives, so we're leaving Wy-chan here alone."
"I see. Eris-shishou and the others are beauties, after all. Though honestly, trying to touch Eris-shishou or the others sounds more like a death wish to me."
Oops. We shouldn't scare Amanda.
Everyone else seems to realize it too, and the killing intent gradually disappears.
"I'd get angry too if someone made a move on my wives. So stay together. If some idiot does try something, we can cover for each other. If you're alone, you're more likely to want to beat the other person into the ground, right?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Well, actually, we'd kill them.
"Well, obviously we can't stay together all the time, so always travel in groups of at least two. Absolutely no going anywhere alone. In a sense, that's no different from usual. I don't expect anything like that to happen, but it'd be a pain if we ended up blowing up the royal castle over something like this."
In short: stick close to Yuki-san!
No problem, that's my absolute specialty!! Because I love him so much!!
"Fumu, fumu. I see. I understand your feelings completely, Onii-san. In that case, unlike usual, I shall act as your guard instead of Jessica today!"
"Eh!?"
Jessica gasped in surprise at Ratz's declaration.
"There's no need to be so shocked, is there? Guard duty must be exhausting for you all the time. While we are in the capital, I shall take your place."
And just like that, she smoothly clung to Yuki-san's arm.
"N-No, really, I'm fine!"
My, my, don't push yourself—please take a nice rest."
Ah, Ratz is teasing Jessica again.
Jessica really needs to get used to this kind of thing. She's just way too serious.
Then, Eris grabbed Yuki-san's other remaining arm...
"Ria, I'll take over for you, so you can relax."
Huh?
I don't get it at all.
"ERISSSSS!! That's my spot!!"
"Ara? But it's customary for the Hero to act as a vanguard rather than a bodyguard, isn't it?"
"I don't care!! I'm Yuki-san's exclusive bodyguard!!"
Even Eris is joining in now.
If I let my guard down, she really might steal my guard duty spot for this trip!
She's even worse than Ratz!
"Come on, enough fooling around. It looks like the carriage has arrived."
"Indeed. We still have our honeymoon with Yuki-san later, and plenty of time to eat—I mean, be affectionate with him, so let's finish our business quickly."
The moment Rurua says that, we all freeze and immediately behave ourselves.
"...You lot are certainly motivated by self-interest."
"Then is Derieu fine without a honeymoon?"
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!!"
And so we immediately board the prepared carriages and begin moving.
The gentle swaying was nostalgic, but honestly, a car is way better... Thanks to that my bottom and waist hurt.
During the carriage ride, the windows are covered with curtains so that we can't see outside, meaning we never get to see the city streets. We are simply escorted straight to the royal castle.
According to Vixen-san, if Amanda-sama and the others' faces became widely known, they wouldn't be able to move freely when sightseeing. There was also a possibility that someone might come up with some unnecessary scheme.
"Ugh, my bottom hurts."
"...I'm the same. We've gotten too used to cars. Isn't there something that can be done?
"Right?"
Jessica and I sat next to Yuki-san, both rubbing our sore backsides.
"...Can't you just use magic to make a wind cushion or something? I thought you were doing it on purpose, so I didn't say anything."
""Ah.""
That explains why Yuki-san was sitting there completely unfazed while casually talking to Vixen-san.
We'll have to do that next time.
"Yuki-sama. What is this magical cushion you speak of?"
"Nn, interested."
"Ah, you two don't know about it, do you?"
"Well, it's an application of wind magic. You know the cushions we have at home? You make something similar to them to soften impacts."
If I recall correctly, it was an application of the wind shield spell used for blocking attacks.
While I explain this to Cleana and Samantha, someone calls out to us from the side.
"Ohhh! Welcome back, Cleana!"
"Master!"
Rare for Cleana, she raised her voice and ran straight toward the old man.
Ah, so that's Cleana's master and foster father.
Wearing a pointed hat, a white beard, and robes, he looked every bit the archetypal magician.
Seeing him smile so warmly at Cleana, he clearly seemed like a kind old grandfather.
"Why is Master here? Usually, you stay secluded in your house on the outskirts of town doing research."
"Guh... You certainly hit me where it hurts. But you see, I couldn't very well stay cooped up at home when my adorable daughter was coming back. So I asked the princess to let me serve as your guide."
It's a heartwarming sight.
I remember when I had something like that...
After working in the fields all day, I would return home to my mother and little sister waiting for me.
Memories from a time that will never come back.
There were many times when I wished I could have used the Hero's power.
But I met Yuki-san.
I met the person destined for me.
The road here was a harsh one, but I don't regret this encounter.
The sadness, the pain, and even the love in my heart—
They are all mine.
...That's why I'm going to be happy, for the sake of everyone in my village too.
"...Ria. Are you all right? Tears are coming out."
"Ah, yeah. I'm fine. I was just feeling a little nostalgic."
"...Nostalgic, huh? Please don't push yourself."
"Thanks. But I really am fine. And Jessica is kind to me too."
That's right—it's not just Yuki-san.
I've gained so many companions whom I can trust from the bottom of my heart. There's no reason to cling to the past.
While I was thinking about all this, Cleana and her master seemed to finish talking and walked over toward us.
"Everyone, let me introduce him. My foster parent and master. Also the Court Magic Advisor of the Kingdom of August, Feigel Hundred."
"Hohoho. Thank you for the introduction. I am Feigel Hundred. Since you are my daughter's friends, please feel free to call me Feigel. And I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to speak with the Dragon Knight, Amanda-sama."
With that, the old man bowed politely before Amanda.
Addressed directly, Amanda naturally grew tense again... Wait, how did that old man know what Amanda looked like?
Did Cleana tell him beforehand?
"Y-Yes!! N-No, please don't be so formal! I'm still just an Academy student, and there's no need for a great senior like you—the legendary Hundred-sama, who exchanged spells with Headmaster Poppuri and was said to command a hundred spells—to go that far for me!"
"Hohoho. Nostalgic times, indeed. Well, if Dragon Knight Amanda-sama says so, let us speak casually as friends of Cleana in private. However, please understand that in official settings, we each have our positions to maintain."
"Yes! Understood. It's a pleasure to meet you!"
Hmm.
He's a very reasonable old man.
"Still, to think that story is still circulating... Is that so, Cleana?"
"Circulating or not, Master is practically the only one who ever managed a proper magic battle against Headmaster Poppuri."
"Oh, come now. Back when I was a student, there were plenty of people who tried to pick a fight with the Headmaster. Besides, calling it a 'magic battle' is generous—I simply tried to overwhelm her with sheer volume, only to be utterly defeated in the end."
"...The sheer volume was absurd, though. Records state you unleashed a mountain of different spells, and the story is still passed down today. In fact, the Headmaster herself talks about it."
"That damned old hag! Drawing all that attention to me like that... Considering she doesn't mention at all how she countered every single one of my spells, she's clearly trying to dump all the troublesome attention onto me... Should I go complain to her next time...?"
Yep.
So Poppuri has always been like that.
I feel sorry for the old man.
I wonder whether he would laugh or cry if he saw Poppuri being fed like a pet by Eris these days.
"More importantly, I want to introduce everyone else."
"Oh! My apologies. Ah yes, the message mentioned that the mercenary band who repelled the attack on Enaria was serving as escorts... but they seem to be mostly female students. Where might the mercenaries be?"
"...Everyone except Amanda and Eoid beside her belongs to the mercenary band. They're wearing uniforms because they were welcomed as students of the Academy."
"Hoh!? Such young ladies!?"
"Nn, it's a fact. Since we don't have much time left before the audience, I'll be concise. That man over there."
Cleana opened her mouth, pointing toward Yuki-san, who was standing beside me.
"The leader of the mercenary group, Yuki. And my husband. Everyone else here is a fellow wife and friend. My new family."
"...Huh?"
The old man froze with his mouth wide open, unable to process the information.
Ah... how should I put it? Even I can imagine what comes next.
He's definitely going to explode with a "Like hell I'll give my daughter to you!!"
After all, he knows nothing about Yuki-san. And from the way he looks, it's obvious that he treasures Cleana. So that's a totally natural reaction.
As I was thinking that, the old man lowered his head slightly, trembling all over as if gathering strength.
Everyone else seems to understand what's coming too, and they bring their hands to their ears in preparation for the scream.
Meanwhile, Yuki-san, accepting his fate as Cleana's partner, stood there tearfully preparing to take whatever came next.
...Good luck, Yuki-san!
Then, the old man snapped his head up and marched straight toward Yuki-san.
He wasn't holding a weapon, but we couldn't just ignore someone approaching like that.
Jessica and I tried to step forward to block him, but Yuki-san held out a hand to stop us, letting events play out.
There was no bloodlust coming from him, but if he tries to attack, I'll turn him to ash.
The old man stood right in front of Yuki-san and rapidly reached out his hands.
"""!"""
Jessica, Samantha, and I instantly dropped into combat stances.
Since we were inside the royal castle, our visible weapons had been confiscated, but our Hero equipment inside the item box was intact, ready to be summoned at any moment.
However, the old man's hands simply grabbed Yuki-san's hands tightly...
"Splendidly done!! To think there was such an eccentric man willing to take this unsociable, flat-chested daughter of mine!!"
Crash!
All of us nearly lost our balance and fell over.
Wait. That's what you were worried about!?
"Ahh, I'm so relieved! I'm extremely proud of my daughter, you see. But perhaps I made a mistake with her early education. She grew up surrounded by nothing but books and magic, and became a girl who has trouble interacting with other people. Once I realized that, I sent her to the Academy, but the reports from the headmaster said she still did nothing but read books. I thought she was going to grow old without ever finding a partner, just like me. Well, if she had a better figure, I suppose there would have been some hope. But in reality, look at her. She's tiny, smooth, and completely flat, isn't she?"
Ah... Cleana is trembling violently in the background.
I think I can see why this old guy stayed single—he has zero consideration for women's feelings.
Besides, Cleana is a genuinely cute girl who was just looking for friends! It's the people around her who failed to notice!
"N-No! Including all those traits, I love Cleana dearly!"
As expected of Yuki-san!!
Cleana stopped trembling, her cheeks flushing bright red... So cute!
"How wonderful!! I've never met a young man like you!! To know she's flat as a board and still say, 'I love her,' or 'She's cute'—you didn't even hesitate!! Even though she's flat!!"
Despite Yuki-san going out of his way to calm things down, the old man kept stepping on landmines.
Being flat isn't a bad thing!!
Anyway, realizing Cleana had passed her critical limit, everyone except Yuki-san and the old man quickly stepped back.
Since it was Cleana's attack, there was no need to worry about Yuki-san getting hurt, and by all appearances, it was just playful banter.
Well, whether the old man survives or not is another story.
"...Die, you shitty old geezer!!"
Demonstrating the fruits of her training back in Weed, Cleana instantly created a massive Fireball and launched it straight at the old man.
"Hmph! How many times have I told you to control your magic surges? Against a high-ranking mage, the spell activation will be instantly seen through—"
Saying that, the old man turned around, only to scream upon seeing the giant Fireball hurtling toward his face.
"W-Wait, isn't that way too big!? HOLD ON—"
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!
An enormous explosion echoes throughout the royal castle.
...Hmm.
I wonder if Grandpa is completely charred.
