Side: Yuki
We had finished listening to Princess Innis's explanation regarding the locations she wanted us to scout, and we were about to begin preparing for our departure.
"If possible, please rescue my father."
"Yes. We will do so if we can."
"I am counting on you."
Saying so, the Princess bowed her head deeply.
She really is proper about things like this, isn't she?
Was her behavior up until now just an act, or perhaps a red herring?
If so, she's quite a shrewd princess to deal with.
"...And forgive me. Lastly, Cleana."
"...What?"
"You are married to Yuki-dono, correct?"
"Yes. I am a married woman now."
"Please listen without getting angry. Under our initial plan, I intended to draft Cleana in order to secure the cooperation of my junior, Amanda, and Yuki-dono's group no matter what."
"......"
Cleana's expression froze, and magical power began to gather around her.
Flustered, I wrapped my arms around her to calm her down.
"...You are the absolute worst."
Though her magic dissipated, Cleana spat those words out at the Princess.
"Hey, Cleana!! My deepest apologies, Princess!!"
Feigel-san hurriedly apologized for his daughter's rudeness, but the Princess shook her head as if telling him not to worry about it.
"No, it is fine. I too would be furious if someone tried to scheme using me as bait to send those around me to a place of death."
"...I have no intention of becoming a ball and chain for Yuki. If it comes to that, I will die right here and now."
Whether Cleana was completely serious or not, she created a sword out of ice magic and tried to bring it to her throat.
However, everyone—including myself—stopped her.
"Now, now. Let's calm down, Cleana. Onii-san doesn't want anything like that, you know?"
"That's right. Danna-sama is telling you he wants to live together with you. That is the wrong choice to make."
"It's alright, Cleana. I'll blow away anyone who would make such a cruel demand on our little sister."
Those are Ratz, Rurua, and Eris.
Eris especially—irritated from negotiations with dignitaries—seems ready to blow up the castle for making her sister figure wear that expression.
"No way!! Cleana-oneechan said she would teach me studying!!"
"That's right!! We made a promise, so you mustn't die!!"
"Yes, that's right. Cleana is family now. And if anyone lays a hand on her, I won't hold back either."
Aslin and Filia were clinging to her with teary faces, while Labyris was glaring with clear hostility.
Now then, if I don't interject soon, the royal castle might actually get blown away for real.
"Princess Innis. You specifically told us this here, so I assume there was some other reason behind it? Surely you wouldn't say something like that simply to make everyone angry."
When I asked that, the Princess nodded.
"Yes. I did intend to use Cleana. As a political decision for the sake of the country, it would have been perfectly reasonable, but personally, it was something I absolutely did not want to do. So I thought that by telling you all about it openly, I should at least accept the condemnation and reproach that came with it."
"I understand that you're imposing a punishment on yourself that way, Princess Innis. Setting aside the consideration you've shown us—and the fact that this is also a form of self-satisfaction—what is the main point you wanted to tell us?"
"Self-satisfaction, huh... You certainly don't hold back. Well, I can't deny it. As for the consideration I mentioned, as compensation for your cooperation this time, I will officially recognize the marriage between Creamer and Yuki-dono, and pledge that she will not have to accept any draft calls from August."
I see.
She's saying that this incident will finally free Cleana from that obligation.
Well, since we're technically operating under Poppuri's request, if a change in contract was proposed, the one who should pay the reward is Poppuri, not the Princess. That's why she first brought up the possibility of using Cleana as a bargaining chip, and then made it clear that she herself would put an end to it.
Well, if anyone tried to do something to Cleana, they'd effectively be declaring war on me—and on everyone in Weed, just like this... And there'd be a literal sea of fire.
"Thank you for your consideration."
"Thank you, Princess."
"I had such a vile idea, so this is only natural. However, the fact remains that I am throwing you into a dangerous mission. Cleana, return safely. Naturally, that goes for your husband, Yuki-dono, as well."
"Nn. Don't worry. We're planning to have children and live happily."
"Well, I'll do my best—as much as I can."
And then, the Princess bowed her head to Eoid and Amanda.
"Likewise. Please forgive me, as I could think of no other way than to send you two newlyweds—my juniors Amanda and Eoid—to the warzone. And please, return safely."
"Yes!! It's completely fine!! I want to talk about lots of things with Innis-senpai, after all!!"
"Participating in combat, even if strictly for scouting, is also of our own free will. I will definitely protect Amanda. Please do not worry, Innis-senpai."
"Thank you. Now then, sorry to rush you, but please head over to the barracks, take Vixen with you, and head out on reconnaissance as planned."
""Yes!!""
The two of them answered cheerfully.
I suppose it's better than going off to their first battlefield reluctantly.
And so, the Dragon Knight and her lover ran outside full of motivation.
"...Should I consider ourselves lucky that they're at least motivated?"
"Indeed."
Watching the two depart, the Princess spoke with an indescribable look on her face, and Feigel-san replied with a similar expression.
"Now then, Old Master Feigel. The official orders and the letter..."
Through Master Feigel, she handed over the official orders to prove our operation this time, as well as a letter in the event that we happened to meet the King.
"Yuki-dono. Please take care of those youngsters. And please make Cleana happy as well."
"...Shishou."
"Yes. I will definitely make Cleana happy. When we eventually hold a proper wedding ceremony, please be sure to attend."
"Yeah. I look forward to it. Now then, return safely, my son-in-law."
Receiving their send-off, we pursued Amanda and Eoid.
Or so I thought, but...
『Yuki-san. It's Milly. Do you have a moment right now? We just gathered some information at a shop near the barracks gate, and...』
A communication came in from Milly.
Signaling to everyone, I sent Ratz on ahead to join up with Eris, Amanda, and Eoid, so she could meet Vixen-san first and explain the situation to him.
The fact that she was contacting us like this meant she had gathered some significant information.
We can't put it off.
"It's fine. So you found some information, right?"
『Yes. I'm not sure how reliable it is, but there was something we absolutely needed to tell you. It's about the magic swords and fire staffs you told us about.』
"Did a soldier come into the shop and talk about it?"
『No. Actually, there was a mercenary who went to the Sacred Kingdom of Hify as a merchant's guard...』
I see. Information from a mercenary.
If so, we'd probably get a more straightforward account than we would from a soldier—just what the guy actually saw, without any official spin.
『First, regarding the magic swords, we heard that they can be used even by men. Apparently, a male soldier from the Hiffy Holy Kingdom actually demonstrated using one. He apparently couldn't even use magic before.』
"That part is pretty much what I expected. I don't know what the trick is, but unless they can make them usable by anyone, having a huge number of magic swords won't give them an army capable of fighting a war. Not if nobody can use them."
Still, getting that as reported information is a solid gain.
If the story from a mercenary matches up rather than just rumors from soldiers, we can safely assume Magic Swords are indeed being used without restrictions.
Well, constantly gathering and updating information is the basic rule, though.
『I also heard about the Staves of Fire. And this is the biggest problem...』
"Is it guns?"
"""EHH!?"""
『...Were you already aware?』
"No, not at all. Just a random guess."
"""Ehhhh."""
This time, exasperated voices spread among them.
"Well, it was a wild guess, but it's not like I hadn't imagined it. We lacked way too much info, though, so I couldn't exactly voice my speculations, right?"
"Well, that's true. So, what was your reason for answering 'guns', Onii-san?"
"Right. It's the fact that it was specifically named a 'Staff of Fire'."
"A Staff of Fire?"
"Yeah. Even though the attributes of the Magic Swords aren't known, why did they specifically know it was a 'Staff of Fire'?"
"Come to think of it, that is strange. If they didn't know, they should have called it an 'Enchanted Staff', shouldn't they?"
"In other words, there's a clear reason why it's distinctly recognizable as a Staff of Fire. For example, when attacked by those staves all at once, they witnessed a sight where fire spewed out."
"Ah, is that what it means? While Magic Swords produce various effects from the blade, in the case of the staves, the exact same phenomenon occurred simultaneously, making 'Staff of Fire' the most fitting name to describe it?"
"Exactly. And as for why I thought of guns: the guns we use don't produce that much noticeable flame. But old-fashioned guns produced massive bursts of fire—to the point where there's even a saying that 'a gun spits fire'."
『So that's why you thought of guns.』
"Yeah. But Milly and Kirika's information is troublesome. All we know for sure is that they use guns, right?"
『...I'm sorry.』
"No, Milly and Kirika did a great job. There's no doubt about that. Getting this information beforehand is undeniably lucky. If you had even figured out the exact type of gun, far from being surprised, I'd suspect that mercenary of being a double agent."
"True~"
Still, what a hassle.
Combat involving firearms completely changes the way a battle is fought.
I had anticipated it, but this will be our first time facing it in actual combat.
"...Alright. Milly and Kirika, you're done gathering information for today, right?"
『Yes. We left saying we had an urgent errand. If we force it, we could go back to gathering information, but...』
"No, you two head back to Weed for now, contact Steve and the others, and tell them to prepare our aerial forces. We haven't departed yet, so we need to meet up with Vixen-san before heading out. We could leave it to the Doppels, but we can probably gather info at the barracks too, and I want to go directly for this."
『Understood.』
"Also, pass the message to Seraria and the members waiting at Weed. Tell them there's a high probability this will turn into a battle involving guns."
『Yes.』
For now, if we don't gather as much info as possible and come up with countermeasures, we'll be in trouble.
Even more so if guns are involved.
Unless we gather details on the weapons the enemy uses, their range, firepower, and various other factors, we're going to suffer painful losses.
While I was thinking about these things, it seemed Milly still had something left to tell, so she continued speaking.
『Lastly, there was a story that several years ago, a hero surpassing the Holy Sword trial was summoned to the Sacred Kingdom of Hiffy...』
"I figured. Coming up with a weapon like a gun is undeniably advice from an outsider. It's not completely impossible that this world invented guns on its own, but assuming the worst-case scenario: it's only natural to think someone like me or Taiki-kun, who knows the usefulness of guns, was summoned."
You can't organize an army equipped with guns this quickly just by inventing them.
When guns were first invented, their usefulness was heavily questioned.
Even in our world that was the case, so in a world like this with a wide variety of ranged magic attacks, even if someone made a gun, think about how long it would take—considering cost and power—for it to become a primary weapon.
In that process, it wouldn't be strange if weapons in the category of "guns" were already known throughout this new continent.
Yet, a weapon born of the concept of a gun hasn't existed until now.
In that case, someone who knows the usefulness of guns must have been summoned into a special position and used that position to equip them. For instance, a hero or brave warrior summoned from another world in the name of God...
"W-Wait a moment, Danna-sama. In that case, our opponent this time is..."
Rurua asked in a trembling voice.
The others also wore expressions of shock or a subtle sadness.
"Yeah. Most likely, we can assume it's an otherworldly person. Well, it's unlikely to conveniently be someone from the exact same world as me or Taiki-kun, though..."
"Ah, that's true. It doesn't seem likely that things would be so convenient as to only summon people from Big Onii-san's world."
"Exactly. If they're from the same world, there's a chance we could work out a reconciliation like with Taiki-kun, but there's also the possibility that they're completely unrelated. So just because they were summoned doesn't mean they're an acquaintance or someone from my hometown."
When I said that, my wives let out a sigh of relief.
"What a relief. I wouldn't want you to go through something as painful as people from the same hometown killing each other."
"Nn. I don't want to see Yuki look sad."
As Samantha and Cleana said so, the other wives nodded in agreement as well.
I'm truly glad I have such kind wives.
"Alright. Taking Milly's story into account, let me ask you all to gather information at the barracks until everyone's preparations are complete."
"""Yes!"""
Now then, I wonder how much information we'll be able to gather.
It would be a huge help if they're at least matchlocks, but we'll just have to get Steve and the others to investigate through high-altitude aerial reconnaissance...
And as for that person in a special position who was supposedly summoned: thinking they're conveniently a resident of a completely different world with zero connection to me or Taiki-kun is probably an overly convenient interpretation in itself.
There are certain patterns that tend to come with stories like this.
Hopefully, they're at least the kind of person we can reason with, like Taiki-kun... I just hope they're not some idiot who's gotten high on the whole "I'm ridiculously OP!" thing...
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