by Dojyomaru
“With you, being polite just feels natural, though,” I objected. Still, I tried to loosen up, like she wanted. Hmm, yeah, this was embarrassing. “I actually have to actively try to speak less formally.”
“I think, in terms of our positions, it’s only natural for you to speak informally,” she told me. “I know you said you feel tense around older women, but you call my grandmother Excel, don’t you?”
“That’s because I have a stronger sense of Excel being my vassal. I need to make it clear who’s the master at all times, or that woman will run me ragged. But with you, I just feel like being extra polite. Naturally, that’s not an attempt to set you aside from my other fiancées or anything like that. You’re like my reliable older wife.”
“Hee hee! Am I?” Juna watched me with a calm smile as I did my best to explain myself.
Juna pulled over the tray she had brought. The tray had two small glasses, and a pale yellow bottle on it.
She passed me one of the glasses and held up the bottle for me to see. “First, a drink.”
“Is it alcoholic?”
“No. Considering last night, I decided on juice instead. This juice is made by almost the exact same process as a cherry wine that Leporina said she likes. It seems the only difference is whether you add water or alcohol to the syrup produced.”
With that explanation, Juna poured me a glass.
While it was juice, it felt like alcohol, so I poured Juna’s drink for her in return, as was common courtesy.
Finally, with me having gotten used to the sight of Juna’s white skin... well, I wasn’t tired of seeing it, of course, I just was able to keep myself under control a little better... we had a toast.
Then, soaking in the bath together, we drank together, with juice taking the place of wine.
During that time, I couldn’t help but glance at those swells which were larger than Liscia’s. Her wet skin had a glossy shine to it.
Juna noticed, of course. “Hee hee! You can go right ahead and look.”
“Please... spare me,” I murmured.
The juice shouldn’t have had any alcohol in it, but I was feeling woozy. I was going to get dizzy from the heat in no time. There was an epic battle between lust and reason being waged inside my head.
“Is there something you’re thinking about?” Juna asked suddenly.
I was on edge, thinking she’d realized how full of lustful thoughts my head was right now, but Juna had a serious look in her eyes.
“Ever since the cookout on the beach, you’ve had something on your mind. Today, too... your mind seemed to be somewhere else.”
“You noticed that, huh?”
It was true, there was something I’d had on my mind since the cookout. No, it might be more appropriate to say I was confused about it.
Juna leaned her head on my shoulder and spoke to me with downturned eyes. “It may not do any good to tell me what it is. Still, if telling someone will lessen your worries any, please, darling, do not bear the burden alone. You have partners, including myself, with whom you can share anything.”
“Juna...”
Among all my fiancées, Juna was the one who was always taking a step back to look at the big picture. It was fair to say that she was the best of all of them when it came to showing careful concern. That’s why she’s easily seen through to the worries I thought I was hiding.
Then Juna took on a tone like a sullen girl. “I thought you would tell me on your own once we were alone, you know? Despite that, you’ve said nothing. This is why I arranged for us to be together like this. In a place where nothing is hidden, I thought you might bare your heart to me, as well.”
“You did it all with that in mind, huh?” I commented. “I really am no match for you...”
“Hee hee.”
She looked cute when she was sulking, so I stroked her face, and she gave me a happy smile. She had seen through everything, but seeing Juna’s smile wiped away any frustration I had over that.
That was why I revealed what was concerning me.
“Juna... what do you think about Kuu?”
“Sir Kuu? He seems a bit boisterous, but I find him to be an affable young man.”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “He’s got a mysterious ability to attract people, too. He’ll be a good ruler someday, I’m sure. If he were an expansionist, he’d be an enemy we couldn’t afford to underestimate, but Kuu is satisfied with internal development. He’s the kind of ruler I’d want to see in a neighbor.”
“None of this sounds bad, though.” Juna tilted her head to the side.
It was true, it wasn’t bad.
“If he’ll become my sworn friend, there’s no one more reliable,” I said. “Having the illegal fishing problem with the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Union to our east, the Union of Eastern Nations struggling with the Demon Lord’s Domain to our north, and the unpredictable Mercenary State Zem and the theocratic Lunarian Orthodox Papal State to our west, it would make things a lot easier if we could have amicable relations with the Republic of Turgis to our southwest, at least. It’d give us a land connection to our secret ally, the Gran Chaos Empire, too.”
She listened silently.
“However, we haven’t formed an alliance yet. I learned too much about Kuu before that happened.”
I stared into the glass in my hand.
“When we were drinking with Kuu, Taru, Leporina, and the other people in this country and acting like idiots, it was fun. It was fun, but I had another thought then, too. If it came down to it, could I make enemies of these people?”
“Enemies...?” Juna’s expression grew clouded.
Why would that come up? her face seemed to ask.
“I think Kuu is a likable guy,” I said. “But in addition to being myself, I’m the representative of a nation. I have to think about my preferences as a person and my preferences as a country separately.”
“Because we haven’t formed cordial relations with the Republic of Turgis yet?”
“Yeah. If the Republic of Turgis were to become hostile to in future, could I fight the country where Kuu and his people live...? That’s what I thought.”
That was the vague worry I’d been feeling.
“When I resolved to open hostilities with Amidonia, the enemy’s plans were already in motion, and it was a kill-or-be-killed situation. That was why I decided to go to war. But if I had known there were people like Roroa, Colbert, and Margarita there before the war started, would I have been able to make that decision? Even when it might mean losing Roroa and the others?”
She was silent.
“It’s the same this time,” I said. “If the republic opposes me, it’s my vassals and my people who will suffer if I’m too slow to decide. Knowing that, can I still resolve myself to do it? I may have grown too attached to Kuu and his friends. I felt worried, thinking that.”
Now that I had revealed my feelings, Juna placed her hand on my cheek.
“Juna?”
“I am sure you will make the decision, darling.” Her voice was endlessly calm and gentle.
Then Juna wrapped her arm around my neck and held me close. Surprised by the suddenness of it, I dropped my glass into the bath. My left arm was wrapped in a soft sensation.
“Whoa, Juna?!”
“I’m sure you’ll struggle with the decision. You may even regret it afterward,” Juna whispered gently in my ear. “However, even with the hesitation and regret, you are the kind of man who does what he needs to do. I’ve been watching you all this time. I know your strengths and weaknesses. No matter how your heart screams out that you don’t want to fight, you are the kind of person who can fight when necessary.”
I was silent.
“If the choice tears your heart to pieces, then tell us. We will carry your hesitation, regrets, and sins together as a family. Hee hee! You have five future wives, so let’s split it into six equal parts?” Juna said the last part teasingly.
I felt like my heart was a little lighter
now.
“Thanks, Juna.”
“Hee hee! Also, thinking about fighting the Republic of Turgis now is like worrying if a boulder might roll down a distant mountain. If you do that, you may trip over the rocks at your feet, you know?”
“Ahahaha, true.”
While looking into the distance, I’d trip on what was at my feet, huh? She was so right.
Rather than consider what to do if they became hostile to me, it was better for now to think about how to prevent that from happening. If I didn’t want to fight them, that was even more true. Yeah... I had a direction now.
“In order to forge a formal alliance, I need to show a ‘gain’ to be had from forming amicable relations with us, and a ‘threat’ to make them hesitate to oppose us,” I said. “I have to impress upon Kuu’s old man that our country could be a valuable ally, but a terrifying foe.”
“Gain and threat, is it?” she said. “But how will you do that? You can’t be planning to bring our military into the meeting, right?”
“Don’t worry. I have a number of ideas.”
Unlike before, my mind was working properly now.
It was good that, instead of fearing their becoming hostile, I could now decide to do everything it took to keep them from becoming that way. It was thanks to Juna.
“Thanks, Juna,” I said. “Thanks to you, I think the path... Huh?”
Suddenly my vision blurred. The world was spinning. Oh, damn, this was bad.
“D-Darling?”
It looked like I’d gotten dizzy from the heat. Now that I thought about it, I’d been in the bath since before Juna’s arrival.
The last thing I saw in the spinning world was Juna’s white skin, and then I lost consciousness.
When I came to, I was on top of the bed in the room where I was staying.
Erm... I passed out in the hot springs, right?
I was... not naked now.
Had Juna carried me back and dressed me?
I felt a gentle breeze on my face. Looking next to me, Juna was sitting on the edge of the bed and fanning me.
“Juna?” I asked.
“Oh, you’ve come to?” Juna said with a look of relief. “You passed out in the hot spring, so I had the inn staff help me carry you back to your room. The outside air was too cold to pull you out of the spring and treat you there, after all.”
“Sorry. That was embarrassing of me.”
“Don’t worry about it. It gave me the chance to look over your body.” Juna brought a hand to her cheek and smiled mischievously.
Urkh... Even if it had been in the hot spring, I was really embarrassed to think she’d seen so much of me while I was unconscious.
As if she saw through to my innermost feelings, Juna giggled. “By the way, are we already back to you being so polite with me?”
“Ahh... Yeah, this just feels more natural.”
“I see,” she said. “Then let’s have you loosen up with me when it’s just the two of us alone.”
“It’s embarrassing to have you put it that way, but... let’s do that.”
Talking differently when we were alone together. I thought that might be okay.
“By the way, are Aisha and the others back yet?” she asked.
“No, not yet. You were only out for about ten minutes.”
“I was...?”
“Yes. So we can do things like this.”
Juna leaned in, brushing back her beautiful, blue hair, and pressed her lips against mine. Then she pulled her face back and giggled.
“Shall we keep the fact we took a bath together our little secret for a while?”
“Huh?”
“If Aisha and Roroa hear, I’m sure they’ll get jealous and want to join you for one, too. I want you to be able to rest, darling.”
I understood her meaning. So, for now at least, let it be our secret.
Chapter 5: Fighting Together
There were still a few days until my meeting with Turgis’s head of state, so we were having Kuu show us around the nearby cities.
Going to unfamiliar places, seeing how the locals lived, and identifying the similarities and differences between them and our own people was fun. Whenever we found something new, we met the discoveries with excitement.
“Oh, what’s this?” I commented. “I’ve never seen this kind of fruit before.”
“Big Brother, they’re selling some weird animals over here!” Tomoe called. “They’re small and cute.”
“Let me see... Wait, Tomoe, doesn’t it say there that they’re for eating?”
“People eat them?!”
Tomoe and I looked around with great enthusiasm, while Juna and Roroa smiled.
Those easygoing days continued, but today was different.
Today, there were two days left before the meeting with the head of the republic.
It was still early in the morning, but Kuu rushed over to the room where we were staying. He was out of breath, and looked like he’d been in a hurry. Behind him was Leporina, looking just as winded.
“Hah... Hah... Ka-Kazuma...” he panted.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. “You’re totally out of breath.”
When I invited them into the room and asked Aisha to fetch some water, Kuu raised a hand to stop me, and tried to get his breathing under control as he said, “It’s fine... I don’t need water. Before that, I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
“For now, can you get all of your people together in this room?”
Seeing a serious expression on Kuu that I’d never seen him make before, I gathered my traveling companions, despite some misgivings.
There were nine of us gathered in the four-person room: me, Aisha, Juna, Roroa, Tomoe, Hal, and Kaede, along with Kuu and Leporina. Having nine people made it awfully cramped, but he had said “everyone,” so there was no helping it.
“So, Kuuie. What’d ya have in mind, gatherin’ us all here?” Roroa asked suspiciously.
He was the son of their head of state, so I thought it was a bit much to be calling him Kuuie, but... given the tense situation, I decided to pretend I hadn’t heard it.
Kuu stood up and bowed his head to all of us. While we were all still taken aback by the suddenness of it, Kuu desperately said, “I’ll keep this brief! Please! Lend me your bodyguards!”
“P-Please do.” Leporina hurriedly stood up as well, and bowed her head like Kuu.
“I’m sorry to get foreigners caught up in this! But still!” he cried.
“Calm down, Kuu,” I said. “Just what happened?”
“Ah... R-Right.”
Kuu finally calmed himself. With a big, deep breath, he slapped his own cheeks, maybe as a way of psyching himself up.
“The thing is, a previously undiscovered dungeon has been confirmed to exist near a mountain village that’s around two hours north of here by carriage. It seems it was a rocky mountain, and when there was a landslide, the entrance to the dungeon appeared.”
A dungeon.
I was used to them being a thing in RPGs, but in this world, a dungeon was understood as a labyrinthine place with its own ecology. They were also the only place outside the Demon Lord’s Domain where monsters could be found. But the monsters found in such places all had intelligence on the level of wild beasts, and they were nothing like the sentient demons found in the Demon Lord’s Domain. There were a fair number of these dungeons on this continent.
This was what I knew about dungeons so far:
They came in a wide variety of types, and were inhabited by low-intelligence monsters.
The deepest point contained what was called a dungeon core.
For as long as the core existed, monsters would continue to appear, no matter how many were defeated.
If the core was destroyed, the monsters stopped appearing... and so on.
The connection between monsters and dungeon cores was still unknown.
However, the destroyed dungeon cores could be used as jewels for a Jew
el Voice Broadcast.
In addition to the cores, there were also cases where other out-of-place artifacts and overtechnology could be found.
There were even groups that made it their life’s work to study the artifacts. The House of Maxwell, which Genia the “overscientist” belonged to, was one of them.
The existence of such artifacts had caused an insane amount of progress in this world’s technology.
In addition, there were adventurers like Dece and Juno who made their living exploring the dungeons, and nearby towns that profited off such adventurers gathering. With the various demands overlapping, dungeons were considered dangerous, but also potentially profitable.
Kuu told us, with a look on his face like he had bitten into something unpleasant, that one of those dungeons had been discovered just two days from here by carriage.
“Now, I’m sure there are things to be gained from a dungeon,” he said. “However, that’s something we can only discuss once the safety of the people in the villages near the entrance is secured. You never know what’s in a newly discovered dungeon, after all.”
“So, something came out, then?” I asked.
“Yeah. I hear ten ogres, or something like that, came out.”
Ogres or something like that, huh...
Ogres were oni. In Japanese mythology, oni were a symbolic representation of those who didn’t conform to the system, and were depicted as powerful and terrifying, but somehow tragic. However, in Western mythology, they were man-eating humanoid monsters, and were often barbarians or demi-humans. From what I was hearing, these ogres sounded like the latter.
“Around the same time that the guys from the village who found it rushed to the capital to report on their discovery, a little over ten ogre-like creatures crawled out and attacked the village,” said Kuu. “From what the guys who got away said... they saw them eating people indiscriminately.”
“Eating people...” I murmured.
If the ogres were attacking people indiscriminately, and eating them, at that, it was no different from an attack by dangerous beasts. Unlike a war waged for a purpose, there was no room for negotiation, and we could only exterminate them like we would animals.
