Chapter 345 – Courtesy Visit
After asking Isla and Iphrita about mana trap-related matters, I went to see Amalie-san this time.
I had to give priority to Sylphy and the beastmen girls I had brought with me first, so I headed there feeling sorry that I had to postpone my visit until later.
“It’s enough for you to come here like this for me and others.”
Sitting across the table from me, Amalie-san’s cheerful smile was dazzling. What is this aura of light?
“Amalie, you should think a little more about yourself――”
“No, Eleonora-sama. I and others are treated that well. I was able to give birth to Kosuke-sama’s son through the mercy of Her Majesty the Queen, Her Excellency the Prime Minister, and Kosuke-sama. Normally, it would not be allowed for me to give birth to Kosuke-sama’s son without Her Majesty the Queen’s permission.”
Amalie-san interrupted Ellen’s words and shook her head.
By the way, Ellen is sitting on the right side of the long soft sofa. What a cute little creature.
“After all, it’s about heirs and such…”
“No, there is no problem on that point. Even if Kosuke-sama had a child with another woman, that child would not have the right to inherit the throne of the Merinard Kingdom. It is simply a matter of hierarchy as Kosuke-sama’s wife.”
“Wife hierarchy.”
“Yes. I am merely Eleonora-sama’s addition. If it were normal, I would be in a position where even calling myself Kosuke-sama’s wife would be presumptuous. The fact that I have been given Kosuke-sama’s favor ahead of Her Majesty the Queen and Her Excellency the Prime Minister would be a serious disturbance to everyone’s hierarchy.”
“…What would happen if that were not allowed?”
“The more expedient method would be to keep the pregnancy out of Kosuke-sama’s sight as soon as it is discovered.”
“I don’t want to imagine… a method that isn’t peaceful.”
It’s scary only because I can imagine as many ways as I want. There are not only poisons and simple violence in this world, but there is also magic, and there are beings like Lime and the others, so there are many ways to do it.
“Scary… That’s scary. Eh, did you come back to the castle in such a state of anxiety, Amalie-san?”
“Uh…”
Amalie-san gives me a troubled smile. In other words, that’s probably what it means. Underneath her usual cheerful smile, she was carrying that kind of anxiety. I hate my knot hole eyes.
“Please, tell me about that. I’ll take care of it.”
“That’s a problem, so…”
‘”Gnunu… Ellen?”
“I knew about that, of course. But what are you going to do when I tell you about it? These things are to be resolved between women. If you stick your nose into it, it will only make things worse.”
Ellen, who had been clinging to me for a long time, said this to me. That may be the way it’s supposed to be, but hey. Just a little more.
“Amalie sounded serious, but I didn’t think it was that serious.”
“What’s the point?”
“That those two would kill your child, even if it was in another woman’s womb? It is impossible. Even if it were the nobles of the Holy Kingdom, who value blood and face above all else, I don’t think those two would do such a thing.”
“…I see.”
That being said, you may be right. I can’t and don’t want to think of Sylphy or Melty killing my kids for their faces.
“Of course, it would not be fun to be ahead of the pack, but this is a race trait.”
“You’re being blunt.”
Long-lived species such as elves and one-eyed races have difficulty having children as a race.
Originally, the fertility of beastmen like Melty was almost the same as that of humans, but Melty is a demon species. Isla had told me before that, based on past examples, the lifespan of Melty, a demon species, is thought to be equal to or longer than that of the long-lived race and that the difficulty of having children is probably the same as that of the long-lived race. In fact, there is no sign of fertility at all in Melty.
What about humans? The human fertility situation is not so different from that of the people in my former world. As long as they do what they have to do, they can have more and more children. As a matter of fact, I heard that harpies can have children at a pace not so different from that of humans.
“I think you should love us more instead of talking about such a complicated thing. We are the lovely woman who conceived your child, aren’t we?”
“You say that while talking about being conceived or something like that? I mean, you’re already clingy. You love me more than ever.”
“You have not only a right arm but also a left arm. Come on, Amalie, come over here.”
“U-uh… that’s, uh, excuse me.”
Ellen urged Amalie-san to move slowly from the facing side of the table and sit down on my left side, and lean in close to me. I was sandwiched between Amalie-san and Ellen from both sides and felt their warmth. What is this, heaven?
“…..”
“Uh-oh.”
When I was thinking about this, Bertha-san, who had been standing behind Ellen, silently sat down in front of me, or rather between my legs, and leaned her back against me. Then she took both my hands and guided them over her own stomach to hold herself firmly against me.
“I don’t think it is good for you to treat me indifferently.”
“I don’t treat you―nuooohh!
Berhta-san presses her back against me, pressing down on me as if to interrupt my words. The quiet and cool Bertha-san is so jealous like this. The gap is amazing.
“Not only on both hands but also on the front? You womanizer.”
“I can’t argue with that.”
I think it’s generally the case that I didn’t make a move on them, but they attacked me, but that doesn’t change the fact that I did it.
☆★☆
“So you came here after enjoying your harem for as long as you could? We are not your after-dinner dessert, are we?”
After having dinner with Ellen and the others, I checked and found that Seraphita-san and the others were relaxing in the living room, so I visited them, but as soon as I entered, Aquawill-san spat poison at me. Hyiee.
“Aqua-chan is still very strict with Kosuke-kun, isn’t she?”
“Fufu, she was so fidgety just now when she heard that Kosuke-san was coming.”
“Mother!”
Aquawill-san’s face, which had been giving me a cold look and giving me a hard time, turned red all at once. You said she was fidgety? I see.
“What’s with that face? Please stop looking at me.”
“Yes.”
I was afraid that lightning would strike (in a magic sense) if I kept looking at Aquawill-san’s reddened face, so I turned my gaze toward Seraphita-san and Driada-san.
“Thank you for your hard work this time, too. I haven’t met them yet, but I hear you brought back some women?”
“Ah, well, yes. Let me tell you how it happened――”
Thus, I explain how I took in Byaku and the others. I omitted the sensitive parts, but they seemed to understand the situation.
“So, Kosuke-kun is the one who tried to handle the situation by himself instead of leaving them with Viscount Beryl, isn’t that right?”
“That’s right. It’s not something praiseworthy, but…”
“No?”
“No. Kosuke-san’s determination not to overlook the tragedy in front of you is admirable, but it is not good for those who are related to the royal family to treat the common people so easily and in a special way. The tragedy that befell these women may have been terrible, but there are plenty of people who have suffered worse. There are many people in worse situations than theirs, or who think they are in worse situations than theirs, because of the careless way you saved them. They might be dissatisfied. The royal family saved them, so why not us? It’s not fair, or something like that.”
“That’s…”
I wanted to argue, but no words immediately came to mind to refute it. The fact that I saved those girls was just a coincidence and a whim. Normally, it would have made sense to leave them in Viscount Beryl’s care, but I brought them back because I was selfish and out of compassion for them.
“You can thank Melty later.”
“Yes.”
Melty didn’t say anything, but I guessed from Seraphita-san’s words that she was probably covering up for my selfishness.
“In the kingdom, the king and the royal family are the absolute power. Hence, they must treat their people with equality. If not, the number of people who are dissatisfied will increase, and above all, those who take advantage of Kosuke-san’s kindness may appear. It is harmful to be taken advantage of by such people, and in some cases, it may bring down the authority of the royal family and the kingdom.”
“Yes.”
I nodded in agreement with Seraphita-san’s advice. I am very thankful to her for this admonition.
When you reach the age of adulthood, the people around you will never give you advice like this, even if you do something wrong. After all, you are an adult, so there is no need to go out of the way to scold and tell you what to do. If necessary, you should learn by yourself, and if you lose something by doing so, it is your own responsibility as an adult.
“…You are very straightforward.”
“That’s because I don’t know anything about royalty. I am grateful for this gentle admonishment, but there is no way I would rebel against it. There aren’t many people who would scold and admonish me as an adult like this.”
“Are you an adult? You haven’t lived for 30 years, aren’t you?”
“I am an adult by human standards, you know.”
Please don’t compare me with an elf. Aquawill-san looks like a little girl, but she is older than me. A long-lived race is really something else.
