第５４０堀：久々の晩酌 (Part1)
**Chapter 540: A Long-Awaited Nightcap**
**Side: Deryu**
The time is already late into the night.
For the wives, it is well past the hour when the children are asleep.
Most of the members, save for those currently doting on Yuki, have already turned in for the night.
After all, tomorrow will be just as busy as today.
"Phew..."
I let out a sigh and sink into my chair.
There is something about the silence of the night that feels soothing to my body.
"Oh? What’s wrong, Deryu?"
"Hmm? Oh, it’s you, Seraria. You were still awake?"
Standing before me was the Queen of Weed, my friend, and a woman who shares the same man as her husband.
"Just a little. I felt like having a drink."
Seraria says this, showing me what she is holding in both hands.
A glass and a bottle of liquor...
"Whiskey? That’s rare for you. I thought you were a wine person."
"I drink both, you know. Would you like some, Deryu?"
"Mm. I’ll join you."
And so, a late-night chat begins—too quiet to really be called a drinking party.
*Clink, clink...*
With that sound, the ice Seraria prepared settles into the glass, and the whiskey is poured over it.
*Glug, glug...* The pleasant sound echoes through the quiet room.
"Well then, cheers."
"Indeed. Cheers."
*Clink.*
We touch glasses and take a sip.
The sharp, alcoholic bite characteristic of whiskey spreads down my throat.
It hits with a burning warmth.
"Ugh... that hits the spot."
"You don't have to force yourself to drink it, you know?"
"No, I’m not forcing myself. I’ve been abstaining from alcohol lately, so I was just a bit surprised by the kick."
As I say this, Seraria stares at her glass of whiskey.
"I see. That’s true. It has been quite a while since we’ve had a drink like this, hasn't it?"
"About half a month, I suppose..."
Yes.
It has been a long time since I’ve been able to sit and drink like this.
"When Yuki was kidnapped, I truly thought we were finished..."
"With today's audience with the Princess, most of those concerns have been wiped away."
"Yes. The killing intent radiating from Eris and Kirue has finally subsided, too."
"Though, Seraria, you were quite something yourself at the start."
I think it’s safe to say that today’s audience cleared away the last of our anxieties.
After all, until today, Eris and Kirue had never actually spoken to the mastermind behind the kidnapping.
...When Yuki was taken, the members left behind in Weed were in a state of shock bordering on a mental breakdown.
Some broke down in tears, others bared their rage; they were in a state unimaginable compared to their usual selves.
"Don't bring that up. You were unusually serious yourself, Deryu."
"I usually leave the troublesome matters to you all, so I felt I had to step up when it counted. I am the eldest, after all."
As Seraria said, I became a bit different—more serious.
With everyone’s mental state becoming unstable, I felt I had to be the pillar.
"Following one's emotions" sounds nice, but when you use anger or sorrow as your driving force, you often lose sight of the essence of things.
...Just as I once did.
"I’m grateful to you, Deryu."
"Don't worry about it. As I said before, I didn't want you all to follow in my footsteps."
After all, I ended up destroying everything and wandering the Rogari Continent.
Still clinging to hardened values and hatred.
"...I don't mean to sound rude, but I'm glad you had that experience, Deryu. Because you were the one who cautioned us."
"Mm. It is a bitter memory for me, but if I could put it to use, then perhaps there was meaning in having lived through those times. As Yuki says, it all depends on oneself. Still, his presence was massive."
"Yes, it was. Even though he was only gone for a short time, I realized that very clearly. Lately, he’s been entrusting us with so much, and I thought I was supporting my husband well, but I still have a long way to go."
"We must become stronger than we are now."
"Isn't it fine for you, Deryu? You were the one who held us all together, weren't you?"
Seraria says this, looking at me with a puzzled expression.
"I still have a long way to go as well. Well, there is no end to these things. But don't think I was perfectly fine, either. At night, when Yuyu would ask me, 'Where is Papa?', I couldn't answer her, and I nearly broke down in tears."
"...Ah, the innocent questions from the children were heart-wrenching. I felt my own incompetence so deeply. ...Especially since Sakura was taken, too."
Seraria and Ratz had their own children, Sakura and Shans, taken as well.
"Still, you endured it well."
"You saw how Ratz went into a frenzy, didn't you? Because of that, I was forced to stay calm."
"Ah... that’s right."
Ratz had been screaming and crying because not only Yuki but her daughter had been taken.
If we had left her alone, she might have committed suicide.
Ratz is incredibly dependent on Yuki.
No, we are all quite dependent on him, but Ratz and two others are on a different level.
"It was lucky it was only Ratz. If Labyris and Milly had been left behind, who knows what would have happened..."
"Those two might have taken their own lives as well."
"Milly was even pregnant at the time; it was truly dangerous."
Shock-induced premature labor. In the worst case, a stillbirth.
If that had happened, Milly might have truly ended her life.
She had been longing for a child with Yuki, and if she had lost the child she had prayed for...
"Well, thanks to that, we’ve identified our future challenges. As a result, I suppose it was for the best."
"Indeed. The damage was limited to losing more DP than planned and our workload increasing."
"Deryu, please continue to support my husband in the New Continent. Jessica, Cleena, and Samantha are busy over in the If Continent."
"Understood. Leave it to me. Still, it was the right decision to welcome those three."
"Yes. If it weren't for them, we’d be in an even deeper hell of paperwork by now."
"Considering everything up to this point, connections in the New Continent will be indispensable in the future."
"My husband will hate it, though."
"It’s not as if we enjoy sending Yuki away, either."
"Well, I suppose. As my husband says, if our only job was to laze around in the harem, doting on him, and raising children, how wonderful that would be..."
"To aim for that, we must overcome the present. Fortunately, we have Luna supporting Yuki's vitality, so there is no need to worry about him aging. I am grateful for that, at least."
"Yes. To that end, let’s make sure we clear the problems that came to light this time. Panicking over the same thing twice is a sign of negligence. That is how we would lose our husband's favor."
"True. To act more calmly, we need to create a manual for when problems arise. For the next time Yuki gets kidnapped... or in the worst case, if he dies."
"...I don't want to think about such a time, but if we don't prepare, we might go on a rampage and cause meaningless destruction. We absolutely must make one."
"Mm. And we need to isolate and monitor the members who are too dependent on Yuki. It would be troublesome if they died following him."
"That's true. We have children now; I don't want to have to hold a series of tragic family funerals."
"And also... well, let's stop. We’re here to have a long-awaited drink."
Before I knew it, the ice in the glass had melted, and the drink had become incredibly diluted.
"...You're right. *Sigh*, we really are chased by work, aren't we?"
We both share a bitter smile, add fresh ice to our glasses, pour more whiskey, and drink.
"Phew. Oh, this is just idle chatter, but I heard something from Ratz and Milly earlier..."
"What is it?"