第６９８堀：表向きには家族問題 (Part1)
**Chapter 698: On the Surface, a Family Matter**
**Side: Yuki**
"Don't you dare bully Riel!! You piece of trash father!!"
The sheer, unexpected intensity of Tori’s voice, filled with such raw fury, actually helped me regain my composure.
I had considered the possibility of something like this happening. But I never imagined it would hit so close to home. After all, in all my time working, the pasts of my wives had never come chasing after us like this.
Sure, we had visited their homelands before. Seraria, Rurua, Milly, Shera, Kaya, Deryu, Jessica, Samantha, and Cleena—those were all official visits for the sake of their countries or professional duties. Oh, and Milly’s family? They were an exception, having come to Weed as part of a slave rescue initiative.
But never before had someone come seeking us out, knowing who we were. Well, to be fair, someone with this much malice wouldn't be able to set foot in Weed in the first place. In fact, I doubt anyone who had earned the wrath of all the Weed heavyweights—as these people had, given Riel’s past—would even be alive to enter our borders.
I usually try not to judge based on one side of a story, but hearing Riel’s history, witnessing this current outburst, and hearing the scream-like roar from Tori, I couldn't hide my own anger. There are some people in this world who are simply beyond saving. I suppose this is one of those cases.
"…Guh! You dare raise a hand against your own parent?! You unfilial brat!!"
"I’m happy to be unfilial!! I’ve already discarded a parent who would try to kill my friend, Riel!!"
"It was you, wasn't it!! You did something to Tori, didn't you?! You cursed child!!"
"…A-auuu…"
Riel was trembling violently, a clear testament to just how much she had been bullied. It was a trauma, or perhaps a lingering, misguided sense of debt to the villagers who had allowed her to live there.
Well, none of that matters now. What matters is that my wife is being bullied. That is enough.
The scum reached out toward Riel, but—
*Snap!*
"…Don't touch Riel."
Before I could even step forward, Kaya swatted his filthy hand away and stood in front of Riel. The rest of us stood in silence, forming a wall to protect Tori and Riel.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"We are Tori’s best friends. We are married to the same husband. We are sisters in all but blood."
At Kaya’s declaration, all my wives nodded in unison. Naturally, the eyes of the surrounding residents turned toward me. I decided to pretend the weight of their gazes wasn't burning a hole in my back.
Incidentally, the escort soldiers and the shrunken Beast God, Kuro-chan, had moved to the sidelines to assess the situation. If things escalated, they would intervene immediately. It was surprising, really—you don't expect to run into an acquaintance of your companion by pure chance.
Looking at Tori’s father, his hair was patchy and half his face was covered in burn scars. It wasn't hard to imagine what had happened to him. Even so, I couldn't just stand by and watch him threaten violence against Riel and Tori.
"Wives? You married them without permission?!"
"I have nothing to do with you anymore!!"
"Do you have any idea what happened to the village after you left?! It was caught in the fires of war, half the people died, and the rest were scattered! Look at what’s become of me!"
"…Tori and Riel leaving had nothing to do with that. You said so yourself."
At Kaya’s calm retort, not just us, but the entire crowd of onlookers nodded in agreement.
"Shut up, shut up!! Tori, come here!! If I hand you over as a bride, I can live a good life in this country!!"
Ah, so that’s the angle. I suppose when you’re a refugee who has lost everything to war, the only thing you have left to barter is people. Still, this country has accepted refugees as citizens; there’s no way they would allow something as barbaric as human trafficking. I decided to probe a little further.
"…I cannot allow you to hand over my precious wife. Who is it that told you such a foolish thing?"
"Don't you dare talk back to me, you human commoner!! If I ask that person, your life won't be worth a damn!! If you value your life, hand over your daughter and that cursed child immediately!"
He even added Riel to the list on his own. This old man was clearly deranged. A crowd had already formed, and the patrolling soldiers were gathering. He was openly talking about human trafficking—or at least, trading his daughter for favors—in public. He clearly didn't realize that this would cause massive trouble for the "higher-up" he was name-dropping. Plus, he’d just threatened to kill me… I wonder what will happen to the person behind this.
However, since no actual harm had been done yet, and seeing that King Wild and Queen Miyabi hadn't stepped in, they were likely treating this as a private family matter for now. They were acknowledging the parent-child relationship, after all. They probably wanted to investigate the connections behind this, given the old man’s claim about having someone important backing him.
In that case, I had no choice but to get the details. Though, the chances of a rational conversation seemed slim.
"For now, could you tell me the name of that person? I will negotiate with them myself."
"It’s a noble of this country!! Baron Bella of the Finance Ministry! Tori is going to be Baron Bella’s concubine! And that cursed child will be used to vent the frustrations of the people in our village!"
Oh, he spilled the beans quite easily. So, Tori was to be sold as a concubine, and Riel was to be lynched.
The voltage of our collective anger spiked. Ria, Eris, and Taiki-kun started to step forward, but—
"Wait. We aren't done talking yet."
"..."
"There’s no way Tori and Riel are the only victims. This is convenient. We’re going to storm the place. We’ll make a grand spectacle of it."
"Understood."
After being insulted to this degree, simply beating up this old man wouldn't be enough. There had to be other victims. We were going to barge in. And while we were at it, we’d finish off the rest of the villagers who bullied Riel. There was no way they would ever have a positive influence on Riel or the children.
I’d get the justification I needed once I reached Baron Bella. Just as I was thinking that, King Wild called for a halt.
"W-wait a moment!! We will investigate and handle the matter regarding Baron Bella ourselves. I can't leave that investigation to you, Yuki-dono!"
"Calm down, Yuki-dono. Raging now won't solve anything. Beating up a noble from another country will only cause problems. Being insulted isn't enough of a reason. Even if there’s the fact that weapons were drawn, considering the future, it’s a bad move. Leave this to Wild. We will make sure he reports back properly."
*...As for me, I think eating him would be fine, but I leave the decision to you, Yuki-dono.*
...Indeed, the three of them were right. Today was supposed to be a private outing. From an outsider’s perspective, Tori’s father was merely using Baron Bella’s name to make threats.