第８６８堀：覚悟を決めるが抜けている (Part1)
**Chapter 868: Lacking the Resolve to Commit**
Side: Rurua
"Ugh, I can't eat another bite..."
"...I don't want to see meat for a long while."
"*Hic.* Ahhh..."
Dressa, Vilia, and Hiiro lay sprawled across the banquet hall, muttering those words.
I examined them, but all three seemed perfectly fine—aside from their gluttony. As I finished my check-up, I heard my husband and the others speaking behind me.
"It’s no wonder they’re like that after eating so much. Honestly, you went way too far, Yuki. Way too far."
"Hey, everyone usually has a huge appetite. Last time, the meat vanished before I even knew it. Besides, you were eating right along with them, Seraria. And a fair amount, too."
"It was delicious; I couldn't help it."
"Still, you didn't have to eat every single scrap I put out. I’m glad I had the foresight to set my own portion aside."
I turned to see my husband grilling a piece of meat he’d produced from somewhere and popping it into his mouth. It couldn't be helped that the prepared meat had vanished so quickly. I’d had a wonderful time grilling it myself, and since it was so tasty, I ended up overindulging a bit too...
*Burp.*
Oh, dear. That won't do. A wife shouldn't be making such sounds.
"Yeah, this is great. Honestly, yakiniku is such an easy meal to prepare."
"However, the cleanup is quite an ordeal," Kirue noted.
"Well, considering we didn't have to do any actual cooking, I'd say it balances out. I'll get started on the clearing up now," Sasari added.
"Yeah, thanks."
Beside my husband, Kirue and Sasari busily began tidying the area. As expected of professional maids, they were highly practiced; the remnants of the yakiniku party vanished from the table in the blink of an eye.
With that, today's celebration was drawing to a close. Thinking this, I stepped forward to face my husband.
"Husband. The three of them have simply overeaten. By tomorrow... they should be fine, perhaps with nothing more than a bit of indigestion."
"I see. Thanks, Rurua."
My husband looked relieved at my words.
"People don't die from overeating. You were watching them, weren't you? You're being overly dramatic," Seraria teased.
"No, no. Anyone would be worried seeing their stomachs get that round and swollen."
My husband gestured toward Dressa and the others. Their bellies were indeed quite distended—I wouldn't go so far as to say they looked pregnant, but they were certainly bulging. If someone had walked in without seeing the feast, they would have been shocked to see them in such a state.
"Well, regardless. Rurua, so it’s fine for those three to just rest normally?"
"Yes. In fact, it's better if they avoid things like baths until the fullness subsides."
"Makes sense. In that case, I'll carry them back. They deserve at least that much today."
I agreed. Dressa, Vilia, and Hiiro had been entrusted with a great responsibility and had fulfilled it perfectly. Compared to when they first arrived in Weed, they had grown more than I ever could have imagined. Thinking of their progress brought a smile to my face. It was a testament to how deeply they loved my husband.
"I see. So you're going to carry all three of them yourself? I suppose that's a fitting reward. You really should think more about the 'direction' of your rewards more often."
"Eh? I'm carrying all three? Isn't that kind of inefficient?"
At my husband's words, everyone froze. Naturally, even my smile turned to stone.
The first to recover from the shock were...
"No way, Yuki-san. You did not just say that. Right, Tori?"
"Yeah. As Riel says, surely you're joking?"
"...Yuki. You should choose your next words very carefully."
Thanks to Riel and Tori, the rest of us were released from our paralysis.
"...Indeed, Husband. That joke went a bit too far. You understand why Dressa and the others worked so hard, don't you?"
When I pressed him, my husband took on a troubled expression.
"I know, I know. It's just... I can't help but feel like there are better men out there for them."
Despite his grumbling, he moved to pick Dressa up properly—in a princess carry. My husband was well aware of their feelings. He wasn't so dense that he hadn't noticed. In fact, he had always been quite sensitive to such things. We certainly had a difficult time with him in the past because of it.
"Better men? Does anyone know of such a thing? I certainly have no knowledge of any man better than Yuki," Deryu remarked.
"Mm. I don't know any man better than Yuki either," Cleena added.
"Yuki-sama's self-evaluation is strangely low for some reason. To us, he is the finest man in existence," Samantha chimed in.
As Deryu and Cleena said, there is no one in this world who surpasses my husband. And as Samantha noted, he does have a peculiar habit of undervaluing himself.
"Between the situation with Kagura and the others and now Dressa, you really need to get it together. It's far too late to claim things just 'happened' by accident, and no one is going to blame you. In fact, they're the ones who want this most. If you do something to make Dressa and the girls cry now, I'll make you take responsibility by force, you hear me?"
"Exactly. It's not like Dressa and the others are ever going to look at another man," Eris said with a bright, knowing smile.
She was right. There was no way they could ever look at anyone else now.
"Alright, alright, I get it. First, I'll go get these three settled in bed."
Resigning himself to his fate, my husband obediently carried the three girls one by one to their rooms before returning to the banquet hall. By then, all traces of the yakiniku had been cleared away. Aslin and the others had already headed off to sleep with the children.
"So, weren't you going to stay and 'finish the job' with those three?"
"Seraria, you really are blunt..."
"If I don't put it that way, you won't move, will you? Now, about those three. There's no room left for excuses; you just need to accept them properly."
She was right. It was time for my husband to find his resolve.
"Yeah... I'll take action on that soon..."
"Soon? Tell us exactly how many days 'soon' means."
"Indeed. It's not good to keep dragging this out. It's hard on Dressa and the girls, but it also leaves Kagura and the others in a very awkward position."
"Quite right. Not just Kagura, but Mikos as well—it wouldn't do for them to receive so much support from their father only for nothing to come of it. Besides, from a diplomatic standpoint, we need those ties to secure allies on the New Continent. Kagura and Mikos are in love with you; there is no chance they would ever betray us."
"...That's exactly the part I don't like."
As expected, my husband still felt a strong resistance to marriages that carried the weight of national interests and diplomatic positions.