第８７８堀：ここまでやってきた (Part1)
**Chapter 878: Coming This Far**
**Side: Yuki**
“……I’m dying. I’m seriously dying.”
I lay sprawled out at the bottom of a narrow valley formed between the towering mountains of paperwork surrounding me. Is this what it feels like to die in the gutter? Or perhaps, would it be the height of bliss if I could just fall asleep right here? I closed my eyes, thinking just that, but…
“Hey now, Yuki. I know it’s tough, but get up and get back to work.”
“I’d love to spoil you, but I’m afraid I can’t. Yuki-san, please wake up.”
Deryu and Milly shook my body, ruthlessly interrupting my escape from reality.
“Yes, yes~. Yuki-san, if you don’t wake up, shall we call Kagura and Mikos today? Or perhaps Stasia or Enola? How about a marathon with Agil? Oh, would you prefer Dressa and the others instead?”
“I’m up.”
I jumped to my feet at Ria’s threat. I really couldn’t handle another night of "giving it my all." The truth is, every single one of them approaches me like a starving beast, and I have no choice but to face them head-on and defeat them. Between the mountain of work during the day and the encroaching wives at night, it’s just too much.
In the midst of all this, tonight is finally a rare night of solitude. I have to work hard to maintain that peace.
“Still, even though I’ve been tied up with the Sea-Sypho problem for a while, why on earth has the paperwork piled up this much?”
I lifted my head and looked through one of the documents that had accumulated. The contents were primarily requests for meetings from other nations.
“What’s the point of meeting with me now? And they even want me to go out there myself.”
We’ve held plenty of summit meetings already. There’s nothing I need to go out of my way to discuss… As I thought this, Jessica shook her head and spoke up.
“Yuki, you know why, don’t you? Weed is now the hub of intercontinental exchange. The level of interaction and friendship with Weed is directly linked to the future balance of power between nations. It’s only natural for them to invite Weed’s diplomats and high-ranking officials to help them understand our country. Now, Ria, try to explain the rest. Why do they ask for Yuki instead of a diplomat?”
Well, I understand that much. But as Jessica said, usually, you’d invite Sota-san or Enor-san, our diplomats and foreign ministers. The fact that they’re specifically asking for royalty suggests this is a hospitality play—they want to show off their country at any cost. If I or Seraria go, it’s better publicity than a diplomat, and it’ll increase the number of travelers from abroad. Plus, having Weed’s royalty visit serves as proof that the country is trusted and safe.
Jessica was testing Ria to see if she’d been studying. Let’s see how she answers.
“Eh!? U-um… In other words, if Yuki-san comes, it shows the outside world that the country is trusted, right?”
Oh, Ria is really trying hard. At this rate, she might even be able to travel as a hero saving foreign lands without any issues. Though, I’d never give her permission to go on a dangerous journey—she’s too precious to me.
As I was thinking that, Cleena began to add her own supplement.
“Hmm. That’s correct. But there’s a missing piece. If they just wanted to look trusted by royalty, they could invite Seraria. Or both Seraria and Yuki. That would be even more effective. But they didn’t do that; they specifically named only Yuki and sent this letter. They’re planning something for Yuki.”
“What does that mean!? Are they thinking of killing Yuki-san or something!?”
“Ria, please calm down. There isn’t a fool alive who would invite Yuki-sama to their country under these circumstances just to harm him. Their true intention is likely to find a way to win him over.”
“Win him over? Yuki-san? That’s impossible, isn’t it?”
Ria said, looking puzzled, but as Samantha noted, the reason they’re specifically naming me is likely aimed at that very thing.
“Well, I’m grateful Ria thinks that way, but to the public, I’m just known as a womanizer.”
“Eh!? Oh, now that you mention it, I’ve heard that too. But I find it strange that such a rumor is spreading. Hey, Jessica, do you know why?”
“That’s because we know who Yuki really is. But from an outsider’s perspective, you already have over twenty wives, so it’s inevitable that people assume you’re just gathering them because you love women.”
“Hmm. People who don’t know Yuki’s personality or the political background say things like that.”
Exactly. From the outside, I just look like a man who’s loose with women. …Actually, how did I end up in this position anyway? While I was lost in such futile thoughts, the conversation continued.
“Well, only ordinary people believe such nonsense, but among the politicians of other nations, there are those who think that if there’s even a slight possibility, placing a high-born daughter by Yuki-sama’s side might yield results.”
Indeed, as Samantha said, that’s likely the hidden agenda behind this invitation. Even if it’s just for show, if they can sneak someone in as my wife, it leads to massive benefits. It creates a pipeline to many great powers through me and my wives, so they can’t afford not to aim for it.
“In that sense, I don’t like it. I don’t think I’ll be getting any more wives, but rejecting them requires a delicate touch. It’s just a hassle to be told, ‘You have so many women already, why not add our daughter to the mix?’”
“Then, are you going to decline this meeting request, Yuki-san?”
“Oh, I’d love to! But it’s the perfect opportunity to investigate the magic depletion phenomenon, so I have to balance that out.”
“Ah, I see. If you’re invited as a state guest, you can legally investigate the country, right?”
“Exactly. So, I’ll have to narrow down the candidates with Seraria and the others.”
Good grief, we still have to organize the intercontinental exchange event, and now I have to narrow down these individual diplomatic visits, all while figuring out how to dodge their hospitality traps.
“*Sigh*, well, as for the places that are all ‘please take our daughter,’ I’ll have the wives and the guards handle them, so that shouldn’t be a problem…”
“Eh? I get that we’ll be guarding you, but what do you mean by ‘guards’? Was there someone else?”
“Steve and his crew. If I visit as an official royal guest, I’ll have guards in addition to my wives. There won’t be many people who can try to pressure me directly in that state. Actually, the real problem might be the wives themselves.”
“Us?”
“Yeah. It happened when Weed was first established…”
“The poaching of your concubines, right?”
“Ah, that happened, didn’t it?”
Yes, the schemes aimed at my wives.