第９３３堀：パーティー編成 (Part1)
Chapter 933: Party Composition
Side: Milly
"Uuuu..."
"Mmm..."
"...I should be incredibly happy, but I feel a bit conflicted."
"...I suppose you're right."
Ria, Jessica, Cleena, and Samantha—the members of the guard—looked visibly troubled, their faces wearing expressions of complex hesitation despite the underlying joy of the news they had just received.
The reason for this sudden shift?
"Behave yourselves. You have children in your bellies now. It was my oversight; I should have had you checked before the training session."
"Indeed. Thankfully, Master suppressed the situation so quickly during our last combat drill that we didn't have to engage in any strenuous exercise."
Yes, it turned out that all four of them were pregnant.
It was discovered after Yuki-san had brushed them aside as usual. When the debate arose over who would accompany him, we had Lilishe-sama perform a health check first, and she simply said, "Oh my. Congratulations. You're having babies."
Everyone was stunned.
Naturally, these four were now barred from the investigative mission to the Zurable Great Empire.
However, having the entire guard unit fall pregnant at the same time—while chronologically expected—was quite a logistical headache. They were a perfectly balanced team of experts in both melee and magical ranged combat, and now, none of them were available.
We would have to fill those spots from among ourselves...
"This makes it difficult to decide who should go... If I’m being honest, I’d love to volunteer, but my work is..."
"I’d throw my duties aside to go if I could, but..."
"You two can't. If you leave, the administration of Weed might grind to a halt," Seraria noted.
She was right. If Eris and Ratz were to leave, it would mean the heart of Weed would cease to function. Well, it wouldn't literally stop, but the anxiety was impossible to shake.
"But hey, Ratz and Eris are both Vice Representatives now, right? I think it’ll be fine. Look, even Tori leaves things to Poni."
"Listen, Riel. Those two are in much more critical positions than I am. As Seraria said, leaving is..."
"But if you keep thinking like that, Tefa and Non will never stand on their own two feet. Or do you not trust those two?"
"..."
Riel’s words hit home.
It was true; we were perhaps being too overprotective. We had already stepped down from the Representative seats, after all...
"Indeed, according to the original plan, we—Yuki’s wives—were nearing the end of our terms as Vice Representatives anyway. As Riel says, this might be a good opportunity. What do you think, Seraria?"
"Hmm. You’re right, Riel makes a valid point. Using this as a chance to fully entrust the departments to them might be for the best."
"I agree. The hospital now has enough doctors capable of handling emergency cases, so I’m in favor of it."
Deryu’s opinion was seconded by Seraria and Rurua.
But that presented a massive problem for me.
"Wait, I don't have a successor."
Exactly. Everyone else had deputies or successors, but the Adventurer District I managed didn't even have a Vice Representative; I had been holding the position solo the entire time.
In other words, at this rate, I would be the only one left behind. Everyone else would go, and I’d be abandoned...
"I want to go too! Just because my position is unique doesn't mean I want to be left behind!"
Realizing I was about to be left alone, my voice had grown louder than intended.
"Please calm down, Milly. No one said we were going to leave you all by yourself."
"Exactly. So, it’s fine. It’s about time we found a solution to the succession problem in your district anyway; this is a good opportunity."
"Ratz, Eris!"
I hugged them both tightly.
Truly, friends are the greatest treasure.
With that settled, we began to discuss the selection of members to accompany Yuki-san and how to adjust our work schedules.
"Now, first, I want to confirm everyone’s wishes. Naturally, everyone wants to go, right?"
When Seraria asked, every member, including myself, nodded in unison.
We would follow Yuki-san anywhere.
That is the path we have chosen to live.
It is only natural for a wife to be by her beloved husband’s side. This feeling is a given.
"Well, I suppose I didn't need to ask. I’d love to go myself if I could. But there are realistic problems we must solve. How will everyone handle their current work? In my case, it’s the duties of the Queen. I can't exactly abandon them entirely to go adventuring with Yuki. And another important issue is childcare. This is a problem we must solve ourselves."
Seraria wrote "Work" and "Children" on the whiteboard, circling them.
"In other words, if we can solve these two problems, we can accompany our husband."
Right. Work and childcare.
If we could clear these, we could travel to the Zurable Great Empire with Yuki-san.
As I wondered how we would manage, Agil spoke up.
"I don't think we need to overthink it. After all, the original plan for a covert intelligence-gathering mission has changed into an official visit because the dignitaries from the Zurable Great Empire are coming to us. We can just move while building bases in the dungeon and return periodically. If we coordinate our work to match those intervals, it shouldn't be much of a problem. The same goes for childcare."
"I see, it's different from before."
I was convinced by Agil’s words.
Since this time we weren't hiding Weed’s existence but rather revealing it, and it was an official visit by state dignitaries, there was no need to sneak around.
However, that didn't satisfy everyone...
"But creating a dungeon and coming and going is the same as interfering in another country's territory. What do you think about that?"
"Shera is right. Deploying a dungeon without permission could be seen as an act of aggression. When Yuki-sama installed a gate in our Findall, we first signed a treaty and made it official in writing. If we suddenly install a dungeon in a country with which we haven't even established diplomatic relations..."
Hmm. They were right. That would be an obvious act of aggression, and it would lead to war with the Zurable Great Empire.
As I pondered what to do...
"Can't we just not be stupidly honest about installing a dungeon? Naturally, we’ll be gathering information separately, and in that sense, a base is necessary anyway."