第９６３堀：よくよく考えるべし (Part1)
**Chapter 963: Think Carefully**
**Side: Yuki**
“...Honestly, I don’t feel the slightest necessity to speak with people like that.”
“Now, now, don’t say that. Don’t be hasty. You know what they say: haste makes waste, right?”
“““……”””
Even Seraria, who has been working hard to refine herself as a queen and has recently become quite capable of thinking things through, was in this state.
Milly and the others had even sharper gazes. It seemed they were incredibly furious at the attitude of the envoy from Hein.
“Yuki. Normally, even if it were a country we didn’t know, there is no reason to keep someone alive who would lay a hand on someone claiming to be a consort of this nation, is there?”
“Kagura is right, Yuki-sensei. I think we should just tie people like that to a post and use them to test out Narjia-san’s weapons, don’t you think, Mikos-chan?”
“Under normal circumstances, this is a case for immediate war. It is an act of spitting on you, Yuki-sama, and by extension, on Weed. It is a further insult to the Intercontinental Exchange Alliance. If anything, we must make them regret ever pointing a sword at you, Yuki-sama.”
I could understand where Kagura was coming from. Mikos, as expected, was advocating for execution. And as for Stasia’s argument—which had devolved into a personal grudge—everyone nodded in complete agreement.
If we’re going to talk about that, I feel like Kagura and the others kidnapping us via summoning was the same thing... but that’s a forbidden topic.
For now, I’ll play the adult, keep quiet, and move the conversation forward.
“If killing them would solve everything, that would be one thing, but... Excuse me, Show-dono, could you please explain the predicted future developments to everyone?”
“Understood. I shall speak, despite my lack of talent.”
As Show stepped forward...
“First, I have heard the situation from you, Yuki-sama. I understand everyone’s feelings well. However, do not let that cloud your judgment. First of all, Hein likely did not intend to attack Zurable with those mere five modified merchant ships. Those were strictly ships meant to transport envoys to negotiate with the Gusdo Kingdom.”
“...What do you mean by that?”
“In other words, they likely did not know. I believe you pointed this out as well, Yuki-sama.”
“Hmm. Indeed, they did refer to Aurelia Port as territory of the Gusdo Kingdom. I see, they truly seemed unaware that the Gusdo Kingdom had fallen.”
“Yes. In other words, that was just an advance party. Which means...”
Having heard this much, everyone caught on to what was coming next.
“Is that what it is? Does that mean the main force of the Hein Empire is coming?”
“In all likelihood. Therefore...”
“I understand. That’s why we need to interrogate them to get as much information as possible.”
Ratz and Milly continued in Show’s stead.
“Then let’s make them spill it quickly. There are plenty of ways to do that.”
“...It would be better to just use hypnosis and have them talk immediately.”
“That’s true. We don’t want to waste our time on them.”
“Yeah, I might accidentally do something to them if I’m not careful.”
Eris, Kaya, Riel, and Tori said these ominous things. Actually, was Kaya’s suggestion the most moderate one?
As I was thinking about that, Agil, concerned about another issue, asked:
“Well, we’ll do the interrogation, but what happened with Princess Palfil? Did the Great Zurable Empire decide to accept her?”
Ah, now that you mention it, that was a topic. I had been so focused on the possibility of Hein’s main force attacking that I’d forgotten. Still, I had already discussed and decided that with Emperor Eupia.
When I turned my gaze toward Show, he looked back at me and nodded.
“No. The matter of Princess Palfil and the others from the former Gusdo Kingdom has not been finalized. I judged that they were too hot-headed in that situation, so we will let some time pass for them to calm down. If their answer remains the same after that, we will take them to the Imperial Capital, and His Majesty will make the final decision himself.”
“That’s reasonable. It’s possible they just got carried away during their exchange with that idiot earlier.”
“I agree. I think taking time is important.”
“Yeah, they say you should take a deep breath when your head gets all heated up.”
“That is correct. If you are angry, your hammer strikes will lose their precision. At such times, one must remain calm.”
It seemed Labyris and the others were satisfied with the judgment made by Show and Eupia. The other wives seemed to be of the same opinion; everyone looked convinced.
“Then, returning to the subject, who will conduct the interrogation? Honestly, I don’t think we’ll get much information from a guy with a head that empty. Wouldn’t it be better to investigate the ships?”
“Steve and the others have already begun investigating the captured ships. Well, even if we can’t get much from that man, it might be a different story with his subordinates. He had such an arrogant attitude; there are bound to be people among them who are dissatisfied.”
“Indeed. As you say, Husband... There were many such people in the Litea Holy Kingdom as well.”
Perhaps remembering the time she reformed Litea, Rurua gave a bitter smile.
Those who sought only their own interests, Rurua who tried to correct them, and the many people who died in poverty who could have been saved if the resources wasted in that process had been used properly. We had barged into that situation just before it turned into a civil war.
Man, that brings back memories.
Regardless, if that’s the state they’re in, there should be an opportunity to exploit it.
“So, I will be the one to conduct the interrogation.”
“““No!”””
I was rejected immediately. That’s strange.
“Don’t give me that confused look.”
Deryu looked at me with an expression of utter disbelief. Kagura and Mikos agreed, looking troubled as they said:
“Yuki. You are the consort of Weed, aren’t you? You are the second most important person after Her Majesty the Queen. It is strange for such an important person to personally attend to the interrogation of prisoners.”
“That’s right. Yuki-sensei should just give orders to Mikos-chan and the others.”
They tried to persuade me. However, I had my own reasons.
“If it were just criminals within Weed, I could leave it to my subordinates, but this situation is different. And there will likely be things that only I can judge, so I will go. Besides, in future negotiations, the fact that the Hein envoy was rude to me will serve as a good bargaining chip.”
“““……”””
At my words, the wives who had been looking at me with exasperation now wore expressions of surprise.
“Well, I suppose that’s to be expected, but is there a need to hold even more leverage over Hein? They are clearly just enemies, aren’t they?”
“It might be useful later on. It’s better to have more cards in hand. And if we can settle this through discussion, that would be for the best.”
“Ahaha... You’re really going to squeeze Hein dry at every opportunity, aren’t you, Big Brother?”
Ratz let out a dry laugh.
Still, it was the only logical decision.