第１１４８堀：人手の追加予定 (Part1)
Chapter 1148: Plans for Additional Manpower
Side: Seraria
“……And that is why my Lord is currently resting.”
“I see. If Aslin and the others are there, I suppose it’s fine, but Kirue, make sure you use your subordinates to ensure my husband gets as much rest as possible.”
“Understood.”
With that reply, Kirue vanished from the spot instantly.
“Kirue is truly magnificent. I’d love to have her as one of my own subordinates.”
“That, I’m afraid, is out of the question. You’re already borrowing her subordinates, so you’ll have to be satisfied with that. More importantly, this is a real headache.”
I cast my eyes toward the document I’d received from Kirue and couldn't help but grimace. The contents written there were like some absurd joke that had somehow manifested into reality.
“*Sigh*. Capturing a ghost? And to think it involves the students of Principal Popuri’s academy. Furthermore, since we can’t rule out a connection to the Great Sea of Trees, we can’t exactly ignore it. I truly don’t know whether to be happy or lament this. Besides, to think that a mere playful ghost-hunting excursion would lead to finding the real thing and capturing it... it sounds like a prank orchestrated by some low-quality goddess.”
“I truly wish it were just a joke. But since it happened at the Haiden Magic Academy, we couldn't exactly ignore information that seemed credible.”
“But because of that, Yuki-sama is now utterly exhausted. Not that it’s common sense in this country to take a proper rest after pulling an all-nighter for work, but still.”
“I just hope he isn’t left with any lingering fatigue by tonight. *Sigh*, who was his partner for tonight again?”
Yes, when my husband’s schedule is thrown into disarray, our lives as his wives—specifically our nights—suffer the consequences. Lately, with the number of wives increasing, the intervals between our intimate moments have grown quite long. If the day we’ve been waiting for to be intimate with him suddenly vanishes, it’s far too tragic for the wife who had been counting down the hours.
“Ah, that is also a problem, isn't it? I simply thought it was a wonderful thing that you had more wives, but I see—that is indeed a complication.”
“Exactly. If these were just marriages of convenience to seal diplomatic ties, it would be one thing, but we are all here because we love our husband dearly. Having those opportunities taken away is a real issue.”
“And it’s not as if you can simply shift the schedule around. That would cause ripples elsewhere. My, that is quite difficult.”
“It truly is. Now, for tonight… oh, it’s Eris.”
“Eh? Isn't that problematic? Eris-sama is Weed’s treasurer, isn't she? Well, at least on paper, she’s handed that over to Tefa… but still, given her affection for Yuki-sama, isn't that a bit much?”
“Of course, I’m well aware of that.”
Now, I have to break the news to Eris about what happened…
“Well, it will be fine.”
“Eh?”
“Why do you look so surprised? Eris loves my husband dearly, but precisely because of that, she would never do anything to cause him trouble. And certainly nothing that would destabilize the country. She’ll be disappointed that she can’t conceive a child, but that’s all. Well, we’ll just have to make sure my husband gives it his all next time.”
Yes, this time it was simply my husband’s fault for overexerting himself and failing to manage his evening schedule. Besides, the only one who can truly comfort Eris is the man himself. Though, I don’t think Eris would be unreasonable about it.
“Ah, I see. Still, Yuki-sama really has it rough. So busy from morning until night. Honestly, the fact that he manages this workload makes it sound like some kind of joke.”
“That’s right. Make sure you fully recognize that fact. My husband never complains, so it looks like he’s handling it with ease, but in reality, it’s anything but simple. Besides, just imagine if my husband were to collapse. What do you think would happen to our diplomatic relations?”
“Ahaha, it would likely descend into a chaos I don’t even want to comprehend.”
“We are trying to strengthen mutual cooperation between nations to prevent that, but even so, the direct communication network we wives provide remains incredibly effective.”
“That much is true; trying to handle things through official channels is a nightmare. I understand that well.”
Yes, using us—his wives—as a point of contact makes things move incredibly fast. Normally, setting up a meeting through official state channels takes at least a week, and the actual meeting wouldn't happen for nearly a month at the earliest. Of course, there’s always the priority list—Great Powers > Small Nations > Merchants > General Public—which often causes further delays. It’s only natural that consulting my husband directly through his wives is faster than using those sluggish official channels.
But the bigger problem is that the Great Powers have grown accustomed to relying on my "husband" for everything. It is truly absurd for Great Powers to rely on a man who is, at the end of the day, merely the consort of a small nation, yet that is the reality. It’s because he has proven he possesses the ability to solve their greatest problems. That is precisely why the Great Powers have been so desperate to send "women" to his side.
Well, since he has them all so smitten that they would never dream of becoming his enemies, it’s fine. But that’s not the core issue.
“That said, even if it is difficult, it’s a burden to have everyone relying solely on my husband. I mean, we established the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for that very reason; I want them to actually do their jobs.”
“It is functioning within the Rogali Continent, at least. Now, the If Continent and the New Continent are starting to build their own based on that model. So, recently, there shouldn't be any direct requests to Yuki-sama from the Great Powers of Rogali, right?”
“True, Rogali is finally functioning, but even so, the direct requests to my husband are still numerous. You remember the talk about that small nation the other day, don't you?”
“You mean the Kingdom of Dafaio. …Well, that was a case where, precisely because the priority was low, they sought a direct meeting with Yuki-sama rather than using official diplomatic channels, correct?”
“No, that’s wrong. The Dafaio Kingdom issue itself was urgent, so that was fine. The problem is all the other riff-raff. They were just idiots looking to make a connection with my husband, hoping to get their daughters in.”
“Ah, that side of things. Well, in a sense, it’s the only way to gain a connection with a Great Power without any effort. From an outsider’s perspective, Yuki-sama is just an upstart from nowhere. To them, he just looks like a lecherous man surrounding himself with many women.”
“‘Surrounding himself with women,’ indeed. Every one of them is a key figure in their respective nations. Even the members of Weed, though they were once slaves, are now key figures in various sectors.”
“Which is exactly why it’s such a big deal, isn't it? To become one of Yuki-sama’s women means living with the wives as well. My, just that alone grants you ties to princesses of every Great Power, key officials, and all the Weed leadership. It’s terrifying. If I were from a small nation, I would absolutely make the effort to send someone, even if it were a long shot.”
“You’re very blunt.”
“I mean, didn't you say at the time, Your Majesty, that this was a good opportunity to bring in women who could act as playthings—or rather, as hands and feet for him?”
*Hmm.*
I certainly did say that. Because people were gathering anyway, I thought it wouldn't pay off unless we did something with it. But…
“In the end, my husband decided to have those women educated in Weed and then turned them into investigators for the magic depletion phenomenon in each country. Well, in a sense, they are his hands and feet. You know that, don't you?”
“Ahaha. That’s right. Yuki-sama really does know how to dodge these things well. You wanted personnel who could act as his ‘true hands and feet,’ didn't you, Your Majesty?”
“Yes. I wanted coordinators who could act in my husband’s stead to handle the various nations. Well, perhaps that was expecting too much, but at the very least, it would have been nice to have someone to whom he could delegate the various menial tasks. It seems, however, that not a single one of them caught my husband’s eye.”