CH 228

After a sleepless night

***---***

I greeted the morning at the palace in Barshania, but I think I really did my best with reason.

It was explained that the nightwear that was prepared for me after the bath was like a long shirt that reached my ankles, and that you don't wear underwear.

The fabric was smooth and soft to the touch, but it was so thin that it felt like I wasn't wearing it.

When Seraphima entered the bed in similar pajamas, she snuggled up and smiled bewitchingly.

"Good night, Kent-sama."

"G, goodnight, Sera."

Rather, how can I sleep!

Seraphima used my left arm as a pillow while keeping herself in close contact with my body, entwining my legs as if not to let me escape.

Whether she was sleeping or not, every time Seraphima moved, she felt soft and fluffy through her thin pajamas.

At this rate, it was only a matter of time before my reasoning collapsed, so I summoned a tranquilizer.

When I tapped the empty right side of my bed, Hirt came out, guessing my intention.

It put its head on my right shoulder and licked my cheek.

Yup, Hirt doesn't have to force itself to entangle my legs.

As long as this mofumofu is here, my worldly desires ... Will never disappear! There's no way they'll disappear.

Puni puni, suri suri, it's bad.(TN:Squishy sfx and snuggling sfx.)

Right, right, Hirt is mofumofu, I tried to distract myself from the suri suri.

In the end, I fell asleep while Seraphima stopped moving, so I didn't get much sleep.

Seeing my sleepy face at the breakfast table, Lisaveta-san smiled broadly, but she was disappointed when she heard the actual situation.

"Seriously, you don't need to be so reserved. Please show me my grandson's face as soon as possible."

"Haa, that's after we're done with the wedding ..."

Regarding the method of transport, I proposed using the summoning technique or repatriation technique in consideration of safety on the way, but it was simply rejected.

On top of that, I was told that 100 selected knights would accompany the parade.

"No, no, Constant-san, I can't support 100 knights as well."

"What are you misunderstanding. They're going to accompany her as an escort, but once Seraphima is safely delivered to Volzard, it's obvious that everyone will return to Barshania."

"Haa, then it's fine ... I guess?"

"What, are you still dissatisfied with something?"

"Since they're accompanying her as an escort, the knights must be armed."

"Of course. There's no way they can fulfill their duty as an escort without a weapon."

"That may be true, but for armed Barshanian knights to pass through Resenburg ..."

Barshania and Resenburg, with the Davira Desert between them, have been in conflict for many years.

There were merchant caravans coming and going for the purpose of peddling, but I heard that there was no exchange between countries."

"Fufun, that's exactly why."

"That's exactly why ... Are you going to have the knights accompany her just to show them off?"

"The primary purpose is to protect Seraphima, and there is no falsehood about that. But, it's also a demonstration of power. The Imperial Family of Barshania will join Volzard. If you let the people of Resenburg know about this, they won't think about going to war with Barshania or Volzard. I have already sent a messenger to Resenburg."

I didn't think Camilla, who would succeed the throne, would do anything stupid like launching a useless battle, but even if she's taken control, there was no guarantee that there would not be some among the nobles who got offended and caused unforeseen circumstances.

The demonstration that Constant thought of seemed reasonable, but I was worried that the demonstration itself would cause trouble.

[ Kent-sama, the role of keeping that kind of thing in check should be borne by these us. ]

[ Is that so ... I'm counting on you, Reinhardt. ]

[ What, it's a simple task. ]

Seraphima's party would leave Guryayev on the 16th of this month, and would march through Barshania like a parade, arriving in the border town of Chowsk around the end of the month.

Furthermore, in Resenburg, they planned to pay a courtesy visit to the royal castle of Aldaros.

"What's wrong, Kent Kokubu. Do you still have concerns?"

"Is it okay to suddenly go visit the Princess of a country that has been in conflict with you until now."

"Isn't it the son-in-law's job to mediate that? You stopped our army's invasion for Resenburg's sake, but now you have to stop them from going out of control for Barshania's sake."

"No, although that may be so ..."

For Camilla and Seraphima to face each other, I felt like it wasn't a favorable situation.

What should I say, I was a little worried that I might end up in a carnage situation.

[ Buhahaha, there is no choice but to ask Kent-sama to keep that kind of situation in check. ]

[ Uuh, I know that. I know that, but I'm worried ... ]

[ Buhahaha, if they're going to complain, all you have to do is take the two of them together and shut them up. In one hand, the next King of Resenburg, and in the other hand, the Princess of Barshania. ]

[ When you put it that way, it feels like a man's romance, but I don't think it can be done so lightly ... ]

Maa, let's have Hart and Hirt coordinate well so that Camilla and Seraphima don't clash.

It will be more than three weeks before Seraphima arrives in Aldaros at the earliest.

By then, let's solve the problem of the classmates' return and put in place a system where I can respond immediately.

By the time I returned from a late breakfast at the Barshanian palace, Volzard was already close to noon.

I thought of going to Klaus-san's mansion and reporting the schedule for Seraphima's wedding, but it was impossible.

Klaus-san and Tadao-san seemed to be a strange match, and last night they continued drinking until late.

Since they were parents with daughters of the same age and had grown up in completely different environments, they seemed to have plenty of topics to talk about, and it seemed that they both had a hangover and couldn't wake up.

It seemed that Yuika tried to use healing magic, but was stopped by Marianne-san and Mika-san, and they were both still holding their heads and groaning.

"Kento, if possible, could you call Meisa-chan. Mio has to go back to Japan this evening, right. She would like to spend time with her until then."

"Alright. I'll go back to the boarding house for a while."

After returning to the boarding house, Meisa-chan and I headed to Klaus-san's mansion.

It felt like we were having a picnic in the courtyard again today.

Today, Marianne-san, Augusto-san, and Angelina-san were also participating.

Augusto-san walked up to Zeta-tachi who had appeared, had them show him their claws and fangs, and asked them some questions.

He was friendly but strangely serious, which was kind of interesting.

"Kent, come over here."

She didn't seem to have a hangover today, so if Angelina-san with a smiling face invited me, I had no choice but to happily go.

"Come, sit down, sit down."

"Yes, excuse me."

As soon as I sat down next to Angelina-san, I was grabbed by her arms.

"Kent, I heard you stayed in Barshania yesterday."

"Y, yess, that's right, but ..."

"Tell your Onee-chan everything about what happened."

Uuh, Angelina-san, you're smiling, but your eyes aren't smiling.

Or should I say, Yuika and Beatriche's eyes are slanting upwards ...

"In Barshania, I was made to change into clothes that were prepared for me, made to go to a banquet, and made to get along with old men."

Yup, I'm not lying. There are various parts omitted, but let's convince them by calling it a digest version.

"Fu~n ... Hey, Kent, what kind of costume was it that they prepared?"

"Umm, it was like wearing a loose shirt, pants, and a short vest."

"The color?"

"Ehh, what color?"

"Yup, the color of the fabric and the belt."

"Umm, the fabric was white, and the belt and vest were green."

"What were the seats in the banquet hall like?"

"Eh, the seating order was ... Seraphima and I were lined up in the front, with Emperor Constant and Empress Lisaveta sitting on either side, and the military and government officials sitting in rows."

"Haa ... I knew it."

Angelina-san, Beatriche, and Marianne-san let out a sigh when they heard my story.

"Umm ... Did something bad happen?"

"You know, Kent. In Barshania, only members of the Imperial Family are allowed to wear white and green at formal occasions."

"Eeehhh, then, that banquet ..."

"That was Kent and Seraphima's wedding."

Maa, from the arrangements of the seats and the way I was treated, it would have been nice to at least say a few words.

"Hey, Kent. What happened after the banquet?"

"Eh, after the banquet? Because I kept using self-healing so as not to get drunk, I fell asleep tired."

"Alone?"

"Ehh, what is it?"

"Were you alone in the bed?"

"Th, that's ..."

Angelina-san had firmly grasped my arm, and I enjoyed the wonderful feeling, but in exchange for that, there was no way to escape from the sharp pursuit.

"Kent, answer your Onee-chan honestly. That Seraphima child was with you, right?"

"Y, yes ... But! But, nothing happened. It's true, Hirt was with us."

"I wonder if it's true ..."

"It's true! It's true, I tell you, there was nothing to feel guilty about, , I refused that kind of thing until after the marriage is completed. Right, it's about the schedule for the wedding ceremony, but ..."(TN:Dunno why there's a double comma there. Maybe a typo.)

Marianne-san and Angelina-san's expressions tightened when I told them about the schedule and process for bringing in Seraphima.

After all, as a family of Lords, they must have been sensitive to sensing Barshania's intentions.

"I will report to Klaus-san later, but what do you think, Marianne-san?"

"Right ... But, before that, please call me mother-in-law."

"Yes, umm, Marianne-gibo-san ..."

"You can call me brother-in-law too."

"Ehh, y, yes, Augusto-gikei-san."(TN:These are so awkward, but translating them is worse, so w/e. Just consider any honorific with 'gi' in it to be an in-law of some sort. Though with Camilla's case, it was step not in-law, in-law/adoptive/step are all the same word in Japanese, which is why there's so much confusion over which to choose.)

I was a little surprised to hear from an unexpected source, but Augusto-san seemed to be more than just a straight-laced person.

"And, what do you think, Marianne-gibo-san?"

"From my point of view, Barshania's method is welcome. If Resenburg thinks that a friendly relationship has been established with Volzard, it will reduce the worry of unnecessary conflict."

"What about Augusto-gikei-san?"

"I think the same. In the first place, there is no risk for Volzard in regards to this marriage. In addition, even if the marriage is completed, it doesn't mean that Barshania and Volzard will form a direct relationship."

"No, that's true ..."

"Well, wait. I know what Kent wants to say. What I'm talking about now is that you can consider it like this."

Seraphima would come to my place, but since it wasn't directly connected with the Feudal Lord's Family, if Resenburg and Barshania were in a state of conflict, it was possible for Volzard to claim that they weren't related ... It seemed to be something like that.

Of course, if that happened, I couldn't just ignore it, and I would do my best to resolve the dispute.

When I said that, Augusto-san nodded.

"That's right. In fact, if Kent is in perfect condition, the possibility of a conflict between Volzard, Resenburg, and Barshania is extremely low. That's why, Barshania's demonstration could be said to be completely useless ... But it's human nature to have to do something."

"But, even if the head of the country and the nobles are fine, wouldn't it invite backlash from the people?"

"It can't be helped. The countries have been at odds for many years, so reconciliation won't happen anytime soon, but ... Can't we use it as an opportunity to move in a good direction?"

"I see, there's no guarantee that anything will turn out badly. It would be nice if we could use Seraphima's marriage as a trigger to build a friendly relationship."

Seraphima was planning to stop by Aldaros, the royal capital of Resenburg, on her way to Volzard.

At that time, let's think about whether we can come up with a proposal that will help improve the relationship.

If the passage of Seraphima's party brings benefits to the region, it may change the people's view of Barshania.

The first thing that came to my mind was to provide development technology for desertified land, but it seemed that the Barshanian engineering corps was also busy with Leinef's reconstruction project after being attacked by the Gigas, so it may be a little difficult.

[ Kent-sama, it is difficult to develop the desert, but we can do it if it is just the maintenance of the road. ]

[ I see, we have earth-attribute Kobolds and Zeta-tachi in our house. Let's consider it. ]

[ It will be useful for ensuring the safety of Seraphima-jou on the way, and the maintenance of the highway will also benefit the residents. ]

Since Seraphima was coming to marry me, the process should be a celebration, not a troublesome one.

There was still some time before Seraphima and her party entered Resenburg, so let's think about whether there are any other good ideas.

The Asakawa family would return to Japan after dinner.

At Marianne-san's suggestion, I decided to invite Manon's family and Amanda-san again for a dinner party, but it seemed that there would be no alcohol tonight.

Klaus-san and Tadao-san also showed up during the afternoon tea time, but they were disappointed when they were told not to drink at the dinner table.

No, no, it's enough if you drink to your heart's content for two days in a row.

"Kokubu-kun, would you be able to invite us again around the time of Golden Week in Japan?"

"Yes, that's fine. This time my classmates hadn't been finished returning yet, so I asked you to refrain from sightseeing in the city, but by that time they'll have finished being returned, so please take your time and enjoy the sights."

"That's right. Volzard seems to be closed during the New Year period, just like in old Japan."

"Right, now that I can use summoning, you can visit towns other than Volzard."

"Ohh, a full-fledged trip to another world, that's amazing."

"The Japanese government may reject it, but it will be fine."

I would like to take Yuika, Manon, Beatriche and the others to Aldaros, the royal capital of Resenburg, Guryayev, the imperial capital of Barshania, and the border town of Chowsk.

In the first place, I was just flying around to clean up various incidents, and I hadn't done any sightseeing in any city.

Now that I think about it, it might be nice to take everyone on a honeymoon.

Mio-chan and Meisa-chan were getting along really well, playing cards and **, which they seemed to have brought from Japan, and running around with Mart and the others.

Just when I was thinking about such, I turned around and found myself leaning against Nero's stomach and falling asleep.

The term 'Behaving with abandon' fit perfectly, but just when I thought it would be difficult to say goodbye, Meisa-chan asked me at the dinner party.

"Hey, hey, Kent."

"What is it, Meisa-chan."

"I want to go to Japan."

"Hmm, to Japan ..."

"Hey, isn't it fine? Mio said I could stay with her."

"No, but you have to ask Amanda-san and Mika-san ..."

"If those two say it's fine, will you take me?"

"Hmm ... But, even if you go to Japan on a weekday, it will be difficult to guide you ..."

"Mio says that Japan will be closed tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."

"Then, as long as Amanda-san and Mika-san say it's good, it's fine."

"Yippee! I love you Kent!"

Yes, yes, you just want to go to Japan.

I was a little worried, but if I couldn't protect at least Meisa-chan, I wouldn't be able to bring my wives to Japan in the future.

Mika-san replied immediately, and Amanda-san reluctantly allowed Meisa-chan to go to Japan.

It seemed that today was Friday in Japan, so it would be a short homestay with the Asakawa Family until Sunday evening.

For Kajikawa-san, let's consider it getting consent after the fact.

Strictly speaking, it was probably going to lead to illegal immigration, but Meisa-chan wouldn't be able to enjoy it if I arranged for a strict security system.

However, sightseeing in Tokyo sounded like a bit of fun, didn't it.

After dinner, it was decided that the Asakawa Family of three along with Meisa-chan would be sent back to Tokyo.

Yuika and Mika-san hugged each other and cried despite knowing they could meet like this, they must have been sad to be separated from their family.

As I was looking at those figures, I was called out to by Tadao-san.

"Kokubu, I'm leaving Yuika in your care. After coming to Volzard and talking with Klaus-san and everyone else, I'm convinced that this city is safe. As a father, I'm worried, but I trust you and Volzard. Please do not betray my expectations."

"Yes, I will do my best to live up to your expectations."

After exchanging a firm handshake with Tadao-san, I went to the Asakawa Family home in Hikarigaoka, spread out a sheet in the living room, and set up the dark attribute golems.

After that, I first repatriated the three members of the Asakawa Family, and then I repatriated Meisa-chan, imagining giving her knowledge of the Japanese language.

< Uwaa ... Is this already Japan? >

"Oops, Meisa-chan, take off your shoes. In Japan, you take your shoes off inside the house. Also, can you understand what I'm saying?"

"Umm ... I can. Is this Japanese words?"

"That's right, it seems to be fine."

After Meisa-chan looked curiously at the Asakawa family's living room, she charged into Mio-chan's room.

< Then, Tadao-san, please take care of Meisa-chan. >

< Ohh, even after returning, I still understand Volzard's words. >

"It looks like it's okay. With this, it seems that we won't need an interpreter for the people we bring from Japan."

"That's right. I wonder if you can tell Amanda-san that we will take care of Meisa responsibly."

"Yes, roger that. For the time being, I will have my genus hide in the shadows, so if something happens, please call for me to let me know. I will rush to you immediately."

"Alright. But, I don't think there will be any trouble in Japan."

"Maa, that's probably right, otherwise it would be a problem."

Once again, I exchanged greetings with the Asakawa couple and returned to Volzard.