by Dojyomaru
That was why, now, I was stuck with the task of dismantling their forces down to the bare minimum required for policing. Those who had a primary trade outside of soldiering would be given severance pay and released from service, while those who sought to join the EDF would be able to undergo testing to enlist.
While the organization would be decided on by Excel, Glaive, Ludwin, and the other military officials, they had looked over my proposal and found they had no choice but to give it their stamp of approval.
While we worked, Liscia and I were silent. There was an awkwardness between us.
...No, I was likely the only one feeling awkward. Liscia was acting the same as always.
That day, even as I’d told her that Georg Carmine had committed suicide in his cell, Liscia’s expression hadn’t changed in the least. Her face had been emotionless, and my report had only elicited a quiet “I see...”
It wasn’t that I thought she would lose her composure. It wasn’t as if I thought she would blame me for it. Liscia wasn’t that kind of girl, and I was well aware of it.
But I hardly expected her to be able to go about her daily routine this way, like everything was normal. I thought she would look at least a little distraught. There was no way this wasn’t painful for her, no way it wasn’t heart-wrenching, but when I saw Liscia acting like nothing had changed, I couldn’t find the words to say to her.
It would have been easier if she’d lashed out at me a little...
“Why didn’t you spare Duke Carmine?!”
...Yeah. No, that wouldn’t have been any better.
Just imagining Liscia insulting and demeaning me was enough to depress me.
If she would just punch, and we could forget it all after that... But, no, the only one that would make feel better was me. Honestly, what was I thinking? After running my mouth like that to Georg, could I not even protect the heart of the girl closest to me?
“Souma,” she said.
“Huh? What?” I raised my head, and saw Liscia looking at me with her head inclined to the side questioningly.
“Your pen’s stopped, you know?” she asked.
“...Oh, sorry.”
That’s no good, I thought. I have to keep it together.
I went back to work. Right now, I have to focus on taking care of all the little tasks in front of me.
While I worked with that thought in mind, there was a knock at the door. “Come in,” I said, and the head maid Serina entered.
“Pardon me,” she said. “The preparations are complete, and your presence is requested.”
“Right.”
We stopped working, and I donned my royal cape and headed towards the audience chamber. Today was a day for rewarding those who had distinguished themselves in the war with Amidonia.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Glaive Magna,” I said. “Your loyalty was truly remarkable. In recognition of that loyalty, I grant you Randel and its surrounding region to rule.”
“Yes, sir,” Glaive said. “It will be my pleasure.”
“Very good. In addition, while this is only provisional, I also grant you some of the powers Georg held as General of the Army. Until they are folded into the EDF, keep them in good order.”
“Yes, sir,” he said. “I swear I will do my utmost to meet Your Majesty’s expectations.”
In front of me as I rose from the throne, giving commendations in a grandiose tone, Hal’s old man, Glaive Magna, bowed deeply. We weren’t broadcasting this, so I wasn’t keeping up with stiff formality, but there was a secretary in the corner dutifully recording my every word, so I had to act kingly. That was to ensure that future generations who read the records didn’t look down on me, or so my chamberlain Marx had sourly told me, but... honestly, I didn’t really care what people would think of me after I died.
In the war with the Principality of Amidonia, the Elfrieden Kingdom might not have gained any territory, but we had secured hefty war reparations. Furthermore, we had been able to collect ransoms from Zem for the return of their mercenaries, and I’d been able to confiscate the corrupt nobles’ land and assets. The dismantlement of the Carmine and Vargas duchies had been decided on, too.
For all of those gains, there was little need to reward the troops. Most of the troops mobilized had belonged to the Army and Air Force. They were under suspicion of treason, and this had been a battle to clear them of that suspicion, so no rewards needed to be paid.
Additionally, for those who had taken a wait-and-see approach to the conflict, the nobles whose forces were part of the Forbidden Army, I didn’t need to pay for any rewards to them, as they hadn’t participated. It meant they had missed out on a good opportunity, but that was their problem, not mine.
The only ones who need to be rewarded were the Navy and my directly-controlled forces in the Forbidden Army. Those of the nobility or knightly class in either force would be given land, but that would come from the former fiefs of the corrupt nobles and the dismantled Carmine and Vargas duchies. Those who were of lower status would be given a cash bonus.
And so, today, I was to give personal rewards to those who had contributed the most. It was standard to give titles in the peerage and land, but if they wanted something else, they were welcome to negotiate for it. If it was within my power as king, and a suitable reward for their efforts, it would be granted. If they wanted cash or rare items in the possession of the royal family, that was fine.
Long ago, there had been a knight who’d used this system to request the right to marry a princess he was in love with. There’d also been one who’d used it to request a corrupt noble be brought to justice. This was a situation where you never knew what crazy requests might come flying, so I opted not to air it over the Jewel Voice Broadcast.
This time, the people to be rewarded were as follows:
The turncoat from the Army who had led them in the battle with Amidonia, Glaive Magna.
The Lord of Altomura who had stalled for time and delayed the Amidonian forces, Weist Garreau.
The commander of the marines who had, likewise, delayed the Amidonian forces at the Valley of Goldoa, Juna Doma.
As well as the one who sent reinforcements during the battle outside Randel, the chief of the dark elves who lived in the God-Protected Forest, Wodan Udgard. Sir Wodan was Aisha’s father.
Normally, the Admiral of the Navy, Excel Walter, would have been first in both rank and in terms of her contributions. However, she was foregoing any recognition of her achievements for herself in order to seek clemency for the two Varguses, so she wouldn’t be receiving a reward.
Also, before giving the aforementioned five their rewards, I formally gave Aisha, who had been defending me as my self-declared bodyguard, the newly created post of kochiji.
If I were to explain what that changed, it was that before she had been like a mercenary I was paying out of my own pocket money, but now she was a proper knight with a salary.
Incidentally, her title, kochiji, came from the a bit of wordplay on the nickname of Cao Cao’s bodyguard Xu Chu, read Kochi in Japanese. The original’s name was written “Tiger Fool” and meant “a fool who is strong like a tiger,” so I chose to write hers with the character for “Eastern Wind” instead.
...Not that there was much point in me obsessing over how it’d be written with kanji in this world.
In addition to that appointment, I gave Aisha a gauntlet from the treasury in the castle that was enchanted with a spell that reduced physical and magical damage (it was called the Iron Wall Gauntlet, apparently). To be honest, I had wanted to give her a shield, as it suited the image of her position better, but Aisha used a two-handed greatsword, so I’d opted for this instead.
Aisha held the gauntlet tight to her breast, stuttering and slurring her words through her tears. “Ohh... Your Majesty... Th-Thank you sho much!”
...I’m glad to see she’s happy and all, but isn’t that a bit of an overreaction?
Everyone watched her with wry smiles.
“W
eist,” I said. “You served me well in distracting the Amidonians. Please, continue to maintain stability in your lands as Lord of Altomura. Furthermore, when the city of Venetinova is complete, I am sure I will place you in charge of managing her.”
“Yes, sir,” he said. “Inadequate as I may be, I will serve you to my utmost.”
After Glaive, I finished presenting Weist with his reward. It was decided that Weist would take on the additional post of Lord of Venetinova, the coastal city that was currently under construction. While his original fief had been in the countryside, because it was in a crop-growing region with fertile land, he had quickly gained influence. In the recent operation, he had played the important role of portraying himself as a coward in front of Gaius and Julius. This was his reward.
Now, it was time to reward Wodan Udgard, Aisha’s father who had sent reinforcements to aid us in the battle outside Randel.
These were reinforcements neither Hakuya or I had anticipated. We had known how powerful the dark elves were, but we’d assumed they were busy with reconstruction after the landslide, and they weren’t interested in affairs outside their forest to begin with, so we had thought it would be pointless to send a request. However, contrary to our expectations, Wodan and his people had dispatched troops to aid us.
Apparently, when Aisha had been staying in the God-Protected Forest, she had independently made the request on my behalf. From what Hal had told me of the battle outside Randel, the corrupt nobles had brought out cannons and launched a reckless attack. Without those reinforcements, our losses would have been much greater. It was truly a happy miscalculation.
I walked over to Wodan, taking his hand as I thanked him. “You have my gratitude. I thank you for sending reinforcement when you yourselves face such difficult times.”
“Think nothing of it,” said Wodan. “We have only repaid our debt of gratitude. When the disaster struck, the relief force that Your Majesty led reminded us that we have ties to the outside world.”
“I am glad to hear it,” I said. “It shows me anew that this country was built with many different races coming together. If you have a wish, you need only name it.”
Wodan shook his head. “We already owe you more than we can ever repay. With the steady supply of relief supplies you send, our warriors have already been amply rewarded. I seek nothing further from you.”
“Please, don’t be so modest,” I said. “Those reinforcements wouldn’t have come without you making the decision. If you’d like, we can plant trees around the God-Protected Forest to expand your territory.”
“I am grateful for the offer, but the forest is fine as it is,” he said.
Hmm... That leaves me in a conundrum, I thought. I wanted to show my gratitude to Wodan somehow. However, no matter what I offered as a reward, Wodan stubbornly refused to accept it.
“You truly have nothing you want?” I questioned.
When I asked him that, Wodan took on a pensive look. “...In that case, I have one request for you, sire.”
“Name it. If it is within my power, it will be yours.”
“Then... would you take my daughter?”
“Father?!” Aisha yelped. She had been standing behind the throne, and she sounded surprised.
His daughter... He means Aisha, right?
Wodan continued, smiling, “I see my little girl who never used to show an interest in anything but fighting and food has grown into a fine woman. That change came from her feelings for you, sire. Could I ask you to take her as your wife?”
“Sir Wodan is called Chief in the village in the God-Protected Forest, but he is actually nobility with the God-Protected Forest as his domain,” my chamberlain, Marx, hastened to add. “You would be able to take his daughter Aisha as your second primary queen.”
Marx was handling things here today on behalf of Prime Minister Hakuya, who was indisposed.
I have mentioned this in past, but in this kingdom queens were broadly categorized into primaries and secondaries, and it was possible to have multiple of each.
Originally, there had only been one primary queen and the rest had been either secondary queens or concubines (mistresses) with no power, but one king a number of generations ago had said, “I don’t want to call these women I love concubines.”
...He must have been a passionate man.
As a result, all of his secondary queens had been made primary queens. (The original primary queen had been made First Queen, with the others called Second Primary, Third Primary, and so on, to distinguish them.) And his concubines had been promoted to secondary queens, a convention that continued to this day.
While I’m at it, let me explain the difference between a primary and secondary queen.
To become a primary queen, the lady in question had to be of the knightly class, the nobility, or higher. To make a woman of lower status a primary queen, she would first have to be adopted into such a family. That process wasn’t necessary for a secondary queen.
The children born to a primary queen had the right of succession. The line of succession was determined not by order of birth, but the children born to the First Queen, the Second, and so on. In cases where there was a large gap in age, the numbering of queens could be changed.
Conversely, while a woman of any class (even a slave or a prostitute) could become a secondary queen, their children had no right of succession. However, they were still royalty, and noble and knightly houses that wanted to form a blood connection with the crown would try to marry their sons and daughters off to the king’s children from those queens. It was definitely one way of marrying into money.
While the position didn’t come with any power, it also took less responsibility than being a primary queen, and they were allowed to act freely, within limits. For women of common birth who had no interest in power, this was often the position they dreamed of.
But... making Aisha my second primary wife...
“Would you consider that a reward?” I asked.
“As a father, my feelings are complicated... but she seems to be hoping for it, and a father always wants to grant his little girl’s wishes,” said Wodan. “Besides which, with the people of the God-Protected Forest beginning to look to the outside world, I think it would be valuable for them to see their chief’s daughter marry into the royal house. It wouldn’t just create a bond between the royal house and the God-Protected Forest, it would become symbolic of the bond between humans and dark elves, as well.”
Then it wasn’t just for his daughter’s sake. There were political considerations, too.
Looking at it from my position, if I strengthened my ties with the God-Protected Forest, I would probably have the elite archers who showed their might in the battle outside Randel at my disposal.
No, even if I set that sort of pragmatic gain aside... Aisha was cute. If I had to ask myself whether I’d want her as a wife or not... I did.
She might be a little too loyal to me, but it let her affection for me come across all the more directly. Though it did feel a bit like I’d tamed her with food.
I couldn’t expect much from her as a political operator, but Aisha had more than sufficient martial prowess to compensate for that. She was the sort of woman who would be reassuring to have at my side.
...But, is that really okay? I returned to the throne, looking at Liscia beside me.
I had told Liscia we were only temporarily engaged so that I could potentially get out of it. But, now that the war with Amidonia was behind us, my thinking on the matter had changed.
People had died because of my orders. I carried a weight of karma far too great to ever return to ordinary life. I could no longer stop being king, or abandon this country.
I felt the same about my relationship with Liscia. Since the day we’d first met, we had overcome so much pain and hardship together. I couldn’t break off our betrothal, and I had no desire to. If Liscia would be my queen, I could accept being king.
...But, that’s a different issue ent
irely.
While I had resolved myself to be king, I still had reservations about taking more than one queen. Liscia, Marx, and even Juna had repeatedly told me it was normal, but as someone dragging along the moral views of modern Japan, I was hesitant.
...Yeah, it wasn’t that I thought it was insincere to love more than one woman. I wasn’t that full of myself. But I thought giving an immediate answer here and now wouldn’t be fair to Liscia.
I’d feel like I was cheating on her...
While I was thinking that, Liscia looked at me. Seeing that I was at a loss for words, Liscia said exasperatedly, “Souma, marry Aisha like you ought to.”
“Like I ought to...? You’re fine with that, Liscia?”
“I don’t have the right to refuse, but Aisha and her father have already told you it’s fine, haven’t they?” she said. “Actually, if you don’t take her, that’s probably going to be the bigger headache.”
“How so?” I asked.
Liscia stressed the practical aspects. “You’re a king, Souma. There may be situations where you’re forced to marry the daughters of major nobles or princesses from other countries as part of your internal or external diplomacy. In preparation for that, I want the higher-ranked queens to be filled out with people I can trust.”
“No... But... I mean...”
Seeing me still hesitating, Liscia sighed. “Souma, you’re able to make decisions when the country hangs in the balance, but when it comes to the women in your life, you’re so indecisive.”
“Urkh...”
“Honestly... Aisha!” Liscia called.
“Y-Yes!” The dark elf jumped in surprise. Aisha had been standing in her bodyguard position waiting anxiously as she watched things unfold.
Liscia leveled a finger at her. “I’m not giving up the position of First Queen, you hear me? You’re Second Queen, got it? If that’s all right with you, it’s all right with me. In fact, I welcome it.”
“Y-Yes! If it lets me be by His Majesty’s side!” Aisha cried.
Liscia nodded and looked me straight in the eye as she said, “I’ve set everything in place for you. Now... treat her right.”