Risou no Himo Seikatsu - Volume 14 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3 — An Artisan’s Aspiration

“This is a shock. I’d honestly expected to be stuck with this for the rest of my life.”

Indeed, the aged smith’s expression was one of utter disbelief. The man had been given the name Völundr as proof that he was the best smith in Uppasala, and he was currently stretching and flexing his joints.

They didn’t hurt. None of them did.

Standing in front of the smith as he was released from the decades of aches and pains in his back and hips were a man and a woman. The woman seemed to still be in her mid- to late-twenties, and the man had a tired air of someone middle-aged.

They were within a courtyard of the Capuan royal palace, commonly called the Craftsmen’s Garden, as Margarita of the Sharou royal family met with the skilled smith. The middle-aged man at her side was a healer under exclusive contract to her.

He was technically part of the Gilbelle family, but low enough that you would get to his place in succession quicker if you counted in reverse. He was also known as the most overused healer in the Twin Kingdoms. Margarita actually spent more time with him than either her parents or husband.

“So, Sir Völundr, will you fulfill your promise and take me on as an apprentice?”

The man scratched his white hair awkwardly as the princess smiled at him in satisfaction.

It was not overly complicated to explain how this situation had come about. No sooner had Margarita arrived via Zenjirou’s teleportation and dealt with the bare minimum of welcome parties and meetings with Aura, than she had gotten permission to meet with Völundr with the express purpose of becoming his apprentice.

It had been a completely obvious request for her, but things were not so simple for him. While Völundr may have been somewhat lacking in manners, he still knew how things worked. He already saw himself as part of Capua, and he was well aware that he could not be careless as he dealt with the royals of an allied nation.

However, there were still issues that prevented him from accepting on the spot. She was a princess. An already married one, at that. He wasn’t sure he could teach her as he had all of his other apprentices, with harsh words and the odd jab. As far as her standing went, the answer was: obviously not. The cause of his lack of surety, though, was from looking at her.

She had visible muscle tone on her arms at even a cursory glance. Her hair was dried out from the heat of the forge, and her right eye was clouded from constant staring at the flames. She had the visible signs of a wholehearted smith. The like of which was rarely seen even in Uppasala.

While it would be rude not to treat her as royalty, it would also be rude not to treat her as a smith.

As a result of that hesitation, Völundr had—rather unusually for him—offered an excuse and left rather than an honest response. He had used the old injuries to his knees and back as a reason and said, “I am not in a state to take a personal apprentice. All I can manage at present are requests from Queen Aura.”

In response, Margarita had suggested using her healer under exclusive contract to heal those injuries.

He had been taken aback. It was true that the situation had not proceeded as he had expected, but the majority of his feelings were of welcome. His knees and back had not been injured in some accident. Instead, they had gradually broken due to his long time smithing. They had faded even as his skill and knowledge had grown.

He had increased his knowledge and polished his skills to supplement his ailing body. He didn’t know how many times he had wished that he had both his younger body and his current knowledge and skills. Those fantasies had now become a reality.

“Truly? Just...nothing hurts. Am I completely healed?” Völundr asked, shivering slightly with joy and other emotions overwhelming him. The middle-aged man—the healer from the Gilbelle family—gave him a calm warning.

“Your old wounds are all healed. You will not be in pain and you will be able to move as you wish. However, there is nothing that can be done about your aging. I ask that you understand that.”

His old, injured body had simply been made into an old healthy body. He had not been returned to his youth. Of course, one of the Gilbelle family’s healers would never have been granted the full secrets of their magic, so it was hardly a surprise.

“Right, I understand. That is quite enough in itself. Now I just need to listen to my body as I work my way up.”

“Sir Völundr,” Margarita put in, seizing her moment. “He is a healer under exclusive contract to me. If you agree to take me as your apprentice, then it would be possible to repeat what we have just done periodically.”

“Hmm. But I must have Queen Aura’s permission along with your own king’s...”

“Of course, I have acquired permission, although it is only for the rest of this year at present,” Margarita answered. She had prepared as fully as she could.

King Josep of the Twin Kingdoms was well aware of Margarita’s interests. Knowing her zeal for her craft, he had given up on convincing her. Conversely, he also knew how discerning she was, so he was able to trust it wouldn’t end in disaster.

Regardless, if she had permission from both monarchs, he would find it difficult to keep refusing her.

“Very well, I’ll take you on.”

“Thank you, Sir Völundr!” she exclaimed, stepping towards him.

“However!” he said sharply. “As my apprentice, I will treat you as such in the workshop. You will need to entirely forget your position as royalty. If you cannot accept this, then it will not happen.”

In the workshop, Völundr’s apprentices would deal with not only his harsh words, but potentially strikes as well. Additionally, with the apprenticeship currently only set for around half a year, his teaching style would inevitably grow much harsher. There would be no chance of her graduating from his instruction, even after a limited time.

“Ah, of course. That is exactly what I want.”

Her smile was almost frenzied as she answered.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Meanwhile, Aura and her husband’s concubine were meeting in the inner palace.

The chamber was a reception room in the main building, but rarely used. It had none of the electrical appliances that Zenjirou had brought from Earth.

For the time being, the appliances from Earth were being kept away from Freya as much as possible. Of course, Freya’s maids had permission to borrow the game console, so it was more about not making a show of things than keeping it top secret. Freya and her maids were also free to enter the area of the gardens where the hydroelectric generator that fed them all was situated, so it was practically impossible to keep the technology hidden entirely.

Still, it was a secret at the present moment. Officially ending that secrecy was not Aura’s job, but her husband’s.

The two of them snacked on food and sipped tea while speaking of relatively inconsequential matters. In that respect, both royals by birth were entirely comfortable.

Eventually, it was Aura who brought things to the matter at hand.

“Now, Princess Freya, I assume you have some reason for purposefully requesting a meeting with me while my husband is abroad?”

Indeed, it was at Freya’s request that this meeting was even happening. Therefore, it made perfect sense that the topic for discussion would come from her.

Freya seemed to have been waiting for that question, as her smile fell away to reveal a serious look. “Indeed. In truth, I had something that I wished to ask you without it making its way to Sir Zenjirou.”

“Hm?”

Freya hesitated for a moment after Aura’s noise of acknowledgment before letting the words fall from her lips.

“Well...does Sir Zenjirou properly relax when he is with you, Your Majesty?”

The question was far from what the queen had expected. Her reddish-brown eyes gave a single blink.

“Well, of course he does, though that is admittedly based on my own perspective. But I am confident I am not incorrect. If you feel the need to ask that, can I assume he does not with you?” she returned.

Freya nodded, silver hair swaying. “Unfortunately not.”

Aura’s face also turned serious at the answer.

“In the sense that your new marriage is not going well?”

Aura was rather confident that she had “allowed” much since Freya had become Zenjirou’s concubine, so it was a concern she could not overlook. However, Freya shook her head at that question as well.

“Fortunately, things are going well on that front. Honestly, so much so that I could not ask for more. However, it is mainly due to Sir Zenjirou’s consideration for me.”

Freya was remembering what Aura had said to her on the first day she had moved into the inner palace as Zenjirou’s concubine—that this was a place for him to be able to relax his mind. Fortunately, her insistence to the maids she had brought from Uppasala that they not clash with the locals had borne fruit and they had assimilated well. However, it was still not somewhere he could relax. If anything, Zenjirou was doing his utmost to make things better for Freya in any possible way he could.

Aura’s expression relaxed at Freya’s regretful explanation of the situation. Things were even better than she had hoped.

“But of course. That is his nature. He will show that consideration until you are fully part of the inner palace and able to be as at ease as you were in your family home.”

“But does that not contravene my promise? Sir Zenjirou putting this effort in for me seems to be missing the point, somewhat.”

With both her stubbornness and integrity being what they were, Freya wanted to keep her promise and provide Zenjirou somewhere he could relax. Aura gave a satisfied nod at her attitude.

“There is no avoiding it,” she replied. “I will say it again, that is his nature. Harsh as it sounds to say, providing a place where he can relax will require first making it a place where you can relax. As I initially said, he dislikes people arguing around him. Your avoidance of that is more than enough for now. Frankly, I had not expected you to keep your maids so well in check.” The queen offered a slightly challenging smile.

“They were carefully selected and I will do all that I can to ensure Sir Zenjirou does not begin to dislike me.”

Freya straightened pointedly, throwing her shoulders back. She was declaring that she would not do or say anything to ruin Zenjirou’s feelings towards her, and that she would use the “right to compete for his affection” with Aura that she had allowed.

“That is a good answer. Honestly, I am impressed. I had been prepared to warn you on an occasion or two.”

That was entirely true. Unfortunately, it was far from likely for there to be no issues when another concubine joined the inner palace. When such issues happened, it was far more common for them to be precipitated by the maids the concubine brought rather than the concubine herself.

There were many reasons for this. Excessive loyalty to their mistress, trying to gain an advantage for either themselves or their mistress, or perhaps even just combativeness rather than any real reason.

In this case, the maids that Freya had brought with her were from the Northern Continent and that continent had a strong tendency to look down on those of the Southern Continent. Aura had expected that to show in their actions and cause dissent in the inner palace.

At present, though, there had been no problems whatsoever, so her expectations had been exceeded in a good way.

“While it may sound odd coming from me,” Freya continued, “I do not think you can let your guard down yet. I believe I have only brought people with enough loyalty, ability, and good enough character, and at present, they are meshing well with the maids here. However, only they know whether that is from their own desires or due to my orders. If the latter is the case, then I cannot refute the possibility of them losing their restraint later.”

Aura nodded in agreement with the princess’s harsh but realistic view. “I am glad to hear it. Continue as you are. It seems to be bothering you significantly, so I will inform you that his disposition towards you is clearly better than before you were wed. I can at the very least state that you have made no missteps at present.”

“Thank you,” Freya said with a smile. However, her actual feelings were much more conflicted. She could understand that the advice and consolation coming from Aura was due to the queen’s confidence in her superiority in terms of the affection she received from Zenjirou. At the same time, Freya was aware of how abnormal she herself was.

Originally, her suggestion had been for a marriage that benefited her country while also preserving her freedom. She had appreciated his behavior and the way he didn’t look down on her, but she would hesitate to say that she felt love for him. The proposal had been based far more on self-interest than affection.

Now, though, she was competing with Aura for his affection. The human heart was a strange thing. Of course, part of it could simply be her own competitiveness rather than true affection for him.

“Regardless, the inner palace has calmed down again since your arrival. From here on, your actions outside of the inner palace will be unrestricted. Of course, you will need to inform me of issues and plans ahead of time.”

Freya gave the queen a happy look at the statement. Between her arrival and today, Freya had needed to remain in the inner palace outside of official functions. It was normal for such a lifestyle to continue for the rest of a concubine’s life, but Freya would not settle for that.

Well, she had been prepared for it in the past, but growing to know Zenjirou and succeeding in marrying him had thrown that unfortunate future aside. The blessings of a life of adventure and search for the unknown, grasped with her own hands, made Freya shiver once more.

However, she then remembered a formidable enemy standing in the way of her immediately racing from the inner palace. The formidable enemy in question: the heat of the blazing season. She had yet to adapt to the temperature on the Southern Continent. In fact, the mist-generating magic tools in the annex meant that the temperature felt subjectively lower. If she could hang in there for another month, the active season would begin. Still, not even Freya would immediately want to start acting.

With those thoughts passing through her mind, Freya remembered something else that had to be brought up immediately.

“Ah, Your Majesty? There is something I wish to confirm with regard to my actions ahead of time. What are your thoughts on Lady Lucretia from the Twin Kingdoms and her wishes?”

Many even in Capua knew of Lucretia’s desire to become Zenjirou’s concubine. If that decision was to be made, then Freya would need to be willing to support her. Conversely, if Aura was to show displeasure with it, she would need to match those feelings.

“Hm...”

Aura fell into thought for a while at Freya’s honest question. Freya had already married Zenjirou, and Aura rather respected her abilities and personality. Still, the motivation and skill she had meant that dismissing her was unwise. Either way, with that in mind, it made more sense to bring her into the fold rather than keep the household business from her.

Aura’s face twisted as she began to speak. “To be frank, it is almost certain that my husband will take a concubine from the Twin Kingdoms. Additionally, it will need to be sooner than we assumed.”

It went without saying that the reason for that was the clear threat the Northern Continent represented. Capua and the Twin Kingdoms needed a full alliance as soon as possible to stand against the threat that was likely to come. It was a rarity on the Southern Continent for royalty to equate to lineal magic, but Zenjirou’s concubines would be part of political marriages.

The queen kept her emotions in check, purposefully speaking calmly. “Lucretia is indeed the first candidate. There is also another: Princess Bona. Considering his feelings, though, the scales must tilt towards Lucretia.”

“Wait? They must?” Freya asked, taken aback at that statement.

That was far from what she had expected. As far as Freya had seen, Zenjirou was rather relaxed with Bona and honestly seemed to struggle somewhat with Lucretia.

Then again, they had spent nearly a hundred days together on the Glasir’s Leaf and seemed to be much closer now. Still, even with that, the most optimistic way of looking at it put them on just about equal footing.

Aura seemed to understand her assumptions and nodded. “In terms of simple compatibility, Princess Bona would beat Lucretia. However, there is a more fundamental issue. Princess Bona has no inclination to be his concubine. Or more accurately, she has not even considered it. Conversely, Lucretia is ready and willing.”

The explanation made Freya look more and more doubtfully at Aura as she went on. “Is that not prioritizing their emotions over Sir Zenjirou’s?”

Freya was sure that Aura would not suggest such a thing, but that was the only way she could take it. Aura shook her head as if to disagree and continued.

“No, the important thing is his peace of mind. He would feel guilty for pushing someone into a marriage they did not wish for.”

One way of taking that was as an unfortunate effect of his passivity. Aura herself felt it to be a delicate situation. She would certainly take Bona—who, while having no great stores of mana, could use enchanting—over Lucretia, who could not use the lineal magic at all. Particularly with the accelerating international instability, enchanters now would be a better bet than several being born into the next generation.

However, she was prioritizing Zenjirou’s feelings over that. Freya could immediately see how that was the case once it was explained.

“I see. That certainly makes sense now that you mention it.”

Freya had only been Zenjirou’s concubine for a few months, but she had associated with him in one way or another for over a year. Because of that, she had a fair idea of the kind of person he was. Understanding that, she continued.

“However, in that respect, I do not think someone he does not wish to marry should be brought in as a concubine. After all, he does not want concubines to begin with.”

Aura could not resist a hearty chuckle at Freya completely ignoring her own position there.

“And are you in any position to say that?” she asked through chuckles. “You are not incorrect, though.”

After all, Freya had forced herself into a position to become his concubine. Still, she showed no shame as she went on.

“I am actually telling myself as well. While it might sound arrogant, I am confident that I have gained at least some favor from Sir Zenjirou. While I am still new to my position and unable to offer him a place to relax, I can see that he has some fondness for me and know what kind of behavior he likes.”

“And you think Lucretia lacks that understanding?”

The silver-haired princess nodded at the redheaded queen’s question. “I do. I can vouch for her enthusiasm and that she is truly trying to help Sir Zenjirou in her own way, but as things stand, she would be more of a burden for him.”

“Hm, you would go so far?” Aura murmured, mostly speaking to herself.

Freya, too, had shared the journey on the Glasir’s Leaf with Lucretia. She would be more familiar with the kind of person Lucretia was than Aura would. Therefore, Aura did not discount her words and instead asked for specifics.

“What is the issue? What about her is such a concern to you?”

“That she knows too little about Sir Zenjirou. She has barely any understanding of his characteristics, and particularly his values.”

“I offered her some advice before the voyage, but I suppose it had no effect.”

The advice in question was that she should focus on having as few detriments as possible rather than as many benefits as possible. Zenjirou was generally kind and rational, so while most didn’t realize it, gaining his disapproval was far easier than losing it.

Freya considered the comment for a moment. “No...I think it did. You mean before the Glasir’s Leaf left for the Northern Continent, correct? There was a distinct difference in her assertiveness before and after that.”

Until then, Lucretia had been practically spinning her wheels, but afterwards, she had calmed down and just occasionally tried to draw out a positive reaction from him. The “cowardly” way she began to interact with him opened up some distance between them, but likely made things much better from Zenjirou’s perspective.

Even so, Freya didn’t think she understood Zenjirou well enough. She had a slightly mocking smile as she continued.

“Lucretia is the same as me. Well, more accurately, how I was. She definitely wants to marry Sir Zenjirou but does not see his affection as necessary. She has other goals, and if those goals are met, she will compromise massively. In that respect, she certainly is more ‘convenient’ than Princess Bona, I suppose.”

“If we are including the past, then I would fall into that category too. Frankly, it is somewhat painful to hear,” Aura offered with a rueful smile.

Aura, Freya, and Lucretia. The commonality between the three of them was that they had all wished dearly to marry Zenjirou, but Zenjirou himself had not been the reason. Aura had wanted a figurehead spouse who would not undermine her power base. Freya had wanted a husband who would allow her freedom after they married. Lucretia wanted to be part of the Sharou family again. Marrying Zenjirou would see her transferred from her adoptive Broglie family to her birth family. She would be able to officially call Philibert and Yolanda “father” and “mother” in official situations. Therefore, she would be willing to negotiate a lot on what the marriage would look like. The marriage itself would fulfill her goals.

“The same was true of you?” Freya asked, blinking in surprise.

The rueful smile on the queen’s face deepened. “It was indeed. I used magic to summon my husband. It was impossible to hold affection for a man I had yet to meet even once. To begin with, I was calculating as queen. Of course, I interacted in good faith, though.”

Freya could sympathize with what she was saying. They had met, marriage had been proposed out of self-interest, and then things had changed and grown into friendship and affection. The path they had taken was the same for both queen and princess.

Suddenly, Freya had a realization. “I see, so there is a possibility Lucretia will do the same. Although, I think that would make things more difficult rather than less.”

“Hm? Ah, considering her disposition, I cannot say your concerns are unfounded.”

Aura heard what went unsaid and her expression soured. There was a significant possibility that love could blossom from the marriage proposal made out of self-interest in the way it had for Aura and Freya. That was not because Zenjirou was a particularly charming man. It was simply part of being bound in a contract of matrimony or betrothal and interacting in good faith. Of course, compatibility was still a consideration, so it was not absolute.

“Indeed. If Lucretia sees Sir Zenjirou as not just ‘a tool for her ends’ but ‘a target of love,’ will she cause discord in the inner palace? I cannot dispel those doubts,” Freya explained.

“There is no room for doubt,” Aura declared firmly. “If she remains the way she is, there will certainly be discord.”

A laugh slipped from Freya’s lips at that. Once the two of them had finished laughing together, the queen spoke seriously.

“You do not seem aware of it, but people like you are rare. Usually, when several people are in love with a single member of the opposite sex simultaneously, the relationship becomes more muddled. There are many more people who believe the satisfaction of their feelings is a legitimate demand.”

They assumed that because they loved a person, that person should love them back. Considering it properly revealed those points to be completely unrelated, but there were a surprising number of people who felt that otherwise.

“It sounds like feeling that way would be too much effort.”

“You and I are the ones who need to put the effort in here. We cannot allow it to fall on my husband.”

Strictly speaking, it was Queen Aura who wanted Zenjirou to have concubines, not Zenjirou himself. Freya joining as a concubine had been due to her own desires and Zenjirou had accepted them. That would be even more the case for Lucretia.

Therefore, it was they who needed to put in the effort to solve such problems, not Zenjirou.

“I quite agree,” Freya responded firmly.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Several days later, Zenjirou was once again safely back in Capua.

While he had a fair amount of duties now as both a member of the royal family and as Duke Bilbo, he naturally wasn’t working on the day of the journey itself. Therefore, he moved directly back to the main building of the inner palace.

It was still the blazing season and the literally life-threatening heat meant that there was a long lunch break scheduled. That meant that Aura was there in the living room to greet him.

“I’m home, Aura,” he said to her.

“Welcome back.”

They embraced in the middle of the room before sharing a kiss. While feeling the heat of her skin on his was pleasant after such a long time away, the weather being what it was meant that it soon began to feel stifling. The same probably held true for her as well.

“While we have plenty to speak of, perhaps we could relocate?” she suggested, gesturing towards the bedroom.

“Seconded,” he replied, moving along with her, hand in hand. “Ahhh,” Zenjirou sighed in pleasure once they’d stepped inside. “I’m alive.”

“Indeed, it still feels like a completely different world in here,” Aura agreed.

The cold air coming from the AC was a welcome respite from the heat of the season. Since this was the only room where it was installed, it may as well have been another world.

The two of them sat in wicker chairs that had been brought into the room, facing each other.

“The mist generators are fairly effective, but not to this extent,” Aura remarked. “I considered that we may have to offer Freya refuge here depending on how things develop, but I am glad that has not yet come to pass.”

Zenjirou shifted slightly at her words. “Yeah, you might not have to worry about that anymore.”

They had—at least to a certain extent—kept the things Zenjirou had brought from Earth away from Freya and the other Uppasalans.

“Well, it is rather too late, really. We know more or less what kind of person Freya is, and we need to build a relationship between our two countries. We should accept this level of risk, I believe.”

Zenjirou had already used the flashlight and camera in front of Freya without any real concern. The maids were also able to borrow the game console and the area the generator was set up was not really restricted. Indeed, as Aura said, it was a bit late to worry about it.

“Got it. I guess we should invite her to the main building at some point, then.”

“Leave that to me,” Aura replied. “You inviting her would cause issues. Of course, your permission is a major assumption with it.”

Zenjirou—now having two wives—understood what his first wife meant by that.

“Ah, yeah. I’ll count on you for that, then.”

If Zenjirou invited Freya to the main building it could be taken as Zenjirou only seeing the main building as his home rather than the inner palace as a home and that he was treating Freya as a guest.

“Well, we can leave things with Freya until later and just discuss what has happened.”

“True, although she is part of what has been happening here.”

Thus, the husband and wife launched into the now-familiar dance of updating each other on what each had been involved with.

“I see,” Aura said once Zenjirou had finished. “The Elehalieucco and Reierfon families are gifting you dash drakes to show their thanks. We will certainly be unable to refuse them.” She let out a breath.

“So we’ve gotta accept, then,” Zenjirou said, having expected as much.

“Indeed, dash drakes of stock restricted to the Elehalieucco and Reierfon families are their greatest treasure. Offering them as a gift is the greatest sign of thanks they could give. Refusing it—assuming we were not prepared to cut ties entirely—would be unwise.”

“Yeah, that figures. On top of that, if I didn’t ride it and just loaned it to someone like the bow, that’d be bad too, right?”

“It would. It would be different if you were considered elderly, but as you are not, avoiding that would be for the best.”

“Yeah, I thought so...”

Zenjirou slumped as she told him what he already knew. In other words, he’d now have to take the riding lessons he’d thus far avoided. Aura gave a half-smile at his reaction as she spoke.

“It is a rather unwelcome favor for you, I suppose. Normally, though, it would be worth cheering for joy. Frankly, I am somewhat envious. As far as I know, there has not been a single Capuan who has ever been gifted one.”

“Well, I am grateful for it.” Zenjirou shrugged. He was interested in riding a dash drake.

“As they will be traveling by land, it will be at least the active season before they arrive. There are several months until then, so perhaps it would be best to learn beforehand.”

Zenjirou understood there was no avoiding that, so he took things optimistically. “Got it. There’s no harm in learning, at least. Who am I learning with, though, and where?”

Zenjirou was royalty, after all. They could not just pick some knight who rode well to teach him. His instructor would need both the necessary skill and prestige to teach the prince consort. It also had to be someone who would not use the position for their own benefit.

“Well, I shall teach you the basics. We can get a particularly placid drake that the royal family owns and have it brought to the inner palace gardens. You can learn with that.”

Zenjirou was taken aback by her statement. “We can do that?”

“The gardens are large enough. I suppose we will have to take out several flowerbeds and only be able to have it walk or maybe run a little. Still, that will be enough to learn the fundamentals. Additionally, I can at least teach those fundamentals.”

He’d be taught in the inner palace by his wife. He could honestly look forward to that. If there was an issue, it would be that carrying out something of that scale in the inner palace would mean he would need to discuss it with his other wife first.

“What about Freya, then? She’ll definitely notice dash drakes in the garden, and I doubt she’d just keep quiet when she does.”

“True. Perhaps we should consider Freya and Lady Skaji joining in as well, then?”

Her comment was very convincing. Considering how Freya was, there was practically no chance she would pass up the opportunity to ride a dash drake. The same was even truer for Skaji. She was a skilled warrior and would not miss the chance to learn how to ride the most reliable form of transportation in this world.

“Yeah, I think that works.”

Without any real intent to do so, Zenjirou, his wife, and his concubine would likely be sharing an activity in the inner palace before too long.

“And the other one is to be for Carlos? That will be a good partner for him.”

For male royals, riding dash drakes was practically an indispensable skill. Apart from people like the prior king, Carlos II—who had been particularly frail—and Zenjirou—who had been brought up in another culture entirely—it was one of the first things they would learn. On the Southern Continent, a male royal who could not ride a dash drake was like an adult in Japan not having a standard car license.

Dash drakes lived much longer than horses and were considered juveniles for a long period. That meant that while there was a bottleneck waiting for them to grow old enough, they could also grow alongside their riders and be partners in the true sense of the world. Their longevity meant that it was rather common for a knight to use a single dash drake for the entirety of their service. With Carlos’s drake coming from the Reierfon’s drakes, not only would its abilities be higher than average, but so would the prestige of riding it.

“Would we bring up the drakeling in the inner palace to begin with?” Zenjirou asked.

“No,” Aura replied, shaking her head. “It will be brought up in the drake stables. Caring for a dash drake is a specialized job and unfortunately, one dominated by men. There are none who would be able to enter the inner palace, so that is the only choice.”

Naturally, the drake Zenjirou learned with would effectively commute to and from the inner palace each day.

“Are you going to be the one bringing them? There are others in the inner palace who can handle them, right?”

“I will have Ines and Margarette do so. They both can. I am unsure, but Louisa likely can as well.”

“Huh, I didn’t expect so many women to be able to ride them,” Zenjirou said, impressed.

“Well, the practice drake will be particularly docile to begin with. If you were to just lead it with the reins on foot rather than ride it, I would wager that you would be able to do so after the first day.”

“Nice, guess they’re clever.”

Zenjirou was looking forward to it more and more as Aura continued. Regardless, they were done discussing the drakes for now, so they moved on to the next topic.

“Prince Largo’s request is much more of a problem. Whether we can immediately provide forty of the jewels, it is not impossible with a little leeway. Our manufacturing has progressed to that point.”

The craftsmen were more familiar with things and so were producing them more quickly. They still hadn’t solved the issue of burning out the furnaces as they made them, so they would plateau before long, although Völundr was likely to be able to help there.

Aura’s comments made Zenjirou suddenly pick up the thread of the conversation.

“Talking about glass production, there’s that letter from Priest Yan I showed you.”

“The introduction to the Glassworkers of Bohevia? I would like to get that moving as much as we can, but it involves the Northern Continent. We should shelve it for the time being.”

“Got it.”

Either way, even as things stood now, Largo’s request was something they could accept.

“We would be paid by an enchanter under an exclusive contract for two years. That is...certainly tempting. Very much so, but the location is another matter.”

She let out a concerned sigh. With the production of marbles, even two years would be enough for a significant number of magic tools. The issue was that even while under the exclusive contract, they had been told the enchanter would remain in the Twin Kingdoms. The requests, along with the exchange of marbles and magic tools, would have to be done by Zenjirou using teleportation.

“Well, that’s what they’re after. They want me somewhere I’m convenient for travel.”

Aura nodded.

“Likely so, yes. They are well aware of the utility of having someone who can cast the spell within their borders. That reminds me, Talajeh certainly didn’t let the opportunity slip by.”

“Yeah, I’m not sure whether to call her stubborn, but she definitely doesn’t shy away from effort to earn her money.”

Indeed, Talajeh had used teleportation from both Aura and Zenjirou while the latter was in the Twin Kingdoms to carry out a round trip herself. She had, it seemed, run out of stock to sell. She’d therefore grabbed the opportunity with both hands, a true businesswoman.

“She even said she wants me to send her to the Northern Continent if she can get permission from the leaders in the Twin Kingdoms.”

“You cannot doubt her spirit, at least. Though there is no way they will allow that,” Aura said with a chuckle.

The Elementaccato metalwork would have likely sold gangbusters even in the Northern Continent, and there were products there that would sell on the Southern Continent as well, but such adventure was more than a daughter of the ducal families would be permitted to undertake.

“Well, forget about that. What do you think about this exclusive contract?”

“Hmm...” Aura murmured, falling into thought. There were advantages and disadvantages alike to accepting it. They had more or less succeeded in the mass production of marbles, so that wasn’t an issue. They could get the required number with a little patience. The temptation of the contract itself went without saying. There were many magic tools Aura would want made—both as precautions against the Northern Continent and in a more general sense.

There was just one problem. It would require Zenjirou to regularly stay within the Twin Kingdoms. That was a large negative to the agreement. Zenjirou himself didn’t really realize it, but he was currently fulfilling a large number of duties. He stood in for Aura, had his own duties as Duke Bilbo, and also had to periodically visit the Northern Continent as Freya’s husband. None of them were particularly difficult or laborious, but there were annoyances involved with each of them that required his status, so there was no one who could substitute for him.

At a push, Natalio might be able to fill in for a small portion of his role as the duke with his own position as the leader of Zenjirou’s knights. Zenjirou had found himself somewhat sympathetic to the knight, whose rights and duties had both grown far beyond what he had first expected, much to his distress.

Despite all that, though, the exclusive contract was tempting. Once she had thought it all over, the queen gave her response.

“I wish to accept it. However, we need more details. We have to avoid any chance of you being detained in the Twin Kingdoms for more than a year.”

The word “detained” made it sound rather chilling, but it wasn’t as dangerous as it sounded. The leaders of the country were by no means foolish enough to physically restrain him within the country. Instead, they would treat him well enough that he would remain out of his own free will. Still, Aura wanted to avoid him spending too much time there.

“Ah, yeah. Fiqriya and Talajeh have both invited me to their territories,” Zenjirou recalled with a rueful smile.

Their two families—the Animeeums and Elementaccatos—were the two ducal families that had settled and had static capitals for their territories. The Animeeum’s was on a huge salt lake, while the Elementaccato’s was established near a massive gold mine. The main issue with both of them was their locations deep in the desert, so coming and going from the capital was a significant undertaking.

The two women’s invitations would mean that he could teleport to either location directly, and he could understand their desire for that.

Her husband’s amusement must have been contagious because Aura offered a huff of amusement herself before speaking.

“It is only natural they would wish for that considering their positions. However, there is an order to such things; if you are visiting mines in foreign lands, you should have at least visited our own first.”

“Right, the silver mine in Potosi. The only place I can visit myself in the west is Valentia. I’ll visit it at some point to take a photo,” he chuckled.

The capital they called home was—roughly speaking—in the center of the country. There were important locations in all compass directions. To the east was Fort Montjuïc. To the west was the port city of Valentia. To the south was the mining city of Potosi. Finally, to the north was the old capital, now the capital of the Lara family’s territory.

Each of the four was a vital location to the country, and they were also perfect points to split the country into four. The Capua family’s gift of teleportation could fundamentally be used to visit anywhere a specific member had been before, but it could only be used if they could form a clear mental image of the location.

Therefore, the royal family prioritized those four locations as places to link the capital via teleportation.

Since Zenjirou’s first location after the capital was the capital of the Twin Kingdoms, and the one after that was the capital of Uppasala, his destinations had expanded in a rather unique way compared to the norm. He couldn’t put off the four main locations in his homeland forever. The only one of them he currently had was Valentia, and it would be for the best if the other three were among his possible destinations. For Zenjirou, he had the advantage of his camera, so if he visited at least once to take a picture, he should be able to cope in the future.

“We’re getting a bit off-topic, but essentially we’re going to accept, right?”

“Indeed.” Aura nodded. “It will be more work for you, but the opportunity is too good to pass up.”

“Got it. Maybe I should set the music player recording while I’m at it?”

Aura immediately understood the implication and considered it before shaking her head. “No, we should avoid that. It is rather tempting, but stealing their incantations will not end well. We would be better served by an official contract to gain them.”

Capua currently had Carlos Zenkichi as someone with the lineal magic of enchantment running in their veins. If Zenjirou gained a concubine from the Sharou family as well, then there would likely be more of them on the way as well. The issue that then arose was that while they would have people capable of casting the spells, those people would be unable to do so without already knowing the incantations.

Capua also had Espiridion, a powerhouse of magic research, so it would not be impossible to develop the spells themselves. Still, it would be much better to have the Sharou family teach them to begin with. Stealing the incantations like Zenjirou had implied would lead to friction in the future. Considering that, an official agreement would be for the best. Using the recorder as a learning tool would be perfect, but doing so without permission would lead to far too many problems further down the line and wasn’t the best choice for them to make.

After parsing all of that, Aura was somewhat taken aback. “I must say, I am rather surprised to hear such a suggestion from you, Zenjirou. It seems unlike you to offer such dishonest methods.”

Zenjirou shifted guiltily. “Yeah, well, I’m kinda anxious, I guess.”

Aura’s expression grew graver at that. “Anxious? Well, impressions from people directly on the scene are vital.”

Any anxiety from Zenjirou would be due to what he had seen of the Northern Continent’s development. Considering he had seen it with his own eyes, Aura’s position as queen meant that she could not just dismiss it out of hand.

“Very well. We shall focus more on it,” she said.

Aura felt that she was aware of the threat the Northern Continent posed by taking into account the information from Zenjirou and Freya as well as the photos of the city. However, she still wasn’t as anxious about things as Zenjirou. That was why despite the “honesty” of the discussion with Bruno, it had still been them feeling each other out and shifting things for their individual benefit.

Naturally, the honesty itself wasn’t a lie. Compared to the norm, it had been an awfully frank discussion. The discussion itself had been worthwhile. However...

“Perhaps we took it too lightly,” Aura murmured.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

Several days later, in the early morning, the gardens of the inner palace were home to a somewhat odd sight. There were two creatures within them that were far from the general vibes of the area.

“Seeing them from up close, they really are large. I’ve ridden in carriages several times, but this is the first time I’ve been in touching distance of one of the drakes,” came Freya’s excited voice.

Exactly as they had expected, once Freya had heard about Aura and Zenjirou holding a lesson in the gardens, Freya had practically leaped at the chance.

Aura, Freya, and Zenjirou were all not in their usual dresses and traditional outfits. Instead, they were wearing clothes that were easy to move in for riding. Skaji was wearing the same, but that was her normal type of dress.

Seeing both his wives wearing pants again made him offer honest compliments—albeit after a moment’s hesitation.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you wearing that kind of outfit, Aura. You still seem right at home in it, though. Freya, I saw you in your captain’s uniform a lot during the trip, but I think the last time I saw you in that outfit was in the Gaziel March? It suits you.”

While he meant what he said, actually saying it aloud was purposeful. Interacting with both of his wives at the same time, Zenjirou was rather nervous and wary. He had already experienced similar feelings in the public eye several times, but doing so in the private area of the inner palace was honestly rather nerve-racking.

Neither of the two women was dense enough to miss his thinking, but fortunately, neither was insensitive enough to follow up on it. Both accepted his clumsy praise with their own replies.

“Thank you. It does not hurt on occasion, does it?”

“Thank you, Sir Zenjirou. I would personally rather wear this kind of thing normally, but if I got too used to it, I could make a mistake during public functions, so I usually take more care.”

While Zenjirou breathed a sigh of relief, the two women exchanged quick glances. Both of them had considered a joking competition with each other, but they could tell that Zenjirou wasn’t in a position where he’d be able to take it as humor. The look they exchanged was an agreement to take things seriously, be cordial, and only focus on the lesson itself. With that promise in place, the two did their best to follow it.

“It is still the blazing season, so we have little time. I suggest we start immediately if everyone is willing?” Aura asked.

Zenjirou hadn’t seen the exchange between the two and just nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. It’s plenty hot already, so we can’t spend too long out here.”

During the blazing season, the hours around noon were for rest, which meant the only times you could be physically active were in the early morning and the late evenings before the sun set.

There were fountains across the gardens, so it was cooler than other areas but—disregarding the area directly around them—it was within the margin of error overall.

“In which case, let’s get started straight away,” Freya pressed cheerily. She was the least able to deal with the heat of anyone present.

Zenjirou had expected as much, but she seemed to be rather looking forward to learning the lesson. Considering he didn’t really wish to learn how to ride but instead needed to, her reaction was somewhat overwhelming for him.

The absolute first step when learning how to ride was learning how to mount the drake. Just as Aura had told him, the dash drake was very intelligent and knelt down in front of Zenjirou, bending its neck to make it as easy as possible to climb on. It was still extremely tall, though. Dash drakes were several times larger than the biggest of horses to begin with. Even kneeling down like it was, the only way Zenjirou could describe getting up was by “clambering.” Using the stirrups and short rope ladder hanging from the saddle, he managed to make his way up.

Zenjirou couldn’t believe the short ladder worked like stabilizers for a bike, where once someone had learned to ride, they didn’t need it anymore. It seemed that to really master the skill, you needed to be able to jump at least sixty centimeters into the air.

“Ah, guh...”

“What is it? Are you okay?” Aura asked with concern from the two-person saddle as Zenjirou stifled a groan in front of her.

Aura was there as guidance and assistance, so she was sitting behind him. Dash drakes were sturdy and strong enough that in terms of both space and weight, two adults were no concern. The Southern Continent’s climate meant that people didn’t wear metal armor, but a dash drake could still carry a fully laden knight over long distances. The combined weight of both Zenjirou and Aura was no concern at all.

The reason for his groan was simply that it felt like his crotch was about to split. Sitting on top of a large animal was completely different than doing the same with a bike or motorbike. A horse’s back was much wider than a saddle for either vehicle, and the drake’s was wider still. As a result, Zenjirou’s legs were wide enough apart that he’d have almost sworn he heard an ominous sound coming from between them.

“I-I’m fine, but my legs...”

“Are in the wrong place,” Aura picked up. “You should not sit with them straight, instead put both of your knees further forward and lower yourself, like you were sitting in a chair.”

Zenjirou corrected his posture following her advice and was in a slightly more comfortable position. However, moving his knees forward made him feel like his upper body was going to fall back. Aura seemed to realize that as he looked back and she put a hand on his shoulder.

“You are fine. You will not fall back. You do not simply fall backwards if you use a stool with no back, do you? If by some chance you do fall, I will catch you.”

“Ah, yeah. Thanks, Aura.”

He was somewhat embarrassed about needing her to help with everything, but his voice wasn’t as tense anymore and he managed to relax his muscles slightly.

“Good. Now you need the drake to stand. Do you remember how?”

Zenjirou thought back to the commands he had already learned. “Yeah, I do... Stand!”

As he said the last words, he tapped his heels against the drake’s flank from where they were in the stirrups.

Dash drakes responded very well to their rider’s commands.

“Whoa!”

“It is okay, this drake is well trained. You would normally never fall.”

Indeed, the drake had stood up in a rather unnatural way, making things as easy as possible for its rider. It shifted from having its legs bent to straight, while keeping the saddle on its back almost perfectly level. This was clearly done to ease the burden on the rider rather than because that was how it would naturally get up.

Incidentally, drakes used in the military were selected for their temperament and running ability, so they were not trained like this. Therefore, it was not uncommon for them to shift quickly to the left and right as they stood up. If the rider fell from the momentary rodeo, it was considered the rider who was at fault, not the drake.

Despite that, even the special training this drake had was a worthy challenge for Zenjirou, who had never ridden before. As to what the challenge itself was, that would be its height. A normal horse was about 170 centimeters tall, but a dash drake was another 50 centimeters taller than that. Considering he was sitting over two meters in the air on an unstable surface, it was hardly a surprise an unfamiliar rider would be afraid.

With the soft support of his wife’s hand on his back, Zenjirou managed to steady himself.

“Are you settled?” Aura asked. “If you feel ready, you can have it walk.”

Zenjirou took a deep breath, centering himself before giving the drake its next command. “R-Right. Forward!”

As he called out the command, he lightly used his right heel to tap at the drake’s side.

The intelligent dash drake began slowly walking off. While Zenjirou and Aura were taking care of the former’s first ride, Freya and Skaji were watching silently. There was another drake there, so they could learn at the same time if they were using the two maids who also had the skill. However, they hesitated to do that.

Learning from just a maid with her confidant was too depressing while Zenjirou was having fun with his wife. There were occasions where emotions should be prioritized, even if it was somewhat less efficient.

Freya’s gaze followed Zenjirou and Aura as the drake walked, turned, stopped, and set off again. While it was somewhat rude of her to think it, he was doing better than she had expected.

“Perhaps it’s fairly similar to riding a horse,” she commented.

“It seems to have a lot in common,” Skaji agreed. “You may end up learning faster than me, in fact.”

The Uppasalan horses were on the larger side for horses, so even Skaji—who was relatively bulky for a woman—could ride while fully equipped. However, it still was the case that riders did better if they were smaller and lighter. Horseback riding was, therefore, one of the few pursuits in which the princess outstripped her retainer.

Freya knew that, but she still considered it fully before eventually offering a calm conclusion. “I am not so sure about that. I only do better than you due to my size. In terms of actual skill, you are better. With a dash drake, I can see that becoming the case as well.”

Dash drakes were bigger and hardier than horses, so much so that no horse could hold a candle to them in strength. There was not a single dash drake that wasn’t capable of carrying even Pujol’s two-meter frame, so Skaji should be nothing to them.

“It is tempting to think that way. However, they seem more intelligent than I had expected. They seem to understand what we’re saying, even.”

The middle-aged maid holding the other drake’s reins offered an easy agreement. “They do. While it is only the case for particularly intelligent drakes, some can be commanded with just verbal instructions alone.” After she said that, the maid spoke to the drake itself. “Head down.”

The drake then lowered its head from its initially towering viewpoint to the maid’s eye level.

“Good drake,” she told it, stroking its head.

The drake let out a pleased trill as it closed its eyes.

“Incredible. Can I stroke it too?” Freya asked with sparkling eyes.

The drake’s response was even more surprising to them than its earlier actions. With a grunt, it twisted to hold its head out to Freya.

“Huh?”

“Well now, that is a surprise,” Skaji remarked.

The maid smiled softly at their widened eyes. “Please go ahead. Because of its intelligence and temperament, this drake is particularly friendly.”

“Ah, of course,” Freya replied, stroking the drake’s head. Its skin was smoother and more pleasant to the touch than she had expected. The heat of its skin was likely due to the sunlight beaming down on it. All drakes on the Southern Continent—not just the dash drakes—were cold-blooded; their body temperatures changed with their environment, as did their activity levels.

“It really is intelligent,” she remarked, impressed as she continued to run her hand over its head.

The drake made a rolling noise in its throat as if to wave off the praise.

“Dash drakes that are this intelligent are rather rare. Drakes that are this well-tempered are even rarer. Conversely, drakes that are intelligent but unfriendly are a real issue.”

“Ah, I can understand that.”

“That would be a problem,” Skaji added.

Both of them could see exactly where the maid was coming from. This was the first time they’d been near a dash drake, but both of them had experience with horses. Horses had their own personalities and different levels of capability. Because of that, they knew just how much of an issue an intelligent—but belligerent—animal could be. In some ways, they were even harder to deal with than animals that were both unintelligent and unfriendly.

While it was hard to train an unintelligent animal, even those animals would follow their training once it was done. Because of their lack of intelligence, they couldn’t think of disobeying. Additionally, they couldn’t tell people apart and would mostly follow commands from anyone once they had been trained.

However, intelligent animals were incredible at telling the difference between people. That distinction then led to a difference in behavior. Those they liked would find themselves obeyed to an almost shocking degree, while those they didn’t would be made utter fools of, not obeyed in the slightest. Additionally, if an amateur gave the wrong command by mistake, they would essentially launch into carrying it out, enjoying making life difficult for the humans.

While that conversation was going on, Zenjirou and Aura had finished their initial lesson.

“Stop,” Zenjirou said, pulling on the reins. The dash drake followed the order, stopping. However, if you had been watching closely you would have noticed that it had begun to stop before Zenjirou had actually pulled on the reins, just after he’d given the command.

“Um...is that a problem?” Freya found herself quietly asking the maid at her side.

She thought that surely the drake obeying with just the verbal command wasn’t good for learning how to actually ride one.

The maid answered just as quietly. “It is fine to begin with. The main thing to start is learning what it feels like to have the drake moving as you wish.”

That was possibly something that Freya didn’t truly understand. While she was slight for her Svean blood, she was very active and just as courageous. That meant that she had no reservations about riding either a horse or a drake. However, most people would feel some level of fear at riding such a massive creature.

That was why dash drakes that were very accommodating were used to begin with, to ease the fear of riding them. It wasn’t an incorrect way of doing things, but it did mean that you had to progress to learning how to handle a “normal” dash drake or you could end up taking things too lightly and getting hurt.

That was hardly likely to be a concern for Zenjirou, though. He was still nervous even getting down from the standing drake.

“Good work, Sir Zenjirou,” Freya said, taking the towel offered by the insightful maid as she jogged over to him once he finally managed to get down.