Chapter 7: Promise (part 2)

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.

"Weist," 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 GodProtected 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 entirely.

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."

"...Right," I said slowly.

I dunno. I felt like I had been the future balance of power between the two of us

get decided right there.

Liscia had shown so much spirit. I couldn't keep pathetically waffling any longer.

I walked over to Aisha. Aisha, the fearless warrior of the battlefield, had eyes that

were trembling with uncertainty.

Oh, geez, don't look at me like that, I silently pleaded.

"Aisha," I said.

"Y-Yes!"

"So... will you marry me?"

She inhaled sharply. "Yes! It would be my pleasure!"

I refrained from any quips about how her response made her sound like a server

responding to orders at a Japanese-style pub. My face was burning with

embarrassment.

In among all the smiles, I could see Sir Wodan's face dripping with all the

complicated feelings of being a father.

I said to him, using not the tone I would usually use as king, but a tone used

towards those above you, "...This is how it turned out. I'll come to formally give you

my regards at a later date, Father."

"Yes," he said, smiling. "I will be waiting. Son."

Thus, Aisha became my second fiancée.

With a second primary queen chosen...

"Finally, that's one less burden on my mind," Marx said with an expression of

relief. Marx had felt a sense of crisis about the shortage of royals brought on by the

succession crisis after the reign of the king before the last one. That was why, with

my formal marriage to Liscia not having taken place yet, he was constantly

badgering me, "Get more wives, make more babies." He didn't even seem to care if

they were conceived out of wedlock.

That aside... what was I going to do with the kochiji title I'd come up with now? I

couldn't very well make one of my queens act like a personal bodyguard.