V6C2
Volume Six, Chapter Two: Raptor
"I have a bad feeling about this," Aoi said on the deck of the high-speed sailboat bound for Yamato.
"I understand. It's just a woman's intuition," Mitsuki followed.
I wonder why. Ever since that moment when the atmosphere seemed to freeze with Murasaki's few words, I noticed that Aoi, Mitsuki, and the other girls around me became unusually guarded.
It feels like being surrounded by early-stage Mikasa from Attack on Titan.
"In any case, going to the port is dangerous. Let's infiltrate the mountainside with Wyverns," Aoi looked around at everyone.
"Isn't this sense of unease just an overreaction?" I said, and Appolito nodded.
"It's not like someone is after our lives. Right, brothers?"
"Well, there might be something even more dangerous," Aoi looked concerned.
"Oh, don't tell me..." Murasaki's eyes widened.
"Huh? Isn't that just an urban legend?" Mitsuki tilted her head.
"No, it's real," Aoi and Murasaki answered simultaneously.
"But using raptors by the royal family, and even the savior?" Mitsuki asked suspiciously.
"Yes, because raptors are the nesting place of the royal family," Aoi's face grew fierce.
"Really? Is that true?" Mitsuki looked skeptical.
"Raptors usually serve their partners with a gentle smile and care, but when the moment comes, they attack mercilessly," Murasaki imitated a carnivorous animal's gesture.
"What's that?" I asked curiously.
"I don't know much about Yamato," Appolito also tilted his head.
"In this scenario, both the king and my father might use raptors soon," Aoi stated with narrowed eyes.
"What is that raptor thing, anyway?" I couldn't take it anymore and asked.
"It's a general term for the terrifying women who attack the men Yamato targets, force them into marriage, and get themselves pregnant," Murasaki answered.
"Huh? Really?"
"Yes, fathers, kings, and even dukes have the philosophy of 'we would rather die than surrender.' So they definitely want to involve Lord Yuuki in their circumstances. The aging is a result of the raptors taking advantage of them. I've done some research. If a husband has about five wives, even the royal family can stay quite young," Aoi said seriously.
"Really?"
"Yes, dukes or higher have at least fifteen wives each."
"Fifteen?"
"What are you talking about?" Appolito asked, looking puzzled.
"Brothers, remember when we met the royal family and the dukes from Yamato the other day? How old did they appear?" I asked Appolito.
"Let me see. They were probably over sixty. I don't think any of them were over seventy," Appolito replied.
"They were in their forties," I said.
"What? How come?"
"They were drained of their youth by the raptors."
"They said they use healing magic to take care of all of them every day," I told Appolito.
"Huh? All of them? Isn't that unreasonable? In other countries, men might have a maximum of four wives, and they wouldn't be with all of them every day," Appolito seemed quite surprised.
"In Yamato, it's every day, with all of them. And a minimum of three times for each," Murasaki explained.
"Three times!"
Yes, the king does it with over sixty women every day?
And they say that blood comes out...
It's a scary country.
"It's about time for the raptors to start moving. Especially the king and the father might provoke them instead."
"Right, Yamato also enforces forced marriages for men if they have children. Brothers," Appolito's expression stiffened.
"Yeah, there's no doubt about it," I shuddered as I answered.
"In any case, it's dangerous to proceed to the port like this. Let's move with the Wyverns for now," Aoi suggested, and with mechanical movements like clockwork dolls, Appolito and I nodded.