After-Story Chapter 25: The Eighth Consort (Part 2)
“Phew~…”
It was an autumn morning. Black Dragon Naden soared effortlessly across the sky. The warm morning sunlight and gentle breeze felt so good that I, riding on Naden’s back, couldn’t help but let out a big yawn.
Then, Naden asked through telepathy, ‘What’s wrong, Souma? Are you short on sleep?’
“Ah… yeah. The next summit is approaching, preparations for the new aircraft carrier’s completion ceremony are underway, and there’s the charity event being led by Maria and Juna with Roroa’s cooperation… My schedule’s been packed. I’ve been wrestling with mountains of paperwork on my desk and only managed to see the end of it late last night.”
‘That sounds… tiring.’
“It was. This time was seriously tough…”
It had been a long time since I was this busy. And I feel like I’m getting tired faster than before. I’m over thirty now; it seems I can no longer rely on the sheer stamina I had in my late teens and early twenties to power through state affairs. Ah… The younger generation is growing, and I wish I could pass the throne to Cyan soon. Maybe in about five more years. As I sighed, lost in such thoughts,
‘Well, why don’t you relax at her house today? You can probably feel more at ease there than at the castle, can’t you?’ Naden said (telepathically) with a deliberately cheerful voice, perhaps trying to cheer me up.
The royal castle is both my home and workplace, which makes it hard to distinguish between work hours and private time. Even if I take a vacation, officials will still come calling if an urgent matter arises. That’s why…
“Having a second house outside is a huge relief.”
‘Those are words straight from the heart… But isn’t that why those weird rumors are circulating?’
“Hmm? You mean the eighth consort thing?”
‘Yeah. It’s a trashy rumor, and they’ll never find the truth, but doesn’t it bother you, Souma?’
“I figure, just let them talk if it’s that level of rumor. People only start rumors when they lack excitement, and a lack of excitement is proof that this country is peaceful. Besides… I can’t completely deny the rumor. Rather than making a half-baked excuse and inviting bad speculation, it’s better to let them say whatever outlandish thing they want.”
‘Hmm… Well, if that’s what you want.’
As we were talking, we reached the airspace above our destination. It was a town not too far from the city walls of the Royal Capital Parnam. Although it had no surrounding walls, it was located along a highway, had branches of various professional guilds, and was reasonably bustling.
We landed secretly in a forest near a single private house on a hill outside that town. The Black Dragon Naden is conspicuous, so this forest was designated as royal property and maintained as Naden’s secret landing spot to ensure we could embark and disembark without being seen. The Black Cat Unit, which patrols this area for a certain reason, is also stationed here and keeps people away, so in a sense, this forest is treated as a restricted area.
“Well then, I’ll come pick you up tomorrow morning,” said Naden, transforming into a human after dropping me off in the forest.
“Ah. Thank you, Naden.”
“…Well, take it easy today. See you.” With that, Naden changed back into her Black Dragon form and soared into the sky again.
After waving Naden goodbye, I left the forest and headed for the house. Approaching the house, I walked around to the back instead of the front entrance. I knew that “she would be there.”
And sure enough, when I went around to the back of the house, I found the female resident, Juno, hanging laundry on a rope strung between two trees.
“~♪~♪~♪”
Wearing an apron, she was cheerfully humming a tune while hanging tiny children’s clothes. Next to her was a squat, plump shadow handing her the laundry. I approached her and called out,
“Hey.”
“Hmm? Ah, welcome back.”
She stopped what she was doing and smiled at me. At the same time, the plump mass beside her waddled over to me. It had a nearly two-head-high body, a white cloth on its head, a basket on its back, but it wasn’t holding its favorite naginata right now. Its round body resembled Doraemon, or President Aria, no, it was Musashi Boy-kun.
I placed my hand on Musashi Boy-kun’s head and withdrew one of the consciousnesses I had placed inside it via [Living Poltergeists]. I don’t think leaving it in would cause an issue, but if the main body is also in the same place, having two consciousnesses in one space gets confusing.
She then pointed at Musashi Boy-kun, who was now just a costume. “I heard from my ‘husband’ that you were busy with work, but are you alright?”
“No, really… I managed to finish it. It was incredibly tough…” I said, recalling the days of overwork up until yesterday.
“Well, you must be tired then. I’ll take care of you once I finish hanging the laundry,” she said with a cheeky smile. This easygoing attitude hasn’t changed since we first met.
I walked closer to her and picked up the laundry basket that Musashi Boy-kun had been holding. “I’ll help, Juno.”
“Oh. Thanks, Souma.”
And so, Juno and I stood side-by-side, hanging the laundry.
The origin of this can be traced back several years, around the time Juno’s adventurer party broke up. Juno and her party, with the backing of the Kingdom of Friedonia’s leadership, including Souma, had been adventuring in the Northern Hemisphere earlier than most other adventurers. After several years of activity, once they had become accustomed to life in the North,
“Diss and I are thinking of making a ‘happily ever after’ retirement soon,” Julia, the female mage and one of the party members, announced at a dinner attended by all members in a corner of the Adventurers Guild cafeteria. Dis, by the way, was the swordsman who led the party.
At her announcement, the remaining members—Juno (female thief), Febral (priest), and Augus (pugilist)—all reacted calmly:
(Ah, it’s that time already.)
The profession of adventurer was one full of dungeon-exploring romance, but it also had the aspect of being a handyman who fulfilled civilian requests during peacetime. Recently, the exploration of the Northern Hemisphere had been added to their duties, but the fact that it was physically demanding work remained unchanged. The average retirement age for adventurers was around their late thirties for men and late twenties for women.
The reason women retired earlier was the desire to ‘stop doing dangerous work, get married, have children, and start a family.’ However, this was generally the case for women of Human or Beastmen races with normal lifespans. Female adventurers of long-lived races like the Elves could easily continue adventuring for over a hundred years. Furthermore, some Human women who preferred adventuring over settling down would also continue their profession.
However, it was well-known that Julia, a Human, was romantically involved with Diss, the swordsman, and Juno and the others understood that if she was planning on getting married, her late twenties would be the time to retire. Augus looked at Diss.
“Are you retiring, too, Dis? I get Julia. She’s almost thirty an— (thud) GWAAAH!!”
Augus suddenly tumbled off his chair and writhed while clutching his shins. It seemed he had been violently kicked under the table. No one mentioned who the culprit was.
Febral cleared his throat to change the subject. “I understand that the two of you are retiring to get married. However, couldn’t Dis continue even after marriage? Considering ease of child-rearing, you’ll probably return to the Landia Continent, but there should be work for you on the other continent, too.”
“Y-Yeah. That’s what I was going to say,” Augus agreed, having recovered from the pain.
Diss nodded. “Yeah. I thought about that, but… the truth is, you know?”
“? What do you mean?”
“We’ve earned more than enough since coming to the North, haven’t we?”
“…”
Juno and Febral understood what Diss was implying. When dealing with unknown monsters and creatures in the Northern world, their materials would accumulate. Since these materials were unknown in the Southern world, they often fetched high prices. Adventurers, who once earned money solely through their strength, were usually resigned to the status of low-income earners unless they were truly skilled. However, since the opening of the Northern world, it had become a frontier-spirited profession where one could aim for a fortune.
Dis’s party, which was one of the first to enter the Northern world (thanks to Juno’s connection with Souma), had managed to earn a significant amount.
“Well, it’s true we have a decent amount of savings.”
“Enough to fund a second career with plenty to spare.” Juno and Febral agreed, but Augus looked clueless.
“Huh? You guys have that much savings?”
“Well, it’s not going to pile up if you spend your income the day you get it or constantly upgrade your gear, like you,” Juno said with a look of exasperation. To be fair, a certain number of adventurers like Augus prioritize enjoying the present over saving, given that their lives are constantly on the line.
Dis spoke up. “So, that’s why I decided that after marrying Julia, I want to go back to the Kingdom of Friedonia and live a peaceful life. It’s not that I’ve lost my sense of adventure, but I want to protect Julia and the children we’ll eventually have more than anything.”
“Dis…”
“What about you three after we leave? Are you going to continue being adventurers?” Dis asked.
Juno, Febral, and Augus exchanged glances. First, Febral, and then Augus, spoke up.
“In that case, I would like to return to the Kingdom of Friedonia, too. I’ve gained knowledge about Northern monsters, and I’ve always wanted to contribute to the advancement of monsterology at the Royal Academy.”
“I’m still going to be an adventurer. I want to go as far as I can in this world. I could join another party, or it might be fun to start a new one.”
Febral announced his intention to switch to an academic career, and Augus confirmed he would continue being an adventurer. It seemed the disbandment of the party was certain.
In that case… the gazes of Dis, Julia, Febral, and Augus all fell on Juno.
“Juno? What do you want to do?”
“M-Me?” Juno blinked when Dis asked her.
Juno was in her late twenties, with thirty approaching fast. She was still young enough to continue adventuring for a while, but the disbandment of her party seemed like the right time to think about her future. Did she want to continue adventuring, get married, have children, or was there something else she wanted to do?
“Ugh… It’s hard to say on the spot…” As various thoughts swam in her head, Julia chuckled.
“If you’re so troubled, why don’t you go consult with someone?”
“Consult? Not with you guys?”
“Don’t you have someone else you trust besides us, Juno?”
When Julia said that, the image of a squat, plump silhouette, and the face of the man who was the body’s owner, came to Juno’s mind. …She realized that he and the people around him would surely listen seriously to her concerns.
(…Maybe I should go to the ‘tea party’ after all this time.)
Juno made up her mind.
