Chapter 83.2: We Gather Under The Black Flag IV – (2) (2/2)

「She's the princess of Heures Forest」

She's been disowned though.

「Ku, kukuku, the princess, of a forest」

Maria burst out laughing.

「Pfff, the princess, of a forest, on the incredibly rural, right continent, you say?」

Maria said, in between fits of laughter.

I'm so angry that I'm quivering. If you say any more, even if you’re a woman, I’ll punch you in the face.

「Maria, don't laugh at the wives of other people's vassals. Some countries have gone to war over such things」

Dugan said the most obvious thing.

I'm late to say it, but he’s a pretty sensible person. It seems like he also goes through a lot of hardship.

「Hmm, Souya. So you're married. What kind of woman is she? It's quite an unusual thing too, for your wife to be an elf」

「She's a big-boobed elf who’s super cute, gentle, and has big boobs!」

I answered His Majesty's question while still tense with anger.

「Ohh, how big are they?」

Dugan asked with great interest.

「One is about the size of two of the apples I gave you」

「Oho. There are such elves on the right continent, huh?」

「That's disrespectful, you guys」

Maria looked angry.

Even though she’s just a flat-chested elf.

「Well, mine are going to grow bigger from now on」

Said Regure with a scowl.

「Is that how it works?」

「That's right, because they'll be full of milk to feed the child」

「Oho」

Maria acts like a child though.

………And, what were we talking about again?

「Then Souya will be my husband. There's no problem with that, right?」

「There is nothing but problems. I adamantly refuse」

「Are you sure? Ashtalia will be destroyed, you know?」

「What?!」

This is ridiculous. I didn't expect that whether or not I let myself be married off is what will decide the future of the country.

「Souya, there's no need to force yourself. The only woman I loved from the bottom of my heart was my late wife. If you have a chance to be reunited with her in the land of the living, then you should remain faithful to her」

「Your Majesty~, this guy has already laid his hands on his mistress and sister, so it’s already too late to talk about him being faithful」

Regure, you snitch!

「Souya! You can't do that!」

「I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but the most I've done with my mistress is kiss, and for my sister, all I’ve done is bathe naked with her」

「All heroes love women. I've got 20 wives!」

His Majesty was angry at me while Dugan was proud of me.

「And! You and I will be married! There's no escape for you!」

Maria was in a bad temper.

「I………………understand」

I can't afford to keep wavering and be of two minds about it. Maria has a childish temperament. It would be troublesome if she changed her mind for some weird reason.

Rana, I'm sorry. I'll apologize as much as you want when I return. I'll dogeza or do whatever you want me to do.

But right now, I want to protect this country no matter what. I have a feeling that if I can protect Ashtalia and His Majesty, something will change inside this piece of trash that’s bent on dying.

Just like the time I protected you, I’ll have one more thing that I can be proud of in my life.

「I'm also a man. I've resolved myself. Black elf, let's get married」

「Yes, let's do it. By the way………how do you make children?」

『………………』

Everyone other than Maria fell silent.

This girl is truly just a child, isn’t she? Is the new Vindoobunikuru army really going to okay?

「Dainsleif, are you seeing this? Your vassals have gone so far for your sake. You would be far too foolish to not respond to them」

「It's no good after all」

「Your Majesty!」

Even I couldn't help but raise my voice.

There's a limit to how stubborn a person can be. I think that something like that is great, but I even promised to marry someone behind Rana's back. Regure also………oh, she's just being true to her desires.

「I'm a failure as a king. To even allow my vassal to make such a sacrifice for me…… For that reason, I'll leave it to my daughter, Amelia, to decide. I'll entrust all of Ashtalia to its crown princess. I'm giving up my position as king. From tomorrow on, I'll wield my sword under you as a mere warrior」

「I see! I see!」

Dugan slapped his knee happily.

「I'll definitely not let your courage go to waste. I promise to restore the ruined Ashtalia back to how it was, no, I'll make it more prosperous than before」

「Hmm, Dugan, but I won’t give my daughter's hand in marriage to your son」

「You'll have to fold on that one. Just resign yourself」

「Urgh, I was hoping to have Souya be Amelia's husband after my death, but was that just a fleeting dream?」

「Are you serious?!」

Ehh, I would be more than happy to have His Majesty as my father-in-law though. Amelia-san looks cute after all.

Even more so because I have a shitty elf as my father-in-law right now.

「You guys, don't advance the conversation without me. Hmm?」

I heard a sound similar to radio static.

Maria took out an old, large communication device from her hip. It was an early handheld transceiver. It had been subtly modified in a way I had never seen before.

「Yes, we’ve reached an agreement. There are no problems. ………What, there's a problem? Isn't it fine, I'm also……yeah, you're right. Alright alright, I know I know. ………Okay~!」

To the people of the alternate world, she only looks like a person who's out of her mind.

Everyone except for Dugan and me watched her with quizzical expressions.

「Dugan, I'll leave the rest to you. I have to introduce my husband to my father」

「Alright, leave it to me. Give my regards to Tortch」

「Souya, take my hand」

「Huh, okay」

When I took Maria's hand, my vision was engulfed by light, and then I lost all sense of gravity.

I fell onto a cold floor.

The scenery had changed completely.

Where is Souya now, and who is Maria’s “father”, Tortch?!

Before that, Souya got himself married to another elf, huh? But worry not, author is not so lazy as to recycle plot. It’s not going to be like how it was with Rana.

And Regure is St. Lyridias’ descendant. And through that story, we find out that Ardi was the father of Lyridias’ child, huh? Three-sword Ardi left one of his swords with his child. Anyone wanna guess where his other two swords are?

Anyway, very short but significant chapter next time to finish the arc. And then, it’ll be the second last arc of this extremely long volume 3! Stay tuned!

And… the people Souya is confirmed to still remember: Misuranika, Rana, Ea, Lanseal, Shuna, Master, Otou-san and Melm… Did you “forget”? And, until I mentioned it, did you realize that the author had been making an effort to slide that info in so very naturally into the story?