A Troublesome Present

About two days had passed since the celebration.

We had managed to sweep the monsters from this land, but we were

going to remain until we learned the current state of the demon wave.

And so, two days later, the situation in each country became clear.

According to reports from the Black Cats, with the destruction of the

monsters gathered in the Duchy of Chima, the number of monsters

attacking all countries had fallen noticeably. They felt that the United

Forces of the Union of Eastern Nations could handle the rest, meaning we

were no longer needed here.

While we were packing up the Friedonian National Defense Force's

camps to withdraw, I heard a voice.

"Hey! Souma. Heading home already?" Fuuga suddenly rode up to us

on Durga the flying tiger.

"Fuuga?" I asked, surprised.

His sudden appearance made Aisha wary, but the man had Mutsumi

behind him and Yuriga in front of his saddle, so he probably wasn't here to

stir up trouble.

"You look like you're in a hurry," Fuuga commented, looking at the

soldiers busily running around. With an easy jump down from Durga's

back, he helped Mutsumi and Yuriga down as well, and asked, "Couldn't

you have taken things a little slower?"

"Not an option, I'm afraid. We can't be away from the country for too

long. Just keeping a force this large here incurs massive expenses, and with

the demon wave handled, I want to hurry back home."

The Union of Eastern Nations didn't have as many paved roads as the

kingdom, so we couldn't use methods like the rhinosaurus train for

shipping. We would have to take the long, slow way home, so I wanted to

set off quickly.

Hakuya had told me to hurry back as soon as our business was done, for

one thing. Besides, Liscia was due soon, so I had personal reasons to hurry

back, as well.

Madam Mutsumi walked forward and bowed her head to me. "Sir

Souma, thank you very much for the reinforcements you brought us."

"I already said this last night, but all we did was show up at the end to

wipe out the remaining enemies. There's no need for excessive thanks."

"Even so, it's a fact that you saved this country." Mutsumi raised her

face and smiled. "I'd also like to ask you to take good care of Ichiha. He's

mature for his age, but he's weak and timid, so I'm a little worried about

him."

"Ha ha, I'm sure he'll be fine. I know how mature he is from talking to

him, and he seems to be on good terms with my little sister, too, so I think

he'll be fine."

With that, I looked in the direction of the three kids, Tomoe, Ichiha, and

Yuriga, who were saying their goodbyes.

"Bye now, Yuriga," said Tomoe.

"Take care, Yuriga," Ichiha added.

"Oh... Yeah..."

Huh? Tomoe and Ichiha were acting normal, but Yuriga seemed a little

quiet. She didn't have her usual strong personality.

Even so, she crossed her arms and arched her back so her chest stuck

out, as if she were trying to put on a show of being the older one despite

that.

"Well... It wasn't so bad being with you two. It felt like I'd gained a little

brother and sister. You keep doing your best when you get back to the

kingdom."

"A little brother...?" Ichiha murmured.

"Could it be you're feeling lonely, Yuriga?" Tomoe asked straight-out.

Yuriga's face turned a bright red. "Wh-Who's lonely?! You're acting too

cheeky, kid!" (Pinch.) "I shaid, don't pinsh my cheeksh like that!"

"Yuriga, the way you're acting is like a lonely kid throwing a tantrum,

you know?" Ichiha pointed out.

"Shove off! I'll pinch yours, too!"

"Ow... Let's run, Ichiha!"

"R-Right!"

Breaking free from Yuriga's hands, Tomoe took Ichiha's hand and ran

off.

Yuriga chased after them, shouting, "Wait!"

The three shouted and made a ruckus as they ran around inside the main

camp. If they'd been fighting, I would have stopped it, but Tomoe seemed

to be laughing and having fun, so it was probably fine.

...Hold on, was Tomoe having fun by teasing Yuriga about being so

direct with her emotions?

Maybe when Tomoe grew up she was going to be the same sort of

devilish beauty that Juna was. I felt like I could see hints of it already.

While I was feeling newfound worry for our beloved younger sister's

future (though I questioned whether it was fair to look at it like that), Fuuga

suddenly clapped his hands as if he'd just remembered something.

"Ohh, Yuriga just reminded me. Hey, Souma."

"What is it?"

"I wanted to ask, can I leave Yuriga with you in the kingdom?"

""Huh?!"" Yuriga and I cried out in simultaneous surprise.

What was this guy saying, out of nowhere?

"Wh-What are you saying so suddenly, Big Brother?!" Yuriga

exclaimed. "Sending me to the kingdom...!"

It seemed Yuriga shared my opinion...

Wait, even Yuriga, the one most affected, was only hearing this now?

Seriously, what was he thinking?

"What are your intentions?" I asked slowly.

"You were talking about sticking your pipsqueak and the pipsqueak

who's going to be my brother-in-law in school, right? When I heard that, it

made me want to put Yuriga in a large school, too. We don't have those

sorts of facilities in Malmkhitan, you see."

"Big Brother! I can read, write, and do arithmetic! If you say you want

me to study more at this point, I would rather it be at your side learning to

become a commander who can help you!"

Fuuga put a hand down on her head. "Your potential as a commander

isn't bad. But that's all it is, and you'll reach your limits quickly if you only

learn to be a warrior. Fortunately, your head isn't half bad, either. If you

amass knowledge and become a wise general, or an internal administrator, I

think you can be a great success."

"B-But..."

"Besides, I'm going to be getting busy. I'll be welcoming Mutsumi as

my bride, after all. Even if you stayed in Malmkhitan, I wouldn't have the

same time for you as before. So, why not go to the Kingdom of Friedonia

with your fighting buddies? Come back to me someday as someone who

can help realize my dream."

Yuriga glanced toward Tomoe and Ichiha.

She must have been wondering whether to stay with Fuuga, who she

would have less time with, or go to the kingdom and attend school with

Tomoe and Ichiha.

Yuriga thought about it in silence for a while, but ultimately she nodded.

"I understand. I will learn in the kingdom, and make sure I become a person

who can help you!"

Then she clenched her fists in determination.

Wait, hold on! Why were they moving this discussion along without any

input from us?!

"I haven't said we'll take her yet, you realize?" I pointed out.

"Well, do me a favor," Fuuga said, throwing his arm around my

shoulder.

This position... it was scary because, with Fuuga's strength, he could

easily strangle me to death.

Even Fuuga was unlikely to do anything to me with the strongest

warriors in the kingdom all here, mind you, but...

I mean, he wouldn't, right?

It was a bit scary, so I wanted him to let go.

When I looked, Aisha had her hand on the hilt of her greatsword, and

Juna already had a throwing knife in hand ready to go, while Naden's hair

was standing on end.

They were expressing that if he did anything funny, they would slash, or

throw at, or shock him.

Fuuga whispered in my ear, "Well, obviously... this isn't just about

Yuriga studying."

I whispered back, "She's your precious sister, right? What are you

thinking, leaving her with us?"

"I'm doing it because she's my precious sister." Fuuga gave a crooked

smile that showed off his fang-like teeth. "There's about to be a lot of

movement in my country. Internally, I plan to exterminate the hostile races

remaining in Malmkhitan, while externally I intend to head into the Demon

Lord's Domain with support from the countries of the Union of Eastern

Nations. In that process, I expect things to get wild, if only temporarily."

"...You're serious about that."

"Of course. I don't say things I'm not prepared to make a reality."

With the understanding that the demons were only deep inside the

Demon Lord's Domain, he would march in there with only the people from

his own country. Was he truly trying to carry out what he had spoken of that

day?

Then Fuuga suddenly smiled. "There's a risk of my relatives being

targeted at that point. Mutsumi has the wits and power to defend herself, but

Yuriga is still little. There could be people who'd try to abduct her to use as

a hostage. When I consider the worst outcomes, I think it would be best to

leave her far away, in the Kingdom of Friedonia."

"I see... Does Madam Mutsumi know about this?"

"Sure. Mutsumi agreed with me."

When I looked in Madam Mutsumi's direction, she gave me a slight

nod.

Take care of my sister-in-law, Yuriga. Was that what it was supposed to

mean?

If she approved of what Fuuga was doing here, that meant she knew he

was about to embark on a huge gamble. Even knowing she faced danger

herself, she was choosing to follow Fuuga down his path of conquest. I saw

something that overlapped with Liscia in her eyes.

"You've found a good wife," I said. "Don't do too much to make her

sad, okay?"

"I can't make any promises, but I'll do my best. I'll definitely protect

Mutsumi. I have to show her my world, like I promised to."

They'd talked about that, huh...

I see. Like Liscia had bet on me, Madam Mutsumi had done the same

with Fuuga.

They had bet their own futures.

I let out a sigh of admiration for them as I said to Fuuga, "I understand

the situation, but are you sure this is all right? You haven't considered that I

might take Yuriga hostage?"

"You'd never lay a hand on Yuriga." With the eyes of a large predator,

Fuuga smirked. "I don't really understand you. You're not strong, yet you

have many followers. You have tens of thousands of men at your command,

yet you are not trying to do anything."

I was silent.

"Even if you outnumbered me five-to-one, I don't think I could lose. But

if it came to a fight, I feel like it would become a quagmire. Like it would

turn into an annoying battle. That's my prediction. I think, if possible, I'd

rather not fight you. You feel something similar about me, don't you?"

"...Well, yeah," I nodded. "In my case, it's not 'if possible,' though. I

absolutely don't want to fight you."

If he was going to be so open about it, I couldn't dodge the issue.

Fuuga slapped his belly as if to say, I knew it! "It's an honor to have the

king of a great country so wary of me. So, given that you don't want to

oppose me, you would never lay a hand on Yuriga and incur my wrath. If

anything, you'd go out of your way to defend her properly, wouldn't you?"

He was right, so I couldn't deny it.

If we took Yuriga into our care in the kingdom, I was sure I'd monitor

her to keep her from learning anything confidential, but I would give her

maximum protection.

"So? What do we gain holding onto Yuriga for you?" I asked.

"I'll owe you one."

"If the need arises, you won't hesitate to back out on any obligation or

duty, will you?"

I said it nastily, but Fuuga responded with a jolly laugh.

"I won't deny it. But Yuriga is my only remaining relative with the

exception of Mutsumi, who's becoming my wife. I wouldn't go out of my

way to start trouble with the country where she's staying."

"I don't know if I should believe that..."

This being Fuuga, I couldn't be overconfident. Still, it was probably true

that I could expect her to be a somewhat effective deterrent. It was a card it

was better to have than not, that was all, but it was not bad to have

something prepared to deal with Fuuga, no matter how insignificant.

"...Okay," I said. "We'll take Yuriga in."

"Ha ha ha, it's a big help." Fuuga released the arm around my shoulder.

When Fuuga moved away, Aisha, Juna, and Naden stood down, too. I

was glad we'd ended that without a clash.

Putting a hand on top of Yuriga's head, Fuuga said, "Everything's sorted

out. Go to the kingdom and study hard."

"I will! I'll do my best, Big Brother!" Yuriga said with spirit.

With another smirk, Fuuga approached me again and said in a quiet

voice, "I know I said you'd never lay a hand on Yuriga, but if you want to

lay a hand on her sexually, I don't mind, you know?"

"Huh?! What are you saying?!"

Yuriga was what, thirteen? There was no way I was touching that.

However, Fuuga laughed in amusement. "No, no, I'm not saying you'd

do it right now. I expect to leave Yuriga with you until she graduates school.

I'm sure several years from now she'll be beautiful, so maybe you're going

to want to have a go at her?"

"As if!" I snapped.

"Well, if you do, I'll see to it that you marry her properly. That would

make you my brother-in-law. I'll see to it you pay me respect as your older

brother."

"...I want no part of that."

Being Fuuga's brother-in-law? Count me out. I'd be in for as much

trouble as Azai Nagamasa had with Nobunaga.

Then Fuuga slapped me in the back. "Well, anyway, I'm leaving Yuriga

in your hands."

"Ow... Fine."

I figured the brother-in-law talk was just a joke, but it was scary that I

didn't know how serious he was about it.

And so, having had a troublesome present thrust upon us at the last

moment, we set out on our return to the kingdom where Liscia was waiting.