A Wedding and a Family Vacation

—End of the 4th month, 1552nd year, Continental Calendar—

On this day, in the capital of the Republic, Sapeur, there was a major

celebration.

Sapeur had many white-walled buildings. And in this season, the snow

in the streets had yet to fully melt, so it was blindingly bright with reflected

sunlight on a clear day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Under the open

blue expanse, a large crowd of people had gathered at a temple-like

building that'd been built in a slightly elevated position. We were but a few

of the people in that crowd.

"Come to think of it, I've never been to the capital of the Republic

before, huh?" I said quietly to myself, as it had just occurred to me.

Liscia tilted her head to the side. She was standing next to me wearing a

dress with a thick shawl to protect her otherwise exposed shoulders from

the cold.

"You haven't?" she asked. "You came to the Republic while I was

pregnant, didn't you?"

"Sure did, but we only ended up goin' to Noblebeppu near the border

then. The meetin' with their former leader, Sir Gouran, ended up happenin'

in secret there too," explained Roroa, who was dressed the same as Liscia.

I nodded. "It's my first time coming. The architecture in a place like this

sure is interesting."

This building was the center of the Council of Chiefs that ran the

Republic's government, and also where ceremonies were held. It had large,

thick pillars that reminded me of historical Roman or Greek architecture. It

was seemingly called Sapeur Temple. And today was the marriage of Kuu,

Taru, and Leporina.

Invited as a foreign guest of honor, I had come with my wives and

children—Tomoe, Yuriga, and Ichiha. Carla had also come, doubling as

both maid and bodyguard. We were seated in a section reserved for guests

of honor. In attendance were Liscia of the Royal House of Elfrieden, Roroa

of the Princely House of Amidonia, and our bodyguard Aisha. Yuriga was

attending as a representative of the Great Tiger Kingdom. Yuriga wasn't

here strictly as Fuuga's representative, but at the request of Kuu, who

wanted to make himself look more impressive by having more foreign

attendees.

Juna, Naden, Carla, and Ichiha were with the children in a room a little

further away. There, they could watch the ceremony anonymously. Being a

ryuu and a dragonewt, this country's weather was too cold for Naden and

Carla even in April. They were all bundled up to keep warm, so they were

probably happier watching from indoors.

Incidentally, Nine-Headed Dragon Queen Shabon had also been invited

to this ceremony, but unfortunately, she was unable to fit it into her

schedule. In her stead, I'd been given a congratulatory message to pass

along.

"Aren't you two cold?" I asked Liscia and Roroa.

"A lil' bit... I wouldn't be able to keep sittin' here long if it weren't for

this shawl."

"The wood furnace behind us helps keep it bearable."

In this cold land, human women needed spirit and guts if they wanted to

dress fashionably.

Kuu's subordinate Nike Chima came out to announce, "His Excellency

Kuu Taisei, Head of the Republic, and his wives Lady Taru and Lady

Leporina have arrived!"

Kuu and his wives emerged, having finished a traditional marriage

ceremony inside Sapeur Temple. Instantly, there was roaring applause. We

rose to our feet as well, applauding the three of them.

Today, instead of dressing like a kabuki actor, Kuu was wearing a

dashing white tuxedo. Meanwhile, Taru and Leporina were both in pure

white wedding dresses. Taru's dress was long-sleeved, while Leporina had

short sleeves. Their shoulders were fully exposed, but as members of the

Five Races of the Snowy Plains, they were used to the cold.

The crowd was so large it felt like every person in the Republic was in

attendance. Turning to face them, Kuu raised his hands.

"This kind of reminds me of our own wedding ceremony," Aisha said,

and Roroa and Liscia both nodded as they continued to clap.

"Me too. The people were cheerin' for us the same way back then, right,

Big Sis Cia?"

"Hee hee, you're right. It was the biggest day of my life. Not just as a

public figure, but as a woman too."

"Hey, Yuriga. Is this the kind of thing you want for yourself?" Tomoe

asked, whispering in Yuriga's ear.

"Yeah, I guess." Yuriga shrugged. "It seems like the kind of thing you'd

like."

"Mm-hm. I only wish I could have a nice ceremony like this someday..."

"Well, try asking for it. I mean, you've already got someone lined up to

be your husband."

"Heh heh, if I push him too soon, he'll probably run away on me, so I'll

have to take my time."

"Yeah, yeah..."

T-Tomoe?! I didn't know what to think. Both of them had started to have

some rather mature conversations these days.

Suddenly, Yuriga's smile faded and she stared off into the distance. "I

wonder...what's going to happen to me. Ultimately, it's all up to my brother,

I guess."

"Yuriga?"

"It's nothing..."

I saw Kuu whisper something to his brides. Taru nodded, and Leporina

started walking over to us. She then offered the bouquet to Tomoe and

Yuriga.

"Master Kuu says it's for the future brides," Leporina explained.

"We hope you'll both find happy marriages. We received a bouquet

ourselves in the Kingdom of Friedonia, so consider this repaying the favor."

"Wow! Thank you so much!"

"Y-Yeah? Uh... You have my thanks."

Tomoe seemed delighted, while Yuriga was not entirely displeased with

the gift.

◇ ◇ ◇

Some days later...

"Yahoooo!"

"Please wait, Master Kuu!"

Kuu effortlessly slid down the powdered slope on a snowboard as

Leporina chased after him on skis. Athletic as he was, Kuu had mastered

the snowboard not long after being told they existed.

We were at a ski slope near Noblebeppu, the city where Taru had her

workshop. Having taken an interest in the idea of recreational skiing, Kuu

got to work setting up this place shortly after returning to the Republic. The

location was ideal since Noblebeppu was in proximity to snowy mountains,

hot springs, and fresh seafood from the port of Moran.

The ski lift utilized the revolving mechanism of the drill, and

Noblebeppu had turned into a serious ski resort town in the time since I'd

last visited. We'd been invited to come here after the wedding. Kuu had

said it would do us good to take some time off, soak in the hot springs, and

enjoy skiing as a family. Obviously, the offer wasn't purely out of the

goodness of his heart; he had his own motives, but, well... For now, we

decided to enjoy the slopes.

"Whoa, Ichiha. Easy. Take it easy."

"R-Right. I can handle it."

"Unsteady as you are, it's only a matter of time before—"

""Ahhh!""

"Told you so..."

Glancing over, I saw Yuriga, who had been the first of the trio to master

skiing, teaching Ichiha and Tomoe. Those two were bookish by nature, and

seemed to be struggling to learn. Now, Yuriga was watching with

exasperation as they took a tumble together.

Tomoe was bowing her head and apologizing profusely for landing on

top of Ichiha. Well, I guess that's one way to experience the joys of youth on

a ski hill...

"Doesn't this seem...wrong, somehow?"

"Hee hee! It's nice, me being the one to ride you once in a while... It's

still cold though."

Currently, I was skiing with Naden on my back. She'd curled up into a

ball due to the cold, but I wanted her to experience skiing at least once, and

this was the only way she'd do it. Granted, Naden being on my back all

bundled up in warm clothes made maneuvering kind of hard. I had to take it

slow doing snowplow turns, but she was still enjoying herself.

"You're sure you don't want to do it yourself?"

"Not a chance! I'd freeze to death if I didn't have you acting as a

windshield and warmer."

"Come on, you're exaggerating."

Right now, we look like Onbu-Obake, or Konaki-jiji, or Obariyon... Wait,

now that I think about it, there's a lot of youkai carrying someone on their

backs, huh?

Naden tightened her arms around my neck, pressing her chilly forehead

against its nape. I shuddered at the sudden cold touch.

"Whoa! Cut it out!"

"Hmph! That's what you get for saying I'm exaggerating. I feel like hot

springs are more my style."

"Ah ha ha... You figure?"

By now we'd reached the bottom of the slope. Cian and Kazuha, Juna's

daughter Enju, and Roroa's son Leon were all bundled up in warm clothes

at the base of the hill. They were playing in the snow with Liscia and Carla.

Kaito couldn't stand very well yet, so Juna was carrying him.

Looks like they've rolled a bunch of snowballs too. Looking at Liscia, I

asked, "What are you doing? Making snowmen?"

Liscia groaned in confusion. "What are we doing?"

"Huh?"

"Ah ha ha... The kids just got really into making snowballs," Carla

explained with a wry smile.

Rolling balls of snow around was apparently the only thing they were

interested in doing. Once the snowballs got to the same size as them, they'd

start rolling another one... Oh, so they weren't making snowmen or an igloo.

Now that she'd explained, I counted about ten knee-high snowballs

scattered around.

"And that's supposed to be fun?"

"I guess? They're doing it, after all."

This looked to be true. Cian, Kazuha, Enju, and Leon were all having a

good time rolling snowballs around. Kazuha and Leon competed on size,

and Cian was just doing his own thing—with Enju following behind Cian.

As an adult, it's hard to understand what kids are thinking, huh? Looks

like they're all enjoying themselves though. As I was thinking that, Roroa

and Aisha slid down to us at high speed.

"Aw, yeah! I win!"

"Y-You sure are fast, Roroa."

They seemed to have been racing.

Grinning, Roroa said, "Whew, never thought I'd be able to beat Big Sis

Aisha at anythin' athletic like this."

"Maybe because I walk normally so often it's hard to get the knack of

it..."

"Big Sis Cia, Big Sis Juna, we'll be watchin' the little tykes, so why

don't you go ski now?"

Hearing this from Roroa, Liscia and Juna looked at one another and

smiled.

"There's an idea. Okay. We'll take you up on that. Right, Juna?"

"Yes, let's. Aisha, would you hold Kaito?"

"Yes! Leave him to me!"

Juna handed Kaito over to Aisha. Meanwhile, Roroa rushed over to join

Cian and the other kids, making stacks of three with all the snowballs

they'd rolled. The kids watched her excitedly.

"It's so cold! I'm going to go hit the hot springs," Naden said as she got

down from my back, and hurriedly left.

Everyone's really enjoying themselves in their own way. I muttered, "I

would never have thought we'd be able to take a family vacation like

this..."

"Souma?"

"Darling?"

Liscia and Juna looked at me dubiously, but I just smiled.

"Nah, I was just thinking how grateful I am to Kuu for giving us this

opportunity."

"Hee hee, yeah."

"Yes. We're having the loveliest time here."

They each took one of my hands.

"That's why it'd be a shame not to enjoy it more."

"You join us too, darling."

"Oh, yeah... Of course I will," I replied. Honestly, I was thinking of

going to warm myself up too...

The two of them dragged me off, and we boarded the ski lift up to the

summit again.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Cian, daddy's back feels cold right now."

"No! I want to do it!"

We'd moved to the bath at the hot springs inn that we'd reserved for our

exclusive usage. Half of the bathing area was an open-air bath, while the

other half was an indoor bathing area with an area for washing off.

Currently, I was at the baths with Cian, Kazuha, and Leon—along with

Aisha and Roroa. Enju and Kaito had already been in here with Juna and

Carla. All of the children except Kaito, who was still breastfeeding, could

do a lot more now. And they had begun to show their individual

personalities in the things they chose to do.

Cian's favorite thing to do right now was scrub people's backs for them

in the bath.

"Ngh... Ngh..."

Ah ha ha... That's cold! He was trying his hardest, but he lacked the

power to really scrub off any grime. It was adorable how earnestly he tried,

but...the Republic's winters were pretty cold. I was itching to get in the tub

already.

"Whee!"

"Ah! Lady Kazuha! I told you, you mustn't run like that!"

While Cian scrubbed away, Kazuha ran around buck naked with the

equally nude Aisha chasing after her.

Kazuha seemed excited to be in an open-air bath for the first time. She'd

done the crocodile walk—placing her hands on the bottom of the bath,

stretching her legs out and letting them float behind her—in a shallow part

of the bath. Now that she was out, she was racing around and making Aisha

worry.

"Hah! Caught you!" Aisha declared, grabbing Kazuha and lifting her up.

"No, you caught me!"

"Jeez... You need to warm up properly or you'll catch a cold."

"Okay, Momma Ai..." Kazuha said, resting her head on Aisha's ample

chest.

Kazuha was always an energetic little tomboy, but when she was held

against someone's breast like that, she always settled down and fell asleep.

Carla was the one who'd discovered that, apparently.

Aisha came to soak in the tub, holding Kazuha in her arms. Meanwhile,

Roroa, who was holding Leon the same way, shrugged.

"Here we all are, at the hot springs, and she's makin' it hard to relax."

"Momma..."

"Hm? What is it, Leon?"

"Potty."

"What?! Keep holdin' it for just a little longer!"

Roroa jumped up out of the tub, hurrying off in the direction of the

changing room. It was tough enjoying a leisurely soak in the hot springs

with young children around. Go figure.

"Thanks, Cian. Okay, we're getting in the bath now."

"Mmm."

I picked him up and joined Aisha and Kazuha in the open-air bath.

Whew... I feel the warmth bringing my body back to life. Aisha, Kazuha, and

Cian all had these goofy, relaxed looks on their faces too.

Once before, when I got in the hot springs with Juna, I'd gotten all

worked up. But with the kids around, I wasn't going to lose my cool just

because I saw Aisha's sexy naked body. Paternal instincts, I guess... I just

couldn't take my eyes off the kids.

"It feels like we've become a real family," Aisha said, and despite

feeling a little embarrassed, I nodded.

◇ ◇ ◇

A little while after we got out of the bath, there was a banquet in the

reception hall.

Kuu and I called for a toast.

"Okay, let's have a toast to Kuu, Taru, and Leporina's wedding."

"And to a long friendship between the Kingdom and the Republic!"

"""""Cheers!"""""

And everyone from the Kingdom and the Republic knocked their glasses

together.

There were many large plates laden with dishes from both the Kingdom

and the Republic in the middle of the room's luxurious carpet. We each sat

on cushions, taking and eating whatever we liked. We chatted, looked after

the children, and generally did as we pleased.

I was seated at the head of the table with Kuu. We were each pouring the

other's drinks.

Downing his fermented snow yak milk all in one go, Kuu then asked,

"Whew! How was it, bro? Were you able to enjoy skiing?"

"Yeah. I had a great time," I replied as I sipped my own fermented milk.

"Snowy mountains that are well-suited for skiing, open-air baths, and fresh

seafood from Moran... Even the Kingdom doesn't have a place like this. I'm

sure it'll be popular."

"Ookyakya! Glad to hear it!" Kuu said cheerfully.

"But are you sure this is okay, Kuu?"

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"I mean, leaving your wives alone when you just got married."

I could see Taru and Leporina drinking and chatting with Liscia and the

others.

Kuu waved his hand dismissively. "It's no problem. I told them ahead of

time I've got stuff to talk about."

"You do?"

"Yeah. It's about Noblebeppu." Kuu's expression was serious now. "I

want to make Noblebeppu into a tourist destination to bring in some foreign

currency. We export medical equipment to the Kingdom and the Empire,

but import medicine from the Empire. And we pay to send our people to

study in the Kingdom too. We're essentially breaking even. Now, I don't

have a problem with that, but..."

Kuu held his cup with one hand as he scratched his head.

"We're in the Maritime Alliance with the Nine-Headed Dragon

Archipelago Kingdom, and they have a high level of technology too, right?

They want medical knowledge, and I'll bet they also have the technical

expertise to make the equipment. We can't just rely on one thing. We need

to be able to compete with them on all sorts of industrial products."

"Yeah...I guess that's true, huh?"

If they could make scalpels with the techniques they used to make those

sharp nine-headed dragon katanas, surgeons like Brad would be thrilled. I

was also hoping that the competition between two nations with a high level

of technical development would make both of them keep improving.

"I have no intention of letting them beat us on a technical level, but it'll

be a problem if they cut into our profits. That's why I was thinking of using

Noblebeppu as one way of bringing in foreign currency. Adventurers,

merchants, and others will all visit here, and hopefully drop some money.

And if we're looking for people to really profit off...it's the rich. And there

has to be rich people in other countries."

"I get you... So that's how it is." I could envision Kuu's plan for this.

"You want us to find tourists for you, right? Have our nobles, knights, and

wealthy merchants visit this town and drop some money for you."

"This is why I like you, bro. You pick up on things quick. You go, Hero

King!"

"What a smooth talker..."

Still, he had his eyes in the right place. The Republic's only hope for the

future had been its unrealistic and fruitless policy of northward expansion.

But Kuu's proposal to turn it into a tourist destination was offering them a

new set of values. A fun town like this might become the hope for them.

Man, you really are something. Similar to Fuuga in a way, Kuu was the

kind of ruler who drew the people to him.

Thinking through all this, I then nodded and said, "Fair enough. If I

were to subtly talk up the merits of this place to the merchants and reward

my retainers who do well with family trips to the hot springs and skiing

here...they might enjoy that. And maybe the people who enjoy themselves

will pass the word on to the nobles and knights."

"Oh! Nice!"

"But I doubt it'll happen in winter. It's pretty cold even now in the

fourth month of the year. I doubt many races can take the midwinter cold in

this country."

"Yeah...that makes sense," Kuu agreed, nodding. "Ookeekee! Well, it

doesn't have to be winter for them to ski, so we should still be fine. I can

open the ski hills to my own people for free in the winter, and that should

make them happy."

"That sounds like a good idea."

Kuu had sounded like he was complaining, but I thought it was a smart

way to spread the word about how fun skiing was. I'd heard the people here

tended to stay cooped up in their houses because of the snow and ice, so

maybe this would help them build a new relationship with the snow.

If he came up with ideas this easily, that was more evidence he was

going to be a good ruler.

◇ ◇ ◇

Some days later, in Mercenary State Zem...

In the Colosseum in Zem City, a crowd of over ten thousand people had

fallen completely silent. Their eyes were focused on two big men. The taller

and more muscular of the two lurched to one side. Then, with a thud, he fell

to the stone floor of the Colosseum.

The fallen man was Gimbal, their king. Looking down at him was the

Great Tiger King, Fuuga Haan. The judges were speechless for a time, but

coming to their senses, they shouted at the last man standing.

"We have a victor! The winner of the martial arts tournament is the

challenger, Fuuga Haan!"

That was the moment Mercenary State Zem passed into Fuuga's hands.