Bonus Short Stories

Maria Visits the Senior Queens (Liscia Version)

Hello, everyone. I'm the Maria who people used to say was married to

her country. Now that I was going to get married to Souma, I wanted to chat

with my senior wives more so that we could live together happily. This

afternoon, I was visiting the daycare to learn about child care from First

Primary Queen Liscia.

Liscia was pulling along a pair of twins with the same color of hair as

her.

"This is Cian, and this is Kazuha. My kids with Souma. They're four

now."

"Wow, what cute twins."

I bent down to look at them. Kazuha looked at me with interest, while

Cian hid behind Liscia. They were both adorable.

Kazuha pointed at me before cocking her head to the side.

"Mommy. Is she my mommy too?" she asked.

"Huh? I'm your mommy?"

While I was still surprised at suddenly being called a mommy, Liscia

slapped her own forehead in dismay and let out a sigh.

"I gave birth before the other queens, so we all doted on these two.

Roroa got carried away and started saying, 'Mommy's here,' and the twins

started thinking all of us were their mommies."

"O-Oh, is that right?"

"Yes. Once even my own mother started saying 'Mommy's here' to

them, I did everything I could to stop it though."

"I...can see why you'd feel that way."

Cian, who had been hiding up until this point, said, "Mommy?" quietly

and toddled towards me with a smile.

Oh, wow, this kid is just too cute, I thought. "Lady Liscia... Can I have

him?"

"No! What are you saying crazy things out of nowhere for?!"

"I mean, he was scared of me just a moment ago, but the moment he

thinks I'm his mommy, he smiles at me with no wariness whatsoever! I

want to mother him!"

"Settle down," Liscia said, punctuating it with a light karate chop to my

head.

"Ow ow ow... Ah! What was I saying?"

"I see you've come back to your senses. Cian, Kazuha, go play with

everyone."

The twins responded with an energetic, "'Kay!" and took off, hand in

hand.

Aww, I wanted to talk to them more... As I was thinking that, a bluehaired girl who was around three years old came over with a chestnuthaired boy who was maybe two or three. Oh! They're cute too!

"This blue-haired girl is Souma and Juna's daughter Enju, while the

chestnut-haired boy is Souma and Roroa's son Leon. They're both around

two years old."

"Hello, Enju, Leon."

I got down to their eye level to greet them, as I'd done with Cian and

Kazuha.

"Hewwo," said Enju in a slightly drawn-out way, giving me the smile of

a future pretty girl. Meanwhile, Leon fidgeted shyly.

"Oh... They're cute too."

"Hee hee, they really are. Enju is fearless, as you'd expect from Juna's

daughter, while Leon is introverted, unlike Roroa. He must get that from

Souma."

Enju and Leon both hugged Liscia.

"Mommy Cia!"

"Mommy Ciaaa."

They wanted attention. I stared at Liscia.

"You're making them call you mommy too."

"I-I don't see the problem," Liscia stammered, beginning to turn red.

"They make my kids do it."

I chuckled at how flustered she got. Lady Liscia then handed Enju and

Leon off to a lady with wolf ears (I later learned she was Tomoe's real

mother) and brought a baby who was less than a year old to me in their

place.

This baby with faintly blue hair was sucking its index finger, looking at

me as Liscia held it in her arms.

"This is Souma and Juna's second child, Kaito. Would you like to hold

him?"

"Yes. Very much so."

I felt the weight of the child I accepted from Liscia, along with a warmth

in the air around him. Kaito looked at me and smiled.

Overcome with emotion, I looked at Liscia. "You all raise the children

together and have a community of women who provide mutual support in

child-rearing. It's the sort of thing that could serve as a guiding principle for

a nation-state."

"That's some complicated stuff you're thinking about there. I can tell

you used to be an empress," Liscia remarked, sounding impressed.

I chuckled. "I want my own children now too."

"Once you do...I'll adore them with all my might. Just like the others."

We looked at one another and smiled.

Maria Visits the Senior Queens (Aisha Version)

Hello, everyone. I'm the Maria who's a little worried about gaining

weight now that she's been released from her intense workload as empress.

Now that I was going to get married to Souma, I wanted to chat with my

senior wives more so that we could live together happily. Today, I was

watching the Second Primary Queen Aisha train.

"Hngh! Hah! Yah!"

With each cry of exertion, Aisha swung her greatsword downwards,

causing silver hair to stream behind the beautiful and powerful dark elf

warrior. My own little sister, Jeanne, was a capable warrior in her own right,

but Aisha's martial arts had a visible power to them that Jeanne's didn't.

She had a natural intensity and techniques refined by daily training. No

warrior in the Empire could have matched her.

"You really are strong, Aisha," I said from where I sat in a corner of the

indoor training area.

Aisha let out an embarrassed laugh, continuing to swing all the while.

"With my abilities so concentrated in the martial arts, this is the only

way that I can be of service to His Majesty."

The brown skin of her cheeks flushed red. Oh, my. She's so cute it's hard

to believe she's swinging a massive sword around like that.

"You keep up the effort even now that you're a queen, I see."

"Yes...! That's true. I initially pushed myself on His Majesty as a

bodyguard, so I wouldn't want to neglect that duty now that I've become a

queen."

"But you're the second primary queen, right? Hasn't he asked you to

stop doing dangerous things?"

"In this country, we use the people we have, even if they happen to be

royalty. It's not just me—Lady Liscia and the other queens are all still doing

the work they did before marriage. Well, aside from Liscia, who carries the

blood of the royal house of Elfrieden, and Roroa, who carries the blood of

the princely house of Amidonia, the rest of us don't need to be so stiff about

things."

I think that's strange for a royal family though... The queens all raised

their children together, and each had their own work. Souma tried to look

after the kids as much as he could too, and I'd witnessed Liscia kicking him

in the butt and saying, "That's enough; go to work already," several times

now.

The king and queens each had valuable jobs, and because they were so

busy with them, they divided the labor of raising children. It didn't result in

a situation where, after getting married, all that was left to do was struggle

for power inside the family. It was so unusual...yet, at the same time, so

comforting for me.

It lets me do what I've always wanted to, after all. I looked at Aisha as I

was thinking that. Just as I had things I wanted to do, Aisha had her desire

to protect Souma.

"Souma is a lucky guy, having a woman like you to defend him."

"I wonder..."

Aisha stopped swinging. Is something the matter?

"Did I say something to offend you?" I asked.

"No, not at all. It's true that I defend His Majesty in situations where my

martial abilities allow me to do so. If Fuuga Haan were to attack His

Majesty, I would make the battle last at least ten strokes. And yet...in any

other situation, more often than not, he's the one protecting me. As the king,

His Majesty has a great number of people at his disposal, and he makes

such tasty food too."

Yes... I suppose that was true. There were times when you needed

martial prowess in order to protect others, but the world wasn't so simple

that you could solve everything by strength of arms alone.

Aisha let out a short sigh. "I feel so pitiful at times like that. I don't

know how I should react when the person I hope to protect has to protect

me..."

Aisha had the look of a young maiden in love on her face. Despite her

incredible strength, she had a delicate side to her too. That had to be part of

her appeal.

"I think it's simple, really."

"Madam Maria?"

I smiled as she cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"You should just say 'thank you' when he protects you. It makes you

happy when Souma thanks you after you protect him, right?"

"Thanks for always being there, Aisha."

"Sorry for the trouble. You really saved me there, Aisha."

Aisha nodded as if remembering the times he'd thanked her.

"You're right. It makes it feel like it was all worth it."

"Yes. It's the same for me. Jeanne was always helping, so when she

thanked me for something, it just made all the exhaustion from my hard

work go away. I'm sure Souma's the same."

"Thank you, Madam Maria," Aisha said, smiling, then picked up a

wooden sword that was lying on the floor. "It must be boring for you, just

watching. Come sweat with me."

"Uh... About that... Err..."

I tried to object since I'm not very athletic, but if I was going to be

traveling around the kingdom, it might be wise to learn to defend myself.

This was as good a time as any.

"Could you go easy on me, please?"

Maria Visits the Senior Queens (Roroa Version)

Hello, everyone. I'm the Maria who can only be described as

"unemployed" right now. Now that I was going to get married to Souma, I

wanted to chat with my senior wives more so that we could live together

happily. This afternoon, I was called on by Third Primary Queen Roroa,

who had a request for me.

When I arrived in a workroom for bureaucrats in the finance ministry,

Roroa noticed me and started speaking in a coaxing voice.

"Hey, hey, Big Sis Mari. I've gotta lil' favor to ask ya."

"Big Sis Mari?!" I'd never been called that before.

Roroa put her hands together in a pleading gesture, resting them against

her right cheek and tilting her head to the side. It was a calculatingly cute

pose.

"Settin' our positions aside, I like havin' older people to think of me as

their honorary lil' sister. I'm already callin' the others Big Sis Cia, Big Sis

Ai, and Big Sis Juna, so that makes you Big Sis Mari."

"Oh, I see... Huh? What about Naden?"

As a member of a long-lived race, Naden was likely older than her, as

well as all the other queens.

"Nya ha ha..." Roroa let out a wry laugh. "Y'see, with the way she

looks, it'd be strange for me to go callin' her my big sis. Even Tomoe and

Ichiha are lookin' older than her at this point."

Sorry, Naden... I can't refute what she's saying.

"Well, that aside, your cute little sis has got a favor to ask ya."

"The little sister thing's already a done deal, I see."

"Our country's gonna be comin' together with your old country in some

kinda two countries, one nation deal, right? So, there's been talk of unitin'

our broadcast programmin' too, while we're at it."

"Ohh, that would be convenient, yes."

Each country had a limited number of broadcast jewels, which meant a

limited amount of broadcasts. With our two countries working together, we

would be able to afford larger budgets. There were only benefits to it, but...

"There's close to a half-day difference in time zones between our

countries."

"Well, there's nothin' we can do about that. We could each make half the

content and show the same things twice—in the morning and noon in each

country. We'll find workarounds."

"So for music programs, it'd be like having multiple performances. That

sounds reasonable."

Roroa was always quick with ideas like this. As a large nation, we could

make most things work in the Empire, and there wasn't much call for

creativity. That led to a lot of the bureaucrats becoming inflexible. They

couldn't have come up with ideas like hers.

"So, now on to the main ask. You were a lorelei in the Empire, right, Big

Sis Mari?"

"Hm? Yes. I tried it out once, and a lot of people asked me to continue."

"Mm-hm, I hear you were pretty popular. So, as our first program in the

new unified lineup, I was hopin' to do a Parnam Music Festival headed by a

dream team of Big Sis Juna, our Prima Lorelei—the pride of the Kingdom

of Friedonia—and you, the Empire's Singin' and Dancin' Empress."

A music program? And one where I'd be collaborating with Juna? I

thought. "I'm no longer the empress, you realize?"

"Ya don't have to be an empress anymore, but that's no reason to give

up bein' a lorelei, is it? Big Sis Juna's still out there workin' hard despite

bein' married and havin' two children. If the people hear that you and Big

Sis Juna—who they all love—are puttin' on a music show together,

people'll talk. I'm sure those with a nose for profit like Lucy's folks at the

Evans Company'll be eager to put up the funds as a way of advertisin' their

businesses."

"We'd be doing this for the money, would we?"

I knew Roroa had a strong sense for finance. But I had to question her

fixation on making money; especially when she'd be using family members

like me or Juna in order to do it...

"You want to help the weak, don't ya, Big Sis Mari?"

Perhaps picking up on my hesitance, Roroa dropped her goofy smile and

put on a serious face. It was undoubtedly the face of a queen.

"The important thing with money's where ya make it and who ya use it

for. If you're just makin' money for money's sake, that's exploitative. If ya

give cash to people without them earnin' it, you'll make 'em decadent.

Ya've gotta earn it, use it, spread it around, and keep that virtuous cycle

goin' as long as you can. Don't ya think?"

"You have a point..."

My ears burned a little with embarrassment. Still, being the idealist that

I was, it made me grateful for someone who would shove reality in my face.

That was true of both Souma and Roroa.

"Okay...I'll do it."

"Ya will? Whew, you're a lifesaver."

The friendly smile returned to Roroa's lips. She really made use of a lot

of different expressions. But I wouldn't lose to her on that front. I had the

smile I'd cultivated in my time as empress.

"But you'll be diverting the profits to my charity work, won't you?"

"Huh? Uh, I was hopin' to use some of 'em to fund the next event..."

Roroa averted her eyes. I wasn't going to let that fly.

"You'll be making money off of me. You'll let me decide how it's used,

won't you?"

I smiled at her. Roroa finally caved.

"Aw, fine! I get it! This time it'll be a charity event!"

"Hee hee, thank you."

I may have found myself a good backer.

Maria Visits the Senior Queens (Juna Version)

Good evening, everyone. I'm the Maria who's decided to live for the

people and her beloved family. Now that I was going to get married to

Souma, I wanted to chat with my senior wives more so that we could live

together happily. Tonight, I was appearing as a guest on a music program

with First Secondary Queen Juna.

It was Roroa's idea to hold a music festival where Juna Doma, the Prima

Lorelei—pride of the Kingdom of Friedonia—and I, the Empire's Singing

and Dancing Empress, would appear on stage together. Clever, isn't she? I

was wearing my lorelei dress—which Jeanne had kindly sent from Valois

Castle—for the first time in a long while.

The broadcast jewel always projected images from the present, so we

only got one chance to get things right.

"Maria?" Juna called out to me as I was waiting in the wings, feeling the

pressure.

The blue-haired beauty was wearing an outfit with a thin veil that

managed to balance both elegance and sexiness. It was graceful, yet at the

same time sensual. Even though we were both women, I found myself a bit

short of breath when I saw how beautiful she was.

Juna smiled at me.

"Are you feeling tense?"

"Yes. It's been a while since I've sung in front of people."

"I understand. I've heard your schedule was always incredibly packed."

Her eyes were sympathetic, her words compassionate. There was

probably no one who rivaled her ability to read people's hearts. Souma had

told me that Juna had been there to comfort and support him when he was

struggling more times than he could count.

Juna gave me a soft smile.

"Do you like singing, Maria?"

"Huh? Uh...yes. I do like it. I used to sing for Father and Jeanne when I

was little."

It was a distant memory, from before I had the weight of being an

empress thrust on me. Back then, I just loved singing and wanted people to

hear me.

"I think...that's why I had so much fun with being a lorelei."

"Hee hee, you'll be fine, then." Juna pressed both hands down on her

chest over where her heart was. "Songs are one with the heart. First, they

come from the heart of the singer, and then come to rest in the hearts of the

listeners. And they're passed down and spread."

With her left hand still over her heart, Juna reached out and touched my

chest with her right hand.

"Just have to do as your heart commands, singing the way you enjoy.

Maybe it won't be a song that everyone will love, but a song you enjoy will

move more hearts than a song you don't. That's what I believe."

"You're right," I hesitantly agreed, putting my hand over Juna's on my

chest. "You're the Prima Lorelei, after all. I'll remember your advice and

sing my hardest."

"Hee hee! It's embarrassing when you make it sound like such a big

deal."

What a mature smile. It's hard to believe she's a year younger than me. I

was starting to feel a little competitive.

"Sorry if I steal the spot of Prima Lorelei from you."

"I've already withdrawn that battle. I'm not concerned with how people

rank us."

"Oh, and what if I stole your popularity with Sir Souma?"

"That, I'd get upset about."

Juna puffed up her cheeks angrily. I was satisfied to have gotten an

expression out of her that was more fitting for her age. Soon enough, her

face morphed into an intense smile.

"I understand. I'll take you on with everything I have."

"Yes. Let's fight fair and square. As loreleis, and as queens."

We exchanged harmonious smiles.

"Um, I'm the one feeling the most worried here, you know?" said a

timid voice from behind us.

I turned to see a cute girl in a lorelei costume.

"Juna? Who is this?"

"This is Miss Komari Corda. She's currently the top lorelei in both

popularity and ability."

When Juna said that, Komari looked at her with tears in her eyes.

"Ohh... When you say that, Juna, being number one among the active

loreleis really weighs me down. You're still incredibly popular with the

people after stepping back from the spotlight, and I'm going to be standing

next to this lady who used to be an empress too. Try to imagine what it's

like, standing next to you two and being introduced as the current number

one lorelei."

Yeah. I could see where she was coming from.

"Is that really true?" I asked.

"Maria?"

Sure, Komari felt less like a finished product than Juna. But I felt as

though that incompleteness might draw people in too.

"It's not possible to empathize with someone you worship, because

you've placed them in a different place from yourself. Juna and I can move

people's hearts, but the listeners can't insert themselves emotionally into

our performances. If anyone here can let them do that, it's you, who's on the

same level as them."

"Yes. I think that's part of your charm, Komari," Juna said with a nod,

taking Komari's hand. "Your incompleteness makes people excited to see

what you'll show them in the future. That's something that we, having

reached some level of completion, can't do."

"Lady Juna, Lady Maria..."

As Komari teared up again, Juna and I reached out to her.

"Come on, let's go, Komari."

"Everyone is waiting for us."

With a sniffle, she said, "Okay!"

Now, let the music festival begin.

Maria Visits the Senior Queens (Naden Version)

Good morning, everyone. I'm the Maria who just lost the job she held

for many years. Now that I was going to get married to Souma, I wanted to

chat with my senior wives more so that we could live together happily.

Early in the day, Second Secondary Queen Naden said she'd be going

down to the castle town, so I joined her.

"Souma tells me you do the weather forecast, and also act as a sort of

jack-of-all-trades in the castle town?"

"Well, that's how it's worked out, yeah," Naden said, awkwardly

scratching her cheek as we walked down a cobbled road in Parnam. "When

I was killing time in town, I helped out an old lady who was in trouble.

Then I did a bunch of other stuff, like delivering some things a customer

left behind or moving a damaged cart out of the road. It kept happening to

the point that people just casually ask me for favors now."

Naden was a black ryuu from the Star Dragon Mountain Range. She had

strength and mobility, which probably made her a big help to the

townspeople.

"You lend an ear to the common people. That's lovely."

"It's not that big a deal."

I was serious, but Naden waved it off.

"Ah! Naden. Thanks for that delivery earlier."

"Hey, Lady Naden! I've got good vegetables in stock, would you like

some to take home? Your husband loves cooking, so he'll be grateful for

them!"

"Lady Nadeeen, let's play hide and seeeek."

The baker's wife, the greengrocer, and a child walking down the road all

called out to Naden like close friends. Naden turned and responded to each

of them.

"Your kids are still little, right? If you need anything else, just let me

know."

"I'll drop by on the way home, so hold onto them for me!"

"I'm showing someone around today, so no can do! We'll play next

time!"

So she played hide and seek too, huh? The number of people calling out

to her never let up. My eyes widened with surprise.

"You really are popular, Naden."

"They've all forgotten I'm a queen."

When things settled down a bit, Naden said, "They respect Souma,

Liscia, and the others like they're supposed to. I'm the only one they treat

so casually. Your people loved and respected you too, right?"

"They did, yes, but...that's not always a good thing, you know?"

"Hm? It's not?"

"No. People respect kings or queens because they don't see them.

Obviously, they see our faces over the broadcast, but they aren't closely

involved with us. That's why the common people fear and respect royalty."

"That...could be right."

Naden looked somewhat, but not entirely convinced. I was telling her

what I really felt though.

Thinking back to when I was an empress, I said I was doing things "for

the people," but never had the chance to actually come into contact with

those people. I never spoke to them directly, so could I really hold my head

high and say I was a good ruler?

"I think their relationship with you is healthy, Naden. If anything, I see it

as close to ideal, the way you're able to hear the voices of the townsfolk

directly."

"It's not that big a deal. But I don't mind hearing you say that," Naden

said with a smile. That's when I had an idea.

"I know!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands together.

"Huh?! Wh-What was that about?"

Naden gave me a dubious look. I didn't let it bother me. I grabbed one

of her hands with both of mine.

"You have a lot of free time, right? Let's use that time to travel the

country together! Then we can meet people all over the kingdom!"

"Travel?! What's this out of nowhere?!"

"If you let me ride you, I'll be able to hear from people all over the

kingdom. From the weak and downtrodden, whose voices rarely make it to

those at the top too. With you there, we won't need bodyguards. Naden!

Let's go hear from lots of people, and make this country better together!"

"H-Hold on!" Naden hurriedly shook free of my hands. "I respect the

idea, but the only one who's supposed to ride me is my partner, Souma, you

know?! I can't just let you ride alone and take me all over the place..."

"The partner of your partner is your partner. So it's fine!"

"It's fine? On what basis...?"

"Now, with that decided, let's go and get Souma's permission!"

I took Naden's hand and started walking along.

Naden started protesting, "Listen to meeee!"

But...that's fine! We were going to get along great!