Invitation

— Late in the 8th month, 1548th year, Continental Calendar - Parnam

Castle —

"Okay, Kazuha. Say ahhh." I brought the little spoon to her mouth.

Munch.

It was the night of one of an ongoing series of hot days. Liscia and I

were in her room, feeding the twins. Kazuha's toys were covered in drool,

and she would chew on just about anything, but when it came to baby food,

she wouldn't eat unless I put it in her mouth. Even so, once it was in there,

she smiled and ate it, even as she made a big mess of it. Maybe she just

enjoyed being fed. I never know what babies are thinking... They're cute,

though.

Now that we were feeding them more baby food, I could even help feed

the twins. Though, according to Doctor Hilde, it was best to give them

breast milk after they ate their baby food as a nutritional supplement, which

was why, next to me, Liscia was breastfeeding Cian.

It had been about eight months since the twins were born, and they both

had full heads of hair that was a similar color to Liscia's. They could crawl

now, and Kazuha in particular was always going somewhere, making Liscia

and Carla worry to no end.

Cian, meanwhile, despite having learned to crawl, was generally more

relaxed, playing with stuffed animals and wooden blocks. (I was worried he

might swallow those, so I prepared an extra large set.) He would sit there,

flipping them over, looking at them, whacking them, licking the rounded

corners of the blocks, and lightly chewing on the ears of his stuffed animals.

Cian didn't seem like an energetic baby, but Kazuha was the complete

opposite. She would charge in and flip him over, or ride on top of him like a

baby turtle on the parent turtle's back. When night came, they would both

sleep soundly.

As I finished feeding Kazuha, I asked Liscia, "She's done eating. Are

you good to go?"

"Yeah. I think Cian's had his fill. Let's trade."

"Righty-o."

I took Cian from Liscia, then deposited Kazuha in her arms in return.

Kazuha started suckling Liscia's breast immediately, as if she had a separate

stomach for milk. Meanwhile, Cian, who was now full, was starting to doze

off.

"...Eat well, sleep well, and grow up healthy."

"Hee hee, you sound like a real father," Liscia giggled.

"Well, yeah, I am these kids' real father, after all." Though we were

sharing a peaceful moment, I let out a sigh. "But I'm not going to be able to

see them for a while after this, huh?"

"...You're going to that country, aren't you?"

I nodded and said, "I received the invitation before the wedding. I could

have refused, but... I'm scared to leave the issue unaddressed. I have other

reasons to go, too, so in the end..."

"I'd like to go with you, but I can't, right?"

"...Yeah. When I consider what could happen in the worst case..."

"I understand, but... it sure is frustrating." Liscia said, lowering her

head. "To be honest, this is an issue I should be settling. As someone who

learned under him."

Putting my arm around her, I whispered, "I can't take you with me

because of the children. We'll be taking every precaution, of course, but it's

a foreign country, we can't be certain that nothing will go wrong."

"Right..."

"Well, I expect it should be a week at most this time. I'll do what I can

about the matter that's concerning you, too."

"...Don't be reckless. You need to come back safe for the children's

sake, too."

"I know."

We nestled close to one another for a little while after that.

◇ ◇ ◇

The next day at the governmental affairs office in Parnam Castle.

"The 'Great Martial Arts Tournament' in Zem?" Aisha asked, as if

acting as the representative of everyone gathered there. There were seven

people in the room including me; three of my queens, Aisha, Roroa, and

Naden; Prime Minister Hakuya; my personal trainer and sounding board,

Owen; and Hal's father Glaive Magna.

Setting aside Liscia, who I had told about this yesterday, the reason Juna

was not here was because I had sent her to Lagoon City. The maritime state

to our east, the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago Union, had become more

active lately, and Excel was gathering information on why.

I wish I could focus on the east, but now the west, too... While I was

thinking that, Roroa crossed her arms and said, "I've heard of this before.

The whole country gets involved in puttin' on the tournament."

The Mercenary State Zem was founded and led by the mercenary

commander, likewise named, Zem. It was a robust country. Their geography

was even more mountainous than the Amidonia Region's, and they had

mercenary forces (which was just a name for their national army) that

would fend off any foreign attack. They proclaimed eternal neutrality, while

at the same time earning foreign currency by forming contracts with other

states to dispatch mercenaries. In some ways, you might have been fair to

call them a military state.

It was still fresh in my memory that, during the rebellion Georg Carmine

had staged, the corrupt nobles had hired Zemish mercenaries. Though,

cornered as they were, the best they could have hired were third-rate mercs

who were worth very little when ransomed back. Hakuya later told me, "If

it were Zem's elite forces that had come, this wouldn't have ended with such

a small offensive."

"Zem ain't the type to go holdin' festivals year in and year out like we

do, so they've gotta put a whole lotta passion into this tournament," Roroa

continued. "The merchants'll be there, and money'll be changin' hands,

too."

"You probably shouldn't use us as a baseline for comparison, though."

Ever since we had adopted all the religions inside the kingdom as

national religions, and we made their festivals, like the Spring

Announcement Festival, into major events, we had been celebrating a lot

more. There was always something going on month by month.

Aisha cocked her head to the side and asked, "Um... Does that mean

we're entering someone in that tournament?"

"Ahh, no, no. The current Mercenary King, Gimbal de Zem, sent an

invitation to come watch the finals. Though, that invitation arrived before

the wedding." I put the letter I had received down in front of everyone.

"This was delivered to Owen and Herman who were watching the western

border while we were away in the Union of Eastern Nations. Right, Owen?"

"Yes, sir." Owen gave me a solemn nod. The old man was normally

energetic to the point it was annoying, but today he spoke little, and his

pallor seemed to be not so good. I knew why, so I decided to press on

without touching on the matter.

"Hakuya, what do you think King Zem is looking to do here?"

"He wants to restart diplomatic relations with our country after we

terminated their mercenary contract with us. To accomplish that, he wants

to show off how powerful his mercenaries are."

"It's a show of force, then?"

"Yes. The best result for him would be forcing us into another contract,

but, failing that, he wants to demonstrate his country's strength, and show

us how terrifying an enemy they could be."

"Darlin's goin' to a country we don't even have diplomatic relations

with just for that?" Roroa chimed in, sounding unamused. "Can't ya just

ignore him?"

"Well, ignoring him outright would be a problem, but I was planning to

politely decline. It's just... some circumstances have cropped up that made it

so that's no longer an option," I said, slumping my shoulders. "First of all,

the person who delivered the invitation is a problem."

"The person? Who?"

"Mio Carmine. She's the daughter of the former General of the Army,

Georg Carmine."

"Wha?! Lady Mio, you say?!" Glaive exclaimed.

During the rebellion, Glaive, who had stood alongside Beowulf as

Georg's right and left hands, had been sent to help take care of things when

it was over. I had entrusted him Georg's old castle at Randel, as well as a

portion of his former domain. However, even after he was given Randel

Castle, Glaive did not choose to live there, instead ruling from a mansion in

the castle town. I took this as proof that his respect for his former

commander had not waned.

When the name of Georg's only daughter came up, Glaive seemed to

lose his composure. He rounded on Owen, who had been the one to accept

the letter. "Sir Owen. You're certain that the messenger was Lady Mio?!"

"...Almost certain. The messenger was a knight who had the tail that

marked her as a lion beastman, and she carried two longswords on her back.

I recognized the way she acted, too."

"How could this happen...?" Glaive pressed one hand to his forehead.

Georg had severed ties with his wife and daughter to avoid them being

held responsible for his rebellion, and made them leave the country. In

order to honor his wishes, I never searched for the two of them. If their

locations were discovered, there would be those who wanted to dispose of

them before others tried to use them for their own gain.

But now that his daughter was supposedly out in Zem, I wondered what

had led her there, of all places. Glaive couldn't help but be concerned for

her. And, unfortunately for him, there was more information of concern.

"About Mio, she's apparently won her way into the finals of the Great

Martial Arts Tournament."

"She what?!"

"That's impressive, but... what's the problem?" Naden cocked her head

to the side. "If she were hiding out in the country with a grudge against

you... I'd understand you viewing that as a threat, but her participating in a

martial arts tournament in another country shouldn't even be an issue,

should it?"

Naden's question was to be expected. But things were not that simple.

"It has to do with the special situation inside Zem," I said. "Hakuya,

explain please."

"By your will." Hakuya stood in front of the map on the wall, and

pointed to Zem. "I believe you are all aware their country was founded by

Zem, who was called the Mercenary King. During a time of chaos on the

continent, as Emperor Manas rose in the Gran Chaos Empire, the rulers of

many cities were vying for hegemony in that land."

"So, like the Union of Eastern Nations now?"

"Similar to that, yes. It was a land prone to conflict, so those who found

themselves unable to find work or who lost their homes to the fires of war

survived by working as mercenaries. When the various lords began to

gather up these sellswords to fight in their wars, that laid the foundation for

the mercenary industry."

I was impressed by Hakuya's explanation. So that was the history

behind all of this, huh?

"But..." Hakuya continued. "The mercenaries of the time were

something like battle slaves, to be thrown away at a whim. The people

groaned under the strain of war, and the mercenaries were discontent with

the way they were treated as expendable. In the middle of all that, Zem

appeared with a rare aptitude for commanding people, and martial skills of

his own to be proud of. He led the oppressed mercenaries in a rebellion,

taking cities one after another, and built an independent state for them all."

It was a spectacular series of events that sounded like the plot of a

movie. In fact, there was a dramatization called the Chronicles of Zem, and

it was apparently quite popular. When I heard this story, what came to mind

for me was the way men followed Fuuga. Zem must have been a great man

of a similar caliber.

Hakuya continued explaining, "Because of how the country was

founded, they value 'being strong' over anything else."

"Oh, hey, that's not so different from the national values in Amidonia,

huh?" Roroa said.

"Yes." Hakuya nodded. "But I would add that while Amidonia thought,

'We must be stronger than those who have wronged us, so that we can take

revenge,' what Zem believes is more like, 'If you're strong, your every

wish will be granted.'"

"If you are strong your every wish will be granted? Is that not a little too

simplistic...?" Aisha cocked her head to the side at the idea, but Hakuya

simply shrugged and moved on.

"They believe Zem built the country on strength, and that was how he

became king. What they ought to focus on is the charisma that let him unite

an unruly band of mercenaries, but... well, I suppose there's nothing to be

done about it."

"It's a matter of how the people themselves see things, after all," I added

in.

Aisha seemed to understand, and she nodded. "I-I see..."

"That idea is demonstrated most simply in the prize for winning the

Great Martial Arts Tournament," Hakuya said. "The prize is 'the right to

have your wish granted.'"

When they heard the prize was the right to a wish, everyone just sort of

stared vacantly at him. When I heard it the first time myself, I was taken

aback, thinking it was an awfully vague prize. But, when I heard the details,

I was shocked by how ridiculous that country was.

"Obviously, it must be a wish that can be granted. They cannot grant

impossible wishes like bringing the dead back to life. However, if it is a

wish that can be granted by people, they can grant it. If you wish for

'money,' for instance, they will pay the winner up to a preset limit. If you

wish for 'women,' you can literally take any woman you want as your

wife."

""No way!""

The girls looked angry. They must have felt bad for the women forced to

marry a man they didn't love. But the reverse is also possible, huh? If a

woman won, a man might be forced to marry her. When I looked at

powerful women like my own wives, I had to wonder if there were a lot of

past examples of that. Not wanting to stir up the hornet's nest, though, I

didn't bring it up.

"One of the possible wishes is also 'to become king.'"

"What, they can be king, too?!" Aisha asked.

"Yes. Like I just said, the country values strength. The people want the

King of Zem to be the mightiest of all warriors. To that end, anyone who

wants to become king can receive the right to challenge the current king as

their prize. If they are able to defeat them, the challenger ascends the throne

as the new king, and inherits the family name Zem."

"Incredible..."

They really were a country that recognized brute force as a way of

changing political regimes. I had heard that their current king, Gimbal de

Zem, had ascended the throne that way. Though he carried on the Zem

name, he had no blood relation to the original Mercenary King.

"It's a wonder that they can run a nation that way." Glaive crossed his

arms and groaned.

"It seems the king only controls the military and external affairs, while

internal affairs are managed by the bureaucracy," Hakuya replied. "Even if

there was a change of kings, the bureaucrats don't, so they are able to keep

things running smoothly."

"But if that's the case, wouldn't the bureaucracy become too powerful?"

"Because strength is so highly valued, bureaucrats like myself would be

the lowest of the low, and they work them like slaves. I have heard stories

where a bureaucrat was engaged in corruption, and the Mercenary King

went to their house personally and killed them along with all their

subordinates."

What the heck? That's like something out of The Unfettered ***gun.

Nah, I guess he'd be The Unfettered Mercenary King, huh?

"But what if a bad guy wins? Is it okay to let someone like that be

king?" Naden asked.

Hakuya nodded. "Yes. If they can just win, any person can become king.

However, if they are too evil, they will undo themselves in no time."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"Because it is a country of mercenaries, people have a strong sense of

independence, and rebellions come easily. If the king is excessively

tyrannical, he will be unseated in short order. Even if they are the strongest

warrior, they can't deal with repeated uprisings all by themselves."

"Well, if they win, they can have their wish granted, within limits, so no

one is going to want to have all the limitations that come with being king," I

commented. "They'd be bringing a lot of trouble onto themselves."

"Hmm, it's a pretty good system, huh?" Naden replied, sounding

impressed.

But was it really? I felt like it was a country that existed on top of a

delicate balance. With some impetus, it could all fall to pieces. But even

without any, the changing times might eventually destroy that balance too.

That's how it felt to me. Their country would surely be left behind by the

flow of the ages.

As I stood up, everyone turned to face me.

"So, now that you've all heard, you can see why we can't just ignore it

as a simple tournament. On top of that, they say Georg's daughter Mio is

still in the running."

Everyone gulped in unison. The possibility of Georg's daughter having a

grudge against the Kingdom, and potentially having a wish granted, was a

real threat.

"Depending on what she wished for if she won, it could affect this

country. If she were to become king while still harboring resentment against

the Kingdom..."

"You'd be lookin' at another enemy state. Like we used to be," Roroa

said with a sigh. I nodded to her.

"Anyway, we don't know what Mio's thinking, and that worries me. I

need to go to Zem to find out what her intentions are, too." Then, looking

around to my comrades, I said, "Now, as for who will accompany me, I

want to limit numbers as much as possible in the interest of safety and

mobility. First of all, I want to ask Aisha and Naden to come. I'll likely be

counting on them to guard me."

"Okay. I understand."

"Roger that."

The two of them nodded. Next I looked towards Glaive and Owen.

"I wanted to bring Glaive to probe Mio's intentions, since he's an old

acquaintance of hers. But we can't have the man managing the National

Land Defense Force leave when I'll be out of the country. In his place, I'd

like Owen, who also knows her, to come along."

"Yes, sir. I understand."

"...I suppose this is how it has to be. Won't you take my son or Ruby?"

Glaive asked, and I shook my head.

"If I were to bring two dragons with me, they would likely not take

kindly to it. I am leaving Ruby so I can take Naden. If it's just Hal on his

own, I don't see a point in forcing him to come along. His first wife, Kaede,

is pregnant as well, so I think I'll do without him this time."

"I see... Sire, please take care of Lady Mio..."

I could see the strain on his face. He seemed awfully concerned for Mio.

"I will do my best to consider it."

"...Please, do." Glaive backed down.

"Ah!" Roroa spoke up. "Why not try bringin' Mr. Colbert with ya,

then?"

"Colbert?"

"Well, y'know how the Principality of Amidonia and the Carmine

Duchy were neighbors, right? With all the clashes along the border, my

brother and Mr. Colbert must've met the Carmines a few times to settle

things."

"Oh, yeah...?"

Hostile relations can make unexpected connections, huh? If all I had

was people like Owen, who were close to the Carmines, they might be

looking at her through rose-tinted glasses. If I really wanted to know what

Mio was thinking, it was best to look at the information from many

different angles.

"I get it. I'll bring Colbert, too."

"Nyahaha, I'll run the finance department while Mr. Colbert's away."

Roroa wore a happy smile. Her financial sense was a cut above the rest, but

she was prone to making high-risk, high-return decisions. I felt like she was

a good balance with Colbert, who kept a tighter hold on the purse strings,

but... was this going to be okay?

"Don't do anything too crazy, all right?" I said to her. "Don't make

Colbert cry when he comes back home."

"It's only a week, right? It'll be fine."

Was it okay to trust that innocent smile? Regardless, the members of my

entourage had been chosen now, so...

"And... Hakuya," I addressed him.

"Yes, sir."

"I'd like you to make preparations for the other reason we're going to

Zem."

"Yes, sir. I understand." Hakuya gave me a deep bow.

All of the orders were given. Now it was just a matter of seeing what

Zem would throw at us... Hopefully, this can all be settled peaceably,

somehow. I could only pray that it would be.