The Women of Each Country

It was a lovely afternoon in winter, with clear skies and warm sun.

While Souma and the bureaucrats were still suffering under a homicidal

workload, three of the queens were enjoying a spot of tea in one corner of

the courtyard. Or to be more accurate, one of his queens and two future

queens.

"Would you like another cup, Aisha?"

"Oh! Um, thank you."

Maria poured the tea herself, and Aisha humbly accepted it.

In terms of their future hierarchy, Aisha would be ranked higher, but she

paled in grace and dignity exuded by the former leader of a great nation like

Maria.

Maria smiled, now turning to her fellow queen candidate.

"And you, Yuriga?"

"Ah! I'm not done with my current cup, so I'll pass... Thank you,"

Yuriga politely declined, seeming incredibly tense as she did.

The three queens present were Second Primary Queen Aisha, Fourth

Primary Queen Candidate Yuriga, and Third Secondary Queen Maria.

Wanting to serve the tea herself, Maria had asked the maids to stand down,

so it was really just the queens to themselves.

Sitting down, Maria gave Yuriga a serene smile. "I've been wanting to

have a good, long chat with you because we'll be marrying Sir Souma at the

same time."

"R-Right... I see," Yuriga replied, her face tensing. Internally, she was

sweating bullets. I'd really rather not...

Yuriga was the younger sister of Fuuga Haan, the man who made

Maria's empire collapse, after all. The fallen empress and the sister of the

man who had taken her down—theirs was a relationship that could easily

become antagonistic. Yet they were both about to marry the same man.

Yuriga had never heard of two people sharing such a strange fate, not even

in all the books she had read before.

Is this my lot in life as the sister of a hero? Yuriga lamented.

It wasn't just Maria though. There were too many others close to her,

like Ichiha and Sami, whose relationships with Yuriga had been

complicated by her brother's actions. If there was a god, Yuriga would have

wanted to give him an earful about how unfair it was.

"Yuriga," Maria called her name.

"Y-Yes!" Yuriga stammered, snapping back to her senses.

"Hee hee, you don't need to be so tense," Maria said with a chuckle. The

smile on her face did nothing to ease Yuriga's anxiety.

"No, telling me that isn't going to make this any easier..."

"I'm not going to eat you or anything. Look, if I tried to hurt you, Aisha

would stop me. Right?"

"Huh?! Is that what I'm here for?!" It was Aisha's turn to react with

wide-eyed surprise.

"Hee hee, I was joking," Maria said with a wink and stuck out her

tongue.

This exchange made Aisha and Yuriga both realize that regardless of

their relative positions in the hierarchy, they'd never be a match for Maria.

Her charm and poise with which she teased them were on the same level as

that of the venerable Excel.

Maria sat up straight, then bowed her head to Yuriga.

"Yuriga... Thank you."

"Huh?!" The suddenness of it made Yuriga panic. "Whoa, what?! Raise

your head!"

"No, I feel that I should thank you properly." Maria raised her face and

looked Yuriga in the eye. "I'm told that you helped with the plan I came up

with, and Souma accepted."

"I didn't do it for your sake, Madam Maria..." Yuriga replied, turning

her head away petulantly. "I only did it because I thought it would help my

brother too. That's all."

Yuriga hadn't stopped the Kingdom of Friedonia from intervening in the

war between the Empire and the Great Tiger Kingdom. This was despite the

fact that from the Great Tiger Kingdom's perspective, the engagement

between Souma and Yuriga was a tool to keep him out of the conflict.

Yuriga had even been told about the plan before Hakuya found his resolve

and had agreed to cooperate.

"My brother's plan was to make you surrender and take the country, its

people, and the bureaucracy all for himself. But you had no intention to

surrender," Yuriga explained, still looking away. "Even if he had taken the

whole of the Empire, it was clear that he wouldn't be able to maintain it,

and the country would fall apart if he made enemies of your supporters.

That being the case, he was better off taking some of the land and a portion

of the bureaucrats, giving him a definite victory while still allowing him

reconciliation with you. Simply put, it was a faster route to his dream of

conquering the Demon Lord's Domain."

"Wow, you certainly thought this through," Aisha said, utterly

impressed. Despite her unparalleled martial prowess, she had no sense for

politics whatsoever.

However, this sincere praise, born of that lack of sense, was

embarrassing for Yuriga.

Clearing her throat noisily, she said, "It just goes to show you that

Tomoe and Ichiha aren't Mr. Hakuya's only students."

"Oh, of course."

"My job was to tell my brother all this after the war and lower his

hostility to this country and Sir Souma. If he gets into a conflict with this

country, it will hurt both sides greatly, so I'm making sure he knows that."

"Wonderful. I can see you've got a good head on your shoulders," Maria

said, clapping her hands and smiling. "You understand your brother's

ideals, yet can still make choices grounded in reality. You remind me of my

own little sister Jeanne. Sir Fuuga is lucky to have you."

"Y-You're giving me too much credit."

"That's not true at all. I want to be friends with you because you're like

that. Although, you may feel some sense of guilt towards me."

"N-No... Not really..."

"As I said before, I'm grateful to you, and I hold no grudge. If we

couldn't be friends because you feel guilty about what happened, that would

be a real pity." Maria rose from her seat and leaned over to take Yuriga's

hand. "We're going to be family, so I'd like to build a sisterly bond with

you."

"Urgh..."

Yuriga was intimidated by how fast Maria was trying to get closer to her.

She shot Aisha a glance, begging for help. However, Aisha just munched on

tea sweets and shook her head.

"I don't think she has ulterior motives," Aisha said after swallowing.

"She is a lot like Madam Juna, so it's best to let her do what she wants.

Nothing bad will happen."

"Uh, that's not what I wanted to hear..."

"Listen, Jeanne's left my side, and I just sent Trill back home too. I need

a caring little sister to pay attention to me," Maria said, pressing one hand

to her cheek with a sigh.

Yuriga clutched her head. "I've only ever had a big brother. Is this what

big sisters are like?!"

"I'm an only child myself, so I couldn't say," Aisha said with wry

amusement as she reached for another cookie. "But when I'm around

Madam Roroa, Madam Naden, and Madam Tomoe, it does make me want

to dote on them like little sisters."

"Like little sisters... A family, huh?" Yuriga got a pensive look on her

face.

Maria cocked her head to the side. "Is something the matter?"

"Considering my situation, I'd arranged my marriage to Souma so that I

could do as much of what I want to do as possible. I don't think it was the

wrong choice, but...after being so calculating about marrying him, I'm

wondering if I can be a good wife. You know, Sir Souma and his family are

tight-knit, and it seems like you understand each other well too, Madam

Maria."

"Yuriga..."

It seemed Yuriga had caught the marriage blues before the wedding.

"Sir Souma is kind. He'll scold me when I make a mistake, and even

apologize after. He's fixed me a snack late at night more times than I can

remember, and I think I like him. But at the same time, he feels more like a

nice friend of my brother's... I'm marrying him for my own convenience,

and it makes me wonder if that's really okay..."

"I think...you feel that way because you care about him, you know?"

Maria smiled as she reached out and patted Yuriga on the head. "You have a

somewhat unique situation, but he's told you that even once you're married,

you'll be free to do as you please for a while, right? If you were to have a

change of heart at some point, I'm sure Sir Souma would accept it. I think

you should take your time and not rush to an answer."

"Ha ha, she's right, you know?" Aisha agreed with a laugh. "We all had

our own circumstances when we married Sir Souma. I'm told that Madam

Naden once asked if the love that starts out prearranged by someone else

isn't real love. This might surprise you, but any number of things can end

up deepening a relationship. I don't think you need to worry so much."

"Madam Maria, Madam Aisha..."

Listening to the two of them had slightly alleviated Yuriga's concern.

Maria started giggling. "Though, I'm going to get in my share of flirting

with Sir Souma first."

"Er, flirting...?"

"Nothing's holding me back now, so I'm going to do what I want! In

love and in work! It's time for me to take back all those years of my youth I

spent supporting the Empire!"

As Maria clenched her fist and made this impassioned speech, Yuriga

felt her image of the fallen empress of a destroyed country crumble. Even

with her country split and herself far from her former lands, Maria was still

herself, shining powerfully. Watching her made Yuriga's own worries seem

silly.

"Ha ha... Is that right?" Yuriga said with a slight laugh.

"Well, if you're uneasy about being a wife... We have just the thing,"

Aisha said nonchalantly as she savored her tea.

Maria and Yuriga both cocked their heads to the side. Aisha looked

around to see that no one was watching before beckoning them closer. They

did so, leaning in so their faces were close to hers.

Aisha covered her mouth with one hand and whispered, "We queens all

receive...special lessons..."

What she went on to explain made the other two flush red. And they

both agreed they would definitely participate next time.

Third bridal training course, date unscheduled...

◇ ◇ ◇

The war between the Empire and the Great Tiger Kingdom in the

1552nd year of the Continental Calendar changed the world.

There had been a three-way competition between Fuuga's Great Tiger

Kingdom, the Empire's Mankind Declaration, and the Maritime Alliance.

However, with the fall of the Empire and its exit from the Mankind

Declaration, there were only two factions remaining. The Great Tiger

Kingdom became the most powerful country in the world, with the land,

population, and personnel of the northern half of the continent. Meanwhile,

the Maritime Alliance welcomed the Euphoria Kingdom, founded from the

remains of the Empire, as a new ally, increasing their strength as well.

Furthermore, with Souma—the head of the Maritime Alliance—

marrying Maria, and Black-Robed Prime Minister Hakuya marrying Queen

Jeanne of Euphoria, coordination between the two states deepened,

allowing them to effectively rule as if they were one nation. The people of

these two countries called the new nation the "Gran Friedonia Empire," and

Souma came to be called Emperor Friedonia.

In order to compete, Fuuga followed Hashim's suggestion to rename the

Great Tiger Kingdom of Haan the "Great Tiger Empire of Haan," and began

calling himself Great Tiger Emperor Fuuga Haan.

It was an era where two emperors—one north and one south—vied for

power. Although, Souma was only being called an emperor by the people,

and Fuuga only assumed the title because his retainer suggested it, so

neither emperor was that attached to being called one. Every country had to

adapt to this new bipolar world.

In an effort to stabilize their expanded territory, the Great Tiger Empire

developed a new bureaucracy around their top bureaucrat, Lumiere. Using

the skill at public works she had developed in the Empire, she took

advantage of the mobility of Malmkhitan's cavalry to lay out a

transportation network. It unfolded at a pace far greater than the road

network Souma had built during the first year after he was summoned.

"Sir Kasen. The next document, please."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

Lumiere was in the governmental affairs office of Haan Castle,

surrounded by piles of documents with her feather pen.

Fuuga had the charisma to sway others and his martial prowess was

absolute, but he had no particular gift for governing. (It's not that he

couldn't govern, but he was unmotivated and inefficient.) That's why

Hashim and Lumiere ran the administration of the Great Tiger Empire now.

However, Hashim also had to handle diplomacy and political strategy, so

domestic affairs fell squarely on Lumiere's shoulders.

Lumiere used Kasen Shuri, the Crossbow of the Tiger—who had been

picked out as her assistant due to his youth and ability—as an extension of

herself in the battle against all this paperwork.

Sigh... Now I see why Madam Maria always kept a bed in the

governmental affairs office. When there's this much work, it's hard to go

back to your own room. Lumiere let out a sigh as her hands kept moving.

And she handled diplomacy, political strategy, and even requests from the

people like performing as a lorelei on top of this. I always knew she was

great, but she was even greater than I imagined... I can see why she wanted

to abandon all this work. If only she had the opportunity...

And Fuuga and Lumiere were the ones who gave that opportunity to

Maria. Now that it was over, she could see that all of the factions had been

working to let Maria abandon her country. Lumiere had been indignant

when she first realized her empress had been the one to give up on her, but

at this point, she was over it and working towards her own goals.

I want to control a great nation from within the bureaucracy, and win

glory by accomplishing mankind's dream of completely liberating the

Demon Lord's Domain. My goal hasn't changed. That's why I parted ways

with Madam Maria and my friend Jeanne. Now I must make it a reality so I

can hold my head high in front of them.

"Sir Kasen. Please take this document to Sir Hashim."

"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Kasen was overwhelmed by Lumiere.

He had stood at the side of fierce, courageous generals like Fuuga and

Shuukin who shone like stars, so he thought that he was used to seeing great

people. He believed that even if he were faced with famous generals from

other countries, he wouldn't be frightened or falter.

Now that he was being cowed by an administrator, it confused him.

Madam Lumiere is incredible, Kasen thought.

And for some reason...seeing Lumiere single-mindedly throw herself

into her work reminded him of how cool Fuuga and Shuukin looked,

leading the charge on the front lines of battle. If we were to put this in terms

of Souma's old world, Kasen might have been like a new hire at a company,

infatuated with a career woman.

"What are you doing? Please, get going immediately."

"Huh?! S-Sorry!"

Once Lumiere called him out for his dawdling, Kasen shot out of the

room with an armful of paperwork. It was another thing that made him look

like a new hire.

Thanks to Lumiere's efforts, the Great Tiger Empire was able to rapidly

overcome the bottlenecks imposed on it by the instability that came with

acquiring new territory.

◇ ◇ ◇

Meanwhile, there was another woman struggling to manage her state...

It was the newly crowned queen of the Euphoria Kingdom, Jeanne.

Jeanne was in her own governmental affairs office, surrounded by

paperwork...and sick of it.

"Sir Hakuya... Could we please take a break already?"

Jeanne was an irresistible force on the battlefield, but her aptitude for

paperwork wasn't very high. Her groaning made Hakuya, who was with her

more as an instructor than an assistant, feel sorry for Jeanne, but that didn't

stop him from giving her a new document to work on.

"Please. At least look through these papers and sign off on them. They

concern the reorganization of the Gran Chaos Empire's fleet and the regular

stationing of the Maritime Alliance fleet in this country."

"The fleets are our 'shield' now, after all..." Jeanne said as she accepted

the paperwork.

"Indeed." Hakuya nodded. "They're a gift your sister left us. An

incredibly valuable one at that."

In the fall of the Empire, the Euphoria Kingdom had lost its northern

lands, Lumiere and her bureaucrats, and half of their air force. However,

because Maria had taken steps to ensure their naval forces were

concentrated in the south, their fleet was mostly intact, barring some ships

that had been owned by the lords of the northern coast. While those naval

forces were obviously no match for the Kingdom of Friedonia's—owing to

that country's use of island carriers—they were at least equal to the NineHeaded Dragon Kingdom's fleet.

Considering their shrunken nation, the amount of maritime power at

their disposal was a little excessive. Because of this fleet, if Fuuga were to

attack them again, they could use their ships to withdraw, or launch

powerful attacks against his poorly guarded coastlines. The Euphoria Fleet

was a shield that deterred their enemy from attacking, and also a sword.

Suddenly, a new voice said, "Hee hee! That's what you called me for,

isn't it?"

Jeanne turned in the direction of the voice, and there stood a buxom

beauty with blue hair and a little pair of antlers on her head. It was the

commander in chief of the Kingdom of Friedonia's National Defense Force,

Excel Walter.

"Oh, I'm sorry to make you come all this way," Jeanne said. She moved

to get up so she could bow her head, but Excel gestured for her to stop with

her fan.

"You're the queen of a nation now. You mustn't go bowing to a general

from another country."

"R-Right... But..."

"Duchess Walter is correct. There's no need for you to bow," Hakuya

said nonchalantly as Jeanne tried to figure out how to respond. Then he

turned his cold eyes towards Excel. "You had 'free time on your hands,'

yes? I'm told that you've been having Sir Ludwin assume your duties as

commander in chief of the National Defense Force and letting Sir Castor

command the navy."

"Hee hee, it's important to train your successors, you know?" Excel said

with a laugh, covering her mouth with her fan.

"Yes," Hakuya agreed with a fake smile that looked like it had been

plastered to his face. "That is why you've been invited to come and

command the Euphoria Fleet."

"You and your lord are both dead set on not letting me have a peaceful

retirement, I see."

"I will take that as a compliment," Hakuya replied.

Although they were both smiling, neither thought it was sincere. That

said, this conversation was possible because they each knew that the other

was intelligent, and the reasoning behind their actions. However, Jeanne,

who understood none of this and was watching the two schemers smile at

each other, wanted nothing more than to clutch her head.

Sister... Being a queen is too great a burden for me... Jeanne thought.

Excel tapped her fan. "Well, you had best get all this sorted out quickly.

You have other important duties to attend to, don't you?"

"Other...important...duties?" Jeanne was confused. Excel looked at

Hakuya with a chuckle.

"I mean your wedding, of course."

The moment she said that, Jeanne turned a bright red and Hakuya

grimaced. Their reactions only made Excel smile with greater cheer.