“All right, folks, do you think you’ve done everything you can?”
I sighed as I asked the imperial guardsmen that question. They’d be the ones competing in the festival, so we were doing drills in the training grounds.
The Magical War Games would feature two competitions, and the members of the Reauxgard First Imperial Order of Knights would be competing in the Battle Festa. Everyone was wearing specialized armor that the craftsmen had finished making just in time, and although they were sweating and out of breath, they all looked pretty pleased with themselves. Since this was their first-ever competition, there were still areas for improvement. That said, everyone’d practiced hard and done a great job despite being busy with their actual jobs and their lives.
“Yes... Yes, I’d say we’ve done fairly well. I think we’re in good shape for the Games.”
Helgar Landros, the vice commander of the First, also nodded in satisfaction as he wiped away his sweat. Considering the various projects we’d worked on together, the two of us understood each other pretty well by now.
“You’ve all improved by leaps and bounds in such a short amount of time. I see why you’re the best of the best. And all this practice after putting in a hard day’s work. You must be tired.”
“Ha ha. We don’t have any grounds to complain. Not when you’re here working just as hard as the rest of us while remaining utterly unfazed.”
“I don’t wanna sound like an arrogant clown, but I don’t think you should compare yourselves to me. If I really wanted to, I could probably work for three days straight, no sleep required.”
The me now could, anyway. But I’d obviously never actually do that. It sounded exhausting.
Sensing that our practice was over, Leila and Nell, who’d come to help, called out to us.
“Everyone, dinner is almost ready.”
“We can push it back if you want, Mr. Yuki. What do you think?”
“Nah, let’s stick to the usual timeline. Hey, guys, wrap it up! Time to eat!”
“Aaaye!” the guards cheered.
With practice over, we got to work cleaning up and all that jazz. The guardsmen had helped us with a bunch of stuff, so to show my gratitude, I’d decided to invite them and their families over for a meal together. I thought it was important to have these kinds of interactions in order to improve my relationships with them.
You could basically call this a kickoff party for the Magical War Games, which were just around the corner. The knights’ wives and families had come to help cook, so they were chatting and working with Nell and Leila. I bet the fact that they looked like they were enjoying themselves was thanks to my two wives’ tact and graciousness. Though they were both technically an emperor’s wife, they were naturally friendly and used to this kind of thing.
As for Lefi and Lew... While I was positive Lefi would be able to handle herself, Lew would probably get nervous and fumble. Actually, maybe not. She was, after all, the daughter of a clan leader, so she’d gotten a proper, ladylike education growing up.
“I didn’t realize they’re both your wives, Your Majesty. And one of them is from the great Kingdom of Alisia... Do I detect a hint of romance in the air?!”
“Weeell, let’s just say it’s a long story better left for another day... Which reminds me, I never told you about my base. My home is in a place called the Demonic Forest, on the other side of Alisia, so I have some ties with that country.”
“Oh, I see, now it makes sense... No, wait a moment. Did you say the Demonic Forest? That unexplored region where one can still find nature in all its pristine glory?”
“Yup. My family and I live there.”
It’d been a while since I’d seen a reaction like Helgar’s. I knew it was a little late for this, but I couldn’t help but wonder just how much people in this country actually knew about me.
“I see... Then is the harshness of the environment the secret to Your Majesty’s strength?”
“Almost definitely. You don’t even wanna know how many times I came close to death in the beginning. Lots of pain and suffering too. But I somehow managed to survive, and here I am today.”
I had no doubt that the Demonic Forest had made me the man I was now.
“I take it there are still opponents you and your monster subordinates can’t defeat?”
“Yup. A whole lot of ’em. We’re still pretty weak in that sense, ’cause in this world, there’s always someone stronger than you.”
I could fight in the western area now. Sometimes, I even won. But plenty of stronger creatures still lived there. Opponents I wasn’t sure I could defeat even with my entire pet army. That was the extent of my strength at the moment.
“I’m amazed you can live in such a place.”
“Ha ha, yeaaah. I’d think the same as you if the tables were turned. I’m used to it now, though, and I secured a safe zone thanks to the dungeon’s powers, so life is pretty comfy.”
Ignoring the northern area, which was close to my base and also had very few monsters because it used to be Lefi’s territory and they could still detect her presence, the monster populations in the eastern and southern areas were weaker than us. And the monsters in that all-important western area were recluses to begin with, so they rarely ventured out of it, especially since mana was so heavily concentrated there. If I let my guard down in the Demonic Forest, I would definitely die. But now that I’d established a rhythm there, as long as I didn’t do that, life was pretty normal. Chill, even.
“Going back to the topic of my family, I have two more wives, but they’re both pregnant, so I didn’t bring them. They’ll be here for the Games, though, so I’ll drop by and introduce you.”
“Four, eh... You need a stout spirit to handle that many wives, my lord.”
“That’s a long story too. Or, several, I guess. The short version is, things just kinda ended up like this before I realized what was happening.”
A few of the other guardsmen joined our conversation.
“One wife is hard enough, but four? Impressive, Your Majesty.”
“When I think about all the trouble involved, one wife is plenty for me, personally.”
“I’d love to hear any advice you have on how to get along with the missus, my lord.”
“I don’t do anything special. I suck at a lot of things, but my wives make up for that. Though I guess one important tip would be not to go against them. It’s especially dangerous in my case, since the four of them can band together and form their own little army, which is really freaking scary— Oops, did I say that out loud? Ignore me.”
“Ha ha! Indeed. If you asked me who was more terrifying between my demonic instructor from my days training as a fledgling knight and my wife, my answer would be...that it’s a secret.”
“Smart man. Preach.”
“Mr. Yuki, I heard you just now.”
“How awful of you gentlemen to say such things when we’re simply doing our best for our husbands. Isn’t that right, ladies?”
After Nell and Leila spoke, the imperial guardsmen’s wives each blinded their husbands with brilliant smiles that implied things like, “So, that is the way of it, hm?” and “I’ll remember that, darling,” and “Just you wait until we get home.”
Ah yes. I see that many of you also live under your wives’ thumbs. Welcome to the club, comrades. I’m sure we’ll all get along just fine.
Not long after, dinner was ready.
“How about a toast, Your Majesty? Perhaps a few words about the Magical War Games?”
Helgar was the one who’d made that request.
“Sure. Gentlemen, it’s almost time.”
With a glass in hand, every guard listened to what I had to say.
“A lot’s gone down recently, and things have been tough. But everything we’ve done and continue to do is to ensure that the Games go off without a hitch. You’ll be happy as long as we do that, right? Yeah, I’m right. I know you all better than that now.”
I grinned evilly at them and continued.
“Yes, it’s important for the tournament to kick off, but after that...as the nation hosting the whole shebang, we’re gonna freaking win. Only then will Reauxgard be able to assert dominance. Only then will we be able to demonstrate this country’s strength. So you guys better win. With your own two hands, show everyone the might of the empire!”
“Aaaye!”
Hearing the men’s passionate shouts, I finished with a, “To victory!”
“To victory!” they said in unison.
We raised our glasses.