And so we found ourselves at the village chief’s manor.
It was the only abode in town whose construction could compare to those in Bulka. The house that was currently being built for me was nice enough, but it ultimately wasn’t much more than a stretched-out hut.
The village chief’s manor, on the other hand, had a sitting room, a dining hall, and other luxurious rooms in case she needed to welcome any esteemed outsiders.
It had the elegance of a governor’s mansion, buuuuut…well, as the residence of an ambitious woman who was kinda sorta plotting to commit high treason and supplant the kingdom no matter the bloody cost, it was downright puny. Kinda like a flashy celebrity living low-profile, except with the promise of guillotines. (Or, more guillotines.)
Tanne d’Arc sighed. “Aren’t you going to knock on the door, husband? The bugs are eating me alive.”
“I’m sure you’re tired, but the village chief is probably waiting for us…” Cassandra added.
“Kweee!”
“R-right. Here goes.”
I had been so caught up in my thoughts gazing at the village chief’s manor that my wives had to prod me back to reality.
Their personalities were so different, it was easy to tell them apart.
Tanne d’Arc, as befitted the sister of a chieftain, never seemed to get enough pampering. Whereas Cassandra, who cradled Basil in her arms, seemed to be happy just to have a family, and she just couldn’t stop complimenting me recently. Probably had something to do with all that time she was alone after her father died.
“You shouldn’t disrespect your husband in public, Tanne.”
“B-but the bugs are making me itchy, sister…”
I rapped my knuckles soundly on the door while Cassandra scolded my bull-kin wife. Cassandra had decided to take on the role of a big sister. I guess it almost made sense. I’d married Cassandra first, so she was like a veteran while Tanne d’Arc was more of a newbie. So, sure, why not.
“No excuses, now. Shooter comes from a tribe of great warriors who revere nudity. If you insult your husband, the ancestors of his fallen tribe will come after you.”
“Fiiine.” Tanne d’Arc drooped, but she still took a moment to glance over at me and stick out her tongue.
Cassandra was unexpectedly good at being the primary wife and keeping everything together.
Tanne d’Arc was one thing with her utterly defeated annoyance, but now Elpaco was looking at me with a slightly frightened face, as if asking me to protect him.
“Now, now, Elpaco,” Cassandra cooed, “You’ll only get in Shooter’s way if you’re clinging at his sleeve like that. That wouldn’t be appropriate for one of Shooter’s wives!”
“Wh-wha…wife?”
Elpaco looked confused and as usual it was just so friggin’ adorable!
At last, the young serving girl invited us into the village chief’s home.
Basil was the first one through the door, launching himself from Cassandra’s chest.
I ran after him shouting, “Get back here!” The little dork must’ve been hungry. He led me straight to the dining room.
“So, Shooter, you finally decided to show up. And with your whole family, too.”
“I apologize, ma’am. Basil made a mess of things…”
“It’s fine. Now that I don’t have Gimul around anymore, I was thinking of getting a dog. Things like that happen with pets.”
“C’mon, you sound like a mother whose child finally moved out! You’re not that old. Come here, Basil.”
“Kwee kwee ptthhbb!”
When I entered the dining room, bowing as I did so, Basil was rubbing against the village chief’s legs. He often did the same to me back in the shack. That chubby little monster! Of course he knew who the scariest person in the whole village was, didn’t he? But he also knew he’d get away with it because he was a baby.
“Wow, Shooter. We’ve been waitin’ so long for ya I already got started with the drinks.”
“Huh? Why did you ask Nishka to come?”
“Aww, don’t be rude, now! My little sister went and got married, so now I’ve got no one to go home to!”
“Oh, really? Why have I never heard about this?”
“You think I’m gonna go around tellin’ everyone my little sister got hitched before me? Way too embarrassin’!”
“I apologize. But is this really the place to talk about it…?”
“Why not? I told the village chief the whole story, and she saw how broken up I was, so she’s probably gonna introduce me to a great guy!” Nishka proclaimed, swinging a bottle of wine, her nose turning red. She was already Tipsy Nish, and threatening to get way tipsier.
The servant girl guided the rest of my family in and we took our seats at the long table. The village chief sat at the head, naturally. I sat to her left with Cassandra and Tanne d’Arc, and Nishka and Elpaco sat on the other side.
I bet Tipsy Nish was sitting in Gimul’s old seat; the fact that the chair was a little larger than all the others was a good tip-off.
“Now then, shall we eat? Wak’wakgoro brought in a boar today, so he’s prepared some for us. Nice and fresh.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I was just thinking how we ought to go back out hunting every now and then. We’ve dumped all the responsibility on Wak’wakgoro.”
“I’ve already considered that. Once you’ve made a certain amount of progress, I’m thinking you two can take turns as site supervisor.”
“Actually, about that…” I started.
Alexandricia shook her head. “The Scalesplitter told me what happened. Unruly slaves, insubordinate serfs…that’s the situation, is it not?”
“Yes, there’s that. But also one other thing.”
“Yes, yes—someone is watching the village or the nearby area, hmm?” the village chief interrupted. “Let’s discuss why I brought you all here today, seeing as we must inform the bull-kin.”
My entire family gulped. Elpaco alone kept his eyes fixed vacantly on the steaming boar meat.