Chapter 33

After the enemy withdrew, I went and bowed my head before King Hasse. “The rebels have fled with Your Majesty’s arrival. This is all thanks to you.” I spoke from the heart. With this battle, my influence had risen dramatically. Of course, it would elevate the king’s authority as well, but that wasn’t a loss for me. The important thing now was that I get along well with the king. “With pleasure. Now that you’ve married my sister, you’re my brother-in-law. Of course I would come rescue you from danger. Especially when the archbishop was trying to humiliate a man who has done no wrong.” Hasse seemed in good spirits himself. This was the first time in forever a king had gone to battle, and it had ended in a glorious victory to boot. Of course he was satisfied. “During this expedition, I defeated a number of rebellious lords. I would be most appreciative if you gave their titles to the people who helped make it happen.” “Indeed. I will consider it.” “Also, would it be possible for me to have control of some of the cities Orsent Cathedral held? The cathedral needs to be punished, after all.” “I see. I will think about confiscating them. In any case, why don’t we talk more about it after we return to the capital?” I bowed my head to Hasse once more. My power struggle against the cathedral had ended in my victory, and the cities would naturally come to my side now. Well done…for getting out of this unscathed, at least. Apparently Oda Nobunaga wasn’t going to pay me a real compliment. If you’d just taken a little more time, you could have expanded your influence more carefully. But, well, your real goal is farther down the road, so I can see why you’d be impatient. Of course I am; I won’t stop until I’m king. Being regent isn’t enough for me. Now you’re in for a real fight against all the realm’s miscreants, though. Soon the people who don’t want you to seize power will ally against you. I’ll have to fight them sooner or later, so what do I care? Well, at least be prepared. For now…mass-produce firearms. Do that no matter what. It will help you in your quest for power. You did mention that before. All right, I’ll give it a shot. Obviously the cathedral wouldn’t be able to counterattack anytime soon, so things should quiet down. Maybe spending a bit of time on domestic affairs would be a good idea. We made our triumphant return to the royal capital in high spirits. It felt like years had passed since I was last in the capital. Time seemed to pass more slowly in war. The first thing I did upon getting back was visit my official wife’s room. In fact, Seraphina immediately came to tell me to do just that. I wasn’t sure what she’d say if I refused. When I went into Lumie’s room, my wives were already gathered there. “Come in, dear. You must be exhausted after fighting for your life.” Seraphina was the organizer. Everyone was beautifully dressed. Apparently, they’d been sitting at a round table enjoying tea. “Ahh, I had a bad feeling about this…but I just can’t relax here…” Laviala and Kelara—who as officers normally didn’t dress up—were sitting there dressed like princesses. I wasn’t the only one who couldn’t relax—being made to play dress-up, they appeared to feel the same way. Kelara in particular was acting fidgety, as her dress was very low-cut. “Lady Seraphina instructed me to come in this dress, so…,” Kelara said, as if making excuses. “This doesn’t mean I want to quit being an officer…” “Of course not. I’m sorry you had to get mixed up in my wife’s pranks…” “Dearie me, that’s not fair!” Seraphina was grinning impishly. “After all, Miss Kelara is one of your wives, too, so she has to help welcome you.” Kelara turned slightly red. I hadn’t officially made her one of my wives; instead she served me as an officer, but that just caused Seraphina to tease her all the more. Somehow, I could tell it was just Seraphina’s way of welcoming her, though. “Miss Kelara, you should be a consort, too,” urged Seraphina. “You’re always welcome here.” “But then I wouldn’t be able to go out to battle…” And there was the rub. Sometimes the daughters of rural lords took up arms and fought when they had to, but for one of the regent’s concubines to fight would only be considered odd. Come to think of it, Laviala was in a similar position. “I’m also not fond of this sort of thing… I don’t hate it, but maybe if it were a bit more chic…,” said Laviala, who was wearing a gaudy pink dress. If she were to show up on the battlefield dressed like this, the enemy might think she was some sort of god and cower in fear. “It really suits you, Laviala.” “Lord Alsrod, you know that’s not really a compliment, yes?” Laviala chided me. Fleur, who’d been watching our exchange, giggled quietly. I would’ve liked to relieve my battle fatigue by lounging about with a well-mannered wife like Fleur, but with Seraphina nearby, that would prove impossible. “Oh, so Miss Kelara counts as one of His Excellency’s wives, too…?” Apparently Lumie didn’t understand much about this sort of thing. It was too soon for her to learn anyway. “You don’t need to worry too much about that.” Seraphina was giggling again. Standing was beginning to feel inappropriate to the mood, so I sat in an empty seat. “Welcome home, dear,” said Fleur in her pretty voice. “I’m glad to have you home, too. I’d heard your situation was grim.” Lumie’s voice quivered with emotion. Oh no, I really worried her. Seeing her face, I felt a rare bit of regret. This wasn’t just my life at stake; what would happen to them if I died? “I really am happy I can be with you all again,” I told them. Renouncing work for the time being, I went on to enjoy a nice time with my wives over tea. However, another grin rose on Seraphina’s face. What was she up to this time? “You must be exhausted from all this fighting, darling.” “In war, your life could end at any moment. You’re on edge all the time.” I couldn’t deny that part of me was addicted to it, but the feeling was likely something only warriors understood. If Orcus had been there, he probably would’ve agreed with me right away. “That’s no good. A taut string will snap if you never loosen it up. Maybe you should ask Miss Kelara or Miss Laviala about that?” “W-well, in my case, I always spend my time on hobbies. Like watching plays if I’m in the capital,” Kelara replied. Kelara was well-educated, so she had lots of hobbies. She was probably never bored. “I run around in meadows outside the city to help me feel better,” said Laviala. “I’d prefer a forest like where I grew up, but there aren’t any near the capital. I just can’t get used to life in the city…” Their answers really showed off their personalities. “Yes, and you’ve only just returned. You need to take your rest, darling,” Seraphina insisted. “If we wives don’t make you take a break, you’ll simply keep trying to work.” I wanted to deny it, but I was at a loss for words. She wasn’t quite wrong. “There’s not enough time in the day. I have much to do as regent, so no matter how much time I have, it’s never enough.” “You’re still human. You need to rest.” Seraphina did seem concerned about me. If I collapsed from overwork, she’d regret not stopping me, so she must’ve been beside herself with worry. “All right. I just need a little more ti—” Seraphina stood in front of me and produced a blindfold. “Put this on for a bit. Don’t worry. I won’t do anything bad.” “When you put it that way, I’m not quite as inclined to trust you.” “Your Excellency, you ought to trust Miss Seraphina. She is your wife!” I couldn’t argue with Lumie. “Exactly. You ought to trust me. I’ll cry if you don’t, darling.” I decided to leave myself to her mercy. I knew whatever she had in store for me, it wouldn’t be some hellish torture. She put the blindfold on me, and I could feel myself being pulled somewhere. It didn’t seem terribly far. I felt a chill, maybe because Seraphina’s hands were colder than mine. Even with her new social position, her hands had never changed. I soon found myself lying on something soft. This had to be a bed. If not, maybe a chaise. “Keep still for a bit, just like that. Don’t go cheating by opening your eyes.” “I know you’ll be angry if I do.” The bout of noise that followed told me they were up to something. I thought I heard voices talking, too. It couldn’t just be Seraphina. The bed was really quite comfy, so I felt like I might fall asleep. “I’m taking off the blindfold, darling.” At her voice, I finally opened my eyes. I was on a comfortable canopied bed…and my wives were all lined up there with me! Notably, Seraphina and Laviala had slipped into nightgowns at some point. Fleur and Kelara had found themselves caught up in it as well, and Lumie in particular was blushing. “Hey, hey! What is this?!” “Come now, you see this sort of thing in paintings sometimes, right? Like the ones that showed how ancient kings lived, totally reveling in their vices?” Sure, there were such tales in legends and myths. Some kings probably did cavort with their consorts, but… “This isn’t what I want… I’ve always acted in moderation.” If word spread I’d bedded several of my wives at once, my reputation would suffer. “I know. Don’t worry. This is just pretend—we’re pretending we’re the people in those paintings.” “I—I see…” I was a bit relieved. “We were talking about how stressed you are, right? Thinking about how you need to relax sometimes, I came up with this idea. I mean, even when you’re talking with us, you’re thinking about politics.” “All right. I’ll let you have your way with me, Seraphina.” For just a second, Seraphina seemed to look truly relieved. I’d worried her so much in this last war. News reached the capital only intermittently, so over the course of three days she’d kept hearing I was in trouble. My wives must have been terrified. “That’s it. Sit back and enjoy yourself.” Seraphina started calling me by the name of a mythological tyrant king, and then I had the bizarre experience of lying in bed with all my wives on either side of me. This may seem a bit cruel, but Lumie’s obvious embarrassment was pretty funny. This was totally unlike her life in the convent, after all. The nuns would probably faint if they heard about this. They might think she’d been possessed and try to perform an exorcism. “Lumie, you can leave if you’re uncomfortable,” I told her. She was sitting cross-legged down by my feet. “N-no… I’m your wife, too…so I’ll do what I can—as your wife.” Looking in those brave eyes, I remembered something I needed to tell her. “I heard how hard you worked to persuade His Majesty. Thank you so much.” Better to say this sort of thing as soon as possible, even with other people around. “No, that was really all I was able to do…” “I’m certain history has changed dramatically with your actions. Fifty years from now, people will be celebrating your efforts—that I can guarantee.” “Y-yes, sir…” Lumie smiled bashfully. My other wives seemed touched at the sight. “Ooh, ooh, do you have any special words for me?” Seraphina nestled up to me. “You should have a little more shame. And let me remind you not to put any ideas in Lumie’s head…” Three days had passed since Hasse I had returned to the royal capital. By the king’s order, the activities of the five capital temples that belonged to Orsent Cathedral were banned. Soldiers carrying a copy of the edict went to the temples, evicted the followers and priests therein, and sealed the doors. The length of the ban was indefinite. And this wasn’t an idea I had put in the king’s head; Hasse had approached me with the proposal himself. I was the one who’d actually fought the cathedral, after all, so he came to let me know about this idea. It was a simple measure of retaliation, but not destroying the temples was clever. If he’d tried to thoroughly eradicate their sect, they might’ve tried to unite for another battle. If that had happened, the cathedral likely would’ve sought help from the former king’s forces, no longer caring about appearances. At the moment, there would be no merit in diving into another fateful battle. We needed to show a little leniency. I told him the ban would be enough. Hasse said, “To be frank, I would like to tear down one or two of their temples, but as that would cause disorder in the capital, I decided against it.” “That is most gracious of you,” I replied agreeably. Radical actions always begat a strong backlash. My power wasn’t secure enough yet for me to subdue it without any trouble. Eventually I’d probably clash with the cathedral, but when that happened I just had to win. Ten days after my triumphant return, an envoy came from Orsent Cathedral to apologize for defying the king as well as to petition for the emancipation of the cathedral’s temples. I was in attendance. I left the questioning to Kelara and Yanhaan. I’d added Yanhaan because I thought it might help ease tensions. As an expert in tea ceremony, this dragonewt woman was always very laid-back. It was quite hard to believe she was a successful merchant. Actually, maybe putting the other party at ease was the key to business negotiations. “Soooo why did the cathedral engage in this, you knooow, struggle?” I’d instructed Yanhaan to speak even more slowly than usual. “W-well…many of the lords the regent attacked were followers of our teachings, so it was to aid them…” Of course they couldn’t admit it had been to protect their interests in the cities and taxes. This sounded more acceptable. “I see. However, aaaall the lords His Excellency attacked had ignored their writs of revocation and calls for surrender, which appears fairly unreasonable, soooo what do you have to say about that? Surely it is not righteous to aid your followers against reason?” Yanhaan came across as very casual, but she knew exactly what to point out. “No…it is nothing like that…” “Servants of the gods would never support people without principles, would theeey? Judging from thaaat, you came to apologize because you lost, but you have noooo remorse for your actions, and you think you are in the right. Is that what I am to understaaand?” Yanhaan’s oddly languid speech didn’t sound accusatory at all. The message, however, was thoroughly so. This was how merchants did things. They brought the other person in line with their own rhythm, and moved the conversation forward from there. It must’ve been harder for the envoy to deal with than a by-the-book bureaucrat. “Not at all, not at all… What happened was…the lords were in the wrong, but we thought the punishment to be too harsh, so we wanted to alleviate it…” The envoy was faltering under the criticism. I think I’ll have plenty of use for you, Yanhaan. “Indeeeed. I understand your point.” The envoy looked relieved. “However…looking into it, it certainly appears as if the cathedral raised troops for the sake of its incooome. Is money more important than your faaaith?” Yanhaan pulled out some sort of document. “That is impossible…” “Like when I see the prayers Archbishop Cammit performed in a certain city and the donations given for it, it just looks as if you have a vested iiinterest.” “No, I’m sure that city just made a large donation out of piety…” The envoy dripped cold sweat as he continued to try to explain himself. Having gathered more documents than I’d imagined, Yanhaan went on to ask forthrightly about the things she found unusual. And yet, she often yawned as she listened to him speak. The envoy had to say that they’d been wrong to fight while explaining that their beliefs weren’t wrong. It was contradictory, but that was all he could say. He certainly couldn’t admit they didn’t care about their beliefs. This piqued Yanhaan’s interest, and the conversation somehow turned into something like a theological debate. Apparently Yanhaan was quite well versed in scripture, as she gave several specific people’s names. “…Thus, aren’t the things Orsent Cathedral saying hereticaaal? Compared with your ooown teachings, at least.” “Not at all… For example…I forget exactly which scripture it is, but…” Ahh, this reminds me of all the trouble I gave the priests of a certain sect. I wonder if this counts as persecution, too. You did something like this, too, Oda Nobunaga? I set up a special place for it. I’ve never heard of forcing such a discussion on someone who came to apologize. I guess it’s just Yanhaan’s personality. Just seeing priests in the pit of despair brings me satisfaction, so I don’t mind it. Those damn priests are liars. On the other hand, that woman with dragon horns is honest. I don’t know if gods really exist, but if they do, they’d favor the honest. Yeah, that’s true. We’re the ones in the right. We went ahead and accepted the envoy’s explanation, and Orsent Cathedral agreed to give up quite a few of its cities and pay reparations to the king. Finally, I could extend my power to the area around the capital. After we were done tormenting the cathedral’s envoy, I went to Yanhaan’s manor for another tea ceremony. I entered the minuscule little room and drank the green-colored tea that Yanhaan passed me from across the table. That’s all it was, but completely unlike during a tea party, there was a mysterious tension hanging in the air. Perhaps Yanhaan had taken hints from some secret religious rituals. Last time, I’d found myself face-to-face with Oda Nobunaga, though I wasn’t quite sure why that sort of thing had happened. “How is it?” During tea ceremony, Yanhaan seemed somehow more mature—not with an alluring charm, but the opposite, with something like the purity of a saint. “It tastes better than it did last time. Like it cleanses me by washing the gunk left in my mouth into my stomach.” “That’s good. I’m happy to hear that, especially as the host.” Having taken a breather, I could finally get to the main topic. “I realized something as I watched you work today. You’re too good to just be a hobbyist and merchant. I want you to formally assist me in my ambitions.” This foreign woman would definitely prove useful. “Yes, that’s why I took the exam.” Yanhaan drank the tea she’d poured herself. It occurred to me that the action suited her awfully well, maybe thanks to her Sen no Rikyuu profession. I’d had a very clear realization after getting to the royal capital. People with unique professions usually had useful and unconventional strengths. The dwarf Ortonba with his Kunitomo Shuu profession. Kelara with her Akechi Mitsuhide profession. I wanted more people like that among my vassals. “I want to see the world in aaall its charm. That’s why I came to this realm—in a word, because it was wild.” “You’re an odd one.” I smiled, but I doubt it reached my eyes—I’d felt exactly the same way. I must’ve been bored with this world. It was ridiculous to have lived in fear because I was born to a petty lord’s clan that could be wiped out at any time. Maybe I’d had more aspirations than the average peasant, but my life definitely hadn’t been interesting or fun. In that case, I might as well try to be king, even if it was dangerous. That was how I lived my life. Yanhaan the apothecary might not try to be king, but our thoughts were probably similar. “I came here because I thought you would be the person who would make this world interesting for me. The path you seek is unlike that of anyone else.” Alone with me in this room, Yanhaan didn’t call me “Your Excellency.” Formal hierarchy had no place here. “You really do understand. I intend to at least end this eternal game of puppets and rulers constantly switching in and out of power. I don’t exactly have a plan for after that, but still, my coronation alone will change this kingdom. Er, I suppose ‘this kingdom’ will be gone then.” “Yes, and tea ceremony is especially suited for such a new world. This is no antiquated waste of time.” Yanhaan had said she came to this realm from another land. In other words, with her background, she fundamentally had no interest in our past. Such people were more trustworthy when it came to carrying out big plans. People stuck in the past would definitely be afraid, as I’d be erasing it. “Do you know much about politics, Yanhaan?” “I’m not sure if I know how to answer thaaat, but as an outsider, I suppose I can see things from an outside point of view.” All right, you pass. “I think I’ll be putting you to great use. I knew that exam would be worthwhile; it’s how I found you.” “Yes, and if you wish to reward me, nothing would please me more than receiving your help in spreading my tea philosophy. These days I’m more interested in this than my job as a merchant.” “That’s a hell of a bargain.” Afterward, we discussed whom I should dispatch to my newly subordinate cities and territory. Yanhaan suggested the names of several bureaucrats. Many of them had passed the exam just the other day. I asked her how she knew so much. “Doing business and holding tea ceremonies in the capital makes for looots of connections. I have plenty more where that came from.” I wanted Yanhaan more than ever. “Say, you don’t have a husband, do you?” “I’m afraid nooot. I just wanted to enjoy my work as a merchant, so I’ve still never fallen for anyone or been fallen for.” “Will you be my wife?” I figured that if Yanhaan was part of my consort, she would run things there smoothly for me. Seraphina was clever, but she could be a bit pushy at times. It was worrisome. “As much as that pleases me to hear, if I did become your wife, then I wouldn’t be able to work as a merchant anymore, you knooow.” She gently refused me. She must’ve taken it as a joke. “As a lover, however…I suppose that would depend on the mood,” she added aloofly, without changing her facial expression. “Crafty girl.” “Tea is the best of crafts, you knooow. Also, please promise me one thing. The ceremony site is sacred, so no getting intimate while we’re here.” “Sure. I wouldn’t want to disrespect your values.” After we left the small tea-ceremony room, Yanhaan led me to her bedroom. Dragonewts had remarkably supple skin. Even in bed, I asked her a few questions on politics. Compared with my more concrete and pressing questions during the tea ceremony, the problems we discussed here were more long-term. “I think you should take things slowly for a few yeeears. That’s how long it takes for one’s power to stabilize.” “You’re right. I’ll keep that in mind.” I don’t need to make any big attacks soon, so maybe I’ll see how things go for about three years. Of course, I wasn’t going to do nothing. I was going to sow the seeds I needed. Harvest time couldn’t come fast enough.