I’m finally relieved that I was able to safely greet Lydia and Ludia’s families and present them with the sword made of jade silver.
The marriage to Lydia and Ludia has been decided to be when they turn 17. Since they will likely be in Freyus, the ceremony will probably be held at the Priests’ Guild in Freyus.
Although I intend to report on the marriage someday, the date is undecided.
I will send a formal letter announcing our marriage, but there’s no doubt that a personal greeting would be better.
“Besides, is it really okay not to hold it at the Priests’ Guild in Dragunia?”
“It’s far from Freyus. And since it won’t change the fact that I’m marrying Yamato, it’s fine if it’s not in Dragunia.”
“That’s right. Just your intention is more than enough to make us happy.”
Personally, I want Freyus, Grace, and Thalia to attend. That’s the norm on Earth, but on Helios Orb, the only means of transportation are beast carriages, mounts, or at worst, walking. It’s not something you can casually do.
Therefore, in cases of marriage, it’s common for only the relatives of either the bride or the groom to participate.
I was discussing with Sayuri that Helios Orb, while wider than Japan’s total area, is probably two or three times smaller than the Australian continent.
Of course, Australia is nearly 20 times the size of Japan, so it’s a very rough comparison, but it’s said to have been known for a long time that they are of similar size.
Apparently, the conclusion reached was that it’s probably only slightly larger than India.
There are many tamed wyverns that can fly, and it seems it takes about 4 days to travel from one end of Helios Orb to the other. However, the speed of a wyvern is around 200 kilometers per hour, and even Jade or Fluorite, which are faster, likely don’t reach 300 kilometers per hour.
If it were Earth’s airplanes, I think I could get anywhere in less than a day.
However, there’s no magic or technology to fly in the sky, so if I were to create it, it would start from scratch, and there’s no guarantee it would perform as expected. The future seems incredibly long.
I understand cars to some extent, but when it comes to airplanes, I know nothing at all.
“Come to think of it, Lydia. And you too, Ludia, have you really evolved?”
Grace asked, as if recalling something.
Yes, we have.
The topic was shifted to alloys, and I mentioned it so casually that Freyus probably didn’t notice either.
Normally, one would notice, but sending twin daughters off to marry must be that significant an event.
“Yes. Look, my license.”
Ludia shows her Hunter’s License to Grace.
Lydia is showing hers to Thalia.
“It’s true. And you’re level 45…”
“When we left Dragunia, you had just been promoted to B-rank, hadn’t you? What did you do to level up this much in just a few months?”
The two mothers-in-law were clutching their heads.
No, we didn’t do anything in particular.
If anything, perhaps we had a few consecutive battles against opponents slightly above our level?
“We fought high-rank monsters in the Ideal Mountain Range of Amister.”
“There were griffins there too, that’s probably why.”
The mothers widened their eyes at their daughters’ confession.
“Griffins… You managed to survive?”
“Truly. They say if you encounter one, you have no chance of survival…”
“You might not believe it, but for Yamato, they were just materials, weren’t they?”
“No, wait. Don’t say such nonsensical things.”
I blurted out a retort, but I don’t see griffins as mere materials.
“But you do think of them as rare and valuable materials, right?”
“Well, generally speaking, yes? I heard it’s been decades since even Float…”
“Even so, you wouldn’t hunt griffins gleefully, would you? And four of them at that.”
“And to be bestowed a coat for Sky Knights tailored from those griffins, that’s the highest honor as both a Hunter and an Order.”
“… ”
Damn, Mana and Rika are right, I can’t argue.
“Happily hunting griffins…”
“And four of them… It’s no wonder you did your best…”
The mothers-in-law are staring into the distance.
Thalia is a level 32 Aqua Dragonewt, and Grace is a level 33 Wind Dragonewt. Even with dragonization, it seems they would be unable to defeat griffins.
They said that if it were four of them, even in dragon form, they would fight with all their might and flee at full speed.
I’ve been told I’m ignorant of common sense when it comes to combat, but perhaps I should start studying seriously.
“Lydia, Ludia, I know it’s tough, but do your best, okay?”
“You’re welcome to visit anytime. If possible, it would make us happy to see your grandchildren then.”
“Seeing grandchildren means you don’t want us to come back for quite a while, right?”
“Who knows how many years it will take.”
As we visited in the evening, we only intended to chat a little, but the sun had already set.
So, we decided to leave. As we were departing, I overheard a conversation between a Dragonewt and a Hydragonewt parent and child.
Children, huh.
It’s been nearly a month since the Alliance, but there are no signs of Rika being pregnant.
Rika is the current head of the Marquis Amatista family and is assigned as a deputy in Freyus.
Therefore, she cannot marry me. Initially, she proposed that I impregnate her.
Polygamy is the norm in Helios Orb, so I accepted it. However, being a single mother doesn’t have a good connotation even on Earth, so I still have some resistance.
Therefore, I decided to officially marry Rika after the child inherits the family headship. Generally, the family headship can only be inherited after reaching adulthood.
If the previous head dies or becomes too ill to continue their duties, it can be recognized as an exception. Rika, who inherited the family headship of the Marquis Amatista family at the young age of 12, succeeded her father, the former head, who died of illness.
Despite the unavoidable circumstances, she apparently went through a lot of hardship when she first inherited the family headship.
Hearing such stories makes me want to make her even happier, but ultimately, it’s meaningless if a child isn’t conceived.
So, I’m using the healing magic Plasgneicing, which promotes pregnancy, but still, there’s no sign of conception.
Of course, it’s not guaranteed to result in pregnancy, and some people haven’t conceived even after using it. However, if no child is born, the bloodline of the Marquis Amatista family will end. This makes me a little anxious as well.
By the way, everyone else is using the contraceptive magic Contracepting, so they are not getting pregnant. Only Mana is not using either Plasgneicing or Contracepting.
She definitely wants to continue being a Hunter, but she also desires to have children. She seems to be neither actively trying to get pregnant nor using contraception.
“Rydia, Ludia, Mana asked you something as we were leaving, didn’t she? What happened?”
“You both look quite displeased.”
Lydia and Ludia were asked this by Mana and Prim in the beast carriage heading towards the embassy. Indeed, they look rather bitter.
Something must have been said, but what was it?
“Actually…”
“Sister, are you going to say it?”
“Either way, it will cause trouble. Besides, it’s probably better to tell you in advance, so the damage to Valentia will be less.”
Damage to Valentia? Is it that serious?
“I think I understand.”
“Yes. If that’s the case, please tell us by all means.”
Mina and Flam say so, but all the women seem to have figured it out.
Seriously, what’s going on?
“Our father is a Dragon Baron and the Vice Commander of the Royal Dragon Knight Order, but he doesn’t hold much power. However, being a level 54 Hydragonewt, his influence is significant.”
… I think I understand vaguely. Is that what it is?
“Aiming for that influence, a certain noble family is targeting me, Ludia, or both of us. They already have strong power and influence within the country, but it doesn’t extend to the Knight Order or the military, so they’re looking to strengthen their influence in those areas.”
This is a very unpleasant story.
“In other words, that noble does not approve of Yamato’s engagement to you two.”
“Our mothers said that’s how it is.”
“Hoh. Then, this noble house, we can crush them if necessary?”
No matter how much power they have, it’s none of my concern.
If they use that power to try and interfere with Lydia and Ludia, that family will surely be crushed.
“We don’t mind, but the country might cause problems. That family’s territory is on the south side of the Solpreza Mountain Range, and it contains the most difficult labyrinth in Valentia. There are rumors that even the Dragon King himself cannot easily interfere.”
“I don’t care. Anyone who lays a hand on my women will have to pay a price accordingly.”
I said that with a bit of flair, and Lydia and Ludia’s faces turned red.
I feel like my face is red too, but if I think about it, it becomes embarrassing, so I’ll try not to dwell on it.
“If we get an audience with the Dragon King, it would be good to have him warn them.”
“Yes. I don’t care what happens to that noble, but I don’t want our relationship with Valentia to worsen because of it.”
If that were to happen, Lydia and Ludia might not be able to return, so like Rika and Mana, I think it’s best to do as they suggest.
“Speaking of which, that noble, wasn’t he a Duke? If he wants influence over the Dragon Knight Order, could he be considering usurping the throne?”
Prim’s words are also concerning.
The noble in question, Duke Narlstadt Nizheg, reportedly uses the materials obtained from the labyrinth in his territory not for the domestic economy, but for his own power.
Because of this, the labyrinth-produced materials supplied in Valentia rely heavily on imports from other countries, making them extremely expensive.
The Hunter’s Guild is also concerned about this situation and has had its Head Hunter’s Master issue a remonstrance, but the Duke became angry and attacked the Hunter’s Master with his private soldiers.
The Hunter’s Master, being a High Class Hunter without exception, defeated the private soldiers. However, this incident was then used to create problems, worsening the relationship between the Hunter’s Guild and the Duke’s faction.
“He is aiming for it. The Dragon King Family has publicly stated for generations that they do not wish to ascend to the throne. When the current Dragon King ascended, he too cited this reason and directly told the previous Dragon King that he himself was the most suitable to be Dragon King.”
“However, his succession right was seventh. Even if the Dragon King Family didn’t ascend, he had no chance of becoming Dragon King.”
That’s true.
The Dragon King Family follows the rule of the youngest child inheriting. The current Dragon King has two older brothers, and of course, both of them have succession rights. Fourth in line is the niece of the predecessor, fifth is the sister of the predecessor, and sixth is the head of the Ducal family to whom that sister was married. Logically, they would take precedence.
In other words, for Duke Nizheg to ascend to the throne, usurpation would be the quickest method.
Therefore, he’s probably thinking of influencing the Dragon Knight Order and staging a coup.
“I just understand that he’s not very bright.”
“That’s right. Moreover, I heard that the Dragon Knight Order has significant cooperation from Dragonewts. Even if Duke Nizheg were to usurp the throne, I don’t think the Dragonewts would cooperate.”
Mina agreed, and it’s completely true.
Dragonewts in their dragon form are said to be able to defeat P-rank Monsters alone, let alone humans.
If the succession order were to be advanced and he became king, that would be one thing, but I don’t think the Holy Mother Dragon, the leader of the Dragonewts, would approve of such a forceful usurpation. It might even lead to the defection of the Dragonewts.
“We don’t know much about the Dragon Knight Order, but Dragonewts aren’t exactly mounts, and they only cooperate in times of emergency. So, if that happens, they’ll definitely be weakened.”
That’s probably true.
Full dragonization consumes all of their mana and stamina, so Dragonewts only transform when absolutely necessary.
However, their combat power is immense. Even Solemne has never invaded Valentia.
If the Dragonewts were to defect, Valentia would be exposed to a significant vulnerability against Solemne, so it’s natural that Duke Nizheg would hesitate to usurp the throne.
I see, so that’s why he wants influence over the Dragon Knight Order.
The Dragon Knight Order is directly under the Dragon King, but if he could win them over, I believe he could pressure the Dragon King.
Perhaps his plan is to then formally receive the abdication. Of course, that would still be a form of usurpation, and I don’t think the Dragonewts would approve.
The Duke Nizheg is reportedly in Dragunia now. If we ascend to observe the Dragon King’s Castle, we will likely encounter him.
I can imagine what he might say, but I need to remain vigilant.
