**Side: Hildegard**
I wholeheartedly blessed the marriage of Primrose Hydrangea, the second princess of the Amister Kingdom and a duchess of the Valentia Alliance, and Manalease Reina Amister, who is like my own sister. I was particularly overjoyed for Primrose, as there were times she was rumored to have died. I never expected that both of them would fall for the same person.
At the same time, however, I felt a pang of envy. As the Phantom King of the Torencia Phantom Kingdom, I cannot marry the person I desire. The Torencia royal family must be descended from Father of the Nation Kazushi and Mother of the Nation Eliel, so eventually I will have to accept an unwanted man as my consort or become a single mother to bear and raise children. This is because of the two younger sisters I have, one does not carry the blood of Kazushi or Eliel and therefore has no succession rights to the throne.
“Is that about it? Ah, if possible, it’s best to use shielding with high-class individuals.”
However, I am currently captivated by the person before me. Yamato Hydrangea Mikami, who saw through the new weapon developed by Soremn, my detested enemy who continues to invade our country, and easily devised countermeasures. He is Primrose and Mana’s husband, Yuri’s fiancé, and also an Ancient Human and an O-Rank Order of the Amister Kingdom, with two other wives and four fiancées.
“Sister Hilde, you’ve been looking at Yamato the whole time. Did you fall for him?”
“W-what are you talking about?! Th-that’s impossible, isn’t it?”
At the standing buffet dinner, Primrose spoke as if she had seen through my thoughts. Was I that obvious?
“Let me tell you, Primrose, it’s useless to try and hide it from me. I was the same as you, Sister Hilde.”
What do you mean, Mana? When I heard her story, Primrose was already married when Mana reunited with her. For a while, Primrose’s survival was kept secret due to various issues, but after she saved Yuri, the Amister royal family was informed of her survival, and Primrose sent Mana a letter written in her own hand. Most of the letter was about her newfound love, which is why Mana became interested in Yamato, her respect grew, and eventually turned into affection. It was exactly the same as me…
“Besides, Sister, if the other party is Yamato, there shouldn’t be any problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“Indeed, Yamato is an O-Rank Order, so his affiliation with Amister won’t change. However, there will be nobles and Orders from Amister who are associated with men who have joined the Torencia royal family, right? And some have moved to Amister after abdicating and lived out their lives there.”
As Mana says, the Torencia royal family cannot ascend to the throne unless they are descended from Kazushi and Eliel, so their marriage partners are sometimes decided by country. However, the partner is not necessarily from within Torencia. Those from outside the country are often nobles or Orders from the Amister Kingdom, which is their main lineage. Orders, in particular, often choose men around the same age as the royal women, and are treated as seconded from the Order’s Guild, allowing abdicated queens to move to Amister. Of course, this is after child-rearing is finished.
“I understand what you’re trying to say, but until then, Yamato will also be living in Torencia. Of course, Torencia would welcome him, but since you two are here, it wouldn’t be possible, would it?”
The nobles would welcome the presence of an Ancient Human within Torencia, even if only during my reign, and wouldn’t shun them. Except for nobles who wish to marry me, but perhaps because the throne of Torencia is established for women, most heads of noble families are women, and men tend to live carefree lives, so there are few such families.
“That was true until recently, but it’s not the case now. No matter how far away Torencia is, it’s not a big problem for Yamato.”
“Does that mean you’ve mastered Traveling?”
I tilted my head at Primrose’s remark, but if distance is not an issue, does it mean Yamato has mastered the long-distance teleportation magic, Traveling?
“It’s a little different, but it’s similar. I’ll invite you later.”
An invitation? After marrying Yamato, Mana and the others should have moved to a town in northern Amister called Feel.
“It’s a bit of a complicated story, so it’s better if you see it for yourself.”
I can understand why the story is complicated. Even if you only talk about it a little, it’s still incomprehensible.
“Only you, Sister, will be invited, but don’t worry, there’s no danger.”
Given that Primrose and Yamato are present, I can assume there is no danger. However, it doesn’t seem to be the case. Although the accompanying military and civil officials will not be invited, my butler, Mirei, will be allowed, and I am also interested, so I will look forward to it.
**Side: Sayuri**
Within Amagi Castle, there is a district called Ou Renten Street. This is a section where past kings, consorts, and queens were allowed to live. It is where the current King Reinhardt, the previous King Iver, his son who served as the king before him, and my husband, the king three generations prior, have their residences built. My husband and his co-wives passed away many years ago, so I live alone in a large mansion. However, because the place is within Amagi Castle, my son’s family, my grandchild’s family, and my great-grandchild’s family are nearby, so I don’t feel that lonely. My great-grandson, the current King Rai, has a mansion that is still under construction. Furthermore, thanks to the guest Yamato-kun, who is from the same world as me and married my great-grandson, a Gate Stone has been installed in one of the rooms of my mansion, allowing me to meet my great-granddaughter, who married and moved to a distant land called Feel, at any time.
Using the Gate Stone and a magic tool called a Gate Crystal, I can teleport to the floating island of Alka, which Yamato-kun discovered. This time, we are going to use it to invite a special guest.
“Sayuri-sama, thank you for inviting me today.”
“Please relax. Besides, this is just a transit point.”
This special guest, Queen Hildegard of Torencia, is visiting Ou Renten Street for the first time. The arrangement is that she will be staying at my mansion, but in reality, it will not be my mansion, but Alka.
“You are too kind. Also, Sayuri-sama, please call me Hilde as before.”
“I understand. It is presumptuous to address Her Majesty the Queen of a nation so casually, but if that is your wish.”
I have met Hilde many times, and I know she is particularly close with Mana and Primrose, and they interact like sisters. For that reason, Primrose and Hilde are like great-grandchildren to me, but since Hilde is the Queen of Torencia, I cannot keep calling her by her given name forever. However, since Hilde wants to be treated as before, I will do so, though I feel apologetic. I, too, feel more at ease this way.
“Well then, Hilde, welcome to Ou Renten Street. I welcome you.”
“Thank you. I had wanted to visit Sayuri-sama’s mansion, so I am truly grateful for this invitation.”
“I wanted to invite you sooner, but unfortunately, I was often absent. But as I said earlier, this is a transit point.”
“You mentioned it earlier as well, but what do you mean?”
Mana and Primrose haven’t explained the details. Well, the explanation is troublesome, and it’s not something to be spread widely, but I heard that Mana and Primrose, after returning from combat training, stopped by to relax in the hot springs and work up a sweat, so the rumors will likely spread soon. When Hilde and the others leave, they are considering staying in Alka, depending on the circumstances, so I’m not actively hiding it. More importantly, now, I need to explain Alka.
“Yamato-kun, could you explain?”
“Me again?”
“Of course. After all, Alka is Yamato-kun’s property.”
Yamato-kun owns Alka, the floating island, by obtaining a stone monument at the base of the Treasure Tree. Alka revolves around the Heavenly Tree, and due to their relative positions, it seems to be within Amister. However, it’s at an unbelievable altitude of 20,000 meters, so even if it’s within Amister, it cannot be considered Amister’s territory. Furthermore, there is the issue of who built Alka. After all, Alka is something that the Holy Mother Dragon Gaia received a divine oracle about and concealed the existence of the key stone monument, so it’s not a matter that even a king of a nation can intervene in, nor do they want to. Rai also thought so and promptly recognized Yamato-kun’s ownership of Alka.
“Something like that.”
“A-a floating island in the sky? To think such a thing exists…”
Hilde’s face twitches after hearing the explanation of Alka. Well, a floating island in the sky wasn’t even in the stories with the Helios Orb. In Earth, stories like that are not uncommon.
“During your stay, I will invite you to Alka at night. There are also my companions at the Wing Crest’s base, so if that’s alright with you.”
“No, that’s fine. Rumors of Wing Crest have reached Torencia, and I am also interested in this so-called sky island.”
Rumors of Wing Crest have indeed reached Torencia. Well, that’s to be expected. While the subjugation of the Demise Species is kept secret, they saved Feel from the demonic clutches of Retisencia, played a central role in the Alliance, and successively conquered the Solpreza Labyrinth, said to be the most difficult in Valentia, and Amister’s Instant Labyrinth, which was expected to be of similar difficulty. It’s no wonder rumors have spread. Of course, rumors probably have embellishments, but for Wing Crest, even those would likely be understated. Tomorrow, Hilde and the others are scheduled to see the magic stones obtained by Yamato-kun and his group, including the stuffed Orc Emperor and Orc Empress. I wonder if Hilde and the others will think the same?
But what concerns me more is the way Hilde looks at Yamato-kun. That’s definitely the look of a maiden in love, but could it be Hilde too? I heard that Mana became interested in Yamato-kun through a letter from Primrose, developed a sense of respect for him as a fellow Hunter, and then, with the anticipation of meeting him soon, her feelings turned into love. Could it be that Hilde also developed similar feelings, perhaps in a way similar to Mana? Hilde is not a Hunter but a High Vampire, and Torencia is quite far away. Perhaps her feelings were stronger than Mana’s. Considering that, is it really that strange?
However, the good news is that making those feelings come true is not that difficult. Successive Queens of Torencia either took a husband or became single mothers. Hilde’s mother, the previous Queen, became a single mother. One reason was that the man she chose as her husband was a High Hunter from Amister, but he refused to join the royal family, so they were to marry after her abdication. Therefore, the previous Queen abdicated as soon as Hilde came of age and is now officially married to that High Hunter. Hilde and her younger sister, Brynhild Minato Torencia, both wished for their mother’s happiness and did not oppose the marriage, as he is also their biological father. The reason for choosing to become a single mother was that her partner was a High Hunter from Amister, leaving her no other choice.
The consorts of past queens included nobles and Orders from Amister. In the case of Orders, they were treated as seconded from the Saber’s Guild and always joined the royal family. In Hilde’s case, with the existence of Alka, there are no geographical obstacles to marrying Yamato-kun. The fact that her partner is an Ancient Human is also a welcome factor for Torencia, which is facing invasion from Soremn. Although accepting an O-Rank Order as a seconded employee is difficult, it is possible to maintain regular exchanges with the Saber’s Guild, and Sabers can also level up.
Looking at it this way, it’s as if there’s nothing standing in the way of their marriage. Of course, there are minor issues, and the earnest Hilde has probably prepared herself to accept a man she doesn’t love for the sake of her country, but I have no intention of forcing her great-grandchild into an unwanted marriage. If this were Earth, she would have no choice but to give up, but this is a world where polygamy is the norm, Helios Orb. If it were me in my youth, I might have had some reservations, and indeed, I hesitated when I got married, but I’ve spent over 80 years on Helios Orb, so I’ve long since abandoned those common sense notions. Therefore, I have decided to accompany Yamato-kun and the others to Torencia. Of course, it’s partly for the sake of Hilde, who is like my great-grandchild, but I also want to see him.
