Chapter 240: Return to Antil Island
「Louise, are you awake?」
「Yeah.」
There’s something especially cute about Louise this morning.
「I’m thirsty. Wait here. I’ll go get some water.」
I get up from the bed and head off to fetch some water. It’s been less than a day since we reclaimed the Abysspania royal palace, so there are no maids or servants around yet.
Last night, we were allowed to sleep in the palace’s bed. Due to a shortage of fabric in Abysspania, the bed was made with an odd mix of a brown blanket woven from the fur of a demon beast called a Picuña and a mat of black fur from a demon beast bull. Odd as it may seem, the bed was actually quite comfortable.
Especially the Picuña fur—it was warm, springy, and felt far superior to sheep’s wool or goat hair. I even asked Barland if it could be made into an industry, but it turns out the Picuña, despite resembling a camel, is a vicious beast that devours humans, so domestication is impossible.
There’s no shortage of creatures on the Abyss Continent that provide fur, hide, or meat, but they’re all ferocious monsters, making them impossible to domesticate. Only powerful warriors are capable of hunting them, and that’s the root of the fabric shortage on this continent.
The presence of domesticated animals directly affects the speed of civilization’s progress. Without horses, we could never have built a city of this scale.
The horse, which was successfully domesticated from a wild species on the Abyss Continent, is an invaluable resource for Abysspania. Primarily used for transportation, once dead, even its hair, hide, and meat are used without waste. 「Good morning, King-sama.」
As I open the door, Berenice is waiting outside, holding a tray. On it sits a water jug.
「Berenice, huh? This must be your morning service.」
「As a faithful servant to King-sama, of course. I hope you enjoyed yourself last night.」
This mischievous dark-skinned fairy dwarf gives me a sly grin.
「What kind of servant teases their master like that?」
I take the tray with a sigh. It’s embarrassing to have someone you barely know tease you about your married life.
「I must say, Louise-sama has a stunning body, even from a woman’s perspective. Her abs are especially remarkable… I envy you, King-sama, for being able to touch her so freely.」
As she speaks, Berenice twitches her long ears and makes a strange gesture.
「Berenice… are you, by any chance… into that sort of thing?」
Now that I think about it, she did grope Clementine’s chest quite a lot. I thought she was just teasing, but all that touchy-feely behavior—could she actually be into women?
「Oh no, I simply appreciate well-toned muscles, regardless of gender. King-sama’s back muscles are quite impressive as well, if I may say so.」
As she lightly touches my shoulder, her hand feels a bit too suggestive, sending a shiver down my spine. So she’s a muscle fanatic, huh?
「What kind of servant harasses their master like this?」
「Well, I’m standing right here.」
I can’t tell if she’s joking or being serious. Just like how Clementine is annoyingly strict in her own way, Berenice is another troublesome subordinate.
「I think I’ll pass on having you scrub my back from now on. Well done, you may leave.」
「Oh, how cold. It was just a little joke.」
It seemed a bit too convincing for that. I dismiss Berenice, shutting the door with a thud as I return to Louise.
Louise still lies in bed, completely uncovered.
Indeed, my wife’s body is as beautiful and sharp as a naked blade.
Thanks to what Berenice said earlier, I find myself focusing on Louise’s abs.
「What’s wrong, Takeru?」
「No, I was just thinking… if you’re planning on having a child, maybe you should ease up on the muscle tone a bit.」
With abs like these, I can’t help but imagine a baby being squashed by all that muscle. Saying that, I casually place my hand on her stomach.
Hmm, those are some impressive abs. Maybe I’m not so different from Berenice after all. Still, the feel of her muscles is quite pleasant. Since it’s early in the morning, they’re surprisingly soft, not having been strained yet.
We were both exhausted from battle, so last night wasn’t exactly intense. Louise mentioned wanting a son, so I ended up doing most of the work.
「Takeru, our child will be strong enough to handle abs like this. Don’t you think?」
「Well, that’s something to think about later. Either way, we need to end this war soon.」
Louise can’t afford to lose her muscle mass while the war drags on. While I’d love to see her with a round belly, she wouldn’t be able to fight on the front lines as a warrior in that state.
Before that happens, I need to end this war and bring peace. The fleet sailing from Silesie should be arriving soon.
We’ve carried out diversionary tactics on two fronts and regained enough strength. It’s time to put an end to the demon army.
「Indeed. It seems you’re motivated too, Takeru. After being involved in establishing this volunteer army, I feel I must do something for the future of this country. We both have our parts to play.」
With a swift motion, Louise throws off the blanket and stands up.
「Louise, let’s start by washing your face and getting dressed.」
「Ah, right.」
There’s a knight waiting outside who seems to have her eyes on Louise’s muscles, so it’s probably best not to flaunt her bare body. I grab my jacket and hand it to her.
※※※
The fate of Abysspania, no longer a holy queendom, lies ahead. In the future, we’ll need them to become a strong trade partner with the Kingdom of Silesie.
My goal is to bring harmony between humans and demons. In retrospect, the fall of the Holy Queendom of Abysspania, which refused to acknowledge the existence of demons, worked in my favor, though it feels insensitive to say so.
The priesthood, which upheld the old teachings of the Holy Liliella Queendom and could have been a source of resistance to the new Abysspania, was wiped out by the demon nation’s rule. Now, all that remains is to defeat the Great Demon King Ifriil, who seeks to annihilate all of humanity, not just the Abyss Continent.
I’m concerned about Barland and the others as they work to stabilize the reclaimed kingdom, but there’s no telling when the grand fleet from the Kingdom of Silesie might arrive. When it does, I can’t be absent. I must return to Antil Island.
「Well then, Louise, take care of yourself and don’t push too hard.」
「You too, Takeru. Let’s meet again in the Demon Capital.」
「…That’s a joke, right?」
「Hahaha, yes, of course it is. But if I can crush the enemy’s strongholds and fortresses across the Linmon Province, it’ll draw their attention to us.」
She means to act as a decoy, but I can’t help but worry when she sounds so fired up.
「Louise, please, don’t overdo it.」
「I understand it’s a diversion. Don’t worry, I don’t plan on losing so easily.」
I spoke to Suzanne and Claudia, who were close by guarding Louise.
「Make sure Louise doesn’t push herself too hard.」
「Yes!」 「We’ll protect her, don’t worry.」
These two have learned my ways well. Unlike the reckless knights of the Eura Continent, they won’t fight in a needlessly dangerous manner.
With them by her side, I should feel more at ease.
Barland approached me, informing me that the fleet was ready.
「The loading of both personnel and supplies is complete. I’ll escort you to the harbor.」
「Thanks, Knight Commander Barland. A personal escort from you, huh?」
The Queendom of Abysspania has lost most of its high-ranking officials and nobles.
「You’ve reclaimed this nation for us. The least I can do is escort you myself. How are the ships? They seem to be in decent condition.」
「Yeah, they’ll do fine for transport.」
I inspected the ships at the harbor, and they were in excellent shape, more than enough for our needs. These outdated galleys will work just fine as long as they can move.
The fleet consisted of about sixty small galleys stationed in Presidio for patrol duty.
Since there’s little threat of a sea attack on Presidio right now, we were allowed to use the ships as part of our forces. While there’s a slim chance of a naval ambush, we have no intention of holding Presidio, so we can retreat if necessary.
However, galleys require manpower to move, which makes them labor-intensive. Even without soldiers, each ship needs a crew of twenty.
Ideally, we’d use sailing ships with smaller crews for transport, but sails are scarce here on the Abyss Continent due to the rarity of cloth.
With the entire fleet, we need around 1,200 crew members, which must have been a challenge to gather so soon after the war. I’m grateful, but Barland apologized nonetheless.
「Well, about your flagship, hero-sama… We didn’t have much time to prepare…」
「Oh, don’t worry about that. I’m just heading back to the island. As long as I’ve got a place to sit, that’s enough for me.」
I boarded one of the galleys and plopped down. ‘Thanks for the ride.’
「King-sama, we’re coming with you, of course.」
Berenice sat down beside me.
「As your bodyguards.」
Clementine sat on the other side, sandwiching me between them. Ah, right, these two are here too.
Berenice began tending to her weapons, while Clementine, with her long golden hair, started curling it with a comb. They seemed completely at ease.
Once we return to the island, I’ll have to think about what to do with these two.
For now, we’ve gathered the fleet and set sail from Presidio, heading back to Antil Island.