Book 8: Chapter 12
‘I’ve travelled the road back to the Royal Capital twice. This is now my third time.’
‘The switch in seasons to spring wasn’t distinguishable in the North, but the further and further South we went, the more and more prominent the change became. Black soil was now revealed in the fields on both sides of the roads. The ice had melted into clear water, and there’d occasionally be people who’d be stamping over and over in the soil. I don’t know what they were doing, though. There were more people travelling on the road. I didn’t hide my identity this time. I boastfully raised the flag of the royal family with the royal family emblem on it. Everybody who passed by had to salute us. It felt really nice.’
‘This time, I felt rather at leisure, since it’s just an annual meeting I’m attending. I won’t be participating in the hunting event. This is, therefore, basically a vacation for me, except I’m a little unhappy that I couldn’t bring my wife along. But then, my Princess already made an appearance at the wedding, so she doesn’t need to make an appearance at these sorts of gatherings between me and the vassal states.’
‘Moreover, I’d feel more assured if my two pregnant wives stayed at home to look after themselves, instead.’
“Onii-sama, after we arrive, we need to provide a reception for the envoys first. This is the busiest time of the year in the Royal Capital. We will need to handle lots of matters, because the level of the relationships between each vassal state varies, in addition to them having different religious beliefs. If we do not handle our time together well, it is very likely to create harassment incidents in the Royal Capital. Hence, we must be very meticulous with where we arrange them and what they do.”
I kept silent for a while before responding, “Do we have to handle that, too? Haven’t those things already been arranged? I don’t have any experience in dealing with their business. How am I supposed to know what habits they have or what their religious beliefs are? I’ll be the one that suffers losses if I have to handle it.”
“Did I not give you the information on them already?”
I scratched my head. I dryly chuckled and replied, “I didn’t have time to look over it… I was planning to read through the information on the way there…, but it doesn’t seem as though I’ll get a chance now…”
“There is no such thing as ‘doesn’t seem as though I’ll get a chance,’ you just never made time. Onii-sama, as the main star of the meeting this time, you cannot be slipshod like this. While you have, indeed, just returned from the desert, you must prepare yourself to work hard. The work you will have to handle in the future will be more complex and tiring than the work you are dealing with now. You cannot be so slipshod.”