The Demon King's wife had originally planned for a day trip, but she ended up staying the night.
I suppose she took a liking to the hot springs. She didn't seem to have any issues with the food, either.
Come to think of it, I already knew that the Demon King and Yuri could handle chopsticks without any trouble, likely because they visit the village so often. However, I was surprised to see the Demon King's wife using them so skillfully as well. When I asked about it, she told me that the three beastman boys had been popularizing chopsticks back in the Demon Kingdom’s Royal Capital.
So, they’ve been busy with that kind of outreach? That’s good to hear.
Anyway, about those three beastman boys.
"Gol, Sil, Bron—I heard you’re all getting married. Is that right?"
The moment I asked, Sil bolted. Gol and Bron immediately tackled him to the ground.
"Noooooooo! I don't want to get marriieeeeed!" Sil shrieked. He was in a total frenzy.
Gol punched him to shut him up, then bowed his head to me. "I'm sorry. Sil’s just having a bit of a crisis now that the weddings are approaching."
He doesn't sound like he's having a crisis; he sounds like he's screaming his final conclusion.
"It’s far too late for that now," Gol added.
"Is it?"
"It is. Unfortunately."
I see... Sorry, Sil. It looks like I can't be of any help to you.
"For the time being... Gol, Sil, and I have all ended up with marriage arrangements due to various connections," Gol continued. "We’re a bit late in saying so, but we wanted to give you our formal report."
According to Gol's report, Gol was marrying two women, Sil was marrying nine, and Bron was marrying one. I’ll save the story of Sil’s nine for later, but I had to wonder about Gol’s situation first.
"Two? Is that right?"
"Yes. Well, you see... a lot happened."
Gol’s first partner was Lady Enderi, the seventh daughter of Count Pugyal. They had been friends for about a year and had just transitioned into a relationship with the intent to marry when someone interfered. The interloper was Lady Kirisana, the fifth daughter of the House of Count Glitch.
Count Pugyal and Count Glitch were career rivals. However, they didn't oppose each other openly and apparently maintained a relationship where they could cooperate if their interests aligned. Influenced by their fathers' dynamic, the daughters also viewed each other as rivals while appearing friendly on the surface.
Under normal circumstances, Lady Kirisana wouldn't have interfered. In fact, Lady Enderi’s marriage should have been a welcome event for her. Since marrying Gol—who wasn't involved in the politics of the Demon Kingdom—wouldn't actually improve Count Pugyal’s standing, there was no political reason to stop it.
And yet, Lady Kirisana obstructed the marriage anyway. I checked to see if she had some noble motive, like thinking Lady Enderi was being forced into it, but that wasn't it.
The reason was simple: pure jealousy.
"How dare you get married before me?" That was it.
But from that single spark, a war began between Lady Enderi and Lady Kirisana. Gol was caught in the crossfire. I don’t know the exact details of how things escalated, but Gol ended up having to marry both of them. Now, the two women have formed an alliance specifically to ensure Gol doesn't escape.
Gol, your eyes look a bit vacant. Are you okay? You’re fine? Okay, good.
Bron’s partner was a staff member from the Academy—the office lady. She had looked after Bron since he was a student, and that support continued even after he became a teacher. For a while, they were just a teacher and a staff member, but after one thing and another, she proposed to him. Bron accepted, and that was that.
It was... normal. Truly normal.
Wait, don’t panic yet. I had to be sure. "What race is she? Is there some punchline, like she's actually undead?"
"No. She’s a normal demon woman. Just a little older than me."
"How much older?"
"Fifteen years."
...No problem!
Still, Bron... the fact that you became fond of older women might be my fault. When you boys were little, the beastman girls in the village were... well, let me apologize for that.
Bron gave me a reassuring smile in response to my apology. "It’s not that I specifically like older women; it’s just that the person I fell in love with happened to be older."
...I see. Be happy, then.
Now, for the problematic Sil. Nine partners?
Do I really have to hear the details? I do? Fine. I’ll listen.
"In the beginning, there were three..."
Wait, that’s already weird. Shouldn't it have been one? No, sorry. Please continue.
Sil had been maintaining a comfortable distance with the first three: Lady Irene, Lady Robia, and Lady Konegit. Sil had figured it would be nice if he could eventually marry one of them. Perhaps sensing his indecisiveness, the three of them allied and began working toward a future where he would marry all three.
Sil, unaware of this, treated them all relatively equally. As the days passed and the net tightened around him, a fourth person entered the fray. Apparently, while solving a disease outbreak in a certain Count's territory with Gol and the others, a relative of the Count came forward to thank him. In this context, "thanking him" meant becoming his wife and serving him. I didn't know that was a thing, and Sil didn't either.
Then came the fifth. She was a female artificial lifeform who guarded the penultimate floor of a dungeon. After Sil and the others conquered the place, Sil "picked her up" because he felt sorry that she had nowhere else to go. To Sil, it was just a random act of pity, but she didn't see it that way. She started calling him "Master" and acting like his wife.
The sixth was a merchant's daughter. This one was simple: Sil rescued a merchant's caravan from over fifty bandits. Smitten by his strength, the merchant and his daughter launched an aggressive romantic campaign. No matter how strong he was, Sil was still a boy. He was brilliantly manipulated by the veteran merchant, and before he knew it, the daughter was staying at the Academy.
The seventh was a desert elf slave he met during a trip to a human kingdom. There are slaves in the Demon Kingdom, but they are generally criminal slaves serving a sentence. Human kingdoms have various kinds of slaves, and the treatment can be horrific. Witnessing such cruelty, an indignant Sil legally dismantled the slave trade ring and freed them. Most of them had been kidnapped, so they were happy to return home with the travel funds Sil provided. However, one desert elf had no home to return to, so she stayed with Sil.
I see. I had to interrupt for a second. Is it really okay to go around crushing slave traders? If that’s the local custom, going to another country and causing a scene just because it's different from your own home is a bit reckless. I’m not saying don't help people, but you shouldn't reach for things you can't handle. You’ll just earn resentment. I’d prefer it if you were more careful.
Well, if he did it legally, then the fault was with the trader. He didn't use fraud or anything, right? Good.
Back to the story—the eighth was an assassin. She was a beastman girl sent by the trader he crushed, but after he defeated her, she became attached to him.
The ninth was an adventurer who had traveled to the human kingdom with Sil. She was a magician who had been Sil’s partner and had helped him with the slave trader incident. She was apparently a very good person. The reason she volunteered to be a wife? Sil’s cooking. He had captivated her with the recipes he learned back in the Village of the Great Tree.
I see. So, those nine women fought among themselves whenever Sil wasn't around, eventually reaching a truce and forming an alliance. When Sil finally realized the terrifying nature of what he was facing, he tried to run with everything he had. But he was caught.
He was caught good.
Apparently, Gol and Bron helped catch him. It was likely a coordinated effort by their own wives-to-be. Cooperation among the wives of the three friends is important, after all. I won't call them traitors.
"Ah, yeah, Sil... I'm on your side." I patted his shoulder. "Listen, love is infinite. It has no limits. That's the basic principle."
On top of that, I decided to teach him a mental technique. "I'll show you how to build 'shelves' in your heart. Any kind of shelf will do. It's a place where you store your feelings for someone precious so you can keep them balanced. It’s not hard. It’s not hard at all..."
That day, I talked with Sil for a very long time. We had never spoken like this before. Even if we aren't related by blood, he is my son.
"Yeah. Stand tall, Sil. The important thing is the shelves in your heart. And equality. Never forget that."
Oops, Gol and Bron are my sons, too. Hahaha.