Chapter 126 – Those who bully the wives won’t be forgiven.

Side: Yuki

Well then, up to now there have been a lot of rapid developments and detours, but nothing"s really changed our main goals.

But rather than worrying about the future too much, I just have to keep focused and deal with what"s right in front of me, along with the consequences of those actions.

After all, it’d all be meaningless if we failed half-way.

We should always try to see the advantages and disadvantages of every situation.

As long as we do that, we will come out on top regardless.

That was my motto—my personal policy1)Policy written in katakana.
Well, there were a few things that caught me off guard though, on the other hand the majority was my own personal hang-ups though.

For now, I need to stay as calm and composed as I can and explain the situation to my wives and Naruja.
I especially have to keep an eye on Lulu.
If I don’t make sure to keep her by my side at all times, then there is a very real possibility of self-harm, or even worse.
Because regardless of how you twist and turn the truth, the fact is that Ritea is the root cause of all this. For Lulu, who was at the top of Ritea at the time, that responsibility is probably too much for her to bear…

(Yuki)「Good, everyone’s here already. 」

I nodded, seeing everyone seated and waiting for me.
For now, I just took the nearest empty seat.

(Yuki)「Leia, next to me. 」

(Leia)「Yes. 」

(Yuki)「Lulu, come here. 」

(Lulu)「Eh?」

After looking directly at Lulu, I beckoned her over.
Whenever we held meetings, to avoid any unnecessary problems or fights over who would sit next to me, a rotation system was put in place—which was why Lulu was seated so far away from me today.
By the way, Leia grabbed a folding chair and sat next to me. Everyone’s eyes honed in on her, but since Leia was nominated as my attendant, they couldn’t complain—especially since it was their idea in the first place.

(Lulu)「What’s the matter?」

Lulu came over, looking a bit confused.

(Yuki)「Sit here.」

SFX:Ponpon. I hit my knees.

(Lulu)「Eh?」

(Yuki)「Today Lulu can sit on my lap. 」

(Lulu)「Are you sure!?」

(Yuki)「You bet. 」

(Lulu)「Yatta, I love you, danna-sama!!」

She happily leapt my way, while her bountiful bust made themselves known between us.
…And as always, the sensation and volume was just amazing!

(Seraria)「Nee, my Dear. Why did you suddenly call us together and what’s this about it being an emergency?」

Oh, Seraria twitched.
No, this can’t be helped right now.
Thinking about what might happen, I could only keep Lulu right here by my side.

(Lutz))「What’s the meaning of this!? Then I really want to sit on onii-san"s lap too!!」

(Riel)「Me too, me too!!」

With the exception of Ellis and Delille, who already knew the situation—Riel, Lutz and everyone else bombarded me with questions and demands for my lap.

(Yuki)「—First off, calm down. 」

I pulled an eagle grab on Lulu’s b.r.e.a.s.t.s and flipped her on the spot, turning her to face front.

(Lulu)「Ahhn~♡, be more gentle please. 」

(Yuki)「Don’t you *Ahhn~♡* me. For now, just be good and stay right there on my lap. I promise that I’ll take care of you as much as you want later, alright? …Lulu, listen carefully—what I’m about to explain is going to be very difficult to hear, especially for you. But remember, you aren’t alone. You have me and everyone else here with you too, so I need you to do your best and calmly listen to what I"m about to say until the end. Can you do that for me?」

(Lulu)「…Yes?」

She doesn’t seem to fully understand, but it wasn’t just Lulu—practically everyone was staring at me, wondering what I meant with my words and sudden actions just now. Still, while clumsily holding onto Lulu, I explained everything I learned from Liliana.

・That her throne as Demon King had been usurped and that she was forced to run for her life.
・That, in the end, she finally made it to Weed, hoping to seek asylum from her pursuers and to warn the other nations of the Demons" actions and request their aid to prevent a ma.s.sacre.
・That the story of Herge’s a.s.sa.s.sination was used against her.
・That the captured and missing members of the Big Four were also used against her by the opposition.
・After the Anti-Demon Alliance was formed—the Demons, who felt even more pressured than ever, launched a preemptive invasion on Rumel.
・That it was my decisions in handling the conflict between Galtz, Ritea and Roch.e.l.le were ultimately what led to this current crisis—That, in the end, I was the one to blame for all of this.

After they finished listening, everyone went deathly pale.

(Seraria)「I see, the situation is very bad. If Rumel gets destroyed….—… Hey, my Dear!! Don’t let go of Lulu!!」

At Seraria’s sudden urging, I tightly restrained Lulu, just barely in time. I thought she might try to escape, but she was forcefully returned to me and I could feel her warmth on me once again.

(Lulu)「Please release me!! …Danna-sama did nothing wrong!! All of this was because of my inequity and inability to manage Ritea’s internal problems!! 」

(Kaya)「Calm down. I beg of you—please keep yourself composed.」

(Seraria)「Lulu, calm down!!」

(Lulu)「Because of me, Rumel is–!! Many lives will–!! —…Ooh!!」

Seraria and Kaya, who were at Lulu"s side, hurriedly tried to calm her down.
Lulu started to mentally derail because of the news, though it was understandable, since Ritea is at the root of all…

(Yuki)「Lulu. Listen to me, like I said. I’m here with you now. Everyone"s here is with you too. And you might bear a child as well…. That’s why, please calm down. 」

(Lulu)「UAaAAa！!」

(Yuki)「n.o.body’s going to blame Lulu. What happened would have happened regardless what actions you could have taken, but it’s alright. I’ll manage this, so please don’t cry…」

(Seraria)「That’s right. You have to keep things together and overcome this. You truly might be carrying my dear husband’s child right now. If Lulu can"t calm down, then it’d be difficult to safely deliver the child.」

(Lulu)「Da-nna-sama’s child?」

(Seraria)「Yes, the baby that has yet to be born is no sinner. Of course, neither is Lulu. All of us will definitely get through this, so you need to keep yourself together, Lulu. 」

(Lulu)「Is…is it, really alright, to keep… living like this then?」

(Yuki)「Of course it is. You’re going to be a mother after all, aren’t you 」

(Lulu)「Y-es. I’ll give birth to danna-sama’s child,…It’s like you said, I have to be a good… mother. 」

(Seraria)「That’s right. Lulu has to become a great mother together with us. That’s why, you mustn"t do anything rash. 」

(Lulu)「…Tha-nk you. 」

With that, she entrusted herself to me and pa.s.sed out.

(Seraria)「Fuu, looks like she fell asleep. Today’s strife opened up a real mess for us. One country might even disappear. Just talking about this is amazing…. 」

(Lutz)「Onii-san had foreseen this outcome, huh. 」

(Shera)「…Is Lulu-sama going to be okay?」

Shera was anxiously looking at Lulu.
Everyone else was looking at Lulu with the same warm look.

(Seraria)「It should be alright for now. My Dear, you’re going to stay with Lulu for a while right?」

(Yuki)「Yes. 」

(Seraria)「Alright then. We’ll manage the other things, so just give us instructions. In exchange, you absolutely must not leave Lulu. 」

(Yuki)「Of course, it’s my duty to take care of my important wives. 」

The girls nodded.
Firmly embracing Lulu, I continued.

(Yuki)「Now then, the problems we have to deal with, and what we have to do from now on too—Everything has grown in scope again.」

When I said that, everyone once again took their seats.

(Yuki)「First, concerning Rankus’ retaliation. We’ll intercept them as originally planned. Anyone changed their minds on that?」

Everyone said that"s fine.
In other words just as we’ve discussed already,
…We’ll annihilate them.

(Yuki)「Next, to resist possible future Demon infiltrations. Can we reinforce our patrols?」

(Tori)「Yes, we have reserves ready. 」

(Riel)「We will remain vigilant at all times.」

Said Tori and Riel.
Things should stay under control with this.

(Yuki)「What about responses from the other countries?」

(Naruja)「Yes, they received our notices and have responded. 」

(Shera)「But, should we disclose information about the Demons’ situation to them too?」

(Yuki)「I think we should, and two hours from now, I plan to hold an emergency conference with Galtz, Ritea and Roch.e.l.le, so contact their leaders right away please. 」

(Shera & Naruja)「「Yes. 」」

Shera and Naruja answered immediately.
Lulu is out, but even if they get busier, their motivation is to the max.

(Yuki)「Millie, Kaya, are you ready to notify the inhabitants?」

(Millie)「Preparations completed. 」

(Seraria)「I’ve already made my preparations too. 」

(Yuki)「Yosh, I’ll take control of Kiyu and we’ll leave tomorrow. With our remaining troops, we’ll move straight to Rumel. 」

(Kaya)「…..We’re going to inform the residents tomorrow. 」

No problems so far.

(Yuki)「Lutz, how about the shops? 」

(Lutz)「No problems, I can just leave them to each of the store managers. 」

(Yuki)「Yosh. 」

Finally…..

(Yuki)「Seraria. 」

(Seraria)「We’re dividing our forces?」

(Yuki)「Ah, but for Rumel’s a.s.sistance, the only countries we can really rely on are Ritea and Roch.e.l.le. Also I think we can get there faster with Ritea"s help. 」

(Seraria)「I see. Right now, Rankus" army is marching through Galtz’s territory. So they’ll likely be preparing to deal with postwar bandits, so if we consider that, then the matter of reinforcements from them does become tricky. Then, what should be our objective with the other army?」

I answered Seraria with a smile.

(Yuki)「In the first place, even if Ritea was the cause, the fact that the Demons used it as a pretext is in poor taste. 」

(Seraria)「Naturally. Lulu didn’t do anything wrong. Rather, the hardliners are the real issue. 」

(Yuki)「That’s right. The ones who made Lulu cry—I’ll destroy them. 」

(Seraria)「…How? Don’t tell me, we’re going on our own then? It’s not impossible, but then the view that Demons and Humans have of themselves wouldn’t change, but get worse right?」

Yes, if we ambushed our opponents, they wouldn’t be able to react and would ultimately be crushed, however—that really wouldn’t solve things in the long term though.
Different approach or not, we’d only be repeating history like that. Be it the Hero or an a.s.sa.s.sin who defeated the Demons, it’d all end the same way and nothing would change.
Though, I guess it’d be a crazy husband and his wives this time, huh?

But, this time things are brilliantly different.
In this particular story, the Demons are innocent, so if the Royalties get involved and speak up… then the Hardliners would have to back down and listen. But, it couldn’t be just any one country"s Royalty though, since the first one to speak would be taking a huge risk, etc., oh no no—we have to go big on this one.

(Yuki)「This is the perfect stage for Herge’s resurrection. I think you understand, yes?」

(Seraria)「……No way. Wait, I see… I think that’s a brilliant idea, my Dear!」

Seraria and I have wicked, scheming smiles.
Meanwhile, everyone looked on with many different reactions

As expected, Shera, Lutz, Ellis, Millie, Tori and Kirue were all frozen in place.

Delille, Riel, Kaya and Naruja didn’t seem to understand and were just tilting their heads, question marks practically floating atop their heads

And since Labiris was always looking through my mind and memories, she had the exact same devious, scheming smile as Seraria and I.

However Herge, the person concerned, simply looked confused and puzzled.

Now then. After bullying my wives so much…I hope you hardliners are prepared to pay the price. Or not.

Afterword of the author
What is the reverse strategy using Herge will Yuki make?

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