She can make expressions like that, too… That’s kind of refreshing, I thought.
Incidentally, when Marx had come to her for advice, Excel had said, “Oh my, in that case, why don’t I teach him for you? I have a decent amount of experience in that field, after all. If you’d like, I can even handle the practical lessons personally, you know? I come from a long-lived race, so it’s not that likely that I would get pregnant. Hee hee,” with a laugh that made it hard to tell just how serious she was.
According to Marx, giving the lie to her mid-twenties appearance, her eyes had had the glint of a snake that had found its prey.
…I suppose she wasn’t from the sea serpent race for nothing.
When I told Juna that, she pressed a finger to her temple, looking worried. “I’ve heard about this from Aunt Accela.” That was Excel’s daughter and Carla’s mother. “When she was still a young girl, Grandmother would tempt the men who fell in love with my aunt and tease them.”
“Wow… That’s pretty awful…”
“No, she only did it with the ones my aunt had no feelings for herself. It was to make them give up on having an illicit affair with her daughter, but… my mother once told me, with an exhausted look on her face, ‘I never wanted to have to see classmates who had tried to woo my mother and been shot down.’”
Well, no, I don’t imagine she would have. Thinking about it, Castor had initially approached Excel, hadn’t he? Had she been cold to him because he’d gone after her first? It was definitely true that she was a breathtaking beauty. If I hadn’t built up a resistance to that by being around Liscia and the others, I might have been at risk of falling for her myself.
“So, now that you know what’s up, I’d like to ask you to accompany me,” I said. “Can I count on you for that?”
“…I understand. I will do my utmost to protect you, sire.” Juna saluted me, her face filled with resolution.
Protect me from what?…Yeah, the answer to that went without saying.
Juna looked to me as if she wanted to say something, but she was having a hard time saying whatever it was and she looked away. I wondered what it could be, so I waited for her. Juna seemed to resolve herself, then opened her mouth and said, “Um… About the issue you’re having, well… Wouldn’t it be solved if you just laid your hands on one of us? It could be the princess, or Aisha, or Roroa, or even… um… me…”
When she said that with her face looking down and her eyes upturned, it hit me hard, but I gulped and restrained myself. If Marx had his say, this might be exactly the problem.
“I’m… uh… not ready to be a father yet,” I said. “Listen, I love all of you, of course, and I’m definitely interested in doing that sort of stuff with you, but… when they tell me I absolutely have to make a baby, I’m hesitant. With me as I am now, with this country as it is now, I question if I can make all of you, and the children to be born, happy.”
“I see…” Juna looked a little disappointed, but she quickly covered it with a gentle smile. “That’s very much like you, sire. I can feel how much you care for all of us.”
“Of course I do!”
“In that case, I will be looking forward to it when you’re ready.”
Juna’s smile was so wonderful that I hugged her tight. She seemed surprised, but she didn’t resist.
She was soft and smelled good.
I wasn’t ready yet, but… I could do this much, at least, I figured.
A few days later — Lagoon City
Lagoon City was the central city of the Walter Duchy.
It was located in the northeast of Friedonia, and as the name would lead you to assume, it was a city built in a lagoon. Because of the high heat and humidity, it was built much like Venice in Italy, and there were canals running everywhere in the city.
When I looked at this city, it reminded me of a certain iyashikei manga I had read a long time ago, but unfortunately there were no cute girls acting as gondoliers here. Instead, I could see burly men loading and unloading cargo from little boats all over the place.
It was winter now, so the men were bundled up tight; but if this had been summer, they’d probably have all been practically naked. (Like, wearing nothing but a loincloth.) Even the thought of it was suffocating.
I was there, watching the scenery of Lagoon City from inside a carriage with Juna.
“Were you born here, Juna?” I asked.
“No, I was born a little further to the northwest, in a small port town near the border with the Union of Eastern States. It’s not as lively as it is here, but we do catch lots of delicious fish there, you know?”
“Oh, yeah? I’d like to go there someday.”
“Yes, I hope you will.”
While we were having that pleasant chat, the carriage arrived at Excel’s manor.
At Lagoon City, the Navy’s stronghold, there was a base, but there was no castle. That was because they didn’t anticipate the city being besieged by a land-based force. It reflected the fact that the Navy was able to show its fullest power at sea, and if this land were ever invaded by a foreign enemy, they would simply board the ships and eliminate the enemy, city and all, with coastal bombardments.
The sea serpent race loved this land more than anyone, and if they couldn’t have it, no one could. They were pretty yandere when it came to their feelings for this land.
When we rode onto the grounds in our carriage, I saw that Excel was standing in front of the manor, awaiting our arrival. Her blue hair shone in the sun, her beautiful face peering out from behind it.
Like always, Excel was so beautiful, you could tell even from a distance. You could really tell she was Juna’s grandmother. (Though there were few people whom the word “grandmother” would have suited less.) The blue outfit she was wearing that was like a kimono crossed with a dress looked good on her.
When I looked over, Juna had a grim look on her face.
“Juna? What’s wrong?” I asked.
“That kimono…”
“The kimono?”
“It’s Grandmother’s favorite. It seems… caution may indeed be warranted.”
“Um… Technically, my only goal here is to survey a military facility…”
When I said that, alarmed, Juna wrapped her arm around mine, holding it tight, then looked at me with a serious expression. “Sire, when you are in front of a sea snake, you never show an opening to strike. If you do…”
“If I do?”
“You’ll be gobbled up.”
“…”
…I didn’t know exactly what that was supposed to mean, but I made a mental note to be careful.
When we disembarked from the carriage, Excel met us with a smile.
“It’s been too long, Your Majesty. Welcome to Lagoon City.”
I knew what Juna had said, but for now, she didn’t seem any different from usual. I tried not to make my wariness evident, responding in a friendly tone. “We haven’t seen each other since I appointed you as Supreme Commander of the National Defense Force, right? I’m glad to see you’re in good health.”
“Hee hee! Oh, sire, you do love pushing off major duties onto this old lady.” (She seemed to be fine with calling herself that.) “But thank you. I hope you’ve been well, Juna.”
“It’s good to see again, Sea Princess.” Next to me, Juna gave a graceful bow.
Excel had been called “Sea Princess” in the former Navy. It was probably similar to addressing her as “ma’am” for them.
But Excel shook her head. “Juna, you’ve been discharged from the Navy. You will be marrying His Majesty, even if it is as a secondary queen. The only positions we have relative to one another now are the ones we have as family.”