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Chapter 348 – Parent & Child With No Outsiders Present (Plural)
“So I’m going to spend some time in the second safest place in the world.”
I said to myself as I relaxed in the private residence I had built for the harpies.
After I finished my small talk with Kirilovich, I decided to go back to the Harpy Tower to check on the harpies. I asked Shumel and the others to return to the castle.
“Papaー!”
“Father!”
“Oh, good, good… Wait, go easy on me a bit.”
I begged for mercy while catching the harpies who were charging at me with more power than I had anticipated. Kids are always so cute and full of energy. But if they go all out, their powerless father might get blown away, so please go easy on me.
“The second best? Not the best?”
Pirna, the leader of the group and a blue-feathered harpy, puffed up her cheeks slightly, but I shook my head.
“It’s hard to compare it with the inside of Merinard Castle, protected by Lime and others and the royal guards.”
“It’s frustrating, but there’s no doubt about it!”
The brown-feathered harpy Pessar laughed at my reply and pulled off the harpy clinging to my lap. And now she’s going to sit on my lap. That’s quite immature of you―oh, and you’re going to carry her in your arms.
“Are you staying here today?”
“No, Ellen’s schedule is coming up. I don’t know when the baby will be born, and I plan to stay at the castle for a while. I’m going to show my face like this, though.”
“I see. I heard that it is very difficult for a human to give birth.”
“Isn’t that the case with harpies?”
“We’re used to it.”
“You’re used to it…?”
“We always lay this many eggs.”
Saying that, Pessar, who was sitting on my lap, indicated with her wing that it was about the size of a baby’s head. Oh yeah, that’s right. I don’t know how many times a month these girls give birth. I’ve even eaten something like that before. In this world, it’s normal to eat the unfertilized eggs laid by harpies and lizardmen and to drink milk squeezed from cow-type beast women. I still can’t get used to it, though.
“I see. I understand the reason, but I’m at a loss for a response.”
“Hahaha, it’s just Danna-san and us, so it’s no big deal now.”
“A woman without delicacy will be rejected.”
“Even close friends have manners. You should have the least amount of shame as a woman.”
Capri, a brown-feathered harpy, and Ygrette, a white-feathered harpy, are giving Pessar a stern gaze as she giggles. Yeah, you guys are right but don’t fight.
“U-um… how do you think things are going to move from now on?”
Flame, a brown-feathered harpy, asked while petting a sleeping child a short distance away.
“What do you mean by the move? Do you mean me or the country?”
“Well… it’s both.”
“Both, huh? First of all, I’m taking a break for a while. I’m going to stay in Merinesburg and do some miscellaneous work while I watch over Ellen’s delivery. I’m halfway through my work with the Adventurers Guild and the Merchants Guild, and I want to find out what the production system for canned goods and instant noodles is like, and there are a lot of other things I want to do.”
“Kosuke-san is as busy as ever.”
“It’s my nature, after all. And so, about the country’s move…”
I thought about it for a while.
“Well, I can’t say for sure. I’m not actively involved in the running of the Merinard Kingdom itself. If Sylphy asked me to, I would go and fight, like I did during the last northern campaign, but in a way, I’m no better than a lowly soldier.”
“I don’t think you can be a low-ranking soldier…”
“Danna-han, That’s as expected…”
“I don’t think it’s possible.”
“It’s just a feeling, a feeling. The utmost feeling.”
Since I received a lot of criticism, I have to defend myself. I don’t really think of myself as a lowly soldier.
“So, what do I think of Merinard’s future moves…?”
“Future move…?”
“I have no idea.”
When I said that, everyone was dumbfounded. Yeah, that’s a good reaction. That’s the kind of reaction I was expecting.
“Wait, Danna-san?”
“Hahaha, well, that was a joke. In my position, I can’t talk about that kind of thing lightly.”
“I see?”
Pessar, who was sitting on my lap, tilted her head while saying that in a tone as if she didn’t understand.
“I don’t think anything I say here will leak out, but there is always a chance. It would be a big problem if I, in my position as the prince consort, said something carelessly and it got out to the public. Well, even so, that doesn’t clear things up, does it?”
Everyone nodded in agreement. I know, the harpies are nodding too, but you girls don’t get it, do you? But they’re cute, so it’s okay.
“At any rate, I doubt there will be any major battles with the Holy Kingdom in the future. At least for a while.”
“””I see.”””
It seems that they are convinced of this. I don’t know how Sylphy will decide to deal with the Holy Kingdoms in the future, but there will probably be no move to organize an invasion force to attack here. Even if they do, it will be mainly by infiltrating a small unit into the territory of the Holy Kingdom and carrying out maneuvering activities.
“Will we be dismissed?”
“No way. Even if the war with the Holy Kingdom is over, there will be plenty of opportunities for everyone to be active.”
Communication in this world is still in its infancy. Unless you are powerful or wealthy, you have few means to deliver news to distant places. The best one can do is to entrust a letter to a peddler or perhaps pay a large sum of money to an adventurer to deliver a letter. Whether or not the letter reaches its destination depends on luck. The Empire and the Holy Kingdom seem to have a proper postal organization―in the case of the Holy Kingdom, it is operated only within the Adol religion―but the Kingdom of Merinard has none.
I think that if we combine high-speed city-to-city travel by air boards and the city delivery capability through three-dimensional maneuvering by the harpies, we can create an extremely excellent postal organization.
“That’s a relief, isn’t it?”
“That’s right. And if everyone were to be sidelined and there were no military jobs, I’d still provide for you.”
If I get a little serious, I can have a huge farm in less than a week. If I were to be thrown out of the Merinard Kingdom with the harpies, I could easily feed everyone by making some farmland somewhere and being self-sufficient while I made something or dug for ore.
“””…..”””
“Huh?”
I was thinking about this when I noticed that all the harpies were silent before I knew it. No, wait, why are you taking the kids to their nap room? Why are you so hastily putting down the futon?
“You say you’re going to take care of all of us like it’s nothing; that’s cool.”
“As expected of our Danna-san, isn’t it?”
“You’re so manly…”
Ack. They all have dangerous eyes. This is the one that’s a heart symbol, like in manga or something.
“When you’ve put the kids to bed, we’ll take our turns.”
“It’s okay to go until nighttime, right? Good.”
“What do you mean by good? Wait. Let’s calm down and talk about it.”
“We’ll talk about it under the futon.”
“Whoa!”
I think it’s unfair that even children are so powerful, but adults are coming at me in groups. There is no way I can win!