Sleeping Flame (10)
We descended the mountain and returned to the rest of the party. It looked like they’d been fanning themselves the whole time—Franc was vigorously waving a huge leaf at Dana.
“Nord? What’s with that hide? It looks fresh…”
Franc blinked in surprise when she saw the enormous pelt I was carrying down. The giant’s blue hide I’d brought back while packing up was so massive it looked like I was lugging an entire wardrobe on my back. No wonder she was shocked. Even Larilura, who had been passionately embracing an ice pillar, widened her eyes.
“Senior? Was there some kind of monster in there?”
“There was. A filthy strong bastard. Even though he wasn’t at full power, I’d say he’d rank in the top five I’ve ever fought.”
Dana frowned at that, then started fanning me with the leaf. Since my fire resistance had just been released, the cool breeze felt amazing.
“This damn husband of mine can’t take his eyes off something for five seconds without coming back from a fight. I’m not even pregnant yet and I already feel like I’m raising a neighborhood delinquent brat.”
“Fuck. You’re not even asking if I’m hurt anymore? Wife, have you lost your affection for your husband?”
“I just believe our wonderful husband isn’t the kind of guy who’d get his ass kicked out there, okay? Besides, with your personality, if you actually got hurt you’d be all ‘Te~ng~ Dana mommy~’ and cling to me like a baby.”
“Te~ng~. Franc mommy~.”
“Hey, you son of a bitch.”
I dodged Dana and dove into Franc’s arms. It was insanely hot, so I quietly chanted Freezing Hand to make sure my embrace wouldn’t bother her. On days with a high discomfort index, you have to be considerate even with skinship.
“Hehe. Good thing you’re not hurt. What kind of monster was it?”
“The ugliest giant I’ve seen in my entire life. It was small for a giant, but the real important news is something else. Right, Veronica?”
As I pulled away from Franc’s chest, Veronica answered with a stern, solemn, and serious expression.
“Indeed. It is quite a grave matter, my beloved. Shall I explain it?”
“No. I’ll do it.”
I turned to my wives plus Larilura and dropped the news.
“We got married.”
“……Master. I was talking about the prophet’s avatar.”
Oh. Right.
Today was another round of the usual post-battle briefing. I’d done it so many times that I’d gotten good at picking out only the important information, but this wasn’t something I could gloss over.
Entering the cave → beating the giant and skinning it went by in a flash. I only gave a rough explanation of the most critical parts—how ridiculously OP my new ultimate skill was and how useful the giant’s hide seemed—then skipped the rest.
But the part about getting spoiled by the prophet’s avatar → deciding to marry Veronica too? That absolutely could not be skipped. It would have been rude to the audience listening.
“Hmm. That was faster than I expected.”
“Yeah. I thought it would take a bit longer too.”
When I finished my casual recount under the shade of a tree, Dana gave a lukewarm reaction. Franc’s response was similar, so Veronica secretly let out a sigh of relief and stroked her chest.
“What a relief. To be honest, I was prepared to be rejected and forced to sleep in the stable.”
“Hey, Veronica. If that actually happened after you married me, what kind of pathetic bastard would that make me?”
“Hehe. Master only needs to visit me once a year. I have the confidence to wait every night in the stable, basking in the moonlight while reminiscing about the days you were with me!”
“Can we stop with that weirdly sturdy mentality flex already?”
Even livestock horses had more freedom than that. I looked at Franc and Dana.
“Would it be rude if I said thank you right now?”
“Mmm~. It’s not rude, but it’d be hard to answer.”
“Same here. Did you do something wrong to us?”
“……No, I don’t think so.”
Even as a seasoned harem protagonist, I found this process a little awkward. Still, I couldn’t act like I’d committed a crime at a moment like this. Why? If I started looking guilty, what would that make our Veronica? If I was going to feel sorry toward my wives, I shouldn’t have accepted her in the first place.
“Thank you, both of you. For giving permission.”
When Veronica placed a hand over her chest and bowed, Dana pointed at Franc and said,
“What permission? Especially me—I’m in no position to say anything about in-laws.”
She was the same when she told me to stop proposing to everyone. Our proud second wife was just trying to keep the proper line. Of course I wanted all my wives to stand on equal footing, but if they wanted to maintain their own boundaries, forcing my ideology on them would be wrong. Just like how Franc wanted to be a devoted wife, maybe each of them had their own rules.
“Dana. Don’t say it like that.”
Franc simply pressed her lips into a straight line, clearly not happy about it. She respected my views on marriage and disliked receiving special treatment. It seemed she found Dana’s concession hard to accept.
“Ah, I haven’t forgotten what we talked about among ourselves, so don’t worry. If I have a complaint, I’ll say it. When have I ever held back from badmouthing our husband?”
Spitting out 100% facts, Dana giggled. But what was this “talk among ourselves”? Had my wives—members of the Nord Harem—made some secret pact behind my back?
“What the fuck. Spill it. What did you talk about without me? Hurry up.”
“What are you on about? A hairy guy like you has no business butting into girl talk.”
After getting shut down by Dana, I looked at Franc like a kid searching for his mom, but she just smiled awkwardly and dodged the question.
“Just this and that. It’s nothing important, so don’t worry about it.”
“Tsk.”
If they didn’t want to tell me, there was nothing I could do. After all, I did things without my wives sometimes too. And honestly, if I just buried my face in our Veronica’s chest, she’d become honest enough to spill everything like she’d been interrogated for seventy-two hours straight. I’d promised Franc I wouldn’t lie to her, and Dana was the type to speak up the moment she got upset, so I wasn’t too worried.
“Husband. I know you’re cursing me inside right now. I’ll forgive you, so give me your hand. I’m dying from the heat.”
Shit, I got caught. Time to activate apologetic cold hands. I pressed my chilled palms against Dana’s neck and jawline. Franc smiled at Veronica as usual.
“You’re not an extra mouth to feed anymore. You’re truly family now. I think it’s wonderful. Is it weird if I say I’m a little happy?”
“Not at all. I am happy too. Franc, Dana. I may be lacking, but please take good care of me from now on.”
Veronica smiled with genuine joy and gave a polite bow. The other two responded with slightly playful, formal greetings of their own.
“……By the way, Larilura. How long do you plan to stay up there?”
Now that Veronica had smoothly settled in as our new family member, she spoke with a slightly uncomfortable tone. Larilura was perched high in a rainforest tree, camouflaged like a leopard among the leaves. Her half-lidded eyes peering through the foliage looked gloomy.
“What do you mean~? I just ran away because I thought I’d get jumped if I stayed next to a certain unscrupulous Kitai adventurer, that’s all~?”
“Hey. I’ve only kissed Veronica so far, you know?”
The word “decency” resurrected the undead Confucian dragon still lurking inside me, so I couldn’t help but retort.
“I haven’t had my first kiss yet either~? Can I take that statement to mean Senior is constantly eyeing my lips~?”
Larilura pouted, sucking on her lips like she was drinking water through a hot-coffee straw.
“Senior~? I’m actively jealous right now, so could you please not talk to me~? It makes me sad that Senior stole my emotional oasis, Veronica unnie~?”
“Why is our Veronica your oasis?”
“Wow~♡! You’re already calling her ‘our’ Veronica? If Senior and the unnies are ‘us,’ then am I ‘you guys’?”
─Dangling.
After throwing a tantrum with an irrefutable argument, Larilura hooked her legs on a branch and hung upside down.
“Hmph~. While Senior and the unnies were going around together, I was having a super sweet and lovey-dovey time with unnie in her animal form~? I feel like Senior stole my unnie from me, so I’m sulking~.”
She really did look like a bat hanging there, all gloomy. I chuckled and played dumb.
“I wondered what you were talking about. So you’re just sad you lost your zoo free pass. If I learn transformation magic later, I’ll make it up to you. Tell me any animal you want whenever.”
“──Really?!”
Larilura looked as shocked as if she’d been told she was getting an extra birthday present.
“Senior! You mean it, right?! No take-backs?!”
─Whoosh!
She spun three times in the air before dropping from the tree. If you weren’t looking closely, you’d think she fell. I crossed my arms.
“Yeah, yeah. I swear on this handsome senior’s face.”
“That’s still a bit short on collateral, but I’ll take it into account since we’ve built up some affection over time!”
Damn it, our junior’s face-rating standards are ridiculously high. To hear from a girl with insane social skills that my face is “a bit lacking.” It hurt more than fighting the giant. Of course, Larilura, too excited to notice the damage she’d dealt, bounced around like an excited puppy.
“Ahaha♡! What are you all doing?! Let’s go back! It’s so hot I want to jump in the ocean again!”
“We can play one last time before heading back. Don’t run or you’ll get heatstroke.”
“Yeees~☆!”
I told her not to run, but she took the lead at a jog anyway. Must be nice to be young. So much energy. Franc came over and poked my side as I stood there muttering like an old man.
“……Nord. Do you have aptitude for transformation magic?”
“Probably not.”
“Whoa……. Our husband really is a pathetic piece of shit.”
My three wives clicked their tongues at my answer. At least they seemed to be getting along. Just don’t bond by trash-talking your husband behind his back, okay?
Veronica sighed on behalf of everyone and muttered,
“Why does our master waste that brilliant mind of his?”
“Humans are creatures who live to waste their lives.”
And wasting brain cells on petty schemes doesn’t count. With that, we followed the cheerfully calling Larilura back to the beach.
Sorry, Larilura. That’s what a Kickstarter is.
Once we returned to the beach, I decided to respect the party’s opinion. In simple terms, since it was the last day, we’d enjoy one more round of swimming.
Larilura, fully re-energized, asked Veronica to turn into a dolphin. When Veronica said she didn’t know what a dolphin was, she just splashed around in the water instead. Dana was drinking chilled alcohol in the shade. And Franc, who hadn’t worn a swimsuit—actually couldn’t wear one in front of others—stayed by my side.
Huge Blue Giant Hide
Quantity: Extremely large
A high-quality material that is both durable and magically conductive.
“Hoo. That’s some impressive hide. And there’s a lot of it.”
Ursilla said as she appraised the giant’s pelt I’d asked if we could load onto the ship. If she’d said no, I was ready to negotiate, but as expected, she didn’t object. Instead, her eyes sparkled as she asked,
“Is this hide also included in the repair fee?”
“I can give you a portion. But processing it is a real pain in the ass.”
It was a hide I’d barely managed to cut even while burning mana like water. Even I, the one who cut it, knew that turning this into clothing or anything useful would take at least a whole season of work. I wouldn’t be able to cut more than thirty minutes a day.
That was when Franc, who had been listening quietly like a model first wife, unexpectedly joined the conversation.
“Nord. Usually with high-grade hides like this, you use a temporary weakening solution during processing. It’s a potion made by alchemists. It lowers the toughness so it’s easier to work with.”
“Ah, I didn’t know that.”
When I answered Franc, Ursilla, having heard the explanation, stroked her chin.
“That potion sounds useful. It should sell anywhere… Still, very few blacksmiths or tailors in Germania can properly process a hide of this quality.”
“I do know a blacksmith, but even though she’s skilled, she hates working with leather.”
I was planning to visit Clara anyway to give her work. Since I’d earned some money, it was about time to spend it. As my thoughts drifted off on a tangent, Ursilla spoke again.
“In that case, would you be interested in stopping by somewhere before we head back? We also need to find a buyer for the goods we took from the pirate ship.”
“Do you have a good place in mind? Ah, but we were planning to go to the festival in Kudcess.”
What was the festival called again? Bijo-fest? Anyway, Franc had been looking forward to that beer festival. I recalled my promise to take her and showed a troubled expression.
─Tug, tug.
Franc pulled on my sleeve, signaling that I didn’t have to worry about her, but I pretended not to see it. How often did our Franc ask me for anything? I couldn’t let an opportunity like this slip. I could endure any financial or time loss for my beloved wife. Absolutely.
“Bijo-fest? In that case, my suggestion would actually be better. The origin of that festival is held over there.”
At Ursilla’s confident words, I roughly caught on. People strong enough to tan a giant’s hide, capable of using magic, and who loved beer… With those hints, how could I not figure it out?
“Interesting. Where exactly are you suggesting we stop by?”
I asked, noticing Franc’s slight surprise without even turning to look. Ursilla put a cigarette in her mouth and answered.
“The nation of the dwarves—Nidavellir.”