Chapter 98: Establishing the Pecking Order
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 98: Establishing the Pecking Order
Another month passed as I spent my days going on dates that didn’t really feel like dates with Yarismal.
Time certainly flies.
It’s already been several months since I arrived in Hus, and in that relatively short time, I’ve somehow ended up with four women I can call my wives.
Why four, you ask?
Well… uh… Yarismal turned out to be unexpectedly more submissive and cuter than even Eris.
I did reflect on whether I was just a spineless man, but now I can say for certain:
Any more wives would be impossible.
I’m already dealing with four.
Eris seems to be checking on my condition and sharing it with the other women, because dishes supposedly good for stamina keep appearing on the table. But honestly, making babies with at least two of them every single day without rest… I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t exhausted.
To think the great Hunting Dog would face a crisis in a place like this—life truly is unpredictable.
But my lamentations were cut short as I stood in the training grounds of the Dakuren Adventurer Guild.
It wasn’t just me; Rune, Narupa, and Diane had all been summoned as well.
The entire Adventurer Rune Party was here.
And standing before us, wearing a serious expression, was Yarismal Bichante.
“Rene Party, you’ve arrived.”
“It’s not the Rene Party, it’s the Rune Party. There’s no reason to hide our identities anymore, is there? So, what business does the ‘youngest’ have with us?”
“The… the youngest?”
“My, you are the youngest. You’re the last woman to join our husband’s side, so isn’t that obvious?”
Rune, who had been receiving intensive lessons on being a Great Lord from the old man, had become much more eloquent.
Specifically, in the art of sarcasm.
I didn’t think Marquis Dakuren or Janks had that kind of temperament, though.
Yarismal, who had been trying to act dignified, immediately lost her composure as Rune poked at her nerves.
“Who are you calling the youngest! I am the primary wife above all others, having loved Brother Alto for nearly ten years!”
“Hah? I was the first one to actually be with him. I, Airune Dakuren, am his number one.”
Narupa just watched the scene with great interest, while Diane… listening to them fight over me, she couldn’t even bring herself to smile, looking like a lonely island shrouded in darkness.
“Grrr! Your tongue has certainly gotten sharper since I last saw you, Heir Airune.”
“Well, life isn’t exactly a walk in the park, you know.”
“Ahem! Regardless, I shall explain the reason I summoned the Rune Party today.”
Behind Yarismal stood Branch Manager Karen and Eris.
Both of them looked incredibly tense.
“First of all, by clearing the Dakuren Dungeon, the Rune Party has earned the right to undergo the evaluation for Hero rank.”
“Hero rank?”
Rune’s eyes widened at the unexpected news.
Narupa, however, let out a hollow laugh.
“Hero rank? I don’t know about that. The Hero-rank party back in Lukart turned out to be nothing but husks. It makes me wonder if there’s something wrong with the measurement system. Besides, it’s been over a month since we cleared the Dakuren Dungeon. Setting the Royal Palace aside, why hasn’t the Adventurer Guild headquarters offered any rewards yet?”
“I agree. I’ve been pestering them every day, but they’ve been slow to respond.”
“Then can’t you, the youngest, go and give those HQ folks a stern warning?”
“I-I am not the youngest! To be honest, it seems Headquarters didn’t even have a reward table prepared for a full dungeon clear.”
“What are they even doing?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“Why are you agreeing with us, youngest! You’re one of them!”
“I am simply Brother Alto’s woman!”
It felt like it was turning into a comedy routine, but Yarismal surprisingly stayed focused and didn’t lose the thread of the conversation.
“Therefore, I have proposed a reward plan that won’t burden Headquarters while still benefiting the Rune Party.”
“Aha, let’s hear it then.”
Narupa continued to sneer until the very end.
But this time, Yarismal didn’t take the bait.
“It has already been a month and a half since those two rats hid inside the Magic Tower. The people at the Magic Tower keep repeating that there are rats while refusing to provide any proper information, right?”
“…Yeah. They’re treating me like that even though I’m the valedictorian and their biggest sponsor.”
“In that case, there is no choice but to go and check for ourselves.”
Rune was the one who reacted to those words.
“Go ourselves? That won’t be easy. My identity has been revealed. If the Airune Dakuren party goes to the Magic Tower outside of their designated region, it’ll turn into a political issue.”
“Yes, that is exactly the point.”
Yarismal pulled out a pair of knuckles, slipped them onto both hands, and began cracking her knuckles as she prepared for something.
Love and Peace.
It was a naming sense just as terrible as my Roar and Howling.
“If we assume it’s a simple visit, the Magic Tower will naturally protest. That is why I made this proposal to the Adventurer Guild headquarters.”
Creeeeak.
As she clenched her fists with the knuckles on, veins bulged from the back of Yarismal’s hands up to her arms.
“As a reward for clearing the Dakuren Dungeon, let the Adventurer Rune Party be allowed to accept quests even outside their designated region.”
“Is that even possible?”
“Of course, Heir Airune.”
Crack.
The bones in her other hand popped.
This… no matter how you looked at it, she was gearing up for a fight.
“They lack the funds to provide a monetary reward. And for good reason—this wasn’t just a clear; you completely annihilated one of the Four Heavenly Kings. Even hundreds of millions of Dalk wouldn’t be enough. If they don’t have the money to give, they have no choice but to grant other opportunities.”
“So, as part of that reward plan, you’re making it so the Rune Party can visit under the pretext of having accepted a Magic Tower quest?”
“Isn’t it quite reasonable?”
“We don’t gain anything from that, though?”
“Why wouldn’t you?”
Yarismal spoke, suppressing a smirk.
“First, you get the chance to crush those pathetic bitches.”
Karen and Eris quickly backed away.
“And second, you get the chance to further increase the Rune Party’s fame by clearing the Magic Tower Dungeon.”
Thump!
Yarismal stepped aside and took a proper stance.
As she braced her feet, I could feel the very ground tremble.
“Right, I’ll give you that. But our youngest is acting awfully arrogant right now, isn’t she?”
“Who are you calling the youngest?”
Finally, a thin smile played on Yarismal’s lips.
“Unfortunately, they say the reward plan can’t just be applied. They say it’s far too grand to give to a mere Silver-rank adventurer party.”
“What are you trying to say, youngest?”
“They say it can only be applied if you are at least Hero rank.”
Aha.
So that’s how it is.
Rune raised her shield, and Narupa gripped her staff.
Diane, looking extremely tense, drew her daggers.
Come to think of it, she did say she got thrashed by Yarismal once back in Lukart, didn’t she?
Since there was no need for me to draw my weapon here, I just took a casual stance.
“Our youngest is so thoughtful. She went and made a place for herself to get scolded.”
“Youngest, youngest… stop talking nonsense.”
Yarismal’s arm muscles were bulging.
“Do you have the skills to protect your beloved husband as his wives? I’ve been training for over ten years; I’ll have to see just how strong you noble ladies really are.”
“Ha! You certainly talk big in front of the Magic Tower valedictorian!”
As Narupa’s eyes glowed with prismatic light, she cast her spell.
“Slow down!”
Yarismal vanished.
She appeared in front of Narupa in an instant, pulling back a fist clenched in Love, but Rune intercepted with her shield.
Yarismal spun her body and swung with the knuckle of Peace.
KABOOOOM!
“Kh!”
“You’re holding up better than I thought. Is it the power of your bloodline?”
“You’re only that tall because of your bloodline too!”
“…Huh?”
Wow, Rune’s trash talk has really improved.
The problem was that it was only trash talk.
“W-What did you just say?”
The provocation landed perfectly.
Yarismal tilted her neck at a grotesque angle, looking bewildered.
Rune pumped her fist and whispered a small “Yes!”, but that wasn’t the important part.
She had successfully pulled the aggro from Narupa to herself, but the question was how she would block the impending strike of fury.
“All you do is flail around because you’re just tall, don’t you?”
“You… you—!”
Furious to the point of being unable to speak properly, Yarismal leaped into the air.
Soaring with the sun at her back, she twisted her waist and shoulders with all her might. She was going to put her entire weight into a downward punch.
“I was waiting for this! Narupa!”
“Let there be light!”
However, Rune abruptly lowered her shield and flattened herself against the ground. Behind her, Narupa used a blinding light spell to rob Yarismal of her vision.
In that split second of hesitation, Diane rushed in and slashed at Yarismal’s flank with her dagger.
“Ugh!”
Yarismal tried to kick out, but Diane had already vanished using her space-time skill.
She had even escaped while taking Narupa with her.
The three of them reformed their formation.
Rune shook her shield triumphantly.
“Well, I guess this much is enough?”
Without a word, Yarismal used divine power to heal her bleeding side.
Then, she grinned.
“Now, Lady Eris?”
She suddenly called out to Eris. While everyone was wondering what was going on—
“We shall now begin the Hero-rank evaluation for the Adventurer Rune Party.”
Eris herself calmly declared the start of the exam.
“Within ten minutes, reclaim your supporter, Lord Alto Bertrand, from Lady Yarismal Bichante.”
“Huh?”
Rune let out a dumbfounded sound.
Come to think of it, I was standing behind Yarismal.
It just happened that way during the fight.
“You lot.”
Yarismal ground her teeth, her muscles bulging even further.
“I clearly asked if you could protect your husband, Brother Alto, but what on earth do you think you’re doing?”
If I could just point out—this is a misunderstanding, okay?
I’m a party member too, so I was looking for an opening at Yarismal’s back.
the other women realized that as well.
But Yarismal was going on a rampage all by herself.
“I cannot leave my husband in the hands of the likes of you!”
“What do you think you’re doing all by yourself!”
Yarismal and Rune shouted at each other, veins popping in their necks.
Rune even drew her sword along with her shield, her teeth gritted.
“Fine! Let’s settle right here who’s the first wife and who’s the youngest!”
“First wife or whatever, you’re all unqualified!”
At those last words, Narupa quickly whispered something with glowing eyes, and Diane gritted her teeth and vanished.
“Come and get some! Fair and square! I am the primary wife of Alto Bertrand, Airune Dakuren!”
“You thieving cat!”
Um.
I should just stay still, right?
A fight between women is truly terrifying.