There's Work After Work - 5
Thanks to Erich's advice, I had grasped a fundamental truth about human relationships.
When you say something, the timing matters far more than the fact that you said it. And when you ask for forgiveness, empty hands will not do — sincerity is required. If that was not the truth, what was?
"The Leon… Kingdom?"
Of course, even a swift confession and a generous gift were no guarantee against the other person's shock.
That was exactly the case now. The moment I confessed that early this year I might be leaving on a business trip to a foreign country — a military expedition, in all but name — Rory blinked several times with a dazed expression, then voiced a quiet question.
"Why?"
It was a question so densely packed with meaning that I flinched.
If she had shown resentment, anger, or sorrow instead, I would have accepted it with humility. Rory had every right to feel that way, and I had every obligation to receive it. But she only tilted her head, as if she simply could not make sense of the situation itself.
Should I have kept my mouth shut?
The reaction was so unexpected that even I, newly armed with the truth, felt a flicker of regret. Would it have been better to wait until after the wedding?
No. I refused to entertain that thought. Her reaction might not have been what I expected, but telling her now was the right call. Had I waited, I would have been on the verge of leaving for Leon when she looked at me like this — ready to shatter my new bride's composure and then vanish on a long journey.
"Brother, you're the Minister of the Inspectorate Ministry. Why would a minister go to another country?"
A hard, solid fact struck me square in the gut, and my mouth refused to open.
A Minister of Foreign Affairs might travel abroad on diplomatic business. A Minister of War might meet with foreign military counterparts under the pretext of treaties or easing border tensions. And if I were a soldier rather than a civil servant, joining an expedition would be so natural it would not even warrant discussion.
But the Minister of the Inspectorate Ministry, whose charge was domestic stability and keeping the nobility in line, going abroad? No matter how I turned it over, there was no reason for it.
"Well… I'm not going for inspectorate work. It's for other reasons."
That would have been true if I were a man who only ever did pure inspectorate work.
Unfortunately, the Emperor was sending me to Leon not for any practical duty, but as an intimidation totem. Ever since I had acquired the grandiose title of Continent's Best Swordsman, the warriors of the continent had begun to regard me with a quiet respect and awe.
So if I simply stood there with my arms folded in front of the Armein Kingdom's army, the Imperial forces would seize the upper hand. The two nations had joined hands to amicably divide Leon's interests, but they had never set a precise ratio for that division — and that upper hand would translate directly into imperial gain.
In short, the Emperor had weighed the benefits of sending me to Leon more heavily than any reason not to. Absolute bastard.
"It's not a difficult assignment, though. All I have to do is hold my position. It isn't even dangerous."
Seeing the corners of Rory's eyes begin to grow damp, I hastily added the reassurance.
"…You're joining an expeditionary force, and you're saying it isn't dangerous?"
"Really. It is an expeditionary force, but I'm not going there to fight."
And as her eyes filled with disbelief — no doubt recalling what had happened in the North — I worked my tongue with even greater passion.
An expeditionary force that would not fight. It was the sort of claim that ranked alongside I drank, but I didn't drive drunk — and yet this Leon expedition truly was not a fighting deployment the way the Northern campaign had been. Leon Kingdom had neither the strength nor the will to stop an Imperial advance.
A nation whose power had withered day by day since its defeat some thirty years ago; a royal house that had effectively collapsed with the death of its sole heir; and the first- and second-ranked powers on the continent pressing in from both sides like wolves. Under those miraculous circumstances, no Leon noble would grit their teeth and stand against the Empire. Those nobles had all died in the last war.
This isn't a war. It's basically a trip.
I had not pushed back against this assignment once it was confirmed simply because it would interfere with my honeymoon. The Leon expedition was not dangerous in the slightest — it was simply a thoroughly aggravating piece of work that required me to go to another country at all.
Honestly, the moment the Imperial army and the Armein Kingdom's forces entered Leon side by side, the majority of Leon's nobles would scramble over one another to cooperate. They had nursed plenty of grievances against the old royal house ever since the defeat. At most, only isolationists who detested all foreign presence, or megalomaniacs who wanted to become the new king without outside interference, would put up a fight.
And those delusional fools could be suppressed with a single flick of a finger. Tell the neighboring lords that their lands would be divided up among them, and they would happily tear the idiots apart.
"E-even so… right after the wedding… sending only you to a foreign country…"
Fortunately, Rory accepted my fervent persuasion and acknowledged that the assignment was not dangerous.
That was enough. As long as she did not doubt my safety, everything else was as good as settled.
"I'll come home every evening."
The regret of being apart during our honeymoon could be smoothed over lightly enough.
"…What?"
A man claiming he was going on a foreign expedition, and yet promising to clock out and come home every single evening — a miraculous contradiction. At that deranged declaration, Rory's tearful expression went blank again.
A faint flicker of pity passed through her eyes, as though she were worried I had hit my head or developed some affliction of the mind.
Ordinarily, that would have been a fair concern. Not this time. I was going to return to Rory's side every evening.
"With teleportation, I can come and go as much as I want."
I smiled at her and stated it with full confidence.
For the duration of the Leon expedition, I would not be on active combat duty — I would be a commuting officer. The border of some collapsing minor kingdom was not going to come between Rory and me.
That's the answer.
I felt rather proud of a solution that would have made Solomon himself blush.
Right after hearing Erich's advice, I had simply planned to bring her an estate as a gift. But given Rory's nature, I did not think receiving real estate would make her happy. An ambitious person might have been different, but Rory was a pure and kindhearted wife who would choose time with me over land.
So I had thought of a gift she would truly love — a way to secure both the estate and our time together.
I'll just commute to work, damn it.
This expedition could barely be called a major military operation anyway, and I only needed to show my face when dealing with high-ranking officials from Armein or Leon.
Of course, since I had only just come up with the plan, I had not received the Emperor's permission. He might well choke on the sheer audacity of commuting by teleportation in the middle of a foreign expedition.
So what?
Even if he fainted dead away instead of merely choking, what of it? A newlywed man agreeing to go abroad at all was something to be grateful for, was it not? If he did not like it, he could send someone else.
If he sends someone else, all the better for me.
I stroked Rory's hair and smiled in satisfaction. Whether the Emperor accepted my method or rejected it, I lost nothing. If he accepted it, I would still have to go to work during my honeymoon, but I could come home like a normal person. If he rejected it, I would simply lie down and refuse to move until he sent someone else.
Considering the years I had spent running myself ragged for that bastard, this was a perfectly legitimate demand. I was not even refusing to work. I was only saying I would clock out on time — and if he refused that, he was a son of a bitch.
He is a son of a bitch, admittedly.
But at least he was a son of a bitch who knew where the line was.
After calming Rory down, I delivered what I dressed up as a report to the Emperor — in truth, a notice. While attached to the Leon expeditionary force, I would commute via teleportation mages.
And the reply came faster than I expected.
A short, meaty answer with none of the petty conditions — no so long as it does not interfere with your duties, no provided no urgent matter arises.
Nice.
It was the kind of reply that made me nod of my own accord, and I was thoroughly pleased. As expected, the Emperor was a son of a bitch — but a son of a bitch who knew the line.
If only his species would change over to human, things would be truly perfect.
"What are you grinning about by yourself?"
As the corners of my mouth twitched, the voice of my first father-in-law, seated across from me, made me lift my head.
Ah.
My father-in-law's brow was faintly furrowed, as though he found it improper that I had been lost in other thoughts while sitting before an elder.
Thinking of something else in front of my father-in-law was indeed a breach of manners. But becoming a commuting officer after active duty was worth that much, was it not? Frankly, even he would have to concede the point.
"His Majesty has granted my request."
"Good news, then."
Just like that.
The displeasure that had been on his face only moments ago cleared at the moving news of my conversion to commuting status. If I became a commuting officer, I would also remain near Mar and Pedi — a thoroughly satisfying outcome from my father-in-law's perspective as well.
"For a soldier on campaign to return home before the war is over is unthinkable. But you are not a soldier, so I suppose it is fine."
"Your words are most just, sir."
I instinctively agreed with my father-in-law's next remark.
Right — why should I, who was not even a soldier, have to roll around in a foreign country? The one who had stuffed me into the Audit Department when I tried to flee into the military was the Emperor himself. If I had been a soldier, I would have gladly gone on campaign — the Emperor was the one who got in the way.
"In return, just as His Majesty has granted your request, you must also live up to His Majesty's expectations. I have brought this for that purpose. Bear it well in mind."
"Ah, yes."
At those words, my gaze shifted to the this in my father-in-law's hand.
So he had that.
I was a little surprised. The object he meant to hand me was a seal — but of course it was not the seal of Duke Vulken. That one had already left the hands of my half-retired father-in-law and gone into the pocket of his son, the Young Duke. The Young Duke himself seemed to be constantly watching for a chance to give it back, but still.
"It is an object you will find quite useful if you keep it. Guard it carefully."
"Of course."
I nodded as I accepted the seal he pressed on me with such earnest care. I would have guarded it carefully even without the admonition.
The seal of the previous duke.
More precisely, the seal of the sole duke (or rather, former duke) of the Leon Kingdom.
I could only marvel that something like that was in my father-in-law's possession.