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Chapter 224 — Part 2

All of these facilities were built under Christina’s orders, in order to create a rest area for the Uala people, a tribe of Lake Mermaids who live in a different lake from the Lizard tribe, on their way to visit Bern Village.

Under the protection of the Water Dragon Wedro, they had been traveling via lakes, ponds, and underground waterways throughout the Mores Mountains, and at Wedro’s suggestion, and because of their own desire to see the outside world, they responded to the delegation sent from Bern Village.

The Lizard tribe brings unprocessed precious metals and rock salt, while the Uala people simply bring themselves, the scales of the Water Dragon Wedro, the water spirit stones of high purity born in the bottom of the lake, and fish sauces.

The waterways in the village were roads for the mermaids, and Bern Village had invested a considerable amount of money and labor to create an environment where the mermaids could move around the village.

In addition to promoting exchange with the various species living in the Mores Mountains, having exchanges with species that were under the protection of the Water Dragon also functioned as a kind of diplomatic pressure on other foreign races. These policies showed a determined and stubborn side to her, which may get her ridiculed as trying to “get along with everybody,” or being “childishly naive,” or a “people-pleaser.”

The Barony of Bern has been steadily establishing a system of exchange and cooperation with the nearby species in the area, which they haven’t had any contact with before until now. But this was meant to be part of their preparations for a possible invasion by a unified force from the Dark Wastelands in the near future.

These actions were also inspired by the fight in the east with the femme fatale, the Tenkeiki, and the mysterious force different from the surrounding nations who were involved in that fight.

But those who know Christina, Dran, Dramina, and the others’ true strength would see it as Bern’s way of providing protection before the evil makes it to the surrounding species in the area, rather than them trying to cooperate with others to fight against the invasion.

And on that day, a delegation had left Bern Village to head for the hidden village of a certain tribe in the Mores Mountains.

There were Horse Golems, which could walk on the steep slopes of the Mores Mountains without any problems, had multiple wagons in tow behind them, and golems to act as a labor force for the civil officers and soldiers in charge of negotiations and guard work.

However, in consideration of the special circumstances of this visit, the members of the delegation had been selected from the most healthy and good looking people possible, and were mostly men.

As a result, the number of people in the delegation was much smaller than past groups, but the golems would take care of all the work, so they wouldn’t run into any problems on the way there.

The most significant difference this time though was the presence of Dran, who had not come with these delegations before because he did not want to interfere with the training of the younger generation.

There was no sign of Diadora, Dramina, Christina or Lynette nearby, and instead, Selina was there by Dran’s side.

Dran’s current situation where he only had one woman by his side, even for just a few hours, let alone several days on the road, was quite rare.

Even if it was due to official circumstances, it was strange that Lynette, who considers herself as under Dran’s possession, would not be there.

This was in large part due to where they were going.

Dran, who had changed into traveling clothes, looked only slightly nervous, while on the other hand, Selina, who was wearing a sun hat, looked very happy and had a tinge of crimson coloring her cheeks.

「Fufufu, I’m happy we’re going home sooner than I expected. And I’m even more happy that I get to introduce you to everyone!」

When Selina let out a sigh of satisfaction, Dran gazed at her with his eyes full of affection.

Although it was now clearly declared that they were lovers and fiances, Dran still certainly hadn’t lost the part of himself that felt like a grandfather watching over Selina as a granddaughter.

「Even though we talked about it beforehand already, I can’t help but feel nervous.

Even though I am meeting the representatives of your hometown as part of my official duties as an aide to the Baron of Bern, meeting your parents is more nerve-wracking than my dad and Dylan told me it would be」

「Mama and Papa aren’t that scary, you know? But Mama is the representative of Jarla, so I think it will be normal for her to act sternly.

Even though you are my future husband, she probably won’t go easy on you. Official duties are official duties, and private matters are private. She’s the type of person to make a clear distinction between the two」

「So she takes on the proper attitude for her position. A formal exchange between the hidden lamia village of Jarla and Bern Village would be beneficial to both sides, without any harm to either of us. I believe if I can convey this properly, then negotiations will go well.

The other reason why I am nervous is because your mother and father probably won’t look kindly upon the fact that I will be married to other women besides you as well. It’s very pathetic of me, fumu」

Yes, the destination of the delegation this time was the hidden lamia village of Jarla, which had a population of over a thousand people.

The other secret purpose of this trip was to bring Dran, who Selina had chosen as her partner, to this hidden village, her place of birth.

Even the fact that the delegation was made up of good looking men was also for the purpose of making it easier for the lamia to understand the benefits of interacting with Bern, since the lamia needed men of different races to have children of their own.

In any case, some of their members might get devoured, in a sense, during their stay in Jarla, giving new life to the lamia.

That couldn’t be helped, or so Dran and Selina knew well, but who knows how it would go?

「W-Well, there’s no need to think about it that seriously. Originally, lamia had a custom of sharing men with each other, with multiple lamia liking the same person, because there was always a shortage of available men. I don’t think it will be that big of a problem, right?」

「When you say that so unconfidently, it’s not very reassuring, you know. Besides, Jarla’s customs now are the complete opposite.

I can’t blame them as parents for being uncomfortable with the partner of their lovely daughter having relations with other women. Anyway, I have refused to go to Jarla as your husband」

「Ugh, I tried not to think about it too much, but now that you mention it, Jarla’s customs are quite unique. I hope we will be able to convince Mama」

When Selina said that while looking downhearted, Dran gazed at her with unwavering determination as he spoke up again.

「Selina, I will never give up on being your husband. I’ll convince your mother and the others, and have them accept both trade with Bern Village, and our marriage. That is not going to change」

It goes without saying, it was clear how Selina reacted to hearing Dran say those words.