3 bar menu

Volume 8 Chapter 189

Wives’ Bustle (2/9)

「I’m home, Father!」
In the Elf King’s office on the top floor of the Alfheim Royal Castle.
Rifa opened the door and entered.
The king of the elves was alone in his office, working.
「Rifa, welcome back. Are you…… by yourself?」
The Elf King had asked Rifa to visit home during a break from the magic academy.
Alfheim and the magic academy were not within a distance that could be traveled in ten days.
So, if Rifa were to be summoned, he had expected Haruto to accompany her. However, unexpectedly, Rifa had returned alone, which surprised the Elf King.
「It seems everyone is busy, so I asked Haruto to teleport me, and I came alone」
「I-I see……」
Had their relationship with Haruto not progressed much? The Elf King became worried.
In the first place, the Elf King had suggested that Rifa show up to see if there was a possibility of Rifa and Haruto producing the next heir to the Alfheim throne.
The Alfheim royal family lacked a prince.
Referring to Rifa and her sisters—the three princesses of the Alfheim royal family—the eldest had already married into a foreign royal family. The children born there would become princes of that country.
Also, the third princess, Rifa’s younger sister, had recently started dating a human man.
Some ministers proposed separating the third princess from her human lover and marrying her to an elf to ensure the succession. However, the human lover was a promising individual, and, more importantly, it seemed that the third princess genuinely liked him, so the Elf King hesitated to separate them.
Therefore, currently, the child of the second princess, Rifa, was the most likely candidate to become the next ruler of Alfheim.
Although it would introduce human blood into the Alfheim royal family, Haruto was the hero who saved Alfheim. There were few who would complain.
Moreover, in this world, even if a child was born to an elf and a human, it did not necessarily become a half-elf.
Looking at Rifa and Haruto as examples, their child could be an elf, a human, or even a half-elf.
Ideally, the Elf King wanted them to have an elf son. He was willing to support them until an elf son was born—such were his thoughts.
Of course, Rifa was unaware of this.
「Father, I came today to make a request」
「A request?」
「Yes. I want to enter the treasury where the treasured books are stored」
「I don’t mind you entering the treasury, but…… you don’t mean you want to read the treasured books, do you?」
「I want to read them!」
「That’s not allowed」
「W-why not?」
「There are many forbidden books in there, containing forbidden magic. Opening a book might release curses. It’s too dangerous」
「I-I’ll be careful」
「It won’t do. First, you’re married to Haruto and no longer part of the royal family. I can’t let someone like you read the treasured books」
「But……」
Actually, Rifa still had her status as a member of the Alfheim royal family.
If she didn’t, she couldn’t produce the next heir to the Alfheim throne with Haruto.
Rifa sometimes introduced herself as the former princess of Alfheim, but unknown to her, she still held the position of a princess.
However, the treasured books were too dangerous.
Opening a book could curse Rifa. This could affect the survival of the Alfheim royal family.
There was a way to have another person search for the book Rifa wanted to read, but—
In this day and age, there is no mage in Alheim who can read the treasured books kept by the Alheim Royal Family without being cursed.
No, the Elf King believed that there would be no such person in the world.
The treasured books are ancient relics.
They contain many forgotten advanced magics.
But no one can read them.
If you open the book, you will be cursed.
And even if he forced the book open, no one would be able to read the words.
So the Elf King lied to Rifa, solely wanting to protect her.
「In the first place, why the treasured books? Currently, they are only stored, and there should be very few occasions when they are needed」
「That’s because—」
Rifa choked on her words.
The duplication magic she wanted to create was unknown to even Tina and her spirit companions, Mai and Mei.
If it couldn’t be found in ordinary books, then it was highly unlikely to be in ancient treasured books.
That’s why she wanted to check if there were any clues in the ancient treasured books.
But her hope was dashed.
At that moment—
「Hey there, Rifa, long time no see!」
A whirlwind appeared suddenly in the king’s office, and in the center of it was Sylph, the Wind Spirit King.
「S-Sylph-sama!?」
「Oh, it’s been a while. Sylph-sama」
Since Haruto and the others had left Alfheim, Sylph hadn’t manifested.
Therefore, the sudden appearance of Sylph surprised the Elf King.
「I sensed Rifa’s magic, so I came to check. Today, it’s just Rifa? Where’s Haruto and Tina?」
「Today, I had some business, so I came back alone」
「Hmm. Rifa’s business, huh? What is it?」
「T-That is—」
Rifa explained that she wanted to read the treasured books, not mentioning her true goal of creating duplication magic for a reverse harem with Haruto.
「Ah, those ancient magic books stored in this country. Certainly, those need to be opened with caution, or you might get cursed」
「Sylph-sama, do you know about them?」
「Of course. I gave some of them to the old king back in the day. If you want, I can help you open them」
「Is it really okay for you to help?」
「Yeah! —-But, even if the book is opened, I might not be able to read it. There were quite a few books where I couldn’t understand the written characters」
「I think it will be fine. I have someone close to me who possesses the skill to understand even the language of the gods」
That person was Luna.
When she was reincarnated from Haruto’s world to this one, the Goddess of Knowledge granted her a language comprehension skill.
「Is it Haruto?」
「No, it’s a human girl who recently married Haruto」
「What? Could it be that Haruto is married to someone other than you and Tina?」
「Yes. Right now, there are eleven women, including me and Tina, who are wives to Haruto」
「 —-What!?」
「Hahaha, that’s Haruto for you!」
「But, you received the blessing of Sylph-sama and were allowed to marry Haruto. So, um……are you being treated better than Haruto’s other wives?」
It couldn’t be otherwise. With eleven wives, Rifa might not be able to have many children, and the Elf King was worried about that.
「Well, actually…… It’s difficult to say in front of Sylph-sama, but all of us, Haruto’s wives, have received the protection of the Creator God and blessings on our marriages. So, in terms of protection, we are all equal」
「The protection of the C-Creator God!?」
「Wow, that’s amazing!」
Sylph floated gently and touched Rifa’s head with her fingers.
「Oh, it’s true! …… Huh? But, the protection I gave is still there?」
In this world, when a higher being grants protection, the lower-level protection is usually overwritten and disappears.
Despite having the highest-level protection, the protection of the Creator God, Rifa still retained Sylph’s protection.
「I was delighted to receive Sylph-sama’s blessing… …When I consulted with the Creator God about receiving his protection, he left Sylph-sama’s protection as well」
「Is that so!? Rifa, thank you! I really love you, Rifa!!」
Sylph hugged Rifa.
「C-Consulting with the Creator God? … …What on earth are you saying, Rifa?」
In a conversation that seemed to be from a different dimension, the Elf King couldn’t wrap his thoughts around it.
Sylph, the incarnation of the World Tree that the elves had protected for generations and the rarely manifested Wind Spirit King was present. The Elf King found it hard to comprehend the situation in front of him, where Sylph was hugging his daughter.
Rifa dealt another blow to the Elf King, who was desperately trying to understand the situation.
「Father, if Sylph-sama is here, it’s not dangerous to open the treasured books, right? …… Oh, but I’m no longer a member of the royal family, so you probably can’t show me the treasured books, can you?」
「Aren’t you a member of the royal family now? I remember that when someone joins or leaves the Alfheim royal family, they report it to me. I haven’t heard about Rifa’s situation」
「Eh, is that so?」
「T-That is, um……」
Sweat flowed like a waterfall from the Elf King’s forehead.
The Elf King apologized for making Rifa think she had left the royal family out of consideration for her.
And Rifa was granted permission to read the treasured books.
「Oh, by the way, even if I can open the treasured books, neither I nor Sylph-sama can read them, right?」
「In that case, why not take them to Haruto’s place and have someone who can read them read them! I want to go to Haruto’s mansion too! So, it’s okay to take out the treasured books, right?」
Although they were called treasured books because they were secretly stored, there was no way the Elf King could tell the Spirit King Sylph such a thing.
「I-If Sylph-sama will protect the treasured books, then there is no problem」
「Got it. I’ll protect them!」
「Thank you, Father, and Sylph-sama」
Afterward, Rifa entered the treasure vault with Sylph and began taking out the treasured books that seemed related to duplication magic, one after another.