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Vol 03 Chapter 84-1: Honeymoon I

In the end, we decided to go on a honeymoon trip. It took us two months to prepare for the trip.

Being a king is tough… You can’t even go on a trip easily.

Normally, it would be the diplomats who go to other countries while the king waits quietly at home… But I figured it would make a better impression if I went personally. The people of Kirisia are quite proud, after all. One of the objectives of this trip, apart from diplomacy,  is to acquire lower-level bureaucrats and technical professionals, so keeping the Kirisians happy should help attract better personnel.

Now is the best time to go on a trip like this. If we wait too much, is possible that Tetra or Julia could get pregnant, and that would stop us from being able to go anywhere for a while.

…Especially Tetra could get pregnant at any moment, given the number of attempts. It is even beginning to worry me a little that she doesn’t show any signs of getting pregnant. Is it maybe my seed that’s bad, or is it Tetra’s ‘soil’ that’s the issue? Or is it just sheer bad luck that we haven’t succeeded yet?

I need to step up my game.

For this trip, Gram and Ron came with us as guards. I decided to refrain from including Roswald’s cavalry unit due to their somewhat poor conduct.

Bartolo and Iarl also came with us as advisors. Bartolo would assist with military affairs, while Iarl would provide support on the political side.

「And here comes a revolution.」

「Aaaaaah!!! Whyyyyy?!」

Julia screamed. The one who initiated the revolution was Tetra.

「Your current cards are probably two twos and one one, right?」

This was the end for Julia. In a three-player game of Daifugo1, revolutions are highly likely to occur. You have to take that into consideration if you want to win.

By the way, the playing order was Julia → Tetra → me. All four kings had already been played, and both jokers were out as well.

On her turn, Julia played a six.

Julia planned to play a two next, hoping we passed, and then she would finish with the two and one in sequence.

But Tetra cut in with an eight and initiated a revolution with four fours. By the way, this means all four eights have been played.

Unfortunately, with my cards, I can’t counter the revolution. Sorry, Julia.

「Then I’ll play the three of hearts and three of clubs. You have to pass, right? I’ll play the five of spades, then. It’s my win.」

Tetra goes from last place to first place with this move.

I was in first place last game, but since there are few players this time, there are no penalties applied to me.

For reference, I have one ace and three queens. Given the cards that have already been played, Tetra’s guess was spot on.

Well, Julia was grinning all along. She had that ‘I’m going to settle it this turn’ look. That’s probably why she was read so easily.

Towards the end of the game, it becomes clear who holds which cards.

「Then, I’ll play two queens. As Julia has to pass, I play a one. I’m out of cards.」

「Ah! I lost!!」

Julia throws her cards down.

「The loser has to shuffle the cards, hurry up and do it, ‘Last Place’.」

「Ugh, remember this!!」

Julia picked up the cards to shuffle them, glaring at Tetra.

「Hey, I’m getting tired of this. How about we play Concentration instead?」

「You’re just trying to run away with your win!」

「If we play Concentration, you’ll always win. Let’s play Old Maid instead.」

I’m starting to get tired of games that require too much thinking.

「The game where we try to get rid of Julia2, right?」

「Why?!」

「I’m seventeen. Julia is eighteen.」

By that logic, then I’d be an old man.

Julia and Tetra began to bicker amiably.

「We are about to enter the border of Lezado!」

The coachman called to us to announce we arrived at the border. Hearing him, the two were reminded we weren’t alone, making Julia and Tetra quietly took their seats again, both with a slight blush on their faces.

「It’s been a year since we last visited Lezado, right? It was before we fought King Ferme.」

「Yes, that’s right. I would like to visit the Kirisian mainland myself.」

That won’t be easy to do.

「This is my first time in a Kirisian city. I’m actually looking forward to it.」

Julia said that with a smile.

「Well, we’re here mainly for some dull diplomacy, but maybe we could go shopping after disguising ourselves?」

I don’t remember Lezado having any tourist spots. Shopping might be the only thing to do.

「Agreed!!」

「Then let’s try to ask Ainz for his help.」

◇

Upon crossing the border, five council members, including Ainz, welcomed us. They guided us straight to the capital of Lezado – Lezado itself.

Lezado is a coastal city located on a bay, with over a hundred ships coming and going each day. Not only Kirisians but also people from Pofenia, Adernia, Persis, Gallia, and Germanis, among others, live there.

「Our Lezado is proactive in welcoming immigrants and traders from non-Kirisian backgrounds,」

Ainz explained with a smile how the Kirisian city-states, including Lezado’s suzerain, Claris, and their colonies, were notably tolerant towards other ethnicities, more so than any other country.

It’s clear what he wants to convey. He basically wants to say:

「We want to be friendly with you Almus-sama! Look how tolerant we are!」

Cheers could be heard from outside the carriage, as the citizens of Lezado were out in force to welcome us.

I opened the window and waved my hand. The cheers grew louder.

It’s a pleasant feeling.

◇

The first place we were taken to was a massive mansion, not as large as my own palace but comparable in size.

The exterior was adorned with fine carvings.

This is a style I’m not very familiar with. Perhaps it’s Persis style?

As we alighted from the carriage, a group of men in formal attire greeted us.

They’re likely all council members, judging by the number, possibly forming a welcoming party comprising all their members.

「This is the largest building in our country, excluding the parliament building. Please stay here tonight. Tomorrow, we will take you on a tour of our country. We’ll save the complicated discussions on politics and business for later.」

They seem to plan to welcome us and put us at ease before delving into diplomacy, which I don’t mind. I want to enjoy the experience since I’m here.

「By the way, are the three of you okay with fish? Fish is preferred over pork in Lezado, so if you’re not averse to it, we’d like to make fish the main dish.」

「I’m fine with it.」

「Me too.」

「I prefer fish over pork as well. It’s very welcome.」

The council members looked relieved at the responses from me, Tetra, and Julia.

「Is there a bath available in the mansion?」

「Yes, of course. We even have hot springs here.」

Wonderful.

◇

Each of us was assigned a single room, but Tetra and Julia quickly came to my room. The bed in my room was unusually large, so all three of us could sleep there. It was probably arranged that way on purpose.

「Look, look! The sea! It’s amazing! So big!!」

Julia exclaimed with joy, looking at the sea from the window, as several sailing ships were approaching from across the sea.

「Hey, is it true that the sea is salty? The water is filled with salt, right? Then why do we mine rock salt? Can’t we just get salt from the sea?」

One question at a time, please.

「It’s true; it’s salty. I’ve tasted it,」

Tetra said, sticking out her tongue.

「I’m not entirely sure, but maybe it’s because mining rock salt is cheaper? I heard that making salt from the sea requires a lot of firewood.」

There are things like salt pans, but I’m not sure about the details. Even if I knew, I wouldn’t make Them. Mining rock salt is one of our main industries.

TN1: Daifugo (Grand Millionaire) is a popular Japanese card game. The objective is to get rid of all your cards. As the players run out of cards, they are assigned ranks, from the “Daifugo” (Grand Millionaire) at the top to the “Daihinmin” (Very poor) at the bottom. These ranks can influence the rules in the next round, often requiring lower-ranked players to give their best cards to higher-ranked players.

TN2: The pun gets lost in translation, the game Old Maid is called “Baba Nuki” in Japanese, literally to take out the old woman, Tetra uses the game to mess with Julia by calling her old.