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Vol 06 Chapter 179-2: Spider’s Thread I

「Hey, what’s this all about?」

「I demand an explanation.」

「What do you mean?」

A month later… I was confronted by Julia and Tetra. I feel an intense pressure from both of them.

My daughter Fiona, who was sitting on my lap, looked up at my face.

「Father, did you do something bad?」

「Of course not. I’m the paragon of justice.」

「Then, does that mean Mother and Mother Tetra are the bad ones?」

Fiona laughed cheerfully.

Oh no, I just added fuel to the fire.

I glanced at Julia and Tetra’s expressions.

They look even more displeased…

「Almus, the sumptuary laws and trade regulations are too strict.」

Tetra pressed me. The sumptuary laws are, as the name suggests, laws that prohibit extravagance.

The specific details are…

Silk is prohibited from being worn in political settings or as everyday clothing, it is only allowed for special occasions like parties or festivals.
The accessories one can wear at the same time are limited to a maximum of three pieces.
The amount of spices that can be used per meal is restricted.

The trade regulation law is essentially about regulating trade.

All grain prices are adjusted to ensure the price of grain on the Adernian Peninsula does not drop.
A luxury goods tariff is applied and set at 33% (one-third tax) of the goods’ valor, also, annual weight limits on the trade volume of each luxury item are applied.
Regulation concerning the export of slaves; all slaves born in King Rosais’ Country are prohibited from being exported to other countries.

This is the general idea.

The sumptuary laws are likely what has angered the two of them.

「You see, I understand very well what you’re trying to do, Almus. Extravagance is not good, after all, we live from the people’s tax money. Spices are precious, so I understand the need for usage restrictions. But banning silk clothing is too strict, isn’t it? And three accessories? That’s too harsh.」

Julia spoke rapidly, with Tetra nodding repeatedly beside her.

Incidentally, both of them were currently wearing silk dresses, with hair ornaments, earrings in both ears, necklaces around their necks, brooches on their left chests, and rings on their ring fingers. This put them in violation of the laws regarding silk clothing and wearing more than three accessories.

This might seem like they are living in luxury, but in reality, they are actually quite modest. Surprisingly, you can wear quite a number of small items without looking ostentatious, and even wearing around six pieces of jewelry doesn’t appear flashy.

Most upper-class women wear between ten and twenty accessories, so the two of them are extremely modest. However, the unit price of each accessory is high, so in total value, they surpass most ordinary nobles. As queens, it would be problematic if they dressed too frugally.

「I’m not being extravagant, not extravagant, not extravagant, not extravagant.」

Tetra grabbed my shoulders and shook me vigorously back and forth. My head started spinning…

「Hey, Almus. Compared to the average queen, I think we’re being extremely frugal. Have you seen the primary wife or mistresses of King Domorgal? They’re adorned with jewels from head to toe. Some Kirisian merchants’ wives are even more decked out than we are. Plus, our hobbies are magic and magicraft, which actually benefit the country. Do you understand? Do you?」

Julia spoke even faster than before, her words tumbling out at one and a half times her usual speed.

How does she not bite her tongue…

「I’m listening, I’m listening. Yes, I know, and I really appreciate it. I feel bad for both of you. Honestly, I want you both to indulge more. I want to indulge myself, too.」

Carlo reportedly has ten women, including mistresses. King Faldam is said to have a total of thirty women in his harem.

And according to Seimei, the emperors of the Persis Empire and the Scarlet Empire each have a harem of over a thousand women.

It’s an enviable and outrageous situation.

Compared to them, Julia, Tetra, and I are incredibly frugal. However, even with that in mind…

「Please wear linen instead of silk. Linen is comfortable too, right? If you two don’t respect the law, no one would do it and it becomes meaningless.」

I want to foster domestic industries, specifically those involving flax, linen, and wool.

Silk is the enemy.

I won’t say they have to wear hemp, but linen should be acceptable. Not long ago, everyone wore linen.

「Grrr…」

「Ugh…」

The two of them groaned in dissatisfaction, their faces contorted in displeasure.

「…Alright.」

「Fine, we’ll take it off! We’ll take it off!!」

With that, they began undressing.

Tetra’s shapely breasts and Julia’s well-developed, ample breasts, followed by their beautifully slender legs, were revealed.

Julia is well-developed overall, including her chest. Her hips are also wide, making you want to grab them. She seems like she’d give birth to healthy babies easily.

She has a well-rounded figure without being overweight. On the contrary, her flesh is firm, and she has a nicely defined waist.

Personally, I find her hips the most attractive.

Tetra, in comparison to Julia, may not be as large, but she still has breasts above the Adernian average. They’re a size that fits perfectly in my hands, and they’re beautifully shaped. Her hips are tight and cute. My only concern is that small hips might make childbirth difficult. But Ankus was born safely, so it’s probably not a serious issue.

She has a slender, sleek figure with no excess fat. Her waist is also beautifully curved. Despite her slimness, her figure is far from lacking.

Personally, I find her hips the most attractive.

What impresses me is that both of them are wearing bras. Not the crude versions I made, but properly crafted silk lingerie by Kirisian artisans. This will keep their breasts well-supported. That’s reassuring.

After removing their clothes, they reached for their lingerie…

Hey, wait! Idiot!! I’m such an idiot!!

This isn’t the time to be evaluating them!!

「Hey, Fiona is here! This is bad for her education!! Hey, Alice! Bring clothes, clothes!!」

「Yes, right away!」

Alice appeared from the ceiling.

Are you a ninja? Well, that doesn’t matter now.

「Where are the clothes?」

「It would take me about ten seconds to get the clothes if I ran at full speed, but the ladies might be fully undressed by then.」

「Do something!」

「Understood. I’ll handle it!」

Alice extended black threads from her fingertips.

「My ladies, I apologize, but this is for the princess’ education.」

In an instant, Alice’s black threads wrapped around the two of them. They were suddenly turned into human sushi rolls.

Their bras and panties lay on the floor.

That was close…

「Mmph! Mmmph!」

「Mmm! Grr! Mmmph!!!」

Julia and Tetra made muffled sounds as their mouths were covered by the threads. Although they were naked under the black threads, they only looked like human sushi rolls.

Well, this doesn’t seem entirely appropriate either.

「I can change the properties of my threads at will. These threads are soft like wool, breathable, lightweight, more durable and elastic than any other fiber, heat-resistant, and resistant to aging. They won’t harm your bodies in any way.」

Alice, you’re amazing! Great job handling this!

…But I just thought of something.

「Can we collect your threads and sell them?」

「What?」

Alice looked puzzled.

AN:

Persis Empire Emperor Xerxes I

• Empress: 1
• Concubines: 575
• Mistresses: 343
• Children: 83

Scarlet Empire Emperor Tentei

• Harem: 1578
• Children: 5

Almus: 「How nice…」

Tetra & Julia: 「Did you say something? (smiling)」

Almus: 「No, nothing…」

For the Romalia Empire, maintaining a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-lingual, and multi-religious nation is a political challenge both now and a thousand years from now.

The Adernian Peninsula’s open geography makes it easy to enter from the east, west, south, or north. As a result, the peninsula is inhabited by Adernians, Alvans, Kirisians, Pofenians, and Gallians. Additionally, slaves brought from various parts of the world (mainly Germanis) also reside here.

Japan is fortunate to have the Sea of Japan as a natural barrier.