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Vol 06 Chapter 182: Pregnancy I

「Almus!! I’m pregnant!!」

One day, Julia said this and hugged me tightly. I can feel how happy she is.

「Is that so? That’s great. …So, when will the birth be?」

「My period is a month late, and it’s the beginning of February now, right? So… it should be at the beginning of October?」

So she will give birth during the warmer months. That’s good.

Pregnancy and childbirth carry high risks, especially in this world where medicine isn’t as advanced as in Japan and hygiene isn’t great either. I hope the baby is born safely and grows up healthy.

「I’ll try hard to give birth to a boy next time!」

「…Do your best.」

I stroked Julia’s hair.

…I would like to tell her she doesn’t need to worry so much about it. But if I say that, she’ll respond with, ‘So you don’t expect anything from me!’ This is a pretty delicate issue.

◇

「Julia is pregnant?」

When I told Tetra about Julia’s pregnancy, she gave a beaming smile.

「That’s wonderful!」

「Tetra…」

Seeing Tetra’s genuinely happy smile, Julia’s eyes welled up a bit.

「That means Almus is mine for the next few months, right?」

「Hey, wait!!」

Julia’s voice was filled with panic. Tetra just smirked.

「He’ll be all mine for at least eight months… hehe.」

「That’s so unfair!!」

Julia grabbed Tetra’s shoulders and shook her. Despite being shaken, Tetra maintained a composed expression.

「You shouldn’t move too much. It’s bad for the baby. Especially things like sexual activities, sexual activities, and last but not least sexual activities.」

「Idiot! Idiot!! Idiot!!!」

Julia and Tetra started quarreling. It’s quite good to see that they get along well.

As I watched Julia and Tetra’s fight, a knock sounded at the door.

「Come in.」

Alice entered the room after a bow.

「Sorry to disturb you during your rest. A messenger from King Equus has arrived.」 「Understood.」

◇

「It’s been a while, Mutzio. The last time we met was a month ago, wasn’t it?」

The message from the envoy from Mutzio was that he wanted to talk. I had already taken care of any urgent matters or assigned them to others, so I had no pressing tasks myself.

So, we arranged a meeting a week later.

「It’s been a while. How’s it going?」

「Fairly well. The production of iron has increased dramatically, so we can expand the product we sell you if you want.」

The fact that we have brought Nemes, known for its superior iron-making techniques, under our control is significant. We have hired many Kirisian blacksmiths, thanks to the lure of high wages, and we have them working on the mass production of iron.

「That’s good to hear. Now, you have hired the services of our warriors several times before, but… this time I would like to hire the services of the Rosais army.」

Which means…

「Are you going to conquer the Lupus and Aries Tribes?」

「It’s about time. Thanks to the trade with your country, the strength of our tribe has improved a lot.」

Mutzio smiled slyly. The Lupus and Aries Tribes are horse-riding nomadic tribes that control the region south of the Equus Tribe’s territory.

They are bitter enemies of the Equus Tribe.

「Do you have a specific plan?」

「I’ve made a deal with the Aries Tribe. I’ll marry the daughter of the Aries Tribe’s chief, and together we’ll attack the Lupus Tribe.」

If I recall correctly, the Aries Tribe is oppressed and controlled by the Lupus Tribe. Hmm, it’s not a bad plan, is it?

However…

If my memory serves me right, the daughter of the Aries Tribe’s chief is engaged to the son of the Lupus Tribe’s chief, isn’t she?

「Is there a problem?」

「No, not really…」

Poor next chief of the Lupus Tribe. Stay strong. Well, if he loses to Mutzio, he’ll be dead anyway.

「So, when are you planning to do this?」

「In two months, in April. We’ll start the attack when the grass is lush and green. That way, we won’t have trouble feeding the horses.」

The Alvans are horse-riding nomads after all… They probably won’t have trouble with provisions. I’m envious.

For us, provisions are a major concern.

「How many soldiers do you need? If you want, I can send about thirty thousand.」

「This is my war. It would be troublesome if your army stands out too much.」

Mutzio gave a wry smile.

I think the total population of the Equus tribe is about thirty thousand. To put it in perspective for Japan, it would be like an army of one hundred and twenty million soldiers coming to help.

No wonder he would want to decline that offer.

「Cavalry alone will suffice. How many can you provide?」

「Hmm, I can mobilize a thousand cavalrymen right now, but considering the defense of the country, I can only dispatch five hundred.」

Our country’s main force is infantry. Of course, cavalry also plays a significant role, but their absence wouldn’t drastically reduce our defense capabilities.

「Five hundred is more than enough. That’s a big help. In fact, having more would be troublesome.」

Mutzio gave a bitter smile.

「Now, about the crucial matter of payment…」

「Horses, give me horses.」

「Don’t you want any territory?」

「No, I don’t.」

The land of the Alvans is poor. Honestly, even if I received it, securing income would be questionable.

Developing land from scratch costs money.

It’s far more useful to invest that money in developing the areas near the capital.

「You still love horses, huh? Well, we can seize as many horses as we want from the Lupus Tribe, so that helps me too.」

You can never have too many horses. They are necessary for both development and war.

Especially now, as we are in the midst of strengthening our cavalry, and if we want to create a logistics corps, we will need even more horses.

「By the way, I actually have something to discuss.」

「What is it?」

「You know Gehenna, right? That country borders the Lupus Tribe… Their ruler suggested we launch a pincer attack on the Lupus.」

He is not a king, but a tyrant he was originally a consul though. Well, from Mutzio’s perspective, it might be the same thing…

But Gehenna, huh…

「What’s the problem? Gehenna has been troubled by them too.」

「I’m not fond of that old man.」

It seemed to be a matter of Mutzio’s personal feelings.

Well, indeed, that old man does seem shady.

「You’re probably overthinking it, but there’s no harm in being cautious, right?」

If Mutzio keeps his guard up, there shouldn’t be any problem.

「Yeah… well, it’s a favorable proposal for me too, so I’ll take it. And, if possible… how about a marriage?」

「Between you and me?」

「No!!」

Relax, relax. I get it. You mean a marriage between my child and yours, right?

I heard last year that Mutzio had a son, and at that time, the idea of a political marriage crossed my mind.

「Well, it’s not a bad proposal for me either. But, it’s impossible right now. Ankus is Tetra’s son, so I can’t marry him outside. As for Fiona, I can’t say anything for sure right now.」

Until Julia gives birth to a boy, I can’t send Julia’s child—the legitimate heir of the Rosais Family—out of the country.

「…Well, I’m not forcing it. Let me know when the situation is more favorable.」

Understanding the complexities, Mutzio didn’t press the issue further.

Mutzio, perhaps trying to change the mood, brought up another topic. He asked jokingly but his eyes were serious.

「By the way, I have one question… How far do you plan to go?」

「What do you mean by how far?」

「Are you satisfied with where you are now? Or are you going to keep running? If you keep running, how far will you go?」

How poetic. I don’t dislike it.

「Well, who knows? I have an end goal though… For now, I want to run from one end of the Adernian Peninsula to the other.」

「That would make Rozel Kingdom your greatest enemy.」

「Yes, it would…」

However, I don’t currently see the Rozel Kingdom as a major threat. General Kuryuu, the strongest general in the Rozel Kingdom, has been relegated to the frontier, and the strongest magician, Merlin… Kurosaki Mari, has been exiled.

The diplomat currently connecting our country with the Rozel Kingdom is an easily manageable man.

In fact, it could be said that the current Rozel Kingdom is aiding my unification efforts. By using the Rozel Kingdom as a scapegoat, I can divert distrust and hostility away from our country.

The more immediate enemy, however, is the Pofenia Republic.

There are other countries like King Domolgal’s Country between the Rozel Kingdom and us serving as a bulwark, but there is hardly any buffer zone between us and Pofenia. At most, there is Triskelia Island, but Pofenia is attempting to conquer it.

We must prevent Pofenia from fully conquering Triskelia Island at all costs. However, when that time comes…

「We’ll likely end up in a military conflict with Pofenia.」

「Does that mean a battle at sea? Horses can’t run on the sea… What are you planning to do?」

「…I’m still thinking about it.」

A navy costs a lot of money…

I don’t want to spend money on a navy right now.

So…

「It would be great if we could establish a connection with the Persis Empire.」