Chapter 96
About a week before the meeting in Asgard.
【”―― Splendid. In light of our lord’s achievements, the status of Bashtar has risen again.”】
Not only had Bashtar’s status been revived, they had even regained the territory lost to the monsters during the great invasion.
A ceremony was being held in the capital to celebrate Kurats’ elevation in status to margrave .
This was the first time in many decades that humanity had won a battle on such a large-scale against monsters.
For that reason, envoys were coming not only from Jormungand, and, of course, Lapland, but even from the Laurentia federation and the Keternes kingdom, which were forces on par with the five major countries of the continent.
That was especially true for the Laurentia federation, which was facing Asgard’s third army from the west. They hoped to further deepen their collaboration with the Jormungand kingdom.
Asgard’s policy of expanding further and further had brought a sense of crisis to many countries.
From now on, all of the neighboring countries had to more or less keep an eye on Jormungand and Asgard.
【”Is that the Kurats with the superhuman strength from the rumors…?”】
【”I heard that even his magic knows no equal.”】
The eyes of all envoys from every country were turned to Kurats as he knelt towards Christopher on stage.
His body certainly was gigantic.
However, some men with similar builds could be found in any country.
It was hard to believe the stories of how he put common sense to shame without actually witnessing his power.
Then again, anyone could tell with one look that the amount of magic power he had was ridiculously abnormal.
Did his power truly surpass the elite of Asgard?
Whether that was true or not, Asgard’s fourth army was not purposed to fight against the major countries of the continent.
It ranked lower than the mad princess’ second army and the devil swordsman Gunther’s first army.
But if Kurats could overwhelm those two armies as well, then there was no doubt the continent’s new order would revolve around Jormungand.
In the coming times, every single action from Kurats would get attention from all over the world.
【”Everyone! Let us praise the hero who brought glory to Jormungand!”】
【”Bless the hero!”】
【”Praise the hero!”】
【”Glory to Jormungand!”】
No matter how strong the Asgard empire boasted to be, their power was still within the range of the possible.
However, the monster-kind had a history of pushing humanity to the brink of destruction many, many times. They inspired a fear beyond any rationality.
In other words, the fact that Kurats had defeated a high ranking monster meant that he had outranked those heroes whose achievements were limited to cross-national wars.
Faced with a crowd that burst into earth-shattering cheers, Lunaria swallowed her saliva.
――The time has finally come.
While others would have considered that the situation had progressed shockingly fast, Lunaria felt like she had been waiting for this moment for far too long.
Right now, at this very moment, Kurats had finally reached the qualifications to become the future king consort.
【”I have yet another announcement to make on this great day.“】
In a great mood, Christopher raised his right hand towards the crown.
【”I hereby officially name my daughter, Lunaria, as my successor!
Moreover, we are welcoming lord Bashtar to the royal family as her fiance!”】
【”Woooooooooooooooh!”】
An ear-splitting cheer rose from the crowd.
From commoner to hero ―― This was akin to a scene pulled straight out of the last chapter of a success story.
For a while, everyone forgot about their fear of monsters and Asgard and let themselves get drunk on joy.
Just like he had brought Bashtar peace and prosperity, the hero would surely bring glory to Jormungand, as well.
The crowd was dreaming of Kurats thrusting his powerful fist towards a colorful and bright future.
However, for Lunaria, this was already old news.
She could not stand to wait for a day more.
(Tonight ―― Tonight, I will become Kurats’ wife in both mind and body. )
Enduring the impulse to push Kurats down on the spot, Lunaria held her flushed cheeks with her hands while thinking of the memorable night that was to come.
【”I understand why it has to be this way, but I’m still jealous…”】
Cornelia gloomily gazed upon the towering castle tainted with the shadows of dusk.
Around this time, the preparations for Lunaria’s first night were probably being taken care of quietly somewhere in the castle while a banquet was being held for the members of the royal court.
Cornelia felt like her heart was being pierced by needles when she thought of how Lunaria was about to become the second woman to be embraced by Kurats (The three monsters did not count).
However, she also knew for certain that there was no one more fitting of Kurats than Lunaria as a wife. After all, Kurats had become a margrave; a status that Cornelia could never have even imagined.
In that sense, she deemed that Frigga would also be fitting of him, but marrying an important noble to a member of a foreign royal family would not be so easy.
【”Still, there is no way I’m letting anyone take my position as the one he loves most! Besides, I’m his only sister.”】
Cornelia had been watching Kurats grow from back when he was a child, longer than anyone else.
She was the first woman he had grown conscious of, the first one he had professed his love to, and the first he had connected with.
Even so, she now had to concede her wedding, a maiden’s biggest dream, to Lunaria.
【”B-but there is definitely no way an elegant princess like her would be able to do ‘that’ play!”】
Cornelia clenched her fist in front of her chest to cheer herself up.
The memory was still vivid in her head.
Last night, Cornelia had let herself be embraced by Kurats to her heart’s content to make up for today, and on that occasion――.
(I just have one question)
That night, Cornelia had been lying down passively despite her usually unyielding personality.
As he gently caressed her, Kurats conversed with Bernst.
『…I have a terrible feeling about this, but do tell.』
(So, I wanted to ask you about that spell that makes cattle give more milk.)
Lately, Bashtar had let its gold do the talking and bought a lot of horses and cattle; particularly cattle.
Little known fact, cows and cattle are very a useful ‘cheat’ animals for human societies.
If put in underdeveloped prariries, they eat the weeds and keep growing, sparing the price of feeding them.
Their milk has a high nutritional value, and they are both strong and docile, which makes them quite handy for farming.
Thanks to their large size, their meat is a great source of protein and can easily feed multiple people for several months when food is scarce in winter.
That being the case, Bashtar had decided to buy large numbers of cattle to not only solve the problem of food supply, but also further develop the territory’s agriculture to adapt to the increase in population.
Of course, this was all Bernst’s idea.
『Is there a problem with the spell? It should be enough by itself to meet the territory’s milk demand.』
(That’s not it, I was just wondering… what happens if I use it on a woman?)
『Well, I suppose she would lactate.』
As soon as he heard that, Kurats prostrated himself and slammed his head to the ground.
(I’ve been looking down on magic this whole time!!! Forgive me, I was a fool!!!)
『You are killing me here! I categorically resent you coming around to respecting magic for that reason!!!』
Had he been a material being, Bernst would have screamed so loud that he would be on the brink of tears.
The unrivaled, unmatched, unequaled techniques of the magic king who was almost a god’s equal were going to be wasted on pulling out a female’s milk? This was far too absurd.
【”K-Kurats, what are you doing?”】
Looking at her brother suddenly slamming his head on the floor, Cornelia felt perplexed by his behavior.
Cornelia wondered if he had gone crazy from stress.
Normally one would think that would be impossible for someone like Kurats, and Cornelia would indeed not have made such a conjecture if not for the heavy turn Kurats’ life had been taking recently.
He had to constantly give his decisions and approval in regards to Bashtar’s policies.
Moreover, now that their numbers had finally become significant, his forces’ drilling, training, and inspections had to be taken care of.
Not to mention the piles of documents, upon documents, upon documents needed for budget implementation.
Even though he made use of Marika and Clodette’s talents, there were some expenditures that only the lord of territory could handle.
A lord who would give his subordinates free reign with his budget would no longer be a lord
Still, even from Cornelia’s perspective, Kurats had been working exceedingly hard.
【”Cornelia, there is a little something I’d like to ask of you…”】
【”Hmm…?”】
―― Even now, Cornelia wondered, why had she obediently nodded to the words Kurats had whispered to her that night?
Just thinking about it made her face heat up from embarrassment.
However, when she hugged Kurats as he drank the milk coming from her meager bosom like a baby, she had been hit by a trance of motherhood that she had never known was in herself until that very moment.
But what could she say? The act of drinking the milk or feeding it to someone else were both equally twisted.
This absolutely did not feel like something normal people would do.
【”Fufufufufu… Lunaria, would you be able to do the same?”】
Cornelia had decided to act cool about the whole situation, but it was needless to say that once she regained her composure, the shame felt so painful that she wanted to die.
【”It will be my turn for sure next time, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure”】
Meanwhile, Frigga, who had been made to wait for her turn, was getting close to the point of a mental break down as the time of Lunaria’s weeding night came closer.
Chapter 96
About a week before the meeting in Asgard.
【”―― Splendid. In light of our lord’s achievements, the status of Bashtar has risen again.”】
Not only had Bashtar’s status been revived, they had even regained the territory lost to the monsters during the great invasion.
A ceremony was being held in the capital to celebrate Kurats’ elevation in status to margrave .
This was the first time in many decades that humanity had won a battle on such a large-scale against monsters.
For that reason, envoys were coming not only from Jormungand, and, of course, Lapland, but even from the Laurentia federation and the Keternes kingdom, which were forces on par with the five major countries of the continent.
That was especially true for the Laurentia federation, which was facing Asgard’s third army from the west. They hoped to further deepen their collaboration with the Jormungand kingdom.
Asgard’s policy of expanding further and further had brought a sense of crisis to many countries.
From now on, all of the neighboring countries had to more or less keep an eye on Jormungand and Asgard.
【”Is that the Kurats with the superhuman strength from the rumors…?”】
【”I heard that even his magic knows no equal.”】
The eyes of all envoys from every country were turned to Kurats as he knelt towards Christopher on stage.
His body certainly was gigantic.
However, some men with similar builds could be found in any country.
It was hard to believe the stories of how he put common sense to shame without actually witnessing his power.
Then again, anyone could tell with one look that the amount of magic power he had was ridiculously abnormal.
Did his power truly surpass the elite of Asgard?
Whether that was true or not, Asgard’s fourth army was not purposed to fight against the major countries of the continent.
It ranked lower than the mad princess’ second army and the devil swordsman Gunther’s first army.
But if Kurats could overwhelm those two armies as well, then there was no doubt the continent’s new order would revolve around Jormungand.
In the coming times, every single action from Kurats would get attention from all over the world.
【”Everyone! Let us praise the hero who brought glory to Jormungand!”】
【”Bless the hero!”】
【”Praise the hero!”】
【”Glory to Jormungand!”】
No matter how strong the Asgard empire boasted to be, their power was still within the range of the possible.
However, the monster-kind had a history of pushing humanity to the brink of destruction many, many times. They inspired a fear beyond any rationality.
In other words, the fact that Kurats had defeated a high ranking monster meant that he had outranked those heroes whose achievements were limited to cross-national wars.
Faced with a crowd that burst into earth-shattering cheers, Lunaria swallowed her saliva.
――The time has finally come.
While others would have considered that the situation had progressed shockingly fast, Lunaria felt like she had been waiting for this moment for far too long.
Right now, at this very moment, Kurats had finally reached the qualifications to become the future king consort.
【”I have yet another announcement to make on this great day.“】
In a great mood, Christopher raised his right hand towards the crown.
【”I hereby officially name my daughter, Lunaria, as my successor!
Moreover, we are welcoming lord Bashtar to the royal family as her fiance!”】
【”Woooooooooooooooh!”】
An ear-splitting cheer rose from the crowd.
From commoner to hero ―― This was akin to a scene pulled straight out of the last chapter of a success story.
For a while, everyone forgot about their fear of monsters and Asgard and let themselves get drunk on joy.
Just like he had brought Bashtar peace and prosperity, the hero would surely bring glory to Jormungand, as well.
The crowd was dreaming of Kurats thrusting his powerful fist towards a colorful and bright future.
However, for Lunaria, this was already old news.
She could not stand to wait for a day more.
(Tonight ―― Tonight, I will become Kurats’ wife in both mind and body. )
Enduring the impulse to push Kurats down on the spot, Lunaria held her flushed cheeks with her hands while thinking of the memorable night that was to come.
【”I understand why it has to be this way, but I’m still jealous…”】
Cornelia gloomily gazed upon the towering castle tainted with the shadows of dusk.
Around this time, the preparations for Lunaria’s first night were probably being taken care of quietly somewhere in the castle while a banquet was being held for the members of the royal court.
Cornelia felt like her heart was being pierced by needles when she thought of how Lunaria was about to become the second woman to be embraced by Kurats (The three monsters did not count).
However, she also knew for certain that there was no one more fitting of Kurats than Lunaria as a wife. After all, Kurats had become a margrave; a status that Cornelia could never have even imagined.
In that sense, she deemed that Frigga would also be fitting of him, but marrying an important noble to a member of a foreign royal family would not be so easy.
【”Still, there is no way I’m letting anyone take my position as the one he loves most! Besides, I’m his only sister.”】
Cornelia had been watching Kurats grow from back when he was a child, longer than anyone else.
She was the first woman he had grown conscious of, the first one he had professed his love to, and the first he had connected with.
Even so, she now had to concede her wedding, a maiden’s biggest dream, to Lunaria.
【”B-but there is definitely no way an elegant princess like her would be able to do ‘that’ play!”】
Cornelia clenched her fist in front of her chest to cheer herself up.
The memory was still vivid in her head.
Last night, Cornelia had let herself be embraced by Kurats to her heart’s content to make up for today, and on that occasion――.
(I just have one question)
That night, Cornelia had been lying down passively despite her usually unyielding personality.
As he gently caressed her, Kurats conversed with Bernst.
『…I have a terrible feeling about this, but do tell.』
(So, I wanted to ask you about that spell that makes cattle give more milk.)
Lately, Bashtar had let its gold do the talking and bought a lot of horses and cattle; particularly cattle.
Little known fact, cows and cattle are very a useful ‘cheat’ animals for human societies.
If put in underdeveloped prariries, they eat the weeds and keep growing, sparing the price of feeding them.
Their milk has a high nutritional value, and they are both strong and docile, which makes them quite handy for farming.
Thanks to their large size, their meat is a great source of protein and can easily feed multiple people for several months when food is scarce in winter.
That being the case, Bashtar had decided to buy large numbers of cattle to not only solve the problem of food supply, but also further develop the territory’s agriculture to adapt to the increase in population.
Of course, this was all Bernst’s idea.
『Is there a problem with the spell? It should be enough by itself to meet the territory’s milk demand.』
(That’s not it, I was just wondering… what happens if I use it on a woman?)
『Well, I suppose she would lactate.』
As soon as he heard that, Kurats prostrated himself and slammed his head to the ground.
(I’ve been looking down on magic this whole time!!! Forgive me, I was a fool!!!)
『You are killing me here! I categorically resent you coming around to respecting magic for that reason!!!』
Had he been a material being, Bernst would have screamed so loud that he would be on the brink of tears.
The unrivaled, unmatched, unequaled techniques of the magic king who was almost a god’s equal were going to be wasted on pulling out a female’s milk? This was far too absurd.
【”K-Kurats, what are you doing?”】
Looking at her brother suddenly slamming his head on the floor, Cornelia felt perplexed by his behavior.
Cornelia wondered if he had gone crazy from stress.
Normally one would think that would be impossible for someone like Kurats, and Cornelia would indeed not have made such a conjecture if not for the heavy turn Kurats’ life had been taking recently.
He had to constantly give his decisions and approval in regards to Bashtar’s policies.
Moreover, now that their numbers had finally become significant, his forces’ drilling, training, and inspections had to be taken care of.
Not to mention the piles of documents, upon documents, upon documents needed for budget implementation.
Even though he made use of Marika and Clodette’s talents, there were some expenditures that only the lord of territory could handle.
A lord who would give his subordinates free reign with his budget would no longer be a lord
Still, even from Cornelia’s perspective, Kurats had been working exceedingly hard.
【”Cornelia, there is a little something I’d like to ask of you…”】
【”Hmm…?”】
―― Even now, Cornelia wondered, why had she obediently nodded to the words Kurats had whispered to her that night?
Just thinking about it made her face heat up from embarrassment.
However, when she hugged Kurats as he drank the milk coming from her meager bosom like a baby, she had been hit by a trance of motherhood that she had never known was in herself until that very moment.
But what could she say? The act of drinking the milk or feeding it to someone else were both equally twisted.
This absolutely did not feel like something normal people would do.
【”Fufufufufu… Lunaria, would you be able to do the same?”】
Cornelia had decided to act cool about the whole situation, but it was needless to say that once she regained her composure, the shame felt so painful that she wanted to die.
【”It will be my turn for sure next time, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure, for sure”】
Meanwhile, Frigga, who had been made to wait for her turn, was getting close to the point of a mental break down as the time of Lunaria’s weeding night came closer.
