Chapter 9: ③ A Melting Sweetness Changes the World

“I want to use this as our base—and work to rebuild the Kingdom of Oltania.”

Yuuri set his finger on the Barony of Rehbelk and declared it. There was no doubt, no flourish, in his voice.

The air in the room paused for a heartbeat.

The one who broke the silence was Lieselotte. Neither quite exasperated nor angry, she leveled a look at Yuuri.

“Are you serious…? You truly mean there?”

She leaned forward slightly in her chair and pressed on.

“As I said earlier, the scars of the civil war there have yet to heal. On top of that, the number of adventurers has dwindled, and the threat of the ‘Demon Forest’ only grows. It borders no other nation at all and is utterly ill-suited for trade.”

As Lieselotte’s tone rose, Celine’s remained as gentle as ever.

“Liese, calm yourself. Let’s hear Lord Husband’s plan before we judge.”

At that soft remark, Lieselotte closed her mouth. But her lips were still a tight line. She wasn’t convinced—yet she trusted him. Both came through, clearly.

Yuuri slowly lifted his finger from the map and looked to the two of them.

“I get where you’re coming from. Honestly, the geography and safety are the worst. But—that’s exactly why I think it’s a ‘hidden spot.’”

Saying that, he tapped a corner of the map.

“Rehbelk has been abandoned for ages. I won’t say there are no vested interests, but they’re few. If it’s no one’s turf, I can rebuild it from scratch—my way.”

He paused a beat and continued.

“If monsters show up, we can use it as a training ground to hunt them. The materials we get can be turned into gear and medicinals.”

As he spoke, Yuuri reached for the map. His fingertip traced a single river threading through the woods along Rehbelk’s eastern edge.

“And—this river. If we use this flow as a spine, and push the forest back bit by bit…”

His finger slid across the Demon Forest and beyond, toward the eastern coastline that met the Free City Alliance.

“…A canal?”

Staring at the map, Lieselotte let the words slip out. She blinked, then followed the line of the river his finger had traced.

“You can’t mean… cut through the Demon Forest, develop this flow, and link it to the sea…? That’s… by common sense, utterly—”

She stopped herself mid-sentence. She wanted to reject it, but on the map, the line did hold. If it was only a question of possibility—she couldn’t deny it outright.

“…If that were possible. The flow of goods would be transformed. The flaw of being buried in the kingdom’s far interior would instead become a point of contact with the ‘eastern sea route.’ If we carve a waterway instead of relying on land routes… it would indeed be an unprecedented strategy.”

Then, with a slight furrow of her brow, she made sure to add:

“—Provided it can be carved in the first place.”

Chapter 9: ④ A Melting Sweetness Changes the World

“Of course, I’ll open it up.”

As Yuuri answered without hesitation, Celine, who had been watching quietly, lowered her gaze to the map and spoke.

“The land route from the Barony of Rehbelk, through the royal capital, to the Orhan Empire—and the water route that would cross the Demon Forest and exit to the eastern sea. The point where those two intersect is precisely here… Rehbelk, isn’t it.”

Her tone was even, but there was quiet conviction in it. As if points had become lines, and the map of the future had clicked into place in this very moment.

“We’ll place the production base for that underwear here, and say it uses ‘unknown materials’ sourced on-site. We’ll ask the townsfolk to handle manufacturing, and funnel the sales profits back into restoration funds. I’ll only support the capital and distribution, staying offstage. But—we’ll still have a clear ‘achievement’ of having revived the domain. …How’s that?”

At Yuuri’s proposal, Kokuyou’s tail shot up.

“Master, what about the inner-palace harem, nya? We can’t just leave this place unattended, nya!”

“The Otherworld Shop has a ‘go-anywhere door’—a space-transfer item. If we set it up with Kokuyou-sama’s power as a ‘tool that travels the Star Spirit’s pathway,’ we should be OK, right?”

“Heh-heh, perfect, nya! For Master, that’s a piece of cake, nya! Building a ‘road’ between the Star Spirit Realm and this world—leave it to Kokuyou-sama, nya!”

“No, you don’t actually have to build it.”

“Nya!? My very reason for existing is slipping away, nya…!”

From the side, Lieselotte let out a soft sigh and spoke gently.

“Please be at ease, Kokuyou-sama. You are the ‘last bulwark, to be relied upon only in direst need’—far too precious to be used lightly.”

“That’s right, nya!! I’m a ‘can-do girl if I try,’ nya! Count on me anytime, nya!!”

Watching the exchange, Celine smiled faintly.

“Fufu… as expected, Lord Husband’s ideas are not bound by common sense. Once development advances, safety is secured, and logistics are in place… the kingdom’s finances may well find new life.”

As she said it, Celine lightly tapped the jewel-box-like container at her side. Inside—was that chocolate brought from another world.

“If we can produce goods beyond underwear that make use of Lord Husband’s knowledge of another world… Rehbelk could become a ‘workshop of hope.’”

“…Because you fed me this, I can’t help agreeing—and that frustrates me…!”

Blushing as she spoke, she gave a pointed little cough, as if to cover something up.

“My, Liese. That’s unfair. Me too.”

Smiling softly, Celine lifted one to her lips as well.

“First, we’ll send an advance party to the frontier. The basic survey report will likely arrive in about two weeks. In the meantime—Lord Husband has another duty, doesn’t he?”

The moment a touch of sweetness entered Celine’s voice, Yuuri’s spine snapped straight.

“…A-a duty?”

“Yes. First, preparations for the wedding. And above all, ‘night visits to raise the inner-palace consorts’ abilities’… yes?”

pffft—!?

As Yuuri sputtered, Lieselotte slid her gaze to him and smiled coolly.

“Fufu… shall we see this ‘Triple S’ prowess of yours?”

At last, the time had come. It had come…!

(Damn it… why didn’t he study life skills more seriously!? Who said “experience comes naturally someday”? Show yourself—now!!)

Even if his body trembled. Even if he was inexperienced, even if his heart couldn’t catch up—

“A-ah… he’ll show you that ‘All Triple S’ isn’t just for show…!”

His voice was completely cracking, but Yuuri put up the bravest front he could.

(Okay, first… read the manual. It’s not too late!! Maybe the Merchant Gift sells one—please, let it sell one!!)