Vol 1 Chapter 17 – I Have Free Time, So I’m Going on a Honeymoon with My Wife【Vol 1 – When Written in Kanji, It’s Saionji Yumeba】

The war had ended, and the Empire’s post-war processing had begun, but the situation didn’t look good.

At any rate, to bring the war to a close, the Emperor apparently took a seat at the peace negotiation table. However, in lieu of paying reparations for the defeat, the Empire had a significant portion of its territory carved away.

Of course, the Emperor lodged protests with the nations that had launched surprise attacks without a declaration of war. But when told to take those complaints to the ringleaders who planned it, he was left with no one to condemn.

Above all, the Empire no longer possessed the strength to continue the war, so they couldn’t make any strong assertions.

The power of the Saionji Ducal House could be used for defense, but it could not be used for invasion.

The opposing nations had also suffered immense damage and had no desire to continue the war, but they were still in a better position than the Empire, allowing them to negotiate aggressively.

As a result, the Empire ended up losing nearly half of its territory.

It was the greatest defeat since the Empire’s founding.

◇◇◇

Leaving that aside, I was summoned by the Emperor, accompanied by Yumeba.

Officially, it was to present a reward for the achievements Yumeba and I earned in defending the Imperial Capital. In reality, however, it was likely to interrogate me about the details of the magic I used to defend it.

“My body already belongs to the Saionji Ducal House. If you wish to know the details, please inquire with the Saionji Ducal House.”

“Urgh…!”

When I told him that, the Emperor made a bitter face and fell silent.

Even as Emperor, he couldn’t treat the Saionji Ducal House lightly. More importantly, in the current climate, the Saionji family’s voice carried immense weight.

After all, it was the Saionji Ducal House that had actually protected the Imperial Capital.

“They say a wise hawk hides its talons… and you hid yours well.”

“I am humbled.”

“If you had been so inclined, seizing the throne would have been easy for you.”

“I have no interest in the throne.”

“……”

Yeah. If I had been so inclined, becoming Emperor would certainly have been simple, but since there was absolutely no element of the job that appealed to me, it couldn’t be helped.

“If you hadn’t hidden your claws, I wouldn’t have ignored your warnings before the war.”

“I was aware that I lacked influence, but I didn’t expect that my words wouldn’t even be verified.”

“……”

He looked down on me as the “Discarded Prince” and decided I was lying, so this is the result. Complaining about it now is barking up the wrong tree.

“If there had been clear evidence, I would have at least considered it.”

“I only detected the plan in its terminal stages. There was no time to gather corroborating evidence.”

“……”

It was tantamount to saying the Empire’s intelligence capabilities were inferior to mine, but since that was the actual reality, he couldn’t offer a retort.

My exchange with the Emperor ended with that kind of back-and-forth from start to finish.

◇◇◇

“You were quite assertive.”

“The Saionji Ducal House is backing me, after all. Even the Emperor wouldn’t want to pick a fight with the Saionji family right now.”

Having finished the audience with the Emperor, I chatted with Yumeba as we walked down the palace corridor.

The Empire’s current situation was bad enough to be no laughing matter, but that didn’t have much to do with me or the Saionji Ducal House.

The Saionji family doesn’t hold territory, so there were no territorial losses, and we protected the mansion in the capital along with the capital itself.

In other words, unlike other noble families, we suffered zero damage.

Yumeba and I needed rest due to fatigue, but since we didn’t have any injuries to speak of, you couldn’t really call it damage.

“……”

Yukina-san was bouncing with energy, though.

“It’s a bit late to say this, but S-Class adventurers really are just in the realm of humans, aren’t they?”

“What brought this on all of a sudden?”

“No, well. Even you and I can win against an S-Class adventurer one-on-one, but when it comes to Yukina-san…”

“I think comparing anyone to Mother is a mistake.”

“…You’re right about that.”

I, having become a mage, and Yumeba, the next head of the Saionji family, had already stepped beyond the realm of humanity.

And yet, I still couldn’t see Yukina-san’s back.

It looked like it would take at least ten or twenty years to catch up to her.

While walking and sighing internally over such thoughts…

“Hm?”

“What… is that?”

I discovered something very strange.

No. This was still a corridor inside the palace; normally, this isn’t a place where you’d find strange objects, but…

“You… What are you doing?”

“B-Brother!”

What we discovered was—yes, for some reason—Yunix standing in the hallway, stark naked.

Without joking, he wasn’t wearing a single thread. On top of that, his wrists seemed to be tied behind his back, so he couldn’t even cover his crotch.

Honestly, being shown a guy letting it all hang out didn’t make me happy in the slightest.

“Ahhh… You’re free to have whatever hobbies you like, but wouldn’t it be better to stop doing this inside the palace?”

“N-No! This isn’t something I’m doing myself…!”

Yunix tried desperately to smooth things over, but as he trembled while making excuses, the meager thing at his crotch trembled along with him…

“…It’s small.”

“Hngh!”

Yumeba, standing next to me, leaked her honest impression as if she couldn’t help it, dealing a critical hit to Yunix’s heart.

Yeah. Normally, a girl her age might scream in a situation like this, but despite appearances, she is a married woman.

She wouldn’t get flustered or make a fuss just by seeing a naked man at this point.

Still, I question the propriety of staring at such a meager object.

“Yumeba?”

“Ah. N-No, Lio! It’s true that I thought ‘Wow, compared to Lio, it’s really small,’ but I didn’t mean to compare you two or anything!”

“Guh-hah!”

Yumeba unleashed an unintentional follow-up attack on Yunix.

Furthermore, people had started to gather due to the noise Yumeba made. Yunix, still stark naked, frantically looked for an escape route, but since we were in the middle of a corridor, there were no rooms to dive into.

“Eh? What’s that?”

“Yunix-sama? Why is he naked?”

“Pfft. So small.”

As a result, having exposed his full nudity to the public gaze, Yunix…

“J-Just you wait—!”

Teary-eyed, he turned and ran away, still completely naked.

“What was that about?”

“Who knows?”

For a while after that, a rumor apparently spread throughout the castle that Yunix had an exhibitionist streak.

◇◇◇

Snicker, snicker, snicker.

“?”

I felt like I heard laughter coming from somewhere, but when I looked around—all I found was Serina with a composed look on her face.

◇◇◇

Leaving Yunix’s fetishes aside.

Due to this war, the ten years of domestic administration the Empire had strived for were wasted. Moreover, the reconstruction of the lands trampled by the war was an urgent task.

Although the national treasury had some leeway thanks to those domestic efforts, and even though nearly half the territory had been carved away, the amount of land requiring reconstruction remained vast, and the funds needed were equally enormous.

Furthermore, having the territory halved meant that future tax revenue would also be halved.

In short, not only would the treasury be emptied by this event, but it was certain the Empire would need to borrow from other countries, leading to a financial crisis compounded by a drastic drop in income.

“But that doesn’t really have much to do with us, does it?”

“Not necessarily. We were asked to accept the reward money for this incident in installments over ten years, so it’s practically like working for free.”

“I’m not hurting for money, though.”

As Yumeba said, the Empire had become covered in debt, so the reward money supposed to be paid to the Saionji Ducal House was converted into a ten-year installment plan.

But setting me aside, the Saionji Ducal House has ample funds, so we aren’t troubled by it.

“Rather, they should have just borrowed from us instead of foreign countries.”

“…I guess they didn’t want to borrow from someone they absolutely couldn’t bail on, no matter what happens.”

The Empire probably thinks it’s better to borrow money from the opponents of this war than from the Saionji family. They likely realize that the more debt they owe the Saionji family, the more our voice increases, making it increasingly impossible to defy us.

(The reason the Emperor was reluctant to deploy the Saionji family was partly because the territory would be turned into a scorched wasteland, but he probably also wanted to avoid owing us a debt that would increase our influence.)

It’s a leisurely thought during an Imperial crisis, but considering Yukina-san’s power witnessed in the war, I can understand the feeling of not wanting to owe her.

Just owing that person a favor requires courage in itself.

“With things like this, we’ve got free time, don’t we?”

“The Imperial Guard isn’t in a position to be training either.”

Originally, the Imperial Guard was a unit under the direct control of the Emperor.

Because of that, they worked day and night on training to maintain a high level of proficiency. However, even if there was no damage from this war, public order in the capital had been disturbed.

The possibility of spies and assassins from other countries slipping in during this gap has raised the alert level, and the Imperial Guard’s primary duty—protecting the Emperor—has been heavily reinforced.

Under these conditions, training is out of the question, so Yumeba no longer participates. And it’s impossible for Yumeba, a member of the Saionji family, to serve as a guard close to the Emperor.

Doing so would only increase the Empire’s debt to the Saionji family again.

For that reason, Yumeba is free right now too.

“Since we have the chance, why don’t we go on a trip?”

“…Just the two of us?”

“Just the two of us.”

“……I’m going!”

Yumeba seemed to hesitate for just a moment, but perhaps unable to resist the sweet temptation of going on a trip with me, she nodded vigorously.

“That sounds enviable…”

“……”

And then, Yukina-san, who had been listening to our conversation before we knew it, tried to join in. However, the head of the Saionji Ducal House simply cannot leave the capital in the current situation.

Even knowing nothing would happen, for the head of the Saionji family to leave the capital without permission while the Imperial Guard is protecting the Emperor at maximum alert would violate the covenant with the Empire.

“Haaah… I wonder if Yumeba could hurry up and have a child to succeed as head of the family. If she did, I could go on trips with Darling without hesitation.”

“…So the timing for the change of the Saionji headship is when a child is born?”

“That’s right. Technically, anytime after the child is born is fine, but since Saionji women are so lovey-dovey with their husbands, it usually happens immediately after.”

“I-Is that so?”

In short, because they want to flirt with their husbands without restraint, they push troublesome things like covenants onto their children.

Well, Yukina-san had it pushed onto her by the previous generation, and Yumeba will likely push it onto her child, so I can’t really complain.

“In other words, if we’re going on a trip, now is the chance!”

Yumeba was positive about it, at least.

◇◇◇

I immediately began planning the trip with Yumeba.

“For the destination… outside the Empire would be good. In the current state of the Empire, we can’t relax anywhere. Lio, you can go anywhere in the world, right?”

“Yeah. If possible, a country that didn’t participate in this war would be good.”

We could just teleport to some random place and enjoy ourselves, but the planning stage of a trip is fun in its own right.

Yumeba and I picked out places we wanted to go one after another, consulting with each other—”Ah, not that,”Maybe this.”

Yeah. Sometimes, preparing for an event like this is more fun than the event itself, and right now, I’m having a blast.

Well, doing almost anything with Yumeba, who has become a beautiful girl with an increasingly great figure, is fun.

“…Looks fun, doesn’t it…”

However, for the time being, we didn’t need the world’s strongest creature peeking into the room with a grudge-filled look.

◇◇◇

The place Yumeba and I chose was a country far from the Empire, with many sightseeing spots and good public safety.

“Good public safety” in this world has its limits, but it’s far better than the current Empire, so we compromised a little.

And so, we teleported down near the capital of our destination country…

“Wow… This might be the first time I’ve been outside the Empire.”

“No, the ocean we went to before was also outside the Empire.”

The Empire had territory facing the sea for trade, but it wasn’t suitable for swimming, so I had struggled to find a non-Imperial ocean with no people.

Still, what was important to Yumeba was likely the “town outside the Empire” aspect.

Rather than taking her to an uninhabited place and calling it “outside the Empire,” bringing her to a town with a culture different from the Empire’s probably made the reality of being abroad feel distinct.

“Hey, hey. Let’s go quickly. Let’s go!”

“Yes, yes.”

Anyway, I held hands with the overjoyed Yumeba and headed toward the city.

“~♪”

We were walking hand in hand, Yumeba in high spirits, when…

“You know, this is sort of…”

“Hm?”

“It’s like… a honeymoon ♪”

“……”

I was struck silent by such a foolish comment.

“Wah.”

So, I pulled on the hand I was holding, drawing her closer. Yumeba, perhaps because she was truly floating on air, lost her balance with unbelievable ease and fell into my arms.

Far more easily than the usual Yumeba would ever allow.

“Listen here…”

“W-What?”

“I proposed this trip intending it to be a honeymoon from the very start, you know?”

“……”

For me, it wasn’t “like” a honeymoon; I came here intending it to be a honeymoon.

Fitting perfectly into my arms, Yumeba heard that and fell silent—then gradually, her face turned red, flushing all the way to her ears.

“I-I-Ish that sho?”

She buried her face in my chest with embarrassment, then shyly wrapped her arms around my back and hugged me back.

Yeah. Since we corrected the misunderstanding early on, this looks like it will be a fun trip.

◇◇◇

Since they weren’t on any particular alert, we were able to enter the city easily.

“~♪”

Yumeba, even happier than before, walked arm-in-arm with me, looking like she was having the time of her life.

We planned to focus on sightseeing in this city today, but there was no need to dampen Yumeba’s fun by prioritizing a schedule, so we decided to stroll aimlessly.

Travel is about prioritizing enjoyment; visiting tourist spots is just the spice.

“Lio. They’re selling something!”

So, seeing the large number of stalls open in the central square, if Yumeba took an interest, prioritizing that was fine.

Even though they were stalls, most were food stands. As someone who had done prior research on this city, I knew of delicious restaurants, but…

“Want to buy a little something?”

“Sure.”

We could save the restaurants for later if we felt like it.

As expected, the skewered meat we bought at the stall wasn’t something you could call delicious even as flattery, but adding in the atmosphere, the taste wasn’t bad.

Yumeba seemed to be enjoying the novelty of eating at a stall for the first time more than the actual taste.

Yeah. In the Imperial Capital, as a Duke’s daughter, Yumeba couldn’t exactly stand around eating street food due to the public gaze and her status.

Come to think of it, I had my position as the Fourth Prince, and when I transformed into Alisa, it was mostly work-priority, so this is my first time standing and eating at a stall in this life too.

“Lio, you have sauce on your mouth.”

“Hm?”

“Right here ♪”

When Yumeba pointed it out, I tried to take out a handkerchief, but before I could, Yumeba licked the area near my lips with a slurp.

As a married couple, kissing is an everyday occurrence for Yumeba and me, but doing something like this in a town full of people was a first.

The usual Yumeba would be too embarrassed to do it, but today she seems to have become bold thanks to the travel atmosphere.

“Tch!”Tch!”Tch!”Tch!”Tch!”

Since we were flirting without caring about the public gaze, we received a grand chorus of tongue-clicking, mostly from single men, but I was happy, so I didn’t care at all.

You must be envious of my super-beautiful wife.

◇◇◇

After walking happily through the town—or rather, flirting all over the place, scattering an aura of happiness and inducing an aura of jealousy in single people—we arrived at the inn we had reserved just as the sun was setting.

Since we usually live in a Ducal mansion, even if this is classified as a high-class inn, it doesn’t mean the room is more luxurious than usual, but…

“Wow… It’s my first time in a hot spring ♪”

This city was famous for its hot springs.

It was one of the reasons we chose this travel destination.

Of course, my research was perfect. To avoid the husband and wife entering separate springs on a honeymoon, or Yumeba’s naked body being seen by someone else in a mixed bath, I chose an inn where each room came with a small-scale hot spring attached.

This way, we can enter together just like always.

“……”

Ah, yes. I always take baths with Yumeba at the Duke’s mansion.

Incidentally, though I didn’t want to know, I found traces indicating that Yukina-san and her husband enter together as well.

Anyway, just like always, I entered the washing area with Yumeba, who took off her clothes shyly. While dyeing our cheeks red, we washed each other’s bodies, and then sank our bodies into the tub side-by-side.

“Haaah…”

It felt so good that our voices leaked out unintentionally.

“…It feels good.”

“…It does.”

Even if it’s “like always,” our spirits are lifted by being on a trip, and the environment being different made us nervous—so I wrapped my arm around Yumeba’s shoulder and pulled her close.

“Ah…♡”

The further intimacy inside the hot spring made me feel like I was going to get dizzy from the heat, but I didn’t feel like letting go, so I hugged Yumeba tightly…

“Yumeba.”

“…Lio.”

It was only a matter of time before the distance between our lips became zero.

◇◇◇

After that, to be honest, I think the meal served at dinner was luxurious, but I don’t remember much of it.

It wasn’t that I was lightheaded from the hot spring; I was expecting what came after so much that I couldn’t register the taste.

Of course, there was only one large bed in our room, and I felt absolutely no need for us, a married couple, to sleep separately.

“……”

And so, having finished the meal and returned to the room, we—silently collapsed onto the bed together, becoming one.