"That concludes the report on the new dungeon discovered in Seigen."
"Indeed, you've done well. While this will be treated as an interruption, you've brought back valuable information. Minister of Finance, see to it that they receive the full reward."
"Understood."
Upon returning from the dungeon, we headed straight back to the Royal Capital and delivered our report on the very same day. The report was based on the hypothesis that the dungeon might be turning into a Dimension Bag, explaining that we couldn't afford to take the risk of proceeding on our own authority. However, this report ended up provoking a strong backlash from the many nobles present in the castle.
Many of the nobles who heard the report had reactions like, "Isn't the claim about finding the dungeon core a lie?" and "Could it be that they found something valuable and are trying to monopolize it?" Before long, a proposal was apparently submitted to the King that "they should bring back the dungeon core," and the very next day after the report, we were summoned to the castle once again.
Under the watchful eyes of those nobles, I made it clear before the King that I absolutely would not retrieve the dungeon core, and I even said it was fine if the commission was deemed a failure because of that.
The nobles who had proposed this argued that even if
Orasion
wouldn't go, they could simply send
the Dawn Sword
instead. But Jin and the others flatly refused, saying it would be impossible without me and Grandpa. As a result, some of the nobles who had put forward the proposal hurled insults at us, but I ignored every last one of them and appealed to the King once more about the dangers of the Seigen dungeon.
Sure enough, shouts erupted — things like "That's nothing but a delusion!" and "You're just afraid your lies will be exposed!" But when I asked, "Then you'll be taking full responsibility for everything, correct?", they suddenly fell silent.
Taking responsibility might seem like it could lead to enormous gains if nothing went wrong, but in reality, it would inevitably come with the bad reputation of "having used the lives and livelihoods of the people of Seigen as test subjects." The nobles who realized this seemed to understand that having others clear
— or rather, making someone
else
clear it
was a proposition with little or no benefit, or was nothing but poison. After that, they didn't open their mouths again. Most of the nobles who had grasped this from the start had been either opposed or maintaining a wait-and-see stance, so just from that, you could tell the actual
caliber
of the nobles who had been making all that noise. Still, some of those nobles may well have been acting with ulterior motives, so it wasn't as though every last one of the vocal nobles was worthless. Even so, there were certainly many things to remain vigilant about.
Well, I probably won't remember them all... but I get the feeling the King and the others are keeping proper track.
"Then, regarding Seigen's new dungeon, we'll consider this matter concluded for now. Orasion and Dawn Sword—if any anomalies occur within the dungeon, I may commission you two to investigate. Be prepared for that."
And with that, the dungeon report came to a successful close. Well, Grandpa and I were asked to stay behind, since as the representatives who led the dungeon conquest, there was the matter of discussing our rewards. Honestly, I would have liked to go home and relax, but if I did, they would undoubtedly come charging into my house, so I obediently complied.
"So, unless someone with strong magical abilities is present, it's impossible to even approach the room containing the dungeon core... and since that room has been hidden, locating it would be equally difficult."
I was made to spill every piece of information to the King, Maria, Caesar-sama, and the others that I hadn't included in the earlier report. In the report, I'd claimed that the haze prevented us from making a map, but in reality, Garat had drawn one—except it was destroyed. As for the slope leading to the room with the dragon's bones, we hadn't sealed it off completely, but we had placed numerous boulders along the way to serve as obstacles. The snake-like Monsters that used the moss bed as a breeding ground could still pass through, but it was made into a path that would be extremely difficult for humans to traverse. Additionally, the shortest route to the room was blocked off with earth magic, making it so one would have to take a considerable detour to reach it.
"There may be paths leading to that room from other floors, but I'd recommend assuming the route we took is no longer usable."
"Dragon bones that could be Solomon's parent... Kurif, were there any records about this?"
"I don't have complete knowledge of everything, but... I've never seen or heard of anything like it."
"So it's possible this dragon died before the kingdom was even founded... which would mean Solomon may have been in an egg for several hundred years or more?"
Just as Maria said, if those bones belonged to Solomon's parent, then Solomon had been sitting in that spot for several hundred years. The question of whether such a thing was even possible lingered, but—
"They say ancient dragons can live for several thousand years, so perhaps their time in egg form is equally long."
That was the only way I could think about it. Besides, we'd been operating on the assumption that those bones belonged to Solomon's parent, but it was entirely possible that a different dragon was the parent, so perhaps I shouldn't worry about it too much.
"If those bones don't turn out to be Solomon's parent, Tenma might end up a little embarrassed."
One of the reasons I hadn't brought back the dungeon core was that the site might be Solomon's parent's grave. If it wasn't Solomon's parent after all, Jin and the others would definitely tease me about it.
"Well, putting that aside... the materials we ultimately obtained included ores containing Mithril and gold, reptilian and amphibian Monsters like lizards and frogs, insect-type Monsters, skeleton bones, and several varieties of plants including moss."
The ores alone, including Mithril and gold, would be worth another trip, but since the dungeon conquest had reached a natural stopping point, there were things I needed to do. And those things were—
"Now Tenma can finally start preparing for his marriage to Primera! Glad it wrapped up sooner than expected!"
Not that I had nearly as much to prepare as Primera did, but since this was the first event of its kind in two lifetimes, I wanted to do everything I could. By the way, Primera was apparently quite busy with her knight resignation handover since she was leaving the order upon marriage, but Duke Sanga and the mothers-in-law were enthusiastic about things, so preparations on that front were reportedly going smoothly.
"I'm already looking forward to Tenma's wedding! So, how are the outfits coming along?"
"My side is being handled by an acquaintance. Primera's outfit is being made by the artisans employed by the Duke Sanga household."
The acquaintance in question was Felt. I'd seen Felt's skill during the work on Selna's outfit, so I had no worries there. However, since it would be a problem if the two outfits clashed in style, the stakeholders had gathered for a planning session before production began, and Felt and the duke's artisans couldn't seem to agree on anything—it was a real headache. But the moment they decided to use spider silk as the material, they suddenly found themselves perfectly in sync.
"I wanted to join the planning meetings too, but there was no way I could manage that. Let's just look forward to the outfits as one of the highlights. After the wedding, will you be going on a trip somewhere?"
"There's nothing firmly decided yet, but we've been invited to stay at the duke's residence in the Duke Sanga territory. However..."
"However?"
"Apparently, the entire Ootori family is coming along on the trip."
It wasn't quite a honeymoon, but since it had been decided that we should visit the duchy together as a married couple, I'd discussed it with Primera and settled on it. Before I knew it, Grandpa and Jeanne and the others were coming too. To make matters worse, it was apparently Primera who had approved it all—she told me after the fact, and by that point, there was no atmosphere in which I could refuse.
"Well... it's good that the women all get along so well."
"Yes, I choose to think of it that way."
Maria-sama must not have known what to say about other women tagging along on a honeymoon-like trip. If I had been the one to say I was bringing them, she probably would have launched into a lecture. But since it was Primera who had brought it up, that was probably the only thing she could come up with on the spot. Then again, from Primera's perspective, she might have felt a bit awkward about Jeanne and the others, so it was probably something like a 'family slot' for Grandpa, a 'maid slot' for Jeanne and Aura, and then Amour just coming along for the ride.
"Sorry to go back to the topic, but what do you mean by using skeleton bones as a material?"
"If you grind the bones into powder and mix them with oil cake, wood ash, and grass ash, I think it would make good fertilizer... You don't actually have to use skeleton bones specifically, so I don't think there's any need to fixate on them."
That was about the only thing I could think of, and while it didn't have to be skeleton bones in particular, they could be obtained in large quantities, so there might be demand from places doing large-scale farming.
" Well, I might ask you about it someday, but for now I don't need it."
Caesar-sama thought about it for a moment and seemed to conclude it wasn't a particularly attractive material. Well, of course he'd react that way—buying bones from the Adventurer's Guild or similar would be cheaper than having me or Jin go out to collect them.
I was also asked about things like moss, and I answered that moss might only be cultivable in that particular room. In fact, I'd been testing whether I could bring back some moss with its soil and propagate it, but it started wilting the next day, and by now it was nearly dead. As for other plants, there was no need to go all the way there to obtain them, so their value wasn't all that high.
"I do plan to go mine Mithril someday, but it'll be more of a 'when I've got a solid block of free time' kind of thing."
For now, Jin and his group were my only rivals, and they had the disadvantage of not being able to venture very deep, so even if I couldn't go for a few months, there was no need to rush.
As we were having that conversation,
"Big bro, souveni—waaaaah!"
I heard the sound of frantic footsteps racing down the corridor, and then the door was flung open as Luna burst in with a scream. What had happened was that Isabella-sama, who had heard Luna's approaching footsteps, had been waiting behind the door and brought her fan down on Luna's head the moment she entered, delivering a sharp counterattack.
"Souvenirs, huh..."
"That's all we've got, but don't complain about it."
So I decided to have Kurif brew the tea we'd brought back from the dungeon as a souvenir, for Luna, who was grumbling about Isabella.
"Lady Luna, this is the tea Lord Tenma brought back as a souvenir. It has a bit of a... distinct taste, so I'll go fetch some tea snacks right away," Kurif said, placing just the tea in front of Luna before excusing himself.
"Bring the snacks quick! ...Blegh!"
Luna, not waiting for the snacks, gulped the tea down in one shot—and then spat it out in shock at how bitter it was. And that tea went straight for the two people who had been watching Luna's antics with smug grins—the King and Lyle.
"My eyes! My eeeeyes!"
At the moment Luna sprayed the tea, I felt like she'd angled her head so it would only hit those two—minimizing the collateral damage was probably just royal instinct at work.
After that, leaving the groaning King and Lyle to their misery, the debate over who was to blame began.
Candidate number one was me, number two was Kurif, and number three was Luna.
The reason for number one: I'd orchestrated the whole thing by calling it a "souvenir" and nudging her to drink it.
Number two: He'd served it without explaining what it was and hadn't even offered a snack to soften the taste.
Number three: She'd planted her hands on her hips and downed the whole thing in one gulp just because it was lukewarm.
"Well, it seems all three of you are at fault this time."
After a brief discussion, the verdict was in: all three of us were guilty, as decreed by Maria.
Well, everyone except Luna had just been goofing around, so we were prepared to quietly accept Maria's judgment, take our scolding, and be done with it... or at least that was supposed to happen. But Luna insisted she wasn't at fault, which prompted Maria to get serious and square off against her.
And she proceeded to utterly demolish her in the argument, leaving Luna without a single comeback.
Incidentally, according to Maria, my crime was not warning her about the bitterness, and Kurif's crime was failing to give a proper heads-up—which, honestly, wasn't all that serious.
As for Luna, though—she'd drunk it in a way you wouldn't expect from a princess, and then spat out what was in her mouth, creating victims in the process. So while she could claim to be a victim, she was also a perpetrator, and when you did the math, it came out to a net negative.
"I'm sure everyone's waiting at the mansion, so I think it's about time I headed back."
With that, I returned to the mansion, watching as Luna was being scolded.
Later, I heard that Luna—still unsatisfied—had made Tida drink tea the same way she'd had to, but Tida didn't give the reaction she was hoping for. So she set her sights on Chris next and, sure enough, got the explosive laugh she'd been after. Din and Jan's...
"I'm home."
"Welcome back."
When I returned to the mansion, Primera was the first to greet me. After her came Jeanne and Amour, and then Shiromaru and the rest. When I headed to the dining hall—
"You're late."
Albert was there. Normally, Cain and Lion would be with him too, but today he was alone—a rare sight.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
"No, it's not like I had any particular business... But am I not allowed to show up without a reason?"
Something seemed off about him, but it wasn't the kind of situation where you'd turn someone away, so I didn't chase him off—but—
"No, you look exactly like the good-for-nothing older brother who did something to tick off his wife and fled to his little brother's place."
That's what I said, putting my thoughts straight into words. And then—
"Did I hit the mark?"
Watching Albert fall completely silent and freeze in place, I could piece together a rough idea of what had happened.
"Says the guy whose face is turning red, Tenma. And Primera too."
But my observation hadn't just backfired on me—it had also caught Primera in the crossfire. Primera and I weren't married yet, but ever since Albert and Eliza had tied the knot, it felt awkward hanging around newlyweds, so I'd been splitting my time between our place and the Duke's mansion in a sort of semi-cohabitation arrangement.
"Look, I don't know what happened, but you'd better apologize properly later."
I cleared my throat to cover my embarrassment and gave Albert a firm word of warning. Since the cause was probably—no, almost certainly—his fault, I figured I'd keep my distance for now and stay a little cold toward him. Personally, I'd rather give Albert the cold shoulder than make an enemy of Eliza.
"So the reason is... You're not going to tell me it involves 'a woman' or something, are you?"
I was about to continue with "Lion, on the other hand..." when Albert started visibly panicking.
"Sister... cheating is just the lowest thing you can do."
"N-No! I absolutely did not cheat!"
Despite momentarily stumbling over his words in the face of Primera's killing intent, Albert denied it clearly. Incidentally, the instant Primera's demeanor shifted, Amour was the first to flee the dining hall, followed by Grandpa, then Shiromaru with Solomon, and Jeanne with Aura. Personally, I wanted to bolt too, but I was standing right next to Primera and couldn't very well make a move. As for Slarin—
"H-Hey, Primera... Albert must have his side of the story too. Why don't we have some tea and calm down for now? It just so happens Slarin brought some..."
She was the only one keeping her cool, trying to defuse the tension in the room.
Primera accepted the tea and seemed to regain a sliver of composure. She sat down in a chair, poised to hear Albert's explanation. And what Albert had to say was...
"Well, I suppose it's a bit of a both-were-wrong situation... but at the very least, I'm glad it wasn't cheating... right?"
Apparently, the root of the whole domestic incident was that Albert had gone out drinking after Lion invited him to a place that had women working there, and they'd ended up enjoying themselves way too late into the night. When he got home and talked to Eliza, he vaguely dodged the question about where he'd been, which put Eliza in a bad mood. Since he didn't come back even after the day rolled over, the estate became too uncomfortable to stay in, so he came here instead. Normally, you'd expect Eliza to be the one heading back to her parents' house, but that probably reflected the balance of power between the two of them—or maybe it was because Eliza had grown accustomed to the ducal estate. Probably both.
"With Eliza, all you had to do was honestly tell her where you went. It's not like you actually went and cheated or anything."
"Exactly. I think our sister-in-law is quite tolerant of that kind of socializing between men. So I believe she was less angry about the fact that you went to a place like that and more angry about the fact that you tried to hide it."
If he'd just owned up to it, it would have ended with a simple "Lion really does love those kinds of places, huh." But because he tried to weasel his way around it, Eliza got furious—and from an outside perspective, it really did look like he had actually cheated and was lying to cover it up.
"...Alright! Let's hand Albert over to Eliza!"
"Yes, I think that would be best. Matters like these should be resolved quickly, and above all, it would be terrible if it looked like we were sheltering brother!"
And so, we decided to escort Albert to Duke Sanga's estate. Albert seemed to understand that staying here any longer wouldn't solve anything, and he took his time walking over to the carriage.
As we approached the ducal estate, a butler who had spotted my carriage came running over and opened the gate. Being let in without even stating our business meant he already had a pretty good idea why we were there. When we got close to the entrance, the door opened and Eliza appeared. Behind her, Duke Sanga, who had come to see how things were going, was wearing an apologetic expression.
"Tenma-san, Primera, I'm sorry you had to go out of your way for this. Let's go, dear."
Eliza thanked Primera and me, then linked arms with Albert and vanished into the estate.
"I'm glad they were able to make up."
"Yes. Well then, let's hurry home."
"No wait, Tenma? I don't think they've made up yet. If anything, things are about to get worse… Also, Primera, your home is still here, you know."
Duke Sanga, who had been hiding in the shadows of the door to avoid Eliza, popped out and butted in.
"It's been a while, Your Grace. I apologize for the belated greeting."
"Father, it sounds like things are going to be rather loud today, so I'll be staying at the Ootori residence. Tenma-san, let's go."
After I offered a brief greeting, Primera moved to climb into the carriage as if her business here were finished. Then—
"I've also been wanting to talk with Tenma for the first time in a while, so would you mind if I tagged along… No, rather, please let me tag along."
With that, he grabbed Primera by the arm. The Duke must have been imagining how Albert would get an earful from Eliza afterward, and how they'd make up that night. For reference, the mothers-in-law had apparently returned to their respective domains, so in that sense as well, it seemed tough for the newlyweds to be around them.
"Let me go give some instructions, so please wait here for a bit."
Once I granted permission for him to come along, the Duke cheerfully went off to give the butler his instructions. If it had been Albert who had left, I would have sent him on his way without a second thought, but I couldn't do that to the Duke, so I obediently waited. Primera looked like she wanted to head home and leave him behind, but since I was waiting patiently, she seemed to give up.
"Hmm… By next year, the Duke's household might have a grandchild."
"Indeed. Boy or girl, it doesn't matter—I'd love to see my grandchild's face as soon as possible."
That night, after drinking enough to become disagreeable, the Duke ended up repeating the same kinds of conversations with Grandpa, who was similarly drunk, deep into the evening.
He must have been stressed from the whole Albert situation. He seemed to be letting off steam and decompressing at our house. Well, as the Duke grew more relaxed, Primera started looking more and more apologetic, and Jeanne and the others consoled her. Amour especially—since he said Robo the Honorary Viscount was always like this—sympathized with Primera more than anyone, perhaps more than he ever had before.
We left those two behind midway through the night and went to bed earlier than usual, but… the next day, as expected, both of them were hungover, and Duke Sanga received a thorough scolding from Primera.