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“……Phew.”

I set down my pen and closed my eyes.
The end of the paperwork piling up on my desk—literally a mountain of it—was still endlessly far away. If I didn’t shut my eyes and forget about it, even for just a moment, I wouldn’t be able to keep going.
A night has passed since Argento repelled the Abysscall’s attack. There are still a massive amount of documents left regarding yesterday’s incident.

“Lord Samakah, thank you for your hard work today~”

From my side, along with a drawn-out voice offering me comfort, I hear the sound of water being poured.
Opening my eyes, I see the figure of my twelfth wife—Eldera—who assists me with my official duties.
Dressed as always in the maidservant’s attire I had prepared for her, she brews tea while offering me her encouragement. She is both an excellent assistant and a wife I love dearly.

“Lord Samakah. Didn’t I tell you before that when I address you formally, then I’m in my ‘Professional’ mode in our ‘separating the Professional and Personal lives’ agreement?”

I had intended to reach for her butt with a completely natural motion, but it seems my *subordinate* Eldera-kun saw right through me. With a smile, she pinched the back of my hand.
Yuzuriha-kun, my bodyguard leaning against the wall of the office, is watching me with one eye half-closed and letting out a sigh.

“You two are so harsh.”
“Shut up, you pervert, Lord Samakah~”
“You pervert lord.”
“You really are harsh, aren’t you!?”

They’re both a bit kinder to me outside of work, but at times like this, they show me no mercy. That said, there are ways in which I’m actually grateful for it.

…It means I don’t have to fawn over them when it’s unnecessary.

I know it’s a bad habit of mine, but whenever I see a beautiful woman, I tend to get sidetracked. I’m not exactly fond of paperwork either.
At times like this, I’m grateful that these two put pressure on me.
And yet, once we’re away from work, they’re quite indulgent, allowing me to truly savor my happiness as a man. They’re both wonderful women.
However, right now is actually a good time to let my mind wander a bit. Eldera-kun seems to understand this as well; she’s been making tea for me more often than usual today. She really is a capable subordinate.
Yuzuriha-kun is being her usual self, but she’s acting as my bodyguard. It’s normal for her not to move unless the situation calls for it, so that’s fine.

By the way, she’s not my wife. To be honest, I’d like Yuzuriha-kun to be my wife too, but she keeps dodging my proposals, saying, “If you’re going to prohibit me from fighting once I’ve become your wife, then I won’t marry you.” Which is why I like her. If anything, that’s what makes me like her.

“Eldera-kun, could I have some tea snacks?”
“Sure thing. We’ve got some nice castella today~”
“Oh? I look forward to that.”
“Samakah. She’s coming.”
“I see. She’s quick.”

Yuzuriha-kun’s warning was brief. After a moment, I realized her “presence” as well.
It was a bold, unhesitating set of footsteps. It clearly felt like an intruder, but I’d instructed the guards to let “her” through if she came to the mansion.
If she were so inclined, my guards wouldn’t stand a chance against her, so trying to stop her would be pointless anyway.
She burst through the office door and appeared in front of me.

“Well, Felnoute-dono. Welcome to my abode.”

Felnoute did not respond to my words, merely fixing her gaze upon me.
It wasn’t a stare, nor was it a cold gaze. Those were clearly eyes filled with anger.
With each step so forceful that the sound echoed throughout the room, she approached me. She positioned herself directly across from me, separated only by my desk.
Her full breasts swayed violently due to her forceful stride, but I refrained from looking that way, knowing that laughing myself out of it wouldn’t be possible.
When she finally spoke, her words were exactly as I had expected.

“Samakah… Where did you take her?”
“Her? Who are you referring to?”
“Don’t play dumb!!”

Her harsh words were accompanied by action. The desk groaned so loudly I feared it might split in two. It was the result of her slamming both palms down on it.
I had anticipated this turn of events, so I lifted the pile of documents before the impact. Next to me, Eldera-kun was doing the same with my teacup, so there was zero damage.
If there was any damage at all, it would be her massive chest. They swayed so violently like that—didn’t it hurt?

Expected words, expected developments.
Since I’d anticipated what would happen from here on out to some extent, I prepared a few responses before she could speak again.
Just as I was getting ready, she continued.

“I mean Arje… Argento Vampyr!!”
“I’m afraid I don’t know her.”
“I told you not to play dumb!”
“Hmm… Is she the Healing Magic user who’s been the subject of rumors for the past few days? If so, I haven’t met her yet.”
“Huh!? What are you—”
“I’m busy, Felnoute-dono. I must assess the damage from Abysscall and coordinate the arrangements for reconstruction, including the necessary funds and personnel. I simply don’t have time to concern myself with a run-of-the-mill mage who’s ‘somewhat’ skilled in Healing Magic.”
“……You…”

Felnoute-dono’s eyes widened. It seemed she had finally understood the true meaning behind the facade I’m presenting right now.
The woman standing before me is a former member of the Royal Knights. She was the vice-captain of the Third Squadron, which was composed entirely of women. Put another way, there’s a reason she never rose beyond the rank of vice-captain.

…It’s because she’s too serious.

She’s serious. Consequently, she’s not good at reading between the lines, and she’s slow to grasp things when people speak in roundabout ways.
“Serious” sounds like a compliment, but… to put it another way, she’s a bit slow on the uptake.
She’s skilled, but serious and slow-witted. That was her reputation during her time as a Royal Knight. Many found her a nuisance, and her career advancement stalled at a certain point.
Now she’s mellowed a bit and can understand subtle hints to some extent… but she still seems to have trouble pulling them off herself.

“…How do you plan to report what happened yesterday?”
“Report? There’s nothing to report. There was quite a bit of damage from the Abysscall…”
“…It doesn’t look that way to me. It seems to have been resolved far more easily than usual.”
“No, no. Several ships sank, and a few people lost their lives. Plus, there were injuries from people tripping during the evacuation, and cases of looting. Honestly, it’s a pain having to go through every single document, page by page, down to the last detail, but since this is part of a lord’s duties, I can’t cut corners.”

Felnoute-dono is quiet. She’s probably chewing over every word I say, trying to grasp its meaning.
Yes, she is serious. That’s why she takes everything seriously first, and then thinks about it—about the underlying meaning of my words.

I suppose I could be blunt, but there’s something endearing about Lady Felnoute taking things so seriously, and I just can’t help but treat her this way.
It’s a bad habit of mine, I know. I’m fully aware of it. But I have no intention of changing.
Well, I suppose it’s about time to move on to the next verse.

“So, it looks like it’ll take quite a while yet until I can report to the king about that monster that suddenly appeared before Abysscall, drove it back, and flew off somewhere. My, my… it really is a bother.”
“……Which way did that monster fly?”
“Hmm… the Empire? Or the Republic…?”
“…You mean the direction of the border? And she could go either way.”

Those words show she’s a serious knight who has a solid grasp of geography.
Without confirming or denying anything, I returned the pile of documents to my desk. There’s nothing more for me to say.
And I imagine the same goes for her. Realizing I won’t say anything further, she steps away from the desk and heads for the door. She’s leaving.

“Thanks for the help.”

With a somewhat reluctant air, Felnoute-dono offered her thanks and vanished from sight.

“Big T̲i̲t̲s̲ turned into a stalker.”

Generally, my subordinates don’t speak when others are around.
It wasn’t until a little while after Felnoute-dono had left that Yuzuriha-kun spoke up.

“Don’t say that, Yuzuriha-kun. She’s just devoted.”
“Pushover more like it~ Good for her, at least she’s earnest, if nothing else~”
“More boobs than brain.”
“You guys are really harsh.”

I was truly grateful that they refrained from interrupting while I was speaking with others. If they hadn’t, they would undoubtedly have caused a commotion.
Of course, I love them for their honesty, but I’d still let out a sigh, grateful that my subordinates know how to keep their personal and professional lives separate.

“But, Lord Samakah. You can’t stop people from talking, can you?”
“Sure, some rumors about Abysscall will spread, but if I just say I ‘know nothing about it,’ the King won’t make a big deal out of it.”
“What about T̲i̲t̲s̲ McGee?”
“She set off on a journey saying she’d ‘go see the world with her restored eyesight.’ If the King asks, I’ll tell him that.”
“Pervert.”
“Why!?”

Seriously, why did she say that!?
I thought that and even said it out loud, but Yuzuriha-kun didn’t just ignore me—he actually took a piece of castella from Eldera-kun and started eating it.
Seriously, don’t act so freely when no one else is around… Thinking that, I decided to get down to my own work. I’ll take my time to make sure there are no mistakes.
Oh well. At this rate, who knows when I’ll ever get around to reporting to the King.

“By the way, Lord Samakah~”
“What is it, Eldera-kun?”
“What are we going to do about the people outside demanding that Lady Arje be brought out~?”
“……Those people are something else.”

They’re probably townspeople who’ve been taken care of by her. They’re just dying to express their gratitude. That’s what it is.
I’ll have to talk to them and get through this smoothly. If the commotion gets any bigger, words will reach the king’s ears even faster.
Really, what a headache.
Fortunately, she was well-loved. If they understand that it’s for her own good to keep the commotion from growing, they’ll likely calm down to some extent.
Of course, there will be those who won’t settle down, and some have already left town carrying rumors about Alje.
As Eldera-kun said, you can’t stop people from talking.

…Still, I have to try to ease the situation, even if just a little.

I let out another sigh and stood up to leave the office.
This, too, is so that a beautiful woman can live as her true self.
She is now out of the reaches of my hand, but I’ll just pray that, at the very least, she can be beautiful in the place she desires.
I’ll just do what I can for her.

“Lord Samakah, you’re grinning like a creep~”
“You’re thinking dirty thoughts.”
“It’s about time you two treat me a little nicer, don’t you think?”