Genjitsushugi Yuusha no Oukoku Saikenki

Side Story 1: The Ambassadors Return

In the far west of the Gran Chaos Empire was the capital, Valois. It was larger in scale than the capital of the Kingdom of Friedonia, and atop the neighboring hill was the residence of the dignified Empress Maria, Valois Castle.

Because it stood atop a mountain, it was difficult for an enemy to attack, but it had been built with too much of a focus on design to really call it functional. It was said this was to demonstrate to other countries that they were the largest and most powerful among the nations of mankind.

In one room of Valois Castle, the office of Jeanne Euphoria, a man and woman were sitting across from each other.

The one at the desk was Jeanne, the master of this room and a general who was also the younger sister of Empress Maria. Before her stood the ambassador dispatched from Friedonia to reside in the Empire, Piltory Saracen.

Jeanne spoke. Oh, right. You were set to return today, werent you?

Yes. Piltory saluted. For my wifes sake, I will be taking a temporary leave of absence.

Piltory was sent to be the resident ambassador to the Empire, but before leaving, he had taken the two beautiful sister slaves, Anzu and Shiho, to be his wives, and brought them to the Empire with him. Hed gotten them from Ginger, who was still a slave trader at the time.

Eventually the elder sister, Anzu, had gotten pregnant. It was decided that, rather than give birth in an unfamiliar country, she would be better off giving birth at the home of Piltorys family, the House of Saracen.

In order to deliver Anzu back to the kingdom, Piltory would return for a time, then immediately return once he left her in his familys care.

Piltory said, In my absence, Shiho will remain here to serve as your liaison with the kingdom.

Im sorry, said Jeanne. Im sure your wife would prefer to go with you, too.

No... My wife understands the importance of my duties.

There was a secret alliance between the kingdom and the Empire. The permanent ambassadors who served as liaisons were indispensable to both sides, and it was a secret that was known only to a select few.

Ever since the kingdom and the Empire formed their secret pact, they had a system in place that allowed them to use the Jewel Voice Broadcast and simple receivers to hold the equivalent of teleconferences at any time.

For critical matters, Souma and Maria would hold talks personally, but for matters of lesser importance (such as the exchange of information), their intermediaries, Hakuya and Jeanne, would talk instead. Piltorys role was primarily to schedule their meetings.

Oh, right, said Jeanne. Since youll be returning to your country, I wanted to ask a favor of you...

Hearing the master he served being complimented, Piltory stood up straight once again. I-Im glad to hear that.

Jeanne, on the other hand, pressed on her forehead, shaking her head as if to say, Oh, good grief...

Even if thats true, surely theres no need for you to become a lorelei yourself.

But there were a large number of requests for me to sing, werent there? Maria asked.

Well... yes, but...

The concept of a lorelei was something Souma brought to this world. To explain quickly, what was called an idol on Earth was called a lorelei here.

Now, if you were to ask what an idol needs, it would be a pretty face and charisma. Singing and dancing ability were nice to have, too, but if someone had an above average appearance (this had to be categorized as a natural gift), and the charm to draw people in, that was enough to be an idol.

Now, if you were to ask who in the Empire had the prettiest face and the greatest charisma, the first response you would get, without a doubt, would have been Maria Euphoria. And Maria was an accomplished singer and dancer, too, so she was so overflowing with potential that even becoming a top class idol could be more than just a dream for her. Her talent even rivaled Junas.

Because of that, there were many requests from the people to hear her sing, and recently Marias popular name, the Saint of the Empire, started to have Singing and Dancing added to it.

They call you the Singing and Dancing Saint of the Empire... Jeanne said in exasperation. Are you okay with that?!

Some days later, around the time Souma was taken to the Star Dragon Mountain Range

Piltory was back in Parnam, the capital of the Kingdom of Friedonia, inside Prime Minister Hakuya Kwonmins study at Parnam Castle.

Having left his pregnant wife Anzu with his family, he had come to the castle for a courtesy call before returning to the Empire. However, right now, it turned out Souma was on a diplomatic visit to the Star Dragon Mountain Range, so he had come to visit Hakuya, who was taking care of things in Soumas absence.

Piltory stood in front of the desk where Hakuya was seated with a salute. Now then, Prime Minister, I will be departing for the Empire once more.

Thank you for your service. Though, Im sure you would rather be at your wifes side... Hakuya said with an expression that betrayed little emotion.

It may have sounded curt, but Hakuya was the one who recommended he return to the kingdom when he learned his wife was pregnant in the first place.

Souma had been addressing the issue of urban hygiene, and was currently carrying out medical reforms centered around Hilde and Brad, so this country had now become the best country on the continent to give birth in.

Hakuya also arranged for Hilde and her people to look at the pregnant Anzu. What was more, he also considerately provided transportation by wyvern gondola to and from the new city, Venetinova, where Hilde was.

So even if he was curt, Hakuya was treating him well, and Piltory was thankful for that.