"Alms!　I'm pregnant!

　One day, Yulia said that and hugged me.
　I could tell that she was very happy.

　'Well, that's good to hear.
　'I'm a month late with my period and it's the beginning of February, right?　So ... maybe at the beginning of October?

　So you can give birth while it's warm.
　That's good.

　Pregnancy and childbirth are highly risky. Especially in this world where medicine is not as advanced and hygienic as in Japan.
　I hope the baby will be born and grow up safely.

　I'll do my best to have a boy next time!
　Yeah.

　I stroke Yulia's hair.
　 But when I say that, you don't expect me to? I'm told. I don't know what to say.




　'Julia's pregnant?'

　When I told Tetra about Julia's pregnancy, she gave me a universal smile.

　'That's good to hear!'
　Tetra....

　Yulia tears up a bit in response to Tetra, who is laughing heartily and happily.

　''So for a while, Almus is mine, right?
　Hey, hey!

　Julia makes an impatient sound.
　Tetra smirks.

　'You'll be mine for at least eight months straight....................hmmm.
　It's cunning!

　Julia grabs Tetra's shoulder and shakes her.
　Tetra is shaken, but she has a spare look on her face.

　'You shouldn't move too much. It's bad for the child in your tummy. Especially when it comes to s*x, s*x, s*x, and s*xual activity.'
　'Baka!　Idiot!　Idiot!!!

　Yulia and Tetra start a fight.
　They seem to be close, which is pretty good.

　As I'm watching Yulia and Tetra fight, there's a knock on the door of the room.

　'Come in,'

　Then Alice bowed and then walked into the room.

　'I apologize for the break. A messenger from King Equus is here to see you.
　Okay.





　It's been a long time, Muzio. It's been a month since we last saw each other.

　The messenger from Muzio wanted to talk to me.
　I have already done what I need to do right now, or I'm in the middle of hiring someone to do it for me, and I have no urgent business to attend to.

　So, a week later, I had a press conference right away.

　"I haven't seen you since the war. How's it working out for you?
　That's about right. Our steel production has gone up by leaps and bounds, so we can increase our trade.

　The main reason for this was that they had Nemes, who had excellent iron-making skills, under their control.
　He has just brought a Cilician blacksmith under his control with a high salary as bait to mass produce iron.

　'Yes, that's good. Well, now, I've been working for you so far, but this time I'd like you to work for me.

　So that means....

　"You're going to defeat the Lupus and the Ariace?
　It's about time. And thanks to our trade with King Rosais's country, we have a lot of national strength.

　Muzio grins.
　The Lupus and Ariace are a cavalry nomadic tribe that controls the area south of the Equus tribe's area of control.

　They are the Equus' mortal enemies.

　''Do you have a concrete plan?
　"I have crossed over to the Alyce clan. The Ariace chief's daughter and I will marry the Ariace chief's daughter, and both clans will attack the Lupus.

　As I recall, the Alyce tribe is controlled and oppressed by the Lupus tribe, right?
　Yeah, it's a good idea, right?

　But.....
　If I remember correctly, isn't the daughter of the Alyce chieftain engaged to the son of the Lupus chieftain's son?

　What's the matter with you?
　No, I don't, but...

　Poor, incoming Lupus Chief.
　Stay strong. Well, if you lose to Muzio, you'll die.

　"So, how soon do you plan to do it?
　'Two months later, that is, in April. As soon as the grass is greener, we'll start attacking. That way we won't have to feed the horses.

　The Alvans are horsemen and nomads....
　I guess you don't have a problem with the troops. I'm jealous.

　Because for us, rations are the problem at hand.

　'How many men should I give them?　I'll give you 30,000 if you want it.
　'This is my war. I don't want your army to stand out.

　Muzio chuckled.

　I think the total population of the Equus tribe was 30,000.
　If you compare it to Japan, it would be like 120 million soldiers coming to help.

　That's why you'd want to refuse them.

　I only need cavalry. How much can you give me?
　Hmmm, I've got 1,000 cavalrymen I can move right now, but with defense in mind, I can only send 500.

　The mainstay of our country is the infantry.
　Of course, cavalry is also a major force, but without them, our national defense power would be significantly reduced....

　"Five hundred is enough. You'll be saved. Or rather, we can't afford to have more than that.

　Muzio smiles bitterly.

　''So, the bottom line is the reward...''
　Give me a horse. Give me a horse.
　Don't you want the territory?
　I don't want it.

　The land of the Alvans is poor.
　To be honest, even if they give it to us, it's a delicate place to be able to secure an income.

　It costs a lot of money to cultivate it from scratch.

　If you're going to spend a lot of money, it's much more useful to explore the outskirts of the capital.

　You still love horses, don't you? Well, you can take as many horses as you want from the Lupus, so that's a big help to me as well.

　You can't have enough horses for any number of things.
　We need them for pioneering and for war.

　Especially now that we're in the process of reinforcing our cavalry, and if we're going to create a Transportation Corps, we'll need that many horses.

　'And, in fact, we need to talk to you about it.
　What?
　You know what Gehenna is?　That country, I'm in contact with the Lupus tribe, and the king of that country asked me to intervene with the Lupus tribe.

　He's not a king, he's a pretender, a steward.
　Well, from Muzio's point of view, it would be similar but........

　But Gehenna....

　It's good, right?　Gehenna must have been plagued by it too.
　I don't like that old man, you know?

　Apparently, Muzio's personal feelings were the problem.
　Well, that old man certainly stinks.

　''Well, maybe you're overthinking it, but it's better to be wary, isn't it?

　It won't be a loss, and it won't be a loss.


　Well, I'm grateful for the offer, so I'll take it. .........and this is if you can do it.......will you marry me?
　Me and you?
　No!

　I'm fine, I'm fine. I know it's okay.
　My child and your child are married, right?

　I'd heard that Muzio had a son last year, and the idea of a political marriage had crossed my mind at the time.

　"Well, that's not bad news for me. But it's not a good time. Anx is a boy born to Tetra and I can't let him out. As for Fiona, I can't say for sure at the moment.

　

　''Well I'm not saying it's unreasonable. Let me know when it's convenient for you.

　As if he had guessed a lot of things, Muzio didn't pursue the subject in depth.

　Perhaps to change the air, Muzio broached another subject.
　Jokingly, but with a serious face.

　''By the way, let me ask you one question ... how far do you think you're going to go?''
　How far do you say it is?
　Are you happy here now?　Or do you want to keep running? How far would you go if you were to keep running?

　That's a poetic expression.
　I don't hate it.

　I don't know.　Well, I have a goal. I'd like to run from one end of the Adelunian peninsula to the other in the first place.
　That would make Roselle the biggest enemy.
　'You will...'

　However, I don't feel that the Roselle Kingdom is a big threat at the moment.
　General Liu, the strongest general in the Rozelle Kingdom, was relegated to the frontier, and Merlin, the deadliest sorcerer of all, Marri Kurosaki, was in danger of being deported.

　The diplomat who currently connects our country to the Roselle Kingdom is an easy man to deal with.

　In fact, it's safe to say that the current Roselle Kingdom is helping to unify me.
　I'm not going to be the only one who has a problem with that.

　Rather, the enemy at hand is the Republic of Pofenia.

　Between the Kingdom of Roselle and our country, there is the country of King Domorgal, but as far as we are concerned, there is no buffer region between us and Pofenia.
　At best, it is only Trisichelia, but Pofenia is trying to conquer Trisichelia.

　The complete conquest of Trisichellia by Pofenia must be prevented at all costs.
　But then.........

　'I'm sure we'll end up in a military conflict with Pofenia.
　"Will we have to fight at sea?　You can't run a horse on the sea so what are you going to do about it?
　I'm thinking.

　The Navy is expensive, you know.
　I don't want to spend money on the Navy right now.

　So.....

　It would be nice if we could cross paths with the Persis Empire.