A few days had passed since Hajime had recrafted the means to return to
Earth. Right now, Hajime and the others were visiting the dragonman village in
the far north. Once they actually made the trip it would be a few weeks before
Hajime had enough mana to return to Tortus again, so he wanted to let Tio spend
some time with her family before they left. Tio had invited Hajime and the
others to come with her, so they had. On the first night, there had been a huge
banquet to welcome everyone, and it was now noon the day after.
"Do you understand, Yue-sama? The fundamentals are vital."
"Yes..."
"Without the fundamentals, you can't accomplish anything. You need to
practice doing things the hard way or you'll never understand—hey, you just
took a shortcut with magic again, didn't you? How many times do I have to tell
you you can't rely on magic for everything?!"
"I'm sorry..."
Yue and Venri were currently in the Klarus family home's kitchen. Both of
them were wearing aprons.
"Forget teaching you how to cook, I need to start by teaching you how to
wash and cut the ingredients. How did you manage to turn the kitchen into such
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a mess?"
The cutting board on the counter was split in two, there were holes in all of
the pots and pans, the stove was half-melted, and the ingredients were all cut into
too-fine pieces.
"I'm sorry..."
"Instead of constantly apologizing, stop rushing into things before you've
even learned the basics."
Venri had also checked to see how Yue handled other chores like cleaning
and laundry, but had discovered that Yue used wind and water magic to cheat
her way through those as well. When it came to household chores, Yue's genius
had backfired on her. The moment she saw a task and thought she'd found a
more efficient way of tackling it, she immediately felt compelled to try her novel
method, but more often than not it ended with disastrous results.
"Your sewing is all right, but the rest of your skills are sorely lacking.
Forgive me for asking, but how did you take care of the cooking and cleaning
while you were traveling?"
"Shea took care of most of it," Yue said, puffing her chest out proudly.
"That's not something to be proud of!"
Yue looked down, suitably chastised. Venri had lived thrice as long as Yue,
and was the very model of a wise and stern dragonman that Yue had initially
looked up to. Every time Venri looked at her, Yue felt as though she was being
seen right through, which made her a little uncomfortable. Had Venri been a
vindictive and spiteful mother-in-law who was just finding fault with Yue
because she didn't like that Yue was Hajime's first wife over Tio, Yue might
have been able to argue back. However, Venri wasn't that petty, and her reasons
for training Yue were far too reasonable.
"Yue-sama, listen closely," Venri said as she cupped Yue's cheeks gently
with her cool hands. "Whether you like it or not, you are the most famous bride
in all of Tortus's history. I know better than anyone what a wonderful woman
you are, but when a person becomes famous enough, people inevitably try to
find fault with them. And don't forget, Hajime-sama will be marrying women
from many different races, nationalities, and cultures. As the first wife of that
household, you will be held to an unreasonable standard by the general public.
Right now, everything is fine because people's memories of Ragnarok are still
fresh. But as time passes people will forget. Unlike the other girls, who
contributed directly to the fighting, you were the one person who needed to be
rescued. Sure, Hajime-sama may have told everyone that it was with your help
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that he defeated god, but no one actually saw you fight. Once enough time
passes, people will start to talk. They'll start saying that the girl from their race
or culture is more deserving of the title of first wife. I'm not saying you have to
be perfect, or even that you have to push yourself very hard. Why, with your
strength, you can easily ignore what others say. You, or Hajime-sama, or one of
the other girls can shut anyone up easily enough."
"Mhm."
After saying all that, Venri's expression became stern once more. It was the
kind of sternness that stemmed from genuine care though, and Yue could tell
Venri was saying this for Yue's own good, even if Yue ended up hating her for
it. Thus, Yue decided to give Venri her utmost attention, and looked directly into
the dragonman's eyes, ready for whatever she had to say.
"But what I want to know, Yue-sama, is whether or not you can accept that.
Will your pride allow you to be a first wife who isn't truly fit for the title?"
"No, definitely not."
"Good," Venri replied with a satisfied nod, then patted Yue on the head. Yue
felt a warm fuzzy feeling in her chest and blushed a little.
"D-Don't treat me like a child."
"He he, from my perspective, you are still a child."
If Yue went into adult mode, there was practically no one who could resist
her allure. But for some reason, Yue had a feeling her charms wouldn't work on
Venri. It would be really embarrassing if they didn't either, so Yue was too
scared to even try.
"Mmm, I'll do my best to master your training," Yue said, her determination
renewed.
"Very well. But we should take a short break for now."
"Huh?"
Yue was taken aback. Venri had just gotten her all pumped up, but now she
was saying they should stop.
"I suspect that it's precisely because your control over magic is so fine that
you're unable to properly put it to good use when it comes to cooking and
cleaning."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Before I explain, there's something I want to give you. Follow me," Venri
said before she led Yue to her room and directed her to stand in front of a
splendid full-length mirror.
"Yue-sama, please take this."
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"Is this a...kimono? The kind dragonmen wear?"
"Yes. Among dragonmen, it's customary to give your child a kimono when
they're getting married. I'm afraid I haven't been able to make enough for
everyone yet, but this is yours."
It seemed Venri was planning on making kimonos for all of Hajime's wives,
not just Tio. Yue let out a sigh of wonder as she took the kimono and ran her
fingers across the fabric.
"Perhaps I should have consulted with you before deciding on a design, but I
thought red would match your eyes perfectly."
Indeed, the kimono was the red of autumn leaves with a white flower pattern.
There was golden embroidery on the sleeves as well, and it was obvious it had
been designed with Yue's characteristics in mind.
"Since we're already here, why don't I teach you how to put it on?"
The kimono had been made with Yue's adult proportions in mind, so she
transformed into adult form.
"Umm...thank you very much," she said shyly.
"He he, you're welcome. Please look after our princess for us."
"Mmm, I will. I promise to make everyone happy."
"Also, please do something to fix her horrible fetishes."
"Umm, that might not be possible..."
"If you can't manage that much, then how can you call yourself Hajimesama's first wife? Did you not just decide to train yourself up into a woman
capable of doing anything? Oh, and be wary of the food and water in Hajimesama's world; who knows what it might do to your body. Be sure to show proper
respect to his parents as well, you don't—"
"O-Okay, okay, I get it already!"
Venri continued listing off warnings like a worried mother, but Yue could tell
from the look in her eyes that she was genuinely concerned for Yue. Yue almost
called her "mother," but then caught herself at the last second and looked away
bashfully.
"There you go, Yue-sama. You look wonderful."
"Thank you..."
Indeed, Yue did look stunning in the kimono. But she didn't have the same
sensual appeal she normally did. No, it was a more artistic beauty she exuded
now.
"All right, back to your bridal training," Venri said after a few seconds,
snapping Yue out of her reverie.
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"Huh?! While I'm wearing this fancy kimono?!"
"Yes. The very same one I stayed up all night to sew," Venri replied with a
terrifying smile, and Yue's expression stiffened. "You won't get it dirty, will
you?"
It seemed the reason Venri had made Yue change was to force her to
concentrate on performing well because now there were consequences for
failure.
Gulping, Yue replied, "O-Of course not!"
This was one woman Yue decided she would never cross.