Maria Visits the Senior Queens (Liscia Version)
Hello, everyone. I'm the Maria who people used to say was married to
her country. Now that I was going to get married to Souma, I wanted to chat
with my senior wives more so that we could live together happily. This
afternoon, I was visiting the daycare to learn about child care from First
Primary Queen Liscia.
Liscia was pulling along a pair of twins with the same color of hair as
her.
"This is Cian, and this is Kazuha. My kids with Souma. They're four
now."
"Wow, what cute twins."
I bent down to look at them. Kazuha looked at me with interest, while
Cian hid behind Liscia. They were both adorable.
Kazuha pointed at me before cocking her head to the side.
"Mommy. Is she my mommy too?" she asked.
"Huh? I'm your mommy?"
While I was still surprised at suddenly being called a mommy, Liscia
slapped her own forehead in dismay and let out a sigh.
"I gave birth before the other queens, so we all doted on these two.
Roroa got carried away and started saying, 'Mommy's here,' and the twins
started thinking all of us were their mommies."
"O-Oh, is that right?"
"Yes. Once even my own mother started saying 'Mommy's here' to
them, I did everything I could to stop it though."
"I...can see why you'd feel that way."
Cian, who had been hiding up until this point, said, "Mommy?" quietly
and toddled towards me with a smile.
Oh, wow, this kid is just too cute, I thought. "Lady Liscia... Can I have
him?"
"No! What are you saying crazy things out of nowhere for?!"
"I mean, he was scared of me just a moment ago, but the moment he
thinks I'm his mommy, he smiles at me with no wariness whatsoever! I
want to mother him!"
"Settle down," Liscia said, punctuating it with a light karate chop to my
head.
"Ow ow ow... Ah! What was I saying?"
"I see you've come back to your senses. Cian, Kazuha, go play with
everyone."
The twins responded with an energetic, "'Kay!" and took off, hand in
hand.
Aww, I wanted to talk to them more... As I was thinking that, a bluehaired girl who was around three years old came over with a chestnuthaired boy who was maybe two or three. Oh! They're cute too!
"This blue-haired girl is Souma and Juna's daughter Enju, while the
chestnut-haired boy is Souma and Roroa's son Leon. They're both around
two years old."
"Hello, Enju, Leon."
I got down to their eye level to greet them, as I'd done with Cian and
Kazuha.
"Hewwo," said Enju in a slightly drawn-out way, giving me the smile of
a future pretty girl. Meanwhile, Leon fidgeted shyly.
"Oh... They're cute too."
"Hee hee, they really are. Enju is fearless, as you'd expect from Juna's
daughter, while Leon is introverted, unlike Roroa. He must get that from
Souma."
Enju and Leon both hugged Liscia.
"Mommy Cia!"
"Mommy Ciaaa."
They wanted attention. I stared at Liscia.
"You're making them call you mommy too."
"I-I don't see the problem," Liscia stammered, beginning to turn red.
"They make my kids do it."
I chuckled at how flustered she got. Lady Liscia then handed Enju and
Leon off to a lady with wolf ears (I later learned she was Tomoe's real
mother) and brought a baby who was less than a year old to me in their
place.
This baby with faintly blue hair was sucking its index finger, looking at
me as Liscia held it in her arms.
"This is Souma and Juna's second child, Kaito. Would you like to hold
him?"
"Yes. Very much so."
I felt the weight of the child I accepted from Liscia, along with a warmth
in the air around him. Kaito looked at me and smiled.
Overcome with emotion, I looked at Liscia. "You all raise the children
together and have a community of women who provide mutual support in
child-rearing. It's the sort of thing that could serve as a guiding principle for
a nation-state."
"That's some complicated stuff you're thinking about there. I can tell
you used to be an empress," Liscia remarked, sounding impressed.
I chuckled. "I want my own children now too."
"Once you do...I'll adore them with all my might. Just like the others."
We looked at one another and smiled.
Maria Visits the Senior Queens (Aisha Version)
Hello, everyone. I'm the Maria who's a little worried about gaining
weight now that she's been released from her intense workload as empress.
Now that I was going to get married to Souma, I wanted to chat with my
senior wives more so that we could live together happily. Today, I was
watching the Second Primary Queen Aisha train.
"Hngh! Hah! Yah!"
With each cry of exertion, Aisha swung her greatsword downwards,
causing silver hair to stream behind the beautiful and powerful dark elf
warrior. My own little sister, Jeanne, was a capable warrior in her own right,
but Aisha's martial arts had a visible power to them that Jeanne's didn't.
She had a natural intensity and techniques refined by daily training. No
warrior in the Empire could have matched her.
"You really are strong, Aisha," I said from where I sat in a corner of the
indoor training area.
Aisha let out an embarrassed laugh, continuing to swing all the while.
"With my abilities so concentrated in the martial arts, this is the only
way that I can be of service to His Majesty."
The brown skin of her cheeks flushed red. Oh, my. She's so cute it's hard
to believe she's swinging a massive sword around like that.
"You keep up the effort even now that you're a queen, I see."
"Yes...! That's true. I initially pushed myself on His Majesty as a
bodyguard, so I wouldn't want to neglect that duty now that I've become a
queen."
"But you're the second primary queen, right? Hasn't he asked you to
stop doing dangerous things?"
"In this country, we use the people we have, even if they happen to be
royalty. It's not just me—Lady Liscia and the other queens are all still doing
the work they did before marriage. Well, aside from Liscia, who carries the
blood of the royal house of Elfrieden, and Roroa, who carries the blood of
the princely house of Amidonia, the rest of us don't need to be so stiff about
things."
I think that's strange for a royal family though... The queens all raised
their children together, and each had their own work. Souma tried to look
after the kids as much as he could too, and I'd witnessed Liscia kicking him
in the butt and saying, "That's enough; go to work already," several times
now.
The king and queens each had valuable jobs, and because they were so
busy with them, they divided the labor of raising children. It didn't result in
a situation where, after getting married, all that was left to do was struggle
for power inside the family. It was so unusual...yet, at the same time, so
comforting for me.
It lets me do what I've always wanted to, after all. I looked at Aisha as I
was thinking that. Just as I had things I wanted to do, Aisha had her desire
to protect Souma.
"Souma is a lucky guy, having a woman like you to defend him."
"I wonder..."
Aisha stopped swinging. Is something the matter?
"Did I say something to offend you?" I asked.
"No, not at all. It's true that I defend His Majesty in situations where my
martial abilities allow me to do so. If Fuuga Haan were to attack His
Majesty, I would make the battle last at least ten strokes. And yet...in any
other situation, more often than not, he's the one protecting me. As the king,
His Majesty has a great number of people at his disposal, and he makes
such tasty food too."
Yes... I suppose that was true. There were times when you needed
martial prowess in order to protect others, but the world wasn't so simple
that you could solve everything by strength of arms alone.
Aisha let out a short sigh. "I feel so pitiful at times like that. I don't
know how I should react when the person I hope to protect has to protect
me..."
Aisha had the look of a young maiden in love on her face. Despite her
incredible strength, she had a delicate side to her too. That had to be part of
her appeal.
"I think it's simple, really."
"Madam Maria?"
I smiled as she cocked her head to the side in confusion.
"You should just say 'thank you' when he protects you. It makes you
happy when Souma thanks you after you protect him, right?"
"Thanks for always being there, Aisha."
"Sorry for the trouble. You really saved me there, Aisha."
Aisha nodded as if remembering the times he'd thanked her.
"You're right. It makes it feel like it was all worth it."
"Yes. It's the same for me. Jeanne was always helping, so when she
thanked me for something, it just made all the exhaustion from my hard
work go away. I'm sure Souma's the same."
"Thank you, Madam Maria," Aisha said, smiling, then picked up a
wooden sword that was lying on the floor. "It must be boring for you, just
watching. Come sweat with me."
"Uh... About that... Err..."
I tried to object since I'm not very athletic, but if I was going to be
traveling around the kingdom, it might be wise to learn to defend myself.
This was as good a time as any.
"Could you go easy on me, please?"
Maria Visits the Senior Queens (Roroa Version)
Hello, everyone. I'm the Maria who can only be described as
"unemployed" right now. Now that I was going to get married to Souma, I
wanted to chat with my senior wives more so that we could live together
happily. This afternoon, I was called on by Third Primary Queen Roroa,
who had a request for me.
When I arrived in a workroom for bureaucrats in the finance ministry,
Roroa noticed me and started speaking in a coaxing voice.
"Hey, hey, Big Sis Mari. I've gotta lil' favor to ask ya."
"Big Sis Mari?!" I'd never been called that before.
Roroa put her hands together in a pleading gesture, resting them against
her right cheek and tilting her head to the side. It was a calculatingly cute
pose.
"Settin' our positions aside, I like havin' older people to think of me as
their honorary lil' sister. I'm already callin' the others Big Sis Cia, Big Sis
Ai, and Big Sis Juna, so that makes you Big Sis Mari."
"Oh, I see... Huh? What about Naden?"
As a member of a long-lived race, Naden was likely older than her, as
well as all the other queens.
"Nya ha ha..." Roroa let out a wry laugh. "Y'see, with the way she
looks, it'd be strange for me to go callin' her my big sis. Even Tomoe and
Ichiha are lookin' older than her at this point."
Sorry, Naden... I can't refute what she's saying.
"Well, that aside, your cute little sis has got a favor to ask ya."
"The little sister thing's already a done deal, I see."
"Our country's gonna be comin' together with your old country in some
kinda two countries, one nation deal, right? So, there's been talk of unitin'
our broadcast programmin' too, while we're at it."
"Ohh, that would be convenient, yes."
Each country had a limited number of broadcast jewels, which meant a
limited amount of broadcasts. With our two countries working together, we
would be able to afford larger budgets. There were only benefits to it, but...
"There's close to a half-day difference in time zones between our
countries."
"Well, there's nothin' we can do about that. We could each make half the
content and show the same things twice—in the morning and noon in each
country. We'll find workarounds."
"So for music programs, it'd be like having multiple performances. That
sounds reasonable."
Roroa was always quick with ideas like this. As a large nation, we could
make most things work in the Empire, and there wasn't much call for
creativity. That led to a lot of the bureaucrats becoming inflexible. They
couldn't have come up with ideas like hers.
"So, now on to the main ask. You were a lorelei in the Empire, right, Big
Sis Mari?"
"Hm? Yes. I tried it out once, and a lot of people asked me to continue."
"Mm-hm, I hear you were pretty popular. So, as our first program in the
new unified lineup, I was hopin' to do a Parnam Music Festival headed by a
dream team of Big Sis Juna, our Prima Lorelei—the pride of the Kingdom
of Friedonia—and you, the Empire's Singin' and Dancin' Empress."
A music program? And one where I'd be collaborating with Juna? I
thought. "I'm no longer the empress, you realize?"
"Ya don't have to be an empress anymore, but that's no reason to give
up bein' a lorelei, is it? Big Sis Juna's still out there workin' hard despite
bein' married and havin' two children. If the people hear that you and Big
Sis Juna—who they all love—are puttin' on a music show together,
people'll talk. I'm sure those with a nose for profit like Lucy's folks at the
Evans Company'll be eager to put up the funds as a way of advertisin' their
businesses."
"We'd be doing this for the money, would we?"
I knew Roroa had a strong sense for finance. But I had to question her
fixation on making money; especially when she'd be using family members
like me or Juna in order to do it...
"You want to help the weak, don't ya, Big Sis Mari?"
Perhaps picking up on my hesitance, Roroa dropped her goofy smile and
put on a serious face. It was undoubtedly the face of a queen.
"The important thing with money's where ya make it and who ya use it
for. If you're just makin' money for money's sake, that's exploitative. If ya
give cash to people without them earnin' it, you'll make 'em decadent.
Ya've gotta earn it, use it, spread it around, and keep that virtuous cycle
goin' as long as you can. Don't ya think?"
"You have a point..."
My ears burned a little with embarrassment. Still, being the idealist that
I was, it made me grateful for someone who would shove reality in my face.
That was true of both Souma and Roroa.
"Okay...I'll do it."
"Ya will? Whew, you're a lifesaver."
The friendly smile returned to Roroa's lips. She really made use of a lot
of different expressions. But I wouldn't lose to her on that front. I had the
smile I'd cultivated in my time as empress.
"But you'll be diverting the profits to my charity work, won't you?"
"Huh? Uh, I was hopin' to use some of 'em to fund the next event..."
Roroa averted her eyes. I wasn't going to let that fly.
"You'll be making money off of me. You'll let me decide how it's used,
won't you?"
I smiled at her. Roroa finally caved.
"Aw, fine! I get it! This time it'll be a charity event!"
"Hee hee, thank you."
I may have found myself a good backer.
Maria Visits the Senior Queens (Juna Version)
Good evening, everyone. I'm the Maria who's decided to live for the
people and her beloved family. Now that I was going to get married to
Souma, I wanted to chat with my senior wives more so that we could live
together happily. Tonight, I was appearing as a guest on a music program
with First Secondary Queen Juna.
It was Roroa's idea to hold a music festival where Juna Doma, the Prima
Lorelei—pride of the Kingdom of Friedonia—and I, the Empire's Singing
and Dancing Empress, would appear on stage together. Clever, isn't she? I
was wearing my lorelei dress—which Jeanne had kindly sent from Valois
Castle—for the first time in a long while.
The broadcast jewel always projected images from the present, so we
only got one chance to get things right.
"Maria?" Juna called out to me as I was waiting in the wings, feeling the
pressure.
The blue-haired beauty was wearing an outfit with a thin veil that
managed to balance both elegance and sexiness. It was graceful, yet at the
same time sensual. Even though we were both women, I found myself a bit
short of breath when I saw how beautiful she was.
Juna smiled at me.
"Are you feeling tense?"
"Yes. It's been a while since I've sung in front of people."
"I understand. I've heard your schedule was always incredibly packed."
Her eyes were sympathetic, her words compassionate. There was
probably no one who rivaled her ability to read people's hearts. Souma had
told me that Juna had been there to comfort and support him when he was
struggling more times than he could count.
Juna gave me a soft smile.
"Do you like singing, Maria?"
"Huh? Uh...yes. I do like it. I used to sing for Father and Jeanne when I
was little."
It was a distant memory, from before I had the weight of being an
empress thrust on me. Back then, I just loved singing and wanted people to
hear me.
"I think...that's why I had so much fun with being a lorelei."
"Hee hee, you'll be fine, then." Juna pressed both hands down on her
chest over where her heart was. "Songs are one with the heart. First, they
come from the heart of the singer, and then come to rest in the hearts of the
listeners. And they're passed down and spread."
With her left hand still over her heart, Juna reached out and touched my
chest with her right hand.
"Just have to do as your heart commands, singing the way you enjoy.
Maybe it won't be a song that everyone will love, but a song you enjoy will
move more hearts than a song you don't. That's what I believe."
"You're right," I hesitantly agreed, putting my hand over Juna's on my
chest. "You're the Prima Lorelei, after all. I'll remember your advice and
sing my hardest."
"Hee hee! It's embarrassing when you make it sound like such a big
deal."
What a mature smile. It's hard to believe she's a year younger than me. I
was starting to feel a little competitive.
"Sorry if I steal the spot of Prima Lorelei from you."
"I've already withdrawn that battle. I'm not concerned with how people
rank us."
"Oh, and what if I stole your popularity with Sir Souma?"
"That, I'd get upset about."
Juna puffed up her cheeks angrily. I was satisfied to have gotten an
expression out of her that was more fitting for her age. Soon enough, her
face morphed into an intense smile.
"I understand. I'll take you on with everything I have."
"Yes. Let's fight fair and square. As loreleis, and as queens."
We exchanged harmonious smiles.
"Um, I'm the one feeling the most worried here, you know?" said a
timid voice from behind us.
I turned to see a cute girl in a lorelei costume.
"Juna? Who is this?"
"This is Miss Komari Corda. She's currently the top lorelei in both
popularity and ability."
When Juna said that, Komari looked at her with tears in her eyes.
"Ohh... When you say that, Juna, being number one among the active
loreleis really weighs me down. You're still incredibly popular with the
people after stepping back from the spotlight, and I'm going to be standing
next to this lady who used to be an empress too. Try to imagine what it's
like, standing next to you two and being introduced as the current number
one lorelei."
Yeah. I could see where she was coming from.
"Is that really true?" I asked.
"Maria?"
Sure, Komari felt less like a finished product than Juna. But I felt as
though that incompleteness might draw people in too.
"It's not possible to empathize with someone you worship, because
you've placed them in a different place from yourself. Juna and I can move
people's hearts, but the listeners can't insert themselves emotionally into
our performances. If anyone here can let them do that, it's you, who's on the
same level as them."
"Yes. I think that's part of your charm, Komari," Juna said with a nod,
taking Komari's hand. "Your incompleteness makes people excited to see
what you'll show them in the future. That's something that we, having
reached some level of completion, can't do."
"Lady Juna, Lady Maria..."
As Komari teared up again, Juna and I reached out to her.
"Come on, let's go, Komari."
"Everyone is waiting for us."
With a sniffle, she said, "Okay!"
Now, let the music festival begin.
Maria Visits the Senior Queens (Naden Version)
Good morning, everyone. I'm the Maria who just lost the job she held
for many years. Now that I was going to get married to Souma, I wanted to
chat with my senior wives more so that we could live together happily.
Early in the day, Second Secondary Queen Naden said she'd be going
down to the castle town, so I joined her.
"Souma tells me you do the weather forecast, and also act as a sort of
jack-of-all-trades in the castle town?"
"Well, that's how it's worked out, yeah," Naden said, awkwardly
scratching her cheek as we walked down a cobbled road in Parnam. "When
I was killing time in town, I helped out an old lady who was in trouble.
Then I did a bunch of other stuff, like delivering some things a customer
left behind or moving a damaged cart out of the road. It kept happening to
the point that people just casually ask me for favors now."
Naden was a black ryuu from the Star Dragon Mountain Range. She had
strength and mobility, which probably made her a big help to the
townspeople.
"You lend an ear to the common people. That's lovely."
"It's not that big a deal."
I was serious, but Naden waved it off.
"Ah! Naden. Thanks for that delivery earlier."
"Hey, Lady Naden! I've got good vegetables in stock, would you like
some to take home? Your husband loves cooking, so he'll be grateful for
them!"
"Lady Nadeeen, let's play hide and seeeek."
The baker's wife, the greengrocer, and a child walking down the road all
called out to Naden like close friends. Naden turned and responded to each
of them.
"Your kids are still little, right? If you need anything else, just let me
know."
"I'll drop by on the way home, so hold onto them for me!"
"I'm showing someone around today, so no can do! We'll play next
time!"
So she played hide and seek too, huh? The number of people calling out
to her never let up. My eyes widened with surprise.
"You really are popular, Naden."
"They've all forgotten I'm a queen."
When things settled down a bit, Naden said, "They respect Souma,
Liscia, and the others like they're supposed to. I'm the only one they treat
so casually. Your people loved and respected you too, right?"
"They did, yes, but...that's not always a good thing, you know?"
"Hm? It's not?"
"No. People respect kings or queens because they don't see them.
Obviously, they see our faces over the broadcast, but they aren't closely
involved with us. That's why the common people fear and respect royalty."
"That...could be right."
Naden looked somewhat, but not entirely convinced. I was telling her
what I really felt though.
Thinking back to when I was an empress, I said I was doing things "for
the people," but never had the chance to actually come into contact with
those people. I never spoke to them directly, so could I really hold my head
high and say I was a good ruler?
"I think their relationship with you is healthy, Naden. If anything, I see it
as close to ideal, the way you're able to hear the voices of the townsfolk
directly."
"It's not that big a deal. But I don't mind hearing you say that," Naden
said with a smile. That's when I had an idea.
"I know!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands together.
"Huh?! Wh-What was that about?"
Naden gave me a dubious look. I didn't let it bother me. I grabbed one
of her hands with both of mine.
"You have a lot of free time, right? Let's use that time to travel the
country together! Then we can meet people all over the kingdom!"
"Travel?! What's this out of nowhere?!"
"If you let me ride you, I'll be able to hear from people all over the
kingdom. From the weak and downtrodden, whose voices rarely make it to
those at the top too. With you there, we won't need bodyguards. Naden!
Let's go hear from lots of people, and make this country better together!"
"H-Hold on!" Naden hurriedly shook free of my hands. "I respect the
idea, but the only one who's supposed to ride me is my partner, Souma, you
know?! I can't just let you ride alone and take me all over the place..."
"The partner of your partner is your partner. So it's fine!"
"It's fine? On what basis...?"
"Now, with that decided, let's go and get Souma's permission!"
I took Naden's hand and started walking along.
Naden started protesting, "Listen to meeee!"
But...that's fine! We were going to get along great!