For the time being, it was nice and all that I became able to get along
with Magmell thanks to the incident, but,
"Uhm, Arca-san…?"
――Turn away.
"Look, it's your favorite jerky, you know~…?"
――Turn away.
"…Haah."
Due to it, the wife (temp) was now puffing up her cheek, sulking.
The gesture was really cute but, what should I do to pacify her?
On the other hand, the main cause, Magmell, was—
"Fufu, you don't have to care about that hysterical woman, Exasama. Come, let us spend some sweet time; just the two of us."
—cheerfully making merry without a whit of care about her.
Given her drastic change in attitude, she must've pent-up a lot in
her…
Even Freyr-sama had a look that said "Eh, who on earth is this!?"
seeing her.
"Oi, who are you calling hysterical woman."
"Fufu, it is naturally you, Former-Legal Wife-sama."
"Kukuku, you sure said something interesting there, 'First-of-theRejected Concubine Candidate'."
"Who are you calling First-of-the-Rejected Concubine Candidate!?"
"You, needless to say. It is quite unfortunate, but with my authority as
the legal wife, you are rejected. Go back to whence you came from."
Arca said, gesturing to the entrance of the cafeteria with her chin.
Then, Magmell replied with a smile filled with irritation, "Well said,
Saintess Arcadia. In that case, you wouldn't mind if I teach you with
your body who is the most suitable woman for Exa-sama, would
you?"
"Fufu, I can't wish for more. Well then, shall I make this to be
Saintess Magmell's final resting place?"
Final resting place? This was the castle's cafeteria, though.
Wouldn't that make it sounded like she died from food poisoning…?
"To begin with, the Exa you fell in love with was the him who played
the act that I had suggested him. Yet, why are you still sticking to
him?"
"Yes, I understand that perfectly. However, the earnest look he gave
me at that time wasn't a lie, either. It was Exa-sama who were there
to bravely save me in my time of need. Do I need any other reason
to be in love with him?"
"Kh, even though you're an enemy, I commend you for
understanding Exa's good points... Very well. You're annoying, but
I'll approve you as a concubine."
"I'm honored for the compliment, Former… I mean, Legal Wifesama."
Fufufu, the two laughed. They seemed to have gain a strange sense
of fellowship, but I then thought to myself: Err, I haven't said anything
about taking in a concubine or a legal wife, though…
◇ ◇
Afterwards, relieved that the two saintess had gotten closer, I went to
the throne room alongside them to ask for information on the
monsters' nest.
"The nest of the monsters, is it?"
"Yes. I figured that destroying it is be the most effective way to break
the current deadlock."
"It certainly is. We've had the same thought before. Therefore, we
tried to attack the source of the monsters. But…"
""?""
Perhaps she found it difficult to speak about, as Freyr-sama's
expression became dark.
Then, Magmell said in her stead with a painful expression, "Freyrsama lost the late castellan— Siegled, during the operation."
"Eh?"
"I see, so that's what happened…"
To Arca's words, Freyr-sama apologized, "I apologize for making you
concerned about me. My late husband— Siegled did fall in the battle.
The enemy attack being fiercer than what had been initially expected
was part of the cause, but the main cause of it was something else."
"Something else?"
"Yes. Have the two of you heard the legend of 'Lady Mother Earth'
(Jibogami-sama) who lives in the northern mountains?"
"I haven't…"
"Me neither." Arca and I shook our heads.
Then, Freyr-sama said with a distant faraway look, "It is believed that
in this world, in addition the Goddess of Creation, there are other
gods; each of which governs over fire, water, wind, earth, and
thunder. One of them— the god of 'earth', we worshipped her as
'Lady Mother Earth'."
"Lady Mother Earth…"
In other words, she was the earth version of Lord Fire God.
Come to think of it, Lord Fire God was just a name that everyone
called him by, no one knew his real name.
"Yes. Lady Mother Earth is said to be the god of earth as well as the
god of life; one theory says that she continues to purify earth's filth
by herself."
"So, you're saying that the number of monsters is increasing
because Lady Mother Earth no longer purify the earth?"
"I think that is quite possible. In fact, the arable land around Algren
has been getting thinner year by year, and the crop yields has also
been declining. At this rate, it won't be long until we have to abandon
the city."
"That's…"
"Fumu, things seem to be more serious than expected."
"Yes… the reason my husband set out on the expedition wasn't only
to destroy the nest but also to search for Lady Mother Earth. He
thought that Lady Mother Earth might no longer able to exert her
original power due to the influence of the monsters."
"However," Freyr-sama continued with darker expression, "He fell
with his hope crushed… The few surviving soldiers reported to me."
""?"" Arca and I tilted our heads.
Freyr-sama squeezed her fists on her knees and said, "That Lady
Mother Earth— is the 'mother' who creates the monsters."