"Wait. What do you mean by 'I need a husband'?"
Yeah, that was the reaction I expected. Laughter was also something I thought would happen, but Viola just stared at me like I had lost my mind. I can understand why. If a girl I just met came up to me and asked me to be her husband, I would think they are crazy too. But I am serious. I don't want to spend my time in the capital going to marriage meetings and coming up with excuses as to why I can't marry whoever it was I was being set up with.
"Well, I need you to pretend to be my husband," I tell her. "I am being flooded with letters from people wanting my hand, and I am not trying to brag by saying that, if anything, I wish they would stop. It's tiresome thinking up excuses as to why we can't be wed all the time."
I probably came up with over a hundred different excuses by this point, and that doesn't include the easy rejections when people make it clear they are just after my money. At least those I can simply say no to. As for the other, I needed some excuse to avoid political fallout.
"The short version as to why I am so against this is that most of the men are either just want my money to fund their own fun or want to take over the company I co-own."
I technically own it on paper since Satou didn't want his name there, but he puts in more effort with the company than I do, so it doesn't feel right to say I am the sole owner.
"And those are the least of the problems the worst men give me. I'll spare you the details, but a few letters weren't pretty when they listed what they could offer me." I continued. "But a few weren't so bad, and I made a list of people to look into, but it keeps going missing whenever I set it down."
I'm starting to think that list isn't misfiled, as everyone tells me, with how frequently it vanishes.
"And so I need a fake husband or fiancé," And with Arisa making Satou off bounds, that leads me to my current deal. "So pretend to be my husband or fiancé, and I'll help you get revenge. Then, when this is all over, I will tell people you were killed in some battle, which shouldn't be that hard to believe, given what my job as a hero throws my way."
Viola blinks, then finally starts laughing. It takes her a while to calm down. Too long.
"So, I pretend to be your man, and you help me kill a treasonous bastard?" She says after catching her breath. "I can't say this is how I saw being defeated going."
"Yeah, it sure is a strange turn of events," I nodded.
It was hard to claim otherwise.
"So if I agree, what will I need to do?"
I pause for a moment. To be honest, I didn't think this far ahead. I just saw a way out of my marriage meeting hell and took it without thinking. But it shouldn't be that much stuff that she needs to do.
"Attend parties of various kinds," Nobles host way too many types of parties. "Probably meet a few people with me."
"So, no kissing and baby making?" She smirks, and I feel my face heat up.
I really didn't think this through. What was I thinking, asking someone I just met to do this?
"N-no… we don't need to do that much…" I'm sure we wouldn't. "We will probably have to dance, hold hands, but I don't think we will need to do more than that."
At least I hope we won't have to do more than that. But if we do, then the worst should be just a kiss. I-I can do that… a kiss is no big deal… It's just a kiss….
"So, party, dance, and hold hands with you," Viola shrugs, lying back down. "A small price to pay for my revenge, so you got a deal."
"Real?" Now it was my turn to blink. "I didn't think you would have agreed just like that."
"Like I said, it's a small price to pay, and it seems like it will be fun making you blush all the time," Viola smirks, looking up at me. "By the way. Why does my body feel like you covered it with weights?"
"Because I had to kill you to save you," I simply told you, making her laugh again.
"You know that is less ridiculous than that deal we just made," Viola chuckled.
"Yeah," I smiled. "It is."
<0>
"Mmm…."
"Kura?"
"Master?"
"Hero Kura?"
As soon as I left Viola's room, I found four people staring at me and not looking happy. While three people are not looking happy. Nana's face is still blank, but I can feel she feels the same way as the others. I expected this. I was the only person who thought asking Viola to pretend to be my husband was a good idea when I ran that plan by them.
"So, she agreed," I wouldn't be surprised if they were eavesdropping, but I couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Yes, we know," Sara said.
"Mmm." Mia nodded.
Today is going to be a long day.
"But why did you ask someone who tried to kill you?" Pearl asked.
"Because she can take any form and I can easily fake her death when I don't need a fake husband anymore." At least that question was easy to answer.
"But why did you turn down her offer of a larval, I inquire," Nana then asked. "A larval would be a wonderful thing, I insist."
Yeah, today was going to be a long day.
<0>
"So, that's why you're hiding down here," Yoroi laughed, the sound of his hand slapping his metal leg echoing through Ban's castle.
"Yeah," I sigh.
It really was a long day, and if I hadn't used making a delivery to the bottom of the labyrinth as an excuse, it would have been a long night too. It's not like I can't understand where they are coming from, I do. We just met Viola, Viola tried to kill me, we know nothing about Viola, and we don't know if we can trust Viola. But I really can't think of another way to get out of all the talk of marriage that would have swamped me at the capital. They couldn't either. That was why it was turning into a long night.
I don't know why I ended up telling them about it, since all Yoroi and Mukuro did was laugh. Yuika found it entertaining and would probably be laughing too if it weren't for the fact that her mouth was full of tuna. At least Ban and his wives tried not to laugh, even if it looked like they wanted to roll over. I should have just kept my mouth shut.
"It's a real shame you will be leaving the city in the morning when you come to us with stories like that one," Mukuro said, reattaching his jaw.
I can't believe he laughed so much that it fell off. Well, it's not that hard to believe since I saw him reattach his arm after Yuika ripped it off when he tried to steal the plate of curry she was eating. But still, he shouldn't have been laughing that much at me in the first place.
"So, when can we expect to see you again?" Ban asked.
"Probably not until the new year at least," I replied. "I doubt I could sneak away while I am in the capital."
I doubt I will get a minute to breathe while I am there.
"So, like you will be having a fun time," Mukuro smirks. "Plenty of parties to take you, fake man, to. Be sure to tell us all about it."
"Yeah, sure,"
I hope they forget about that, but with how bored the people down here seem to get, I doubt that would happen.
<0>
At least when I woke up the next morning, things had calmed down. Everyone had accepted that this was going to happen and seemed to have spoken with Viola while I was down in the labyrinth. Arisa seems to have talked to her too, and while I doubt they are ready to call each other friends, Viola had at least stopped calling her a witch.
"No, more muscles," Arisa said as I entered the room into what appeared to be some kind of shapeshift show. "And add a few inches of height. Need to make sure no troublesome noble picks a fight with you."
Viola was now a tall, muscular man with short blonde hair, blue eyes, and a pretty handsome face. It's hard to even think she is a woman when she is looking like that. She was wearing a smart-looking suit and a shortsword at her hip. It wouldn't be hard to pass her off as some noble with how she looks, but I doubt I could make that work since someone is bound to look into her background.
"Can I sit down now?" Viola moaned.
"No, I still need you to stand next to my master for my Satou x…"
"I told you to knock that off," Satou interrupted Arisa with a light bump on her head. Not that you could tell with how dramatically she fell. "Yes, you can sit down. Is there any problem with your new sword?"
"No," Viola smiled, patting it. "It is better than any sword I wielded before. Where did you get it?"
"That's a secret," Satou replied. "Besides, your wife is here now."
Everyone is having too much fun with this. But at least my saviour came to me with the sound of tiny feet pitter-pattering over at top speed.
"It's an airy-ship! An airy-ship! It flies!"
One of the young maids ran into the room and started hopping up and down while pointing out the window. An airship was just starting to land in the distance, and I was surprised to see it was one of the airships the Echigoya Company made. I didn't realise those were ready yet.
"An airship, you mean?"
"Yeah, that, right! It's amazing, right?!"
"Wowie, it's so big, right?! You're going to be riding that airship, right?! That's amazing! Right!"
"That's right."
More of the young maids came into the room and dragged us to the window. A massive airship loomed over the labyrinth army's base, its enormous shadow draped across the ground below. It was Airship Number 1, and I was stunned to see it already finished; I had been sure it still needed at least another week before it could be delivered to the kingdom. Soon, we would be riding it to the royal capital alongside a crowd of others, including Henry, who was going to attend the end-of-year meeting, Baronet Jelil and his Red Dragon's Roar party, fresh from defeating the Middle Stratum floor master.
The airship's armour bore the royal crest of the Shiga Kingdom, and above the bridge near the prow, a row of smaller crests showed who was aboard. Thanks to Henry's brutal lessons after I gained my title, I recognised one of them as the crest of Vistall Duchy.
"Girls, you haven't finished your duties for the morning yet. Hurry up and get back to work!"
As soon as the head maid, Miss Miteruna, appeared in the entrance hall and scolded them, the little maids scattered like baby spiders to get back to work.
"Good morning, young master."
"Good morning."
"The carriages are nearly ready, so please head down as soon as you are ready."
"Thank you," Satou replied before turning to us. "Are you guys ready?"
"Not until you compliment your darling Arisa's dress," Arisa smiled as she struck a pose.
"Me too!"
"Pochi wants accompaniments too, sir!"
Tama and Pochi were quick to join her, doing poses in front of Arisa, causing her to push her way between them. The sleeves of her cocktail dress spread out beautifully as Arisa spun once she was back in the front. Her soul shell garland brooch glittered on her chest.
"Yes, it's a wonderful outfit."
"Honestly! Compliment your adorable Arisa, not the clothes!" Arisa huffed and puffed.
"You're cute, too, of course," I assured her.
"Pochi's next, sir!"
"Tama too?"
Tama and Pochi stepped in front of Arisa again, dressed in pink and lemon-yellow, respectively. They looked adorable, though their military-style poses clashed a little with their outfits.
"Kura," I felt a tug, and I saw Mia was beside me.
"So you finally settled on one," I smiled. "It looks good on you."
Mia blushed and looked down. Mia wore a dress richly trimmed with chartreuse lace. The night before, she had debated wearing a miko-style outfit like Miss Aaze's in keeping with elven tradition. In the end, she chose a western-style dress to match the other girls'.
"Hero, top of the morning to you, I declare."
"Good morning."
Nana wore a modest blue dress that covered her chest. Satou's original design had been bold enough for a magazine cover. Still, after Mia's objections and Arisa's close oversight, it ended up looking like this.
"I am prepared to hear your praise, master, I invite."
"You look good too, Nana," I said. "The colour suits you."
It was hard to tell, since Nana's expression rarely changed, but I'm sure she is happy.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, master."
Lulu wore a modest white dress. She had considered a maid outfit the day before, but everyone urged her to choose something more stylish for the airship trip.
"Good morning, master."
"Good morning, Hero Kura."
Liza and Pearl then emerged wearing their armour. I knew Pearl didn't want to wear a dress, saying that she couldn't protect me in one if something were to happen, but I wish she had listened to me when I assured her nothing would. Liza, on the other hand, insisted that wearing armour was more in line with her status as a mithral class adventurer.
"I'm sorry I kept everyone waiting."
Sara was the last of our group to arrive. She was wearing her ushally habit, but something sweet caught my attention as she stepped closer. A lovely flowery scent was coming from her. I didn't think anywhere in this city sold something that could make a smell like that, so she must have been saving it ever since we left the old capital for a time like this.
"Arisa, is this all your luggage?"
"Yessirree!" Arisa answered in an old-fashioned way.
Satou's group carried fake luggage—three travel suitcases and two armour cases—while their real belongings were stored in their Fairy Packs, Arisa's Item Box, and the storage space created by her Space Magic spell, Garage. I didn't need to carry stuff like that since heroes typically have good item bags and storage skills; it wasn't out of place for me not to carry luggage.
"Let's get going, then"
The young maids opened the doors for us, and we stepped outside. Three horse-drawn carriages were already waiting in front, while the maids, orphanage children, and students from the explorers' school lined both sides of the path to see us off. Mr Kajiro and Miss Ayaume were there as well.
One of the carriages had been borrowed from Baronet Dyukeli. He had taken a liking to ours, so once we became reasonably friendly, Satou gave him a similar model.
Karina and her entourage had already gone ahead to where the airship was waiting. Partly because there was not enough room for all of us in the carriages, though I suspected it also had something to do with Karina feeling embarrassed about the dress her father had sent her.
"Have a safe trip!"
The children called out together. I smiled and waved as we headed for the carriage. Halfway down the path, several boys from the orphanage stepped forward carrying short staffs. The three of them began chanting in unison.
"Breeze Soyokaze!"
To my surprise, one of them actually managed to cast the spell. The resulting gust sent every nearby girl's skirt and dress fluttering. I shielded myself in time, and Satou kept Nana and Lulu's skirts from flying up, but the others were less fortunate. It didn't help that most of them were short and made of light, breathable fabric for Labyrinth City's heat.
A chorus of shrieks followed, along with protests from Mia and Arisa. Sara fared best since her habit was longer, revealing only her legs up to the knees. The others, however, gave the boys an unexpectedly lucky view.
"Swishy..."
"Sir!"
Pochi and Tama seemed entertained by the flurry of skirts.
"Hee-hee, I did it!"
"Practising our chants in secret was worth it if it surprised Mr Knight."
The boys were thrilled with their success. As they were bonked on the head by Arisa and dragged back to the orphanage, I noticed none of them had gained the "Chant" or "Magic" skills. How had one of them learned chanting so quickly?
But with that incident out of the way, we boarded the carriages.
<0>
"That is one big airship," Viola whistled.
It really was big. Six floors compared to the last models used by the kingdoms, four, and it was nearly a third longer. Still, thanks to the ship's engines, Satou designed it to be just as fast and even beats the old models when it comes to turning. That is especially true in an emergency.
Speaking of Satou, he is currently having a lovey-dovey goodbye, according to Arisa's grumbles, but all that seems to be happening is Zena giving him lunch. The love confession, Arisa is mumbling about stopping, probably won't happen, since just giving Satou lunch was enough to make Zena blush and stutter.
"Hero Kura, the carriage drivers want to know if they can leave now, I report," Nana came over, and I nodded.
"I'll go see them off,"
Or at least that was the plan until I heard Karina shout out…
"I challenge you to a duel! If you win, I shall wear that embarrassing getup, as you insist!"
Blushing brighter than Zena, Karina looked like she wanted to run away as people who heard started cheering and shouting.
On another note, the dress Karina had been wearing, but had changed out of since leaving the manor, wasn't something embarrassing. It was based on the latest fashion trend from the capital and was pretty eye-catching. Karina probably didn't like it because it showed off her overpowered assists.
"Oh, very well. Will the same rules apply as when you duel Pochi and Tama?"
"Of course, I would ask for nothing less!"
When Pochi and Tama fought Karina, their matches usually lasted only one round: whoever was knocked out of the ring or landed on their back lost.
"And if I win…" Karina somehow managed to blush even redder. "…y-you, you'll have to, m-m-marry mwee!"
I heard Arisa chanting "Guilty! Guilty!" over and over while Zena started repeating the word "Marriage". The rest of the crowd pelted Karina and Satou with both cheers and jeers.
"W-wait, I meant..." Karina panicked and flailed, but no one paid attention to her attempts to explain.
"Hey, young master! The stage is set!"
Someone from the crowd prepared a spot for their duel. A moment later, I recognised the familiar face: Skopi, leader of the downtown Mud Scorpions. With that, Satou and the still-blushing, protesting Karina were hurried toward a temporary entertainment area set up before the airship's arrival. With so many nobles and mithril explorers gathered, the space was mainly meant for explorers and other warriors to display their strength in the hopes of being hired.
"The young master is doing battle? Against who? Liza of the Black Spear?"
"It's that gorgeous, babe, I heard."
"Damn, those are huge! Bigger than a cowfolk lady's!"
"Hey, don't talk like that about my goddess!"
"Ooh, I know that lady. The bean warrior pair are always dragging her around."
"So she's a new addition to the Pendragon treasury?"
"This'll be worth watching, then."
A large crowd had gathered, and Skopi even had some of his crew taking bets. The crowd was having a field day, but Karina was so nervous about the duel that she didn't respond at all.
<0>
The battle was close, but Satou still won. Even if the only reason it was so close was that Kariana's oversized cusions started swaying, much to the crowd's delight. But in the end, Satou knocked Karina out of the arena and won the duel.
Still, Karina wasn't half bad and a lot stronger compared to when I last saw her fight. That mid-air leap was a surprise, and shooting Raka's barriers at Satou like cannonballs really caught everyone by surprise. With all those tricks up her sleeve, Karina managed to close the gap in strength between her and Satou, nearly earning her victory when that chest accident happened. However, in the end, Satou was still holding back and won.
"How many times have I told you to be more careful?!" Arisa had Satou on his knees after the fight, chewing him out. "Don't get lured in by her boobs again, okay? You can touch mine as much as you want later."
"Yeah, no thanks."
"Then how about… I know! I'll ask Lulu if you can touch her boobs later, too, okay?"
"Arisa…" Lulu ran over as Arisa started dragging her into that escalating conversation.
While Lulu tried to rein in Arisa, who was making more suggestions, I turned away from the group and looked at Karina. She is kneeling on the ground, her head low, and hasn't moved since her defeat.
"Are you all right, Lady Karina?"
"Please leave her be until she gets her feelings in order."
"Are you sure, Raka? I'll leave you and the maids to cheer her up, then."
"Karinaaa?"
"Are you hurt, sir?"
Tama and Pochi came to comfort her, too, so I stood up to let them take care of things.
"Next time… I swear I'll defeat him next time." I heard Karina mutter as she stormed onto the ship with Pochi, Tama, and her maids rushing to keep up.
She will be fine. The tears in her eyes were painful to see, but Karina would be fine, and if she keeps at it, then it will only be a matter of before Satou is drawn in by those massive…
"Miss Hero,"
A group of noble kids, led by Baronet Dyukeli, approached me. They were probably here to see Satou, too. Still, if Lulu's blushing face is anything to go by, the stuff Arisa is spouting off probably isn't something these kids should hear. On another note, it hadn't even been ten days since they started at the explorers' school, but their muscles were already starting to firm up.
"How did Sir Knight fight like that?"
"How did the boobs… I mean, Lady Karina moves like that?"
"Can I fight like that someday?"
"Sir Knight is really strong, isn't he?"
"Indeed! A man of his skill might even be recommended to the Shiga Eight in the royal capital,"
After I thanked Baronet Dyukeli for lending us the carriage, I chatted with Mary-Ann and Princess Meetia. Satou had no intention of ever accepting an invitation from the Shiga Eight, so I just gave vague answers to questions like that. After speaking briefly with Princess Meetia's guardian knight, Ravna, and her shy squire, Ryula, I turned to the next noble who approached: Luram, Baron Tokey's son, who was somehow still the only one with a chubby build.
"Lady Hero, it won't belong until I am fighting by Sir Pendragon's side, and I hope to have the honour of fighting by yours if the two of you are still together then."
"The honour would be mine,"
"Yeah, right, Luram." With a light bop to Luram's head, the viceroy's third son, Gerits, stepped forward to approach me. "If anyone's going to fight by a hero's side, it's going to be me."
"You're the one who's dreaming, Gerits,"
As the two argued, I sensed a duo sneaking up on me. I turned and found Iruna and Jena from the Lovely Wings looking both frustrated and disappointed with their arms out as if they were about to grab me.
"Damit."
"You could have at least let us have some payback for those rumours going around about us."
"Those weren't my fault," I sighed.
Rumours of my so-called womanising never stopped despite my insistence that nothing happened. First, Sara getting clingy when she drinks, then taking these two back home after they passed out drinking. I'm pretty sure Sokell spread those rumours around, too, before he was arrested.
Those rumours weren't my fault. If anything, I wish they would stop. So, I changed the subject.
"Don't worry about a thing—between us, Sir Kajiro, and the others, we'll take care of the students."
"Just watch, we'll train those Pendra kids to be useful."
They had little success as explorers, but they were excellent teachers.
"Heeey, Hero Lady! Here, for the road."
"Is this takoyaki? Thank you very much. I'll share these with Satou and the others later."
Neru had come from the Echigoya Company's Celivera branch to see us off.
"By the way, does Satou get up to that naughty stuff I heard Miss Arisa suggest?"
"No," I quickly shook my head.
Despite Arisa's attempts, Satou hasn't slept with anyone… at least no one in our group. Neru didn't seem to believe me, so I ignored her and kept greeting and bidding farewell to people. That was until someone seized me.
"Duke Vistall is getting impatient with the wait."
Henry had taken one of my arms and pressed into me in a way that would only make those rumours worse. And it just got worse when Sara copied her on my other side.
"He might try something since I'm with you," Sara warned me.
I'd heard that the Vistall Duchy didn't get along well with the Ougoch Duchy. As I am led onto the airship, I can only hope that he doesn't try something.