"So, what? Are we on an inspection tour again?" Dmitry asked, following Konrad around town.
"No, I want to introduce you to some people," he said. "And also to find myself a blacksmith."
"What about the big, redheaded guy?"
"He's an option, too," Konrad noted. "But I'm sure Welf's busy courting the king's little sister right now. Besides, he's more of a weaponsmith—I need a guy who could make me a boiler."
Last night was chaotic and crazy, but he didn't give up on his steam mill idea.
"Wait," the Captain muttered, stopping dead. "That tall tomboy chick is—"
"Helena von Kasserlane," he nodded. "Princess Regent and my former advisor as well. Also one hell of an opponent with the warhammer. No wonder that big bulk of a blacksmith likes her."
And yeah. He could see why the princess would like him back, too.
Good for them. He'd go, wish them the best, but—
That was not why he was out in Halaima again.
'Oh? A vague semblance of focus I'm seeing here?' Paula teased.
"You should stick to chatting with your brother," Konrad snapped back. "I've had enough of him barging in demanding you all the time. Enjoy your break. I'll let you know when I need you."
And yes, yes. He was talking out loud again, but—
"Yeah, no, I'm used to it by now," Dmitry laughed when their eyes met. "Still, this language?"
Oh, yeah. He switched to the local dialect. He kept forgetting about it.
"How are you doing learning it?" he asked. "I heard Yuki-chan is teaching you, and—actually, she taught me guitar, too. And in, like, two weeks, so—I have high hopes for you, too."
"Ugh, curb your enthusiasm," the Captain scoffed. "I know, like, greetings and stuff, but—"
"Hey. I also taught how to explain you're lost and can't understand," a cheerful voice interrupted.
Speaking of the devil, Yuki-san was running up from behind.
It was strange, seeing her without the usual emo makeup and overstyled hair, but—
Even the local garb looked great on her.
That long, flowing yellow dress with embroidered flowers?!
Um. It was pretty but a pretty odd choice for this weather.
"Ohaio, Kon-chi, Dmit-chi," she chirped, her breath hanging in the frigid air. "Hope it'll be snowing today again. This place is so awesome. I'm never going back to Tokyo."
So full of energy this early in the—um.
Okay, yeah. It was already afternoon, but—
"As the guy who should be running this place, that's great to hear," Konrad forced a smile to greet her. "Not sure how your father would feel about you saying this, though. Don't miss him?"
"Hmm," the emo girl pondered. "I can get Lilisuke to bring me home for a short visit, once—"
"Once all the radiation had dissipated from the jump-off point in the Heavens?" Gabrielle offered, making Konrad jump.
Damn his harem and everyone who could stop time or teleport.
And wait. Didn't Paula tell him they had some weird sex last night?!
Now she was quiet, but that might be for the better.
Still, he had no idea how to face his second wife now.
Especially with this topic at hand, and—
"We're still working on reinforcing the barrier around this world," the angel explained. "And with everything going on, we can't offer you a shuttle service. Plus, even if we could—"
That's when she shot him a glare, having refused to acknowledge them earlier.
"I told you I was sorry, okay?" Konrad muttered, a wrench already in his plans for today.
"Whatever," Gabrielle said, colder than the weather. "I was looking for Strelok, by the way. Maou Midori said he was present during his lesson, but nobody has seen him since."
"Oh, yeah, he was, that guy," Yuki confirmed. "He left with Dmit-chi after."
"He's having a reunion with the memories of his sister," Konrad said, unsure how to put it better.
And once again, Paula, who must have been the only one knowing where they were—
Well, she did have the right to remain silent after all.
"Right. It involves this sister of his, too," the angel claimed. "And so these voices, the ones the Crimson Mage sealed and released, are also hers?"
Uh, oh.
"Is there a problem?" he asked, gulping.
Not another thing to distract him.
He wanted that steam-powered mill. He so, so did.
"Having a magic user so powerful on Earth without anyone knowing about her is, in fact, a problem," Gabby said. "And the effects she has on you might also be worth a long debate."
Ugh. Yeah, he couldn't argue with that, but—
"She's harmless," he claimed again. "And anything she did before—it wasn't her choice."
"I already know that," the second wife sighed. "But it doesn't change the fact that she forever altered a large part of Earth. And then, what happened to the Heavens—"
"I will take care of all that," Strelok boomed, catching up to them on the street.
And thank the spirits he did.
'What? Thought I wasn't listening?' Paula scoffed. 'If anything, I heard too many of her screams.'
Nope. No. Let's not bring THAT up.
"Take care how?" Gabrielle asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm told you can't even use magic, so—"
"Well, I can now," the veteran Stalker grunted. "And as Paula's closest relative, I will work hard at clearing up her mess, both in Ukraine and on your higher planes. I promise."
Konrad let out a sigh he didn't realise he was holding, but—
"Does that mean I can go now?" he was almost too afraid to ask. "I'm looking for a smith, to—"
"You can always do as you wish, Dear Husband," the angel said with a smile, but oh, fuck.
He hadn't felt this cold ever since he left his brand-new palace.
Regardless. As sarcastic as her tone was, he got his send-off and was more than happy to leave this tense situation behind. With a curt nod and cold hands below his jacket, he was off.
"What was that about?" Dmitry asked in a whisper a good two minutes and half a mile later.
Right. They used the local language ever since Gabrielle arrived.
"You're lucky you didn't understand. But gorgeous as my wives are, they're scary as hell."
"Yeah, right," the Captain laughed, looking back. "Once I have five minutes to spare, I'll start feeling bad for you, you bastard. The poor duke wizard with his sexy warrior haremettes."
As if they were only warriors. He could have handled that.
But even with his new, enormous mana pool and having been through all that—
He still couldn't comprehend their actual power level.
And as much as he didn't want to piss them off and tried his best, somehow he always did.
"Anyway," Konrad grunted. "Blacksmith. Boiler. I want to build a steam-powered mill even if that's the last thing I'll ever do. I have all this land—can't have my people starve on it next year."
"Being all patriot-y?" Dmitry asked. "I like that. Not sure about that steam thing, though."
Yeah. It sounded great when he first thought about it, but the longer he did—
It might have been too far beyond this world's current technology level.