The Garden

"Ah～ so peaceful～"

Ria was drinking tea in a gazebo built in the garden.

Uncharacteristically, she was wearing a dress. Since she loved her beautiful self, she didn't particularly dislike dresses themselves. The problem was the men who swarmed around her whenever she wore one.

And as something else unusual, Carla was also wearing a white dress and joining her for the tea party.

The dress suited her well. While her dignified nature was usually emphasized, wearing a dress emphasized her femininity instead. It could be called a purity and beauty befitting a saintess.

In addition to those two, Shizuna, Fio, and Guinevere were also wearing dresses. It was a proper noble's tea party.

Though Guinevere was the only one who wasn't Ria's bride, their relationship was something like sisters-in-law.

After all, Guinevere's son was also Ria's adopted son.

Shizuna had returned from Jaeburg right away and was participating in this tea party.

It seemed she had been told quite a lot at her family home, but apparently Vargas had given his consent.

After that, Ria had finished dealing with Cornada alongside Carla, and unusually rode in a carriage all the way back to Manesh.

She had been worried about Carla's mental state, but since Matsukaze sulked about Carla not riding him, Ria alone ended up returning on horseback partway through.

By the time they returned to the capital, Carla had completely recovered her spirits… and then the paperwork hell began.

During her absence of just half a month, somehow a whole month's worth of matters requiring attention had piled up. Once these things start accumulating, they apparently grow exponentially.

It was only about a month later that she finally had some free time.

She had been thinking she needed to tell Guinevere about the Demon King, when unusually, Carla proposed having a tea party.

"Every once in a while, this is nice. Relaxing under the sun like this."

When Ria spoke leisurely, everyone nodded. Basically, everyone in this group except Shizuna had mountains of work to deal with.

Incidentally, in terms of interpersonal dynamics: Guinevere was feared yet laughed at. Carla was liked by everyone. Ria was the husband, and there was some friction between Fio and Shizuna.

However, those two weren't the ones causing problems today.

"How is the taste?"

Carla had brought out scones, but she herself wasn't touching them. It's not as though she would poison them, but still.

"They're delicious. Did you make these, Carla-sama?"

Shizuna asked with her mouth stuffed full. It was a bit unrefined, but since Guinevere was doing the same thing, it probably didn't need to be worried about.

"No, I asked a palace cook to make them. It would have been a bit inconvenient for me."

It wasn't that Carla was bad at cooking. Ria had seen her cooking for herself in the middle of the night before. She simply didn't have the time.

"So, everyone, have you all had enough to eat?"

Everyone nodded together. Then Carla's beautiful face, which usually wore a smile, took on a serious expression.

"There's something I need to tell everyone."

She sat with her back perfectly straight, directing her gaze to each person present.

Ria and the others instinctively straightened their backs as well.

"Originally, this is probably something I should tell Ria alone first, but everyone here is like sisters."

Wait, this lead-up was…

"So I'll say it here."

For some reason, it felt like when a girl broke up with him in his previous life…

Carla spoke the words resolutely.

"I'm having a child."

"Heh?"

"Huh?"

"Eh?"

"Who is?"

That last one was Guinevere. But even she hadn't caught up with the situation.

"Um… who is?"

"I am. I'm pregnant."

At that instant, Shizuna shot to her feet with tremendous force, knocking over her cup.

"I-I've lost all respect for you!"

No one realized she had misunderstood.

"I-I thought no one could come between Carla-sama and Ria…!"

She turned on her heel, her dress fluttering as she left in a hurry. They tried to stop her, but no one's head was working properly.

"… I'll talk with her later."

"I suppose so… So, whose child is it? Also, weren't you supposed to be unable to conceive?"

Yes, doctors and mages had told Carla that, and she had explained it to Guinevere.

"W-well, about that…"

Ria raised her hand with jerky, rusty movements.

"I think I can explain."

Receiving the gazes of Fio and Guinevere, Ria began her explanation.

That she, too, had a body that couldn't conceive children.

That she had heard from Dark Dragon Valis that when the time was right and both parties desired it, they could have a child.

"And then, after Carla went through such a terrible experience, my feelings became incredibly intense… and then, um, a man's part came out. And then we joined together, so…"

She was hedging her words somewhat, but Carla had turned completely red. Her fair skin made it quite noticeable.

Fio also understood what she meant and turned bright red, but the mother who had already borne a child was different.

"Oh? Are you still like that now?"

Far from being surprised, Guinevere was brimming with curiosity.

"No, I'm back to having a woman's body now. I think I probably need to be considerably worked up for it."

"U-umm!"

Fio called out in a desperate manner.

"So… in other words… the father of Carla-san's child is Ria-sama, right?"

"That's right."

Ria let out a long sigh. She never thought she'd become a father with a woman's body.

However, it was a happy thing. A joyous occasion.

"You'll need to rest for a while, won't you? Vigorous exercise is strictly forbidden."

"Um… is it alright for me to have this baby?"

Those words from Carla were unexpected for Ria.

"Of course, absolutely, I want you to have it. She's mine and Carla's daughter. I already know she'll be an incredible beauty."

"You've already decided it's a daughter…"

"Yeah, if she inherits the dragon blood from both of us, she'll naturally be a daughter."

When she explained that dragons are fundamentally all female, they were surprised by that as well.

"Even so, Carla becoming a mother, huh…"

Guinevere grinned, but her gaze was somehow gentle.

"From now on, it's not just your body anymore. Don't push yourself too hard."

"… Not just mine…"

It was a common saying, but when she thought about it happening to her own body, Carla felt strange.

"Certainly, I can't push myself."

Carla murmured, stroking her lower abdomen as though cherishing it.

"Um… may I?"

Fio, who had been relatively quiet until now, looked at Ria with intense, purposeful eyes.

"W-what is it?"

Ria felt overwhelmed; could this gaze of Fio's be some kind of Gift?

"I'm going to become Ria-sama's third wife, right?"

That was a promise. Fio herself had said she didn't mind even though Ria was a woman.

But now, the situation had changed.

"Fio, if you've changed your mind—"

"No! That's not it!"

Fio, her hands clasped at her chest, wore an expression overflowing with hope instead.

"If it was possible with Carla-sama, then maybe I could bear Ria-sama's child too!?"

Well, how about that.

Founder Leyte Anaia did give birth to Valis's child. Following that logic, it should be possible with Fio as well.

But why Ria had temporarily become partially male was still unknown. It wouldn't have been strange if it had happened when she slept with Shizuna, after all.

"I don't know, but it's worth trying."

"Ah… um… trying can wait until I've mentally prepared myself a bit more…"

Fio turned red all the way to her ears again, and not just Ria but even Carla was patting her head. She was certainly the youngest among Ria's three wives.

"Well then, I'll go to Shizuna."

"Are you sure, Carla? The way she was acting, I think she'll just reject you…"

Misunderstanding or not, Shizuna had been quite angry. It would probably be better for Ria to talk to her directly, or for the uninvolved Guinevere to do it.

"No, I'm going to be her older sister, so I should go alone. Having Ria there might actually complicate things."

Even at times like this, Carla was Carla.

Even in a dress, Carla's retreating figure was both dashing and beautiful.

Such a beautiful woman belonged to her alone. She had to treasure her.

"Your face is slackening."

Oops, oops.

"So, Guinevere, there's something I need to tell you…"

Receiving her gaze, Fio excused herself. She took the empty plates and teapot with her.

"Well, you've probably noticed some of this already, but…"

And so, Ria told her what she had been thinking.

The most important part was that Shinji's father was probably the Demon King.

That said, if Valis's words were true, he should have originally been a hero who became the Demon King.

"I never thought he was an ordinary person, but the Demon King…"

Even after hearing everything, Guinevere only let out a single sigh.

Ria understood why she had made everyone else leave.

"He was the boss of the one who put Carla through such an ordeal, but I can't bring myself to think he's a bad person."

That was based on Rei and Asuka's attitudes, as well as Ria's battle with Ordo.

If he had wanted to, that man could have certainly killed every human there except Ria.

The Millennium was supposed to be a conflict between humans and the demon tribe, yet he was also trying to nurture humans.

"If Serge were here, he might have offered a different perspective."

Serge was no longer here.

Not that he had died or anything.

He had departed from Manesh to enroll in the magic academy.

"Well, what we can do is raise humanity's fighting potential. You'll help with the golem army plan, right?"

"Yeah, that's not a problem."

However, Ria's plans would be derailed.

Because a few days later, news of the furnace's completion would arrive from the dwarf village.