Chapter 2: A Recruitment Task For This Queen!

Part 1

After taking a bath with the other girls, I went over to the soldiers training grounds.

Since Revi put me in charge of teaching them formations, I became invested in their growth.

However, since they were equipped with the magic crossbows and armor, they didn't really need any kind of special training.

In fact, they were getting cocky, fooling around in training and blowing up a bunch of objects with their explosive bolts.

"Attention!"

I barked out, making the soldiers flinch and instinctively file in a row, standing straight.

My impromptu boot camp made them disciplined… At least when I was around.

When I wasn't watching them, they returned to their old habits of not taking their training seriously.

"...You think you bums can just laze off whenever I'm not around, huh?!"

"No, ma'am!"

I paced in front of them, giving each soldier a death stare.

I tapped the armor they were wearing. It was made out of a sleek, black material, the same kind that the moguninin from Komekko's village was made of.

I didn't personally fight a moguninin, but that thing even gave Komekko-chan all kinds of problems.

The way they described it made it seem like a super powered, metallic golem that had all kinds of strange abilities.

With that kind of gear, even an unskilled soldier could overpower a trained one. This power was making these guys forget that they were the weakest army in the continent.

"Didn't I tell you guys before? If you slack off on your training, your enemies will get the advantage!"

"But ma'am… Thanks to Revi-sama's new weapons and armor, we don't really have to train that hard anymore… Do we?"

"Yeah! I don't get huh it works, but these armors make my movements better! I can even lift a bunch of heavy stuff!"

I sighed and took my sword, Calibur, out.

"If you guys are that confident in the ability of that armor, you want to test it out against this sword?"

"...?!"

They flinched when they saw the legendary sword that had slain a golden dragon in one attack.

"We don't know what kind of weapons and relics the Demon King army has in their possession. Sure, Revi's original copies of that armor can probably take a couple blows from a magic sword, but do you think your mass produced copies have that kind of durability?"

They shifted around, clearly losing their undeserved confidence.

They could probably brush off attacks from mundane weapons with those armor, but magical weapons were a different matter.

"Exactly. Against such a foe, you will only end up as fodder. That's why you need to keep practicing the defensive and evasive maneuvers I taught you. Is that clear?!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

I had them go through the drills I taught them.

They ran through the obstacle course, training their agility.

They went through the same obstacle course, this time, with blunted ammunition being fired at them.

If they got hit, they had to start over from the beginning.

Once everyone got through the obstacle course, I had them practice firing at moving targets.

The moving targets were their fellow soldiers.

"Oi! Why'd you shoot at my crotch! That hurts!"

"It just happened to go there! Protect your crotch next time!"

"You hit me on the ass, bastard!"

After that, I had them go through some basic strength training before dismissing them.

While they went back to their barracks, I saw a blonde girl, who looked like a child at first, watching the training from the sidelines. I immediately dismissed my first impression when I saw that she had a large rack. Those things were at least C-cup, but they looked huge since the rest of her body was small.

I couldn't decide if she was an oppai loli, or an undersized adult woman. I took a closer look and saw that she had a familiar face.

"...Sylphina? Is that you?"

I recognized the cousin of Lalatina, and someone I considered to be a childhood friend, Dustiness Ford Sylphina.

She was currently the public face of the Dustiness clan, while Darkness handled affairs in Axel.

Working as a diplomat, I heard that Sylphina was highly successful in negotiating… But I also heard that she used a lot of questionable methods to get what she wanted in those negotiations.

Her most recent controversy, at least among the Crimson Demons, was that she somehow convinced the Crimson Demon village chief to agree on the mandatory magic license. She also ordered the disposal of the Moguninin, angering a lot of the Moguninin's die hard fans.

"Ah, Iris-sama! Long time no see!"

She said, giving me a perfect curtsy.

She bent down, showing me her exposed cleavage. She purposely didn't button up her blouse all the way. I got a bit annoyed with how she was showing off her developed chest.

"I heard that you've stationed yourself in Elroad, but what are you doing in the training grounds?"

"Oh, you know… Checking out the military strength of this nation. I still work for Belzerg, after all!"

She was probably just checking out the soldiers, looking for potential hookup partners.

"I hope you've settled in? Revi gave you an office, right?"

"Indeed! Since the previous ambassador ran away, there was already a lot of free space for me to work with."

I nodded, gesturing for her to walk with me. She nodded and followed me along as we left the training grounds and headed to the gardens.

We admired the flowers and greenery while walking. I said,

"...I heard that you 'involved' yourself with Revi earlier, while he was staying in the village."

"Ah… Is that a problem? I assure you I was only giving my proper respect to a foreign royal and giving him some special service!"

Does that mean she'd do the same to any foreign prince?

"Knowing Revi, he'd probably offer you a position as a concubine. What are your thoughts on that?"

Since Revi was the kind of guy who'd fall for any pretty girl he encounters, I wouldn't put it past him to do that.

"I do apologize, but I'm content with my position as the ambassador!"

She was basically saying that she had higher ambitions than being a concubine.

Certainly, being a concubine had a lot of privileges, the first among them was the guarantee of a comfortable, luxurious life.

However, for high nobility like Sylphina, who already had comfortable lives to begin with, such a proposition might be seen as a downgrade, or at least a stagnation in terms of career prospects.

"I see… I do hope that you'll support Revi with your skills, though."

"Oh? Are we talking bedroom skills, or my diplomatic skills?"

I sighed and said,

"Well… Realistically, you'll probably be doing both."

"Then, I'm happy to help!"

She smiled, giving me the Belzergian salute.

Part 2

While we were preparing for war, there were a lot of tasks to take care of.

Unfortunately, since Revi had the oh-so important task of 'initiation' that he had to do, he was stuck in the harem quarters taking care of the Crimson Demon girls who hadn't had their turn in the sack yet.

This meant that the many and varied tasks were assigned to me, the next in command.

Komekko-chan was technically queen of this country, but that was only in title.

She was currently being trained by tutors about diplomacy and politics, all the things she'd need to learn to be a proper queen.

I was sure that she was struggling tremendously with that task.

While the queen in-training was doing that, the responsibilities that she'd normally be saddled with were relegated to me.

I didn't really mind, since I'd rather busy myself with tasks rather than wait around in my room all day, letting the maids attend to me.

My first task was to meet up with a representative of the Adventurer's Guild to negotiate the pay for the adventurers who'd join in the war.

While adventurers were by no means obligated to fight in a war, unless the king calls for their involuntary participation, some adventurers seeking glory, fame and money will volunteer themselves for any war efforts.

The top adventurers, who were usually composed of onii-sama's fellow country men, for example, would be regular participants during the skirmishes against the Demon King army outside the capital.

However, that was only the case in Belzerg. Elroad didn't have heroes from another world helping them. They had regular, standard adventurers, ones who were used to getting a lot of pay for beating up weakling monsters that the beginner adventurers back in Axel could defeat in their sleep.

Like the Elroad army, the adventurers in Elroad were several tiers lower than the ones in Belzerg. As such, the guild representative who came that day, who introduced herself as Lina, seemed to have a very nervous energy around her.

She was a girl with long blonde hair and hazel eyes. She had a medium sized build and wore a uniform that showed a fair bit of cleavage. It seemed that the guild receptionist uniform in Elroad wasn't much different than the one in Belzerg.

When I looked closer at her, I began to notice similarities to the guild receptionist back in Axel, Luna. They even had similar names. Lina looked younger than Luna, and wasn't gifted with the kind of body Luna had, however, they had similar facial features.

"Um… Forgive me if I'm wrong, but are you perhaps related to Luna from Axel?"

Lina's eyes widened. She smiled and said,

"Ah, do you know my cousin, your majesty?"

I was right on the mark. She was related to Luna.

"So you're cousins… Were you born here, in Elroad."

"I was born and raised in Belzerg, but I came here to experience life abroad…"

She scratched her cheek, clearly omitting something.

"What's the matter? You don't like it here?"

"Well, it was a bit of culture shock. For one thing, they seem to have a practice in the Adventurer's Guilds here. 'The top adventurer of a guild can sleep with the top receptionist'. It seems there's a ridiculous custom like that…"

There's that 'custom' word again!

"I-I see… That seems inconvenient…"

"Yeah… I've intentionally been decreasing my work performance to avoid the title of 'top receptionist'..."

"Hmm… Is it really that bad to gain the affection of the top adventurer, though?"

Since the top adventurer of the Axel guild was onii-sama, I wouldn't have minded if I was a guild receptionist and there was a condition like that.

"That's the thing. Since the adventurers in Elroad are pretty even in terms of skill, with no standouts, the 'top adventurer' of a guild doesn't really have as much weight as it does in Axel. In fact, a lot of them take turns being at the top spot, just so they can have a night with the prettiest girl in the guild…"

"What a despicable strategy…"

While adventuring was seen as a necessary and honorable work in a militant country like Belzerg, adventurers were only seen as an unnecessary expense in a peaceful country like Elroad.

Since the most heavily monster infested areas in Elroad were dealt with by the desert tribes, there wasn't much work for the adventurers in the urban places.

This rule about top adventurers getting to sleep with the top guild receptionists for a night was probably the only incentive one can have as an adventurer in Elroad.

"Alright, let's get to work. I'm thinking that compensation will be commission based."

I said, after offering Lina a seat and starting the meeting.

"C-Commission based? But from my understanding, the military is getting a salary and even a high pension…"

"But the adventurers aren't a part of the military. They're pretty much over glorified mercenaries. They haven't been brainwashed… I mean, instructed to sacrifice themselves for the flag and their country."

"...Are you implying that the adventurers might withdraw as soon as they feel that the battle isn't going their way?"

I nodded and said,

"Exactly. If we pay them in advance, which I'm sure they will demand, there's nothing stopping them from taking the money and running away the first chance they get. Even if we pay them half before the start of the battle and the rest afterwards, they will just try to avoid fighting, and maybe even sacrifice those around them to stay safe, so they can survive until the end to collect the rest of their pay."

"That's… Well…"

Since she knew firsthand how the adventurers in Elroad were, she couldn't bring up a counter argument.

She was probably verbally harassed and maybe even got groped a few times while working in the guild.

Otherwise, she would have put up more of a fight in defending them.

"If it's based on commission… I doubt many adventurers would come to fight."

"Take a look at the bounties first."

I gave her a sheet. Her eyes widened when she looked over the bounty.

"E-Eh?! The bounties for defeating demons is this high?!"

I took out my adventurer card and said,

"There's no way to lie about how many demons one takes down, when we have adventurer cards, so I'm not worried about people falsifying their kill counts. If they do their job, they will be handsomely rewarded. It's only fair."

"...E-Even so… What if they opportunistically wait to deal the killing blow from the soldiers, while they stay safe?"

"The killing blow is still the killing blow. It doesn't matter who lands it. Besides, the soldiers don't get paid by commission. They don't care who gets the killing blow. In fact, we can even instruct the soldiers to set up opportunities for the adventurers to swoop in and deal the killing blow."

The soldiers were going to fight mostly with crossbows, anyway. They wouldn't have the opportunity to deal the killing blow.

With the soldiers firing from the back, and with opportunistic adventurers swooping in to deal with the stragglers, we wouldn't have to worry about both sides conflicting with each other's tactics, since they'll have independent movements.

This was the best compromise I could make.

"A-Alright… If the rewards are this high, I'm sure many adventurers will choose to participate."

"Do we have a deal, then?"

"Yes, we do."

We stood up and shook hands, before signing the documents.

"I'm sorry that the king himself couldn't be here to meet with you, by the way. He's… currently occupied with other domestic affairs."

I said, trying not to say that he was just spending the whole day enjoying his harem members.

"Ah, no, that's fine. Thank you for meeting with me, your majesty."

She said, bowing her head, unintentionally letting me see her cleavage.

…If Revi ever gets the chance to meet this one, he'd probably find a way to make her join the harem, too.

Part 3

After several meetings with other guild representatives, including the Merchant's Guild and even the Blacksmith's guild, I finally had some time for myself.

I knew meeting with guild leaders was necessary to plan out the logistics for the war, but not all the representatives were as cooperative as Lina was.

I'd probably have to report the Merchant's Guild leader who tried to convince me to spend the night with him for funding. I hope Revi deals with that pervert.

…Or maybe they'd bond over drinks and hit it off.

You never really know with that guy.

As I went back to the palace to relax, Revi's favored maid, Zoe, who was acting more like the head maid since Revi returned, went up to me.

"Ah, there you are, Zoe. I'd like some tea and some sweets, please."

"Actually, I'd like to have a word with you…"

I groaned, anticipating more work.

"...What?"

"It seems that your majesty is quite stressed, however, this is quite the pressing concern, so I'll go ahead and burden you anyway."

What a straightforward girl.

It was better than having a servant sugar coat things for me, though. I nodded and let her go on.

"You might not be aware, but the maids here are looking to retire. We will need an entirely new rotation of maids."

"Huh?!"

I looked at her, confused.

Most of the maids here were no older than their mid twenties. Zoe was among the younger maids, and she was only in her late teens.

If there were a bunch of old maids in their retirement age, I would understand why they'd want to retire, but the girls were still very young.

"...Is Revi's sexual harassment really that bad?"

"Erm, no… Perhaps it's not bad enough?"

"What does that even mean?!"

Did these maids actually want to get sexually harassed by their employer?!

"Ahem… Let me explain. Here in Elroad, maids are basically concubines who do chores on the side. The former King Elroad didn't have a harem, but he did have us maids to take care of his needs, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, no need to elaborate."

I said, getting another wave of culture shock.

These things just didn't happen in Belzerg, or maybe I wasn't aware of it.

No, I had a clue back when Lina was explaining the custom in the Adventurer's Guild.

Even the Merchant's Guild leader tried to exchange a night with me for funding.

It seemed that this whole country's values were very different to that of Belzerg's.

"So… These maids just need to spend the night with Revi, or something?"

"Well… A lot of them are still loyal to the former King Elroad. I think it would be a cruel to make them do that."

"I see…"

Even if they were servants, if they were intimate with the former king, it would make sense why they would have feelings of allegiance to him and only him.

Besides, many of them took care of Revi while he was still a snot nosed brat. Maybe they just couldn't see him in that way.

If that was the case, it would really be an awkward situation if they had to serve the son of their former lover/employee.

…And perhaps Revi wouldn't want to share lovers with his own father, too. One who was still alive, apparently.

"Alright. I see what you're getting at. So they'll retire, or maybe find employment in some other field, and I'll have to find a new generation of maids, huh?"

"Indeed…"

"Shouldn't this be Revi's job? I mean, he's the one who's gonna be… Well, intimate with them."

"Normally, that would be the case, but…"

"...You're telling me he's still going at it?"

It was almost dinner and he started in the early morning.

Zoe nodded and said,

"Since the girls insisted on having alone time with Revi-sama, he's spending, at the very minimum, three hours with each girl. Sometimes, they will go to overtime if they have particularly high endurance… I heard Sakunori-san lasted six hours by herself."

That pervert…!

"I'm getting stuck with work again while that guy is having the time of his life?! Fine, whatever! Where do I hire these maids! Is there some kind of Maid Guild, or something?!"

"Actually, that would be the Maid Association."

There's way too many guilds and associations in this damn country. Why is everything unionized?!

"Fine… I'll get in contact with them. Is there anything else I should keep in mind?"

"Yes, there are also some offers from noble houses who would like to have their daughters employed as maids in the palace… Of course, it will be up to your majesty's discretion if you wish to hire them."

"Huh? Noble houses? You mean, like really minor ones?"

"No, these are from top noble houses… At least, prior to the heads of these houses being disgraced as traitors…"

I understood what Zoe was getting at from that.

The families of traitors like Lord Rickford suffered from the blow to their reputation and the loss of their prestige, once their heads were disgraced.

As a last ditch effort to regain some of their prestige, they'd even offer their daughters to Revi, perhaps to try and appease him.

"Alright… I guess I'll go deal with that, too. It's not good to have the household chores taken care of by a bunch of spoiled brats, though, so I'll visit the Maid Association first."

Instead of the charity cases, I focused on hiring the actual professionals first.

"Very well, your majesty. I'll set up an appointment with the headmistress of the association. Please be careful. She is a figure that… Well, frankly, she probably outranks you."

"...Hah?"

Why the hell would the head of the Maid Association rank higher than the freaking queen?!

Part 4

I took a carriage to the Maid Association headquarters. I didn't know what to expect, but I certainly didn't expect to see a mansion sized building, with plenty of land around it.

"...This place is huge."

I looked out the carriage and saw some young girls riding horses. There were some of them practicing archery, and there were even some practicing their painting outside.

Zoe, who came along with me, and acted as a tour guide, said,

"There are lots of facilities that are meant to enrich and train a young maid, while they're growing up here."

"Are these really maids? They seem more like nobles…"

I said, while looking around at the various facilities offered here.

It didn't give off the impression of an orphanage that doubled as a maid training facility.

When we made it to the entrance, Zoe gave her Adventurer card for the maids guarding the entrance.

Since jobs like 'Merchant' and 'Farmer' could be learned through an Adventurer card, the item wasn't limited to adventurers alone. If one only took into account the functionality of the card, it should be called a 'Job card' or 'Skill card', but the term Adventurer card was the one that stuck and became popular.

"Can I look at your card, Zoe?"

"Of course."

Since I was curious about what a royal maid's Adventurer card would look like, I asked to see it after the guard maids let us in.

The only way to gain experience points was to kill a monster, or to eat one that was high in EXP.

Since Zoe lived among royalty, it wasn't too surprising to see that she was level 13.

She was already a higher level than a lot of the scrubs back in Axel.

However, instead of combat skills, I saw that she used her skill point on skills like [Cleaning], [Cooking] and [Etiquette].

I even noticed that she had a [Lovemaking] skill…

I-Is that a skill that a Battle Priest can learn?

I gave the card back and thanked her for trusting me with her information.

The guard maids led us to a reception area. They told us that the head maid would see us shortly.

Zoe looked a bit anxious. She went up to a mirror and fixed her clothing and hair.

"...Is this head maid really such a big deal?"

"Of course she is! She's one of the most respected people in this nation… I'd even say that she's known throughout the continent."

"I refuse to believe that a mere maid can hold so much power… No offense."

"None taken. And it may be hard to believe… But please consider the fact that the head maid has had a very long and illustrious career as a top-tier maid. She's served a lot of royal families, not only in Elroad, but throughout the continent. She has connections everywhere…"

"...She knows a lot of people? So what?"

Zoe pointed to a map that was in the room. It was a map of the continent.

"The maid association has branches all over the continent. These branches all answer to the head maid. Think of all the information she has at her disposal…"

She was essentially saying that this head maid had the largest spy network on the continent.

I started to get a bit nervous.

I went up to the mirror and joined Zoe in fixing my hair and clothes.

We returned to our seats when we heard a knock on the door.

"Please enter."

Zoe said, making her voice as respectful as possible.

The door opened and an unassuming old lady wearing a conservative maid uniform walked in.

A young maid helped her walk into a room, holding her arm.

Even though she needed help to walk around, there was an air of dignity about her that made it seem like she had no weaknesses.

She had a kind face, but I saw that she had firm, observant eyes. I resisted the instinct to bow, since it wouldn't be appropriate for a queen to bow to a head maid.

She bowed her head, which somehow appeared like a nod of acknowledgement between equals, before taking her seat.

"I'm honored that you've personally come to visit me, Iris-sama. Congratulations on your coronation… I hope that you, and the new King Elroad, will lead our country to new heights."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence, head maid."

"Please, just call me Diana. Now, I've heard that you are interested in using our service?"

I nodded and said,

"Indeed, we'll need some new maids to replace the ones who are retiring…"

"We've expected that such a thing may happen… That's why we've already prepared a list of candidates that I believe will suit Revi-sama's needs and tastes…"

"Huh? Tastes? I understand needs, but how would you know his tastes?"

"Fufu… Do you remember those groundskeepers you had maintaining your mansion in Axel? Well, they work for the association, and they told me some things they overheard…"

She really was a powerful spymaster?!

I started sweating nervously.

"Oh, please don't worry. I'm just an old lady who likes gossip. I won't use any of the intel I've gathered to harm you in any way…"

"H-Haha…"

I could only weakly laugh along as she chuckled.

She had the maid who brought her in the room give me a folder. I opened it and saw some files inside.

"You'll probably need around ten maids for now."

"Ten? For an entire palace?"

I said, confused why she'd suggest such a low number.

"I assure you, our maids can do the work of ten servants without breaking a sweat. They are the best of the best, trained since they were children to do this work…"

I remembered all of the maid related skills Zoe had in her Adventurer card. Just like how adventurer skills can make even a novice a competent fighter, maid skills can make a maid much more efficient at housework than a normal servant.

"If you need more, of course, we can provide more in the future."

"Um… Why don't I just get a bunch of them right away?"

"Please take a look at the salary section."

I pulled up the page listing the salaries of the maids.

"Huh?! Why is it so high?!"

"I told you, they are the best at what they do. Plus, these maids are those who have consented to having relations with their master. Of course, the cost for the training and the services they provide will increase their salary."

Since this was Revi we were talking about, these kinds of 'services' were a necessary addition to the contract. I didn't even try to dispute it. She really did her research on us.

I looked through the candidates in the folder. Out of thirty candidates, I had to narrow it down to ten.

Since Revi was a guy who liked girls regardless of body type, I wasn't too picky in that regard.

In terms of looks, all of these girls were extraordinary beauties. It was hard to find any faults in them.

The only other criteria I had to look out for were their specialties.

The maid's strengths and weaknesses were included with a lot of details and brutal honesty. One girl is good at cleaning, but her social skills need some work. One maid was reported to chat too much while on the job.

There were even some maids who were capable of combat. Those maids guarding the entrance earlier must be one of these combat maids.

I picked a good mix of maids who were good at housework, some maids who looked like they would make good leaders to keep the others in check, a couple of combat maids, just in case another invasion happened, and I did Revi a favor and picked a couple of maids whose specialty were 'bedroom services'.

After I was done picking out the girls, I returned the folder to Diana. Her attendant brought out a contract for me to sign, which Diana signed as well. Since Zoe was the one who referred me, she had to sign the contract as well. The attendant gave her signature, acting as the witness who oversaw the transaction.

"Thanks for doing business with the Maid Association. We will send the maids to the palace shortly. Please give them a couple days to pack their things and say their goodbyes to their friends here."

I felt a bit of guilt, realizing that I picked out a lot of fresh recruits, who only just completed their training.

Since I wanted the ages to match with Revi, a lot of them were in their teens, like us.

These girls who only just finished their training were going to be taken away from their childhood friends.

It seemed that Zoe noticed my worried look and said,

"Please don't worry. Us maids are given a lot of free time, since we normally work in shifts. These girls can visit their friends anytime. I still keep in touch with my friends a lot, even if we work in different places."

"I see…"

Since she assured me, I was able to finalize the deal without any concerns.

Part 5

After completing the transaction with Diana, they saw us off to our carriage.

We waved goodbye to them as the carriage drove off.

"Ah… That took a lot more brain power than I thought it would…"

I said, rubbing my temples.

"Please don't forget that we still have to choose some maid candidates among the noble houses!"

"Gah, I almost forgot about that!"

The fallen families who desperately wanted to make amends with Revi were sending their daughters to us.

Perhaps Diana knew about this as well, that was why she only suggested that we hire ten maids from the Maid Association.

I didn't think that a bunch of spoiled brats who had never worked hard in their lives would make for good maids, but they'd make for good political pieces, at least.

"...Don't tell me we have to go over to each house to scout them."

"Ah, no, they'd never dare to waste Iris-sama's time like that. They are all holding a ball in one venue and Iris-sama is invited. Of course, they are trying to make it appear as if it's a normal ball, but the purpose of it is for Iris-sama to get a proper look at the candidates."

"Oh, joy. I really enjoyed these stupid events when I was younger!"

I grumbled as I slumped against my seat.

"What am I even looking for? With the maids, they had their own skills and expertise. With these girls… I'd be lucky if I didn't hire someone who'd try to steal money from the treasury."

"...Iris-sama thinks that all the nobles of this nation are crooks, huh? Well, I suppose that's a fair assessment considering how many of them were exposed to be traitors…"

I leaned my elbow against the window and said,

"So, really, what am I looking for? None of them are even qualified for the job. None of them have any real prestige, aside from their names, which have zero value these days. The only thing I can grade them on is their looks and how horny Revi will be when he gets their hands on them."

In a way, I felt sort of sorry for these girls, since they were being treated as nothing more than pretty dolls to collect. However, at the same time, I could have also fallen to such a fate, but I decided that I didn't want to just be a pretty little trophy wife for some prince, in the future. I trained myself, developed skills that could be used in the real world. I doubted that there was anyone like that among these girls.

Since Zoe wasn't doing anything to dispel my concerns, I assumed that I was right on the mark.

We stopped at the palace in order to get myself outfitted, performed and pampered for the upcoming ball.

I asked if Revi was still busy going at it, and Zoe said that he was still busy in the harem quarters, getting it on.

I wanted to walk in there and dump a bucket of ice cold water on him, but I wanted to give the girls a chance to be alone with him.

There were going to be a bunch of other girls that would need Revi's attention, and I wanted everyone a fair chance to spend time with him.

After getting dressed, we rode on the carriage again to the venue.

The venue was a huge mansion that made the mansions back in Belzerg look like they belonged to peasants.

I had to stop and stare at the awesome sight before entering the venue with Zoe in tow.

I expected servants to greet me as I entered, but I didn't expect a whole line of nobles joining them as well.

"Announcing, Queen Iris Belzerg, the dragon slayer and Blue Queen!"

Since Komekko-chan was called the Red Queen, it seemed that they had taken to calling me the Blue Queen.

I didn't mind, since blue was the color of Belzerg's royalty, but I kind of wanted my own nickname…

Well, they were already calling me dragon slayer, so perhaps I was getting too greedy.

I gave them a quick, almost condescending nod.

For noble types like them, that was the best way to act.

If you showed them any kindness, they'd either try to exploit you, or assume that you have some scheme.

The best way to deal with them was to act as snobby and arrogant as they were.

"Thank you for gracing our event with your presence, your majesty."

"Out of all the balls you've had in your life, I hope you'll love mine…"

The guy who said that… I couldn't tell if he was sexually harassing me, or if he didn't realize how pervy he sounded.

By the way, the gentleman who made this comment about the balls was the owner of this venue. He was the son of Lord Rickford, Gasdon Rickford. He had a confident smile as he flicked back his blond locks. Standing beside him was a blonde girl who looked like she didn't want to be there.

"This is my sister, Windry."

"...Nice to meet ya."

"...! Windry, we discussed this! Please behave!"

Windry rolled her eyes and went away to the buffet table to get some food.

"P-Please don't mind her attitude. Um… We don't know what kind of girls your majesty prefers… There's a room upstairs and if any of them catches your eye, we will send them up…"

"Huh? Me?"

D-Did they think that I wanted to have my way with these girls?!

W-Well, I did do a bit of experimenting with Rori-san, but they're trying to appeal to the wrong person…!

It seemed that they all had the wrong idea. Since I was the one who came instead of Revi, they thought that I was the one who was looking for girls.

Rather, since they had this kind of assumption… Are there some rumors floating around about me?!

"...Ahem. For now, please have the girls go about how they usually would in a ball, rather than having them audition for me."

"I see… You prefer a more voyeuristic approach. Should we act as if we don't notice that you're molesting them?"

"Huh?!"

This guy had quite the wicked imagination if he could come up with that scenario on the spot.

"Just act normal! And where's the damn liquor?!"

I headed straight to the bar, unable to put up with their nonsense.

Zoe poured me a glass of wine as I sat down at the bar.

"...Oi, those rumors… Don't tell me it came from you maids?"

"Erm… I think one of the maids saw you giving Rorisa-sama a goodnight kiss…"

"T-That was just a friendly kiss!"

I guess that Diana wasn't lying when she said that she didn't intend to do harm with her espionage. She just wanted gossip material.

Part 6

I spent most of the night drinking at the bar, while watching the candidates.

Thankfully, not all of them were as bratty as Windry. Since they were nobles who were taught etiquette, most of them behaved themselves in an elegant manner.

The bratty sides of their personalities were only obvious as soon as you turned away your head and pretended like you were going somewhere else. They'd start complaining to their family members and servants as soon as they thought I was out of earshot.

Since I didn't think that there were any of them that were better than the others, I started judging them based on appearance alone.

I picked girls who I thought Revi would find attractive… Which was a challenge, since they were all exceptionally beautiful

That Windry girl was actually one of the better looking ones among the bunch. Unfortunately, I had to pick her.

Hopefully, the real maids could straighten out her bratty personality.

After the dancing was over, I chose the group of girls that would come to work as maids.

There was an odd mix of disappointment and relief among the girls who weren't chosen. Some of them looked insulted that they weren't chosen, while there were others who were just glad that they weren't chosen to do hard work as a maid.

After I made my decision, the families thanked me for my consideration, but those families who didn't have their daughters chosen tried to make an appeal to me.

"Please, your majesty! Please reconsider! My daughter is well educated!"

"I'll add another of my daughters in the package!"

"My daughter knows how to play the flute!"

I felt a bit sorry for the girls, since their own family was treating them as goods to be traded.

"I'm sorry, but I've already made my decision. I'll try to look for other positions your daughters can fill, if you'd like."

They were pacified by my assurances, but they didn't seem entirely convinced.

Becoming a maid for the king was probably the best outcome for the daughters of these families, whose heads had been exposed as traitors. No one wanted to marry their daughters, since they had no political value anymore.

With Revi's new policies, they'd have to look for other sources of revenue if they wanted to keep up their luxurious and comfortable lifestyles. They couldn't just rely on collecting taxes anymore, since Revi was appointing only the most qualified to become landlords.

Only the noble families who didn't commit tax fraud were allowed to keep their positions. These families gathered here probably used up the last of their money to host this ball for me.

I felt bad for them, but if they were willing to work hard, they could still live comfortable, middle class lives. If they were smart, they'd liquidate their properties and other frivolous luxuries and use that money to live a humble, moderate lifestyle.

Those who failed to adapt and chose to stick to their previous lifestyle as high nobles would eventually lose all their wealth, becoming nothing more than street urchins once they lost everything.

After the evening was over, I let Zoe handle the rest. She'd take care of getting the girls prepared to move into the palace.

I went ahead and took the carriage back home. Being drunk while riding in a carriage wasn't a pleasant experience. I wished that I had the foresight to use the hovering carriage we brought with us, but I didn't think that I'd get this drunk.

When I got home, I sought out Serena-senpai. I didn't have [Purification] in my class list, since I was a Battle Priest. I sighed in relief when she touched my head and drained all the alcohol away from my body.

"Damn, that's convenient…"

"Indeed. Although it always feels better to have someone do it for you than for you to do it to yourself…"

That sounded kind of lewd, the way she said it.

"By the way, Serena-senpai, what do you think about Regina-sama getting her original body back."

"It's certainly good news! Those back in Uroburos were overjoyed when they heard it. However, it's a bit strange seeing her in an adult form…"

Since Serena-senpai had always seen Regina-sama in her child form, it must be a shock to finally see what her true form was like.

It was a shock for me, too, but Serena-senpai had known Regina-sama for years now.

"Other than that, how are you adjusting to life in the harem quarters?"

Since Serena-senpai came like a package deal with Regina-sama, who attained the status of queen consort, she became a concubine for Revi as well.

"The girls here are all friendly, I must say. I thought that I'd have to function as a leader of sorts, since I was a bit older than everyone else, but Sakunori-san joined, and the others are viewing her as a mother figure. I'm honestly quite thankful to her, since I wouldn't know how to lead the other girls, if they came to view me in the same light…"

What went unsaid was that Serena-senpai would have likely been devastated if she was viewed as a mother figure at such a young age.

"...Um, I don't think I got a chance to ask, but are you sure you're fine with being a concubine? Regina-sama has her reasons, but you're kind of just tagging along."

"I live to serve Regina-sama. I don't mind being by her side at all. Besides, it's not like we're being treated poorly here, and Revi-sama is no stranger. Perhaps I'd feel differently if I was suddenly asked to give myself to a man I didn't know. It helps that Revi-sama is someone that I know and trust."

Perhaps if Regina-sama asked Serena to become a concubine to some strange foreign king, she'd have more misgivings about it. I wouldn't say that Revi and Serena-senpai were close, but at least they were friendly acquaintances before this whole harem business.

"Erm… It also helps that Revi-sama is an attentive lover…"

She said, blushing while glancing away.

It seemed that Serena-senpai enjoyed her intimate time with Revi.

"Out of curiosity, do you have any special feelings for Revi?"

I asked, trying to see if she viewed this arrangement with him as an obligation, or if she thought that it was a serendipitous coincidence.

If she had a crush on Revi or something, she'd probably be overjoyed with becoming his concubine.

"...I don't believe that I have any special feelings for him, but that may change as time goes on. I'll basically be his wife in all but title and legality, anyway."

Since she'd become involved with this man, even if she didn't have full wife status, she was going to be treated as his wife from now on.

"And I'm pretty sure I'll have his babies sometime down the road… I could see myself falling in love with the father of my children."

I almost forgot about that part.

With how often Revi was going at it with these girls, I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of babies were going to spring out in a little less than a year from now.

Since I wasn't using my real body, I didn't think that I'd catch, but the others didn't have that kind of circumstance.

I didn't think that Revi was even really thinking about this, how he'd suddenly be the father of at least ten or so children in about a year.

Or maybe he was trying not to think about it.

After chatting with Serena-senpai a bit more, I went to my room and enjoyed a good night's sleep.

The next morning, I'd find Revi in the breakfast room, looking exhausted from his bedroom activities for once, while the girls who had their time with him were practically glowing.