Therefore, Kam asked Gaharud to meet with the elders of the highest decision-making body of [Feyabergen] and re-swear to them the oath he had sworn as emperor.

Incidentally, the people present also included Amanokawa Kouki, Sakagami Ryuutarou, Yaegashi Shizuku, Taniguchi Suzu, and Tio, who had a dazed expression and was convulsing all over.

Wasteful Dragon Lady, whose trance and convulsions had become standard features, wanted to serve Hajime herself, and for some reason, she unexpectedly used a Lupin-style flying pounce on Hajime. As a result, due to being too disgusting, she was kicked off by Hajime's reflexive kick, and then she was hit by Hajime's throat lock and lost consciousness.

Because she looked so happy even after fainting, everyone was happy. In fact, because she looked so happy, no one even looked at her.

Not only Liliana, but Shizuku and the others also asked Hajime to respect himself, so Hajime looked away and tried to change the subject.

"Gaharud, is the exploration inside the ship over?"

"Yeah, this ship is incredible. How a hunk of metal like this can fly is beyond me, but it's a lot of fun! Hey, Nagumo Hajime, get me one, I'll pay whatever it costs."

Jaharud sat down on the sofa opposite to Shi, his eyes gleaming with curiosity as he spoke to Shi.

Hajime didn't hide his impatience.

"I don't need the money, so give it up. You'll probably only be riding this once, so enjoy it while you can."

"Don't say that. Just one is enough. Just give me a small one."

"It doesn't do me any good."

"Well, if money doesn't work, I'll give you a woman! I have a daughter who's just the right age for you. Her name is Tracy. Although she has some battle-crazed tendencies, she's a beauty. I'll let her join your harem. How's that for? Is that okay?"

It seemed that Gaharud thought that Hajime was a womanizer, but sadly, given the current situation, Hajime was completely unable to deny it.

That being said, Hajime would only feel troubled if Gaharud thrust the battle-mad princess onto him, so he scoffed and was about to refuse, but the female members reacted before he could—

"...You want me to summon a thunder dragon?" "Be careful or I'll beat you to a pulp!" "Are you kidding? Really?" "Please don't confuse His Majesty with Nanyun-san." "No! Absolutely not! You can't get ahead of me!" Voices were heard one after another.

Hajime shrugged and said:

"That's exactly what happened."

"Tsk! You're showing off in front of me... Hmm? Did Princess Liliana say something just now?"

Gaharud clicked his tongue unhappily, then suddenly realized something was wrong and turned his gaze towards Liliana. The others also looked towards Liliana.

"Eh? Disgusting, you must have heard wrong, right?"

"Haha, so you were dancing happily at the dinner party, leaving Byas behind. Hey, Nagumo Hajime, aren't you moving too fast? Even I can't compare to you."

“What are you talking about! Nagumo-san and I are definitely not in that kind of relationship, right? Nagumo-san!”

"Yes, it's impossible for me and the princess even if the sky falls."

“…You don’t have to be so decisive…”

Hearing Hajime's clear statement, Liliana, who had been panicking, immediately felt her mood plummet. She turned away, somewhat angrily. From her attitude, it was clear she didn't really want to deny their relationship.

Or rather, anyone who had seen Liliana and Hajime dancing together at the dinner party would have a clear idea of ​​what was going on in Liliana's heart.

Hajime should have understood Liliana's feelings as well, but even in front of her, he flatly denied them. In response to Hajime's ruthlessness, everyone looked at Liliana with sympathy, while treating Hajime with a cold eye.

"...Why should I be looked down upon by you? Besides, a princess is essentially a married woman. Even though her fiancé's body and head have been separated, her marriage to the royal family hasn't been dissolved. So, she'll eventually find another member of the royal family to marry, right?"

“Ah~ About that…”

Liliana seemed at a loss for words, and Gaharud, with a bitter expression on his face, answered for her:

"To be honest, the royal family isn't in the mood for a political marriage right now. After all, they'll have to wear cursed jewelry for the rest of their lives, causing death if they remove it, and they're already too busy dealing with this chaotic situation."

The man who said this, Jaharud, was wearing a necklace with a red gemstone around his neck.

——Artifact·Oath Necklace.

This jewelry can force a person's soul to abide by the oath they made with their own mouth. If the jewelry is taken off or the oath is violated, the person will go crazy and die on the spot. It is a very terrifying artifact.

"According to the oath, even if someone outside the imperial family violates the agreement, they can still be spared as long as the imperial family 'punishes according to the law.' However, this also means that the lives of the people are in their own hands. The empire urgently needs to fundamentally reform the abolition system, establish a system of strict punishment that can be effectively enforced, complete the process of freeing slaves in cities outside the imperial capital, and thoroughly publicize the decree... Every member of the imperial family is working tirelessly."

Jaharud lay back in his chair and scratched his head as if in surrender.

"Even if the Kingdom says it can't marry its princess to a man who could die at any moment, the Empire has no say. Furthermore, due to the emancipation of slaves, the Empire's labor force is significantly reduced. While the Imperial Capital, where the speech was delivered, is relatively safe, other cities will undoubtedly experience unrest, requiring additional personnel to handle and suppress it. Therefore, in the current situation, the Empire is actually seeking the Kingdom's assistance."

"I see. This means the princess's marriage is off."

"That's exactly what's going on. Once the situation stabilizes and the lives of the royal family are basically guaranteed, we can discuss the marriage again. This time, it would be best if my daughter could marry His Highness Randhir."

After listening to Gaharud's explanation, everyone present showed expressions of sudden enlightenment.

Incidentally, one member of the royal family actually shouted, "How could that be possible! I'm going to take off my jewelry!" and actually did. As expected, after a frenzied outburst, he suddenly died like a puppet with its strings cut. This fact is why the royal family ran so desperately.

"Great! Lily!"

"Really? I might still not be able to fall in love freely, but at least I've bought myself some time."

"Yes, yes! Lily, that's great!"

Kouki, Shizuku, and Kaori all said "That's great!" Not only Ling and Ryuutarou, but even Yue and others offered their blessings and congratulated Liliana on breaking off the engagement.

"Thank you."

Liliana's gaze wandered slightly as she stammered her thanks. The situation was awkward because the Emperor, her husband's father-in-law, was present, and her fiancé had been beheaded.

Having said that, Liliana seemed genuinely happy to be able to break off the engagement with the guy who had attempted to assault her. Even though she was good at hiding her emotions, her eyes rarely revealed her inner feelings.

Seeing this, Gaharud could only smile bitterly and said:

"Well, anyway, it's like this. Princess Liliana is single now, Nagumo Hajime. If you want her, I can use my power as emperor to help you, okay?"

“What!? Your Majesty! What are you talking about? I, I don’t…”

Liliana's spirit was shaken violently, while Holina beside her urged her vigorously, "Princess! This is a good opportunity! Go for it!"

Liliana didn't even notice Yue and the others were glaring at her. She stole a glance at Hajime, her cheeks flushed, and she looked coy! It was really obvious!

Of course, Hajime didn't take it seriously. Even though the other person was a princess, Hajime remained true to himself. He said to Gaharud as if nothing had happened:

"And then you'll ask me to repay you with an airship? How many times do you want me to tell you this? This won't do me any good... No, it'll only do me harm, right?"

"What do you mean by that? Mr. Nagumo!"

The princess yelled, but Hajime of course ignored her.

Gaharud replied with an expression of disbelief:

"Hey, she's a princess of a country, right? Every man would want her, right?"

"Don't compare me to you. I have no interest in collecting women. The title of princess is just a nuisance."

"Come~! Look over here! The princess is here! Don't ignore me, listen to me~! Please listen to me~!"

The princess waved her hands to emphasize her presence, but Hajime still ignored her.

"You're really not interested in power, aren't you? No, in this case, you're just not interested in the princess, right?"

"I'm not interested in either."

“Alright, alright, alright, you’re not listening, are you? No one wants to listen to me, right? No, I should say they’re not interested at all, right… wuwu… What’s a princess…”

The princess collapsed sadly, the light of hope and vitality gone from her eyes.

"Ms. Liliana...you are so pitiful..."

"Lily... wow, you're a princess, why are you so pitiful?"

"Li, Lily! I'm listening to you! Cheer up!"

Holina wiped her tears with a handkerchief, while Shizuku and Kouki comforted Liliana in unison.

Hajime ignored Liliana and the others and sighed at Gaharud, who was still brooding and refusing to give up the negotiations.

"I don't have what I want right now, so you should give up. Perhaps you'll find bargaining chips later... so just wait patiently until then."

"Hmm~~ Is there really nothing you want? Or do you want me to do something for you? Be honest. Anyone who is human must have something they want. Anyone who says they want nothing else is either not human anymore or has ulterior motives... Ah, then again, you are a demon."

"You want to fight me? ...I understand what you're saying, but..."

Hajime said, hugging Yue and Shia on both sides of his body.

"As you can see, what I truly desire is already in my arms. What else could I ask for?"

What Hajime meant was - so no matter how much you say, it's useless.

Yue happily leaned against Hajime, and Shia's eyes widened in surprise as she realized she was being hugged tightly by Hajime, just like Yue. However, she quickly began to move her bunny ears and tail, and hugged Hajime tightly with a smile on her face.

Yue and Shia's eyes met at Hajime's chest, and they smiled happily at each other.

“Ah~ah~really? Really? Ugh, it’s so bright it’s blinding me. I need to go to the deck to enjoy the view…”

Jaharud stood up with an annoyed expression and hurried out of the bridge.

Hajime returned to his lazy state and lay on the sofa. Shizuku and Ling blushed slightly and their eyes frequently drifted towards Hajime; Kouki and Ryutaro's eyes wandered, not knowing what to do.

They were flaunting themselves openly in front of her eyes, which seemed to make her feel very uneasy. The reason why Liliana started to look dead in the eye was probably because of this uneasy atmosphere.

At this moment, someone suddenly spoke from behind Hajime and at his feet.

“Wow~ It’s so unfair that it’s just Yue and Shia! Hey, Hajime-kun, the ‘embracing’ you mentioned is just a metaphor, right? It’s not limited to Yue and Shia, right? Right?”

"Master, I'm sorry to ask for something right after you've gifted me with such a beautiful kick, but could you please give me a hug too? A hug in your arms would be better..."

Kaori hugged Hajime from behind, and Tio, who had been revived at some point, also twisted her body and climbed up. The two of them were desperately trying to emphasize their presence.

Yue was the one who reacted to the two. She stood up and glanced at Kaori and Tio...

"……it's a pity."

“W-What do you mean by that!?”

"Hmm? I can't pretend I didn't hear that now, Yue!"

Kaori and Tio glared at Yue, whose expressionless face was almost as if she were about to bite her handkerchief. Yue tilted his head slightly in thought, then slowly pointed at himself and Shia.

"…Winner."

Then he pointed at Kaori and Tio——

“…Loser.”

Yue Wei said this with a blank expression. She then continued to rub her cheek against Hajime's chest.

In an instant, the sound of rationality being severed echoed in the bridge.

"Heh, heh heh heh... Yue's really weird, suddenly talking nonsense... There must be something wrong, right?"

Kaori's body began to sway. A blizzard blew behind her, and Miss Hannya suddenly appeared, her large sword slamming against her shoulder!

"Yes, that must be the case! We must fix her."

Tio slowly stood up, a dark halo emanating from her entire body, and a roaring black dragon with its wings spread suddenly appeared behind her!

"Speaking of fixing broken things, there's a simple way."

"That's right, the broken thing is..."

"It will be fixed after a few hits!" "It will be fixed after a few hits!"

The two of them radiated a powerful aura, one that couldn't be distinguished as anger or fighting spirit. The overwhelming pressure forced Kouki, Ryuutarou, and Suzu to face each other, trembling as they leaned against each other. Kouki murmured softly, "Is that Kaori?"

Under pressure from the two, Yue raised his head again, changing his previous expressionless face, and said with a smile:

"...Stop it, if we really fight, you can't possibly defeat me, right?"

It was a line I'd heard somewhere before, a perfect line to provoke a lot of anger.

As expected, Kaori and Tio shouted "Excellent!" and "Who's afraid of who?", their anger rising even higher.

Yue, adding fuel to the fire, called for them to come forward. Suddenly, dark clouds gathered behind Yue, thunder rumbled, and a golden thunder dragon appeared! Yue's fighting spirit was high! His battle stance was truly beautiful.

"Hey, hey! Calm down, you three! Nagumo-kun, stop just staring and stop them!"

Shizuku panicked, but still tried to mediate. However, when she saw Miss Hannya, who was clearly an illusion, and heard the roars of the Black Dragon and the Thunder Dragon, she knew she couldn't handle it. She gave up and asked Hajime for help.

"No, my body is exhausted..."

But Hajime slumped on the sofa, showing no intention of getting up.

But this was also because small quarrels were commonplace to them, or more accurately, quarrels were their way of communicating, so Shi didn't take it seriously.

“You, you’re such a jerk~!”

However, Shizuku was still unclear about the relationship between them, so her cheeks twitched with anger.

At this time, Miss Hannya asked Shizuku to help.

"Shizuku-chan! I'll leave the vanguard to you!"

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