༺ A Tale of the Past, Municipal Military Host Bar ༻

“Captain, what is it that you want?”

This was the first question posed by Sephier, the undisputed richest person in the Military State, after having a private meeting with Abbey.

It was an unexpected question, but Abbey, sitting up stiffly, replied with sincerity.

“Question. I am uncertain of what you mean.”

“Ah, I’m asking what you were hoping to get from Master. What is it that makes Master go to such lengths to willingly assist you?”

Sephier spoke leisurely while pouring tea into a cup. The sweet fragrance from the poured black tea spread throughout the small dining room. In the midst of the sound of liquid swirling in the cup…

The Captain hesitated before replying.

“…It is a…marriage registration.”

Splash.

The black tea filled the cup before starting to overflow. The Captain hurriedly spoke.

“President of Seamless Cloths, the tea is currently overflowing.”

Sephier responded.

“No, I’m not flustered at all.”

“Negative. I did not ask you whether you were flustered. I simply inquired about the black tea overflowing.”

Neither Abbey nor Sephier stopped the flow of tea; it was time that did. Sephier, with the same expression as before, righted the empty teapot.

“Master didn’t… agree to register for marriage, did he?”

It was a voice that was desperately hoping for Abbey to deny that he had done that. However, Abbey could not read that expectation, and frankly, had no intention to. Abbey answered honestly.

“…He showed signs of agreement.”

Bang. A gloved hand struck the puddle of liquid on the table. The tea splashed in all directions, spreading its sweet fragrance, but neither Abbey nor Sephier paid it any mind.

“Why?! Why you, when it hasn’t even been that long since Master met you?!”

Abbey, taking those emotional words as pure inquiry, pondered for a moment before replying.

“It is to claim the compensation that comes in the event of my death.”

“Excuse me?”

If the Captain died, the compensation could be claimed.

Meaning, the Captain’s body was currently under threat of death.

Sephier, instantly grasping the situation, evaluated the matter with a calmer attitude. She pushed her half-risen butt back onto the chair and tapped the table lightly.

“I see. It’s not that Master granted your wish, but… Hoo.”

Sephier narrowed her eyes and looked at Abbey, who sat with innocent and naïve eyes, and clicked her tongue.

They were such stupid and ditzy eyes, but surely Sephier had shown a similar expression herself. Blaming Abbey would be like spitting on her own face.

Sephier sighed softly and spoke.

“Captain, listen carefully. I’m saying this for the sake of my Master’s honor. Master didn’t accept your proposal for money.”

“….”

Abbey nodded. Those words were more than understandable; in fact, they were anticipated.

The greatest holding company in the Military State, Seamless Cloths. Even a fraction of its wealth would easily surpass the Captain’s death compensation. And Sephier was even willing to give away all but a fraction of it.

“There is no way Master, who even refused my money without it being any sort of compensation, would marry for mere change.”

“Is it… change? Then… Why would he….”

Out of pity for Abbey? Or because his heart was moved? If not that, was it simply that he didn’t refuse?

Or perhaps…?

Sephier’s voice once again grasped the wings of imagination that were spreading uncontrollably.

“It’s hard to explain in a few words. Instead, I’ll tell you a story that might help you understand Master.”

Sephier offered a cup of black tea to Abbey. As Abbey received the shimmering cup with both hands, Sephier poured her own portion of tea and suggested.

“It’s going to be a rather long story. Would you like to hear it?”

Realistically speaking, there was no need nor reason for Abbey to listen. She should be heading out immediately to thwart the plot of the Shadow.

However, in one corner of her mind, a flicker of curiosity arose.

Who is he?

What exactly is his identity?

Why, despite not being short on money, did he accept her proposal?

She had come all the way to the mansion of Seamless Cloths anyway. And with the help of Seamless Cloths and the Weaver, it should be easier to suppress the situation….

Thus, while deceiving her own self like so…

Abbey, unable to suppress her curiosity, nodded.

***

6 years ago, Amitengrad.

A swarthy man with thick sideburns bustled in. Named Peto, aside from his sideburns, he was quite a handsome man and was even more appealing to those who didn’t mind the sideburns.

At any rate, he, whose sideburns were as impressionable as his overall appearance, burst into the ancillary room while shouting.

“Hughes, you fucker! Are you not going to do your job properly?!”

“Eck.”

Could he be around the age of just having graduated from middle school? The young man, who appeared to be a boy in the late stages of adolescence or youth who had just reached adulthood, let out a faint groan.

The youth called Hughes replied with an exasperated look.

“Ahhh, what’s your problem? I did the job properly, didn’t I?”

The veins in Peto’s neck bulged.

“Are you kidding me?! While you were gone, Madam Berencia was crying hoarse, saying to hand you over! Do you know how much I struggled to calm her down?!”

“I wouldn’t know. Since I wasn’t there at that time.”

“Of course you weren’t!”

It couldn’t be helped. After all, he was a substitute. Unlike Peto, who had to show up daily, Hughes only showed up occasionally when he had some free time.

That was what caused this mess.

After a deep breath, Peto spoke, trying to be more authoritative.

“Alright, let’s emphasize this again. Who are we?”

“A host bar.”

Hughes’ immediate response made Peto shout.

“Public affair soldiers, you dumbass! We are Public Affairs! When our loyal soldiers are working hard in distant lands for the peace of our nation, we’re the ones who take care of their remaining families. We! Are! Public Affairs!”

“Yes, that’s right. The main job is to comfort wives who feel lonely because their husbands are stationed in distant places.”

Peto yelled, visibly wrought up.

“YOU!”

“What.”

Peto struggled to find a rebuttal. In other words, to argue against Hughes’ point, he had to think hard.

Public Affair Soldiers. Those who assisted the high-ranking officers’ families, so that their household affairs were managed smoothly.

In essence, the main task was to cater to the wives.

After much thought, Peto managed a feeble excuse.

“It is not about comforting just the Madams! We also take care of the children!”

“In other words, we’re housekeepers for high-ranking officials. With a side job of being a host bar.”

“Watch your words! Even if it may be true, there are things you can say and things you shouldn’t!”

At that moment, sounds came from outside. Startled, Peto lowered his voice and spoke to Hughes.

“Madam Berencia is the wife of Lieutenant Colonel Berencia, a senior official of the military authorities. Are you confident you can survive a visit from an enraged Lieutenant Colonel?”

“No.”

“Then you should have done better!”

“I tried, okay? Do you even know how careful I was in my conversations to avoid any unnecessary scandals?”

Hughes complained. Peto, who had witnessed his efforts, remained silent.

Lieutenant Colonel Berencia was a stern officer with a splendid mustache, but he was tender only towards his wife. Mrs. Berencia, who had lived her married life within her husband’s indulgence, became even more fastidious than her husband.

The two were a perfect couple when together, but cracks appeared in that perfection when Lieutenant Colonel Berencia was deployed elsewhere.

Both were anxious about the other’s absence, but that didn’t mean they wanted to leave the lovely wife near the frontlines. Neither the Lieutenant Colonel nor the wife.

Left alone in the capital, the wife stormed into the Department of Veterans’ Affairs daily, going hysterical. The Press Affair soldiers, unable to seduce or dismiss her, simply endured the agony, praying for the Lieutenant Colonel’s deployment to end….

That was when Hughes, freshly graduated from middle school and newly arrived in the capital, appeared like a comet and calmed the wife.

Remembering when he first brought him here, Peto pressed his forehead and muttered.

“You’re really lucky that you’re young. If you didn’t look so youthful, Madam Berencia would’ve seen you not as a son, but as a man.”

“I’m unlucky, actually. If my appearance didn’t trigger the Madams’ scant guilt, I would’ve received more gifts.”

“You wouldn’t have been able to work here then! Know your place. You are no different from a mere pinpoint to Madam Berencia!”

“What if I complete my citizen registration and apply to be a Public Affairs soldier? Will you actually fail me? Such talent like me?”

“That…!”

The two had always argued, but Peto had rarely won. Peto muttered.

“…You’ll eventually get into big trouble because of that mouth of yours.”

“If you can’t win with words, you resort to cursing, Senior.”

“I’m resorting to cursing because I can’t win with words!”

Still, the result itself wasn’t bad. Mrs. Berencia consistently visited the host bar and even discovered her maternal instincts, despite not having children. The relationships between her and the Lieutenant Colonel would likely improve once he returned.

About the obsession over Hughes… Time would solve that. Probably.

Peto sighed, lost in memories, and murmured.

“Still, this is much better than ending in adultery. Back in the days when knights roamed freely… Ugh. Let’s not even talk about it.”

Hughes, as if suddenly remembering something, replied.

“Ah, right. Didn’t you say you were once a Beauty Child, Senior?”

“EUAAAAAH! Watch your words! Even thinking about those times gives me the creeps!”

During the kingdom era, marriages among knights were a kind of contract.

The oath of blood was essentially a pledge to protect each other with all their might, even if the offspring of someone strong might still turn out weak.

Therefore, purity and a clean lineage was essential. Not that it was ever really upheld, but at the very least, appearances were kept.

Was that perhaps why? At some point, knights started taking around Beauty Children with them.

“Woahhhh. To think that the Beauty Child from back then has become such a person now. How the times pass really is quite frightening, aren’t they?”

“Don’t you dare say another word!”

Hughes teased the former Beauty Child. Peto shuddered.

“Being a Beauty Child was…! Ugh. If the country hadn’t been flipped over its head, I can’t imagine what would’ve become of me!”

During the kingdom era, Peto was a squire with a commoner background.

A commoner squire? They might have been called a squire, but in reality, they were no different from a slave attending to a knight’s needs. Often, when the master got drunk and violent, they were the first to die, a disposable emotional trash can.

Even among them, Peto, particularly good-looking, was soon to be transitioned from a squire to a Beauty Child.

If it weren’t for the coup d’etat, that is.

“Long live the Military State…! I will serve loyally for all eternity!”

Suddenly overflowing with loyalty, Peto saluted the State flag, then clenched his fist and looked at Hughes.

“Don’t preemptively assume the other’s boundaries. Just stick to your own. What do you even know to keep adjusting to others? You’re neither a Prophet nor a Mind Reader.”

At this point, Hughes’s smile deepened. Peto, mistaking it for a reaction to a joke, continued.

“Mrs. Berencia may have fallen for that, but it won’t work on other women. They might become overly obsessed with you.”

“Wouldn’t that be good? Seems like I’d get a lot of gifts.”

“If a gift means feeling the cold blade of a knife piercing your body, you’ll get more than your fill.”

“Are those experiences from your Beauty Child days?”

“Hieek.”

Peto shivered and glared fiercely at Hughes, who only grinned with confidence and mischief.

He really needed a good scolding for him to come to his senses, but the problem was, he might end up setting up a funeral service before that could have even happened. That was how much talent Hughes had. Peto shook his head.

“This can’t continue. You’ll be on childcare duty for the time being.”

“What? Are you demoting me out of personal feelings?”

“Yes. If you don’t like it, then you become the senior.”

Peto shut down Hughes’s complaints by using his position.

They left the ancillary room and entered the reception, with a long bar and small tables. Young men in the most elaborate uniforms were entertaining visitors with charming smiles.

It was a scene that one would only expect at a host bar.

In the midst of this, another host…No, Public Affairs soldier, fumbling around, saw them and brightened up.

“Peto! Hughes! Good to see you. Take a look at this kid for me!”

“The person in charge should be the entertainer. Why are you trying to pass it off to us?”

Peto was about to stride over but then suddenly recalled what he just said and gestured to Hughes with his chin. Hughes nodded and stepped forward to entertain the girl.

A young girl with blue hair and dressed in fine clothes. She looked to be of the age where she might not have graduated from Secondary Civilian School yet, but she still boldly faced Hughes.

“What brings you here, Little Lady?”

When Hughes asked, the girl replied.

“I came here because I heard I could get help.”

Hughes didn’t ask any further. Instead, he read the girl’s expression with a peculiar look. The girl, without a hint of change in her complexion, faced Hughes.

As the silent standoff continued, an anxious Peto nudged Hughes’s knee.

“Hey, Hughes. I get you’re in a tough spot. But still, how long are you just going to look at her like that….”

Even still, Hughes did not move. Eventually, Peto, instead of the motionless Hughes, asked the girl.

“Little one. What’s your name?”

The girl swiftly turned her head. Her clear voice filled the reception room.

“I am Sephier Bakiya!”

“Sephier Bakiya?”

That name prompted reactions from several people. The surname Bakiya was one of the few famous ones in the Military state, even after the abolition of inheritances.

“Bakiya, as in Seamless Cloths?”

“Yes! The 2nd President of Seamless Cloths, Danphir Bakiya, is my grandmother!”

Peto groaned.

Bakiya.

The patron of soldiers, as well as their closest friend. The richest family in the Military State.

Though still young, she was soon to inherit the mantle of Seamless Cloths. Her existence itself was a considerable magnate.

Though Peto had met both many children and many tycoons, it was his first time facing a young magnate, so his expression quickly turned into one that was at a loss for what to do.

“Welcome, Bakiya. What kind of assistance do you require?”

The girl shouted with a clear chime in her voice that could be heard from everyone in this place.

“Please make me the successor of the company!”