Chapter 176 - A Story of the Past, a Military-Run Host Bar

“Captain. What is it you want?”

Those were the first words Sephier, the richest person in the Military State in both name and fact, spoke once she was alone with AB.

The question came out of nowhere, but AB, sitting stiffly in her chair, answered in earnest.

“Query. I do not understand what you mean.”

“Ah, I’m asking what you requested of Master. What could it possibly be that he’s going to such lengths to help you, both materially and otherwise?”

Speaking at a leisurely pace, Sephier poured black tea into a cup. A sweet fragrance rose from the stream of tea and spread through the small dining room. Amid the soft sound of liquid trickling into the cup, the captain gave a hesitant answer.

“... Registering our marriage.”

SPLATTER.

The tea filled the cup, then began spilling over its rim. The captain spoke urgently.

“Seamless Heavenly Garments, the tea is overflowing.”

Sephier answered.

“No. I’m not flustered in the slightest.”

“Negative. I did not ask whether you were flustered. I was only asking about the overflowing tea.”

It was neither AB nor Sephier who stopped the flow of tea, but time. Her expression frozen exactly as it had been, Sephier set the empty pot upright again.

“Registering your marriage... Master didn’t actually agree to do it, did he?”

Her voice pleaded for AB to deny it. But AB failed to read that hope and had no intention of trying. She answered honestly.

“... He did indicate his agreement.”

BANG.

A gloved hand slammed into the puddle on the table. Tea splashed in every direction, scattering its sweet fragrance, but neither AB nor Sephier had any attention to spare for it.

“Why?! Why would Master do that for you when he’s barely even met you?!”

Taking that emotional outburst for a genuine question, AB considered it briefly before answering.

“So that, should I die, he can collect my death benefit.”

“What?”

If the captain died, he would collect her death benefit.

In other words, this captain’s life was currently under threat.

Grasping the circumstances at once, Sephier took a calmer view of the situation. She settled back into the chair she had half risen from and tapped the table.

“I see. Master wasn’t granting your wish, then... Whew.”

Sephier narrowed her eyes and clicked her tongue at AB, who sat there with such innocent eyes.

They were truly foolish, vacant eyes, but surely Sephier herself had worn much the same expression. Blaming AB would only reflect badly on herself.

With a small sigh, Sephier spoke.

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

“...”

AB nodded. She had more or less expected as much.

Seamless Heavenly Garments was the Military State’s foremost holding company. Even a fraction of its wealth would easily dwarf a captain’s death benefit. And Sephier was willing to give him everything but a fraction of it.

“Master refused my money even with no strings attached. There’s no way he would register a marriage for that pittance.”

“A pittance... is it? Then why... would he...?”

Because he pitied AB? Because he was moved? Or had he simply not refused?

Or...?

Sephier’s voice caught hold of her imagination as it inevitably began to take flight.

“It’s difficult to explain in a few words. Instead, let me tell you a story that might help you understand Master.”

Sephier handed AB the cup of tea. As AB accepted the brimming cup with both hands, Sephier poured tea for herself and made an offer.

“It will be quite a long story. Would you care to hear it?”

Objectively speaking, AB had neither a need nor a reason to listen. She ought to leave immediately to stop the Shadow’s plot.

But curiosity stirred in a corner of her heart.

Who was he?

What was his true identity?

Why had he accepted her proposal when he had no need of money?

She had already come all the way to the home of Seamless Heavenly Garments’ president. With the help of Seamless Heavenly Garments and the Weaver, it would be easier to bring the situation under control...

Deceiving herself with that excuse, AB yielded to her curiosity and nodded.

Six years earlier, in Amitengrad.

A dark-skinned man with thick sideburns stormed in, huffing with anger. His name was Peto. Aside from the sideburns, he was quite handsome, and anyone who didn’t mind sideburns would have found him all the more appealing.

At any rate, the man whose sideburns were as striking as his looks burst into the back room and shouted.

“Hughes, you little shit! Do your damn job!”

“Eek.”

Was he about the age of someone who had just graduated from secondary school? The young man, who looked either like a boy at the very end of his growth spurt or a youth newly come of age, let out a small groan.

The youth called Hughes answered wearily.

“Oh, what now? I did my job properly.”

Veins stood out on Peto’s neck.

“Are you kidding me?! While you were away, Mrs. Virentia cried her eyes out demanding we bring you to her! Do you know how hard it was to calm her down?!”

“No. I wasn’t there.”

“Of course you weren’t!”

There was no helping it. He was only a stand-in. Unlike Peto, who had to report for work every day, Hughes merely showed his face now and then when he had time.

Though that was precisely what had caused this mess.

After a few deep breaths, Peto adopted a solemn air.

“All right, let me emphasize this again. What are we?”

“A host bar.”

Peto shouted at Hughes’s instant reply.

“Public affairs soldiers, you bastard! Public affairs soldiers! We’re public affairs soldiers! While loyal troops work hard in distant lands for this nation’s peace, aren’t we the public affairs and morale soldiers who look after their families so they don’t have to worry?!”

“Yes, exactly. Our main duty is comforting lonely wives whose husbands have been sent to distant postings.”

Peto shouted in agitation.

“Hey!”

“What?”

Peto spent a moment searching for a rebuttal. In other words, he had to rack his brains to find a way to contradict Hughes.

Public affairs and morale soldiers. They helped senior officers with family matters and events, supporting them in maintaining their home lives.

In short, their main job was keeping the officers’ wives happy.

After a great deal of thought, Peto came out with a feeble excuse.

“We don’t just comfort their wives! We look after their children too!”

“So basically, we’re domestic help for the top brass. With a host bar on the side.”

“Watch your mouth! Even if it’s true, some things can be said aloud and some things can’t!”

Just then, a sound came from outside. Alarmed, Peto lowered his voice and spoke to Hughes.

“Mrs. Virentia is the wife of Lieutenant Colonel Virentia, an important figure in the military. Are you confident you’d survive a visit from an enraged lieutenant colonel?”

“No.”

“Then you should have done better!”

“I tried, all right? Do you know how carefully I chose my words to avoid causing an unnecessary scandal?”

Hughes sounded aggrieved. Having witnessed his efforts firsthand, Peto fell silent.

Lieutenant Colonel Virentia was a strict officer with a splendid mustache, but he was kind to his wife alone. Pampered throughout their marriage, Mrs. Virentia had become even more demanding than her husband.

When together, they were the perfect, adoring couple. But once Lieutenant Colonel Virentia was assigned elsewhere, a hairline crack appeared in that perfection.

Both felt anxious without the other, but neither the lieutenant colonel nor his wife wanted the beautiful woman anywhere near the front lines.

Left alone in the capital, his wife stormed into the veterans affairs office every day and threw a fit. Unable either to seduce her or to turn her away, the public affairs soldiers endured the torment, praying only for the lieutenant colonel’s posting to end...

Then Hughes, newly arrived in the capital after graduating from secondary school, appeared like a comet and calmed her down.

Remembering when he had first brought Hughes here, Peto pressed a hand to his forehead and muttered.

“Seriously, count yourself lucky you’re young. If you didn’t look so boyish, Mrs. Virentia would have seen you as a man, not a son.”

“That’s unlucky, not lucky. If I didn’t look young enough to prick what little conscience those ladies have, I’d have received more gifts.”

“Then you wouldn’t have been able to work here! Know your place. You’re only here to deal specifically with Mrs. Virentia!”

“What will you do if I apply to be a public affairs soldier once I’ve registered as a citizen? Reject me? With my talents?”

“You...!”

The two were always arguing, but Peto could count his victories on one hand. He muttered.

“... One day, that mouth of yours will land you in very serious trouble.”

“Come on, senior. You can’t start cursing me just because you can’t win an argument.”

“I’m settling for a curse precisely because I can’t win an argument!”

Still, the outcome itself wasn’t bad. Mrs. Virentia became a regular at the host bar and discovered her maternal instincts despite never having had children. When the lieutenant colonel returned, their marriage would probably be happier than ever.

As for her fixation on Hughes... time would take care of that. Probably.

Peto sighed and muttered, lost in memories.

“Still, this is much better, when the worst it leads to is an affair. Back when the knights were running wild... Ugh. Let’s not go there.”

Hughes answered as though something had just occurred to him.

“Oh. Come to think of it, didn’t you say you used to be a pretty-boy attendant?”

“Aaargh! Watch your mouth! Just remembering those days gives me the shivers!”

In the days of the Kingdom, marriage between knights was a kind of contract.

Their personal martial strength made it akin to a blood oath: even if their descendants grew weak in generations to come, they would protect one another with all their might.

Thus, chastity on both sides and an unambiguous line of succession were essential. Naturally, no one observed any of that worth a damn, but they at least had to keep up appearances.

Perhaps that was why, at some point, knights had begun keeping pretty-boy attendants.

“Wow. To think that pretty boy grew up to look like you. Time really is terrifying.”

“Say one more word. I dare you!”

Hughes sneered at the former pretty-boy attendant. Peto shook all over.

“They called us pretty-boy attendants, but in reality...! Ugh. What would have happened if the country hadn’t been overthrown? The very thought gives me chills!”

In the days of the Kingdom, Peto had been a common-born squire.

A common-born squire? Squire in name only—in reality, little better than a slave attending to a knight’s every need. An emotional dumping ground, and the first to die if their master got drunk and started swinging a sword.

Even among them, Peto had been exceptionally beautiful. He was soon to be changed from a squire into a pretty-boy attendant.

Had the coup not happened, that is.

“Long live the Military State...! I pledge my eternal loyalty!”

Suddenly overflowing with loyalty, Peto saluted the Military State’s flag. Then he clenched his fist again and looked at Hughes.

“Don’t assume you know where other people’s boundaries are. Stick to your own. What do you know about them that makes you keep trying to cater to them? You’re not a prophet or a mind reader.”

At that, Hughes’s smile deepened. Peto took it as a reaction to his joke and continued.

“It worked with Mrs. Virentia, but you can’t do that with the other ladies. They might become excessively attached to you.”

“Wouldn’t that be a good thing? Sounds like I’d get lots of gifts.”

“If you count the cold sensation of a blade piercing your body as a gift, you’ll get more than you know what to do with.”

“Speaking from your experience as a pretty-boy attendant?”

“Eek.”

Peto shuddered and glared at Hughes, his face twisted into a fearsome grimace. Hughes merely beamed back, brimming with confidence and mischief.

He needed to be taught a real lesson before he would wise up. The trouble was that his funeral might come before his awakening. He certainly had the talent for that. Peto shook his head.

“This won’t do. You’re looking after children for the time being.”

“What? You’re demoting me over a personal grudge?”

“That’s right. Don’t like it? Then you be the senior.”

Peto pulled seniority on him.

They left the back room and entered a reception lounge furnished with a long bar and small tables. Young men dressed in the most elaborate, flamboyant uniforms imaginable were putting on charming smiles as they entertained the visitors.

By any measure, it was a scene straight out of a host bar.

Amid it all, another host... public affairs soldier, who had been struggling on his own, brightened at the sight of them emerging.

“Peto! Hughes! Perfect timing. Come look after this girl!”

“You’re the one assigned to her. Why are you passing her off on us?”

Peto started striding over, then remembered and jerked his chin at Hughes. Hughes nodded and stepped forward to attend to the girl.

She was a blue-haired girl in expensive clothes. Small enough that she looked as though she had yet to graduate from a civilian secondary school, she met Hughes’s gaze boldly.

“What brings you here, little lady?”

At Hughes’s question, the girl answered.

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

Hughes asked nothing more. Instead, with a peculiar look on his face, he simply studied her expression. The girl stared back without the slightest change in her complexion.

As the silent standoff continued, Peto grew uneasy and nudged Hughes with his knee.

“Hey, Hughes. I know you’re having trouble, but you can’t just keep staring at her...”

Still, Hughes did not move. At last, Peto asked the girl in his place.

“What’s your name, little one?”

The girl whipped her head around. Her clear voice rang throughout the reception lounge.

“Sephier Bakia!”

“Sephier Bakia?”

Several people reacted to the name. Even in the Military State, where inheritance had been abolished, Bakia was one of the few famous surnames.

“Bakia, as in Seamless Heavenly Garments?”

“Yes! Dangphir Bakia, the second president of Seamless Heavenly Garments, is my grandmother!”

Peto groaned.

Bakia.

The military’s patron and closest friend. The richest family in the Military State.

Though still young, she was the heir who would soon take over Seamless Heavenly Garments. That alone made her a considerable personage.

Peto had met plenty of children and plenty of important people, but never an important child. He looked discomfited. Only his unwavering professionalism kept him talking.

“Welcome, Miss Bakia. What can we help you with?”

In a clear voice, the girl cried out loudly enough for everyone there to hear.

“Please make me the company’s successor!”