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“I wish to take you as my bride, Ryuubi.”
There was a very long silence. Everyone was waiting for the moment where Sousou explained himself, passed it off as a joke, something. But it never came.
Only then did it finally sink in that yes, Sousou was completely serious.
“I’m sorry, could you repeat that?” Ryuubi asked.
“I said, I wish to take you as my bride, Ryuubi.” Sousou said those words again without hesitation.
No, he really said it.
“...Why?” Ryuubi’s question came out as a squeak.
“Why? Your skills in battle have impressed me. Your accomplishments, your ideals, your heart of justice... That you are also heir to the Dragon Emperor is a bonus as far as I’m concerned. I wish to have you by my side for the rest of my life, Ryuubi.” Sousou explained plainly.
Ah, he really means it.
Somewhere in the distance, a voice cried: “Stay away from my brother!”
Somewhere further in the distance, another voice cried: “I refuse to give my disciple to you!”
“Now hold on! You don’t get to decide for Big Brother Ryuubi! And we’ll never let you have him! Right, Demon Beard?!” Chouhi, who was next to Ryuubi, made his objection clear. He stood protectively in front of Ryuubi, arming himself.
“That’s right! As his sworn brothers, we could never hand him over to you!” Kan-u agreed. His mask fell over his eyes, and took up the other side, raising his spear.
“Chouhi... Kan-u...” Ryuubi watched the two with teary eyes. He wasn’t sad; to the contrary, he was touched by their display of brotherhood.
Sousou was unmoved.
“A package deal, then? Then I’ll be more than happy to have all three of you as my brides.”
“WHAT?!” The sworn brothers shouted out simultaneously. No, not just them. Sousou’s retainers shouted too.
“The two of you can come with me. That you are worthy of Ryuubi means that you are also worthy of me.” Sousou didn’t seem to understand why they were so upset.
“Now hold on just a moment-!“ Chouhi sputtered in outrage.
“I mean it. Together, we will fight and bring a prosperous future to Mirisha. Until that day comes, I will take care of you. I will make sure that you are happy and satisfied. You will want for nothing, Chouhi.”
Chouhi was so shocked at how sincere Sousou was that he stumbled backwards and nearly knocked Ryuubi over in the process. Kan-u quickly rushed over to catch them both.
“And you as well, Kan-u. Indeed, it would please me to have an honorable warrior such as yourself by my side. Unless you wish for my protection as well? In that case, I will protect you to the best of my abilities. No, I definitely will protect you.”
“You’re serious?!” Kan-u shouted, unable to contain his bewilderment.
“I am.”
Sousou’s words left all three of them red in the face. Sousou took that as a sign to continue talking.
“I’m not so cruel as to separate you three, if that’s what you’re worried about. Indeed, you three are much stronger together than apart. Your synergy is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s impressive. I’m quite envious, actually. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen...”
And it continued on from there. Those sincere words of confession were so confusing they looped back around to being cheesy nonsense.
Every word that came out of his mouth was cause for further embarrassment for the sworn brothers. How exactly were they supposed to react to this?
It seemed Sousou was very set on having Ryuubi as his bride. Though he didn’t expect the other two, he would be more than happy to have them as well. After all, such strong warriors are worthy enough to be his. Such was the ambition of Sousou.
It made perfect sense to Sousou. It did not make sense to anyone else.
As Sousou continued on with his ramblings, he was completely oblivious to how everyone else was taking his declaration. No, maybe he was ignoring them?
“To think that Lord Sousou was such a strange person... I had no idea...”
“I guess it’s true that no one is infallible. Still, for it to come out like this... How embarrassing...”
“Lord Sousou... how could you? Of all people, you pick them? Are we not good enough?”
Murmurs of dismay rose from the crowd of Sousou’s soldiers. The morale was going down quickly.
“This is bad! At this rate... Lord Sousou’s reputation will be ruined!” Kakouton hissed.
“No, I think it’s already been ruined... If the other armies hear about this...” Kakouen said, looking around nervously.
“You two, calm down. Acting rashly will not help us. We can still salvage this. I have a plan.” Shiba-i said.
“Do you really?” The two brothers asked. The situation was looking pretty bad for Sousou’s side.
Not that Sousou noticed.
“...I would be happy to marry the three of you. Though, since you’ll all be married to me, I suppose the correct word to use would be ‘harem?’ It only makes sense, since you are such wonderful-”
“Please excuse us.” Shiba-i quickly cut into the conversation before anyone started stabbing.
Sousou was quickly ushered off by his retainers while the trio were left alone. Everyone regrouped some time later with cooler heads.
“Ahem. What Lord Sousou means is that he is impressed with your abilities as warriors, and would very much appreciate having your talents by his side in his quest to bring peace to Mirisha. Right, Lord Sousou?” Shiba-i explained diplomatically, turning a very pointed look towards his Lord.
“No, I’m saying I want you three in my harem.” Sousou was unable to read the room.
“Lord Sousou, if you would please think clearly for just five minutes-!”
The sworn brothers did not join Sousou. No one would begrudge them for it. They left without incident, and would hopefully forget all about today’s conversation.
Sousou was already making plans to ask them again at a later date. Everyone in his army dreads the day.
…
“Wait, if Lord Sousou wants strong warriors in his harem, doesn’t that mean we’re his-”
“SHUT UP KAKOUEN!”