## Chapter 831 – Winter in the Capital

As soon as we stepped outside, Karin, who was next to me, wrapped her arm around mine. Looking at her face, she seemed quite happy. It was clear she was pleased to be out with me.

Of course, I felt the same.

Actually, I’m always in a good mood.

How could I not be, with seven beautiful wives who love me? All I have to do is reach out, and they shower me with affection. That’s why my default state is always feeling good.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been out together, hasn’t it?”

Karin said, rubbing my arm against her chest.

“Hehe, it has.”

We rarely went out just the two of us. Almost always, it was in a group. It really had been a while since we’d done something like this.

Come to think of it, when was the last time Karin and I were alone like this? Was it with Liz?

The thought suddenly crossed my mind.

“Why, honey? Are you happy?”
“Of course, I’m super happy. It’s just the two of us. We hardly ever get the chance, you know? Our husband has so many wives.”
“Ah.”

There were hardly any opportunities for just the two of us.

“You womanizer.”

Karin said, pinching my cheek as she often did. Womanizer, huh? Karin used to call me that often, but I’d heard it from the Saintess recently too.

“Oh dear. I’m hearing this again from you.”
“Haven’t I said it often?”
“No, it’s not that. The Saintess called me that too.”
“What? Why all of a sudden?”

Karin tilted her head.

“Well, when I was reporting about the incident, I mentioned having seven wives, and she said, ‘Is there any bigger womanizer than you?’ and gave me a bit of a lecture.”
“She said that?”

I nodded.

“I broke a sweat trying to explain. It’s not a good look for a Paladin to have so many women, right?”
“Well, yeah… it wouldn’t look good to religious people. So, what did you say?”
“I just said it was part of our tribal culture, so I couldn’t help it.”
“Having many women? Ah, well. I guess that’s possible. That’s your culture, after all. You explained it well.”

Karin also nodded in agreement.
Actually, it’s not tribal culture, but Cloudi culture.

“Yeah, the Saintess was scolding me at first, but when I said that, she seemed to understand. She said it would be a problem if a Paladin had moral issues, but she understood when I said it was a different culture. So, I was forgiven.”
“Really? Well, a woman like the Saintess should have that much understanding. She seems to be flexible.”
“She is. She’s the type you can talk to.”

The Saintess was very flexible. If she were rigid, she would have said, “Get out!!!!!!!!!!!!! You barbarian!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” when I mentioned having seven wives.

“But, is it really a moral issue? Polygamy isn’t that uncommon.”

Polygamy was widespread in this world.

“That’s not the problem. She made an issue out of me not having kids.”
“Ah, so she said you’re just increasing the number of women without having any children?”

Karin caught on right away.

“Oh. Exactly. You get it right away.”

She’s a smart woman, after all.

“Just hearing that, it might sound a bit off. Polygamy is usually for the purpose of having children. If you don’t have kids, it just looks really promiscuous. That’s how it’s perceived.”
“Right.”

I just didn’t have any plans yet, but I would have them eventually. Raising kids right now would be a huge problem. I don’t have enough power to raise them yet.

So, raising children was a distant future matter.

“Well… I’ll have them later, not now.”

I said, looking into Karin’s eyes.
This woman should have at least ten.

“Honey, you’ll have as many as I ask for, right?”
“Hehehe, you’re asking so directly. I’ll ask you the opposite. How many should I have?”
“About ten?”
“Wow, you’re really trying to push me.”

Karin’s eyes widened.

“Cloudi, Hilde, and Ari, I can understand. But if the four of us have ten each, that’s forty people? Can you handle that?”

Wienia ten.
Karin ten.
Risha ten.
Liz ten.

Just simple math made it forty.
How much would that cost?

“I’m building up my strength to handle that. If I become stronger than you, there will be ways to get money somehow.”

Someone with Karin’s skills would be among the top in the world, beyond just the kingdom. If I become stronger than her? Then there would be plenty of ways to get money.

So, I had to build up my strength to raise children.

“It doesn’t seem like a few estates would be enough to raise forty kids… well, let’s think about that later. Anyway, I’ll have as many as you ask for.”
“Hehehe, ah. Thanks, honey.”
“What are you thanking me for? It’s only natural.”

I walked down the street with Karin, talking about this and that. Karin said that going to fight these days felt like a family mercenary group, which was fun. A family mercenary group, huh? Come to think of it, she was right.

How long had we been walking?

Soon, a teahouse building, the place we had promised to meet, appeared. I had been told to come up to the fourth floor around this time. I immediately went up with Karin and opened the door.

—Squeak.

“Welcome.”

I nodded to the employee who greeted us and looked inside.

“Oh.”

It was a very clean and stylish teahouse. It was also quiet. There were only about four teams in the large hall, one of which was the Saintess’s table.

—Saintess Kadia, wearing a pure white Saintess robe.

Her appearance, with the veil, looked very neat and tidy. The Saintess, who was quietly drinking tea with her blonde hair flowing down in an elegant manner, turned her gaze towards us.

“…Is that her?”

Karin asked, leaning close to me.

“Yep.”
“Hmm…”
“Let’s go for now.”

I pulled Karin, who was about to touch her lips, and approached the Saintess. The Saintess, who had been looking at us, put down her cup and stood up from her seat.

“Saintess. I’m here.”
“…Ah, Paladin, you’ve come.”

The Saintess greeted me simply and immediately turned her gaze towards Karin.

And then.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am Kadia, the Saintess of the Bronze Celestial Angel Society.”

She completely erased the authoritative and overbearing tone she usually showed me and greeted Karin with courtesy, bowing slightly.

This felt a bit refreshing.

In the Order, everyone except the Pope was below the Saintess, so she used informal speech and a commanding tone, but Karin was an outsider. Being the second-in-command of the Order was just a title outside. Of course, she had to be polite to outsiders.

Saintess Kadia was someone who distinguished those things well.

“Yes. It’s a pleasure to meet you too. I am Karin Vestatt.”

Karin, who was standing next to me, also smiled and bowed her head lightly to introduce herself.

It’s refreshing to see this woman being polite too.

“Hehehe, I’m honored that you call me that. Karin. Let’s sit down.”

I greeted her once more, put Karin in the seat first, and sat next to her. The Saintess, after confirming that, also sat back down.

As soon as we sat down, the Saintess began to express her gratitude in earnest.

“I’m really glad you came. You were a great help this time. Dealing with two high-level spirits… it must have been difficult. Nevertheless, you risked danger and eliminated them, which is truly righteous and just.”

Gratitude filled with flowery language.

As expected, showing this kind of attitude to outsiders was what religious people did.

“Thanks to Karin’s service, the balance of the harmonious scales has been maintained more stably, and it has also become possible to save a large number of potential victims, so the Order extends its sincere gratitude.”

Karin, hearing those words, smiled and picked up the menu.

“It was only natural. It’s not something to receive such excessive gratitude for.”
“You are humble. Being righteous and humble. That can be said to be the qualities of a hero. You said you were from the Royal Knights? I feel like there’s a reason why you’re so skilled.”
“Well, something like that.”

I immediately grabbed the menu that Karin was holding.

“Ah, Karin. I’ll order. Some black tea and a few desserts, is that okay?”
“Yeah, do that, darling.”
“Honey?”

What, darling?
This was the first time I’d heard that from Karin.

“…”

The Saintess looked at my face for a moment.

It was a bit much to show personal affection in a place like this. Let’s try to hold back here. I can do it as much as I want when we get back.

I immediately called the employee.

“Here, please give us the recommended menu from this store. It seems like it will be a long story.”
“Understood.”

But I didn’t really know what was good, so I just ordered something appropriate. Just looking at the Saintess sitting there, they would bring something decent. It was better to get a recommendation than to choose myself.

“Speaking of which…”

As soon as we ordered, the Saintess started talking as if she had been waiting for it.

“I heard that Karin is the wife of our Paladin.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“That feels very reassuring. More than anything, I heard that your relationship is… quite good.”
“Hehehe, of course. It’s naturally good. Our Katt is such a good man, you know?”

Karin said, smiling gently and trying to hug my arm. Ah, it was a bit embarrassing to do this in front of the Saintess.

“…Indeed, he is very well-regarded within the Order.”
“I’m very happy to hear that directly from the Saintess.”

Karin, hugging my arm, asked me in a small voice.

“Was he that well-regarded?”
“Hehehe, I always say it. That he’s doing a great job.”
“Aww, you’re so cute.”

Karin was about to touch my face as if she was trying to tease me. It was nice, but it wasn’t polite to do that when someone else was with us.

“Wait a minute, honey. The Saintess is in front of us.”
“Ah, yeah. I should.”
“…”

Showing affection in front of the Saintess was not only embarrassing but also impolite.

“Ahem.”

The Saintess cleared her throat for a moment.

“Ah, I habitually… I showed an embarrassing sight.”
“…It’s okay. It’s natural for couples to do that. But still, you seem very beautiful. Indeed, you are the woman I heard from the Paladin.”

Was it because they were women that they were complimenting each other’s appearances?

“Beautiful? It seems like my face is getting hot when I hear that directly from the Saintess, who is rumored to be the most beautiful woman in the kingdom.”
“It’s just a shameful title as a woman who serves the god Verde.”

She didn’t deny it.

Soon, the tea and desserts came out. I had nothing else to say, so I just drank the tea and ate the desserts, listening to the conversation between Karin and the Saintess.

In short, it was just a lot of praise and gratitude.

When the Saintess expressed gratitude and praised something, Karin smiled and answered with feigned humility. It was an attitude that Karin would never show normally, but this was outside.

So, I was able to see a different side of her.

This was the same for the Saintess… anyway. Both of them seemed to have turned into different women here. Their attitudes and words were so different.

As expected, they were women who were thorough in distinguishing between public and private matters.

“Does Karin always move with Paladin Katt?”
“Not always, but I move with him when he needs help. We’re a couple, so I have to help when he’s doing difficult things.”
“Oh, I see. Certainly, if someone with Karin’s skills helps, it will be a great help.”

This kind of story continued for a while. The topic of work lasted for a moment, and soon the Saintess began to bring up something else.

“But… this might be a question that is a bit rude.”

—Clink.

The Saintess, holding her teacup, sipped it once and continued.

“I heard that the Paladin has a total of seven wives.”
“Ah, yes. If you’re asking about the facts, that’s correct. I am the third wife.”
“Thi, third?”
“Yes. I am our Katt’s third wife.”
“…”

—Slurp.

The Saintess, who had been silent for a moment, drank her tea again.
I was also quite embarrassed.

“Third wife…”

—Clink.

The Saintess, who had spoken quietly, put down her teacup.

“…Excuse me, but since I am a Saintess who came from a convent, I am very interested in such things. Would it be okay to ask how you came to be married?”
“Well, it’s not something I can’t talk about.”

At that moment, Karin looked at my face.