How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom: Volume 9 (Premium)

by Dojyomaru

  Up on top of the walls of a city near the border and the road that connected to Zem were two old men, one of them Souma’s martial arts instructor and sounding board, Owen, and the other Roroa’s grandfather, who was the Lord of Nelva, Herman. They stared westward.

  These two had been entrusted with handling the Mercenary State Zem, but Zem had made no major moves, so all they had been able to do was remain on guard. Still, it wasn’t that there had been no movement whatsoever.

  There was a report from the spies saying they were gathering soldiers near the border. However, those forces showed no sign of crossing the border to invade.

  “Hmm...” Playing with his Kaiser mustache, Owen groaned. “It seems Zem is intent on waiting and watching. If the Lunarian Orthodox Papal State or the Republic of Turgis move, I’m sure they’ll act to capitalize on that...”

  “That country has always intervened in other countries’ wars and gained land as a reward,” Herman said. “They hardly ever fight a war alone. Sir Gouran has the republic under control now, and the Orthodox Papal State is keeping quiet for the moment, too. It looks like they’ll keep watching like this.”

  Owen spun his thick arms in a circle. “How boring. And I felt it was so lucky when His Majesty entrusted this land to us to defend.”

  “You should be happy there’s no trouble. Muscle-headed old men from the kingdom are too bloodthirsty for their own good.”

  “Hmph, I’d say we’re a sight better than hard-headed old men from the principality.”

  When their eyes met, sparks flew.

  They were warriors, old commanders, both intent not to lose to the young’uns. That similarity made them each view the other as a sort of rival.

  Especially after a large amount of free time with no invasion of Zemish forces, and with no one like Souma or Roroa to make them restrain themselves, they were competing with one another over every little thing.

  “I think we’ll have to settle this with another mock battle,” Herman said. “I’ll have you retire from active duty today.”

  “I’d have it no other way. I’ll give you time to be a doting grandfather to Princess Roroa.”

  The two with too much time on their hands had made a daily event of having mock battles like this. They wouldn’t listen even if someone tried to stop them, so the guards nearby pretended not to see anything.

  When these two fierce commanders fought, albeit with blunted weapons, the sound echoed around the city, inciting complaints from the residents.

  The guards who would have to deal with those complaints sent resentful glares in the direction of the two energetic old men.

  However, the mock battle didn’t begin today. That was because...

  “Reporting. There appears to be a single mounted rider approaching from the west.”

  A messenger came to report that information to them.

  They leaned out over the edge of the wall, looking west, and there was indeed a single rider racing their way.

  As the rider approached, they noticed that the rider was wearing an impressive suit of armor and two longswords crossed over their back.

  Because their helmet had a full visor, it was impossible to see their face.

  “Hoh... Their riding skill is impressive,” Herman commented. “They make a fine knight.”

  Herman sounded impressed, but Owen said nothing, only staring at the knight.

  That appearance, I’ve seen it before...

  Then the knight came up to the gate and raised their voice.

  “I speak to the keepers of this city! I bear a message from King Kimbal do Zem of Zem for King Souma Kazuya of Friedonia! Please, accept it, and deliver it to King Souma!”

  The knight’s voice was loud, clear, and dignified, yet the slightly higher pitch made it clear it belonged to a woman.

  Hearing this voice, Owen’s eyes went wide. “The woman’s voice... It can’t be?!”

  “Owen?!”

  Before Herman could stop him, Owen jumped over the outer edge of the wall.

  Even though the wall was over ten meters high, Owen was able to kill his momentum with wind magic and land safely before rushing over to the female knight.

  Looking at her up close, the knight had a long, thin, feline tail that extended from her rump and wrapped around her waist, meaning she was a feline beastman.

  “Could it be, you are...”

  “See to it that this letter makes it to King Souma.”

  Before Owen could finish his question, the female knight pushed the letter into his hands.

  Then, immediately turning her horse around, she raced off in the direction she had come.

  “H-Hold on! Are you not Lady Mio?!” Owen shouted after her, but the knight raced on without looking back, and eventually vanished out of sight.

  Herman came down from the wall and approached Owen who was just standing there “Why the face...? Just who is that female knight?”

  “That person is most likely... Lady Mio,” Owen said, seemingly in a daze.

  Herman cocked his head to the side. “Lady Mio? I haven’t heard that name before...”

  “You were in the Principality of Amidonia, so I suppose you wouldn’t have,” Owen whispered, a pained look on his face as he looked off in the direction the female knight had departed. “Mio Carmine. The daughter of Georg Carmine, the former General of the Army.”

  Epilogue 1: Family

  — A little past noon, 21st day, 12th month, 1,547th year, Continental Calendar —

  “Whew... We finally made it back,” I said, relieved.

  “When you see the castle, the exhaustion just melts away, doesn’t it?” Naden agreed, spinning her arms in circles after having returned to human form.

  “You’re right, when you see the castle, it really does feel like we’ve come home,” Aisha put in.

  “Hee hee! The castle really has become our home now, hasn’t it?” Juna smiled.

  Yeah, they were right. We’d finally managed to make it home.

  After having returned to Parnam alongside the reinforcements we’d sent to the Union of Eastern Nations, we’d gotten in Naden’s gondola and headed back to Parnam Castle ahead of the rest.

  This wasn’t a war, so there would be no triumphant return parade, and the main force would likely just be disbanded outside the castle walls. That work was being left to Kaede, as Ludwin’s second-in-command.

  Hakuya and Roroa came out of the castle to greet us.

  “Your Majesty, hurry to Princess Liscia’s side,” Hakuya said without preamble.

  “Ya better go quick!” Roroa added.

  Those were the first things out of their mouths. It seemed they were in a hurry.

  “Huh?! Did something happen to Liscia?!” I cried.

  Hakuya nodded gravely. “I received word that she went into labor this morning.”

  Labor...? She was giving birth?!

  Roroa jabbed me in the chest. “The doctors, Hilde and Brad, are already with Big Sis Cia. We’ll be headin’ over there, too, once our work’s done, so get movin’, Darlin’!”

  “Is that okay?” I fretted. “Should the king really be heading over there as soon as he gets back?”

  Between the administrative work that had built up while I was away, along with dealing with the aftermath of having dispatched troops, there was surely a mountain of work to do. The bureaucrats must want me to return to my duties immediately.

  But Hakuya just shrugged his shoulders. “You’re not going to be able to focus on your duties like this, anyway. If your lack of focus causes you to make a series of errors, that only results in more work in the end. Please, let us take care of things ourselves.”

  “...Sorry. Thanks.”

  I turned and spoke to my fiancées and little sister.

  “You heard the man. Naden and I will be going to see Liscia. Aisha, Juna, sorry, but could you sort out the luggage in the gondola? I want you to come later.”

  “Y-Yes, sire,” Aisha said.

  “Un
derstood.” Juna nodded.

  “Roroa, I want you to come once your work is finished, too. Tomoe, show Ichiha and Yuriga to Hakuya’s place. If you want to come too, the three of you are welcome to join us later.”

  “Gotcha,” said Roroa. “I’m countin’ on ya to take care of Big Sis Cia.”

  “Okay, Big Brother,” Tomoe said obediently.

  I straddled Naden’s back in her ryuu form. “Okay, Naden! Go as fast as you can, please.”

  “Roger that! Don’t go fainting on me, okay?”

  With that, Naden danced up into the air.

  The ground sped away from us even more rapidly than normal. Normally, that would have really scared me, but in my haste to get where we were going, I didn’t have the presence of mind left to be scared.

  Liscia... Liscia...

  With me repeating her name in my head over and over, Naden and I headed straight for the former king Sir Albert’s domain, where Liscia was staying.

  Having raced across the sky, Naden and I set down in front of Sir Albert’s manor.

  As we did, I spotted the doctor Brad sitting at one of the tables on the veranda which could be seen from the gate. He was wearing a string-like thing diagonally over top of his white clothes.

  I approached him, calling his name. “Brad?”

  Brad noticed me. “Oh, it’s the king. That’s an interesting getup you’re wearing today.”

  I realized I was still in my military uniform. We’d come here right after returning from the Union of Easter Nations, after all. There had been no time to get changed.

  “I was in a rush... and, I mean, aren’t you wearing something kind of weird, too?”

  “What choice do I have, the way things are here?”

  Brad turned to show me his back, and there was a baby less than a year old strapped behind him. It turned out the string running diagonally across the front of his chest was for a baby sling.

  When I approached and looked closer at the baby, it seemed to be sleeping. The wispy hair growing on the baby’s head matched Brad’s white hair, but on its forehead was the small, jewel-like third eye that was characteristic of the three-eyed race. Its puffy cheeks were adorable.

  “Cute,” I said admiringly. “I’ve heard you have a kid. Is this your kid, Brad?”

  “My daughter. Her name is Ludia.”

  “Ludia, huh. You took the L and D sounds from the end of Hilde’s name, huh... Wait, I know Ludia’s cute and all, but now’s not the time for this!”

  The adorable baby had momentarily distracted me from my original objective.

  “I came flying when I heard Liscia had gone into labor, so what are you doing sitting around relaxing here?!”

  “Fwah... Wahhhhhhhh!” Because of my shout, Ludia woke and burst out crying.

  “Ah, sorry! D-Don’t cry,” I said anxiously.

  “There, there... Could you not shout so loudly in front of Ludia?” Brad told me off while trying to soothe the daughter on his back. “Just having an adult they don’t know around is frightening enough for children.”

  I feel like he’d been more prickly a long time ago, but now he was totally in dad mode.

  The three of us worked together to get Ludia to settle down before I asked Brad the same question again.

  “I’m sorry for shouting. But since it’s twins, wasn’t it looking like you were going to have to do a Caesarean section? If I find you, the head doctor, out here, obviously I’m going to be concerned.”

  “So, about that... we ended up not doing one.”

  “Huh?! Why didn—Mmph!”

  “Souma! Quiet!” Naden covered my mouth and said that in a hushed voice. “You’ll make the baby cry again, you know?”

  The three of us looked at Ludia’s face... Yeah, it looked like she was sleeping.

  I moved Naden’s hand aside and took gasping breaths.

  “...Sorry. But why?”

  “At the mother’s request.”

  “Liscia’s?”

  “When I explained about the procedure, she refused. She said she didn’t want her stomach cut.”

  According to Brad, she hadn’t wanted her abdomen... or rather her abdominal muscles... to be cut during the Caesarean section.

  For Liscia, who partook in the martial arts, having her muscles cut meant she might not be able to stand on the battlefield the same way she had before. That was apparently why she had requested a natural delivery instead.

  “Fortunately, the babies are not in a bad position,” Brad said. “In Hilde’s estimation, a natural birth should be possible.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. But she’ll be in pain for twice as long as an ordinary pregnancy. There are two of them, after all. Well, even with that explained, the mother requested a natural delivery, so that’s how it is... I don’t really understand her thinking, though, to be honest,” Brad said scratching his head.

  I agreed, but Naden said, “I feel like I get it,” showing some degree of understanding. Maybe it was some sort of motherly pride us men couldn’t understand.

  “Hilde’s attending to her closely now,” Brad said. “Obviously, if we determine she’s in danger, we’re prepared to switch over to the Caesarean. Are you all right with that, too, sire?”

  “If that’s what Liscia’s decided.”

  She had chosen not to have her muscles cut even if it meant being in pain for twice as long.

  Was Liscia that eager to stand on the battlefield?

  Brad told me I could talk to her about the details in person, so we headed inside the house.

  The maids were moving about frantically. The scene reminded me of the palace just after I was entrusted with the throne.

  I spotted a familiar maid and called out to her. “Carla!”

  “Wah?! ...Oh, it’s you, Master. You’ve returned to the country.”

  The dragonewt maid Carla turned around. She was wearing a maid dress with a skirt short enough that she wouldn’t be out of place working in a maid café, but instead of a silver platter, she held a metal basin that even a grown man would have struggled to carry.

  “We just got back,” I said. “What’s the basin for?”

  “To hold hot water for the babies’ first bath. I was told bigger was better, so I flew off and found the biggest one in this domain.”

  “No, isn’t this kind of too big? It’s the size of one of those small vinyl pools for children, you know?”

  It was large enough that you had to worry about the babies drowning. Someone was going to be holding them during it, though, so it was probably fine...

  “Wait, before that, show me to where Liscia is, would you?”

  “Understood. She is in the large room upstairs.”

  Naden and I followed Carla upstairs. There was a door in the second floor corridor that was left wide open. We could see maids constantly coming in and out of the room. That had to be where Liscia was.

  Approaching the room, I heard what sounded like a woman’s groaning.

  I dashed forward. “Lisci—”

  “Stay out of the room!” someone shouted.

  I came to a halt.

  The three-eyed doctor Hilde came out. Hilde had an irritable look on her face as she put a hand on her hip and glared at me.

  “I heard, and looking at what you’re wearing, I can tell. You were just up fighting monsters in the Union of Eastern Nations, right? And you came straight here as soon as you got back. Am I wrong?”

  “Y-Yeah...”

  “In other words, you came without cleaning off the grime from your journey. Don’t bring that filthy body into the same room as a pregnant woman and her babies! Weren’t you supposed to understand hygiene?!”

  “Urkh... Sorry.” Hilde was absolutely right in what she was saying, so I gave her an honest apology.

  In modern society, where we had proper hygiene, fathers were allowed to be present for the birth, but here in this world where that was not the case, it was probably better to leave things to the doctors.<
br />
  Not only that, I had been touching monster corpses in the Union of Eastern Nations. I had wiped myself afterward, obviously, but I hadn’t taken a thorough bath yet.

  “Is that... Souma...?” Liscia croaked from within the room.

  I couldn’t see her with Hilde blocking the way, but I could hear her voice.

  “Yeah, it’s me! Can we talk? You’re not in too much pain?”

  “Yeah... I’m feeling up to it for now...”

  “Y-You are? Well, I’m right here!”

  “It looks like you made it. How about you, Souma? You’re not hurt anywhere?”

  “I came back in one piece! Aisha and Juna and Naden and Tomoe all came with me! Roroa was holding down the fort for us, but she seemed full of energy, too!”

  “I see. Good. You... didn’t do anything reckless, right?”

  “Liscia,” Naden called. “This is Naden. What Souma’s saying is the truth. He may have been a little reckless, but he’s not hurt, so don’t worry.”

  I heard Liscia chuckling. “So you were being reckless again... Maybe we need to have a little heart-to-heart later? But from what Naden says, it sounds like you’re okay...” She paused. “Thank you... for protecting Souma.”

  “No, I just did what any ryuu ought to!”

  “Souma, just stay there and don’t worry,” Liscia managed. “I’ll make sure I give birth to healthy babies.”

  “‘Don’t worry’? You know I can’t do that! I hear you refused the Caesarean section, you know?”

  “So you heard,” Liscia replied a little awkwardly. “Listen, if they cut open my abdomen, I might not be able to fight like before. I don’t want that. I still want to be able to command the military and fight in your place.”

  “Y-You’re still planning to go out on the battlefield now that you’re a mother?”

  “Wouldn’t any mother want her kids to see how cool she is?”

  My shoulders slumped. “You’re going to be one tough mom...”

  Hilde made a shooing gesture with her hands and chased me off like a wild dog. “Now that you understand, take off that uniform and wash yourself. You leave the princess to me. I swear you’ll be able to see her and the kids later.”

  “I’m counting on you...” I bowed my head to Hilde, then temporarily left the room.