by Dojyomaru
While I was trudging down the stairs, Carla felt bad for me and raised her voice to say, “Y-You know, Liscia may not look it, but she’s pretty tough. You must be exhausted from your long journey, Master. I’ll get the bath ready now, so wash off the dirt from the campaign like Hilde said and get some rest, all right?”
“Wash the dirt off... huh.”
I should pour some hot water over my head... No, in this case, there was something that felt more appropriate, wasn’t there? I clapped my hands together as if I’d just come up with a brilliant idea.
“Okay. I’m going to perform mizugori.”
“Mizugori?” Naden looked confused.
I nodded. “It’s a traditional method of prayer from my world. You pour well water over your head repeatedly to wash away the grime, while offering Shinto and Buddhist prayers.”
“Well water? It’s the middle of winter! If you do that in this cold, it’s guaranteed to be unhealthy! Stop being stupid!”
“That’s perfect,” I said. “Liscia’s trying her best, too. I need to do that much, at least.”
“Just calm down already!” Every hair on Naden’s body rose.
Bzzzap!
“Gyah!”
I collapsed on the spot.
Looming over my immobile self with her arms crossed, Naden sighed. “Honestly... This is so unlike you that I can’t bear to watch. Calm down a little already. If you collapse because you’re being reckless, that will cause delays in your duties and make trouble for everyone at the castle, okay? That’s not something Liscia wants, either.”
“Uhhh... But I’m worried.”
“I understand, but is pouring cold water on yourself going to change anything? A little water isn’t going to let the gods do anything for you. My god is Lady Tiamat, and she generally doesn’t even interfere in the world below.”
“That remark wouldn’t go over well with the followers of Mother Dragon worship or Lunarian Orthodoxy.”
“Besides, isn’t your whole thing that you leave the things you can’t handle yourself to other people? You can’t give birth, so trust Liscia, who can, to handle it.”
Naden was so right that I couldn’t say a thing in return.
Naden was a nonsensical being that could transform into a ryuu, but Naden herself was a common-sense person capable of reasoned thought. Her lecture to me made sense.
“You’ve got it more together than I give you credit for,” I sighed.
“That’s right. I’m the only one around to scold you right now. Aisha loves you like a loyal dog, Juna is too indulgent, and Roroa is more likely to goad you into doing something than stop you. I feel like I’ve gotten a lot of practice at it while Liscia’s been away.”
“You make me sound like some sort of problem child,” I objected.
“If you don’t have the self-awareness to see it, that’s pretty bad. But you were starting to get out of hand, so I want Liscia to hurry up and get back on the job soon.”
Wow, that was harsh. But I was in agreement about wanting to see Liscia soon.
“Oh, my.” A gentle voice came down to me. “If you sleep there, you’ll catch a cold, son-in-law.”
I sat up because the numbness was starting to fade and saw Liscia’s mother, the former queen Elisha, looking at me with a soft smile.
“If you’re tired, why don’t you come rest in my room?”
I wiped myself down in a hot bath, which Carla and the others had prepared for me after Naden’s stopping me from performing mizugori, and then put on a spare change of clothes I had borrowed from Sir Albert.
When I was finished getting changed and met up with Naden, who had likewise just finished wiping herself off, she was wearing a frilly apron-dress that made her look ready to chase a rabbit to Wonderland. It really suited the petite Naden.
“I think you look cute in that outfit, but where’d it come from?” I asked.
“Elisha forced it on me.”
It seemed the outfit Naden was now wearing was one that had been Liscia’s when she was younger. However, given Liscia’s personality, she hadn’t been willing to wear it often, so Elisha had wanted to take this chance to get Naden to wear it.
Liscia in a frilly dress... No, I couldn’t imagine it.
Naden transformed her scales into clothing (though it was all-black clothing) when she turned into her human form, so she didn’t really need a change of clothes, but where was the harm, once in a while?
“You look good,” I said. “Why not try dressing up once in a while?”
“I’ll think about it,” Naden said curtly, turning her head away, but her long tail was restlessly wagging back and forth, so it looked like she wasn’t entirely against the idea.
While I was smiling wryly at watching Naden try to hide how she really felt, Carla came in.
“Master. Lady Elisha is waiting for you in the parlor. Tea has been prepared.”
Carla put her hands together in front of her and bowed.
I felt like her performance as a maid had improved. Now that I thought of it, before we’d set out for the Union of Eastern Nations, Liscia had mentioned Carla was learning to cook with her. Maybe she’d learned various other things, too.
Carla led us to the parlor.
“I see you’ve gotten changed,” Elisha said. She gestured for us to have a seat on the sofa. “Please, both of you, come this way.”
Naden and I sat down side-by-side, and Lady Elisha personally poured tea for us.
“This herbal tea will help calm your nerves. Please, drink it first.”
“Oh, sure,” I said. “Thank you.”
Watching her gentle smile, Naden and I both took a sip.
Oh... It was good. Quite relaxing, too.
While I was feeling at ease, Lady Elisha sat down across from us. “Has that helped you to calm down a little?”
“Yeah... Ah! Um, sorry.”
For a moment, I had seriously relaxed.
Looking at me, Lady Elisha chuckled. “It’s your first birth. I can understand why you’d be tense.”
“...I’m sorry. Liscia’s the one who’s really having a hard time, and I’ve been told I should leave this to her, but... I just can’t help but feel anxious...”
She chuckled. “Albert was the same when I was giving birth to Liscia.” Her eyes took on a nostalgic look.
Wait, huh?
“Now that you mention him, I don’t see Father anywhere,” I said. “Where is he?”
“Oh, I’ve shut him away.”
“...Come again?”
“Today he was even more distraught than you are, milling around restlessly, so I gave him a sleeping... I gave him some medicine to calm him down, and put him to bed.”
What a troublesome man, she seemed to say as she put her hand to her cheek and sighed.
Wait, no, no, no! Didn’t she just start to say “a sleeping drug”?!
“Did you drug—” I began.
“Hee hee. I’m sure he was so eager to see his first grandchild that he just couldn’t get to sleep last night.”
I was aghast.
Forgive me, Father. Some subjects are best left unbroached, so please just rest quietly for now.
I was speechless, but that was Liscia’s mother for you. Liscia’s tough mom routine may have been inherited from her. You could tell she’d held the right to the throne before relinquishing it to Sir Albert.
Then Lady Elisha smiled. “I’m worried, too, myself, of course. It’s really hard giving birth to a child. I can tell you that because I’ve experienced it myself.”
“Mother...”
“However, you’ve arranged the best environment possible. You’ve sent talented doctors, and built the best environment for giving birth in this country... No, in the entire world. My daughter is more blessed than anyone.”
I was speechless for a different reason.
...Oh, crap. That nearly brought me to tears.
Feeling uneasy about the high rate of infant mortality in this w
orld, and out of consideration for Liscia and the rest of my new family, I had set out to reform the medical system.
When she came right out and praised me for it like that, I felt something catch in my chest. I don’t know, I was just so grateful... I couldn’t speak.
Naden slapped me on the back. “I’m sure you already know this, but Liscia’s strong. If you weren’t around, I’d almost want her to be my dragon knight. So... I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“Ha ha...” I laughed weakly. “Is that supposed to be encouraging me? I’d be in a trouble if you two became dragon and knight on me. I want both you and Liscia to be my partners, you know.”
“I-It was just an example... you dummy.” Naden turned away, pouting.
I laughed and drank my tea. Then, exhaling, I finally settled down.
“...I feel pathetic,” I admitted. “Seeing how cowardly I am next to Liscia.”
“You’re a man. It’s only natural,” Elisha said. “There are times when fear lets you detect danger and protect you family. It’s a natural sense we all have as animals.”
“...Thank you.”
Thanks to her, I was feeling a little better.
Just as I was feeling relaxed, Carla barged into the room, hardly bothering to knock.
“Master! It’s started!”
We all raced to the hallway in front of Liscia’s room.
“Urkh...! Ahh...! Ahhhhh!”
From inside, we could hear the cries of agony. Just the sound had me beside myself with worry.
I knelt down, intertwining my hands in front of my forehead, and prayed that she would be safe.
To God, to Buddha, to Mother Dragon. Even to Lunaria and the gods of the minor religions.
Please keep Liscia and our children safe.
Naden put an arm around my neck and hugged me.
...
The time seemed to go ten times slower than usual. I don’t know exactly how much time had passed, but that was how it felt.
“Wah...”
I heard a tiny voice, not Liscia’s, coming from the room. It was not large, but not too small, either.
When I looked up, Hilde emerged from the room.
“It’s a boy. His cries are a little quiet, but his color is good, and I see no problems.”
Having announced that, Hilde immediately returned inside the room.
...They were born. Were they born?
No, that was just the first. There was one more.
Please, let it be born safely! And let Liscia be safe, too!
I waited, praying like that for a while, and...
“Wahhhhhhhhhhh!”
There was an inexpressibly loud cry.
Unlike the previous voice, this one was loudly broadcasting that it had been born.
Hilde came out again.
“The second child is a girl! Who’d have thought it? A quiet boy and a girl with too much energy. Wouldn’t you just know your children would turn out like that?”
Hilde gave me a teasing smile.
The sudden release from tension made my shoulders slacken.
I unclasped my hands, letting them slump to the floor.
A boy and a girl.
The twins had been born safely... Thank goodness.
“Wait, is Liscia all right?!” I exclaimed.
“Have no worries. The moment the second was born and I let her hold her, she fainted in relief.”
“F-Fainted...”
“She struggled a long time. She’s just sleeping out of exhaustion. When she wakes up, you give her the praise she deserves.”
“Of course... Of course I will...”
Overwhelmed by emotion, tears began flowing from my eyes.
◇ ◇ ◇
Where... is this?
I was in an empty space filled with milky white fog.
Huh? What was I doing up until now?
Where’s Souma? Where did everyone go?
While I vaguely wondered those things, I suddenly noticed a humanoid figure in a place a little ways away.
Two of them, actually. The figures were apparently looking at me.
The faintly glowing figures gradually took form, becoming like diminutive old people.
Judging by their silhouettes, were they an old man and woman?
Even squinting I couldn’t make out their faces, but somehow... I felt like they were smiling. Smiling gently in my direction.
I felt as though I knew who they were.
Um, could it be, you’re...
The moment I tried to say it, the two figures went further away.
Then the figures turned to me and bowed their heads. Until they vanished out of sight.
It was as if they were entrusting me with something that was very precious to them...
That’s when I woke up.
Looking up, there was a familiar ceiling.
This was my room in Father’s manor.
My whole body felt heavy. And tired.
I felt like if I relaxed even a little, I would lose consciousness again.
“Whoa! What’s all this?!” a voice shouted.
This voice was... Roroa? I looked down and found Aisha, Juna, Roroa, Naden, and Souma all around the bed where I was lying.
“They’re so cute!” Roroa squealed. “Just look at her tiny little hands.”
She was making a big fuss over something wrapped in cotton.
“Roroa! M-Me! Let me hold her next,” Aisha fussed.
“Here, Big Sis Ai. The princess sure is full of energy, ain’t she? She cries loud, and she’s always flailin’ her arms.”
“Hee hee.” Juna giggled. “You could say the prince is tame in comparison. Even with all the excitement around him, he’s sleeping and doesn’t cry much. Here, Tomoe.”
“Wow, he’s so cute and pudgy!”
What’s everyone having so much fun with?
While my addled brain pondered that, it happened.
“Fweh... Wahhhhhhhhhhh!”
It was a wail loud enough to clear the mist from my head.
“Whoa, what’re ya doin’ there, Big Sis Ai?!” Roroa objected.
“I... I was just holding her! There, there, don’t be scared.”
“Sh-Should I turn into my ryuu form and make funny faces?”
“That’s guaranteed to backfire,” Juna said. “I’d recommend against it. Should I try singing?”
“Sh-Should I let her cuddle my fluffy tail?” Tomoe asked tremulously.
“Seriously, what are you all doing?” I asked in exasperation.
Everyone turned and looked at me in unison.
“Liscia, ya woke up!” Roroa squealed.
Everyone was speaking at me from different directions, and when I turned to my side, Souma was sitting on the bed and peering at my face.
Ohh, I was wondering why I couldn’t see him, but there he is.
“Wahhhhhhhhhhh!”
Hold on... There had been a baby crying for a while now...
Wait, huh? A baby?
...!
That finally woke me up.
“Souma, the babies?!” I shouted.
“They were both born safely. You really worked hard.” Souma gently stroked my cheek.
Oh... They’d both been born safely. I’d been so desperate that I didn’t remember what happened all that well, but... now that he mentioned it, I recalled Hilde let me hold something warm before I blacked out. That had probably been one of the children’s warmth.
Naden came carrying the twins, laying them at either side of my pillow.
When the crying girl was laid down next to me, she instantly stopped crying. The boy was doing as he pleased and sleeping.
Our children were swathed in white blankets. They had been born safely. Nothing could have made me happier.
“When I look at the children’s faces, I can feel that my priorities in life have been changed,” Souma said, looking at their faces. “When I met you and the others, I felt your lives meant as much to me as to my ow
n. But these children are a level even above that. If the time comes, I feel like I’ve got to give my life for these kids.”
“I know how you feel, so much that it hurts, but that’s not something a king should say,” I told him. “The lives of every person in this country rest on your shoulders, you know?”
“I know. But the part of me that isn’t kingly genuinely feels that way.” Souma gently stroked my cheek with a smile. “That’s why we have to protect the kids no matter what, ‘Mom.’”
“...You’re right, ‘Dad.’”
When we said that and shared a laugh, Aisha, Roroa, Juna, and Naden joined in laughing, too.
“As your kochiji, I pledge to protect not just you, sire, but these children as well, with every fiber of my being,” Aisha said. “I know! When they grow up, can I teach them martial arts?”
“Sounds good,” Roroa grinned. “I’ll teach ’em accountin’, too.”
“Hee hee, I suppose I would teach them to sing, then?” Juna asked.
“Teaching them to fly... isn’t something I can do,” said Naden. “But if I let them ride on my back, maybe it’ll be good training for riding an aerial mount like a wyvern.”
Souma watched the other four get excited with a wry smile.
“Hey, now... Don’t put too much pressure on them, okay? If you cram too many skills in there, they’ll never master any of it.”
I giggled a bit. “You’re right. If they’ll just grow up healthy, that’s enough for me.” I gently stroked the children’s foreheads. “So, fellow moms, please look after these children. I will, too, of course, and when all of our children are born, we’ll raise them all together.”
They all gave me a firm nod.
“Of course, Lady Liscia,” said Aisha.
“Hee hee. Let’s raise them all to be healthy.”
“Darn straight,” Roroa agreed. “With the group we’ve got here, we ain’t gonna ever have domestic troubles.”
“Roger that!”
Hearing four reliable responses from the four of them, I said to Souma, “This family... let’s protect it, no matter what. And for that...”
“Yeah. I need to make this country stronger and firmer.”
Because this country was our house. I needed Souma to protect it, and to go on supporting Souma.
For the sake of these new lives, too.
