Chapter 22

A few days after Zenjiro began receiving Octavia's education.

Zenjiro, who had seen off his beloved wife who had left for her official duties earlier, was making good use of the time before Octavia's lesson by sitting in front of his computer.

The video playing on the computer was a series of lectures on etiquette and manners that Zenjiro had made with Aura's cooperation.

There was an issue with the audio recorded using the digital camera's video function, as it didn't work with the "Word Spirits." However, upon a bit of thought, the solution was extremely simple.

All Zenjiro had to do was repeat, in Japanese, exactly what Aura had explained on the spot.

"Cuando se invito al baile; a un companero que baila primero uno el pedazo y ultimo uno el pedazo……"

"Um, when invited to a dance party, the first and last dance should be with……"

From the image playing on the computer, Zenjiro's voice in Japanese could be heard after the indiscernible local language spoken by Aura.

Although hearing his own voice played back by a machine wasn't a particularly pleasant experience, it was undoubtedly very useful.

While Zenjiro was reviewing his etiquette and manners on the computer, there was a knock on the door.

"Excuse me, Master Zenjiro. Lady Octavia has arrived."

"Got it, I'll be right there."

At the maid's voice, Zenjiro turned off the computer and stood up. Despite owning multiple accurate timepieces, including a computer, a wristwatch, and a mobile phone, Zenjiro only kept track of time in minutes for himself, so there wasn't much point in worrying about the finer details of time.

"Alright, let's go then."

Zenjiro opened the door and stepped into the hallway. There, a familiar blonde maid was bowing politely.

At first, Zenjiro was quite bewildered, but now he had become somewhat accustomed to the courteous attitude of the servants.

"Good work. Please take care of the cleaning."

"Yes, understood."

By treating the maids as "hotel staff," Zenjiro maintained an appropriate distance.

While Zenjiro's words and attitude might be a bit too casual for a harem master, it was unrealistic to maintain a formal demeanor even in this harem, which was essentially his home. Fortunately, the harem servants were trustworthy and discreet, selected by Aura. It was fine to be a bit more relaxed.

(Yesterday's review is done, so I want to finish the etiquette and manners lectures by this morning. That way, I can dedicate the time from the afternoon break to the evening to magic lessons. Ah, the lunch break is over three hours, so if I can meet up with Aura, I can finish the magic review and preview. That will make the afternoon magic lessons go more smoothly.)

With this plan firmly in mind, Zenjiro set out.

He used the spare time for review, advanced the content of the lessons, and even managed to preview the afternoon magic lessons during the lunch break, further improving efficiency.

After all, the values of "diligence" and "seriousness" that Zenjiro had cultivated over twenty-four years were not easily rewritten. He had temporarily forgotten his former self, who had volunteered to be a freeloader, and was now planning to fulfill his given responsibilities as efficiently as possible.

While Zenjiro was receiving Octavia's lessons, the maids were cleaning the main room and bedroom that Zenjiro usually used.

As palace maids, they possessed a high level of skill, but the cleaning here was a bit different from the usual.

"Do you understand? In principle, Master Zenjiro's personal items should not be wiped, and water wiping is strictly prohibited."

"Yes!"

A refined middle-aged woman, who seemed to be the overall supervisor of the cleaning maids, received a lively response from the younger maids.

It was impractical to teach all the maids the detailed handling of electronic devices. Realizing this, Zenjiro had already instructed the maids, "Wiping with a dry cloth is sufficient. No water wiping."

In reality, only a part of the items were dangerous to water, but it would be faster for Zenjiro to do it himself rather than explain it to the maids.

The middle-aged maid, who was overseeing the entire operation while also working, glared at a group of three young maids who were cleaning in front of the table and raised her voice.

"There! How many of you are cleaning in front of the table? One person is enough. Finish it quickly!"

The three maids, who had been wiping the table where Zenjiro had just been sitting, shrank back in surprise. This was where the fan was still running and the ice cubes had not yet completely melted.

In the freezer, a new batch of ice cubes was already being made in a gold basin, which would be ready by the time Zenjiro returned for his lunch break. Therefore, Zenjiro had allowed the maids to use the remaining ice as they pleased. He had also permitted the use of towels cooled in the refrigerator, as long as they were used responsibly.

"No matter how much Master Zenjiro says you can use the remaining ice, that's only after you've done your job properly. It's unacceptable to slack off and use the master's tools to cool off."

The middle-aged maid then opened the wooden door of the room without mercy.

Immediately, a stifling hot wind blew into the room through the window.

"Ah!?"

"Oh, just a little longer."

"Aah, my ice, my precious ice is melting……"

The three maids, who had been pretending to clean while enjoying the cool air, dramatically lamented.

Even though the morning was relatively bearable, the temperature was still just slightly below body temperature.

The middle-aged maid, with her still slender waist despite her age, placed her fists on her hips and scolded the three maids.

"You can't keep fooling around. You won't see the dirty spots without exposing them to sunlight. Turn off the stand light. Do you know how to do it?"

At the middle-aged maid's stern words, the young maids reluctantly returned to their work.

"Yes."

"Then I'll mop the carpet over there."

"Aah, my ice, my dear ice……"

Watching the three troublemakers return to work, the middle-aged maid sighed in relief.

"Really, these girls. They slack off as soon as I turn my back."

When they were first assigned to the harem, the maids were so tense that their bodies were stiff, carefully avoiding any disapproval from their master, who had come from another world.

However, once they started, they found that the queen's husband was surprisingly easy to handle.

He didn't make unreasonable demands, laughed off minor mistakes, and rarely called for the maids. As a result, the young maids had become this way within a month.

These three were particularly "lax," but the same concern applied to the young maids as a whole.

"Truly, it's a pity. To think they are the maids of the prestigious harem."

The middle-aged maid, while efficiently wiping the leather sofa with a cloth, muttered her complaints.

Once the main room was cleaned, the next task was the bedroom.

"Wow……"

"Again yesterday……"

"His Majesty and the Queen are quite close, aren't they?"

The maids, entering Zenjiro and Aura's bedroom, grimaced slightly at the lingering scent from the bed.

The smell from the bed sheets, the nightgowns and undergarments in the basket, and the air itself told the story of the queen and her husband spending a very intimate night in this room.

"It's a good thing. At this rate, we might have an heir by next year."

On the other hand, the middle-aged maid nodded in satisfaction. While it was a good thing for the kingdom, it was a bit complicated for the young maids, who had some pride in their beauty.

The maids' uniforms in the tropical kingdom of Carp were much lighter than those in the northern countries. The bright blue skirts only reached the knees, and the sleeves were completely sleeveless. While they weren't overly provocative, they were quite attractive when worn by young maids.

Yet, their master had not touched any of them, even once. If he were indifferent to women, it would be understandable, but there was clear evidence of his enthusiasm with the queen every morning in the bedroom.

While they didn't particularly desire to be touched by the queen's husband, it was a bit hurtful to their pride as women to be completely ignored.

"Come on, we don't have much time. Let's finish quickly. Change the sheets. Wash the dirty nightgowns and return the clean ones to the wardrobe."

"Yes."

"Understood."

"Phew, the bedroom is a bit cooler……"

Compared to the main room, the bedroom was smaller and had fewer items. Including the time for laundry and changing the sheets, the bedroom cleaning took less than half the time of the main room.

The maids efficiently completed their tasks.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

That afternoon, after finishing the rushed lunch with Lady Octavia, Zenjiro spent a relaxing time with Aura in the main room of the harem, which had been cleaned in the morning.

It was still daytime, so the glasses they held contained not alcohol but water with ice and fruit juice.

Zenjiro and Aura, who were resting their tired heads from the lectures and official duties, sat on the sofa and watched TV. The sound from the TV was, of course, in Japanese, which should have been incomprehensible to Aura without the "Word Spirits," but the current images they were watching didn't require much understanding of the sound.

After watching the screen in silence for a while, Aura exclaimed, "Got it, I understand!"

"Don't say it, don't say it, definitely don't say it!"

Zenjiro, who had been beaten to it, exclaimed in frustration and stared intently at the landscape photo on the screen.

A part of the photo was gradually changing. The game's objective was to identify the change within a time limit, but so far, Aura, who was playing for the first time, had a much higher success rate than Zenjiro, who had brought the game.

Perhaps it was a matter of observational and attentional skills.

"Hmm, I won't say it, I won't say it. The pale pink flower on the right side of the screen must be in full bloom now."

"Ugh! Aura, you're so mean!"

The relaxed expressions on the faces of the two, enjoying the game, were something they didn't show outside.

Afterward, turning off the TV and the game, in the quiet main room, Aura, sipping from a glass of iced water, asked Zenjiro, who was sitting next to her.

"So, how is the lecture progressing? Last night, you mentioned that you might soon get a passing grade in etiquette and manners."

Zenjiro nodded in satisfaction in response to Aura's question.

"Yeah, I got a passing grade in the morning lecture. It's apparently at the level where I won't embarrass myself in public, but that's the minimum."

"Hmm, that's good. So, the afternoon lecture will be only magic?"

While smiling, Aura thought to herself.

As always, this husband of hers was diligent. He seemed to take it for granted to do his best within the limits of his abilities for the tasks given to him, even if he didn't realize it himself.

Aura had a few subordinates of this type, but it was surprisingly difficult to manage them. They were easy to use because they didn't shirk effort, but they had a bad habit of taking on too much work and not complaining, which could lead to burnout if not properly managed.

Unaware of his wife's thoughts, Zenjiro said with a smile.

"Yeah, that's right. So, can you teach me a bit about magic now? I heard that the biggest challenge with magic is its extremely low duration. And the dual kingdom's 'imbuing magic' and our Carp royal family's 'spatial-temporal magic' overcome this weakness from the start. So, does that mean spatial-temporal magic affects time as well as space?"

Zenjiro, eager to start previewing the afternoon lesson, received a wry response from Aura.

"Hey, let's talk about the lecture when it starts. Right now, I'm your wife, not your teacher Octavia."

Getting a passing grade in etiquette and manners meant that Zenjiro would soon start appearing in public and at large social events. With a busier schedule ahead, it wouldn't be good for him to push himself too hard from the start.

"Ah, yeah, you're right. Yeah, that's true."

The questions about magic that Zenjiro had planned to confirm during the day slipped from his mind as he felt the soft body of his beloved wife pressing against his right arm.

Aura rested her face on Zenjiro's right shoulder, and Zenjiro, with his arm around her back, pulled her close.

"Zzz……"

"Hmm, he's asleep……"

The queen, confirming that her husband had fallen asleep, smiled softly, wrapped her arm around his waist, and closed her eyes.

"Zzz……"

Soon, the royal couple, snuggled together, began to snore softly, making up for the lack of sleep from their intimate nights.

A few days before Zenjiro's debut in society, he was still enjoying a peaceful time.