Chapter 39

A few days later, Zenjiro sat in front of a computer in the harem's living room, typing in the contents of a secret agreement as his wife, Aura, read them aloud.

Even though it was daytime, the rain was pouring heavily outside, so the windows were tightly shut. As a result, the room was so dark that it would be difficult to see the keyboard without the lights on. Of course, the room was not dark now because six LED desk lamps were turned on, but the brightness made it feel like night.

"...In such a case, the Dual Kingdom shall pay 3,000 gold coins to the Carpa Kingdom as a penalty. That's all. How about it, did you manage to type it all? If you need me to, I can read it again."

Aura, dressed in a red maternity dress and sitting comfortably on the sofa, read from the dragon-skin paper and asked her husband.

Zenjiro, still facing away from her, typed away on the keyboard and responded a beat later.

"...No, it's fine. I think I typed everything in. Just to be safe, I'll read it back to you to check for any mistakes, okay?"

"Alright."

Zenjiro, hearing his wife's response, straightened his posture in his chair and began to read aloud the text he had just typed into the computer's display.

"Alright, I'll start.

1. Zenjiro Carpa [Party A] shall not have children with anyone other than Aura Carpa [Party B].

2. The Dual Kingdom shall not interfere with the direct lineage of [Party B].

3. If the Carpa Kingdom violates 1 and [Party A] has a child with someone other than [Party B], the Dual Kingdom shall have the right to investigate the bloodline magic aptitude of the child [Party C].

4. If [Party C] is found to have the potential for 'Bestowal Magic,' [Party C] shall study in the Dual Kingdom for three years starting at the age of fifteen.

5. If the Dual Kingdom forces [Party C] to seek asylum during the study period, the Carpa Kingdom shall have the right to return [Party C] to their country at any time.

6. After the three-year study period, if [Party C] voluntarily wishes to seek asylum in the Dual Kingdom, the Carpa Kingdom shall not prevent it.

7. [Party C] shall have the right to spread the knowledge learned in the Dual Kingdom in the Carpa Kingdom after returning.

8. If the Dual Kingdom violates 2 and attempts to interfere with the direct lineage of [Party B]...”

Zenjiro read the Japanese text displayed on the screen smoothly.

In simple terms, the content of the agreement was about "restrictions on Zenjiro's ability to have children" and "restrictions on the Dual Kingdom's interference in the Carpa Kingdom," with both sides adding further restrictions based on their respective positions. At first glance, Zenjiro thought that Aura had worked hard to push through a lot of content.

While it was clearly stated that Zenjiro should not have children with anyone other than Aura, the detailed provisions for what would happen if this agreement was violated suggested that the other side also saw a low likelihood of the agreement being upheld. In fact, most of the agreement was devoted to the handling of a child with 'Bestowal Magic' ability born to a woman other than Aura.

For Zenjiro, at least for now, he had no intention of having children with anyone other than Aura, and the fact that no restrictions were placed on their child meant he had no personal complaints.

However, he did have some questions. The secret agreement, which had at most a dozen or so clauses, seemed a bit too broad to Zenjiro, who was used to the meticulous contracts in Japan.

With this thought, Zenjiro twisted his body in his chair and turned to look behind him.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Zenjiro? Do you have any questions?"

Aura, who had slightly raised her body from the backrest of the sofa and was smiling at him, made Zenjiro feel certain without any basis.

(Ah, probably both Aura and the Dual Kingdom intentionally left room for 'convenient interpretations' in the agreement.)

It was hard to believe that Aura and the core members of the Dual Kingdom, who had been negotiating for over half a year, had not noticed the gaps in the agreement that Zenjiro found with just a glance. Zenjiro concluded this, but in reality, he was slightly overestimating the nobility of this world. While Aura and the core members of the Dual Kingdom were undoubtedly more skilled and experienced in negotiations than Zenjiro, the culture and customs of this world did not have the same tradition of detailed contracts as modern advanced countries.

Zenjiro's approach of considering all possible future scenarios and preemptively eliminating any room for unfavorable interpretations was fundamentally different.

(Well, it's fine. If it doesn't work out, Aura or Secretary Fabio will stop it.)

"I'll just wait a moment. I have a few questions I want to ask in more detail."

With this thought, Zenjiro confirmed that there was still A4 copy paper in the printer and printed out the secret agreement he had just read aloud.

"Alright."

Zenjiro, holding the printed copy paper with the secret agreement written in Japanese, sat down next to Aura.

Aura, who was pregnant, was not allowed to bend forward. To avoid making her move, Zenjiro held the dragon-skin paper written in the local script and the printed copy paper in front of Aura's face and began to express his opinions.

"Here, the first thing that caught my attention is this. In the future, 2 and 3 might contradict each other..."

"Hmm. Naturally, 2..."

"But since it's not explicitly stated, if someone wants to argue..."

After that, the two of them continued to discuss the details of the secret agreement until one of the maids came to announce dinner time.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

The rain during the rainy season does not stop easily. By the time it was late at night, and even after Aura had retired to the bedroom, Zenjiro was still awake, spending his time alone in the harem's living room. The computer was playing music that Zenjiro had downloaded and purchased on Earth. It was a song by a Japanese female hip-hop singer that he often listened to when he was a college student. Under the light of the LED desk lamps, listening to upbeat Japanese pop music while reading a manga on the sofa, he almost forgot that he was in a harem in a different world.

However, the illusion quickly disappeared when he looked around. The spacious room, the exotic furniture, and the three maids standing in the corner, all reminded him that this was indeed a different world and that he was now a member of the royal family.

(But, I'm getting used to having maids in the adjacent room, but having them in the same room is still a bit strange...)

Zenjiro, raising his head from the sofa, glanced at the maids and thought about this.

(The maids can't relax with me in the same room, so they must be uncomfortable.)

On the other hand, he couldn't send the maids out of the room. They were there to respond immediately if anything happened to Aura, who was resting in the bedroom. Since the living room was the only room directly connected to the bedroom, the maids had no choice but to be here.

It seemed that he wouldn't be able to relax and enjoy his time if he stayed up any longer.

(I'll finish what I need to do and go to bed.)

With this decision, Zenjiro stood up from the sofa, sat in front of the computer, and stopped the music.

The living room, which had suddenly become quiet, was filled with the sound of rain pouring from the other side of the window. He hadn't noticed it because of the music, but the rain was still pouring. From the sound, it seemed to be getting even heavier. While the weather didn't really matter to Zenjiro, who lived in the harem and the palace, the constant rain was not making him feel good.

Octavia had said that it rained one day out of three during the rainy season, so he hoped it would clear up tomorrow. With this thought, Zenjiro operated the computer's mouse and started the video data from the digital camera.

It was the video of Aura demonstrating the time-space magic. At the same time, he set the digital camera next to the computer to recording mode and recorded his own voice. The image didn't matter; what was important was the audio.

'Moytimuva'

Zenjiro mimicked the spell that Aura had cast on the display.

"First try. Moytimuva"

He thought he had pronounced it correctly, but since the 'word spirit' did not automatically translate it, he must have made a mistake somewhere. Zenjiro typed an 'X' in the top left corner of the spreadsheet he had opened simultaneously with the digital camera's video data.

'Second try. From the tip of my finger, cut out a sphere of the world. In exchange, I offer 359 magic points to the air spirits (Moytimuva)'

This time, the word spirit worked. Next to the 'X' he had typed, he typed an 'O'.

"Yeah, I feel like I'm gradually getting the correct pronunciation."

Recently, the word spirit had been translating his pronunciation correctly more often. Still, it was a strange feeling to hear a completely different long sentence coming from his own mouth. Moreover, when others like Aura or Octavia cast a spell, only the long Japanese sentence translated by the word spirit was heard, but when he cast a spell, both the magic language spell and the translated Japanese sentence were heard simultaneously.

From the fact that the Japanese part translated by the word spirit sounded more like 'a recording of his own voice played back by a machine' rather than his own voice, it seemed that the sound that traveled directly through his body did not trigger the word spirit, while the sound that came out of his throat and traveled through the air to his ears did.

Whether this hypothesis of Zenjiro's was correct or not could not be verified, but at least the phenomenon that the 'correct pronunciation' was clearly heard by his own ears was helpful.

"Third try. Moychimuva"

Again, the word spirit did not work. He typed an 'X'.

He continued to practice the correct pronunciation of the spell. Just blindly repeating it over and over would not help. He carefully pronounced each sound, typed the correctness or incorrectness into the computer, and later reviewed the recorded audio from the digital camera.

One hundred spell practice sessions.

Since the day he awakened his magic perception ability, this has been Zenjiro's daily quota. On the first day, the list had only two 'O's among ninety-eight 'X's, but tonight, the 'X's had improved to eighty-nine, and the 'O's to eleven.

It was a short amount of time, less than thirty minutes, but this nightly self-practice was steadily improving Zenjiro's pronunciation of the magic language.

After finishing his quota of spell practice, Zenjiro turned off the digital camera and the computer and headed to the bedroom.

"Good night, Master Zenjiro?"

One of the maids, speaking on behalf of the others, asked. Zenjiro nodded slightly and replied in a casual tone.

"Yeah. I'll leave it to you. Feel free to use the sofa and the contents of the refrigerator as usual."

This offer, while not particularly unusual for a master, was certainly appreciated by the maids. Standing all night without being a soldier was hard on the body, and going without food and drink was also difficult.

Even a difficult all-night watch could be enjoyable if they could sit on the high-quality sofa made for the royal family and eat cold fruit juice and well-chilled fruit. The sleepiness that would be a formidable opponent if they had to spend the night with only candle or oil lamp light was not as much of a challenge in this room, which was as bright as midday thanks to the LED desk lamps.

Some of the younger maids even looked forward to the night watch. The particularly carefree maids, whom the head maid called the 'trouble trio,' were so disappointed when they heard that the night watch would end in the summer after Aura's delivery that they all slumped their shoulders.

"If anything happens to Aura, call me immediately. I'll count on you."

"Yes, Master Zenjiro. Good night."

With a deep bow from the three maids, Zenjiro disappeared into the bedroom.

Zenjiro closed the door behind him. The door was not as airtight as in Japanese houses, and a sliver of light from the living room leaked through the gap between the door and the wall, but this was actually convenient for Zenjiro. He didn't want to wake his sleeping wife by turning on the bedroom's LED desk lamp.

"......"

Zenjiro carefully searched for his pajamas on the bed, relying on the light seeping through the door gap, being careful not to make any noise.

He threw his room clothes into a basket next to the bed and changed into the blue pajamas he had brought from Earth. He then quietly approached his sleeping wife.

"......"

Aura, lying on her side with a cushion supporting her large belly, was breathing steadily. She seemed to be sound asleep. Zenjiro, relieved, placed his hand on her large belly through the blanket.

However, there was no response. Perhaps the thin blanket did not transmit the touch, or perhaps the baby was also sleeping with its mother. Zenjiro kept his hand on Aura's belly for a while but eventually gave up and quietly got off the bed on all fours.

(Still, she's sleeping so soundly. She's quite vulnerable when she's sleeping. Or... does she only show such a vulnerable face to me?)

Zenjiro thought about this as he watched his wife, who did not wake up even when he got close to her face or placed his hand on her belly. He wondered if it was just his ego, but the contrast between Aura's usual imposing and unyielding attitude and her vulnerable sleeping face in the bedroom was hard to reconcile.

The truth was unknown. But thinking that this sleeping face was something only he was allowed to see made him feel even more affectionate.

(Ah, but soon, it won't be just mine anymore.)

Aura would also show her sleeping face and smile to the child to be born. Realizing this, Zenjiro suddenly felt a strong sense of becoming a father.

His wife and child.

The child to be born would, in terms of position, not be able to be raised by Zenjiro and Aura like a family in modern Japan. Feeding the baby would be the job of a wet nurse, and the detailed care would be the responsibility of the maids.

But even so, he could still make the child feel the 'love of parents.'

For that, the secret agreement with the Dual Kingdom tomorrow must be concluded with the best possible outcome.

(Alright, time to sleep. I can't afford to be sleep-deprived for the signing.)

With renewed determination, Zenjiro slipped into his bed and quietly closed his eyes.