Chapter 1

"U, up... k, kutsuraku... (gasp, choke... it’s so tight...)"

The intense pressure makes me feel as if all the meat from the sandwich I ate today is about to come out. The discomfort is so severe that I feel my life is in danger, and my consciousness rapidly awakens. I try to sit up by exerting force around my waist, but it doesn’t budge at all. The reason is a girl who is firmly holding onto my body.

"M, mugu... it’s so heavy..."

"Mnya... what do you mean heavy? Heavy? The one eye of a Cyclops is... (mumbling incoherently)"

The one having a conversation with me, which seems to be completely off the mark, is my... ex-fiancée, no, current fiancée, Naja. She is snoring softly while holding me tightly like a body pillow.

I try to resist with all my might, but the strength of Naja, who has the training of a "Sword Saint," is incredibly powerful, and I can’t do anything against it.

Giving up on getting up and adjusting my sleeping position, I lower my slightly raised waist. Naja, seemingly satisfied, presses her face into my chest, mumbling, "Mnya... suu, suu..."

It seems Naja has fallen back into a deep sleep. I manage to free my left hand, which had been restrained by her, as she started snoring.

Sleeping with someone has its pros and cons. When you fall asleep, the reassurance of having someone next to you is invaluable. However, on the other hand, having someone else in what should be your personal space makes your sleep lighter. It seems Naja is immune to this drawback, but I think I’m in the majority.

"..."

When I roll over to face the other side, there is Aila, not in her usual maid uniform but in pajamas.

At first, she often slept in her maid uniform, but recently, she wears pajamas more often.

Stretching out a wrinkled maid uniform takes a lot of effort, and the comfort of sleeping in a maid uniform is clearly poor, so I’m glad she’s wearing pajamas.

Aila always wears her maid uniform. Even on her days off, which have become more frequent as the number of civil and military officials has increased, she still wears it.

If this is just my ego, it would be embarrassing... but I think she probably doesn’t want to change our current relationship. It’s not like she needs to worry about it. Aila is stubborn in strange ways.

"... suu... suu..."

Aila, who usually gives a stern impression, looks like a newborn baby when she’s asleep, which is quite cute.

Her usually stern expression is relaxed, making her look endearing. Being able to see this might be a perk of the job.

As I stare at her, she starts to look even younger. Although I don’t usually do this, thinking of her as a baby, I poke her cheek. Then... Aila suddenly opens her eyes!

"--- Wawa!?"

"Good morning, Woody-sama."

"Y-You were awake?"

"A maid wakes up if there is any abnormality."

"S-Such is the nature of a maid...?"

Maids are deep... As I feel guilty for waking her, Aila shakes her head slightly, as if reading my thoughts.

"It’s no problem. I was about to wake up in five minutes anyway."

She points to the sky, where the light of the rising sun is starting to invade the night.

"Y-You have an amazing internal clock..."

"I am a maid."

"S-Such is the nature of a maid...?"

When Aila says it, I start to think it might be true. Maids can do anything and are all-powerful... so everyone should become a maid...? No, my head is going in a weird direction because it’s still early in the morning.

"Please rest a little more, Woody-sama. I will wake you up again when everything is ready."

"Thanks, I’ll rest a little more..."

I close my eyes and let my body drift into a doze. When I slowly open my eyes to a slight noise, Aila has already changed out of her pajamas and is back in her usual maid uniform.

"Good night, Woody-sama..."

After seeing Aila bow slightly, I close my eyes again, ready to fall back into a comfortable sleep.

My name is Woody, formally Woody Adastria. I am the former heir of the Conrad Duke family and the current lord of the Adastria Viscount family, governing this region of Wenti.

Why I am in such a complicated position... simply put, it’s the result of family issues.

My father, the current Duke Conrad, has the potential for "Grand Magic."

Our Conrad family has expanded and protected our territory using this "Grand Magic." Therefore, in the Duke’s territory, military power is the most important.

Naturally, as the heir, I was expected to inherit "Grand Magic" and was educated from a young age. However, on the day of the blessing ceremony to receive the potential, I was granted the power of "Tree Planting," which allows me to plant trees.

In the Conrad family, where combat-related potentials are valued, production-related potentials are not given any importance. I was stripped of my position as heir, and my younger brother, Acid, took my place.

I was then ordered to green the desert and was thrown into the desert as a lord with almost no preparation.

Since then, many things have happened... Naja, who had broken off our engagement, came to the desert to chase after me, bringing a divine beast with her.

I thought I had successfully greened the territory using a sacred domain, but then Dark Elves and Elves came and caused some trouble.

I worked hard to protect the people and established my own family. It was discovered that my "Tree Planting" was not just a potential but a higher-level skill, and a particularly powerful one at that. I repelled Acid, who came in a rage... When I think about it, a lot has happened, hasn’t it?

Anyway, all those problems have been temporarily resolved, and now I can lead a relatively peaceful life.

Naja has become my official fiancée, and Aila is set to become my concubine. Has anything really changed? It doesn’t seem like there’s a big difference from before.

I still sleep in the same bed with Aila and Naja, just like before.

The days when a slight touch or a breath would make my heart race are long gone.

However, in exchange, there is a sense of comfort that I never felt before. It’s hard to say which is better, but since I’m happy now, I don’t need to rank them.

Naja and Aila still fight quite often... but every family is different. We three somehow manage to get along well.

As I think about these things, I fall asleep quickly.

---

I wrote a short story!

About a middle-aged man who realizes he has been reincarnated into a game world and makes his belated debut in a different world: "The Demon King has already been defeated... so, can I live as I please?"

You can access it via the link below. Please support it as well!