Chapter 13

Thank you for reading.

Regarding the parts that have been published in book form, I have intentionally left the typos, omissions, and additions as they are, hoping they might serve as reference material later on.

Please understand.

There are people who use the typo reporting function to proofread.

I decline any reports other than typos and omissions.

If it becomes too excessive, I will block them.

Please bear with me.

The blurry line between dream and reality tilts sharply towards reality as the morning sun penetrates my eyelids.

As my consciousness surfaces and commands my eyes to open, I see a ceiling adorned with rich colors.

This is...

"A ceiling I know..."

Because I see it every day.

Deciding to get ready, I try to sit up, but an intense pain and heaviness suddenly overwhelm my body.

What the heck!?

Trying to shout, I find an unusual weight in my abdomen that saps my strength.

Gritting my teeth, I manage to lift my aching body slightly and look at my abdomen.

There, under the blanket, is a mountain-like bulge.

What the heck!?

This is the second time this morning.

No, this definitely feels wrong.

I scold my creaking body and, for some reason, move my bandaged arm to pull back the blanket. There, I see something that looks like golden hair.

Hey, I don’t want to start the morning with a horror story.

As I tremble and look at the golden hair on my abdomen, a small hand suddenly appears. Then, that hand starts to squish my belly.

"Kyaa!? Stop squishing my bellyyyyyy!?"

Scary! Super scary!!

It’s scary enough that a hand grew out of the golden hair, but for it to squish my squishy belly is really scary!

Struggling with my aching body, I try to push away the golden-haired belly squisher when the door to the room opens with a loud bang.

"Fukuchou-kun!?"

"Waka-sama!?"

Mr. Romanov and Ms. Rottenmeier rush in, their faces pale, and freeze at the sight of me, who looks like a turtle flipped on its back.

Then, Ms. Rottenmeier raises her eyebrows at the sight of my swollen abdomen.

"What are you doing, Utsunomiya!?"

Utsunomiya? Who is that?

But more importantly...

"St-stop it! The golden-haired belly squisher is squishing my belly!"

Oh no!? No! Stop!?

My squishy belly is being squished with such force that I feel like a cow being milked.

"You did it again, just like last night...!"

"I'm so sorry!!"

At Ms. Rottenmeier's unusually raised voice, a slender girl with flaxen hair, who looks like she's about to cry, bows deeply. At her feet is Regulus, the golden-haired belly squisher, clinging tightly.

The scene seems familiar, and as I watch, Regulus suddenly detaches from the girl's feet and climbs onto the bed where I'm lying.

"Because you took your eyes off Regulus-sama last night, Waka-sama was injured! Without Waka-sama, how badly would Regulus-sama have been hurt, Utsunomiya!?"

"Yes! I'm really sorry!"

Mr. Romanov, with a serious expression, nods in agreement with Ms. Rottenmeier.

I can't make sense of the situation.

Twisting my neck, I see Regulus, sitting near my knees, tugging at my pajamas with his small hands.

"I'm hungry"

"Oh..."

His little stomach growls, expressing its dissatisfaction.

But the adults look scary, and the girl—Utsunomiya—looks like she's about to cry.

I don't have the courage to intervene.

Is there something I can do?

Looking around the room, I see a 'waist pouch' hanging on my coat rack.

I remember that I had put a peach given to me by the princess in it, thinking it wouldn't spoil over time.

Moving my bandaged, aching arm,

"Regulus, can you bring me the bag hanging on the coat rack?"

"Okay"

He toddles over to the coat rack, touches the waist pouch, and looks at me for confirmation. I nod, and he skillfully removes it from the rack and places it on my lap.

I put my hand into the largest opening to find the peach, and suddenly a window-like display floats in the air.

"What is this?"

"Huh?"

The window lists the items in the waist pouch: "Garden Shears," "Handkerchief," "Tissue Paper," and "Immortal Peach."

"Immortal Peach" must be the peach.

When I touch the display with my finger, the peach given to me by the princess pops out of the waist pouch.

"So this is an 'Item Box'"

Pretty convenient.

If it's this convenient, every household should have one.

The magic used is quite advanced, so it's not easy to get one, but I want one.

Anyway.

Regulus's hungry eyes are fixed on the peach.

But even though I've taken it out, the peach needs to be peeled before it can be eaten, and there's nothing to peel it with on the bed.

Thinking about what to do, I touch the peach, and it suddenly splits into bite-sized pieces.

What a considerate peach. I hurriedly take out the tissue paper, but the juice doesn't stain the paper.

Truly, the princess's peach.

It's probably designed so that the princess doesn't get her hands dirty when eating. Amazing!

I pinch a piece and open my mouth to feed it to Regulus.

The moment he takes a bite, his face lights up with joy.

No way! Stop it! The eyes of a beautiful child sparkle so much!

Beautiful people are scary!

The visual assault from such beauty up close makes me feel dizzy.

I feel a wave of dizziness and fall back onto the bed. I want to faint.

The beauty value of a beautiful child is too high, their eyes are painful, and my body is aching. It's a double whammy.

However, the beautiful child doesn't let me lose consciousness and opens his mouth like a baby bird in front of its parent.

Oh no! No more! This is why beautiful people are so troublesome!

Ignoring my distress, he continues to eat and swallow, eat and swallow, until the peach is down to the last piece.

I'm finally free.

When I, somewhat exhausted, try to offer the last piece to the beautiful baby bird, Regulus suddenly grabs the peach.

That's right, you should have eaten it yourself from the beginning. I wouldn't have been so tired.

Sighing, I wipe my hands with the tissue paper, and then Regulus presses the soft flesh of the peach against my lips.

"Huh!?"

"Mm!"

My lips are forced open by the peach, and the sweetness of the fruit reaches my tongue.

Before I can savor the indescribable aroma of the fruit, his slender fingers start to play with my tongue while crushing the flesh.

"Mmm... mmm... mmm..."

"Delicious?"

"Mmm...!"

Stop pushing your fingers so far into my mouth.

I think this as my consciousness starts to fade due to lack of oxygen.

Thank you for reading.