Chapter 17

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Regarding the parts that have been published in book form, I have intentionally left the typos and corrections as they are, thinking that they might serve as reference material for future readers.

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There was a lot of heated debate and argument.

Somehow, the parents reached an agreement, and the next day, they had disappeared from the mansion.

Father, when he left, apparently told Mr. Utsunomiya, "If you get bullied by the swallowtail butterflies, be sure to contact me," which made Mr. Utsunomiya even more indignant.

Mother, on the other hand, apparently managed to secure a substantial amount of child support until Regulus comes of age, and she returned with a slightly better expression. It seems that I am now the only bad debt in this house.

As for me, I used my head too much during that discussion and ended up running a fever and spending a whole day in bed.

The next day, I resumed my daily walk.

I thanked Princess for the peach and told her about the new addition to the family, and I got permission to bring Regulus along for the walk.

Gods are not supposed to show themselves to people so easily, but I am responsible for Regulus's education. When I explained this, she said, "It sounds interesting, so bring him along."

So, I decided to bring Regulus along for the morning walk and had to think of a task for him.

I spread a large sheet of paper on the desk and drew lines with a ruler to make palm-sized squares. I then cut out several sheets of paper of the same size with scissors.

The cultural level of this world is quite mysterious; they have stoves, ovens, refrigerators, and even showers and baths that work with magic stones, but they don't have origami or chiyogami.

But isn't origami the foundation of children's educational toys!?

The 'me' who was Japanese barked in the corner of my heart.

Fortunately, paper is not that expensive, and something that can be easily obtained by a noble's son.

If there's no origami, I'll just make it! So, I made it myself.

I folded one of the cut papers diagonally to make a triangle. Repeating this, I made a crane, which is familiar to Japanese people.

I put it in my waist pouch with the paper and scissors as a sample.

Then, I changed into a blouse and pants, rang the bell by the bed to call Ms. Rottmayr.

My daily routine is back, and now Regulus and Mr. Utsunomiya are added to it.

Nothing has really changed.

Holding Regulus's hand, we walked to the inner garden, singing.

While Regulus and I were walking, Mr. Utsunomiya was supposed to learn the duties of a servant in the Kikunoi household from Ms. Rottmayr.

After that, Mr. Utsunomiya would do laundry and cleaning for Regulus's care, and Regulus would learn the household's work from me and the other residents. In the afternoon, I would teach Regulus what I learned from Mr. Romanov, and when Regulus got tired, he would take a nap. I would use this time to indulge in my hobbies, and in the evening, I would take lessons from Mr. Romanov. It's a pretty tight schedule, but the hard part is for Regulus, as I've been doing this for a while.

As I sang, the animals appeared one by one, and we arrived at the inner garden, where, as expected, a large peony was in bloom.

When it swayed, a beautiful woman appeared with a breeze and light.

"Good morning, Princess."

"Good morning!"

I bowed deeply, and Regulus, holding the hem of his blouse, bowed his head politely.

"Um, raise your face."

"Yes."

Obediently raising his head, Regulus's golden hair swayed. It looked like a chick, and apparently, Princess thought the same.

"Hmm, is this chick your brother?"

"Yes. Regulus, say hello?"

"Ba-nshtayn-ke-no, Regulus desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

"Ah, Kikunoi Regulus Bernstein... I see."

So, his father's family name is Bernstein. I didn't even know that. Come to think of it, I don't know my mother's or father's names either. I'll have to ask Ms. Rottmayr later.

Anyway.

I handed the mat I brought in my waist pouch to Regulus and had him sit on it.

My singing time is quite long, so standing would be tiring.

"Well, what shall we sing today?"

"Hmm..."

Princess likes love songs and hymns, but she especially enjoys songs with a story.

As I waited for Princess's response, her thin silk fan gently rose.

"Child, what do you have in your bag?"

"Bag?"

Scissors, handkerchief, origami, and a memo pad. I don't remember putting anything strange in it.

As I was puzzled, Princess pointed to my waist pouch with shining eyes.

"Look, that! A bird made of paper...!"

"Oh, an origami crane?"

"An origami crane, you say? Show it to me."

She was really interested.

So, I took the origami crane out of my pouch and placed it on Princess's even whiter hand. She examined the crane closely and her eyes sparkled even more.

"Is this made only of paper?"

"Yes. Um, would you like to see how it's made?"

"Alright, I'll watch. Start making it."

So, I sat down next to Regulus on the mat and took a sheet of paper from my pouch.

Folding it diagonally, I hummed a tune as I made mountain and valley folds.

At first, Regulus watched my hands curiously, but as the paper was folded and took shape, his eyes began to sparkle.

"Here, it's done!"

The crane rolled onto my palm, and both Princess and Regulus focused their gaze on it.

I pinched the paper wings and spun them around, and it was cute to see them both admiring it.

It might be disrespectful to call a god cute, but I couldn't help but smile.

Then, Princess cleared her throat.

"I'll keep this."

"Wh-What!? B-But that's..."

"What? I said I'll take it."

"But it's just paper! If you have prettier paper, I can make a better one..."

"What kind of pretty paper?"

"Um, like, the patterns on Princess's kimono, or flower patterns, maybe?"

"Alright, wait two or three days!"

With that, Princess disappeared like smoke.

Huh? What about today's song?

Since there was no other choice, that day I sang some energetic anime songs with Regulus as my audience and went home.

Thank you for reading.