In a Different World with a Smartphone (LN) - Volume 24 - Chapter 4.1

Chapter IV: Grandparents and Grandchildren

“Now then, a toast to our troupe’s success...”

“Cheers!” On Theatro’s command, the circus members all raised their glasses and cheered.

After they’d spent a week performing in Brunhild, we invited the troupe to the special entertainment room in our castle. Naturally, we prepared food and drink for them as well.

Power, Theatro, Prima, and all the other members of the circus were now making merry with one another. I didn’t think serving them alcohol in the afternoon would be a good idea, but I ended up allowing it, since it was a rare opportunity for them to unwind and all.

“G-Grand Duke, I really must thank you from the bottom of my heart... We all owe you a great debt...”

“Don’t worry about it. If anything, this is just how we’re thanking you for entertaining our citizens. We’d love to have you back here any time.”

The ringleader bowed to me, but I quickly cleared any concerns he might’ve had.

Power then raised his voice and said, “Hear that? It’s all good. So come and eat your fill, boss! Don’t be shy! It’d be a waste not to stuff yourself silly when the food’s all free!”

“C-Come now, Power... Don’t act so casually in royal company!”

Just as the ringleader started to panic about Power’s perceived rudeness, Theatro came sauntering over with a big smile on his face and said, “Don’t you worry about thaaat, bossman... In fact, our darling Touya here is actually family. We’re among friends.”

“Is...? Is that right?”

Technically, I guess... Guess it’s fine so long as they don’t claim we’re siblings. But yeah, we’re more or less relatives, so this is fine.

The ringleader was a little concerned with how casually Theatro was acting around me, but he eventually came to terms with it and went on to enjoy the drinks with his fellow performers.

Yumina and the rest of my wives were all present, along with Karen and the more godly members of my family, but my children weren’t. I didn’t think it was appropriate to have them come to a place where there’d be alcohol flowing freely.

The goddess of alcohol, however, was here...despite her childish looks.

“Nyaaa ha ha ha ha ha ha! Delicious! What’ll I have necsht?!” Suika, the hellish creature she was, exclaimed as she chugged her booze like it was water... Apparently, she didn’t realize this wasn’t a celebration for her. By her side sat Prima, who casually swirled a glass of wine around in her hand.

Theatro walked over toward them, that smile still wide on his face, and said, “Seems you’re all having fun, then. I never thought you’d be so happy down in the mortal realm.”

“And how are you enjoying your stay?”

“Oh, it’s just fabulous, darling! I haven’t taken a break in tens of thousands of years, so I’m making the most of it now! When I go back to the divine realm, I’m sure I’ll be speaking of this trip for centuries.”

...You’ve been working for that long? That’s pretty intense... Hell, maybe a little too intense. Then again, I guess gods don’t really treat it like a job or anything. It’s not like they get paid. It’s more like the role they’re here to fill, like a purpose.

“You should’ve brought your children, Touya darling. I’d have loved to have met them!”

“It’s a bit of a private function, so I didn’t want my kids running around bugging the staff. You’ll be able to see them when you guys leave.”

The troupe was going to spend the next day dismantling their tent, then they’d be leaving the day after. Their next stop was Belfast, apparently. I hoped that Yumina’s little brother would get to see the show... Though given he was only one, he’d hardly be able to appreciate it.

“How are you adjusting, by the by? It’s a big responsibility to care for a whole world, and you’re only a newcomer at that...”

“To be honest, it’s been pretty rough... Luckily, I’ve got Karen and the others backing me up, so I’m getting there.”

I didn’t really know what I was meant to be doing with this world. It was a lot easier to think about when there was a defined threat like the Phrase or the wicked god.

“If this world ends up lost, we’ll lose our prime vacation destination, darling. Make sure you do your best to keep it safe!”

“Yeah, I’ll try...”

Ugh... Don’t pressure me so hard!

“I can’t lie, darling. I’ve seen some strange things in my travels. You may well want to keep vigilant.”

“Strange things?”

“Vestiges of the wicked god, darling. I’m sure they’re up to something quite insidious... But that’s not my territory, now is it? I’m afraid my hands are quite tied.”

The wicked devout... Guess it makes sense that Theatro and the others wouldn’t act against them even if they saw something weird. It’s my mess to clean up, just like God Almighty told me.

“I’ll be sure to let you know if I see anything particularly concerning in my travels, don’t you worry about that!” Theatro exclaimed as he spun on his heel and sauntered off toward his colleagues, offering me a flowery little wave as he went on his way.

The stolen Ark... The Fishmen on that island... The wicked devout are definitely up to something bad here...but what’s their endgame? Are they trying to resurrect the wicked god? Are they trying to birth a new one? Whatever their plan is, I’m not gonna let them disturb the peace of this world, not when it’s finally coming together. I’ll have to destroy them.

There wasn’t exactly much I could do until I had a better idea of their movements, however.

“Touya...”

“Touya?”

I was snapped out of my postulating by the sudden arrival of Elze and Linze, who’d shown up with smiles on their faces.

“Oh, hey, you two. Is the party going okay?”

“Oh, it’s going great. Way easier than dealing with nobles. Wish they were all like this.”

Elze wasn’t very fond of the parties I usually hosted. She liked parties, she just didn’t like the formalities associated with our royal guests. Whenever I hosted my international meetings, she had to be there, the fact that she was a grand duchess of Brunhild weighing down on her all the while. It was a lot of stress for her to handle.

Linze had gotten used to it, thankfully. She was a much more shy girl in normal circumstances, but she treated the meetings like playing a role. She wasn’t just Linze during such formal occasions, she was the grand duchess. Though, that was still part of who she was now.

“I wish our children were here...”

“No way... It’s basically lunchtime and everyone’s already drunk... It’d set a bad example,” I said as I shook my head at Linze’s lamentation. I could already spy a few acrobats drunkenly trying to do flips.

In this world, drinking wasn’t so frowned upon. People often started as early as fifteen. I was concerned that by bringing my kids here, they’d get interested too early. I didn’t exactly want to influence them into becoming alcoholics.

Fortunately, my wives mostly shared my attitude toward alcohol. Only Leen and Lu drank. In Leen’s case, she enjoyed the occasional glass of wine...while in Lu’s case, she would sometimes taste alcohol for taste-testing purposes when coming up with new dishes.

“They’re not gonna cause trouble, are they?”

“Nah, don’t worry about that. I’ve got Kohaku and the others looking after them.”

Kohaku and the heavenly beasts were with them, along with Albus for good measure. They were on strict orders to contact me telepathically if anything went wrong.

“Where are the kids, anyway?”

“Oh, they’re fine too. They went to Parent. I sent them off with some pocket money.”

Parent was a popular hangout spot, and it was owned by my old friend Aer. I felt it was fine for my kids to go hang out there. It wasn’t like they could get in a huge amount of trouble. Though, I did hope they weren’t too noisy, since it’d be bad if they bugged the other customers.

...You know what, maybe I am worried. Maybe I should leave early and go pick them up...

◇ ◇ ◇