“Oh! How scrumptious! It’s almost as good as Lucia’s!”
“Well, that’s only natural, grandfather!”
“...Has your sense of taste dulled, father?”
The emperor of Regulus merrily tucked into the meal Arcia had cooked for him, caring little for the harsh words his daughter had thrown his way. As a mother and as a cook, she clearly found his praise a little too generous.
“Wow! That’s Holy Sword Lestia! Can I touch it, grandfather?!”
“Oh, of course! Just be careful.”
“M-Me next! Frei, let me touch it next!”
The former king of Lestia handed his blade over to Frei as the king of Felsen looked on with envious eyes.
The reason why the king of Felsen was here was because his bride, Ellicia, was the emperor of Regulus’s second daughter. In other words, he and his wife were uncle and aunt to Arcia...which also made them my siblings-in-law.
He was definitely on a more similar wavelength to Frei than Arcia, though. The two of them were weapon maniacs. I didn’t really know how to feel about the former king strutting around with Lestia’s Holy Sword either... That was technically the current king, Reinhard’s, property, after all.
Hilde and Ellicia looked at the two weapon enthusiasts with exhausted eyes.
“...I guess I’m just used to it at this point.”
“Same here.”
I wondered if they were talking about the weapon collecting hobby in general, or just how the two of them were behaving.
We were all gathered in Brunhild Castle. From the Regulus party, there was the emperor of Regulus, Crown Prince Lux, Second Princess Ellicia, and her husband King Felsen. Then from Lestia, there was the former king and queen of Lestia, King Reinhard, and old Galen. It was basically all of Frei and Arcia’s close family.
Lu did have another sister named Felicia. Apparently, she was married to some noble or other in Regulus. I didn’t invite her because she wasn’t really close to our family and didn’t really come to our conferences. In fact, I’d only met her once in my life... That was why I thought it might be a bit too shocking for her to meet her niece from the future completely unprompted. According to Arcia, they barely interacted even in the future.
“Ho ho ho! I never thought I’d meet my great-grandchild so soon. I feel invigorated enough to live another twenty years!” Galen exclaimed as he snapped a photo of Frei on his phone.
From what I’d heard, he was doing well in the future. Maybe he was in such a good mood because he knew he wasn’t gonna die soon... Perhaps being a massive pervert was somehow the secret to longevity. We were all happily eating food prepared by Lu and Arcia and playing with the kids from the future. I was just glad they’d all taken the news so easily.
“I’m quite surprised to have a niece from the future, though... I guess when it comes to your lot, common sense goes out the window.”
“Ha ha ha... I guess it does, sorry...”
I didn’t quite know what to say to Reinhard, who was probably a bit troubled by all this.
“Well, no matter. I’ve been meaning to talk to you about an incident in Lestia... Something similar to your tale happened in one of our southern fishing hamlets. Namely, a town named Evra.”
The tale Reinhard was referring to was my incident with the Fishmen. I wanted to figure out how far this might have spread, so I mentioned it to the other world leaders, only to discover that there were similar stories from all over the world. Even Lestia, apparently.
“The settlement of Evra was beset by a handful of these fish creatures you spoke of. There were no casualties, but several of the people attacked were infected, and after a short time, they transformed into similar fishlike creatures and waded away into the water.”
Those who are bitten or scratched by the Fishmen turn into Fishmen themselves... It sounds like a plot from some zombie horror flick, but it’s unfortunately real. Those poor villagers...
I wondered what the wicked devout hoped to achieve. Was the Ark they’d stolen somewhere under the sea? Maybe they were using it as a base to deploy the Fishmen...? But then, why transform people? I could only assume it was related to their need for negative emotions. Fear and despair were common negative feelings, and they’d be ripe in the people who knew their bodies were about to become something horrific and inhuman. Perhaps they planned to weave mass confusion and fear into the world...
I made a mental note to put out warnings to all the coastal villages, but I couldn’t help but be frustrated. When it was the wicked god, it was just golden Skeletons I had to worry about, but now there were these irritating Fishmen.
Brunhild was a landlocked nation, so I didn’t have to worry about my nation at least. Sure, we had dungeon islands that were surrounded by open water, but I wasn’t worried about them being attacked because I had a Kraken that regularly patrolled the waters.
I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of laughing children.
“Grandfather, this meal’s good for your health!”
“Ohhh, how lovely! Let me try it... Ah, delicious!”
“Grandpa, tell me about the legend of our ancestor!”
“Mmm... When our mighty forebear hefted the sacred sword, he scaled the mountain and found the dragon’s roost, and then...”
I couldn’t help but chuckle as I saw the emperor of Regulus and the former king of Lestia doting on their grandkids. They clearly couldn’t resist the cuteness, and I couldn’t blame them. I remembered my own grandfather doting on me in much the same way.
I’d probably be the same with Arcia and Frei’s kids... Though, that was surely way in the future. The idea frightened me.
“I’m not gonna let them get married anytime soon, that’s for sure...”
“Good grief, Grand Duke... You’re thinking about that already?” Reinhard asked as he raised a brow in response to my muttering.
Sh-Shut up! You’ve gotta think about these things when you have kids!
“What about you, Reinhard? Any children on the horizon?”
“Oh, well... Not yet...”
I’d met his wife, Sophia, at the wedding...but she wasn’t here today. Apparently, she wasn’t feeling very well. She was a bit of a frail woman.
“Kids are the best...especially daughters!”
“You might be a bit biased on that front, Grand Duke...”
“I think he is. But I know what he means. Seeing my own daughter inspires me.”
“I suppose so! Ah, hm? W-Wait, Crown Prince?! When did you get here?!” Reinhard’s surprised outburst made me turn to the side. There, holding a glass of champagne, was Crown Prince Lux of Regulus. He had a small frown on his otherwise plain face.
“I’ve been here the whole time...” Lux mumbled. It sounded like he was about to cry.
I hadn’t noticed him at all. Reinhard hadn’t noticed him either, apparently. The man just had no presence, so it wasn’t our fault. Frankly, I wondered if he’d do well as the next emperor.
I felt a little awkward, so I quickly tried to shuffle the topic along.
“So, Crown Prince...you have a daughter?”
“I do, with one of my concubines. It was thanks to that peculiar medicine you supplied.”
Oh, the pills I gave to the king of Belfast and Duke Ortlinde... Now I remember, Emperor Regulus wanted some for his son. But damn, three babies came from those pills... It’s pretty effective stuff. I should look into selling it.
“When I see my daughter smile, I’m inspired to work hard. I’d like to keep her safe, after all.”
“Yeah, I feel you. I completely understand. It’s the same for me.”
“Tch... You two...” Reinhard grumbled a little at Lux and I talking about our children.
...Whoops, maybe I took it a bit far.
At that moment, Reinhard’s phone began to vibrate. It seemed he’d gotten a text.
“Oh, it’s from my wife... Let’s see h— Aaah!”
All eyes fell upon Reinhard at the sound of his peculiar scream. I had no idea what was wrong.
“Something wrong, Reinhard?”
“F-Father... Sophia... She’s pregnant...”
“What?! Really?!”
“Goodness! Goodness me!”
“That’s amazing, Reinhard!”
“Congratulations, brother!”
Wow, the Lestians sure are excited. Sophia’s gonna have a baby. That’s awesome! Reinhard’s gonna be a dad.
The former king of Lestia held a glass of champagne high up.
“Cheers to my second grandchild!”
“Grandfather, I’m your second grandchild! Bea was born before me, rememb—? Ah... Eek!”
“Bea?!”
Frei accidentally let her mouth run a little too far, causing the Lestian party to erupt into chaos.
“U-Uhm... Father! Help!” Frei yelped as she glanced over at me. But really, what was I supposed to do?
“Well...Tokie definitely isn’t here, so it’s probably fine... Anyway, who’s this Bea?”
“Uncle Reinhard and Sophia’s daughter... Her name’s Beatrice... She’s my cousin...”
In other words, that was the child Reinhard was now expecting... He’d just had the name and gender spoiled.
“Beatrice... Beatrice... Yes, what a name... My daughter... Oh, my daughter!”
Reinhard was happy, which was all that really mattered. Besides, he’d presumably named her that himself in the future...so it was probably gonna be a name he’d like anyway.
“Grand Duke, I must apologize...but can I go home now?!”
“Oh, sure. Go right ahead.”
“Thank you!” Reinhard exclaimed as he charged through the [Gate] connecting to Lestia at full pelt. I could understand his feelings.
“What a restless boy... He should be calmer. His child’s coming!”
“Are you sure, dear? I seem to recall you jumping for joy when we had Reinhard... You’re the same as him, if you ask me.”
“Hrmph...”
Everyone laughed at the exchange between the former king and queen.
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