Chapter 55
The Imperial capital's academy, 「Aeterna」, was bustling with every family preparing for the admissions season.
Yet there was one place that drew an especially large share of attention.
It was the faculty housing district, located in a quiet area rather than among the student dormitories.
“Hup!”
I easily lifted a moving box with one hand and carried it away.
Bundles of belongings tightly tied with rope were spilling out of the carriage.
This was the professors' district, where ordinary students did not dare set foot.
And now a gigantic barbarian was unpacking his belongings in that sacred place, so passing students and faculty members stared at me in a daze.
“Over there... Who is that? Is he a professor?”
“Are you crazy? What professor would be that huge? He must be a porter.”
“But his clothes look far too expensive for a porter.”
Ignoring the whispers, I silently continued carrying the luggage.
Then an urgent voice came from the carriage passing behind me.
“Wait! Stop here.”
Screech.
“How’s the moving going, Varg? Are you moving everything by yourself?”
The carriage came to a stop, and Kairen got out.
Kairen rolled up his sleeves and approached me.
Then he pointed with his chin toward the servants who had followed him.
“I have more than enough porters on my side. If you need them, I’ll lend you a few, so don’t hesitate to ask.”
He had deliberately gotten out after seeing me carrying the luggage alone, before heading to his assigned quarters, intending to offer his assistance.
I shook my head and politely declined Kairen’s offer.
“No. This is my family’s luggage, so I should do it. Young Master, please take care of your brother.”
When I declined, Kairen gave my shoulder a light tap.
“Young Master? We’re undergraduates and classmates now. My brother wants that too, so treat me casually. You can even speak informally.”
“...That might be a bit much.”
Kairen was smiling brightly.
“Then… all right, Kairen.”
The obnoxious and arrogant young master from the original story had completely disappeared, leaving me with a dependable classmate and friend who simply called me by my name and tried to carry my luggage for me.
‘Not bad.’
I chuckled and lifted the last moving box.
Then I suddenly remembered what had happened in the dean’s office.
* * *
Our group was seated before Archimedes, the elderly dean of the academy's main building, who was famous for being extremely strict.
Karl, the valedictorian and eldest son of the Grand Ducal House.
Radiance, nominally a prince despite currently holding a professorship.
Eisen, the head of a prominent family in the Northgard Grand Duchy.
And me, whose sheer size alone made the dean's office feel cramped.
The dean looked at the combination that made his mouth go dry just from seeing it, then deliberately polished his already spotless glasses again.
“...So, the eldest son of the Northgard Grand Ducal House wishes to stay with the Young Master while recuperating?”
“That’s right, Dean.”
Karl calmly spoke from his wheelchair.
“My physical condition is not yet fully restored, so I wish to receive the academy infirmary’s advanced treatment. I would also like to share a room with my younger brother Kairen so that he can assist me.”
Karl’s justification was impeccable.
It was a request from one of the Empire’s greatest families, as well as a favor from a graduate who had once enjoyed the dean’s undivided favor.
The dean pondered for a moment, then nodded.
“Hmm... Given the eldest son's health problems, we can make an exception. Sibling affection is important as well, so I’ll assign you a special room near the infirmary.”
Up to that point, even the dean could accept the exceptional arrangement.
But then.
“And, Dean.”
Prince Radiance, who had been sitting crookedly on the sofa, opened his mouth to deliver the second bombshell that would leave the dean speechless.
“About Princess Elysia, who is enrolling this time.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Her Highness the Princess’s quarters have been prepared on the top floor of the girls’ dormitory. The security magic is also of the highest level....”
“No, she’ll be sharing it with me.”
“......?!”
The dean nearly broke the lens of the glasses he had been polishing endlessly.
“...Pardon?! Your Highness? What did you just say...?”
“Elysia and I will share the married faculty quarters.”
“Those are only assigned to married faculty members...!”
The dean sprang to his feet.
But Radiance pressed on with a stern expression.
His ears were still bright red, apparently from embarrassment.
“Elysia is threatened even within the imperial family because she’s an illegitimate child. Outsiders will be even more dangerous. If I, her older brother, don’t protect her by staying at her side, then who will? She must not leave my sight.”
“B-but even so.... A brother and sister living in the same room...!”
“If I can’t protect my one little sister, do I deserve to be called a prince? If anything happens to Elysia, will you take responsibility, Dean?”
The dean’s face turned ashen at the prince’s unreasonable demands.
Imperial siblings sharing a room?
Although incestuous marriages among the imperial family had disappeared, unlike in the early days of the Empire....
And the justification of protecting the princess was so firm that it was difficult to oppose him openly.
Taking advantage of the moment when the dean’s composure was wavering, Eisen joined in.
“Dean. What about the Wintersword couple?”
“...Pardon?”
“They are a legally married couple, and the lady is pregnant, so she absolutely needs stability. Since His Highness the Prince is setting a precedent of family members sharing quarters for a student’s safety, wouldn’t it be even more reasonable to provide a room to this married couple?”
“B-but... as I said before, there has never been a precedent for newly enrolled married students moving in together under the academy regulations. There are concerns about fairness and the possibility of discipline deteriorating....”
The dean broke into a cold sweat and made one last desperate attempt.
He wanted to somehow block the matter of the princess, and at least uphold the rules and maintain discipline in the case of this barbarian couple.
But then.
“Ah! That’s right, Sir Varg!”
Radiance suddenly gave my shoulder an exaggerated smack.
Loudly enough for the dean to hear every word.
“Your wife supposedly hasn’t been able to sleep at all lately? She’s so sensitive in the early stages of pregnancy that she can’t sleep a wink without her husband, and you’ve been worried sick!”
“...What?”
I was momentarily stunned as well.
Kara falls asleep the moment her head touches the pillow, though?
She sleeps too well—that’s the problem.
She was even snoring last night.
But Radiance pinched my side and winked at me.
“Besides, didn’t she brag to me yesterday that she could feel the baby moving? She said the baby kicked furiously whenever its father wasn’t around, and only calmed down after smelling its father’s scent!”
“......”
This was driving me insane.
What fetal movement could there be at six weeks?
The baby probably didn’t even have fingernails yet.
But I couldn’t deny it here.
I forced up the corners of my mouth and put on the expression of a family man carrying all the worries in the world.
“Ah... that’s right, Your Highness. Our little Yebbi was incredibly strong yesterday. My wife could hardly breathe unless I placed my hand on her belly... Haa... I’m truly worried.”
Even my clumsy acting made the dean’s eyes waver.
“Did you hear that, Dean? This concerns the health of the mother and fetus. It’s a matter of life and death!”
Radiance drove in the final nail.
“Are you really going to forsake your greatest duty over mere pride? Are you saying you can’t spare one room for this married couple?”
“B-but...!”
In the end, the dean raised the white flag.
“A-all right! I understand, so please! The Wintersword couple will be given married faculty quarters!”
* * *
“Phew....”
After moving all the luggage, I straightened my back.
The ordinary married faculty quarters assigned to us.
A three-story townhouse had become our new home.
It had been used by married professors, so it was incomparably more spacious and comfortable than the student dormitories.
“It worked out, Sir Varg! Faculty housing is much better than the student dormitories, isn’t it?”
Radiance and Karl approached from a distance after taking a walk while Kairen organized the quarters.
Radiance gave me a sly smile and raised his thumb the moment he saw me.
“With the baby kicking so hard, no bed is going to survive, huh? I wonder if the soundproofing is any good.”
“...It’s thanks to you, Your Highness.”
I let out a hollow laugh.
“You’ve worked hard. Thanks to you, we—and Her Highness the Princess—have both managed to settle in safely.”
Karl also smiled gently from his wheelchair.
Kairen had been assigned medical staff quarters, so he unpacked in the place closest to the infirmary.
As a result, he had to walk much farther than the other undergraduates to attend his lectures, but he laughed it off, saying that such a minor inconvenience did not matter if it meant he could stay beside his brother.
“We’re the ones who should be grateful. Without you two, we might have ended up with separate rooms.”
I sincerely bowed my head.
‘Getting tangled up with that Radiance guy is tiring, but...’
Still, the result was good, so whatever.
In any case, we had done it.
Without parting from Kara, we could begin academy life in the safest and most comfortable place available.
“Varg! Are you done moving everything?”
The second-floor window of the quarters assigned to Kara and me opened, and Kara poked her head out.
“Yeah! I’m coming up now!”
“Hurry! The terrace is really nice! Yebbi wants to see Daddy soon!”
Kara smiled brightly and waved.
Watching her, I clenched my fist.
This was our new home.
“Coming, my queen!”
I ran into the quarters with light steps.
* * *
“Is this it?”
I inserted the key into the lock and turned it.
The door opened with a click.
We had been assigned to Building 2, Room 201.
When the door opened, the scent of sunlight welcomed us.
While I had been bringing up the luggage from the first floor, Kara had come up ahead of me, aired out the place, and dusted it. Thanks to her, the distinctive dusty smell of a house left vacant for a long time had disappeared.
“Wow....”
It was far better than I had expected.
I had noticed it while taking a quick look around as I carried the luggage up and down, but it was on an entirely different level from the student dormitories, which were like cramped chicken coops.
The spacious living room had a fireplace.
There were two bedrooms.
There was also a small but fully equipped kitchen and bathroom.
Most of all, I liked the natural light.
Warm sunlight from the south streamed deep into the house through the living room’s large windows.
“Wow, it’s bigger than I expected. We would have been in serious trouble if we’d gone to the student dormitories.”
It was large enough that even I, a huge man, could move around without feeling cramped.
Kara seemed to like it as well, so she approached the window and drew back the curtains.
“Exactly. It had to be this big for all our belongings to fit. It gets plenty of sunlight, and it’s close to the forest too... I should thank the eldest young master as well.”
“Right? Power really is nice.”
We stood in the middle of the empty living room and looked around our new home with satisfaction.
This would be the first home where we watched our little Yebbi grow bigger and kick impatiently to see Mommy sooner.
If all went according to schedule, we might even get to see Yebbi’s face.
A warm, fuzzy feeling spread through my chest.
But there was no time to indulge in sentiment.
A mountain of luggage was still waiting for us outside the front door.
“Come on, let’s get to work!”
I rolled up my sleeves.
The serious unpacking began.
The first problem we had to solve was assigning the rooms.
Given the layout, the large room farther inside seemed intended as the bedroom, while the small room near the entrance was meant to be used as a study or nursery.
“So, we’ll use the large room as our bedroom... What should we do with the small one?”
When I asked while stroking my chin, Kara answered as though it were obvious.
“What’s there to think about? Just shove all the luggage in.”
“Huh? We’re not going to use it as a study or nursery?”
“It’ll be a long time before our little Yebbi is born anyway. And....”
Kara narrowed her eyes and grabbed my arm.
“I can’t even imagine sleeping apart from you. Separate rooms are absolutely forbidden.”
“Ha ha, of course not. I don’t like it either.”
We reached an agreement without the slightest hesitation.
In the end, the small room was designated as a dressing room and storage room.
“Hup!”
I carried the boxes of belongings that had been packed up for us in Eisengard into the small room.
There were so many of them that the room was filled in no time.
I stacked the boxes neatly one on top of another.
Once I had filled the room from floor to ceiling without leaving a gap, it looked more like a warehouse than a room.
“Good, the storage room is done. Now for the master bedroom.”
We headed to the master bedroom.
A single bed had been provided.
It was an Empire-standard double bed, large enough for an ordinary couple to use comfortably, but....
“......”
I lay down on the bed to test it.
“......My feet are going to get cold.”
My feet stuck out from the ankles down past the mattress, floating in midair.
Besides, once I lay down, there was barely any room left beside me.
If I slept with Kara like this, she would obviously roll onto the floor if I so much as thrashed in my sleep.
“This won’t do.”
Kara shook her head and headed for the small room that had become our storage room.
“Let’s put this next to it.”
Then she dragged over the bed that had also been provided with the small room.
“Oh, you’re a genius.”
We pushed it up against the existing bed.
The heights were slightly different, but....
“We can cover it.”
Once we spread the enormous bear hide and fur blanket we had brought from Norheim over both mattresses, we couldn’t feel the difference in height at all.
“Perfect.”
I sprawled out on the bed.
My feet no longer stuck out, and I couldn’t reach the edge even when I rolled sideways.
Kara lay down beside me and rolled around.
“Wow, it’s really spacious! We could wrestle here!”
“Wrestling... That’s a good idea.”
I grinned lewdly and pulled Kara into my arms.
I was already looking forward to the passionate nights we would spend on this bed.
By the time we had roughly finished sorting the larger belongings, the sun was setting.
I wiped away my sweat and straightened my clothes.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to greet the neighbors.”
“Ah, that’s right. This is shared housing.”
In other words, there were other people living upstairs, downstairs, and next door.
The most terrifying enemy in shared housing: noise between floors.
Especially with a gigantic barbarian like me stomping around, a confrontation would be unavoidable if the downstairs neighbor happened to be irritable.