Reunion with My Family

I arranged for a mage known as the Dragon Slayer to seek asylum from the Empire. His true identity was a Japanese man named Akira.

Yes, he was someone who, like me, had been transported here from our original world. He was accompanied by another mage, Reiran of the Night Crow.

Three others came with them, making five people in total who had sought asylum from the Empire.

Even so, this wasn't the sort of major event it would have been in our original world. The borders were vague, and security was lax.

This was a world without aircraft, surveillance cameras, or anything of the sort, so they had successfully sought asylum simply by climbing over a wall.

Still, if an ordinary person tried to do this without any cheat abilities, it would surely involve considerable danger.

After collecting the greatsword from the dwarves' shop, we returned to the main road.

It seemed the dwarves might come and settle near our house as well.

It wasn't decided yet, but if I was granted the land and became a noble, I would have to build a mansion there too—and if that happened, the surrounding forest would be cleared and people would begin gathering there.

Then a town would form. It was hard to believe, but that was really what was going to happen.

We got into the car and headed for the ducal residence.

After returning to my family for the first time in several days, I found a group of beastfolk gathered in front of the ducal residence.

They were probably there for the Forest Cat again. I honked the car's horn and leaned out the window to ask the beastfolk to move aside.

We crossed the bridge over the moat and finally reached the magnificent gate of the ducal residence.

"Hello. I'm back."

After greeting the gatekeeper, he opened the gate for us.

I turned the steering wheel to the left and headed toward the place where our house had been set up.

Everyone was sitting at the table outside. The duke's son seemed to be there too, but he appeared to be doing something at the table.

Perhaps he was playing the backgammon I had left behind.

"Hey!"

"Oh, Kenichi is back, nya."

"See? I told you the boss would be fine."

"You're the one who was worried the most, Tora."

"Urk!"

I could hear them talking, and apparently they had been worried because I had taken so long.

I stopped the car and let Akira and the others out.

"Kenichi!"

Anemone and the princess ran up and hugged me.

"Why are you hugging me too, Lilith?"

"You are my holy knight. Is it not only natural for me to hug you?"

"Princess Lilith, people will start spreading strange rumors..."

"Kenichi! The reason this journey was so much fun and I never had to worry about anything was because you were there!"

Well, with my Shangri-La and Item Box, there wasn't much to worry about.

Then Bell came over too, rubbing and wriggling her body against my legs over and over.

"The moment you disappeared, I was overcome by endless anxiety! I never want to be separated from you again!"

"Even if you say that, once we return to the castle..."

But the princess continued hugging me tightly.

"Princess Lilith, putting that aside, please deal with this first."

The princess saw the guests I had brought and let go of me.

"Surely, Kenichi, these people are...?"

"The Forest Cat-sama!"

When Myaa knelt before Bell, Myaree shouted.

"Whaaa?! Kenichi! What is that woman?!"

"Calm down, Myaree. This beastfolk is his companion. I have nothing to do with her."

"R-really, nya?"

I ignored Myaree's suspicions and introduced Akira and the others to the princess.

"Everyone, show proper respect! This is Her Highness Princess Lilith Lara Kadan of the Kadan Kingdom. And this is His Lordship, the son of Duke Rainlily."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Akira and the others knelt and prostrated themselves before introducing themselves.

"I am Akira, an Imperial Court Mage."

"Princess Lilith, he is the 'Dragon Slayer.'"

The princess and the duke's son stared at him in astonishment.

"W-what?! You really brought him here to seek asylum?"

"Yes—and this is..."

Next, I introduced Reiran-san. The duke's son's eyes were fixed on her enormous breasts, straining against her sweater.

"I am also an Imperial mage, Reiran."

Nyamena reacted to those words.

"What?! Reiran—could you be Reiran of the Night Crow, boss?!"

"That's right, Nyamena."

"What?! Boss, you brought someone that important here too?!"

Well, Reiran of the Night Crow was a very famous mage.

"Yeah, I did."

"Good heavens, even Reiran of the Night Crow... How did you manage that?"

"I never expected it either—but she was Akira's partner."

"Good heavens..."

The other three introduced themselves as well.

"Myaa, nya."

"I am the knight of Nieselregenstadt, Clementina von Strahlenderkreuz."

"I am a noble of Midal Wasserfallstadt, Annerose von Auntausen-Ameise."

"The other two are Imperial nobles, then? Welcome to the Kingdom. You are all welcome here."

I was surprised when I heard the women's introductions. Annerose had far too much dignity to be a merchant's wife.

"What?! Annerose-san, you're really a former noble? How did you end up married to a merchant?"

"I'll explain that later."

Judging from Akira's reaction, there seemed to be some reason for it.

But putting that aside for now, I needed to have lodging prepared for our guests.

"In that case, Your Lordship, could you have rooms prepared in the ducal residence for these people to stay in?"

"Of course! I'll have them prepared right away."

The duke's son immediately gathered the maids of the ducal residence and began making preparations.

The women looked relieved when they heard that. They must have wanted to rest their bodies, exhausted from life on the run, take a bath, and sleep in soft beds.

"So Kenichi has a black beastfolk too."

"She even ends her sentences with 'nya.'"

"If we put it in terms we would use, their character types overlap."

"But this Myaree has a white belly. And if you look closely, she's not black-furred—she has stripes."

"Oh, you're right. There are stripes mixed into the black fur. Huh..."

Myaree was extremely wary of Akira's gaze as he looked her over from head to toe.

Myaa was a completely black cat, while Myaree had a white belly.

"Bosses—this Blackie has a white belly, but she's black on the inside, you know?"

"Nyahaha."

Myaree laughed without denying it. Perhaps she was aware that she was black-hearted herself.

"Kenichi, is that little building your house?"

"Yeah. I built it so I could put it in my Item Box, which means I can carry it anywhere."

"Your luggage and furniture are in your Item Box, so even that is enough for you..."

Akira looked at my house, resting a hand on his chin as he groaned. His Item Box couldn't hold that house.

"Exactly."

"Kenichi, I'll stay over here."

"What? My family fills that house, so you'd have to use a tent and sleeping bag."

"That's enough for me. Those glittering beds in noble mansions aren't really my thing."

"Yeah, I feel the same way. Even when I was in Japan, I always slept on a hard futon..."

"Still, I'd really like to take a bath soon..."

I explained the bath at our house to Akira.

"What? You even have a bath?"

"We use that little building over there as a bathhouse. The tub is like the unit baths commonly found in Japan, though..."

"That's plenty. Do you heat the water with magic?"

"Yeah."

"I also dug a hole in the ground, piped in water, and took baths that way. Hahaha."

Akira seemed to have had a pretty difficult time as well. But no matter the circumstances, Japanese people always found a way to take a bath.

He used his ingenuity and somehow managed it.

"Anemone—here! Your new grimoire."

"Wow!"

I gave Anemone the grimoire for Holy Shield, and she jumped for joy.

"Kenichi. Is that girl your main wife, you lolicon count?"

"Don't joke around. She's obviously my main wife. Right, Mom?"

"Nyaa."

Bell came over to my feet, so I gently stroked her shining black fur.

"Seriously...? Y-your furry level is way too high..."

"Kenichi and the others are talking about things I don't understand, nya."

"That guy is from the same homeland as our boss, so I suppose it's some kind of hometown accent."

As I stroked Bell's back together with Akira...

Primula came over, looking exasperated by our joking-or-serious conversation.

"Honestly, Kenichi! Stop having conversations that aren't even funny."

"This is my actual main wife, Primula. She and her mother are both business geniuses, and I expect them to eventually rank among the Kingdom's top businesspeople."

"Amazing! She's got an impressive level too."

"Heh heh heh—she can't compete with Reiran-san, of course, but these breasts are pretty impressive too, aren't they?"

"Yeah, they're something else."

Perhaps unable to endure the gazes of the two middle-aged men staring at her chest, Primula covered herself and let out a shriek.

"Eek! Honestly, that's enough!"

"There are middle-aged men here, nya."

"We've got middle-aged men here."

We were middle-aged men, so what could we do about it?

"Reiran told me to tell you to stop making middle-aged-man jokes, Akira, nya."

"Don't put it that way, Myaa. When two middle-aged guys get together, the middle-aged-guy behavior really gets out of hand, huh?"

"Well, we can't help it—especially since we're probably about the same age. How old are you, Akira?"

"I was thirty-six when I was transported here, and two years have passed, so thirty-eight... I guess."

"Then we're the same age."

After two years of hovering between life and death, anyone would be sick of it.

I asked Nyamena about the beastfolk outside the moat.

"Nyamena, have the beastfolk outside been there this whole time?"

"Yeah. Sometimes Blackie takes the Forest Cat to greet them, but their numbers never decrease."

"The offerings have piled up this much too, nya."

What they showed us was a barrel full of small coins. Primula had apparently procured the barrel for them.

Akira murmured when he saw it.

"Ohhh, I knew beastfolk worshipped the Forest Cat, but believers sure are profitable."

"You said exactly the same thing I did."

The princess interrupted our conversation.

"You two should not collect too many small coins through the Forest Cat. If the country recognizes it as a heresy, it will organize a force to stamp it out."

"Oh! 'Heaven forbid'..."

Akira shrugged, but 'heaven forbid' probably wouldn't make any sense here either.

While I was talking with Akira, the duke's son returned with the maids.

"Everyone, the rooms are ready."

"Then, Princess Lilith, you'll want to question them, right?"

The princess looked slightly troubled by my words.

"I want to stay with you..."

"Wouldn't it be better for women to question women? As women, they'll have things they can discuss and ask that we couldn't."

"Well... I suppose that's true..."

"I'll hear Akira's story myself."

"You wouldn't leave me behind and run away, would you?"

Here we go again. Did she really think I would run away with Akira, simply because we came from the same homeland?

"Akira would never abandon his family and run away. Reiran-san of the Night Crow is the love of his life, you know?"

"That's exactly right, Your Highness."

"..."

The princess looked as though she was both convinced and unconvinced by Akira's words, then headed into the ducal residence.

In reality, neither the duke nor I would make suitable conversation partners for a woman.

"Akira, we're staying here, nya."

"Well, it might be a little problematic for beastfolk to enter a noble's residence."

Akira was right. Myaa, being beastfolk, would remain here, while the princess and Reiran-san led the maids toward the residence.

The duke's son led the long line of women.

Akira seemed to have given Reiran-san the black dress she had originally been wearing.

"Kenichi, dealing with people of such exalted status must be difficult."

Akira murmured while watching the princess's back.

"She's still just a child. I can't say that in front of her, though. What was your Emperor like?"

"Very detached. She must have been around fourteen when I met her, so she's sixteen now."

"Did she ever act like a child?"

"Not at all. If your own mother was trying to kill you around the clock, I suppose you'd turn out that way... The rumors had said as much, and apparently they were true."

"So you ended up taking down your own mother, the Emperor?"

"Yeah. Even though I helped arrange it, I felt sick when I saw her stab her mother, who had taken the form of a girl begging for her life, without the slightest hesitation."

The Empire's official name was the 'Girl Empire.' It was said that when the Emperor ascended the throne, she gained supernatural powers, took the form of a girl, and ruled the country.

"You were dragged into one hell of a scene."

"You can say that again."

"I heard the Empire is ruled by an Emperor who takes the form of a girl, but what happens when the Emperor is actually a young girl?"

"Apparently, she undergoes a rejuvenation ritual after turning twenty."

"Huh..."

The age varied somewhat, apparently—but rejuvenation made pregnancy impossible, so the period before rejuvenation was the only chance to produce an heir...

The previous Emperor had given birth to two children and rejuvenated herself at the age of twenty-four.

"But is the Emperor necessarily a woman?"

"Apparently, every child born to the Emperor of that Empire is inevitably female."

"Is there some kind of cause for that? An item or something?"

"I heard it was a curse..."

This was truly the sort of information one could only hear from someone who had been close to the Imperial family.

Since it was evening, we decided to eat.

"Now, what should we have...?"

"Curry!"

"Curry, nya!"

"All right, then. How about dragon curry?"

"You have curry?"

Akira hadn't expected there to be curry as well.

"When I had the castle's cooks make curry, they produced something almost identical. So if you don't mind the expense, you might be able to eat it in this country too."

"They have the spices needed for curry?"

"Apparently—but I hear they're incredibly expensive."

I immediately began making curry by frying meat and onions. Then I added onions and meat to the soup Primula usually made and stirred in curry roux. That was all it took.

It was fast and delicious. The greatness of Japanese-style curry was that it tasted good even when made somewhat carelessly.

A certain doctor once said, "No matter how you make Bo○ Curry, it tastes good."

I arranged the curry on the table. Akira's was naturally served with rice.

"You have rice too? I searched everywhere for it, but I never found any."

"Curry would probably taste good with barley rice too."

"Yeah. I cooked and ate barley as well... It's delicious! Real rice and curry!"

After taking one bite of curry, Akira shouted.

"Of course it is. Every bit of it is the genuine article."

"It's delicious..."

For some reason, Akira's eyes were filling with tears.

"What are you crying for?"

"No... I thought I'd never be able to eat something like this again..."

I see. I had been fortunate enough to use Shangri-La from the beginning and eat all sorts of food from our original world.

I had been blessed.

"The meat is lesser dragon meat, too."

"Seriously? Dragon curry?"

Akira seemed to have searched for food from our original world, but perhaps he hadn't found much. I decided to ask him about it.

"Didn't you find anything from our original world?"

"Oh, now that you mention it, I did find chocolate."

Akira had given me some interesting information.

"Seriously?"

At the mention of chocolate, my family's attention turned toward us. They had been ignoring our incomprehensible conversation until then.

"There's a drink like an elven nutritional supplement that's actually chocolate. It's called 'Cheche.'"

"Huh... You had dealings with elves too, didn't you, Akira?"

"It was red, but if you added sugar, it really became a chocolate drink."

"Then if it can be processed properly, chocolate might become widespread in this world too."

Hmm. The princess might be pleased by this information.

We ate curry until our stomachs were full. Eating with my family really was wonderful.

"Well, even if your parents die, you still need to rest after a meal."

Bell climbed onto me as I lay on the air mattress.

"Bell, you're heavy..."

"Nyaa."

"She's really attached to you. You're not the main wife for nothing."

"Of course. Right, Mom?"

When I stroked Bell beneath her chin, she began purring.

"She's a truly enormous cat."

"Her voice is a little low, though."

After resting from our meal, we all took a bath. Akira was astonished by the splendid bath inside the little building.

Anemone had already heated the water with magic, and white steam drifted through the building.

"Amazing! It's a Japanese-style bath!"

"Unyaa!"

"Pretty impressive, huh? Once we choose a base and build a mansion, we'll have to make a bathhouse first."

"Did you make this with magic too, or was it stored in your Item Box?"

"Yeah, something like that."

Perhaps eager to jump into a Japanese-style bath, Akira and Myaa the beastfolk began taking off their clothes together.

But they tentatively dipped their feet into the tub to check the temperature.

"I'll leave towels, soap, conditioner, and shampoo here too."

"You've thought of everything."

"Well, you're still our guests."

I could have bathed with Akira, but my family wanted to bathe with me after so long, so this was the arrangement we settled on.

After we left the bath, Akira was astonished again when he saw the jet heater.

"Amazing! Could I use my oil for this?"

"It might work, but it needs electricity, you know? It's connected to a mobile battery at the moment."

"Where did you get the electricity you charged the battery with?"

"I use diesel and gasoline generators. Mobile batteries can also be charged from the car."

"So that's how you do it..."

Akira was making a fuss about my ability being too much of a cheat, but what could I do about that?

"Nyaa! My fur dries so quickly! This is the best, nya!"

"My beastfolk love it too. Drying their fur with this makes it wonderfully fluffy."

"Seriously? But..."

Apparently, rather than sleep with the women, Akira wanted to sleep alone for the first time in a while.

For that reason, Myaa came into my house and slept with the other beastfolk.

Although they were from different countries, the beastfolk chatted freely with one another, and there didn't seem to be any problem.

After everyone had bathed, we got carried away talking about Japan and stayed up a little late.

Then it was time for bed. I set up the large tent we had used at the landslide site in front of the house.

The women slept inside the house, while Akira and I slept in the tent. We each got into a sleeping bag—but Anemone crawled into mine as well.

"This is pretty comfortable. And you even have such a splendid tent. It really is a cheat. Compared to sleeping rough, this is heaven."

"Without this ability, I would've wanted to return to Japan... What about you, Akira?"

"Me? I'd just be stuck working for an exploitative company if I went back... And I've already met Sensei."

"Yeah. There aren't any women in Japan who are that beautiful and stacked..."

"Exactly! But her being a softshell turtle really threw me..."

"Beautiful, stacked, and erotic! What more could you want?"

"There is such a thing as too much."

Judging from what Akira had said, she must have been quite something.

"So what about you, Kenichi? Is that ethically acceptable? Wouldn't that count as child pornography?"

Akira was staring at Anemone, who was lying in my sleeping bag with me.

"I haven't laid a hand on her, so it's fine. And you say that, but what about Annerose-san's daughter...?"

"I didn't penetrate her, so it's fine."

"Then I'm in the clear too."

Hearing our conversation, Anemone hugged me.

"Penetration is fine, though..."

"Girls shouldn't say things like that."

Bell climbed onto the sleeping bag containing Anemone and me.

"W-wait, Mom, you're heavy..."

"So heavy!"

"Nyaa."

"If I'm so heavy, then get off me."

"No!"

Akira laughed as he watched us.

"That girl aside, what about the princess?"

"How could I possibly make a move on royalty?"

"Fair enough. If it were me, I'd prefer a more mature woman."

"Then I recommend the queen. She's a little... unusual on the inside, but she looks fantastic."

"What kind of 'unusual'? Is she unusual in the same way as the cold-blooded Emperor?"

"No, she can be incredibly kind, but she also casually kills people—something like that."

"What the hell? Is she a psychopath?"

It was a terrible way to describe her, but she certainly wasn't normal.

"Well, maybe she is."

After that, we got caught up discussing the Imperial and royal families. Apparently, they were all much the same.

Perhaps money, power, and the pressure of supporting a country turned people into that sort of person.

"Hey, Kenichi."

"What is it?"

"Can you make me feel good?"

"No, no."

"Poo!"

Anemone puffed out her cheeks, but what's forbidden is forbidden.