Chapter 172 – First Day of the Trip (2)

“Dahhhh! Aaaaah!”

“What’s wrong, Nana-chan? Are you feeling bad? There, there.”

Aoi, who was breastfeeding on the sofa, lifted Nana up and nursed her.

Nana’s face was even redder than usual, and she was crying in a voice that was not as cheerful as usual, which was very pitiful to see.

“Uuh?”

“Hmm? Ah, Nana looks like she’s in pain, are you worried Jaja?”

“Dah.”

Jaja, who was playing with me on the bed, has been worrying about Nana since a while ago.

Whenever she heard her pained voice, she glanced at Nana and appealed to me.

You’re a sweet big sister, aren’t you?

Don’t worry. Nana will get better soon. So for now, let’s just play quietly in this room, okay?

“Dah.”

Oh?

You understand me now?

As expected of a big sister.

A day has passed since we arrived in the demon nation of Dailan.

At any rate, I seemed to have been asleep all day and have no memory of yesterday.

All I can remember is arriving at Prince Atol’s house and being seen off by my father, Yuri, Wera and Azui.

I woke up once last night and asked Shouhei to explain the whole situation to me, but I couldn’t remember a single thing.

I was sent to a different place by a transference accident, and was missing for over five hours… that’s pretty important, isn’t it?

Why can’t I remember anything?

This general malaise, the aching muscles in my limbs, it’s all too mysterious.

I heard that bastard Alba found me and Aoi carried me to Prince Atol’s main house here, but what the hell was I doing for five hours?

Hmmm.

I don’t know.

I have no idea.

So I gave up thinking about it as soon as possible.

There’s no point in dwelling on something I don’t know.

It would be better for my mental health to take care of the twins instead of worrying about it.

That damn rat disappeared before I could even see him.

Next time I see him, he’ll have to explain everything to me.

“There we go.”

“Dah!”

I lifted Jaja up with my hands at her sides and fell backward onto the bed.

Jaja smiles a carefree smile as she jiggled her arms and legs in delight.

I can’t get enough of this.

The time I spend lounging with Jaja on the big canopied bed is priceless.

It would have been even better if Nana could have played with us, but she’s not feeling well right now, so she’s on absolute bed rest.

Apparently, she’s a lot more delicate than we thought, and the unfamiliar air has given her a fever.

When I touched her forehead earlier, I was startled by the ridiculously high fever and panicked, but Aoi said it was nothing to dragons.

I was a little skeptical, but if Aoi says so, then it must be so.

I heard that Alba’s examination was over and he gave us some medicine, so for now we’ll just have to wait and see.

I’m worried, you know.

Dragon or not, a baby is still a baby.

Even a small cold or illness can put a much greater burden on a baby’s body than on an adult.

Nana, in particular, cries so loudly that it makes me uneasy to watch her.

A while ago, I was so worried about Nana that I was pacing around Aoi with Jaja in my arms when I was told angrily, ‘Kunpei-san is also like a sick person, please stay in bed!’ She got angry at me.

Well, my worrying won’t make Nana feel any better, and I can’t do anything for her.

At best, I could do the joint breastfeeding that I couldn’t do yesterday.

We just finished that, and now there’s nothing more I can do for Nana.

“Papa, you really are incompetent…”

“Hmm?”

When Jaja heard my complaint, she tilted her head.

It’s so cute.

“She won’t let go of my breasts, will she?”

Aoi, sitting on the sofa smiled as she held Nana who was squirming.

“You want to be pampered, don’t you? It’s because you’re sick.”

Everyone wants to be pampered when they are sick.

Even Shouhei comes to me in a tearful voice when he has a fever.

It may be hard to believe, but it’s true.

He seems to be in good health these days, but up until the year before last, he was always sick in bed when the seasons changed. My brother.

“Nana? You’re full, aren’t you? Mama wants to go to the bathroom.”

“Huh.”

“Haha, okay.”

As soon as I tried to release Aoi’s breast, which Nana was holding in her mouth, she immediately started to squirm.

It’s been almost an hour since Jaja and her started breastfeeding, but Nana never took her mouth off the breast.

“I guess a pacifier won’t work. I mean, they’re kind of similar.”

Both Nana and Jaja don’t use pacifiers very often.

“It’s all about the temperature and sound, isn’t it? Didn’t father-in-law say something like that before?”

Yeah, the one about the mother’s heartbeat.

“The shape is different, too. A pacifier and mine’s.”

“Is that so?”

“Would you like to check?”

Aoi turned her body towards me and Jaja with a somewhat triumphant look on her face.

I quickly turned over and looked away.

That was close. I almost saw it.

Don’t do that.

You startled me.

“You can touch me if you want. You’re more than welcome.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m saying that if Kunpei-san asks for it, I will never refuse.”

“You…”

Let’s not talk like that when Jaja and Nana are awake, okay?

It’s embarrassing.

I don’t know.

Something’s wrong with Aoi.

I can’t really explain it, but it’s like she’s more aggressive, more proactive, more excited than usual.

The usual Aoi is also very flirty, but today she seems to be one step more than that.

When I woke up once last night.

What was Aoi trying to do then?

She was trying to… kiss me, wasn’t she?

In the past, she would touch my body, but she would wait for my action, or rather, she would be passive from there.

In the morning, she gave me a big hug when we met, and while we were eating, she kept looking at my face and smiling.

When I tried to take a bath, she tried to come with me, and when she buried her face in the clothes I took off, I felt a little scared.

What is it really?

Is she in a hurry?

It’s like a big dog waiting to be fed in front of you.

…Did something happen yesterday after all?

Did I do something?

“Shouhei-san and Ru-anesama, went out to eat, right?”

“Oh, yeah. Prince Atol said he would show them around the city, so they went out to eat for lunch.”

Nana finally started to nod off, so Aoi whispered.

Shouhei and Rouge were out, so that we could breastfeed.

They were out sightseeing in the city, guided by Kayone and Utai.

The name of this town is Inteira.

It’s a rural town in Dailan, governed by Kayone and Utai’s family.

We’ve come all this way to a foreign country, and it would be a shame if we didn’t see some things.

Both of them were reluctant to leave us, but there was no reason for all of us to be holed up in the room, so I forced them out.

I could tell just by looking at them that they were bored, so I’m sure they’re enjoying themselves right now.

Prince Atol had given us some money so we could eat out, and I heard that there were many people who could speak Japanese, so I wasn’t worried about the language.

The guide is a local, so I’m sure they’ll know some good restaurants.

Prince Atol, perhaps feeling responsible for the accident with the transference circle, said he would take care of us all while we were in the Sphere Continent.

And by everything, I mean travel and food expenses.

We don’t even know how many nights we’ll be staying on this trip.

To be honest, I was prepared to have the Kazmachi family’s wallet stretched pretty thin, so I gladly accepted the offer.

Shouhei and Aoi were reluctant to accept, but I wouldn’t change my mind.

If you offer it to me, I’ll take it without reservation.

After all, we’re just ordinary citizens from ordinary families.

We don’t intend to spend that much money on a single meal, and we’ll be fine as long as you rent us two rooms in this mansion.

As expected, we buy our own souvenirs, so we can minimize the amount we have to ask the prince for.

I don’t know what would happen if Rouge ate a full meal, but he’s a prince.

I don’t think he’d go broke over it.

I don’t know, though.

He also said that he would provide me with a maid 24 hours a day, but I refused.

We don’t really have anything to ask for.

We might ask to do some shopping once in a while, but our family tradition is to take care of most things ourselves.

As my father says, ‘Don’t take advantage of others.’

There’s a big difference between relying on others and being spoiled.

If you know where the maids’ are, all you have to do is go there and ask for help.

They don’t have to stand in front of this room all the time.

Standing all the time is just tiring.

“Fuaaah”

Jaja, who had been resting her cheek on my chest for some time, yawned loudly.

She was playing with me because she couldn’t sleep because of Nana’s crying, but she must have wanted to sleep for a long time.

I patted her back.

“Uyuuuu”

There it was.

This is the mysterious voice that babies sometimes make.

It’s a super cute voice that I often hear when they’re sleepy or when they feel good.

“Is Jaja going to sleep?”

“Yeah, she’s probably already half asleep.”

Aoi comes up to the bed with Nana in her arms.

Miss?

Are you aware of what’s going on with your breasts right now?

Well, Nana’s still sucking on them, so it can’t be helped.

If you can, at least pretend to try to hide them.

“There we go.”

While adjusting the angle of how she was carrying Nana, Aoi lied down next to me.

What is that complicated movement?

Moms are really skilled.

How can she change her position while having her breasts sucked?

“Shall we eat when Jaja and Nana are asleep?”

“Ah, then I’ll go.”

“No, no, I’ll go. Today is a day for Kunpei-san to rest. It’s my day to work hard.”

“Just because I’m a little tired doesn’t mean I’m sick.”

It’s just that I don’t have as much energy as I used to, physically and mentally.

Besides, it’s a low-difficulty quest where you just have to go downstairs to the kitchen to get some food.

“It’s okay. I’ve decided that I’ll do everything today.”

“If you say so, well, I’ll leave it to you.”

Aoi was lying next to me, and Nana was curled up to fill the space.

Even though it was such a large and luxurious bed, the space the four of us were using was very small.

Aoi reached out and stroked Jaja’s back, then placed her hand over mine and smiled.

The pale sunlight that filtered through the blackout curtains made Aoi’s beautiful hair glisten.

“… Hey”

“Yes?”

Aoi looked at me with a gentle smile.

“Are you happy about something?”

“I’m full of joy every day.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“Well then… that’s good.”

“Yes.”

I started to hear Jaja’s little sleepy breathing.

She wasn’t deep asleep yet, so neither of us could move.

Jaja is a very sensitive child and wakes up at the slightest hint of someone’s absence.

Nana, on the other hand, still goes at her own pace and sleeps whenever she wants to.

The only things that can wake her up are Aoi and Jaja’s cries.

It’s hard to judge whether they’re thick-headed or delicate, but that’s how babies are.

I touch Nana’s back with my free hand.

It’s warm.

It feels good. It really makes me sleepy.

“Do you want to get some sleep?”

“Sorry, I’ll probably fall asleep.”

“That’s okay, you must be tired. Take your time. I’ll have some food ready for you when you wake up.”

“Thank you so much….”

“No, no, it’s because I’m your wife.”

“… a good wife.”

I’m already half in dream world.

“My husband is a wonderful man.”

What’s that?

Praise doesn’t get you anywhere, you know?

It would be a shame to spend all my time sleeping, even though it was my first time abroad.

But somehow, I feel like I’m spending a very luxurious time.

On the soft bed, I could feel Jaja and Nana’s body heat.

Aoi’s nice and gentle smell tickled the back of my nose.

Ever since I woke up today, I’ve been feeling a hazy feeling in my chest.

Is it my imagination, or am I forgetting something very important?

Something that I shouldn’t forget.

I keep forgetting things that I shouldn’t forget.

But for now, let’s get some sleep.

Still, I’m really sleepy.