âWhatâs wrong, Nana-chan? Are you feeling bad? There, there.â
Aoi, who was breastfeeding on the sofa, lifted Nana up and nursed her.
Nanaâs 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.
âUuh?â
âHmm? Ah, Nana looks like sheâs in pain, are you worried Jaja?â
âDah.â
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.
Youâre a sweet big sister, arenât you?
Donât worry. Nana will get better soon. So for now, letâs just play quietly in this room, okay?
âDah.â
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 Atolâs 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 couldnât remember a single thing.
I was sent to a different place by a transference accident, and was missing for over five hours⊠thatâs pretty important, isnât it?
Why canât I remember anything?
This general malaise, the aching muscles in my limbs, itâs all too mysterious.
I heard that bastard Alba found me and Aoi carried me to Prince Atolâs main house here, but what the hell was I doing for five hours?
Hmmm.
I donât know.
I have no idea.
So I gave up thinking about it as soon as possible.
Thereâs no point in dwelling on something I donât 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, heâll have to explain everything to me.
âThere we go.â
âDah!â
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 canât 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 sheâs not feeling well right now, so sheâs on absolute bed rest.
Apparently, sheâs 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 Albaâs examination was over and he gave us some medicine, so for now weâll just have to wait and see.
Iâm 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 babyâs 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, âKunpei-san is also like a sick person, please stay in bed!â She got angry at me.
Well, my worrying wonât make Nana feel any better, and I canât do anything for her.
At best, I could do the joint breastfeeding that I couldnât do yesterday.
We just finished that, and now thereâs nothing more I can do for Nana.
âPapa, you really are incompetentâŠâ
âHmm?â
When Jaja heard my complaint, she tilted her head.
Itâs so cute.
âShe wonât let go of my breasts, will she?â
Aoi, sitting on the sofa smiled as she held Nana who was squirming.
âYou want to be pampered, donât you? Itâs because youâre sick.â
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 itâs 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.
âNana? Youâre full, arenât you? Mama wants to go to the bathroom.â
âHuh.â
âHaha, okay.â
As soon as I tried to release Aoiâs breast, which Nana was holding in her mouth, she immediately started to squirm.
Itâs been almost an hour since Jaja and her started breastfeeding, but Nana never took her mouth off the breast.
âI guess a pacifier wonât work. I mean, theyâre kind of similar.â
Both Nana and Jaja donât use pacifiers very often.
âItâs all about the temperature and sound, isnât it? Didnât father-in-law say something like that before?â
Yeah, the one about the motherâs heartbeat.
âThe shape is different, too. A pacifier and mineâs.â
âIs that so?â
âWould you like to check?â
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.
Donât do that.
You startled me.
âYou can touch me if you want. Youâre more than welcome.â
âWhat do you mean?â
âIâm saying that if Kunpei-san asks for it, I will never refuse.â
âYouâŠâ
Letâs not talk like that when Jaja and Nana are awake, okay?
Itâs embarrassing.
I donât know.
Somethingâs wrong with Aoi.
I canât really explain it, but itâs like sheâs 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, wasnât 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?
Itâs like a big dog waiting to be fed in front of you.
âŠDid something happen yesterday after all?
Did I do something?
âShouhei-san and Ru-anesama, went out to eat, right?â
âOh, yeah. Prince Atol said he would show them around the city, so they went out to eat for lunch.â
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.
Itâs a rural town in Dailan, governed by Kayone and Utaiâs family.
Weâve come all this way to a foreign country, and it would be a shame if we didnât 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 Iâm sure theyâre 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 wasnât worried about the language.
The guide is a local, so Iâm sure theyâll 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 donât even know how many nights weâll be staying on this trip.
To be honest, I was prepared to have the Kazmachi familyâs wallet stretched pretty thin, so I gladly accepted the offer.
Shouhei and Aoi were reluctant to accept, but I wouldnât change my mind.
If you offer it to me, Iâll take it without reservation.
After all, weâre just ordinary citizens from ordinary families.
We donât intend to spend that much money on a single meal, and weâll 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 donât know what would happen if Rouge ate a full meal, but heâs a prince.
I donât think heâd go broke over it.
I donât know, though.
He also said that he would provide me with a maid 24 hours a day, but I refused.
We donât 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, âDonât take advantage of others.â
Thereâs a big difference between relying on others and being spoiled.
If you know where the maidsâ are, all you have to do is go there and ask for help.
They donât have to stand in front of this room all the time.
Standing all the time is just tiring.
âFuaaahâ
Jaja, who had been resting her cheek on my chest for some time, yawned loudly.
She was playing with me because she couldnât sleep because of Nanaâs crying, but she must have wanted to sleep for a long time.
I patted her back.
âUyuuuuâ
There it was.
This is the mysterious voice that babies sometimes make.
Itâs a super cute voice that I often hear when theyâre sleepy or when they feel good.
âIs Jaja going to sleep?â
âYeah, sheâs probably already half asleep.â
Aoi comes up to the bed with Nana in her arms.
Miss?
Are you aware of whatâs going on with your breasts right now?
Well, Nanaâs still sucking on them, so it canât be helped.
If you can, at least pretend to try to hide them.
âThere we go.â
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?
âShall we eat when Jaja and Nana are asleep?â
âAh, then Iâll go.â
âNo, no, Iâll go. Today is a day for Kunpei-san to rest. Itâs my day to work hard.â
âJust because Iâm a little tired doesnât mean Iâm sick.â
Itâs just that I donât have as much energy as I used to, physically and mentally.
Besides, itâs a low-difficulty quest where you just have to go downstairs to the kitchen to get some food.
âItâs okay. Iâve decided that Iâll do everything today.â
âIf you say so, well, Iâll leave it to you.â
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 Jajaâs back, then placed her hand over mine and smiled.
The pale sunlight that filtered through the blackout curtains made Aoiâs beautiful hair glisten.
â⊠Heyâ
âYes?â
Aoi looked at me with a gentle smile.
âAre you happy about something?â
âIâm full of joy every day.â
âIs that so?â
âYes.â
âWell then⊠thatâs good.â
âYes.â
I started to hear Jajaâs little sleepy breathing.
She wasnât deep asleep yet, so neither of us could move.
Jaja is a very sensitive child and wakes up at the slightest hint of someoneâs 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 Jajaâs cries.
Itâs hard to judge whether theyâre thick-headed or delicate, but thatâs how babies are.
I touch Nanaâs back with my free hand.
Itâs warm.
It feels good. It really makes me sleepy.
âDo you want to get some sleep?â
âSorry, Iâll probably fall asleep.â
âThatâs okay, you must be tired. Take your time. Iâll have some food ready for you when you wake up.â
âThank you so muchâŠ.â
âNo, no, itâs because Iâm your wife.â
â⊠a good wife.â
Iâm already half in dream world.
âMy husband is a wonderful man.â
Whatâs that?
Praise doesnât 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 Iâm spending a very luxurious time.
On the soft bed, I could feel Jaja and Nanaâs body heat.
Aoiâs nice and gentle smell tickled the back of my nose.
Ever since I woke up today, Iâve been feeling a hazy feeling in my chest.
Is it my imagination, or am I forgetting something very important?
Something that I shouldnât forget.
I keep forgetting things that I shouldnât forget.