Side: Cleana
I am silently reading a book.
There still aren't as many books here as there are in the Academy's library, but each book here contains so much information that one could easily say a single volume is equivalent to about ten books from the Academy's collection.
Yet, despite that, they don't feel old-fashioned at all; the text is extremely legible, and there's no need to read with a translation book in hand.
"...Looking at it again, it really is mysterious."
That's right. The writing I see before me isn't in the script of my homeland.
It is the language called Japanese, spoken in the country of my husband, Yuki.
Thanks to Yuki's Skill Granting ability, I learned Japanese instantly, but even that was incredible.
Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji, classical Japanese, Japanese-made English words, and basic English—the sheer variety of script used in daily life here is as different from my home country as heaven and earth.
To acquire such a complex language in a split second is like a divine miracle.
Well—Yuki is a messenger of the gods, after all.
Even though I've experienced it myself, it still doesn't quite feel real. But since I'm able to read Japanese books, I must have truly acquired it.
"...It's not so much that Yuki lacks self-awareness, but more that he lacks dignity..."
Yeah. The reason it doesn't feel real is probably because of the way Yuki carries himself.
It's not that he doesn't understand his own importance or standing, but he simply has no intention of placing himself above others.
How should I put it... It's as if he's just an ordinary person walking around town.
"...It would be wrong to criticize him for that. Yuki is a good person."
That's right.
He came all the way from a world whose civilization is far more advanced than ours to a world where we're practically strangling ourselves by dragging our own civilization into decline.
To demand that Yuki behave in the way we want him to would be arrogant.
Including myself—all of his wives share the opinion that Yuki should become the king of the world.
But he dismissed it as too troublesome and time-consuming.
Indeed. Even if he were to attempt world unification openly, there's no telling how many years it would take. And following Yuki's policy of gradually increasing international exchange and letting people discover the mana problem on their own is faster.
"...In that case, studying harder to become useful to Yuki is our duty."
We, his wives, will do everything we can to make sure Yuki can live peacefully as soon as possible.
That is the bare minimum requirement to stand by Yuki's side.
I've only been in Weed for a short time, and there isn't much I can do to benefit Weed yet, but magic and mana research are another matter.
Yuki told me that my knowledge would be useful even on this continent, where magic is commonly used, so I was assigned to the same department as a demon named Zargis.
Still—my main job is guarding Yuki. Losing him would mean the destruction of this world. I was entrusted with such a critical responsibility. However, Yuki usually only acts through his doppelgangers and never leaves the house in Weed in his true body. That's why we're able to do whatever we want like this.
While I feel a bit guilty for appearing to just idle around, according to Yuki, ideas are born from trying out all sorts of things, so we should start with whatever interests us. Saying things like that, he never stops the wives from pursuing various activities. If anything, he encourages it.
This library was also prepared because I came here. There are books in Weed's schools, where teachers teach academic subjects, but those are educational textbooks. There are no specialized books like the ones I'm reading. Well, there are some entertaining stories, though.
"...Nn. Today's bodyguard duty belongs to Ria, so I will thoroughly satisfy my thirst for knowledge. That's what will make Yuki happiest."
I want to have a child with Yuki, but right now, raising the other wives' children takes a lot of effort, so my pregnancy will unfortunately have to wait a while.
However, I think that's for the best.
...I probably would've drowned myself in pleasure otherwise.
Eoid and Amanda, who safely got married yesterday, only have each other, so they'll probably try to spend every waking moment loving each other. But if they do that, they won't have time for anything else, and yet they might find themselves thinking that's perfectly fine.
That's how powerful lust is—it has more than enough power to drive a person into a life of indolence.
In my case, because Yuki has so many wives, the frequency naturally decreases, and I have plenty of other things that interest me, so I don't end up drowning in pleasure.
"Oya? Is that Cleana over there?"
Someone called out to me, so I turned around and saw Ratz standing there with Shance in her arms.
Nn. Ratz's child, Shance, is adorable.
Demi-humans suffer persecution on the New Continent, but I don't hold any such prejudice. In fact, I believe the unique abilities of demi-humans are invaluable.
Well, as expected of someone who is one of Yuki's wives, Ratz's abilities in particular are extraordinary. Not only in physical strength, but her business acumen is astounding, effectively ruling over Weed's largest supermarket, Super Ratz.
"Au~"
"Now, now, Shance. You have to be quiet in the library."
"U?"
She says that to Shance, but a child who isn't even a year old yet couldn't possibly understand such a thing.
"It's fine. The library is exclusively for us. Shance is a good child, so there's no problem."
"U? Auu, auu."
When I said that, Shance's curious gaze, which had been wandering around the room after entering the library, settled on me, and she desperately reached her hands toward me.
"You shouldn't spoil her too much, you know? Here you go."
"Nn. I know. If she does something wrong, I'll scold her. But Shance wouldn't do anything like that, right?"
"U~"
When I asked Shance that after taking her from Ratz, she gave me a proper response.
Of course, she probably didn't understand what I was saying, but Shance clinging desperately to me was adorable.
Her tiny rabbit ears wiggle happily back and forth.
"By the way, Ratz, did you have business at the library?"
"Yes. I came here to look into something. And while I'm here, I thought I'd see if there were any good picture books for Shance."
"...I see. Then leave Shance to me. I'll find a picture book she'll like."
"I appreciate that, but weren't you in the middle of researching?"
"...It's more like studying than researching, so it's fine. There's no end to this anyway. Besides, I pride myself on knowing this library better than anyone."
"Then I'll leave her in your care. Shance, Mommy is going to look at some books for a moment, so listen carefully to Mommy Cleana, okay?"
"U~"
Shance answered as though she understood perfectly.
When Ratz disappeared behind a bookshelf, Shance turned back toward me and looked at me expectantly.
"Well then, shall we find a picture book that Shance likes?"
"Auu!"
Saying so, I walked over to the picture book section.
Designed so that our future children can read freely, low bookshelves matching children's heights are lined up here, filled with numerous picture books.
Yuki prepared them for the children's sake.
"Which one do you want to read?"
"U?"
As expected, she doesn't understand yet.
I randomly pulled out a book and returned to the table.
Hmm... Which one would be good for this child...?
"...Shoot. Even looking at the titles, I don't know what the contents are."
"U?"
The books lined up here are all picture books from Yuki's country.
I can count the number of stories told to children on the New Continent on one hand. There were stories about heroes wielding holy swords, defeating evil monsters, or saving troubled villages—that sort of thing.
Good grief, it's embarrassing to say I love books when I'm like this. I don't even know picture books meant for children... In the end, even though I love reading, I've only ever read what interested me personally.
"Au~ au~"
As I was thinking about that, Shance struggled desperately in my arms, trying to reach for the picture book.
"Ah, I'm sorry."
Hurriedly, I took a nearby book and opened it in front of Shance.
Well, I suppose I'll learn the story of a children's book together with her.
"Let's see... Once upon a time, in a certain place..."
And so, together with Shance, I entered the world of the story.
* * *
After some time had passed, Ratz returned from the back of the bookshelves.
"Sorry. I got more absorbed in reading than I expected. Was Shance a good girl?"
"Nn. She's asleep."
Shance was quietly breathing in her sleep in my arms.
"Oya? Did she fall asleep in the middle of the story?"
"Nn. Children sleep as part of their job. It's a good thing."
By the time we got to the third picture book, Shance had fallen asleep.
Since there was no particular reason to wake her, I just let her sleep.
"And these are the picture books. I think it would be good to take them home and read them to the children."
"I see. Thank you. Sakura, Sumire, Eria, Yuyu, and Shael will be delighted too."
"Nn. It's getting late. Let's go home together."
"Indeed, let's."
Saying so, Ratz gathered the picture books together... Why?
Ratz had to carry Shance, so she wouldn't be able to carry them while holding her.
"I'll carry the books."
"It's fine. Shance is fast asleep, and whether I carry her or Cleana carries her, it's the same. In fact, if we wake Shance, she might start crying. Could you keep holding her like that?"
"Nn. Understood."
If she put it that way, I had no reason to refuse.
I slowly stood up, careful not to wake Shance.
Stepping out of the library, the world outside was dyed red by the setting sun.
"Nn... For some reason, I always feel like stretching when I go outside."
"I can understand that."
Beside me, Ratz was stretching her body as if loosening up.
She probably had to keep herself in the same position while reading, so she was loosening up after coming outside.
"Well then, shall we head home? Dinner should be ready by now."
"Nn."
The two of us made our way home at a leisurely pace.
This library and our inn are located in the same place within the dungeon, positioned right next to the inn itself.
That said, there are hardly any other buildings in this area. Only Yuki and us wives lived here, and since there was no one else to manage the buildings, there wasn't much point in having more. If we wanted to enjoy various other things, we could simply go into the city of Weed.
"I wonder what tonight's dinner will be~"
"I'm looking forward to it. But I was surprised when I first came here."
"Ahaha, that's true~ Onii-san is the one cooking, after all."
"Nn. And it's delicious."
I was surprised that Yuki was the one cooking, but the food itself was exceptionally delicious.
Even potatoes, which are treated as plain, simple food in our country, he knew how to prepare without causing indigestion, and turned them into something truly delicious.
To think they could change that much with just butter, salt, and pepper... I will never forget the shock I felt that day.
It was so delicious that Samantha and I ended up devouring the potatoes and getting so full that we couldn't eat any of the other dishes.
"Ah, they're back!"
"It's true~! Ratz-oneechan! Cleena-oneechan!"
At the entrance of the inn, Samantha and Aslin were waving their hands as if they had been waiting for our return.
"Oya? Did something happen?"
"Nn... I haven't heard anything."
Having someone waiting at the entrance usually meant something important had happened, but neither Ratz nor I could think of anything.
"What's wrong?"
"Was there a problem?"
For the time being, the two of us hurried over to the entrance.
"Ah, no. It's not a problem, but..."
"Umm, you see! Dinner is almost ready, so we were talking about coming to fetch you two together with Samantha-oneechan!"
"I see~"
"Understood."
In our family, the basic rule was that we all ate together.
Until now, I had always eaten alone in peace, but eating while chatting lively with Yuki and the others is wonderful.
For someone like me who had no friends, it was something that made me very happy.
"Well then, let's hurry inside and have dinner."
"Nn."
And as the four of us stepped inside the entrance, Yuki, Ria, Jessica, Filia, and Labyris were bringing out dishes one after another.
Apparently, because of the inn's layout, the kitchen was positioned so that people had to pass through the entrance while carrying the food. The idea was to deliberately have the food pass through the entrance so that the other guests would get hungry from the smell.
Rather than just understanding it, I'm experiencing it firsthand.
This aroma makes me hungry.
"Oh, welcome back. For tonight's dinner, I made the dishes you two couldn't eat last time because you stuffed yourselves with potatoes."
"That is correct! Since Yuki-sama made them specifically for the two of us, we thought we should go fetch you."
"...I won't make the same mistake today."
Yuki made it specifically for me. I won't repeat what happened last time.
"Ah, you're with Shance?"
"Yes. We went to the library, and Cleena picked out some picture books for us."
"Ah, I see. Thanks, Cleana."
"Nn. Don't worry about it, I'm also the children's mother."
While we were talking like that, Shance squirmed in my arms.
Did she wake up?
"Au?"
"Oh, you woke up, Shance? Did Mommy Cleana read you picture books?"
"U~"
"I see, that's great. We're about to eat dinner with Daddy and all the Mommies now."
"Au!!"
And holding the excited Shance, I headed toward the banquet hall together with everyone.
"...Nn. I'm happy."
I'll keep working hard so that this happiness can continue.
All for the people I love—the ones who pulled me up from a world where I only knew magic and books.
