Book 9: Epilogue2
Epilogue 2: Welco Ho
11:00 in the morning on the 1st day of the 2nd month, 1,548th year, Continental Calendar Parnam Castle
On this day, I was with my family in the courtyard: my fiances of Aisha, Juna, Roroa, and Naden, along with my little sister Tomoe and her friends Ichiha and Yuriga.
It was a cold day, but the skies were clear.
We were just staring into the open blue sky.
Ahh, I couldnt calm down! I was restless and on edge. Ti seed to be flying by so fast.
My feet seed to be floating off the ground, and even when I ca to a stop, my heels would lift up for no reason.
In my head, I wanted to be calm, but my body and heart werent listening.
Oh, geez! Calm down a little, would you?! Unable to watch any longer, Naden complained. Youve been acting too restless all this ti. If youre a king, act more dignified.
Nadies right, Roroa said, hugging Naden from behind. Theyll co back, whether youre actin impatient or not.
Hey, Roroa, dont hug . Naden tried to pry the nuisance off of her, but it had no effect.
Its fine, its fine! Roroa said, playing around by clinging to her.
They were right, but... Still, I was beside myself with worry, so what else could I do? After all, today...
Your fiance and children who were visiting family co back today, right? Why do you have to be so tense? Yuriga said, sounding exasperated.
That was right. Today was the day Liscia and the children would be returning to the castle.
I couldnt go to pick her up because of my duties as the king, but the royal familys wyvern gondola had already been sent for her. I had received word shed be arriving soon, so wed all co to greet her.
Yuriga shrugged her shoulders in resignation. Besides, Ive never even t this Lady Liscia person.
Isnt that all the more reason you should pay your respects? Tomoe shot back. You and Ichiha are going to live in this castle, so you have to say hello to Big Sister, okay?
I... I know that. Yuriga turned her head to look away.
With a wry smile at their antics, Ichiha curiously asked, Shes the daughter of the forr royal couple, and was the princess of Elfrieden, right? What is she like?
A gallant and beautiful princess, Tomoe said confidently. Shes the big sister I look up to.
If you want gallant, my brother is more than a match for her, Yuriga scoffed.
Murgh... Youre always so competitive, Yuriga! Tomoe glared.
Ichiha quickly got in between them. N-Now, now, both of you calm down.
These kids were the sa as ever.
Aisha, who had the best vision of anyone here, pointed into the sky and said, It looks like theyre here.
Spinning around to search where Aisha was pointing, I could see a gondola drawn by four wyverns coming toward us.
There was an escort of wyvern cavalry alongside it, too.
The gondola slowly approached, and eventually set down in the courtyard.
Once an attendant opened the door, Liscia in her usual uniform and Carla in her regular maid dress stepped out, each carrying a baby.
Were ho, Souma, everyone, Liscia said to all of us with a smile.
Her slightly longer than shoulder-length hair blew in the wind and sparkled.
It was my dear children and a woman I loved. I couldnt help but stare at this scene, which was like happiness made manifest.
Eventually I ca back to my senses, and rushed over to their side along with my fiances.
Welco ho, Liscia, I said. Sorry I couldnt go pick you up.
Welco ho, Lady Liscia, Aisha smiled. I was eagerly awaiting your return.
Hee hee, it looks like the babies are sleeping, Juna giggled.
Ya got that right, Roroa grinned. Which of thems the boy, and which is the girl?
The one Liscia is holding is the girl, and the one Carla is holding is the boy, said Naden. I can sort of tell by their magic.
All of us were speaking to Liscia at once.
Geez, she said with a troubled smile. Im happy for the welco, but calm down, all of you.
Carla walked over to and handed over the baby she was holding. I have returned, master. Please take the young prince.
Welco ho, Carla, I said, reaching out for the boy. Good work guarding Liscia and keeping her company. But... when you call him the young prince, it suddenly makes feel old. I an, its not wrong, though.
Even as I said that, I took my child, and...
Wah...? Ahhhh!
He suddenly burst out crying. Huh?! What was this, out of nowhere?!
I panicked, and tried to calm him with a, There, there, but there was no sign he was going to stop crying.
Even when everyone joined in with a, Whats the matter, and a, Peekaboo! nothing helped.
We were at a loss for what to do.
Let Carla hold him, Liscia suggested with a wry smile.
When I handed him back to Carla like I was told, the boy imdiately stopped crying. Then, just like that, he dozed off again.
With an incredible look of relaxation. Was he that much happier in Carlas arms than his own fathers?
It seems he likes it in Carlas arms, Liscia said. Sotis he wont stop crying while I handle him, but when Carla does it, he will.
As a parent, Im getting jealous of Carla... I complained.
Th-There isnt anything I can do about it, you know?! Carla, who was getting flack for sothing that wasnt her fault, protested, but she couldnt bla us.
Liscia walked over to the three kids who were a little ways away. You must be Ichiha from the Duchy of Chima, and you must be Yuriga from Malmkhitan. Ive heard about both of you from Souma. Welco to the Kingdom of Friedonia.
N-Nice to et you, Ichiha said nervously. Im the youngest son of the House of Chima, Ichiha Chima.
Im... Yuriga. Its... a pleasure to make your acquaintance.
With Liscia suddenly talking to them, both the kids seed a little tense.
With Ichiha, that was only to be expected, but wasnt Yuriga being a little too tense? Her earlier bravado was gone entirely.
Whats wrong, Yuriga? Tomoe asked. Youre all stiff.
She seed to find Yurigas reaction a mystery, too.
Wh-What are you saying? Yuriga shot back. I am acting absolutely normal.
Are you?
Of course I am. You little squirt.
H-Hey, shtop thaaaat.
Yuriga was stretching Tomoes cheeks again.
Seeing Yuriga like that, Liscia chuckled. From what Ive heard from Souma, youre even more of a tomboy than that.
N-No, not at all...
They called a tomboy princess, too, so I can relate, Liscia said with a big smile. Its nice to et you.
Yuriga nodded quickly.
Oh, I got it. Because they were so similar, Yuriga might have gotten tense when shed sensed the sa sort of air she herself gave off.
It had felt like a bigger version of herself had shown up, the way you feel when an older cousin suddenly addresses you.
Hey, Darlin? I had a question, Roroa said while pulling on the cheeks of the baby Carla was holding. Do they have nas already? I feel bad if youre just gonna keep callin them the boy and the girl forever, ya know?
Hm? Ohh, I hadnt told you yet. We did na them. Right, Liscia?
Yes. We decided Souma would na the boy, and I would na the girl.
As Liscia, Carla and I stood in a line, we announced the childrens nas to everyone.
First, the boy Carla was holding.
This is Cian, I said. It seems like a lot of people use nas that are close to their parents in this country, and hes likely to rule this country as a blood relative of the Elfrieden royal family soday, so I gave him a na that established his link to Liscia.
Hee hee, Cian, is it? Well, thats close to cyan, which ans blue, so I can relate, the blue-haired Juna said happily.
It seed everyone liked the na, so... honestly, I was relieved.
Liscia showed the girl she was holding to everyone and said, And for this girls na, I chose Kazuha.
Kazuha? Hey, you ended up choosin a na that sounds kinda like Tomoe or Kaedes, huh? Roroa asked.
Shes right, it does have the sa sort of sound as my na, Tomoe said, giggling.
Yeah, but why did she choose that na? I wondered.
Liscia, with a soft smile, explained the origin of it.
You know, because of a mistake early on, he ended up being called Souma, but Soumas actual first na is Kazuya, right? When were married and he inherits the nas of Amidonia and Elfrieden, hell be Souma A. Elfrieden, right?
Yeah, I said. Thats what we decided on, right.
I felt sad knowing the na Kazuya would just disappear like that, so I gave this girl the na Kazuha. I thought Id leave so proof that the na Kazuya did once exist, Liscia said with a smile.
Shed chosen the na Kazuha out of consideration for ? Oh, crap. I was getting misty eyes.
If I burst into tears here, itd be la, so I held it in as well as I could.
Kazuha, you say? Aisha asked. I think thats a cute na.
I think its great, Naden agreed. It feels like a na from Soumas world.
It was kind of them to say that.
In the end, I had given a boy a na like Liscias, and Liscia had given a girl a na like mine.
It might seem too simple, but... you could feel a definite bond there, so we liked it. Hopefully the kids would like their nas, too.
And so, turning around and pointing to the castle for the twins, I said, Cian, Kazuha, can you see it? This is your ho starting today.
Theyre both asleep, so of course they cant, Liscia teased .
Everyone laughed.
As I scratched my head in embarrassnt, Liscia walked over to stand beside .
I was away for a while, but I see the castles more lively than ever.
Weve got more family, and youre back now, too, Liscia, I smiled.
Hee hee. And there are going to be even more new mbers after this, right?
Im happy to have more kids, but I think Ive got enough fiances, I said.
I dont know about that. Knowing you, you might just go with the flow again, right?
I cant... deny that.
I had a record here, after all. Like with Roroa, or with Naden.
While we were talking about that, Liscia leaned her head onto my shoulder. No matter what happens after this, Im sure we can overco it.
Youre right. I nodded. If everyones with us, we definitely can.
We smiled together, listening to the happy voices of our companions.
The spring, which would mark two years after I had been given the crown, was almost upon us.
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