“Maama!”
“Yees?”
Aoi and Nana were smiling on the sofa by the window, which was illuminated by a good amount of sunlight.
It was noon and we were spending the lazy hours after lunch in our room.
A day after Nana’s discharge, we were going to discuss the itinerary of our still unplanned trip, but before we knew it, it had turned into a time to interact with the twins.
“Maamaa!”
“Ma-ma!”
“What is it?”
Nana, who was sitting on Aoi’s lap, called out to Aoi with the word she had just learned yesterday, to which Aoi happily responded.
They’ve been doing this for a while, about ten minutes now.
She’s been repeating it over and over again, but never gets tired of it.
Hmph, it’s not like I’m frustrated or jealous of you!
“Dah!”
“You’re so good! You’re so cute, Nana!”
“Kyah!”
Nana was wearing a pink t-shirt with a rabbit print and a diaper.
“How nice…”
I’m so frustrated and jealous.
I want that too!
I want her to call me papa!
Nana’s first words were given over to Aoi, but not yet. It’s not time to panic yet.
I have Jaja!
Nana is a mama’s girl, but Jaja is more of a papa’s girl!
If it’s Jaja!
Across the table from the sofa where Aoi and Nana were sitting.
Jaja was sitting on my lap while sucking her thumb and staring at her mom and sister.
I leaned forward a little and looked into Jaja’s face.
“Uh?”
She had a blank look on her face like she was wondering why mama and Nana were having so much fun.
Okay, here’s my chance.
“Here, Jaja? Papa.”
“Hm?”
Jaja looked up at me and tilted her head.
“Pa-pa.”
Repeat after me?
“Maama!”
No, no, no!
That sounds more like mama!
You too, Jaja! You want to start with ‘mama’ too?
Call me papa! Please!
“Hmm. Nana, nee-nee.”
“Try saying nii-nii?”
Before I was aware, Rouge and Shouhei had surrounded Nana and Aoi.
Haha, but it’s no use.
Even I can’t get her to say it yet, and you guys…
“Ii-ii?”
Hm?
“Close! It’s nii-nii, Nana.”
Shouhei touched Nana’s springy cheeks.
“Shouhei is sly. Nana, try saying nee-nee. Please.”
“Ee-ee!”
“It’s different, but it’s cute, so there’s no problem.”
With a sniffle, Rouge patted Nana on the head.
You guys, you guys, you guys!
“Dah?”
I’m not sure if she was aware of how I was feeling, but she put her back against my stomach with a thud.
“Au.”
Are you trying to comfort me? Jaja is so sweet.
“Dah!”
“Kyakya!”
I flipped up the hem of the yellow t-shirt of a different color from Nana’s and gently rubbed Jaja’s belly.
Aah, this softness.
This is the best kind of healing.
An essential item to survive in today’s stressful society.
If only I could keep touching my baby’s belly, there would be no more conflicts in this world.
“Kazamachi-sama, may I come in?”
After a few light knocks, Kayone’s voice came from behind the door of the room.
“Yeah, it’s okay.”
I put my hands on Jaja’s sides as I answered and got up from the couch.
No, no, no, Aoi, just sit down.
Since Nana is having so much fun, you should play with her.
“Da, da, da.”
Jaja begins to play with the rhythm and vibration of my feet as I head for the door.
Her tail shook from side to side, wagging in a steady rhythm, and her arms shook in the same way.
What is this girl? She can enjoy any object, any sound, anything.
You’re a genius, aren’t you?
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
When I opened the door with Jaja back in my arms, Kayone was standing there in her maid’s uniform.
She was dressed in black.
The white apron dress and white trims looked great against her tanned skin.
“I’m sorry to disturb you on your day off. There was a phone call for you.”
“A call?”
For me?
“Yes.”
There are few people who know I’m here and will contact me. Or rather, only my father does.
I’ve told Gasara and Makio that I’m going abroad, but I haven’t told them that I’m staying at Atol’s house, and they probably don’t know the phone number. If you call from the Japanese side, you will be charged a huge amount of money later.
So it wasn’t them.
Hmm? Then who is it?
“It’s Mikuma-sama.”
Kayone gave me an answer.
“Ah, Mikuma.”
I didn’t have to think about it.
That’s right, that’s right.
She’s the only person who knows Atol and the others and knows that we’re staying here.
“The phone is at the end of the hallway, in front of the stairs.”
Kayone smiled and pointed her palm upward, indicating the end of the hallway.
“Oh, thanks. Rouge, can you help me with Jaja?
“Hmm. Jaja, come here. Come and play with nee-nee.”
As soon as she was called, Rouge walked towards me and opened her arms to invite Jaja.
“Hmm! Nya!”
Jaja grabbed my clothes and shook her head unwillingly.
“Jaja, do you want some apple juice?
“Na!”
That was fast!
She turned to Rouge with super speed!
Damn, I lost to apple juice…
“Come here.”
“Dah! Ahda!”
With a flap of the small wings on her back, Jaja flew away from my chest.
She continued on her way slowly and lightly, and landed with a poof on Rouge’s chest.
“Yes, good job.”
“Heh.”
Jaja, who was praised, put on the twin’s signature triumphant smile.
Rouge, a dragon that manipulates fire, is said to have a high body temperature. Maybe that’s why Jaja and Nana like to be hugged by Rouge.
“Where’s Jaja’s apple juice?”
“Aah!”
I left the room while Rouge, who was going to the refrigerator and spoke in a tone that mimicked Yuri-san’s, and Jaja who was in high spirits.
If you’re not in a good mood, she’ll cry.
When she’s in a bad mood or wants to sleep, she cries a lot just because I’m not there.
“Rouge-sama, let me help you.”
“Yes, please.”
Kayone, who had replaced me in the room, made a short run for the refrigerator.
I closed the door slowly, leaving Kayone’s body in a blind spot.
I hurried down the hallway and reached the phone in front of the grand staircase at the end of the hall.
There was something written in unfamiliar characters on the touch screen display, but there was no way I could read demon characters.
I picked up the receiver next to the phone and put it next to my ear to hear classical music playing.
It was the hold function.
“Uh, I think it’s this button?”
I pressed the large button that was glowing green, and the music stopped.
“Hello? Mikuma?
We’re connected, right?
“Ah, hello? Kunpei-kun?”
A familiar voice rang in my ears through the speaker on the receiver.
Hmm? It seems like there’s a commotion.
“Oh, thanks for waiting.”
“No, it’s fine. Sorry to bother you all of a sudden.”
I don’t know why Aoi and this girl are so concerned about others.
“No, it’s okay. What’s up?”
“U-um, we’re going to be in Dailan for my father’s work. We’re planning to stay in the capital for five nights, so I thought it would be nice to join you.”
Huh?
Mikuma’s father came to the Sphere Continent for the magic tools expo to be held in Francion, right?
It’s the most famous and largest of the demon nations in the middle of the sphere continent.
It dominates the market share of the word sphere, a magical tool for language translation, and is truly a Mecca for magical tools.
That’s Francion.
What brings you to Dailan?
This is a country on the edge of the sphere continent, facing the sea.
It’s quite a distance.
“Dailan is more famous than Francion for its water-attribute magic tools. It seems to be firmly in the schedule of overseas business trip.”
Ah, I’m sure Gasara said something like that before.
“I see. I understand. I’ll talk to Atol and see if we can schedule it. When are you coming?”
“Well, we’ll be arriving at the capital tomorrow night. The manarail will take us to Dailan in about five hours. We can meet anytime from the day after tomorrow.”
High-speed magic railroad!
The manarail!
“Wow, that’s great. I want to ride it too.”
“Kunpei-kun, you seem to like that kind of thing.”
I like it a lot.
As a boy, I long for something like that.
I’ve always wanted to ride one of these things if I had the chance.
A magically operated monorail that can only be operated in areas where the magic in the air is dense.
That is the manarail.
The streetcars that run in this town are powered by both magic and electricity, and can be operated with fewer people.
As a result, they can’t go very fast, and the weight they can carry is also limited.
On the other hand, high-speed magic railroads, as the name implies, can go much faster and have a much higher weight limit.
I read in a book once that it carried a disassembled super-large passenger ship in a single run.
In terms of power, they are as different as an ant and an elephant.
Of course, it also takes time to control and maintain the aircraft, and a hundred people are not even enough to operate it.
The magic that was applied to the aircraft, the academic magic name for it, was the ‘high-move’.
It’s a technique in which a large amount of magic power is gathered from the surrounding area and channeled to the overhead wires and tracks to make the body of the vehicle, which is also lightened by magic, flow in any direction.
In the inside, there are ‘shock mitigation’, ‘resistance mitigation’, ‘simple space fixation’, and even a magic-resistant wall.
That’s all controlled by the crew in the car, which inevitably requires a lot of people.
That’s why the fare for the manarail is so expensive.
It is a high level service that requires highly skilled and knowledgeable crew members to transport tourists and important people from different countries.
Due to the nature of crossing between countries, one has to be very careful about safety.
Some enthusiasts call it ‘the world’s fastest three-star hotel’ and tickets for that ride are not something that ordinary people can afford.
“That’s amazing Kunpei-kun, I didn’t know that.”
I was the one who was explaining this to Mikuma over the phone.
I’m actually quite a vehicle enthusiast!
I’m not a specialist, I’m just a broad and shallow enthusiast, and I only pick out the cool ones, such as cars, motorcycles, boats, airplanes, and the like.
“A-anyways, I’ll be in Dailan tomorrow night, so if we can meet somewhere, I’d love to see you!”
“Wait a minute, Mikuma. There’s still more to explain.”
“I’d love to hear about it in person!”
“Is that so? Okay. I’ll see you day after tomorrow.”
“Yeah! Thank you!”
What the?
Why was she trying to wind me up with that?
That’s not like Mikuma.
We said a quick goodbye to each other and I put down the phone.
I’ll have to talk to Atol about it at dinner.
I’ve heard that it takes a few hours to get to the capital by car, I’m sure it’ll be fine.
I se, the manarail, is it?
There will be at least time to take pictures… right?
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