How a Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom

Book 9: Epilogue2

Epilogue 2: Welcome Home

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. Time seemed to be flying by so fast.

My feet seemed to be floating off the ground, and even when I came 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 me any longer, Naden complained. Youve been acting too restless all this time. If youre a king, act more dignified.

Nadies right, Roroa said, hugging Naden from behind. Theyll come back, whether youre actin impatient or not.

Hey, Roroa, dont hug me. 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 come 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 come to greet her.

Yuriga shrugged her shoulders in resignation. Besides, Ive never even met 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 former 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 same 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 home, 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 came back to my senses, and rushed over to their side along with my fiances.

Welcome home, Liscia, I said. Sorry I couldnt go pick you up.

Welcome home, 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 welcome, but calm down, all of you.

Carla walked over to me and handed over the baby she was holding. I have returned, master. Please take the young prince.

Welcome home, 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 me feel old. I mean, 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 immediately 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. Sometimes 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 something that wasnt her fault, protested, but she couldnt blame 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. Welcome to the Kingdom of Friedonia.

N-Nice to meet 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 seemed 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 seemed 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 me a tomboy princess, too, so I can relate, Liscia said with a big smile. Its nice to meet you.

Yuriga nodded quickly.

Oh, I got it. Because they were so similar, Yuriga might have gotten tense when shed sensed the same 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 names 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 name them. Right, Liscia?

Yes. We decided Souma would name the boy, and I would name the girl.

As Liscia, Carla and I stood in a line, we announced the childrens names to everyone.

First, the boy Carla was holding.

This is Cian, I said. It seems like a lot of people use names 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 someday, so I gave him a name that established his link to Liscia.

Hee hee, Cian, is it? Well, thats close to cyan, which means blue, so I can relate, the blue-haired Juna said happily.

It seemed everyone liked the name, so... honestly, I was relieved.

Liscia showed the girl she was holding to everyone and said, And for this girls name, I chose Kazuha.

Kazuha? Hey, you ended up choosin a name that sounds kinda like Tomoe or Kaedes, huh? Roroa asked.

Shes right, it does have the same sort of sound as my name, Tomoe said, giggling.

Yeah, but why did she choose that name? 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 name is Kazuya, right? When were married and he inherits the names of Amidonia and Elfrieden, hell be Souma A. Elfrieden, right?

Yeah, I said. Thats what we decided on, right.

I felt sad knowing the name Kazuya would just disappear like that, so I gave this girl the name Kazuha. I thought Id leave some proof that the name Kazuya did once exist, Liscia said with a smile.

Shed chosen the name Kazuha out of consideration for me? Oh, crap. I was getting misty eyes.

If I burst into tears here, itd be lame, so I held it in as well as I could.

Kazuha, you say? Aisha asked. I think thats a cute name.

I think its great, Naden agreed. It feels like a name from Soumas world.

It was kind of them to say that.

In the end, I had given a boy a name like Liscias, and Liscia had given a girl a name 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 names, too.

And so, turning around and pointing to the castle for the twins, I said, Cian, Kazuha, can you see it? This is your home starting today.

Theyre both asleep, so of course they cant, Liscia teased me.

Everyone laughed.

As I scratched my head in embarrassment, Liscia walked over to stand beside me.

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 members 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 overcome 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.