Back to Brunhild

"What?! Nooo! Sakura, don't!"

"Victory is mine..." Sakura declared as her kart fired out a red shell, knocking

Sue's kart off-course and sending it into a spin.

Sue's victory was stolen before her eyes. All she could do was watch as Sakura

went over the finish line.

"How could you! I was about to win!"

"Heh."

Sue glared, squeezing the controller tightly in her hands. The TV screen

displayed Sakura's character cheering in a victory celebration.

Sue and Sakura were playing a video game from quite a few years back.

They'd found it in my grandpa's closet a little earlier on. My grandpa was quite

fond of video games, despite his relatively old age. He got into the habit of

buying and keeping a lot of different ones.

I didn't think it'd work when we found it. It was a cartridge game that was

released years before I was born, after all. Quite retro, if I do say so myself. Still,

even old games seemed modern and mysterious to girls from a world without

much tech. They quickly got hooked on games, playing a ton one after the

other. They didn't seem bored, even after several hours. It kind of reminded me

of the enthusiasm I had for games when I was younger.

We were thinking of places to go, but everyone was still tired after meeting

my parents, so we just decided to lounge at home. I wasn't entirely sure that it

was the best way to spend a honeymoon, though... Still, we had [Gate] to take

us wherever we wanted in a flash, so we could afford to relax a bit.

"Ghhh! Sakura, I'm gonna beat you this time!"

"Bring it on..."

Sue rummaged through a box of games and plucked out another cartridge.

The one she'd chosen was an RPG, though... which wasn't exactly multiplayer.

Leen quietly murmured as she watched the TV display the start of their game,

featuring a king entrusting the protagonist with a mission to save the world.

"It's not too different from the Frame Units at home, is it? Though these

televideo games are more leisure-oriented, it would seem."

"Yeah, basically..."

The Frame Units, simulations of the Frame Gears, had been designed with

game-like features from the outset.

"Doctor Babylon should be happy if you bring it back to show her."

"Yeah, good point. That reminds me actually, she did say she wanted some

souvenirs..."

Doc Babylon had gone on a long-winded tangent about how she desperately

needed me to bring her back as much technology from Earth's civilizations as

humanly possible.

I wasn't quite planning on going that far, but I felt it was reasonable to at least

pick up a few things for her.

I guess I should look into electrical appliances, then. Knowing her I'm sure

she'll get stuff working in the other world with magic or whatever.

Seemed like getting some electronics would be the mission for tomorrow. It'd

be a matter of getting up early or going over late.

"What will you buy?"

"Maybe a fridge? A washing machine or a vacuum cleaner would be pretty

useful too."

"Oh! Yes, absolutely! Please consider a microwave and a rice cooker, too! Oh,

and a gas stove! Or an oven!"

Before I could even blink, Lu had interjected my conversation with Leen and

pummeled me with suggestion after suggestion.

...These are all cooking appliances, aren't they? Wait, does a gas stove even

count as an electrical appliance? I guess I can buy one, but still...

"Huh? You're gonna buy more games?"

"No, Sue. But I was thinking of going to an electronics store. There should be a

big store a short train ride away from here."

Or at least there was three years ago. They should still be in business, it's

owned by a major corporation and all.

Yumina held out a cup of tea and passed it over to me.

"This non-magic world seems to have a very fascinating mechanical culture. In

many ways, it's like the ancient civilizations in our world, since the inventions

and appliances here are so similar to the artifacts back home."

Arthur C. Clarke once said that any sufficiently advanced technology is

indistinguishable from magic. I wondered if that was how the girls felt about

Earth's technology. In a way, being able to cook rice and keep food cold was

quite magical.

"Grand Duke... Will you buy a tellyvision?" Sakura asked as she excitedly

pointed toward the TV screen that Sue was playing the RPG on.

"No, I'm not gonna buy a TV. There'd be no signal over there, anyway..."

Well, we could still use it as a display for video games or something. Doc

Babylon would probably want to use [Analyze] on one, so bringing one home

would probably be fine, actually... Plus, I had a feeling Sue and the others would

want to play more games.

"I think we'll all have fun on the trip, anyway. It doesn't just sell electronics,

there's other stuff too."

"Is it like the shopping center?"

"Sort of. It's not quite as diverse in terms of stuff, though."

Lemme think... They sell toys and stationery... Actually, I think they sell bikes

too. Maybe it's not too different from the shopping center after all... Oh, wait,

they don't have food or anything there.

"Touya! The slime beat me! No fair!"

I looked at the screen, only to see Sue's hero dying to the weakest monster in

the game. I immediately identified the problem... She hadn't equipped any of

her weapons or armor.

I taught Sue how to navigate the item menu and she quickly beat the slime.

But then, she had to go rest at an inn because she'd worn her character down a

bit.

"This king sucks! He only gave me a Cypress Stick! How can I save the world

with that?! Can't he give me a Frame Gear or something?"

I don't think that's possible, Sue... I remember thinking the same thing when I

first played the game, though. But it's generally better not to think of these

things in realistic terms. Just play the game as it's meant to be played.

Sue beat enough slimes to earn some more money and was just buying her

new weapon when I heard Linze enter the room.

"Touya. Is there another book after this one?"

"You finished already?"

Linze had been reading a book she'd found in the study. She'd also bought a

ton of books at the shopping center, but presumably, she was saving all those

for home. I didn't really know what to think of her spending her whole

honeymoon reading, but if she was happy I was happy.

The one she was reading right now wasn't my grandpa's, it was one that used

to belong to my mom. I was a little bit surprised to know that my mom of all

people had once been interested in this kind of romance novel...

"Gimme a minute to check. I'm not sure if there's any more."

I rummaged a bit through the study and found several volumes from the

series, along with other books by the same author.

I handed over the books to Linze, and she happily took them.

When I glanced again into the study, I noticed that Linze hadn't been the only

one engrossed in reading...

Elze, Yae, and Hilde were also reading in there. But they weren't reading the

romance novels Linze was into. Yae and Hilde were reading battle shounen

manga, while Elze was reading a shoujo romance manga. They were all my

mom's, too. I knew cause I'd read them when I was younger.

"We're going to the electronics store tomorrow, okay? Make sure you all rest

up early."

"Got it. Will do..."

"Roger that..."

"Okay..."

"I understand, I do..."

G-Guys! At least look at me when I'm talking! I feel a little bit neglected!

I grumbled a little as I left the study, shrugging my shoulders.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Whew... That's that for shopping..."

I hauled all of our purchased appliances to a back alley, then shoved them

away into [Storage].

Hairdryers, video games, cameras, vacuum cleaners, irons, microwaves, rice

cookers, mixers, hotplates, toasters, coffee makers, and more... I'd bought an

utterly ridiculous number of things.

The larger stuff like the TV, fridge, washing machine, and stove (which I got

for a bargain) were all set to be delivered to my grandpa's house later. Since

we'd be leaving this world at the last possible minute, it'd be fine to wait for a

delivery.

Lu went absolutely insane in there, so we ended up buying more cooking stuff

than I expected. Maybe buying a chocolate fountain was a bridge too far, but at

least the other world had chocolate... It wouldn't be totally useless.

By the time we left the alleyway and looked up at the station clock, it was

already well past noon.

"Wanna go get something to eat?"

"Sounds good. But where?"

Yumina seemed to agree with my course of action. As did all the other girls,

except Lu... She looked a little dejected.

C'mon, Lu... You can use your new appliances to make dinner, okay?

"Well, maybe... Oh?" Hilde stopped herself mid-sentence. She was looking at

a storefront. It wasn't a restaurant, either. It was a shoe store. I briefly

wondered if she wanted to go shoe shopping or something, but then I realized

she was actually looking at a poster stuck to the display window.

"Touya... What is a school festival, exactly?"

"Hm? Oh, is that what the poster's advertising? Well, it's—"

"I know, I know! A school festival's a thing where school classes put on their

own events and stalls!"

To my surprise, Elze suddenly interjected with an explanation. I wondered

how she even knew that...

"I read about it in that manga yesterday! It sounds fun!"

"Oh, that explains it..."

There was a storyline like that in the shoujo manga. I think that arc ended up

spanning two whole volumes or something.

"Hmm... A student celebration...? Will there be food?"

"Yeah! There should be takoyaki, crepes, noodles, buttered potatoes, and

donuts! It all looked super yummy!" Elze suddenly answered Leen's question,

but I didn't know if that was accurate... It'd probably be different from the one

she read about. Linze scanned her eyes over the poster with great interest.

"Can we attend? Is it open to the public?"

"I don't think there are any entry restrictions. Oh, hmm... Looks like it's just

for today, too. It's not too far from here."

I'd only been to high school for a short while before I died, so I hadn't had a

chance to do an event like this. I was a little interested.

"Shall we go, then?"

"Yeah!"

"Mm! I wanna go, Touya! Let's check it out!"

Elze and Sue seemed the most excited, but just about everyone seemed to

agree. Thus, it was settled.

I opened up the map on my smartphone to guide us there.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Check out the kendo club's special yakisoba noodles!"

"Candy apples! Get your candy apples here!"

"Come get your fortune told! Only at class 2-C!"

We passed through the school gates, only to be greeted by many overlapping

voices. The festival was buzzing with excitement.

There was a stage in the schoolyard, where it looked like they were hosting

some kind of event. I wondered if they had some kind of celebrity speaker or

something.

"It's so busy here! Touya, look! Look!"

"Oh, Touya! What's a candy apple?! Oh! What's this caramel thing?!"

I could understand Sue's excitement, but seeing Lu get so fired up took me

off-guard. She seemed to be utterly enamored by the new types of food.

"We must try everything here, we must! Let us go, girls!"

The girls all cheered in response to Yae's rallying cry. Lu, Sue, and Sakura led

the charge as they sped off to the stalls... The only problem was that they didn't

have any money! I had no choice but to follow after them, since I didn't want

anyone getting lost. They did have their phones now, at least, but I was a bit

uneasy about them being out of sight.

Everyone had their own candy apples or caramel treats, except for Yae who

had multiple. I personally refrained, since I'd had this kind of food before. We

were certainly drawing attention, too...

It was unavoidable, sadly. Yae and I excluded, the group looked like a bunch

of foreigners.

"Hey, ladies. You go to school around here? Want me to show you around?"

Welp... I had a feeling this would happen. Some guy's trying his luck at the

dating game...

A high school student with light-colored hair came up to talk to us. Or rather,

he came to talk to everyone except me. He probably thought it was fine since

we were speaking Japanese.

"No, we're fine, thank you."

"C'mooon, don't say that. I got some buddies around here. Why don't we

hang out? Leave the festival, have a little fun, yeah?"

Even without her mystic eye, Yumina was quick to notice the guy's seedy

intentions. She promptly rebuked him, but he wouldn't give up.

C'mon, dumbass... Can't you take a hint? We're here for the festival, why

would we leave?

Yumina kept on refusing, but the guy kept on pressuring her. It was kind of

pissing me off.

Oh crap... Elze and Yae are getting mad too... I can tell by the look in their eye,

something's gonna happen soon if I don't put a stop to this!

"...Spring forth, Water. Liquid Sphere: [Water Ball]."

"Huh?"

I turned around after hearing a quiet voice. Leen gave me a wink, then

brought a finger up to her lips. She then walked in front of Yumina, staring

down the boy.

"Don't you think you should focus on taking yourself to the bathroom rather

than taking us out? Looks like you can't hold it any longer," Leen stated as she

pointed toward the boy's crotch, revealing a huge wet patch.

"Huh? What?!"

I could hear murmured giggling from people nearby.

The student, obviously shocked, put his hands on his pants and quickly turned

to leave.

"I-It's not... I'm... I didn't!"

He turned red as a beetroot, then scampered away.

Geez... I almost feel bad for the guy. Here's hoping he doesn't develop a

complex around this...

"Did you use magic just now, Leen?"

"Yes. But I can only muster up a very tiny amount of water."

She must've mustered an orb about the size of a ping pong ball and splashed

it into his pants. Thankfully nobody seemed to have noticed.

"You're okay, though? No sickness?"

"I'm fine. My kind have slightly more magic than the average human,

remember?"

I was still a bit worried, since without a reliable way to recharge her magic she

could've developed mana sickness if she'd exhausted her supply.

"Thanks for your help, Leen."

"Not a problem. That was the least I could do to such an overconfident young

man," Leen giggled a bit as she reassured Yumina.

"What a creep... I was this close to punching his lights out."

"I was about to strike him down as well, I was. He was not a good man, he

was not."

Elze and Yae quietly said something pretty scary. I knew it was almost too

close for comfort, but still...

In the end, it was probably better to publicly humiliate him than send him to

the emergency room.

"Grand Duke, what is this?"

"Hm?"

Sakura pointed towards a nearby poster. It was a poster for a show being put

on by the drama club in the gymnasium. The play seemed to be an adaptation

of Beauty and the Beast.

"I think some of the students are putting on a play. It should be in that

building over there."

"A play?! That sounds fascinating...!"

Linze's eyes were sparkling as she read over the poster. Seemed like she was

itching to go. There was a morning performance that had already happened,

but we had a little time before the afternoon one started.

"Let's eat first, okay? Then we can. What do you guys wanna—?"

"I'd like to try the cotton candy!"

"Hm? Cotton... candy? SSurely they couldn't have dipped fabric in... No..."

Hilde said, seeming utterly befuddled by Lu's words.

As if to clarify, Lu pointed toward a stall where students were putting sticks

into a machine, wrapping thin edible strands around it. It wasn't a full-on cotton

candy machine. It was more of an at-home kind of toy one. Still, it got the job

done and that was what was important.

"I'm interested in trying out a churro."

"Oh, I agree, sis. It looks pretty good."

"I wanna eat a buttered potato! Looks good!"

"Touya, I want to try that... sata andagi... What is it, exactly?"

"Grand Duke, I want potato pancakes..."

"Darling, I'm interested in the tapioca pearls."

"Relax, guys! We'll go in order, okay?"

The girls looked like they were about to run off, particularly Yae and Lu, but I

managed to reel them back in. I was just a kid right now, so I felt pretty

powerless... Part of me wondered how the scene must have looked to a

bystander.

Either way, we went around eating a lot of food before the play started. Yae

did most of the eating, though.

I was just glad everyone was having a good time.

◇ ◇ ◇

"That was quite an interesting tale."

"Yeah, I liked it a lot. Acting was kinda awkward, though."

Linze and Elze spoke their thoughts on the play after we left. I thought Elze

was a little harsh; it wasn't like it was a professional production or anything.

It was similar in some ways to the animated version of Beauty and the Beast

that I'd seen, but different in others. I'd thought it was maybe some original

spin on it by the students, but apparently, they were just being more faithful to

the story the animated version drew from to begin with.

Because of those differences, it felt just unique enough for me to enjoy. All

the girls seemed to be happy with it too.

After the show was over, we went to go see some events. There was

chalkboard art, baseball practice, plastic bottle bowling, and target shooting.

Yumina tried her hand at the target shooting and shocked the students by

hitting every single one. Much to her joy, they gave her a stuffed toy as a prize.

I was glad to see the girls enjoying themselves in their own different ways.

As we headed out toward the gate, I noticed Hilde looking up at the school

building.

"If you'd continued living here, you'd have attended a school like this, right?"

"That's right. I would've continued my highschool life, and then gone on to

college... Or maybe I'd have just gone straight into the workforce. Either way,

that would've been my future here."

It would've been a very different life to the one I was leading now. But I was

glad to have things the way they were. At first, I simply resigned myself to my

new fate, but I was now truly happy to have been reborn so I could meet these

girls.

"We'll have to figure out where to go next when we get back to the house."

"I want to go somewhere with a beautiful view."

Yumina's request was simple enough. Maybe the Uyuni salt flat, or the

Matterhorn... I also wanted to show her the view of a big city at night. It'd be

cool to see the Skytree all lit up.

"I want to see some historical ruins," Leen spoke up.

Like Machu Picchu or the Pyramids? Wait a second... Now that I think about it,

isn't Machu Picchu younger than Leen? It was built in the 15th century or

something... The Pyramids should be older than her though.

"As for what I want, Touya-dono..."

"Yep, I know. Tasty food, right?"

"I did not even finish my sentence, I did not!"

"Oh? Was I wrong?"

"You were not..."

She was easy to read. Lu seemed to approve, though. They made quite an

interesting combo.

"Hey, Touya. I wanna go someplace super fun!"

"I agree with Sue... I think fun is important..." Sakura said, nodding along with

Sue.

Fun, huh...? Maybe Sakura'll enjoy the Sydney Opera House.

"Well, let's figure it out once we get back to the house."

"Hey Touya, can we stop by the conbeanyance store on the way back?"

"Oh hell yeah! I wanna buy some ice cream!" Elze exclaimed, seeming excited

by Linze's suggestion.

...It feels like we've been eating all day... But I guess picking up some ice cream

for dessert later is fine.

It wasn't a huge deal, since we could stop by a convenience store on the way

home. We stopped and bought some ice cream, snacks, and drinks. I put the ice

cream into [Storage] right away to stop it from melting. Then we stopped by a

bookstore to get a more recent travel guide. The one at my grandpa's house

was useful, but it was just a little bit outdated.

While we were in the bookstore, Linze picked up a copy of Beauty and the

Beast. Apparently, she'd liked the play more than I'd thought. I made a mental

note to show her the animated movie sometime.

I could tell Lu was itching to try out all the new kitchen appliances once we

got back home, so I let her try them all out. After all, there was no electricity in

the other world, so we'd have to wait a bit for Doc Babylon to modify them all

to work with magic when we returned.

In the end, Lu used a pressure cooker, a mochi pounder, a mixer, a toaster, an

air fryer, a coffee maker, and a yogurt maker, among other things. Our dinner

ended up being... very varied. It was good, though.

"This is way too convenient... I won't be able to go back to cooking things by

hand..." Lu quietly groaned. I had a feeling she'd probably had the most fulfilling

trip out of anyone.

After the meal, we flicked through the new guidebook to see where we

wanted to go.

"How about Mont Saint-Michel?"

"What's with the Nazca Lines? How'd they draw such a big picture?"

"Huh... The Oregon Vortex? Seems weird... Is it magic, maybe?"

The girls all chose different locations, and some of the stuff wasn't quite

suited to this time of year, but eventually, we put together a list.

Alright! Starting tomorrow we're gonna do a world tour! I haven't been to

most of these places, so I'm excited... I'm gonna make this a memorable

honeymoon for the girls! But maybe I shouldn't be too overenthusiastic... Gotta

make sure I enjoy myself, too.

With excitation welling up within my heart, I went off to sleep.

◇ ◇ ◇

All things considered, it was a good honeymoon. Over the course of two

weeks, we traveled all around the world. We bought souvenirs, ate interesting

food, and made wonderful memories.

Before I knew it, it was the last day of the trip. The saying about time flying

when you're having fun? It was very true.

"The Leaning Tower of Pisa was fascinating."

"I liked the Louvre more."

"The Moai heads were huge..."

Linze, Leen, and Sakura talked about their favorite destinations along the trip.

"The Italian gelato was the best! It had an amazing texture..."

"I thought the swiss cheese was incredible, I did."

"That tom yum goong was crazy! It was all spicy and bitter... I couldn't get

enough!"

Lu, Yae, and Elze fervently discussed their favorite foods.

"I got a lot of souvenirs for Ed. He's gonna be so happy."

"The opera was fascinating, as was the subway. I'd really like to see if we

could create our own versions."

"It's been interesting learning about the heroes and warriors of this world. I'll

have to give my brother some of these figurines."

Sue, Yumina, and Hilde spoke amongst themselves as they sorted through the

stuff they'd bought. I was happy everyone had enjoyed themselves.

I'd contacted God Almighty a bit earlier, so it wouldn't be long until he came

to take us home. I still couldn't cross back to the other world on my own. Or to

be more precise... I couldn't quite span that kind of distance yet. I could jump to

neighboring worlds just fine. Without the help of a more established God, I

couldn't quite skip too many spaces just yet.

...God Almighty is the one who's gonna pick me up, right? He did take me...

"Bzzt! Wrong answer! It's me, you know?"

"Ghagh!"

Just as I thought that, the goddess of love, Karen, showed up in my grandpa's

living room.

What the hell?! You?!

"O-Oh, you've come to pick us up, then?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, Linze! I'm your sister-in-law now, you know? Try being less

nervous, okay?"

"O-Okay... I mean, okay! I'm glad to see you."

"Ahhh, you're so cute! C'mere and gimme a hug, you know? Kissykiss!"

"Aah?!" Linze shrieked and recoiled slightly as Karen gave her a big cuddle.

She was really too excited...

"How come you're here, Karen?"

"Well, you see... I won the game of rock-paper-scissors, you know?"

"You decided like that?!"

Were they just gonna send anyone over here? Gimme a break! Well, I guess if

even lesser gods can warp through worlds it's fine, but still!

"Opportunities to come to worlds like this don't come often, you know? Gotta

make the most of it!"

That's a pretty lame reason, but whatever... I guess I should be thankful she

came to get us.

"Alright, time to head home. I'm sure we have plenty to catch up on."

"Huh! Are you sure, you know?!" Karen exclaimed as she stared at me in

shock.

Wh-What's with that expression?!

"Don't you wanna stay a bit longer? You could see more things, you know?

Isn't there more you wanna do here?"

"Nope. I've already seen, done, and bought everything I wanted."

"W-Wait! But I just got here! Cut me some slack, you know? I made Moroha

super jealous, don't let that go to waste!"

Now I see. You were planning on using your role to goof off on Earth, weren't

you? Or maybe you were just trying to gloat in Moroha's face... I'm sure she'll

totally appreciate that.

"Three days! No, even two! Just stretch out the last bit of your trip, if only a

little!"

"...This is my honeymoon, you know? Don't you think you tagging along as a

third wheel is bad? You're the goddess of love, right? You should know better."

"Gh... H-How dare you take such a cheap shot! Obviously, as the goddess of

love, I know that I shouldn't interfere with a honeymoon! Geez! I'd rather die!"

...Would you, though?

I let out a small sigh as I watched my sister's distress. She was such a pain...

As I pondered what to do, Yumina raised her voice. "Er, Touya? I don't really

mind..."

"I do not mind either, I do not. I wish for her to enjoy this delicious food, I

do."

"I'm fine watching more TV!"

Yae and Sue chimed in their thoughts too. All the other girls nodded as well...

They were so kind. I was glad to be married to such good-hearted girls.

"Well, if everyone agrees... we can extend the trip by two more days. Just

make sure that everyone knows where we'll be, okay Karen?"

"Okay! I'll be sure to, you know? Thank you so muuuch!"

"Gwagh?!"

Karen hugged me super tight, just like she did to Linze earlier.

T-Too tight...

My childish form was almost suffocated by her massive melons, but Yae saved

me just in the nick of time.

Whew... I almost left behind nine widows...

"Alright, Lu! We're gonna need a feast tonight, you know?"

"That sounds good to me. I was just thinking of making some more stuff

anyway..." Lu said as she chuckled slightly and got up. I couldn't help but feel

like my sister was imposing, but Lu seemed happy.

We spent the next two days showing Karen all kinds of things. It wasn't

exactly a honeymoon-type trip anymore, but it was still a lot of fun.

Once we reached the final day again, Karen started to throw a tantrum saying

she wasn't ready to leave yet. Suddenly she perked up, saying, "I'll ask Tokie to

rewind time! We can have an extra day for as long as we want!"

But the moment I threatened to call God Almighty, she clung to my side and

told me it was just a joke. She totally wasn't kidding, though. But in the end, it

was time to go back. Our long honeymoon was over.

By the end of it all, I was ready to return. I was ready to head back to

Brunhild, my true home.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Tadah! We're home now, you know? Welcome home!"

"...Why are you welcoming us? You spent part of the trip with us and brought

us back..."

It was kind of nice to be welcomed home, though. There were a lot of people

waiting for us when we arrived. There was the butler, Laim, our head maid

Lapis, our regular maids Cecile and Renne, Cesca, head chef Crea, Prime

Minister Kousaka, Kohaku and the other summoned beasts, Granny Tokie, and a

few others too.

"Hmm... I don't see Moroha, you know? What a mean older sister she is..."

"Not at all, Karen-sama. Moroha-sama is currently on a monster-hunting

excursion in the nearby forest along with the knight order. I do believe we

informed you of this three days ago."

"...Oh, you did?" Karen was utterly dumbfounded by Kousaka's statement.

Apparently, she'd completely forgotten...

As I side-eyed Karen, a black shadow suddenly leaped from the darkness and

tackled me to the ground. It hurt like hell!

"Welcome back, Touyaaa! Where's my present?!"

"Goddammit..."

The one to tackle me was none other than the divine gremlin herself,

Mochizuki Suika. Strangely enough, she looked sober! But her eyes were

bloodshot, and her lips were twisted into a manic grin like she was going

through withdrawal or something.

We're roughly the same size, don't tackle me so hard!

I was about to yell at her, but her bloodshot gaze silenced me. It was like she

was silently begging me for booze, over and over again, firing an invisible

alcohol-compelling force right into my brain. I was honestly kinda scared, so I

quickly took out various bottles of brandy, whiskey, wine, and sake from

[Storage]. I kept a few for other people, then gave her the rest.

I'd actually taken most of these from my grandpa's house. They were in a

secret place only he and I knew about, so it was fine. My parents hardly drank,

anyway. That said, I left some money behind in their place just in case. I

personally felt like my grandpa would've been happy knowing his booze was

appreciated, rather than have it waste away in an old cellar. Whether the

person appreciating it was a god or from another world didn't matter.

"Wahahah! Awesome! That's the stuff! I've been holding back on drinkin' for

this!"

Suika's eyes glimmered, glinted, and bulged out of their sockets as they

focused on the pile of alcohol.

...You really held off on drinking? You're crazy, dude... But I guess you must've

been looking forward to this.

"Now, time to drink!"

"Wait, you're doing it right here?"

Suika popped open a bottle of sake in the blink of an eye. The scent of alcohol

wafted into the room.

"Ohh... This smell... It's already too much! Amazing! Delicious!"

...Geez. Read the room, girl. I know you're crazy about booze, but have some

manners...

"Now, time to chug my—"

Just as Suika was bringing the first sip to her lips, someone appeared behind

her and snatched her cup away.

"Oh, master."

Elze's words signified the presence of Uncle Takeru. He swiped the cup and

drank down the sake in about half a second flat.

...When did he get here? Also aren't you drinking a bit fast?

"GAAAAAAH!! Wh-What was that for?! That was my drink! You animal! You

monster!" Suika started screeching uncontrollably.

"Mm... Ain't bad! Prefer my drinks with a little more kick, though!"

Uncle Takeru picked up the bottle and began tilting it back towards his

mouth. Suika started screaming like a banshee, grabbing one of his legs with all

her might. She was completely frantic.

"NOOO! STOOP! TAKERU, NOOOO! THAT'S MIIINE!"

"Don't be selfish. I'm plenty thirsty myself. Sharing's caring."

"AUUUGH! YOU'RE GULPING IT DOWN LIKE WATER! NOOO! THIS IS

BLASPHEMY! A-AT LEAST SAVOR THE FLAVOR! NO! STOP DRINKING IT! STOP!

PLEASE!" Suika's pleading fell on deaf ears. Takeru chugged down the entire

bottle and skillfully balanced the empty remains atop her head. That part

almost felt like salting her wounds...

"Elze, meet me at the training grounds later. Gotta make sure your arms

didn't soften during your trip. Ende'll be there too."

"G-Got it..." Elze replied. Her weary expression made Takeru chuckle a bit as

he wandered out of the room. That guy really had made himself at home...

Slowly but surely, Suika brought her arms out and removed the bottle from

her head. A single drop rolled out from the neck and landed atop her tongue.

"I-It's good..." Suika's joyful words were contrasted by her dead, sunken eyes.

A single tear dripped down to the ground.

I honestly felt bad for her...

Well... if it's come to this...

I'd been saving a bottle of Junmai Daiginjo sake, the highest grade of sake

known to man, in my [Storage]. It was a special bottle that my grandpa had put

away for me... But I decided it'd be better spent on her.

"Here, take this. Don't let anyone steal it, okay?"

"T-Touya! You're amazing! I love you!"

The teary-eyed sober-drunk gave me a huge, exasperated hug. Her love for

booze was as pure and simple as ever.

Suika scurried around the floor like some kind of rodent going cold turkey,

before tossing the bottle into a pouch around her shoulder. It probably had the

same effects as [Storage], since I'd seen big things go in there before. She was

probably paranoid about someone stealing her drink, even if that was unlikely

to happen again... But knowing her, it was always possible Karina would show

up and take the bottle if she tried drinking it in public again.

"Alright, well! That's me done! Welcome home, you guys! Byebye!"

Just like that, Suika ran out of the room like the wind. She had what she

wanted, so there was no point in her sticking around anymore.

"That was quite a noisy ordeal, it was."

"Hehehe... It feels like home, though," Leen replied to Yae with a little smile.

Paula had shown up by the fairy's feet, and she certainly seemed happy about

it, caressing the bear's head slowly.

I sent a telepathic message to my summoned beasts that amounted to "I'm

home."

"Welcome back, my liege."

I was glad to hear from them all that everything was fine. Just as I was

thinking of what to do next, Lapis the head maid suddenly spoke to me.

"Er... Your Highness... How long do you intend to remain this way?"

"Hm?"

I suddenly realized what she meant. I'd forgotten about my appearance... I

was tiny. Still a child, actually. I could barely bite the ankles of the adults around

me, but I'd gotten used to it at this point.

...Wait, I'm home but I'm not the right size! What gives?!

I was about to impatiently stomp my feet, when Granny Tokie walked over, a

gentle smile painting her face. She whispered to me, just out of earshot from

everyone else.

"Worry not. That body of yours is fixed for a while longer, but it will revert

soon."

"When, exactly?"

"Not much longer. This evening at the latest."

Whew... I was worried it'd be longer. I'd have definitely been in trouble then...

Big trouble...

"Now then, let's celebrate our return with a lavish feast tonight. I've learned a

lot of dishes from the other wor... Uh, ahem, the honeymoon destination! Crea,

I've brought a lot of souvenirs back! I'll show you how to use them!"

"Hehehe... I'm looking forward to it."

"Good. To the kitchen!" Lu suddenly broke the tension with a delicioussounding declaration. It felt a little weird for her to be making the welcomehome feast, though, since she was on the trip too...

"I'm gonna go training with Takeru... I think I might've overeaten on the trip...

Plus, I didn't exercise much..." Elze's muttering prompted Yae and Hilde to perk

up.

"I-I feel the same, I do! Shall we, Hilde-dono?"

"Y-Yes! I think we need to push ourselves harder!"

The three girls walked out of the room... Or really, it was more like they fastwalked out. They seemed oddly motivated.

"I wanna go see Ed! Renne, can you come with me? I got you a souvenir too!"

Sue's words prompted Renne to look towards Lapis for confirmation. Lapis

nodded her head slightly, her expression blossoming into a smile as she

watched Renne run after Sue.

I transferred all of Sue's souvenirs from my [Storage] to her ring's [Storage].

We sure did buy a lot of stuff...

I decided to use that chance to split up everyone's souvenirs properly. Elze

and the others out training could sort through their stuff later.

I used [Gate] to send Sue and Renne off to the Ortlinde Estate, and saw

Sakura off to go visit her mother at the school. Lu and Crea had gone to cook

together, while Yumina and Linze decided to go help them out. Leen wanted to

swing by Babylon's place.

That only left me...

"You're two days late, so you're behind in official affairs... Several matters

need urgent attention. Fortunately, you can still handle them despite looking

like a child. Let's go, Your Highness."

"B-But it was Karen's fault I'm late... Gimme a break!"

Kousaka forcibly dragged me to my work office.

Why does the honeymoon have to be over so soon? Can't I start work

tomorrow instead? No? Well, at least I tried... I guess this is my life now... I wish

I'd been able to take it easy just a little longer...

As the day dragged on, I returned to my regular form. I never wanted to be a

little kid again. It was way more hassle than it had any right to be.

I was glad to be back to my regular size by nightfall, though... After all, I was a

newlywed man. Huh, what did I mean by that? Nothing... Nothing at all. I never

said anything.

Either way, I'm back. I'm right where I belong. In another world with my

smartphone. Let's see what tomorrow brings, shall we?

As I leaned against the balcony and looked out to the sunset, I could feel a

soft breeze blowing through my hair. Another sunset. Another day.