Risou no Himo Seikatsu Vol 3 Chapter 5

Chapter 05: A formidable Opponent at Noon, a Lesson in the Evening and Comfort at Night.

Zenjirou was making it a rule for himself to only attend events that were held for the sake of form as far as practicable, but appearing in public brought about some entanglements that he just couldn’t escape.
On a certain day, his appearance at a luncheon meeting that was held in form of a buffet in one part of the royal palace, was inevitably.

“Oh my, then you made a completely new alcohol drink by yourself, Zenjirou-sama? How wonderful.”

“No, it’s just a hobby of mine. It’s hardly praiseworthy.”

“Oh my, how modest. They say alcohol is a kind of culture. Creating a completely new alcohol drink means to enrich our country’s culture and economy. It is wonderful, indeed.”

“Haha, please stop flattering me. When a beautiful woman like you sweet-talks me, I’ll likely get all stuck-up.”

As the banquet was no formal event, it didn’t place as much importance on the social standing and etiquette. Since he only had a superficial knowledge about the etiquette, it had the merit that mistakes from him were somewhat overlooked, but on the other hand, it also had the demerit of allowing aggressive approaches like this one.

Zenjirou regretted his decision all too late.

As a result, Famita Guillén, the little sister of an ambitious person, had participated at the last minute and could monopolize the approach on him to her heart’s content.

Zenjirou looked at the tall beauty, who was half a head taller than him and continued to chat passionately in front of him, while he was under such an impression.

Well, considering that she was only seventeen years-old, it was to be expected, but it was obvious even to him that she hadn’t had her facial expression under control.

Everything she did, including attracting his affection, happened on the orders of her brother. Her desire was the prosperity of the Guillén Family and she saw no value in making a happy family with him.

However beautiful she may be, it would be no laughing matter to take her as a concubine. Zenjirou realized that it was a bit childish to think that about a girl seven years younger than him, but he couldn’t help but feel that way instinctively.

It was an insuperable vicious circle.

“Oho. You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but General Puyol sure is an exception. All the tales about him truly describe him as the great man that he looks like.”

“Yes! When my brother was eighteen years old, he drunk our uncle Emidio-dono, known as a heavy drinker, under the table in a contest. My uncle lost his treasured spear to my brother as the stake, which made his loss only worse.

As usual, the girl kept talking about the brave anecdotes of her older brother.

(Interesting. If he holds his drink so well, I’ll make some super high-proof alcohol next time, like 80% or so, and let him drink it in one go.)

What a great feeling that would be if he could have the man, who walked about with a confident and overwhelming aura, on his knees for being dead-drunk.

“…Furthermore, a couple of his heroic deeds during the previous war have been made into songs. If you have the time, please invite a troubadour next time and listen to them. Any troubadour associated with the royal palace knows of them.”

“You sure respect your brother General Puyol from the bottom of your heart, My Lady Fatima.”

“Ah, f- forgive me. Here I go on all by myself…”

“No need to apologize. General Puyol is a very prominent figure in the military. It’s revealing to hear about his deeds and I personally am quite interested in it as well.”

When he smoothed the situation out, the tall beauty leaned over her tall body and lowered her head bashfully.

The extremely tiring luncheon meeting somehow came to an end and Zenjirou had returned into the inner palace, but unfortunately it was not time to relax just yet.

“Okay, I’ll be there in a minute.”
Today’s afternoon was scheduled with a magic lesson from Lady Octavia.

Over past year, Zenjirou and Lady Octavia had settled into the “classroom”.

“Well then, Zenjirou-sama, please go ahead. Show me your magic.”

Obeying his “teacher”, Zenjirou took a deep breath while remaining seated comfortably in the chair.

Zenjirou vividly pictured the effect of the magic inside his head while registering that glow coming from his folded hands on the table in the corner of the eye, then he spoke the “incantation”.

He was speaking in the Magic Language. That language could cram various meanings into a single syllable, so the automatic translation from the Soul of Words made it sound like a rather long sentence, even though only a few words were spoken.

A transparent light dome, centred around Zenjirou— or to be more precise, around the upheld index finger of his right hand, took shape.

It was a powerful defence magic that isolated space itself and prevented all interference from the outside, but it didn’t last for more than thirty seconds, so there weren’t many practical usages for it.

Anyway, Zenjirou unintentionally leaked a joyful utterance as he succeeded in activating the magic.

“Guess so. In terms of magical output, this magic is the most simple for me after all.”

The magic of this world was easier to activate when the output of the magic was closer to the naturally discharged magical power of the spell caster. Zenjirou actually couldn’t yet use the essential ability for a magician: The “control over magical output”.

“Not quite, Zenjirou-sama. You are already beginning to get the hang of the ‘control over magical output’. Have you not noticed it? The naturally discharged magical power of a person is not identical on every day.

Zenjirou was at a loss for words for a moment upon the unexpected statement.

Lady Octavia, likewise his teacher for etiquette and culture, was inwardly delighted that Zenjirou kept his way of speaking befitting for a royalty despite his perplexity, and explained in a calm manner.

How about we try it again? This time pay close attention to the magical glow coming from your body.”

“Mhm…”

‘Cut off a spherical space of the world around the tip of my finger. As compensation, I will make three-hundred and fifty-nine offerings of magical power to the Space-Time spirit.’

By doing so, he clearly saw that the magical glow emitted from his folded hands on the table became fainter. In the next moment, the magic activated without problems and the dome of light appeared in the air.

“Indeed. It is not much yet, but once you come to grips with it, you will be able to control your magical output at will. That is the second step for a magician.

“Okay. Keep on instructing me.”

“As you wish. I may be inexperienced, but it is my greatest joy to be able to serve you.”

The young noble woman emitted a warm-hearted kindness just by smiling sweetly.

“Then let us begin with the training for the control over magical power from today on. It is done like this… Can you see it? By doing this, you can restrict or increase the output of magical power.”

“Please try it now, Zenjirou-sama.”

Zenjirou somewhat tried to change his magical output with the expierence from the earlier cast magic, but his efforts hardly bore fruit.

It would simply be pretentious to compare it with Lady Octavia’s attempt, as she was in perfect control of it.

“Yes, just like that. To stick with the analogy, where the acquiring of the ability to detect magical power can be described as ‘opening one’s eyes’, the comprehension of controlling the magical output can be described as ‘learning another way to move one’s body’.

There were no shortcuts to this progress. Only an accumulation of honest effort. Furthermore, it required talent to get past a certain level, just as moving your body.

“Grr…!”

(I won’t be able to use ‘Teleport’, unless I get a hang of this control over magical output.)

“Mgh… Grr…”

Zenjirou kept going with the training for “control over magical output” in good earnest without noticing the heart-warming gaze Lady Octavia gave him as she watched over him.

During the hottest season, Zenjirou had spent a relatively busy half-day with a luncheon meeting at noon and a magic lesson in the afternoon. By the time Aura came back, he was laying on the black couch in just a T-Shirt and trousers, watching a DVD.

Zenjirou reflexively took the remote control and paused the DVD. Then he got up from the couch and looked into the direction of the voice, where he found his beloved wife in a rare dress.

When he had seen her off in the morning, she had been wearing the usual red evening dress with a deep V-cleavage, but for some reason she was now clad in the sari-like national attire, the one Lady Octavia normally wore.

Aura raised the corners of her mouth to a little smile, as the reaction of her husband pleased her.

Spreading both her arms and throwing out her chest, Aura showed off her unusual wardrobe to her husband.

Still, he wasn’t an eloquent person, so all he could say was his honest opinion without giving in to his embarrassment.

Fortunately the awkward, but sincere praise of her husband seemed to have properly been conveyed to her.

Her bright smile was so charming that it captured Zenjirou even now.

Zenjirou wasn’t aware of it, but contrary to her bearing as a Queen, Aura had a surprisingly pure and cute attitude in regards to the subtleties between a man and a woman.

“…..”

When Zenjirou naturally put his right arm around her right shoulder, Aura went with the flow and rested her head on his shoulder.

“…..”

That said, there was a limit to what their love power could overcome.

Either way, they separated from each other at the same time.

Sitting up, Aura suddenly remembered what Zenjirou had been doing when she had entered the living room and asked that.

“Nah, I was just killing time until you get back. I can always finish it in two days or so, when I’ve got time for myself again.”

Aura realized that he was being considerate to her, but decided to obediently presume on his benevolence.

After all, the Soul of Words didn’t work through machines. There were extremely few movies or series that were interesting without understanding the language. She had come to somewhat like sport broadcasts like soccer or baseball, since she learned most of the rules through video games, but she just couldn’t get enthusiastic about it due to the lack of emotional attachment to the sport teams from Zenjirou’s world.

Anyway, Aura asked her husband her habitual question as she had cut short the old topic.

“Mh? Well, the luncheon meeting was no big deal, I guess? Though I panicked a bit when Lady Fatima Guillén barged into it.”

“Fatima? She did not get any weird promises out of you, did she?”

Her husband asked with a slightly distressed expression, whereat the Queen pondered for a moment, then spoke.

“Okay, good.”

“Nevertheless, be careful about what you disclose. Distilled liquor and soap are harmless, but I want the glass to be a royal secret even after we manage to reproduce it.”

Even Zenjirou was aware of this danger.

These apologetic words were spoken with a meek face. He must have grown accustomed to things, in a bad way. His careless actions were a bit on the raise recently.

Zenjirou was grateful to the good will of his wife, as she was undertaking a slightly forceful topic change, and took her up on the offer.

Saying so, he intensified and weakened the glow of magical power coming from his body, albeit quite marginal.

She praised him like that.

“That was when you were seven, right? Since I’m an adult, I’ve a better perceptivity and more patience than a child, so I’m obviously going to learn faster.”

Zenjirou had a concrete goal. Namely to learn how to use “Teleport” until Aura was pregnant with their second child.

“Rest assured, I’ll give my best.”

Aura reminded Zenjirou, as he resolved himself anew, in a casual manner, but inwardly she was seriously worried.

For the time being, she once again would have to actively watch over him and incite him to rest sometimes.

Aura harboured such a reproachful impression, but the look she gave her husband from the side was overflowing with kindness.

Chapter end