The first year had been devoted entirely to surveying the domain, so it didn't attract any particular attention from other nobles and remained largely under the radar. But during that year, they surveyed the condition of the entire Ootori territory while searching for a location that could serve as its central city.
In the second year, they began constructing sewers—or something like them—at the planned city site. In the third year, they completed the sewers with a team of craftsmen assembled through Kelly's connections and launched full-scale city construction.
In the second half of the third year, they began putting effort into road development alongside city construction, and by this point, matters related to the Ootori territory had become the most frequently discussed topic among the nobility.
By the fourth year, it had grown to the scale of a sizable town, and three major roads heading north, east, and west were built—albeit in a basic form—which further accelerated the pace of city construction.
And in this fifth year, royal family topics swept across the entire kingdom.
Moreover, there were three such topics involving the royal family: first, that the King was stepping down from the throne and Caesar-sama would become the new king; second, that Tida and Amy were formally engaged and would marry within the year; and third—that the King, now bearing the title of former king, would be staying in the Ootori territory for half-year stretches alongside Maria-sama.
As for the reasons for these stays, the official explanation was to rebuild the friendly relationship with the Ootori family, and the unofficial explanation was to keep watch over the rapidly developing Ootori family… but the real reason was to make it easier for Caesar-sama to solidify his position as king, and, secondarily, to allow the former king to stretch his wings without having to worry about the nobles in the Royal Capital.
"They're running a little late, aren't they?"
"The distance from the Royal Capital to the Ootori territory is considerable, so it's not unusual for the arrival date to shift."
"Well, we've sent Din and the Dawn Sword and Ogo with five hundred Golems to meet them near the border, so as long as no Monsters from deep within the Great Old Forest show up, they should be fine. Besides, Shiromaru went along too, so he'd notice right away if any dangerous Monsters appeared."
As I was talking with Primera like this, the child she was holding began to cry.
"Did she… wet herself? Aura! You're up!"
Amour noticed the child's crying and called out to Aura while leading a brown-haired boy and a black-haired girl by the hand.
"Aura's busy preparing snacks."
But there was no response from Aura. Instead, it was the pregnant Jeanne who answered. Clasped in Jeanne's hand was the hand of a gray-haired boy.
"Then, Chris!"
"Chris seems pretty tied up with her own child, too."
Amour called for Chris in Aura's stead, but this time it was Grandpa who answered. Behind Grandpa stood the former King… Alex-sama and Maria-sama.
The two were dressed much more casually than when seen in the Royal Capital. Maria-sama, perhaps still being mindful of appearances, looked almost unchanged, but Alex-sama had gotten quite a tan.
"It doesn't look like anything's leaking, but… I don't think I can do this. Slarin, I'm counting on you."
Since I couldn't tell what the child was unhappy about or why it was crying, I tried picking up the child that Primera had set down on the ground, but it immediately started crying even louder than before, so I gave up. Then, when Slarin picked the child up in my place—
"Mm, as expected, Slarin is the best at soothing children."
The child stopped crying at once and immediately broke into a cheerful laugh.
Watching that scene with a slightly deflated feeling, I had the twins come over to me, trying to take my hand. To be honest, these kids were only five years old yet more perceptive than I was.
"Sorry, Slarin, this one too please! It hasn't stopped crying at all!"
And so, on top of the child she was already soothing, Chris's child was added to Slarin's arms.
"Chris, how pathetic."
"It's not that I'm pathetic—it's just that Slarin's too good at this, so what can I do!"
Chris fired back with a retort against Amour, who was teasing her as usual.
"Lord Tenma, we've prepared a seat over there for you. Won't you have a seat and wait?"
Aina came over and told me that drinks and snacks were ready. In the direction she indicated, I could see Aura directing a few maids, along with Aina and Din's daughter, who would turn three this year.
Aina's daughter was a well-behaved child for her age, often imitating her mother by helping out with the maids' work. It would be fine if she kept taking after Aina, but I really hoped she wouldn't pick up any of her aunt's influence. And as if to prove my point, Aura was just about to trip while holding a pot.
"Te~n~ma~… I came to plaaay~!"
Just as everyone had taken their seats and was reaching for tea and snacks, a suspicious silhouette came barreling down the main road leading to this mansion, kicking up a cloud of dust… It was Namiataro.
"I'll be botherin' you again for a while! Also, Din asked me to tell you that Tida and the others are almost here!"
Far behind Namiataro, Jin and the rest of the "Dawn Sword" were frantically whipping their horses into a gallop, heading this way.
"Probably, once Jin and the others get here, they'll arrive in less than thirty minutes, so I reckon you should start getting ready soon. Ah! Hey miss, gimme some snacks too?"
Namiataro was telling us we should start getting ready while simultaneously asking Aina's daughter for snacks. Aina's daughter, unafraid of Namiataro, approached with snacks in hand… and hurled them straight at him. Naturally, Aina scolded her for this, but Namiataro didn't seem to mind at all—he caught every single thrown snack in his mouth without dropping a single one, then drank his tea with a satisfied look.
"Everyone, Tida's carriage is in sight—shall we line up and go greet her?"
Behind Jin and the others, who had already come quite close, we could faintly make out Tida's carriage, so although it was a bit early, we decided to wait together.
"Ah! I forgot to mention, it wasn't just Tida and Amy—Luna was secretly tagging along too!"
"That girl... I thought she'd finally settled down and was developing a proper sense of being a lady..."
The fact that Luna, who wasn't supposed to be coming, was also there had Maria-sama holding her head in her hands.
"Come to think of it, Luna probably threw a fit, but I find it hard to believe Caesar-sama and Tida wouldn't notice her trying to hide and follow them. Perhaps the plan changed after you, Maria-sama, left the Royal Capital? This is their first official inspection, but it's also an open secret that it serves as a relaxing trip. In that case, they might have thought it would be fine to bring Luna along—or that bringing her would publicly announce not only good relations between the Royal Family and the Ootori Clan, but also our own close ties as siblings."
As I offered this explanation,
"If it's Caesar, that does sound like something he'd consider. Tenma, I'm sorry to trouble you, but could you arrange a room for Luna as well? If Caesar is involved, he should have provided for her lodging expenses."
Maria-sama said this with a bow. Meanwhile, Alex-sama was being teased by Grandfather, who kept insisting, "She's absolutely just like you!"
"Um, Tenma... We should start getting ready to welcome Tida-sama soon."
While I was talking with Maria-sama, Jin and the others had arrived, and Primera was reporting to them in my stead. By now, the carriage carrying Tida, Amy, and Luna had come into full view of everyone.
"Alright, let's go welcome the Crown Prince. Touma, Touka, come here."
I called the twins to stand beside me, and we decided to wait for Tida and the others at the gate.
Normally, I wouldn't make a special fuss over the two of them, but at times like this, as the eldest son and daughter of the Ootori Clan, it was customary to let them take the forefront.
Neither of them was guaranteed to inherit the clan, but since they were the firstborn, there was a higher chance one of them would. Many people had told me it was better to accustom them to their role from a young age.
Well, among the stubborn, old-fashioned types, there were a few who had even nitpicked about them being twins... but those individuals had already been dealt with or were starting to be ostracized in noble society. By the time these children grew up, being twins would likely no longer be a disadvantage.
"They're here. Everyone's assembled."
Turning around at those words, I saw Touma and Touka, Primera holding Shouma, Jeanne holding Allen, Chris-san holding Amour and Kuroto, Grandfather drinking tea at the table with Namiataro, and Alex-sama with Maria-sama.
"Shiromaru, sit. Solomon, you'll be in the way there, so move behind Shiromaru. Slarin... will you greet them from Shiromaru's back?"
Shiromaru, who had returned before the carriage, came and sat on the opposite side of me from the twins. Slarin and Solomon also moved to their respective spots.
"Touma, Touka, this is your first job as children of the Ootori Clan. Greet the Crown Prince with spirit!"
"Yes!"
Looking toward the carriage, I could see Luna leaning out the window and waving in our direction. She'd surely realized she'd been spotted—so she was probably just owning it at this point.
I turned back to look at Primera and the others once more, taking in each of their faces. Hoping that these happy days could continue going forward, I went to greet the carriage carrying Tida and the rest.
"Welcome, Your Highness Crown Prince Tida!"
It was remarkable when they'd learned such proper words—though perhaps my true mission for being born into this world was to ensure that everyone in the Ootori Clan, these children included, could live in happiness.
The Reincarnated Adventurer in Another World — Fin