"Tenma, you're annoying."
"Merlin-sama, please calm down."
In front of the room where Primera was in labor, I was being scolded by Amul, and Grandpa was being told off by Hana-san.
Hana-san had told me that Primera was going into labor and brought me to this room, but when I tried to go in, the midwife chased me away, saying, "Don't come in looking like that!" So I headed straight for the bath and got myself cleaned up (for some reason, Hana-san dragged me there and threw me in), then came back to this room. But the midwife told me they had enough hands for now, so I ended up joining Grandpa and the others who had also come to bathe, and we waited here. I just couldn't stay calm, though, and I'd been pacing up and down the corridor with Grandpa in front of the room.
Incidentally, Jin had collapsed into an empty room and was sleeping like a log from extreme exhaustion, and Din had gone to the royal castle to report in my place.
"Merlin-sama, if anything were to change with Primera-sama, things inside the room would become much more hectic. The fact that it's not like that means everything is going smoothly. Besides, we were told they'd call out if they need any help, so let's just wait patiently. In the meantime, I think it would be good to exchange information."
"That makes sense... By the way, when did Hana-san and Amul arrive in the Royal Capital?"
Taking Aina's advice helped me calm down a bit. Once I did, a question arose — why were Hana-san and Amul here? Just then,
"Tenma... you're only asking that now?"
Amul looked at me in exasperation. Hana-san hadn't said anything out loud, but she seemed just as exasperated as Amul.
"We arrived in the Royal Capital before noon today."
"And while we were at it, we trounced the rebel army that had snuck in on the west side of the capital!"
"What do you mean? The rebel army had invaded?"
Hearing Amul's explanation, I assumed that a rebel force had infiltrated the western part of the capital and that the Southern Baron's army had driven them out, but that wasn't quite what happened.
"I heard the details later, but apparently they did break through the west gate — that part's true. But it wasn't exactly an 'invasion,' if you know what I mean. Apparently, Jeanne and the others forced the intruders back by brute force. We happened to arrive at the battlefield right after that and pounced on the rebel army from the side. There were about thirty thousand of them, but they were completely off their guard, so we were able to scatter them easily."
Hana-san said all this with a grin, but —
"Jeanne forced them back? ...Jeanne! Come over here and give me a proper explanation!"
I called Jeanne over from where she'd been helping Aina a short distance away. Amul was laughing, saying, "Oh, it was incredible! Jeanne tore enemies apart and hurled them away, tore them apart and hurled them away!" But Jeanne, who had come over, was frantically denying it.
According to Jeanne's explanation, she had been standing by at the estate when Ted, who had gone to scout the western side, came rushing back in a panic, reporting that a rebel army was approaching from the west and was about to clash with the guard unit. What was worse, a battle with rebel forces had started on the northern side shortly before, which meant reinforcements from other locations would be delayed.
It was pretty much certain that the northern side was a feint and the real attack was coming from the west, but the guard unit's forces probably wouldn't be enough to hold them off. So Primera decided to send the Golems the Otorigami household had secured over to the west side, and Jeanne ended up going as the Otorigami family's representative.
As for why it was Jeanne, apparently the command structure of the Otorigami household went: me at the top, then Grandpa or Primera as second, and after them came Jeanne and Aura, who were my slaves. So among those who were in a state to move, Jeanne at the top ended up being the representative.
Incidentally, that chain of events also brought up the situation on the east side — something about a red Ancient Dragon appearing, Behemoth taking it out, and Namitarou transforming into an Ancient Dragon. I was told all about it, but... it was the kind of headache-inducing story, so I only listened with about half my attention. Jeanne had been apologizing at the time about the scorpion-type Golem being destroyed, but I told her not to worry about it since those Golems were made for exactly this kind of situation. Besides, thanks to that, the east side's defense had been a success.
"So Primera told me to head west, and since Solomon was injured and couldn't move, I was about to go searching for horses along the way when Kelly-san showed up with Jubei, saying 'this one's faster.'"
Apparently Kelly had thoughtfully modified the carriage coupling that had once been attached to Jubei, and thanks to that, they were able to reach the west gate in no time. Jeanne's companions were Aura, Kelly, and Uncle Mark, and along with those four, they added the Golems to form a makeshift relief force.
"Thanks to Jubei giving it his all, we made it close to the west side without it taking much time at all... but just then, the gate was broken through and the rebel army was pouring in. When Jubei saw that, he surged forward with a burst of speed..."
It sounded like Jubei had gotten worked up in his hurry, and once he spotted the enemy, he couldn't be held back anymore. Since there was a high risk of the carriage (ox-cart) tipping over if things kept going like that, Kelly, who was riding in front, hastily broke the coupling to escape the danger.
The rebel army had been clustered together at the gate's entrance, and they took the full brunt of Jubei's charge — which was powerful enough to rival B-rank Monsters or higher — and nearly all of them who were hit directly were rendered combat-incapacitated. After that, Jeanne and the others deployed the Golems to fortify the gate's defense, so the rebels had only managed to breach it for a brief moment.
With the rebel army's momentum halted by Jubei's charge and the Golems' appearance, Hanako's southern viscount army launched a flanking assault. Leading the charge were Hanako, Amurul, and Raiden — damaged as he was, his combat capabilities were on an entirely different level — and that alone was enough to turn the tide against the rebels in an instant. To seal the deal, Jeanne deployed the Minotaur-type Golem, causing the enemy to lose their will to fight, and when Aura's scorpion-type Golem appeared right after, they completely broke and fled.
The Minotaur-type was sturdier and more powerful than the Knight-type, but it was correspondingly slower and prone to losing its balance, so it shouldn't have been suited for targeting small, moving targets like humans... but to my surprise, the Minotaur-type had apparently achieved the feat of capturing the enemy's will to fight while barely moving at all.
Apprently, before deploying the Minotaur-type, Kelly had created what looked like a giant hammer during the march and placed it upright like a staff, and the enemy had gotten scared all on their own. What Kelly had actually made was just a few thick wooden planks nailed onto the end of a log — it really couldn't be called a hammer by any stretch. In reality, it was just a staff sized to match the Minotaur-type, and Kelly had only hoped it might be mistaken for a weapon. That said, it did have a fair bit of weight, so in a pinch, swinging it around would have been more than enough as a lethal weapon against humans.
"I know this might sound insensitive, but when we were passing through the gate, the Minotaur-type Golem was too big to walk through upright, so it had to squeeze through in a crawling position... I almost couldn't help but laugh."
Jeanne said that looking a bit embarrassed, and honestly, if I'd seen that sight, I probably would have laughed too.
"Well, anyway. So what Amurul means by 'Jeanne forced them back by brute strength' is more accurately 'Jeanne's Jubei and Golems forced them back by brute strength,' right?"
When I said that, figuring that was probably the gist of it, Amurul grinned and replied,
"You're just short on words, but you haven't said anything wrong. If anything, since it was Jeanne who brought them, it's her achievement too — so even if you're short on words, you're still right."
He went on like that. It was true that official reports sometimes deliberately left things out, so what Amurul said wasn't exactly wrong.
"Fine, let's not get into the details. But where are Branca and the rest of the southern viscount army? Around the west gate?"
Jeanne had said something like "They're not details!" but that was going to derail the conversation, so I ignored it for the moment and asked about something else I was curious about.
"The others went chasing after the fleeing rebels. By now, the rebels are probably being torn apart by our people and Branca's group, aren't they? I mean, their morale was sky-high after defeating the Red Dragon King, and a lot of them had taken some pretty dangerous drugs that made them lose all restraint — so you can imagine how that went."
Another troublesome word had come up, but the mention of drugs concerned me even more.
"Oh, by drugs, I mean something like very strong alcohol. Taking a lot of it is dangerous, of course, but in small doses it's known down south as something you can use for pain relief. Well, every now and then some idiot gets carried away and takes too much, triggering withdrawal symptoms... This time, though, we decided on the dosage beforehand, and everyone confirmed their share before drinking, so nobody did anything dangerous. Not that Amour and I used it, anyway."
"Drunk driving — no, absolutely not!"
Amour and Hana-san both had the same injuries and pain as the others, but since their means of transport was Raiden with the tank module equipped, they'd prioritized safety and opted not to use any.
"We'll need to get Raiden repaired as soon as possible too."
Raiden, currently stored inside the Dimension Bag, was so badly damaged that even they had been unusually well-behaved. But the moment they noticed me peeking into the bag, they shot me a sharp look that practically screamed "Fix me now!" — so I'd better get around to repairs before they threw a tantrum.
We exchanged information like that — though I didn't have much to report on my end — and then Hana-san asked me, when she had some breathing room, to lend her a few Dimension Bags and Magic Bags, along with some Golems to stand in for personnel, so they could recover the Red Dragon King her southern viscount army had slain. I agreed to that, and then—
"Lord Tenma, the presence inside the room has changed! It might be happening!"
Aina, who had been stationed right in front of the door, shouted that out, and—
"Has it been born?"
From inside the room, I could faintly make out the cry of a newborn, and the place immediately descended into commotion.
"It's born!"
"Alright—!"
While I stood there in a daze, Gramps and Amour were shouting at the top of their lungs and making a racket, but—
"Please wait! Something seems off!"
Aina immediately called for them to hold on, settling the two of them down.
If a child had truly been born, you'd expect someone to come out and relay the news, but the room remained in the same state of commotion following the baby's cries — or rather, mixed in with it were sounds that seemed more like voices of surprise.
And then, a while after that first cry—
"Was it twins?"
A second cry joined the first.
Right after the cry of the second one, permission to enter was granted by the midwife inside, so as I was about to go in,
"Just the husband, everyone else wait outside for a bit!"
Grandpa, who tried to go in with me, and Amour were refused entry. They protested, but were promptly told off with, "And just how could we let anyone but the husband in when Primera's clothes are in disarray!" and obediently backed down.
"Thank you, Primera. You did great."
I moved closer to Primera and, lowering my voice, used a recovery magic spell. It seemed to ease the pain of childbirth considerably, but her fatigue didn't appear to have lifted much; she looked like it would be hard for her to sit up on her own.
"Tenma, you also did wonderfully. I always believed you would return victorious."
As Primera said that with a smile, the midwife brought over the twins, having finished their first bath.
"Congratulations, sir, madam. It's a lovely boy and girl."
So saying, the midwife had Primera hold the girl and placed the boy in my arms... but since it was the first time either Primera or I had held such a tiny baby, we were both rather apprehensive, holding our children while receiving instructions from the midwife.
"They're so small."
"They are."
They were so tiny you might wonder if they'd be alright, but according to the midwife, being twins, they were slightly smaller than average, but this was about the right size.
After that, once Primera had straightened her clothes, Grandpa was finally allowed in and held the great-grandchildren—the twins—followed by Jeanne and Hana, who took turns holding them... but any further than that would have burdened the babies too much, so the holding session for the day ended there, with Uncle Mark and the others having to wait until tomorrow. And just as that was decided, Din returned from the royal castle with guests.
"Tenma!"
"Tida, is it okay for you to have left the castle?"
"Yes! The enemy on the eastern front was annihilated by the Royalist and Neutral Factions fighting valiantly, along with Behemoth and Namitaro. The Red Dragon King that circled to the south was defeated by the Southern Baron's army. While fighting still continues in the north, the rebel army that appeared in the west has been routed, so their suppression is just a matter of time. And above all, Tenma has taken out the boss of those zombies! It's safe to say our victory in this war is now certain!"
Tida was right, of course. With the zombies around the Royal Capital almost entirely gone, all that remained was to destroy what could be called the main body of the rebel army, the Duke Dahlam's forces. How long the war would last depended on the situation within the Empire, but with that many zombies already destroyed in the Kingdom, there likely weren't so many left within the Empire. And she probably hadn't just turned the Empire's soldiers into zombies, but a great many of its citizens as well. If that was the case, the Empire as an entity had already collapsed and ceased to exist in this world, or it was no longer large enough to call itself an empire.
Besides, even if hostile forces within the Empire still remained that could threaten the Kingdom, now they could simply invade, so there would be no more fighting on the back foot like before.
"Even if the rebel army tries to hold out, I could just obliterate them from the air, right?"
"No, you wouldn't need to go that far..."
It seemed that my getting involved wasn't the most welcome prospect, as Tida gave off an air that suggested he'd rather I stayed out of it.
"Rather than that, I heard that you've had a child. Congratulations!"
The subject change felt a bit forced, but I could tell the words came from the heart.
"Ah, thanks. It was a boy and a girl — twins."
When I said that,
"Twins! That's even more cause for celebration, but... Tenma, please don't take this the wrong way,"
Tida said, with an expression that made it clear he found what he was about to say very difficult to get out,
"Among the nobility, there are a minority who hold the superstition that having the firstborn be a twin is bad luck. Of course, I don't believe that in the slightest, and neither does the Royal Family — my grandfather included. However, among those who cling to such archaic thinking, some may dredge up past cases where twins caused a family to fracture or decline."
Honestly, it wasn't exactly pleasant to hear, but from the way he spoke, it was clear Tida himself didn't hold those views. Besides, I'd heard that even in my previous life there were people who considered twins to be ill-fated, so I was at least aware of it in a general sense.
"Well, there are always idiots who'd say something like that. The Ootori family has stuck out too much in this war, so it wouldn't be surprising if some jealous types wanted to bring me down a notch just to vent their frustrations... though I can't say how that would turn out."
Still, I felt certain that anyone who held such views would be fundamentally incompatible with me, so I couldn't really say in advance how I'd deal with it. Even if it came to outright conflict with them and their ilk, I wouldn't mind.
"As long as uninvolved parties aren't dragged into it, I believe the Royal Family would simply observe it as a personal dispute... however, given the circumstances, the Royal Family may step in as mediators. Please know that the Royal Family harbors no ill will whatsoever regarding the matter of twins."
Tida — or rather, the Royal Family — should have learned that my children were twins only after coming to the estate, so the views he'd just expressed were likely his own. But given the character of the King and Maria, I had no doubt Tida was telling the truth.
"I understand the Royal Family's position... but whether that stops me will depend on how things go at the time."
"Indeed. A duel isn't something where outsiders have any right to interfere, so knowing the Royal Family's stance is sufficient. In truth, I would think that picking a fight over someone's bloodline — fully aware that a defeat could mean the annihilation of one's entire clan — means the other party must have some considerable advantage, or they're simply acting out of their own responsibility. That's how I see it, at least."
It was quite a ruthless thing to say, but it aligned almost perfectly with my own thinking, which put me at ease. Besides, if it actually came to that, talking behind my back was one thing, but saying it where I could hear meant there was something seriously wrong with their judgment or their character — so it would be better to deal with them early. It seemed Tida had become a complete spitting image of Caesar-sama. Compared to when I'd first met him, he had grown remarkably regal. At this rate, even my children's generation might be safe.
"Now, regarding the main business — after the Kingdom's victory is officially declared, formal rewards and appointments will be made for the key contributors. The top honor, by a wide margin, goes to you, Tenma."
"Though it feels strange to say it myself, well, it's only natural."
I had slain the enemy's leader, established the foundation of the defensive stronghold, and distributed Golems as fighting forces to both the Royal Family and the Border Count's house. Looking at the overall picture, no one else had contributed on the level of the Ootori family. That being the case, second place would likely go to the Border Count Haust, the combined forces of Duke Sanga and Marquis Samons, or perhaps the Viscount of the South.
"And the second merit goes to Behemoth and Nanitaro, the third to the combined forces of Viscount Haust, Duke Sanga's house, and Marquis Samons's house, the fourth to the Viscount of the South, and the fifth to… the Ootori family, excluding you, Mr. Tenma."
"Huh?"
There was a slightly odd one mixed in. Well, as for the second merit, while it was indeed a bit odd to call it odd, treating them as an external relief force was only natural since they had slain the ancient red dragon and the green dragon. However, the idea of the Ootori family excluding me felt a bit strange. Instead of doing something so unnatural, wouldn't it be clearer and make the reward discussion easier to simply consider me part of the Ootori family and award them first merit together?
"I understand your confusion, Mr. Tenma. But this was based on the order in which merits were earned, so ultimately, the first merit goes to the Ootori family, the second to the three-family alliance, the third to the Viscount of the South, and the fourth to the Neutral Faction's coalition forces that fought on the eastern side of the Royal Capital."
For merits below fifth place, there wasn't a clear distinction, so it would be decided by the upper echelons of the royal castle based on reports. Well, due to various circumstances, it was said it would likely be the Duke of the North, but since they had blocked part of the rebel forces that appeared on the northern side, that seemed reasonable.
"A war of this scale is unprecedented not just in the Kingdom's history, but in the entire continent's history, so having the Ootori family's name appear three times is… well, rather inconvenient for the Royal Family… I'm very sorry."
Hmm, I thought that was probably about right, but I was wondering why Nanitaro was one thing, but why the Behemoth he brought along was also being counted as a member of the Ootori family. Tida seemed to notice my confusion and answered that as well.
Apparently, Nanitaro, thanks to his first appearance in the martial arts tournament, was generally considered my Familiar in the public eye, and the Behemoth he brought along was therefore considered a reinforcement brought by the Ootori family. Furthermore, to be precise, without me, Nanitaro and Behemoth's participation would have been impossible, so the report could only state they were affiliated with the Ootori family. Also, if Behemoth were assigned second merit, someone from the Royalist Faction would have to negotiate with Behemoth about rewards, which would undoubtedly cause a huge fuss over who went, so they wanted to package it all under the Ootori family for that reason too.
"Well, I suppose that can't be helped. Anyway, I was planning to meet Behemoth once anyway because of Bon. Still, let me know my share separately from the Ootori family's portion once you have it sorted out."
"Of course. I'll take care of it. Also, um, this is very difficult to ask… but Mr. Tenma, would you be willing to become a noble?"
"Huh!? No way."
I reflexively refused the unexpected request. Tida, having been refused, held her head in her hands and slumped face-down onto the table.