In Another World With My Smartphone: Volume 21 Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Color Illustrations

  Character Profiles

  Map of the World

  Chapter I: Before the Wedding

  Interlude: His Friend

  Chapter II: The Royal Wedding

  Chapter III: In Another World On My Honeymoon

  Chapter IV: In Their Dreams

  Chapter V: Back to Brunhild

  Afterword

  Mecha Design Specs - Waltraute

  About J-Novel Club

  Copyright

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  Chapter I: Before the Wedding

  “This should be it for the invites...”

  “Very well, I shall send them through the Gate Mirrors at once. Those with local addresses will be distributed by the knights.”

  “Thanks a bunch.”

  Laim, the butler, bowed after taking a huge bundle of stamped wedding invitations from me. My shoulder hurt like hell. It was the first time in my life I’d used my official wax seal so much in one sitting. Wedding invitations were a lot more difficult than mass emails, that much was for sure.

  The original plan was to get confirmation of attendants, then use [Gate] to bring them all to Brunhild on the day of the wedding. But fortunately, Granny Tokie decided to take that burden off my hands. She was definitely better than me when it came to Space-time alteration, so it was a major relief that she’d offered to help out.

  I took out my smartphone and pulled up the to-do list.

  “Now all that’s left is... the souvenirs...”

  In this world, there wasn’t any tradition of giving wedding gifts, but some wedding parties prepared souvenirs to give away to the guests as they prepared to leave. That kind of practice existed back in Japan as well, but it wasn’t particularly common.

  I wasn’t sure what to hand out as the wedding souvenir, though. I briefly considered collectible mugs or plates with our faces on them, but I didn’t know if that would be well-received.

  “Hmm... Let’s see... Maybe I can get some ideas online...?”

  I browsed online until I came across some gift catalogs. And I suddenly cooked up a bright idea as I gazed at it. If I showed the catalogs to our guests, I could just have them individually choose the kinds of souvenirs they wanted.

  Still, most of our guests were nobility, so I wasn’t entirely sure if they’d want to pick out ordinary things like tableware, bags, and stuff like that. That was why I decided to come up with my own catalog with interesting and exotic items. A massage chair seemed like a good idea, and unusual foodstuffs seemed smart as well...

  Hmm... Maybe instant curry pouches? Eh... I’m not so sure that’s the best idea. Maybe weapons or armor would be good. Oh, how about a magic-boosting accessory or something? I’m sure people would jump at the chance to get their hands on an artifact of some sort.

  The possibilities were truly endless.

  “Man, I could use a change of scenery...”

  I put my phone back in my pocket and left the room. A little walk around the castle felt nice from time to time. I had a few duties to attend to, but nothing urgent. I was blessed to have plenty of capable subordinates who kept things running smoothly.

  I walked through the halls, smiling at the maids who busied themselves sweeping. Eventually, I made my way out to the training grounds. Everyone appeared hard at work. They all quietly clashed against each other with wooden swords, honing their skills. I was pretty impressed by how well-built most of them had become.

  “Hm?”

  By the side of the training grounds, sitting on a bench, was a girl staring toward the sky. It was Elze. She was sitting idly, a water bottle and her gauntlets by her side. I wondered if she was taking a break or something. She hadn’t noticed me, so I slowly crept up on her in an attempt to surprise her.

  I positioned myself behind her before reaching forward and covering her eyes with my hands.

  “Guess wh—? AUGH?!”

  “Whuh?! T-Touya?!”

  Elze struck me on reflex, making a loud cracking sound ring out. It felt like she’d busted my nose!

  “S-Sorry! I-I didn’t mean to do that!”

  “I-It’s okay... That was my bad...”

  I should’ve known better than to expect anything else from Elze. She wasn’t the kind of girl who’d react to something so playful with anything less than a strike to the schnozz.

  Holy crap, I’m bleeding... She made me bleed a ton! Elze is probably stronger than any bad guy I’ve faced so far at this point...

  “Come forth, Light! Soothing Comfort: [Cure Heal].”

  I had to use magic on my face to heal myself, which I honestly didn’t ever think I’d have to do. I made a mental note to never surprise Elze ever again.

  “A-Ah, good... The bleeding stopped. Sorry again...”

  “Nah, don’t worry about it. I shouldn’t have tried to spook you. How come you were all spaced out, anyway?”

  “Oh, well... It’s just... I thought about how we’re getting married, and then I kinda freaked out...”

  Elze let out a sigh, laughing softly as I sat down next to her.

  W-Wait, are these the pre-wedding blues I’ve heard so much about?! Sometimes a person can get nervous about their impending marriage, which turns into cold feet about the whole thing... In some cases, people even call it off! Wh-Wh-What should I do?! Does she want to cancel the wedding?!

  “D-Do you have anxieties or something?”

  “Anxieties? Yeah. A ton.”

  A ton?!

  A cold sweat broke out along my brow.

  “I’m just thinking about how I’m gonna be a grand duchess, y’know? I’ll have a bunch of social responsibilities and stuff. Plus, if I have a kid, they’ll be a prince or a princess... so I gotta make sure they’re raised proper and all. Whenever I think about that, I get really anxious. I’m not sure if I’m up to that, y’know?”

  “You dummy.”

  “Owie!”

  I lightly chopped Elze’s head, which made her let out a little yelp.

  “You’re thinking too hard. You don’t need to change when you’re royalty. I’m the grand duke, yeah? But I’m still me. So you can still be you, Elze. You won’t be raising any kids alone, either. You have me and the other girls by your side. It’s all gonna be just fine, I can feel it. I promise you that. I want to make you happy, and I’m sure I will. We’ll live as a happy family. Hell, all kinds of gods have already given us their blessing.”

  Elze pouted a little as she rubbed her head, but my words gradually made her smile.

  “Hehehe... Is that right? I guess if you bring the gods into it, that’s a bit more of a relief. A little unfair of you to use that, though... Nobody else can call on gods for help like you.”

  If it helped soothe Elze’s anxiety even a little, I was willing to be as unfair as humanly possible. After all, I wanted to see Elze wearing a big smile on her face, no matter what came our way. That smile of hers was one of the reasons I could soldier on in a new world.

  “Don’t worry about this kind of thing on your own, okay? We’ll be together for the rest of our lives, so start relying on me some more.”

  “You’re right. Thanks for letting me vent. I know we’re in this together, so I won’t let my fears get the better of me.”

  Elze stood up from the bench and did a few warm-up stretches. Then, she turned around and gave me that big beaming smile I loved so much.


  “Thank you, Touya.”

  “It’s a husband’s job to listen to his wife’s problems. I just hope I helped.”

  “W-Wife?! G-Geez, Touya... We’re not even married yet... Ehehe...”

  Elze’s face turned beet red, which prompted her to turn on her heel and head back toward the training grounds. Maybe I got a little carried away, but she was a lot of fun to tease. So long as she wasn’t mad, that was fine by me.

  “Wait, crap... I should’ve asked her for wedding souvenir ideas.”

  “Hm? Touya-dono? Are you sunbathing, are you?”

  As I sat back on the bench, Yae and Hilde suddenly approached me. Based on their wooden swords, I presumed they’d been training together. I was honestly glad about how well they got along.

  Given that Elze had some anxieties, I decided to ask them if they were worried at all.

  “Anxieties, huh...?”

  “Umm... I wonder, I do...”

  The two of them turned to each other, as if deep in thought. Frankly, I’d have been more than happy if they didn’t have any immediate concerns.

  They spent a few moments thinking. Then, Yae finally nodded in my direction.

  “There is one thing bothering me, there is.”

  “Hm? What’s that?”

  “The food at the wedding ceremony... Is it true that I must refrain from eating large portions, is it?”

  Well... that’s definitely a Yae anxiety.

  Hilde also spoke up, though much more quietly.

  “I-I, um... If I get pregnant... I won’t be able to train so severely, will I...? I-I don’t want to gain weight...”

  Wow. Someone’s planning ahead. It’s true that I don’t want her to overdo it while she’s pregnant, though...

  I was pleased to hear that Yae and Hilde didn’t have any deep-seated fears like Elze did, to be honest.

  “Why did you think we’d have anxieties?”

  “Well, I think it’s normal to mull things over before you get married. It’s a big step in life, isn’t it? So it’s only natural it might put things in perspective.”

  “I think marriage is a big step, but it’s also a partnership. There’ll surely be problems that come our way, but the strength of our bond will allow us to overcome everything together.”

  “Y-Yeah, you’re right...”

  Hilde’s words burned bright with determination. She was the kind of girl who really shined when it came to tough situations, so it wasn’t too surprising that she wasn’t getting hung up on the small stuff.

  “I believe in us all, I do. I think that we can accomplish anything together, we can.”

  Yae felt exactly the same way. She believed in harmony and put it above all else. In her mind, we were probably already a big family, so the wedding was just a means of making things formal in the eyes of the law. That easygoing nature was one of the things I liked the most about her.

  I wondered about how Linze was feeling, though. She was similar to Elze in quite a few ways, after all.

  “Hm? Linze?”

  “Linze-dono has been spending time with Tokie-dono, she has.”

  That made sense. If I recalled correctly, they’d been knitting together on the balcony lately.

  I didn’t want to hold up Yae and Hilde’s training any longer, so I activated [Teleport] and landed on the balcony outside our main sitting room.

  Linze was there, sitting on a chair, knitting and singing to herself. In fact, she was so focused on her knitting that she hadn’t even realized I was there. She displayed some rather impressive concentration, really.

  The image of her was so enthralling that I couldn’t help but stare at her for a while. Working so dutifully brought out her natural beauty.

  “Huh...? Touya? When did you get here?”

  “Oh, sorry. You seemed really focused, so I didn’t want to interrupt you.”

  Linze seemed to notice how captivated I’d become, so I gave her a vague enough answer. Then, I sat down at the table, looking over at Linze. She tilted her head in confusion.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “Well, it’s not a big deal. I was just wondering...” I outright asked her if she had any anxieties about the wedding. It was wrong of me to say it wasn’t a big deal, since I had no idea how she was feeling.

  “Anxieties, hm? I’d say I have a few, but I think my excitement is outweighing it.”

  “You’re excited?”

  “I am. We’ll finally become a proper family. Once we have our children, we’ll make many memories with them, too... I’m really excited for that future.”

  It seemed like Linze was more hopeful than nervous.

  “But where’d this come from all of a sudden...? Oh, I see... Was it my sister?”

  “Huh? How’d you know...?”

  “Well, it’s Elze, you know? She’s been busy, but I’m sure she’s been thinking hard. That said, I bet once her anxieties are settled, she’ll be firmly okay about all of this.”

  Linze really had a solid grasp on how her sister worked. It was quite amazing.

  I glanced at the table in front of me, looking at the pile of stuff atop it.

  “Ah, these? They’re a hat and some leg warmers... among other things.”

  I picked up the hat on the table. It was made of soft yarn and, judging by the size, was perfect for a baby. There were rompers, socks, bibs, and other baby clothes as well.

  “There’s enough for nine.”

  “W-Wait... Isn’t it a little soon to be making these?!”

  “Better safe than sorry, no?”

  C-C’mon, Linze... We haven’t even done... y-you know... that yet... Plus, I’m sure you won’t all get pregnant at the same time!

  It felt like Linze had already gotten past the wife stage and had made peace with being a mother. Given her current lack of children, I didn’t know whether to be amazed or concerned about her extreme maternal instinct.

  Still, she seemed happy, which was more than enough for me.

  Oh, right. I can ask Linze about the souvenirs.

  “Hmm... Things for our guests? Desserts, maybe?”

  Desserts... That’s a little plain, but it could work. People would probably enjoy being sent home with some cakes or something.

  “Any other ideas?”

  “Hmm... Sue’s staying over tonight, right? Why don’t you ask everyone during the sleepover?” Linze clasped her hands together as she spoke, presenting what seemed like a decent idea.

  I had slowly gotten used to the idea of them sleeping in the same room as me, but I still often ended up sleeping on the couch when they came over. I had a feeling I’d keep doing it until they forced me to stay in the bed with them... That was a little bit spineless of me, but I’d been making steps in my own way. For example, I’d recently gotten to the point where I could give them all goodnight kisses.

  Either way, getting everyone’s input about the wedding souvenir catalog seemed like a solid plan. I just wondered how many options to provide. Wedding ceremonies were no picnic, honestly. I’d been extremely busy, and I hadn’t had a single moment to relax.

  “Why not include some basic magic artifacts? You could create music boxes or something.”

  “Oh, yeah. Nice idea.”

  Leen, clad in her black pajamas, gave a suggestion. Music players would probably be popular with the nobles. Though some nobles had their own personal orchestras, so maybe they wouldn’t want it. Regardless, I set it down in my notes.

  We were discussing the situation atop our giant bed. Kohaku, Sango and Kokuyou, Kougyoku, Luli, and Albus were there too. They were sitting on the floor, playing a board game I’d put together for them. Mr. Mittens wasn’t there, however. He was hanging out with Sakura’s mother.

  “Wh—? Luli! I wanted to buy that property, you wretch!”

  “First come, first served. It’s not my fault that I landed on it. I think I’ll buy a house for this spot, too...”

  They were playing a board game where you traded propertie
s, built houses on certain spots, and built hotels as well. It was quite a popular game. I decided to put it on the souvenir list after watching them have a good time.

  Apparently, Sue was feeling a little bit homesick, giving her similar anxiety to Elze when she thought about her upcoming marriage. When the time came for her to live with me, she’d be separated from her parents, her little brother, and her faithful butler, Leim. I already told her she could go home through the portal in the castle any time she wanted, so that at least alleviated some of her concerns.

  “We’ll be starting a new family together, so at least I won’t be lonely...” Sue said, trying to be brave even though I could tell she was going to miss everyone at the Ortlinde estate. I gave her a big hug, quietly vowing to make sure she always felt loved. Personally, I felt sorry for Duke Ortlinde, since he had to watch his daughter leave him.

  “If it were me getting a wedding souvenir, I’d want a cooking set.”

  “Isn’t that something more for a castle chef, though?”

  Lu and Yumina chattered away with each other. It was true that most of the nobles we’d invited would hardly want to take cooking equipment back with them, but we weren’t just inviting highborn people. There were plenty of commoners like Micah, Dolan, Barral, and Aer.

  I had a feeling they’d get a lot of use out of some fancy home gear, so I decided to throw some more practical stuff on to the souvenir list as well.

  “So, what kind of things are on that list?”

  “Hm? Wanna see?”

  I projected the current catalog into the air. A second later, Yae and Lu found themselves drawn to the holographic images of various fancy-looking meals.

  “Ooh... I want to eat that meaty dish, I do...”

  “I’d love to try making it!”

  “We’ll get to try it when we go over to that world, just be patient.”

  I’d received permission from God Almighty to take the girls to Earth on a sightseeing trip after the wedding.

  We spent the rest of the night picking out various items for the wedding souvenir catalog... Frankly, it wasn’t the most sensual of activities to do with one’s brides-to-be. I probably could have been a little more aggressive, if I’d only had the guts...