A purely Japanese-style inn was constructed in a grassland area.
I was lying on the porch reading a book. And stretched out against my torso was Lefi, who had just arrived from the living room.
The wind chimes hanging from the ceiling tinkled as a gentle breeze blew and the trees and grass swayed.
There was also the sound of water in the small pond we built in the garden.
It was a pleasant afternoon.
"My husband."
"What is it?"
I answered Lefi, without turning my head.
"I have a lot of free time on my hands right now. As a husband, shouldn't you be helping your wife to get rid of her boredom?"
"Well, my wife, I can understand that you want to enjoy your free time. But unfortunately, I'm reading a book right now, so I can't entertain you for now. You should either read a book or spend your free time alone."
"How dare you talk to your pregnant wife like that? What a cold husband you are! With such an attitude, I am not sure whether you will be able to fulfill your duties as a husband when our child is born."
"Lefi, my wife. It seems that you have overestimated the duties that a husband has."
"If you are not obligated to do something, why should I be the one to deal with your problem? What a cold man you are, do you not love me?"
"Love is limited, Leficios. The love I have for Lyuu, Layla, and Nell lately is relatively less than the love I have for you."
"That is a harsh and frivolous thing to say. Love is supposed to be unlimited and equal."
"I'm sorry, but that's not true. There is a limit to all love. You should keep that in mind."
"We seem to have a difference of opinion. That would mean that the love you have is just that much."
"It is foolish to blame others for your own inadequate efforts, Leficios. I, too, would like to love equally, but it is difficult for me to respond to my wife's unreasonable demands."
"No, I don't want to hear that from you."
Well, yeah, I suppose.
If anything, I was certainly the one who usually did the reckless stuff.
And so, we continued to roll with our nonsense.
"I'm in that mood. Like I've already wound the hose all the way up, but I still feel like I'm somehow turning the lever and continuing to wind it." (Yuki)
(T/N: Above line was written like that by the author.)
"I don't know what any of that means, though." (Lefi)
"Hmm… I don't know how to explain it clearly. Just think of it as another way of doing things, you know? Well, it's complicated." (Yuki)
"Well, Yuki, just now, you were not speaking while using your brain, right?" (Lefi)
"I think we both have the same reflexes, don't we?" (Yuki)
"What do you mean? I always consider every word I say before I speak while thinking about how it will affect you. There are only a handful of people in the world who are as careful with their words as I am." (Lefi)
"In translation: I'm bored thinking about it." (Yuki)
"Now I am thinking so." (Lefi)
It was a conversation with no real value, but that's how our conversations usually go.
"So, you've been reading a lot lately. Did you find something interesting?" (Lefi)
"Yes, I borrowed a lot of books from the Rogard Empire castle that I can bring outside. Of course, some of them are funny and some of them are not funny at all, but the funny ones are interesting." (Yuki)
In this world, there were no comic books, no movies, and no video games, but there were books.
Perhaps it was due to magic, but letterpress technology was surprisingly advanced, and thanks to that, there were relatively large numbers of books available.
As long as there was demand, there would be an increase in supply to meet that demand.
If there was a large supply, there would be something interesting available even for an ignorant person like me to read.
However, because of production expenses, books were still more expensive than in my previous life.
"You don't read books, do you?" (Yuki)
"I don't like to read because it tires my eyes." (Lefi)
"…I'm remorseful that Shii doesn't like books. You're the reason why I couldn't say anything too strongly about it." (Yuki)
Shii was the least studious of the little girls, rejecting everything but picture books with a smile and running away from others. Lefi was just as uncomfortable with books as Shii was.
Lefi, perhaps having hit on a sore spot, replied with a bit of agitation, "…Lyuu doesn't read much either! She definitely doesn't want to study either, just like me!"
"No, unlike you, she doesn't hate studying. It is simply the fact that she is terrible when it comes to studying. At the very least, she is still learning various subjects when I am teaching her."
Lyuu was the daughter of a chief, she was a young lady of some sort, and she was well-educated.
In fact, in terms of knowledge, Lyuu was firmly at the aristocratic level. She seemed to dislike mathematics, but she was quite good at language, so I guess she could be considered a "liberal arts" student.
In our family, we have Layla, who was a super talented girl, and Nell, who was stuffed full of knowledge as part of her education as a hero, so Lyuu didn't really stand out in that aspect.
Lyuu couldn't do any housework at all when she started working here, but that was again partly because she was raised on the same level as a young lady.
But well, after a while, she did improve, but her clumsiness still remained and was still causing her some troubles when working.
"What a surprise…I feel betrayed. She was supposed to be in the same frame of mind as me!"
"Oh, Lyuu would not be happy with that classification, that's for sure."
"By the way, you're in the same category."
"What? Don't be silly, I would be famous all over the world as a great sage in this day and age. I am on a different level from you."
"You should realize that you are being a fool by saying that."
I know.
◇◇◇
Then we went on and on about unimportant things without doing anything productive.
Lefi never left my side in the end, even though she said she was bored and continued saying so.
"Zzz…zzz…"
The pleasant breeze and the warm sunlight seemed to have made her sleepy.
Before I knew it, Lefi was sleeping on my stomach.
Her sleeping face was mysteriously alluring, yet also made me feel relaxed and secure.
"…You're sleeping so comfortably."
I slowly stroked her head, then took a blanket out of the item box and draped it over her to keep her body from getting cold.
Then, feeling her warmth and comfortable weight, I proceeded to read the book again.