As snow began to fall on Torquiva, the baseball noble league season came to a safe conclusion this year as well.
Our family-owned team, the Slayra White Beams, performed better than last year, finishing eighth among the twelve teams.
My wife and her aniki seemed dissatisfied with this result, but considering that the Slayra family doesn’t have a strong foothold in this town, I think we did quite well…
Well, I suppose military folks have their pride and all sorts of things to worry about.
The popularity of baseball keeps growing, and there are talks of building a stadium in the new district under construction in Torquiva, or even in places like Torkus or Ruefuma.
Before long, our stadium, currently just called ‘The Ballpark’ might be known as ‘Gemini Stadium’ or ‘Schenker Field’.
Being at the forefront of such a popular sport is honestly quite exhausting…
But to be frank, being involved in baseball has had its personal perks for me.
For instance, Spinner-shi, a playwright from the National Theatre, has written a baseball-themed play. Our theater company has been entrusted to perform it in a trial run and, beyond that, granted the privilege to perform it on stage.
Of course, this isn’t due to the skill of our troupe but rather thanks to the influence of the wife of my wife’s aniki, Princess Kariya…
Nevertheless, it’s a great honor and a joy for a theater enthusiast like me.
We already had an agreement with Spinner-shi to write a historical play for us, so once that’s delivered, our troupe will have two plays by a renowned playwright.
As a token of appreciation, we’ll send our troupe to the royal capital in the summer. But with Princess Kariya overseeing everything, I doubt the troupe will face any unreasonable demands there.
In other words, with almost no risk on our part, we get to premiere Spinner-shi’s play and enjoy the honor of performing at the National Theatre.
This is what you call an endless smile.
Even my usually stern face can’t stop smiling.
「You’ve got quite a silly grin on your face.」
「Huh? Really?」
「A siri grin.」
「Silly gwin.」
The twins, now over two years old and learning new words rapidly, mimicked their mother, Laura-san.
As I tried to keep my smile in check, I patted the round belly of Noah, who sat on my lap, and looked forward.
From the VIP seats at Gemini reserved exclusively for family members, we could see the stage where Yomanes ‘the Night Fog’ was brightly illuminated under the spotlight.
「It seems the Zarkudo school is quite upset about this play.」
「Well, of course, they are. They only lost one game but this made it look like they lost the league.」
「Zawkudo?」
「It’s a school of swordsmanship. They fight by wielding swords.」
「Stwong?」
「Oh, they’re really strong.」
There’s a reason my family can talk like this during a performance.
I recently installed a reverse-phase waveform sound-canceling magic device in this VIP seating area.
It cancels out the sound by generating an inverse phase from this side of the VIP seats.
Essentially, it works on the same principle as the noise-canceling devices from my previous life.
This ensures that, as long as we stay in the VIP seats, normal conversations won’t be heard outside.
「Still, is it really okay to be talking so much like this?」
「It’s fine, it’s fine. During testing, even singing didn’t leak out.」
「Well, if you say so…」
「Singing?」
「Singing comes later.」
My children are well-behaved outside, probably thanks to Laura-san’s excellent upbringing…
However, young children have a tendency to make noise wherever they please.
If there’s a way to prevent that from becoming a nuisance, there’s nothing more reassuring for a parent…
I even thought about installing the sound-canceling device in all the seats of this theater, but Laura-san suggested, ‘You should probably check with eldest brother first.’ so I put that idea on hold.
Well, unlike a shady small theater where suspicious sounds might come from the darkness, our audience is well-mannered.
So maybe it’s not really necessary after all.
With those thoughts, I finished watching the play and left the VIP seats, carrying the sleeping Noah in my arms.
Just as we were about to take the escalator down, I instinctively stopped in my tracks and ducked behind a pillar.
Laura-san, holding Lacus, followed suit.
「What’s going on all of a sudden?」
「Down, look.」
「…I see. It would definitely cause a commotion if we went down now.」
Peeking out from behind the pillar on the third-floor landing, we saw Raimii Zarkudo, dressed in a black coat with a sword at his side, along with members of the Zarkudo baseball team, gathering there.
Well, of course.
This play is only being performed here right now, so it makes sense that those directly involved would show up.
「Did they come here to complain?」
「If that were the case, they would have said something directly during the match. This is probably a reconnaissance mission.」
「Reconnaissance… for what?」
「Who knows… but the Zarkudo school isn’t the type to take things lying down.」
Laura-san said this with an amused look on her face…
-0-
And the answer to our question came swiftly.
Later that winter, a new play was announced on a poster displayed at the prestigious Kubatoa Theater in Torquiva.
『Treachery! The Schemes of the Perennial Bottom-Dweller Team, the Slayra, Looms! At that moment, the Zarkudo Batters of Justice and Conviction Forge a Path! A Youth Baseball Opera! The Revived Golden Dragon! Coming Soon! 』
It was an announcement for the Zarkudo school’s own baseball play.
In other words, the Zarkudo school was launching a direct counterattack against the Slayra family on the theatrical stage.
On the poster for ‘The Revived Golden Dragon’, a figure unmistakably resembling Raimii Zarkudo was depicted swinging a bat.
Well, that’s fine…
As an audience, I’m genuinely looking forward to the play…
By the time this play is staged here, our ‘Love Bound on the Ballfield’ will likely be performed at the National Theatre in the royal capital.
Two plays with the same subject matter but from opposite perspectives, one performed at a renowned theater in the far south and the other at the most traditional theater in the heart of the capital.
To be frank, the outcome of this theatrical image war seems apparent from the start.
Had the Zarkudo school known that ‘Love Bound on the Ballfield’ was Spinner-shi’s new work specifically for the National Theatre, they probably wouldn’t have considered a counterattack through their own play…
Feeling a bit sorry for them, I copied down the information from the poster into my hobby notebook.
-0-
When I was a child, winters in Torquiva were unbearably dull.
There was nothing to do, no entertainment, just the relentless cold. With snow piling up outside, it became a chore to leave the house, so my brothers and I would just lie around in front of the fireplace.
But lately, winters in Torquiva have become much more lively, filled with events that make the season more enjoyable than it was a decade ago.
One of those enjoyable events is the Mole God Temple Festival held on Shenker Street, which is managed by my second brother, Shishiriki.
And halfway through this year’s festival, a certain someone’s wedding reception was held, practically taking over the festival.
「Mince-san! Congratulations!」
「Thank you.」
「Where did you get that dress?」
「I had Chicken prepare it for me.」
「Are you moving out of the dorm?」
「My husband said he’d provide a house since we’re expecting a child…」
After holding a traditional ceremony in front of the Mole God Temple, Mince, who was taking up space at a corner of the festival, found herself bombarded with questions from the young ladies.
Yes, Mince had married a man named Ganat, whom she had been dating for some time.
From what I heard, it was a shotgun wedding.
Ganat, one of our slaves, had been quite passionate in his pursuit of Mince, so I suppose he finally got his wish.
Knowing her as long as I have, I find myself thinking, ‘Well, good for her…’ Everyone has their own tastes, after all.
「Mince, congratulations.」
「Oh, Master! Madam! Thank you so much!」
Mince attempted to stand, but I stopped her with a tap on the shoulder. Today, she was the guest of honor, and it seemed that her dress made moving about quite cumbersome.
「Here, a little gift.」
「Oh… Thank you very much!」
Mince gratefully accepted the gift box of towels I handed her, holding it close to her chest.
These days, as more of our slaves get married and have children, I keep a stock of these kinds of celebratory gifts at home.
I’m no longer the person who used to hand out gold coins, making pregnant women cry in fear.
Though that change is mostly thanks to Chicken and Laura-san’s influence…
「Make sure to keep yourself warm.」
「Thank you, Madam!」
Laura-san’s greeting eventually made Mince stand up to thank her.
Her husband, on the other hand, had been standing from the start.
Not wanting to overstay and become a bother, Laura-san and I decided to take our leave at an appropriate moment.
「There are quite a lot of participants in this year’s boxing, don’t you think?」
「Well, Mince, the favorite to win, isn’t competing this year.」
As we watched the central boxing ring, which was buzzing with bets and excitement before the main event, we exchanged such thoughts.
Perhaps it’s thanks to my brother’s way of stirring up excitement at the festival, or maybe it’s because there aren’t many similar competitions around…
This year-end brawl festival seems to have gained quite a bit of popularity.
It’s now divided into weight classes and requires preliminary rounds, and I hear there are quite a few people who train specifically for this event.
「If only we could get Marion, the first year’s champion, to fight again… That was a great match.」
「I doubt he’ll participate. He hasn’t competed since then.」
「If we marketed it as a rematch against Mince, it might draw some excitement.」
Well, if we offer a prize that his wife, who’s very dear to him, would love, he might just decide to enter…
「But Mince might not be able to participate in matches for a while, right? After all, she’s about to have a baby…」
「You never know. If it’s Mince, she might leave the baby with her husband and still enter the competition.」
I could easily picture that happening.
Well, when preparations for next year’s festival begin, I’ll ask Mince if she’s interested in a rematch.
I don’t want to get ahead of myself and jinx it, so I’ll leave next year’s matters for next year.
Still, the thought of Mince having a child… it feels rather strange.
「This festival seems to be getting more crowded every year.」
「Yeah, that’s true. Even the midnight shop seems to be having a hard time.」
Laura-san pointed to the midnight shop, which indeed had a line of people stretching outside.
Now that I think about it, I heard they had prepared a special festival menu…
Maybe that’s what all those customers are here for?
「Oh, look, isn’t that the girl you tried to give a gold coin as a maternity gift?」
「What? Oh, you’re right. She’s from the band.」
Looking closely at the line, I noticed Sheena, one of our slaves, standing there with a small child.
…Thinking back, we’ve come a long way.
Most of the people passing by on Shenker Street were once ragged slaves sold for next to nothing.
But now, they’ve found work, found partners, and seem to have firmly grasped their own lives.
Speaking of which, I remember that little boy holding Sheena’s hand; I once used healing magic on him when he had a cold.
「Kids sure do grow up fast…..」
「What are you suddenly talking about?」
「I just thought of families like us. When you have kids, they become the center of your world. At night, I find myself thinking about what would happen to Noah and Lacus if I were to die…」
「I don’t think you’ll die even if you are killed.」
That reminds me, if a slave suddenly passes away, what happens to their child?
If they have a spouse, the spouse would take care of them, but…
In cases where there’s no one, it feels wrong to send them off to the Wheat Field Orphanage… Would I end up taking them in?
If I die, Noah and Lacus would be raised by the Shenker family, who are their godparents, and by Laura-san, but… what about those children without such ties?
Wait a minute.
…Come to think of it, what happens to my slaves if I die?
Under Kraunia law, slaves are considered private property.
So, unless I’m mistaken… if I were to die, would they be inherited by my wife and children?
Would my nearly a thousand slaves end up belonging to Laura-san, Noah, and Lacus?
「…No, that’s not good.」
Now that I think about it, that could be quite problematic—no, actually, it could be extremely bad.
The Magical Schenker Group (MSG) is, to put it bluntly, a system that relies heavily on my healing magic.
We’ve managed to gather skilled people cheaply because I bought them at rock-bottom prices and healed them…
And because I’m always there to heal them, we can push harder than other organizations.
That’s how we’ve operated all this time.
But if I were to disappear and the organization couldn’t be maintained in the same way…
Normally, the logical step would be to sell the slaves, who are assets in themselves.
If that happens, the slaves and their children would likely be separated from each other.
「I definitely want to avoid that…」
It would be too heartbreaking, and the ones who would bear the brunt of that resentment would be my family, not me.
Resentment is a terrifying thing.
I want my children to be as far removed from grudges and being grudged against as possible.
And even if my family decides to maintain the Magical Schenker Group (MSG) after my death, there would still be problems.
Laura-san isn’t skilled in healing magic, and though she’s managing now, she’s only going to get busier.
Our son and daughter may not necessarily excel in healing magic either, and they will have their own dreams and desires for the future.
If they end up having to manage a large number of slaves inherited from their father, it would surely limit their options.
…Of course, things are constantly changing. By the time I die, there might be a system or method in place that solves everything neatly. But…
「Laura-san… for example, if I were to…」
「Hmm?」
I was about to ask Laura-san to take care of things if the time ever came… but then I stopped myself.
Any kind of request would only burden those left behind.
Surely, any last wishes are not something that should be left in this world.
Regrets, settlements, and preparations are all things that should be handled while you’re alive.
「Yeah, that’s right…」
「What’s going on with you? You’ve been mumbling to yourself for a while now.」
「Laura-san, do you think our slaves will be able to get by on their own in the future?」
「Oh, they’ll manage just fine. They’re much better at navigating life than you are.」
「Then, they’ll be okay, right?」
「What do you mean?」
「…I mean, after that, everyone will just walk their own path in life.」
I glanced sideways at Laura-san as I spoke. Her sapphire-blue eyes met mine.
「Let’s hear more about this.」
「Alright.」
The family meeting that Laura-san and I started after moving back to the house continued until the break of dawn…
And the very next day, a discussion was held involving my head slave and the steward of the Slayra Family of Torquiva, Chicken.
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