「So, Arg? In the end… you just hugged Noie all night and slept, right?」
「…No excuses」
「After going that far, why didn’t you do it? Coward? No balls? Shame on you!」
I had no choice but to take the one-sided scolding quietly.
Today again, I was in brother’s office, being questioned about last night.
He pressured me with 「After all the knowledge I gave you, no way you failed, right?」… so I explained everything honestly, and got showered with insults in return.
I tried my best, okay?
We turned off the lamp, I kissed her while touching her chest.
I was all emotional like 『Ah～ Boobs really are this soft～』 when I suddenly heard a maid sneeze outside the room.
That flipped the switch and snapped me back to reality.
The thought that everything might be overheard made me super embarrassed, so in the end I just hugged her and fell asleep.
Growth, right? Huge growth!
「Shut up, you virgin bastard!」
「Hagwaa!」
Heh heh. Nothing to say back now.
My brother stood up, roughly scratching his head like yesterday, and sat across from me.
「Think of maids as roadside stones. Trash in the corner. Stains on the bed」
「…No way, impossible」
「Kaa～ So pathetic. Father would gather the maids on purpose and start right there」
「What kind of legend is that!?」
「And that’s how he almost got slashed by Mother in anger」
Slashed where exactly?
Still scratching his head furiously, he let out a breath and chuckled.
「Well, for me it worked out since I forgot to say something yesterday. Why are you bracing yourself? What I’m about to say is genuinely wise aniue advice」
With a father like that, I can’t trust his sons at all.
He leaned forward a bit and stared right into my face.
「Listen up, Arg? Embracing a woman isn’t just about holding her body. You need the resolve to embrace everything about her… and show her how big your heart is. Noie is complicated in many ways, but she’s still a normal girl. So, if you’re going to hug her… show the resolve to fully accept and take in everything about her. Got it?」
「…Yes」
Whoa. That was actually really good advice.
「By the way, my heart still has plenty of room. I could handle another ten easy」
「You and your father are both hopelessly disappointing!」
Give it back! Return my emotion right now!
-0-
「So about changing the mansion?」
「Yesh」
I lunged at him in a fit of emotion, only to get completely wrecked by his counter. Damn it. Too strong.
Lying face-down on the floor with his foot on my back, I begged for mercy while bringing up the room change request.
We both returned to the sofas. He folded his arms, grumbled, then called the maid outside to fetch the blueprints for my mansion.
From what I could tell looking at the delivered plans… is this really supposed to be the 「small」 version?
Master bedroom. Several empty rooms for future kids. Guest rooms. Quarters for maids and other servants. Kitchen, baths, and all sorts of other facilities… It looked about the size of a small school.
「Where do you want changes? Don’t do something stupid like Uncle and put a bath in the bedroom. It’s steamy in summer and freezing in winter」
「What kind of pointless luxury is that?」
「Or do you want the bed super wide? There are lots of sad stories about broke nobles who bragged 『Hehe, I’ll surround myself with women here～』 and died lonely」
「That’s not it. I just hate having maids right outside the room」
「That again? You’re really small-minded」
Shut up. If it bothers me, I can’t relax, okay?
He shrugged with a sigh and pointed at the bedroom area on the blueprint.
「So what do you want?」
「Hmm～ Can we add a small room for the maids here? With nap beds so two can always be on duty」
「Possible. But if you scream, they won’t hear」
「That’s where this comes in… Can this country make pipes out of metal?」
「Pipes? Iron ones?」
He’s supposed to be knowledgeable about military stuff, but his face looked pretty reluctant.
「We have copper pipes for fountains… no good?」
「If you have those, copper’s better」
They have plumbing pipes. I want more everyday knowledge like that.
「Can you make them about this thin?」
「Yeah, easy」
「Then run one vertically by the bed like this, horizontally near the ceiling, route it through here… and into the maid room」
「Mm-hmm」
「Add lids on both ends」
「Doable. So what is this thing?」
「It’s a simple communication device. Called a speaking tube. Make another identical pipe beside it, thread string through one, and attach bells at both ends.
When you need them, ring the bell, then speak into the tube without the bell. Your voice carries to the other side」
「For real～?」
More reliable than a string phone, you know?
It was used as a non-electric intercom on ships, and widely featured in science museums as a 「try-it-yourself experiment」.
My knowledge comes from places like that too.
「Test it once. If it doesn’t work, just use the bell to signal when needed」
「Fair enough. That level of change won’t cause a big fuss even if we do it now. I’ll give the orders later」
He glanced at the bookshelf while saying that… what’s that about?
Leave a Reply