Bonus Short Stories

Troubling Tooth

“Ugh, it never ends...” I sighed quietly as I looked at the seemingly infinite piles of papers on my desk.

There were an awful lot of official things to handle in Brunhild. And there would’ve been even more if it weren’t for Kousaka and Yumina. Their help was invaluable. Yet I still had a mountain of stuff in front of me, and if I stopped for even a day, then it would just mean even more piled-up work...

The actual work was simple enough, but since it was mostly just approving or denying proposals, it wasn’t something I could hand off to someone else. Though, compared to other countries, which had noble affairs and other troublesome matters to attend to, it was all relatively stress-free.

Hmm... Maybe life would be easier if I created some noble families, though... I could hand off some land and let them handle the day-to-day dealings... Ack, wait... I can’t get lost in thoughts. Gotta work, gotta work...

Right as I put my head back down to work, the door smashed open and Linne charged into my office.

“Linne! Don’t barge in like that!”

“Shh!”

Linne put her finger up to her mouth as if to silence me, even though she was the cause of the ruckus to begin with. She then ran right past me and hid in a nearby wardrobe. I tried to call out to her, but she shushed me again and fell silent... Was she playing hide-and-seek or something? As if to answer my question, a knock came at the door.

“Come in.”

“Sorry to interrupt, Touya... Have you seen Linne?”

The person at the door was none other than Linze, Linne’s mother... Pieces of the puzzle began to fit together in my mind, and I realized our daughter must have been on the run.

“Uhhh... No, I haven’t seen her, why? What do you have there?”

I couldn’t help but remark on the pliers Linze held in her hands. It was the kind of thing I’d have expected Quun to be carrying around, not her.

“Oh, Linne says she has a wobbly tooth, so I’ve decided to pull it out,” Linze said then smiled gently, betraying no trace of malicious intent. She earnestly meant what she’d said.

“Can’t you just tie a string around it and yank it out?”

“I tried that, but it didn’t work...so this is the best way to deal with it.” Linze let out a small sigh as she spoke, clicking the pliers.

It was probably just a baby tooth that’d fall out on its own if left alone, but it’d be bad if Linne accidentally swallowed it or something, so it seemed wise to get it yanked out as soon as possible. With that thought in mind, I walked over to the wardrobe and flung it open. Linne stared at me from within, a look of hurt and betrayal painted over her face.

“It’s okay, I’ll take it out. It won’t hurt.”

“...Really?”

I smiled warmly at Linne and sat her on my desk, placing a hand on her shoulder as if to reassure her.

“[Apport].”

“Ah!”

A baby tooth appeared in my hand, just like that.

“Did it hurt?”

“It didn’t... Mom, look! It came out!”

“Wow... We should’ve just asked Touya from the start.”

Linze clicked the pliers in her hands again... Something about her expression seemed almost disappointed. It was honestly terrifying. I chuckled nervously, then handed over the tooth to Linne for her to presumably put under her pillow later on.

With that, the two intruders headed out and I set back to work. Sadly, there was still a whole mountain of it demanding my attention...

Stern Studies

“Mooom, I don’t understand this one...”

“Here, look. Compare these graphs... Get it now?”

“Um... This one’s...altocumulus... And this one’s a cumulonimbus.”

“That’s right, Elna! Good job!”

Linne, Linze, Elze, and Elna were studying at a set of desks in the castle library. Frei and Hilde sat at a nearby desk, as did Yoshino and Sakura, as well as Arcia and Lu. The kids were free to do as they pleased, but we made sure to spend some time studying every evening. I didn’t want their future education hindered by my lack of action in the past. Quun wasn’t here since she’d finished her assignment a few moments before running straight back to Babylon. I was glad she was smart, but I couldn’t help but be a little concerned by how focused she was on her eccentric hobby...

We didn’t just study either. We also had more practical lessons like dancing and official court etiquette. Brunhild may have been a small nation, but the girls were still princesses. I couldn’t have them falling behind their peers. Elze, Sakura, Linze, and Yae were also a bit rusty in that regard, so they shyly used it as a chance to brush up on their own manners. I personally found the whole thing to be a royal pain in the butt, but I knew it was necessary... Plus, at least I became a slightly better dancer as a result.

“So, who was the forty-eighth emperor of Regulus?”

“Huh? Um... Uhhh...”

Yoshino turned to me with a question... A history question. I was completely stumped, which probably highlighted the importance of Yoshino knowing. Unfortunately, I knew basically nothing about the history of this world! As I desperately scoured my empty mind for an answer, the third princess of the Regulus Empire turned to me with a sigh.

“You should know that, Touya! It’s Zephyrus, Yoshino. Zephyrus Roa Regulus!”

“Oh, that’s right! Now I remember! Thanks!”

I stared blankly for a moment... Where had I heard that name before?

“He’s my father, Touya!”

Oh crap! I forgot my father-in-law’s name... Wait, no. I knew his name! I just didn’t know he was the 48th emperor! I don’t even know what number emperor the current Japanese one is, so cut me some slack here!

“In the future, Uncle Lux becomes the forty-ninth Emperor!” Arcia casually dropped a little tidbit of future information for us. That was awfully nonchalant of her.

“You’re in a lot of the history books in the future, father. There’s an awful lot of stuff to remember in our classes...” Frei grumbled quietly.

How is that my fault?! I didn’t write the history books!

Apparently, it was normal for people in the future to study my impact on the world and to learn about all the different things I’d done in various countries. Frankly, I felt like that was a bit much... I didn’t want people snooping into my personal life!

This might just have to be something I accept, I guess... If they’re making plays about me in the future, it’s already too late.

“M-Maybe we should take a break from studying for now...”

I was exhausted, and I didn’t want to hear anything else about my yet-to-be self. The present was worrying enough, after all.

Fever

Back then, I came down with a bad fever.

I started feeling uncomfortable mid-March, and then my body began to suffer from a strange chill. At first, I thought it was just a cold, but when I woke up the next day, all my joints were aching. I went out to see an otorhinolaryngologist since I had cold-like symptoms, and they ended up jabbing this big cotton swab way up my nose to test me in case it was something worse.

The test came back saying that I didn’t have the flu, but the chills persisted and my fever ran up to 37.5°C. I went to my usual clinic, and they told me that my fever was too high and that it would need to be handled at a larger place... It was at that point that I started to think maybe I’d been underestimating the COVID-19 situation a little, so I decided to visit a major hospital to be safe. They told me the best they could do was book an appointment for the following evening, so I did that and went home.

I took some medicine for the fever and chills, then went straight to bed...but I was up in the night with coughs and headaches, and it was so bad that I didn’t really get a night of proper sleep at all. By the time my appointment came around the next day, I was barely functioning. I shambled my way over there to meet with a doctor, who gave me a tube and told me to fill it up with saliva. It was difficult to force myself to salivate in that state. I ended up getting frustrated during the testing process as further chills wracked my body. I honestly thought I was going to vomit.

It reached the point where I was almost crying and sputtering. I was so frustrated that I groaned out, “I can’t do it...” but I still managed to just barely muster up the amount they needed. Once I handed that in, they told me they’d get me my results the following day. I was dumbstruck... I thought I’d come to the hospital for an examination, but now they were sending me away? I went back home for another feverish night.

The next evening, I received a call from the doctor who told me I had tested negative for COVID-19. After that, the medicine lowered my fever and I was able to go for a normal checkup at my regular clinic. The whole incident really rattled me, if I’m honest. I realize now that catching a cold like that with the current global situation was careless of me, especially given my weak constitution. It makes me worry about the ongoing pandemic, and I feel so bad for the people who are struggling to work in the medical field with patients like me clogging up their schedules.

I hope that all of you stay safe in these uncertain times. Please take good care of yourselves.