Chapter 4 — Zenjirou’s Daily Life

Morning in the royal capital found Zenjirou carrying out his duties unusually early in the day as he was faced with many nobles in the palace and politely assailed.

He was sitting in the prince consort’s chair, which was set up next to the throne, and the well-dressed nobles stepped forward in turn, bowing their heads.

“I am the current head of the Pantoja family, Baron Tomas Pantoja, my lord. My wife and my humble self will be remaining in the capital for another year. Our unwavering loyalty will be at your disposal,” said the current supplicant.

“Understood, Baron. I am glad to hear of your loyalty, and as Her Majesty’s representative, I pledge to ensure that your sentiments reach her,” Zenjirou answered with a nod. At his words, the middle-aged man before him gave another deep bow of his head, then withdrew.

In his place, an older man stepped forth. He had been waiting towards the back of the room.

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you, my lord. My name is Brass, and I am the previous head of the Bobone family, a knight by title. My old bones and I will continue to serve the country here for the year. Should Your Majesties require it, I shall set myself to whichever duties you require.”

“Very well, Sir Brass, I will convey your ceaseless loyalty to Her Majesty.”

The old man also bowed his head and retreated.

The person replacing him this time was a young knight.

“Lord Zenjirou, I am the eldest son of the head of the Cavallero family, Sir Conrad. My name is Francesco. Once again, I shall be serving the capital for my family...”

The thrust of all of their words was the same, essentially stating that they would be their family’s representatives and serve in the capital, with Zenjirou accepting their offers. It was a conversation of formality.

The royal family had an immense amount of power for a feudalistic state, and there was a tacit understanding that each fiefdom would have one of their previous, current, or next heads permanently stationed within the capital. Originally, the implication had been that such guests of the country were there as hostages of the royal family, but nowadays there were real benefits for both the royals and the feudal lords, so there was no real resentment as the tradition continued.

Since Capuan royalty was exceptionally powerful, having one of the highest authorities within each family having their ear was greatly advantageous for aristocrats. Additionally, having so many nobles in one place led to a massive stimulus for the capital’s economy. And with a richer economy came more of the masses gathering in the city. The population grew, and their economic strength grew, giving rise to many rights within the capital.

To gain those rights, or to avoid losing them, the nobles wouldn’t leave. The confluence of all these aims and circumstances resulted in each household sending a representative to the royal family every year, and the royal family would grant them permission to stay and serve.

Ordinarily, this would be a duty that Aura would carry out, but as the representatives this year were all the same as the year before, Zenjirou was acting as her proxy while she was busy.

Looks like there’s a load of complicated formalities and regulations if the representatives change, but if not, it’s basically just a greeting and renewal. So it makes more sense for me to do it rather than bothering Aura with it, he thought, keeping his expression solemn as he accepted the parade of faces.

Currently, Aura was in another room of the palace with a diplomat from the Twin Kingdoms as they sounded each other out. Zenjirou had offered to take her place here in order to lighten her burden a little. Obviously, he wouldn’t handle more important matters on his own, which might suggest a change of power on the horizon, and he similarly avoided situations where important decisions might need to be taken. The only duties he would take on were ones like this, where even a plush toy with a voice recording would have sufficed if it had only had a royal title.

It was hard to say if his contribution was of any worth, but Aura appreciated it, so he needed nothing more. However, the nobles of this world would never understand his thought process, so some of them would take such opportunities to try out various ambitious approaches with him.

The middle-aged noble currently kneeling before him was one of those individuals.

“I am the head of the Durán family, Baron Diego Durán. I will once again be serving my family here. Still, I must say that the heat of the capital is no laughing matter. My own lands are on a plateau, so I have yet to grow used to this. While my home may be a rural backwater compared to the capital, this heat admittedly makes me long for it.”

A slight glint of wariness made its way into Zenjirou’s eyes as the man continued smoothly with his superfluous musings.

“Despite its rurality, I dare say that our land is any other region’s equal with its picturesque scenery and beautiful weather. There would be no greater honor than to receive you as a visitor, my lord, and I wish to convey my whole family’s invitation in that regard.”

Zenjirou’s expression stiffened, and his eyes narrowed slightly. While at first blush it might have seemed like a simple invitation to escape the blistering temperatures, that was far from its only meaning. If one excluded Carlos Zenkichi, there were only two people in the country that could be called royalty at the moment: Aura and Zenjirou. With that being the case, if Zenjirou were to take a sojourn from the heat, Aura would inevitably have to remain in the capital, given that it was the seat of her power. Therefore, the offer amounted to this man presenting the invitation to Zenjirou alone, without including her.

Ah, guess it still seems like I’m not happy with my lot here? he asked himself with slight irritation.

Looking through the chauvinistic lens of Capua, his position certainly would appear unenviable. Most male nobles would have had too much pride to allow their wives to take the spotlight while leaving them in the shadows.

Well, whether they’re being benevolent or malevolent, there’ll be no end to propositions like this. I can’t ignore them, but it’s still annoying.

Keeping his sigh unvoiced, Zenjirou plastered a smile onto his face as he answered. “Oh, a most intriguing invitation. I would like to visit at least once with Her Majesty once Zenkichi is of age. I would surely appreciate your guidance then.”

Beneath his joking tone, it was fairly clear that he was saying he had no intention of separating himself from Aura at present.

“Aha... That would be quite a while away yet. Still, I will gladly provide advice when the time comes.” The subtext had gotten through. The man bowed with a slight air of disappointment.

“It will be an honor,” Zenjirou replied, pretending not to notice the change.

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To attempt to recoup at least some of the lost time from the three-hour lunch break they took daily during the hottest season, the palace was at work as long as the sun was up. So, when Zenjirou returned to the inner palace, it was dark enough that his steps faltered as he hesitated over where to step.

Once a maid carrying a metal lantern guided him to the living room, he gave her a short thanks and opened the door on his own.

“Phew...”

Entering the gloomy room, the first thing he did was switch on the lamps. His eyes had acclimatized to the twilight, so the LED bulbs were slightly dazzling.

With the living room now lit by bright white light, he immediately stripped down. His pants were baggy, and on his upper half, he wore an almost Japanese-style coat that crossed over his chest, with a sleeveless jacket on top. They were all made to be breathable, but given how substantial they were, the uniform was still hot.

Having gotten hurriedly out of it all, he was left in his T-shirt and boxers as he headed for the five-compartment fridge before considering for a moment and shaking his head, overcoming the temptation.

“Nope, if I get the ice out now, I won’t have it for tonight,” he told himself.

He’d make do with the fan, at least until Aura returned. Instead, he retrieved a metal pitcher from the fridge and poured the contents into a glass before draining it dry.

“Phew,” he sighed again as his body began to perspire, almost as if the entire drink were being sweated out immediately. “Ahh, should I not wait for Aura and just go have a bath now?” he murmured, his eyes drifting towards the shelf where they kept the bathware as he wrestled with the urge to cool off.

“Oh, yeah...I still haven’t managed anything decent when it comes to making soap.”

The past few days had been spent on starting the process for making soap from lye and oil, but it had yet to bear any real fruit. The products he’d come up with on the first day had consisted of lye mixed into oil, and while the emulsification had improved afterwards, very few of his experiments had come anywhere close to saponification.

He wasn’t sure if the problem was with the oil, the lye, or just his own skills. Without knowing everything, it would doubtless take a great deal of trial and error.

“Maybe it’d be better to start by making caustic soda? Actually, that’d definitely be harder than making soap with only natural ingredients.”

His concerns were endless. Modern methods of soap production generally involved mixing a solution of sodium hydroxide (or caustic soda) with vegetable oils. Using lye was a much older method, so if he had the soda, it would have been far easier.

He did have instructions for creating caustic soda on his computer but had, of course, never tested it. As far as he was aware, there were two methods he could employ. One required electrolyzing saltwater, but he couldn’t do that because it needed an ion exchange membrane, which he wouldn’t have been able to get there. So the method now in his mind was the second option: a double substitution between calcium hydroxide and sodium carbonate (where two kinds of compounds react and subsequently change which type of compound they are) to form calcium carbonate and sodium hydroxide, commonly known as caustic soda. Calcium hydroxide and sodium carbonate were required.

Calcium hydroxide was also known as slaked lime, and it could be made by mixing water and the quicklime one obtained from burning seashells, so that was doable. The other reagent, sodium carbonate, could be obtained by heating sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda, apparently. So if one had shells and natural baking soda, one could theoretically produce caustic soda.

Strangely enough, both of those things were important in glassmaking, so Aura had already started stockpiling them. With the reagents being readily available, it was hardly surprising that Zenjirou felt the itch to try it out. However, it went without saying that converting shells and baking soda into caustic soda would require several processes. A complete amateur like him wouldn’t be able to do it easily. Even if he looked at things optimistically, it would probably be best to assume it would take several months.

If, by chance, he did manage to succeed and produce caustic soda, it was a hazardous material that could blind one if even a small amount got into the eye. And that was to say nothing of how it would react with the carbon dioxide in the air, along with taking on any water vapor and becoming a liquid, so it was hard to store and deal with.

A full consideration of the options made Zenjirou decide that rather than trying to get caustic soda, it was better to keep refining his method using lye.

“Right, let’s keep it up for a while. It’s mostly emulsifying now, so I guess I should make a graph with the proportion of lye on the x-axis, and the oil on the y, and see if I can spot a trend?”

His thoughts churning, he headed over to his computer and switched it on, loading up a spreadsheet program.

“First I’ve got to get several types of ash to make into lye, and different oils. Maybe some blends too? No, I need to determine an overall trend first. I’m not exactly happy about it, but I’ll have to get the maids to help.”

In the end, he spent the time until Aura returned at his computer, pulling together his plans.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

The sky continued to darken until night fell. The royal couple were having one of their usual discussions, sitting on their black sofas across from each other.

“Uh, so it’s pretty much set in stone, then? That the Twin Kingdoms’ prince and princess are coming here?” he asked, wearing a white T-shirt and light blue linen pants as he leaned forward to confirm the situation with his wife.

She was wearing a thin red house dress and frowned as she nodded in answer. “Indeed, although it is merely an informal understanding at present. Still, it is near enough set in stone. I had intended to keep things as quiet as possible, but it is likely a wasted effort. Before long, there will be a quake across the west and center of the continent. And, of course, the epicenter will be our palace. I do apologize, but you should prepare yourself.”

Zenjirou didn’t bother hiding his frustration as she spoke unconcernedly of the upcoming troubles that would involve him. “Sure,” he said after a sigh, “but still, why is it so hard to keep it a secret? Is it that we want to but they don’t care?”

Aura crossed her legs again and shook her head. “No. Members of the Sharou family leaving the country is an important matter to the Twin Kingdoms as well. They are unlikely to leak the information deliberately. We, on the other hand, are not so lucky. After all, we will be hosting other royals in the palace for an extended period. We must create a special budget for the preparations, and we’ll need more people around as well. Also, we are executing this as a matter of Capua accepting a request from them, so we will need to request compensation to ensure that the budget and personnel costs do not see us working at a deficit, which in turn means meeting with their representatives. The movement of that amount of people, goods, and money will, no matter how cautious we are, alert the sharp-eyed to the truth.”

“I see,” Zenjirou answered understandingly.

It was certainly true that even if they kept the information itself under wraps, the movement of money and goods was nearly impossible to hide from the nobles. The amounts of both that would be required to house two royals long-term was no small matter, and insightful people would immediately notice the change.

Seeing her husband still treating it as if it were someone else’s problem, despite his frown, caused Aura to almost admonish him. “Once the information starts to circulate, it will likely be you who is hounded for facts. I am sure it will all wear on you a fair amount.”

“Ughh...” he groaned, her words prompting a truly sour expression as he imagined the various methods that the nobility would use to sound him out and make sure of the facts. “Hahh...” he eventually sighed.

It would have been a waste to spend the time they got to relax solely on melancholy. Pulling things together, Aura took water and fruit juice from the fridge and poured them into both her own red glass and Zenjirou’s blue one as she changed the topic.

“So, you will not be carrying out any duties tomorrow? It has been a while since that was the case. What is your plan for the day?”

He took the glass and answered. “Ah, thanks. Well, I figured I’d carry on with the soap experiments. Some of the stuff I made yesterday looks pretty good, so I was going to get the maids to help check how good they are to use.”

Zenjirou had been spending a lot of time making the soap so far, and it had been going relatively well. Of course, it still needed more trial and error before he settled on a method, but there were some samples that had accidentally come rather close to being complete. If he didn’t check whether they were pleasant to use, however, he couldn’t truly call them finished with any certainty, so he wanted the maids to literally lend a hand.

He was leery of using women’s softer skin for experiments, but there was nothing he could do on his own on that front. People weren’t all built the same, and even individuals changed over time, so if he didn’t get a wide variety of test subjects, he couldn’t guarantee the product’s safety.

“I see. There is a limit to the bathing products you brought with you.”

Since their marriage, Aura had used the Japanese soap, face wash, shampoo, and conditioner that Zenjirou had brought from Earth.

“Yeah, though to be honest, we’ve got more of the soap than anything else. We’re shortest on shampoo, but that’s harder to make.”

Using the same soap for the hair as the body would help to get it clean, but it would also damage the hair. He wanted to find some method of getting rid of the dirt other than the perfumed oil that the upper echelons of Capuan society used, but that would come long after he had perfected the soap. He wasn’t sure he would be able to finish it before they ran out of shampoo.

His mistake a moment later likely came about because of his focus being halfway on those thoughts as he went to pick his glass up from the table, as he always did. It slipped and he dropped it.

“Ah?!” he cried out, but it was already too late. The faceted glass fell to the wooden table and shattered with a crash. The shards of blue glass and the melted ice spread across the table, the liquid dripping down onto the carpet.

It had definitely been bad luck; if it had dropped onto the deep-pile carpet or the cushioned sofa, it might not have broken, but he’d dropped it right onto the hard table of all places.

“Ack, I’ve gone and done it now!” he cursed.

It was a heavy blow to him. Back on Earth, he could have just bought a replacement, but the glass was irreplaceable in this world. He still wasn’t accustomed to the taste of metal or wooden cups, so it was very dear to him. Still, it had been his own carelessness that had caused it, so he couldn’t blame anyone but himself.

“Well, too late now, I guess. I’ll get one of the maids to clean it up,” he muttered, reaching for the bell atop the table.

“Hmm... Considering my schedule, it should be fine,” Aura murmured from the opposite sofa before calling out for him to stop. “Wait, Zenjirou, there is no need. This is a good opportunity. You are a proper member of the royal family, so you have a right to know.”

“Aura?” he asked, at a loss, confused about why she was being so grandiose about a single broken glass. He stopped and looked at her questioningly.

Whether she was aware of his confusion or not, she stood up straight and faced the fragments, holding her right hand out over them. “The magic I am about to show you is a hidden magic of our country. Once you are able to use magic at will, I shall instruct you in it, but you must never allow an outsider to know of it. It must never be used in front of anyone. Naturally, this includes the main influences within our country, like General Pujol and Margrave Gaziel, but it also includes my confidants, Fabio and Espiridion. You must not allow Carlos to learn of it either, until I say that you may. Understood?”

She stood there with her hand splayed over the glass, her eyes steadily boring into Zenjirou’s from where she sat on the sofa as she listed her terms.

“Got it,” he answered sincerely, able to tell from her tone that this was no time for jokes.

“Very well.” The queen gave a slight nod, apparently satisfied, before mana started pouring off her, and she began to chant. “Let time’s flow reverse upon this object by one full day. As compensation, I present one thousand and three hundred offerings of mana to the spirits of time and space.”

The effect was dramatic. The glass shards on the table were suddenly engulfed in a hemisphere of light, and a moment later that light flared and became so bright that he couldn’t look at it.

“Ahh?! Huh?!” Zenjirou managed, eventually opening his eyes after closing them reflexively, now faced with the blue glass as it had been before.

As he stared in shock, he spoke a question, almost to himself. “That’s...not some repair spell...is it?” The result appeared to suggest that it was, but her chant had indicated otherwise.

Still standing, Aura nodded. “Indeed, repairing things is rather far removed from our family’s Space-Time Magic, is it not? This is the hidden magic of the Capuan royal family: Time Reversal.”

“Time Reversal...” he murmured, overwhelmed by the phenomenon happening before his eyes. Ever since he had heard that the family’s magic concerned space and time, he’d had idle thoughts about manipulating time itself, but to see it laid bare before him like this left him overcome by such excitement that he couldn’t even speak.

You could also call it passion. He hadn’t been so overcome even when Octavia had first shown him the water creation magic. A passion equal to at least a fifth of what he had felt when he’d buried his face in Aura’s breasts on their first night together was currently ruling his heart.

Aura noticed the light in his eyes and as she sat back down made no move to hide a somewhat wry smile as she continued her explanation. “I apologize for raining on your parade, but this magic truly is not as grand as it first appears.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, tearing his gaze away from the restored glass to look at her.

“First of all, time reversal can only be cast upon things that lack mana of their own. Therefore, it is impossible to use it on living creatures. The only life forms it is possible to affect are lowly beings like insects and small fish that have no mana. Of course, magic tools are also outside of its scope, meaning that only things that are neither alive nor magic tools are valid targets, and very few such items are worth it. Few items exist that are worthy of spending such a vast amount of mana on,” she explained before laughing.

Certainly, the local residents’ values would mean they would not be agog over something that could do nothing for living beings or magic tools. Truthfully, even Aura couldn’t recall ever having gained any real benefit from the spell. The most she could think of was when she had accidentally stepped on her father’s pipe and had secretly fixed it before the then-king knew.

“Also, the required mana increases dramatically with the size of the target and the length of time. If I were to wind something back by months, even I would need to be prepared to exhaust my mana, and if it were years, I would need to combine it with a spell of future expense and borrow my own mana from the future, or I would be incapable of doing it. The spell is hardly worth the name. However, if its existence became known, it is unlikely the exact restrictions would also be understood. People would see it as a panacea that could even return the dead. That is why its existence is an absolute secret. Do you understand, Zenjirou?”

As Aura espoused the poor utility of the spell, the excitement in Zenjirou’s eyes didn’t fade in the slightest. The energy in his eyes didn’t abate as he asked a question in a slightly shaking voice.

“So, you mean that as long as it’s not too big, and it doesn’t have mana, you can reverse the time on any physical object by a short period?”

“Y-Yes, I can,” she managed, for once overwhelmed by Zenjirou’s excitement as she leaned back.

He didn’t notice the change and rushed over to a corner of the room with a wide smile on his face. “Then, what about this? How hard would it be for you to wind the time back on this by a few hours?” he asked, pointing at the air conditioner he had brought with him, which had never seen the light of day. He’d quickly given up on using it when he’d arrived, so it was still wrapped in plastic.

Unsure of where he was going with the conversation, Aura looked askance at him but answered regardless. “It is...far bigger than the glass, so I could not do it too lightly. Well, if it was only one day’s worth, it would not be impossible. If there was a day where I used no mana, and would not require any the next day, it would be possible that night.”

There weren’t too many opportunities for Aura to use her mana in the first place, but Space-Time Magic was something that only she could use, and it was their trump card. She wanted to keep the mana in reserve so that she could always use it if needed.

While her answer presented some restrictions, it was still perfect for Zenjirou. With a wide smile on his face, he clenched both fists and shook them in the air.

“Yes, yes, yes! I can finally get my air conditioner back!”

There was a flood of emotion in his words. The reason he hadn’t tried to set it up before was the fear that if he failed and broke it, he wouldn’t be able to repair it. But with time reversal magic, there was nothing about it that would be truly irreparable. So he could set about installing it in earnest. Even if he failed the first time, if he could try again; there was nothing to fear.

“Hey, Aura, I’ve got a bit of a request...” he said, sidling up to her with a smile of a husband coaxing some urgent spending money from his wife.