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“They’re not biting…how weird.”
“Last week they were still biting nicely…what’s going on?”
“Wilma, hubby, maybe poachers have shown up?”
“It’d be one thing if we were in Mizuho, but ponkame aren’t that popular in the Helmut Kingdom. It’d be meaningless to poach them. Some other reason must be at work here.”
In the evening, Katia, Wilma, and I were angling at a river in the outskirts of Baulburg. Our goal was to catch 『Ponkame』, a turtle known as 『soft-shelled turtle』 on Earth.
Even in this world, turtles were said to have a good nourishing effect and boost your vitality. They were also very popular…not. The cooking methods for turtles hadn’t advanced, and since they were mostly eaten cooked with salt and herbs, they weren’t all that popular.
Also, given that there existed other food that was tastier than soft-shelled turtle while having similar effects, those ingredients drew more popularity.
The freshwater fish restaurant from a while back had a dish resembling Japanese turtle cooking and it attracted a fixed number of fans, but that place put its focus on eel dishes, and thus the turtle dish didn’t stand out much.
In the end, ponkame cooking remained niche, but the Earl Baumeister House had a cook who could prepare Mizuho dishes. Given that his ponkame dish was almost as delicious as Japanese turtle dishes, we’d often go fishing at the rivers which had plenty of ponkame. Because the water had to be clear of mud, we also had added a pond for keeping ponkame in our mansion’s garden. I had built it with magic.
Since the stock had gone down recently since we ate them relatively frequently, we came to this river to catch a new batch for a little while during evening, but for some reason, we couldn’t find any ponkame today.
Even though they were usually biting quite easily…
“Maybe ponkame have meetings as well?”
Though it was kinda unclear what they’d discuss after gathering. At most it could be stuff like, 『At that place you can catch plenty of prey』.
“In case of overfishing, they’d disappear gradually. A sudden disappearance is weird. I haven’t heard any news about poachers either. The number of people eating ponkame in the Baumeister Earldom is low, and since the area is dotted with rivers no one visits, it’s impossible for them to abruptly decrease…”
As you’d expect of the master at fishing and angling, Wilma. She calmly analyzed the reason for the disappearance of the ponkame.
“Did their natural enemies raid the area?”
“Even then, a complete annihilation would be very unlikely. On top of that, ponkame have only few natural enemies.”
As long as it wasn’t monsters, the ponkame had few enemies among the animals living in the Baumeister Earldom. I guess it’d be close to a miracle for them to completely vanish over a short period of time.
“Unexpectedly, your guess might be right, Wend-sama.”
“You mean the one about a meeting? Well, I might have been the one to bring it up, but even I don’t consider it as feasible.”
It’s not like they’re cats either.
“How about other territories?”
“That information would be important, too.”
The countermeasures would greatly change depending on whether it was a phenomenon occurring only in the Baumeister Earldom or one occurring all over the Lingaia Continent.
“I’ll be troubled if there are no ponkame around. After all, the ponkame dish you came up with was great, Wend-sama.”
“I’ll be troubled as well!”
Especially after I went out of my way to hire a Mizuho cook. As if I’d give up on this luxury of eating ponkame and eel dishes whenever I feel like it!
“I’ll try asking Margrave Breithilde whether it’s the same in his territory as well.”
Since it was already too late today, I headed over to Breitburg with 『Teleport』 on the next day. And there I asked Margrave Breithilde about the matter with the ponkame.
“Now that you mention it, I’ve heard that they can’t be caught in our territory as of late. I was also troubled by that situation.”
“Is that so?”
I taught Mizuho-styled ponkame dishes to him, but never did I expect that he’d also be troubled over the disappearance of the ponkame.
“Didn’t you kindly teach me the recipe before, Earl Baumeister? You also said that ponkame dishes are very nutritious and a help for one’s vitality. Since I actually experienced those effects myself, it’s become a favorite dish of mine.”
In my previous life, I had often seen that kind of soft-shelled turtle advertisements on the back covers of adult magazines and such.
But, now I understand…
Influenced by me, Margrave Breithilde has increased the number of his wives, and now he apparently has it tough to keep up. But, would it be a problem for him as my patron to have less wives than me as his vassal? It looks like he’s been told something along those lines by other nobles and retainers.
Especially among the retainers existed many who claimed, 『Although he’s now Earl Baumeister, he’s originally the eighth son of a Knight! Milord, you mustn’t lose to a man like that!』. Some time ago Burkhart-san had told me all about it.
If you hear such stories, you only end up thinking that nobles fuss way too much about their honor and reputation.
It’s only natural for Margrave Breithilde to be worn out, and it’s just as natural for him to reach out to products with vitality-boosting effects, I guess.
“So it’s the same in the Breithilde Margraviate as well, huh?”
“The fishers have reported that the ponkame are suddenly gone without a trace. Well, ponkame dishes aren’t that popular among my population, so it’s not like it’s a huge problem, but still…”
If you didn’t use Mizuho-styled cooking preparation, you wouldn’t be able to get rid of the ponkame’s mud smell.
Still, ponkame can’t be caught anymore in the Breithilde Margraviate on top of the Baumeister Earldom? In other words, you can safely say that the ponkame have disappeared from the Kingdom’s south.
“It still remains a mystery whether this phenomenon is taking place all over the Kingdom or whether it’s limited to the south.”
“You’re right…”
Now that I had heard of the academy due to the previous sage incident, I immediately teleported to the capital, and decided to ask the scholars, who were researching living beings at the academy, about this issue.
“Ah, it’s about the case with the disappearance of the ponkame, right? It’s inevitable since we’re in that kind of season right now.”
“What kind of season?”
“The ponkame in this area gather at a certain place once every dozens of years.”
Probably because I’m Earl Baumeister, a biologist of the academy immediately informed me about the reason for the disappearance. They resemble each other, but in the end, it sounds like ponkame and soft-shelled turtles are different creatures.
Ponkame lived very long because they were turtles. Once every dozens of years all the ponkame living in a region would gather at one place. For this reason it was very natural that we couldn’t catch any ponkame at all, according to the biologist.
“Why are the ponkame gathering, you ask? Mature ponkame usually copulate with nearby brethren to give birth to eggs. However, this alone isn’t enough to maintain diversity within a species.”
“Oh, I get it. So they regularly gather at one place, and copulate with specimens living far away to create eggs with them. This way allows them to prevent inbreeding and they can keep the diversity of the ponkame species, right?”
“Oohh! Earl Baumeister-sama, you possess a wide range of knowledge!”
“I was startled, too!”
“I just knew it by chance.”
It’s said that it’s best for humans and other living beings to avoid inbreeding as much as possible. The Ponkame are probably doing that by instinct. But, since it’d be too tiresome to do it every year, they only perform this mass breeding event once in a few decades. And this year simply is the time for that by chance.
“Then they’ll eventually go back to their usual grounds, right?”
“Judging by the time the ponkame are said to have disappeared, it’ll last another week, I suspect.”
As expected of an academy researcher. It’s no wonder that he made his way through all the hurdles to become one.
“I see. Now I fully understand. Nothing less of you.”
“This is my job. Besides, I’m happy.”
“Why would you be happy?”
“Well, a person like you has come to ask me, an expert in that field, for the reason after the ponkame suddenly disappeared all at once.”
“What about others?”
“Everyone else doesn’t care, or in case of rural nobles, they’d have priests offer prayers, thinking that it might be some kind of bad omen. There are priests who agree with such nobles, and many of them look suspiciously at us researchers when we explain it as a normal biological process.”
“Well, that’s because the priests earn good money when they offer prayers while pretending like it’s some kind of bad omen. Some of the higher clergy might also receive its support from such priests too, and thus they press the researchers to hold back on making their findings public.”
“Since the academy has many priests as well, the number of such priests is rather limited, though.”
Given that priests also belong to the intellectual class, most of them don’t seem to deny scientific research. Many church members denied the evolution theory on Earth, so I’d say things are better over here?
“But it’s great to hear that they’ll be back in a week.”
“Earl Baumeister-dono, do you like eating ponkame? They’re unpopular as food, aren’t they?”
“You see, about that…”
I explained that ponkame wouldn’t smell like mud if you kept them in clear water for around two weeks after catching them, that Mizuho had wonderful ponkame dishes, and that ponkame dishes were highly evaluated for their vitality boost and rich nourishment in Mizuho. This also counted as my thanks to the researcher who told me about the ponkame’s ecology.
“Oh, okay. That’s valuable for my research, I think.”
The biologist had listened to my explanation while looking very interested. As for me, I didn’t put that much thought into it, but I had apparently underestimated the researchers of the academy.
◆◇◆
A little while after this, Mizuho-styled ponkame recipes and their effects spread across the Helmut Kingdom, and rich people with many wives to keep their family going started to buy them up.
Because of that, the price for ponkame skyrocketed, and as their numbers dwindled in some parts due to overfishing, breeders started to appear… All of this might be human nature, though.
My Baumeister Earldom secured itself a stable supply by launching a ponkame farm in cooperation with the biologist I spoke to, but it would take many, many years for that farm to become profitable.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Oh, Earl Baumeister-dono! What kind of business do you have with us today?”
“I’ve got something to discuss with your superiors.”
“I guess things are quite tough as there’s lots of miscellaneous matters when it comes to high-ranking nobles.”
Leaving the academy, we used the opportunity to finish some business at the sorcery guild, and while at it, we visited the laboratory of Mr. Beckenbauer which was located in the guild’s basement.
Currently he wasn’t working on his usual magic circles, but was compounding some magic potion instead.
“What kind of magic potion is that?”
Mr. Beckenbauer compounding potions…I’ve heard about that from Doushi before, haven’t I…? Because of his magic potion, Doushi and his party members temporarily turned into women…
Erw, Wilma, Luise, and I simultaneously distanced ourselves from Mr. Beckenbauer.
“Ughh…you’ve heard about it from Armstrong-doushi, haven’t you? However, during that time I still had some unrefined parts to me because I was a young fledgling. Since I’ve reached a level of perfection nowadays, you do not need to worry at all.”
Even though he claimed all this, I couldn’t quite trust him because of his usual antics.
“Umm…what kind of magic potion is it?”
“It’s a potion for removing stains on the skin.”
“That’s obviously a potion completely catered towards rich people, isn’t it?”
“Well, every once in a while I make such potions as well.”
Erw and I thought that Mr. Beckenbauer solely focused on magic circles these days.
“The research of magic circles requires time, effort, and funds. Because of that, I often run out of research funds in no time. Since the sorcery guild has its bureaucratic parts too, I can’t hope for any supplementary budgets once I use up my budget for the fiscal year. Therefore, I also need to do such part-time jobs.”
His usual conduct and talking occasionally has some lapses, but deep down Mr. Beckenbauer is a diligent researcher, isn’t he?
Driven by his magic circle research, he even goes as far as doing part-time jobs to continue his research once he runs out of his normal budget.
“Though you’re nonchalantly criticizing the sorcery guild, aren’t you?”
Erw, he’s that kind of person, so just ignore that part.
“A magic potion to remove stains on the skin, huh?”
On earth it’d sell like hot pancakes. Elderly women would buy it up like vultures, I suspect.
“So, does it have an effect?”
“Of course, it does! That’s why noble wives, who worry about their skin, pay huge amounts of money. Well, in their case, there are many other flaws besides stains on their skin, but all of those are things my magic potion can’t handle anyway.”
“”””…””””
We couldn’t help but fall silent due to Mr. Beckenbauer’s trademark insults.
“It’ll be done once I add this medicine to it,” said Mr. Beckenbauer and added a poisonous-looking, ultramarine liquid into a beaker with a likewise poisonous-looking, violet liquid.
“Wend, is it really okay to smear this liquid with the eerie color on one’s skin?”
“I don’t think that color plays much of a role.”
After all, the problem lies with ingredients rather than the color. It’d be too hasty to judge this potion as poison just because of its color.
“Wend-sama, white smoke is billowing up.”
“It’s reacting in various ways before becoming complete…I think.”
There’s no way that Mr. Beckenbauer has messed up with the contortion of a potion he should be used to…right?
“Oh? Was it a medicine that would trigger such a smoke?”
“Oi!”
“Didn’t you make this potion many times in the past?”
“Eh? So basically, it failed?”
“Answer, geezer!”
We complained to Mr. Beckenbauer who hinted at having failed his contortion despite having been so confident before. Wilma’s sharp tongue especially stood out.
“A───ah! Chief! Did you use the ingredient I had put down there?”
On top of that, a young, male magician, who seemed to be Mr. Beckenbauer’s subordinate, entered the room and pointed at the empty beaker which had previously contained the ultramarine liquid.
“I used it, but I compounded it as instructed, okay? Is there any need to be surprised about it?”
“I had a young researcher make that ingredient, but we couldn’t obtain any ponkame liver, and thus he apparently used the liver of another turtle. I came here to inform you about that…”
Eh? In short, it’s set in stone that Mr. Beckenbauer blundered on the contortion?
We looked at each other with cold sweat forming on our foreheads.
Mr. Beckenbauer cleared his throat, and said, “It just means that even a genius like me sometimes makes a mistake due to external factors. As long as we talk about this failure at next week’s meeting to make sure that it never happens again…”
“”””That’s not the problem here!””””
Though it might be the proper way of handling it for an organization!
Even if we had tried to run away, the room’s door was blocked by the young magician. In the next instant, the room was enveloped by white smoke, but at that time, we already had no other choice but to take it just like that.
◆◇◆
“Hmm…looking at it like this, Earl Baumeister is still the least objectionable.”
“I guess I have no choice but to agree. Erw is tall and muscular, so he’s similar to Candy-san, isn’t he?”
“…Grandma.”
“Yeah, so what? Even after being turned into a woman, I’m just an ordinary grandma, but do you have an issue with that?”
“I kinda feel that it’s not the time to argue about stuff like that…”
Mr. Beckenbauer had supposedly contorted a 『magic potion to repair one’s skin』, but because his subordinate failed at the ingredient preparation, Erw, Mr. Beckenbauer, and I have turned into women for some reason. Since Wilma and Luise have been women to begin with, they were unaffected.
It’s got to be that. Because the potion increases female hormones to remove the spots on skin, we’ve turned into women as result of the failure. Me feeling a deja vu from this most likely stems from having heard Doushi’s story a while back. And on top of that, because of the same person being responsible for the same mistake.
“It’s none of my fault. My subordinate has messed up by cutting corners on the ingredient preparation. Even though it had been fine for him to simply report back that he couldn’t contort the ingredients because of the missing ponkame livers. The idea that it’d be fine because the livers used belonged to turtles either way was short-sighted. Giving a proper report is of utmost importance within an institute like ours.”
“That’s certainly a correct assessment, but the existence of a management defines itself through its responsibility.”
“…”
Mr. Beckenbauer fell silent upon Wilma’s merciless, logical chiding.
“So? Can we revert to normal? If Wend remains like this, I’ll be harshly blamed for it.”
Erw was accompanying me as a guard. Now that I was turned into a woman, it was a foregone conclusion that he’d have to take responsibility for it. Roderich and others like him were very naggy about such things.
“If you smear the skin potion I mentioned earlier on your skin, you’ll return to normal.”
“It’s great that it’s not permanent. …Hurry up and make the potion then.”
“But there’s a little problem with that. The ponkame currently have their big gathering, so it’s impossible to catch them, right?”
“There’s none left in stock?”
“You see, we don’t use ponkame liver often, so they’d spoil and become unusable if we stored them. Normally you can purchase ponkame quite easily, but until we get our hand on ponkame liver, you’ll remain like this.”
“Oh, great! Damn it!” Erw wailed at his own fate while looking up to the ceiling.
Even so, for the absence of ponkame to backbite us in such a way sure is unexpected. In the end, I fear I’m right about my being loved by bad luck.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Let’s see. How about something like this? Still, it’s quite difficult to coordinate a fitting outfit.”
“Ugh, no matter what you wear, it looks crap…”
“Burly.”
“Gahh, gimme a break and don’t play around with meeee!”
Now that we’d become women, we couldn’t change it. The great copulation meet of the ponkame and their subsequent return to their usual territories would require another week. Since it was just a week, I wanted to wait until we could return to normal, but…for some reason Luise and Wilma dragged us to Candy-san’s store.
They said it was for the sake of buying woman-like clothes since we had to wait another week anyway. But, is that really necessary?
Those doubts plagued me all the more when I saw how Candy-san forced Erw to try on all kinds of clothes.
I’m definitely going to keep using my current outfit.
“In the first place, it’s just one week, right!? So it’s completely fine to just keep going with my current outfit!”
“But Erwin-chan, you have such a magnificent bust, so it’d be just good manners to at least wear a bra.”
“NOOO───!”
In Erwin’s case, his breasts, or rather, chest had become quite big, and thus he could only be regarded as big-boobed, I guess. As for me…I feel like covering them with bandages would suffice.
“Erwin-chan, what kind of design would you prefer for your bra?”
“Don’t act as if the design is the problem here! I don’t want to wear a bra to begin with!!”
“No, that’s not acceptable as it’d go against manners.”
While Erw got dragged away into the dressing room by Candy-san and Luise, I had Wilma wrap bandages around my chest. I got off lightly thanks to my small breasts.
“I don’t look weird if I wrap up my chest like this, right…?”
“Don’t worry,” Wilma soothed me as the effect of me becoming a woman probably wasn’t all that strong.
As for Erw…
“Luise-chan, how about something like this?”
“Oh nice, a floral pattern!”
“Absolutely no───ot!”
Since it sounded like I’d get dragged into it if I tried to save him, I willingly offered up Erw as a sacrifice. I mean, I cherish my own body the most!
“By the way, what about Mr. Beckenbauer?”
“He went back home.”
Come to think of it, his home is a famous lingerie store in the capital. So he’s securing himself some underwear since he’s going to stay a woman for a week as well?
No, even without him doing anything like that, he’s a magician and as such he can wear robes. So it should be possible for him to easily gloss it over…
“It makes me sick to imagine it even a little bit.”
“Me too…”
Wilma and I almost ended up imagining Mr. Beckenbauer (grandma) wearing high-class underwear, resulting in us quickly banning the idea out of our minds. It’s a good thing that we’re not eating right now.
“He won’t have any trouble with finding underwear at least.”
“You’ve got a point there.”
Wilma and I laughed. But maybe because we had been gossiping about him, Mr. Beckenbauer showed up in Candy-san store. While being pulled by the ear by his wife.
“You’ve wronged Earl Baumeister-sama in an outrageous way! What did you plan to do if he couldn’t return to normal?”
“That’s…as long as I researched…”
“All of your research is no more than half-baked child’s play!”
“It’s because the path of research knows no end.”
“You’re always trying to muddle your way out in such a manner! Just how many people have you involved in your messes thanks to those magic potions of yours!?”
So he’s done this many times over and then got scolded by his wife, huh…?
“Ooh, Earl Baumeister-dono! It doesn’t seem to inconvenience you all that much, does it?”
“It’s not like it doesn’t cause me any trouble, you know…?”
After all, I got turned into a woman all of a sudden.
“Dear! Apologize to Earl Baumeister-sama! At once!”
“Well, such is life, I’d say. You never know what might happen next, right?”
“What’s with that stupid kind of excuses!?”
As always, or rather…this guy simply loves to trigger other people, doesn’t he?
“I am terribly sorry for my husband having caused you such trouble with his thoughtlessness.”
Mrs. Beckenbauer was a very level-headed and considerate person, offsetting Mr. Beckenbauer’s utter lack of social competence. They’re rather balanced as a married couple, I’d say.
“We shall offer you some underwear from our store as an apology.”
“…”
No, let me correct that. Those two peas in a pond in some respects. Even though the problem would be solved by me wrapping up my chest with bandages, his wife is trying to push underwear on me… Just why? As an advertisement?
That won’t work, will it…?
“I don’t need any underwear. Oh, but how about you offer it to Erw?”
“Very well. Candy-san’s store is selling underwear as well, but since they aren’t specialized in it, the variety is limited.”
“You might say so.”
Given that I’d hate having to wear the female underwear of a royal purveyor, I decided to sell out Erw, even if it might be somewhat low to do so.
Sorry, Erw. In the end I cherish my own body the most.
“Let us take Erwin-san to our shop right away then!”
“My family’s lingerie store has a huge assortment of underwear. I’m sure Erwin-dono will find some underwear to his liking.”
“Yes, you’re absolutely right…right, Wilma?”
“I believe so as well,” Wilma agreed with me.
Nothing less of my cute wife. In reality she probably doesn’t want to see me wearing high-class underwear, though.
“Okay, then let us be off at once.”
“I had mine chosen by my wife, too. Want to take a look?”
“”No, it’s fine…””
I didn’t want to pollute my brain with memories of Mr. Beckenbauer’s underwear appearance. I’ve got my wives to cover that part.
“Eh? What? Beckenbauer-san?”
“I plan to offer you the underwear of our store. Come with me at once.”
“Sorry, Candy-san.”
“It makes sense. We aren’t specialized in lingerie. No matter what we do, we cannot win against the assortment of Miranda-chan’s store.”
Candy-san seems to be close with Mrs. Beckenbauer. Still, I gotta admit, this guy’s connections are truly worth admiration.
“Aren’t you happy, Erw? Now you’ll be able to choose whatever you like.”
“Aren’t all of you just having fun torturing me!?”
Erw’s protest was ignored, and with Candy-san blocking all resistance, he got dragged away to the lingerie store run by Mr. Beckenbauer’s family. Wilma and I did no more than silently watch him leave.
“How strange. All would have been fine if he had simply wrapped up his chest with bandages.”
“Right.”
A little later Erw came back, his eyes deadpan. Apparently he was forced──though it seemed like the Beckenbauers and Candy-san thought that they were doing something nice for him──to put on high-class underwear.
“It doesn’t make a difference whether I wear underwear or not, does it!? Wend, you stop them as well!”
“I’d get pulled into this as well, if I tried to stop them…”
“If you say something like that, I’ll show it to you!”
“No thanks!!”
In such a way history repeated itself, and we ended up becoming women──albeit for a limited period of time──thanks to the magic potion created by Mr. Beckenbauer.
◆◇◆
“Uuhh…so now you know what happened to Daddy, Friedrich.”
“Auu?”
“『Mother, don’t be sad』, he says.”
“Who’s a mother!? I’m his Dad!”
“Ueeee───eeh!”
“Dear, you shouldn’t yell next to Friedrich.”
“Oh shit…”
Because Katia called me a mother when I was explaining my sorrow over having become a woman to Friedrich and my other children…I reacted to her teasing against my better judgment, and shouted at her. However, this caused the babies to cry which then earned me an earful from Elise.
“Isn’t it fine as long as you’re going to return to normal soon? You just need to be patient until the raw materials finish mating.”
It’s just as Luise says, but still…I’d prefer a woman to not use 『mating』 so readily.
“Luise-san, that’s improper.”
Look, there you have it. Didn’t you get rebuked by Katharina just now?
If you must describe it…calling it a love tryst between ponkame that takes place once every few decades would be much more suitable for a noble.”
“No matter how you sugarcoat it, in the end it’s mating.”
And just as usual, Wilma shot down the foundation of Katharina’s argumentation. In a certain sense, you could say she’s already brought this kind of conversation to perfection.
“Either way, why must I wear women’s underwear even though my being a woman is limited to a week!?”
“Erw, it’s okay when you’re in your adventurer outfit, but not wearing underwear beneath everyday clothes is a big no. It’s an issue of manners.”
“Indeed! It’s just as Ina-chan says. What would people say if a woman, who looks like a rough guy, were to flash her chest, or rather, her breasts openly in the city?”
“It’s not like I’m going to directly expose them, right? In the first place, I’m no female pervert!”
Erw sure hates wearing a female outfit with a verve. Though, I don’t like it either.
“Anyway, what about Wend, Luise?”
“I mean, Wend is wearing a robe.”
I have bandages wrapped around my chest, and if it’s covered by a robe, my breasts beneath the shirt don’t stand out either. It’s much less of a problem than Erw when he’s wearing an attire fitting a retainer of the Baumeister Household or casual wear.
“Wend, you sure got it nice…! Hey, wait! I could use bandages as well, couldn’t I!?”
I guess he did notice it in the end. In reality, I think almost everyone knew that…some eccentric people used Erw’s becoming a woman to play a prank on him. I immediately coiled bandages around my chest to avoid being dragged into the mess. In short, you can simply say, Erw missed his chance to escape his fate.
“Erw-san, I will help you with the bandages.”
“As expected, the only one I can count on is my angel Haruka-san.”
Erw left the room for the sake of having Haruka coil bandages around his chest. Well, it’s only natural since there’s no necessity to wear female underwear.
“Ah, but Wend…”
“What’s up, Ina?”
“Tomorrow you’re going to train with Doushi, aren’t you? With, umm, Earl Morgensohn-sama…who accommodated us with the trading of the Baumeister Earldom’s products in the capital.”
Now that she mentions it. Ina got a good memory.
He possesses a lot of authority and many connections in the capital. Even though he’s pretty much the desk-worker type of man, he’s an acquaintance of Doushi for some reason… Previously I’d heard from Doushi that quite a few things happened in the past…
“Say, Earl Morgensohn-sama is the one who fell in love with the womanized Doushi, isn’t he?”
“……No, no, no, wait. Doushi told me that he already snapped out of it.”
Back when the current family head of the Morgensohn family was still a pretty boy, he caused a lot of problems by falling in love with the womanized Doushi, but I hear nowadays he’s a capable, handsome Earl in his midlife. He offered to help us with the distribution of our Earldom’s products to improve our business in the capital.
Through Doushi as a connection──though they’d have never had a chance to become acquainted if not for that incident──he’s started to hunt which also serves as a business entertainment.
A lot of prey can be found in the circumference of Baulburg, so the area is fairly popular among nobles as a hunting ground. It’s often being used as a location to entertain business partners, too.
“History repeats itself?”
“Wilma, that’s unthinkable.”
Earl Morgensohn falling in love with my womanized appearance? Nah. Currently he’s leading the very fulfilled life of a normal noble together with his beautiful wives. It’s hard to believe that he’d take a liking to my womanized appearance.
History won’t repeat itself.
“It’d be nice if you’re right about that…”
I felt bothered by Wilma’s worries, but it had been arranged for the hunting to be carried out on the next day.
I also did these sorts of socializations for the sake of my children.
I transported Doushi and Earl Morgensohn with my 『Teleport』 to a hunting ground outside Baulburg. Outside of our plans, the number of participants had increased by one person.
Going by his attire, he isn’t a guard or retainer, but part of the Earl family, I think. Earl Morgensohn is a handsome man, but this boy is quite beautiful as well. Or rather, when I went to meet Earl Morgensohn at his mansion, I also greeted his family, but all of them were beautiful people, without exception.
The same applied to the butlers and maids as well, totally giving me the vibe of the Earl Morgensohn household being some kind of stage for a TV show.
“Franklin-dono, introduce your successor Clemens-dono to Earl Baumeister!”
“I brought him with me today for that very reason. Earl Baumeister-dono, this boy is my successor, Clemens. I’d be very pleased if our good friendship could continue into the era of Friedrich-dono and beyond through him.”
Earl Morgensohn was a very gentle and modest man. To such an extent that I couldn’t believe that he’d fallen for Doushi in the past.
“Clemens, greet Earl Baumeister.”
“Earl Baumeister-sama, my name is Clemens of the Earl Morgensohn House. I am pleased to make your acquaintance.”
Just him giving his greeting would make anyone envious as he was the very picture of a pretty boy. In the first place, with him hailing from a family of beauties and handsome men, his success in life was likely guaranteed through his lineage.
Those were my thoughts as someone who had been born with ordinary looks.
“(As expected, the bandages are doing their job.)”
Currently my body was that of a woman, but it wasn’t as though my height had changed and since I could hide my female parts through my robe, the rest of the hunting group apparently didn’t notice the change. Erw was wearing armor today because we’d be hunting from now on.
For starters, Erw’s plight shouldn’t have been exposed…is what I thought, but…
“Umm…who might this person be?”
“Huh? He’s my retainer Erwin…”
For some reason, Clemens-dono was awfully interested in Erw.
“I see. So you’re called Erwin-san? That’s a very strong-sounding name.”
“My name sounds strong?”
“…”
How weird. Even though we’ve hidden our feminization to the utmost, Clemens-dono gazed long and hard at Erw with his cheeks having a red tint. Once Erw looked at his face, Clemens-dono’s face flushed even further and it looked like his chest was heaving up and down as well.
Is this possibly…
“I can tell. Erwin-san, you are a woman. For you to have abilities that allowed you to be selected as Earl Baumeister-sama’s guard, despite being a woman, is marvelous. I admire someone like you, Erwin-san,” said Clemens-dono with his face becoming redder.
With things having developed this far, Doushi and Earl Morgensohn apparently noticed it as well. Yep, history was repeating itself…
“(No waaa───ay! Wend, you are just the sa───ame, and yet…!)”
“(Don’t ask me)”
I had been ignored by Clemens-dono, but under these circumstances, it was very welcome, allowing me to feel relieved. And at the same time I felt sympathy for Erwin from the bottom of my heart.
＊ ＊ ＊
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“I met my ideal woman.”
The Morgensohn House, my birthplace, was called the following by society: A noble house out of a fairy-tale with every of its members, be it family or servants, being the picture of beauty.
But, I wasn’t happy about that description. In the eyes of the world, my family apparently consists of beauties and handsome men, but in my eyes, it’s an assembly of normal people who lack all individuality.
Moreover, I had a fiancée decided for me, but even she was an ordinary woman with no redeeming traits. Of course, society regarded her as a pretty, lovely, noble daughter, but for me she didn’t go beyond average.
The marriage had been set for the sake of preserving our house. Thus, as heir of the Morgensohn House, I had no choice but to accept the engagement.
But, at the very moment when I had somewhat resigned myself to this kind of life, I met my fated partner.
She was called Erwin-san. A very tolerant, outstanding woman. Up until now I have never experienced a shock running through my every pore when I encountered other people. I suspected that I’d never be able to meet a person like her ever again.
As if I’m letting this chance slip through my fingers!
I made up my determination to welcome this woman as a wife, no matter the costs. Unfortunately, her social status wasn’t suitable enough to make her my first wife, but I’ll definitely make her happy once she becomes my concubine. That’s why I firmly believe that Erwin-san is going to accept my proposal.
＊ ＊ ＊
“…History repeats itself…,” muttered Doushi.
“…It really drives home that Clemens and I are father and son…”
“Erwin is a male name, and yet your son does not find it strange?”
“Elise-san…isn’t that the reason why it’s said 『Love is blind』…?”
“As someone who has experienced it personally, I can only agree with that!”
“Doushi-dono, please don’t say that.”
We had planned to hunt as a form of business entertainment, but we interrupted our endeavor and returned to the Baumeister mansion. Right now, the atmosphere inside the living room was heavy and awkward.
“What are your hobbies, Erwin-san?”
“Sword practice…”
“That is truly a very practical hobby, I must say. That plain part of you, which doesn’t depend on any gaudiness, is wonderful.”
“…”
The only one not feeling any gloom of depression was the eldest son of the Morgensohn House, Clemens-dono…
Still for him to fall in love with the womanized Erw, despite being surrounded by only beautiful people, surely is the destiny of his family…
Come to think of it, Doushi’s previous party member did mention that beautiful men and women are commonplace for the Morgensohn House, didn’t he? Therefore Clemens-dono perceives Erw, who is tall, well-trained, and strong, as a woman he’s never seen before – as his fated woman.
Does that happen often?
“Pheew, how wonderful.”
It wasn’t me.
“What are you acting all relieved for, Wend!?”
“Of course I feel relieved.”
I mean, it ended without me being chased by Clemens-dono. So it’s only natural for me to feel relieved, no?
“Erwin-san, your voice is also very resolute. How lovely.”
Clemens-dono has fallen so hard for Erw that he finds everything about him charming.
『It’s fate…』 is written on the expressions of Doushi and Earl Morgensohn.
“Excuse me, Clemens-sama.”
“What might it be, Erwin-san?”
“I’m already married. I also have a child…”
He has a pretty wife of fine character called Haruka and plans to soon hold marriage ceremonies for another two wives. I can fully see why he wouldn’t be happy about a guy falling in love with him at such a point in time.
“Erwin-san, you are married?”
“That’s why I’m telling you that it’s better to give up.”
Erw might have his own thoughts on the matter as well, but the other party is the heir of an Earl House. He’s trying to skillfully dodge Clemens-dono’s proposal by explaining that he’s married himself so as to not cause any discord with the Morgensohn House.
I think this shows Erw’s growth as a retainer of the Baumeister House.
“Do not worry. I shall talk with your husband in good faith.”
“I also have a child…”
“I will take responsibility and raise it properly while guaranteeing its future. But, I want to have children with you as well, Erwin-san.”
“(…No good! Whatever I say, he doesn’t listen at all! Wend! Please do something about this!)”
“(Even if you’re telling me to do something… Just what is making Clemens-dono go this far? Especially with you being his romantic target)”
“(That’s nothing I want to be told by you, Wend!)”
I had become a woman as well, but Clemens-dono didn’t take any notice of me. Or rather, he hasn’t even realized that I’ve become a woman. And yet, he’s fully perceiving Erw as a woman. That’s probably why he proposed to Erw, but…
“What an incredible sight that would be… Claiming to persuade the husband…I’m sure that would turn out to be a spectacle completely opposite of what Clemens-sama is expecting…”
“No kidding…”
Amalie-san served tea for everyone in an attempt to calm the situation, but after seeing Clemens-dono passionately making moves on Erw, she puts on a rather troubled expression. In fact, everyone wore the same expression, except for Clemens-dono.
“(Doushi, please do something about this)”
We must deepen our trade relations with the Morgensohn House through the sale of special products, but there’s no way we can…hand over Erw as a wife, so I wanted him to somehow handle this whole mess. Seeing how Doushi had mediated between both houses, he also bore responsibility for Clemens-dono’s eccentric behavior.
“Me? Now that it has turned out like this, it is already too late to do anything!”
“Umm…Earl Morgensohn?”
“Imagining it from my own past experience, he will feel like having woken up from a dream at some point, so we have no choice but to wait until then…”
In reality, he didn’t marry Doushi nor anyone similar to him. His wife was a normal, pretty woman.
I wonder whether you could describe this as a trick of his imagination? No, I guess youthful indiscretion fits better, doesn’t it?
“Such nobles occasionally exist.”
“Indeed.”
Given that Therese used to be a high-ranking noble herself, she seemed to know of nobles similar to Clemens-dono.
“It’s not limited to nobles either. Humans are drawn to the unknown. They desire things different from themselves. For Clemens-dono, a woman like Erwin is a first. It gave him quite a shock. Didn’t that become the trigger for him to awaken to his love?”
Even if that’s true, it’s still bad for things to keep proceeding like this, no?
“Wendelin, if I remember correctly, it’s going to take the ponkame another five or six days to return to their usual rivers and swamps, right?”
“So it seems.”
It’s a strange custom of the soft-shelled turtles of this world, but…it was no more than bad luck for this to happen at exactly this precise timing.
“Couldn’t you catch a ponkame if you know their meeting place?”
“But, I don’t know where to find that meeting place.”
I’ve heard even the academy’s biologists have been looking for the mating place over several decades. It’s not said that the ponkame always gather at one spot on the Lingaia Continent, so the biologists have suspected that there might be several different locations, but of course it’d be stupid to expect those places to be close to areas inhabited by humans.
Since no one has found the ponkame’s meeting ground so far, they must be gathering in a fairly remote place.
“How troublesome.”
I don’t have a problem with waiting, though.
“I’m not available anymore!” Erwin screamed.
“Erwin-san, how many children do you want to have?”
Yeah, okay…Clemens-dono is truly blinded by love, or rather, he doesn’t see what’s going on around him whatsoever. Then again, he doesn’t appear to mind it either. Clemens-dono is fully absorbed in his conversation with Erw.
“Doushi, I’ll have you help out. The ponkame of the Baumeister Earldom should definitely gather somewhere within the territory.”
“Are you telling me to search for them? I am busy.”
“I sincerely beg you!”
Because it’d be impossible for me to handle it alone, I dragged Doushi into it as well. This marked the start of a grand search for the ponkame’s mating ground.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Hm───mm, the ponkame gathered inside a monster domain despite not being monsters themselves? Then it’s no wonder that the fishermen didn’t find their gathering spot.”
“Earl Baumeister, we are going to catch the ponkame at once!”
“(That damn Doushi, just because he found the gathering spot…)”
There existed a small monster domain slightly northeast of the Demon Forest in the southeastern part of the Baumeister Earldom. That domain had remained mostly untouched as it was unpopular among adventurers. The reason for this stemmed from it being a wetland belt.
However, this had another effect. Namely, a low amount of monsters. Which made it ideal for the ponkame as a gathering spot within the Baumeister Earldom.
“They should be in the center of this domain!”
“If you’re talking about the center, it’s also the place where the domain boss lives, isn’t it?”
Given that this domain was full of marshes, it was hard to traverse by foot. Because of this, it was unsuitable for monsters who were earthbound.
We’ve entered it to investigate the area, but so far we haven’t run into a single monster. Well, seeing how the natural enemies of ponkame are completely lacking here, I can fully understand why they’re assembling in a place like this.
“The footing is really bad. Erwin-san, please watch out.”
“Yeah…”
“(Why has Clemens-dono come with us?)”
“(Most likely because his romantic interest is here as well)”
We were in a wetland area where you could trip up with each step you take. This caused Clemens-dono to worry about Erw.
Though, it’d have been possible to fly over this area if it had been only Doushi, Burkhart-san, and me…
“(Erw…all would have been fine if you had simply waited back home…)”
“(I thought that Clemens-sama wouldn’t follow since he’s no adventurer, if I came with you guys! And yet, it led to this! Ugh!)”
Clemens-dono had been staying at the Baumeister mansion and tried to be together with Erw whenever possible. His father, Earl Morgensohn, said, 『It’s a temporary illness, so we won’t be able to stop him, no matter what we do. I’m terribly sorry for all the trouble he’s causing…』, and returned to the capital after entrusting his son to me.
Because it’d have been a bother if Clemens-dono ran away from home after being forcibly dragged back home by Earl Morgensohn, I accepted my fate and took charge of the young boy. Officially it was decided that his stay would be labeled as 『The next Earl Morgensohn is staying at the Baumeister House to learn all kinds of things』, though.
Given that it’d be troublesome if Clemens-dono followed us around when working, Erw had been tasked to talk with him in the mansion. But it looked like he had already reached his limit.
“Erwin-san, please take my hand.”
“…I’m fine, so…”
“Oh, come to think of it, Erw-san, you were a superb adventurer, weren’t you…? Oops…I impudently called you by your nickname…but, would that be okay for you?” Clemens-dono asked Erw with his cheeks blushing.
Looking at this whole scene from the side, Clemens-dono appeared to be an innocent, earnest boy who tried to get as close to his loved one as possible, but his romantic target was Erw who had the physique of a female pro wrestler.
Being born with such handsome features…why would he choose the womanized Erw…?
When I asked Doushi, he spat out a sigh for a change, and said that this had to be another part of the Morgensohn House’s curse.
“I’m fine with just Erw…”
“Thank you! Erw-san, you are such a kind person. And on top of that, you’re also broadminded.”
Broadminded? How? Is having a broad body connected to broadmindedness?
Probably because of his pedigree, Clemens-dono with his tender fifteen years was sensitive. Because his body was fifteen centimeters smaller than Erw’s, Erw appeared to him as bigger and older…
“(Oka───ay, broadminded, eh…?)”
“(Earl-sama, it’s just a figure of speech)”
“(Figures…)”
I confirmed Burkhart-san’s sarcastic remark conversationally.
“(In the first place, you told him that it’s a womanization triggered by a magic potion, didn’t you?)”
“(Of course we did)”
“(And? How did that go?)”
“(We couldn’t get Clemens-dono to believe us)”
Clemens-dono didn’t want to accept the reality of his romantic interest actually being a womanized guy. He prattled about me lying because I wanted to take Erw as wife for myself since he’s so charming.
Once he went this far with his delusions, there wasn’t anything we could do anymore besides turning Erw back into a guy as quickly as possible. Of course, me as well.
When I explained the circumstances to Burkhart-san, he commented, “(This is where you having so many wives has backfired. Then again, no matter how much you might have, Earl-sama, Erwin won’t become one of them)
Of course not. Or rather, does he really believe that I’d jump at anything that remotely looks like a woman? Even I wouldn’t see Erw like that since he’s a guy to begin with.
“(That’s why we must catch the ponkame as soon as possible)”
“(It’d be wrong to leave the two of them behind, so we can at most avoid getting stuck in the marches by floating with magic)”
Erw and Clemens-dono couldn’t use magic to make themselves float. Since they were trudging through the marshes, we had no choice but to match their pace.
Especially if something were to happen to Clemens-dono, I’d be harshly blamed by Earl Morgensohn.
Except for their particular taste in women, father and son were excellent and sensitive men whom even Doushi and Margrave Breithilde regarded as good people.
In short, all would be resolved if only we made Clemens-dono snap out of it by turning Erw back into a guy.
“Still, it is definitely strange that we have not encountered a single monster even after having entered the domain so deeply.”
“Isn’t that the reason why it’s unpopular among adventurers?”
Not a single adventurer hunting in here could be seen anywhere..
“Further inside should lay the central part of the domain. The place with the ponkame.”
The ponkame have gathered inside a monster domain, but I think it’s unlikely for there to be any ponkame other than the ones living in the Baumeister Earldom. Still, there must be a reason for them to have gathered here in the first place.
The instant we arrived in the central area, that reason became immediately clear.
Many ponkame had amassed at a big swamp close to a lake, but smack down in the middle of the swamp rested a gigantic ponkame.
“This guy looks like he’s the boss of the ponkame, doesn’t he?”
“On top of that, it’s probably safe to say that he’s also the boss of the domain.”
“Or rather, this domain contains only the ponkame boss besides the ponkame anyway.”
“No, I heard that monsters lived here before, albeit just a few!”
“Weren’t they eaten up? By the ponkame, that is,” replied Burkhart-san to me.
“So that big ponkame hunted the other monsters as prey for the ponkame who would gather here once every few decades?”
“The huge ponkame is truly caring!”
“That is why they gather here! They are simply returning home!”
“I think it’s somewhat different from returning home, though?”
A single specimen among the long-living ponkame had become huge and turned into a monster within the monster domain. Yearning for the eldest among them, the underlings would gather around him. This might be the truth behind the great pilgrim of the ponkame.
“Anyway, let us quickly grab some ponkame and hurry back home!”
“You’re right.”
Just one ponkame will be enough since the magic potion made out of its liver will cancel the womanization…is what I thought, but…
“Earl-sama, aren’t things looking somewhat dangerous?”
“This is…”
Oh my god, it wasn’t just one huge ponkame…
Several dozen…no, it’s not like we checked all the big ponkame inhabiting this swamp. Maybe there are several hundred…or more than a thousand ponkame with an overall-length of 10~30 meters. The normal ponkame of the Baumeister Earldom…are present in such huge numbers that you can’t even count them.
One after the other surfaced, resulting in 90% of the water surface area being crowded by ponkame.
“Umm…Burkhart-san?”
“Going by my past experience, I’d say it’s smarter to pull back at this point.”
“I think so as well!”
Well, it should be easy for us to aim at the gaps between the huge ponkame to snatch one or two normal ones. However, pissing off the big ones doesn’t seem like the best plan to me, to be honest.
“If we wait another five days, was it?”
“Quite so! It will not pose any problem if we catch a ponkame or two after they return to their respective habitats!”
“Safety comes first, yep.”
We decided on abandoning the capture of ponkame. However, one amongst us moved on his own accord, contradicting our intent.
It was none other than Clemens-dono…
“Erw-san, you like ponkame, don’t you? Quite the peculiar preference… Though, your individuality in this regard is lovely, too. Please leave everything to me,” announced Clemens-dono and cast the fishing rod with the bait we had prepared in advance.
He was trying to catch a ponkame with a fishing rod for the sake of Erw. Even though he’s just a high-ranking noble’s spoiled brat, he sure is pointlessly knowledgeable about catching ponkame…
“Ah, a bite! Come on! Let me catch you so that you can turn into a dish for the dinner of love between Erw-san and me!”
Sad to say, a ponkame immediately took the bait, and Clemens-dono began to reel in the ponkame. Of course, the ponkame resisted, but since it wasn’t one of the big ponkame, it got hauled in without much of a problem.
“I caught one! Since we don’t really eat ponkame in our family, I’m definitely looking forward to its taste,” exclaimed Clemens-dono, proudly showing off his catch to Erw.
And in the next moment, the big ponkame began to stir after having observed their brethren being caught by us.
At the same time, bloodlust…well, I call it bloodlust, but it’s probably the best description for what’s being released by the big ponkame in the swamp.
Burkhart-san, I, and even Doushi started to get drenched in cold sweat.
“Burkhart-san, this is bad, isn’t it?”
“Don’t ask the obvious! We’ll be attacked not only by a huge number of big ponkame, but also by countless normal ponkame!”
“Erwww───!”
“It’s my fault now?!? The one who selfishly caught the ponkame was…!”
“All of that does not matter now! We are getting out of here!”
Doushi grabbed Clemens-dono under his arm and escaped just like that with 『Flight』. Burkhart-san and I also used 『Flight』 to get away while carrying Erw together.
“Earl Baumeister-sama, you mustn’t do anything indecent to Erw-san!”
“As if I’d do anything like that! Reflect on what you’ve done here, you moron!” I roared at Clemens-dono, who was still playing the fool, since even I got pissed off by his thoughtless bullshit.
Then again, it’s only natural under these circumstances for me to react like that.
“Earl-sama, look!”
“Scary!”
The big ponkame kept chasing after us. They were running at a terrifying speed. On top of that, their numbers exceeded our expectations by leaps and bounds. One big ponkame after the other showed up from the other side of the swamp, and joined the chase, making it all look like a huge army was on the move.
The reason for all of this was the ponkame caught by Clemens-dono.
We fully realized that only at this time, once every few decades, the ponkame wouldn’t abandon a single of their brethren.
“But, as long as we leave the monster domain…”
The huge ponkame shouldn’t leave their domain as monsters. As long as we fly away like this…
“Earl Baumeister, take a look at this!
“Haa───ah!?”
When I looked back at the flock of ponkame upon Doushi’s urging, I saw how the normal ponkame were also chasing after us, just like lemmings.
“Normal ponkame can leave the monster domain without any issues! Even if a single ponkame does not pose much of a threat, those numbers will be a problem!”
The swarm of several hundred thousand ponkame kept chasing after us. Even though it’d be simple to shake them off, it’d be a major issue if such an amount of ponkame continued to search for us within the Baumeister Earldom…
“It will be a major incident if that mass of ponkame enters a city!”
“I know───!”
The destruction of Baulburg after we’ve provoked the ponkame mustn’t come to pass! In that case…
“Clemens-dono, give them the ponkame back!”
Now that it’s come to this, the only option left is for Clemens-dono to return the ponkame he caught for Erw. If he returns it to its brethren, the ponkame won’t have a reason to chase us any longer.
“No! I’ll use this to enjoy a ponkame dish together with Erw-san!”
“”””Whaa-!””””
Love blindness is truly terrifying. Despite being usually labeled as a calm boy who’s suitable to be the heir of the Morgensohn House, Clemens-dono is now blathering such unbelievable nonsense.
“Bah! No matter what you tell him, it is a waste of time and effort anyway! Here, take it back!”
Doushi wrenched the ponkame out of Clemens-dono’s hands, and returned it to the ponkame which were chasing after us at full speed. Thereupon, the swarm stopped its pursuit as if we didn’t matter any longer.
“Phew, that was a nice save, Doushi.”
“Doushi-sama, you’re terrible. Even thought Erw-san and I were supposed to enjoy a wonderful ponkame dish together, you…”
“”””…””””
We couldn’t help becoming dumbstruck by Clemens-dono’s stupid complaint.
In the end, the ponkame capture failed, and thus it was settled that Erw and I would have to wait for five days.
“Oh well, it can’t be helped. But then again, it’s not like there’s much of an inconvenience anyway…”
“What are you talking about, dude!? Of course, there is! What’s going to happen to me!?”
“Erw, you’re a chief retainer of the Baumeister House, so I think talking with Clemens-dono will allow you to gain precious experience on various matters.”
“How cruel! So you’re abandoning me!?”
“Calm down. It’s just another five days.”
“There are some things that cannot be changed in this world!”
“No way…”
“Erw-san, the plan for us to eat a ponkame dish together has been busted, but how about dinner at a restaurant in Baulburg tonight?”
“…”
“Oh, are you embarrassed? Erw-san, you’re so adorable.”
“”””…””””
The lesson we learned from our little excursion this time was that it was a bad idea to meddle with the ponkame while they were meeting, and that it was indispensable to pay special attention to the men of the Morgensohn House since they were very liable to pull off something absurd.
At any rate, it was a terrible experience.
＊ ＊ ＊
“It looks like they properly returned to their usual habitats. Though it’s not like I’ve failed since I’m a genius anyway.”
“”…Shut your trap…””
“Uugh! Sorry…”
After five days, the rare ponkame meeting came to an end and the turtles went back to their usual habitats. We managed to safely acquire a few specimens, and using their livers as raw material, Mr. Beckenbauer succeeded in contorting the magic potion to return Erw and me to normal.
We both managed to become guys again, but when Mr. Beckenbauer started to brag about his own abilities, silent rage welled up within us. Erw in particular got totally mad at him.
The only inconvenience of me becoming a woman was no more than Elise and the others being slightly displeased about it. But, Erw, on the other hand, couldn’t do his job at all since a love-struck Clemens-dono kept chasing him everywhere he went, resulting in Roderich telling Erw that he wouldn’t have a single break for a month to catch up on all that he missed.
It wasn’t as though he was able to take a rest for the one week of being a woman as he got thoroughly exhausted in body and mind from dealing with his little stalker, and thus he had all right to be angry at Mr. Beckenbauer.
“Now that you’ve become a guy again, even the heir of the Morgensohn family with his special preferences in women should give up on you. Aren’t you happy about that?”
This guy really has a messed up character. That’s probably the reason why he can contort such magic potions.
“In the end, Clemens-dono didn’t acknowledge that Erw had been a guy who got womanized.”
“But, right now I’m a guy, so even he won’t be able to deny it, I think…”
That’s what we thought, but the situation ended up developing into an unexpected direction.
◆◇◆
“Erw-san was actually a man?”
“Indeed. I was simply dragged into an unforeseen accident due to some weird magic potion.”
“Erw-san is a man…”
He must have suffered a huge shock.
Clemens-dono dropped his shoulders in disappointment after hearing the explanation from Erw.
However.
“Certainly, Erw-san, you might be a man! But, my feelings are no lie! Oh, right! If I become a woman through that magic potion, there won’t be a problem whatsoever! Mr. Beckenbauer if the sorcery guild, was it? Please wait for a bit, Erw-san!”
“”Pardon?””
Just like that, Clemens-dono rushed over to Mr. Beckenbauer, and pestered him every day at his laboratory, begging him to contort the womanizing potion. However, if the heir of the Morgensohn House were to use something like that, it’d be the downfall of Mr. Beckenbauer, as might be expected.
He continued to refuse, but after a while, Clemens-dono started to stalk him.
“He’s paying for his sins!”
“God is always watching us,” said Elise as if it was only natural.
Given that she couldn’t have sex with me as my wife as I was a woman myself, she has apparently accumulated a fair share of resentment against Mr. Beckenbauer, too.
“Wend, it’s great that you returned to normal.”
“Wend becoming a woman was…”
Since Luise, Ina and my other wives are looking happy as well, everything is fine in the end…
“Wend-sama, is that person going to return to normal?”
“That person? Ah, you mean Clemens-dono? I think it’s something like a fever, but who knows…”
“I had to suffer thanks to this.”
I don’t know how he reached the conclusion that all would be fine as long as he became a woman, now that Erw had returned being a guy, but as might be expected, that state didn’t last for long. After a while, we received a message from Earl Morgensohn that Clemens-dono had apparently sobered up, and married his very beautiful fiancée without a fuss.
◆◇◆
“But, his child will…”
“Don’t jinx it, Wend!”
“But you see, I think it’s a part of their family’s blood.”
There was no guarantee that Clemens-dono’s son wouldn’t pull off the same thing in the future. Erw and I edged it into our memories so that we’d never forget the potential danger that could encroach upon us in the future.
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