Chapter 129: Please Tell Me!
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“I must’ve fallen asleep.”
“Good morning. Do you feel refreshed now?”
Fer-san rubbed his eyes as he woke up. His face finally looked refreshed, unlike when I first saw him when he arrived at the inn.
“Yes. I am but… Did I… While I slept… With Ren-kun…?”
He slowly lifted his head from my lap and asked.
“Yes. You were asleep for about 1 hour I guess? I’m glad you’re feeling a lot better now.”
“Huh?! 1 hour?! Are your legs feeling fine?”
“Actually… My legs already feel numb…”
“Wha- Are you alright?!”
As I expected, holding the weight of someone’s head for an hour, or to be precise, Fer-san’s head, really made my legs feel like they were being torn apart. When I told him that, Fer-san became flustered. But there was nothing we could do about the numbness. It hurts even more when you touch it so the best course of action was to let the numbness go away on its own.
“I already told Ren that since you were sleeping like the dead, it should be alright if he moved your head a bit but Ren then said he’d feel bad if you woke up because of it so he just left it as it is.”
Sig-san came near me and began to poke my numb legs.
Ah! Please don’t do that in my numb spot!
“Nnh… Stop thrusting it into me even more!”
But still, I wished Sig-san wouldn’t say that. I knew if he did that, Fer-san would feel troubled… After all, I was afraid he’d wake up if I moved him and while it might be impossible for me to hold out for half a day, I could do it just fine if it was only for an hour. That was why I just let him sleep like that.
“That… Thank you very much. Huh? This is?”
Fer-san, who felt something off with his hair when he thanked me, curiously ran his right hand through his hair.
“Fufu~ It’s only on one side though? Your hair is so beautiful so I braided them.”
I had braided a part of Fer-san’s hair while he slept. I could only do one side because Fer-san was lying on his side but his hair was long enough to cover his back so the braid ended up to be pretty long. Fer-san’s hair was silky smooth and it didn’t look like he could have bed hair. Even when he just woke up, his hair was flowing down smoothly, except for the braided part.
“I see… Well since Ren-kun went through the trouble to braid it, I will let them be like this for today.”
Fer-san said with a smile. He looked delighted. If doing that was enough to make him happy, I’d love to do more things for him.
“Hey, aren’t you guys hungry? Come on, let’s get something to eat.”
Sig-san said so while rubbing his stomach.
“Ah, you’re right. It’s already 13:00. Hmm… What should we eat for today’s lunch?”
I was also feeling a little bit hungry. We then checked out from the inn and went to the market to buy a kebab sandwich.
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“Ah, that’s right…”
“What’s the matter?”
Tomorrow, we were going to visit Chris-san’s parents’ house and since their house was located on the opposite side of the royal castle and Fer-san’s mansion, we decided to pick William and the others and stayed at an inn with a stable. The distance was pretty far after all.
After having dinner and bath, all four of us were laying on the bed when Sig-san murmured something as if he had just remembered it. The beds in this room were actually 4 single beds but as usual, we moved the beds together, changing them into one big bed. We were all lying on the bed with the order of Chris-san, me, Sig-san and Fer-san.
“Well, today is the 6th, right?”
Sig-san said as he moved his face toward the calendar.
“Yes. In two hours, it will be the 7th though…”
Today is the 6th but what’s the matter with it?
“Today, I’m turning 26.”
“Huh?”
“Today is my birthday.”
“What?!”
BIRTHDAY?!
I jumped to my feet in surprise. In just a few hours, his birthday would be over and I didn’t get to prepare anything!
“Sig-san, why didn’t you tell me? I’d be able to prepare something for you if you did…”
“No, well it’s because I tend to forget about it. I don’t really care about it either. Here we go.”
“Whoa… Well to be honest I don’t really care about my own birthday too but…”
The other three also got up from the bed and sat on the chair with the pillow behind them. For some reason, I was hugged by Sig-san and had to sit on his lap with my back facing him. He hugged me so suddenly that I let out a small voice of surprise.
“Well I’m already an adult anyway so I don’t really care either way.”
Sig-san had a point though. I also usually didn’t care about my birthday but…. Since it was the birthdate of my loved one, I still wanted to celebrate it… But… The date would be over in just a few hours….
“Hm~ Well for now we’re definitely late to celebrate Sig’s birthday so how about if we celebrate it after we get back to Pedrel?~ We did talk about having a private date with just Ren-chan on our birthday and well~ Having a date in the royal capital is nice and all but I think our schedule here is pretty hectic~ So I think celebrating it after we return to Pedrel would be for the best~”
“Just having a celebration is enough for me but I do want to go on a date with Ren. Let’s do it after we return to Pedrel?”
“Ah, yes.”
I actually felt a bit reluctant but… It was already decided we’d be celebrating Sig-san’s birthday at a later date. Which reminded me, does Alsar have a custom of giving gifts during someone’s birthday? I should try asking when Sig-san wasn’t around.
“Ah! Before I forget about it, please tell me Chris-san and Fer-san’s birthday too.”
The timing was right so I also asked the date of Chris-san and Fer-san’s birthday too.
“My birthday is on 7th March~”
“Mine is on 25th January. What about Ren-kun?”
January and March. I made a mental note in my brain so I wouldn’t forget it. The date was still far away so I’d mark it on my calendar when I got home. Fer-san then asked about my birthday after he answered his. He stroked my head while I was still sitting on Sig-san’s lap.
“For me it’s the 14th of April. The two of you were born early, huh.”
“What do you mean by ‘early’?~”
People who were born in January up to March were considered as early born so I just said that without thinking much but seeing how Chris-san tilted his head to the side as he asked that, I guess there wasn’t ‘early born’ in Alsar.
“Umm… It’s for people who were born from the 1st of January to the 1st of April.”
“I see.”
“Why until the 1st of April though? What about the end of March or the end of April?”
Fer-san asked curiously. I also used to have the same question as him so I had looked it up before.
“Well if you guys are not sleepy yet then let’s have a little chat first. Sig-san, won’t it be hard for you if I keep on sitting like this? You’re going to feel sore, won’t you?”
I asked them that because I didn’t plan for the conversation to go this long. I only had a small thing I was curious about. I also asked Sig-san if he was fine if I kept on leaning on him.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it and just tell us about the early born.”
“Then let’s turn on the light in the room a little~”
The room was a little dark since we had planned to go to sleep but then Chris-san illuminated the room with magic since we had decided to keep on talking.
“First, let me explain the education system of the country I used to live in. You will start enrolling in primary school when you turn 6. After graduating primary school, you will then continue to study in junior high school for 3 years. The first 9 years of education are mandatory but after that, well the path varies but most students continue to pursue their education in high school for another 3 years. After that, you can pursue higher education in university for 4 years. I think about half of the students usually go to university? There are some students who choose to go to vocational school or study in a specialized school of their interest. Most schools are co-educational but there are some women-only or men-only schools. I arrived in Alsar when I was in my third year of university by the way.”
I think that’s about it? I hope I get it right.
I already prepared the explanation before I began so there shouldn’t be any problem… Huh? The three of them were staring at me in puzzlement?
“…. Amazing. So there is that kind of system, huh! In this country, both boys and girls who are already 10 years old will go to school for 2 years. Usually the ordinary civilian will only pursue education to that extent. After that, the people who show promising results or a noble, they will study for another 3 years in that same school and then they can either become a government official or a knight. However, they are still treated as apprentices for the first 3 years until they become an adult.”
Fer-san’s eyes sparkled, looking genuinely impressed. He then started to talk about the education system in Aspel before I could even ask him.
….I see.
So all citizens would get the basic education and then the early education also worked as a sorting system for the promised one to receive elite education.
“Though not all of them could get an education. Well, people can get education at the church too. So at least the poor can read, write and do some basic calculations. But in reality, the people who live in the rural area, a lot of them can only write their own name.”
Sig-san added.
“A lot of children has to work even when they’re still young after all~ Things could be bad for their family if the children has to leave even just for two years~ Also if there’s no school nearby, they will need to live in a dormitory so the expenses can be quite a hurdle for them~”
“I see…”
That’s right.
In a rural area, it was important for them to get as many workers as they could. Hence why the children had to work too. If they didn’t come from a wealthy family, it’d certainly be difficult to afford living in a dormitory… When I thought about it, the mandatory education system in Japan was pretty amazing, huh.
“Okay anyway… The school where I came from, the start of the school year was on 2nd April. According to the law in Japan, they consider people to age at 00:00 the day before their birthday. So for example if you were born on 1st April, you will age at midnight on 31th March. Well, it was considered as midnight of 1st April too though. Anyway the school divides the grade according to age and 31th March. Those who were born on the 1st of April can join the upper grade. That’s why they call the people who were born on 1st January up to 1st April as ‘early born’. Oh and also, in the other world there are some months with more or less than 30 days a month. March has 31 days a month.”
My explanation was a bit complicated but I should’ve covered all the necessary bases. Also all months in Alsar had 30 days so if I said 31 days, they might be confused. I had to remember to explain that fact too.
“I see so you guys call the people who are born at the end of school years ‘early born’, huh.”
“Yes. Though if you think about it, there are only 3 months after January so basically the limit is at the end of March.”
When I looked it up about this, I also thought it seemed complicated. It should be fine to just let the school year start on the 1st of April…
“Here, the school year starts on the 1st of January. So in terms of grades, I’m also on the early level.”
“I’m also early~”
“That’s how it is in this kingdom but there is a kingdom where the school year starts in September.”
“It varies for different kingdoms. Well, if we end up in a different kingdom, we’re bound to know about it. Ren, you can also ask us whenever you’re curious.”
Sig-san said, ending his sentence by patting my head a bit roughly as he showed me a big, refreshing smile. I had only been 3 months since I first came here so it was a given that there were a lot of things I still didn’t know about.
Yes, yes.
If I wasn’t wrong, the school year in America also started in September. I remembered the people who wanted to study abroad had a hard time because of that.
“Yes. I’m sorry for the inconvenience but please treat me well.”
I said that and the three of them laughed.
“You’re not an inconvenience though?”
“You’re not an inconvenience at all but if Ren-chan wants to, I will welcome you with open arms~”
“Fufu~ There you go saying things like that again… Fuah… I’m getting a bit sleepy now….”
“Yeah. Let’s go to sleep, Ren.”
Sig-san caressed my stomach with his hand in circular motion as I leaned my body against him. The soft rhythm of him gently caressing my stomach made my eyes feel drowsy.
“Yes… Sig-san, happy birthday. Thank you for being born and meeting me.”
“Hahaha! Thanks. That’s the best birthday congratulation I’ve ever received. Come now, just lie on the bed.”
Before I went off to sleep for real, I congratulated him first. It was truly a miracle that we were able to meet. We even came from two different worlds…
Sig-san gave me a broad smile in return and then he laid me on the bed so he could pat me just like before. The rhythm was so comfortable that it didn’t take long for me to sleep…
“Hey, can I sleep with Ren alone? I want to hold him in my arms as we sleep.”
“Hm~ Can’t be helped then~ There’s something to celebrate today after all~ We will go back to our usual competition tomorrow, okay?~”
“So that means the three of us can sleep alone with Ren-kun without any disturbance on the day of our birthday, right?”
While I was fast asleep, the three of them had separated the beds again. I had no idea they had that kind of conversation.
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Ren: 14th April
Chris: 7th March
Fer: 25th January
Sig: 6th August
Malik: 1th December
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T/N: The education system part feels like a long filler…. I love to get to know about their birthdays but not the in-depth education system… Unless their children are about to enter school… (」°ロ°)」
Chapter 129: Please Tell Me!
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“I must’ve fallen asleep.”
“Good morning. Do you feel refreshed now?”
Fer-san rubbed his eyes as he woke up. His face finally looked refreshed, unlike when I first saw him when he arrived at the inn.
“Yes. I am but… Did I… While I slept… With Ren-kun…?”
He slowly lifted his head from my lap and asked.
“Yes. You were asleep for about 1 hour I guess? I’m glad you’re feeling a lot better now.”
“Huh?! 1 hour?! Are your legs feeling fine?”
“Actually… My legs already feel numb…”
“Wha- Are you alright?!”
As I expected, holding the weight of someone’s head for an hour, or to be precise, Fer-san’s head, really made my legs feel like they were being torn apart. When I told him that, Fer-san became flustered. But there was nothing we could do about the numbness. It hurts even more when you touch it so the best course of action was to let the numbness go away on its own.
“I already told Ren that since you were sleeping like the dead, it should be alright if he moved your head a bit but Ren then said he’d feel bad if you woke up because of it so he just left it as it is.”
Sig-san came near me and began to poke my numb legs.
Ah! Please don’t do that in my numb spot!
“Nnh… Stop thrusting it into me even more!”
But still, I wished Sig-san wouldn’t say that. I knew if he did that, Fer-san would feel troubled… After all, I was afraid he’d wake up if I moved him and while it might be impossible for me to hold out for half a day, I could do it just fine if it was only for an hour. That was why I just let him sleep like that.
“That… Thank you very much. Huh? This is?”
Fer-san, who felt something off with his hair when he thanked me, curiously ran his right hand through his hair.
“Fufu~ It’s only on one side though? Your hair is so beautiful so I braided them.”
I had braided a part of Fer-san’s hair while he slept. I could only do one side because Fer-san was lying on his side but his hair was long enough to cover his back so the braid ended up to be pretty long. Fer-san’s hair was silky smooth and it didn’t look like he could have bed hair. Even when he just woke up, his hair was flowing down smoothly, except for the braided part.
“I see… Well since Ren-kun went through the trouble to braid it, I will let them be like this for today.”
Fer-san said with a smile. He looked delighted. If doing that was enough to make him happy, I’d love to do more things for him.
“Hey, aren’t you guys hungry? Come on, let’s get something to eat.”
Sig-san said so while rubbing his stomach.
“Ah, you’re right. It’s already 13:00. Hmm… What should we eat for today’s lunch?”
I was also feeling a little bit hungry. We then checked out from the inn and went to the market to buy a kebab sandwich.
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“Ah, that’s right…”
“What’s the matter?”
Tomorrow, we were going to visit Chris-san’s parents’ house and since their house was located on the opposite side of the royal castle and Fer-san’s mansion, we decided to pick William and the others and stayed at an inn with a stable. The distance was pretty far after all.
After having dinner and bath, all four of us were laying on the bed when Sig-san murmured something as if he had just remembered it. The beds in this room were actually 4 single beds but as usual, we moved the beds together, changing them into one big bed. We were all lying on the bed with the order of Chris-san, me, Sig-san and Fer-san.
“Well, today is the 6th, right?”
Sig-san said as he moved his face toward the calendar.
“Yes. In two hours, it will be the 7th though…”
Today is the 6th but what’s the matter with it?
“Today, I’m turning 26.”
“Huh?”
“Today is my birthday.”
“What?!”
BIRTHDAY?!
I jumped to my feet in surprise. In just a few hours, his birthday would be over and I didn’t get to prepare anything!
“Sig-san, why didn’t you tell me? I’d be able to prepare something for you if you did…”
“No, well it’s because I tend to forget about it. I don’t really care about it either. Here we go.”
“Whoa… Well to be honest I don’t really care about my own birthday too but…”
The other three also got up from the bed and sat on the chair with the pillow behind them. For some reason, I was hugged by Sig-san and had to sit on his lap with my back facing him. He hugged me so suddenly that I let out a small voice of surprise.
“Well I’m already an adult anyway so I don’t really care either way.”
Sig-san had a point though. I also usually didn’t care about my birthday but…. Since it was the birthdate of my loved one, I still wanted to celebrate it… But… The date would be over in just a few hours….
“Hm~ Well for now we’re definitely late to celebrate Sig’s birthday so how about if we celebrate it after we get back to Pedrel?~ We did talk about having a private date with just Ren-chan on our birthday and well~ Having a date in the royal capital is nice and all but I think our schedule here is pretty hectic~ So I think celebrating it after we return to Pedrel would be for the best~”
“Just having a celebration is enough for me but I do want to go on a date with Ren. Let’s do it after we return to Pedrel?”
“Ah, yes.”
I actually felt a bit reluctant but… It was already decided we’d be celebrating Sig-san’s birthday at a later date. Which reminded me, does Alsar have a custom of giving gifts during someone’s birthday? I should try asking when Sig-san wasn’t around.
“Ah! Before I forget about it, please tell me Chris-san and Fer-san’s birthday too.”
The timing was right so I also asked the date of Chris-san and Fer-san’s birthday too.
“My birthday is on 7th March~”
“Mine is on 25th January. What about Ren-kun?”
January and March. I made a mental note in my brain so I wouldn’t forget it. The date was still far away so I’d mark it on my calendar when I got home. Fer-san then asked about my birthday after he answered his. He stroked my head while I was still sitting on Sig-san’s lap.
“For me it’s the 14th of April. The two of you were born early, huh.”
“What do you mean by ‘early’?~”
People who were born in January up to March were considered as early born so I just said that without thinking much but seeing how Chris-san tilted his head to the side as he asked that, I guess there wasn’t ‘early born’ in Alsar.
“Umm… It’s for people who were born from the 1st of January to the 1st of April.”
“I see.”
“Why until the 1st of April though? What about the end of March or the end of April?”
Fer-san asked curiously. I also used to have the same question as him so I had looked it up before.
“Well if you guys are not sleepy yet then let’s have a little chat first. Sig-san, won’t it be hard for you if I keep on sitting like this? You’re going to feel sore, won’t you?”
I asked them that because I didn’t plan for the conversation to go this long. I only had a small thing I was curious about. I also asked Sig-san if he was fine if I kept on leaning on him.
“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it and just tell us about the early born.”
“Then let’s turn on the light in the room a little~”
The room was a little dark since we had planned to go to sleep but then Chris-san illuminated the room with magic since we had decided to keep on talking.
“First, let me explain the education system of the country I used to live in. You will start enrolling in primary school when you turn 6. After graduating primary school, you will then continue to study in junior high school for 3 years. The first 9 years of education are mandatory but after that, well the path varies but most students continue to pursue their education in high school for another 3 years. After that, you can pursue higher education in university for 4 years. I think about half of the students usually go to university? There are some students who choose to go to vocational school or study in a specialized school of their interest. Most schools are co-educational but there are some women-only or men-only schools. I arrived in Alsar when I was in my third year of university by the way.”
I think that’s about it? I hope I get it right.
I already prepared the explanation before I began so there shouldn’t be any problem… Huh? The three of them were staring at me in puzzlement?
“…. Amazing. So there is that kind of system, huh! In this country, both boys and girls who are already 10 years old will go to school for 2 years. Usually the ordinary civilian will only pursue education to that extent. After that, the people who show promising results or a noble, they will study for another 3 years in that same school and then they can either become a government official or a knight. However, they are still treated as apprentices for the first 3 years until they become an adult.”
Fer-san’s eyes sparkled, looking genuinely impressed. He then started to talk about the education system in Aspel before I could even ask him.
….I see.
So all citizens would get the basic education and then the early education also worked as a sorting system for the promised one to receive elite education.
“Though not all of them could get an education. Well, people can get education at the church too. So at least the poor can read, write and do some basic calculations. But in reality, the people who live in the rural area, a lot of them can only write their own name.”
Sig-san added.
“A lot of children has to work even when they’re still young after all~ Things could be bad for their family if the children has to leave even just for two years~ Also if there’s no school nearby, they will need to live in a dormitory so the expenses can be quite a hurdle for them~”
“I see…”
That’s right.
In a rural area, it was important for them to get as many workers as they could. Hence why the children had to work too. If they didn’t come from a wealthy family, it’d certainly be difficult to afford living in a dormitory… When I thought about it, the mandatory education system in Japan was pretty amazing, huh.
“Okay anyway… The school where I came from, the start of the school year was on 2nd April. According to the law in Japan, they consider people to age at 00:00 the day before their birthday. So for example if you were born on 1st April, you will age at midnight on 31th March. Well, it was considered as midnight of 1st April too though. Anyway the school divides the grade according to age and 31th March. Those who were born on the 1st of April can join the upper grade. That’s why they call the people who were born on 1st January up to 1st April as ‘early born’. Oh and also, in the other world there are some months with more or less than 30 days a month. March has 31 days a month.”
My explanation was a bit complicated but I should’ve covered all the necessary bases. Also all months in Alsar had 30 days so if I said 31 days, they might be confused. I had to remember to explain that fact too.
“I see so you guys call the people who are born at the end of school years ‘early born’, huh.”
“Yes. Though if you think about it, there are only 3 months after January so basically the limit is at the end of March.”
When I looked it up about this, I also thought it seemed complicated. It should be fine to just let the school year start on the 1st of April…
“Here, the school year starts on the 1st of January. So in terms of grades, I’m also on the early level.”
“I’m also early~”
“That’s how it is in this kingdom but there is a kingdom where the school year starts in September.”
“It varies for different kingdoms. Well, if we end up in a different kingdom, we’re bound to know about it. Ren, you can also ask us whenever you’re curious.”
Sig-san said, ending his sentence by patting my head a bit roughly as he showed me a big, refreshing smile. I had only been 3 months since I first came here so it was a given that there were a lot of things I still didn’t know about.
Yes, yes.
If I wasn’t wrong, the school year in America also started in September. I remembered the people who wanted to study abroad had a hard time because of that.
“Yes. I’m sorry for the inconvenience but please treat me well.”
I said that and the three of them laughed.
“You’re not an inconvenience though?”
“You’re not an inconvenience at all but if Ren-chan wants to, I will welcome you with open arms~”
“Fufu~ There you go saying things like that again… Fuah… I’m getting a bit sleepy now….”
“Yeah. Let’s go to sleep, Ren.”
Sig-san caressed my stomach with his hand in circular motion as I leaned my body against him. The soft rhythm of him gently caressing my stomach made my eyes feel drowsy.
“Yes… Sig-san, happy birthday. Thank you for being born and meeting me.”
“Hahaha! Thanks. That’s the best birthday congratulation I’ve ever received. Come now, just lie on the bed.”
Before I went off to sleep for real, I congratulated him first. It was truly a miracle that we were able to meet. We even came from two different worlds…
Sig-san gave me a broad smile in return and then he laid me on the bed so he could pat me just like before. The rhythm was so comfortable that it didn’t take long for me to sleep…
“Hey, can I sleep with Ren alone? I want to hold him in my arms as we sleep.”
“Hm~ Can’t be helped then~ There’s something to celebrate today after all~ We will go back to our usual competition tomorrow, okay?~”
“So that means the three of us can sleep alone with Ren-kun without any disturbance on the day of our birthday, right?”
While I was fast asleep, the three of them had separated the beds again. I had no idea they had that kind of conversation.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
Ren: 14th April
Chris: 7th March
Fer: 25th January
Sig: 6th August
Malik: 1th December
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
T/N: The education system part feels like a long filler…. I love to get to know about their birthdays but not the in-depth education system… Unless their children are about to enter school… (」°ロ°)」
