ISEKAI SMARTPHONE DAYS: The Wives' Meeting Is Peaceful (?) Again Today
One bored sovereign lord. One mischievous goddess. One runaway puppy that shatters windows with a single bark.
It's an ordinary weekday afternoon in the Duchy of Brunhild, and Mochizuki Touya—its sovereign lord, wielder of the smartphone, fiancé to nine women who run the country better than he does—has nothing to do but stare at the ceiling and complain about being bored. The Wives' Council is handling governance. The Selene River is babbling peacefully. All is well.
Then his older sister text
ISEKAI SMARTPHONE DAYS: The Wives' Meeting Is Peaceful (?) Again Today - A Troublesome Visitor for the Easygoing Sovereign
In his room on the third floor of White Rock Castle, Mochizuki Touya lay sprawled on his bed. Dressed casually in a white shirt and navy trousers, he stared up at the ceiling. His smartphone was in his right hand, as always. His short black hair, crushed against the pillow, stuck out at odd angles.
"...I'm bored."
His brown eyes drifted toward the window.
The Duchy of Brunhild. A small nation in its twelfth year of founding, nestled in a basin ringed by the Valna Mountains. And its sovereign lord was, of all things, killing time on an ordinary weekday afternoon. The actual governance was handled by the Wives' Council—a deliberative body formed by his fiancées. All that was left for him was signing the final documents and occasionally showing his face to give the citizens peace of mind.
(Peaceful. Truly peaceful.)
Touya muttered inwardly.
The Selene River flowed just north of the castle. The sound of its water drifted faintly through the open window. The capital, Midval, spread across the center of the basin, was wrapped in the same gentle atmosphere as always. He thought he could hear the distant bustle of the marketplace.
Then his smartphone buzzed.
"Hm?"
He checked the screen. The Wives' Council's regular meeting should be underway in the Olive Room on the castle's third floor. The chair was Yumina. The topic—probably another date plan.
(A date, huh.)
Touya sighed.
He had nine fiancées. Yumina, Linze, Elze, Yae, Lucia, Sue, Hildegard, Leen, and Sakura. They all got along well—no one scheming to undercut anyone else. He was grateful for that. Grateful, and yet.
"We're already engaged. Why do we need dates?"
He meant it, sincerely.
Because, come on. A date is something you do to get to know each other better. You learn what the other person likes, what they hate, whether being together is fun. That's what that time is supposed to be for.
But Touya and his fiancées had already spent more than enough time together. They lived in the same castle, ate from the same pot, and had come through life-or-death battles side by side. What was there left to learn on a date at this point?
(Well, if they want to go, I'll go.)
He was weak against pressure. He knew himself well enough to admit that if Yumina and the others said, "Let's go shopping in town tomorrow," he wouldn't be able to refuse.
"Being a sovereign lord is surprisingly restrictive."
He muttered to no one in particular.
—Ping.
His smartphone gave a light chime.
"A message?"
He tapped the screen.
The sender was Mochizuki Karen. Touya's actual older sister.
"Heading your way now. Bringing along something troublesome too, by the way."
"..."
Touya froze for about three seconds.
Then he slowly set the phone beside his pillow. Closed his eyes. Took one deep breath.
"I've got nothing but a bad feeling about this."
He sat up and crossed his legs on the bed.
Mochizuki Karen. Touya's older sister, and a woman burdened with the tiresome title of Goddess of Love. Easygoing, unhurried, always smiling. And when it came to the talent for dumping troublesome things on her little brother, she had no equal.
"Last time, I think... she said 'lend me a hand for a bit,' and I ended up sorting divine-domain paperwork for half a day."
Just remembering it made his shoulders feel heavy.
"She was smiling and saying 'thank you' the whole time, too. While I was buried in a mountain of documents."
He sighed again.
"Well, if she says she's coming, she's coming."
He looked out the window. The sky was blue. Not a cloud in sight.
"The nice weather is my only consolation."
He said it, then flopped back onto the bed.
—The next day.
Touya stood in front of the castle.
White Rock Castle, built of white granite. Several soldiers of the Sovereign's Guard stood watch before the main gate. It should have been a morning like any other.
Until a massive shadow descended from the sky.
"...Here she comes."
The shadow grew larger and larger.
A wind kicked up, and the soldiers instinctively braced themselves. Touya, black hair whipping in the wind, looked up at the source of the shadow.
"It's been a while, Touya."
Softly—
Without a sound, a woman alighted on the ground.
Mochizuki Karen. Her long black hair still billowed gently in the breeze. Her kind brown eyes narrowed as she gazed at her little brother. She stood about five-foot-three. As befitting Touya's sister, she had the same gentle features as him. She wore a pale-colored dress, and by any measure she looked like nothing more than "an ordinary older sister."
But she was not ordinary.
Goddess of Love. One of the gods. Touya's sister, and a being who worked in the divine realm.
"...Sis, if you're coming, give me more warning."
Touya managed a wry smile.
"I told you yesterday, didn't I?"
"One day ahead. That's not enough time to prepare myself."
"Prepare yourself? For what?"
Karen tilted her head. The gesture was somehow cute, like a small animal. She was a woman of twenty, yet her air was that of a teenage girl.
"Because whenever you show up, things basically never end well."
"How rude. Your big sister always acts with her little brother's best interests at heart."
Karen puffed out her cheeks.
"How much of that do you actually mean?"
"All of it."
Karen laughed.
"So what's this troublesome thing?"
When Touya asked, Karen clapped her hands together.
"Oh, right. This little one."
What she pulled from her skirt pocket was—
"...A dog?"
A puppy.
Pure white fur. Round black eyes. Tiny ears. A short tail. By any measure, just an adorable puppy. Small enough that lifting it up would fill both hands.
"Cute, right?"
"Well, sure, it's cute."
Touya nodded honestly.
"But this is the troublesome thing?"
"This little one is a subordinate god who ran away."
"...What?"
A subordinate god. Also called a familiar god—a lower being that serves the gods. They often take the form of animals and wield a special energy called divine power. Touya knew this as a matter of knowledge.
"A subordinate god? Like, the ones who work for the gods?"
"That's right. This one escaped from under my supervision."
"Escaped from your supervision? That easily?"
"It happens sometimes. The mischievous ones."
Karen looked utterly unbothered.
"So you chased it here?"
"Yes. It fled into this world. And I found it, but—"
Before Karen could finish.
The puppy opened its mouth.
"Woof!!"
—CRASH!!!
Every window in White Rock Castle shattered.
First floor, second floor, third floor, fourth floor, fifth floor. The tower windows, the dining hall windows, the audience chamber windows, the Olive Room windows.
Shards of glass rained down, catching the morning light.
"Whoa!?"
Touya threw up his arms to shield his face.
The guards around them ducked with yells of alarm.
"...Huh?"
Touya slowly lowered his arms.
He looked at the castle.
Every last window was gone.
"...Hey."
"Oh my."
Karen spoke in a leisurely tone.
"That's why I was trying to tell you. When this one barks, windows shatter."
"Too late!"
Touya shouted before he could stop himself.
The puppy, meanwhile, sat in Karen's hands wagging its tail as if nothing had happened.
"...This isn't just a dog, is it."
"That's what I've been telling you—it's a subordinate god."
"No, even if you say subordinate god, this is—"
Touya clutched his head.
Every window in the castle, destroyed. How much would repairs cost? The duchy's finances were hardly flush. It was a small nation scraping by on exports of iron and agricultural produce. Replacing all the windows might well blow through this month's entire budget.
"...So what do we do about this?"
Touya looked at Karen.
"What do you mean, what do we do?"
"I mean, this dog—"
"Ah, I need you to catch this one for me."
Karen said it with a smile.
"...Then why don't you catch it yourself?"
"I may not look it, but I'm busy. The divine realm has a mountain of work piled up."
"I'm busy as a sovereign lord too, you know."
"But you looked free just now, didn't you?"
"Urk."
She had him there.
"Besides, this one is reacting to your divine power."
"To my divine power?"
"Yes. You're a familiar of the World God, aren't you? The divine power of someone with divinity attracts subordinate gods."
Karen held the puppy out toward Touya.
The puppy stared intently at Touya's face.
"That's why you're the best one to catch it."
"Wait, wait, wait."
Touya took a step back.
"Catch it—how?"
"Just catch it normally?"
"Normally, she says."
"Oh, but be careful—if it bites you, your divine power will decrease."
Karen said it as casually as could be.
"My divine power decreases—by how much?"
"Who knows? I suppose it depends on how many times you get bitten."
"That's way too vague."
Touya looked up at the sky.
Divine power. The special energy wielded by subordinate gods and those who possess divinity. Being bitten or touched drains the other party's divine power. Lost divine power recovers through rest or purification by a priest.
(So if this thing bites me, it drains my divine power.)
Touya looked at his own hands.
It had been quite some time since he'd awakened to divine power as a familiar of the World God. Divine power was close to life force. Deplete it, and you'd suffer fatigue and a drop in vitality.
"...Sis, are you serious?"
"I'm serious."
Karen nodded.
"If we leave this one alone, everyone in this country with divine power will get bitten. Some of your fiancées have awakened familiar traits too, don't they?"
"...Well, that's—"
"So you'd better catch it quickly."
With that, Karen set the puppy on the ground.
"Alright, I'll leave the rest to you."
"Huh? Hold on."
"I have to get back to the divine realm. There's a meeting."
"A meeting? You shattered every window in my castle and now you have a meeting?"
"Sorry about the windows. I'll compensate you later."
Karen gave a little wave.
"Compensate? Your money is my money."
"Don't sweat the small stuff."
"I will sweat it!"
Touya's shout was in vain—Karen's body floated gently upward.
"Well then, do your best, Touya."
"Hey, I said wait!"
Karen waved with a smile and vanished into the sky.
What remained was the wreckage of shattered glass, one puppy, and a sovereign lord clutching his head.
"...You've gotta be kidding me."
Touya crouched down.
Before him, the puppy sat primly. Wagging its tail, tilting its head, looking up at Touya.
"You know, appearance-wise, you really are cute."
The puppy took one step closer to Touya.
"H-hey, don't bite."
When Touya pulled his hand back, the puppy tilted its head.
(I can't just leave it. If it escapes into town, the citizens will suffer. People with divine power are few, but not zero. And if windows keep shattering, the shopkeepers will be in trouble.)
Touya stood up.
"...Guess I've got no choice."
He was a soft touch.
Saddled with trouble, clutching his head, and yet in the end, unable to just leave it be.
"Alright, you. Hold still."
Touya approached the puppy slowly.
The puppy wagged its tail.
(I'll grab it now. Gently, quickly.)
Touya spread both hands.
One more step.
Just a little closer.
"—Now!"
Touya lunged.
But.
The puppy nimbly dodged.
"Ah—"
Touya caught himself on the ground with his hands.
The puppy landed several meters away and turned back. Its face looked somehow smug.
"You ran."
The puppy wagged its tail and took off running.
Toward the castle exit.
"Wait!"
Touya chased at full speed.
White shirt, navy trousers. The silver brooch marking him as sovereign lord bounced against his chest.
The puppy was fast.
No—not fast so much as unpredictable. It ran in zigzags, left and right, occasionally spinning to change direction. It was almost like it was mocking him.
"Damn it, you little—!"
Touya considered using his null-attribute magic, . Enhancing his physical abilities might let him catch up to the puppy.
But.
(No. If I use magic in town, it'll cause unnecessary damage.)
The puppy slipped through the main gate and ran down
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