“It happened five generations before me, about one hundred and fifty years ago. It has been removed even from the royal histories, so I myself do not know the full details, but I heard that it started when the first prince of our country fell in love with someone he would not ordinarily be able to marry. It is said that she was either a commoner or a member of an enemy nation’s royalty, but the truth is unknown.
“Regardless, the prince fell in love with someone he would not be allowed to marry, given his position as heir to the throne, and despite the objections from his parents, the king and queen, would not be swayed. So the lovers, who would never be able to marry in this world, left for another world where they could be together. It sounds rather romantic, don’t you think?”
At this point, Zenjirou could guess the rest of what Aura was planning to say. “You’re trying to tell me... that I’m descended from them?”
“Precisely,” she answered, maintaining her smile at his incredulity. “I did not simply perform a random summoning and hope for the best. I specifically aimed to summon a man with strong enough ties to the Capua bloodline. And you were the one who appeared. Therefore, I am quite certain that you are indeed their descendent.”
Even while a corner of his mind accepted her statements, he still had objections. “But that’s absurd. Actually, even if it were true, it was five generations ago, right?! That’d make them my, um... great-great-great-grandfather and stuff. So wouldn’t I only have inherited a tiny part of that bloodline?”
“Indeed, I was in fact prepared for such an event. However, the blood of our royal family runs rather deeply within you. While not to the same extent as a member of the main line, it would be considered exceptional for a cadet branch. Enough so that, with training, you may well become capable of space-time magic yourself,” she informed him with a slight nod.
“Y-You can tell that?” he asked, collapsing back into his seat at her earnestness.
“I can. Not whether you have the blood of royalty, but any mage can sense the latent mana potential of a person. You have a rather significant amount, Sir Zenjirou, almost to the level of royalty. There is no doubt that my summoning magic responded to the blood of the Capua running through your veins, and I would speculate that your mana levels are related to the strength of your inheritance. A pleasant miscalculation, I believe you could call it. It is almost as if the people who traveled to your world married closely to maintain the bloodline.”
“Ah, right! That... might make sense, actually,” Zenjirou exclaimed with a sudden realization prompted by her words.
“You have some inkling as to why this may be?” Aura asked, looking at him thoughtfully.
“Ah, I do. My family actually hails from a historically insular village. They used to only have one or two people marry into the village from outside each generation.”
Zenjirou had grown to dislike the unchanging, insular nature of the sticks and had gone to university in the Kanto region, found work, and started a new life in the city. But this whole discussion did remind him that many of the people of that village, including his parents before they died in a car accident during his middle school years, were rather dark-skinned for Japanese people, with redder hair than was usual as well. Zenjirou himself, in fact, had swarthy skin for a Japanese person, and his hair was a reddish-brown, just bordering on black.
Aura placed a hand to her mouth and nodded in understanding. “I see, so the isolation of the village prevented the royal bloodline from dispersing throughout that world.”
“I think so,” he agreed. “It makes sense, at least.”
For real? I’m not actually completely Japanese? I’m mostly from another world? I didn’t have a clue about that! he thought to himself, keeping a tight smile on his face as he was assailed by panic. It did make sense. Too much sense.
In contrast to Zenjirou’s strained expression at the discovery of an unexpected ancestral secret, Aura’s smile widened happily as she drew closer to him. “You are indeed the partner I desire. So, Sir Zenjirou, though you may be confused by the sudden nature of these events, would you consider living in this world and becoming my husband?”
Aura’s face turned serious, and Zenjirou calmed down a little as well as he began to think it over. Getting married to the beauty sitting before him was in and of itself not a bad proposition. As mentioned before, she was exactly Zenjirou’s type. Their conversation thus far seemed to imply that she had a good personality as well. Of course, being a monarch required the ability to present yourself a certain way, so judging her personality from the conversation alone was dangerous.
There was another problem, though. Aura’s suggestion was not for her to marry him, but for him to marry her. If Zenjirou agreed, he would be bidding farewell to Earth. However much to his liking the woman before him was, that didn’t mean he could readily abandon his job, friends, pleasures, and those cuisines that he could only enjoy back home.
Zenjirou’s mind was moving sluggishly, still thinking that all this might be a dream, and he didn’t answer immediately. After a moment, he realized that he hadn’t even touched on the most important issue yet.
“U-Um. I’m already here anyway, but what if, and this is only hypothetical, mind you, but what if I refuse? What happens then?” he asked hesitantly, his fear obvious at a glance.
She answered with a reassuring smile to put him at ease as his face paled. “In that case, as I bear the responsibility, I shall use unsummoning magic and return you to your world. I said as much initially, did I not? I believe my words were, ‘Should the circumstances not be to your liking, I swear on my honor that all shall be reverted to what it was.’ After all, I was the one to drag you into this world regardless of your wishes. If I am rejected, please rest assured that I shall at least wipe the slate clean. You should simply follow your heart and answer as you will.”
“Ah, r-right...” he let out a sigh of almost anticlimactic relief and leaned back into the sofa, his shirt clinging unpleasantly to his skin. He must have become drenched in sweat without even realizing it.
In many instances where people were summoned to parallel worlds in manga and novels, the summoner often couldn’t return them home, so the subject of the ritual normally had the choice forced upon them. It appeared, however, that Zenjirou would not be faced with such extremes. Whatever else may happen, it was fortunate that he could return if he wished. The revelation calmed his churning thoughts.
“Additionally, even if you choose to accept, I intend to briefly return you to your world first. If you are to part with your home, there will be people there that you must bid farewell to. Transferal magic is influenced by the alignment of the stars. It cannot be used freely at any time, but fortunately, the positions of the stars will be correct until tomorrow night. After that, the stars will be suitable for summoning again after one month.
“In essence, should you refuse, you will be returned home and that shall be the end of it. Should you accept, you will temporarily return home tomorrow, and I shall summon you once more a month hence.”
“Wow, you can use it that frequently?”
“No, we are merely blessed with a special alignment in the stars right now. After this month, the next opportunity will not be until thirty years have passed. There is no need to worry about it too much, but it is not the most convenient of circumstances.”
“What, no way, thirty years?!” Zenjirou sputtered, losing all semblance of formality at her answer.