The Ideal Sponger Life

Yamai Zenjirou is your everyday office worker in modern Japan. One morning, he suddenly finds himself summoned to a tropical world where dinosaurs roam the land. He is told that this is the kingdom of Capua and the person who summoned him - its monarch, Queen Aura - wants him to marry her and leave his old life behind for a life of carefree extravagance as her prince consort. The reasons for her offer are many and varied, but she needs an heir, and she wants him to be the one to provide it! If he accepts, he’ll never have to work again, lazing around in luxury with no worries other than securing the kingdom its next monarch. Certainly, sleeping with the buxom beauty is far from a hardship, but is everything really as it seems? He’ll also need to give up everything he knows on Earth. Is he ready to drop it all at a moment’s notice for her sake? And how well will he be able to navigate the politics, people and culture of this new world if he does?

Two months have passed since Zenjirou accepted Queen Aura’s proposal to leave his old life and world behind, and to build a new one as a “sponger” with her. Since their wedding, he’s spent his days luxuriating in the comfort of their relationship, but it seems that carefree life isn’t destined to last. Between his introduction to high society, the question of concubines, and a native disease, he’ll soon have to pay back the debt incurred by those first easygoing months in full. All this and more demands Zenjirou’s attention, and in a complete reversal of fortune, his days go from being entirely uneventful to being overwhelmed by a mass of responsibilities and considerations all vying for his time. On top of everything else, there’s a secret missive from the Twin Kingdoms of Sharou-Gilbelle. Just what does that missive contain, and what new matters await the unlikely prince consort and his queen?

This is the third volume in the saga of our beloved “sponging protagonist,” and at this point, “sponging” is the last thing he’s doing. A year has passed since his marriage to Queen Aura of Capua, and the capital has welcomed their new child and heir to the throne, Carlos Zenkichi. The kingdom is busy with festivities to celebrate the happy news, but something more ominous has reached Aura’s ears. Margrave Gaziel tells her that his territory has had no salt for a year, and with his lands lacking both sea and rock salt, it could spell the region’s end. While the queen immediately orders an investigation, Zenjirou’s free time is becoming more than he can handle in the inner palace, and he starts to investigate what advancements might be made to move their nation forward.

Prince Francesco and Princess Bona of the Sharou family have finally arrived in Capua, marking the end of a century or so of the royal family’s isolation within the Twin Kingdoms. While the prince is all too likely to be seen laughing uproariously as he causes trouble, his sister bows her head diffidently, timid yet serious. Zenjirou spends his days entertaining the prince until he receives ill-tidings: his beloved son has fallen ill. The disease has a relatively low mortality rate, but a lower-risk illness means that a healing gem won’t be permitted—a fact that deeply frustrates the new prince consort. Francesco makes an offer that Zenjirou, witnessing his son suffering as he is, can’t help but accept. The prince offers to use a healing gem of his own on the child. Yet when they stand at his bedside to perform the ritual, Zenjirou realizes that the gem isn’t what’s being used to treat little Carlos...

A huge ship, the Glasir’s Leaf, has just appeared off the coast of Capua’s largest port of Valentia, carrying an envoy of the Northern Continent from the Kingdom of Uppasala. The envoy in question calls herself the country’s first princess, Freya Uppasala, and wishes to open talks with Capua. Bound to the capital as she is, Aura cannot see to the matter herself, so Zenjirou is sent far from home for the sake of diplomacy. While both parties sound each other out and try to benefit from an agreement between the two countries, the ambitious General Pujol is far from idle, leading his troops into the mountains between Valentia and the salt road to combat the swarm raptor threat. Capua is now fighting on two fronts: a logistical nightmare to ensure the steady supply of salt to its lands and a diplomatic battle between royals to raise its status on the Southern Continent.

Zenjirou and Freya have arrived at the Gaziel March to attend the wedding of General Pujol Guillén and Lucinda Gaziel. When they arrive, the person in charge of the servants introduces herself as Nilda Gaziel, the margrave’s second daughter. But the name “Nilda” was conspicuously absent from the initial briefing Aura gave her husband. Did Aura know of her existence and simply not mention it? Did she forget? Or is there perhaps some more sinister meaning behind it? Things get more complicated when a delegation from the Kingdom of Nabara trespasses, causing the situation to escalate. Zenjirou is soon saddled with the task of keeping the peace to the best of his ability and must rely on Freya’s help for a solution, bringing them closer together. How much will their relationship deepen, and will Zenjirou be able to juggle everything without getting swept away by romance or political intrigue?

Zenjirou safely returns from the Gaziel march to good news—his wife may be pregnant! With the rainy season setting in, he practices teleportation with more vigor than ever, knowing this new spell will enable him to bring a healer from the Gilbelle family when the child arrives. Margrave Gaziel also returns to the capital, this time accompanied by Nilda. Her addition to the register of names reminds the margrave just how much he owes the prince consort for his actions during the wedding festivities. But is his gratitude a sign that Zenjirou is going too far beyond the bounds of his position as a mere figurehead? Meanwhile, the inner palace is taking applications for new maids, but the Uppasalans have other issues caused by their unfamiliarity with the local climate. Zenjirou’s insight might just offer a unique new perspective for both Freya…and Aura!

Now that he can finally teleport on his own, Zenjirou is off to the Twin Kingdoms of Sharou Gilbelle. His goal there is to secure a healer for Aura and their child when the baby is born, but King Bruno makes a shocking announcement upon Zenjirou’s arrival. The king will soon be abdicating, and Zenjirou’s presence plays a part! With many members of the Sharou royal family and the nobility opposed to the king’s sudden decision, Zenjirou swiftly finds himself dragged into a domestic power struggle that will require the utmost care to navigate.

In response to the king and crown prince’s maneuverings, Zenjiro decides to change up his tactics in the Twin Kingdoms. His main mission remains to find a healer for his pregnant wife, but Aura has taught him some tricks of statecraft that may help him get ahead. Zenjirou isn’t the only royal heading to the Twin Kingdoms, though—Princess Freya wants to tag along to make some deals of her own! Zenjirou’s first meeting is with Prince Francesco, which seems like the perfect opportunity to get a professional opinion on Capua’s glass-making efforts. The prince is in for a real shock but has a revelation that’s just as surprising for Zenjirou. And that’s to say nothing of Zenjirou’s hopes for a healer. Finding one will mean negotiating with yet more people... Just how will Zenjirou and Freya fare in their political dealings abroad?

Burdens on both Aura’s time and body mean it’s finally time for her to appoint a prime minister and marshal. While the lightening of the load couldn’t be more welcome, the risk of those appointments pushing the country away from her control is stronger than ever. With both that potential and her husband’s future in mind, she grants Zenjirou a dukedom to help maintain the balance of power. Coupled with even more guests from the Twin Kingdoms, the prince consort is in for a fair amount of personal upheaval, but now his wife wants him to head to the Northern Continent with his likely concubine-to-be as well! It’s going to take quite a bit for Zenjirou to feel comfortable with the journey, but their current guests just might have the solution...

After a long and perilous voyage across the intercontinental waves, the Glasir’s Leaf has finally reached the Northern Continent. Princess Freya makes the decision to dock in the port of Pomorskie, a country relatively free from the church’s influence. Zenjirou rewards his subordinates with the chance to stretch their legs now that they are finally back on dry land, offering them money and time to do with as they will. But when one of them runs into a young orphan who has pressing information to share with a priest, the prince consort quickly finds himself acting as a go-between. Even on a whole new continent, intrigue seems to dog his steps as the orphan boy brings word of an impending attack on the country!

After a long journey, Zenjirou has finally arrived in Uppasala, Freya’s homeland. Immediately upon his arrival, he meets with King Gustav and various movers and shakers in the country. In order to finalize the trade deal between their countries, Zenjirou asks the king for his daughter’s hand. Naturally, many of those present are unwilling to give up their first princess—particularly to a prince consort—but the first prince, Eric, is especially hostile. His warrior spirit and aggressive personality lead him to absolutely refuse to allow someone who has not even passed the Rite of Age to marry his little sister. To attain the right to truly propose, Zenjirou finds himself facing a complex situation—one in which he will need to prove himself a man by the norms of a somewhat militaristic nation.

Now that Zenjirou’s adventurers on the Northern Continent have come to a close, he and Aura finally hear what made Lucretia so worried—secrets of the White Empire’s remnants and the hidden history of Utgard. Unable and unwilling to ignore the information—as questionable as it might be—the queen decides to send for the former king of the Twin Kingdoms. The meeting needs to be secret, though, and Margarita’s interest in Völundr is the perfect cover. Although Zenjirou has only just returned home, he soon finds himself heading out to the Twin Kingdoms to fetch the royals both publicly and clandestinely. Everything has started to unfold at once with gifts from the Four Dukes, lessons from his wife, and even communications from yet another country in the North. Zenjirou will have to navigate them all, even if it means any hope of regaining his ideal sponger life is all but lost.

Zenjirou and Prince Yngvi have been invited to Utgard, a city wrapped in a veil. Representative Rök—the city’s king, for all intents and purposes—welcomes them to the hidden city-state in the ice fields. He has an existential problem on his hands and sees Zenjirou (or rather, his lineal magic) as Utgard’s best hope. Zenjirou, in turn, has a mountain of discussions and negotiations awaiting him. He must determine if and how the Capuan royal family will assist Utgard, and what they will receive in return. Meanwhile, Prince Yngvi’s ambitions lead to his asking his father for permission to take a concubine from Capua, and since the king clearly sees the country’s value, it’s a very real possibility!