The Ideal Sponger Life

The Ideal Sponger Life (理想のヒモ生活) is a Japanese light novel series written by Tsunehiko Watanabe. The series originated on the Shōsetsuka ni Narō website in June 2011, before being published in print with illustrations by Jū Ayakura by Shufunotomo beginning in September 2012. A manga adaptation with illustrations by Neko Hinotsuki began serialization in the Young Ace magazine in February 2017. An anime adaptation has been announced.

Synopsis
Zenjiro Yamai who is your everyday office worker in modern Japan suddenly finds himself summoned to another world. The person who summoned him – Queen Aura – wants him to marry her and leave his old life behind for a life of carefree extravagance as her Husband and Prince Consort. He is told that if he accepts, he only needs to provide her an heir. Other than that, he can laze around all day with no worries, and he will never have to work again as he did in his old life in Japan. After accepting her offer, he finds himself in a world that has Magic, different culture with nobilities who have hidden agendas and ambitious schemes. A world where a simple word or gift carries hidden meanings.

Characters

 * Zenjiro Yamai (山井善治郎)
 * A salaryman from Japan who got summoned to Another World and ended up marrying the Queen of Kingdom of Capua, Aura Capua and became the Prince Consort. After that, his name changed to Zenjiro Capua. He eventually finds out that he is a user of the "Space-Time" Bloodline Magic.


 * Aura Capua (アウラ・カープァ)
 * She is the Queen and the last surviving Royalty of the Kingdom of Capua and the wife of Zenjiro Yamai. She is a user of the "Space-Time" Bloodline Magic. At first, she married Zenjiro for political reasons, but then she has come to genuinely love him.


 * Freya Uppasala (フレア・ウップサーラ)
 * She is the 1st Princess of the Kingdom of Uppasala and the Captain of "Glasir's Leaf", the 8th ship belonging to the Kingdom of Uppasala's Navy. She came to Capua in search of a new trade route.


 * Inesl (イネス)
 * She is Working in the Inner Palace of the Kingdom of Capua, as one of the Head Maid's supervising the Cleaning Staff. She is highly trusted by both Queen Aura and Zenjiro. Whenever Zenjiro takes trips, she is the maid assigned to accompany him as an aide.


 * Fabio Deubashe (ファビオ・デウバジェ)
 * He works as the head Secretary for Queen Aura along with working as a consultant. He always speaks candidly and is a person who isn't afraid to give his honest and harsh opinion even to the Queen.


 * Victoria Kronkvist (ヴィクトリア・クロンクヴィスト) / Skaji
 * A highly capable warrior from the Kingdom of Uppasala who is serving as the attendant and bodyguard of Freya Uppasala. She is strong enough that she took down an alpha wyvern single-handedly.


 * Pujol Guillén (プジョル・ギジェン)
 * A General in the Army of the Kingdom of Capua and a highly ambitious man with both skills and strength to support his goal. Also a former marriage candidate of Aura Capua.


 * Natalio Maldonado (ナタリオ・マルドナド)
 * A Palace Knight working in Kingdom of Capua. After Zenjiro gives him a wyvern bow, he swears his loyalty to him and is appointed as his Personal Knight.


 * Xavier Gaziel (チャビエル・ガジール)
 * He is the 3rd and youngest son of Margrave "Miguel Gaziel", the only surviving heir of the Gaziel Family since the death of his two older brothers during the Great War.

Light novel
Written by Tsunehiko Watanabe, the series began publication on the novel posting website Shōsetsuka ni Narō on June 25, 2011. The series was later acquired by Shufunotomo, who began publishing the series in print with illustrations by Jū Ayakura on September 28, 2012. It was one of the first batch of works published by Hero Bunko imprint. As of December 2023, fifteen volumes have been released.

In November 2020, J-Novel Club announced that they licensed the series for English publication.

Manga
A manga adaptation, illustrated by Neko Hinotsuki, began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's Young Ace magazine on February 3, 2017. As of June 2024, the series' individual chapters have been collected into twenty tankōbon volumes.

In March 2018, Seven Seas Entertainment announced that they licensed the series for English publication.

Anime
An anime adaptation was announced on December 15, 2023.

Reception
Theron Martin from Anime News Network praised the treatment of the series' sensitive subject matter, though he also criticized the world building.

By October 2021, the series had 2.7 million copies in circulation. The series later had 4.7 million copies in circulation by December 2023.