《On the Way Home I Got a Bride and Twin Daughters, Who Were Dragons》 Chapter 1 - I Don’t Really Get It ¡°E-excuse me! Look! Hey?¡± Before my eyes, a blue-haired girl was spreading her arms with a flustered expression. It was like she was telling me that she wanted me to give her a hug. Unfortunately, that¡¯s not what she meant. Eh? It was what she meant? Would it be like this if that was what she meant? That being said, that gesture in front of me seems like it was done towards me, but it wasn¡¯t. ¡°Ah©`¡± ¡°Kya, kya¡­¡± ¡°Look! Mama is here! Come here, come here©`¡± It was directed at the two warm objects in my arms. I wonder why they¡¯re so warm and soft. ¡°W-what should I do, they¡¯re not coming!!!¡± the troubled girl looked like she was about to cry. Actually, she was already kinda crying. Her long hair that reached her waist was a beautiful blue. She had a small figure and was probably younger than me. That girl was wrapped in a jacket that I lent her and showing glimpses of her white skin. Like her small belly button, and, well, her similarily small breasts. ¡°S-sorry, Kunpei-san! W-well, it¡¯s the first time that I¡¯ve had children, so I¡­ I don¡¯t know!¡± ¡°Ah, yeah. It¡¯s alright.¡± Let¡¯s calm down first. I¡¯ve calmed down? No, probably. Yeah, I¡¯m calm, I¡¯m calm. Really! While the girl repeatedly looked at my face, she timidly drew near. I once again observed the girl¡¯s figure reflected in my field of view. I¡¯ve said it time and time again, her hair was blue. A part of it was kept in place with a hair clip and revealed her nape and right ear. Her thin, straight hair was hit by the sunlight and glistening, it was very beautiful and gave her a mysterious image. Big deep red pupils and long eyelashes. A proper tall nose and small lips. A well-proportioned jawline. A white and slender nape. A waist neither too thin nor fat and a very modest chest. Ok, it¡¯s a girl. No matter how you look at her, she¡¯s a normal girl! A normal one! ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°Um¡­!¡± When I was escaping from reality, the two warm objects in my arms started to move restlessly. ¡°Ah, yes, yes! Mama is over here! Look, come here!¡± A broad smile appeared on the joyful face of the blue-haired girl and she once again spread open her arms. Tears burst from the corners of her eyes. ¡°Da!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Look here, give mama a hug! Aaaah, so cute. Tooooo cute. Nice to meet you! I¡¯m your mama~!¡± The warmth disappeared from my arms. The two soft and warm objects cheerfully moved into her arms. The two soft and warm objects disappeared from my embrace and cheerfully went into her arms. It¡¯s kind of lonely. ¡°Ah¡± ¡°Um¡± ¡°I¡¯m so glad¡± Large drops of tears began to drop from her eyes. ¡°Sob¡­hic, I panicked when they disappeared from the nest and didn¡¯t know what to do, but it¡¯s good that they were found. Mama is at fault, forgive mama, okay?¡± ¡°Err, well, you know¡­¡± It was at that moment that I finally asked a question. I waited a long time for her to calm down. I had a great number of things I wanted to ask. ¡°Eh, ah! K-Kunpei-san, thank you very much as well! Sob, ah, well, it seems that you also helped me with hatching¡­¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing, I didn¡¯t really do anything special.¡± All I did was make the escaping thief have a taste of my lariat. Isn¡¯t it an everyday occurrence in manga? ¡°For the time being, can you explain?¡± Somehow, it felt like I did something terrible. ¡°Y-you¡¯re right. Err, what would you like to know?¡± Although I had a lot of things that I was bothered by, let¡¯s find out about the girl in front of me first. ¡°Is it Aoinown-san?¡± ¡°Yes, Dragoline Aoinown. My friends call me Soukyuu.¡± Aoinown-san quickly lowered her head. ¡°Ah, thank you. My name is Kazamachi Kunpei.¡± I also lowered my head. ¡°So¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Aoinown-san watched me steadily with tears in the corner of her eyes. I couldn¡¯t speak well with her staring at me so intently. My shy heart seemed to tremble. This is bad. I became shy because this girl was an amazing beauty. ¡°Are those your kids?¡± I looked at the warm things in Aoinown-san¡¯s arms that I was just hugging a while ago. They looked at me with a blank and curious gaze, their eyes narrowed and heads rocked as they dozed off. ¡°Yes. They came from the eggs I laid last month, which Kunpei-san hatched earlier.¡± Yep. She just said it, didn¡¯t she? ¡®Eggs¡¯ and ¡®laid¡¯. ¡°Ah, as I thought?¡± That¡¯s a relief. I thought I was going crazy. Be at ease, Shouhei who¡¯s waiting for my return back home. Your older brother is still alright. I¡¯m still your older brother. I haven¡¯t gone crazy. ¡°Ah, I see. Kunpei-san is a human. Was it that humans don¡¯t hatch from eggs?¡± Oh, I see. So it was like that after all. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m a human, but, Aoinown-san is, well, how should I put it¡­¡± This was what I had wanted to ask about the most. The big thing on your back, the black lustrous thing on the left and right sides of your head, the thing growing out your butt, I was uneasy and thought I was hallucinating. The impact of the girl¡¯s figure was too strong so I doubted my eyes. Once again, I swallowed to wet my throat. It didn¡¯t work. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, then opened them. The four round and sleepy eyes met, our eyes met. For now, I smiled. From there, I looked up at Aoinown-san. I¡¯ve prepared myself. ¡°You¡¯re a dragon¡­ right?¡± ¡°Yes! I¡¯m a sky dragon!¡± she replied with a big smile, causing the tears she hadn¡¯t wiped to run down her cheeks. Chapter 2 - Dragon Girl (1) TN: Last chapter was more of a prologue. This chapter is the ¡°start¡± of the story and how they met. ¡°Oh, although it¡¯s second-hand, I¡¯ve bought something good¡±, my old man said in a good mood as he was opening the cardboard box. Even though he said it was his day off, his hair was perfect. He pushed up his bulky glasses with the middle finger of his right hand. Stuff the old man used for work like his tools and documents were inside the box. As for my devastatingly clumsy old man, I didn¡¯t want him to touch anything fragile like dinnerware. I rely on my younger brother Shouhei and distribute the work. ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering since we came to view the house, but isn¡¯t this house too big for 3 people?¡± I¡¯ve already finished cleaning my room and was helping my father who was falling behind on his work. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Shou will bring his wife home, increase our family members and it¡¯ll feel right.¡± ¡°Oi, what about me¡± ¡°Shou is popular¡± ¡°And, what about me?!¡± If a miracle occurred, then even I might be able to get married! Besides, no matter how you look at it, it¡¯s too early to think about marriage for my younger brother who¡¯s still in elementary school. ¡°Well, Shou is indeed popular¡± When we moved from our previous house, girls came and crowded him, it was awful. Also, the same number of boys came as well and I was somehow stuck with organizing farewell lines. ¡°My eldest, in exchange¡­¡± The old man put his hand on a picture he framed recently and deliberately sighed. ¡°¡­sorry?¡± Only one person came. It was the teacher. ¡°You¡¯re disliked because all you do is fight. So, behave in your next school.¡± It doesn¡¯t mean I fight because I like to. I just happen to come across numerous settings where people were extorting people or forcibly picking up women. I¡¯ve never started a single fight. ¡°Brother¡± I heard a voice from outside the room. My younger brother Shouhei stuck his head through the door, he was wearing the yellow apron I¡¯ve become familiar with seeing. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I folded the empty cardboard box and responded to Shouhei¡¯s voice after getting interrupted. ¡°Since I finished with the kitchen and dining room, I want to make soba, but¡­¡± ¡°Oh¡± ¡°Ah, is it Hikkoshi Soba?¡± ¡°Yeah. Should we make some for the neighbors?¡± He said neighbors, but aren¡¯t we surrounded by a forest? ¡°About that, is that something we make at home?¡± I looked at my old man. Ah, that¡¯s the face of someone who doesn¡¯t know. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell that sort of thing to papa. It¡¯s that, isn¡¯t it? I think it has a meaning of wishing for a long relationship like soba. Isn¡¯t it the same be it from the store or from home? Shou¡¯s is definitely more delicious, so make it. It¡¯s also cheaper.¡± Stop with that irresponsible shit. However, it¡¯ll definitely taster better if Shouhei made it. Only that was the truth. ¡°Ok, then I¡¯ll make it.¡± Shouhei said and took out a memo. He placed it on the chest next to the door and took out a pen from the pocket of his apron. If I say so myself my younger brother really was a unfortunate handsome young man. Unlike my unruly hair that jumped all over the place, Shouhei¡¯s hair was fine and smooth. He has been sickly for a long time, so he was fair-skinned and slender. This is popular, eh. ¡°Brother, go buy these.¡± He passed me the memo, there were quite a lot of ingredients written on it. ¡°Oh. ¡­You¡¯re making quite a lot, eh? Is soba fine?¡± ¡°Since I was going to make it anyways, I started preparing the day before yesterday. Dad stepped on it so there¡¯s a bad mental image, but it¡¯s fine, right?¡± ¡°The old man using his feet to make soba¡­ does indeed leave a bad taste, but since my younger brother¡¯s too excellent, I can¡¯t complain.¡± ¡°If you can do something other than complain, then you can go shopping. I don¡¯t know how many neighbors we have, so I thought I should make a larger quantity. If it¡¯s you brother, you can eat the leftovers, right?¡± ¡°You guys are dissing your father quite naturally, huh?¡± I checked my wallet. One 10,000 £¤ bill. It was for food expenses, since I¡¯m the one in charge of shopping. ¡°Ok then, I¡¯m off¡± ¡°Take care. Don¡¯t get lost.¡± As if. ¡°Take care. Make sure to come straight home.¡± I will! After my family member¡¯s questionable farewells, I put on a pair of sneakers at the front door. I left though the huge front door and looked back. ¡°¡­It really is big, huh.¡± It was thanks to the hard work of my old man. It was second-hand, but nonetheless a splendid detached house. The loan will continue into my generation, but I don¡¯t really mind. If my mother was still alive, she would surely be glad as well. ¡°Alright then, I have to find the shopping district¡­or a supermarket.¡± It¡¯s the first time I came here. I wont get lost, but I feel like it¡¯s going to take some time. Shouhei¡¯s cooking is delicious. I became hungry and decided to hurry up. I looked up at the sky abruptly. It was a clear sky without a single cloud. ¡°It¡¯s a nice day. I hope something good happens.¡± March was still a bit chilly and basking in the sun made me slightly sleepy. I stuffed my hands into my jacket¡¯s pockets and left in high spirits. Chapter 3 - Dragon Girl (2) ¡°Good afternoon¡± ¡°Ah, good afternoon!¡± A cat-eared auntie bowed her head at me. I was flustered and also bowed. I was kinda well known in the town I used to live in, so it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been greeted like that. ¡°¡­There¡¯s a lot of beastmen, huh.¡± I could see members of the cat and bird tribe here and there. Was this town where the ¡°Other Side¡± left-overs remained? Since a large part of West Kanto¡¯s terrain was changed, I¡¯ve heard that there¡¯s a lot of people from ¡°there¡±. Well, there were a lot of them living where I used to live as well. I¡¯ve already been walking for 10 minutes. I walked up a gentle hill, stopped and looked in the direction of my house. I could see an extensive view of the surrounding area from here. An enormous inverted triangular boulder was pierced into the ground. It was easy to understand that my new house was at the base of that boulder. Half a year ago, I was surprised when my old man said that he wanted to buy a house. After all, it was right before Shouhei was going to the sixth grade and I had just enrolled in high school. Of course, we opposed it. Strangely, the old man wouldn¡¯t concede. Our Kazamachi household was a democracy. The majority rule was absolute, you had no choice to give up if your idea was rejected. That rule was established by my old man. That old man disregarded the majority rule. It was the first time that it happened. There had to be some reason for it, so we pressed him for an answer. Our old man who had long since reached middle age confessed with a bright red face. Our parents visited this town on their honeymoon. A rural town with a mid-sized hot spring district and hidden tourist spots. It seemed like our mother was extremely delighted with it. It was a rural town with a mid-sized hot springs resort and hidden tourist spots. It seemed like mother was very delighted with it. My mother, full of excitement, told our old man, ¡°One day, I¡¯d like to live in this town.¡± Our old man who was crazy about his wife and couldn¡¯t conceal it had remembered it all this time. Ever since that day, he spent some time every day to check whether there was any cheap land for sale on the internet and the like. Around last year¡¯s summer, the old man was overcome with joy. With his income and savings, even with our tuition and living expenses in mind, he was barely able to get his hands on a rights to a property that was auctioned After that, everything went quickly. Our old man who had a construction related job, first used all his connections to control the auction, then told us about it. In a situation where he couldn¡¯t retreat, he forcibly persuaded us. We brothers, to be frank, love our late mother. Since it concerned our mother, we could not reject it. We were sorry to everyone in our old school, but we prioritized our mother. Ah, I didn¡¯t have any lingering attachments to our old school or anything, since I had no friends anyways. Oh, well there was a bunch of troublesome guys that were my self-proclaimed friends. Not that they ever talked to me. Well, it¡¯s like that. Neither Shouhei or I, was at all against going to the town that our mother wished to live in. ¡°The air is clean and the scenery is also amazing¡± I muttered to myself while reminiscing. The lush green rural landscape and the modern residential area. A splendid mountain range within the scope of where one could see. A large flowing river nearby. An environment perfect for living a peaceful life. The inverted triangular boulder that was stabbed into the ground behind our hose was a symbol. What¡¯s amazing is that, it¡¯s estimated to be close to 100 meters. That big boulder. It was to the north of our house, so it never blocked the sunlight. Okay, break¡¯s over. Let¡¯s quickly go shopping and return home. Our Kazamachi house was composed of 3 males, so we didn¡¯t bring a lot of things when moving. Since Shouhei prioritized the kitchen and dining room that was assigned to him, he probably hasn¡¯t cleaned his own room yet. Let¡¯s finish lickety split and do it for him. I started walking one more. However, I failed to notice a huge shadow that leapt off the giant boulder. Chapter 4 - Dragon Girl (3) While I pressed down on my injuries, I wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes. I didn¡¯t have time to be crying. I saw that person running away with my own eyes. Since there wasn¡¯t killing intent, I held back, but I should have inflicted quite an injury. It would be impossible to come here before I came back. If so, there was only one conclusion. There was someone else that was here. Someone who snuck into the nest in a way I wouldn¡¯t notice and kidnapped ¡°those children¡±. I thought that it was strange. That woman¡¯s slashes stung sometimes. Even though she had chances, she never stepped into my territory. Her objective was definitely to stall for time. Yes, she was a decoy. I was careless. I must have been exhausted after coming out of the attenuation period. Moreover, It was the first time I had a fight where I had something to protect. There were many things different than usual, but I was oblivious to them. It¡¯s so vexing. I was frustrated and began to cry. It¡¯s not like I never expected it to happen, I had no idea why it did. But, I gave birth, to my offspring. I¡¯m a mom with neither preparation nor resolution, but it¡¯s too much to part with them without the experience of being a mom. I couldn¡¯t stop crying. However, I also had no time to wipe the tears. For the time being, I took a white dress on the top of the clothing case and stuck my head through it without thinking, since I lost my clothes in the previous battle. The horn got caught in it. It was my favorite dress, but I ripped it. It wasn¡¯t worth worrying about right now. ¡°Those children¡± are still close. I don¡¯t know how I know, but I can sense it. In the direction of the town. The pulse of ¡°those children¡± were quickly fading away. It was most likely a car or motorcycle. I had to catch up before I can¡¯t sense them anymore. I leapt out of the nest and started running. I was running with all my strength, so the ground cracked with every step. I dashed while making a loud sound. Before long, I could see the tip of a steep cliff. I didn¡¯t hesitate at all and took a giant leap. I took off the dress midair and roared. A lightning-like flash illuminated the surroundings. My ¡°true¡± form when I¡¯m serious. I twisted my huge body and flapped my wings vigorously. Catching the wind, I rose up. The insufficient part came from inside my body. I was impatient which made my wings dull. I was thrown off-balance and my body tilted. I twisted my body with all my strength and climbed higher. After sensing the general direction and location, I turned around. I don¡¯t know what the culprit looks like, but I must find them. Wait for me, ok? Even though I¡¯m such a failure, I was blessed with new life even though I didn¡¯t know anything. Mama will never give you guys up. Chapter 5 - Dragon Girl (4) ¡°Tanks rou beryy masdu!¡± I bought the ingredients at a mid-sized supermarket. It¡¯s good to be lively, but I had no idea what the cashier just said, I gave him a nod and left the store. Frequently seen in the countryside, the supermarket along the big national highway had a parking lot even bigger than the store. I spent some time to find this place. No need to guess, I can feel that I walked a lot. It would be tiresome to walk this distance everyday. However, although our house is surrounded by a forest, there¡¯s a residential area if you just walk for a bit. I¡¯m sure that if I search a bit, I can find closer shops or supermarkets. ¡°Shall I return?¡± I had a bad habit of speaking to myself. It¡¯s surely because I don¡¯t have conversations with anyone except at home. I shouldered the shopping bag and left the parking lot. The big national highway was in front of me. I waited for the traffic light to turn in order to cross the national highway. This road with 3 lanes of traffic on each side was heavy with traffic. If you go straight like this, you can go to Kanto. Though, there were also a lot of dump trucks and semi-trailers, so it felt like there were more cars than there actually was. ¡°It really is long¡­¡± After I pushed the button, it seems like it¡¯s the type where you have to wait for a fairly long time. My stomach was almost empty. I¡¯ve just noticed, but it¡¯s already evening. As I thought about how I wanted to return home soon, I looked towards the big boulder. I could see the big boulder even from here, it was right under a few approaching clouds. The scenery looked like it was from a fairy tale. I was admiring the scenery for some time, a cat-eared woman accompanied by a cat-eared boy stood beside me. Looks like a parent and child. They were holding hands tightly and talking with a smile. ¡°Mom! What¡¯s for dinner today?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you just ask earlier? Are you that happy? We¡¯re having curry today.¡± ¡°Yay! Hurray! I love curry!¡± How peaceful. The corners of my eyes loosened and I looked at the boy. How pleasant. I like obedient kids like that. There was also a time where Shouhei was like that. Now, he¡¯s just cheeky and uses reason to argue, so he¡¯s not adorable at all. Well, he¡¯s handsome, so it¡¯ll be okay. I don¡¯t know what exactly is okay, that younger brother. While I was grieving over the cruelty of the flow of time, the cat-eared mother who noticed me, moved back as her complexion changed. Damn. I forgot about my mean expression. It¡¯s not like I was looking at them with wicked thoughts. This kind of thing happens often. I¡¯m tall, have rough hair and I¡¯m well-built because I work out. My eyes are slanted upwards which makes it seem like I¡¯m looking down on others, so I¡¯m often misunderstood. I¡¯m already used to it. I didn¡¯t live17 years for show. That¡¯s why, I¡¯m not shocked at all! ¡°W-what¡¯s that!¡± I hear a voice from afar. It was a rough voice of a middle-aged man. I looked over my shoulder and saw a middle-aged man wearing a uselessly flashy jersey. He was pointing at something. His face was flushed red and had fright plastered over it, he had a face like one out of a nightmare. It was more harsh than the tiger face embroidered on his jersey. At his feet, there was a small-breed dog that was made to wear a fluffy sweater and was barking. That¡¯s a corgi, isn¡¯t it? Somehow, I thought it was pitiful. Even, though it was already fluffy without the sweater. The cat-eared mother confirmed what was in the direction that the middle-aged man was pointing in before me, picked up the boy and began to run. At that time, I finally became bothered by it and looked in the direction of where the middle-aged man was pointing at. ¡°Ah?¡± There were black clouds. The abnormally low black cloud approached with a staggering speed while spinning. It was also scattering thick lightning. ¡°Eh?¡± There was a massive downpour of lightning that I thought it was raining. I pitifully froze at this unrealistic spectacle. The surrounding customers got onto their cars one after another or ran inside the shop to escape. Is this what pandemonium looks like? I was startled by a shrill shriek that I would normally find unbecoming, I finally took a step backwards. Then, I noticed it. A huge silhouette was approaching with the same speed as the black cloud. It was very long, horizontally. The middle part was very thick, but it became more narrow as it got to either end. My curiosity got the best of me. I stopped walking and stared at the silhouette. This may be the first time that my life is in danger. A thick bolt of lightning struck a utility pole 20 meters away from me. The ground shook and tore to pieces, a high-pitched sound pierced through my body. An impact directly drove through my stomach and made my body feel unsteady. Even so, my idiot self was able to get a view of the mysterious silhouette. Immediately below it, I saw a figure at around the same place of the silhouette. It was a human figure. Well, I guess it would be wrong to say it¡¯s human? Finally, I could start to see the approaching shadow, its appearance was completely reflected in my eye. Wearing a crude golden down jacket furnished with grandiose red fur, a bipedal lion that I felt couldn¡¯t really be called human. ¡°Hep, Hep, Helppppp!¡± Running while shedding large drops of tears, it was the king of beasts. He didn¡¯t have a shred of dignity left. ¡°Gueee! Oroh! That¡¯s why I said I didn¡¯t want to! There¡¯s no way to win against that! There¡¯s no way it would go that smoothly!¡± The king of beasts (LOL) was weaving left and right while running this way and he was shouldering a big wrapping cloth. ¡°That¡¯s right! I had that! That magic gun I spent lots money on! I forgot! Am I an idiot!¡± He felt around for something inside his crude jacket with one hand and took out a stupidly big gun. It¡¯s huge, it was a bazooka. What the hell. Where did he put that? He was around 50 meters away from me. I became interested and couldn¡¯t turn my head away. ¡°E-eat this! A gravitational magic gun I bought with a loan! Goodbye, 12 months of payment!¡± He turned aside adroitly and pulled the trigger of the bazooka, a thunderous roar resounded. A pitch-black lump flew out of the bazooka and directly hit the silhouette. At that instant, the view was crushed for a moment. ¡°Gaaaaaa!¡± the silhouette roared and slammed into the ground, sending up a cloud of dust in its surroundings. ¡°Serves your right! Don¡¯t underestimate Gasaraio-sama, you damn lizard!¡± As the king of beasts (LOL) was loudly laughing as crude as his jacket, he passed by my side. ¡°¡­What an interesting existence.¡± So that¡¯s the lion tribe. It was the first time I¡¯ve seen one. After I ascertained with my own eyes the one called Gasaraio-sama, I looked at the silhouette that fell on the ground. Even now, it was still concealed behind a cloud of dust and I couldn¡¯t see it very well. Before long, the cloud of dust cleared and I strained my eyes to look at it. ¡°Hm? Eh?¡± I started to run instinctively. It was because the huge silhouette disappeared and there was a small shadow of a person. ¡°Are you serious? Isn¡¯t that a human?¡± Maybe it was someone who got swallowed up in the crash earlier. I have to help. I have to call an ambulance or something. ¡°Oi! Are you alright!?¡± I cleared away the cloud of dust as I approached the figure. ¡°¡­Eh!?¡± I was shocked again. I¡¯ve been shocked a lot since earlier, huh. There was a nude girl over there. The girl was unmistakably stark naked. I might be persistent, how that girl was lying down completely exposed everything. It was bad for the eyes. I¡¯m a healthy teenager, so I couldn¡¯t help getting excited. However, this isn¡¯t the time for that. I halted for an instant, then I quickly rushed over and shook the girl¡¯s body. ¡°O-oi! You¡¯re alive, right! Should I call an ambulance?!¡± I tried talking to her with a loud voice. ¡°Ah, what?¡± At that moment, I realized I was an idiot after all. The girl¡¯s hair was a transparent blue. The considerably long hair coiled around the girl¡¯s body, um, it was sexy. How the top of the modest chest was concealed and giving a glimpse into it brought forth more of it, but now wasn¡¯t the time for such things. The young man stopped worrying about the small bulge, more importantly, large wings sprout out from the girl¡¯s back. Blue wings with bird-like feathers. ¡°A-angel?¡± I¡¯m an idiot, so my idiotic thoughts came out of my mouth. If someone heard, they would immediately think I¡¯m ignorant. Of course, I immediately knew she wasn¡¯t an angel. It was because splendid black horns grew on the left and right side of her forehead and a big tail covered with beautiful blue feathers was growing near her butt. ¡°W-what tribe is this?¡± ¡°U-uh¡± While I was flustered, the girl got up and restrained her shoulder and staggered. If I looked closer, there was a large amount of blood flowing out of her right shoulder. ¡°O-oi! You¡¯re badly hurt! I¡¯m calling an ambulance, so stay still!¡± I took out a seldom used smart phone from my pocket and pressed 110. After, I remembered it was supposed to be 119, I erased it and started over. I¡¯m at my wit¡¯s end here! Forgive me! ¡°E-excuse me!¡± The girl clung to my waist and called out with a grim voice. ¡°Please help me! My children were kidnapped! Please!¡± I was dragged into something. Chapter 6 - Dragon Girl (5) TN: Hey guys, already posted this on our other translated series. Please fill out this survey for patron if you want, thanks. Enjoy the chapter! The girl in front of me was clinging to me and roughly breathing without wiping her tears. Coupled with being stark naked, her desperation and sorrow was clear. ¡°P-please! P-please s-save those children!¡± ¡°C-calm down! Please calm down first! Otherwise, your injury will get worse!¡± I had the smartphone in one hand and was overwhelmed. I suddenly realized and put the phone into my jean pocket, took off my jacket and put it onto the girl¡¯s shoulders. One step at a time. Let¡¯s clarify the situation one step a time. ¡°Um, you¡¯re, chasing your children?¡± ¡°That, that man from the lion tribe, the children!¡± It¡¯s useless. If this girl doesn¡¯t calm down, I can¡¯t do anything either. She¡¯s clinging to my waist and I¡¯m hesitant to shake her off. In that case, I only have one method. I have to forcibly calm her down. Making up my mind, I spread my hands and forcefully grabbed her cheeks. With a soft sound, I twisted her light pink cheeks. I remember that when Shouhei, my younger brother was crying, this was how I got him to shut up. ¡°Calm down!¡± She looked up at me with a dumbfounded expression. For now, it seems like it worked. ¡°Listen! There seems to be no time, so I¡¯ll just quickly ask. I¡¯m Kazamachi. Kazamachi Kunpei. What¡¯s your name?¡± I spoke to her slowly, just like to a small child who I want to listen to me. She tightened her quivering lips and began to answer with tears welling up. ¡°I, I¡¯m Aoinoun.¡± ¡°Okay, Aoinoun-san. The guy from the lion tribe who passed by here earlier kidnapped the children. Am I right?¡± As I started deep into her eyes, I continued to question her. ¡°Y-yes. It¡¯s definitely that person.¡± Good, that¡¯s all I needed to hear. If there were any other complicated circumstances, I¡¯ll deal with it later. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll go after him. Use this smartphone to call the ambulance and the police. Got it?¡± I took out my smartphone from my pocket again and handed it over to her. It wasn¡¯t locked and since most smartphones work in a similar way, she should be able to make a call. Based on the situation and with my confidence in my stamina, I¡¯m more suited to chase that guy. ¡°Y-yes.¡± Aoinoun-san stared at me blankly and nodded. ¡°Good.¡± I slowly tore off her arms that were clinging to my waist and placed them on her knees as gently as possible. ¡°I¡¯m off.¡± I said no more than that, then I turned around and took a deep breath. Then, I took another deep breath, closed my eyes and started awakening my body. I exhaled a bit more air than I inhaled and put strength into my legs. I opened my eyes. Far away in the distant, on the straight road. The crude golden down jacket was just a speck. It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll catch up. Kazamachi Kunpei was waiting for the wind. Smelling the wind¡¯s fragrance, any time, any place. Until it¡¯s time to fly. ¡°Flying with a whoosh,¡± I mouthed softly. At the same time, I kicked the ground and sprinted with all my strength. I took large strides while confirming the ground. The words I spoke just now were something my mother enjoyed saying. I don¡¯t know when it started, but whenever I¡¯m about to get serious, I¡¯d routinely use it as a sort of ritual phrase. Whenever I did so, I was able to achieve the best results. The sports day in kindergarten and elementary school. Fights I couldn¡¯t afford to lose, fights I didn¡¯t want to lose. Even during supplementary tests and classes. As long as I had mother¡¯s ¡°spell¡±, I wouldn¡¯t lose. My body caught the wind¡¯s flow and I started to forcefully advance forward. I was so fast it made me wonder whether there has been even one time I¡¯ve run so fast. The lion tribe figure gradually grew closer and closer. However, there was still some way to go. It¡¯s alright. For some reason, I was able to think more clearly than usual and deduced an audacious but reliable way to win. I concentrated on my right ear. I must not mishear the sound of the wing. I accounted for the sturdiness of my body. My body was too strong and there were countless times where it felt bad. It was also thanks to my body that I never lost any fight. There was even a time where I stopped a delinquent¡¯s motorcycle head on. Yeah, this is the national highway. Many cars come and go to Kanto, the speed limit is 60 km. There are naturally motorcycles and normal cars, dump trucks and semi-trailers were also common. ¡°Doryaa!¡± I put my foot on the guardrail and vigorously jumped. My aim was the depths of the load-carrying tray of the truck passing inches away from me. ¡°Jaaa!¡± I held on firmly with my right hand and stabilized myself with my left hand. In the side view mirror at the edge of my field of vision, I saw the incredulous face of the driver who noticed the noise. The burden on my arm was not normal, joking aside, it seems that I can hold on. When I first made contact, some of the fingernails on my right hand peeled off. I grimaced at the sharp pain and dull sensation, I must endure it right now. It seems like the driver noticed me, since he abruptly braked. It¡¯s fine even if I was noticed. I have already shortened the distance enough, since I¡¯ve already surpassed that lion tribe guy called Gasaraio or something. I let go of the trailer before it stopped. I failed the landing and tumbled on the ground. The wheels of the trailer grazed by my head, it¡¯s okay, I¡¯m not dead. From the distance, I heard the driver¡¯s shouting sound, but it disappeared because of the Doppler effect. I got up instantly and jumped over the guardrail and then confronted the approaching Gasaraio. Gasaraio was looking at me with strange eyes. The convenient thing was, he was carrying the wrapping cloth where the children appear to be, in front of his body. ¡°Return the children, kidnapper!¡± I can¡¯t forgive him. Aah, I can¡¯t forgive him! I definitely won¡¯t forgive a bastard who snatches away other people¡¯s precious family! ¡°D-don¡¯t get in my way, human! I¡¯m a beastman! Do you think you guys can match us!¡± Good, he confessed it, didn¡¯t he? I mean, he didn¡¯t deny being a kidnapper, right? Then, I don¡¯t need to hold back. ¡°At least I won¡¯t lose to you!¡± I ran towards him. Gasaraio again took out an oversized knife from his breast pocket. Was that his intention of a threat? The kidnapper brandished his knife while approaching. It¡¯s unfortunate! I¡¯m tired of looking at stuff like knives! ¡°Uwwaaaaah!¡± A war cry full of fighting spirit. The instant I crossed with Gasaraio, I bent half of my body and jumped as I ascertained the knife approaching me diagonally from above. The knife brushed the tip of my nose, then shaved the tips of my hair with a swish, but it did not touch my skin. Without a moment¡¯s delay, I stuck out my arm. I was aiming for one thing, the place between the body holding the wrapping cloth and the jaw. Years ago, there was a famous wrestler, called Vii. This was a finisher hold he was well known for. It was also known as the lasso, it was a trump card! Yes, in other words, it was a lariat. Its alias was the Western lariat! (CLIP) ¡°K-kh!¡± My upper arm sunk into Gasaraio¡¯s throat, causing him to make a funny sound as if he choked on something. Gasaraio collapsed onto the ground. I want to thank him for carrying the wrapping cloth carefully. Since it fell on top of Gasaraio¡¯s chest, there shouldn¡¯t be a big impact. ¡°Huff, huff¡­! ¡­phew.¡± All of a sudden, I was flooded with a sense of exhaustion and an acute pain shot through my fingertip and arm. ¡°¡­I did it.¡± Let me be honest. I wasn¡¯t calm at all! When I first started running, my blood was already boiling! Ah. That¡¯s my second bad habit, moving without thinking. Shouhei keeps on warning me about it, so I¡¯ve been trying to think before acting stupidly, but¡­ Looking back on it, stuff like jumping onto a moving trailer while running isn¡¯t exactly sane. Thinking normally, won¡¯t you die if you jump without thinking? Then, the time when I jumped off as well. If it turned for the worst, then right now I might be a stain like a crushed pomegranate on the road. Ugh, so scary¡­ ¡°I-it was probably dangerous.¡± After saying that, I need to calm down first. That¡¯s right. I have to confirm the safety of the kidnapped children. I picked up the wrapping cloth from Gasaraio¡¯s chest, it was around the size of my torso. I undid the tightly tied knot with one hand. It was quite difficult to untie. Nevertheless, I wont forgive him for fastening the children like this. Let¡¯s hit him one more time afterwards. As I was thinking about that, I noticed that I couldn¡¯t untie it with one hand. I tried opening the injured right hand, how should I put it, sure enough. The nail of the middle and index finger has come off and the skin of the entire palm has peeled off and was bloody. I haven¡¯t calmed down yet, but it¡¯ll be awful later on. After resolving myself, I used my right hand to undo the knot as well. The wrapped cloth gently opened. ¡°¡­Eh?¡± What? What about the children? ¡°What the hell¡± There were 2 stones inside. They were slightly larger than my head. It was pure white and had a processed gem-like exterior. ¡°¡­Eh?¡± No way. Did I confuse that guy with the kidnapper? Gasaraio was falsely accused? I messed up? I dropped my shoulders as I was dripping cold sweat. ¡°Ah.¡± Without thinking, I accidentally touched a stone with my bloody hand. Moreover, the blood dripped onto the other one as well. ¡°Crap, Gasaraio¡¯s stones. I dirtied them.¡± And it was with my blood, too. It looks like a splatter film. I tried wiping up the blood with my left hand, but the blood only end up spreading more. ¡°¡­I should apologize.¡± As I was preparing myself to apologize, that happened. ¡°Eh¡± A palpitation was transmitted through my left hand. The stone started shaking to an extent where I could see it. ¡°Eeh?¡± The movements became quicker and stronger. The two stones shook with a rhythm, like a pulsating heart. I wasn¡¯t hearing things, the stone was emitting small thumping sounds. ¡°W-wait. What? What the?¡± Why can¡¯t I take my hand off? I had one egg in each hand, as if I was touching them to confirm their pulsation. Thump. Thump. The pulse became even stronger. ¡°Ah, aaah¡­!¡± Surprised by a voice, I raised my head. The stark naked blue haired girl with my jacked around her shoulders. Aoinoun-san was there. ¡°Egg..s. They¡¯re hatching¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± My foolish voice resounded at nearly the same time as the dry sound of the egg cracking. Chapter 7 - Hello, I’m Papa (1) In the palm of my hands, there were two stones that continued to pulsate. Putting off the intense pain of my palms into the corner of my mind, I noticed that I was looking at Aoinoun-san. ¡°Eh? Hah? Eggs?¡± ¡°How are they hatching!? For one whole month, I¡¯ve tried talking to them, stroking them, and warming them, but the children wouldn¡¯t awaken at all!¡± Well, even if you ask me¡­ ¡°Eh, rather, the police¡­¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right!¡± Aoinoun-san, who had her arms crossed and was concealing her chest, held out her right hand. ¡°S-sorry. I didn¡¯t know how to use it, so I accidentally broke it¡­¡± ¡°M-my smartphone¡­¡± There it was, with a pitiful big hole and its circuits exposed, my apple phone. ¡°T-that stuff aside! My eggs!¡± Did she just say that stuff? ¡°Damn it, I told you to call an ambulance!¡± I was a little bit irritated, so I involuntarily spoke too casually. ¡°Ah, I recover fast, so it¡¯s not a problem.¡± As she said that, she opened up the jacket and displayed her right shoulder. She brushed away the blood that was already starting to clot with her finger. She showed her beautiful skin that didn¡¯t have a single injury in order to emphasize her point. ¡°¡­Ah, is that so.¡± So in the end, I was the only one who got injured? ¡°Then, we should take the kidnapper to the polic¡­¡± It seems like what was stolen were actually eggs, so there was no difference from a kidnapping. That crude lion, Gasaraio, must be handed over to the police. I shook my head and looked at the fallen Gasaraio. ¡°Ah.¡± Eh? My eyes met with someone from a bird tribe that was currently shouldering Gasaraio. She had colorful hair, like from the South. She had a yellow beak and just like Gasaraio, a down jacket furnished with red fur, but this one was silver. A woman from a bird race that resembled a parrot was carrying the fainted Gasaraio into a van. ¡°Te-Tehe?¡± There was a bizarrely huge thing from the right side of the beak. What is that? Is that the tongue? The tongue-like piece of flesh was exposed and the bird tribe laughed. I wonder if she was trying to TehePero, but what came out was ¡°Tehezuron¡± ¡°That guy¡¯s running away!¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t move, Kunpei-san!!!!¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± Aoinoun-san shouted with a voice louder than mine. That vigor was intense, I was overpowered and couldn¡¯t move. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here, elder brother! We were exposed!¡± ¡°O-k, g-e-t o-n.¡± I saw a gray furball sitting in the van¡¯s driver seat. Was it a uniform? This guy was also wearing a down coat with red fur, but the coat was black. Ah, after getting a better look, that guy looks like a sloth. What¡¯s the name of that tribe? The van¡¯s door was slammed shut and the engine sound resounded. And just like that, the van fiercely took off. ¡°You dare steal my eggs!! I won¡¯t let you get awaaaaaaay!!!¡± Aoinoun-san roared. She flung off my jacket and leapt. At that instant, a lightning-like light illuminated the surroundings. ¡°W-what was that!¡± ¡°Gaaaaaaaaaaah!!¡± A roar sounded with the earth. My field of vision was blocked due to a flash, I took priority in protecting the pulsing things in my palms. I closed my eyes tightly, then opened them wide. After a short time, my eyes adjusted and I realized that I was enveloped by a large shadow. I looked up. ¡°O-ooh¡± The one that was there, was a dragon. The dragon spread its large blue wings with all its might and roared towards the sky. ¡°Ah, what¡¯s that?¡± Before the roaring dragon, far away in the sky, there was a revolving, dazzlingly ball of light floating in the air. It swallowed up the surrounding black clouds and gradually grew in size. The dragon closed its mouth for a moment and took a deep breath. ¡°Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!¡± The dragon once again opened its mouth and roared. The ball of light simultaneously flew forward in a straight line. It flew towards the van that was escaping. ¡°U-uaaah!?¡± I saw the impact when it hit the van. I couldn¡¯t see anything because of the intense flash of light, I also couldn¡¯t hear anything because of the explosion, thunderous roar, and the tremors of the earth. But I knew the result. They died, right? (Though I later found out that those three including Gasaraio were alive. In the charred remains of what used to be a van, they were twitching inside and was arrested by the police. How tough.) The shockwave finally settled down, the dragon emitted a pale light and gradually shrank. ¡°Phew. That was refreshing.¡± The light disappeared and a beautiful girl appeared. ¡°U-um¡± ¡°Ah, please stay like that Kunpei-san! The eggs might be hatching because you touched them!¡± Eh, me? I¡¯m already too confused to know what I should ask about first. First of all, I¡¯ll go to a cellphone shop tomorrow. Was I escaping from reality? ¡°Ah! Please look!¡± Aoinoun-san put on the jacket that had fallen and crouched down beside me. ¡°Look! The child on the right! It¡¯s almost time! It¡¯s the older sister!¡± Certainly, the egg that I was touching with my right hand was rattling and shaking differently than before. It felt like something was whittling down the interior. My right hand that was originally seriously injured started to feel warm. ¡°Do your best! Just a little bit more!¡± Aoinoun-san¡¯s tension kept on rising. It doesn¡¯t seem like she has any leeway to answer my questions. Something cracking and a splitting sound could be heard. The egg in my right hand started shaking even more intensely. At the same time, the egg in my left hand also started to shake bit by bit. ¡°Wow, wow! The child in the left hand as well! Amazing!¡± ¡°I-I can remove my hands now, right?¡± ¡°Ah, yes! It seems like it¡¯s okay already! Here, please look!¡± I finally let go and calmed down for the time being. I took a deep breath. Let¡¯s be calm about this Kunpei. A noticeably high-pitched sound was created and large cracks appeared on the egg to the right. The eggshell was falling in large pieces. I glanced at Aoinoun-san and saw that she was shedding large drops of tears and dripping snot. She continued to earnestly murmur ¡°do your best, do your best¡±. The egg on the left also successfully started cracking, Aoinoun-san was anxiously turning her head and looking back and forth. Some time passed. Before I realized it, I was gripping Aoinoun-san¡¯s hand and hugging her shoulders and watching over the eggs. I was unable to endure and couldn¡¯t just watch without doing anything. I had no ulterior motive. Soon, just before Aoinoun-san became dehydrated due to her tears, that moment arrived. ¡°Ahh, Acchooo!!¡± She sneezed at the same time that they hatched. A head penetrated through the last layer of shell, she opened her eyes and blinked with all her strength. ¡°Ah, aaah¡­ she hatched¡­!!¡± I felt Aoinoun-san¡¯s hand began trembling, overcome with emotion. There was thin whitish hair on its head, it was probably fluff. It hasn¡¯t grown out yet so you could see the scalp. The partially opened eyes showed beautiful dark eyes, before we were aware she was staring at us as we were nestled close to each other. ¡°¡­Ah©`¡± ¡°Un¡­.un! It¡¯s mama!¡± Aoinoun-san reached out towards the child sitting on the shell. The girl gazed at the hand for a moment, then suddenly grabbed Aoinoun-san¡¯s middle finger. And then¡­ ¡°Ah©`!¡± It was the cutest smile in the world. That was perhaps the day I had my destined meeting. Chapter 8 - Hello, I’m Papa (2) The baby was squealing with delight while holding onto Aoinoun-san¡¯s finger. ¡°Ah, ahhhh, so cute¡­ My baby, so cute¡± Aoinoun-san was overcome with emotion, her empty left hand trembled as she slowly approached the baby. I, on the other hand, stared at the baby with a blank look. ¡°¡­horns, a tail and wings¡± To the left and right of where the white fluff grew out of the head, near the temples, tender small gray horns grew straight out. There were wings of the same color as Aoinoun-san on her back, but of a smaller size. A short tail around the thickness of my arm grew out of her bottom. ¡°Here too! It¡¯s the younger sister!¡± The left egg was still rattling and shaking. Was it difficult for this one to get out, it seems like it was struggling. ¡°Can we break it open?¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s right! It¡¯s quite pitiful!¡± Aoinoun-san turned around to look at me, looked at the hand that was still being grasped, then looked at me again. ¡°Um, Kunpei-san, could you please help me do it? The older sister won¡¯t let go.¡± ¡°Ah©`!¡± While laughing with a grin, the baby was swinging Aoinoun-san¡¯s finger with both its hands. ¡°Ah, un¡± I nodded and touched the egg gently. This egg was considerably hard. There were cracks here and there, so I put my finger in and gently started to peel it open. While being careful to not hit the baby inside with fragments of the shell, I carefully peeled it off bit by bit. ¡°Ooh¡¯ My left finger was seen as food. It first started chewing it, then play-biting it, and finally was sucking on it. ¡°O-oi, nothing¡¯s going to come out¡­¡± I slowly pulled my finger out and returned to peeling the shell. ¡°¡­Fue, Fuaaaaaah¡¯ From inside the egg, I heard a cry similar to deep breathing. ¡°Ah, Kunpei-san, hurry! The younger sister is crying!¡± ¡°Ah, g-got it!¡± I moved my hands quickly and broke the shell. Because most of it was already peeled off, I grabbed the top part with both my hands and pulled with all my strength. ¡°Fuaaah! Aaaah!¡± A lovely baby appeared, tears were flowing from its unopened eyes. ¡°Aaaah¡­ the younger sister is also so cute¡­ it¡¯s not scary©`. It¡¯s mama©`¡± Aoinoun-san reached her left hand out and gently brushed her cheeks. It seems like she calmed down, the younger sister sucked on the thumb of the hand that was caressing her. As expected, there were horns to the left and right of where the white fluff was growing on her head. Different than her older sister¡¯s, her horns were white and curved upwards. She also had a pair of wings on her back and a tail on her bottom. ¡°I-isn¡¯t it better to hug them?¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s right. It¡¯s cold after all.¡± Naturally, the babies were completely nude. It was still March. Although it has become warmer, it was still chilly. ¡°Just wait for a minute¡± I took off my outer garment, a large hooded sweatshirt. I was fine. Since I¡¯m sensitive to the cold, I was wearing a long sleeve shirt and another shirt below. ¡°Ah, Aoinoun-san, please wear this.¡± It¡¯s not like I forgot but this girl was also stark naked. The mother and daughters are getting along quite well. Wait, that¡¯s not it. She was wearing my jacket on her shoulders, but everything was completely exposed earlier. That small springy breasts, her white stomach, and, ¡­ and that hairless place. I looked considerably troubled. I couldn¡¯t look at her directly. ¡°Y-yes! Thank you very much!¡± She slowly let go of her babies, took my sweater and wore it. It was too big so it was able to conceal down to her thighs. I took off another shirt. The thin undershirt should protect me from the cold. I¡¯ll be okay, probably. Starting with the younger sister, I wrapped her in my shirt. Was it warm? I felt like her expression slackened. Her half opened eyes were blinking incessantly and her mouth opened and closed repeatedly. As for the older sister, she was wrapped in the jacket I handed to Aoinoun-san. The inside was made of thin feathers so it was undoubtedly warm. She was curious about the hand that disappeared, so she was looking around restlessly. Ah, they both had a hair whorl but in a different direction, the older sister¡¯s was clockwise and the younger sister¡¯s was counter-clockwise. ¡°Here, hold her.¡± I was taking care to not dirty her with my blood. It took some effort but the two were finally warm. ¡°¡­Waah, thank you very much. Look, you¡¯re warm now©`. It¡¯s nice, isn¡¯t it?¡± Aoinoun-san spread open her arms and first picked up the older sister. She seemed to be pleased because of the warmth of skin contact, she was cackling with laughter. ¡°S-soft¡­ and so warm.¡± Again, large drops of tears were spilling from her eyes, Aoinoun-san was trembling with emotion. While looking at them, I became relieved and wrapped the wrapping cloth around my hand as a makeshift bandage. Aoinoun-san was sitting and the younger sister was squirming around in her hand beside her. After a while, she looked up at me. ¡°U-um, it¡¯s kind of difficult to hold her up in this posture, could you help me please?¡± Ah, I see, it was difficult to balance her with one hand. ¡°G-got it.¡± I haven¡¯t held a baby since Shouhei was a child. I was nervous. ¡°Hey, excuse me.¡± I held her under the armpits and lifted her up. The neck seemed to be in the right position, I¡¯m holding her steadily. ¡°Ah©`¡± The younger sister looked at me curiously. Her half opened eyes were fixed on me. ¡°Ah©`, ah©`!!¡± ¡°Eh? O-older sister?¡± Aoinoun-san cried out in surprise. When I looked at her, the older sister that she was holding stretched her hands out towards me and was moving around restlessly. ¡°Do you want to be together with your younger sister. Kunpei-san, here¡± ¡°Here? You¡­¡± She came over like she was about to hand me the older sister. I promptly hugged the younger sister with my right hand and received her older sister with my empty left hand. ¡°Ah©`!¡± ¡°¡­Ah©`?¡± A delighted older sister and a curious younger sister. For some reason, I was hugging the twin sisters. What¡¯s this. Can I get an explanation soon? Aoinoun-san was smiling while wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes. She looked at the sisters in my arms and her smile turned even broader. ¡°Waaa©`¡­ when they¡¯re together, their cuteness is amazing¡­it¡¯s great being hugged by your papa, right¡± ¡°P-papa!?¡± Something terrifying just came from her mouth. Chapter 9 - The Inquisitive Alba Germain ¡°It seems that the sky to the Far East is pleased.¡± I stabbed my familiar staff into the ground and looked up at the distant sky. The blessing of the wind headed East, steadily flowing. ¡°A new dragon for the first time in 250 years, eh?¡± I¡¯m looking forward to it. ¡°¡ºInquisitive¡»Alba Germain.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I faced forwards. Inside the barrier of wind, she was sitting as if she was praying. ¡°Um, to be honest, you¡¯re kind of in the way¡­¡± ¡°How heartless, even though I especially dropped by because I thought you were free.¡± ¡°Especially, huh, more like pushy. And it shouldn¡¯t be too far of a distance for you either.¡± I got exposed, eh? ¡°Ha ha ha. But, don¡¯t worry. It seems like I can¡¯t help but go.¡± ¡°¡­a dragon¡¯s child has hatched, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, it seems so. As an expert in dragons, I can¡¯t sit still.¡± If you like, it¡¯s no problem to fly there at maximum speed. ¡°¡­it¡¯s a joyous thing. It¡¯s hard for us to be born.¡± ¡°There hasn¡¯t been a pure since the daughter of the queen of the sky.¡± How nostalgic, I wonder if she¡¯s doing well. ¡°¡­please go, since you¡¯re a needed existence for dragon children.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right. I¡¯m the only one.¡± ¡°Your personality aside, I have faith in your ability. Please take care of our new brethren.¡± This child has mellowed. Even though she used to be such a tomboy when she was younger. ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to you. You guys are so big and strong, yet so short-lived.¡± Even though the world is so mixed, these children never do. No, that¡¯s not right. Other than this child, they don¡¯t mix. ¡°Well then, I¡¯m going. I won¡¯t be able to come here for some time.¡± ¡°U-um¡± It seems like she still had something she wanted to say. it¡¯s fine, I understand. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll properly send you info, I just can¡¯t keep coming here incessantly like now.¡± ¡°¡­t-thank you, Alba Germain.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why, I¡¯ll do my best.¡± Large drops of tears spilled from her pretty eyes as she lowered her head. Nevertheless, she maintained her posture. ¡°I¡¯m on the side of the dragons. Even if the world comes to loathe dragons, only I¡¯ll continue to save them. That¡¯s the meaning of my existence.¡± I gently smiled and turned around. Frankly, I¡¯m reluctant to part. This child works harder than any other dragon. I want to continue like this if possible. ¡°Alba Germain-schwama! You¡¯ll come back, right!¡± ¡°Hey¡ºInquisitive¡»! Is Hildegarde-sama doing well!¡± ¡°Of course, she¡¯s energetic. Isn¡¯t it thanks to you¡ºFairies¡»? Please continue taking care of that child from here on out.¡± There were two tiny Fairies that came flying just as I was about to leave. ¡°Pleash reave it to ush! Am Hildegarde-tama¡¯s fairy, after all!¡± ¡°M-me too! I¡¯m Hildegarde-sama¡¯s first Fairy!¡± How reliable. It was all thanks to theses children that she was able to get better. ¡°I won¡¯t be coming here for a while, but don¡¯t worry since I¡¯ll know if anything happens.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a curious rat after all!¡± ¡°Rock! You¡¯re being rude to Alba Germain-sama! There¡¯s no such thing. I¡¯m a member of the long hair rat tribe and I¡¯m indeed the embodiment of curiosity. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Anmira, Rockhirth, I¡¯m leaving Hilda to you.¡± As I told them, I headed towards the temple¡¯s exit and was seen off with a energetic and cheeky response. I came out of the exit and was standing in the middle of a dense forest. The place I was heading to was still quite far, but it was no problem for me. Because it¡¯s impossible to separate the old me and dragons. ¡°Please wait for me, new dragon children. I¡¯m here.¡± I clanged the staff twice and my body floated in the air, rising upwards. ¡°I am the dragon¡¯s guardian! The midget Alba Germain!¡± Space-time warped. The boundaries in the air became fuzzy and the distance to my destination shrank. This was the only power that I could use. I learned it only to be able to head towards the dragons, my absolute pride. ¡°Your unconditional ally!!¡± And then, I surpassed the speed of light. Chapter 10 - Let’s Become Family (1) ¡°So, you were told that her eggs were stolen?¡± A policewoman from the dog tribe was writing down my statements. I explained the situation to the police that arrived quickly after. It seems that they already had information from the other shoppers. However, it was cold outside and there were babies here. The closest police station was also quite far, the store manager that saw the situation kindly invited us to use his office. ¡°No, I was only told that her children were kidnapped¡± ¡°And so, you jumped on a moving vehicle and punished the criminal?¡± The dog-eared female made an astonished face. Her figure was also outstanding and she was honestly very attractive. ¡°Officer Doggy, as expected it was useless. It seems like none of the hospitals are willing to take in baby dragons.¡± A human police officer returned after making a phone call. ¡°I see. Thank you Officer Inoue. This is troubling, eh. Although they are dragons, they were just born and I¡¯m worried.¡± As she was saying that, she looked at the sofa in the office. The one sitting there was Aoinoun. Since I feel uncomfortable using -san at the end of her name, I¡¯m calling her without honorifics. ¡°I guess it can¡¯t be helped. The incident 10 years ago is pretty famous.¡± The human police officer crossed his arms and sighed. ¡°Incident?¡± It seems like it was a troublesome incident that was somehow related to dragons. ¡°¡­Around 10 years ago, I believe in Northern Europe. There was a dragon who went to a dental clinic.¡± ¡°To the dentist?¡± Dragons also get cavities too, huh. ¡°That¡¯s right, a dragon who couldn¡¯t endure the pain. And then, the dentist tried to somehow treat it, but apparently he couldn¡¯t do anything with his drills.¡± ¡°It was a dragon after all¡­¡± The officer called Inoue nodded heavily while agreeing with Officer Doggy. ¡°The dragon lost his temper because the treatment didn¡¯t progress no matter how much time passed, so he demolished the dental clinic.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Um, I don¡¯t really get it. ¡°As well as all the neighboring dental clinics. He visited them for treatments and continued to destroy them, it continued for about half a year. I think there was around 150 cases, but there were no casualties or even injured, I guess it could only be said, as expected of a dragon.¡± ¡°Due to that incident, the common opinion is that stuff like hospitals and ambulances can¡¯t do anything to dragon patients so they can¡¯t treat them.¡± Officer Doggy and Officer Inoue looked at Aoinoun with troubled faces. ¡°Dragoline-san are the babies okay?¡± ¡°Ah, they seem to be sleeping peacefully so they¡¯re okay.¡± She was hugging the twin sisters in her arms and they were wrapped up in a blanket. That blanket, along with some female underwear and clothes was of course the kindness of the store manager. What a kind person. Is this the so called rural area warmth? ¡°Kazamachi-kun, have you contacted your family? I¡¯d like you to go to the hospital immediately, but¡­ ¡± ¡°Ah, more or less. It seems that my old man will come and pick me up.¡± ¡°I see, that¡¯s good. There¡¯s no injuries and the lightning didn¡¯t hit anyone, as expected of a dragon, eh. As for those three, they¡¯re injured, but nothing serious. We beastmen are known for being tough.¡± ¡°And so, Kazamachi-kun and Aoinoun-san will be acquitted in light of the current circumstance. Though Kazamachi-kun is getting a stern warning.¡± That¡¯s good. Aoinoun in her dragon form released lightning all over, it was splendid that no one was injured. ¡°As I have to document an investigation record, I want you to write down your address. Dragoline-san, err¡­, do you have a house?¡± With a worried face, Officer Doggy bent forward and met Aoinoun¡¯s eyes. ¡°U-um, I don¡¯t have a house, but I have a nest¡± ¡°As I thought, in accordance to the old legends about dragons. Can you tell me where it is? I know that different tribes have their own customs, so you don¡¯t have to tell me if it¡¯s unreasonable.¡± So it was true that police and municipal offices became more flexible in areas with many tribes. Though there was also a lot of nasty bastard police in the place before I moved. ¡°U-um, on top of that giant boulder.¡± Aoinoun pointed outside of the window. That was the inverted triangular boulder that towered over the surrounding forest where my house was. ¡°You¡¯re living on Tusk Crag? I was also born in this town, but I didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no one that can climb up that boulder and the inside became a dungeon as well.¡± Dungeon! Officer Inoue, did you just say dungeon!? Dungeons exist! I¡¯ve heard about them before, but it¡¯s surprising they actually exist! ¡°The peak has nothing to do with the dungeon. It¡¯s possible to get to the peak from the dungeon, but aside from the dragon slayers that came today, the majority of the people return after getting the treasures from the top floor of the dungeon since it¡¯s difficult to find the path to the peak.¡± For some reason, Aoinoun was acting bashful. The baby that she was hugging stirred a bit, that one is the older sister, right. ¡°Then, those three heard from somewhere that there was a dragon on the peak and wanted to get the treasure. I wonder if they were aiming for the dragon bloodstones.¡± ¡°They probably accidentally stole the eggs.¡± ¡°Dragon bloodstone?¡± An unfamiliar word appeared, for some reason Aoinoun was also making a curious face. ¡°Eh? When speaking of dragon nests, it¡¯s either eggs or dragon bloodstones, right? They¡¯ve been sold before and at eye-popping prices.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a kind of bright red jewel, it seems it can only be found in a dragon¡¯s nest.¡± The officer pair explained to us. ¡°Jewel? I¡¯ve never seen anyth¡ª eh? Is this about the eggs?¡± ¡°Eggs? No, they¡¯re jewels?¡± ¡°W-well, dragons lay eggs when they go into spawning season, but most of them do not survive. Such eggs will soon be dyed red and will be pushed into the nest for the time being but¡­¡± I looked at the eggshell in the corner of the office. Somehow, I couldn¡¯t just leave them as is, so I gathered them and brought them here. ¡°Really? Well, since there¡¯s still a lot of things we don¡¯t know about dragons, it didn¡¯t feel right touching those topics, ¡­ but there¡¯s things like that too, huh.¡± ¡°For the time being, let¡¯s fill out Kazamachi-kun¡¯s record. Your father will be coming soon, right?¡± Sure, only if he didn¡¯t get lost. After that, a patrol car came to take away the kidnappers, the store manager¡¯s wife came to see the babies and so the office was crowded with people. My old man came a full one hour after. Chapter 11 - Let’s Become Family (2) ¡°Why¡¯d you go buy soba and end up getting hurt!¡± With his pale face dyed red, my younger brother Shouhei raised his voice. ¡°Well, even if you ask me, I just went with the flow?¡± After all, even now I still haven¡¯t made sense of it. I also want an explanation, so it can¡¯t be helped that I couldn¡¯t explain it to him. ¡°You¡¯re always like this! You acted recklessly without thinking about it again, right!? I keep telling you! It¡¯s praiseworthy to help other people, but it¡¯s meaningless if you get injured! Even the people you help excessively fuss about your reckless behavior! Anyhow, I know you won¡¯t listen to me even if I tell you to stop, think carefully before acting, I just told you this the other day!¡± ¡°C-calm down Shou. Your brother¡¯s properly thinking in his own stupid way.¡± ¡°No! I¡¯m sure you thought up of something after you started moving in the heat of the moment, right! That¡¯s why you got so many excessive injuries!! With your strength, you should generally be able to do something without getting injured!¡± ¡°G-guh¡± ¡°Stop making sounds!!¡± D-damn. I wasn¡¯t able to change the subject. We were still in the supermarket¡¯s office. After that, my old man who got lost arrived in his car and was led to the office while foolishly laughing. When I was about to get up from the folding chair I was sitting on to say a few words to my old man, the figure of a furious Shouhei whose hair stood on ends instantly made me stiffen. ¡°S-shouhei? Hey, it seems that Kunpei helped another person, so we should praise him a bit, okay? ¡± My old man was pacifying Shouhei. The most reasonable one in our family was Shouhei, who took care of all the housework by himself despite being the youngest child. The things this guy says are always right and straightforward. ¡°Dad, you¡¯re the one that ought to get angry!? If it continues like this, he may even die foolishly while helping someone one day! He¡¯s an idiot, after all!¡± ¡°Shou, no matter how you put it, I¡¯m going to cry. Being called an idiot by his younger brother, I¡¯m going to cry. ¡± No, seriously. After all, I¡¯m the one who knows best that I¡¯m an idiot. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with calling an idiot older brother an idiot! I was worried because you were late in coming back!¡± Y-you¡¯re quite right! Please freely scold your elder brother! ¡°U-um¡¯ A feminine voice came from the inner parts of the room. I turned around and Aoinoun who was still hugging the twins and was looking over here with an expression that looked like she was about to cry. ¡°Please don¡¯t blame Kunpei-san. Thanks to him, both me and the kids are safe. The one who¡¯s wrong is me since I dragged him into it.¡± It seems like she was overpowered by Shouhei¡¯s immense menacing look. I understand. I¡¯m also afraid of my younger brother. ¡°¡­Please explain.¡± Aoinoun¡¯s smidgen of courage saved me! Shouhei who poured himself some cold water, released steam as he cooled down. It¡¯s a metaphor! ¡°Ah. Let me explain, so you can hear each other out calmly.¡± Dog officer-san. The cool lady, Maggie Doggy police officer stepped in. I learned of her name earlier. ¡°You too, please calm down. Here, sit please.¡± Presenting a can of juice bought from the supermarket, the human police officer prompted Shouhei to sit down in the folding chair. By the way, Inoue was called Toshio. He was a middle-aged man with a build that would suit a black belt. The pouting Shouhei lowered his head and sat down on the folding chair. My old man who saw that breathed out a sigh of relief and sat in the chair next to him. ¡°Then, officer. Please go ahead.¡± My old man asked Officer Doggy to go ahead. ¡°Okay, then¡­¡± Explaining¡­explaining¡­explaining¡­ ¡°And so, thanks to Kunpei-kun, the kidnappers were caught and the twin babies were safely born.¡± With Officer Doggy¡¯s skillful art of conversation, she was able to explain the circumstances of the situation in less than 10 minutes. ¡°How unfair¡­I can¡¯t be angry anymore, can I¡­¡± Shouhei grumbled his complaint. ¡°No, please get angry at Kunpei-kun¡¯s recklessness. One misstep and he would¡¯ve died, you know.¡± ¡°B-but, I¡¯m extremely grateful! He even helped me hatch these children. I don¡¯t even know how to show my gratitude.¡± After Officer Doggy announced my death sentence, Aoinoun objected. I¡¯m saved! Help me! ¡°Hm. Well, 50-50. Kunpei, after you return from the hospital, I¡¯m going to hit you once. It¡¯s your punishment for making us worry. Resign yourself to your fate. After that, well, I¡¯ll praise you.¡± My old man told me as he pointed at me. Well, it can¡¯t be helped. After all, I¡¯m responsible for a lot of it. It¡¯s natural. ¡°Roger that. I¡¯ll prepare myself.¡± It was a more preferable punishment than being a sandbag under Shouhei¡¯s right straight called sound argument. If I was unlucky, I wouldn¡¯t be able to stand up straight for a week. ¡°Shou too, okay?¡± ¡°¡­Mm.¡± Shouhei nodded slightly. Thank god. After all, where would you find an elder brother bashed by his younger brother!? ¡°Fu, fuee.¡± ¡°Ah, s-she woke up.¡± The baby in Aoinoun¡¯s arms became unsettled. Her horns are straight¡­ she¡¯s the older sister, eh. She became flustered and started swaying and rocking. ¡°Aah! Byaaaaah!¡± She took a deep breath and exploded withe everything she accumulated. Her crying voice. ¡°Bi, fua, gyaaaaah!¡± Surprised by the noise, the baby with curling horns also burst into tears. It¡¯s the younger sister. ¡°Aaah! The younger sister too! Hey, it¡¯s okay~! You were surprised, weren¡¯t you~? Here, mama will give you a hug~!¡± Since Aoinoun was holding the twins in both her arms, she wasn¡¯t able to move successfully and became flustered. She glanced at me repeatedly. For some reason, I found myself approaching them. ¡°Look, Papa came too~.¡± ¡°No, like I said, calling me papa¡­¡± Why? We just met for the first time today! ¡°More importantly, Kunpei-san, please carry them too.¡± Not only did they not stop crying, she also made a face like she was about to burst into tears. It can¡¯t be helped. I¡¯ll help out. ¡°Give it here.¡± I extended the safer left hand and received the younger sister from Aoinoun. My right arm that was wrapped with the cloth was used as support to embrace the baby. ¡°Byaaaaah! Fuaaaaah!¡± ¡°Hey, hey, what happened? Did you have a scary dream?¡± I slowly rocked her and tried to comfort her. When Shouhei was a child, he would stop crying when I rocked him¡­ though I¡¯ve always done it while sitting. However, it was completely ineffective. ¡°Hm. She¡¯s probably hungry?¡± My old man who approached without me noticing, lifted up my shirt that the girl was wrapped in. ¡°Yeah. There¡¯s something off down there. As I thought, she¡¯s hungry.¡± My old man had actual results in child rearing compared to me, so it should be reliable information. ¡°Well, you heard him¡± I reiterated those words to Aoinoun. ¡°K-Kunpei-san. What do babies eat?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± You¡¯re asking me? ¡°A-ah, well, that, if it¡¯s human infants, then after they¡¯re born, it can only be that, right?¡± ¡°But these kids are dragons. Also, what is that?¡± Aoinoun looked at me blankly. ¡°B-by saying that, I mean, that, you know? Officer Doggy!¡± I was too embarrassed to say it myself. If it¡¯s a woman, she should be able to say it without any problem. Please help me, officer! ¡°There¡¯s no need to be shy. After all, you also drank it in the beginning.¡± That¡¯s true, but¡­ ¡°Aoinoun-san, I don¡¯t know about baby dragons, but for humans and most beastmen, babies are brought up with their mother¡¯s milk.¡± Phew! As expected, she could be relied on! ¡°Mother¡¯s milk?¡± However, Aoinoun didn¡¯t get it. ¡°It¡¯s breast milk. Miss, milk from your breasts is called mother¡¯s milk.¡± As expected of the handsome guy, Shouhei-kun. He just went and said it without any hesitation. No, wait. His face is good, so it didn¡¯t sound lewd coming from him at all. So it¡¯s true that handsome men are always innocent, eh. ¡°Breasts¡­¡± Aoinoun fell into deep thought. Meanwhile, the twins continued to cry. Somehow, I get flustered hearing this sound. ¡°U-um¡± Aoinoun looked at me with an uneasy face. What is it? ¡°I wonder, will milk come out from my breasts?¡± ¡°How would I know!!!¡± W-w-w-what the hell was this woman saying! Me, who has never touched breasts other than my mother¡¯s since being born, has no way of knowing things like that! ¡°Rest assured, Aoi! It will surely come out!¡± Eh? I just heard an unfamiliar voice from somewhere really close by. ¡°Yo, it¡¯s been a long time! Blue Sky Dragon! Aoinoun who¡¯s beloved by the sky!¡± T-too loud! From the right, I heard a voice which was way too loud. I reflexively turned my head to the right. ¡°Where there are dragons, I¡¯m also there! The [Inquisitive] Alba Germain has arrived! I¡¯ve kept you waiting!¡± There was a rat holding a staff standing on my right shoulder. Chapter 12 - Let’s Become Family (3) ¡°Well, then! Won¡¯t you show me the lovely dragon child!?¡± ¡°Uwah, a r-rat!¡± I was surprised! I was damn surprised! When did this rat climb onto my shoulder! Wearing a magician-like three-corned hat, carrying a wooden staff larger than its body that was densely covered in hair, now it was lying on its back on my right shoulder! ¡°Oops, I was rude! I¡¯ve surprised you, haven¡¯t I! Well, forgive me, I can¡¯t see the dragon child¡¯s face with my stature!¡± ¡°W-who the hell are you! Also, you¡¯re loud!¡± Can you lower your volume a bit! ¡°Hahaha! You¡¯re going to go bald if you keep worrying about minor details!¡± It¡¯s not minor! ¡°Uncle rat!¡± While still hugging the grumbling older sister, Aoinoun stood up. ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯m short but proud! It¡¯s me from the fluffy long-haired rat race! The [Inquisitive] Alba Germain! Aoi!¡± No, who are you. ¡°No way¡­¡± Officer Doggy was looking at my right shoulder with her eyes wide open. ¡°T-the rat sage? He really existed¡­¡± ¡°Officer Doggy? Do you know him?¡± Officer Inoue asked Officer Doggy with a curious expression. ¡°I think all the beastmen know him¡­ he¡¯s a fairy tale like existence¡­ the story of the phantom rat beastman and sage. I¡¯ve heard about them since I was little¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m that rat sage! I have no intention of being wise, though!¡± Is he that famous? Shouhei who was standing next to me, was looking at the rat with sparkling eyes. ¡°Uwah, cute¡­¡± If I remember correctly, this guy likes these mascot-like stuff. When he was a child, he would watch a CG anime about a rat all day long without getting tired. That delicious restaurant one. ¡°More importantly, the dragon child! Aoi! Won¡¯t you show me your child!?¡± ¡°Y-yes!¡± Firmly hugging the older sister that still continued to cry, Aoinoun trotted in front of me. The younger sister was also still cutely crying in my arms. ¡°Heeh.. how rare. Aoi, you had twins? Let¡¯s see, please show your face to this Alba Germain.¡± The rat looked at the twins from my right shoulder. His voice was different to his earlier volume, it was more gentle. ¡°Yep. Strong children. They¡¯re properly beloved by the sky. Is this child the older sister?¡± ¡°Y-yes. She was hatched first.¡± ¡°My methods¡­ please excuse them¡± He nimbly hopped off my shoulder and move to Aoinoun¡¯s shoulder. He skillfully walked along her arm and arrived next to the older sister¡¯s face. With his small hands, he touched her cheek. ¡°Yep, exactly like Aoi. She¡¯s clad in the aura of the thunder dragon, huh.¡± He gently caressed her cheeks three times and then turned around and moved onto my arm. He approached the younger sister in the same way and also touched her cheeks. ¡°Aah, this one is similar to you, huh.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Of course. Oh? Although she¡¯s a sky dragon, she¡¯s also beloved by the wind. Oh, how wonderful. As I thought, I¡¯ll never get tired of looking at dragons¡± Hey, why me? ¡°Are you curious? If you have something you want to ask, I¡¯ll tell you. After all, there¡¯s no one whose knowledge of dragons is deeper than mine.¡± ¡°Uncle rat, these children¡­ they wouldn¡¯t hatch for a whole month. I¡¯m worried about that¡­¡± Aoinoun asked a question before I could. Well, she¡¯s the mother, so she should have more things she wanted to ask about than me. ¡°Yep. Well then, let me explain. But, before that¡­ it seems like they¡¯re hungry. Please feed them some breast milk. After all, it¡¯d be too pitiful to let them cry like this.¡± I also agreed. ¡°U-Uncle. How do I give them breast milk¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Dragons are a tribe with strong instincts. There¡¯s various things you can naturally become capable of. Your breasts, didn¡¯t they swell somewhat recently?¡± I unintentionally looked at Aoinoun¡¯s chest. You couldn¡¯t even call it big as flattery. ¡°Brother. You shouldn¡¯t stare at a girl¡¯s breasts.¡± My younger brother lectured me on common sense. ¡°S-speaking of that, they did start to kind of hurt after I laid the eggs.¡± ¡°Yep. Your body can properly do it. Look, your children are hungry.¡± ¡°Ah, Dragoline-san. I¡¯ll prepare a chair behind the partitioning screen there.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll carry it over.¡± Officer Doggy and Shouhei started to move. ¡°¡­Did you see, Kunpei? Consideration makes the difference between a popular and an unpopular man, you know?¡± ¡°¡­Old Man, don¡¯t say such stuff right into my ear.¡± I was also impressed just now. ¡°Hey, bring the younger sister too, will you?¡± I looked between the frail and crying younger sister in my arms and Aoinoun. ¡°What are you talking about? You¡¯re going too, no?¡± Huh? What kind of strange thing is this rat saying? ¡°You also have to breast feed.¡± Like I said, what the hell are you talking about. Chapter 13 - Let’s Become Family (4) ¡°There¡¯s no way breast milk will come out of a man!¡± Someone should teach this rat about how the human body works. ¡°Hii, gyaaaah!¡± ¡°O-oh. Not you, not you. I¡¯m not angry at you~¡± The younger sister in my arms reacted to my angry voice and raised her voice even more and burst into tears. ¡°I never said a single thing about making them suck your milk, did I?¡± The fluffy rat, Alba Germain, shook his head and hit his forehand with the hand that wasn¡¯t holding the staff. He broke into a grin. This rodent was getting on my nerves. ¡°You¡¯re going to assist with breastfeeding. It¡¯s natural since you¡¯re the father, no?¡± ¡°Hey, listen! Today was the first time that I met her, I¡¯m not proud of it but I¡¯ve never touched any women other than my mother!¡± ¡°It really is nothing to be proud of. What a shameful eldest son. I was extremely popular when I was young.¡± Shut up! You just keep silent, old man! ¡°Nope, you¡¯re undoubtedly the father of these children. I¡¯ll tell you while we¡¯re breastfeeding, the kids are too pitiful.¡± ¡°U-um, Kunpei-san.¡± Aoinoun tugged my sleeve. ¡°Uncle would never say anything irresponsible related to dragons. My mother said I can believe him no matter what. Also, when it comes to dragons, there¡¯s no person with deeper knowledge than uncle.¡± ¡°You too, aren¡¯t there too many things you don¡¯t know!? It¡¯s about your kids, you know!?¡± No matter how you put it, you should know at least how to feed your baby. ¡°U-um, Dragons seldom multiply. Until yesterday, I was the youngest dragon, and¡­¡± Aoinoun lowered her head with a red face. ¡°I-it was my first egg laying season, moreover it came earlier than it normally does for dragons. My mother also didn¡¯t expect that I¡¯d have children so soon, so she promised to teach me a lot of things when we meet again, but¡­¡± ¡°As I thought, it seems like that child hasn¡¯t taught you yet. Well, I also didn¡¯t expect that Aoi would approach the egg-laying season, furthermore, I didn¡¯t expect you to give life, but it can¡¯t be helped.¡± Alba Gelman folded his arms and tilted his head. Why the hell did he have to make everything into an exaggerated action? ¡°W-where¡¯s your mom?¡± ¡°The last time we met was 40 years ago. As for where she is now, well¡­¡± Huh? ¡°40 years ago?¡± Eh? ¡°Kazamachi-kun. Dragons have a long lifespan.¡± Ha? Officer Doggy told me while moving the partitioning screen. ¡°Aoinoun, you, how old are you?¡± ¡°Eh? I think I¡¯m about 250 years old¡­¡± Ha. ¡°Eeeeeeh!?¡± Lies! I mean, no matter how I look at her, she looks younger than me!! When the incredibly shocked me was still flustered, Shouhei looked out from the opposite side of the partitioning screen. ¡°Brother, you should study some more. It might not be common sense, but it¡¯s something that people usually know.¡± ¡°Tell him, Shouhei. It¡¯s something that you don¡¯t learn in school, it¡¯s one of those things that usually come up when you chat with friends. Stuff like legends and gossip about dragons.¡± A sorrowful expression floated up on my old man¡¯s face and then patted my shoulder. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped if you don¡¯t have friends. Cheer up.¡± ¡°S-shut up!!¡± Don¡¯t console me! ¡°Hey, the preparations are done. I can¡¯t look at them cry anymore, so hurry up and come. I don¡¯t really get it, but you¡¯re necessary, right?¡± L-like I said! Just why am I the father! ¡°Please. Uncle knows more about dragons than we ourselves do. As for why that is¡­¡± Aoinoun looked at Alba Germain who was on my arm and then looked back at me. ¡°It¡¯s because he¡¯s the only doctor in the world that specializes in dragons.¡± Chapter 14 - Let’s Become Family (5) ¡°H-hey. I still haven¡¯t agreed yet, though.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, you still don¡¯t know about dragons. Since you don¡¯t know about dragons, can you listen to the words of one who knows about dragons?¡± While that may be true, it would be nice if you explained how this course of events came to be. ¡°¡­I understand, but why do I have to take off my clothes?¡± Didn¡¯t you just say that they won¡¯t be sucking milk from my breasts! ¡°U-um, Kunpei-san. Please excuse me.¡± Aoinoun¡¯s sound came from behind me. ¡°Y-yeah.¡± A cold sensation ran down my back. However, it quickly became warm, then smooth and elastic. Well, it was the feeling of Aoinoun¡¯s skin. ¡°H-hey, why is there the need for us to join our backs naked?¡± ¡°Hey, can you be quiet for a bit? Can you let me be moved of my first breast feeding in peace?¡± I-I¡¯m being scolded for some reason! My heartbeat is already strange. It¡¯s not good to make a boy of this age do these things. My heart¡¯s been thumping and beating like crazy since a while ago, I¡¯m going to get heart failure if this continues. ¡°Um, like this?¡± W-what? What are you trying to do? ¡°Nn, nnn. Waah. They¡¯re drinking with so much force¡­ it really came out¡­¡± Don¡¯t let your voice out! It¡¯s hard not to! I knew what they were doing intuitively, but I can¡¯t listen! ¡°Aa, the younger sister too¡­ here, nn, hya! Uuuh, it¡¯s ticklish¡­ ah, a bit to the side? Look, it¡¯s here~¡± Aah! What do you mean to the side! ¡°A-amazing. I¡¯m breast-feeding my children¡­ fufu, how cute.¡± It¡¯s bad, bad bad bad bad! I can¡¯t explain what¡¯s bad, but the sensation on my back and Aoinoun¡¯s sweet voice is slowly shaving down my important something. ¡°Un. There doesn¡¯t seem to be any problems with breast-feeding. They¡¯re lively kids.¡± The rat¡¯s voice was irritating. This bastard completely forgot about me! ¡°H-hey. Isn¡¯t it about time? Please explain it.¡± ¡°Geez, you¡¯re persistent. I get it, what do you want to ask?¡± You, I will really hit you! But my body was stiff and I couldn¡¯t move except for twitching. ¡°U-uh, first of all, why am I these kid¡¯s father?¡± The first person to speak was Aoinoun. Why did she say such a frightening thing? ¡°After all, Kunpei-san hatched the eggs¡­¡± ¡°No, if it¡¯s the father, shouldn¡¯t there be some guy who fertilized the eggs?¡± Call a male dragon here! ¡°So the first thing I¡¯ll tell you since you don¡¯t know anything¡­¡± Alba Germain walked briskly with small steps across the tiles. He swung his staff up and down while proudly snorting. He¡¯s peerless at irritating me. ¡°¡­the dragon race has no males.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Eh? I mean she¡¯s breast-feeding, wasn¡¯t it only mammal-like creatures that could do that? When you don¡¯t have the pistil and stamen¡­ even fish fertilize their eggs. I was in turmoil. ¡°Only female dragons have existed since ancient times. I¡¯ve seen all the dragons since the primordial dragons and I love all dragons, but I¡¯ve never seen a male dragon. Even if they existed, then they weren¡¯t dragons.¡± Ah, that reminds me, I feel like Aoinoun said ¡®older sister¡¯ even before the eggs hatched. Was it like that, since there was no way of it being an ¡®older brother¡¯? ¡°As far as dragons are concerned, egg-laying is a way for them to expel accumulated energy from their body. That¡¯s why they seldom give birth since they have long life spans, they don¡¯t need to reproduce.¡± Ah, so that¡¯s why they are so few in number. ¡°Furthermore, there are many conditions they have to meet in order to reproduce.¡± ¡°Conditions?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, if the conditions aren¡¯t met, the egg won¡¯t have life. If there¡¯s even one that¡¯s not met, the expelled energy would mix with the atmosphere and the egg would become a mere stone.¡± Ah, like what Officer Doggy explained regarding the dragon bloodstone earlier, it¡¯s related. ¡°What are the conditions?¡± ¡°Firstly, the health of the mother, they have to be in perfect condition. The breeding season as well, it differs, but it generally comes every 200 years.¡± So you¡¯re saying, that they only have one chance to have children every 200 years, and if they happen to be sick, it¡¯s no good? ¡°Injuries are no good either. Dragons have strong instincts, if they instinctively know that they can¡¯t protect their new born child, even if it goes against their intent, their body won¡¯t create life.¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s kind of amazing¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s also no good if you don¡¯t have a strong desire to have children. Life will not respond if you do it without taking it seriously. If you don¡¯t want it to the point where you can¡¯t endure, the children won¡¯t take form.¡± So, in other words¡­ ¡°Aoinoun, really wanted children¡­¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Ah, was this fellow flustered? I knew intuitively through my back. Why, you ask? It¡¯s because I¡¯m completely focused on the sensation on my back! How sad! ¡°U-um! This is the first time I¡¯m hearing what uncle was talking about, so I can¡¯t deny it, but rather than saying that I want children! Rather than saying¡­¡± For some reason, Aoinoun was hesitating. It¡¯s not really something bad. From what I could see from today¡¯s events, her maternal sense is quite strong. ¡°I-I was lonely by myself¡­ That¡¯s probably why I unconsciously wanted an existence that could stay by my side.¡± ¡°By yourself¡­¡± Come to think of it, she did say that she hasn¡¯t seen her mother for around 40 years. ¡°Us sky dragons have a custom of becoming independent after we¡¯re 200 years old, but¡­ I was lonely and selfishly asked my mom to stay for 10 more years¡­ she flatly refused and departed on a trip. Since the other tribes were so different, I didn¡¯t have the courage to go down to the town¡­ I only left the nest to buy the bare minimum or to hunt, other than that I stayed on that large boulder reading and watching TV¡­ what am I saying¡­¡± And so, you thought that if you had children, you could live with them for another 200 years. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware of it, but after hearing uncle¡¯s words I¡¯ve understood a lot of things¡­ u-um being alone is tough, since half a year ago, I¡¯ve been crying every night¡­¡± Half a year ago? That¡¯s fairly recent, huh? You were alone for 40 years, after all. ¡°U-um, this is the second time meeting with Kunpei-san and the others. The first time was half a year ago¡­¡± Eh? Nope, I can¡¯t remember at all. Aoinoun¡¯s appearance stands out a lot. ¡°I don¡¯t think I would forget such a beautiful blue-haired girl.¡± I inadvertently blurted without thinking. In the first place, this is the first time I¡¯m seeing someone with blue hair. Once in a while I do see cosplayers on TV with gaudy blue hair, but none are as natural as Aoinoun. Even if I¡¯m an idiot, I don¡¯t think I would forget. No, I¡¯d like to think I wouldn¡¯t. ¡°B-beautiful!?¡± Oh, my back is getting hot. ¡°U-um, I came to visit your house, right? Along with your father and Shouhei.¡± Ah, is that so. ¡°Old man, have you heard of it?¡± ¡°What?¡± The old man and the others were on the other side of the partitioning screen. It seems like they were greeting and thanking the supermarket¡¯s manager. When we were viewing the house, the neighbors were making a ruckus about a beautiful girl, right? ¡°There was a ruckus, but it didn¡¯t seem like you were interested.¡± Let alone me, even Shouhei wasn¡¯t interested. You were the only one that was excited. ¡°About that¡­¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she sitting over there?¡± Oi. Say those things sooner. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. Um, after I left the nest to go shopping, I happened to meet your father near the gate. I saw Kunpei-san and Shouhei-kun laughing inside the house¡­ i-it looked like you were having fun¡­ I was jealous¡­¡± ¡­ In other words, we dealt the finishing blow to Aoinoun who was lonely. And the breeding season just so happened to overlap. Mm. Although I haven¡¯t done anything wrong, somehow I feel responsible. ¡°I see!¡± Suddenly, Alba Germain raised his voice. ¡°Now, the last mystery has been solved. Even I found it strange, no matter how you put it, it was weird that the eggs didn¡¯t hatch for a month. You appeared at a wonderful time. As expected, you¡¯re undoubtedly the father.¡± ¡°H-hey, sometimes the things you say are hard to keep up with. I¡¯m an idiot, so can you explain it in a way that an idiot can understand?¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯s tough being an idiot, eh.¡± Alba Germain shook his head slightly and snorted. This guy, I¡¯m going to step on him later. ¡°Listen up. These kids hatched after you touched them. Normal dragon eggs hatch on their own in a week or so. These kids didn¡¯t come out for a month. I said it earlier, right? Dragons have strong instincts.¡± ¡°A-ah.¡± ¡°These kids waited for you. They wanted to meet you, so they didn¡¯t hatch. They felt that they would be in danger if you weren¡¯t there, so even though the eggs started to decay, they endured it.¡± W-why, me? ¡°Aoi felt it. When she met you, her loneliness became uncontainable. Dragons started to be born on the surface! There was no reason other than desiring humans! Got it? Those children are mixed with a human. Your blood touched the egg, they felt it and the conditions were satisfied! Those children finally came out! Aoi, this is amazing! You and your daughters took a step forward for the stagnant dragons!¡± O-oi, calm down. Alba Germain¡¯s rising excitement was getting scary. ¡°Of course, I¡¯m calm! That¡¯s right, I still haven¡¯t told you the significance of you helping to breast feed, eh! To begin with, breast-feeding satisfies a dragon¡¯s appetite and taking in strength from the mother¡¯s body. Same as human babies! In order to strengthen their resistance to illnesses, they supplement it via their mother¡¯s milk! It was that! Those children needed the dragon factor from Aoi and they needed the human factor from you! That¡¯s why they cried wanting your touch!¡± That reminds me, when I was first hugging the younger sister, the older sister also reached her hands over. ¡°U-um, uncle, please calm down. The children are startled.¡± Aoinoun calmed the excited rat sage that was breathing heavily. ¡°Oh, right. I of all people. But now you understand the meaning of the back to back act, right? Dragons can take in a lot of stuff through touch. If you touch as large surface area of the mother¡¯s body, they can take in factors through the mother¡¯s milk.¡± In other words, this¡­ ¡°Well, at the very minimum, I want you to breast-feed like this once a day.¡± I see, there¡¯s no meaning unless you do it regularly. ¡°U-um, Kunpei-san.¡± Aoinoun twisted her body. ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°On top of getting you involved, I have a selfish favor I would like to ask¡­ would you somehow, for the sake of the children, please help me¡­¡± ¡°¡­ ah.¡± I ruffled my tough hair. How could I refuse after hearing what Alba Germain said. ¡°¡­ You don¡¯t really have to feel particularly sorry. You¡¯re the mom, this amount of shamelessness is just right.¡± ¡°¡­Eh?¡± ¡°What I¡¯m saying is¡­¡± We¡¯ve already exposed our skin to each other. It¡¯s too late to hold back. ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°¡­fu! ¡­Hic¡­¡± Aoi¡¯s shoulders were quivering, and she started sobbing. Sweat began to accumulate on our backs due to the combined heat. But, it wasn¡¯t unpleasant, it felt comfortable. I closed my eyes and for now concentrated on her voice. Chapter 15 - Let’s Become Family (6) ¡°What a long day¡­¡± In the dining room at the new home, the old man surrendered himself to the brand new sofa. My entire body felt heavy. The right hand that I received treatment for also hurts. I was sticky all over from dust and sweat, I honestly just wanted to sleep. ¡°Onii-chan, shall we eat soba?¡± ¡°I¡¯m counting on you, I¡¯m starving to death.¡± Inside the opposing kitchen, Shouhei was cramming the ingredients I bought into the refrigerator. ¡°Go take a bath and change your clothes. Ladies and babies will hate you if you smell.¡± ¡°Please stop nagging so much.¡± ¡°Nope, hurry up.¡± There are more frequent scoldings. This guy¡¯s becoming more like mom, year by year. Even though he¡¯s still in sixth grade. ¡°Oh, while you¡¯re at it, could you boil the water for the bath?¡± ¡°Roger that.¡± The old man who was fiddling with the TV¡¯s cord, called out without turning around. I left the dining room. My room was on the inside of the second floor. I didn¡¯t have a lot of things so I was the first one to finish unpacking my room. I climbed up the U-shaped stairway and walked to the end of the hallway. ¡°¡­Fuuu¡± I took a deep breath. I gently knocked the door 3 times. ¡°Come in.¡± ¡°Ah, are you guys alright?¡± I opened the door after hearing a reply. ¡°¡­How is it?¡± Aoi and the two kids were lying down on the bed in my room. Aoi was wearing my pajamas and the overly large sleeves were rolled up. ¡°They¡¯re sound asleep. Please look. Sometimes their hands move, they might be dreaming.¡± They had a calm expression and she was stroking the older sister¡¯s head. It¡¯s kinda nice. The old man¡¯s room was overflowing with things and it would be difficult to fit three people on Shou¡¯s bed. A room with few items and a big bed, my room was the only one that satisfied those conditions. I planned to sleep in the dining room. The kids were wearing Shouhei¡¯s shirts. They were in their growth period so soon it would be too small, but it was better than nothing or reused old clothes. They¡¯re sleeping well. I drew closer to take a look, the older sister¡¯s loosened. I wonder if she¡¯s laughing? ¡°But, was it okay?¡± ¡°What was?¡± ¡°Um, intruding on your house.¡± Are you still asking about that? ¡°The old man said it was okay, Shou also approved. I also think that it¡¯s better this way. Remember, majority rules in this house.¡± After breastfeeding, I discussed it with the old man. It¡¯s kind of scary having to fly back to that huge boulder while hugging two babies, anyhow I have to be present for the daily breastfeeding. Officer Doggy was also in favor of it. If it was exposed that there was a dragon in this town, it seems that there¡¯s the possibility of an increase in the number of people climbing to the dungeon. Those kidnapper looking guys with Gasaraio might even launch a surprise attack. Be that as it may, the kids are powerless. It¡¯s better to have more people to protect them. Officer Doggy and officer Inoue also seemed worried. It seems they¡¯ll come over on patrol at times. At the peak of that huge boulder, if there was anything there, I can¡¯t rush over right away. I mean, I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s anything there. If that¡¯s the case, near the nest, and of reasonable size and kept out the rain, our house was suitable, that¡¯s what the old man said. ¡°I said it earlier right? Don¡¯t hold back.¡± ¡°¡­ Yes.¡± Aoi was bashful but looked delighted. ¡­ She really is a beauty, eh. ¡°I need to go to the nest tomorrow morning to bring my stuff over, though I just have clothes.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s anything I can help with, I¡¯ll also help.¡± Although I can¡¯t use my right hand since it won¡¯t heal for a full month. ¡°Hey¡± ¡°Yes?¡± You¡¯re anxious, I mean, you have something you¡¯re worried about. I think it¡¯s better to say so early. ¡°Choose the name¡± ¡°Ah¡± It¡¯s difficult to call them older sister and younger sister forever. This was something important. ¡°T-that¡¯s right, the name.¡± I sat down quietly on the bed, careful not to wake them up. Aoi also sat up. ¡°Actually, I decided when I knew that the eggs had life in them.¡± ¡°Really? What is it?¡± It that¡¯s the case, this will be quick. These kinds of things take time to think about. ¡°Um, I took it from the legend of the ancient dragon.¡± I guess even dragons have their legends. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m not sure whether Kunpei-san will be pleased or not.¡± What are you worried about. ¡°It¡¯s your children, so it makes sense for you to decide.¡± ¡°But, Kunpei-san is the papa.¡± She became a bit sullen and stuck her lips out. I was troubled by her gesture, please stop. ¡°Well, you already had one month, but I was suddenly told I was a father without warning. I still haven¡¯t caught up yet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but I don¡¯t like the way you¡¯re speaking.¡± W-women sure are difficult. ¡°But you should decide the name, I don¡¯t know how dragons name their children.¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it. Um, dragon children have different names than when they¡¯re adults. When I was a child, I was called Ai, not Aoinoun.¡± A childhood name, eh. ¡°A name is decided when you become independent but, at that time, another true name is received. For me, it¡¯s ¡®Blue Sky¡¯. The only one called that in this country.¡± It¡¯s kind of becoming complicated. ¡°I heard from my mother that generally an easy to use name is picked when you¡¯re a kid.¡± That said, Aoi stroked the twin¡¯s heads with both hands. Although some immaturity remains, it was a splendid mother¡¯s face. ¡°The older sister will be called Jaja, Jaja Dragoline. The name of the dragon hero. Strong and brave, seems like a female that suits a smile.¡± I looked at the older sister. Did getting stroked feel good, her lips once again loosened. ¡°Jaja, is it?¡± ¡°Yes. The younger sister is Nana, Nana Dragoline. The hero of the dragons. Wise, and sweet, seems like a female that would help a lot of dragons.¡± I looked at the younger sister. Her mouth was open and she was drooling. I wiped it up with my thumb, I properly washed my hands. ¡°Nana. Un, aren¡¯t they both great names?¡± ¡°R-really?¡± Why would I lie. ¡°Really. Well, now that the names are decided I¡¯m going to take a bath.¡± ¡°Ah, please leave some hot water. I want to enter after the two wake up, can you help later?¡± I need to ask my old man about how to bathe a baby¡­ ¡°Got it. We¡¯ll do it right after I get out. Which reminds me, are you eating with us?¡± ¡°Ah, yes. Please.¡± ¡°Mm. I¡¯ll tell Shou.¡± I opened the clothing case and took out a change of clothes. I placed my hand on the door and thought of something for a moment. I turned my head and looked at the 3 people. ¡°Hey¡± ¡°Yes?¡± That sight was somehow very gentle. ¡°It was unexpected, it still doesn¡¯t feel real, and I¡¯m doubtful I understand properly, but..¡± My mouth naturally slackened. ¡°I will do my best, so please take care of me, Jaja, Nana, and Aoi.¡± Perhaps, the current me, is making the face that my mother had. ¡°¡­ us too, we¡¯ve caused you various trouble, but¡± Aoi pressed down firmly on her chest and slightly lifted her head. ¡°I think it¡¯s great that Kunpei-san is here¡± That smile was the cutest smile ever. Chapter 16 - The Second Son’s Peaceful Morning My morning started early. The alarm clock rang at 5 a.m, I rubbed my sleepy eyes and got out after staying in bed for about 2 minutes. Although it was better to wake up since it was summer, but it was still cold and you couldn¡¯t part from the futon. My room in the new house is at the end of the hallway of the first floor. In the house where we used to live, I was together with my older brother, so I¡¯m still not used to staying in a room by myself. Sometimes, even though there¡¯s no one there, I would turn around and call my brother, it¡¯s very embarrassing. I was the one who chose the room on the first floor. At first it was supposed to be a room on the second floor, and my dad¡¯s room was supposed to be here. I think that my father conceded the second floor because it was narrower, but for me this room was better since it was closer to the kitchen and the toilet, so I requested my dad to change with me. After I left the room, I headed to the sink and washed my face. I was reflected in the mirror with my unkempt hair and sleepy face. I turned my gaze upwards a bit while I was brushing my teeth. The sink was furnished with small accessories. There were two different colored shavers in a place where I couldn¡¯t reach. The orange one is my brother¡¯s, and the black one is my father¡¯s. If you asked why they bought two different ones, they each had to find suitable one¡¯s, it seems that it hurts if it¡¯s not suitable. How troublesome. I wonder if I¡¯ll also use it soon. Both my father and my older brother are tall. I have to look up all the time, so it hurts my neck. Both this house and our previous one had many places where I couldn¡¯t reach. Since I organized the kitchen, most of the stuff are placed within reach, but there are things I can¡¯t do without a step stool for example, replacing the shampoo, bath detergents and light bulbs. There are some things that I can¡¯t reach even if I use a step stool. I want to become bigger sooner. I rinsed my mouth and wiped my face. I was still sleepy, but there was no time, so let¡¯s hurry up. I arrived at the dining room. I turned on the light and took a good look at the room. It was spacious and pleasant. A new kitchen, I have to get used to it quickly. An open style kitchen is amazing. It feels like we¡¯re rich. I opened the rice cooker, It was bought for me last Christmas, the far infrared pot is amazing. This is one of my favorite things. My father said that since the rice cooker was something the whole family uses, he¡¯ll buy something else for me, but there isn¡¯t really anything I want. I decided to buy it after I had something I wanted. My father smiled wryly and said, ¡°You siblings really aren¡¯t greedy.¡± Is that so? I really wanted the rice cooker though. By the way, my brother tried to look cool and said, ¡°I¡¯m not a kid anymore, so I don¡¯t need a Christmas present.¡± Then my father pointed at him, burst into laughter and said, ¡°The guy who said he¡¯s not a kid is spending Christmas at home.¡± Even though it¡¯s fine to spend Christmas at home. Actually, the best place to spend it is at home. Alright, the rice is cooked. An odor that stimulated my appetite permeated the kitchen, I love this smell. I took out a frying pan from underneath the sink and placed it on the stove. I placed a long steeping stool that my father made for me under the stove. This kitchen was different to the old one and was slightly taller. I set the frying pan on the fire and went to open the dining room curtains. It was still dim outside. I pressed the power button of the air conditioner that was hanging on the wall. I took the apron hanging at the entrance of the dining room, returned to the kitchen and turned on the ventilator. I got the yellow apron last year, this is also one of my favorites. I opened the refrigerator and took out a dish. Bacon wrapped asparagus that was prepared yesterday evening. I peeled off the cling wrap and placed it in the kitchen. I picked up the salad oil bottle and poured it around the frying pan. Now I have to make father¡¯s bento. My father didn¡¯t change workplaces even though we moved quite far from where we used to live. Now, it takes him one hour to get to work, a tough work life is about to begin. Well, it was my father¡¯s who wanted to move, so he has no choice but to do his best. At least for lunch, I want him to eat something delicious. It¡¯s been responsibility to make father¡¯s bento since grade 3. Apparently, we ate convenience store bread up until then. No matter how you put it, it would get dull. I was still a senior in kindergarten when my mother died. Both my father and my older brother are very clumsy, but even if I looked at it from my childish perspective, they both did their bests and worked very hard doing things around the house. I was still young so I couldn¡¯t do anything, but I was able to help little by little and now here I am. At first, it was cleaning, but just to the extent of finishing what was started. Next was laundry, just to the extent of putting it in the washing machine. I was the helper when my brother made dinner, but only to the extent of using the peeler. It was frustrating. I did my best every single day. I was extremely lonely after my mother died, but every day was busy so I had no free time to think about it. If I though about it, my father, my brother and I all clung to mother, so when we lost her, there were definitely plenty of important things we found out for the first time. ¡°Good morning.¡± My father got up. Honestly, I think it¡¯s improper to leave the collar of the dress shirt open, but my working father is cool. ¡°Good morning. Breakfast is almost ready.¡± I made both the miso soup and the salad yesterday. I just grilled the fish. ¡°Thanks.¡± My father smiled and stroked my head. ¡°That¡¯s enough, hurry up and prepare.¡± After all, he has to shave and I have to tidy up my hair, since there¡¯s not a lot of time in the morning. ¡°Well, it seems like Kunpei slept in the room after all.¡± Come to think of it, since my older brother¡¯s room was being used by the dragon-neechan and the babies, I told him to sleep on the dining room sofa. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°They were crying at night.¡± Father laughed while correcting his glasses. ¡°Babies crying at night is terrible, it seems that it¡¯s the same even with a dragon¡¯s child.¡± I did not notice at all. ¡°It¡¯s tough for Aoinoun-chan to stop the twin¡¯s crying by herself.¡± So, why was he in the room? ¡°Unexpectedly, my eldest son seems to be a good dad.¡± I do not really understand. ¡°Well, since school is still on break, so let him sleep. I could also hear it from my room on the same floor, they were crying every hour.¡± ¡°Were you also not able to sleep well?¡± It might be better to change the rooms. ¡°Well, I¡¯m used to it because of you guys, and I¡¯m separated by one room so it wasn¡¯t that bad, Kunpei is probably very tired.¡± I wonder if he¡¯s okay just because he said so. Even if I said this or that, he was the only one with parenting experience. I kind of feel uncertain but for now, let¡¯s focus on the bento and breakfast. There was less than an hour until my father leaves home. ¡°Shou, I¡¯m putting a card here, could you give it to Kunpei?¡± ¡°Card?¡± I wonder why. My father put something on the table. Hmm? Is that a credit card? ¡°There are lots of things you need for a baby. I bought diapers on the way home yesterday, but they¡¯re consumable goods, it¡¯s better if you have it. Also clothes. Baby things are expensive, that¡¯s why use this.¡± Really, I didn¡¯t know. ¡°It¡¯ll be troubling later on if you¡¯re stingy on things like this now, so tell him that even if it¡¯s expensive it doesn¡¯t matter. That guy should know how to use the card.¡± ¡°I understand, I will.¡± My father nodded and headed towards the washroom. If I say say myself, the bacon wrapped asparagus was cooked perfectly, it was also seasoned well. I¡¯ll let it cool for a little and then pack it in the bento. I put the miso soup pot on the stove and took out the fish from the refrigerator. I washed the frying pan, wiped it dry then turned on the fire again. I guess it¡¯ll be done by the time my father comes back. I removed the wrapped salad bowl from the chilled compartment of the refrigerator. My shiso flavored dressing is popular, both my father and brother love it. ¡°Even so¡­¡± My older brother, is a papa, right? I can not picture it at all. ¡°Will it be alright?¡± I raised my head and looked towards the second floor. Although I say that, I could only see the ceiling of the kitchen. It was a quiet morning, a quiet second floor. There were people I didn¡¯t know, and a brother different than usual, but it didn¡¯t feel that way to me. Chapter 17 - The Twin Dragons Cry at Night (1) ¡°¡­fuu, fuu¡± I abruptly sat up. ¡°Fuaaaah!! Fuyaaahh!!¡± Jaja has cried four times in 45 minutes. ¡°Ueeh¡­uaaaaaah!!¡± Nana who was surprised by the sound also started crying for her third time. ¡°Hey Jaja, there¡¯s nothing to be afraid of. What¡¯s wrong, did you see a scary dream?¡± I knocked away my vacant thoughts and picked Jaja up by her armpits. I embraced her and rhythmically patted her back to soothe her. ¡°¡­ Is it Jaja this time?¡± Aoi ruffled her hair and sat straight up. She vigorously took off her clothes and reached her hands out towards me. ¡°Like I said, please be more considerate of me.¡± I reflexively turned away. ¡°S-sorry¡­guu¡± She took Jaja from me and brought her up to her breasts. I¡¯m counting on you, I understand that you want to sleep, but do your best. Jaja stopped crying and was immersed in sucking her breasts. ¡°Nana? Did you get surprised? Everything¡¯s okay, let¡¯s go beddy-bye?¡± This time I held up Nana in my arms. This one closes her eyes and stops crying the instant I pick her up. I am thankful. ¡°Do all babies cry like this¡­?¡± Pull yourself together, it¡¯s still the first day. ¡°Babies crying at night is terrible and not being able to sleep are conversations that I often hear¡­ though it¡¯s beyond what I imagined¡­¡± Was the first time around 11pm? I was worn out and sound asleep on the dining room¡¯s sofa when Aoi shook me awake with teary eyes. ¡°T-they¡¯re not stopping?¡± It seems like she panicked when the twins started crying at the same time and came asking for my help. I immediately went up to the second floor. There was a horrible crying sound as I went up the stairs. The room door was open and the chummy twin sisters were kicking and struggling on top of the bed. I quickly held up Jaja. I checked her diaper, there was nothing there. ¡°I just changed the diapers and even fed them, but¡­¡± Aoi held Nana up. ¡°W-w-w-what¡¯s wrong?¡± Up we go. No reaction. ¡°Oh! It¡¯s good they¡¯re energetic!¡±. The door opened and my old man came in. ¡°F-father¡­ sorry for waking you.¡± Aoi grimaced with an apologetic expression. ¡°Nn, don¡¯t worry about it. They¡¯re crying as expected, huh.¡± Old man, I don¡¯t understand by myself, please help me. ¡°Here, let me try.¡± He held out his arms and I handed Jaja over. ¡°Look, it¡¯s every daygrandpa.¡± He delightfully received her, hugged her in his chest and patted her back. ¡°Since there¡¯s two of them, when one of them cries, the other will also be drawn in. You have to make them stop crying at the same time.¡± ¡°Y-yes¡± Aoi imitated the old man and also patted Nana¡¯s back. After a short while, the crying stopped and both of them closed their eyes and dozed off. ¡°They finally stopped crying¡­¡± I breathed out and sat on the bed. I didn¡¯t do anything, but I was tired. ¡°Because they¡¯re big for newborns, you have to make sure to hold them steady by their heads. Usually, it would take humans around half a year to get to that stage. Around that time is also when they start night crying.¡± The old man said that while he handed Jaja over to me. ¡°Night crying, huh. I¡¯ve heard of it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing special, it¡¯s something everyone has to go through. Though it¡¯s kinda harsh for you guys since they¡¯re louder and rampage more violently.¡± S-sorry. ¡°Do they only cry at night?¡± Aoi slowly sat on the bed while holding Nana. ¡°Nope, they cry at night, in the morning and at noon. Since babies at this stage can only eat, sleep and cry.¡± ¡°T-that can¡¯t be¡­¡± Well, it would be problematic if they didn¡¯t move around or make noise. ¡°Then, what should I do?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no choice but to endure it, patiently help your partner.¡± The amount of sleep I can get has decreased. ¡°It¡¯s impossible for Aoinoun-chan to endure the twin¡¯s crying by herself. You have to help her since you¡¯re the papa after all.¡± My old man laughed with a crooked smile. You have the nerve to enjoy yourself. ¡°For the time being, I¡¯ll try asking uncle rat to see if he has a way to deal with it since it¡¯s going to be difficult like this everyday.¡± ¡°Everyday? That would be different.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll cry hourly when it gets awful. This is the most painful time for a parent with a baby.¡± I-is this that? Is this a death sentence? ¡°Rather than a method to make them not cry, it¡¯s better to get the hang of stopping their crying. Since crying is the only way the baby can let you know that something happened.¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s right, isn¡¯t it.¡± ¡°Well, in my experience, it¡¯s frequent diaper changes and adequate amount of breastfeeding. The rest is sound.¡± Sound? Does he mean beat? Is an eighth-beat good? ¡°When human babies are inside of the womb, the mother¡¯s heartbeat acts as a lullaby. That¡¯s why when you hold them close to your heart, it gives them a sense of security. They stop crying when you hug them to your chest, while you slowly and gently pat their backs. What we just did, it¡¯s that kind of feeling.¡± I-I see. An experienced person¡¯s words have persuasive power. ¡°Well, do your best. If anything happens, I don¡¯t mind if you wake me up.¡± ¡°Oh, ah. Thank you.¡± He said that and left the room. That was about 2 hours ago, several times since then, Jaja has cried and then surprised Nana, then if Nana cries, Jaja won¡¯t lose and would raise her voice. I-I can¡¯t sleep. It¡¯s certainly impossible for Aoi alone. Before I knew it, I was lying on the same bed, with the twins between us, waiting. ¡°Such a small thing has such a terrible power¡­¡± ¡°Crying often is a sign of them being energetic and healthy, at least that¡¯s what I would like to think.¡± On the first day, we were groggy. That happened at noon, so I¡¯m tired. ¡°It would have been better if we asked the rat Alba more things. I want to know approximately when this night crying will stop.¡± Motivation will increase if you can see the goal. It seems that dragons live for a long time, it¡¯ll be tough for another 6 months, if this continues for 10 years, I¡¯ll collapse. That fluffy bastard, even though we came back in the same car, he said the forest is easier to live in or something and disappeared to the back of the house. ¡°For the time being, let¡¯s get as much sleep as possible.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± The four of us sunk into the bed at the same time. I gently tapped Nana¡¯s back while Aoi gently tapped Jaja¡¯s. Damn, the night sure is long¡­ Chapter 18 - The Twin Dragons Cry at Night (2) ¡°Good morning¡­¡± ¡°Good morning, are you okay?¡± I entered the dining room and greeted Shouhei. ¡°I¡¯m not okay¡­ what time is it?¡± I looked at the clock hanging on top of the television. It was already 10, huh. I probably wasn¡¯t even able to sleep for 4 hours. ¡°Your complexion is terrible, are you okay from what happened yesterday at lunch?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s fine.¡± Shouhei was sitting on the sofa watching gossip shows while eating cookies. Teacups and tea-cake baskets. Was this guy really in grade school? My little brother¡¯s housewife power is too high. ¡°What about the babies and the older sister?¡± ¡°They¡¯re eating right now, I haven¡¯t slept since about an hour ago.¡± Although they didn¡¯t wake up that incessantly, when it became morning, the two of them were playing with each other and energetically moving their limbs around. ¡°The babies are hard work, huh, I received a card to look after from father.¡± ¡°Card?¡± I¡¯m not interested in dueling with my dad at this age. I don¡¯t even know the rules. ¡°Credit card, he said to go buy what the baby needs and that it¡¯s fine even if it¡¯s expensive.¡± ¡°Ah, got it.¡± There¡¯s a lot of stuff that we need. ¡°Since Aoi seems to need to return to her nest later to pick up some luggage, we¡¯ll probably go after she comes back.¡± ¡°Will you be fine shopping with that hand?¡± Shouhei pointed at my right hand. My right hand was wrapped in a bandage and the doctor said it would take one whole month to heal. It still hurts quite a bit now and is difficult to move. ¡°It¡¯s okay if I hold it with my arm, but if you come with me, that would be a great help.¡± ¡°Well, I was originally free, so okay.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°You are welcome.¡± He really is my younger brother. (TN: MC said thanks in English and was responded to with English) I sat on the sofa and took a cookie from the tea-cake basket. Chocolate chip cookies are Shouhei¡¯s favorite. ¡°Is it okay if I go check out the forest behind us for a bit?¡± ¡°The forest behind us?¡± Shouhei tilted his head. ¡°That rat guy, I¡¯ll look for him and there¡¯s some stuff I want to ask. He said that he¡¯ll stay in this town for a while, but he just went into the forest and left. I don¡¯t know where his nest is, so if anything happens, it¡¯ll be troublesome.¡± Anyway, he seems to be a dragon doctor. I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯s the real deal or not. ¡°Well, that forest is quite deep, so be careful. Even if we can see it from the garden, it¡¯s awfully dark.¡± ¡°Got it, I will go for a bit after I wash my face, I think I¡¯ll be back by noon.¡± I don¡¯t want to get lost behind the house. ¡°All right.¡± Shouhei nodded while munching on the cookies. I stood up from the sofa and left the dining room. I stood at the sink, washed my face and looked in the mirror. My beard was still good, it grows slowly anyways. I brushed my teeth and rinsed my mouth. I thrust my head in the sink and was covered with water. My hair is stiff and I struggle to fix my bedhead every morning. Washing it with water was much quicker. I took a towel from the towel rack next to the sink. It resembled the arrangement of the previous house. I¡¯d like to be able to get something I often use without searching for it. I went upstairs while wiping my head and face. Past my dad¡¯s room, past a storeroom, passing by another 2 rooms, it was my room. In the interior of the second floor, there was another unoccupied room across of mine. There was nothing inside. I attempted to knock with my right hand, but saw the bandage and changed to my left hand. It seems I forgot about my injury, even though it was hurting. After knocking three times, I called out. ¡°Can I come in?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s okay.¡± I waited for a reply and opened the door. ¡°Are you done feeding?¡± Aoi sat on the bed and was playing with the twins. She was leaned over and looking at their faces, poking their cheeks with her fingertips while letting them grab her fingers. Even though she was not able to sleep like me, she was delightfully smiling. ¡°Yes, both of them were able to burp well. They don¡¯t seem to be sleepy right now.¡± ¡°I see.¡± She was replying but was absorbed in the twins. ¡°It¡¯s easy to tell that Jaja is delighted when papa comes, here please look.¡± Being told so, I also peered at the twin¡¯s faces. ¡°Ah, ah!¡± Jaja was swinging her hands around while smiling. C-cute. ¡°Nana is a quiet child, she doesn¡¯t laugh often but, but sometimes her face will get loose and smile.¡± I looked at Nana¡¯s face and she strangely looked at my face. ¡°Look Nana-chan, papa came~¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Aoi tickled her cheeks with her fingertips and Nana turned to face Aoi. ¡°Ehe¡± Did you recognize your mother¡¯s face, her mouth was half open and slowly changing its shape. It¡¯s true, her smile had a limp feeling. This is also cute. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m going to look for the rat for a bit because I want to ask about things like night crying, and I want to know where he¡¯s living.¡± While saying that, I took out a shirt, underwear, and jeans from the clothes case next to the bed. ¡°Uncle rat, right? I understand.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back by noon, then we¡¯ll go pick up your stuff.¡± I hung the change of clothes over my shoulder and looked at the bed again. As usual, Aoi was absorbed in the twins. ¡°Yes.¡± Were you really listening? I left the room while amazed. Chapter 19 - The Modest Girl is Repenting Being enveloped with a pleasant atmosphere, this city where I live is bustling with people for the coming of spring. And yet, my mood has been getting worse since February. ¡°The movie, was it not fun, Yuuno?¡± Ichika-chan stuck her head out in front of me. ¡°Eh? No? It was fun!¡± That¡¯s the truth. It¡¯s been a year since it¡¯s been announced, a Hollywood movie that I¡¯ve been looking forward to. It was a big production fantasy movie with action and romance. The special effects were as expected of Hollywood, and the 4D experience was also satisfactory. As expected,¡ºThat¡»world is brimming with incredible things. Usually, while returning, I would buy a pamphlet, and go with Ichika-chan to some store, get excited like proper movie fans and talk about which parts were amazing and which parts were moving, but¡­ I can¡¯t in any way get excited. I remember properly watching the movie, since I have a good memory. I mean, that¡¯s my only redeeming feature. I¡¯m a typical humanity type and weak with numbers. Only my Japanese, English and social study grades are outstanding, and I¡¯m weak at every other subject. Mathematics especially is a struggle every time, my head spins when I hear about equations or solving for an unknown. I¡¯m not good with exercise, I also don¡¯t have any stamina. Because I¡¯m shy and anxious of strangers, I also don¡¯t have many friends. ¡°Have you not recovered yet? You really have a one track mind, huh.¡± Ichika-chan, from the short hair calico cat tribe, grinned, and shook her ears. Ears of the cat tribe people are attached at the same place as human ears. Because it shakes with a very charming gesture, sometimes you unconsciously stroke them, there are times when she gets angry. A short-cut really suits her, lively and bright, my close friend. ¡°The new school term has already begun, we¡¯re second years now, you know? We have kouhai¡¯s and Yuuno somehow will be popular, so forget about that hooligan. Be fashionable and become cute!¡± I felt a bit angry. ¡°K-Kazamachi-kun is not a hooligan.¡± I don¡¯t like people bad mouthing people I like. ¡°He¡¯s just someone that has a strong sense of justice and doesn¡¯t talk much. Since middle school, Kazamachi-kun has never voluntarily picked a fight with anyone.¡± ¡°The problem is the countless number of times he¡¯s exerted his sense of justice¡­¡± With a defeated face, Ichika-chan sighed. ¡°And so, even though you¡¯ve liked him since the first year of middle school, not even mentioning a confession, you can¡¯t even have a conversation with him. Moreover, he suddenly moved to the neighboring prefecture. Yep. That guy has problems with his judgment, but Yuuno also has no courage.¡± Uu, she struck the bull¡¯s eye. After all, Kazamachi-kun, slept most of the time except during class, we¡¯ve never been in the same class, his home was in the other direction of mine, and since his younger brother, Shouhei-kun was waiting so he always went back home immediately¡­ I had many excuses for my nonexistent courage. But they were all problems on my part. ¡°When you got into the same school, you were unusually jumping with joy, even though you haven¡¯t even talked to him three times, but you know of his family structure and lifestyle like a stalker. When you heard about him transferring, you were absent from school crying for three days, what a strange place to hesitate¡­¡± Truly a long friendship, we¡¯ve been together since elementary school. I don¡¯t hesitate to follow my heart. ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­¡± It is a part of myself that I hate, I wanted to do something. But, everything was too late. ¡°I-I¡¯m reflecting¡­¡± From the bottom of my heart. ¡°Well Yuuno, if you remove those bulky glasses, and untie that old-fashioned braid, you¡¯ll be extremely cute and catch an Ikemen! Then you can introduce some Ikemen to me! ¡°It¡¯s e-embarrassing and I¡¯m not cute, so¡­¡± Even though Ichika-chan is cute, she doesn¡¯t have a boyfriend. But, unlike me, she has many female and male friends. Since we hang out with just the two of us on days off, I kind of feel like I¡¯m monopolizing Ichika-chan, I¡¯m a bit happy. ¡°Oh no! It¡¯s useless! Today listen to what I say, be cute enough for yourself!¡± ¡°Eh! You said we were going to a shopping mall¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, for the sake of remodeling Yuuno plan!¡± I have not heard about it! When Ichika-chan behaves recklessly, I¡¯m usually the one that suffers. Even when I was invited to the pool last summer, she hid my swimsuit and switched it with a bikini and forcibly dragged me to the poolside. It¡¯s dangerous. If this devilish cat with a reputation of being pushy got serious, I can¡¯t stop her. ¡°I-Ichika-chan! Aren¡¯t you thirsty! I¡¯ll treat you!¡± ¡°This water bottle is enough! C¡¯mon, the bus came!¡± She grabbed my hand and pulled me to the bus stop. ¡°You¡¯ll become cute, then around the time when Kazamachi-kun becomes trivial, you¡¯ll be able to catch a good man! Then you can introduce some Ikemen to me!¡± ¡°N-no! Ichika-chan stop! Calm down!¡± Dear, Kazamachi Kunpei-sama. Are you well? As for me, Mikuma Yuuno, I¡¯m welcoming a life-threatening crisis by my best friend for many years, Saeki Ichika?Nyati¡¯s hand. I don¡¯t have much time remaining, but I pray for your unchanging health and happiness from a faraway place. Chapter 20 - The Official Circumstances that will Shake the World (1) TN/ED: Happy Holidays! Enjoy the chapter! ¡°Kazamachi-kun! Perfect timing!¡± A woman wearing a racing jacket and a full face helmet stopped me. A showy body line stood out, I could not see the face, but it was kind of sexy. It was when I went on the road to bypass the fence to enter the forest behind the house. A large crimson sports-type motorcycle with an explosive sound that pierced through the body stopped in front of me. ¡°Hm?¡± I just moved to this town, so I don¡¯t have any acquaintances that would call out to me. At the previous town, stupid people trying to get a part of my infamous reputation would call me out. ¡°Oh, sorry. It¡¯s me.¡± The woman took off the helmet while straddling the bike. ¡°Ah, hello.¡± I did not immediately recognize her because she was not wearing her uniform or her hat, but I remember that shoulder length golden hair and those large dog ears that hang from the side of her face. ¡°Officer Doggy, are you on break today?¡± It was the police officer from the golden retriever tribe. Officer Doggy?Maggie. ¡°Yes, I just left the station a while ago and am off duty.¡± Police officers have long working hours, she¡¯s been working since yesterday, huh? ¡°Thanks for your work.¡± ¡°Hehe, thanks.¡± Officer Doggy smiled with her long eyelashes and laughed. What a beautiful person. She hung the helmet on the handle, turned off the motorcycle engine, and kicked up the stand. That series of actions is too cool. I wonder if I should also get a motorcycle license. ¡°I was planning on letting Inoue contact you this evening, but it¡¯s better to finish this earlier. It was a coincidence, but it was great that I met you. You checked out the neighborhood yesterday, right?¡± Heh, we¡¯re neighbors? ¡°Did you need me for something?¡± In response to my question, Officer Doggy put on an awkward expression. ¡°A bit. It won¡¯t be long, can I have a little time?¡± ¡°Well, just a bit is okay.¡± Officer Doggy got off her bike and shook her head around to free her long hair that was coiled around in the helmet. It was like a shampoo commercial, her hair glistened under the sunlight. ¡°It¡¯s about the three kidnappers yesterday¡­¡± Gasaraio, the bird tribe from the south, and the sloth? ¡°¡­ they were arrested, but I couldn¡¯t charge them with anything significant.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Wait, but those guys are child kidnappers. I¡¯m bothered, they should have been sentenced 10 years at the minimum. ¡°Why?¡± I inadvertently frowned. I am not good at concealing my emotions. ¡°I really do feel sorry. There¡¯s a variety of reasons, but the main reason is¡­¡± Officer Doggy looked at my house. Because it was a large house, she had to look up. The sun made her squint her eyes, then she looked back at me. That expression was very grim. ¡°¡­about the matters of Dragoline-san being a dragon.¡± ¡°Haaa!?¡± Wait a moment! ¡°What are you saying! She was the victim from the start to the end!?¡± Although I was not that shaken up, even though I got injured for the children, how is it logical for a kidnapper to not be judged because Aoi is a dragon! ¡°Calm down, please, afterwards I¡¯ll apologize as much as you like. Now, I want you to listen to my story, because it concerns the safety of her and her babies.¡± ¡°¡­. okay, will you give me a second?¡± I forcibly adjusted my rough breathing. ¡°Yes, I promise I will not make it bad if you listen carefully.¡± I closed my eyes and relaxed. I took a deep breath. Let¡¯s do this calmly. Calmly. ¡°¡­ please.¡± After repeatedly taking several deep breaths, I finally calmed down. I prompted Officer Doggy to continue the story I interrupted. ¡°Thank you, the problem is that a dragon is a legendary existence. I told you about the dragon bloodstone, a jewel that can only be obtained at a dragon nest.¡± ¡°Yes, when the egg doesn¡¯t hatch, it gets dyed red and becomes that, right.¡± ¡°That stone is worth at least a few hundred million yen in perfect condition.¡± A few hundred million yen! What! ¡°Rare items related to dragons are traded at a higher price if it¡¯s a legendary or rumor level object. They are a reclusive tribe and since dragons with powers that exceeds human knowledge seldom approach, it¡¯s only known to a small portion of humans.¡± So, the ones who stole the egg too. ¡°For example, it¡¯s said that you would gain unparalleled power and longevity if you ate a dragon¡¯s egg. Of course, the only people that have gotten their hands on a dragon¡¯s egg have been written about in books and such. It¡¯s dubious whether there was an actual person or it was just urban legend level gossip. ¡± Eat¡­ Jaja or Nana? What is that¡­! How could you do something like that! ¡°Rather than this town, it¡¯s something that concerns the city, or prefectures administration. No, it¡¯s not even an exaggeration to say that it¡¯s a state level secret.¡± Country? Japan? Officer Doggy looked at me with sorrowful eyes. Being overpowered by her expression, I gulped. ¡°What do you think would happen if it was exposed that such a small town actually bears such a valuable existence?¡± It was a topic that was enough to cool down me that was getting heated again. Chapter 21 - The Official Circumstances that will Shake the World (2) TN: Happy New Years! Enjoy the chapter. ¡°¡­ So, can you not recognize the existence of a dragon that created a treasure of such immense value¡± I wonder why I¡¯m so helpless. Random thoughts started swirling around my head, and I felt nauseous with these thoughts. Officer Doggy looked at me with an ambiguous gaze that could be either sympathetic or sorrowful. ¡°As for me and the chief, we don¡¯t think so. This is a real story, but I don¡¯t think you can believe it.¡± In this small rural town, those people who kept watch for the existence of the dragon are moving out in full force. I see, that¡¯s what we as civilians, can not deal with. However¡­ ¡°To be honest, only the chief, officer Inoue, and the four police officers who came to help and I know the specific details regarding yesterday¡¯s incident. Dragoline-san hasn¡¯t been exposed to the prefectural police, mayor and governor yet. ¡± Why? ¡°Because Dragoline-san will be used.¡± ¡°Used?¡± Her? ¡°That¡¯s right, take this town for example, there are not enough tourist attractions even with Tusk Crag and the hot-spring district nearby, so if the existence of a dragon comes to light, even those greedy human beings will spend money and become precious tourists. As for this country, an organism that produces resources worth hundreds of millions of yen, and a long-lived tribe, if they caught it, they would have inexhaustible finances. It wouldn¡¯t be strange for them to think like that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s!!¡± I raised my voice without thinking. What is this, I definitely can¡¯t put up with it. A mere day. That¡¯s the extent of our relationship. It was very short. Even so, the eyes Aoi looked at Jaja with was very gentle. That finger that touched Nana was very gentle. ¡°But they can¡¯t go anywhere ¡­!¡± ¡°¡­ Kazamachi-kun¡± I didn¡¯t notice, but I was crying. It¡¯s been too long, I¡¯ve forgotten the sensation of tears. Even though I decided not to cry since my mother¡¯s funeral. ¡°They cry during the night, Jaja and Nana. Aoi named them! Jaja cries frequently! She cries with a louder voice than her younger sister! Nana is a quiet child, but she still gets surprised and hungry, and she calls Aoi properly! Even though she only laughs once in a while, her laugh is extremely cute! Jaja¡¯s laugh is just as cute! Aoi looks so happy when she sees them! She¡­ they ¡­ ¡± Things like not being allowed to live normally, that¡¯s¡­ Because I will surely have to look at what I can not prevent. That one day was a rich day, just in a mere day¡­ I saw from the sidelines, them doing their best to live. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why the dragons had to live in hiding.¡± A voice came from on top of my head. ¡°42 years ago, when the two worlds collided, numerous people died, countless lives vanished in a blink of an eye, both humans and beastmen, demons and flora and fauna, as well as spirits and fairies.¡± ¡°A-alba-sama¡± Officer Doggy looked up at the top of my head. ¡°Two worlds, with various different tribes, different cultures, even if the only thing you shared was common sense and the value of life, you guys have been able to mingle together up to this point in a short period of 40 years, it can be called nothing short of a miracle. But that miracle is working to get rid of the dragons. ¡± Before I realized, Alba Germain was there. ¡°Too strong of a power became scary. Too long of a life garnered jealousy. Too high of a value created conflict. Do I hate them? Do I fear them? they can¡¯t help but fear and hate the illness that is our greed, what do you guys think? ¡± Alba Germain continued to speak. ¡°But they don¡¯t think so, they are not hateful and not afraid, the dragons are kind, they are gentle. The strength of their maternal sense is also evidence. They believe that people are going crazy because they are nearby. I was not able to think up of another reply, that¡¯s why I became a doctor. I made a promise to the progenitor dragon to confront the disease of the greed of the multiple tribes that threaten them.¡± ¡°But, then, they¡­¡± He was on top of my head, so I could not see his figure. But Alba Germain was probably smiling. Talking pleasantly while getting on my nerves by reacting exaggeratedly. ¡°Oh my, the father of the twins, you¡¯re very awkward, it¡¯s kind of painful to look at, that gentle awkwardness.¡± My head was repeatedly poked with a staff. It did not hurt, but it strangely resonates with my head. ¡°That kind awkwardness is history¡¯s first dragon father, I am glad.¡± The last place that was poked was somehow very ticklish. Chapter 22 - The Official Circumstances that will Shake the World (3) I do not agree at all. But, it¡¯s no use if I don¡¯t listen. ¡°So, can they not live in this town?¡± Yes, that was the most important thing. I wiped my tears and looked at officer Doggy. ¡°No way I¡¯d drive them out!¡± ¡°But, if it was known that there¡¯s a dragon¡­¡± Even lives may be endangered. Officer Doggy shook her head in a panic. If you look closely, there was a dog tail on her butt and was standing straight up. ¡°Listen to me until the end! Okay? The chief has decided to thoroughly cover up this incident! This is something that a police organization should never do, but if you factor in the safety of those girls as well, it is just a trivial matter. So, it has been decided that officer Inoue, the four others and I will aid you guys with your daily life! ¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Huh? ¡°Even those kidnappers were arrested on another matter! In violation of the ¡®Special Magic Equipment and Swords and Firearm Control Law¡¯ is the most likely charge!¡± Ah, the bazooka and the knife¡­ ¡°It¡¯s troublesome because they have national qualifications acknowledged by the Western Japan Treasure Hunter Association, ¡®Intentional unauthorized use of special equipment or special effect equipment outside the requested area¡¯ is not a criminal record ordinance! If it was said that their lives were in danger, the only punishment imposed is a one month light detention, a fine, and being prohibited from using dungeons for half a year, even yesterday the association¡¯s big shots and the chief got into a big quarrel! We just had that warrant issued to the court earlier, we¡¯re still fighting! W-why has it suddenly become really difficult to understand? ¡°Western Japan Treas¡­. what?¡± ¡°Western Japan Treasure Hunter Association! When using a dungeon in the area below the Kanto area, you need this association¡¯s acknowledgment and license of when you transport or use weapons and magic tools to protect yourself. Before the worlds collided, a Treasure Hunter was a synonym for an outlaw, but now that there are multiple races coexisting in Japan, they¡¯re now called that as an exemplar to prepare for legislative, so that there are rules for dungeon exploration as well.¡± Aren¡¯t dungeons the places where unimaginable treasures lie dormant. Did it really become something so complicated? ¡°So, we decided to keep them safe by patrolling regularly and with consultations. Are you relieved? ¡± I-it¡¯s not the time to be relieved. My body lost all its strength. ¡°But, won¡¯t they be exposed if Aoi was seen?¡± The horns, the wings, and the tail! You can not hide that! ¡°This Alba Germain will teach the incompetent you, anything you don¡¯t know! Actually, there are numerous races that have horns, tails, and wings! Do you know of demons?¡± Well, I know the name. ¡°It seems like you don¡¯t.¡± Like I said, I know the name! ¡°To the south, it migrated to the west of the Australian continent you know well, its name is the sphere continent! Magical tribes who prefer dark places that inhabit this huge continent covered completely with earth! Those are the demons!¡± The sphere continent was taught in class! It was a strange continent that was almost a perfect circle that was 1.5 times larger than the Australian continent. ¡°And in this Japan country, there are quite a few demons who come here through the exchange student system. Although there¡¯s not a lot of designated schools in the country, it¡¯s perfect, since there¡¯s one such school in this town. So, if they introduce themselves as demons, no one will not notice that they are dragons! ¡± T-that¡¯s! ¡°You saved us. ¡°Yes, we were saved.¡± ¡°We were saved!¡± You were saved! Jaja! Nana! Aoi! ¡°Aha! Ahahahahaha!¡± ¡°Ufufufufu!¡± ¡°Chichi! Chichichichichi!¡± The three of us shared our delight with resonant laughter. ¡°Welcome back. Did you learn about the night crying stuff?¡± Ah, I forgot. Chapter 23 - Shopping Rhapsody ¡°Introduce myself as a demon?¡± While eating soba made by Shouhei, Aoi tilted her head as to say, what the hell is this guy saying. ¡°Ah, yeah¡­¡± What were my tears for¡­ ¡°Nii-chan, try thinking about it calmly, onee-san has been living in this town long before we moved here, right? It would be a big problem if a dragon can¡¯t conceal themselves, right?¡± Shouhei looked at me with amazed eyes. ¡°¡­ that¡¯s right.¡± I was playing with Jaja and Nana on the sofa. I opened and closed my hands in front of their faces, and occasionally tickled their necks. With my simple actions, Jaja was cackling with laughter. Speaking of Nana, she was chasing my hands with an amazed gaze as usual, and would smile limply when I occasionally caressed her cheeks. ¡°Seeing you guys happy is the best¡­¡± Aaah, I¡¯m cured. ¡°It seems like Kunpei-san hasn¡¯t noticed, although it can¡¯t be done for the horns and tail, the wings can be put away.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I looked at Aoi who was sitting on a dining room chair. The big wings that were on her back yesterday, they weren¡¯t there. ¡°N-nii-chan, did you really not notice? Weren¡¯t you guys sleeping in the same room?¡± Ah, stop it. Shouhei please stop looking at me like you¡¯re looking at someone pathetic. At least let me make an excuse. ¡°Because various things happened, and I was tired?¡± I wonder if that¡¯s so? That is so. Even though we were sleeping on the same bed, I couldn¡¯t turn over and we were back to back since breastfeeding yesterday! ¡°You really aren¡¯t observant ¡­ it¡¯s at a level to worry about, Onii-chan¡± Mom, I¡¯m sorry for making my brother worry. ¡°¡­ more importantly! What time are we leaving! We have to go shopping!¡± That¡¯s right! It¡¯s for that reason that the old man gave this magic card to fight against the economy with, its name is none other than a credit card! Depending on how its used, it can also become a trap card! ¡°Shopping, is it?¡± ¡°Yeah, the old man told us to get whatever we need for the babies. Don¡¯t worry about the money. The financial minister of our house, Shouhei, properly took it into consideration.¡± ¡°I will never allow too much use.¡± I wonder how many elementary school students can budget their household account books. ¡°T-to an extent, there should still be some money that my mom left over, I will also pay.¡± You have money? Ah, now that you mention it, you did say that you had done the minimum amount of shopping necessary before. ¡°How much do you have?¡± Probing someone¡¯s finances is a violation of manners, but my relationship with Aoi is no longer one I have to be reserved with. It¡¯s better if I have a grasp. ¡°A-about 50,000 yen.¡± Rejected. ¡°It¡¯s impossible, that much is probably not enough. Please put it into your savings.¡± ¡°Auuuu¡± No matter how you put it, we can¡¯t make someone that only has 50,000 yen to buy expensive stuff. Aoi hung her head down with embarrassment. We¡¯re gonna have expenses one way or another from now on. It¡¯s better to put it into your savings. Let¡¯s obediently depend on my old man. Yep, delicious. ¡°I guess I should also try to earn some money somehow. Should I get a part-time job.¡± Although I¡¯m lacking self awareness, I was the one who took responsibility for those pipsqueaks. There¡¯s no way I can just sit back and not do anything. I thought about that, and Nana had bitten my fingers. She grasped my hand with both hands, held it in her mouth, and after some ticklish chewing, she sucked it. Unfortunately, that is my index finger. (I dont get it) Both Jaja and Nana¡¯s first baby teeth were growing in. A canine tooth that grows sharply in the upper row. Many things are different from human babies. ¡°Can Jaja and Nana put away their wings?¡± I wondered for a moment. ¡°Without getting used to it, you can¡¯t settle down unless its out. I left it as is until it got a little bigger.¡± ¡°Huh¡± Aoi¡¯s wings were larger than her body and were very wide horizontally, but their wings are so small that they could not be seen from the front. By the way, Jaja¡¯s straight black horns and Nana¡¯s curved white horns were small and soft, unlike their mother, Aoi¡¯s horns. When caressing Jaja¡¯s horn, she squirmed her body like it was ticklish. What about the tail? It was about as thick as my arm, this was also quite different from the Aoi¡¯s tail. Aoi¡¯s tail was long enough to reach the ground, but theirs were even shorter than their legs. It grew out a little above the butt and below the backbone, so they have to use diapers made for beastmen. Moreover, the size of the hole for the tail is extra large. I just learned for the first time when I bought it yesterday, but there are many types of diapers. Humans use S to LL size, same as beastman. But in addition, they also had types and sizes for holes for tails. For mermaids, it¡¯s doubtful whether it can even be called a diaper anymore. It is full of things I do not know. In the baby section of the pharmacy, I was surprised to see toilet sand for beastman infants. ¡°For the time being, I¡¯ll go back to my nest and pick up my stuff, there¡¯s not a lot so I¡¯ll take around thirty minutes. Can you watch over Jaja and Nana?¡± ¡°Got it, you don¡¯t have to be that rushed, I haven¡¯t eaten yet.¡± ¡°I want to come back soon. It¡¯s difficult to part from my children.¡± U-n. Is this the strong maternal instinct that Alba Germain was talking about? ¡°I got it, be careful and go.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± On the second day, I witnessed parental love. Are you thinking as expected of mama? Pipsqueaks. Chapter 24 - Shopping Rhapsody (2) ¡°Diapers and a change of clothes¡­ what do you think? Should I let them wear the stuff we bought? No, I don¡¯t want them to get dirty before we go shopping. Should I bring clothes? What do you think?¡± ¡°Onii-chan is acting strange.¡± No, I¡¯m just asking for your opinion. It¡¯s about the contents of the bag? ¡°What are you saying, I¡¯m always strange.¡± I am confident. While Aoi returned to her nest to pick up her baggage, I was preparing for us to go out. I pulled out a rucksack that we do not normally use and got what I needed. I was hesitating whether I should bring clothes that Shouhei used to wear when he was a baby. Hmm. The stuff might get covered with mud when we come home. Should I limit the things we are bringing to a minimum? I tried to move smoothly and quietly so as to not wake up Jaja and Nana who were peacefully sleeping after the breastfeeding at lunch. The futon was laid out in the dining room where the sun was hitting, they were breathing like it felt very good and their posture was very cute. I would be thankful if they could wake up around the time when Aoi gets home. ¡°How can you move so quickly for someone who¡¯s delayed in preparing for school?¡± I wonder if I should go to buy those. Ah, things like pacifiers are necessary after all. Let¡¯s write that down. ¡°That, when did you start using a memo?¡± ¡°Hey, can you stop with that earnest worried face? Your brother is terribly hurt.¡± Is this what it means to be vexing? Shouhei had a pale expression, it didn¡¯t feel like he was kidding or acting. ¡°It¡¯s still fine because we¡¯re family, but if a stranger saw, it would seem like you¡¯re planning to commit a crime.¡± Can you not give critical damage to your brother so accurately. ¡°A large suspicious person that¡¯s grinning while happily stuffing something into a bag¡­ It¡¯s at a level where the PTA needs to be mobilized if this was a school route. ¡°Please stop it.¡± What on earth did I do! It is a false accusation! False accusation! ¡°¡­ it¡¯s like you¡¯re a perfect papa, incredible. ¡°What are you saying, it hasn¡¯t even been a day yet, I can¡¯t become a father so quickly.¡± I¡¯m not that much of a skillful man. The rat also exposed my awkwardness. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a good thing for Jaja and Nana, so I¡¯m not complaining.¡± Saying that, Shouhei headed to the kitchen. It¡¯s like he had a dissatisfied expression when he was saying that. ¡°What¡¯s up with him¡­¡± I don¡¯t understand. You can generally sense what¡¯s going with Shouhei just by looking at his face. But right now I couldn¡¯t read his mind at all. Should I try talking it over with him tonight? I zipped up the fastener of the rucksack and carried it to the entrance. ¡°I just got back, was Jaja and Nana okay?¡± ¡°Oh, you were quick, welcome back.¡± The door slowly opened and Aoi folded her wings and came in. Aoi¡¯s nest was at the peak of an inverted triangular monolith called Tusk Crag, which was a large boulder in the forest at the back. Although you could see it from here, but since Aoi can fly in the sky, she took such a short time for a distance that looked like it would take an hour if walking. She also spread out her large wings when I saw her off, it looks like it was pleasant to dance in the sky. It seems like you don¡¯t have to be in dragon form to fly. ¡°Ah, they¡¯re still sleeping. What, you really only had that less stuff?¡± Aoi was carrying two medium size suitcases in her hands. She was carrying the backpack that I gave her on the front side since she had wings on the back. ¡°Yes, since I originally didn¡¯t have much and the big items like the bed and dresses couldn¡¯t be carried, since it will be a hindrance.¡± Aoi dropped the luggage one by one by the entrance. ¡°I¡¯ll carry it to the room, so take a rest, since you didn¡¯t get much sleep.¡± I took the bag she dropped and carried it on my back. I¡¯ll carry the suitcases one by one since I couldn¡¯t use my right arm. ¡°N-no! I¡¯ll carry it, Kunpei-san! Please wait!¡± I told you yesterday that you should not hold back. It appears that she wore it from the nest, Aoi was becoming flustered while taking off some shoes that were not easily taken off. I ignored that voice and went up the stairs, I placed the luggage in the room and Aoi climbed the stairs while holding the suitcase that was left behind. ¡°Please don¡¯t ignore me.¡± Mother would say that much is fine. The source is my mother. My father was always being made to do errands. ¡°C¡¯mon, take a break until the kids wake up, since the preparations to leave are already done.¡± ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t really want to agree, but I¡¯ll take you up on your offer¡­ I¡¯m going to change my clothes.¡± Come to think of it, you¡¯ve been wearing my clothes all this time. Black hooded parka and jeans. I don¡¯t have confidence in my fashion sense, so I hide it with black, the majority of my clothes are black. ¡°Hup¡± ¡°Hey! You!¡± There was someone who suddenly took off their clothes! I hurriedly left the room. ¡°I already told you that you should be mindful about those kind of stuff!¡± I closed the door to the room and shouted. ¡°Well, it¡¯s because you weren¡¯t paying attention earlier.¡± ¡°Do you know what TPO is!?¡± Japanese is difficult! ¡°Anyways, you¡¯ve already practically seen me completely naked, if it¡¯s Kunpei-san, it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Is that a good justification!¡± What is this fellow¡¯s trust for me. If I think about it, it felt like this from the beginning. I went down the stairs while pressing my left hand down on the sound of my violently beating heart. When I entered the dining room, Jaja and Nana were still sleeping and Shouhei was there using a tablet. ¡°Onii-chan, did you decide where to go?¡± Ah, that reminds me. ¡°I haven¡¯t looked it up yet. I plan on taking a taxi, so it¡¯s okay even if it¡¯s further away.¡± I don¡¯t know the shops around this area, so I¡¯d like to decide the destination before leaving. ¡°Then¡­¡± Shouhei turned the screen of the tablet towards me. ¡°How about this place? It¡¯s not close, but it¡¯s a shopping mall built last year. It¡¯s a place closer to where we used to live.¡± There was a fancy site entitled the 1 year anniversary sale. Chapter 25 - Shopping Rhapsody (3) ¡°How big¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s amazing, eh.¡± ¡°U-um, it¡¯s been a long time since I left the town, so could you stay by my side?¡± ¡°Auuu¡± ¡°Uwaaa¡± The five of us came to a large-scale shopping mall in the suburbs. Its size was impressive. Its private parking lot was also spacious, and they had a multi-storey parking lot. It¡¯s probably because most of the people come by car. I don¡¯t know the reason for being in the suburbs, but perhaps it was for this lot. I can understand how difficult it must be to obtain land in densely populated areas. The taxi driver was a terribly generous Tiger tribe uncle, since I was bringing babies, for some reason he cut the meter off at a place where we could see the mall, and then also dropped us off at the front entrance. It feels like that all the people I¡¯m meeting recently are all kind. I guess the place where I lived was actually a slum town. ¡°Wow, isn¡¯t that big Nana. It¡¯s also mama¡¯s first time coming to a place like this. Nana and Jaja are fortunate to be able to come at such a young age.¡± Aoi was holding Nana, and both of them were captivated and looking up at the building. Nana was as usual and staring blankly and comparing the building with Aoi. I was holding on to Jaja. We were in high spirits since the taxi and were laughing and smiling a lot. ¡°Aoi, don¡¯t look around too much and become a lost child!¡± ¡°I-I know, but since there might be stuff I don¡¯t know, so please stay by my side, okay?¡± Her face was dyed red and laughed like she was embarrassed. ¡°You guys, Jaja and Nana will get tired, so let¡¯s hurry and go.¡± Shouhei pulled mine and Aoi¡¯s sleeves. Aoi was wearing a fluffy white sweater. She seemed to be wearing sneakers that was used for walking. Her favorite seems to be a cute pink high heel, but ¡°I¡¯m afraid of falling if I wore high heeled shoes, so I¡¯ll pass on that when holding Jaja and Nana.¡± so she said as she was tying her shoelaces with a serious look at the entrance. ¡°There is a specialty shop for baby goods on the website¡¯s map, so most of the stuff we need will be there, right?¡± While using a smartphone, Shouhei searched the interior. Even so, it¡¯s huge. It was a wide building that had one floor underground, and five floors above ground. ¡°Central¡± was also written on top of the front entrance automatic doors with a stylish font. ¡°Hey, there seems to be multiple buildings, but which one is that shop in?¡± ¡°Um, let me see, there are four buildings including the central building ¡­ the second floor of the D building, this is where we are now¡­. it¡¯s over there.¡± He looked at the smartphone with a serious expression, raised his face and pointed. There are four buildings of this size¡­ ¡°I-it feels like it¡¯s too over the top and I don¡¯t understand it.¡± As I said that, Aoi grinned. Was she actually looking forward to something? Shouhei lead the way and we started walking. We exited a stylish wooden passageway heading toward the D building, there were multi-colored flower arches that we went under. ¡°Oh, oh!¡± ¡°What is it Jaja, do you like flowers?¡± Her arms were reached out and trying to grasp the arches. However, it¡¯s unfortunate. The place where you are reaching to is a place even I can¡¯t get to. ¡°Waah, how cute ¡­¡± Aoi was absentmindedly looking at Jaja. ¡°Look, Nana too, it¡¯s flowers!¡± ¡°Ah©`¡± Although she responded to Aoi¡¯s call, Nana was unconcerned and started play biting Aoi¡¯s neck. ¡°Uhyaaa!¡± Woah, I was startled. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t make weird sounds.¡± Was it ticklish, Aoi couldn¡¯t endure and raised her sweet voice. ¡°Nana? Mama¡¯s boobs are not over there? Although it certainly is not big, so it may seem that everywhere is the same¡­¡± Why are you depressed? ¡°I¡¯m worried!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that by yourself?¡± It¡¯s self suicide to say stuff like that. ¡°¡­ Hey.¡± Shouhei was looking at us with cold eyes. What a frightening serious expression. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯m seeing that face. I am honesty scared. ¡°I understand that you guys are intimate, but please don¡¯t do such embarrassing things.¡± ¡°S-sorry.¡± Aoi was overpowered by that Shouhei, and she couldn¡¯t endure it and apologized. ¡°Sure it was a weird thing to blurt out, but it wasn¡¯t particularly bad, right? Haven¡¯t you been acting kind of weird since today morning?¡± ¡°Not really, I¡¯m normal.¡± Shouhei turned away and started walking. Is this the so called rebellious phase¡­ The thing that the Kazamachi family feared the most finally happened! ¡°¡­ the weird one is nii-chan.¡± ¡°Nn? What?¡¯ His voice was too quiet to hear. ¡°Nothing, aren¡¯t we almost there?¡± ¡°A-ah.¡± He¡¯s speaking with an awfully flat tone. As Shouhei said, we were able to see building D soon after. Chapter 26 - Shopping Rhapsody (4) A lot of shops targeting female customers were lined up side by side in the D building. There were more than tens of stores that sold various clothes, cosmetics and accessories etc. There was also a nail salon, a beauty salon, and even a sweet shop inside the stylish cafe. One of them was a baby goods specialty store. I imagined that store to have a bright interior oriented towards toddlers, decorated with POP typeface and have a sickly-sweet atmosphere. However, expectation always easily surpasses reality. The store was sparkling. From luxury baby brands, to surprisingly, baby goods of brands that everyone knows. Besides maternity goods, there was even underwear with ¡°Even pregnant women want to shine¡± inscribed on it. Hey, do you not feel ashamed with that type of underwear? Let me say this, I¡¯ll never come in by myself. Even entering through the front was quite nerve-wracking. If you ever get lost because of some mistake, you¡¯ll incur the concentrated fire of all the customer¡¯s beams. You¡¯ll be killed by an uncomfortable feeling!! Men were a rare existence in this entire D building. In other words, it was a woman¡¯s barrier. It instigated the shame of all men, rejecting to face sensitivity face on. Of course, there seemed to be a lot of customers who were couples in the surrounding area. Or rather, way too many. Most of the duos were male and female pairs, and sometimes families with children could be seen. There was only one thing in common. Every male customer looked like they were enduring something. ¡°This, this is cute! It¡¯ll definitely suit Nana and Jaja! Hey, hey Kunpei-san, please look!¡± I picked up the tiny cloth small enough to mistake it for a handkerchief, and Aoi was in high spirits. Of course, it was not a handkerchief but an overall for infants and young children. There was Body All written on it in POP typeface. It had a cute rabbit print on it and a rabbit ear hood. I wouldn¡¯t get it if a rabbit tribe bought this. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s quite cheap, why not buy it?¡± ¡°No, there are definitely cuter things! Don¡¯t compromise on this.¡± Why did you ask if you were going to deny? ¡°Why don¡¯t we buy a stroller first? Since we have stuff when going back, we can¡¯t just keep carrying them.¡± We¡¯ve already been in this store for an hour. Aoi¡¯s tension has been continuously rising. But the only things that we decided to buy were accessories. A pacifier to bite on and a feeding bottle. A sterilization machine is under consideration. Nana and Jaja were already sleeping. Jaja was in my arm, and Nana was in Aoi¡¯s arm. They were both peacefully breathing during their sleep. They are sleeping quite well in this bustling crowd. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right¡± Aoi who returned to me surveyed the interior of the store. There was a stroller corner in the back of the store in a large space next to the checkout register. ¡°It¡¯s over there.¡± Are you also interested in the surrounding products? Aoi moved towards the corner while restlessly shifting her line of sight. Shouhei was sitting on the bench outside of the store and fiddling with his phone in a bad mood. It was steadily becoming worse. ¡°Oh! Are they twins! How cute!¡± A plump and gentle looking female employee of the fox tribe approached us. ¡°Eh? Ah, yes¡­¡± Aoi¡¯s body stiffened and she took a step towards me and hid behind me. Come to think of it, I was told that she didn¡¯t have much interaction with other tribes. Does she have a fear of strangers? ¡°Oh, they¡¯re sleeping, aren¡¯t they? I¡¯m sorry for raising my voice, are they your younger sisters?¡± This auntie somehow instantly created a perfect feeling of distance between us. Was she a relative? ¡°Ah, no¡± ¡°They¡¯re my daughters.¡± For a moment, unlike me who was wondering how to answer, Aoi bluntly declared it.¡± ¡°Ara, ara ara ara ara.¡± She looked at Jaja, Nana, and Aoi, then lastly fixed her gaze on me. Ah, it¡¯s that expression. ¡°This guy had the nerve to do that¡± face. ¡°What a young couple. Fufufufu. Recently kids that are half beastmen and human have been increasing, I¡¯m glad.¡± She smiled satisfactorily and averted her gaze from me. I want to refute it. I haven¡¯t even done it, I really want to refute it! ¡°Ah, we¡¯re looking for a stroller and want to use it soon.¡± I put up with it and asked the female fox employee. I can not refute it. It¡¯s too complicated. ¡°Certainly, it¡¯s over here but there are various different types.¡± I was brought to the stroller corner. Aoi walked with her eyes shining, bending her waist, searching high and low for items. ¡°Ah, there¡¯s one for twins, how cute.¡± ¡°You can let your children sleep while you¡¯re choosing.¡± There was a movable crib in the place where the auntie pointed. I will accept her offer. Actually, because my right hand could not be used at all, it was inconvenient when my left arm was occupied. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°No, no, I¡¯m an ally of all mothers, so it¡¯s natural. But, you¡¯re very put together even though you¡¯re so young.¡± Somehow it felt like she was going back and forth between an employee and a related auntie. There was no discomfort because of that, as expected of a professional. Aoi and I alternately put the kids in bed. I held onto the handle attached to the bed. ¡°So, have you thought about how you¡¯re going to use the strollers? As for twins, it¡¯ll be inconvenient on trains, but wider things will be more comfortable later on.¡± ¡°Is that so.¡± Aoi placed her hand on her chin and was brooding. ¡°For example, this is the type that can completely shelter from the rain.¡± ¡°Heee¡± She peered into the stroller with great interest. ¡°This was assembled with three bars and wheels, so it feels very light when using it.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That guy over there is very popular, it is made of precious metals from dungeons, so it¡¯s pretty strong, light and long lasting.¡± ¡°Ah, y-yes.¡± ¡°This uses a shape memory alloy and a three-point structure so it is a type that is very strong against shocks.¡± ¡°E-eh?¡± ¡°There are things that can be used from 1 years old up to about the age of five, and it is different whether it is a reclining seat or a flat seat. The type that can fit two people is more sturdy so they¡¯re the best. Although they are also heavier, papa seems to be a strong man, so I¡¯d like you to help by all means. It¡¯s inconvenient if it¡¯s just mama, but you can also use it for shopping because you can use it to hold your items as well. If you need to get up stairs and such, there is also a function to aid that. Collapsing it may become somewhat difficult, but I still think that it is better than lifting it up. Ah, Iwanaga-san, was this baby stroller here sold out earlier? Can you please help me confirm whether there¡¯s any inventory left? Ah, please excuse me¡­ please try using it. Although strollers can only be used for around 5 years, it¡¯s dangerous if you don¡¯t choose a good one. Stoppers are also very important. There are many incidents nationwide where the strollers have rolled away, so please be careful. It is better to match the model that can easily be stopped and the one that also matches the physique and height of mama. How about something like this? It has a brake on its handle and can decelerate in case of emergency. Since there are about 4 different colors, I have a color chart for that. Our shop is also doing orders, so it¡¯s better to show you a pamphlet. Ah, Tosaki-san, perfect timing. Can you please bring me the pamphlet and the color file from the counter? The customers are waiting, so please hurry.¡± ¡°K-kunpei-san¡­¡± Even if you ask me for help, I¡¯m troubled. Chapter 27 - Shopping Rhapsody (5) We managed to escape from the evil influence of the competent store clerk, we left the baby shop about two hours after that. ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± The kids were completely awake and on top of the baby stroller we just bought. I was resting against the handlebars. We somehow managed to buy a baby stroller with a good price and features. However, that store clerk was dangerous. When I came to my senses, before Aoi sent an order to get a high-end Italian made baby stroller, I stopped her in a hurry. What is a baby stroller with touch panel navigation? I for some reason shook the stroller. It seemed that the ceiling sliding was enjoyable, since Jaja was cackling with laughter. Nana was a bit uneasy, and was firmly holding onto the stroller. ¡°Should we grab something to eat? We didn¡¯t use as much money as I thought we would, and since we came all this way.¡± ¡°Okay, where should we go?¡± ¡°There¡¯s four restaurants in the first floor here, and there¡¯s many more in the central building.¡± Shouhei took out his smartphone from his pocket and looked at the interior map of the shopping mall. ¡°Ah, before that I need to go to the washroom. Nana also seems to have done it a while ago, so I¡¯ll also change her diaper.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± I lifted Nana up and touched her diaper to check. It was indeed damp. This expression was a facial expression that her butt feels disgusting and she hates it. ¡°Jaja seems to be enjoying herself so she¡¯s still fine. It seems like there¡¯s a baby room over there, so you can change the diaper there. I saw a mom go in with her baby a while ago.¡± She took Nana from me, and rubbed her soft cheeks against her own cheeks. Somehow, Nana¡¯s expression also relaxed like she was relieved. ¡°Got it, we¡¯ll be waiting here, so no rush.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Saying that, Aoi and Nana headed for the bathroom. ¡°Huh, there were baby rooms.¡± Shouhei was sitting on the bench and fiddling with his smartphone. It seems that he was feeling much better compared to earlier. ¡°We bought diapers, baby bottles and properly asked the store employee about baby formulas and bought some. Also, western clothes, towels, bibs¡­¡­ pacifiers, gauze, baby bottle sterilization machine¡­¡± I double checked the memo to make sure that we didn¡¯t forget to buy anything. ¡°As for the baby bed¡­ as expected from listening to the old man, the price was insane. I wonder if we should buy a toy or something?¡± ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± Huh? The color suddenly disappeared from Shouhei¡¯s face¡­? He continued fiddling with his smartphone with a blank expression. ¡°Hey, what are you getting angry for?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not angry.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you sulking?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± ¡°Not really you say, you¡¯re in a bad mood, right?¡± ¡°I said I wasn¡¯t.¡± Hmm. I also gradually felt more irritated. ¡°Hey, cheer up!¡± ¡°¡®I¡¯m telling you that I¡¯m not mad!!¡± He raised his voice. His face was bright red and he glared at me. Look, aren¡¯t you angry. Sometimes Shouhei takes such an attitude. Usually, he gets better over time. ¡°Got it, sorry. I¡¯ll go buy some drinks, what do you want?¡± ¡°¡­ Orange. Carbonated.¡± ¡°Okay. Please look after Jaja.¡± ¡°All right.¡± It¡¯s smart to let them vent once in a while. That way they gain self control. He should be cooled down by the time I get back. I moved the stroller in front of Shouhei, and aimed for the vending machine corner I saw when coming over. As usual there was a crowd of people, walking alone felt a little awkward. Couples, parents and children, and friends all came to shop, and majority were women. There were few male customers, and about half of them have lost the light from their eyes. Now I can understand their feelings. It¡¯s tiring to go shopping with women. It will depend on person to person, but unlike a man there is no compromise. There are few immediate impulse buys. Aoi was no exception, it took a long time for her to decide on 4 sets of night clothing. Their point of view when shopping is different from men. For me, the only thing I cared about was the size as long as I liked it, but for women, size is obviously important, but it feels like they place more importance on how it¡¯s seen¡­ Today was my first time to come shopping with a woman not including my mother. I arrived at the vending machine corner. I¡¯ll get a coffee. Tea is probably good for Aoi. Orange juice for Shouhei. He¡¯s not good with carbonation so he needs to choose carefully. ¡°Onii-chan! Hurry up!¡± ¡°Mom told you to stop running!¡± Children from the dog tribe came to the vending machine area. A girl who is swinging her tail a bit and moving her ears beside a boy who looked like her brother. ¡°I, I, want cola!¡± ¡°You say cola, but you always become unable to drink anymore halfway through. Well, fine, I¡¯ll get an apple juice, so we can switch after you can¡¯t drink anymore.¡± ¡°Ehehe.¡± Still a very younger sister and an older brother that had a few years on her. This was very calming to watch. The boy had an expression like he was saying it can¡¯t be helped, he slightly raised his heels to push on the buttons. The younger sister that was squatting and waiting for the cola with a delighted look took it after it came out. The older brother continued and pushed the button for apple juice. The younger sister was waiting for it, but it was difficult for her small hands to take it out with one hand. ¡°Careful.¡± The older brother helped her, and she was able to successfully hold onto the two drinks. ¡°Because we¡¯re going to sit down and drink it, so you can not open it yet, okay?¡± ¡°Un!¡± The younger sister that was in a good mood from the beginning to the end and her older brother who was watching her while seemingly nervous that she was going to drop the juice disappeared into the crowd of people. ¡°¡­ what good kids.¡± He was a solid older brother. It¡¯s strange, even though I¡¯m an older brother, I don¡¯t feel that solid. Shouhei and I also had a period of time where we were like that. Our mother died, so we could not behave like a spoiled child to our father who was working hard, so Shouhei was always clinging to me. Because he was still a kindergartener, so it couldn¡¯t be helped. The yellow towel that he always carried around. What happened to it? I started walking while holding onto the 3 drinks. Hmm? It¡¯s pretty noisy. I looked in front of me and the crowd was concentrated at one place. ¡°Did something happen over there¡­ isn¡¯t that were Shouhei and Jaja are!?¡± I started running instinctively. ¡°Sorry, sorry, please let me through!¡± I apologized while pushing myself through the crowd. ¡°Shouhei!¡± ¡°N-nii-chan!¡± Shouhei looked at me with a flustered expression. I was shedding tears in the outer corner of the eyes and I was able to understand immediately that I was confused. ¡°Calm down, what happened? What¡¯s with this crowd of people?¡± ¡°Jaja, Jaja was!¡± I looked to the stroller next to me. Jaja wasn¡¯t there. ¡°Where¡¯s Jaja?¡± Could it be a kidnapping again!? ¡°That¡¯s not it! I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry! If only I was watching her properly!¡± ¡°So, what happened! Calm down!¡± ¡°Jaja! Flew!!!¡± Shouhei pointed at the ceiling. Chapter 28 - Shopping Rhapsody (6) ¡°You¡¯re kidding!?¡± Jaja was flying at the direction that Shouhei pointed to. No, she was indeed floating there. ¡°What shall I do, nii-chan what should I do?¡± ¡°Why in such a place?¡± If you looked closely, she was slowly moving away from us. ¡°F-for the time being, I¡¯ll follow Jaja, so you wait here until Aoi returns!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± I threw the juice cans under the stroller where our stuff was and started running. ¡°Sorry! Please let me through! I¡¯m sorry, ah damn it! Move!¡± There were a lot of shoppers and curious onlookers, so I couldn¡¯t proceed as I wanted to. I finally lost my temper and shouted, the menacing look made the customers scared enough to open up a narrow path. I forcibly pushed myself into the gap. After breaking free from the group of people, the passengers split up so I could chase Jaja. ¡°Jaja! You¡¯re a good girl so let¡¯s come down!¡± When I finally arrived directly below Jaja, Jaja noticed my voice and made a full flip from her facing up posture and started searching for me. ¡°Ah©` Uahh!¡± Jaja who found my face laughed happily. ¡°Is this the time to laugh! Come here!¡± I advanced little by little while I chased after Jaja, spread open both hands and called out. ¡°Uuuh. Unyuuuu¡± Jaja was moving her limbs and trying to brace herself. Something was strange. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, you¡¯re thinking of leaping and flying?¡± It seems like Jaja is coming towards me. She was struggling and her face was red. Yet, the direction she was going in did not change, and she was slowly moving backwards. ¡°Ah, the air conditioner!¡± The wind from the shopping mall¡¯s large-scale air conditioning flowed towards somewhere. Jaja who flew for some reason, was floating in the wind current! ¡°Wait, wait Jaja! I¡¯ll definitely get you down!¡± I looked around and see if there was a stepladder or some scaffolding. A fixed bench was impossible. I also can¡¯t move the fixtures that the merchandise at the store fronts are on. I don¡¯t care, anything is good! ¡°Ah!¡± When I looked at the end of the aisle, I noticed something terrible. ¡°This is bad! I have to hurry up!¡± Beyond this aisle there was a hole that went from the first floor to the fifth floor. I can not be at the bottom if she flies there! ¡°C-customer! What seems to be the problem?¡± A dog tribe security guard heard the ruckus and came running over. ¡°Ah, that! A child flew up and can¡¯t get down!¡± ¡°Ehhh! This store casts flight hindrance magic throughout the building to prevent accidents!¡± How would I know! But in reality my daughter is flying! ¡°Look! Over there!¡± When I pointed it out the guard solidified their astonished face. ¡°Actually! This is serious! Center! From the second floor, Inuyama to the security center! Please bring mats and moving stairs immediately!¡± The security guard grabbed the wireless transmitter attached to the shoulder and got in touch with the security center. ¡°This is Center! I have confirmed it with a camera! Assistance is scheduled to arrive! ¡° ¡°Please come as fast as possible! It¡¯s a baby!¡± Their response was quick and they helped! In the meantime, Jaja was drifting away. ¡°Fuu, Fuyaaaaaaa!!¡± Jaja, who couldn¡¯t move as she wanted, cried at last. ¡°Jaja, it¡¯s okay, look, I¡¯m right below you!¡± I tried to talk to Jaja with a smile as much as possible. ¡°Ahh! The atrium! This is Inuyama! Security center, can you hear me! Get the mats to the first floor¡¯s multi-purpose hall! You won¡¯t make it in time if it¡¯s the second floor!¡± The security guard once again used the wireless transmitter. ¡°Yaaaa! Uwaahh!¡± ¡°Jaja, calm down! Calm down and grab something!¡± Even if I told her that, it was unlikely that a baby could understand. We have to stop her from drifting away, maybe something like a long stick! Is there one anywhere! ¡°That! Jaja! Grab that banner!¡± There was a banner announcing the sale hanging from the upper floor of the atrium. If Jaja reaches out her hands, she¡¯ll be in a position to reach it. ¡°Uyaaaaaa! Yaaaaaaaaa!¡± Jaja¡¯s tears and snot was running everywhere. She wasn¡¯t aware of the banners and was begging me to help her. She desperately reached out with her small hands. ¡°It¡¯s okay! Because ¡°papa¡± will definitely help you!!¡± ¡°Customer! It¡¯s dangerous!¡± ¡°Hey, let go! Let go! Stop getting in the way!¡± I placed my foot on a handrail made of glass and metal, used to prevent people from falling into the atrium and leaned half my body over. The security guard clung to my leg, and was an obstacle. It was already too late and Jaja reached the atrium, and was steadily moving away from me. ¡°Customer will fall!¡± ¡°Ahh!? My daughter is scared!¡± ¡°I understand! I understand, but¡­!¡± It isn¡¯t me who you should worry about right now! ¡°Why are you going up!?¡± Jaja!!¡± Unrelated to Jaja¡¯s intention, she began to ascend as soon as she arrived at the atrium. Ah, I see! The wind is flowing up! ¡°T-third floor head guard! Enomoto-san! The baby is heading up, aah!¡± ¡°Jaja!!¡± At the moment the guards was using the transmitter, Jaja¡¯s body fell. ¡°Fue!¡± In an instant, she stopped in midair. Jaja was surprised and stared in amazement. She seemed considerably surprised, she stopped crying and stiffening the body. ¡°Wait, wait, wait¡­¡± I muttered like I was praying and my heart was beating like crazy. I couldn¡¯t stop my cold sweat. Does it feel like this to have your heart stop? ¡°Alright, stop¡­ I¡¯m begging you, slowly, come down slowly¡­¡± Let¡¯s think about it. Even though it might be stupid, let¡¯s think it through. Why did she just fall suddenly. Let¡¯s be calm¡­ it¡¯s not good to panic! ¡°Jaja thinks she can fly herself¡­ but she can¡¯t control it¡­ How did Aoi fly when going to pick up luggage during the day? It¡¯s time to take off. Certainly the wings were spreading, but they were not flapping. ¡°It is not that we seize the wind and take off¡­ it¡¯s because of some sort of mysterious power, and Jaja does not yet know how to control the strength of that power¡­ That means, she¡¯s exhausting that power¡­? This is bad! It¡¯s the worst possible scenario! ¡°Security guard! The mattress! Is the matress still not here yet!¡± If I go to the center of the atrium, I can not stop the blow! ¡°I¡¯m in the middle of carrying it to the first floor! So come down!¡± My eyes didn¡¯t leave Jaja while I was listening. Jaja¡¯s body began to rise and fall. Listen, Kunpei¡­ calm down¡­ You can¡¯t make a mistake. Don¡¯t take your eyes off her, just think about the safety of Jaja¡­! First of all, shake off the security guard, completely get on the railing, lower yourself and crouch down. Grasp the banner with the right hand, the rail on the left hand. ¡°Kazamachi Kunpei waits for the wind ¡­ smells the fragrance of the wind¡­ at any time¡­ anywhere¡­ when you want to fly! Jaja¡¯s body that was clad in a floating sensation completely lost power. ¡°Fly with a buzz!!¡± I vigorously jumped from the railings. Chapter 29 - Shopping Rhapsody (7) Perhaps, it seems that someone¡¯s gasping sounds overlapped. I heard waves of sound in my ear. The surroundings of the multi-purpose hall around the atrium was enveloped in a momentary silence. ¡°Haaaaa, Jaja, don¡¯t move¡­ I¡¯m begging you, so don¡¯t move¡­¡± I have Jaja on my left hand. More specifically, I was holding onto Shouhei¡¯s shirt that Jaja was wearing. ¡°The shirt is too big, so it feels like it¡¯s coming loose¡­ Jaja, it¡¯ll be painful, but please endure it for a little more.¡± I¡¯m glad we didn¡¯t change her clothes yet. I could almost reach the large cloth. A sharp pain ran through my right hand. I pulled the banner as I jumped. Since several parts were fixed so as not to be blown by the wind, it was extended to the limit just now, so I¡¯ll get flicked if I let my guard down. I was right handed, but I just got hurt yesterday. I should have used my left hand, but I couldn¡¯t afford to think about something like that. Something was cool. Right now, I was grabbing the banner with my right hand, and Jaja¡¯s shirt with my left hand, other than that I was completely in the air. As the size of the banner was too big, I couldn¡¯t entwine it with my legs. Because of the posture I was in, I couldn¡¯t move skillfully in the first place. If I move unskillfully, the shirt will slip off and the Jaja will fall. ¡°Fueh, Fueeeeee¡± ¡°Jaja¡­ it¡¯s okay¡­ Papa is holding on!¡± The right hand began to scream even more. Since most of the skin of my palm was peeling off, the flesh inside was exposed, and gauze and bandage were applied on top. Since the nails of the middle finger and the index finger were also peeling off, I was in agony just by grabbing on. But, I can¡¯t just drop Jaja from the current height. ¡°Kazamachi-kun! Preparations are ready, so slowly release your baby!¡± I was surprised by the sudden voice. It is a voice that I have heard somewhere. I restlessly looked around the surroundings, but it was not within range of my neck movements. ¡°Lower! It¡¯s okay to lower her!¡± It was right underneath. It was a familiar face. A large triple braid over the shoulder and thick glasses. ¡°We¡¯re saved¡­! Okay¡­ slowly¡­ lower¡± All right. I can trust that person. Besides, we were currently between the first and second floor. There was a reasonable height difference to the ceiling on each floor, but if people were waiting for us, we¡¯ll manage somehow. ¡°Un!¡± ¡°One, two¡­¡± ¡°Three!¡± Counting it off, I dropped Jaja to Mikuma. ¡°Fuyaa!¡± Jaja made a surprised sound, but Mikuma properly caught her. Behind where Mikumu fell to, there were a lot of mattresses, cushions and colored balls. There was also a crowd of humans and beastmen, and Saeki was also there. They were the two people that were in the same elementary school, and middle school, but didn¡¯t talk to. I waited for Mikuma to get up. The people in the surroundings were supporting the colored ball so that it doesn¡¯t get scattered. Mikuma who sat up smiled at Jaja with a pleasant smile as usual. ¡°Kazamachi-kun! Hurry!¡± ¡°Aah! Please move!¡± The people who were waiting moved back a bit. I slowly let my right hand go. I fell on top of a mattress. My feet reverberated a bit, but it wasn¡¯t a big deal. But it was just too high for a baby. ¡°What about Jaja? Is she injured?¡± ¡°Fueeeee! Aaaaaah!¡± When I turned around, Jaja was crying in Mikuma¡¯s arms. She stretched out her arms desperately and called me, so I almost unconsciously held her up. ¡°All right, it was scary. Sorry, was it my bad? It doesn¡¯t seem like there¡¯s any injuries. That¡¯s good.¡± ¡°I was surprised when I heard someone yell the baby is flying.¡± ¡°Yunno ran to the kids section over there and asked me to carry the colored balls and cushions. She was really fast, I¡¯m surprised.¡± ¡°I-Ichika-chan, um, I was just moving on the spur of the moment.¡± Aah, was this large quantity of colored balls and cushions from the kids section? Saeki from the cat tribe was laughing and her short hair was swaying. In a corner of the multipurpose hall there was a place for children to play. There seemed to be a lot of cloth cushions and colored balls as reserve and soft colored panels were laid out to prevent injuries. ¡°Sorry for that. Thank you Mikuma, Saeki.¡± ¡°I-it wasn¡¯t much! I just asked the people around me! It was great we made it in time!¡± ¡°Kazamachi, you really cause a disturbance everywhere you go.¡± Mikuma was shaking her hands and her head with a red face and Saeki was happily laughing. With that momentum, won¡¯t your glasses fly off? I waited a while for Jaja to stop crying, I also lowered my head to the surrounding people. Taking a closer look, even uniformed employees were here. ¡°That girl was crying for help in a loud voice, I was surprised! She¡¯s around the same as my daughter, I can¡¯t believe she was flying.¡± ¡°It was good that she was saved! This is no good! A lot of unexpected things happen to children at this age! It¡¯s no good if you don¡¯t properly watch them! ¡°It really was a good thing! Ah, this mattress is a display product, so don¡¯t worry about it.¡± It seems that everyone in the kids court was with children and they were all concerned about being kind. When I thank you briefly, I collected color balls and cushions. The people I¡¯ve been meeting recently are all so kind. I¡¯ll cry¡­ ¡°Jaja! Kunpei-san!¡± ¡°Nii-chan!¡± When apologizing to the security guard who brought the mattress a little late, Aoi and Shouhei¡¯s voice came from above the handrail on the second floor. ¡°Are you okay? Was Jaja hurt !? ¡° ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fine!¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming down, so please wait!¡± I got a worried face from the railing and immediately retracted. ¡°And so, Kazamachi-kun. That kid, is it a relative¡¯s child?¡± Saeki gently poked Jaja¡¯s cheeks who was still a bit unsettled. ¡°How cute. It really was a relief.¡± Mikuma also caressed Jaja¡¯s head. ¡°Ah©`¡± Jaja who was leaning against me raised her face and stared at my face. ¡°Nyhe¡± At last I was relieved Jaja laughed with a soft face with tears floating. A lot of smartphones were pointed at us from upstairs. Chapter 30 - And so Starts the Young Lady’s Great Battle (1) ¡°Because I was worried~¡± Upon receiving Jaja, Aoi pushed Jaja¡¯s head against her modest breasts, and rubbed their cheeks together. ¡°Kya, kya¡± It seems she was misunderstanding something, she was twisting her body in delight. ¡°Thank god~¡± ¡°N-nii-chan¡± Next to Aoi who was close to crying out of relief, Shouhei was downcast. ¡°Sorry¡­ I was using my smartphone and didn¡¯t watch after Jaja properly.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, there were no injuries. Just be careful next time.¡± I stroked Shouhei¡¯s head with my left hand. For Shouhei, who has a strong sense of responsibility, this incident should weigh heavily on him. ¡°A lot of things might happen in the future, if you become disheartened by each and every thing, you won¡¯t be able to do anything. It¡¯s good as long as you don¡¯t make the same mistakes and be more careful in the future.¡± ¡°B-but¡­¡± Even so, Shouhei was not convinced. This obedient kid. In truth, we probably shouldn¡¯t just end to this degree, but I am a brand new papa. I can not say any self-important things. ¡°By the way, Aoi.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Aoi who was playing with Jaja raised her face. ¡°Please tell me that she was going to fly¡­¡± I was surprised! ¡°Even I didn¡¯t think that she would be able to fly so early!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Since my mother used to say that I started flying around 1 year old in the past, I didn¡¯t even consider it¡­¡± So, Jaja has become able to fly fairly quickly even among dragon babies? Oh yeah, she still hasn¡¯t tried walking, so I thought it was strange. What? My kid is a genius? ¡°What about Nana?¡± ¡°As far as I can tell, there¡¯s no sign of her flying, I have to show uncle tomorrow¡­.¡± Nana had a wonderful look in the stroller. You looking peaceful is the best. Yes, Alba Germain the rat official. If he introduces himself as a doctor for dragons, couldn¡¯t he have warned us about this kind of thing? Even if I pass on the responsibility somehow, it is bad that we took our eyes off Jaja. Let¡¯s reflect on it. ¡°By the way Kunpei-san, who are these people?¡± ¡°A-ah, I¡¯m a classmate from a former school, well, a childhood friend since elementary school¡­ is that okay?¡± ¡°Why did you ask us, I don¡¯t mind being a childhood friend.¡± ¡°Yes, I am Mikuma Yuuno, this is Ichika-chan. Saeki Ichika?Nyati.¡± A triple braid over the shoulders, Mikuma. A pointlessly energetic girl from the cat tribe with short hair, Saeki. Mikuma who was lowering her head politely, and Saeki who was boldly laughing. Two people who were often together for a long time, and unexpectedly popular among men. Mikuma was submissive and wise, and Saeki was boisterous and often at the center of attention. I¡¯ve wondered how two people with such different personalities could have such a good relationship. ¡°Heeh©`¡± While holding Jaja, Aoi compared Mikuma and Saeki¡¯s face and finally stared at Mikuma. Subsequently, her gaze moved to her splendidly bulging chest and she narrowed her eyes. ¡°Er, um¡­¡± Mikuma who noticed her gaze smiled like she was troubled. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m very sorry. I¡¯m Aoinoun Dragoline Kazamachi.¡± Aoi who saw Mikuma¡¯s puzzled expression, greeted her with her head lowered deeply. Hmm? Kazamachi? ¡°I¡¯m Kunpei-san¡¯s wife.¡± She just dropped a huge powerful bomb. Chapter 31 - And so Starts the Young Lady’s Great Battle (2) Chapter 31 ¨C And so Starts the Young Lady¡¯s Great Battle (2) ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°W-wife?¡± Mikuma and Saeki stiffened. Mikuma lost all color from her face and one side of Saeki¡¯s mouth was twitching. ¡°Ah, no, that. How should I put it. R-relative, a relative!¡± I bent over and unconscionably hid Aoi. Is she an idiot! Aoi was indeed 250 years old, but it can¡¯t be helped that she looks like a middle schooler. It¡¯s obvious what it would mean for her to call herself my wife. That I¡¯m a brutish abnormal pervert, and I even have two kids. As an atrocious fiend that impregnated a middle schooler, I would have to live with people talking behind my back starting from tomorrow. ¡°No, I¡¯m his wife! My husband always takes good care of me!¡± Aoi breathed out of her nose roughly and refused to back down. ¡°Oi!¡± I turned around and looked at Aoi¡¯s face. Her lips were tightened, her eyebrows were angled, and her eyes were earnest. I reflexively backed away from her intensity. ¡°K-kazamachi. That tiny kid, did you have a h-hand in it?¡± The first one to come back from the freezing magic was Saeki. ¡°N-no! I-I didn¡¯t do anything!¡± I turned around and frantically shook my head. I saw Saeki¡¯s eyes. Those were eyes that were looking at human scum. ¡°You gave me such cute children!¡± ¡°W-wait a minute Aoi! Why are you getting so serious all of a sudden!¡± She presented Jaja with two hands. Jaja was carefree and laughing with delight. ¡°Because Kunpei-san is Jaja and Nana¡¯s papa! It¡¯s no good if you¡¯re not the papa!¡± ¡°Pa, papa¡­¡± ¡°Yuuno, ooi! Yuuno!? This is bad, come back!¡± Behind us, Saeki was furiously shaking Mikuma¡¯s shoulder. ¡°No, it certainly isn¡¯t wrong, but!?¡± ¡°You admit it¡­?¡± ¡°Yuuno! That¡¯s no good! That¡¯s a place you don¡¯t want to go to! Don¡¯t answer to the dark side!¡± ¡°I, I haven¡¯t said anything wrong! Kunpei-san is our papa!¡± Chaos. There were still a lot of people with kids around us, it was noisy with the uproar earlier. ¡°Right!? Kunpei-san wouldn¡¯t abandon us!!¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t! I said I¡¯ll take responsibility.¡± I was once again overpowered by that expression. It was just yesterday that I promised to help look after the twins. It was something that I said. I don¡¯t have the slightest intention of changing what I said. ¡°R-responsibility¡­?¡± ¡°Yuuno! That eye color is dangerous! You have to take in light, Yuuno!¡± ¡°Daa! Aah!¡± Was Jaja misunderstanding something, she was enjoying herself and became even more delighted. ¡°Ah?¡± Nana was doing things at her own pace and started playing by herself in the baby stroller. ¡°Nana sure is quiet, huh.¡± Was Shouhei still worrying about his blunder earlier, he never took his eyes off Nana. ¡°Well!? Are you going to throw us away!?¡± ¡°I-idiot! Of course not! I¡¯ll properly take care of Jaja and Nana, you¡¯re also family!¡± ¡°F-family¡­?¡± ¡°Yuuno! Recover your love, Yuuno!¡± What¡¯s this? In this situation, I couldn¡¯t think of a way to recover. Calm down! You¡¯re clever, Kunpei! ¡°For the time being¡­¡± Meanwhile, a voice calmer than anyone else here called out to us. ¡°Do you want to eat?¡± Shouhei suggested with a blank look. Chapter 32 - And so Starts the Young Lady’s Great Battle (3) Chapter 32 ¨C And so Starts the Young Lady¡¯s Great Battle (3) ¡°¡­it¡¯s delicious.¡± ¡°¡­that¡¯s good.¡± Aoi was no longer on the verge of crying and was slowly pecking away at a tonkatsu set meal. I sat next to her and was facing Mikuma who continued to eat her omurice silently and Saeki who was stuffing her face with curry rice. ¡°Onii-chan, your ramen is getting soggy.¡± ¡°¡­ you want some?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need it.¡± Shouhei, who already finished eating his cheeseburger combo, was rocking the baby stroller next to me. We changed our location and we were currently at the food court in the Central building. If you¡¯re looking for a place to sit down and calm down, this was a result of settling. When I took a peek at the baby stroller, Jaja and Nana were peacefully sleeping. Shouhei might still concerned about what happened earlier, he decided not to leave the twins. After they were fed one by one and put to sleep, Shouhei took the baby stroller¡¯s handle from me and continued watching the twins with a serious face. It was already evening. It was the first place they come to, I guess they¡¯re tired. Jaja and Nana were happily snoring. Everything was new for the two of them. ¡°¡­ Kazamachi-kun¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± Mikuma let out a mysterious oppressive feeling, and my body straightened itself out. ¡°Can you explain, please?¡± Why does it look like you¡¯re about to cry! ¡°No, well, I don¡¯t know what to say, there are lots of things that are difficult to explain¡­¡± Such as Aoi and them being dragons, or the eggs were hatched with my blood, in order to hide them, there were many things I couldn¡¯t talk about. ¡°Just last month, my childhood friend that I tearfully sent away¡­ is living with children that he made with someone that looks like a middle school student, I don¡¯t understand.¡± Mikuma placed her spoon on the tray and took off her thick glasses. She covered her eyes with one hand and wiped. ¡°Well, even I haven¡¯t completely figured out why this happened, though.¡± How should I gloss this over to improve the situation? ¡°You fought, even though you think you didn¡¯t do anything wrong, but that behavior is enough so that you can¡¯t show your face in public.¡± Saeki who was preaching, looked happy. I felt a little irritated. ¡°I had no intentions of doing anything wrong.¡± ¡°Then, can you explain the reason to me?¡± Her honest eyes were lit up and Mikuma intently stared at my eyes. Although we didn¡¯t speak after entering middle school, we spoke a lot during elementary school. She¡¯s a book lover that didn¡¯t go outside to play much. She is smart and has a much stronger sense of justice than anyone else. We were both library committee members, surprisingly I also like books. Looking at this person who seemed to enjoy talking about books with me, I still had a good feeling. If I¡¯m not mistaken, I remember that I helped her a bit at the end of sixth grade. Everyone turned a blind eye to the bullying in Mikuma¡¯s class, the shy her faced it head on. Mikuma who was supposed to have helped was bullied. The bully from the wild boar tribe was a prime example of a brat, it¡¯s not like the whole class participated, but everyone was too afraid to do anything. Mikuma couldn¡¯t have overlooked it. Why do you do such things, how could you do such things, what did you do to the bullied? Mikuma merely questioned what she couldn¡¯t understand. That got on the brat¡¯s nerves. Starting from being ignored by the class, to hiding her textbooks and wetting her gym clothes. At that time, Saeki was in a different class and Mikuma who had a fear of strangers, had no allies. Speaking of myself, it was in the process of when my bad expression began to stand out and I was beginning to be avoided. I had no way of knowing about the bullying going on in another class. Towards the end of summer vacation, when Shouhei and I were returning home from shopping. Mikuma was crying in a park a near the apartment where we lived at the time. She tried to stifle her voice with a tunnel playground equipment and was desperately wiping her overflowing tears, seemingly enduring it. When I came across her by chance, she told me the reason why she was crying. About how she denounced the bully, about how she got bullied, about how no one helped her, about how even if she told the homeroom teacher she was brushed off lightly. That¡¯s why she was crying, because she was scared of the start of a new semester. She did not want to worry her parents who were both very busy with work, so she took it all on herself and I guess over thought and exploded. If I think about it now, I over thought a lot of things. But, such a gentle girl was being bullied. That story made me explode in anger. On the first day of the new semester, I laid in ambush at the school gate. So that I didn¡¯t overlook the brat. Over the six years, most of the faces from the people of the same grade were familiar. I found him right away. I forcibly grabbed the nape of his neck and took him to the other side of the school to interrogate him. He didn¡¯t show a timid expression, my memory was gone when he began to happily boast about what he did. Before I noticed, I was standing on the gymnasium stage riddled with injuries, grabbing the microphone with tattered clothes, and making the brat prostrate in front of all the students. I threatened the bawling brat, making him pledge to never again touch Mikuma, and thinking about it, it was overkill when I finally kicked him vigorously in the stomach While he spread vomit everywhere, he cried and shouted even more. After that, it was straight to the principals office. A lot of adults subdued me, pinning my arms behind my back, called my father and hit my homeroom teacher. My father who was called first, wanted to listen to my story, silenced the homeroom teacher and approached me who was sitting on the carpet in the principal¡¯s office. ¡°Was what you did something bad?¡± ¡°¡­ it was something bad.¡± ¡°Then, for the time being, I¡¯ll hit you.¡± My father that said that clenched his fist and punched me on the cheeks, I was sent flying. My father approached me who was in agony and once again asked. ¡°Then, why did you do something bad?¡± ¡°Because even though that guy was someone who bullied others, he didn¡¯t think anything of it!¡± I was crying in frustration, he gently bundled my cheeks and asked again. ¡°For whose sake did you do bad things for?¡± ¡°I- I thought it was wrong! I hit him!!¡± ¡°All right, I¡¯ll forgive everything with one shot.¡± He said that, this time it was an open hand that came flying. But had less power than I expected, I was perplexed. ¡°That¡¯s the end from me. Leave the rest to me.¡± My father caressed my head, then lowered his head to the brat¡¯s and my homeroom teacher. ¡°I¡¯ve punished him. What he did was by no means acceptable, but this guy also has a sense of justice and beliefs. As a parent, I believe his intentions. I¡¯ll accept any punishment. Of course, I¡¯ll also pay for the medical fees, please let me apologize with that. However, I would like this to be the punishment for himself. ¡° When the homeroom teachers began to recoil from my father¡¯s honest gaze, Mikuma who had a pale face jumped into the principal¡¯s office. ¡°Pwease dun scold Kazamchi-kun!¡± While dripping tears and snot, Mikuma persuaded the homeroom teachers despite not being able to properly put her reasoning towords. Fortunately, the principal of our school was a fairly competent person. Later on, the PTA questioned everybody in Mikuma¡¯s class individually and determined the truth. Evidence was gathered so that the brat¡¯s parents couldn¡¯t refute it, Mikuma¡¯s homeroom teacher was also severely punished, so he worked to bring the situation under control. If only the homeroom teacher had brought it to an end, Kazamachi-kun¡¯s rampage would never have happened. (TN: Thanks, kariageweb) He came to my house to apologize. After his disgraceful behavior was exposed to all the students, it seems that the brat that usually put on airs was nowhere to be seen in the second half of the second semester. It seems he went to a different middle school. I was hugged strongly by Mikuma, apologized to and thanked. Everyone in the class seems to have apologized to Mikuma. But then after that¡­ After the knowledge of me snapping and being dangerous became widespread, my loneliness accelerated. ¡°Kazamachi-kun?¡± Hah! I took refuge in the memories of the past for too long! Damn it. It¡¯s because I looked at Mikuma¡¯s eyes. My dark history¡­ ¡°Reason you ask? I¡­¡± I was evasive and couldn¡¯t answer. Basically, the idiot that is me, couldn¡¯t even think up of a good lie. ¡°Can you not say¡­¡± Mikuma compared Aoi with Jaja and Nana. ¡°Are these children, dragons?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I was at a loss for words. Chapter 33 - And so Starts the Young Lady’s Great Battle (4) ¡°W-w-w-what are you saying?¡± ¡°Nii-chan, your eyes are swimming.¡± Shouhei rested his chin in his hands and looked at me. I reflexively sent a glance at Aoi, she was silently eating her tonkatsu set meal with teary eyes. Are you still eating? ¡°It looks like I hit the mark.¡± Mikuma¡¯s voice was on the quiet side, it seems it was so that the surroundings couldn¡¯t hear her. ¡°Ichika-chan, what we¡¯re going to talk about now needs to be kept secret, okay?¡± ¡°Is that furi? I won¡¯t understand even if you tell me things that aren¡¯t that difficult.¡± (TN: I think furi is a reference to boke and tsukkomi, not too sure what it means though) ¡°Not furi, it¡¯s a request from me.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Like a two man comedy show, Mikuma and Saeki nodded. ¡°Um, Mikuma?¡± ¡°Yesterday, this video was uploaded to the Internet.¡± Mikuma operated her smartphone with fluid motions. After a bit, she turned her screen towards me. ¡°It¡¯s kicked up a fuss on the Internet since yesterday, it seems like a bunch of people are verifying it right now.¡± I took a quick look at the screen. It was a famous video sharing site that I¡¯ve seen a few times. It was the ones where the comments were flowing from right to left. The video player was running and the video began to play. ¡ºUwahh! What is that! What is thaaaat!¡» A rough middle-aged man¡¯s voice. Hm? It feels like I¡¯ve heard it somewhere before. ¡ºJohn Dayuu! Over here John Dayuu! Don¡¯t bark John Dayuu! I¡¯ll be darned, what is it©`!¡» The video shook all over the place. I have no idea what was being shown. This was, a tiger¡¯s face¡­ ah! ¡ºLook John Dayuu! This is not the place for your walk broadcast! This is the end of the world! Hey, John Dayuu! Where are you going John Dayuu!¡» This uselessly flashy tiger embroidered jersey and that corgi wearing that fluffy sweater. The uncle from the supermarket!? ¡ºJohn Dayuu! It¡¯s the god of lightning! It¡¯s the end of the world! John Dayuu! Run away John Dayuu!¡» John Dayuu has an impressive amount of fans! I completely understand your dogs name. After showing their feet, the video angle climbed, showing the black clouds squirming in the sky and the incessant downpour of lightning that filled the screen. ¡ºListen up viewers! After I brought John Dayuu out for a walk, terrible things started to happen! This is something I felt that I was obliged to do! I¡¯m, finally the messiah!¡» What the hell is the uncle saying. ¡¾God has come©`¡¿ ¡¾Masatsugu, escape!¡¿ ¡¾Doggy run away¡¿ ¡¾Finally, the day that Masatsugu will become a legend ¡­¡­¡¿ ¡¾Messiah Masatsugu¡¯s Legend¡¿ ¡¾Masatsugu! Now is the time to inherit Taeko¡¯s will!¡¿ ¡¾You practiced yesterday, didn¡¯t you! Now is the time to fusion with John Dayuu!¡¿ ¡¾No, this is bad, isn¡¯t it¡¿ ¡¾This, is the national highway from the neighboring prefecture¡­ I¡¯ve been there¡¿ ¡¾Farewell Masatsugu¡¿ ¡¾Taeko is waiting on the other side¡­¡­¡¿ ¡¾Don¡¯t kill him off, how imprudent guys¡¿ ¡¾What¡¯s happening?¡¿ Tension was running high in the flowing comments. Was this uncle Masatsugu? ¡ºWoaah! Something huge is coming! Impossible! Taeko! It seems like I can¡¯t go over there yet!¡» The uncle filmed the huge silhouette that covered the sky, after revolving he started to run with the dog. He got into a car with rough breathing and the video ended there. ¡°I know this from a link that was posted to a certain site, but did you see the large shadow at the end?¡± ¡°Masatsugu was very impactful.¡± It was the truth. This video is a comedic video no matter how you look at it. ¡°Please don¡¯t joke around, I¡¯m being serious.¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± But, this is bad. That disturbance, was the guy who took the video there? The last thing that you could see was without a doubt Aoi. ¡°This is the town that Kazamachi-kun moved to, right?¡± ¡°Hmm, I-I wonder? This much isn¡¯t enough.¡± ¡°Kazamachi, your eyes are crawling.¡± Saeki pointed at me with a delighted face. ¡°Nii-chan, you¡¯re really bad at lying, huh.¡± While drinking orange juice with a straw, Shouhei looked at me with half-open eyes. I can¡¯t express myself well, I¡¯m really sorry for that. ¡°It¡¯s a site I often go to since I like fantasy novels and movies, it¡¯s a forum where they verify legends, folklore and such about the world.¡± ¡°When we were elementary school students there weren¡¯t many times you had such gleaming eyes, so I know. When I said that, Mikuma¡¯s face turned red. ¡°You remember¡­ ¡°It¡¯s because you were talking about it so happily. ¡°Yuuno, it¡¯s good that you¡¯re happy, but can we advance the talk?¡± Saeki¡¯s voice brought Mikuma back. ¡°And so, the site verified that it was a dragon.¡± ¡°Dragon¡­¡± They were able to analyze so much from such a short scene? This is definitely bad. ¡°There¡¯s practically no actual photograph of dragons, and there isn¡¯t a single one that¡¯s clear, but they are described in past books and legends. There are things that I don¡¯t know whether they¡¯re true or not, but there are also some that are lies no matter how you perceive it.¡± This is bad, Aoi clearly becomes a dragon afterwards. There was a strong light and she wasn¡¯t a dragon for a long time, but if there¡¯s a video that caught that instant, then we¡¯re done. ¡°How is that related to these guys?¡± I acted calm, I can¡¯t reveal myself. With my stupid response, it was possible that everything was going in one ear and coming out the other. Mikuma straightened herself out and looked at Jaja. ¡°This child, um, Jaja-chan?¡± ¡°Aah¡± Jaja was sleeping in the baby stroller and sucking on her right thumb. Huh, she wasn¡¯t sleeping like that yesterday. ¡°This is also true for this shopping mall, but public places, especially the interior of the buildings, have flight obstruction magic.¡± That reminds me, the security guard from earlier also said something like that¡­ No, I know that flight obstruction magic was used for important buildings. ¡°It¡¯s because there¡¯s a lot of people here, so if would be dangerous if there are a lot of people that can fly.¡± ¡°Nii-chan, you don¡¯t go to places with a lot of people, so you don¡¯t know. You don¡¯t have enough experiences, please reflect.¡± Saeki was nodding and I told Shouhei to be quiet. Wait a minute, this isn¡¯t the time to humiliate me. I looked at Aoi. ¡°¡­Yes. It¡¯s a bit difficult to fly. Just a little.¡± It¡¯s a bit difficult to fly even for Aoi who has better control of flying than Jaja¡­ ¡°That¡¯s it Aoinoun-san. It shouldn¡¯t just be ¡®difficult to fly¡¯. Expensive magic tools are used to control it, so it¡¯s strong to the point where attack magic can¡¯t be used either.¡± ¡°B-but Jaja flew¡­ I can also fly if I felt like it.¡± Why do I feel a bit proud¡­ ¡°It¡¯s not affected by the obstruction magic because the flying ability is stronger or as strong as it. These two aren¡¯t realistic. Flying ability doesn¡¯t change much even between different species, magic beyond this is military level destruction magic. The country is quite restricted and controlled, the individuals that can use magic are limited, and in the first place it¡¯s unlikely that such magic tools are widely circulated.¡± It¡¯s becoming more complicated¡­ but I lacked thought to continuously think about it. But I can understand that it¡¯s something that¡¯s fairly dangerous. ¡°And so, not using the magical power that is the source of magic, and flying in a different way from the usual flying abilities.¡± I gulped. Mikuma¡¯s serious expression, and that silent pressure, for some reason it felt like I was being cornered. ¡°Dragons are said to utilize a different method of flying, with spirits and dragon aura. In other words, the only ones that can fly in this building are dragons¡­¡± For some reason, Mikuma looked at me and said with an apologetic expression. Chapter 34 - And so Starts the Young Lady’s Great Battle (5) I put my nonexistent intellect into full operation, one way or another I had to think up of a good explanation. ¡°Kazamachi-kun?¡± ¡°Oh? Did he overheat?¡± The curious Mikuma and the amused Saeki. Actually a wire was used¡­ no, it was in the atrium. CG special effects has a lot of uses¡­ but it¡¯s reality! The magician of the era, Mr. Kunpei with his hand power¡­ let¡¯s go with that! ¡°Actually, recently I¡¯ve been getting into magic¡­¡± ¡°Are you an idiot?¡± Saeki cut in. ¡°Ah, an idiot.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± Even I didn¡¯t think that nonsense would¡¯ve worked! ¡°Nii-chan, I think I¡¯m no good. It¡¯s mainly because nii-chan revealed too much.¡± Little brother, father always says so, right? ¡°Stop joking around.¡± Yes. ¡°Even a less knowledgeable person like me was able to get it. If an expert examines it, I think they¡¯ll quickly understand.¡± ¡°An expert?¡± ¡°People who study the dragon legends and ecology. Since their existence is confirmed, many people want to investigate more.¡± Mikuma corrected her thick glasses and put away her smartphone. I looked at Aoi¡¯s face. Aoi placed the chopsticks she skillfully used on top of the tray and growled while glaring at Mikuma. ¡°Grrrrr¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong, why are you so hostile towards Mikuma?¡± Even though she never had any special reaction towards Saeki. ¡°Kunpei-san! I don¡¯t want you to be taken!¡± What is she saying. What does Mikuma have that I want. ¡°I don¡¯t know! Kunpei-san doesn¡¯t understand! After all, I saw it on TV and magazines! People with big breasts deceive men!¡± What kind of shows talk about that kind of stuff? ¡°Oi, you make it sound like I¡¯m being tempted by Mikuma¡¯s chest. Certainly, it grew up quite nicely compared to when we were in elementary school, but I¡¯m different.¡± ¡°Is Kazamachi-kun an idiot!?¡± Mikuma hid her chest with both hands and pulled back. If you have that kind of reaction, it¡¯s like I¡¯m sexually harassing you. ¡°Well, Kazamachi is an idiot, Yuuno.¡± Saeki, why do you look so happy talking ill about me. We have to discuss it together. This little devilish cat is wicked. ¡°M-more importantly!¡± Mikuma remarkably raised her voice to get back on topic. ¡°Fue, fuahhhhhhhh!¡± ¡°Ah, Nana woke up.¡± Shouhei held up the unsettled Nana. ¡°Here, nii-chan.¡± ¡°Eh? Ah, yes. Hey, Nana, did we wake you up? Sorry.¡± Shouhei fluidly passed Nana over to me. ¡°S-sss-sorry.¡± Mikuma was apologizing for waking Nana up with her loud voice. ¡°Come here Nana. The booby lady was loud, right.¡± ¡°No, you were also pretty loud¡­¡± Aoi grabbed Nana from me and once again soothed her with her cheeks. Like I said, why are you not hiding your animosity. ¡°Um, so, what¡¯s strange is the fact that Kazamachi-kun is being called papa. There¡¯s nothing written in the legends about dragons having children with humans, since they produce eggs.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, there is no reason other than that Kunpei-san loves Jaja and Nana!¡± Mikuma answered her own doubts. Aoi replied to that confusing self discussion. It doesn¡¯t seem that she¡¯s aware that her answer was no good. ¡°I don¡¯t understand what you mean¡­ I understand somehow of why Kazamachi-kun wants to hide it. The existence of dragons will influence various things.¡± Well, it was exposed to Mikuma who was neither a scholar or anything like that. From now on, if we¡¯re not careful enough, Aoi and them will be exposed. When I thought about it, the commotion earlier was pretty bad. There were a lot of people in the surroundings who were holding their smartphones, so there¡¯s a high possibility that Jaja¡¯s and my name and face would be well known. ¡°Even so! It has nothing to do with you! This is a problem between a couple and parent and child!¡± ¡°Hey, you¡¯re going overboard.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± I gently tapped Aoi¡¯s head, who was getting too hotheaded. I suppose I understand her worry. I guess Aoi and Mikuma has bad compatibility. ¡°Couple¡­? Parent and child¡­?¡± ¡°Ah, damn.¡± Seeing Mikuma lose all light in her eyes, Saeki muttered a few words in complaint. ¡°U-um, Mikuma-san?¡± ¡°¡­ Why could she so easily say things like they¡¯re a couple? When I was in middle school I was self aware, so even though when I slept I endured from imagining me enjoying myself¡­ how could she so easily¡­ furthermore, parent and child¡­ if that¡¯s true, I¡­ a boy and girl¡¯s twins¡­ saying ¡®I¡¯m going¡¯ and ¡®welcome home¡¯¡­ helping him wear a necktie¡­ things like a welcome home kiss¡­ favorite food as dinner¡­ arm pillow before sleeping¡­ going to the park on days off¡­ stuff like movies¡­ going for drives¡­ why, why?¡± ¡°Yuuno? Is it no good? You¡¯re making it worse? Is it too late. Is that so?¡± Mikuma continued muttering something that couldn¡¯t be heard. Scary. For some reason it¡¯s unbelievably frightening. Saeki¡¯s face twitched and she gradually pulled back. ¡°T-that¡¯s what I¡¯ll do! D-definitely!¡± ¡°Ah, Kazamachi, I¡¯ll take care of your bones.¡± Did she hear Aoi? She raised her voice in exasperation. Nana who finished crying, stared up at Aoi with a blank expression like usual. For some reason, Saeki said something ominous. ¡°How unfair! You suddenly show up and took everything! Even though I¡¯ve been trying my best for four years! You¡¯re using children to restrain Kazamachi-kun, how dirty!¡± Mikuma abruptly stood up and tearfully rattled on. ¡°Oi, Mikuma!?¡± ¡°W-what¡¯s dirty! Even though they¡¯re this cute! Kunpei-san promised! He¡¯ll do his best as papa! Also, Jaja and Nana properly understand that Kunpei-san is papa! Jaja likes papa very much, she gets very happy just with the sound of his footsteps! Are you willing to snatch Kunpei-san away from the children?¡± Aoi also stood up half way, firmly held the table and refuted Mikuma. ¡°Aoi!?¡± ¡°That¡¯s dirty! You haven¡¯t said anything about what you think of Kazamachi-kun!¡± Mikuma raised her voicce in a bent forward posture. ¡°C-calm down! Hey!¡± I also raised my voice to rein in Mikuma. ¡°I-I! That¡¯s right, I like him very much! It was love at first sight! What about it? It was just one time half a year ago but I¡¯ve liked him ever since then! You too, you¡¯ve never expressed how you feel about Kunpei-san!¡± ¡°I have a feeling that something serious is being discussed!? Why don¡¯t we take a seat for the time being! How about it? Mikuma and Aoi, let¡¯s sit down and drink some tea!?¡± This fellow is blurting out some outrageous things right now!? ¡°Even I! Even I!¡± What is it! I have a feeling that it¡¯s better to not make Mikuma say anything right now! ¡°¡­ aa, aah!¡± ¡°Ah, Jaja also woke up.¡± ¡°How loud, eh¡­¡± Shouhei held up Jaja like he had nothing to do with it. Saeki calmly took refuge and was on the side poking Jaja¡¯s cheeks. Stop, help me! ¡°I¡¯ve liked Kazamachi-kun for a long time!!¡± Mikuma dropped the second bomb. Chapter 35 - And so Starts the Young Lady’s Great Battle (6) ¡°Eh?¡± I was dumbfounded and looked at Mikuma with a stupid expression. ¡°That day! I wasn¡¯t able to forget that day ever since I got helped when I was being bullied! Even after going to middle school, my heart would beat every time I saw your face!¡± Mikuma talked to herself and she was nearly crying. ¡°Despite that! My heart was broken before I could even confess! That¡¯s too much!¡± ¡°No, um, Mikuma?¡± ¡°I, I don¡¯t know! I as well! I wasn¡¯t able to forget after I saw his face for the first time! I saw him caressing Shouhei¡¯s head with such a kind expression. If such a kind person became family, wouldn¡¯t I live everyday in happiness! I fell in love with him around when I gave birth to the eggs! Yesterday, when he helped me, I was so delighted and it was like fate really existed!¡± ¡°Aoi? Huh?¡± Aoi was also resolute, she hugged Nana tightly and talked about it with teary eyes. It seemed as it was uncomfortable as Nana writhed around in her arm. ¡°S-Shouhei¡± ¡°Even if you ask me for help, I can¡¯t really do anything. And besides¡­¡± Shouhei surveyed the surroundings while hugging Jaja. ¡°A lot of people are looking.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± As I looked around, a large number of people were looking at us. While grinning. ¡°Shall we change a location?¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Shouhei said that and tidied up the bags. Jaja was laughing happily. ¡°Um, here¡¯s the tea¡­¡± I took the teacup from the tray and set the two on the table. For some reason, we returned to our house. While we were coming home, Aoi and Mikuma glared at each other silently the whole way. Shouhei talked to Saeki while pushing the baby stroller. For some reason, I was carrying a lot of luggage like it was a punishment, I walked without minding my exhausted body and aching right hand. I caught a minivan-type taxi and told him our home address for the time being, and stuffed the luggage in the taxi¡¯s trunk. I was in the passenger seat. In the back, they were seated in the order they got on. Aoi, Shouhei, Saeki, and Mikuma. Jaja and Nana were respectively held by Aoi, and for some reason, Saeki. And now we were in our house and it was 7pm. Aoi and Mikuma sandwiched the dining table, and time passed without them saying anything. Shouhei and Saeki got along with each other well, and went out to buy dinner. Those two people have actually been acquaintances for some time. Saeki¡¯s younger brother was classmates with Shouhei, so he often dropped by the house. I laid a futon on the dining room carpet and put Jaja and Nana to bed there. I could hear some sort of conversation between the two of them. I looked at them, calmed down, pull the chair out and sat down. The place was located in between the two. This wasn¡¯t a situation where I could just sit next to either of them. ¡°¡­ Um, I made some tea, but¡­¡± I called out with a timid voice. A mysterious pressure made the air in the dining room heavier. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Thanks for the food.¡± When Aoi spoke, Mikuma also opened her mouth. They were expressionless while glaring at each other. Silence once again. That painful silence pierced me deeply and violently. I¡¯m begging you, please say something! ¡°¡­ Kunpei-san is my first love.¡± ¡°¡­ He¡¯s also my first love.¡± ¡°Kunpei-san hatched Jaja and Nana¡¯s eggs. I was lonely and he gave me a cute family.¡± ¡°Kazamachi-kun protected me who was bullied to the point of crying. I was weak and helpless and he gave me hope.¡± ¡°¡­ Although the time we spent together was overwhelmingly short, I won¡¯t concede.¡± ¡°¡­ Even if you have children, I won¡¯t give up so easily.¡± Heavy! It¡¯s so heavy, I can¡¯t breathe! Although I wished for someone to speak, now I just want to escape! ¡°¡­ Truthfully speaking, I understand that Kunpei-san doesn¡¯t see me as an object of romantic interest. I¡¯m only clinging onto him with the fact that I¡¯m Jaja and Nana¡¯s mama.¡± ¡°¡­ I was thinking that I couldn¡¯t use the repayment of a favor approach. So, I know that Kazamachi-kun recognizes me as a childhood friend, no, acquaintance.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why¡± ¡°That¡¯s why¡± The two looked at me at the same time. ¡°I¡¯ll show my everything to Kunpei-san. Not just because he became Jaja and Nana¡¯s papa, I will convey to you it¡¯s because that I need you!¡± Aoi¡¯s transparent blue hair fluttered and she looked at me with her direct eyes. ¡°I won¡¯t give up just because you¡¯ve moved. I want to tell you everything from now on. How thankful I am, how much I yearn for you, how much I want to be by your side!¡± Mikuma looked at me, her triple braid swinging and a strong light was shining in her eyes that were behind her glasses. ¡°Y-yes.¡± Pathetic, truly pathetic, I had no other response other than that. Then once again, the two faced one another and smiled fearlessly. ¡°I have the overwhelming advantage since we live together. We have all the time to accumulate time between the two of us. Our relationship will also deepen further as we climb over the hurdle of parenting together. It¡¯s a shame, but I can¡¯t add anything.¡± ¡°I wonder about that. If a man and a woman live under the same roof, you¡¯ll notice each others¡¯ bad points. You have to make sure that you don¡¯t come to dislike Kazamachi-kun. I have information that I learned over time.¡± Why is it. Even though it¡¯s a man¡¯s life dream to have two girls fighting over him, yet I¡¯m not happy at all. Rather I could not hide my unease as the chills running down my spine suggested the future from now on. Shouhei, Saeki! Please come back quickly! ¡°Kazamachi-kun, no, Kunpei-kun. Is it okay for me to come over to this house at times?¡± ¡°U-un.¡± Under that intensity where I couldn¡¯t say yes or no, I responded with a foolish response. ¡°Is that so. I¡¯ll concede at least that much, since I feel bad for you.¡± Aoi shook her head exaggerated, and snorted. ¡°Yes, you have my thanks. But, you¡¯ll grow to regret that leeway later on.¡± ¡°You as well, each time you come to this house, you¡¯ll taste the sense of defeat.¡± The sparks coming from them didn¡¯t care about my body and scorched it, the two smiled fearlessly. Is this scorching hell¡­ What felt like eternity passed by, and by the time Shouhei came back, I was already dried out to the point of being haggard. ¡°Hihi, you¡¯re tired, aren¡¯t you Kazamachi?¡± ¡°Damn you, you have the nerve to enjoy yourself¡­¡± An unpleasant smile appeared on Saeki¡¯s face after she came back. ¡°This is the first time in my life that I¡¯ve seen such an enjoyable Shurabara!¡± ¡°¡­ you were thinking it¡¯s somebody else¡¯s problem¡­¡± ¡°It is somebody else¡¯s problem.¡± Mikuma and Aoi were competing and standing in the kitchen to help Shouhei. Shouhei, who was not accustomed to it, seems to be in the way, but he did refuse. Speaking of me, I was sitting on the sofa hanging my head and looking after Jaja and Nana. The two who were dressed in matching clothes that imitated a sheep which we just bought are the ultimate therapy. Saeki was sitting next to me and hugging her knees while looking. ¡°Isn¡¯t this where a man would try and say, ¡®Don¡¯t worry about that and line up. I¡¯ll embrace you two in turns.¡¯? ¡° ¡°What¡¯s with that character¡­ there¡¯s no way I could say something like that.¡± ¡°Well, the instance you say that is when my golden knee will smash your jaw into pieces. I will get you a liquid food diet expert.¡± Did I do anything to you!? ¡°By the way¡± ¡°Ah?¡± I became a bit displeased, but still listened. ¡°Shouhei, became even more good looking, eh.¡± ¡°Mm, well¡­¡± ¡°Won¡¯t you give him to me?¡± Is something wrong with your head? ¡°What the hell are you saying?¡± ¡°No listen, he¡¯s handsome, smart, perfect at housework and can read the mood. He¡¯s also considerate and his child raising skills are also developing. What¡¯s the Kazamachi household? Are you planning on nurturing a lady killer? You¡¯re also popular.¡± It¡¯s nothing like that. ¡°Tell that to him directly. But don¡¯t do anything until he graduates from middle school.¡± ¡°Who knows? Shouhei may lose it to my adult charms, and may attack me.¡± Saeki said that and took a pose. I often see stuff like gravure, it¡¯s a stretchy pose that¡¯s effective with anybody. But it¡¯s a shame. It¡¯s true that Saeki is cute and is popular with boys, but let me deny that she has any adult charm. This is the so called child¡¯s body. There is charm but no sexual appeal. ¡°Ha! Where on your body do you have adult charm?¡± ¡°Stop, Kazamachi-kun. You¡¯re now trying to book a cheap travel ticket to Sanzu River.¡± Saeki said that and threw up her fist. That¡¯s right, her parents were some sort of martial art instructors. ¡°Cancel, cancel!¡± ¡°Please properly pay for the cancellation fee and the administrative fee.¡± She smiled while grinning and also ran towards the kitchen. ¡°Auuu¡± ¡°Daa! Aaa!¡± The happy twins that were both playing around with my hands. ¡°Women are scary. Are you guys going to be like that too?¡± Even though I asked such a pointless question, of course, Jaja and Nana can¡¯t answer. Only these two that are happily playing, are now becoming my only source for support. Chapter 36 - The Daughter of the Wind is Thinking Back After Kunpei-san fell asleep, I pretended to fall asleep. Nana started to cry because of Jaja, I rocked the two to sleep. Today, one of the two was crying every two hours, so we were exhausted. It didn¡¯t even take a second, for Kunpei-san, who was tried out from the turmoil at lunch and the matter between me and Mikuma-san, to fall asleep after making sure that Nana was finally asleep. I put my hand on Nana¡¯s stomach, and she turned her peaceful face towards me. It was a calm face. It was a lovely face. Her stiff hair spread out facing the sky, and her always open eyes were only closed gently now. After a short while, Kunpei-san started to breathe rhythmically. I was next to the window, then there was Jaja, Nana, and subsequently Kunpei-san. We were separated apart, but it didn¡¯t feel far. The distance between me and Kunpei-san felt just right. I came in between Jaja and Nana, and moved closer to Kunpei-san. The person who hatched my beloved twins. And for that reason, the person who was tied up. Because there was no reason for me to stay by Kunpei-san, other than that. A person who is kind, clumsy, serious and stubborn, and also annoyingly honest. That is the current impression I held of the man, Kazamachi Kunpei. I reached out my left hand and caressed Kunpei-san¡¯s cheeks. You healed my loneliness. You taught me love. You granted me treasures. My fingertips got hot. It was impossible not to thank you. It seems I fell deeply in love. I am a dragon. A proud dragon that rules over the skies. The blue light that showed the way to the heavens. The mother I loved always raised me saying that. A kind mother with a sharp tongue. A kind mother, so she was always strict. I still want to meet you. I wished I could stay with my mother until the end of the world. That was an impossible dream. Dragons were mediators. The responsibility of my mother, the current generation Dragon King of the Sky was so heavy that the young me was unable to understand. That¡¯s why mother had the duty to see to the ground and the sky that was stretched because of the world collision. My selfishness kept her back 10 years, I couldn¡¯t hold my mother back anymore. It was lonely¡­ It was painful¡­ Full of anxiety and grief, I spent 40 years like that. I was cowardly, I couldn¡¯t mix in and live with those dragon-like beastmen. I also easily succumbed to loneliness, I couldn¡¯t completely cast them away and seclude myself in a far away place. I couldn¡¯t take a step forward or backwards, I used the assets that mother left behind behind to stock up on minimum necessities I needed on earth, and I hunted everyday for food in the dungeon. My spirit wore away, I felt colder and colder by the day. At that time, I came across a family in front of the house that was closest to my nest. An elderly couple from the wolf tribe lived there, a splendid home. I know that the grandfather moved to Hokkaido with their grandchildren couple after the grandmother passed away. We exchanged about that much. A tall, glasses wearing man gazed at he house with a satisfied expression. That radiance in his eyes were so strong that I curiously called out. ¡°Good afternoon.¡± ¡°N? Ah, good afternoon. Are you a child from this neighborhood?¡± ¡°Yes. I live beyond the forest.¡± It wasn¡¯t a lie. If you didn¡¯t stray and go straight through the forest, my nest was there. ¡°This town is such a nice place. The air is delicious, and above all, such a cute girl lives here.¡± It was a compliment that didn¡¯t give any discomfort. ¡°Are you moving here?¡± ¡°Ah, we came here to check it out with that intention. Look, those are my sons.¡± The man pointed to a place where two brothers were at. They were laughing in the garden. The younger brother had flowing hair and looked very bright, and the older brother was tall, and had scary looking eyes. ¡°It looks like they¡¯re happy with it. I¡¯m relieved.¡± The man looked at the two affectionately and nodded. They looked happy, how nice, I thought. I was envious of things like a family being together. As if he was pacifying the younger brother, the older brother stroked the younger brother¡¯s head with a bitter smile. That was the first blow. Even though his eyes looked evil, he was very kind. Even though I thought he was scary, he had a very warm smile. An electric shock ran through me from the top of my head to the tip of my toes. I opened my eyes wide and stared. Even now, I don¡¯t understand why. But I was certain, that on that day, it was love at first sight. As I thought about that unforgettable day, I once again traced my finger over Kunpei-san¡¯s cheek. Just the fingertips glided across. He made a ticklish sound and crinkled his brows. I feel apologetic again. Since, I¡¯m fairly unreasonable. Even so, I can¡¯t separate from this person. After all, the thoughts of that day grew stronger and stronger, and surely shaped the current me. I¡¯ve only experienced two days, but I already cant let go. Please, my beloved daughters, don¡¯t snatch that papa away. As I prayed for that, I fell asleep. Chapter 37 - Mother Yule (1) I remembered the dining table from hell that was like the Last Supper. I overcame the pressure, even though my stomach felt like it was pierced with strong acid. I told Mikuma our house number and our phone number, who my dad drove home, and that first smile I saw for the first time seemed to be a death sentence. It¡¯s been 2 weeks since then. The twins are the picture of health, at least from what I can see, Jaja and Nana are healthily crying every day. In the morning they wake up and cry, during lunch they eat and cry, in the evening they play and cry, and in the middle of the night, they for some reason cry and shout. We can¡¯t take our eyes off them. Their sleeping time and mental power were slowly being whittled away. In contrast to me, who was getting weaker day by day, Aoi was improving as a mother day by day. For example, even if she was in a deep sleep, she would show super-responsiveness and get up at an unstoppable speed because of the children¡¯s preparatory movement of their crying sounds. It¡¯s the part before ¡®Fuee¡¯? I kind of understand it. There is also remarkable improvement in her motherly skills. How to soothe them, how to put them to sleep, shortening the time to change diapers, and quickly changing to breastfeeding. Before I realized it she¡¯s already rolled up her clothes, I really wish you¡¯ll stop that. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you my thoughts, so it¡¯s all right to look at me without minding it?¡± Not! I care! In the first place, it turned out that this fellows view of love was learned from TV. On the rooftop of a building where you can see the sunset, an ordinary person wouldn¡¯t be able to enter a place like that. She confided in Mikuma and Saeki who came to play every Saturday that she wanted to be confessed to by me in a place like that. As for Mikuma, she was visibly different from before. First was the exposure. She was very shy and had her face hidden by her hair until middle school. Now it was completely open. The thick glasses were changed into fashionable red frames, and now she could see straight through into my eyes. She probably mustered a considerable amount of courage. She looks embarrassed and her face is always red, I¡¯m worried. It¡¯s casual clothes. I didn¡¯t have many opportunities to see her in casual clothing, but I remember that she used to wear jackets and jeans, it¡¯s not that it didn¡¯t suit her, but it was unfashionable. Her breasts, are honestly huge. She told me that she disliked the stabbing gazes of men when she wore those clothes. Even though I made sure not to ask. Presently she was wearing a sweater where you could clearly see her figure, and a flared skirt that only reached the knee, and high socks. She came closer to me with that appearance. ¡°It was my advice! Do you like it?¡± Of course, it was Saeki that answered me with a smile with which you could only feel malice from. It is necessary to carefully discuss whether you like or hate it. Originally, Mikuma Yuuno had a hidden cuteness that was secretly sought after within the boys. If she wasn¡¯t hidden anymore, that would be terrible. Saeki also visited my house as Mikuma¡¯s chaperon. This fellow who was good with kids was a great playmate for Jaja and Nana. Well, it seems like Jaja and Nana think of Saeki as a plaything. Furthermore, I¡¯m still not sure if she was serious or not, saying that Shouhei is a candidate for a boyfriend without holding back, something annoys me. I think only Mikuma knows Saeki¡¯s true feelings. After all, they¡¯ve known each other since preschool. Various things happened, it was now the end of March. It¡¯s almost time for the new school semester to start. In the dining room of the Kazamachi household, you could feel the pleasant sensation of the arrival of spring. ¡°I think it¡¯s going to be more or less alright, though?¡± A woman with shoulder length blonde wavy hair sipped the teacup that was used for visitors. Officer Doggy with droopy dog ears asked me a question. ¡°Your mother?¡± ¡°My mother is retiring soon so she¡¯ll have a lot of spare time. Ah, she¡¯s tight lipped so you don¡¯t have to worry about Dragoline-san¡¯s info leaking out. She¡¯s someone that¡¯s a lump of justice.¡± We are talking about Aoi and them. Starting from next week, Shouhei and I start elementary school and high school respectively, and my father has work. It¡¯s just in case when Aoi and the kids are alone during the day. Aoi is strong. Since she transcends other living things, she has the confidence that she won¡¯t lose to any assailants. But she can¡¯t look after both Jaja and Nana 24/7. There are times where she¡¯ll have to go to the bathroom, and there is also a risk that she¡¯ll fall asleep because of lack of sleep. In addition, this is her first year as a mother. Even though she¡¯s more or less getting used to it, there are still a lot of things she may not know. I¡¯m worried leaving Aoi by herself. When I was thinking about what to do, Officer Doggy raised a helpful suggestion when she visited my house during a regular patrol. ¡°Mother likes children, she also used to be a childcare teacher. Rather than hiring a regular sitter, I think it¡¯s better to leave it to a trusted person who has more experience.¡± ¡°Yes, I think so too. I would like to ask for your help from here on.¡± Officer Doggy¡¯s mother, who worked at a local preschool, will come to our house during the daytime. She¡¯s retiring in April, so in a couple of days and she seemed troubled that she¡¯ll have so much free time. Rather than asking someone else to hide our circumstances, it would be much better to confess everything to the trusted Officer Doggy¡¯s mother and to work together. She also lives in our neighborhood. ¡°Un. Well, I¡¯m going back. Officer Inoue will come tomorrow.¡± Officer Maggie or Officer Inoue visits our house everyday to make sure that there are no abnormalities. I¡¯m really indebted to them. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, this is also a public service. A secret to the country?¡± Officer Doggy revealed a playful smile like she was playing a prank. This person has a good style and is a beautiful woman, and is sometimes childish. I guess this is popular. I saw officer Doggy to the front door, and for some reason went out to the garden. With the sunlight that induces sleepiness illuminating the surroundings, I stretched. The weather is clear today. It is a good day. Crying came from the second floor window. It appears that, Nana, who was taking a nap with Aoi, got hungry and woke up. Well then, shall papa also go? Chapter 38 - Mother Yule (2) ¡°What happened?¡± I knocked on the door and entered after hearing a reply. Aoi was hugging Nana inside the room. Jaja was sleeping in the bed. ¡°Ah, Kunpei-san. It seems like Nana flew again when she was sleeping and she was shocked when she fell.¡± Aoi comforted the unsettled Nana by slowly moving her up and down. ¡°Again, huh¡­ it¡¯s happening pretty often.¡± ¡°She¡¯s growing, isn¡¯t she.¡± ¡°Fue, fuehhhh¡± ¡°Yes, yes. Nana-chan, it was scary, wasn¡¯t it. There, there.¡± Two days after flying in the shopping mall, Nana floated in the dining room. It was when she was napping peacefully, I was shocked when she started to float. ¡°It seems like the dragon¡¯s growth rate has been accelerated because of the human factors. How interesting. Fantastic!¡± Those were the words of Alba Germain who comes to gather his meals nearby the garden every morning. As always, he says stuff that¡¯s hard to understand. Anyway, I don¡¯t really understand, but Dr.Rat-san says what he wants. It took me half a day to understand. We remembered the danger Jaja was in and already took countermeasures. Basically, they don¡¯t fly when we hold them. They often float when there¡¯s no one there, when they¡¯re playing by themselves or when they¡¯re sleeping. So the things we had to be careful of was, them drifting with the wind and using up their power and falling. There were holes pierced into the backs of their clothes so that their wings could pass through. A short soft string was passed through that hole and tied to a loop on their baby futons. It¡¯s a measure to prevent from flying too high. It allows them to float 10 cm. If it¡¯s any shorter than that, they can¡¯t move when they¡¯re sleeping normally and it¡¯ll make them stressed. Of course, we weighed the baby futon down. Furthermore, the mat was changed into feathers, softness was key. Just in case, we covered my room in colored mats and also made a similar space in the dining room. That mat is sold at the home hardware store. Even so, there¡¯s still some impact remaining when falling. It¡¯s not that the height hurts them, but when they suddenly fall, they always get surprised and it¡¯s the reason they cry at night. When we¡¯re sleeping sideways, we make sure to use our bodies to press down the comforter, but sometimes we roll over. So, I attempted to verify something. I can¡¯t stay not knowing anything forever. Their flying ability is limited. According to Aoi, they won¡¯t keep on using that power to fly, where their wings receive the wind. I don¡¯t understand it well, but it seems that if their wings receive wind, they borrow the power of the spirits. Even the experienced Aoi affirmed that she couldn¡¯t fly for long periods of time with that power. In other words, I know that they can¡¯t float for long. If that¡¯s the case, what we need to know is how long they can float for and how long until they¡¯re able to float again after being exhausted? This verification has not gone well so far. Some days go by where they don¡¯t fly and others where they fly twice or three times in one day. There just isn¡¯t enough samples. Speaking of what we can do, we will never take our eyes off them when they fly and not get in their way. If they exhaust their power to the limit, the time they can spend flying increases. They can fly for around 10 minutes. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s long enough to be called flying, so I think it¡¯s better to increase the time they can fly. We must be careful from now on. ¡°Did somebody come over?¡± ¡°Huh? Ah, it was Officer Doggy. It was about how Officer Doggy¡¯s mother would come to take care of you guys while we¡¯re at school. Isn¡¯t it tough to take care of the kids by yourself?¡± She looked up at me while holding Nana. ¡°Y-yes. Well, I was wondering about what I was going to do. I¡¯m wondering what kind of person is she¡­¡± For Aoi, who has stranger anxiety, she would be uneasy coming into contact with people outside of the Kazamachi household. She smiled with a troubled expression. ¡°She works at a nursery in our neighborhood. I don¡¯t think we have to worry about her treatment of children. Well, I don¡¯t know what she¡¯s like though. Shall I contact Officer Doggy and greet her first?¡± ¡°Yes. Where¡¯s Shouhei-san?¡± ¡°Shopping, he just left.¡± Shouhei has been acting strange recently. Sometimes he blanks out like he¡¯s thinking about something, and sometimes he even fails housework, which rarely happens. The other day, he forgot to buy curry roux, so it became a large vegetable onion soup. I appreciate him taking the initiative to take care of Jaja and Nana, but it feels like he¡¯s forcing himself. He doesn¡¯t tell me anything even if I ask. What should I do. ¡°Uwa¡± ¡°Nana also settled down. Would you like to sleep a little more?¡± ¡°Lie down and rest until Jaja wakes up. Do you need to change Nana¡¯s diaper?¡± Leave it to me. Even I¡¯m gradually improving my skills. In the beginning, I was perplexed by the moving kids while changing them, but now it¡¯s different. Let¡¯s make it an artistic diaper. ¡°Hey Nana, come here.¡± I spread both hands and called Nana. ¡°Nuu©`¡± Nana held Aoi¡¯s clothes tightly and wouldn¡¯t let go. ¡°Hey¡± ¡°Nnnn©`¡± She buried her face into Aoi¡¯s chest. ¡°A-ha-ha¡­¡± Aoi laughed bitterly. Nana loves Aoi. Even when she sleeps, she¡¯s accustomed to sleeping in Aoi¡¯s arms. On the contrary, Jaja makes a delighted clamor when I hold her, she gets so delighted that she tires herself out and falls asleep. They¡¯re twins, but they¡¯re different as expected. ¡°¡­ ah.¡± It seems like Jaja woke up. ¡°Auu, ah!¡± She moved her arms and legs flustered and energetically appealed to me. ¡°Did I wake you up. Sorry.¡± I could not hold Nana, but I can hold Jaja. I held her by the sides and slowly lifted her up. ¡°Au, ah!¡± Jaja looked right at me and delightfully rejoiced with a big smile. ¡°Jaja likes papa, right.¡± ¡°I also want to hug Nana, but¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll be fine.¡± When I was bending down to sit next to Aoi, the doorbell rang. ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Is it a guest?¡± How rare for successive visitors. If it¡¯s sales or solicitation, I know it¡¯s rude, but it¡¯s not a good time. ¡°I¡¯ll look after Jaja.¡± ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll come back quickly.¡± I entrusted Jaja to Aoi. ¡°A-ah! Nuu!¡± Jaja gripped onto my clothes and I couldn¡¯t shake my hand free. I feel kind of bad for her. ¡°Come on, stay here.¡± I gently pulled Jaja off and Aoi picked up the twins. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m counting on you.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I left the thoughts of being pulled back in the room and went downstairs. During that time, the doorbell continued to ring. ¡°What is it? How persistent.¡± I got it, you don¡¯t have to press it so many times. How thoughtless. ¡°Yes.¡± I put on the entrance way slippers and opened the door. ¡°You finally came out.¡± Standing there, was an extremely beautiful woman. Chapter 39 - Mother Yule (3) ¡°What are you planning, keeping a guest waiting like this.¡± ¡°Come again?¡± There was an extremely beautiful woman standing at the front door of my house. An unworldly beauty was crossing her arms arrogantly. The transparent blue hair that was illuminated by the sunlight was neatly aligned at her forehead, silky smooth long hair that went down to her waist. She was wearing a bold dress that had a large slit that revealed her chest and her charming bare legs were freely exposed. She was about the same height as me, and her waist was thin enough to worry about it snapping. Above all, the most eye-catching things were the large white horns on both sides of her head and the thick tail coming from her back. It was like you were looking at a painting. The person standing there was so beautiful that she made you lose sense of reality. ¡°Oi, are you listening?¡± ¡°U-um, can I help you?¡± The beautiful woman snapped me out of it. That was dangerous. I lost myself for a second there. Wait a second. Horns and a tail? ¡°I¡¯m coming in.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I was taken aback by those unexpected words and she rudely passed through the doorway between the gaps and entered the house with her shoes on. ¡°Eh, um, hey, I said hey!¡± Since she was moving so naturally, I silently saw her off reflexively. Eh, are the quality of recent robbers all so high? Is such a beautiful woman intruding and committing a robbery? Not! The sudden incident made me freeze up! Who is she! ¡°W-what are you doing! I¡¯m going to call the police!¡± I was flustered, ran over and grabbed the robber¡¯s right arm. ¡°How annoying. Sleep trash.¡± She cursed with a violent tone that was unimaginable coming from a woman of her appearance, and she swung her free left arm. ¡°Gah!¡± In an instant, I was struck by something. My body was blown away and the scenery flew by at great speed. Before I noticed, I was lying on the street in front of my house. ¡°Ku, keh! Gah!¡± I shook my head and my vision was spinning in circles. Pain was running through my entire body, and expelled the air that has climbed up from the lungs ¡°W-what.¡± I don¡¯t understand. There¡¯s three meters between the front door and here. How can she send me flying so far with such a slender arm!? ¡°I-I have to stop her.¡± My thoughts were in chaos but I couldn¡¯t just leave it as is. I somehow got up and returned to my house while clearing my dizziness. What came to my mind were the kidnappers that stole Jaja and Nana¡¯s egg. Don¡¯t tell me that it was revealed that they were here!? I quickly passed through the gate and struggled back to the front door, took off my slippers and went inside. ¡°¡­ how obstinate.¡± The woman was in the dining room. She was searching for something in the room without touching anything. Did she perceive my presence? She turned around and furrowed her brows. ¡°W-w-what¡¯s with you!¡± I was confused by her calm behavior. ¡°Ah? Why do I have to tell you something like that? Shut up if you don¡¯t want to die.¡± The woman looked over the room without any interest in me. ¡°¡­ above, is it?¡± My heartbeat rose at those words. ¡°¡­ what are you looking for.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to shut up.¡± ¡°You! Who are you!¡± Without waiting for me to finish, the woman raised her right arm. I promptly crossed my arms and guarded my face. ¡°Oof!¡± A gust of wind collided with my body at the same time. My body was lifted up without much effort and I made a loud noise after crashing into the corridor wall. ¡°Dah!¡± The remaining bit of air in my lungs exploded out of my mouth. Just like that I collapsed to the floor as my legs gave out one by one. ¡°Wa¡­ Gaha¡­! Wh¡­ what¡­.¡¯ I forcibly took hold of my hazy consciousness and somehow managed to avoid fainting. I shook my head once again, and blinked repeatedly. ¡°You¡¯re fine, huh. Thank your parents, brat.¡± What I heard was the robber¡¯s voice, as if nothing had happened. The woman was going to pass by me who was collapsed. ¡°W-wait¡­!¡± I gathered all the strength in my body, moved my arms and sat up. I restrained my trembling legs and stood up. I approached the woman who passed by me and grabbed her shoulder. ¡°¡­ you really are obstinate, aren¡¯t ya.¡± The woman turned around and sighed like it was bothersome. ¡°This hand, if you don¡¯t release it, I¡¯m going to burn you to death, you know?¡± ¡°Kunpei-san! What happened!?¡± As the woman glared at me, Aoi¡¯s voice came from the second floor. ¡°Aoi! Don¡¯t come! Take Jaja and Nana and run away!¡± I shouted. This woman¡¯s aim was Aoi and the kids. If it¡¯s Aoi who can fly, she can escape with the kids! ¡°Aoi¡­¡± Eh? ¡°Ah, she seems healthy¡­¡± The woman looked up at the second floor and smiled delightfully. Huh? It kind of feels off? ¡°Kunpei-san! Are you okay!¡± Aoi appeared at the top of the stairs. She was wearing pajamas with a flustered expression. ¡°Ai! My cute gem!¡± ¡°Kunpei-s¡­ Ai?¡± Aoi stiffened like she couldn¡¯t move. Ai was indeed Aoi¡¯s name when she was younger¡­ ¡°My bad! I¡¯m late!¡± ¡°Eh¡­ huh?¡± The woman approached the stiff Aoi with both hands spread wide open. ¡°I¡¯m back! Mother has returned!¡± ¡°Moth¡­er!?¡± Eh? Mother? Chapter 40 - And Then Visitation Trial (1) TN: Hi! We set up a new Discord server for announcements and website status. Link is at the bottom. It¡¯s also probably the best place to contact us if you need anything. Enjoy the chapter! ¡°Come here my precious gem!¡± ¡°Mother!¡± Aoi vigorously leapt into her mother¡¯s chest from the top of the stairs. Tears were overflowing from her eyes and she was bursting with delight. ¡°Mother! I wanted to see you!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve also wanted to see you! You¡¯ve gotten big!¡± Aoi¡¯s mom had such a rich expression that she didn¡¯t even seem like the person who disinterestedly knocked me down earlier. Her smile was also beautiful, it was like she was expressing her delight with her whole body. As for me, I couldn¡¯t keep up with the sudden emotional parent and child reunion after that tense situation earlier. After all, my entire body hurts! ¡°How come!? Why all of a sudden!?¡± Aoi who was exhausted from crying looked up and questioned her mother. Was it almost forty years since they last met? ¡°I was finishing up minor business in a place called the Grand Canyon in America, but I came because I was worried about the flurried flow of wind and the delighted spirits flying here.¡± Aoi¡¯s mother wiped her tears with her finger while speaking with a gentle expression. That¡¯s right. When I think about who she¡¯s similar to, isn¡¯t she just like Aoi. An Aoi that had various sizes increased. ¡°I actually wanted to come a little earlier but I had a lot of troublesome things to take care of. Sorry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just glad that you came!¡± ¡°Aaah! My daughter is so cute! The cutest in the world!¡± Aoi nuzzled up against a chest that was the same size as hers. That gesture was indeed lovely. Aoi¡¯s mother was knocked out by that gesture and she hugged Aoi even more tightly and rubbed their cheeks together. ¡°Well, well, Yule is the same as ever.¡± ¡°Woah!¡± Before anyone realized, a fluffy robed rat was standing on my right shoulder. Alba Germain. A dubious rat that was the doctor for dragons. ¡°She used to be a tomboy with a sharp tongue, but she¡¯s been like this ever since giving birth to Aoi. We were all astonished.¡± ¡°I can hear you, old man!¡± Aoi¡¯s mother scowled at Alba Germain while she hugged Aoi. That force was intense, I was overpowered and took a few steps back. ¡°Um, Yule?¡± ¡°Yes! My Mother, Yuriel Dragoline! Night Sky¡¯s Yule! Dragon King of the Sky!¡± Aoi proudly introduced her to me while still in her chest. ¡°If you call me that familiarly, I¡¯ll kill you.¡± ¡°Eh¡± Only the way she was looking at me hasn¡¯t changed at all. ¡°By the way, Aoi?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Aoi continued to behave like a spoiled child as she had her head caressed. It was my first time seeing Aoi being so unreserved. ¡°I heard from old man Alba? It seems like your spawning season already came?¡± ¡°Un¡± ¡°Was it tough? The first one must have hurt, right? When I had you it also hurt a lot. You did well.¡± ¡°Un¡­ Hic¡­ un!¡± Aoi sobbed as she was overcome with emotion, Yule-san affectionately caressed her head. ¡°I never thought it would come so soon¡­ it¡¯s my bad. I wasn¡¯t next to you at such an important time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay because you came.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve come, my precious daughter.¡± There was an atmosphere flowing through the downstairs hallway of my house where it made it hard to interject. I couldn¡¯t just say that I wanted her to take off her shoes at a time like this. ¡°I planned to return after everything settled down. It took a lot of time because the world was more chaotic than expected. The timing was bad, huh.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, you¡¯re the monarch of the sky. That¡¯s right!¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Aoi separated from Yule-san¡¯s chest and pulled her towards the stairs. ¡°My daughters! I¡¯ll show them to you!¡± ¡°Aah, that¡¯s right! I came to see my grandchildren!¡± I saw the parent and child, who noisily rushed upstairs, off in a daze ¡°It¡¯s a calamity for you, eh?¡± The rat gently tapped my cheeks with the staff he was holding. His seemingly delight irritated me. ¡°Truly¡­¡± ¡°Since long ago, Yule has no interest for anything but stuff related to Aoi.¡± Even so, I don¡¯t understand why she sent me flying twice. My back hurts¡­ ¡°However¡­¡± Alba Germain jumped off my shoulder and landed on the floor silently. ¡°Dragons from her generation don¡¯t particularly trust any tribe other than dragons. So it can¡¯t be helped.¡± ¡°How old is she?¡± Based on her human appearances she looks like she¡¯s in her early 20s. ¡°Is she over 2000? A genius that became the Dragon King of the Sky at an early age. Even among all the generations, she¡¯s one of the strongest.¡± ¡°Dragon King of the Sky, huh.¡± I¡¯ve heard it from Aoi several times, but I still don¡¯t get it. Shouldn¡¯t a king have a country? ¡°Dragon King is a title given to those who are responsible for the world¡¯s harmony.¡± ¡°Harmony¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. The Dragon King of the Sky corrects all disturbances in the sky. She also restrains rampaging spirits and correct abnormal weather.¡± Are you mistaken about the size of that scale? It has literally become the world scale. ¡°Are there others?¡± ¡°There must always be four dragon kings. Dragon King of the Sky, Dragon King of the Sea, Dragon King of the Earth, and Dragon Princess.¡± ¡°Hm? The last one isn¡¯t a king.¡± Isn¡¯t it a princess. ¡°Even though they¡¯re called kings, it¡¯s just a title. The sky, sea, and earth are fixed, the dragon princess connects them. None of them can be missing. Even if the sea and sky are calm, if the earth isn¡¯t, living things will die. If there is no dragon princess, the sky will bring disaster to the ground, the ground will erode the sea, and the sea will pollute the sky.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really understand¡­¡± ¡°It has been the dragon¡¯s responsibility since ancient times. It is not something that people and beastmen need to worry about, and for dragons, they¡¯re just doing what they need to do, not for the other tribes. It seems like it¡¯s instinctual.¡± Hmm. As expected, even if you explain I won¡¯t be able to understand because I¡¯m an idiot. If it was just by Yule-san¡¯s appearance, she could be seen as a princess from any country, but unfortunately, the gap between that and her speech and conduct is too confusing. Despite her innocent appearance, her rough way of speaking was close to fraud. It was all too fast and my brain wasn¡¯t able to process it. All I know right now is that my back hurts. ¡°Shall we go up as well?¡± ¡°Ah, for now.¡± I can¡¯t do anything right now but watch what happens. ¡°I¡¯ll come after closing the door.¡± I also have to clean the floors later. Chapter 41 - And Then Visitation Trial (2) ¡°Twins, how rare? But it¡¯s auspicious! Sky dragons have never increased by two before!¡± Yule-san¡¯s voice could be heard from my room. I climbed the stairs while I experienced my creaking back pain. When I peeked in from the crack of the door, Aoi and Yule-san were hugging the twins joyously. ¡°Look Nana, it¡¯s grandma.¡± ¡°U?¡± Nana hugged Yule-san¡¯s arm with an even more incredulous look than usual. ¡°Nana, huh. Do you remember those legends?¡± ¡°Un. My favorite stories are about the two heroes.¡± ¡°Then is this one called Jaja? Look Jaja, it¡¯s your grandma.¡± ¡°Ah©`!¡± ¡°How lively! They¡¯ll surely grow into fine children!¡± Jaja, who was being held by Aoi, happily responded to Yule-san¡¯s voice. It¡¯s a happy family circle no matter how you look. Even though it was my room, I hesitated to take a step forward. ¡°Jaja is daddy¡¯s girl, and Nana is a mommy¡¯s girl. Nana won¡¯t go to sleep if she¡¯s not in my arms.¡± ¡°Ah, how nostalgic. It was also terible when I had you. There were times when I couldn¡¯t sleep at all.¡± ¡°Wah, was I like that?¡± ¡°It hasn¡¯t changed that you¡¯re a spoiled child. When I thought you were asleep and removed my arm, you immediately woke up and started crying.¡± Yule-san nostalgically talked about stories of Aoi which I didn¡¯t know. Aoi who was listening looked embarrassed and was smiling. Smiling with a face that I¡¯ve never seen. ¡°Ah, Kunpei-san! Jaja is spreading her wings¡­ Kunpei-san, why aren¡¯t you coming in?¡± ¡°A-ah. It¡¯s nothing.¡± I don¡¯t even know why. For some reason it was difficult to go there. However, I didn¡¯t say that. ¡°Kunpei-san?¡± ¡°Ai, Nana is calling.¡± ¡°Eh? What¡¯s wrong Nana? Is it the diaper?¡± Nana was unsettled in Yule-san¡¯s arms. It was like a painting of a picturesque family that won¡¯t allow any outsiders to intrude. Even a speck of black won¡¯t be allowed, and that black may be me. ¡°Kunpei-san, can you take Jaja for a bit?¡± ¡°O-ok.¡± I received Jaja and embraced her. She felt pleasantly warm and soft. She looked straight at my face and laughed. ¡°Au. Daa.¡± Jaja clapped my cheeks with both hands. It didn¡¯t hurt at all since there was no strength. I continued to look at Jaja silently for a while. Since I didn¡¯t know where to look in the room. ¡°There you go, are you refreshed Nana?¡± ¡°Ah©`¡± Aoi who changed Nana¡¯s diapers stood up and handed her over to Yule-san. Then she turned around and came towards me. ¡°Kunpei-san, thank yo¡­ Kunpei-san, aren¡¯t you dirty?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Aoi looked at my clothes and felt strange. ¡°A-ah. I¡¯ll change.¡± ¡°Your back wasn¡¯t that dirty earlier, which reminds me, there was a loud sound earlier. What happened?¡± ¡°That was, uh¡­¡± I was at a loss for words. Mistaking Yule-san for a kidnapper and I was blown away twice, for some reason I didn¡¯t feel like saying that to the current Aoi. ¡°Ah, that was the sound of me blowing this guy away. The dirt got there on the first time.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Yule-san replied like it was nothing. Nana was yawning in her arms. ¡°He was getting in the way of meeting you. I took care to make sure he didn¡¯t die, and I just shook his body with the wind to stun him without hitting him. I blew him away without it having effect, but I properly helped him with the landing, so he didn¡¯t have any serious injuries, right?¡± I realized after she said it. I didn¡¯t have many scratches for flying such a distance. Just some on my knees and arms. ¡°W-why did you do something like that mother! Kunpei-san, where does it hurt? Is it your back?¡± Aoi went behind me in a fluster and rolled up my shirt. ¡°Your back! It¡¯s turning green! Mother!!¡± Aoi raised her voice while massaging my back. ¡°Humans are such fragile creatures.¡± ¡°Mother, I¡¯m mad! Apologize to Kunpei-san!¡± Aoi shouted at Yule-san who was cackling in laughter. ¡°Why should I have to apologize to something like a human.¡± ¡°Mother!!!¡± Aoi had an angry expression and pressed Yule-san for an answer with a red face. ¡°That reminds me Ai, did you not listen to what I told you?¡± ¡°What!? More importantly, Kunpei-s¡­¡± ¡°Why did you approach this human. I should have taught you since long ago that human contact should be kept to the bare minimum.¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­¡± Yule-san glared at Aoi. Aoi recoiled at her intensity and tightly gripped onto my clothes. Once again, I¡¯m being excluded. Jaja gripped my cheeks with both her her hands. ¡°I should have told you. Humans and beastmen are indeed weak, but they¡¯re unfair. You¡¯ll suffer if they discover you.¡± ¡°Kunpei-san isn¡¯t like that!¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s a good chance that this guy or his family are aiming for the babies.¡± A switch flipped in me when she said those words. ¡°¡­ My family and I won¡¯t do something like that.¡± For the first time since entering this room, I looked at Yule-san¡¯s eyes. Somehow I was certain that there was anger dwelling in those eyes that were glaring at me. ¡°I don¡¯t trust you. There are many who approached dragons by saying that in the past and suddenly attacked. Well, they¡¯ll usually have the tables turned on them and either have a painful experience or be killed.¡± ¡°You might know about those guys, but my family is different.¡± I also resolutely glared back. ¡°K-kunpei-san?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you think of humans, but suddenly coming to visit and blowing me away, then complaining about my family. No matter how you put it, isn¡¯t that very rude?¡± That¡¯s right, I was getting irritated. ¡°Heh, just when I thought you were a coward that could only endure, you can talk back, huh.¡± Yule-san scornfully laughed at my words and approached while holding Nana. ¡°But look at your opponent before you bark brat. Standing in front of you is absolute strength, the top of the dragon species, a king who controls the sky, that¡¯s me.¡± Her face approached mine to the point where our noses were almost touching. Her line of sight never parted from my eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t get too carried away.¡± ¡°And what if I do?¡± The intimidating sense she gave off made it feel like the air was trembling. I felt like she could kill me with just her eyes. However, I continued to stare at her resolutely. ¡°I¡¯ll wipe out mankind.¡± That beautiful woman revealed her fangs and smiled dangerously. Chapter 42 - And Then Visitation Trial (3) A chill ran down my spine. I had goosebumps all over my body and my knees wouldn¡¯t stop trembling. My molars clattered and the jaws that I put strength into to stop it started to squeak. ¡°The peak of the four dragon species, don¡¯t make light of Dragon Kings, human.¡± Yule-san intimidated me while smiling like she was enjoying it. It felt like time has stopped around us. The air tangled around my arms and I couldn¡¯t move. It was difficult to breathe. The intimidating air rained down like rattling beads, and just standing here depleted my strength. ¡°M-mother, stop it!¡± ¡°Fue, yaaaaaaaa!¡± ¡°Hic, Fueeeeeeeee!¡± Jaja and Nana couldn¡¯t endure that atmosphere and burst into tears. ¡°Oops, my bad. Sorry, did grandma scare you?¡± At that moment, everything was released. I regained control over my body and took large gulps. Sweat was pouring out. My heart was pulsating. If I lost focus, I might even collapse into the bed. ¡°Aaaaaa! Fuyaaaaa!¡± Jaja was strongly gripping onto my clothes. I spontaneously firmly embraced her. I needed that warmness and softness more than anything right now. ¡°Gyaaaaaa!¡± ¡°Nana, come here.¡± When Aoi extended her arms, Nana immediately left Yule-san and stretched out both hands towards Aoi. ¡°Oh, as expected Aoi is the best?¡± Of course, ya monster. You would want to be embraced by a kind mother rather than someone who gives a premonition of death just by being there. ¡°Fuyaaa¡­ aaa¡­¡± After burying my face in Jaja for a while, it seems like she stopped crying ad started pulling my hair. ¡°¡­ Thank you, Jaja.¡± I feel like I was protected by Jaja. I really wanted to inform her of my gratitude, so I quietly muttered. ¡°Aa.¡± You¡¯re welcome, she replied. In my imagination. ¡°Mother¡­ why are you like that towards humans¡± Aoi questioned Yule-san in a sorrowful voice. ¡°Hm, that¡¯ right. It¡¯s such a cruel story that I never told you before.¡± ¡°What story¡­?¡± While comforting Nana who was still unsettled, Aoi put herself on guard. ¡°Alissa¡¯s story.¡± ¡°Alissa?¡± Aoi tilted her head. It seems like it was an unfamiliar name. ¡°The wyvern, Sati¡¯s daughter, Aoi.¡± ¡°Uncle.¡± When I realized, a fluffy rat was sitting on the bed. He was gnawing on a rice cracker that he got from who knows where while waving his staff around. ¡°You¡­ where were you?¡± ¡°I was getting lunch in the kitchen. Since your younger brother isn¡¯t here, there wasn¡¯t anything satisfactory.¡± This bastard, was he just doing as he pleases? ¡°Who¡¯s Sati-san?¡± ¡°A dragon that was older than me, in the same generation as my mother. The daughter, Alissa, was twenty years younger than me.¡± A lot of past tenses¡­ ¡°What happened to Auntie Alissa?¡± ¡°She was snatched.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Aoi froze in place. The arms she was hugging Nana with increased in strength. ¡°A story when I was still a child, around 2000 years ago. Before the worlds collided.¡± ¡°At that time, the sky dragon tribe, led by the Sky Dragon at the time, lived in a huge valley near the fort city where the tiger tribe lived.¡± The fluffy rat, Alba Germain, suddenly began to add. Somewhat proudly, and a little lonely. ¡°How nostalgic. It was a peaceful area of our tribe, protected by a strong wind wall that would even knock down a huge tree. Though the place was destroyed and everyone scattered¡­¡± Yule-san continued to speak while gazing at the sky outside the window and remembering. ¡°Alissa was still young. Wyverns were a dragon species that boasted of their flying speed, I mean that was the only thing she could do, but Alissa was too small to do anything else. There were also times when she pulled me along for a walk.¡± ¡°Well, wyverns are still dragons, and wouldn¡¯t lose to beastmen when grown.¡± ¡°One day when Sati left to hunt for food, Alissa had enough time to get out of the valley. She was a very curious child. She always whined that she wanted to fly outside the valley, and was always scolded by everyone.¡± Yule-san narrowed her eyes and continued looking at the sky. I could only see the side of her face, but she looked very sad. ¡°No one noticed that Alissa had slipped out. Winter started and there wasn¡¯t a lot of food, there was also no room left in any nest. There were many unfortunate coincidences.¡± Aoi nestled closer to me. Aoi grabbed my sleeves anxiously, and was hugging Nana who stopped crying. ¡°It happened that a caravan from a faraway country had come to the entrance of the valley. It was a place that was considered taboo by the local beastmen. Perhaps they came to look for ores. After all this time, it doesn¡¯t really matter.¡± ¡°I also wasn¡¯t interested.¡± Alba Germain set the rice cracker to the side. It was a difficult atmosphere to tell him to not put it on top of the bed. ¡°The worst thing was that Alissa was weak, she wasn¡¯t able to judge whether it was dangerous or not, she was also timid and cowardly. The caravan consisted of a combination of demons and beastmen. The caravan who found a young dragon flying out of the valley, shot Alissa down with the demon¡¯s magic.¡± Yule-san wrinkled her brows. Her arms were crossed, and her hands were tightly gripping onto her arms. ¡°There was the strong boar tribe in the caravan. After she fell, writhing in pain, numerous boar tribe restrained Alissa. Alissa was scared and crying until the end. Poor Alissa¡­¡± ¡°W-why do you know about it in such detail?¡± Aoi accidentally let her opinion slip out. Certainly, Alissa was always alone in the story. I wonder who on earth saw it? ¡°That¡¯s of course from those that were a part of the caravan. I was going to say earlier, but half of the beastmen and demons who were involved in this were quickly torn apart by Sati and half were killed in three days. Of course that includes the guy that told us this.¡± Aoi¡¯s body was completely stiff. She was trembling a bit. I couldn¡¯t ignore it, I held her shoulder with my left hand, it seems like it reassured her a bit and her body relaxed. ¡°We knew that Alissa didn¡¯t return on that night. Our entire clan came out and searched for her. Those demons mixed into the city, we finally got information out of some people in the underworld and shady merchants, and we managed to get information of Alissa¡¯s whereabouts three days later.¡± ¡°I was in a period of hibernation that I have every decade at the time. I slept for about four months. If I were there, that wouldn¡¯t have happened. I still regret to this day.¡± Alba Germain closed his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. Unlike his usual shameless appearance, he was quietly lamenting the past. ¡°And then, Alissa was found. Do you want to hear in detail of what state she was in? It was too cruel and inhuman, although I say that, I didn¡¯t see it directly, because the adults didn¡¯t show me. I came to know of it later. ¡° I could hear the sound of Aoi swallowing next to me. Jaja had the thumb of her right hand in her mouth and started playing with Nana. As for me, I imagined the scene while listening to the story, and replaced it with Jaja or Nana, and I was about to throw up. ¡°Oh, by the way Alissa isn¡¯t dead.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I thought that she was dead from the flow of the story. Aoi seemed to be the same, and made a short and surprised voice. ¡°To be precise, she can¡¯t even die.¡± What? I don¡¯t understand. ¡°She has parts missing around her body. Although dragon¡¯s have strong vitality, Alissa, who was still young, couldn¡¯t recover completely. She has grown up like so.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, and also her spirit.¡± Alba Germain added, and Yule-san nodded. That is to say¡­ Too cruel¡­ ¡°Horror that surpasses imagination and the pain that lasts forever, Alissa¡¯s spirit was shattered into pieces. She still lives with Sati in a place where no one approaches. I sometimes search for them, but they don¡¯t know who I am and can¡¯t reply. But only I¡¯ve seen it, that child who was smiling so brightly¡­¡± Yule-san stared at her clenched fist and shut her eyes. And then slowly opened them. ¡°Now then, after listening to the story, you show know that you can¡¯t trust beastmen, demons, and the just as greedy humans, right? Ai¡± Yule-san looked at Aoi with a serious look. ¡°B-but! Kunpei-san is a very kind human! Shouhei-san and father is also very kind¡­¡± ¡°Do you still not understand, you idiot daughter!!¡± ¡°Hii¡± Her sudden loud voice scared Aoi. Jaja and Nana were also surprised and stopped. ¡°We dragons are not stupid! There are various different beastmen, humans and demons! I know that! But not you! Think about the girls!¡± ¡°¡­ Jaja, Nana¡± Aoi looked at the twins. The two opened their eyes wide in surprise, they noticed their mother¡¯s gaze and began to move. ¡°Ah©`¡± ¡°Ee¡± Jaja reached out to Aoi. I lifted Jaja by the armpits and passed her over to Aoi. Aoi carried both twins, one in each arm. Aoi looked at them back and forth and trembled. ¡°This brat and his family are kind? That¡¯s splendid, they helped us, but Ai, no Aoi. Coming down to the human world means that people with evil thoughts will come. The same as Alissa, do you also want Jaja and Nana to experience it?¡± ¡°S-such things!¡± That¡¯s not good. Absolutely not. But what she¡¯s saying is¡­ ¡°So, leave the human world. I will stay until the twins grow up enough. I will go against the traditions of the sky dragon, but I can not let their lives be changed.¡± ¡°T-that can¡¯t be¡­¡± Aoi looked at me with eyes that were pleading for help. But I could not respond to those eyes, I didn¡¯t have an answer. Chapter 43 - And Then Visitation Trial (4) I don¡¯t know what happened. Until this morning, it should have just been a regular morning. I was woken up at night, and only slept a little again, but it still did not bother me at all because Jaja and Nana were cute. Finish breakfast with Aoi alternately, wash dishes for four people including dads, check the weather forecast to make sure it¡¯s sunny, use the washing machine, clean the corridor in the meantime, dry the laundry, be surprised by Aoi¡¯s underwear, received Officer Doggy¡¯s visit. Although there were a lot of various irregular things, it was our daily life. I thought it would be like this tomorrow as well. Yet why was I being given the option of parting with the twins right now? Something that couldn¡¯t be helped, it was unreasonable, just why the hell. ¡°But, but! What about Jaja and Nana¡¯s breast milk! It¡¯s no good without Kunpei-san!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard a bit about it from the old man rat, but is that guy really necessary?¡± Yule-san calmly responded to Aoi¡¯s shout. Alba Germain responded with a bitter smile. ¡°On whether or not he¡¯s necessary, he is. In order for them to grow up health, it¡¯s best that they take in the human factor from his body. Also, the eggs were hatched with his blood, they can only get in contact with him. Well, it¡¯s not like there isn¡¯t another substitute, but¡­¡± Oi. ¡°You! You never said anything about that!¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s right. I don¡¯t really recommend it much since it¡¯ll be opposed. Besides, I¡¯m a dragon doctor and an ally of the dragons, why do I have to take you humans into consideration?¡± This bastard! Who was it that said that it was good that I was the father! ¡°So what method is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine if they eat a human. But I said it earlier, I don¡¯t recommend it. In the first place, the twins have not been weaned yet, and other problems may arise because it¡¯s bad for digestion. The difference in blood types may also have harmful effects. Moreover, Aoi hates it.¡± ¡°Naturally! There¡¯s no way I¡¯ll allow that for Jaja and Nana!?¡± ¡°What do you take humans for!¡± Only Yule-san and Alba were calm. Aoi and I were agitated like our bodies were heating up. ¡°What¡¯s the human factor, and how do you give it to the twins?¡± Disregarding us, Yule-san, no Yule, continued to speak. ¡°I can¡¯t say for sure since there¡¯s no precedent, but what I found out from examining them in the past few days was human sicknesses. Dragons contract dragon sicknesses, and are unrelated to human sicknesses. But, the twins took in a lot of human parts because of his blood. If they don¡¯t take in immunization information from a human, it¡¯ll be a serious problem when they contract something. If they take it in then with the dragon¡¯s vitality then they probably wouldn¡¯t get sick.¡± ¡°You gotta make some sacrifices, huh.¡± ¡°Mother! Please listen!¡± Aoi weeped while imploring Yule. Nana who was watching her mama cry was surprised and staring in wonder. ¡°These guys are good people just like you said, but so what? Are they strong enough to be able to deal with the bad guys coming together and attacking? Are you able to grow enough to fight and protect the twins? In reality, your eggs were stolen, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s! That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t do it, mother will catch the humans and ground them into a fine powder so that it¡¯s a bit easier to digest. It¡¯s fine we don¡¯t say anything even when the twins grow up.¡± I scowled at Alba Germain. ¡°I thought it was strange that this person came straight to our house! You, did you meet this guy before coming here?¡± ¡°That¡¯s of course, there¡¯s no one else other than me who could have told her about this place and Aoinoun¡¯s situation, right?¡± ¡°Why are you acting so nonchalant!¡± A part of my mind was calm, regardless, Alba Germain was clamoring like nothing was wrong. ¡°Aoi, listen well. You are fascinated by the beauty of the human world that you are coming into contact with for the first time, and you¡¯re indulging in euphoria that¡¯s filled your hollow, empty heart.¡± ¡°That¡¯s! I don¡¯t deny it, but!¡± Aoi shook her head grudgingly and resisted Yule¡¯s remarks. ¡°I understand.¡± Suddenly, a huge blue wing appeared on Yule¡¯s back. Even though it was folded, it was huge enough to fill up half of the room. ¡°Hey¡­¡± ¡°Mother!?¡± Next to me, who was astonished by the huge wings that suddenly appeared, Aoi showed a confused expression. ¡°Is it unreasonable to restrain you here?¡± A strong wind blew violently. You could not stand without bracing your legs against the gust of wind that came through the window and broke through the door. ¡°Guu!¡± ¡°Mother, what are you doing?! Mother!¡± I protected Jaja, who was looking up at me with her thumb in her mouth. I pulled Aoi who continued to question Yule and Nana who was in her arms closer, and hugged her shoulder. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll protect you guys in my own way. Even if they don¡¯t intend to do anything to you, this world will not be kind to the twins.¡± ¡°What do you mean? Hey, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying!¡± ¡°Aoi, it¡¯s dangerous!¡± The wind danced around in the room, the scattered clothes and the leaves that flew in from outside the window were a mess. Finally, Yule took a big breath, closed her eyes and looked up at the sky. A dry sound like a tree branch snapping rang in succession within the room, and the white horns on both sides of Yule¡¯s head began to glow. ¡°If you¡¯re not going to do as your told, I¡¯m going to get rid of the cause. First that brat, then this family. If they¡¯re dead, there¡¯s no reason for you to stay in the human world, right?¡± ¡°D-don¡¯t say stupid things!¡± Yule-san slowly opened her eyes and pointed at me. ¡°Hey, Aoi, even if you have the power and can protect the twins, their existence will become your weakness.¡± Aoi looked at me. Confusion and fright, and then a bitter expression filled with agony. ¡°Now then, when you have to choose between your daughters and that guy, what can you do?¡± That was Aoi¡¯s final warning. Chapter 44 - – And Then Visitation Trial (5) ¡°I hate it! Stop it, mother!¡± Aoi disheveled her hair by shaking her head to deny the truth. I was pathetic and could not do anything but watch. I could not move. The reason was because the opponent was a transcendent existence. I understood by just standing here. I will die by this person¡¯s whims. And now that it has become a threat to Aoi, the only thing left I could do was remain silent. There may be other things. There may be an answer so that we can come to an understanding for Yule¡¯s question. But I can not find any. My thought continued to dwell in the same place, and I could not come up with an answer. Coming here, I felt angry at my own stupidity. I can not do anything. Aoi who was suffering in front of me, and Jaja and Nana who did not know anything and were depending on us, there was nothing I could do. ¡°This kind of thing¡­ it¡¯s too much¡­¡± Hopelessness came out. What Yule was saying was reasonable. If it was just to the level of human delinquents, then I will not lose. If there were at least twenty people, and if you were not afraid of getting injured, then their is a fair chance of winning. If it was an armed opponent¡­ It¡¯s no good, I just do not feel like I can win. I can not follow the speed of a bullet with my eyes. It was impossible for the one with a knife to give up facing someone who was empty-handed. If an object that exceeds your physical size is approaching, you can not stop it even at about 10 km/h. If the assailant did something like that, I will without a doubt, die. If I die, Aoi will suffer. If Aoi suffers, the twins will be exposed to risk. I am at a loss. The problem that I had been trying not to think about before was now standing in our way. If I want to continue on like this, I have to overcome this wall¡­ No matter how you put it, isn¡¯t it too much? There is no way I can overcome such a trial! ¡°What¡¯s wrong? If you say you can do it, then reply.¡± ¡°Wait! Let me think about it!¡± ¡°If it¡¯s time to think, it¡¯s been a couple of weeks. You missed your first answer because your life was too satisfying. If you put off your answer, your present happiness is just taking advantage of someone else¡¯s kindness. In the end, like you said, you¡¯ll depend on these guys kindness and indulge in lazy inactivity.¡± ¡°No¡­ That¡¯s not it! Mother, please!¡± ¡°How long do you plan to act like a child!¡± Thunder resounded along with that loud voice. The weather forecast said that it was going to be sunny. But outside, there was a downpour and violent gusts of wind were blowing. This was the wrath of a dragon. ¡°Regardless if you want it or not, you were blessed with two lives! Look! The eyes of your daughters who are looking at you! Those are the lives that you should protect!¡± ¡°Aaah! Aaaaaaaah! I hate it!¡± Aoi was sitting down and holding Nana. She was screaming while shaking her head over and over. Nana was holding something back while watching Aoi. It was unbelievable. Both Jaja and Nana were silently looking at us without crying. The twins who always cried in response to the most trivial things were just staring at us motionlessly. ¡°Now, make a conclusion. That pain is your responsibility.¡± Yule said that and put away her wings. At the same time, the wind stopped. The rain and wind outside the window lost their vigor and slowly calmed down. But my heart was still stormy. ¡°I¡­ Nana¡­ Jaja¡­ b-but¡­ Kunpei-san¡± Aoi stopped shaking her head and continued to mumble. Nana patted Aoi¡¯s head. ¡°Aoi¡­¡± Aoi¡¯s body responded to me with a twitch. She slowly turned towards me with vacant eyes. Our lines of sight met. Aoi gazed at me with her wet eyes, her usual liveliness was nowhere to be found. ¡°Kunpei-san, I like you. I like you a lot. I like the kind-hearted Kunpei-san, I like your strong sense of responsibility, how you treat Shouhei-san, Jaja or Nana, your smile is really sweet. I love you from the bottom of my heart¡­¡± Aoi mustered her strength and told me her honest feelings. She slowly stood up and walked towards me. She came in front of me and reached for Jaja. ¡°Come¡± Jaja spread her hands to Aoi, as usual. She gently took Jaja and faintly smiled. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s papa¡­¡± Wait. ¡°Say Bye-bye¡± No, wait a minute. ¡°We apologize for the inconvenience.¡± Really wait. Please. ¡°If we continue to stay here, we¡¯ll cause more trouble than this.¡± Such a thing! ¡°I don¡¯t really know how to thank you. You¡¯ve also spent a lot of money.¡± No, like I said! ¡°Actually, I wanted to return a lot to Kunpei-san who helped me out.¡± Words were not coming out of my mouth! ¡°Really, halfway even until the end¡­¡± Aoi¡¯s eyes rapidly lost light. I could not do anything but silently watch that happen. Aoi slowly turned around and separated from me. ¡°¡­it¡¯s a tough decision.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t speak please, I beg you¡± Aoi pressed her forehead on Yule¡¯s chest and looked down. ¡°Brat, much obliged. Well, I¡¯ll send you some valuables later.¡± ¡°¡­ don¡¯t, need it.¡± Why could I only respond to such a trivial matter. ¡°Is that so? Well, I¡¯ll do it even if you don¡¯t need it. Either way, I¡¯ll do as I like.¡± Yule hugged Aoi, Jaja, and Nana with both hands and jumped out of the window. The next moment, she spread her wings and climbed up to the sky. I could only chase after them through the window frame. I just continued to look through the window frame, but I could not take even a single step. Chapter 45 - Let’s Explore the Neighborhood Dungeon! (1) ¡°Are you an idiot?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Why was I insulted? ¡°Hmm, and? You were threatened, couldn¡¯t say a word back, and that¡¯s it? Then the kids and Aoi-chan were gone?¡± ¡°Haaaa¡± Father let out a really deep sigh. ¡°Yes, Kunpei-kun. Stand up.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I stood up like I was told. ¡°Father Punch!¡± ¡°Buhaa!¡± I was blown away and crashed into the wall. ¡°Okay, the punishment is over.¡± W-wa-wait! ¡°Why¡¯d you just hit me!¡± I asked father a natural question while rubbing my right cheek that was punched. I just explained the circumstances to my father and Shouhei who came home during dinner! ¡°For not knowing that, is the reason probably.¡± He crossed his arms with a self-satisfied look. Hey, lately, the people around me aren¡¯t speaking Japanese. ¡°¡­ and nii-chan, you didn¡¯t take a step outside the room since earlier?¡± Shouhei, who took my tea cup in exchange, was watching anxiously. ¡°Hey, Kunpei. How old are you?¡± ¡°Hah? 16, what about it!?¡± Even as a joke, I¡¯m the eldest son! Do you think I would not even remember my own age! ¡°Un, 16. Being a kid is also a good thing, isn¡¯t that right?¡± What was that about, old man. ¡°Eh?¡± I still don¡¯t understand what he¡¯s trying to say. ¡°Yes, certainly, there are a lot of dangers if you live. I¡¯ve also experienced it. The times that I thought I might die can¡®t even be counted with two hands.¡± There wasn¡¯t that many. But, I do remember several times. When you marched into the tribes meeting, or when you were run over by a dump truck, I thought that you might die. ¡°Even so, I didn¡¯t die. Do you know why?¡± ¡°Because¡­ you were lucky?¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably true. But, the main reason was¡­¡± He smiled meaningfully. ¡°¡­because I really didn¡¯t want to die.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°A human being can do whatever if they are worried about death, but they can also do that if they don¡¯t want to die. Rather, the latter may be stronger.¡± Well, even if they say they¡¯ll die, I¡¯ve never actually seen them die. ¡°You, and Aoi-chan are your thoughts about not wanting the kids to die that weak?¡± ¡­ No such thing. That¡¯s why¡­ ¡°That¡¯s why! Aoi¡¯s mother¡¯s complaint!¡± ¡°You can quickly find a hole in her argument, right?¡± What¡¯s up with that! I¡¯m an idiot, so I don¡¯t understand! ¡°That¡¯s because you guys are trying to do something with just the two of you alone.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Ah, but they only have us to depend on. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a dragon, they¡¯ve always done things alone so they think like that. But, think about it. Haven¡¯t you and Shouhei been raised by an unreliable father since seven years ago?¡± There is no reason that I can not rely on you¡­ ¡°I wonder what I would do if you guys asked for help. If bad guys came, well, I just bought this house, but I could just sell it and move, and a life on the run with that money seems fun. I feel bad for Shouhei, how about that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m different. I can¡¯t live on alone.¡± Shouhei quietly nodded while holding a pair of chopsticks in one hand. ¡°Look at the youngest child¡¯s understanding. If Shouhei was troubled, would you sell some organs?¡± Well, if it would help, then I would, but¡­ ¡°You guys are still kids. Even Aoi, who is two hundred and fifty years old, still has traces of being a shut-in, and has not grown mentally at all. Are there adults who will make big decisions without talking about it?¡± T-that¡¯s¡­ ¡°Also, you¡¯ve not been like yourself recently.¡± Eh? ¡°A reckless and unthinking simpleton. Where did that part of you go? I liked that you. My idiot, isn¡¯t he cool?¡± You don¡¯t have to go that far! ¡°You¡¯re over thinking. It¡¯s important to think, but if you don¡¯t understand, you can rely on me without reserve. Don¡¯t underestimate me.¡± F-father. ¡°I¡­¡± Shouhei stood up. ¡°Recently, I always thought my brother was strange¡± Huh? Shouhei-kun, are you crying? ¡°From the day Aoi-neechan came, it was all things about my brother and I couldn¡¯t say what I wanted to do, it was a little unpleasant.¡± Eh, no, those things were Jaja and Nana¡¯s things. ¡°N-nii-chan, because nii-chan has braced himself to be a papa!¡± Shouhei¡¯s voice became restless. He desperately endure to not cry. Before I realized, both his hands were clenched on top of his knees, to the point of turning red. ¡°I don¡¯t like it, I¡¯m angry, Jaja was flying! That¡¯s why! Even so nii-chan was doing his best, that¡¯s why I wanted to help!¡± Large tear drops hit his knees. ¡°B-but, for, for some reason, m-my nii-chan, no!¡± Maybe he doesn¡¯t even know what he¡¯s saying himself anymore. He rubbed his eyes clean, the surrounding of his eyes turning bright red. Then he took a deep breath. ¡°That kind of nii-chan! I hate it! Nii-chan, my nii-chan, is an idiot but frank, he¡¯ll do what he wants before he says it! Nii-chan will never do anything wrong!¡± Shouhei spilled everything that he was thinking. ¡°Okay, Kunpei. One more time for making your little brother cry.¡± ¡°Buhaa!¡± This time my left cheek was struck. I was blown away and collapsed onto the bed. And, I thought about it. That¡¯s right. I¡¯m only thinking about what I can do to protect my promise with Aoi. Where did my purpose go? Jaja is cute. Nana is cute. Aoi is dangerous. Mikuma is scary. And. ¡°¡­ isn¡¯t that fine.¡± What am I afraid of. That¡¯s right. It¡¯s not like I have to deal with an armed group. Even if it¡¯s shameless, I¡¯ll protect the kids while Aoi fights. There was Officer Doggy and Officer Inoue, and although we never met, the police chief also helped. I can just dial 110. ¡°Oh, you revived?¡± I vigorously stood up. ¡°Father!¡± ¡°What is it, idiot son?¡± ¡°One more time! With abandon!¡± ¡°Leave it to me, eldest son!¡± ¡°Buhaa!¡± He swung his right fist with a smile, an unprecedented pain resounded in the core of my head. I woke up thanks to that pain. Chapter 46 - Let’s Explore the Neighborhood Dungeon! (2) ¡°Alright, then! First, let¡¯s look for the rat!¡± Aoi and Yule flew out, but the rat just walked out of the room normally. Honestly, with my bad head, I can only feel the sense of incongruity in the flow of that rapid sequence. I¡¯ll make that bastard explain it all to me! ¡°I have always been at this house, though.¡± ¡°Haaa!?¡± The fluffy rat was standing on top of the kitchen counter. Holding a staff in one hand and was once again munching on a rice cracker. ¡°You, you bastard!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you take a bit too long to come to a decision? I¡¯m worried¡­¡± What are you talking about! ¡°Speak! Tell me everything! Tell me everything about that irritating hag!¡± ¡°Calm down, idiot.¡± ¡°Ow!¡± My father knocked my head. ¡°Say, you guys are really interesting.¡± ¡°Thanks for that. And so, Alba Germain-san? What are you plotting to get this guy to do?¡± A foolishly laughing father and a cackling rat. Shouhei looked with an uneasy expression. ¡°Oh, was I exposed?¡± What? I really don¡¯t understand. ¡°This rat wouldn¡¯t lie about stuff regarding dragons, right? In which case, he won¡¯t separate you and the twins. This guy was the guy who made you be present for breastfeeding, and besides he also said that it was good that you were the father of the twins. And so, what are your true intentions?¡± ¡°I will not change from beginning to end. It¡¯s no good if you¡¯re not next to the twins.¡± ¡°Then why! Why did you instigate that person!¡± In the first place, this guy said stuff like it would be good if they ate humans! ¡°Did you listen properly? Didn¡¯t I say that I wasn¡¯t on board with it? It¡¯ll have various harmful effects for the twins, and Aoi will hate it. That¡¯s the last resort when it can¡¯t be helped. For example, when you die.¡± It feels like he said that. ¡°Honestly speaking, I didn¡¯t have a way of stopping Yule. I was expecting that you and Aoi would drive Yule away.¡± ¡°Drive that person away!? How?¡± You saw it, right! The gale that was blowing violently within the room! ¡°Well, that Yule-san. Why was she in such a hurry?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I listened carefully to my father¡¯s question. ¡°Well, it¡¯s always been like that since the beginning, right? Repeatedly ringing the door bell, entering the house with shoes on, and to the point of rushing Aoi-chan to make a decision. Strangely, not following the rules despite following human rules.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°A tyrant character you say, but it would be more natural for her to break the door and come in willfully, then kill you and take Aoi-chan and the twins away.¡± Now that you mention it, it did feel that way. ¡°She¡¯s a misanthropist, but since Kunpei isn¡¯t dead, she at least doesn¡¯t hate you enough to kill you, right?¡± Let me think about it. I was directly threatened twice. When I climbed the stairs and when I objected. ¡°Hmm, I obstructed her so she wrapped up the conversation¡­?¡±, ¡°Spot on! Well, yes, the usual Yule would be a bit more obedient.¡± Alba Germain exaggeratedly lowered his staff. This rat¡¯s every single action irritates me. ¡°That girl at that time was at her wits end and had no leeway. At any rate, she arrived in this town this morning. If Aoi noticed a sense of incongruity, I thought that I would make her rest in bed first. Well, that¡¯s why the story gets bigger and I wondered what I should have done. ¡° ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Well, I thought that since Yule¡¯s body was riddled with wounds, even Aoi would have been able to deal with her easily. But it seems like she didn¡¯t notice since she was ecstatic after not being able to meet her for a long time.¡± Body riddled with wounds? Where? ¡°Even when she blew you away, it wasn¡¯t her intention. Usually that child wouldn¡¯t make a mistake in holding back. Even as a joke, since she¡¯s a dragon king.¡± If you say so. ¡°I took care to make sure he didn¡¯t die, and I just shook his body with the wind to stun him without hitting him. I blew him away without it having an effect, but I properly helped him with the landing, so he didn¡¯t have any serious injuries, right?¡± She did say something like that. ¡°If you think about it calmly, it¡¯s impossible for that child to take care of Aoi and the twins. As a dragon king, there¡¯s a lot of sky adjustments left and it¡¯s tiring. If the assailants use that as an opportunity, that girl would have no leeway to take care of them. Since she has to fly all over the world.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how hard that is, but it sound like it would be better for them to be raised here, since there¡¯s Kunpei and us.¡± Hey, wait. Based on what you said, Yule is thoughtlessly acting, and confusing us by saying the most plausible thing. ¡°Why is she at her wit¡¯s end?¡± I do not understand. ¡°Simply, she¡¯s tired from work, and I think even standing is tiresome? It seems like she also did various things in America before coming here. Actually the other dragon kings seem to be quite busy as well, and are shaving sleep time to work.¡± That is to say¡­ ¡°That girl is currently acting with her tired and nonfunctional head. In short, she¡¯s behaving recklessly.¡± W-wa? ¡°What is that!¡± My shout reverberated in the dining room. Chapter 47 - Let’s Explore the Neighborhood Dungeon! (3) TN: Happy Canada Day! Enjoy! So what are you saying? That I was blown away by someone who was so tired that they couldn¡¯t grasp between good and bad, and Aoi was thoughtlessly disparaged? What is that? What the hell!! ¡°I¡¯m going to send that hag flying! Where is she!?¡± ¡°Calm down. What Yule said itself was kind of extreme, but it wasn¡¯t wrong. You have to think about it properly.¡± Don¡¯t stop me shitty rat! I can¡¯t endure anymore! Since she was Aoi¡¯s mom, I was holding back somewhere, but if it¡¯s like that! ¡°I told you to calm down.¡± ¡°Fuehh!¡± My father hit my head again. ¡°You still don¡¯t have an answer, are you just going to get the tables turned on you again? Like I said earlier, the feeling of not wanting to die, and for that, I would use all my power to take all the steps necessary. Honestly, pushing straightforward is your good point, but I told you that you can rely on other people for stuff other than that.¡± E-even if you don¡¯t say that! ¡°Do you still not understand why I hit you? It¡¯s not because you yielded to a threat and saw her off, it¡¯s because you haven¡¯t sat down to talk with Aoi even once. It¡¯s a two person problem, right?¡± That¡¯s right. I didn¡¯t say anything to her, so she tried to find an answer alone. Aah, I understand. I did a terrible thing. ¡°Yule-san doesn¡¯t trust any other races now. And so, I feel uneasy with just you guys. Don¡¯t you agree?¡± ¡°Aah, well, Aoi can¡¯t properly take care of the twins alone.¡± I rubbed my head while recollecting. My father skillfully used information from what Yule said. ¡°Well then, it¡¯s simple. Let¡¯s get dragons to help.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t there dragons other than Yule-san and Aoi-chan? Let¡¯s request dragons that have free time to protect them. That being the case, the conditions are met, right? They¡¯re not humans, or beastmen, or demons, and they¡¯re strong. How¡¯s that, rat?¡± My father folded his arms and prompted Alba Germain. ¡°Isn¡¯t that fine? Young dragons don¡¯t have that much mistrust of humans, and there¡¯s a girl with guaranteed strength. She¡¯s also on good terms with Aoi. I think she¡¯ll happily agree if I requested.¡± ¡°Well, can you please take care of it for us? We have to think of some kind of gratitude.¡± ¡°Gratitude isnt needed. They will come through thick and thin for members of the same family. Well, Yule is also like that, so to speak, but that girl¡¯s personality¡­¡± Somehow, things were resolved at a frightening speed. Aoi wants to raise the twins, but she can not protect them. I have to be there for the twins, but I likewise have no power. If that¡¯s the case, let¡¯s receive protection from a powerful being. Huh? Isn¡¯t it simple? ¡°Is it troublesome when dragons gather in one place?¡± The father and rat conference still continued. Shouhei, who was silently listening, started taking snacks from the kitchen. ¡°Well, if things here gets exposed, more people will gather, but even with that, the strength of a dragon is absolute. I think it¡¯s better to have more.¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s not a problem. Kunpei, what about it?¡± I was taken aback at the unexpected subject that was brought up. ¡°Eh? A-ah, if it resolves it.¡± ¡°Alright, then next is where Aoi-chan and them are.¡± Somehow my father¡¯s motivation is amazing. ¡°They went back to the nest. They¡¯re going to stay there and pack for at most 3 days so that Yule can rest.¡± It¡¯s good if they haven¡¯t gone far. And, there was one thing that I was worried about. ¡°What about the breastfeeding?¡± That¡¯s right. Usually, Aoi and I would be breastfeeding at this time. Joint work once a day. This was one thing that couldn¡¯t be missed. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not okay if I say it¡¯s not okay, but it¡¯s not something that¡¯s that rushed. Since they can recover after 2 or 3 days, it¡¯s still best to go meet them as soon as possible though.¡± I was relieved. It wasn¡¯t something where they would have to eat humans right away. ¡°I will be by Yule¡¯s side and try to stall as long as possible. You guys will climb that boulder. Do you know that there¡¯s a dungeon inside?¡± Ah, now that you mention it. ¡°Is it okay to climb something like a dungeon?¡± Shouhei, who had been silently listening until now, cut in with a worried expression. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not. Since it¡¯s under the jurisdiction of the Treasure Hunter Association, you can¡¯t go in if you¡¯re not qualified to be a hunter.¡± Is that so? Certainly, the Western Japan Treasure Hunter Association is said to manage that place. First of all, ordinary people can not enter. What should we do? Ah. ¡°There¡¯s someone who¡¯s well acquainted with things like that.¡± Someone smart who loves dungeons, legends, monsters and magic. I took out the smartphone I just got back recently and opened the phone book. While struggling with the unfamiliar operation, I found and tapped the name of the person I was looking for. After several rings, the phone was connected. ¡°Ye, y, y, y-yes hello! Kunpei-kun !?¡± Mikuma Yuuno answered the phone in a panic. Chapter 48 - Let’s Explore the Neighborhood Dungeon! (4) ¡°It seems like that dungeon is hardly used.¡± The morning of the next day. After Mikuma finished the phone call with me, she investigated about dungeons and the Treasure Hunter Association with Saeki. She moves quickly, I¡¯m truly no match for her. ¡°It¡¯s not used?¡± ¡°Yeah, the difficulty level is C-. The first explorer cleared it 16 years ago. Since then, nearly four thousand people have reached the top floor, and the route is also fixed. Most of the rare ores have been depleted, so it¡¯s awaiting recovery, and it seems that the Treasure Hunters Association doesn¡¯t attach much importance to it. In the case of an ordinary dungeon, association members are dispatched to check the visitors at the entrance, but now it¡¯s unmanned.¡± Then can we enter? ¡°Just in case, it is locked by magic so that ordinary people don¡¯t get lost, so you have to manage somehow¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to open it. I¡¯m going to drop you off anyways.¡± What a truly shady rat¡­ Why can you open it? Mikuma sat in my room with the PC spread on the table, and Alba German sat next to the PC, eating cheese. When Mikuma first saw Alba, she was surprised at the rat tribe that she only knew about from legends. Let¡¯s listen to that legend later. It may lead to this guys weakness. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then there¡¯s no problem. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll take even half a day to simply get to the top floor. However, because of the recent events, there may be inspections soon. The existence of the dragon has been confirmed, so it¡¯s better to hurry.¡± ¡°Ahh, there isn¡¯t time left today, so I would like to go tomorrow. Can I get to the top floor in only half a day?¡± ¡°Yeah, unlike treasure hunters, you don¡¯t need to do anything like collecting. Since it¡¯s an orthodox shortcut transfer type dungeon, it won¡¯t be too difficult if the route is fixed and the shortcut is still possible. It seems that if you don¡¯t know the route it becomes quite a struggle.¡± Even if you say orthodox¡­ I wouldn¡¯t know because I have never seen any other dungeons. ¡°There are forty-six dungeons that have been confirmed in Japan. There are eight unconfirmed dungeons or should I say legends. Twenty-five places have been explored. The most difficult is a dungeon called¡ºFuji Grand Maze¡», it¡¯s in Shizuoka. It seems like not even one floor has been explored yet.¡± I have heard of some of them. ¡°I know of¡ºAso Flame Labyrinth¡», ¡ºSakai Reverse Tower¡», ¡ºUnderground City Kyoto¡», ¡ºFurano Eternal Snow Ruins¡» and ¡ºTokio Deep Dungeon¡». ¡°It¡¯s famous, eh. It hasn¡¯t been conquered yet so there¡¯s a lot of requests for it.¡± It has been news for a while. ¡°So, that dungeon called Tusk Crag, has six types of monsters according to the Internet. There are four confirmed rare ores. It seems to be a type that has many soul grass and medicinal plants.¡± Even if you say that, since I¡¯m an amateur I don¡¯t understand it. ¡°So, there¡¯s a road there that leads to Aoi¡¯s nest.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s connected at the top floor, it¡¯s at a hard to find place. Just with that information, you can pin point it, just search for hard to find places.¡± As expected of Mikuma-san! It¡¯s completely different from my rough head! ¡°Nii-chan, I brought some tea.¡± Shouhei knocked on the door. When I opened the door, there were two cups of juice on a big tray. There was also one small sake cup. This cup was the one father used with dinner. ¡°Is rat-san okay with tea as well?¡± ¡°Ahh, thank you. I drink anything, I¡¯m a rat after all.¡± ¡°Are you trying to act as a guest?¡± Shouhei, I don¡¯t need tea. Bring me the salt! Mountain salt! ¡°What¡¯s this bundle of paper?¡± Shouhei, who put the tray on the table, looked at the binder next to Mikuma. ¡°It¡¯s a map of that¡ºTusk Crag¡»dungeon. You really shouldn¡¯t, but if you look online, there¡¯s leaked information.¡± No matter what industry it is, there¡¯s always going to be bad guys, huh? ¡°I think it¡¯s the real thing because it¡¯s a map that was discussed pretty positively in the forums, but the thread is a little old. It took me a while to find this little bit of information.¡± No, you¡¯re amazing. ¡°No, it¡¯s better than nothing, I appreciate it.¡± I probably wouldn¡¯t even be able to find it in half a year. ¡°Sorry, nii-chan. I¡¯m going shopping for lunch. Ichika-neechan is pestering me to go together.¡± Same as ever, is Saeki putting the moves on Shouhei? That damn shotacon. ¡°Aah, take care.¡± ¡°Take care. Ichika-chan as well.¡± Eh? Mikuma-san, is your best friend that serious about Shouhei? ¡°Alright then, even if the difficulty is low, it¡¯s still a dungeon. There¡¯s still some danger. You have to be well prepared.¡± The enthusiastic Mikuma opened the Treasure Hunters Association¡¯s website. ¡°There aren¡¯t many photos of fully equipped high-ranked hunters. Since they appear in the PR photos the association uses of the sites, let¡¯s think about what¡¯s necessary.¡± Eeh? Isn¡¯t your train of thought like a profiler now? This girl, is really capable¡­! ¡°U-um, Mikuma¡­¡± ¡°What?¡± Yesterday, I called her on the spur of the moment and didn¡¯t think about it. When I collected myself, I realized it. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for relying on you about stuff regarding Aoi¡­¡± That¡¯s right. Mikuma said that she liked me. So to speak, she¡¯s cooperating with me to help her rival in love. Only Mikuma herself knows how tragic that is. ¡°Kunpei-kun, your tactlessness is enough to be surprising sometimes.¡± Mikuma responded with a serious expression. ¡°Ooh, I-I¡¯m ashamed.¡± I couldn¡¯t even object. After all, as for females other than my mother, the most I have been in contact with was with the neighborhood aunties. I¡¯m ignorant to girl¡¯s feelings, I lack sufficient study. ¡°Rather than saying it¡¯s for Aoi-chan, it would be more right to say that this is the first time that Kunpei-kun has relied on me. Up until now it has just been me getting helped.¡± Mikuma said and returned her eyes to the PC. ¡°I think that Aoi-chan is pitiable, she can¡¯t even have her way with love, that¡¯s too cruel for a girl.¡± I could not read Mikuma¡¯s emotions, so I peered at her face and saw it. Large drops of tears overflowed from those eyes. ¡°Even I know that it¡¯s a love that I have no chance of winning¡­ Despite that, I can¡¯t help but be glad because I was relied on. I¡¯m an idiot, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Mikuma¡­¡± I was stuck for a while searching for words to say to Mikuma. Chapter 49 - Let’s Explore the Neighborhood Dungeon! (5) ¡°Well then, are you guys ready? Kunpei-kun, father-in-law.¡± Wait a minute, Mikuma-san. For some reason I feel unsettled. ¡°Hmm, what¡¯s wrong, Kunpei-kun?¡± She had a face like it was natural. ¡°I understand, Kazamachi. That girl has always had a straightforward and crooked personality.¡± What kind of wordplay is that? Saeki patted my shoulder with a happy expression as though she was telling me to just give up. ¡°Aah, thank you, Yuuno-chan. Hey, rat, didn¡¯t you say that you had something you wanted to hand over?¡± ¡°The way your family treats me gets more crude by the day, though I don¡¯t care. Alright, I¡¯ll lend you my treasure.¡± Father used his chin to urge Alba Germain, who was sitting on his right shoulder. When the rat swung his staff, a dazzling flash of light suddenly appeared. The light disoriented us and we all looked away. Eventually the light subsided and we returned our line of sight. ¡°¡­ What is that. An elephant tusk?¡± A pure white, elongated, sharp object was floating next to my father. ¡°That¡¯s a dragon fang. It¡¯s something that was given to me when a powerful dragon died. I¡¯ve been processing it into a sword for a long time, so don¡¯t touch the tip of the sword. Its sharpness is not a laughing matter.¡± Is that okay with the Swords and Firearm Control Law? ¡°Please return it as soon as you return from the dungeon. It¡¯s very valuable.¡± Well, let¡¯s borrow it if it is better to have it. It would be better as a weapon than the metal bat we prepared. It was dawn. We were right below¡ºTusk Crag¡»dungeon. We came with Mikuma and Saeki who stayed over yesterday, they came along with us since we were climbing the dungeon. My father and I are the ones that are going in. Mikuma and Saeki would go back after we entered. Shouhei was house-sitting. Yesterday, we stocked up on a lot of stuff in a hurry, baseball leg guards, ice hockey helmets, a lifeline and harness, a maglite and a headband light with reinforced steel, carabiners and pegs, LED lanterns, Swiss army knife, wet compress and bandages, antiseptic, and a lot of batteries on the outside of the smartphone. Of course we brought Shouhei¡¯s lunch box and a large-capacity water bottle. There were other things that we wanted to bring, but at the end of the day it was too heavy for us to carry. We carefully selected which items to bring. They were divided into the backpack that my father and I were carrying. ¡°Then what¡¯s left is just this, I guess.¡± ¡°Hm? Is this¡­ an eggshell?¡± Alba held out two white fragments that I¡¯ve seen somewhere before. Maybe, but I think that¡¯s the shells from the eggs that Jaja and Nana came from. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s the shell of a dragon egg. Have you heard about it? The dragon¡¯s egg gives one peerless power and eternal longevity.¡± Aah, I¡¯ve heard of that from someone¡­ ¡°Though it¡¯s half true and half wrong. Even if you eat it you won¡¯t get eternal life. As for peerless power, supposing a human ate it, it would be just enough to quit being a human.¡± Eh, quitting from being human? That¡¯s still something I haven¡¯t prepared for yet. ¡°It¡¯s only for a short period of time. And there are side effects as well. The day after eating it, you won¡¯t be able to move, and at the end it¡¯ll feels like there¡¯s a bonfire inside your body. It¡¯s only natural, but when other life forms take a dragon¡¯s power into their body, they can¡¯t endure it.¡± ¡°Is it worth the price?¡± Mikuma said next to me without hiding a suspicious look. In the first place, it would be meaningless if you die after eating it. ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s not like this is the contents of the egg, or it¡¯s not born. This shell is where Jaja and Nana were born, so it¡¯s watered down. It¡¯ll just make your body feel lighter, the side effects are also more minor. From how I see it, you¡¯ll probably just have to stay in bed for 2 or 3 days.¡± If I had time, I would like to ask carefully in what world is that alright. ¡°It¡¯s for when it truly can¡¯t be helped, you can use it if you don¡¯t want to die. The effects are immediate, so don¡¯t be surprised.¡± ¡°¡­ Well, I¡¯ll bring it for the time being. Is there anything else?¡± I received the eggshells from Alba. I¡¯ve been safekeeping it under my desk since Jaja and Nana were born¡­ With a key. ¡°There¡¯s no more, don¡¯t act like a spoiled child.¡± ¡°You, do you have a sickness where you¡¯ll die if you don¡¯t say anything extra?¡± If that¡¯s the case, I¡¯ll forgive you. ¡°Ahaha, it¡¯s just my disposition. Thanks to you, its become apparent that there¡¯s no one who liked me so far. No, there was just one. It was a long time ago.¡± Is that so, there was a benevolent? guy, huh? ¡°Alright then, father. I can go at anytime.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll definitely bring back Aoi-chan and the kids.¡± I know. For that purpose, let¡¯s explore this dungeon first. ¡°We¡¯re going back, okay. As planned, call us when you see the first stairway. The first floor is a straight path, so I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll get lost.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s give you the title of the lost king if you get lost.¡± I won¡¯t get lost! Mikuma¡¯s worried expression contrasted with Saeki¡¯s happy one. There¡¯s more or less a possibility of danger to my life. ¡°Then we¡¯re going. Be careful on your way back.¡± ¡°Yeah, it only takes around 10 minutes to get back, we¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the ones who should be careful. Don¡¯t make Shouhei cry.¡± I know. As the older brother, I can¡¯t show him anything more unsightly than this. ¡°Father.¡± ¡°Aah.¡± We opened the door that Alba had unlocked, ducked under the chain and stepped foot into the dungeon. ¡ºTusk Crag¡»dungeon. Towards the danger zone in the neighborhood of our home. Chapter 50 - Howl (1) ¡°Hello, Mikuma, can you hear me?¡± ¡°Hello? Yeah, no problem. Have you arrived at the stairs?¡± After going through the entrance, we found the stairs after around 15 minutes. How do you say this, but it was a man-made staircase on top of a natural-looking rock surface. As for the first floor, no lights were needed. A faint light was emitted by one¡¯s feet at several places on the wall. I asked Mikuma in advance. This light should illuminate us until the fortieth floor. ¡°We just got home as well¡­¡± ¡°I want to speak. Yoo-hoo, are you okay?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not injured, right?¡± I heard Mikuma, Saeki, and Shouhei¡¯s voices one after another from my hands-free earpiece in my right ear. Because it is wireless, father was wearing the left earpiece, and the microphone was on my chest. ¡°Ah, we¡¯re completely fine at the moment.¡± My father also nodded next to me. ¡°Okay. Well then, based on the information from the Internet, a monster should appear on the next floor, so don¡¯t fight it by any means. Your goal is to reach the top floor, so let¡¯s give that our undivided attention. If you can¡¯t run away, then don¡¯t hesitate and defeat it. Even if they¡¯re in the form of living things, monsters are not living things, so there¡¯s no need to hold back.¡± ¡°Roger that.¡± I briefly responded, and straightly grasped the dragon fang sword I borrowed from the rat. I gulped, and took a step on the stairs. ¡°Father, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Oh¡± We steadily advanced up the stairway. I-it¡¯s scary. Information and incidents about dungeons appeared quite frequently in the news. Mainly reports about magic power in the dungeon, incidents of dungeons with weak floors collapsing, and fatal accidents. I was never interested until now, so I don¡¯t remember in detail. Since the place I lived in didn¡¯t have a dungeon. My feeling of it is that it¡¯s a dangerous place where precious minerals and treasures lie dormant. That¡¯s about it. As for the treasure hunter occupation, I knew that it was some people¡¯s livelihood, but that was about it. It¡¯s good to be ignorant. ¡°First of all, let¡¯s investigate the disparity from the map we obtained. After going up to the second floor, try counting the number of steps until the first crossroad. Based on Kunpei-kun¡¯s stride that was measured yesterday, it should take about 32 steps. If there¡¯s not much discrepancy with the map, then the information is probably trustworthy.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± After finally reaching the second floor, the faint light that illuminated our steps was still going strong. ¡°One, two, three¡­¡± While being vigilant of the surroundings, I walked carefully so that there was no variation in my strides. ¡°Thirty-one, thirty-two,¡­ it¡¯s the first crossroad, a Y-shaped road.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, it¡¯s in accordance with the map for now. With this, I can help navigate. Take the right, the stairs are on the left, but the transition trap is at the end of the right path. You have to walk a bit, but this way there¡¯s a shortcut that helps skip five floors.¡± That¡¯s good. With this, we wont get lost, nor do we have to take a transition trap to come back. ¡°Okay, best regards.¡± ¡°I leave it to you, Yuuno-chan.¡± ¡°Yes, leave it to me Kunpei-kun, father-in-law.¡± Again, there¡¯s a disturbing nuance. Well, it¡¯s all good. It¡¯s not good, but it¡¯s good. I advanced to the right of the crossroad alongside my father. There was still some excess room on the road. It was probably wide enough to fit around three adults? After walking for a while, a black object was squirming around in the corner of the road. ¡°Umm, Mikuma. I found something monster-like.¡± ¡°It appeared, eh? Monsters are defense mechanisms brought forth by dungeons. Since they have no will, they can only attack reflexively, so walk as unnoticeable as possible. What does it look like?¡± Err, I wonder what. Overall, a bag? An extremely revolting and undulating meat bag. ¡°Disgusting.¡± ¡°Is it a Dark Meat? I¡¯ve heard that it has a pretty disgusting appearance. It¡¯s not very strong, but it¡¯s troublesome if it gets split. Let¡¯s go without entertaining it. Their movement is very slow, so I think it¡¯ll be easy to slip by.¡± I understand. You don¡¯t even want to touch a creature that repulsive. ¡°Father, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Wow, I¡¯ll be damned, it¡¯s like straight out of a nightmare.¡± Don¡¯t say it, I¡¯m trying to forget. I progressed nervously past the side of the Dark Meat, and after a while, we arrived at the next crossroad. ¡°Yup, it matches. Take the right again, I think you should be able to see pools of water and waterfalls ahead of this.¡± We went right as asked, and eventually, like Mikuma said, we heard the sound of waterfalls. We arrived at a slightly open place and saw the waterfall. ¡°I guess you can call this a waterfall¡­¡± ¡°Mikuma, is this right, it¡¯s more like a leak?¡± That was father¡¯s perplexed voice. It was a place where the water flowing from the low ceiling had accumulated on the ground. The scale was too small to be called a waterfall. I can¡¯t see the waterfall. ¡°The information from the internet said that it was a waterfall. There should be a question mark behind it.¡± ¡°The pool of water there is a transition trap. It seems like it¡¯s the type that activates when both feet touch the ground. The initial hunters didn¡¯t want to get wet, so it wasn¡¯t discovered until later on.¡± When I looked at the depth of the pool of water, it looks like it¡¯ll come up to my knees. Well of course you wouldn¡¯t want to get wet in this early stage. ¡°Because there is no water supply and refilling in the lower hierarchy, there is nothing like that. Stay vigilant when transferring, there¡¯s a lot of cases of people being attacked immediately after the transfer.¡± ¡°Roger that.¡± I sent a look at my father. He nodded quietly and both of us resolved ourselves and went into the pool of water. I started immersing from my right foot, then slowly with my left foot. The instance the tip of my left foot entered, everything in front of my eyes started spinning. ¡°Woah!¡± ¡°Ooh!¡± The two raised pathetic voices. Soon our vision stabilized. ¡°Gahhhh!!¡± ¡°Wah!¡± Two large wolves were before our eyes. Lying in wait. Chapter 51 - Howl (2) ¡°Mikuma! There¡¯s three Dark Meats right in front of us! They already noticed us!¡± ¡°Sorry, there¡¯s no other way, you¡¯ll have to break through!¡± ¡°Understood! Father, are you alright?¡± ¡°Somehow!¡± Run. We finally reached the sixth floor with the second floor¡¯s transition trap, five hours have already passed since we were attacked by wolves that have their entire body made of stone, called Rock Wolf. After that, we took small breaks along the way until we finally arrived at the seventy second floor, right before the top floor. This dungeon gets wider every time you go up a floor. The outside looks like an inverted triangle, so it makes complete sense. So far we¡¯ve encountered five of the six types of monsters in this dungeon. The pitch black meat bag, dark meat. A body of stone, Rock Wolf. A huge bipedal bull shouldering a large hammer, Buster Cow. An armored mail ant that mimics an ant in each part. A Trick Metal that tricks treasure hunters by imitating the light of rare ores. Well, the Buster Cow and Rock Wolf gave me quite the cold feet, and I struggled with their quickness and brute strength, but there wasn¡¯t much other than that. The problem is that as we climb up, the monsters start grouping up. On the second floor, there was only one dark meat, after the fortieth floor, the default is three dark meats. The appearance of three disgusting lumps of meat undulating and hopping is undoubtedly a nightmare. A maximum of four came out for Buster Cow. When it swung the hammer it was holding, the sight of a hole opening in the wall sent a shiver down our spines. The number one reason we¡¯re still fine after facing all these monsters is thanks to Mikuma¡¯s navigation. If a route was blocked by monsters, she would instantly come up with an alternate route. When we start to get tired, she would find places in the vicinity where we could rest. It we couldn¡¯t run away, she would urge us to prepare ourselves. I¡¯m intending to get used to fighting humans and beastmen. While it may be true that facing a monster head on is foolish, but this time it¡¯s different. If you know that you have no choice but to fight beforehand, your mental state would be different. Furthermore, the Dragon Fang sword that the rat lent us. This guy is truly amazing. Even if I don¡¯t put in much power, it easily splits a Rock Wolf right in half. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m strong. If you can hit the center of the body with the sword, then you¡¯ll definitely win. Well, I¡¯m getting conceited. One time, I was hit by my father after being negligent in checking the surroundings. I am reflecting on my actions. What else saved me was my father¡¯s existence. I don¡¯t have the slightest feeling that I can beat my father in a fist fight. It was a conclusion that I reached after being hit numerous times in my life up until now. This middle-aged man is considerably strong. There¡¯s no one who can win against this middle-aged man in the same generation, perhaps even including the younger generation. No, of course that kind of thing is impossible. Even if it¡¯s father, he can¡¯t win against a professional fighter, or a simpleton who only trains. However, I can¡¯t picture my father losing to a human or beastmen in a fist fight. When I confront a monster, my father will immediately become vigilant of the surroundings and keep the other monsters in check. The metal bat he¡¯s holding is already tattered, the one he¡¯s holding now is already the third one. My father is in charge of the overall follow-up, and I use the Dragon Fang to deliver the final blow. As with right now. ¡°Kunpei! Jump right!¡± ¡°Ou!¡± I unhesitatingly followed my father¡¯s warning. I jumped right without a moment¡¯s delay, and a dark meat jumped over and struck the wall. I glanced at the completely smashed dark meat, then scowled at the remaining two. I already know how to defeat them. Dark meat¡¯s split up. They successively multiply at double the speed from the cut. But during that time, its core is exposed. It¡¯s a tiny pebble. To put it simply, meat only swells from its surroundings. It seems like a pebble is always formed, one for each side of the cut, and that was how the Dark meat divided itself. It¡¯s easy to stop it. Just stomp on the pebble. I carefully observed the dark meat I cut in half, and stomped on the two stones as quickly as possible. If it was Dark meats, you can defeat them while making it just feel like work. Repeatedly driving them back with that formula, my father and I cleaned up that group of Dark meats in a blink of an eye. ¡°Phew, can I have some water?¡± ¡°I somehow manged to preserve it, there¡¯s only two bottles left.¡± We initially brought four bottles. That doesn¡¯t seem like a lot, but in accordance with Mikuma¡¯s research, there was a spring that became a water supply point, so there was no problems. ¡°But, I¡¯m really getting accustomed to it, this darkness.¡± ¡°The next floor is the op floor, there appears to be a hole that takes in sunlight, so it won¡¯t be dark anymore.¡± Mikuma responded to father¡¯s remark. ¡°Nii-chan, father. Are there any injuries?¡± Shouhei¡¯s worried voice could be heard from the earphone. ¡°Oh, there¡¯s a lot of minor scratches, but no major injuries. We¡¯re okay.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, but still be careful.¡± I heard a relieved sigh, when I looked at my father, he was smirking for some reason. ¡°Well, if father wasn¡¯t there and it was just Kunpei, he would probably be seriously injured.¡± ¡°I know even if you don¡¯t say it, thanks.¡± This guy has the nerve to take advantage of an opportunity to play around with me? ¡°Well then Kunpei-kun, father-in-law, the stairways to the top floor is beyond this passage, so let¡¯s do a review.¡± Father and I concentrated on Mikuma¡¯s voice. ¡°There¡¯s only one correct route on the top floor. If you choose that route, there¡¯s a spacious room with a huge magic stone that was originally the basis of this dungeon. That¡¯s where the Dungeon Boss, a Rocky Griffon, an ominous bird called Ruten is. It¡¯s said that the magic stone itself has already been collected, so it won¡¯t revive for another 20 years, and since there is no business this time, you don¡¯t have to go there. You should look for a route that continues up to the peak of ¡°Tusk Crag¡±. It is not an ore collection point, it¡¯s also not conspicuous, there¡¯s one place with such a slope leading to the top. My father and I was looking at a picture of the top floor that I saved on my smartphone. ¡°Behind the stairs, at the end of the river where the rainwater flows. The other side of a path blocked by a large rock is where we¡¯re going.¡± Written on the map, was ¡°dead end¡±. Chapter 52 - Howl (3) I cautiously climbed up the stairs and finally reached the top floor. Although we rested on the way, we¡¯ve been running for about five hours, so I should be completely exhausted, but I can continue probably because I¡¯m a little excited. I¡¯ve never felt such heavy fatigue. But it¡¯s alright, I can still lift my legs. ¡°You arrived at a much faster pace than I expected. I¡¯m worried about your physical strength, but you don¡¯t have plans on resting, right?¡± Well that¡¯s¡­ After all, I haven¡¯t seen Jaja and Nana for two days already. I¡¯m worried that I¡¯m not attending the breastfeeding once a day, but what is it, I feel like crying¡­ ¡°I think you understand even if I don¡¯t say it, so it¡¯s fine. As soon as you climb the stairs, go the other way. There should be no monsters other than Ruten on the top floor, but it¡¯s better to be on guard. Since monsters aren¡¯t restricted from coming up from downstairs.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± As she said, we turned to go behind the stairs. Light was shining from numerous small holes in the ceiling, the view was considerably brighter than the lower floors. When we looked ahead, thankfully we could see the dim road even without the light hitting it. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that far, but can you hear the sound of water? ¡° When I strained my ears, I could hear the sound of flowing water. ¡°Ah, I hear it. Do I just go straight?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to navigate. Go straight until the first fork, then take the right.¡± ¡°Roger that.¡± When I looked at my father, he was paying attention to something behind me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No, it feels like there¡¯s something there.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I also looked behind us. At the end of the passage that is the correct route, there were two glowing red dots. ¡°Hm?¡± I strained my eyes. The red dots were floating high above the ground, and sometimes swayed up and down. ¡°K-kunpei-kun. Father-in-law. I have a bad feeling, so slowly retreat.¡± ¡°What a coincidence Mikuma, I also have that feeling.¡± And such premonitions were prtty much correct. ¡°Kiiiiiiii!¡± With a roar, it appeared. ¡°G-griffon¡­¡± It¡¯s huge! Sharp claws, large wings and a head of an eagle that¡¯s formed of rock. A true Griffon was right there, with the lower body of a fluffy lion. It was about 4 meters long? It was too big to take in its entire body. ¡°It¡¯s the dungeon boss! The rock griffon, ominous bird Ruten! Run away!¡± ¡°O-ooh¡± ¡°No, wait a second Kunpei.¡± My dad stopped me from retreating. As he stopped me with his right hand, his line of sight was only looking at Ruten. ¡°What is it, father¡­ ah¡± I realized immediately after following his line of sight. ¡°M-mikuma.¡± ¡°What!?¡± I heard Mikuma¡¯s panicked reply. ¡°A boss monster should be in a room with magic stones, right?¡± ¡°Yeah! Because their body is large, only the hall and its surroundings¡­ ah, perhaps¡­¡± It seems that Mikuma has somehow guessed what happened. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s probably just as your imagining.¡± My father¡¯s lips were quivering. ¡°That guy¡¯s stuck and can¡¯t free itself.¡± Yes, the ominous bird, Ruten. A huge griffon with a rocky body was shrinking its shoulders in a narrow passage and desperately writhing around. It was trying to move forward while twisting its body, but because of the rock-like body it had no flexibility and couldn¡¯t advance at all. Moreover, it seems that because it was trying to forcefully fit through the opening, it was completely stuck and it would be difficult to retreat as well.. ¡°¡­ its probably been a long time since someone last came to the top floor, so it tried to come out of the hall reflexively. It has no free will but it still takes beast-like actions. ¡° Damn, it really scared me! Ah, I was really surprised! ¡°Kyun¡­ kyun¡± Don¡¯t make puppy dog sounds¡­ Though it does seem more and more pitiful. ¡°Let¡¯s move on for now.¡± ¡°A-ah¡­¡± We ignored the boss, and advanced forward. We followed Mikuma¡¯s, who pulled herself together, navigation and reached the river, and headed upstream. It was around ten minutes, and we arrived at the destination. ¡°On the opposite side of this boulder, eh.¡± ¡°It¡¯s unnatural no matter how you look at it. Did Aoi-chan place it here?¡± A huge boulder was placed over the river. The water flowed under the rock and there were crevices in the walls. This can¡¯t be natural. ¡°Well then, shall we climb?¡± ¡°Here we go.¡± I looked for a place where I could hold on to on the protruding rock surface, then I looked for a foothold, and we started to climb slowly. We climbed to the top, and saw the back of the rock that could not be seen before. ¡°Is that it?¡± ¡°Mikuma, you were right on.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, there were two more candidates, though.¡± Behind the boulder, there was a small wide space that was a dead end. However, if you focused your eyes, there was a slit-like crack, from which a pale light was leaking out. My father and I slowly slid down the boulder and landed on the floor. ¡°Alright Kunpei, are you ready? ¡°Anytime.¡± I clapped my cheeks to encourage myself. Wait for me, Aoi, Jaja, Nana! My father took the lead and entered the crack. The ceiling was low and it was narrow, but it was just enough to be able to go through. Eventually our vision was plunged into a pure white light and I squinted my eyes. ¡°Have we arrived?¡± ¡°Woah¡­ the ceiling¡¯s so high here.¡± The eyes that got used to the light looked to the ground. We could see the town we live in with one sweep of the eye, a magnificent view. The clouds were near and the clear sky hurt my eyes. A considerably narrow passage ran along the surface of the rock and continued all the way to the peak. ¡°It¡¯s the end if you slip, eh.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that, it¡¯s scary.¡± My father¡¯s grinning face relaxed me a bit. As I walked along the path, I could hear something. ¡°Aoi¡­?¡± I listened carefully and focused my attention. ¡°Mother! You blockhead!¡± Aoi¡¯s tearful and angry voice resounded. Chapter 53 - Howl (4) ¡°Aoi!¡± I rushed up the narrow path in a hurry and reached the top. There was flat ground as far as the eye can see. Only one raised rock was visible near the back. ¡°Hey! Why did you rush all of a sudden!¡± Father caught up from behind. It was too troublesome to even answer and I moved my head to look for Aoi. I found her. ¡°It¡¯s near the end! Isn¡¯t it okay for Jaja and Nana to meet Kunpei-san!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I say no! Listen to what I tell you!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t understand the reason! I just want to breastfeed Jaja and Nana!¡± Her transparent blue hair was ruffled, her large wings stretched to they sky, her tails straightened, Aoi was enraged. The person she was confronting was, as expected, Yule. As usual, it was just her appearance that was like a first-class model. I confirmed that figure and started running straight ahead. ¡°H-hey! Kunpei!¡± I could hear the voice of my flustered father, but it was not a reason to stop. The leg guards were being lifted up by the wind and making clip-clop sounds. Annoying. I judged that it was getting in the way, and tore it off while running. I also don¡¯t need the rucksack. It ¡¯s just heavy. ¡°Kunpei-kun! Calm down!¡± Mikuma, sorry, but I cannot calm down. ¡°Aoi!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± When I called out, Aoi turned to me with a stupid expression. ¡°Kunpei¡­san¡­.?¡± Those glass marble like eyes that I wanted to see opened wide, and large drops of tears spilled out. ¡°Sorry! I kept you waiting! Where are the kids!¡± I finally arrived and placed my hand on her shoulder. I adjusted my rough breathing in haste. ¡°U-um, inside the nest. They¡¯ve been crying this entire time, and it seems they tired themselves out from crying.¡± ¡°Is that so. Did they cry after all.¡± I can¡¯t do this. I have to see their faces. ¡°¡­ Brat, what did you come for?¡± ¡°I have no business with you. Is the nest that large rock? Let¡¯s feed the kids. Show the way.¡± Yule quietly intimidated me, but honestly it didn¡¯t matter. I simply dealt with it, and pulled Aoi¡¯s hands. ¡°Y-yes! Please follow me!¡± Aoi, who finally caught up with the situation, happily grasped my hand back. ¡°Ai!¡± ¡°Mother, just wait for a moment! It¡¯ll be over soon!¡± ¡°Wait! Ai!¡± ¡°Why ma¡¯am! Nice to meet you!¡± My father was standing in front of the angry Yule, blocking her way ¡°Who are you!¡± ¡°No, no, I¡¯m the head of the family that you can kill or not kill. I¡¯m Kazamachi Kouhei. Best regards.¡± ¡°Haa?¡± Yule was bewildered and stiffened as father was beaming while holding out his hand. Father, can I leave it to you for a bit? My father who turned his back to me was making a gesture telling me to go quickly, with the hand that he wasn¡¯t holding out. I looked at that with a sidelong glance, grasped Aoi¡¯s hand and walked towards the nest in a brisk pace. ¡°Kunpei-san¡­ why did you come¡­¡± Aoi was standing by my side, looked up at me and asked with teary eyes. ¡°¡­ I came. Well, I-I¡¯m the pa, papa¡­¡± I realized my embarrassing words and felt my face turning red. ¡°Y-yes¡­¡± While looking up at me, Aoi¡¯s face was dyed bright red. What¡¯s with this atmosphere! ¡°Kunpei-kun¡­ did you forget that I¡¯m listening?¡± ¡°No, I haven¡¯t forgotten!¡± I forgot! I heard Mikuma¡¯s voice from the earphones. ¡°Yu, Yuuno-oneechan should also take a break while you can! There¡¯s a pudding in the refrigerator, I¡¯ll go get it!¡± ¡°Yuuno. Be cool, be cool. Take a deep breath, fuuu.¡± Shouhei and Saeki¡¯s flustered voices could also be heard. I could easily imagine Mikuma¡¯s current expression. ¡°Kunpei-san?¡± Aoi looked at me curiously. Ah, that¡¯s right, Aoi can¡¯t hear it. ¡°No, although I¡¯m here, Mikuma was a great help.¡± ¡°Mikuma-san¡­?¡± Aoi had an expression like she didn¡¯t believe it. ¡°I¡¯ll explain inside.¡± ¡°Y-yes. Please show them your face. They¡¯ve been crying all this time because papa wasn¡¯t there.¡± We arrived at the nest while I caressed the crying Aoi¡¯s head. ¡°¡­Ah©`¡± ¡°¡­Au¡± A delicate voice resounded from the interior. I could not stay still anymore. Chapter 54 - Howl (5) The inside of the nest was unbelievably wide. The entrance was large enough for a 10-ton dump truck to pass through, and the passageway was even wider. I could not contain my impatience, Aoi and I quickly advanced through the passage. We soon reached a large wall. There was a small hole in the center of the wall. Even though I said it¡¯s small, that¡¯s only true compared to the size of this cave-like nest. Is it easier to imagine if I say that two people can pass through it side by side? When I passed through the hole without hesitation, old furniture and colored boxes came into view. Furthermore, there was a bed that was far larger than a king bed surrounded by furniture. My daughters were sleeping there. Well, they were awake, but lying there. ¡°Jaja¡­ Nana¡­!¡± I started running without thinking. It¡¯s because I couldn¡¯t help but want to see their faces as soon as possible. When I let go of Aoi¡¯s hand and rushed over to the bed, four small eyes honed in on me. ¡°Aah-, uah!¡± ¡°Da!¡± The twins laughed as they moved their hands and feet energetically. I wondered what it is? Tears naturally overflowed from my eyes. Haven¡¯t my tear glands gotten too weak recently? ¡°Haha, even though you were always grumpy. Jaja, Nana? Papa came, you know?¡± Aoi stretched out both hands and stroked the twin¡¯s cheeks. Jaja and Nana continued to laugh as they twisted their bodies like they were ticklish. ¡°Look, Kunpei-san too.¡± There was a lump in my throat. I was somehow able to respond by forcibly taking a breath. I slowly reached out both hands, and the twins quickly grasped my finger. They were each playing with one of my hands. The warm sensation from my palms cooled my head. ¡°¡­I made you wait, I¡¯m sorry.¡± Jaja was lively and Nana responded curiously. ¡°¡­ Can I breastfeed?¡± Aoi sat down on the bed and slowly rolled up her clothes. I was looking from the side, although I¡¯m always warning her about it, but for some reason, I didn¡¯t want to say anything today. Aoi, who only exposed her chest, first picked up Nana who was lying nearby. When she pushed her right breast to Nana, she immediately began sucking on it. I put my hands on Jaja¡¯s sides and slowly lifted her up. Jaja cackled with laughter. ¡°Okay, right here.¡± Aoi held out her left arm. Jaja showed signs of not wanting to separate so I slowly pulled her off and handed her over. At first, she disliked it, but after noticing the left breast, she immediately brought her face closer. ¡°Kunpei-san as well.¡± After those words, I hurriedly took off my upper clothes. I remember the existence of the earphone because it was caught in the clothes. ¡°M-mikuma, can I disconnect for a bit?¡± I nervously listened. ¡°¡­¡­Yeah. I can¡¯t help but hear. Call me when it¡¯s over¡­¡± ¡°¡­ Sorry.¡± ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t say that.¡± After that, the call was immediately disconnected. I closed my eyes for a bit, then slowly opened them. I threw my jacket on the bed, turned around and sat back to back to Aoi. It¡¯s always cold at first. But it immediately starts to have a pleasant heat. The two people¡¯s body temperature mix and sweat begins to accumulate, but I never once thought it was dirty. We¡¯re always silent during this time. When the twins have finished breastfeeding, we would usually dive under the futon without hiding our embarrassment. But there are so many things I want to tell you today. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m¡± ¡°¡­ Yes¡± I slowly opened my mouth and said something then waited for Aoi¡¯s response. I felt a little more relieved after the response that came back after a short while. ¡°Stupid¡­ so I couldn¡¯t say anything at that time. I made you decide on your own and pushed all that pain to you.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s¡­ I willfully gave birth and I forced you to become their papa¡­ so it¡¯s natural.¡± That¡¯s wrong. Well, if it¡¯s just what happened, then it¡¯s not wrong. ¡°No, that¡¯s wrong, it wasn¡¯t forcibly¡­ I¡¯ve wished for these children from the beginning. As soon as they hatched, they struck a chord with me¡­ To be honest, I was happy.¡± ¡°Happy¡­?¡± Jaja and Nana were purring while breastfeeding. Those lovely sounds passed through my ears. ¡°My brother¡­ Shouhei is like that, being relied on¡­ I don¡¯t dislike it, especially by these weak children relying only on me, this foolish me.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯m taking advantage of Kunpei-san¡¯s kindness.¡± ¡°That¡¯s wrong.¡± That is definitely wrong. ¡°I was the one who decided. Usually, if you suddenly became a father, you would refuse, but I was ecstatic and I was relying on you¡­¡± That was my mistake. ¡°I said I would protect you, but I was underestimating it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true! Because we¡­¡± ¡°It is. I can¡¯t express myself well, but¡­¡± Mom, please scold me. ¡°Children have to be protected by a lot of people. I can¡¯t do it alone. You alone is surely not enough. Even us together, it¡¯s still not enough.¡± ¡°¡­ Then?¡± I looked up at the ceiling. ¡°Let¡¯s lower our heads to a lot of people. We¡¯ll cast away pride and circumstances, and receive help even if it¡¯s shameful. Of course, we have to make sure that those people are really helping. That¡¯s probably what we have to do as parents.¡± ¡°A lot of¡­ people.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, like my father, Shouhei, Officer Doggie, Inoue, and Saeki? Well, it might be difficult, but somehow Yule-san as well. Also I¡¯m only here right now because I received help from Mikuma.¡± ¡°Kun¡­pei-san.¡± The trembling transmitted from Aoi¡¯s back surely wasn¡¯t from sadness. ¡°For these guys sake, let¡¯s not worry about out appearances, and just do it? Sure, I¡¯ve just been swept along so far, but Jaja and Nana were still born. So, let¡¯s just look for ways to make these guys happy.¡± Those were my honest feelings. At last, Aoi couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore, she raised her voice and burst into tears. She couldn¡¯t even wipe her tears because she was holding on to her beloved daughters. However, Aoi embraces them gently and does not let go of the twins who were sucking on her milk. Somehow, her crying sounded just like my daughters. ¡°I made you cry again, huh¡­¡± I smiled wryly while looking up at the ceiling. Chapter 55 - Howl (6) ¡°Okay, are you ready?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Mikuma, you¡¯re prepared, right?¡± ¡°Yup. Now that we¡¯ve come this far, there¡¯s not much I can do.¡± We brought Jaja and Nana who didn¡¯t fall asleep and stood at the entrance to the nest. It was unusual but I was carrying Nana and looking straight out of the nest. Yule was there with her arms crossed in an imposing manner, glaring at us. Father was crouched down next to her and laughing. Aoi who was holding Jaja, shifted her body up. I think Jaja had slipped a little and she was correcting it. The smartphone was in speaker mode, hanging from Aoi¡¯s neck with a strap. ¡°U-um, Mikuma-san¡­¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Aoi looked at her own chest with a meek expression. ¡°T-thank you¡­ very much.¡± ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t worry about it, is what I¡¯d like to say, but just think of it as owing me a favor.¡± ¡°Y-yes!¡± Aoi nodded vigorously in response to Mikuma¡¯s bright toned response. ¡°As a man, I didn¡¯t really understand, well honestly, I did, but feigning ignorance was better for my mental health. ¡°Yosh!¡± We fired ourselves up and took a step forward. From this point on, there is probably an obstacle like the high school entrance examination lying in wait for us. No, I had a hard time and I didn¡¯t expect to do the transfer examination in less than a year, so I went through hell, it¡¯ll probably be even more difficult than that. ¡°What about the things we can¡¯t do?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll ask someone who can, right? I don¡¯t know who uncle intends to ask, but I can guess.¡± That¡¯s right, Aoi and I alone is not enough. Aoi is not good at fighting to protect others, and in the first place I¡¯m no match against a large group of people. If that¡¯s the case, we¡¯ll get strong people to help us protect them. If Yule doesn¡¯t recognize humans, beastmen, and demons, then let¡¯s rely on dragons. Of course, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re completely relying on others. They are our beloved children. The two treasures that Aoi wished for and I resolved to protect. Even I can escape while holding Jaja and Nana. If I can¡¯t escape, then I¡¯ll do whatever means necessary without worrying about my appearance. If that¡¯s impossible, then I¡¯ll pitifully cling onto someone else. There is certainly the feeling of not wanting to die and not wanting to let them die. So, I¡¯ll continue to hang onto any possibility. ¡°I¡¯ll convey that to mother. That¡¯s right, she was tired. She¡¯s been strange for the past three days. She was always impatient and lied down immediately. Jaja and Nana were crying and uncle was poking his nose around, so she¡¯s probably still tired. Let¡¯s get her to recover first.¡± We slowly approached Yule and father. My heart was beating so strongly that it was about to rupture, and there was a vigor that was about to erupt from my mouth at any moment. ¡°That reminds me, I lost my cool earlier, and Yule cut me off with some strange caustic words¡­¡± ¡°U-um, I was happy, you know?¡± ¡°Kunpei-kun. Since a long time ago, whenever blood gets to your head, you¡¯ll do unthinkable things. It was the same with me.¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m reflecting on that. The kick at the end was unnecessary.¡± ¡°Maybe I think that the place you need to reflect on is different¡­ but it was cool so I¡¯m fine with it. It was wonderful¡­¡± Eh? Making him prostrate in front of all the students at the opening ceremony? Or when I beat him up before that? ¡°Nii-chan, Yuuno-oneechan isn¡¯t coming back.¡± ¡°Kazemachi, gave me a big kiss when you come back.¡± Shouhei and Saeki reported in an astonished voice. ¡°I can¡¯t consent to that, even I haven¡¯t done it yet.¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t say I¡¯d do it!¡± Why are you glaring at me with such a scary expression!? ¡°I¡¯m okay with it at any time!¡± Mikuma-san! ¡°Even me, when I¡¯m sleeping, in the bathroom, or in the bath!¡± ¡°Kazamachi, you had that kind of fetish¡­¡± ¡°Nii-chan is the worst. Don¡¯t wake up the kids.¡± It¡¯s a false accusation! False accusation! That playful banter was soon over, and we stood in front of Yule. ¡°Thank you father. Was it all right?¡± ¡°No problem. But she doesn¡¯t listen, I could only get her to agree to wait.¡± He stood up while shaking his right hand. That alone has helped a lot. ¡°F-father-in-law, thank you very much!¡± Huh? Did you call him like how Mikuma did? ¡°It¡¯s fine, since it¡¯s for my cute grandchildren. Actually, I bought a toy without telling Shouhei. On the internet.¡± Just like his usual self, father was teasing Aoi who had her head lowered. ¡°Dad, we¡¯re going to have a proper talking after you come back, okay?¡± ¡°H-huh? Shou-kun, were you listening this whole time?¡± ¡°Uncle, Shouhei¡¯s smile is really scary right now. Even so, he¡¯s still handsome, can you give him to me?¡± Ahhh. He made Shouhei angry. The pocket money will decrease. And also, how blatant, Saeki. I won¡¯t permit it until my brother graduates from junior high school! ¡°So did you have a proper talk?¡± ¡°Ah, I still don¡¯t know whether it¡¯s correct or enough.¡± At any rate, there¡¯s still a lot of things that we don¡¯t know. ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. You guys had children too early. But the kids are already born. So do your best. Leave the rest to the dads.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m counting on you.¡± ¡°Yes, best regards.¡± The two lowered their heads slightly. ¡°Aah, I was relied on.¡± My father¡¯s face was filled with a satisfied smile. ¡°¡­ what¡¯s with this atmosphere.¡± Yule finally opened her mouth. ¡°Is there a flower field in your heads? Ai, no, Aoi. I¡¯m sure you know that you don¡¯t have the power to protect your twins alone.¡± She sighed deeply and shook her head. ¡°¡­ Mother, it¡¯s true that I don¡¯t have enough strength to protect Jaja and Nana at the same time. I know that, so I want to receive help. From Kunpei-san, father-in-law, Shouhei-san, and a lot of other people.¡± ¡°¡­ How shameless. You willfully gave birth and now you¡¯re leaving those children to someone else?¡± This time Aoi shook her head. ¡°No. I didn¡¯t plan on leaving everything to someone else. My responsibility and our responsibility must be fulfilled. But we don¡¯t have enough power. Even if it¡¯s shameful or pathetic, we can do anything for the sake of their happiness.¡± She smiled at me, and looked at Yule with strong eyes. The light in her eyes was very strong and dazzling. ¡°¡­ What¡¯s with that. Is that how a proud sky dragon should be?¡± ¡°That can be also said for you, Yule.¡± Suddenly there was a voice on top of my head. ¡°Alba Germain¡­! Didn¡¯t you say you won¡¯t be here!¡± ¡°Hahaha. while it may be true that they were irritable, but they haven¡¯t kicked me out. Even the Kazamachi house hasn¡¯t either.¡± ¡°No, but we want to drive you out.¡± My father agreed with my words. ¡°My mental strength is like steel, so this amount is nothing! More importantly, Yule, did you come to a conclusion? Even you, who has your hands full with restoring the sky, no for sure, you don¡¯t have the leeway to protect the twins, right?¡± This mentally strong rat¡­! ¡°¡­ Still, Aoi and the twins won¡¯t be as free living with humans and beastmen.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no such thing!¡± Aoi responds loudly to Yule who answered with a dark expression. ¡°Their important people isn¡¯t there! Their favorite papa isn¡¯t there! That¡¯s absolutely not freedom!¡± ¡°¡­ still no progress, huh.¡± Yule sighed deeply again. It was a somewhat lonely gesture. ¡°Father, sorry. Can you look after Jaja and Nana?¡± ¡°¡­ Be careful.¡± I left Jaja to him, and approached Aoi, who was holding Nana. ¡°I¡¯m sorry ¡­ I¡¯ll try and stop my mother somehow.¡± ¡°Ah, please do your best.¡± Jaja in his right arm and Nana on his left. My father was holding the twins and gently smile at Aoi. ¡°Yes!¡± Aoi nodded and put the smartphone strap over father¡¯s head. ¡°Kunpei-kun! Aoi-chan! Be careful!¡± ¡°Hey, rat! It¡¯s really as you said!¡± ¡°Nii-chan!¡± Mikuma, Saeki, and Shohei¡¯s worried voices. Sorry for making you worry. I stretched my arms and loosened my body. ¡°Now, do you do your best!¡± ¡°Mom! Let¡¯s have a proper talk!¡± We stood side by side in front of Yule. ¡°Aoi, even if you¡¯ll resent me, I¡¯ll protect my family! With my way!¡± The Dragon King of the Sky spread her large wings. Chapter 56 - Howl (7) ¡°You got it? Yule is exhausted now. Repeating the restoration of the sky endlessly, that girl¡¯s dragon spirit is almost empty, her stamina is near the limit as well. She shouldn¡¯t even be able to go into dragon form. With all that, even the immature Aoi can hold Yule down. The first condition is to make Yule submit. Make her use up her power so that she¡¯ll listen. Are your roles decided? About the continuous running, run away and run away until Yule uses all his power. How is it, simple right?¡± That rat said something like, but! ¡°It¡¯s not easy at alllll!¡± I was running on the peak of Tusk Crag. Stopping meant death, you had no choice but to continue to run even if your thighs are bursting. I could see a dragon spreading its large blue wings in my peripheral vision. A beautiful blue dragon with large black horns. That¡¯s right, that is the figure of Aoi that I saw when I first met her. Yule unpleasantly clicked her tongue. Aoi rushed Yule who was clad in a black mist-like thundercloud. Continuous tearing sounds rang out as she rushed through the sky at a tremendous speed and repeatedly attacked Yule. Yule, who spread her wings and was still in human form, kept avoiding it with a paper-thin margin. ¡°That¡¯s my daughter, Aoi! Although still green, you can still fight while meddling with my lightning and wind! However, that¡¯s still not enough! At that level you still can¡¯t erase them!¡± Yule¡¯s horns and huge wings continued to emit blue light, and from there she fired thin lightning bolts towards me in succession. Frustration could be heard within Aoi¡¯s roar. It¡¯s not like I had leeway, and yet Aoi was looking on from the side and doesn¡¯t seem to be getting serious. Occasionally, she stops moving as if having doubts. I know that it would be impossible for Aoi to hurt her real mother, for whatever reason. So one measure we took was to run away, and that¡¯s why we chose a battle of attrition. However, that¡¯s easier said than done. ¡°Ow! My ear!¡± A thin thunderbolt that landed next to me. Dry explosive sounds pierced my ears many times. The reason why I can continue to avoid it is because Yule is tired and she¡¯s not seriously trying to kill me. Furthermore, because Aoi was obstructing Yule. And so it¡¯s possible to predict where it¡¯ll land. ¡°The lightning manipulated by Sky Dragons is actually divided into four stages¡± This was the shady rat¡¯s explanation. ¡°Manipulating lightning is Yule¡¯s forte. The first stage is to develop the spirit of the body. The second step, is amplified by the help of external spirits. The third step to make a path by arranging spirits at equal intervals to the target. And the fourth step is lightning. If you pay attention, you can see the third step right away. Because the luminescent phenomenon of the spirit occurs near the target. Based on this, considering how tired Yule currently is, it is very easy to avoid it. The problem is your stamina, right?¡± Right? Of course not! But I was able to see it right away. The ground was shining about 2.3 seconds before the lightning struck, and I kept running in zigzags while looking out for it. However, the problem was the successive rapid fire! It¡¯s really never-ending. If you overlook the luminescent spots that occur one after another, a shock that can¡¯t even be joked as an electric massage falls on me. My spirit was gradually being whittled away. I mean! I don¡¯t know when Yule¡¯s stamina will run out! Yule who was flying in the air with plenty of room was swept away by the wind. Hmm? Maybe the goal is pretty close? Aoi turned sharply in the sky and charged Yule. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate me!¡± Yule flapped her right wing powerfully. ¡°Gah!!¡± ¡°Aoi!!¡± The wall of wind was so thick that a white layer was visible. It covered Aoi from above. A blue dragon that was crushed let out a short scream. Aoi returned to human form with a faint flash of light. There were some wounds on her body, but some red smoke came out and they vanished. Yule suddenly fell to her knees. It seems that it was even difficult to fly, she folded her wings with a painful expression. ¡°Aoi!¡± I confirmed that figure and ran to Aoi lying on the ground and sat her up. ¡°I-I¡¯m okay¡­ I ¡¯m sorry. My mother is strong after all.¡± Aoi looked up at me with a regretful expression. I don¡¯t know what her state of mind is like. ¡°No, well done. Yule¡­ san also appears to be near her limit.¡± I looked at Yule while supporting Aoi¡¯s head and shoulders. She hatefully glared at Aoi and me with her mouth shut tight. Her shoulders were swaying up and down violently, and even her rough breathing could be heard. ¡°Mother¡­ please listen.¡± It hasn¡¯t even been ten minutes since Yule started acting violently. Despite that, she¡¯s in such a state. Her condition wasn¡¯t normal after all. ¡°¡­Do you not understand my feelings?¡± Yule spoke with a pained expression. ¡°My daughter who I thought was still a child, a daughter who didn¡¯t know anything! My feelings when I heard she gave birth! Aoi! You¡¯re still a child! There¡¯s not many thousand year dragons with children! Ah, that¡¯s right! I¡¯m the one at fault, I was too hasty, and I still haven¡¯t taught you anything!¡± ¡°M-mother.¡± Aoi also had a similar painful face. ¡°That¡¯s why I came back! I¡¯m worried about you who doesn¡¯t have enough experience! Although I let you become independent, I returned! And what happened! Getting along with a human!? Can you believe it!? Who can even conceive a human becoming the father of dragons!¡± ¡°Yule¡­san¡± Yule was crying. Maybe I haven¡¯t even noticed myself, large drops of tears fell while she dropped down to her knees, glaring at me and Aoi. ¡°Even with what happened to Alissa, I have never hated other races! But I¡¯m afraid! It¡¯s difficult for dragons to be born, that¡¯s why we deeply deeply love out children! That¡¯s why having our children snatched away is scarier than anything! Our treasure¡­¡± Yule faced the ground. Her quivering shoulders told everything. Her overflowing tears stained the dry rock surface of Tusk Crag. ¡°You guys¡­! I¡¯ll take them away!¡± ¡°Mohter!? Noooo!¡± Yule roared facing the sky. ¡°Kunpei! Run away!¡± Father shouted at us from a distance. My father should be holding Jaja and Nana and watching us from the entrance of the nest. Strong wind spinning. Rumbling thunder. Pronounced black clouds filled the sky, completely blocking off the sunlight. The wind gathered towards Yule. Yule slowly floated as her huge wings were spread to the limit. ¡°Aaaaaah!!!¡± ¡°Mother! Calm down! I¡¯m begging you!¡± ¡°Woah! Aoi! What the heck!?¡± A strong wind gathers to Yule while rampaging uncontrollably, and I held Aoi¡¯s shoulder while shaking my body. ¡°M-mother! You can¡¯t hold down the spirits! The spirits are suffering!¡± I shifted my attention towards Yule. She was still facing the sky, and she hasn¡¯t stopped screaming. I spotted something familiar to me above her head. ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­¡± The ball of light that struck the kidnapper when I first met Aoi. The same thing was floating in the sky, but much larger than that. ¡°A thunderball ¡­! That big !?¡± Aoi opened her mouth in astonishment. ¡°Use the eggshells!¡± I heard Alba Germain¡¯s voice from on top of my head. I felt a heavy weight and sensed that the rat was there. ¡°Haaa!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not so bad if a dragon takes it, but if a human receives that, you wont stand a chance! I¡¯ll protect your father and the twins! Eat that shell!¡± ¡°B-but!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no time! Hurry!¡± Alba¡¯s voice suddenly disappeared without answering my doubts. While confusing over my lighter head, I hastily took out two fragments from my trouser pocket. Jaja and Nana¡¯s eggshells. If I ate it, I¡¯ll quit being human for a bit. ¡°Run away Kunpei-san! I¡¯ll manage somehow, but if a human takes that, there won¡¯t even be dust left!¡± No, I probably can¡¯t escape anymore. The ball of light that suddenly grew bigger was about twice as big as before. Even if I ran from the nest right now, there is no guarantee that I will make it in time. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m counting on you!¡± I tossed the two pieces into my mouth. And swallowed without chewing. ¡°Kunpei-san! What is that!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the kids eggshells! I¡¯ll become stronger if I eat¡­ gah!!!¡± My head! My head is splitting! ¡°Gu, gah!¡± ¡°Kunpei-san!? What happened?! Kunpei-san!!!!¡± I clutched my head. Pain that felt like it was splitting my head in half came from the center of my head. It felt like hot oil was flowing in the back of my eyes. It was like something protruded out of my back. It hurts. It hurts as if I was about to die. The blood pumped from my heart was flowing violently throughout my body like it was trying to burst my arteries. The temperature of the breath I exhaled felt hot enough to melt iron. ¡°Kunpei-san!! Hold on! Kunpei-san! Uncle! What did you make Kunpei-san do?!¡± ¡°Guuuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!¡± I jumped. It was because I thought that if I didn¡¯t do that, my head would be forcibly torn off. Everything was whited out and I couldn¡¯t see anything. I didn¡¯t know where I was or what I was doing. ¡º Kazamachi Kunpei waits for the wind¡­ ¡» Who¡¯s voice was this? ¡º Smell the aroma of the wind¡­ ¡» This gentle voice, who was it again? ¡º Anytime, anywhere, when I want to fly¡­ ¡» What is this voice that makes me want to surrender yourself? ¡º Fly with a woosh ¡» Ah, that¡¯s right. ¡º ¡­Remember this spell whenever something tough happens ¡» How could I forget. ¡º Kunpei is a child that won¡¯t surrender, right? ¡» I wanted to see you. ¡º Mother¡¯s proud child ¡» Mother. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAh!¡± The air from my lungs, my strength, everything escaped from my body. ¡°AaaaaAAAAaaah¡­.¡± Exceptional power returned with a deep breath. ¡°K-kunpei-san¡­¡± I lowered my head. My whited out field of view suddenly cleared up. ¡°W-what was that ¡­?¡± My heartbeat slowly began to recover. Unbelievable and calming. ¡°¡­ mother¡± ¡°E-eh?¡± Aoi¡¯s startled voice reached my ears. I raised my head and looked at Aoi. A color of astonishment was projected on her eyes that were wide open. ¡°¡­ hm? Huh?¡± What happened now? Where did that tremendous pain and headache go? ¡°A-aoi¡­ what happened to me?¡± ¡°Eh, Kunpei-san, do you not know?¡± Know what? ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­¡± Aoi was nervously pointing at my head. I followed the trajectory and raised my right hand to my head. Next to the head above the ear. There was something that felt out of place. ¡°W-what is this¡­¡± There was something hard and smooth on my head. ¡°That¡¯s probably¡­¡± Aoi opened her mouth while her finger that was pointing at me was still trembling. ¡°a horn.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°And it¡¯s splendid.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I raised my left hand and checked the opposite side. It was there. Something hard and smooth. ¡°That¡¯s the horn of the dragon.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I don¡¯t understand what you mean. Chapter 57 - Howl (8) I used both hands to repeatedly check the hard and smooth things that sprouted out on both sides of my head. ¡°Horns¡­¡± It¡¯s horns. ¡°Why¡­?¡± Question marks fill my thoughts. ¡°There¡¯s also wings growing in the middle¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re kidding!?¡± I turned my neck around to the limits of its range of motion. A white object appeared at the edge of my field of view. Pure white wings, different from Aoi, Jaja and Nana. A thin skin stretched over a skeleton covered with scales, exactly like wings. It grew slightly upward from the back and was considerably smaller than Aoi¡¯s wings. ¡°When I twisted my body because it was hard to see, it moved in response to my will.¡± Seriously? ¡°There¡¯s also a tail¡­¡± I lowered my line of sight because of Aoi ¡¯s words. Just like she said, I have a tail. A tail covered with white scales that continues on from the bottom of my back. I tried moving it. The tail moved as I wanted it to. ¡°Hah? Haaaaaa?¡± Wait a minute! Calm down, Kunpei! If I remember correctly, I didn¡¯t think I could manage Yule¡¯s thunderball, so I ate Jaja and Nana¡¯s egg shells like Alba Germain told me to. I remember up until the part where I was suddenly attacked by an intense headache. I can¡¯t remember anything after that. It feels like I heard a very nostalgic voice. ¡°That¡¯s definitely a dragon¡¯s tail, wings and horns¡­¡± Aoi, who was dumbfounded, reached her hand towards my head and ouched my right horn. ¡°What¡¯s going on¡­¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t know.¡± Even if I asked Aoi, she had no idea whatsoever. ¡°Uaaaaaaaaaah!!¡± ¡°!? Mother!!¡± Yule¡¯s sorrowful scream brought us back to reality. It was already too late, the thunderball has already swelled to an impossibly large size, it was expanding and shrinking vertically and horizontally, you could tell it had reached the limits just by looking at it. ¡°Kunpei-san, get behind me for the time being!¡± Aoi stood up and transformed into a dragon with a flash of light. A beautiful deep blue body. Aoi was about three times my height in dragon form. I noticed more strange things while looking up at her. ¡°W-what are those.¡± It was a band of light like the aurora. Small particles of light flowed around Yule while drawing irregular rays of light. A sight that I have never seen was projected in my field of view. When I carefully observed the particles of light, it looks like a butterfly that was repeatedly flapping its wings to the limit on each flap. ¡°Maybe¡­ these are spirits¡­?¡± Hundreds, thousands, no, possibly even hundreds of millions of light butterflies gathered towards Yule in distorted rows. The light clinging to Yule¡¯s body turns into a single luminous body, distorting as if it was trying to escape. The light mass that could not escape was connected from Yule¡¯s head to the thunderball in the sky, the butterflies collided with each other and filled the sky with splashes of each others¡¯ remains. ¡°Gaaaaaah!!¡± Aoi¡¯s roar shook the ground. ¡°Uwaaaaaaaaaah!¡± Yule stopped screaming, lowered her head and looked down at us, no me, and swung her arms downward. At the same time, the thunderball started to move. It wasn¡¯t fast. It fell straight towards us at a speed that was about how quick the average human walks. However, the thunderball was destroying an area even larger than itself. The rock at Yule¡¯s feet was scorched. Tusk Crag was trembling. A violent storm collided with us, rocking our bodies. ¡°Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!¡± Aoi roared. A thin black cloud was produced, swirling around and gathering in front of Aoi. No matter how you look at it, the amount was less than the black cloud from earlier. Tiny butterflies flapped for their dear life around that cloud but was blown away one after another by the aftermath of the thunderball. Is that how it is? By manipulating those butterflies, Aoi and Yule are creating wind and lightning. Yule who was rampaging, was overwhelmingly collecting butterflies, is that why Aoi isn¡¯t able to make clouds? ¡°Aoi!¡± I clung to that large foot and wanted to support her body, even if just a little. ¡°Eh?¡± There I noticed. There were a little bit of butterflies that followed me as I moved. ¡°¡­ Perhaps¡± I remembered. When Aoi and Yule manipulated lightning, their horns reacted by emitting light. I tried to concentrate on the horns that grew out. It was an amazing feeling. It was like moving your fingers, when you are aware that you want to bend your fingers, they¡¯re already bent. The butterflies flew to the black cloud that Aoi manipulated according to my will. I felt the gently flowing wind. A gentle wind that rustles the trees but still has a presence. ¡°More¡­ more¡­ please! Gather more!¡± Did those words that unconsciously come out of my mouth reach those butterflies? The amount heading towards the black cloud increased just a bit. However, it¡¯s not enough. Not enough at all. The thunderball mercilessly arrived before our eyes. Aoi¡¯s black cloud came into contact with the thunderball that was under Yule¡¯s control. We were enveloped in a dazzling light. ¡°Gaaaaaah!!¡± Pain ran throughout my entire body. It was hot to the point where it felt like my blood was boiling. My skin was charred and even the flesh was burnt. Aoi¡¯s roar tore through the air and reverberated in my head. That instant was hell. An instant of torture. The fear of death is what prevented my consciousness from leaving my body. Things and people you don¡¯t want to lose. Such a daunting image ran through my mind in an instant. I wasn¡¯t sure how long had passed. When I realized it, I was lying on the ground. I was on top of Aoi, who had returned to human form for some time. I think I blacked out for a bit. ¡°Gah, uuhhh¡­.?¡± I picked my body up. The burnt areas were stiff and it was physically hard to move. It took a few seconds to remember that I fell down. ¡°Uuuhh¡­ Kunpe¡­sa¡­¡± Aoi groaned with a frail voice. Black burn marks covered her body, it was extremely painful to look at. The wounds were slowly healing while emitting red smoke. ¡°I¡¯m alive?¡± You¡¯re kidding. Even though I already thought I was done for. Why am I alive? I opened my hands and stared at them. The countless wounds on my palms were slowly healing. The red smoke that I thought was coming out of Aoi¡¯s body seems to be mixing with me. Was this because I became a dragon? ¡°A-Ai¡­?¡± A sorrowful voice. When I looked up, Yule was standing still in a daze. ¡°Huh? What did I¡­ do¡­?¡± Light was lost from Yule¡¯s eyes, who was looking at the unconscious Aoi. I forcibly turned my neck to see the situation at the nest. I was relieved to find my father hugging the twins with a blue face. Did that Alba guy properly protect them? I heard crying. The sound that echoed from far away reverberated in both my ears. Jaja and Nana were crying. That¡¯s no good. At this rate, we will all be unhappy. That cry was a fearful cry. It was not the usual hungry cry. It was not a call for warmth. That was a voice that was crying for fear of losing, a little heart that was afraid. Think. What should I do? I am not doing anything. I came all this way because I didn¡¯t want to heart that cry, didn¡¯t I? That¡¯s right. I still haven¡¯t told Yule anything. I have to tell her my true intentions. I forcibly moved my aching body and got up, and staggered towards Yule. ¡°¡­ what in the¡­ Ai¡­¡± A trickle of tears ran down her cheeks from her eyes that were wide open. The ¡®mother¡¯ is crying because she cannot accept what she did. This person is surely thinking too much. Dragon King of the Sky. Arbitrator of the skies. What is it? This person is a ¡°mother¡±. It was only a ¡®mother¡¯ who thought of a child, no matter what their title, no matter how long they live, and if he had the power to transcend living creatures. ¡°Yule¡­san¡± She slowly looked at me. ¡°¡­Ah, I just wanted to protect Ai and those children ¡­ even though I just wanted to protect them.¡± The dignity of the king of the sky was nowhere to be found in that frail figure. ¡°Why¡­ this kind of thing¡­¡± ¡°Mother¡­¡± Aoi spoke from behind me. ¡°Mother¡­ I¡¯m fine¡­ so please. Don¡¯t make that face.¡± I stopped and looked back. Aoi stood up holding her body. The wounds on her body were mostly healed. My wounds still haven¡¯t healed yet, so that¡¯s the resilience of a real dragon. ¡°Calm down an listen.¡± Aoi looked at Yule with a strong gaze. ¡°Ai¡­¡± Yule was flustered and took a step back. ¡°¡­ It would have been over if it wasn¡¯t you.¡± ¡°Uuu..¡± Yule silently trembled from my words. ¡°If we were driven this far by someone other than you, not only me and Aoi, but Jaja and Nana would be done for as well.¡± That¡¯s right. Being afraid of that scenario is what we have in common with Yule. ¡°We¡¯re weak. We can¡¯t win against you even when you¡¯re riddled with wounds and can¡¯t make rational judgments, so it¡¯s normal for you to worry.¡± ¡°¡­that¡¯s why!¡± ¡°That¡¯s why!!!¡± I cut Yule off and continued speaking. The only thing I can do right now is to tell you. ¡°¡­ We¡¯ll receive help. There are still a lot of things that we¡¯re lacking, so I can¡¯t fill it right away and have to get help. So I¡¯ll bow as many times as I have to. You can laugh at me. I want to stay with them, so it doesn¡¯t matter even if I¡¯m laughed at.¡± I slowly got down on my knees. ¡°I look very tiny and unreliable to you. I know. I¡¯m aware. That¡¯s why¡­¡± I placed my hands on the ground. ¡°Please help.¡± And then I put my head on the ground. ¡°Y-you¡­¡± ¡°Kunpei-san¡­¡± I could hear Yule¡¯s confused voice and Aoi¡¯s trembling voice. ¡°When we make a mistake, when all is hopeless, when we have no way forward or back. At that time, please help us.¡± I kept my head down. I can hear footsteps. I heard crying. My father seems to have brought the kids. ¡°Please help your daughter and your grandchildren. I don¡¯t mind if you abandon me. Please somehow protect your ¡®jewels¡¯.¡± I don¡¯t know if this figure is something the twins would be proud of. Chapter 58 - Howl (9) ¡°Yo¡­ you¡­ what are you planning!¡± For the first time in my life, I am prostrating. I don¡¯t know how to do it, so I don¡¯t know if this is correct. I was thinking that this deprecating manner might fan Yule¡¯s conceit, but I didn¡¯t how to appeal other than like this. I could not see Yule because my head was lowered, but I could hear her flustered voice. Suddenly, a hand was placed on my back. Right between the wings. A small slender hand. It was unmistakably Aoi¡¯s hand. Aoi was next to me with one knee on the ground. ¡°Kunpei-san¡­ please raise your head.¡± That voice was trembling. I followed that voice and slowly raised my head. I met Yule¡¯s gaze. She held her forehead with her right hand and look at me and Aoi alternately with an uncertain gaze. ¡°Mother, we really need Kunpei-san, but not just Kunpei-san, but also father-in-law, Shouhei-san, and the people who are helping us right now. Otherwise we can¡¯t live.¡± Aoi slowly stood up. Her trembling legs showed the damage that she hadn¡¯t recovered from yet. She always tries to force herself. Aoi took a frail but a determined step forward. She slowly headed towards her mothers, so as not to frighten her, who was exhausted and lost her sanity. When I noticed it, my father was standing next to me. When I turned towards him, he gently smiled. As soon as I saw that content face, I felt my body slowly lose strength. ¡°Nnn~~¡± ¡°Ahhh~ Ahhh~¡± The twins who were held by my dad were calling me with tears accumulating in their big eyes. Jaja was sucking her right thumb and Nana was looking at me with both hands spread open. ¡°Look¡± Father slowly bent down. I promptly extended my arms and waited. Nana in my right arm. When I carefully embraced her with my powerless arms, she rubbed her head against my chest. Jaja in my left arm. The mellow smell of infants tickled my nasal cavity. I couldn¡¯t help but hug them a little tighter and brought them near my cheeks and took a deep breath. The weight on my shoulder and chest were comfortable. ¡°A-Ai¡­¡± Every time Aoi took a step forward, Yule moved back a little. Even if she was avoiding it, Aoi increased her stride and eventually they were only a one person distance apart. ¡°That¡¯s it, isn¡¯t? Even mother as well?¡± With a trembling voice, Aoi tossed those straightforward words at Yule. ¡°¡­Ai¡± ¡°Mother!¡± Aoi jumped to her chest and tightly embraced the flustered Yule. ¡°Please¡­ mom¡­ believe in¡­ us¡­¡±! ¡°Ah¡­¡± Aoi inserted her arms under hers, Yule swayed along with two arms. I thought it would be nice if she reciprocated. ¡°What are you guys doing! Hurry and run away!¡± Suddenly, Alba Germain¡¯s angry voice echoed. When I followed his voice and turned around, he was panting for breath while sitting on my father¡¯s shoulders. ¡°The spirits who have lost their place to go are gathering willfully!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Speaking of which, there are only a few butterflies of light that have been around us. I looked up at the thick black cloud still spreading overhead. I realized it was bad in an instant. That was the existence within the clouds. It was so big that it could be mistaken for the sun. A huge thunderball that continued to swell while making a sky shattering sound while being charged and discharged. ¡°¡­eh!?¡± I gulped. A large number of butterflies of light flew around the clouds, they were shaking left and right and before long they were sucked into the thunderball. I immediately put power into my legs to stand up. However, it was completely still. ¡°Father! Take the kids and run away!¡± I gave up as soon as I realized my legs were useless and urged my father. ¡°You idiot! Hurry and stand up!¡± He knew that my body was exhausted, he inserted his arms under mine and started pulling me. A completely exhausted body that cannot even stand up and had to entrust it to my father. ¡°Mother!?¡± I heard Aoi¡¯s surprised voice. When I looked, Yule was awkwardly spreading her huge wings and leaving the ground. ¡°Mother! What are you going to do?¡± ¡°¡­ It¡¯s my failure.¡± ¡°The spirits are in chaos and gathering together! You can¡¯t control it with your current self! Even if it¡¯s you¡­ we won¡¯t know what will happen to your body if you approach it!!¡± Forcibly extending her powerless arms, Aoi chased after Yule. The wings on her back flapped feebly, surely she can¡¯t even float. Yule slowly caressed Aoi¡¯s head when she saw that. Gently and affectionately combing her silky smooth hair with her slender white fingers. ¡°Wait mother!¡± She gently broke free from her daughter¡¯s arms and her legs left the ground. She slowly turned in the sky and stood in front of us. ¡°¡­ how cute.¡± She raised both arms and stroked the twin heads as she did Aoi. ¡°¡­¡­Aaaaa©`, Aa©`!¡± ¡°Uwah! Uwah!¡± Jaja and Nana began struggling in my arms. They moved their hands and feet about and called out towards Yule. ¡°¡­ Do you hate me?¡± ¡°No!¡± ©` Yule was laughing sadly, and I inadvertently raised my voice. ¡°If so, I¡¯m happy.¡± Yule narrowed her eyes and let go of the twins. She started ascending up again. ¡°W-wait! Hey!¡± ¡°Kunpei! Hurry!¡± I was bent over and held my father back. ¡°Mom! Mom!¡± Aoi was desperately chasing Yule in front of us while unsteadily moving her legs. ¡°Aoi-chan! Over here!¡± Father extended his left arm and pulled her shoulders. My father desperately escapes to the nest with me and Aoi, and me holding Jaja and Nana. ¡°No ¡­ no, no! No one wants this!¡± ¡°Mother!!!¡± Yule rose higher and higher while looking at our faces. Yule finally arrived at the thunderball, smiled gently at, and disappeared into it. ¡°Alba! Do something!¡± Alba Germain, who was siting on my father¡¯s shoulder, shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve used up my power to stop that attack earlier¡­ I only have means to escape that thunderball¡­ it has enough power to destroy half of this crag! Yule is probably trying to induce its explosion and absorb the blast with her body! ¡° There¡¯s no way right! ¡°You said you were the dragon¡¯s ally, right!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can do! But there are still many things I can¡¯t do!¡± ¡­ You¡¯re kidding, right? There must still be something else up your sleeve, right? Because that person was just desperate! It¡¯s true she was abusive and injured me, but she was just trying to protect her daughter and grandchildren! ¡°Nii-chan!? What¡¯s wrong!?¡± ¡°Kunpei-kun! Please respond!¡± ¡°Kazamachi! What happened!¡± Their worried voices could be heard from the smartphone hanging on father¡¯s chest. Calm down. If you¡¯re an idiot, think like an idiot. But what can I do against something like that. If I knew that, I wouldn¡¯t have been hurt so far. ¡°Mom! Don¡¯t! Mom!¡± Aoi¡¯s sad voice shook my brain. ¡°Guaaaah!¡± Regret is crying from my throat. ¡°You two! Hurry!¡± My father¡¯s impatient voice, different from usual, further spurred it. ¡°Uwaaaaah!¡± ¡°AAaaah~! Aaaaaah!¡± ¡°Daaaaa~! Daaa~!¡± Jaja and Nana kept calling Yule. ¡°Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!¡± I roared. The thought that nothing could be done to deal with this situation became a howl that pierced the heavens. At that moment. My field of view was dyed pure white. The ¡®Small light¡¯ within me¡­ shined strongly. ¡°Na!¡± Alba raised his voice in surprise. ¡°Kunpei!?¡± I heard my father¡¯s confused voice. ¡°Oaaaaah! Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaah!¡± Minuscule butterflies of light appeared one after another from inside my body. It filled our surroundings, and emitted a strong green light unlike the other butterflies. ¡°Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha! I ha ha! I won the bet, Seraphi! I could hear Alba, but I couldn¡¯t understand it. The butterflies continued to appear endlessly from ¡®inside¡¯ in response to my cry. The force was tremendous, my father couldn¡¯t endure it anymore and let go of me. ¡°This is your dream, what you wanted! Finally, it finally appeared!¡± Even though I know you¡¯re saying something, but I can¡¯t process it. ¡°Aoi! Can you control these spirits?¡± ¡°Eh! Eeeh!?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid! Are you going to let Yule die!¡± Aoi¡¯s confused voice was heard. As well as Alba¡¯s loud yell. ¡°Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!¡± This voice was already not my voice. Somebody¡¯s cry was coming out from inside me of its own accord. It felt like the butterflies have already completely filled our surroundings. ¡°You shitty rat! What did you do to my son!¡± ¡°Haha! Kazamachi Kouhei! Even you would have felt it vaguely right!¡± I couldn¡¯t distinguish between my father and Alba¡¯s voice. ¡°Uwwaaaaah!¡± ¡°Daaaaaa~!¡± Now I understand that Jaja and Nana are helping me in my arms. ¡°Kunpei¡­san? Jaja¡­? Nana¡­?¡± Someone was calling us. ¡°H-help me¡­¡± No, it was asking us for help. ¡°Please! Please help my mom!¡± But it ¡¯s okay. ¡°Gwaaaaaaaaaah!¡± Don¡¯t cry ¡°Uwaaah!!¡± That wish will surely¡­ ¡°Aaaaaaaaahhh!¡± Your treasures will come true. ¡°Gaaaaaaoooooooooh!¡± Jaja and Nana let out a strong roar. Chapter 59 - Howl (10) ¡°Huh?¡± I suddenly woke up. I tried to recall when I fell asleep. It¡¯s no good. It seems I was not fully awake yet and it was difficult to think about it. It¡¯s hard to open my eyes because I slept for a long time. When I tried to lift my arm to rub my eyes, I notice that I couldn¡¯t move it at all. ¡°¡­¡­Ah?¡± A hoarse voice came out from the throat. ¡°Eh? Ow~!¡± My whole body hurts. From my head to the toes, if I moved a little I felt numbing pain. I was able to move my neck a little, so I checked where I was sleeping. The first thing I saw was a familiar desk. A study desk that I rarely used. Next was a low table and a chair. It was a simple item that I surprisingly liked. And then a colored case for clothes. Four colored cases are enough to store all my clothes. That is to say, this is my room. It¡¯s my home. This time, I turned my head to the other side. Since I was sleeping on a bed, I was next to the window. A gentle light was shining in from the opened curtain. Since the light wasn¡¯t open in the room, this was the light from the moon and stars. This town was a new district that was added to Japan because of the worlds colliding. The stars were visible because of the relatively high altitude. The curtains on both sides of the window were gathered together, making a quiet noise as it swayed in the wind. When I looked out of the window for a while, something right next to me moved. I tired lifting my aching neck slightly. Jaja and Nana were sleeping in infant overalls with Aoi¡¯s favorite cute hood with cat ear decorations. The twins were sleeping right next to my face wrapped in a towel. Jaja was sucking on her thumb, which has become a habit recently, and Nana seemed to be dreaming and was closing and opening her right hand repeatedly. A smile naturally leaked out. Huh? Come to think of it, why am I sleeping here again? If I remeber correctly, Aoi and the kids left, so the dungeon¡­ ¡°Yule!!¡± My memory was refreshed and I jolted up. ¡°Giii~~!¡± I was petrified because of the tremendous pain running through my entire body. ¡°Uuuuuuuh¡­¡± While sweating, I endured the pain by biting my lips. That¡¯s right. What happened to Yule? In order to make the expanding thunderball explode, she should have flown into it. I was prepared for the pain, I moved my head and looked around. My usual room. Where I sleep with Aoi and the kids, the eight-tatami sized room where I just moved into. There was a stain on the carpet from when Jaja floated and knocked over a glass of juice. There were scratches on the wall made by Aoi¡¯s horns when she was still half asleep. Nana¡¯s favorite little stuffed cat toy that Mikuma brought as a souvenir. ¡°¡­ What happened?¡± ¡°Kunpei-san?¡± The door slowly opened. A familiar silhouette appeared with the light from the hallway shining in from behind. ¡°A-Aoi.¡± ¡°¡­ Thank goodness, you woke up.¡± Aoi entered the room with a relieved expression and closed the door. She walked a bit in the room that was once again covered in darkness and pulled the string to open the light on top of the desk. ¡°U-um, why am I back home?¡± ¡°Do you not remember?¡± Nothing at all. The last thing I remember seeing was Yule disappearing into the thunderball with a gentle smile. I screamed with frustration, I have no memory after that. ¡°That¡¯s right! What about Yule¡­ san?! What happened?¡± ¡°¡­ Mother¡± Aoi looked down. The desk lamp alone did not provide enough light to see her expression. My heart began to gradually beat faster. Eh? ¡­Maybe? Aoi slowly raised her head. ¡°Thanks to Kunpei-san, Jaja and Nana, she¡¯s alive. She¡¯s sleeping in Shouhei¡¯s bed right now.¡± It was a smile. Tears were accumulating at the corner of her eyes and she was happily smiling. ¡°¡­ safe ¡­huh¡± I lost strength in my shoulder. ¡°Guaah!¡± ¡°Kunpei-san! Does it hurt?¡± When I relaxed, I remembered the pain I had temporarily forgotten. Looking at me who grimaced in pain, Aoi supported my back and arms ¡°Please lie down. Although your wounds are healed, it seems you¡¯re in a lot of pain. Uncle said it¡¯s probably the effects of becoming a dragon.¡± Huh? I became a dragon? Ah, that ¡¯s right. I raised my right hand and touched above my ears. Nothing. The large horn that grew out wasn¡¯t there, no matter how you felt it. I forcibly turned my neck around. The wings weren¡¯t there either. The tail that should have been on my butt also wasn¡¯t there. ¡°At that time, when you suddenly screamed, your horns and wings shone like when we manipulate the spirits. However, you weren¡¯t manipulating, it was more like creating.¡± ¡°C-creating?¡± I faintly remember seeing something. A tiny butterfly made of green light. Was it a spirit after all? ¡°¡­ I have never seen a spirit like that. It had the same form as a heavenly spirit and was a butterfly, but it was my first time seeing a green one.¡± ¡°And then?¡± What did I do with that spirit? ¡°¡­It seemed to be a little painful, but an imaginable amount of spirits came out. Jaja and Nana let out a roar like they were in alignment with you. A strong dragon aura was produced while the whole body shone with light.¡± I looked at the twins again. They had a peaceful expression. A cute harmless and innocent sleeping face, no matter how you look at it. Which reminds me. ¡°¡­ did the kids roar?¡± ¡°Do you remember? I couldn¡¯t remember clearly either, but they cutely went ¡®Gaoo¡¯ together.¡± Ah, so that cute and pleasant sounding roar was Jaja and Nana as expected? ¡°At the same time, the spirits you created flew all at once toward the thunderball. It was amazing because only a dragon king can control that amount of spirits.¡± After hearing the story, it was the twins who were manipulating the spirits. I looked at their sleeping faces again. From their appearance of sleeping while snoring, it seems unlikely that they will be on par with an existence like a Dragon King. ¡°The rest happened in a blink of an eye. The sky turned pure white from a flash and the thunderball was nowhere to be found, only my fainted mother was floating, supported by green spirits. ¡° Well then. ¡°For now, everyone is safe¡­ right?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s just Kunpei-san. As soon as you stopped screaming, your horns, tail, and wings turned into grains of light and fell down slowly. I was uneasy at that time.¡± Is that so¡­ In that case. ¡°In that case¡­ that¡¯s good¡­¡± I lost strength and sunk into the bed. ¡°Jaja and Nana also fell asleep immediately. They¡¯re probably very tired. I carried them home on my back, but they never even woke up once.¡± ¡°How long have I been sleeping?¡± It was pitch black outside. Haven¡¯t I been sleeping for a long time? ¡°It has only been about five hours. Father-in-law is driving Mikuma and Saeki back home. Shouhei-san is making dinner. I¡¯m helping him while taking care of you and the twins. Uncle said not to worry and left, but I still can¡¯t trust that person.¡± ¡°What about Alba?¡± ¡°When I noticed, he was gone. He had some disputes with father-in-law, but he looked delighted.¡± I have a lot of questions I want to ask that guy. About the dragon eggshell, me transforming into a dragon, the green butterfly spirits, and also Yule. ¡°Fuaaaaah~~¡± I let out a big yawn. As I stretched my body, pain accompanied it. ¡°Ah, sorry can you lay me down.¡± After I got a peace of mind, my entire body became sluggish. My eyelids immediately called for closing and there was no room for negotiation. My eyes shut right away. ¡°Yes, relax.¡± ¡°Good night¡­¡± Aoi stroked my forehead with her hand. That smooth sensation was very comfortable. ¡°¡­ Thank you, Kunpei-san¡± I lightly nodded with my eyes closed. The drowsiness attacked so quickly, and my consciousness quickly raised a white flag. A soft object landed on my forehead. A small noise was made for 10 seconds. A pleasant feeling spread from there like a ripple. Wrapped in that comfort, I finally let go of my consciousness. ¡°¡­ I love you. Good night¡­ Kunpei-san.¡± That gentle voice lead the way to the dream door. Chapter 60 - My Mother Yule In the end, for those kids my worries were just none of my business. Still, for me, it was so frustrating that I lost sight of myself. I was looking up at the moon from the top of the roof. Is it a half-moon today? Certainly, the day I gave birth to Ai was also a halfmoon. Three hundred years ago, when the previous Dragon King of the Sky, Nerke died, the family had a consensus that the strongest of us, I, should succeed him. Honestly, I still feel a heavy burden even now. I have never had a nest and wandered around to various places relying on the few relatives I had. I would have never thought that different worlds would collide. The civilization level at that time was laughable compared to now, there were primitive beastmen and some clever demons. I traveled around the world while observing various races, various organizations, and various countries from the shadows. I went to the Earth Dragon¡¯s Forest and the Sea Dragon¡¯s Island. 2,000 years old is still very young for dragons, in human terms it would be around late twenties. I still wanted to keep playing, and didn¡¯t want to take over the Sky Dragon King position. However, there were no dragons stronger than me and younger than me, so I couldn¡¯t do anything to refuse it, and became the Dragon King of the Sky. It was terrible. The Dragon King is a mediator. The sky that I loved sometimes changed completely and devastated the earth. Gouging the ground with winds, scattering rain, and burning forests with lightning. It was my duty, as a Dragon King, to fix the distorted parts while humoring such a whimsical sky. Starting from that point on, I didn¡¯t have any time to rest. From the west to the east, from the north to the south. I traveled busily every day alone while pacifying the sky. That¡¯s when I gave birth to Ai. I probably wished for some sort of support. I built a nest in a convenient place and bid farewell to my lonely days. When the egg-laying season began, my power declined and I was afraid to endure alone. Even though I had laid eggs several times before, but the pain from that time is still unforgettable. It felt like my body was being torn apart. I cried and screamed when I found out that there was life in the egg, I embraced the egg and fell asleep. Soon after, I met Ai. Big round eyes and squishy cheeks. A pampered child who easily succumbed to loneliness. She would cry and laugh at a flip of a switch. A beautiful light was cast into my world. It was enjoyable to be together. It was calming to sleep together. It brought me a smile to play together. That was when I remembered Alissa. Alissa, who was younger than me, before one knew it, was nowhere to be seen. I remembered that the adults were clamoring with scary faces. Since I was still a child, nobody told me what happened to Alissa. Since I was worried, I hugged the small Ai and visited Alissa¡¯s mother, Sati. Sati and Alissa lived on the top of a snowy mountain where other living things did not approach. I was speechless after I saw her. A little Alissa who always laughed and followed behind me in my memory. A bright, tomboyish, and a little selfish, but a very lovable child. That Alissa had a cold expression like she was a sculpture in front of me, it was painful to look at. Sati explained to me, who was perplexed. Being captured by beastmen and demon merchants. Since then, Alissa has stopped laughing and getting angry. If Sati doesn¡¯t open her mouth, she doesn¡¯t even eat. The body of the dragon was a treasure that non-dragons coveted. It was said that it gave one long life. Or you¡¯ll receive matchless power. There are many people who believe in that idle gossip and aim for dragons. But most dragons won¡¯t lose, so those guys won¡¯t be able to get their hands on us, that¡¯s what I thought up until then. Sati told me in a self-ridiculing tone. ¡ºYuriel, if that child is really important, you have to make sure to protect her, alright?¡» I couldn¡¯t do anything but nod. Since then, I sometimes have nightmares. The instance I take my eyes off her, Ai who was playing disappears, and her cry could be heard from a distance. That kind of dream. After waking up, I frantically looked for Ai and only became relived after I saw her. It continued for a long time even after Ai grew up. I became overprotective. I have seen other races for a long time, so I know that some of them are kind. But I¡¯ve also seen enough evil with my own eyes. It was horrible and unbearable. There was a time where I was made to think how could anyone do such a cruel thing. Ai is my jewel. Shining brightly, and beautiful. I decided to raise a strong child before she became independent. At any rate, the other races coveted dragons. I thought that we were more likely to deal with those attacked with knowing than those who attacked without knowing. We went to various places starting from the nest. Wealthy countries, poor countries, secluded villages, and extinct races. I taught Ai how to fight while showing her these things. Ai was not suitable for straightforward battles. She was a cowardly crybaby, and instantly behaved like a spoiled child. It was cute, and it was also my fault that I wasn¡¯t strict on her. Nevertheless, it was about 10 years after the solitary age set by the sky dragons that she grew up to be able to fight by herself. I gave her the name Aoinoun, an ancient Goddess¡¯s name. The Goddess of the moon. The title ¡°Soukyuu¡± seems to mean blue sky in this country. A beautiful pale moon floating in the clear blue sky. With that kind of image, ¡°Soukyuu¡± Aoinoun Dragoline became independent. Ai was crying and making a racket about not wanting to part, I was the same. But to live strong, you have to stand alone. If the dragons gather, there will be a fight for the dragons. I left my memorable nest. It was also related to the world collision. There were scars everywhere in the sky, and I don¡¯t know how many hundreds of years it will take to cure all of them. I am the Dragon King of the Sky. The guardian of the sky. Even though I was away from Ai, I have never forgotten about her, not even for a second. Even if I was busy or my mind and body were exhausted, I never suffered as long as I thought about Ai. Because I was proud of protecting the world where that child lives. I found out that Ai gave birth when I was working to eliminate a distorted storm in a place called the Grand Canyon. The wind flowing from the distant sky blessed me. I thought it was impossible. I thought it was too early. Dragon spawning and birth are very rare. I realized there were too many things that I didn¡¯t teach her yet. I finished my work in a rush and return to Japan. When I wanted to take the shortest route, I was obstructed by the distortion of the sky, and could only use the route that humans use. When I returned to the nest after finishing a very tired air travel while fixing the distortion that I happened to see, while avoiding being discovered, Ai was nowhere to be found. But I knew she was nearby. No matter where Ai was hiding, I had always been able to sense it right away. When I left the nest to go meet her, the rat sage was there. A shady dragon doctor who has been alive since before I was born. No one liked this guy, but only his reliable skill was trusted. There was no doubt that not a single dragon has died of an illness because of this guy. The rat sage told me something unbelievable while laughing foolishly. ¡ºAoi? She set up a child with a human and is living with those people right now.¡» My vision went dark. I remembered Alissa hard to look at appearance. Ai and my yet to seen grandchildren¡¯s crying appearances. A calm me in my head told me to calm down. But the agitated me, who makes up the majority, screamed at me to go help them. I immediately descended from the nest and looked for the house relying on Aoi. I found the house and took a deep breath. First, I¡¯ll check on Ai and my grandchildren. Then I¡¯ll listen to everything. I thought so and rang the doorbell. Because even I knew a little bit about humans. No one came out no matter how many times I rang. Impatience tried to manipulate my hand to break the door, but I managed to keep pushing the doorbell. Finally the door opened and a man came out. The man who came out was tall with evil looking eyes. He didn¡¯t look like a good person at all. After that, my thoughts were in disorder, acted recklessly, hurt Ai, couldn¡¯t even fix the mess I made, and then woke up in the house of the man I antagonized. I opened the window, flew up to the roof and looked up at the moon. However I just felt pathetic. ¡°Yo, you woke up, huh.¡± When I turned towards the voice, the rat sage was standing there. ¡°¡­ aah, what is it? Aren¡¯t you in a good mood.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s right. For a long time, for a truly long time, I finally found something I was looking for that I didn¡¯t stop wishing for a long time. It¡¯s fine to be happy about it, right?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Secret.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± I¡¯m not interested. Anyways, even if I hear it, I can¡¯t trust it. ¡°¡­ What was that?¡± ¡°That?¡± I remembered the most strange thing. ¡°¡­ that brat changed into a dragon. Was that your work?¡± In the first place, I know that this guy instigated me, and helped Ai and them. Perhaps even now, we dragons are dancing on the palms of this great sage. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a dragon. There¡¯s no way a human can become a dragon, right.¡± ¡°No, that was a dragon. The proof was that the heavenly spirits obeyed him.¡± That¡¯s right. The source of the Sky Dragon¡¯s power, the descendants of the Great Spirit, definitely followed that guys horns. No one other than dragons could do that. ¡°It¡¯s not a dragon, if you become a dragon just by eating an egg shell, the world would be full of dragons.¡± He turned the staff on his waist and looked at the moon. Well, I wonder if he¡¯s evading the question. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s still better if that guy is a dragon.¡± That¡¯s right. A dragon can be trusted much more than humans, beastmen, and demons. There will also be no worries if I entrust Ai and the kids to him. Though I¡¯ve never seen a male dragon. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. I came from Ruby¡¯s earlier.¡± ¡°Ah?¡± What¡¯s this guy talking about? What business did you have to take care of with the Dragon King of the Earth? ¡°You know Ruby¡¯s daughter, right? She¡¯s a good friend of Aoi. According to the customs of the Earth Dragon, it¡¯s that child¡¯s time to leave the forest. So taking that opportunity, she agreed to come and protect the kids until they grow up.¡± ¡°¡­ That¡¯s¡± I am grateful. Amongst the dragon species, the earth dragons are the strongest in terms of combat ability. ¡°Then that¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Aoi and the others were trying to convey this.¡± ¡­ Was it because I didn¡¯t listen. ¡°¡­ Good¡± There were still a lot of remaining anxiety. However. ¡°¡­ Are you leaving already?¡± That¡¯s right. Nothing good will come out of me staying by those kids sides after coming and making such a mess. ¡°Oh, I lost unsightly and I¡¯m running away.¡± ¡°If you were in good shape, those children would be done with a light breath.¡± Why should I hit my daughter with a breathe? Even if it¡¯s light, it has the power to gouge the earth. ¡°¡­ Tell the kid. It doesn¡¯t mean that I trust him.¡± It doesn¡¯t mean that the matters with the other races were resolved with what happened today. Rather, the amount of stuff I¡¯m worried about increased. ¡°If anything happens to Aoi and the twins, I¡¯ll be coming to kill.¡± ¡°I understand, I¡¯ll tell him. What about Aoi and the kids?¡± What should I say? There are many things I want to tell her. ¡°¡­ Mother will always love you ¡­ and¡± I couldn¡¯t endure it anymore, so I spread my wings and started rising. ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t show me your crying face.¡± ¡°¡­ I can¡¯t face that.¡± I told him and flew up high. I didn¡¯t want to hear the rat¡¯s reply, since I already couldn¡¯t stop crying. I flew straight towards the halfmoon. Since there weren¡¯t many clouds, the moon was suspended clearly in the sky. ¡°Aa, hic, uwaaa¡± My throat stung and the corner of my eyes were hot. My small jewel. My cute Ai. You¡¯ve become splendid. You¡¯ve become a mother. It was me that was stupid. Forgive your mother. I flew straight while transforming those miserable thoughts that you want to disappear into tears. ¡°Mom!¡± I heard a voice. It was a voice that I wanted to hear, a voice I couldn¡¯t help but want to hear. I stopped and looked down at the distant ground. There I saw Ai who was panting for breath. ¡°Me twoo! I also love mother!¡± Ai, no, Aoinoun was screaming with a tearful face. ¡°Mwother can come amytime!! Jaja and Nana as well, pwease come see them!¡± Ha-haha! I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying. ¡°¡­ Ah, if I feel like it, I¡¯ll come see you.¡± I whispered with a voice that she probably couldn¡¯t hear, and I looked back and spread my wings. I headed towards that halfmoon. I wished for the happiness of those children who live in this world. Chapter 61 - Nana is Cranky Yuriel Dragonline left without exchanging words with Aoi and the twins. I didn¡¯t see her because I couldn¡¯t move for two days after that. Since then, nothing important really happened. Aoi burned with enthusiasm nursing me, and helped with food, drinks, and massages. When she acted recklessly and tried to take care of the toilet and bath for me all the same, I cried to Shouhei for help. It became an uproar thanks to Mikuma who came to visit. Father and Alba Germain often argued. The two would glare at each other in the garden and discuss something in a quiet voice. I stopped asking because even if I did, my father laughed with a troubled expression. The rat is also evasive about the matters regarding me turning into a dragon. There is no change in the body so far, it¡¯s still the same as before. Even if Aoi and I persistently pressed him for an answer, he would toss a smokescreen and escape. You really can¡¯t trust that rat. However, worrying too much is poisonous to your body. Aoi had a grim face, but I decided not to think deeply about it since I was fine. Even so, they used the internet to search for legends related to dragons. Because I didn¡¯t try to hide it. ¡º Husband sure is loved¡­ ¡» Saeki poked fun at me with a jubilant expression. I would like her to stop it because it is difficult to answer. Or should I say my reactions are increasingly entertaining Saeki. Shouhei didn¡¯t change. It felt like my brother, the super housewife who is always calm and collected, treated Aoi and twins more naturally han before. Well, spring break ended just like that, and school commenced for Shouhei and me. Shouhei is going to a nearby elementary school. I transferred to a high school that was 10 minutes away by bus. ¡­Well, there were various things. I took this opportunity, and was determined to make an acquaintance, not to the point of being luxurious enough of being called a friend, but just one that was close enough to greet me. If you announce your decision at dinner the day before school, your side dishes will increase by four. ¡°Kunpei, you would normally call that a friend right? I¡¯ll give you one of my deep-fried horse mackerel.¡± ¡º Nii-chan, I¡¯ll support you. Ah, how about a piece of tofu? ¡» ¡º I don¡¯t know anything, but if Kunpei-san decides, I will support it with all my strength. Please have one of my meatballs. ¡» ¡º It seems like you have no friends like me. I¡¯ll give you some cheese. ¡» I cried. I mean, the rat casually intruded onto the dining table, so I grabbed him and threw him into the garden. Leaving the school behind. Well I¡¯ll say a bit, let me just tell you that my decision was smashed into smithereens on the first day. I never expected to meet people I knew in the past. I didn¡¯t expect to hear the name of those two disgraceful people again. At noon, we¡¯re all not at home, and only Aoi and the kids are left. As one would expect, I was worried, so I asked Officer Doggy¡¯s mother to babysit. Yuri Maggie, amply demonstrated her skill as a former childcare worker who reached the retirement age. She also had a good personality, and it seems that she made Aoi, who was usually afraid of strangers, open up right away. Yuri-san, from the golden retriever tribe, was someone who had a good style like officer Doggy, and was a woman that was probably a bit over 50. It¡¯s unthinkable that she looks after them for 7 hours from 10:00 to 17:00 on weekdays. My father tried talking about compensation when he greeted her, but she strongly refused. Yuri-san, who wanted to interact with children even after retirement, said that Jaja and Nana are good girls and are cute and that¡¯s fine. Since her husband, Officer Doggy¡¯s father passed away, she seemed to spend most of her time alone while her daughter is at work. Police officers have long working hours, so she must have been lonely. At least Yuri-san looks happy from our eyes. Alba requested a dragon for help, they¡¯re hurrying but it seems to be far, so it¡¯s expected to arrive two months later. Until then, Aoi and I have to do our best. As for who was coming, the rat said it was a surprise. Can you not breathe if you don¡¯t get on someone¡¯s nerves? If that¡¯s the case, then I¡¯ll forgive you. Every morning the Kazamachi house is in chaos. Father leaves early in the morning and we leave around 7:30. Nana is a mothercon so Jaja is the problem. She bawls when she notices that I¡¯m not there. After I make sure that she¡¯s in a deep sleep, no matter how carefully I try to get up, she instantly wakes up and cries. I honestly don¡®t know how she even realizes. I make sre to change not in the room, but in the dining room, or change clothes before going to bed. When Jaja cries, its a matter of course that Nana does so as well. Since it is impossible for Aoi to take care of that alone, I can¡¯t leave her side, at least until Nana stops crying. It was so bad the first day to the point where I almost brought Jaja to school. I was awakened by Shouhei¡¯s rage. As Nana calmed down, I left the house feeling guilty towards Jaja, Since Shouhei¡¯s school is closer, he really helps out by looking after them until the last minute. Aoi was learning cooking, cleaning and washing from Shouhei. There, the veteran housewife, Yuri, also joined in, and she seems to be rapidly improving her skills. The addition of one dish to every dinner is also a result of Aoi¡¯s level-up. Every day passes in a fluster somehow without mishap. It was early in May when a ¡°problem¡± emerged while experiencing the growth of the twins. Chapter 62 - Nana is Cranky (2) ¡°Biyaaah!¡± ¡°Nana? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Nana was crying in Aoi¡¯s arms. ¡°If it¡¯s the diaper, I just changed it earlier.¡± Shouhei, who was washing dishes in the kitchen, came back to the dining room wearing his favorite yellow apron while wiping his hands. After dinner, we mostly stayed in the dining room. I was watching TV while playing with Jaja on the sofa. My father who has to get up early in the morning tomorrow for work is taking a bath. We haven¡¯t really decided, but after father, we usually take baths in the order of Shouhei, Aoi and me. The twins alternately take baths with me or Aoi, and the last thing I do as the daily routine is to clean the bath. ¡°Is she hungry?¡± I asked Aoi. Aoi was sitting on the carpet under the sofa and playing with Nana. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve already fed her. I also gave the stuffed cat doll.¡± ¡°Nyaaaaaah!¡± Nana was protesting something while swinging her little arms around. ¡°Dah¡± ¡°Jaja, who was sucking her thumb on my knee, tilted her head in a strange way.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± I took out Jaja¡¯s favorite stuffed dog from the twin¡¯s toy box on the side of the sofa. I reached out and shook it in front of Nana¡¯s face. ¡°¡­ Uuh¡± Her movements stopped. As expected. ¡°Uuuh!¡± Nana grabbed the stuffed animal with both hands contently. I somehow understand the reason for Nana¡¯s temper. The twins grew considerably this month. According to the rat sage, ¡°The human factor accelerates their growth¡± apparently it seems that the growth to a toddler has been accelerated to some extent. Originally, dragon children grow quickly, but Jaja and Nana¡¯s growth were even faster. The normal dragon infant period is almost the same as that of human beings, and it seems that the growth slows down from about ten years old. Rush until your body becomes strong. When you become strong, you grow up carefully, that is how a dragon child is brought up. Recently, they began turning over in bed, and now they can move with their stomach on the bed. I think they can also almost crawl if they try their best. The twins that flap their small wings on their backs and kicks the ground with their short tails to try and move are unusually cute. Really cute. There is no one who can win against such an adorable figure. My father promptly uses his smartphone to shoot videos, fixated on angles, each time. That smartphone should currently be filled with Jaja, Nana and Shouhei. Out of the two, Jaja is growing faster. Which reminds me, Jaja was also the first one to start flying. Is that the pride of a big sister? Now the problem is the slower growing Nana. Nana, who is not catching up to Jaja for anything, is jealous of Jaja. Of course, Nana who can¡¯t speak didn¡¯t say that. This is just my selfish delusion, but I don¡¯t think it is wrong. In the morning, if Jaja woke up first, Nana would cry as if saying, ¡°It¡¯s unfair you woke up before Nana!¡±. If Jaja finished breastfeeding first, she would cry as if appealing, ¡°It¡¯s unfair you finished faster than Nana!¡± Even when taking a nap, she would cry with drowsy eyes if Jaja get sleepier faster. Anyways, Nana wants to do the same things as Jaja. She doesn¡¯t hate her older sister, she likes her, so she wants to do the same things at the same time. A while ago, she was crying because she wanted the stuffed dog that Jaja was playing a little earlier rather than her favorite stuffed cat. Nana ¡¯s feelings are utterly spoken so far, but the real thing cannot be understood. Anyways, the twins are infants no matter how you look at it. ¡°Dah¡± ¡°Oh, lend the dog to Nana?¡± ¡°Nyah¡± Somehow it felt like Jaja nodded to my words. ¡°That¡¯s great isn¡¯t it, Nana? Your sister will let you borrow it.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Aoi stroked Nana¡¯s head. Unusually Nana laughed out loud. Nana Dragoline Kazamachi is a pretty calm child. If my father or I was in a good mood, she would frequently pass by with an incredulous look. Because she¡¯s a mama¡¯s girl, she often smiles at Aoi, though just to the point of gently opening her mouths and narrowing her eyes. Nana doesn¡¯t have a grandiose smile. Nana smiling limply is also very cute, but sometimes I want to see Nana expressing joy with her entire body. ¡°Nii-chan, are you ready for tomorrow?¡± ¡°Yeah, I just finished packing my bag.¡± Shouhei took off his apron and sat next to me. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it! The weather forecast said it was going to be sunny!¡± Aoi looked up at me with a delighted face. ¡°I already finished the prep work for lunch, we have to leave as soon as Yunno and them come tomorrow.¡± ¡°Is Saeki and Koji coming as well?¡± Koji is Saeki Ichika¡¯s devilish younger brother. Shouhei¡¯s classmate, his good friends since childhood, and frequently came to play at our old house. ¡°Kou-chan, are you doing well at school?¡± ¡°Oh ¡­ how about?¡± Koji is a loner in a different way from me. In other words, I can¡¯t imagine someone other than Shouhei getting involved with Koji. That guy can only be controlled by Shouhei¡­ We¡¯re going on a picnic tomorrow. Saturday, since the babysitter Yuri is off. It¡¯s just a way of trying to let the twins, who only play in the house, breathe the outside air. This is actually also for Aoi. Aoi, who looks after the twins from morning to night, rarely goes out. The only times Aoi has gone out for the past month were for errands, like to the butcher shop. I proposed it to Shouhei, and he issued a GO sign, which was then realized with the support of my father. Actually, my father was also supposed to go, but because of the spread of influenza in his workplace, he was forced to work on a holiday. Amen. I know that my father was really looking forward to it. I will thoroughly interact with mother nature with the kids in your stead. ¡°You¡¯re looking forward to it, eh Jaja?¡± ¡°Ah¡± It felt like she nodded again. When I looked at Nana, the dog¡¯s stuffed animal was rubbed with ham. Mr. Dog, you¡¯re leaving for the washing machine today too¡­ Tomorrow, you¡¯ll have a change of pace in the majestic outdoors. It¡¯s okay, I¡¯ll dry you out properly. I was also looking forward to tomorrow for some reason. Chapter 63 - Bird Lovers (1) ¡°Look at that Jaja and Nana! It¡¯s a horsie!¡± ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°Daah!¡± Aoi, who was in high spirits, examined the expressions of the twins sitting in the stroller. The twins returned their thoughts to their strangely elated mama. Jaja tuned in happily and Nana tilted her head in puzzlement. The usual reactions. ¡°Is Kou-chan not good with horses?¡± ¡°Fushaaaaaaa¡± Koji, the eldest son of the Saeki family, hid behind Shouhei¡¯s back and intimidated the horse in front of him. The mottled pattern, which is characteristic of the short-haired calico tribe, was stood on end to show hostility to the horse inside the enclosure. ¡°Koji! You¡¯re a man, so don¡¯t use your friends as a shield!¡± ¡°Foooooooooooo!¡± ¡°What are you doing, you foolish brother!!¡± The elder sister, Saeki Ichika, also known as demonic cat, Ichika-chan, grabbed Koji¡¯s collar and pulled him off Shouhei, and started a fight with him. Shouhei was gently stroking the horse while looking at that spectacle from the side. ¡°Ichika-chan and Koji-kun should stop. What would you do if the horse got frightened and started rampaging?¡± Mikuma stepped in between the siblings and forcibly pulled them apart. ¡°Ehhh, don¡¯t stop me Yuuno! Because he¡¯s a rare boy from our clan, he¡¯s pampered so he gets carried away, so it¡¯s my duty to discipline him as the elder sister!¡± ¡°Shaaaaaa~~¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fight, even the horse is laughing.¡± ¡°The horse I pointed to showed off its gums and snorts. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s laughing, but I¡¯m sure it looks like that.¡± ¡°Nii-chan, they do that often during mating season. I saw it on TV before.¡± So you¡¯re just copulating, huh. ¡°It¡¯s the Flehmen response. They are inhaling to take in scents, horses do it during mating season to discern mare pheromones.¡± ¡°Heehh¡± Shouhei nodded at Mikuma¡¯s exploitation. We are at a certain ranch. This place far from our house is a ranch. It was on a plateau that was newly raised from the world collision, and many horses, sheep, and chickens were grazing. Furthermore, there were many giant terrestrial sparrows known as ¡°chunchu¡± that were not originally from this world. ¡°Chunchu¡± are light-brown, spherical and friendly. Originally known for a long time as a labor force in ¡°the world over there¡±, now it is mostly loved as a pet animal. Their bodies were much larger than humans, and even the chicks were about the same size as kindergarteners. It had uselessly splendid wings even though it can¡¯t fly. They are full of charm and herbivorous. Breeders enthusiastic about their cuteness are beginning to increase worldwide. Of course, our purpose for coming here was also the Chunchus. Occasionally walking through the town, you would see crossbreeds that were about the same size as a small dog. There were large primitive Chungchu in this ranch that was 40 minutes by train and 30 minutes by bus away. I want to see them! To be frank with you, Kazamachi Kunpei loves large animals! ! Of course, this was not the place that I decided at my own discretion. If you cause an uproar in the neighborhood of your house, it would be easier to be exposed as a dragon. So when I was searching for a tourist spot that wasn¡¯t too famous in the neighborhood, and a place that was spacious and wouldn¡®t catch the eyes of others, I found this farm. Because there are many slopes and it was far from the station and there is nothing to see other than living things, there were only three families and one college-like gathering other than us. Here, Jaja and Nana can calm down and stretch their wings. It¡¯s a long distance trip for Aoi that has been a long time coming. Immediately after leaving the house, she became more excited and her eyes sparkling. ¡°Where should we eat the lunch?¡± ¡°A bit further inside. It¡¯s a bit unappetizing at the pasture.¡± Shouhei looked around while stroking the horse. I replied to his response by re-shouldering the bag again. My shoulder hurts because I climbed here with the lunch boxes for all of us. ¡°That¡¯s right. There seems to be a lunch space near the shop?¡± Mikuma spread out the map beside me. This was the pasture zone. It was a place where mainly horses and sheep play around. By the way, Chunchu likes the waterside, and if left unattended, it seems to be a creature that would spend the entire day in the water. The lake where the Chunchus are located was fairly far from the pasture zone. I¡¯m looking forward to it. ¡°Kunpei-san! Jaja is delighted! Nana is a little scared!¡± Aoi, who was pushing the stroller, was waving from further down the road. Since it was getting warmer, she was wearing her favorite one-piece white dress, a thin pink cardigan, and a fashionable wide-brimmed hat. ¡°Aoi-chan is really delighted, eh.¡± Mikuma, who was standing next to me, was wearing a large sweater and pants that looked like it was easy to move in. Colorful warm colors, coupled with her appearance, it made an impression. ¡°Well, she was stuck inside for two months, so she would be, right.¡± Sorry, was this also because I¡¯m unreliable? Aoi didn¡¯t know about the family trips that my classmates spoke of at school because she was a hikikomori at the time. Although I say classmates, I only heard it from the girls sitting far away from me. So far, I have been excluded from class conversations. No, there was one troublesome man that tried to talk to me, but if I entertain him I¡¯ll only lose, so I have to keep ignoring him. Because of that, I have been watched by the girls in the class, so I don¡¯t know what to do¡­ ¡°Kunpei-san?¡± ¡°Kunpei-kun?¡± As I lamented my school life, before I knew it, I was peering at Aoi and Mikuma¡¯s faces who were approaching me. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. Now then, shall we find a place to eat? Hey, how long do you siblings plan to continue for?¡± Saeki and her brother Koji were still messing around. Koji was teary eyed. ¡°Now do you understand your sister¡¯s power, you crybaby!¡± ¡°Nya! Nya!¡± Koji desperately reached for Shouhei, asking for help. ¡°Kou-chan, you¡¯ll be stronger.¡± ¡°Nya! Me! Me!¡± Shouhei waved at Koji with an expression as if nothing was wrong. Koji began to cry. That relationship will not change no matter how much time passes. Chapter 64 - Bird Lovers (2) After a short walk, we found the store at the center of the ranch. Next to that, there were 5 sets of wooden tables side-by-side. They were placed under a large tree, and the branches acted just like a roof and provided shade. This seems to be a space to have lunch. I decided to spread the lunch boxes on one of the tables where about 10 people could sit comfortably. Since this was a tourist attraction, the products sold at the shop are fairly expensive. Of course, Shouhei, the finance minister of the Kazamachi family, will never allow any reckless spending. There were 8 people including Jaja and Nana. The lunch box was considerably heavy, and of course I was carrying it. I feel that the weight had been increased because I was careful not to tilt it. But it was just my imagination. I spread the sheet we brought over the table. The edge fluttered because of the gentle breeze and it did not spread well. ¡°Koji, can you hold that side down?¡± ¡°Nyeeeh¡± What¡¯s with that reluctant face. ¡°Kou-chan, hurry up.¡± ¡°Nya!¡± He delightfully nodded to Shouhei¡¯s words, then violently punched the sheet. ¡°No, hold it down.¡± ¡°Hissss!!¡± Woah, intimidating. ¡°Kou-chan.¡± ¡°Nya!¡± ¡°Quickly.¡± ¡°Mya¡­¡± Koji¡¯s body hardened at Shouhei¡¯s quiet voice, and then he shriveled back, his line of sight falling to his shoulders. He grasped the sheet and pressed it against the table. ¡°Thank you.¡± Shouhei placed the lunch box on top of the sheet like it was of no concern. The youngest member of the Saeki family, Koji Saeki. This guy was born as a rare boy among the short-haired calico cat tribe. There are many cat beastmen who have a short-haired calico tribe as their mother. Girls are born with a calico pattern on their hair, ears, and tail, but boys are usually born with one color. However, Saeki¡¯s mother is a calico cat, but her father is a human. Beastmen and human halves are without exception prejudice from either side. So when they found out about Koji¡¯s gender when he was still in the womb, the whole family thought that a human boy would be born. However, a splendid cat beastmen with a mottled pattern was born. The surprised family spoiled Koji from a young age. As a result, the splendidly selfish eldest son was born. Koji, well, is someone who has been allowed to do anything he wanted. Cat beastmen were agile and sensitive, as well as his father being a master of martial arts, he had the foundations down. He rejected things he couldn¡¯t stomach with a strike, and he snatched things he wanted with a strike. Koji, who misunderstood that it was allowed, turned into a wonderful tyrant when he went to elementary school. Of course, the father who¡¯s an instructor and the strict mother cannot allow it, but the problem was the grandmother and grandfather. The maternal grandpa and grandma who lives together with them. It seems that the two exploded in grandchild power after the birth of a rare calico boy. No matter what Koji does, is ¡®Amazing¡¯. Even if Koji angers his parents, ¡°Isn¡¯t it fine that he¡¯s energetic?¡± Even if Koji gets angry at school, ¡°it can¡¯t be helped¡±. I¡¯ve encountered it once, but I knew immediately that it was a bad way of exemption. Koji, who misunderstood that what he did was approved, became even worse. He was just like a kid general. By the time he was in the third grade, Koji was in the process of constructing his supremacy. That was the advent of a bad era where violence ruled. The boys were frightened by Koji¡¯s fickle mood, the girls were frightened by Koji¡¯s temper, and the teachers were frightened by their patience. A savior appeared in a school that has become a lawless area. His name was Shouhei Kazamachi. Later called ¡°Smile of ice¡±, ¡°Gaze that pierces the heart¡±, ¡°Beastmaster¡±, our Shohei stood in Koji¡¯s way. And the tense school battle began. Actually, I don¡¯t know the details. Shouhei also said, ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal, I just scolded him.¡± At that time, I was entangled with delinquents at my school, and haven¡®t spoken with Saeki or Mikuma yet. I don¡¯t know what happened, but Shouhei tamed Koji. It seems that even their classmates didn¡¯t know that there was a battle between them. The rambunctious great Emperor, Koji Saeki, submitted to Shouhei Kazamachi. It was an early afternoon during a holiday, and my brother¡¯s friend came to play. So I helped to serve tea, and I still remember the scene of Koji instinctual cat tribe behaviors and displaying his belly to Shouhei for him to stroke. I shudder every time I remember Koji purring with a melting expression. ¡°Aoi-chan, it looks like Jaja-chan is sleepy.¡± ¡°Fuuu, fuuuuuh¡± During lunch preparations, Mikuma who was playing with Jaja called Aoi. Jaja was grumbling in her arms. Aoi sat on a bench with the baby stroller next to her and prepared the twins¡¯ diapers. ¡°Nana also seems to be a little sleepy. Where should I feed them¡­¡± ¡°Kuah¡± Nana yawned in the stroller. Aoi looked around restlessly. ¡°Ah, Aoi. The shop¡¯s Obaa-chan said that you can use the break room.¡± Saeki, who was going to buy drinks from the store, returned. ¡°Did you ask for me?¡± ¡°I heard you say that it was impossible on the train.¡° Saeki placed a big plastic bottle and paper cup on the table while looking at the amazed Aoi. ¡°That¡¯s right. I don¡¯t know how many people is a little, so I ¡¯m worried about leaving it to Kunpei-kun.¡± ¡°Ahaha ¡­¡± I brought a nursing cover for the time being. As expected, girls are better than my careless thoughts. ¡°Sorry, sorry¡­¡± ¡°Shishishishishishi!¡± Koji laughed at me who couldn¡¯t say anything to Saeki¡¯s awesomeness and was apologizing. This guy really hates me. ¡°Now, Kunpei-san, we¡¯ll be back in a bit.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be hard for Aoi by herself, I¡¯m also going.¡± ¡°Then I should also go, for futures sake.¡± The girls accompanied each other to the store. ¡°For the future ¡­ Koji, is your sister planning to give birth?¡± ¡°Fussia!¡± I was scratched. It hurts!! ¡°That was my brother¡¯s bad. Kou-chan, help me over here.¡± ¡°Nya!¡± Shouhei¡¯s cold gaze pierced my body. Koji happily ran over to Shouhei. I wonder if it was bad¡­ Chapter 65 - Bird Lovers (3) ¡°Delicious as expected¡­ Shouhei-kun is amazing.¡± ¡°Really, really, come be my wife Shouhei.¡± Mikuma and Saeki praised Shouhei while stuffing their cheeks with his handmade chicken cutlet sandwich. Umu. I feel good when my brother is praised. Shouhei continued drinking tea and responded with a composed face. It was like a monotone reading. ¡°Nishishishi!¡± ¡°Why are you happy?¡± ¡°Nii!¡± Saeki lightly tapped Koji¡¯s head who was laughing elatedly. ¡°I more or less helped with the preparations, how is it?¡± Aoi asked me nervously. ¡°Yeah, it ¡¯s delicious. You¡¯ve really improved.¡± I honestly responded. ¡°Hey, really? I¡¯m happy.¡± Of course, really. It was terrible in the beginning. Aoi¡¯s previous diet was disastrous. Out of the six kinds of monsters nestled in Tusk Crag dungeon, among them the bipedal hammer carrying bull, the buster cow, is edible. It seems that Aoi, who did not leave often, dove into the dungeon and used the Buster Cow as her staple food. The cooking method is surprisingly simple. Roasted or boiled. So naturally, Aoi didn¡¯t know how to cook. It seems that if Shouhei did not stop her, she would begin to cook meat by dropping lightning on it in the garden. The finished dish would be either burnt or not cooked. It defiently didnt look like a civilised way of cooking. Now it has grown to the point where Shouhei entrusts the soups and salads to her. Entirey due to the fruits of her labors. Excellent. Great and amazing. ¡°¡­ Kunpei-kun. I¡¯ll make the next lunch. Although it may look like this, but I often help my mom.¡± Eh. How surprising. Mikuma is unexpectedly clumsy and doesn¡¯t seem to be good at housework. I¡¯m looking forward to it. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine, Yunno. It¡¯s a wife¡¯s responsibility to manage her husband¡¯s food. I¡¯m immature but it¡¯s natural for me to take care of him.¡± Aoi smiled and approaches Mikuma. ¡°No, Aoi-chan. Don¡¯t hold back, aren¡¯t you tired of taking care of the twins every day? It¡¯s important for moms to relax on rare days off. You don¡¯t have to worry about me, I like cooking.¡± Mikuma also responded with a smile. ¡°No, no, Yunno-san. Yuno-san is an important guest of the Kazamachi house. You can¡¯t embarrass yourself by pretending to be a member of the Kazmachi house. Right, Kunpei-san?¡± Ah yes, I¡¯m Kunpei. I wonder where did the gentle breeze from earlier go? ¡°Now, isn¡¯t that right, Shouhei?¡± Help me, Brother! The dining table that was wrapped in a warm spring breeze has suddenly turned into the Arctic Circle! ¡°Nii-chan.¡± That¡¯s right! As usual, Shouhei take care of it with your violent outburst¡­ ¡°Kou-chan and I are going to look at the sheep.¡± ¡°Nishishishi¡± Has God forsaken me? He looked at me and mercilessly stabbed me with those words. After that, Koji¡¯s mouth distorted and an unpleasant smile appeared on his face. ¡°Yunno-san, aren¡¯t you being a little shameless?¡± ¡°Ara, father-in-law told me to feel at home?¡± ¡°Just lip service, isn¡¯t that the good part of Japanese culture, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Father-in-law won¡¯t say such things.¡± ¡°You should understand even without him saying that, because he¡¯s an adult.¡± ¡°Aoi-chan, who was a hikkikomori, is talking about adult communication?¡± ¡°Yunno who is shy and can¡¯t talk to others is the same.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be told that by someone who also has stranger anxiety.¡± Frightening. ¡°S-saeki-san?¡± A wonderful girl who has the ability to throw things in disorder, whether it freezes or hardens! I can only rely on you! I decided on you! ¡°Shouhei, Koji, I¡¯m also going¡± Damn! Holy shit! Saeki that bastard escaped! Ah, I knew it! You¡¯re that type of person! Remember this! Nekosumume who runs after Shohei while inflating his tail. Chills run on my back while seeing it off. ¡°Even Kunpei-san said my dish was delicious, right?¡± ¡°Even Kunpei-san said he was looking forward to my cooking, right?¡± I can hear the sound of an angel and devil whispering in both my ears. In any case, my spirit won¡¯t hold. Chapter 66 - Bird Lovers (4) Nana was in a bad mood. Our goal, ChunChu Lake was right there, but we stopped and walked into the shade of the tree. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Can you not fall asleep?¡± Nana wouldn¡¯t stop crying even though she was held by her favorite mama. ¡°Fuehhh¡± Nana frowned and shook her head. I had no idea why. Aoi, who sat down against the base of the tree, was working hard to cheer Nana up. Jaja was sleeping without worry, and her diaper was just changed. She refused breast milk, and even hugging her had no effect. Well, we¡¯re stuck. What should we do¡­ ¡°Maybe she¡¯s still cold?¡± Mikuma put her hand on Nana¡¯s neck and covered it with an infant jumpsuit hood. It was a hood with bear ears that was a different color from Jaja¡¯s. Jaja¡¯s is brown and Nana¡¯s is white. We chose the thickest of the animal ear series for outdoor use. We¡¯re entering May and it¡¯s getting warmer, but sometimes it could be cold with wind chill. What has been obvious recently is that adults and babies feel things completely differently. Something that isn¡¯t cold at all, can feel like the extreme cold to babies. Conversely, a mild climate can feel hot to the point where the babies won¡¯t stop sweating. Therefore, we have a lot of clothes for changing the twins in our luggage. We have to pay close attention to temperature regulation. ¡°It¡¯s okay because I¡¯m sweating a little. What¡¯s wrong, crybaby Nana-chan?¡± Aoi placed her forehead against Nana¡¯s and peered into her eyes. ¡°Uuu¡± Nana finally stopped crying, and was breathing lightly with her nose. ¡°Is she scared?¡± Somehow, I had a feeling. ¡°Eh? Of what?¡± No, I¡¯m not really sure. The twins who couldn¡¯t speak had no way of conveying their thoughts. So it was really just a feeling and I had no way of knowing. Recently, I have a bad habit of saying everything I¡¯m thinking. ¡°Is she scared since it¡¯s her first time here?¡± Saeki, who was holding Aoi¡¯s bags opened her mouth. ¡°That might be it. It¡¯s completely different from our neighborhood.¡± ¡°Ni! Nii!¡± Shouhei moved forward while grabbing Koji¡¯s collar, and stroked Nana¡¯s forehead. ¡°Ah¡± ¡°Nana?¡± Nana peeked out at me past Aoi and reached her hands out. ¡°Hm, me?¡± How rare. If it was a place where both Aoi and I were present, Nana will without exception act like a spoiled child towards Aoi. I can only hold Nana when Aoi is absent or when Aoi lets her go. ¡°Is papa okay?¡± ¡°Aa, dah.¡± Nana wriggled her short hands and feet and wings around as she tried to come near me. ¡°Alright, come.¡± At any rate, it¡¯s so rare that Nana would act like this towards me. If I have a chance to hold her, I would always welcome it. ¡°Here, Kunpei-san.¡± ¡°Okay¡± Aoi inserted her hands underneath Nana¡¯s arms and stretched her arm to me. I covered Aoi¡¯s hands and held on. Aoi drew her hands back and I firmly supported her body. Nana was sitting on one arm and I gently pushed Nana¡¯s body against my chest. ¡°Nufuu¡± Nana rested her head against my shoulder, and slowly relaxed as if dissolving her tension. ¡°Huh? What is this?¡± From my perspective, I could only see Nana¡¯s hair whorl and horn. By the way, the twin¡¯s hair whorl¡¯s go in opposite directions, with Jaja being clockwise and Nana counterclockwise. Nana¡¯s horn sprouted out alongside her short peach fuzz that had been dyed blue recently. Jaja has the same black and straight horns as Aoi, but Nana¡¯s horns are white and curves. The twins aren¡¯t similar because they are fraternal. No, they¡¯re similar, but they also have many differences. Like their hair that has increased recently. Jaja¡¯s hair is smooth and straight, but Nana¡¯s hair is naturally curly. Differences that you wouldn¡¯t have noticed if you didn¡¯t look closely in the beginning, have increased considerably in the past two months. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Aoi looked at me strangely while correcting Jaja¡¯s blanket. ¡°Aren¡¯t her horns shining?¡± Nana¡¯s white horns appeared to be dimly shining. ¡°Eh, there¡¯s nothing like that?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ there¡¯s no light.¡± Mikuma and Saeki couldn¡¯t see it, was it just my mistake? It was pure white in the first place, so it might have just been a reflection of the sun. ¡°There are no spirits in particular. A dragon¡¯s horns shine when they are guiding spirits.¡± I guess if Aoi says so, then it wasn¡¯t the case. ¡°Fuaah¡± Nana yawned and curled up in my arms. As expected, she was sleepy. ¡°How rare, Nana immediately fell asleep being held by Kunpei-san.¡± I¡¯m glad! I always hated it that she always couldn¡¯t sleep unless she was finally held by Aoi. How cute, my daughter is super cute. ¡°I¡¯ll hold onto her for the meantime.¡± ¡°Yes, because the destination is right there, let¡¯s take a break there. I also want to show the Chunchu to Jaja and Nana.¡± I want to hold her until she wakes up when we get there. I listened to Nana¡¯s lovely breathing, and her small shoulders rising up and down. It was too fast. ¡°Then, let¡¯s take our time.¡± We silently nodded at Mikuma¡¯s proposal. I would feel sorry for waking her up with my voice after she finally was able to fall asleep. Aoi also stood up and pushed the baby stroller. Shouhei slowly released Koji¡¯s clothes and put his finger on his mouth. Telling him to be quiet. Don¡¯t look like that Koji. I let everyone go first, and I followed from behind. I once again looked at Nana, who was calmly sleeping. Isn¡¯t it shining after all? Chapter 67 - Bird Lovers (5) ¡°Chun!¡± ¡°Chuchu!¡± ¡°Chuuun!¡± Cute chubby brown things were happily frolicking in the water. ¡°C-cute¡­¡± ¡°Yaaa! What is that!¡± Mikuma, who was trembling with her hand on her cheek, and Saeki, who couldn¡¯t hide her excitement, raised their voices reflexively. ¡°Nii-chan! Look at that!¡± Shouhei, who was unusually simpleminded, pointed to a speck at the waterside. ¡°Ni ni ni ni ni ¡­¡± Next to him, Koji was gritting his teeth vexingly. What are you getting jealous for? ¡°Wow, Kunpei-san! It¡¯s a baby bird!¡± Aoi, who was pushing the baby stroller next to me, looked to where Shouehi was pointing and was surprised. This is the innermost part of the ranch. A place of relaxation for more than 400 Chunchu. It was known as, Bird Lake. Chunchu¡¯s of varying sizes were playing in that large lake as they pleased. Brown, gracefully swimming in the lake. Brown, splashing their friends with water by the waterside. Brown, single-mindedly pecking at the food boxes on the shore. Brown, brown, brown. I was overwhelmed by the flock of Chunchu¡¯s that filled my field of view. ¡°Amazing¡­¡± In my mind, I thought that there would be at most 50 of them. However, reality always surpasses imagination. Aren¡¯t they multiplying abnormally? ¡°Over there was something that was written about, Petting Park.¡± There was a space surrounded by wooden fences at the place where Saeki was pointing to. In the middle, there was a woman of the cow tribe that seemed to be busy and was carrying a hemp bag. ¡°Shall we go take a look?¡± I tried my best to pretend to be calm and suggested to everyone. Isn¡¯t it possible to pet them? Petting those brown and fluffy things? ¡°Brother, you really do like cute things.¡± I couldn¡¯t hide it. Yes! I love it! We rushed determinedly towards Petting Park. When we approached the fence, the woman of the cow tribe lowered her head slightly with a smile. ¡°Welcome. It¡¯s just these young children right now¡± It was a blonde beauty. Wow, what a chest. Did you put missiles in there? ¡°Where is Kunpei-kun looking at?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s the Chunchu¡­¡± Mikuma physically corrected the gaze that was unconsciously going towards her chest. To be exact, she gripped the sides of my head from behind and turned it with unimaginable power. It hurts. It hurts and it¡¯s scary. ¡°Even though I also have them¡­ but it¡¯s small.¡± ¡°Excuse me miss! I want to touch the Chunchus!¡± I drowned out Aoi¡¯s muttering with a loud voice. It¡¯s okay, Nana is still fast asleep in my arms! Hurry and change the topic! ¡°¡­ Shall we all have a discussion about this later?¡± That kind of Aoi¡¯s mutterings is scary. It¡¯s scary, I¡¯m scared. ¡°Okey-dokey! Don¡¯t hold back, these kids were just born the day before yesterday. I can¡¯t keep up with them all myself.¡± I¡¯m also worried about the cow tribe girl¡¯s dialect, but what I should be focused on now is the small brown things that were swarming by our feet. ¡°Waaaaah! What is this, what is this!¡± Saeki suddenly broke down. ¡°That child, can I touch them?¡± ¡°Of course, Chunchu chicks take kindly to people. Rather, if you don¡¯t touch them, they¡¯ll feel lonely and cry in the corner.¡± Saeki who got permission, crouched down, taking care not to touch the ground with her buttocks. When she slowly stretched out her right hand, the little brown birds who noticed her hand quickly rushed over. ¡°Oh, ooooh¡­¡± Saeki leaked a voice of wonder and excitement. As you can see, five Chunchu chicks were rubbing their bodies against her outstretched hand. The Chunchu who was squinting comfortably looked exceedingly adorable. ¡°Me too, me too¡± Shouhei sat down next to Saeki, stretched out both hands and held one of the chicks. ¡°Chu!¡± The Chunchu chirped delightfully and writhed its body. ¡°How cute.¡± ¡°Right! Right!? It¡¯s so cute!¡± ¡°Nyaaaaaaa¡± Koji screamed with an unsatisfied expression when he saw his sister and Shouhei. ¡°Au, ah. Daa¡± ¡°Ah, Jaja woke up.¡± Jaja, who had woken, looked up at Aoi and raised both hands making an appeal as if saying, ¡°What is it? Jaja is awake, so show me.¡± ¡°Aoi, who was standing next to me, reached into the baby stroller.¡± ¡°Good morning, Jaja. Look at those birds.¡± Aoi picked Jaja up and pointed at those baby Chunchu who were rubbing their bodies on Aoi¡¯s legs. Jaja looked at them, while holding her right thumb in her mouth. ¡°Ah, dah!¡± Jaja swung her left arm around vigourously with sparkling eyes. ¡°Chu!¡± ¡°Chunchun!¡± ¡°Au! Kya!¡± They were communicating something only babies understood. The child Chunchu responded to Jaja¡¯s voice, and Jaja was delighted with their response. What is with this scene? It¡¯s dazzling. ¡°These children just came out of the stables. The leader of the flock has been gone since last week. So I¡¯m taking them out while I can.¡± ¡°The leader of the flock?¡± The flock of Chunchu¡¯s? ¡°Oh, if that guy is here, the female Chunchu don¡¯t let go of the kids. Though he may be the flock leader, he¡¯s a thug. He doesn¡¯t listen to us stablehands at all. Sometimes he disappears.¡± Is it such a scoundrel, even though they are the leader of such adorable Chunchus? My imagination was a rounder Chunchu wearing a big crown! ¡°It¡¯s because Nii-chan¡¯s image is strange, you know.¡± Yeah. I know. For now, let¡¯s pass the time playing with these children. In the end, Nana never woke up and was always in my arms. It feels kind of unfortunate, but I¡¯ll show you the Chunchus when we come again some other time. Petting Park was closed, and the chicks were taken back to the stables by the stable hand misses. It seemed that we played a lot, and it had turned to dusk before we knew it. We were tired from having fun and took a short break on the bench next to the park. There were still a lot of Chunchu playing in the lake, and you could hear them chirping Chunchu. ¡°Kou-chan! That¡¯s no good!¡± Shouhei raised his voice. ¡°Nishishishi¡± Koji was ahead of the voice. ¡°Shouhei, did Koji do something again?¡± Saeki rushes over to Shouhei. ¡°Ichika-nee-chan is also angry. Kou-chan went over the fence to catch Chunchu.¡± ¡°That idiot! Hey Koji! I¡¯ll tell dad!¡± Saeki rushes over and leaned over the fence. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a look and come back.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Ok.¡± I told Aoi, who was changing Jaja¡¯s diaper on the bench, and Mikuma, who was helping, then headed to the fence with Nana. ¡°Nya¡­ nya¡­¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I already tell you to stop, you idiot! I¡¯m really angry!¡± ¡°Kou-chan! It¡¯s dangerous!¡± Saeki and Shouehi¡¯s voices didn¡¯t stop him at all, Koji stooped over and quietly headed towards the sleeping Chunchu by the waterside. ¡°Hey Koji! If they act violently, you¡¯ll be in danger!¡± I also raised my voice. The size of an adult Chunchu was bigger than Koji. Their weight was nearly four times that of Koji, so he would get seriously injured just by being leaned on. ¡°Koji! That¡¯s enough!¡± ¡°Niii!¡± Saeki¡¯s serious angry voice reverberated through the ranch. Koji was surprised by her voice and stiffened. At the same time, several Chunchu were startled and looked towards us. ¡°¡­ Chu¡± ¡°¡­ Nyaa¡± One Chunchu met eyes with Koji, who was nearby. They were both frozen. Koji opens his eyes wide and started sweating. ¡°¡­¡­¡­ Chu, Chuuuuuuuuu!!!¡± ¡°Nyawawawaah¡± ¡°Feeh¡± The Chunchu raised a surprised voice. Koji became flustered and ran towards the fence. Nana opened her eyes wide open in surprise to the cries of the Chunchu. ¡°Waaahh, byaaaaaaah!¡± ¡°Oh! Nana, were you startled? Good girl, good girl.¡± I panicked and started gently patting Nana¡¯s back to calm her. ¡°Byaaaaaah! Nyaaaaaaaah!¡± She must have been really startled. She wouldn¡¯t stop crying. ¡°Chu!¡± ¡°Cuchuchu!¡± ¡°ChuChun!¡± The Chunchu who were in the lake began to cry all at once. ¡°Wah, what¡¯s wrong everyone!¡± ¡°They must have been scared because of that idiot! That stupid brother of mine!¡± ¡°Nya nya!¡± Koji climbed the fence while panting for breath. ¡°What is that?¡± When I looked at the Chunchu while comforting Nana, I saw something at the end of the lake. A wide and round silhouette. As far as I can see, it¡¯s quite big. It slowly slid down into the lake and swam, and eventually, you could see it clearly. ¡°It¡¯s huge¡­¡± ¡°What is that¡­ not cute.¡± ¡°Nyaah!¡± ¡°No way¡­¡± What we saw was an enormous Chunchu. A huge body that far surpassed my height. It had whte feathers on top of its head like a cockscomb. ¡°Aaaaaaa!¡± I turned around in surprise due to the abrupt cry. The miss from the Petting Park was there with her mouth wide open in shock. ¡°Kaiser Maru is back!¡± Kaiser Maru? What is that? Chapter 68 - Bird Lovers (6) The Kaiser Maru was gradually approaching, like the stable hand miss was saying. Its physique was three times bigger than an ordinary Chunchu, its eyes had bloodlust and it wasn¡¯t adorable at all. It stood with the imposing air of a monarch and made us experience fear. ¡°Miss! It¡¯s coming over here!¡± ¡°H-huh, what?¡± Saeki and Shouhei, who felt daunted by its overwhelming presence, asked the miss in a panic. ¡°Kaiser Maru is the leader of this ranch¡¯s Chunchu! He¡¯s has reigned over the throne for 10 years! He¡¯s never lost a battle for the throne! I didn¡¯t expect him to come back! He usually wouldn¡¯t come back for about a month or so!¡± Isn¡¯t it because you named him Kaiser Maru!? Did it return because it heard the Chunchu¡¯s cries? ¡°Byeeeeeeeee!¡± We must have affected Nana because her cries became even louder. ¡°Let¡¯s look for a way to escape for the time being.¡± I held Nana and took Shouhei¡¯s hand. ¡°It¡¯s okay, he¡¯s certainly a thug, but he¡¯s a full-fledged leader. He wouldn¡¯t act violently for no reason. Also, the Chunchu can¡¯t go over the fence. They don¡¯t have enough jumping strength.¡± Then, it¡¯s okay? For now, let¡¯s try to take care of Nana who keeps crying. I let go of Shouhei¡¯s hand and lifted Nana up with both hands. ¡°Nana? It¡¯s okay. You must have been surprised, huh.¡± ¡°Unyeeeeeeeeeh!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I was looking up at a cute crying face. Nana¡¯s white horns were definitely glowing. ¡°What¡¯s this¡­¡­?¡± ¡°Nii-chan!¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± I heard Shouhei¡¯s voice and turned to face him. ¡°That! That!¡± Shouhei pointed to the Chunchu with a blue face. I followed his finger with my eyes. ¡°..!¡± When my line of sight approached the fence. ¡°Wah! Eh!?¡± ¡°How?? The fence was supposed to be too tall for Chunchu to cross over!? There¡¯s never been a case of Chunchu crossing it before!¡± A lot of Chunchu jumped over the fence one after another and ran around Shouhei and me. ¡°H-hey! What is this?¡± ¡°Nii-chan!¡± ¡°Kazamachi! Shouhei!¡± ¡°Nyaah!¡± The Chunchu continued to run circles around us. Shouhei clung to me by grabbing my waist. I supported Shouhei¡¯s shoulder with my right hand while holding Nana. Saeki and Koji were calling our names with worry from the other side of the Chunchu. ¡°Calm down you guys! What happened? Is it kaiser Maru?¡± The confused stablehand forcibly held down a small Chunchu. ¡°Chun !? Chuuu!¡± The Chunchu wriggled, slipped through her hands and starts running again. ¡°Ah! The Chunchu¡¯s eyes aren¡¯t normal! It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen them like that!¡± The stablehand was shouting with teary eyes. ¡°Kunpei-san!¡± When I turned towards Aoi, she was running over from the bench with Jaja. ¡°Don¡¯t come!¡± ¡°But!¡± ¡°Chun!?¡± ¡°Chuchuchuchuchuchu!¡± What? The Chunchu¡¯s were clearly strange. They continued running around us with bewildered eyes. ¡°Hey, you guys.¡± I unintentionally called out to the Chunchu¡¯s. It was because he looked unusual, he stuck out his tongue and was breathing roughly. ¡°Nya-oo!?¡± What is it this time! This time it was Koji who suddenly raised his voice. ¡°W-what is that!¡± Saeki was pointing across the lake. I look in the direction that Saeki was pointing, while gently pressing Nana, who wouldn¡¯t stop crying, into my chest. ¡°Wow¡­¡­¡± A black shadow was peeking over the lake and coming from over the gentle sloped mountain range. ¡°Are they all ¡­ birds ¡­?¡± Yes, a flock of birds flew from the mountains to the top of the lake. From crows, swallows, swans to hawks. A variety of birds gathered coming towards this direction. If you looked at the surroundings, similar flocks of birds were flying towards us from all directions. For some reasion, I looked at Nana. The white and small horns were clearly emitting light and flickering in sync with Nana¡¯s cry. I looked at the expression of the Chunchu again. Everyone continued to run in circles confusedly. Something clicked. ¡°Ah, Aoi!¡± ¡°Yes! What is it?¡± Outside the circle of Chunchu, Mikuma who caught up with Aoi and was next to her was looking at us with anxiety. ¡°Maybe! Just maybe! Nana is gathering the birds!¡± ¡°Pardon!?¡± I know. I don¡¯t even know what I¡¯m saying! ¡°That¡¯s not possible! I¡¯ve never heard of Sky Dragons that can manipulate birds!¡± ¡°Mikuma, do you know anything about it!?¡± I asked Mikuma who had been studying a lot about dragons recently, she might know something! ¡°Um, wait a minute! I think I¡¯ve heard of something like that!¡± ¡°Really!?¡± Aoi looked at her with a startled face. ¡°Kaiser Maru! Stoppu! Jasuto A momentu!¡± Why in English! The confused stablehand leaped out in front of Kaiser Maru¡¯s path who landed on the shore. Kaiser Maru¡¯s speed accelerated right away because his feet were on the ground. ¡°Miss! It¡¯s dangerous!¡± I yelled out towards her. ¡°Byaaaaaaah!¡± ¡°Nana, who was surprised by my voice, opened her eyes wide and cried again.¡± The light that was emitting from her white horns was stronger. ¡°Chuun!?¡± ¡°Chu!?¡± ¡°Chun !?¡± Along with that emission of light, the Chunchu¡¯s started moving. Shouhei and I skillfully made our way through, and ran towards Kaiser Maru and the miss. Similarly, the birds filling up the sky began to suddenly descend towards Kaiser Maru. ¡°Chuuun!¡± Kaiser Maru shook its giant body, spreads its short wings and let out a war cry. ¡°That guy is planning to confront them!¡± Saeki clenched her fist and was breathing roughly with excitement. The sun was setting at the calm ranch, and the deciding match for the strongest western Japan birds was taking place. What is going on? Chapter 69 - Bird Lovers (7) ¡°Chuuuun!¡± Kaiser Maru¡¯s deep roar echoed throughout the twilight skies. Its short wings were fully spread out, and it charged straight forward with the ground gently rumbling with every step it took. ¡°Chun!?¡± ¡°Chun chun!?¡± ¡°Chuchuchu!¡± The Chunchus jumped over the fence one after another, raising a confused cry. ¡°Ah, you guys! No!¡± The teary-eyed stable hand miss, placed her right hand over her mouth and saw off the Chunchus. ¡°Kunpei-san! Nana! Shouhei-san!¡± ¡°Are you alright!?¡± The Chunchus disappeared from around us, and Aoi and Mikuma rushed over. ¡°W-we¡¯re fine.¡± ¡°I-I was startled.¡± Shouhei leaked a relief while clinging to my waist. ¡°Feeeah, baaaaahh!¡± ¡°Hey, Nana, it¡¯s all right.¡± I held Nana and patted her back. Nana, who stopped crying for a bit, gripped my clothes tightly with both hands and pressed her face against my collarbone. ¡°Is it true that Nana was gathering the birds?¡± Aoi gently stroked Nana¡¯s head with her right hand. Jaja, who was held in her arms, was watching Nana while sucking her thumbs. ¡°I think so¡­ look, her horns are still shining.¡± ¡°Is it¡­?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s shining¡­¡± Aoi and Mikuma tilted their heads. ¡°Eh? It¡¯s such a clear light.¡± ¡°¡­ Ah, it¡¯s shining. But it¡¯s only to the point where I wouldn¡¯t even notice if I don¡¯t concentrate on it.¡± Aoi squinted her eyes and stared at Nana¡¯s horns. ¡°Is it clearly shining for Kunpei-kun?¡± I nodded silently. What¡¯s going on? I could tell that Nana¡¯s white curved horns were flickering just at a glance. A pale light that flickered along with Nana¡¯s cries and sniffling. ¡°¡­No. For the time being, there are quite a few legends of monsters and divine beasts that manipulated birds in this world and that world. But stories of dragons manipulating birds is not clear.¡± ¡°Not clear?¡± Mikuma rested her right hand on her chin while thinking. I nodded my head lightly. ¡°Virtually all the creatures that are said to actually manipulate the birds took the shape of birds. The vermillion bird, Suzaku, the thunderbird of South America. One of the theories is that locals saw surviving pterosaurs¡­ ¡° Mikuma shifted her line of sight towards Kaiser Maru. A frightening number of various birds were dancing around it, using their sharp beaks and attacking Kaiser Maru one after another. At its foot, the Chunchuns that he should have lead were repeatedly assaulting it, and Kaiser Maru swung his short wings to push them aside. ¡°Does rat-san know anything?¡± It¡¯s annoying to rely on that fluffy grey rat, but it can¡¯t be helped. ¡°None of the sky dragons can manipulate birds, at least none of the dragons that I have ever met or have heard of can.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­ well¡± I looked at the back of Nana¡¯s head, who was still acting like a spoiled child. ¡°¡­ Maybe Nana has been scared of something ever since entering the ranch. She had been in a bad mood the whole time and has been unusually acting depending on me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Isn¡¯t she thinking that papa will protect her?¡± What are you scared of? I¡¯m sure that there¡¯s something that can even frighten you from a distance. Something that is in the ranch but not in town. Something that wasn¡¯t here before and is now¡­ Is it the horse? But she didn¡¯t wake up or display and dislike when it was nearby. The sheep? No, she wasn¡¯t scared of the sheep that was in the vicinity of where we had lunch. Is it the Chunchu? But she was still sleeping for a while after we arrived at Bird Lake. Kaiser Maru¡­ Is it Kaiser Maru! That¡¯s right. Kaiser Maru came back because of the cries of the Chunchu who were surprised by Koji. Defending the flock as the leader. Maybe you¡¯re terrified of Kaiser Maru who felt the Chunchu¡¯s cry. I held Nana again and shifted my eyes to Kaiser Maru, where the great bird war was currently unfolding. ¡°Hey, Mikuma.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I asked Mikuma without moving my head. Mikuma, who was pondering over something, raised her head. ¡°It seems like Nana are controlling the Chunchu and the other birds.¡± ¡°Un. That¡¯s what it looks like from the current situation. Otherwise, I don¡¯t see a reason why the birds other than the Chunchun are gathered here.¡± It¡¯s also strange that the Chunchu, who are afraid of the leader so much that they can¡¯t even let go of their chicks, are facing Kaiser Maru without stopping. ¡°Then, does Kaiser Maru appear to be manipulated?¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± Mikuma also looked at Kaiser Maru. ¡°It doesn¡¯t appear so.¡± That is also a bird. But it doesn¡¯t appear so. ¡°Hmm?¡± As I continued to look at the raging Kaiser Maru, I noticed something I was concerned about. Small enough that you wouldn¡¯t notice if you don¡¯t look closely, there were several shining green objects flying around Kaiser Maru. They were fluttering particles revolving around Kaiser Maru. They were butterflies. A green spirit, like the one seen with Yule. ¡°¡­ Aoi, the heavenly spirits are in the shape of a white butterfly, right?¡± ¡°Heh?¡± Aoi let out a surprised voice. ¡°Y-yes. All the spirits that were born in heaven shine white. I don¡¯t know about the spirits of the earth and the sea, but I heard that they look different. The spirit of the earth is red and the spirit of the sea glows light blue.¡± Hmm? So what kind of spirit is that? Why am I seeing that spirit right now? ¡°Kunpei-san, do you perhaps see the spirit from that time?¡± ¡°Ah, yeah. Just around Kaiser Maru. And only a few.¡± ¡°¡­ If it is a spirit, it¡¯s weird. It¡¯s not a big deal if it¡¯s just one spirit, so it¡¯s rare to get together with just a few. There are only a few heavenly spirits, so they can at most make a couple drops of rain.¡± Then, what is that spirit¡­ ¡°Uuuuuh¡± ¡°Oops, Nana? There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of, papa¡¯s here, okay?¡± Nana who continued to cry is still lovely, but it¡¯s sad to let her cry. ¡°Ah! Kaiser Maru! It¡¯s too much for you alone! Why don¡¯t you run away!¡± The stablehand¡¯s voice contained concern towards Kaiser Maru. That¡¯s right. That guy came rushing over after he heard the cries of the flock. As the leader, he must have been worried. As this rate, I think it¡¯s hopeless. It¡¯s no good. The Chunchus were not seriously opposing the flock leader. The other brids were also gathering for some reason. The frightened Nana unconsciously summoned them and their body was moving of its own accord. No matter how you look at it, it¡¯s too much. It¡¯s like their slaves. I looked at Nana. Although she calmed down more or less, there was still some fear. Since I¡¯m slow, I could only think of one solution. It wasn¡¯t anything difficult. This is what I should do as a ¡°papa¡±. So I just have to do it. Chapter 70 - Bird Lovers (8) I held Nana again and inserted my hands under her arms. ¡°Sorry Mikuma, can you hold Nana for a bit?¡± ¡°Eh, un, okay?¡± I handed over Nana to Mikuma. ¡°Auuuu¡­ daaaa!!¡± Nana disliked it and wouldn¡¯t let go of my clothes. ¡°Nana, it¡¯s just for a bit.¡± I gently lifted her hands and removed them from my clothes. ¡°Bwaaaah! Nyaaa!¡± Tears accumulated in Nana¡¯s eyes. Wow, this feeling of guilt. I want to apologize right now by holding her and rubbing her cheeks on mine. But I¡¯ll endure. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to be able to get through to Nana, who still doesn¡¯t understand the language yet, but I still have to convey that she doesn¡¯t have to be scared. ¡°Uwah, calm down Nana-chan! I won¡¯t do anything, you know?¡± ¡°Ahhhhhhh! Daaaaaaah!¡± Nana struggled around vigourously in Mikuma¡¯s arms. It was like she was trying to frantically get back into my arms while pressing her small hands onto Mikuma¡¯s large breasts. ¡°Nana?¡± I gently pinched Nana¡¯s cheek with both hands. Firmly, but not enough to hurt. I faced her face towards mine. ¡°Nuuu¡± It seems she calmed down a bit after I touched her. She looked at me with a cute frown. I thought that her face, wet with tears and a runny nose, wasn¡¯t dirty in the slightest. I took my right hand off Nana¡¯s face, took out an infant gauze from my jeans pocket, and wiped Nana¡¯s face. After wiping her tears while being careful to not use too much strength, I wiped her runny nose. It¡¯s not dirty, but it¡¯s better when she¡¯s clean. I put the slightly wet gauze back into my pocket and put my hand back on her soft cheeks again. ¡°Nana? Papa doesn¡¯t know what Nana is scared of, but I¡¯ll definitely protect Nana and Jaja from no matter who comes.¡± Slowly and carefully spin the words with your left hand on your cheek. It¡¯s fine even if she doesn¡¯t understand. I just have to convey that you don¡¯t have to be afraid. ¡°Look, mama is also there, right? So is Jaja, Shouhei and Mikuma. Saeki and Koji are¡­ well. Noisy but not scary people.¡± ¡°Au!¡± Nana responded like she was listening to me. ¡°So it¡¯s okay. You don¡¯t have to be scared okay?¡± I smiled to look as gentle as possible. Since I look evil, so I¡¯m a little worried. ¡°Nnn¡± Nana responded by slightly looking down. I feel like somehow it¡¯s truly being conveyed. ¡°That¡¯s right, Nana. Although Mama may not be a match for grandmother, but she¡¯s very strong strong, and papa will definitely protect Nana.¡± Aoi who was holding Jaja next to Mikuma, bent down and matched her eyes with Nana. Jaja was sucking her thumb in her arms and staring in puzzlement. ¡°Ahaha, you became obedient, huh, Nana-chan. Good girl.¡± Mikuma laughed with narrowed eyes. ¡°Uuh¡± Nana raised her face. She didn¡¯t look scared anymore. ¡°Did you understand? Good girl.¡± I rubbed her bouncy cheeks. What a soft object! I used my right hand to ruffle through her hair. I felt like her hair would get tangled if I overdid it. Nana opened and closed her eyes in accordance to my hand movements. It was unpleasant for her at all. If anything, it felt comfortable. I would do it for hours with pleasure, but I will endure because it seems I¡¯ll be disliked if I overdo it. Finally, she shut her eyes tight. The remaining tears in the corners of her eyes traveled along her cheeks in line with the movement of her head. It¡¯s okay, she¡¯s not crying anymore. A great child. ¡°Nana, do you hate birds?¡± She heard my voice, and slowly opened her eyes. Her moist black eyes that looked straight at me were beautiful. ¡°The birds probably love Nana, you know?¡± ¡°Ah¡± I got a reply. I don¡¯t know the exact meaning, but I¡¯m sure that it¡¯s not a denial. ¡°Then I feel sorry for the birds. You understand, right?¡± ¡°¡­ Aaaa¡± Along with her reply, the white horns on both sides of her head gently shined. ¡°Y-you guys!¡± We heard the stablehand miss¡¯s voice. When I turned around, a Chunchu was falling to the shore and was twitching. The stablehand sat with her knees up and clung to Chunchu¡¯s body. ¡°Y-You finally came to your senses! Why did you do that! Apologize to Kaiser Maru!¡± Looking at the surroundings, the Chunchu and others were sitting on the ground with rough breathing. The birds flying in the sky scattered and escaped. The shore of Bird Lake regained its tranquility. The sky over the mountain ranges was already dark. The water on the lake surface rippled because of the cold wind. ¡°Chun¡± Kaiser Maru cried once. He looked restlessly around and took a deep breath. His body had feathers tattered, and parts seeped with blood. The leader of the flock narrowed his eyes and fell to the ground. his appearance was like he was saying ¡°Nothing to it¡±. As expected of a ruler. He was still undaunted by something of this degree. Sorry, miss stablehand. We inconvenienced you. I really want to apologize, but I can¡¯t explain that Nana was manipulating the birds, and I also can¡¯t reveal that Nana is a dragon. I looked back at Nana while earnestly prostrating in my heart. ¡°Good girl, Nana¡± ¡°Nee-he¡± ¡°Nana smiled triumphantly and laughed.¡± ¡°Now come!¡± When I held my hands out as a reward, Nana immediately pointed both hands at me. ¡°Here you are.¡± Mikuma gently handed Nana over. ¡°Au¡± When I hugged her, I pressed her face against my chest. Sorry. I am the one who is receiving a reward! ¡°Chun¡± ¡°Dah?¡± Nana raised her face to Kaiser Maru¡¯s cry. ¡°Uah!¡± Nana looks at Kaiser Maru from over my shoulder and moved her hands and legs. ¡°¡­ Shall we go apologize?¡± ¡°Dah¡± I got her agreement and approached the fence. ¡°Awaaa¡± Nana shouted at Kaiser Maru. ¡°Ah, excuse me, it¡¯s dangerous now.¡± ¡°Ah, um, it¡¯s probably¡­ okay?¡± For the second time I internally prostrated to the miss who was worried about us. I can not apologize enough¡­ ¡°Chu¡± Kaiser Maru stood up slowly and approached with a solid gait. It¡¯s alright. This gentle king has no intention of harming us. It seems that it¡¯s said that he¡¯s violent, but I¡¯m sure there must be a reason why. This guy is a splendid leader. Kaiser Maru arrived at the fence and looked down at us with his sharp eyes. His gaze was at Nana in my arms rather than me. Nana also looked straight up at Kaiser Maru. ¡°Uuu¡± Nana apologized briefly. I clearly heard ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡±, it surely was not a delusion. ¡°Chun¡± Kaiser Maru slowly lowered himself to the ground. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Kaiser Maru¡­ it must have hurt, right?¡± I also must properly apologize. ¡°Chun chun¡± He must have said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it¡±. Kaiser Maru crouched down and presented his cheeks. I instinctively lifted Nana up and approached Kaiser Maru. ¡°Uah, Kya!¡± Nana rubbed cheeks with Kaiser Maru with a delighted expression. Yup. The wild smell is terrible. Going straight to the bath when we get back. Kaiser Maru was probably satisfied, he stood up, looked back and started walking to the lake. ¡°Eh? Kaiser Maru?¡± The older sister who looked at us in a daze hurridely stood up and followed after Kaiser Maru. ¡°Wait, Kaiser Maru! You¡¯re injured! At least come back to the stables today!¡± ¡°Chu¡± He briefly responded, and entered the lake. ¡°Really! Mouuu!¡± She angrily stopped at the shore. ¡°Come back once in a while! I can rest assured if you come at least 3 days!!¡± Kaiser Maru disappears into the water that reflected the dark sky. The miss continued to look at the back of Kaiser Maru until its figure vanished. I¡¯m sorry. Thank you Kaiser Maru. Proud emperor. Chapter 71 - Worry (EP) What was that really? I looked at Kunepei-kun who was sleeping across from me in the train, and Nana-chan, who was sleeping in the baby sling. Aoi-chan was sitting next to me and leaned against my shoulder and was quietly asleep. Jaja-chan who was in her baby sling was also sleeping. Her figure of holding her thumb in her mouth was very cute. It was one hour after we left the ranch. I was tired for some reason. After the twins fell asleep, Kunpei-kun and Aoi-chan were asleep before one knew it. This was my chance to enjoy Kunpei-kun¡¯s sleeping face. Let¡¯s leave it a secret from him that my smartphone¡¯s storage capacity has greatly decreased. In the seat behind me, Koji-kun and Ichika-chan were still childishly quarreling. It seems that Shouhei-kun admonished them occasionally while checking the data of the digital camera that he brought. He really is praiseworthy. Thanks to Sugadaira-kun¡¯s sleeping face, it was a very enjoyable ride home. Be that as it may, I had a little free time, so I researched various things about dragons on my smartphone. Since Aoi was on my right shoulder, it was a little difficult to move and it was a little cramped because of the baby stroller, but it¡¯s okay. Since I met Aoi and the twins, I have been researching a lot about dragons. I just scanned through the site I¡¯m looking at right now last week, but I¡¯m re-reading it from a slightly different point of view as there¡¯s new information I need to look for. ¡°Dragons enslaves other creatures.¡± It¡¯s a story that I haven¡¯t heard much about. A dragon is a transcendental creature, and there weren¡¯t many accounts of them in stories, myths, and legends. In this world, one of the most common dragon anecdotes is where they play a villain. Dragons that attack a country. Dragons that take away the souls of the dead from the cycle of reincarnation. Dragons that hoard treasures and attacks travellers that get lost within their territory. In famous plays, they are buried by heroes as wicked dragons, and many of them are drawn as humans. They are depicted as the end goal within the story, that is to say, the last boss. There were also some dragons that tried to destroy the world, and some dragons that defied supreme deities. On the other hand, as for the anecdotes from the other world, they were not seen as the villains. There were many anecdotes about the value of their bodies. ¡°Dragon eggs bring immortality and immense power.¡± ¡°Dragon scales create the finest swords and spears.¡± ¡°There is nothing that can¡¯t be cut with its fangs and claws.¡± ¡°Their blood has the power to instantly cure any injury.¡± ¡°The finest jewels that shine red rests in dragons nests.¡± There are a lot of beastmen and demons tribes that have such stories. Next was the fate of countries and organizations that turned dragons into enemies. Though I think as the one reading it, it¡¯s just stories of people suffering the consequences of their own actions. Stories of a country aiming for the dragon¡¯s treasure, breaking into the nest with an army, and suffering a painful counterattack and losing. Stories about foolish demons who seek immortality and longevity having their magic reflected. I believe that they won¡¯t do anything as long as you leave them alone. However, from such anecdotes and lore, one could take a considerable amount away about their ecology. Thanks to the fact that Aoi-chan, a genuine dragon was beside me, I could clearly differentiate between exaggeration and the truth. Actual dragons have nothing to do with immortality. They have a long life but die when they turn old. Their skin is considerably stronger than ours, but they can still get injured and bleed. Their fangs and claws are certainly sharp, but Aoi says that there are limits to what can be cut. Their injuries recover surprisingly fast, but it was not instant, and as long as you hear the story of the dragon named Alyssa, lost organs cannot be recovered. The truth is scaled down from the legends, but it was certainly remarkable. What does it mean when her daughter, Nana, who is still a baby, can do something that even her parent Aoi can¡¯t do? There has never been a dragon that manipulates ¡°birds¡± appearing in any legends. Even within legends of dragons that manipulated the weather and disasters, or even illnesses and disasters, the word ¡°bird¡± has never shown up. The word ¡°bird¡± does not appear even in the many papers and research results about dragons that can be found online. I feel that it might be too early at this stage, but I had one assumption. Isn¡¯t Nana-chan a completely new type of dragon? Speaking of which, that¡¯s what Alba-san also said when Kunpei-kun met the twins for the first time. ¡ºIt¡¯s amazing Aoi!!! Your daughters have taken the first step in evolution for the dragons that have stagnated for a long time!!¡» Is that to say, they¡¯ve evolved? Aoi-chan, a sky dragon, has created a new species of dragon because of the human factors. Yup. I¡¯m going too far. It¡¯s not that it¡¯s not possible, but there¡¯s not enough information. This is what I can think of so far as a non-expert. I thought that I would help Aoi-chan and the twins and Kunpei-kun would also be pleased if I proved anything. It might be a little too hard? Conveniently, there¡¯s a dragon expert named Alba-san, so let¡¯s listen to the story in detail next time. Also, Kunpei-kun, who was talking to Nana, was so cool¡­ Kunpei-kun as a father, was hundreds of times better than in my delusions. How nice. Honestly there doesn¡¯t seem like there¡¯s much chance for me, but I¡¯ve recently found a way. Aoi-chan is a dragon and does not have a family register. So she cannot be a spouse within human society. So, Kunpei-kun¡¯s human partner spot will be vacant. Maybe, but I¡¯m okay to fit that quota¡­ I am aware that I am the worst for thinking of such a thing. I hate myself and already cried many times. But I want to be next to him. Aoi-chan is a love rival, but I don¡¯t hate her. She¡¯s a straightforward, obedient and kind girl. The twins are also so cute and I want to protect them. I really am the worst. The worst part of this delusion is where it neglects Kunpei-kun¡¯s will. I don¡¯t want to hear his response. It¡¯s scary. If I¡¯m rejected, I will surely break. The thoughts continuously weighing on me has made my heart fragile. Now, what does this person who is holding his beloved daughter in front of me think of me, this nuisance? I can¡¯t listen to that¡­ I shook away the thoughts that kept going down the wrong direction. It¡¯s no use. She¡¯s kind, but there¡¯s no doubt that she thinks of me as a nuisance. I glanced at Aoi-chan. Recently I started calling her by her first name. If we didn¡¯t meet in this kind of way, we would have been best friends. If it doesn¡¯t involve Kunpei-san, then we¡¯re on good terms. Jaja-chan, who was sleeping comfortably, entered my field of view. Huh? Nana isn¡¯t the only one who was hatched with Kunpei-kun¡¯s blood. If Nana-chan has evolved ¡°Manipulating Birds¡±, isn¡¯t Jaja-chan the same dragon? The train will soon arrive at our destination. A newly sprouting question tickled my curiosity again. Chapter 72 - Day of Discharge (Interlude) ¡°Thank you very much, I¡¯m forever indebted.¡¯ ¡°Thanks, much obliged!¡± ¡°T-h-a-n-k y-o-u v-e-r-y m-u-c-h.¡± ¡°Ah! Hurry up and get going!¡± The metal gate shut with a large thud. I¡¯m sure that he¡¯s a tsundere. He was strict, but was concerned about us one way or another. ¡°We¡¯re finally out!¡± ¡°Big brother Seijitsu, he¡¯s no longer there.¡± The sloth tribe, which is rare even for beastsmen, is always like this. We were still bowing towards the already closed gate. ¡°Hah, it was a long month, huh.¡± ¡°It was fun!¡± ¡°Sister is always like that¡­¡± ¡°Gasaraio needs to enjoy things more!¡± ¡°Nanairo, you¡¯re the only one who can enjoy imprisonment¡­¡± We spent a month, or 29 days to be exact, at a detention facility. The charge was a violation of the Special Magic Tools and Sword and Firearms Control Law. Originally, it was a crime where we could not complain even if sentenced to a harsher prison sentence. But the sentence was reduced thanks to the treasure hunter association we belonged to. However, among us ¡®brothers¡¯, only Seijitsu has connections with the big shots of the association. Although he¡¯s of the sloth tribe, he has a rank A treasure hunter license, and is one of the ten people within the country that is an acknowledged ¡°Dragon Slayer¡±. That being said, ¡°Dragon Slayer¡± doesn¡¯t mean that you actually defeated a dragon. This is a first-class title given to treasure hunters who have explored dungeons with a designation of A+ or higher, and played the most active role. It can be said that this is the ultimate proof that a treasure hunter is recognized for his skill. Seijitsu is really amazing. If it wasn¡¯t for him, I would still be rummaging for scraps in the ¡®Polluted city¡¯. 10 years ago, when I was 7, my brother rescued me from the darkness. And also sister Nanairo who always helps me. I will never be a match for the two of them. ¡°Then, let¡¯s go back to the hideout first.¡± I can¡¯t dive into the dungeon for another 5 months because of my blunder. I don¡¯t have a hard time living because my big brother and sister¡¯s savings were astonishing, but I still have the loan for the magic cannon that I bought to show off with. It was bought under my elder brother¡¯s name, but it is a luxury item I bought at my own selfishness. Even the license fees were just paid, and completely relying on others was just too uncool. I want to at least earn enough to pay off that loan. Is there a way, a way to earn money without having to dive into a dungeon. ¡°F-r-o-m t-h-e p-r-e-s-i-d-e-n-t¡± ¡°I received a direct request from the President of the Bemon Society! We¡¯ll return to the hideout first and then come back to this town again!¡± ¡°Is it okay to receive a nomination request?¡± What are they telling us to do in this town? To be honest, I want to quickly get out of this town that is becoming my trauma. ¡°Because of the association¡¯s mediation to lower the sentence, we can¡¯t refuse! That old man, I hate his sexual harassment!¡± Yup. I hate that fatty as well. Big sister Nanairo is of the Toucan bird tribe with a good figure and feathers colored a rare seven prismatic colors. Although not so much for humans, she is regarded as an idol by some beastmen, and she has also had a gravure photoshoot request from a magazine that is popular among treasure hunters. Big brother refused, but I think it was a waste. If you were put in that magazine, you can make a living through modelling and commercials. ¡°Uh, it¡¯s my fault¡­¡± I lost confidence. Our work in this town was a massive failure. It was all good until I thought that we had nothing to lose and entered that dungeon. My siblings weren¡¯t that enthusiastic about the information I brought in, but they were excited when they arrived at the top of the dungeon. No way, a real dragon was building a nest, and right after they laid eggs. We immediately reviewed the plan and divided the roles. Sister Nanairo would act as the attacker as a decoy, and brother would prepare for a short-distance transfer. I would follow up by securing the eggs and retreating. This did not turn out well. Primarily because of me. Nanairo does not have the title of ¡°Dragon Slayer¡±, but she is among the top five best attackers in Western Japan. Unbelievably, she was able to hold out for 30 minutes by herself against a dragon. Big brother Seijitsu, as expected, built a magic transfer circle from the summit to the entrance of the dungeon with exquisite control. Although it was simple for demons, it was a difficult task for us beastmen and humans who don¡¯t have magic power. It¡¯s amazing just to be able to use a method that temporarily converts physical strength to magic. And then my big blunder. I glanced at sister Nanairo¡¯s struggle and rushed into the nest. There, I found the eggs on the bed within the lived-in nest. There were two eggs there. I fell into joy and frenzy. Just one was enough for one person to live four lifetimes without having to work, and there were two. I was greedy. Only one could be placed into the backpack we brought. After spending the extra time looking around the nest and finding a blanket to wrapping the egg in and finally leaving the nest, sister Nanairo was already riddled with wounds. Big brother Seijitsu who had already maintained the magic square for more than the scheduled time was out of strength. When I got out of the dungeon and got into the car, the mother dragon caught up, and both front tires were punctured by lightning. Although I was reluctant to play the role of running away while they exchanged tires, I was struck by a mysterious civilian who intruded. Laughable. Moreover, it was my fault because I used magical tools and knives outside the area that my brother applied for. We were arrested and detained without being able to make any excuses by the local police who arrived. I thought it was over. At worst, I was prepared for prison and for my license to be revoked. Really, what am I doing¡­ ¡°R-e-t-u-r-n t-o t-h-i-s t-o-w-n.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we have to pay back the debt to the association! Gasaraio is also brooding about his mistakes!¡± ¡°Y-yeah.¡± As expected, she saw through me. Our equipment seems to have been returned to the association, so at any rate, we have to greet the president. It¡¯s my bad habit to think negatively right away. Let¡¯s start all over once again from here. My dream is to become a treasure hunter who can be relied on like big brother and strong like big sister. Eventually, the youngest brother of the ¡°paradise brothers¡± will become well known and repay his debts to his brothers. Us siblings walked side by side under the clear blue sky. My brother didn¡¯t even finish the explanation yet, and my sister was humming a song happily. I don¡¯t know what the president¡¯s request is, but this time I will not fail. The youngest of ¡°Paradise Brothers¡±. Takes the name of Gasaraio Riot. Chapter 73 - I’m Going to Bite It, Okay? (1) TN: Sorry! It should be up now, wish there was an automatic timer feature for this plugin. ¡°Owwwwwwwwww!¡± After cleaning the bath after bathing, I heard the scream of my father from the dining room. I wiped my wet feet on the mat and walked down the corridor. Ah, somehow I can guess what¡¯s happening¡­ ¡°Jaja! You¡¯re hurting grandfather¡¯s finger!¡± When I entered the dining room, I saw father playing with Jaja on the sofa. Next to that, Shouhei was holding his mouth while trembling. ¡°Ja, Jaja! That¡¯s no good! Don¡¯t bite his finger!¡± ¡°Amu amu¡± Aoi, who was sitting on the opposite sofa and had Nana one her lap, was flustered. ¡°Fufufu. Even dad¡¯s been bitten.¡± Shouhei seemed to be holding back his laughter. ¡°Ah, did you bite again?¡± ¡°L-look Jaja! Papa is here! If you¡¯re going to bite, bite papa! It¡¯s fine, he¡¯ll be delighted!¡± Please don¡¯t make me sound like a pervert. ¡°Amuamu, krrkrr¡± ¡°Ahhh, don¡¯t chew it!¡± It¡¯s good for her to bite, but it¡¯s still early for Jaja before weaning. ¡°Hey, Jaja. Stop biting grandfather¡¯s finger.¡± ¡°Au¡± ¡°Whew, that hurt.¡± I couldn¡¯t just watch and lifted Jaja from my father¡¯s lap. Father stroked the ring finger of his left hand with care. She was curious because she was lifted from behind, she looked around and finally saw me when she twisted her body around. ¡°Au!¡± ¡°Yes, au.¡± Jaja raised her hands and laughed. I was caught up and replied. She relaxed and smiled naturally with a smile like a blooming flower. Aoi stood up from the couch and walked over. She put out her right hand out and lightly push Jaja¡¯s forehead with her index finger. ¡°Ah!¡± Yeah. I don¡¯t think you¡¯re playing. Recently, Jaja¡¯s biting habit has gotten worse. Canines growing on the top of her mouth, in this case, would it better to say dragon tooth? It seems dragon teeth are sharper than other teeth, and also feels itchier when teething. Your favorite stuffed dog toy has been resewn twice by the babysitter Yuri. The edge of the towel blanket that you use when you go to bed has also become tattered. The duck toys that you always play with before going to bed are also in terrible conditions. These teeth are probably much stronger and sharper than human teeth. I¡¯ve also experienced Jaja¡¯s biting habit several times. It was painful. The first time was in the morning. Before I woke up and while she was still half asleep, approached my ears by using her tail to clumsily crawl towards me, something she learned recently and bit my ear lobe, mistaking it for a pacifier. I screamed unintentionally. Seeing me jumping up and rubbing my earlobes, Jaja rejoiced with her innocent smile. This girl is scary. Besides the itchy teeth, it seems she also enjoys our reactions. Since then, the whole family has been Jaja¡¯s victims. The only one safe was Nana. As the older sister, I want to praise her for not letting her younger sister get injured, but I also want her to treat us kindly. Aoi screamed while breastfeeding, and Shouhei was targeted during a nap. My father is too willing to care for her and is suffering the consequences, and my neck and shoulders are full of Jaja¡¯s bite marks. Did our eldest daughter become a vampire without us noticing? Somehow, we try to scold her as soon as she bites to cure the habit, but she demonstrates her optimism and removes our malice with a lovely smile. ¡°Au¡± ¡°Dah!¡± Nana was telling Jaja something. Good girl! Get angry with your sister! ¡°Heh¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Ah, this is no good. Both of them were smiling and seems to have finished something. ¡°Mama¡¯s going to get angry, okay?¡± Aoi, who says that, is also being deceived by their adorableness. I understand. It¡¯s quite difficult to stay angry in front of the atmosphere created by these twins. ¡°Dah!¡± Look, I don¡¯t have the confidence to stay angry at this smile. ¡°What did Yuri-san say?¡± Yuri-san, who is experienced as a mother and a former nursery teacher, is like Aoi¡¯s teacher. It seems that these two have completely opened up to each other and have various consultations. ¡°Yes, she said that if Jaja bit herself and knew how much it hurt then she may be cured.¡± We can¡¯t rely too much on others, and we¡¯re also investigating it, but online and book information are long-term measures. I guess we just have to be patient. ¡°Amu¡± ¡°Owwwwww! What the! You¡¯re going to hit the bone!¡± Damn it, I was careless! Jaja bit my shoulder with all her strength. The kind of pain is different every time! It feels like she¡¯s going very deep this time! ¡°Uwahh, papa is saying it hurts! Jaja! Let go!¡± ¡°Amuamu¡± ¡°Au¡± Aoi tried hard to stop her, but Jaja¡¯s teeth continue to wedge into my shoulder. Nana¡¯s voice seemed to be worried. ¡°Amuamu!¡± ¡°Gwaaaaaah!¡± ¡°Stop, no more! Ahahahahaha!¡± Hearing my shrieks, Shouhei finally laughed out of control. Father is also chuckling. Our family¡¯s dining room is noisy tonight as well. Chapter 74 - I’m Going to Bite It, Okay? (2) ¡°Alright, we¡¯re going, okay? Please take care of Jaja and Nana.¡± ¡°Oh, leave it to me.¡± ¡°If anything happens, please call us. We¡¯ll be sure to stay with Aoi-chan.¡± ¡°Koji, behave yourself. I¡¯ll tell dad if you cause any troubles.¡± ¡°Nyaa!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll watch Kou-chan.¡± We saw off the three girls at the front entrance. ¡°Is it really okay? I should¡­¡± ¡°Look, it¡¯s your shopping, so you have to go. The kids will be fine.¡± Well, it¡¯s all good. I know you¡¯re worried, but you need to take a breather. ¡°I see¡­ I¡¯ll bring back something, okay?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, take care.¡± ¡°See you later.¡± ¡°I¡¯m off.¡± ¡°See you!¡± Aoi with a worried face, Mikuma and Saeki left the entrance and passed through the gate. I also followed them outside and saw them off. She looked back many times and eventually disappeared. ¡°She¡¯s a real worrywart.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯s the first time she¡¯s left Jaja and Nana behind.¡± Shouhei responded to my words. It was almost the end of May, and I decided to make Aoi take a day off. After taking care of the twins and the housework day after day, I judged that Aoi needed a break. On paper, it¡¯s to replenish daily necessities and to buy clothes for her. In the first place, she doesn¡¯t have a lot of clothes. Even including pajamas, she doesn¡¯t have enough for a week. I was giving her my larger shirts and trainers to pass by, but it¡¯s probably too much for a girl. Anyways, I don¡¯t have any fashion sense. So I made a plan for Aoi to buy the clothes she likes. Our family doesn¡¯t have much extra money, so I¡¯ve been working hard since last month to save so that she can buy clothes she likes. If you add my money and Aoi¡¯s pocket money, then she¡¯ll be able to buy around 2 or 3 sets of clothes. But, even if I give her a break, I can¡¯t go along with Aoi. I have to take care of the kids. I don¡¯t have enough skills to go shopping with girls in the first place. And I have no guts. That is hell on earth. I would like to send respect to those handsome guys who can go shopping with girls every time. It¡¯s impossible for me. So I lowered my head to Mikuma and Saeki and got help from other girls. I also bought lunch for those two with my pocket money. Thanks to that I won¡¯t be able to do anything until the end of next month. Well, I don¡¯t really want anything so it¡¯s all good. But relying on this small amount of pocket money is really pitiable. Actually, considering my father¡¯s earning and this house¡¯s loan, our tuition and living expenses, our family is barely scraping by. Although we¡¯ve survived thanks to Shouhei¡¯s management, I also have to think of getting a part-time job. I have to work for Jaja and Nana! Now, the twins are welcoming a mama-less day for the first time. Other than the breastfeeding at night, we have recently been giving them baby formula and some baby food. I¡¯m trying to use the growth process of human infants as reference. I was really thinking of asking Alba Germain¡¯s opinion, but I haven¡¯t seen him recently. The day after returning from the ranch, we received a letter written with skilful penmanship. ¡°The dragon¡¯s daughter that¡¯s heading here seems to have gotten lost. I¡¯ll have to go guide her, so I¡¯ll be away for about a month. The twins are doing well. It may be good to give them some baby formula soon. But I don¡¯t know the effects the human part has on them, so be careful.¡± ¡°Nii-chan, we¡¯re also heading out, are you really going to be alright by yourself?¡± ¡°Nii¡± Returning to the entrance after sending them off, Shouhei and Koji were carrying the bags that had been placed at the entrance. ¡°You¡¯re going to the library to finish your homework, right? It¡¯s fine, Yuri-san is also coming by later.¡± ¡°Okay, thanks. I put your lunch in the fridge okay?¡± ¡°Oh, thank you.¡± ¡°Your welcome.¡± The said that and left from the entrance again. ¡°I¡¯m off!¡± ¡°Nyaa!¡± ¡°Take care.¡± I waved at the lively elementary school students who rushed outside and then closed the door. Well then, Jaja and Nana fell asleep after breakfast. It seems that the washing machine ended and the alarm had been ringing, and the weather was excellent. I walked down the hallway while humming. Chapter 75 - I’m Going to Bite It, Okay? (3) ¡°Uwaaaaaaah! Byaaaaaaaah!¡± ¡°Ah, yes, yes, I¡¯m just cooling down the milk right now, so just wait a minute.¡± ¡°Au¡± ¡°Yes, where are you going, Princess? Come back.¡± ¡°Byaaaaah! Baaaaah!¡± ¡°Nana? Can you wait a bit?¡± ¡°Nnn! Nnn!¡± ¡°No, please behave Jaja.¡± While holding Nana, who has become hungry and was bawling, in one hand, I pulled Jaja who was floating with the finger of the hand holding the baby bottle. They have been flying longer these days, and they have learned to move freely to some extent. Jaja¡¯s curiosity was directed to every conceivable corner of the house. ¡°Look, it¡¯s ready.¡± ¡°Fuuu, guu¡­¡± ¡°It may not be as good as mama¡¯s, but be patient.¡± I sat on the sofa and put the baby bottle in Nana¡¯s mouth. Since it was made quite a while ago, it should have cooled down enough. It¡¯s difficult to get body temperature. ¡°Nuku, Nku¡± ¡°Ah! ¡°Just wait a bit okay? After Nana¡¯s meal, it¡¯s Jaja next.¡± I gently held Jaja, who was wriggling, down. We will struggle later if we do not match the timing of their meals. We also take care to not shift their nap times too much. For now, Jaja and Nana go to bed and drink milk at the same time. They have become more comfortable with drinking baby formula, so it has probably been easier on Aoi. She had to hold onto the two of them during breastfeeding, and Aoi couldn¡¯t move during that time. Anyone can feed them with a baby bottle, so the burden on Aoi is lighter. ¡°Hello~¡± ¡°Ah, Yuri-san. Hello.¡± Yuri-san appeared in the garden, outside the dining room window. If you¡¯re at the entrance, you can¡¯t cope with the troubles of twins, so people who come by often like Yuri-san, enter the house from the garden. Yuri-san, from the golden retriever dog tribe, is similar to her daughter Doggy-san. Her style doesn¡¯t make her look like she¡¯s over 60, slender and cool. She¡¯s a veteran mother who has raised four daughters, including Doggy-san, and is very reliable. ¡°Sorry for the intrusion, is Nana-chan eating?¡± ¡°Hahaha, she just finished crying.¡± I didn¡¯t lock the window because I knew she would come at this time. Yuri-san slid open the window, took off her shoes and came into the dining room. She was carrying a large shopping bag in her hand, and some vegetables were poking out. ¡°What about Jaja-chan?¡± ¡°Yes, I was about to.¡± ¡°From the looks of it, Kunpei-kun hasn¡¯t had lunch yet. Jaja-chan, come eat with Oba-san.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± When her legs were released, Jaja slowly started flying. She arrived at Yuri-san¡¯s chest with both hands outstretched. ¡°Yes, how skillful. You¡¯re really good at flying, no?¡± ¡°Yes, recently, whenever we take our eyes off them, they fly off to ridiculous places. Everyone was panicking.¡± There are only two nurseries in the vicinity, where beastmen children can go. Yuri-san, who worked for one of them until recently, has seen most of the different types of beastmen babies. It seems that there are special methods to take care of babies from mermaids to birds, so she¡¯s somewhat used to it. But as one would expect, she has never taken care of dragon babies. I¡¯m very grateful to Yuri-san, who helps us as we¡¯re worried about their growth. Alba Germain, the rat who should be familiar with dragons, unexpectedly did not participate in childcare. He only appeared during mealtimes. I mean, with his size, he¡¯ll probably be mistaken as a stuffed animal when he approaches Jaja or Nana, and will be grabbed. So it¡¯s correct that he cannot participate. An extremely thorough rat. ¡°Where ¨C is ¨C Jaja-chan¡¯s meal?¡± ¡°Ah, dah!¡± Yuri-san walked across the dining room and headed to the baby bottle warmer on the kitchen counter. It¡¯s a skill to entertain Jaja while speaking with a rhythm. Jaja is happily raising her hands and laughing. ¡°Yes! I found it!¡± ¡°Dah, dah!¡± Yuri-san took the baby bottle from the plug-in type warmer and pressed it against her cheek to check the temperature. ¡°Let¡¯s wait for it to cool down a bit.¡± ¡°It¡¯s difficult checking the temperature, isn¡¯t it?¡± The warmer regulates the temperature, but it actually gets a little hot. ¡°It¡¯s much easier than in our days. That¡¯s the good thing that came out of the worlds colliding, the convenience of civilization.¡± Ah, that¡¯s right. Yuri is from the generation before the worlds collided. The beastman civilization seems to have been behind considerably behind. ¡°We were lucky because our village was fortunate enough to connect to Japan.¡± When the worlds collided, there seemed to be conflicts between races around the world, but Japan was comparatively calm. The government at the time, who was trying to control the chaos of the world, was said to have been criticized for something, but is now generally praised. ¡°When I was little, it was hard to imagine that glass, which was rarely seen, would be so cheap, and I didn¡¯t expect mass-produced alternatives to breast milk.¡± Hmmm. It¡¯s interesting to talk to people who struggled. ¡°Was officer Doggy¡¯s older sisters married?¡± ¡°The older two are, the third daughter seems to be enjoying herself in Tokyo. She should at least say so over the phone, but that¡¯s probably admitting defeat. Recently she¡¯s rushed to get married since she¡¯s already over 30 and getting anxious.¡± While rolling the baby bottle on her cheek, Yuri-san¡¯s lips quivered a little. No matter what she says, she must be worried about the third daughter. ¡°Au¡± ¡°Jaja-chan, just wait a little longer.¡± ¡°Ah¡± Jaja sucked her right thumb while looking at Yuri-san curiously. ¡°When I got married, it was time for the village to be strong. I was a childhood friend of my husband, and had decided to marry since I was little. There were some dissatisfaction here and there, but he was a good person. I was fortunate enough because of him.¡± Yuri-san had a nostalgic expression. ¡°Well, because the world has changed, it¡¯s natural that the way the children now live will change. Let the girls live as they please.¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­¡± Yeah, I had difficulty responding. ¡°Okay, here you are!¡± ¡°Ah! ¡­ nku¡± Jaja, who responded cheerfully, grabbed the baby bottle held out by Yuri-san with both hands and held it in her mouth. ¡°Yes, what a good girl.¡± Yuri-san bent down and picked Jaja up. After a short walk and sitting on the couch, she looked down at Jaja with a maternal expression. A mother, how nice. Chapter 76 - I’m Going to Bite It, Okay? (4) At noon, I ate the spinach with rice and miso soup that Shouhei made for me. The spinach pickled in ponzu sauce had a perfect sourness, and the secret ingredient, sesame, accentuates the flavor and the rice went down easily. ¡°Yes, Nana-chan, all done.¡± ¡°Au¡± Next to the window of the dining area, where there is ample sunlight, is the playground for the twins. There is an expensive elastic mat laid out for Jaja who starts flying as soon as we take our eyes off her, separated by a wooden fence made by father. Yuri-san was changing Nana¡¯s diaper in the middle of that. Despite it already been a few decades later, her skill obtained from raising four daughters was splendid. She changed their diapers in a blink of an eye while keeping the twins under control. Although we¡¯re used to it, Aoi and I still sometimes struggle. Especially Nana who is in a bad mood sometimes and we need two people to wipe her bum. ¡°Amu, amu amu¡± ¡°Jaja-chan, what are you eating?¡± While lying down, Jaja was play-biting the rubber ball with the bell that father bought. ¡°Amu¡± ¡°Alright, no.¡± ¡°Ah¡± ¡°Meh!¡± Jaja who had the rubber ball confiscated reached out with both hands and tried to replace it. ¡°You can use the dog. But you¡¯ll break the ball so no, okay?¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Jaja puts her favorite little stuffed puppy toy into her mouth without any hesitation. The dog that has become pretty ragged recently was a gift from Mikuma along with a stuffed cat toy. The cat is Nana¡¯s favorite, the dog is Jaja¡¯s favorite. ¡°Thanks for the meal.¡± I finished everything and carried all the dishes to the kitchen sink. While Yuri-san was dealing with the twins, I managed to finish lunch. Because you can¡¯t eat peacefully while the twins are awake, I really appreciate it. I washed my dishes, then washed the two baby bottles. We use naturally-derived detergents as much as possible, and after washing, they are also thoroughly sterilized by boiling. We researched online and infants are supposed to regularly go in for checkups so we can also discuss with doctors about childcare. But the twins are dragons. The hospital doesn¡¯t want to accept or deal with dragons. And if it got revealed there were dragons, it will bring all sorts of troubles. So we have to take the utmost care to prevent sickness and injuries. Because of that, we do everything we can, such as sterilization by boiling. There is a fluffy gray rat who insists that he¡¯s a doctor specializing in dragons, but he only shows up when he feels like it. Even now I don¡¯t know where he¡¯s staying, so I can¡¯t call him from here. Even so, he rummages through our fridge for cheese and fruits as he pleases, what an irritating rat. ¡°Good afternoon.¡± ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Ah, isn¡¯t that Toshio-kun?¡± A voice came through the window we opened to improve ventilation. I turned and saw officers Doggy and Inoue wearing uniforms, standing in the garden. ¡°Mama, you came?¡± ¡°Yes, Aoi-chan is away today, so it would be difficult for Kunpei-kun alone, right? It¡¯s been a long time Toshio-kun.¡± ¡°Y-yes it¡¯s been a while.¡± I wiped my hands with a towel and went out to the dining room, where Officer Inoue, who had a large physique, was bowing deeply. ¡°Hello, Officer Doggy, and Officer Inoue.¡± ¡°Sorry Kazamachi, for coming so suddenly.¡± Officer Inoue raised his head and bitterly smiled with his good-looking face. ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. Please come in.¡± ¡°Sorry, we had something we need to tell you and dropped by because we were close.¡± Saying that, Officer Doggy took off her shoes and came into the dining room. Following her, Officer Inoue also came in. I returned to the kitchen and took two glasses for guests from the cupboard. I placed the glasses in the sink and turned around, opened the refrigerator behind me, took out a bottle of oolong tea, and poured it into the glasses. ¡°Ah, you don¡¯t have to worry about us.¡± Officer Inoue apologetically called out. ¡°I¡¯ve already poured it, please drink it.¡± ¡°Sorry about that.¡± After pouring the oolong tea into the two glasses, I felt it was improper to carry it by hand, so I took out a tray from the cupboard and put the glasses on it. I went out to the dining room with the small tray. I arranged the glasses on the low table that had been moved outside the enclosure. ¡°How unusual for you two to come at the same time.¡± I gestured for the still standing officers to sit and asked. ¡°Sorry, we came while we were doing our rounds, was it okay?¡± Officer Doggy picked up the glass with a wry smile. The two officers alternately come each day during their rounds. They return to work as soon as they get a look at us, so they naturally go to the garden instead of the entrance. ¡°I didn¡¯t think mama would be here, but it¡¯s not a problem, right?¡± ¡°Yes, Yuri-san has been a huge help.¡± ¡°Nonsense, playing with such cute twins, I feel somewhat sorry.¡± Yuri-san held Nana up and looked at her face with a smile. ¡°Dah¡± ¡°How cute. Hey Toshio-kun, isn¡¯t a baby good?¡± ¡°Y-yes!¡± Hmm? Officer Inoue is acting strangely for some reason. Officer Toshio Inoue is a man who is about the same height as me and has a physique about one size wider than me. I¡¯m told that he¡¯s the most skilled judo practitioner in the prefecture, and it¡¯s understandable with his physique. His honest appearance coupled with the image of ¡°The Town Officer¡± is perfect. ¡°My, my, that tiny Toshio-kun has become so splendid. If you don¡¯t hold onto him, he¡¯ll be stolen away you know?¡± ¡°Mama, that again, Inoue-kun and I aren¡¯t like that.¡± ¡°Y-yes¡­¡± Ah, huh? I see. ¡°What are you talking about, didn¡¯t he become a police officer for such an unrefined lady? And isn¡¯t it good that he knew you from a young age and kept following you without any complaint?¡± ¡°Um, oba-san! I!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve hated it already for being teased for that during my school days, so stop it!¡± ¡°Is that so? What a shame, I thought that I could see my grandchild¡¯s face soon because you two live in this town.¡± ¡°That¡¯s too bad.¡± ¡°U-um.¡± Officer Inoue, who leaned forward was frozen from Officer Doggy¡¯s words. This smells like love. ¡°Rather than that, Kunpei-kun?¡± ¡°Huh? Ah, yes.¡± Hmmm. I wanted to explore a little more about Officer Inoue, but oh well. Chapter 77 - I’m Going to Bite It, Okay? (5) ¡°A large-scale dungeon research team?¡± We were drinking oolong tea while surrounding the low table. In the wooden enclosure next to us, Yuri-san was playing with Jaja and Nana. Jaja was thoroughly biting every toy that caught her eye. Yuri-san made sure to check for anything that will break or shouldn¡¯t be put into one¡¯s mouth beforehand, so I¡¯m relieved. As expected, the stuffed dog toy was damaged the most, it was sticky and wet with Jaja¡¯s drool. It seems like we will be indebted to the washing machine again today. ¡°Yes, a collaboration between the West Japan Treasure Hunter Association and Kansai University, to find out if there are dragons in ¡®Tusk Crag¡¯ dungeon.¡± Officer Doggy announced as she stirred her glass of oolong tea. ¡°Since they also want to bring heavy equipment and machinery, the chief has been trying to delay the permit for a variety of reasons, but in the end, he can¡¯t reject it, okay? We¡¯re in the middle of investigating the identities of the one hundred treasure hunters, and the weapons they¡¯re bringing one by one right now. ¡± ¡°Since it¡¯s in our jurisdiction, so I¡¯ll try and check the details as much as possible and earn time, but no matter how much I try, but it will be in about one month.¡± Office Inoue supplemented Officer Doggy¡¯s words. The explanation was easy enough for even an idiot like me to easily understand. One hundred treasure hunters? What are they going to do with so many people? ¡°How long will they be in this town?¡± ¡°For the time being, the documents they submitted mentioned half a year, but if it is extended, we can¡¯t refuse it once we¡¯ve already approved it.¡± It¡¯s already troubling for just half a year, I would not be able to endure if the period is extended. ¡°Isn¡¯t the investigation just about Tusk Crag?¡± We just have to somehow deal with Aoi¡¯s nest and Tusk Crag. Ah, now there¡¯s even more stuff I have to think about. ¡°The document says that this town is the center, so probably also the forest behind it or the nearby mountains?¡± Give me a break. I wouldn¡¯t be able to calm down if they wandered near our house. ¡°Are they taking advantage of the investigation and coming to the government office to apply for TV station coverage?¡± ¡°There are rumors that the Eastern Japan Treasure Hunter Association is also interested in a stake for the dragon¡¯s rights, so this town is likely to become noisy for some time.¡± Damn it, a bunch of hyenas. What is fun about poking around other¡¯s homes? ¡°It¡¯s like a festive event, isn¡¯t it¡­¡± Though the problem is that it isn¡¯t a fun festival. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be able to approach this house openly once the investigation is started. Otherwise, someone may get suspicious.¡± ¡°Is there no problem for me?¡± Yuri-san reacted to Officer Doggy¡¯s words. Nana was sitting on her knees and swinging a ball in front of her face. Nana was enticed, she moved her face and followed the ball with her eyes. ¡°Of course. Mom is a civilian. I¡¯d rather have a liaison. The problem is that police officers can¡¯t check up one family every day, it¡¯s too frequent for regular patrols.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right¡­¡± Hmm. The people who know our circumstances other than our family is Mikuma and the Saeki siblings, Officer Doggy and Inoue, this town¡¯s police chief, and four other police officers that I¡¯ve never met. Officer Doggy and them would come every day to see if anything is wrong. Speaking of which, Officer Doggy lives nearby, and when Yuri-san is here, we would also have dinner together. It gives a sense of security and we¡¯re quite grateful for it. ¡°I see, only a month away, right? I¡¯ll do whatever I can to prepare.¡± ¡°Yeah, please! I¡¯ll keep correspondence over the phone and I¡¯ll let you know what the schedule will be. I¡¯ll ask mom to bring over a copy of the schedule. Be careful over the next few days.¡± Shall we go to Aoi¡¯s nest tonight? Let¡¯s ask for father¡¯s help and bring the furniture over. There¡¯s a large bed, a closet, and various daily necessities in the nest. It would take Aoi about three round trips in her dragon form. The forest is considerably dark at night, so we won¡¯t be seen. ¡°Then we¡¯re going to head back. Mom, I¡¯m going to be late today.¡± ¡°Ah, are you going on a date with Toshio-kun? Please let me know if you¡¯re going to come home in the morning, okay?¡± ¡°O-oba-san!¡± ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s work.¡± Officer Inoue was agitated by Yuri-san¡¯s words. His feet bumped into the low table and almost knocked the glasses over in the process. Officer Doggy got up with a face like nothing happened and straightened her cap. She shook her head to tidy up her hair, and her drooping ears shook along with it. Is it my imagination? Her tail is wagging like crazy. ¡°See you later.¡± ¡°Sorry for the interruption.¡± Officer Doggy and Inoue waved at Jaja and Nana in the enclosure. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Au¡± Jaja, who was chewing on the stuffed dog toy on top of her futon, cheerfully smiled at them, and Nana on Yuri-san¡¯s knee curiously looked back at them. ¡°Yes, thank you for your work. Let¡¯s say bye-bye to the police officers.¡± Yuri-san took Nana¡¯s right hand and slowly shook it. Nana looked up blankly at Yuri-san. ¡°Thank you for taking the time to come here.¡± I put on my outdoor slippers and followed after the officers who went out into the garden wearing their shoes. I followed them until the gate and saw them off heading for a police car parked in a vacant lot in front of the house. ¡°¡­ when are you going to tell your mom?¡± ¡°I-I just need to be a bit more prepared.¡± ¡°Huh, what are you afraid of?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not scared.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not scared.¡± The police officers were quietly arguing about something. Their conversation became completely inaudible after they got inside the police car. Fumu. It smells like love. If even someone who is ignorant of human relationships can understand, then I guess it would be even more obvious to others. The awfully quiet engine sound soon disappeared along with the police car. I thought for a bit while looking at the direction where the police car went. Love, huh. Aoi and Mikuma both said that they like me. As a person and a man, I know I have to come to grips with it and deal with it. But I don¡¯t know the answer. Regarding Aoi, there are the twins, so I¡¯m not against it. I had no intention of refusing in the first place. That day, I promised I would take responsibility for the two lives unprepared, but I don¡¯t have the slightest intention of going back on my word. After the matter with Yule, I realized that I love Jaja and Nana as my own children, they¡¯re cute and I want to watch over them forever. Then it¡¯s difficult to say what I think of Aoi. If you ask if I dislike her, I definitely don¡¯t. I like her straightforwardness and I want to see her hard work and support her. Aoi, who takes care of the twins, is definitely a gentle mother and I¡¯ll never get tired of watching that. So, does that mean that I love her? What do you do with people who you love. What comes to mind, is a kiss. A kiss. Mouth to mouth. Easy-to-understand expressions of affection seen repeatedly on TV and in movies. Aoi and I face each other, exuding a sweet atmosphere, and eventually, our silhouettes slowly approach, our lips overlapping as if they were trying to melt together¡­ What is this? I can¡¯t imagine it. Do I want to kiss? Of course, I¡¯m also a boy of that age. I am honestly very interested in that kind of knowledge. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s bad, as a healthy adolescent boy, it¡¯s normal thoughts. However, if I imagine that Aoi was the one, well, it becomes uncertain. Since Aoi is quite open towards me, there are quite a few opportunities to see her naked. I mean, don¡¯t we breastfeed together once a day while topless. If you think like that, you should be able to use your real image memories to have as many wild delusion as much as you can, but for some reason, only a hazy image comes to mind. I guess Aoi¡¯s motherly image is too strong. Her divine image taking care of Jaja and Nana should never be sullied. Then what about Mikuma Yuno? This is also clear. There¡¯s no way Aoi and the twins can have such a relationship with Mikuma. Then, why can¡¯t I clearly reject her? It¡¯s because I don¡¯t dislike her. Although I don¡¯t know my feelings for Aoi, I know that I definitely can¡¯t reject Mikuma. Since I was in elementary school, she was someone who stubbornly maintained her own justice and thoughts, and I even thought she was cool. I never thought she would get in touch with me because I misunderstood that I was being avoided in middle school. Although I thought like that, she seems to have been thinking about me forever, and I¡¯m happy, to be honest. I can¡¯t refuse her feelings that she¡¯s held for such a long time. Huh? Aren¡¯t I checkmated? Even if I like Aoi, the more her image as a mother solidifies, and the further away from love it goes. But because Aoi is next to me, I can¡¯t accept Mikuma¡¯s feelings. What is this? I know. I know I¡¯m doing terrible things. Sooner or later, I¡¯ll receive divine punishment. Because I¡¯m terrible man who is playing with the pure feelings of two girls. I know that such a half-baked attitude will hurt the most people. The time of decision will surely come. No matter how much I run away or how much I hate it, that time will come, it has to come. Would it be one, or two people crying? The most likely thing is that they¡¯ll be disgusted with me and both leave. It¡¯ll probably be like so. Maybe, I¡¯ll be the one who¡¯s crying. An early afternoon in May. A slightly dark shadow was cast over my heart. Chapter 78 - I’m Going to Bite It, Okay? (6) ¡°What is this ¡­¡± I barged into an unbelievable scene returning to the house after the officers had been sent off. ¡°Ah! Kunpei-kun! What shall we do?¡± Within the wooden enclosure, the twin¡¯s playground, Yuri-san was panicking while holding Nana. ¡°Ah! Kya! Kya!¡± Jaja was sitting on the sofa in the enclosure and laughed loudly. ¡°How did this happen?¡± ¡°I-I don¡¯t know. I was playing with Jaja and tickling her, and then suddenly¡­¡± ¡°Dah¡± Nana, who was being held by Yuri-san, reached out to take her favorite stuffed cat toy. The stuffed animal was right next to Nana¡¯s face, and with a little more effort, she should be able to get it. After all, it was floating. ¡°Why is it floating?¡± I looked over the dining room. From tissue boxes to baby bottles, to various toys were lightly floating and dancing in midair. If I looked down, the TV remote control was drifting as if hovering over the ground. When I looked up, Jaja¡¯s baby towels were stuck to the ceiling. A small trumpet toy was lightly bumping into the fluorescent lamp cover repeatedly, making a rhythmic sound. A series of animal instruments that father bought on the internet without Shouhei knowing was flying around the dining area happily. ¡°Ehh¡­?¡± Watching this unrealistic scene, I unintentionally let out a sound. The dining area, a place to relax in our house, was somehow wrapped in a rather fancy atmosphere. ¡°What happened?¡± I reached out my right hand and grabbed the monkey maracas. ¡°¡­ Eh?¡± It¡¯s light. The back half of the maracas, which resemble little monkeys, were made of translucent plastic, filled with countless small beads inside. It¡¯s one of the toys that my father and I often picked up because Jaja gets delighted when she hears the shaking sound. So I remember the weight well, but the monkey in my hand was exceptionally light now. Or rather, it doesn¡¯t even feel like I¡¯m holding it. ¡°This too?¡± When I let go, the monkey maracas started floating again and slowly drifted away. I grabbed a tambourine with a big tiger face drawn on it with the same hand. This also felt weightless. ¡°Ah, plate!¡± I suddenly realized and turned my face to the kitchen. I thought that if the dishes and glasses in the cupboard were floating, they could hit each other and break. The tableware in the cupboard and dish drying rack was still there. ¡°¡­ Are there stuff that flies and does not fly?¡± The baby bottle warmer came into my view. There was only one baby bottle left in the warmer. It was Nana¡¯s baby bottle with a cat¡¯s face printed on it. Strange. After the baby bottles were sterilized, it should have been put away with Jaja¡¯s baby bottle. Only Jaja¡¯s baby bottle with the dog face drawn on it was repeatedly hitting the ceiling. I looked at Jaja who was sitting on the sofa again. She was holding on to her favorite stuffed dog toy in her hand. ¡°Dah! Ah! Kya kya!¡± Jaja was looking at the floating toys with a smile. She looked like she was having fun, but for the time being, I went inside the enclosure and picked Jaja up from the sofa to ensure her safety. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Yes, yes, ah. Yuri-san, was there anything unusual?¡± ¡°Nothing in particular. Just the scarf that Jaja-chan drooled on earlier flew away.¡± When I looked up at the ceiling, a scarf that Yuri-san had hung on her shoulder and the rubber ball was stuck to the ceiling. ¡°I wonder if this is Jaja-chan¡¯s doing?¡± ¡°Probably.¡± If you tickled Jaja and this happens, it¡¯s probably Jaja¡¯s fault, right? Jaja was still the same as usual and happily reaching out to the toys and playing within my arms. If I looked closely, the straight black horns that were growing on both sides of Jaja¡¯s head was glowing a faint white. ¡°Are the same as that time with Nana?¡± But the light is much weaker than Nana¡¯s. If I remember correctly, I was the only one who could see it shining at the time. ¡°Yuri-san, Jaja¡¯s horns are glowing, right?¡± ¡°Is that so? It doesn¡¯t look like it¡¯s glowing.¡± Yeah, it¡¯s decided. In Nana¡¯s case, she was manipulating birds while crying. Is Jaja also similarly manipulating something as well? Do you just make things float? And there¡¯s also a limit to what she can make float. Toys, remote control, scarf, baby bottle, and towel. From plastic products to glass and cloth. What is the difference between floating objects and non-floating objects? I left the enclosure while comparing the toys swaying in the air. I don¡¯t know. There doesn¡¯t seem to be anything in common. The sizes were also different, and only one of the two identical baby bottles were floating. What is it? ¡°Ouch!¡± While I was walking and thinking, I stepped on a toy that had fallen. It¡¯s a human girl doll played by with kids a little older than Jaja and Nana. It¡¯s a famous realistic doll with beautiful proportions and manga-like eye stickers. I just remembered that yesterday, it¡¯s one of the toys my father received from a colleague with kids. When I first showed it to my twins, I remember Jaja scared and crying. Did Jaja bite its head and threw it away because father was persistent? Nana played with it normally, but Jaja didn¡¯t even try to get close. ¡°Ah, it hurts.¡± I bent down and reached out with my left hand to pick up the doll. Let¡¯s put it in the toy box, so it doesn¡¯t become one of the toys floating in the air and scare her. ¡°Hmm?¡± Huh? I can¡¯t pick it up. ¡°Oh?¡± Not to mention picking it up, I couldn¡¯t even get a finger underneath it. ¡°Why?¡± I laid Jaja down on the ground for now and challenged it with both hands. ¡°Fuuuh! It¡¯s heavy!¡± Are you kidding? How many times have I picked it up with one hand up until now!? No matter how much strength I put in, even if I planted both feet and pulled with my back, the doll did not budge an inch from its sleeping position. ¡°Ah! Dah!¡± Next to that, Jaja was swinging her hands and was glad to see the fluffy toys. I finally gave up and sat down next to Jaja. ¡°What the heck is going on?¡± I relaxed and adjusted my rough breathing. ¡°Why is this so heavy?¡± This weight is simply not possible with the size of this doll. Hmm? Weight? ¡°Huh?¡± Speaking of which, the monkey Maracas was lighter than usual. This doll is heavier than usual. ¡°Weight¡­?¡± Is Jaja manipulating the weight? No, that¡¯s not it. It won¡¯t float in the air just because it¡¯s lighter. No helium gas. Then why is it floating? Why can¡¯t I pick it up? I looked around again. Various things, from large to small, were freely flying around the room. Yuri-san and Nana were looking up in marvel. I¡¯ve seen this scene somewhere before. That¡¯s it, the astronauts broadcast I saw in the news felt something like this ¡­? ¡°¡­ gravity?¡± Objects float in space because of the small influence of gravity. Conversely, if gravity increases, things will be sewn to the ground. For a test, I poked the tiger tambourine, which was floating nearby, with my finger. Responding to the movement, the tiger tambourine slowly drifted away from me. ¡°Are you making gravity lighter or heavier?¡± Physicists would become as pale as a ghost. If so, on what basis are you choosing what floats? The baby towels are the ones you get covered with when you take a nap. The baby bottles is Jaja¡¯s, and the animal instrument series is also Jaja¡¯s favorite. Jaja was biting the remote control a while ago¡­ The things you bit? ¡°Yuri-san, did Jaja drool on the scarf earlier?¡± ¡°Yes, she was biting the edge, so I spread it out on the sofa to dry it.¡± I saw Jaja biting the rubber ball earlier. ¡°The things that Jaja bit are floating or getting heavier¡­?¡± I looked at Jaja while wondering. ¡°Ah! Aah!¡± Jaja was laughing, the same as always. Chapter 79 - I’m Going to Bite It, Okay? (7) I have no idea why this mysterious phenomenon occurred, but it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going to even if I think about it. So I¡¯ll just do what I can. ¡°Uhh, let¡¯s collect as much floating things as possible for now.¡± ¡°Yes, right.¡± We looked at each other and slightly nodded. Currently, our dining room was full of various sized items floating around. While tissue boxes and toys are fine, baby bottles are made of glass. I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll float forever, so it will break if it falls from that height. We need to collect them before they fall. Even plastic toys can be broken if they fall from high places. ¡°I¡¯ll tie up what I collect, can you watch Jaja and Nana?¡± ¡°Yes. Come here, Jaja.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Yuri-san came out of the enclosure and reached out for Jaja. I raised Jaja up and handed her over to Yuri-san. Yuri-san held up Nana on the right and Jaja on the left, she looked over the room and moved to a place where there is not much floating. After seeing that, I went out to the corridor and walked towards the washroom. There should still be vinyl strings leftover from our move on the shelf next to the sink. I arrived in the middle of the bathroom and looked at the top of the shelf next to the washbasin. I found the roll of vinyl strings there and reached out and grabbed it. It¡¯s a bit too high here. Even someone tall, like my dad or I, can¡¯t reach it without tiptoeing. Shouhei can¡¯t reach it even if he uses a stool. The vinyl string is a commercially-available product that is secured with a transparent film and is rolled in a doughnut shape. I grab the tip of the string that was protruding from the center cavity and pulled it. While leaving the washroom and walking down the corridor, I wrapped just the amount I needed around my hand. I entered the dining room and headed for the kitchen, opened the drawer under the sink and took out the scissors. It was bought for Shouhei, who¡¯s left-handed, so it¡¯s a bit hard to use for me, who¡¯s right-handed. I separate the vinyl string from the donut shape while experiencing some difficulty in cutting. I held the amount I wrapped around my hand and put the doughnut on the counter. First, let¡¯s collect the stuff on the ceiling. First and foremost, the baby bottle must be secured. ¡°The other day, when you went with Nana-chan to the ranch, did it also feel similar to this?¡± Before I knew it, Yuri-san was sitting on a chair at the dining table. Jaja and Nana were sitting on her knees. ¡°Dah¡± ¡°Ah!¡± The twins seemed to be absorbed in floating toys. ¡°Yeah, I think it¡¯s the same, but why?¡± The light emission from their horns that only I could see was the same, but the strange phenomenon that occurred was completely different. Nana controls birds, and Jaja controls weight. At the time of Nana, that phenomenon occurred because Nana was scared by a gigantic bird named Kaiser Maru on the ranch. As Nana cried louder, the birds being manipulated at that time, the Chunchu, seemed to began acting violently. Nana who cried after seeing a large flightless bird, Chunchu, made the bird violent, and the violence caused a negative spiral that made her cry even more and become more frightened. What about Jaja? Does this phenomenon happen when she¡¯s tickled, is laughing the trigger? When Jaja¡¯s emotions cross a certain line, Jaja¡¯s bite will make stuff either float or become heavier. In Nana¡¯s case, her horn did not shine if she was too unsettled. Yep, I have no clue. Nana has not manipulated birds since the ranch incident. It feels like the chirping sounds has increased from the forest that I can see from our garden. Do the phenomenons happen when they get worked up emotions? ¡°Ah! Dah!¡± When I looked at Jaja¡¯s horns, it was still emitting a faint light. Perhaps, but she¡¯s laughing more happily at the floating toys, so this phenomenon won¡¯t go away. If the phenomenon happens because of happiness, the effect makes her even happier. I have a feeling that it¡¯s a spiral that is happening with a vector different from Nana. It¡¯s not the first time Jaja is laughing, if you just play with her a little, she will immediately cackle in laughter. Why did this happen only today? What differences are there between those days and today? I feel like there is, but it¡¯s useless, I won¡¯t be able to figure it out with my head. I pulled out one of the six chairs at the dining table, set it directly under the baby bottle and climb up. I grabbed the baby bottle with my right hand and wrapped the vinyl around it, I also did the same to the rabbit drums floating next to it. If you connect them one by one like this, you will be able to put them together in one place to some extent. I held the chair and pulled the string to collect floating objects. After a while, everything near the ceiling was cleared, and after that, they were all within reach of the chair. ¡°Uuh! Ah!¡± Jaja was desperately reaching out with her short hands. ¡°This?¡± Yuri-san grabbed the tiger tambourine, which was floating right next to Jaja. ¡°Dah!¡± Apparently it was the item she was looking for, and Jaja rejoices with a large smile. ¡°Dah?¡± Nana also seemed to have grabbed the monkey Maracas, and she was holding it with both hands like it was important. ¡°Oh? Can you sing a song?¡± Yuri-san smiled and gently and shook the twin¡¯s bodies slowly, the tambourine and maracas made a jingling sound. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Dah¡± Perhaps they were delighted with the sounds, and Jaja and Nana both waved their musical instruments around. What should I do, our children may be musically inclined. Depending on how you listen to it, you may hear a song. No, it¡¯s definitely a song. It¡¯s true, the twins have talent. Okay, I will follow this rhythm and finish collecting everything. I want to join that band as soon as possible. ¡°Aah!¡± Jaja, who¡¯s tone was gradually getting higher, shook the tiger tambourine faster. While listening to the sound, my collecting speed also increased. ¡°Hmm?¡± When I connected the TV remote control to the string, my body felt uncomfortable. Something, this feeling. The inside of my stomach felt like it was floating. ¡°Is it just my imagination?¡± I cocked my head in puzzlement and felt my stomach. I carried on and took a step to get the next toy. ¡°Woah!¡± The impact of the first step caused the remaining feet and body to jump unexpectedly. I was about to fall flat on my face. ¡°K-kunpei-kun!?¡± Yuri-san raised her voice. ¡°Uwah!¡± I stuck out my right hand to protect myself. But when my right hand came into contact with the floor, the expected weight never came. ¡°Huh?¡± Both feet were raised up by the recoil when my hand hit the ground. Then my ass was lifted, and I was in a handstand position. Then my right hand also slowly left the ground. ¡°Are you serious? Me too?¡± Yes, I was floating. Like the toys and tissue boxes, my body was completely in the air. Why!? ¡°Ah!¡± Jaja was laughing happily while watching me struggle. The weight has disappeared from my body, probably in response to Jaja¡¯s voice. ¡°Oh, oh, oh, what shall we do?¡± Yuri-san was flustered. Of course, who wouldn¡¯t be if someone was floating in front of you! ¡°W-what shall we do!¡± I swung my limbs around while upside down. My body flowed from right to left with that momentum. That¡¯s right. I completely forgot, but the biggest victim of Jaja¡¯s chewing habit is me! I get bitten three times a day and have already been bitten twice today. If this phenomenon is in which the weight of the thing that Jaja bites changes, it wouldn¡¯t be strange if I was the first to float! The more I struggle, the worse my posture became. ¡°What should I do?¡± Before I realized, I was standing on the ceiling. I don¡¯t even know what I¡¯m saying. Chapter 80 - Shopping Girls ¡°Shall we go over there next?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t the clothes over there pretty expensive?¡± ¡°Well, if it¡¯s too expensive.¡± I walked alongside Yunno-san to not fall behind with Ichika-san who was taking the lead. We were at the shopping mall that we came to before. Last time, we were shopping for Jaja and Nana, so I didn¡¯t get a good look, but there really is an astonishing number of shops and people. I didn¡¯t leave town much, so I never went to large buildings like this mall before. The world that I only knew through television, commercials, and magazines is spread out right before my eyes. I¡¯m happy. Every day since I met Kunpei-san has been hectic and boisterous. But it¡¯s very fun every day, and the noise is also comforting to listen to. I¡¯ve received so many things from Kunpei-san. I even have friends, Yunno-san and Ichika-san, who I can talk casually with. How in the world can I repay Kunpei-san? After what happened with my mother, I think that the distance between me and Kunpei-san has shrunk. When Kunpei-san suddenly appeared in the nest, he risked his life for me and our daughters, and even helped mother. Even now, almost two months later, my heart throbs just by remembering him from that time. I know that since I¡¯m a dragon and have to hide, but if I could, I want to raise my voice and brag about that person. Tall, with a wide and reliable back. Inside his sharp eyes carry his kindness. His large hands that carry a sense of responsibility and justice. I love everything. I¡¯m longing for Kunpei-san so much that I even thought of mixing with him. Look! That¡¯s my husband! I¡¯m the wife and Kunpei-san is my husband! The papa of cute twins, and the mama is me! I want to declare it in a loud voice without worrying about the public gaze. I want to live while clearly showing that Kunpei is my thing and I am Kunpei¡¯s thing. I¡¯m thinking of something bad. I can¡¯t say that. I have to endure it. My heart was completely snatched away by that person, but I¡¯m not without complaints. For one, he doesn¡¯t pay enough attention to me. Naturally, if I say such things, I¡¯ll likely incur divine punishment, so I will never say it, but you could touch me a little more. We are parents, so it¡¯s decided that Jaja and Nana have priority. However, I want my name to be called with that gentle and calm look you give the twins. I want the two of us to talk while we¡¯re huddled together. I don¡¯t understand much, but the human, beastmen, and demon males love to have physical interaction with the opposite sex. Even if it¡¯s embarrassing, if Kunpei-san wanted to, he can stroke the base of my tail or the tip of my horns. Kunpei-san, who resembles father-in-law, has a very dignified appearance. He himself said that he wasn¡¯t popular, but it was strange. You would rarely find such a cool person even when you look, and he also has a good personality and is healthy on top of that. Do girls of his age have holes for eyes? It¡¯s impossible to not notice a person with a sense of justice that is honest, gentle, and intelligent. In that regard, Yunno Mikuma, who was walking next to me, is right. My second dissatisfaction with Kunpei-kun is related to this, but I do acknowledge her eye for men, since she shares the same feelings for Kunpei-kun as me. Yunno is a best friend even if we like the same person. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Oops, I unconsciously glared at Yunno-san. Dangerous, dangerous. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± I pretended to be calm and surveyed the inside of the mall. I wonder if it was too forced? ¡°With a limited budget, the only way to find something good is to use your feet.¡± Ichika-san of the cat tribe said as she breathed roughly. She¡¯s lively and active and makes even ordinary things interesting when she¡¯s with us. ¡°Before that, do you want to have some tea?¡± ¡°Ah, I agree, I¡¯m holding on to lunch money for the two of you from Kunpei-san.¡± ¡°What a treat! Let¡¯s go to the cafe we saw earlier!¡± I feel sorry, all of today¡¯s money comes from Kunpei-san¡¯s wallet. Most of his savings were spent on the twins and me. Your head is too high and mine is about to sink into the ground. Even though I said that, I¡¯m sure I¡¯m in trouble because I don¡¯t have many clothes to wear. In the start, I didn¡¯t have much clothes in the nest. I could count the number of clothes I bought on one hand, and I couldn¡¯t fit through the sleeves of the clothes my mother had made because I grew. Get a lot of items that are not too expensive. That¡¯s the only thing I can do. Because clothing is required when living in the human realm. Yunno-san and Ichika-san have said that. Kunpei-san asked them for advice, because it was impossible for me, who didn¡¯t know anything, to go shopping alone. So I¡¯m enjoying shopping today using their opinions as reference. All the remaining savings that I had from my mother had been passed to Shouhei-san via Kunpei-san, so the lunch cost that served as a thanks to Yunno-san today, I have no choice but to rely on Kunpei-san¡¯s money. It¡¯s becoming increasingly difficult to know how to repay him. We arrived at the caf¨¦ under Ichika-san¡¯s guidance and sat down at the seat we were lead to by the waiter. We put the shopping bags on one of the four chairs, I was sitting on the inside, Yunno-san sat across from me and Ichika-san sat next to me. While the waiter was bringing water, we opened the menu and looked for what to eat. Wow, this is what I saw in the lunchtime information TV program. This is the first time I¡¯ve come to a cafe. I was trembling while staring at the menu, and the waiter eventually brought three glasses of water. ¡°I¡¯ll take this lunch set.¡± ¡°Ah, me too.¡± Mikuma pointed at the photo on the menu and ordered it. The photo was of toast, sausage, and salad and looked delicious, so I ordered the same thing as well. ¡°I¡¯ll have a Margherita and spaghetti bolognese! Ice tea as well!¡± Ichika-san told the waiter cheerfully. ¡°Ichika-chan. You shouldn¡¯t use Kunpei-kun¡¯s money, right?¡± ¡°I know. I was going to pay myself from the beginning.¡± Eh? Ichika-san immediately answered Yunno-san¡¯s words. ¡°No, um¡­¡± I became flustered. I was given enough money for lunch. I¡¯ve also been told that lunch would be thanks to the two of them for my business. ¡°We¡¯re coming to shop for my things, and I¡¯m not doing anything to thank you.¡± ¡°Why do you have to say thank you every time you go to play with your friends? Tell Kazamachi that you don¡¯t have to keep up appearances when you¡¯re poor.¡± ¡°U-um¡± I couldn¡¯t say anything. The waiter wrote up the orders in three separate bills. What should I do? ¡°It¡¯s fine Aoi-chan, let¡¯s use the extra on clothes.¡± ¡°Ah, that ¡¯s good! Then we can buy the dress from earlier!¡± ¡°But, but¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell Kunpei-kun. Well, it¡¯s him so he¡¯s not going to get angry, but I¡¯m going to use extra energy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s good to have a strong sense of duty, but the guy is too tightly wound.¡± Is it alright? Really? ¡°Speaking of which, didn¡¯t you say you had something you want to talk about?¡± ¡°Oops, I forgot. You said that on the bus.¡± They changed the topic so naturally. I guess there¡¯s no helping it. I¡¯ll leave as much money as possible and bring it home. ¡°Well, it¡¯s about me, Jaja and Nana¡­¡± ¡°The kids?¡± Ichika-san next to me, tilted her head. ¡°Yes. Well, right now we¡¯re being taking care of by the Kazamachi household, so is there any way I can repay them?¡± I can¡¯t think of a good idea alone, and I have no time at all because of the twins. Unless I have this opportunity, I can¡¯t ask anyone and there¡¯s no one to ask. It¡¯s not like I can ask Kunpei-san, Shouhei-san, or father-in-law. ¡°Hmm. Do you do the housework?¡± I nodded at Yunno-san. I do the laundry and cleaning of everywhere except the kitchen. I really enjoy doing it because I feel like I¡¯m a family while working. When I was alone in the nest, my housework skills were devastating because I thought that it was just me, so who cares, and compromised a lot. There¡¯s Shouhei-san, who¡¯s a model housework specialist, and Kunpei-san, who is surprisingly family-oriented, so I think I¡¯ve become a bit better than during that time. ¡°Working part-time and¡­ is that impossible¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have much free time.¡± I shook my head at Ichika¡¯s words. I have to take care of the twins, and I also can¡¯t spread my identity. Sometimes I¡¯m scared because I¡¯ve never worked, but I want to stay as close as possible to Jaja and Nana. ¡°I wonder if you can work from home, like knitting and selling stuff online.¡± ¡°Hmm. In the first place, amateur things cannot be sold, and if they are sold, they are not high quality, so they can only be sold at the same price as the cost.¡± ¡°I have never knitted before.¡± Though I¡¯m interested in, knitting. If I knitted a sweater or something for Kunpei-san, wouldn¡¯t he be pleased? Ah, but there¡¯s the cost of materials, and tools¡­ Shouhei-san seems like he might have them. Let me try asking when we return. ¡°I don¡¯t think the people in that house will receive it so easily.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ that¡¯s also where I¡¯m troubled.¡± The men of the Kazamachi household are people who can do anything. That is why they don¡¯t often have trouble or want help. I want to do anything that I can do, but they would just refuse and tell me not to worry about it. Because I am a dragon, there are quite a few things I can do, but only things like physical labor or controlling the weather. Would they be happy that the sun only hits the Kazamachi family even on rainy days? But that¡¯ll be too conspicuous so I can¡¯t do that. Our neighbors will be suspicious. ¡°¡­then, there¡¯s no other way than paying the elder Kazamachi with your body.¡± Ichika-san revealed a strange expression. ¡°With my body?¡± ¡°Ichika-chan!¡± Yunno-san raised her voice. Even if I want to pay with my body, it seems that physical labor is a man¡¯s job. There were a few times when I asked, like when we moved furniture, but I was gently refused. ¡°Hehehe. He¡¯s traditional, but he¡¯s a man too. If you just pressure him and attack, it should be effortless.¡± ¡°That¡¯s no good! Those kinds of improper things!¡± ¡°Huh? What kind of improper things are you imagining? My oh my, Yunno is a quiet one.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to get mad, Ichika-chan!¡± What is it? They¡¯re probably talking about something different than what I¡¯m thinking of. Ichika-san took out her smartphone from the pouch on the table. She easily operating the screen while humming. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like Aoi understood, so it¡¯s my responsibility to teach her.¡± ¡°Hey! Ichika-chan we¡¯re outside!?¡± While avoiding Yunno-san who leaned over, Ichika-san showed me her smartphone with a rather nasty smile. ¡°Is there something like this on TV? If you go further, it¡¯ll be more like this?¡± A man and a woman were shown on the screen. A photo of a woman who had her arm around the neck of a tall man, intimately clinging to him. For some reason, they were both naked. ¡°Ichika-chan!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry it¡¯s a light one.¡± While saying, she tapped the smartphone screen next to me. The screen changed, and this time the man and woman are kissing. Even I know what a kiss means. I see it often in dramas and movies, and even dragons kiss. It¡¯s a display of love. I often kiss Jaja and Nana. ¡°Fufufu, now you¡¯re going to see things you¡¯ve never seen.¡± ¡°Jeez!¡± Yunno-san, whose face turned bright red, hid her face with both hands and leaned back on the chair. ¡°Well, Fraulein? From now on, it¡¯s adult time, are you ready?¡± Ichika-san¡¯s smile became even more distorted. I was worried about the twins I left at home when I looked at her face. Lunch, I wonder if it¡¯s ready yet? Chapter 81 - Papa’s How-to (1) Currently, I¡¯m ¡°looking up¡± at Jaja and Nana from the dining ceiling. I know it sounds strange, but this situation is too abnormal to be expressed in normal means. To be more accurate, my feet were on the ceiling and I was looking down at the ground. Up and down were completely reversed. ¡°What¡­ what should we do?¡± Yuri-san was sitting next to the twins and looked at me with her hand on her cheek. ¡°What shall we do?¡± I should watch my step. Dust that had accumulated on the ceiling shifted with my movements and slowly fell to the ground. It¡¯s dirty. I have to clean it someday. Oops, now¡¯s not the right time to think about that. If I bend my knees lightly, my body will float up. It¡¯s a strange feeling. It¡¯s a different feeling than standing on the ground. After experiencing it for myself, I somehow understood. As expected, this phenomenon caused by Jaja was changing the gravity of an object, instead of floating it. The floating toys and I have lower gravitational pull. It feels different than being lifted. As for that doll, it was affected by a stronger gravitational pull. If I remember correctly, the gravity that normally applies to us is the weight? Only that doll was affected by tens of times more gravity than normal, so I couldn¡¯t pick it up. I was worried and looked at the doll on the floor. I wonder if it can stand it, it¡¯s about to break. ¡°Uwah.¡± I¡¯m terrified. Naturally, if it¡¯s affected by a weight that far exceeds its own, it will break. Jaja looked at me her large afraid eyes. It looks like she¡¯s asking for help. Hmm? Jaja is scared? Ah, could it be? ¡°Yuri-san, can you get me the red plane from the toy box?¡± Something clicked. In order to check the thought that flashed by my mind, I asked Yuri-san for help. ¡°A red plane?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Okay, but why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a toy that Jaja hates.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Yuri-san got up while tilting her head. The toy box was located outside the wooden enclosure and next to the sofa. When Yuri-san approached the sofa and removed the lid of the box, it was densely packed with many toys. More than half were things my father bought or received. He received a lot of toys and clothes from colleagues with children that don¡¯t need them anymore. These gifts help us a lot since we don¡¯t have any extra money to afford it. Toys are appreciated but clothes are especially appreciated. The twins who are growing day by day quickly grow out of their clothes. They already can¡¯t fit through the sleeves on the baby clothes I bought in the beginning. This was because Aoi and I didn¡¯t think it through. We didn¡¯t even consider choosing clothes for growth. We will need slightly large clothes in the future. Yuri-san who opened the toy box rummaged through it. A wooden red airplane toy appeared. It is a sturdy airplane with a deformed propeller. ¡°H-huh?¡± Yuri-san tried to lift the aircraft, but she couldn¡¯t. ¡°If I¡¯m right, it should be extremely heavy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no good, I cant pick it up. It was just so light a while ago though.¡± ¡°Okay, bingo.¡± This red propeller plane toy has all parts attached so that it will not be easily disassembled. It has a round shape and is probably a toy for children older than Jaja and Nana. Because there were no sharp or minute parts, I tried giving it to Jaja and the first thing she did was bite it. She didn¡¯t like the fact that the protruding part got stuck in her mouth so she tossed it away. Nana plays with it normally, so she didn¡¯t throw it away. ¡°Bingo?¡± ¡°Yeah, the things that Jaja bites and likes are lighter, and the ones she doesn¡¯t like are heavier.¡± She hates the doll and the airplane. Jaja is a child who is delighted with most things, so things she doesn¡¯t like are rare. Those results has also revealed a lot of other things. First, is the effective range. If everything that Jaja bit floated or sank into the ground at the same time, that would be disastrous. Aoi who is outside right now will be floating in the sky and everyone would be panicking. But that possibility is zero. Because there were no changes to the landline telephone in the corridor that can be seen from the dining room. It often fell prey to Jaja when it recently used to be on the low table in the dining room. Once the phone rang right when Jaja was biting it and it surprised her, and since then she starts to cry just by approaching it. That telephone is probably the thing that Jaja hates most. Since nothing is happening to it, that means Jaja¡¯s ability is limited to this dining room only. Her maximum or minimum range will need to be verified. And the time of influence. Of course, Yuri-san is also a victim of Jaja¡¯s biting habit. She watches after her while I¡¯m at school, so it¡¯s natural. I heard from Aoi that her thumb was lightly bitten yesterday, so after at least a day, it seems to be excluded from the effects of Jaja¡¯s abilities. I now know a lot more, but I still don¡¯t know how to fix the current situation. At least about 40 minutes have passed since the ability was activated. Is it released only by Jaja¡¯s will, or will it go back to normal over time? The scary thing is if you have to stay in this state forever. I won¡¯t be able to live if I¡¯m in this floating state all the time. If you go outside, you will definitely be swept away by the wind and will go missing. ¡°It¡¯s amazing, but what a bad child, Jaja-chan. As expected of a dragon.¡± ¡°Ah! Dah!¡± Yuri-san picked up Jaja who was cackling with laughter while clapping her hands and looking at me. ¡°It¡¯s going to be problematic papa if things stay like this. I wonder if you can fix it?¡± ¡°Au?¡± Jaja tilted her head adorably. Yup, that was the look of confusion. ¡°Well, what can I do?¡± I folded my arms and thought while upside down. ¡°Yeah, it seems like step one is time, right?¡± ¡°Ahhhhhhhhh!¡± Before I realized, the rat sage, Alba Germain, was standing on my chin. His usual magician robes blocked my field of view. Alba tapped my jaw with his staff. ¡°Hahaha, what¡¯s with that reaction?¡± A gray fluffy rat was laughing at me with a contemptuous attitude. Even the timing for when he appears is irritating! ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were going to be gone for a while! You said you were going to pick up the dragon who is going to protect us?¡± ¡°Well, that child always gets lost if you leave them alone. That child was going to cross over to the continent from the Sea of ??Japan if I didn¡¯t go pick that child up, even though that child came from the continent.¡± ¡°Then, is that person already here?¡± It¡¯s true that Alba is here. Damn, Aoi¡¯s not here, and we haven¡¯t cleaned up yet. The room is more or less ready, but the bedding isn¡¯t finished yet. I was going to pick it up tomorrow with my father. Moreover, I can¡¯t meet anyone in this state. Uwah, my first impression is going to be terrible! It will hinder future relationship building! ¡°No, I¡¯m taking a break right now. Anyway, that kid is a ground dragon and can¡¯t fly in the sky. I took a detour to keep it as inconspicuous as possible. I heard noisy spirits from the direction of this house, so I came back alone.¡± ¡°Just you?¡± ¡°Yes, this distance doesn¡¯t mean anything to me. If there¡¯s a dragon there, I can move there faster than a blink of an eye.¡± Now I somehow understand how this guy appears out of nowhere. ¡°More importantly, the problem with the twins, right?¡± Ah, that¡¯s right. Why do you tend to completely forget your purpose whenever you talk with this guy? I¡¯m sure it¡¯s because of how irritating this guy is. Yup. ¡°Rather than twins, more like just Jaja.¡± Though imperfect, this guy is a self-proclaimed dragon doctor. Compared to me, his experience with dragons is like heaven and earth. It¡¯s vexing, it¡¯s reaaaaaaaally vexing, but I have to rely on this guy! I really don¡¯t like it! But It can¡¯t be helped! ¡°No, no, something happened to Nana, right? I can tell by looking at her.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. You were gone from the day we went to the ranch.¡± ¡°Ah, was it that day? I see, Nana ¡®doesn¡¯t use so much¡¯.¡± What is this guy saying? I¡¯m asking you, could you please stop speaking in a language that only you can understand? ¡°Well then, is it your turn now?¡± Hmm? me? Alba jumped off my chin and landed gently on the dining room floor. He raised the staffed and pointed it at me. ¡°History¡¯s first dragon¡¯s ¡®father¡¯, papa¡¯s job.¡± His little mouth warped into a grin, and the rat sage laughed. Chapter 82 - Papa’s How-to (2) ¡°Oh, there really was a rat sage.¡± Yuri-san, who was holding Jaja, looked at Alba curiously. ¡°Yo, I¡¯m that Alba Germain whose name is engraved in those legends, but it seems that recently my name has not been well-known.¡± ¡°Yes, I didn¡¯t even know the name. I¡¯m very honored to meet the wise man who was the hero¡¯s guide.¡± Yuri-san lowered her head deeply. Jaja stared at such a Yuri-san curiously. ¡°You were such an important person?¡± I know that a rat sage appears in the legends beastmen pass down. But I don¡¯t know what it is about. According to Officer Doggy, it seems to be a kind of lore heard from adults when they were young. ¡°Well, about 3000 years ago, everyone lowered their heads and respected me. Those were good days.¡± ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything important. I just brought the long war to a finish and brought together the warriors of each beastmen tribe.¡± ¡°Wars? Beastmen warriors?¡± I can¡¯t imagine it. Nowadays, the beastmen more or less have some discord and territorial disputes, but they can coexist well as ordinary people. So war, huh. Well, certainly. Even humans have not yet been able to overcome racial differences. As someone who lives carefree in the current, peaceful world, I can¡¯t even imagine what the people who lived during the war thought and felt. So in the past, the beastmen really had conflict, huh. Three thousand years ago, that¡¯s old history that is hard to learn even in classes. Especially from the other world. The history of the world of beastmen contains a lot of uncertain parts. The reason is because there are too many different beastmen tribes. As a result, there was numerous literature passed down with their own points of views. Speaking of what I learned in class, for example, literature related to the downfall of a certain dynasty. There were many differences in the contents between the literature written from the perspective of the party who fell fallen and the literature written from the perspective of the invading enemy. There are books that consider a ruined country evil, while others claim that the invading enemy was nonexistent, and there were even neighboring countries that spoke of completely different stories. Because there are many different races of human beings, there are various kinds of beastsmen. There are so many kinds of besatmen that the numbers cannot be accurately determined. There were so many countries, big and small, that isn¡¯t comparable to our world. Take people from the cat tribe like Saeki Ichika and Koji for example. They are short-haired calico cats. They are one of the most common types of cats in the cat tribe, with mottled hair and body hair. However, they never formed a community with other cat tribes. It¡¯s like the Sengoku period in Japan. On a terribly small land, cats but of different races claimed their own territories, so the quarrels never ended. Same as the cast, there were different races among dogs and birds, and there was still wars between cats and dogs and birds. I don¡¯t get it anymore. If this conflict frequently occurs on the same island, within the continent, and even between continents, or more specifically, all over the world, the past literature will easily get lost. Ironically enough, what solved this was the world clash, humans. We humans, for better or worse, love development. One might say that one of our traits is that for profit, loss, and survival, we can even shake hands with someone we hate with a smile. A catastrophic disaster that occurred suddenly. Surging damages and loss. In the wake of the unknown beastmen, demons, and magic, and the world¡¯s unprecedented crisis, many humans extended a helping hand. The human community was dozens of times larger than the largest of the beastmen communities. In the overwhelming number of human eyes, the beastmen would have appeared to be complete victims. The beastmen, with their existences, under threat, had no choice and took their hands and began the first large-scale ¡°coexistence¡±, led by humans. That was the current history of humans and beastmen. Yes, that was a second-hand telling of the textbooks. It is my knowledge that I studied for the high school entrance examination. There was something else mentioned, but I¡¯m an idiot so that was the best I could do. There also seems to be the reason why the beastmen¡¯s civilization did not flourish as much as humans. It seems that the beastmen tribes were too small to transfer or share knowledge and technology. The only magic technology that has developed is one that basically only demons can use, and only the techniques passed down from the demons have been improved, the other fields have been neglected. For someone with bad grades, this interpretation is my limit. I leave the details to historians. ¡°You¡¯re too humble, if you were not there, then us beastmen might still have been at war. I thank you on behalf of our ancestors.¡± Yuri-san once again bowed politely. ¡°Aah! Honor and respect me more! Because I was preoccupied with the dragons, I couldn¡¯t use my authority at all. What a waste.¡± How vulgar after being called a sage, I¡¯m going to vomit. ¡°Dah¡± Nana, crawling on all fours, looked up at me, and called out. ¡°For now, I want to get down, can you lend me a hand?¡± ¡°Yes, please just wait a minute, okay?¡± Yuri-san set Jaja down next to Nana, and reached her hand out to me. I grabbed her hand and gently kicked the ceiling. ¡°Hup¡± My body floated without any resistance. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s so light. It feels so weird.¡± Yuri-san pulled me with a forceful single motion. I was taller and of course heavier. However, Yuri-san easily pulled my body with only one hand. With the other hand on Yuri-san¡¯s shoulder, I finally returned to the ground. It was very difficult to keep balance and it was a pain just to stand on both feet. Yuri-san was unable to watch me tottering dangerously so she drew me closer with even more strength. ¡°Yes, are you okay?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you, ha ha.¡± I was hugged by a senior. Yuri-san held her arms firmly around my waist so that I won¡¯t float up again. Hmmm, this is embarrassing. ¡°Well then, what are you going to do now?¡± I looked at Alba who was by my feet. ¡°That is a first time even for me. I wasn¡¯t expecting things to happen so quickly, even though I had imagined it. As expected, the twins are growing faster than I expected.¡± Alba looked at Jaja and Nana gently and emotionally. Certainly, I think their physical growth was quite fast. Anyway, they could already hold their heads up when they just hatched from the eggs. Flying was early, as well as sitting. At this pace they¡¯re going to be calling me papa soon. ¡°So, from now on, let¡¯s deal with it while verifying my hypothesis.¡± ¡°Verification, huh.¡± I wonder what it is, but it feels like they¡¯re lab rats. At present, we have to hear what this rat says. ¡°Let¡¯s start by looking at the spirits and confirming them.¡± ¡°Spirit?¡± I looked at Jaja who planted her butt on the ground and was looking up at me. ¡°Yes, the green spirit. You saw it before, right?¡± Alba delightfully told me. Chapter 83 - Papa’s How-to (3) ¡°See the spirit?¡± ¡°Yes, there is something you can see.¡± Is it that little guy in the shape of a butterfly clad in green light? But even if you say that, I haven¡¯t seen any spirits since what happened with Aoi¡¯s mother and Nana on the ranch. Even if I tried straining my eyes, nothing appeared. I had Aoi help me call out normal spirits and I couldn¡¯t see anything at all. Aoi can control the heavenly spirits, the butterflies clad in white light and related to wind, rain, and lightning, I haven¡¯t seen any other spirits. ¡°Is it those butterflies?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not necessarily a butterfly. Nobody has ever manifested or used that spirit, but my assumption is that it only imitated the heavenly spirit. It may come out in the form of a lizard, or it may come out in the form of a small fish, like a sea spirit. The common thing is green, a color that indicates the reason of life. That¡¯s very important.¡± ¡°Is the figure and color different depending on the spirit?¡± I sat with my legs crossed. I¡¯m getting used to this floating feeling. I am a little confident in my ability to adapt. I was sitting crossed legged while floating in the air. There was something like this in an old fighting game. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s completely different. White butterflies playing in the sky are the blessings of heaven. Red lizards running on the earth are the pride of the earth. The blue fish that travels in the depths of the ocean is the blessing of the sea. The spirits are usually in a space that is a bit out of sync with us, so it¡¯s a different ¡°channel¡±. The result of the actions of the spirits on different channels affects our dimension. Well, but that¡¯ll require a huge amount of spirits moving. ¡° ¡°It¡¯s complicated, huh.¡± ¡°You usually can¡¯t see them.¡± If you only needed that many words, why not just say that from the beginning? Hey, I ¡¯m the so-called idiot, you know? ¡°Manipulating spirits in different dimensions is the common special ability of dragon species. These girls¡¯ splendid horns show that their abilities are developing. When Aoi manipulates spirits, it shines, right?¡± Yeah, I somehow knew that. Aoi also said that. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s talk about the real issue at hand, the green spirits.¡± A spirit that emits green light. In Yule¡¯s case, a large quantity was produced from within my body and erased a giant Thunderball without a trace. In Nana¡¯s case, she manipulated birds, but they couldn¡¯t be seen, could they be flying around even now near Jaja? Jaja¡¯s horns have been emitting a faint light since a while ago, so they should be there. But why could I see it with Nana but not now? ¡°What is this reason of life?¡± It sounds like a word that junior high school students may be happy with. ¡°Heavens, the earth and the sea, if the spirits influence everything, it wouldn¡¯t be strange to have a spirit that affects us, right?¡± Well, now that you say it. ¡°But no one has ever seen it until now. Some demonic scholars in the olden days have advocated that theory, but theology had a strong influence then, so they were treated as crazy. The end result was that it was abandoned without further pursuit, but I secretly took over that research.¡± Okay, my head hearts? Theology? Demonic scholars? Research? ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°You really are an idiot huh. Even I don¡¯t know how much I should simplify it so that you can understand.¡± ¡°S-sorry.¡± I couldn¡¯t do anything but apologize. Damn, what he said is the truth, so I have to accept it. How irritating. ¡°Some of the demons were believers who worship the Creation God. They are extremely conservative demons, so they have little relation to other countries. I don¡¯t know the details, but I¡¯ve heard that they¡¯re originally intelligent people that studied God. That¡¯s Creation Theology. ¡° ¡°Oh?¡± Yuri-san, who was sitting next to the twins, gave a supplementary explanation. I still don¡¯t completely understand, but I¡¯ll pretend to understand it. ¡°I don¡¯t care about Creation Theology. The green spirit that you brought forth, yes, let¡¯s tentatively call it the ¡®Spirit of life¡¯.¡± ¡°It feels like something important, is it okay to say something I brought forth.¡± Isn¡¯t this a historic discovery? Is it good just here? ¡°It¡¯s okay, anyone who can use spirits besides dragons have to be blessed with talent and will not appear without long training. Currently, that theory is not highly regarded, there¡¯s also a lot that goes against this world¡¯s science. Besides¡­¡± ¡°Besides?¡± ¡°If this becomes public, then you can¡¯t live a normal life, because it¡¯s a spirit that only you can handle.¡± It is? What is this guy saying? ¡°Didn¡¯t I say? Something that is visible only to you.¡± ¡°Only me¡­ why?¡± I¡¯m just a normal high school student who¡¯s just a little sturdier and quicker to fight. I¡¯m not anything special or have any special upbringing. ¡°I told you about giving the human factor when you breastfeed the twins, right?¡± ¡°Ah, yeah. Once a day, to make up for the missing human part, right?¡± That¡¯s why I always sit with my back naked with Aoi every day. ¡°There is no reason why you can give to your twins but they can¡¯t give to you. That is, when you are breastfeeding, you get the dragon factors from the twins. And that¡¯s the condition to use that spirit.¡± Ah, eh? ¡°The amount given by the twins should be very insignificant and should not have a big effect, but you also gained a great deal of it from their eggshells.¡± No, but that was¡­ ¡°That¡¯s what you did.¡± I just followed what you told me¡­ ¡°Yeah! I was imagining the situation now! Unless you could control that spirit, Jaja and Nana would have been in trouble!¡± I shuddered. Goosebumps, chills, and other uncomfortable things ran down my back. I felt terrified from the bottom of my heart from Alba Germain who was looking at me while letting out a delighted voice. The legendary rat sage, this little great dragon doctor was playing with all those who were there in that confused situation in the palm of his hand, has created this situation in the future. ¡°Come, let¡¯s begin the verification!¡± I, us¡­ How long have we been manipulated by this guy? Chapter 84 - Papa’s How-to (4) ¡°Yes, try to stick as close as possible.¡± Alba was on my right shoulder and hit my shoulder with his cane. Following those words, I raised Jaja carefully with Yuri-san¡¯s help. ¡°Au, ah.¡± Jaja, who didn¡¯t know what he¡¯s doing, happily clapped my face. My body now easily gets knocked off balance even with Jaja¡¯s weak strength due to the reduced gravity. Every time I was clapped, my head was shaken from right to left, and I felt sick. ¡°Oh, oh. Ja, Jaja! Stop, stop!¡± ¡°Ah! Dah!¡± It seems that the expression changes I made every time I get shaken is interesting and Jaja¡¯s hands are gradually using more strength. ¡°Yes, princess. Papa hurts.¡± Yuri-san stopped Jaja¡¯s right hand with her own. ¡°Woah¡­ ohhhh.¡± Air came back up from the lungs due to the swaying view, and at the same time the rising gastric juice left a bitter taste in my mouth. I have to swallow. Wow bitter¡­ ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°S-somehow.¡± This naughty princess really doesn¡¯t know how to hold back. Same with her biting habit, what¡¯s the best way to teach her to control it? The things I have to think about is increasing one after another. Let¡¯s talk to Aoi today. With Yule, both of them were caught up in their own thoughts and it came to the end without much discussion. I recently noticed that communication is very important. ¡°That¡¯s one of the tests. How to detect a spirit. When you saw the spirits in Tusk Crag, you were closer to a dragon because you ingested an eggshell. By no means did you obtain the full power of a dragon, but I thought in that state you could see the spirits.¡± Yup. That¡¯s for sure. I, with the horns, tail, and wings, was certainly not human at that time. I could clearly see the heavenly spirits that Aoi and Yule manipulated. ¡°At the ranch, you held Nana the whole time, right? Then that contact would have given you a dragon factor from Nana, meaning that you would have been in the state as you were at Tusk Crag. You can only match the Spirit Channel when you are in contact with the twins.¡± ¡°Is it fine just to touch them?¡± ¡°To be more certain, you should probably have direct contact with their head? Since the area around their horns is delicate, so it¡¯s best to touch the forehead.¡± ¡°Well then, Jaja? I¡¯m going to touch your forehead?¡± I asked for permission and pressed my forehead on hers. ¡°Uwah¡± Jaja looked straight at me with her glass marble-like eyes with a curious expression. It¡¯s beautiful. Nana usually has sleepy eyes, but her eyes are also beautiful. There are many differences, but these twins¡¯ eyes are similar to their mother, Aoi¡¯s. Aoi¡¯s is similar to Yule, the Dragoline family is a family of beautiful women. It was really good that they didn¡¯t have villain-like eyes like me. ¡°Just close your eyes like that and feel the air. Concentrate on the heat of Jaja¡¯s forehead.¡± I closed my eyes as Alba told me. The warmth of Jaja, whose body temperature is high, is really comfortable. When I put her to sleep, I feel like I¡¯m going to fall asleep first. Nana¡¯s like that too, but she grumbles when I try to put her to sleep. Since she¡¯s a mama-con, she doesn¡¯t like it unless it¡¯s Aoi. While thinking of such sadness, I felt the heat from Jaja¡¯s small forehead. The area I¡¯m in contact with is small, but the warmth that¡¯s being transmitted to my forehead is very pleasant. At this rate, I¡¯m going to take a nap, Nana too. ¡°You saw them pretty easily with Nana, right? Then it shouldn¡¯t be too difficult. Please open your eyes.¡± Oops. Now is not the time to be falling asleep. I removed my face from Jaja¡¯s forehead and slowly opened my eyes. ¡°Woah¡­¡± Amazing. What¡¯s amazing is how tightly packed they were. Green butterflies were crammed into the dining room. They didn¡¯t even have room to spread their wings, it was a bit pitiful. The butterflies were flying around Jaja as the center. A part of the group, dozens of them were clinging around the floating toys. ¡°Ah, I see. Does it only affect where the butterflies are?¡± I shifted my line of sight and look at the corridor. There were no butterflies in the corridor that could be seen from the opening. Is that why there is none by the landline? ¡°Wow, what is this?¡± Yuri looked around and sighed with exclamation. Huh? Can Yuri-san also see them? ¡°It was the same as when you were at Tusk Crag, but it seems that your perception is not synchronized with the spirit, it seems that the spirit is adjusting to this side¡¯s channel.¡± ¡°Which means?¡± ¡°¡­ It means that others can also see it when you can.¡± Please don¡¯t make that kind of face. I¡¯m trying my best, okay? ¡°But, the amount is amazing. It¡¯s a lot more than Nana¡¯s.¡± ¡°I guess it¡¯s an ability that needs a lot of spirits. Jaja is excited now so she seems fine, but it seems the fatigue is accumulating.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I looked at Jaja in a hurry. Ah, isn¡¯t her face kind of flushed? Was the reason her forehead was so hot was because she was getting a fever? ¡°Say that earlier! Yuri-san, could you please bring me a cold towel from the freezer?¡± ¡°So it wasn¡¯t just my imagination that her body temperature felt really high earlier high. Wait a minute, okay?¡± She laughs really easily, so her face flushes right away. Speaking of which, Nana slept better than usual on the way back from the ranch. Guh, I should have noticed. ¡°Sorry Jaja.¡± ¡°Ah! Dah!¡± Jaja cackled with laughter, breathing excitedly. Now that you mention it, she¡¯s sweating and her eyes are a little red. I¡¯m so useless. ¡°So let¡¯s quickly do it. Do you remember what happened at Tusk Crag?¡± Yuri-san wrapped the towel she brought with baby gauze and gently held it to Jaja¡¯s forehead. She disliked it a little, but eventually narrowed her eyes in comfort. ¡°Um, it¡¯s vague.¡± My memory is a bit fuzzy before and after Yule¡¯s thunder ball. I faintly remember of the strong light inside my body, and Jaja and Nana¡¯s roar. It was cute. ¡°You brought forth this spirit, the spirit of life, from inside your body. I don¡¯t know exactly what the principle is, so let¡¯s leave it for now. This time it¡¯s the exact opposite, you have to take it into your body from Jaja. ¡± ¡°Take in?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I think it¡¯s going to burden you, but now the load on Jaja is too heavy. That¡¯s something you won¡¯t allow, right?¡± ¡­Of course, that¡¯s the case, it¡¯s only natural for me to take Jaja¡¯s place if she¡¯s in pain. I feel that my feelings and actions are being driven towards the most favorable results for Alba. But there is no other choice. For now, I¡¯ll turn a blind eye. I will ask if there is no result. ¡°¡­What should I do?¡± Calm down and take deep breaths. I made eye contact with Jaja, and urged Alba. ¡°First, take a deep breath, calm down and focus on the spirits, even just a single one.¡± With that said, I looked at one of the butterflies floating in a group in front of me. It noticed my gaze and suddenly stopped its flapping wings. I took deep breaths without moving my eyes. Inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. ¡°Just like that, continue to focus on the spirit.¡± The green butterfly was looking at me. I don¡¯t know where its eyes are, I can¡¯t distinguish between the front and the back because it¡¯s a mass of light. But I could tell that it was watching me. ¡°If you are in the process of using the dragons¡¯ spirits, you should be able to move them with your gaze soon.¡± With my gaze? ¡°Try it, try looking to the right with just your eyes.¡± Like this? I shifted my eyes to the right, then the butterfly followed along at exactly the same speed. The butterfly always stayed in the center of my field of view. ¡°Okay, your spirit organs are working. Next, try extending your consciousness from the spirit to its surroundings.¡± From the spirit. Okay. Then, next is the surroundings¡­ Oh, it moved. Then how about the group above it. Okay, how about the one behind me? Reach¡­ alright! ¡°¡­ amazing. Nearly all of the spirits are under his control.¡± ¡°Shhh. Just a bit more¡­ how about that?¡± I interrupted Alba¡¯s voice and put the last group under my control. ¡°As expected¡­¡± ¡°Hm? What?¡± Alba¡¯s voice was unusually quiet. I couldn¡¯t hear it because I was concentrated. ¡°No, nothing. I just thought you are really reliable.¡± Really? ¡°For some reason, I get a bad feeling when you praise me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s terrible. I¡¯m the one who acknowledges you. So let¡¯s go to the last step. I¡¯ll have to do Nana once Jaja is done.¡± Wait, please? Let¡¯s finish it immediately and take a nap with papa! Looking at Jaja in my arms and Nana sitting at my feet once again fired me up. Chapter 85 - Papa’s How-to (5) ¡°Guhhh!¡± ¡°Endure it, just a little longer.¡± ¡°What should I do? Shall I wipe your sweat for the time being?¡± I wasn¡¯t responding to Alba¡¯s rebuke, but I was grinding my molars and mustering energy. Yuri-san hurriedly wiped the sweat on my forehead with a handkerchief in a fluster. Damn, if I let my mind wander, it¡¯ll be difficult to hold on to my consciousness. What I¡¯m doing right now is taking the spirits that Jaja is controlling into my body. I was gathering all the green spirits under my control in the faint ¡®light¡¯ that I can feel in the center of my body. In less than two minutes, after following Alba¡¯s directions, they¡¯re already almost gone. ¡°If my hypothesis is correct, this spirit came from you and was given to the twins little by little during breastfeeding and daily contact. For the twins, their existence is too strong. When the total amount they can take is exceeded, it is released as this special ¡®ability¡¯ along with an explosion of emotions.¡± Like I said, what are you saying! ¡°Sorry but I don¡¯t have any leeway! Can you explain it more clearly?¡± ¡°If you leave it as is, it¡¯ll soon happen again and they¡¯ll rampage.¡± Say that from the beginning! An explosion of emotion, strong feelings. In terms of emotions, is Nana sorrow and Jaja pleasure? So the spirits accumulate so much in their body that it overflows and is triggered by strong emotions? Eh? So does that mean I have to do this regularly? ¡°Au¡± Jaja was in my arms and made a strange expression. She had her right hand on my cheek and her left hand tightly grasping the clothes on my shoulder, looking very uneasy. Oh, poor thing. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s almost over, okay?¡± I tried to smile as much as possible. If I made a painful expression, my daughters will be scared. ¡°Dah¡± ¡°Ah, Nana, can you wait a bit?¡± Nana was at my feet looking up at me and was solidified. Don¡¯t worry papa won¡¯t lose to something like this. Even if I¡¯m riddled with wounds, but I have willpower. The green spirits jumped into me one after another under the control of my will. The momentum was tremendous, half of what I could see in the surrounding area was already gone. The floating toys that were tied up together have already fallen to the floor. My body has already regained its weight, and felt abnormally heavy due to the sudden return of gravity. Every time a spirit is taken in, my internal organs and a feeling of exhaustion beyond imagination kept growing. At the same time, the back of my eyes throbbed in pain. My dizzy view gave me a headache and made me feel sick. I¡¯m bracing my legs and somehow standing on my feet, but barely. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s almost over for Jaja. How is it?¡± ¡°I-it¡¯s diifcult.¡± ¡°Spirits are a collection of power in the first place. It¡¯s hard to take them in. If you liken the spirits to air, it¡¯s the same as a balloon forcibly taking in air from outside. If you weren¡¯t sturdy, you would¡¯ve exploded and fainted a long time ago.¡± Don¡¯t say such a scary thing now¡­ Why does everything this guy does make him seem like a scammer? I wanted to complain about the fluffy gray scammer rat, but I didn¡¯t have the energy to do so. ¡°Is Jaja already okay?¡± The spirits were no longer visible in the dining room. Even what was inside Jaja¡¯s small body, has now almost disappeared. Okay, that¡¯s good. Nana is next. If it¡¯s this painful every time I do this, I might as well do it all in one go. ¡°Yuri-san, can I leave Jaja to you?¡± ¡°Y-yeah. Come, Jaja-chan.¡± Jaja¡¯s weight left my arms. I closed my eyes and felt around looking for the sofa. ¡°I should have sat down.¡± That said, I was floating up until now, so it would have been hard to sit down. I felt the unique fluffy sensation with my palm and drew my body closer. When I managed to sit on the sofa, I sunk my head deep into the headrest. Ahh, I¡¯m going to fall asleep at this rate. ¡°¡­ No, I have to do Nana.¡± I pumped myself up and stood up. I reached out to Nana, who was still sitting on the floor and looking at me. ¡°Come, Nana.¡± ¡°Au¡± She¡¯s still not as good as Jaja, but Nana has been getting better at flying recently. She wobbled as she floated up and unsteadily approached me. ¡°Ah, ah!¡± Nana reached her hands out to me as she flapped her wings. It is a sight that you will want to provide help no matter how many times you see it. She finally reached my knees and jumped into my chest. ¡°Dah¡± ¡°Yes, good girl.¡± ¡°Au¡± I softened the blow and caught her with my chest. Even when she Aoi holds her, Nana has a habit of nuzzling her face on her chest. I love that gesture because it tickles my desire to protect her. In Jaja¡¯s case, she¡¯ll bite. It¡¯s cute but it hurts. ¡°Nana¡¯s body has very few spirits compared to Jaja. I think it depends on how much they¡¯re normally in contact with you.¡± Does that mean we have too much skinship? That¡¯s so cruel. ¡°No, as long as you gather the spirits regularly, you can fawn on them. They have to get the human factor from you anyway.¡± I see, I have to do this every few days. Shit, bring it on idiot. If you want to play with Jaja and Nana, this is nothing. ¡°You really are an idiot huh. I¡¯ve said many times but you¡¯re dependable.¡± Ah, you¡¯re not praising me, are you? ¡°Now let¡¯s quickly finish it up. I have to return to that child too.¡± To the dragon who we asked to be a bodyguard? ¡°And how long are you going to arrive?¡± ¡°Hmm. It¡¯s a bit noisy in Kansai. I¡¯m going to take a little detour, so it¡¯s about two weeks?¡± So around June? ¡°I see. I¡¯ll make sure to prepare.¡± With that said, I closed my eyes. I sensed and caught the spirits in Nana¡¯s body with a sense that is hard to explain. ¡°Ah¡± ¡°Oh, leave it to papa.¡± I opened my eyes and peered into hers. Beautiful eyes. My favorite eyes. Then I looked at Jaja who was being carried by Yuri-san. She seems to be tired, and is quickly nodding off. ¡°Jaja is already sleeping, shall we also take a nap, Nana?¡± ¡°Dah¡± Listening to Nana¡¯s response, I started manipulating the spirits. Chapter 86 - Thank You (EP) I was flying straight in the dusk sky, carrying the bag that I just bought. Because I was flying at a high altitude so high that no one can see, I asked the spirits to clad warm air around my body. Yunno-san and Ichika-san¡¯s homes were in different directions, so they should have boarded the bus after we parted. I also got on the bus for a while, but I was impatient so I got off on the way and flew. I have to keep it secret. I hurried home while passing through clouds to avoid air current. It was just past 18:00, but I want to return early and see the twins¡¯ faces, and I want to meet Kunpei-san. ¡­No, actually, I think it¡¯ll take a bit of courage to see that person¡¯s face. Ichika-san taught me the expression of love for humans and beastmen. I didn¡¯t think it was such a thick and stick thing that melted together. I desired skinship from the bottom of my heart with Kunpei-san, and that was something even more wonderful, but very embarrassing. Yunno was angry and her face turned bright red, but I see. That is not something you look at in a place with many people. Ichika-san, who took the initiative to show the video, knew that she was actually quite shy. To lay everything bare and entrusting your body to that person. What an ideal thing. I want to do it. If possible, immediately after returning. There were a lot of things I didn¡¯t understand even when I watched the video, but it¡¯s an act that would easily bewitch me. Since there are no male dragons, there¡¯s no one I could entrust with my body other than my mother. That¡¯s why I never thought about love. A long-standing mystery that has been clouded over in dramas and movies. The answer was certainly something that had to be kept secret. I understand. You can¡¯t do something like that unless it¡¯s with someone you want to entrust everything to. I entrust all of me to that person that I long for and trust. Just thinking about it made my head boil. But I¡¯m ashamed. My body is the same as my mother, and various places are not growing. I didn¡¯t mind my mother, but when I saw other dragons, there were many differences. What was especially noticeable was the chest. How cruel. All the other older sisters I met when I was young, and all the other dragons, had more ample breasts than I did. I didn¡¯t think it was so enviable when I was a kid, but as I grew up I was worried that my growth would be incomplete and I was worried. Right now, more importantly, Kunpei-san. In the videos and magazines of humans I saw, the size of the breast seems to be directly correlated with the attractiveness of women. Yunno-san is big. That¡¯s a foul. How vexing. Unfortunately, Yunno-san is an attractive person. Intelligent, thoughtful, gentle and kind. My ideal female image is close to Yunno-san. So I have to work harder than that person. If I¡¯m careless, Kunpei-san will be taken away. That devilish chest has at least that much destructive power. My breasts have grown a little larger as breast milk comes out. But this is the kind of increase where it wouldn¡¯t be strange even if it is called a measurement error. But since it isn¡¯t growth, it will return to how it was. If that¡¯s the case, this is a chance. I need to satisfy Kunpei-san while my chest¡¯s fighting strength is still high. The west sky is getting darker, the red from the setting sun and the dark blue of the night sky were beginning to mix. A time when I miss home. I managed to control my deviating feeling and flew in the sky, and soon my beloved home came into view. The red roof was illuminated by the setting sun and was dyed orange. Shouhei-san was surely preparing dinner in the house, and Kunpei-san was playing with Jaja and Nana. Father-in-law will come back soon, so I also have to help with various stuff. To go back home. Where there are people waiting. What a wonderful thing! If I say ¡°I¡¯m home¡±, they¡¯ll say ¡°Welcome home¡±. Jaja and Nana will probably come into the dining room and look at me with their lovely smiles. Nana will probably fly up dangerously and jump into my chest. I will hug Nana gently, and then Kunpei-san will bring Jaja, hugging her. After that, I¡¯ll act a bit like a spoiled child with Kunpei-san. No, to my heart¡¯s content. I¡¯ll follow my hot heart. I landed in the forest to the back, thank the spirits and release their bond. I detoured to the road and vigilantly looked around the surroundings. It¡¯s okay. I wasn¡¯t seen by anyone. I opened the door and entered. ¡°I¡¯m home!¡± I opened the door and shouted with a loud voice. The sound of tapping slippers approached, and Shouhei came out of the dining room. ¡°Welcome home, Aoi-neechan¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m home.¡± Yup. I¡¯m glad. I took off my shoes, and put down my bags. ¡°The kids and nii-chan are sleeping, so be quiet, okay?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Huh? It¡¯s unusual for them to be asleep at this time. ¡°It seems like it was difficult today. Yuri-san was still here a while ago.¡± Did something happen? ¡°Yuri-san said to ask them when they wake up. Let them sleep now, because they¡¯re all fast asleep.¡± ¡°Okay, in the room?¡± ¡°No, on the sofa.¡± Shouhei-san, wearing the yellow apron, said so and went back to the kitchen. I also enter the dining room, taking care not to make any noise with my bags. Legs were protruding from the edge of the three-seat sofa. When I got closer and took a look, Kunpei-san was on the outside and sleeping with the twins together. Someone wrapping half of his body with a blanket. When they have pleasant dreams, especially Jaja, they float, so both of them were held down by Kunpei-san¡¯s arms. Kunpei-san who learned how much strength to use so as not to be painful is already a professional. I looked at their faces and the twins seem to be sleeping more comfortably than usual. Kunpei-san must have been really tired because he was drooling and fast asleep. I don¡¯t know what happened, but I¡¯m sure he worked hard again. Yup. I¡¯m a little disappointed that I couldn¡¯t hear them say ¡°Welcome home¡±. I looked around restlessly and made sure that Shouhei-san was not looking this way and that there were no other people. Ok, it¡¯s fine. I was kneeling on the floor next to the sofa behind Kunpei-san. I slowly stooped over and brought my mouth to his ears. ¡°¡­ Thank you for today, and¡­¡± I resolved myself and gently kissed his cheeks. Ah, I may have touched the corners of his mouth a little. It¡¯s okay, right? You¡¯re not awake, right? My lips, which was full of gratitude, was very hot. The comfort spreads throughout my whole body, and felt like my chest would burst with euphoria. I couldn¡¯t tell how much time had passed. I reluctantly parted my lips from Knpei-san¡¯s cheek. If time stops as it is, I will do something terrible. I moved my face away, but my tongue continued resisting and I ended up licked his cheeks. It¡¯s a little different than when my mother kissed my forehead on the nights she left from before. ¡°Heeeh¡± There was a voice. ¡°Aoi-chan, how bold.¡± When I looked up, my father-in-law was watching me from the entrance of the dining room while grinning. ¡°U-um.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine to be on good terms. Next time, do it when Kunpei is awake. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be interestin¡­ he¡¯ll be delighted.¡± My face quickly became hot. My thoughts were in disorder and sweat began pouring out. ¡°Ah, this is! It¡¯s not what you think!¡± ¡°No, no, I saw all of it. Aoi-chan happily kissed this guy! Then in the end, licked his cheeks. Should I sleep early tonight?¡± ¡°F-father-in-law! Please forget it!¡± Paying no attention to my screams, my father-in-law loosened his tie and went up the stairs while laughing. Chapter 87 - The Ones Who Aim For Paradise ¡°What about Seijitsu-aniki?¡± ¡°A meeting! He said he¡¯s not eating!¡± In the training room, Nanairo-aneki was by herself. The large dumbbell made a thudding noise, Nanairo-aneki was in the middle of weight training. It¡¯s always amazing to see. She¡¯s doing sit-ups with a calm face while holding one dumbbell in each hand that were as large as gym bags. Two weeks after returning from the hideout, Seijitsu-aniki seems to be busy every day. Big brother is also handling almost all of the questioning from the bigshots of the association. We have a lot of spare time because we can¡¯t dive into the dungeon, our main source of income. We¡¯re training every day in the training room created in the basement of the hideout. We¡¯re becoming degenerates. Even if we want to go shopping, there are reporters who are following the incident that we did, so we can¡¯t get out. No, usually we wouldn¡¯t hold back against those types of people, but this we were wrong, so we decided not to do anything unnecessary. He said he paid a fine as punishment to the association, but he didn¡¯t say how much it was. It was probably a huge amount¡­ I can see right through my Aniki. That¡¯s why I think he¡¯s single-handedly taking the scoldings from the upper echelon of the association. ¡­ That¡¯s, I¡¯m worried. If I didn¡¯t make that mistake and create that uproar, then we wouldn¡¯t have been caught. We also wouldn¡¯t have a debt to the association or spend our free time in the hideout. I have to do it right this time. We already received a new request from the association. It¡¯s bothersome, behind the scenes work. We can¡¯t dive into dungeons for another four months, so we¡¯re going back to that town under the pretext of aiding the main forces. ¡°Large-scale survey team, huh.¡± I sat with my back against the wall and looked at my tablet. The data only included the schedule, the number of people, and a simplification of the main points. What kind of investigation is going to be done on such an exhausted dungeon? If the legends and literature are right, the dragon should be long gone. We are going to the dungeon with doubt. Naturally, dragons have been investigated as much as possible. It¡¯s not likely that the dragon who just laid eggs and had them targeted, would still be at the top of that dungeon. And it¡¯s such a low-level dungeon. Previous hunters have almost exhausted it. It is strange that no dragon nest was ever found. ¡°You know about the details, right Aneki?¡± I questioned Nanairo-aneki who continued with her ab workout. Aneki stopped briefly and looked at me with a stunned face. ¡°I can¡¯t help it if Gasara is worried! Aniki knows the details, so isn¡¯t that enough!¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried? What are we doing in that town if we can¡¯t dive into the dungeon? Can¡¯t you give me some guidance?¡± ¡°I just do what I can do! It¡¯s unfortunate I can¡¯t rampage, but it¡¯s fine if I leave it to Aniki!¡± She said that and started her ab workout again. Really, Nanairo-aneki is really in love with Aniki. They should just hurry up and get married quickly. They¡¯ve been like that ever since they picked me up as an orphan. It¡¯s a strange relationship. What¡¯s it been, almost 12 years since they picked me up? I¡¯ve continued to chase after that back every day with all my might, and the months and years have passed quickly. I remembered what my Aniki once said. ¡°I want it so that we can laugh and live each day. We¡¯ll find such a paradise first, then others will follow from behind, right?¡± Those words struck deep into my chest. Am I strong enough to be able to laugh as he said? The tablet screen displays a window with a pop sound. It was an incoming email. The sender was Seijitsu-aniki. ¡°We¡¯re leaving tonight. Be prepared.¡± In the training room, everything was still as usual and the sound of the dumbbells was still echoing. Chapter 88 - Blinding Lunch Break (1) The lunch bell began ringing, and everyone left the classroom one after another. Speaking of which, I was still lying on my desk and couldn¡¯t move. Recently, Aoi has gotten a lot more intimate. No, she¡¯s been pretty defenseless around me for a long time, but I feel like it has been intentional ever since the day she returned from shopping. For example, before, if we sat side by side on the dining room sofa, there were times where she would lean on me unconsciously. Now, as soon as she sits down next to me, she places her feet on my knees and her head on my shoulders. She sticks her small breasts on me and glances up with a passionate fluttering gaze. Furthermore, if I was sitting on a chair, she would cling onto me from behind, or if I was lying on the bed, she would quietly cover me. Truth be told, it¡¯s erotic. Even though I can¡¯t read the atmosphere and I¡¯m ignorant of a woman¡¯s heart, I can realize that I¡¯m being seduced. It¡¯s easy to imagine that Saeki breathed something into her since that shopping day. That little devilish kitten. I¡¯ll interrogate you next time we meet. That¡¯s why my mental fatigue is currently at its peak. If you¡¯re a man, and a woman¡¯s advances, you know the rest¡­ If you are seduced, I know that you only need to agree, but for some reason, I don¡¯t feel like it. First, there¡¯s Jaja and Nana. While at home, the twins are always near me. Of course, we¡¯re raising them. So far we have split the roles in our household in the following way, dad is working to earn money, Shouhei prepares the meals, and I was in charge of cleaning, washing, and other miscellaneous chores. Honestly speaking, Shouhei, a housework ironman, is easily much better at cleaning and washing ,and could be done faster than me, but then I would lose my job. I don¡¯t want to get a useless label as the eldest son. Even so, my brother¡¯s specs are too high and my presence is growing thin. I¡¯ve maintained balance for many years because I took charge of those jobs. Now Aoi takes the initiative in cleaning and washing instead of me. We didn¡¯t particularly care, but Aoi was very concerned that her and the twins were a burden on our family. So she¡¯s all fired up to do all the small things that she can do. So what does that mean? I have nothing to do. It¡¯s not like I can say to Aoi, who is doing her best, ¡°I don¡¯t want you to do anything because my position is in danger.¡± If I said such a thing, I¡¯ll be a terrible little man. Although I¡¯m desperately defending the cleaning of the bath. So naturally, taking care of the twins became my job. So, no matter how passionately Aoi appeals, Jaja or Nana is always nearby. I can¡¯t act on my worldly desires next to my daughters! I can¡¯t to that whether the twins are awake or asleep. And secondly, there¡¯s my family! Aoi has been coming on to me no matter where she is, so naturally, dad and Shouhei have witnessed it. That old man was laughing at me while grinning like something¡¯s funny, so I¡¯m getting pissed. What¡¯s sad is that my understanding brother, is paying too much attention to my needs. Whether it be when he¡¯s watching TV or drinking tea, he would get up quietly and disappear into his room. Shouhei? I¡¯d like you to help your brother, if anything. At night, he tries to sleep early, and recently he started wearing earphones to sleep. Where did you learn such knowledge? It¡¯s still too early. And our room is close to our father¡¯s room, even though there is one empty room in between. If he heard that kind of noise, he¡¯ll surely make some snide remarks with a nasty smile the next day. I can¡¯t stand that. And lastly, my image of Aoi is of a mother. Aoi taking care of the twins is beautiful. Her youthful appearance, her gentle smile, she gives off a kind of divine feeling. I have some resistance to having wicked thoughts about such an Aoi. I know I¡¯m bad for having too much fantasies about women. But, aren¡¯t ¡®mother¡¯s¡¯ a beautiful existence? Shouhei and I both are self aware mother-cons. That¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of. Our dead mother was a gentle and strong person. We brothers and our father loved our mother. If we could meet again, we¡¯ll surely be unbecoming and crying while acting like spoiled kids. Maybe that¡¯s why I hold special feelings for a ¡®mother¡¯. I¡¯m sorry for Aoi, but it¡¯s a deep-rooted problem. Our mom passed away 7 years ago. It can¡¯t be fixed in such a short time. And I¡¯m getting exhausted. It¡¯s puberty. I¡¯m a boy! It doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t react to the beautiful girl in front of me! Jaja and Nana¡¯s night crying has gotten better than before because they play as much as possible in the day, but they are still going on. Every morning Jaja cries and appeals to me like she¡¯s saying, ¡°Daddy! Don¡¯t go!¡±. I have to use all my strength to endure, but my spirit is being whittled down. Am I going to be okay? ¡°Aniki! What do you want to buy today?¡± ¡­ It came. I was lying on the desk as I slowly sat up and searched for the voice. He stood right next to my seat and looked at me with a huge smile. ¡°¡­ hey¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Not yes! I sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t remember how many times this is, but I don¡¯t want to do this every time lunch comes around.¡± I bring Shouhei¡¯s delicious lunch every day. Yet you¡¯re always watching. ¡°Yes! Because you might change your mind! Aniki!¡± ¡°Stop calling me Aniki!¡± This guy. This awfully short guy with a pompadour. Kusaka Makio, my self-proclaimed underling. This guy is another reason for why I¡¯m so tired. Chapter 89 - Blinding Lunch Break (2) ¡°Because I¡¯m your underling!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not your Aniki, I don¡¯t need a younger brother!¡± Kusaka who had a small build yet was very pushy, looked at me with glittering eyes. His eyes shone of genuine admiration, unlike ones of those who were trying to receive the leftovers in the city where I once lived. That¡¯s why I can not strongly refuse. Let¡¯s recollect why this happened. That day when I first came to this high school, at that time. ¡ó¡ó¡ó¡ó¡ó¡ó¡ó¡ó¡ó¡ó¡ó¡ó¡ó¡ó¡ó¡ó¡ó¡ó¡ó¡ó ¡°I-I moved to this town last month. Kazamachi Kunpei Festival! Thank you!¡± I vigorously fumbled my words. What festival? A music festival? Is it a Kazamachi only festival being held? I was too nervous and made a mistake. What am I doing! I looked over the classroom. The classroom was sloped and seat were on different levels, often seen in recent schools. Because there are birds with big wings and beastmen with large physiques, if you don¡¯t make it sloped, the people sitting behind will not be able to see the blackboard. Everyone looks at me blankly. Although I¡¯m a transfer student, today is the new semester of the new school year. Because the students other than me have already spent a year at this school, they may know each other to some extent even though the classes have changed. Some students immediately started secretly chatting with the students sitting in the seats next to or in front of them. I sat down as if nothing happened. Yes, nothing happened. I didn¡¯t stupidly fumble over what should have been the memorable first words of my new life. I pretended to be calm. The boy in the last row, sitting behind me, stood up and introduced himself normally. It was simpler and more humorous than mine. ¡°This year I will be a regular in the soccer club! Girls! Now¡¯s your chance!?¡± ¡°Are you an idiot?¡± ¡°Do your best!¡± The classroom where men¡¯s rows and girls¡¯ rows are arranged alternately exploded in laughter. My blunder from earlier already disappeared and I hardly remember. Huh, isn¡¯t it strange? I thought that transfer students would be more sought after? Like, ¡®Where did you come from?¡¯, or ¡®What club activities do you do?¡¯ ¡°¡­ Hey, is Kazamachi-kun a delinquent?¡± ¡°Definitely, just look at his fierce eyes.¡± ¡°How big¡­ you¡¯re going to get ready to be extorted, right?¡± ¡°Even though I¡¯m finally in the same class as Nura-chan, why¡­?¡± ¡°Cut it out, he might mind it.¡± My ears are still as good as ever? I heard things about me come in at a mad pace. Thank you very much for taking me into consideration, it¡¯s none of your business. I continued listening to my new classmates¡¯ self-introductions without changing my expression. My mind was a mess. If I was alone in this classroom, I¡¯ll want to sprawl out on the floor and rampage. Kazamachi! Kunpei! I¡¯m a complete idiot! Well, calm down. Let¡¯s be calm at such times. I erased my feelings and look around the classroom again. Nothing. This high school seems to be one of the few dozen schools nationwide that has adopted an exchange student system with demons. According to a talk I had with Officer Doggy in advance, quite a few demons have come to this country to study culture, technology, and science, and to communicate with other races. This school is one of those who accept such demons. From what I can see, there are two such people in this class. A girl with dark skin and bat wings, who had her eyes closed, and a self-important boy, who was leaning back with his legs up, with splendid horns and pure white wings. The city where I lived before was large, but I had never seen a demon before. I see, now I understand why Aoi won¡¯t be found out if she pretends to be a demon. I saw quite a few demons during school and at the opening ceremony, but there was no uniformity. Speaking of their appearance, they were all different, with or without wings, feathers, and horns, their shapes, sizes, skin color, and physiques. Everything was different. Speaking of the demon nations, weren¡¯t they divided quite minutely? The sphere continent. A continent where demons live to the west of Australia. There were many demon countries on that continent nearly completely covered by a dome-shaped earth wall. The most famous is one is a country called Francion. Sphere, a magic tool that¡¯s a special crystal with language magic inside, originated from there. It was a big hit worldwide. Depending on the size of the magic tool, the language is automatically translated within the range of the magical tool, and is very actively used in public facilities, airports, companies, and school facilities. It was a major invention of the century that allowed you to easily communicate with foreigners of different languages. Although it is not a cheap magic tool, there is also ones aimed for households. Still, it¡¯s not a price that can be readily afforded. Thanks to this sphere, the number of people learning languages ??in other countries has increased significantly. Of course in this high school as well, it¡¯s installed in places like the gymnasium and the cafeteria. It isn¡¯t in classrooms as they encourage students to voluntarily engage in basic communication. It¡¯s like that nationwide. I listened over and over to the introductions of my classmates. Since I¡¯ll be in their care for one year. I might even be able to greet some of them, maybe¡­ Naturally, there are also many beastmen. Some high schools seem to have completely separate beastmen from humans, but I haven¡¯t seen it because it¡¯s the subject of criticism. A boy from the cat tribe sits in front of me. Who¡¯s that next to him, I¡¯ve never seen ears like that. It¡¯s dog-like but considerably larger. I¡¯ll try asking later if I have the courage. When I was secretly looking at my classmates like this, I made eye contact with a male student. The tiny boy in front of the teacher¡¯s desk, that is a boy, right? A well-featured face with shoulder-length chestnut color hair. A boy who is not invisible to girls looked at me with an astonished expression. What¡¯s with that guy? Soon the self-introduction for the row of girls was over, and it was the small boy¡¯s turn. But the boy continued to stare at me and didn¡¯t stand up. His mouth was half-open and his eyes were wide open, it was honestly scary. ¡°Kusaka, hey Kusaka. It¡¯s your turn.¡± The teacher in charge of history, the homeroom teacher, called the small boy. Um, teacher, what¡¯s your name? ¡°Hahahaha, yes! Uwahhh!¡± The small boy, called Kusaka, turned around in a panic and quickly stood up. His desk fell over because he was too vigorous. ¡°Maki, you¡¯re too flustered!¡± ¡°Makio, are you nervous?¡± ¡°Maki-chan, deep breath! Take a deep breath!¡± Voices of jeering and encouragement were thrown at Kusaka. More than half of those were girls¡¯ voices. I kind of understand, with that appearance and mascot-like feel, he would be popular with girls. ¡°Are you okay?¡± A long-haired, girl from the cat tribe wearing glasses next to him, help him pick up his fallen desk. ¡°I¡¯m fine, thanks, Lina-chan.¡± ¡°Please calm down, Makio-kun.¡± ¡°U-un.¡± After putting his desk back up, he looked back. His line of sight was still concentrated on me. ¡­ I wonder if I scared someone with my appearance again. I¡¯m sad. I have no such intentions. ¡°U-um! Kusaka! I¡¯m Kusaka Makio! Do you remember me?¡± ¡°Hah?¡± Why are you speaking to me when you¡¯re doing self-introductions? ¡°U-um! You¡¯re Rising Carp-san, right!¡± ¡°Eh!?¡± ¡°Haa!?¡± Shouts rang from around. Eh? Huh? ¡°Famous for Boy¡¯s Day Rising Carp! Kazamachi Kunpei-san, right!?¡± ¡°O-oi!¡± Wait, wait, wait! ¡°Why do you know that name!¡± I screamed out reflexively. ¡°Ah! I¡¯m the older brother of Kusaka Hina who you helped at that child¡¯s party three years ago! Thank you for helping my little sister! Rising Carp-san!¡± The little boy bowed deeply while saying the words I hated most. Chapter 90 - Blinding Lunch Break (3) Yes, everything started to go amiss because of what Kusaka said. No, I wasn¡¯t excluded from the class because of my failed self-introduction. Probably. Otherwise, I can¡¯t recover. That, ¡®Boy¡¯s Day Celebration¡¯s Rising Carp¡¯ is my nickname. It¡¯s an unpleasant-sounding word. I was involved in pointless disputes, and people avoided me. Anyways, nothing good came of it. I was first called by that name three years ago. May 5th, when I was in my second year of middle school. It was exactly during the Boy¡¯s Day Celebration, Children¡¯s Day. It was around the time when my bad reputation from elementary school began to spread and impressions of me in the neighborhood gradually got worse. Because of Shouhei¡¯s pestering, I helped out with a neighborhood association event called ¡°Children¡¯s Day Bazaar¡±. It wasn¡¯t a particularly big event. It was where they brought in unused items for sale using the national holiday, Children¡¯s Day, as a pretext. It was mainly about the carp streamers and serving Kashiwamochi or Chimaki. It is a light and cozy event where children from the nursery school and kindergarten in the neighborhood make carp streamers by themselves, and the seniors decorate the park, playing pop music and playing together. The Kazamachi family also took about a week to prepare. Although my father couldn¡¯t attend because of work, he enjoyed the event by making a carp streamer and a newspaper helmet with Shouhei. On the day of the event, Shouhei looked embarrassed, but he was having a lot of fun together with his friends at school, and I remember I was happy seeing that. The newspaper helmet made for Shouhei was very well received, and all the other children wanted one as well. The incident happened at that time. A group of drunk delinquents suddenly barged into the venue. The venue was filled with a dark mood, with them picking fights with customers, hitting on girls, and shouting abuse at the parents. I walked around the venue trying to evacuate the small children and heard a girl crying. A cute girl with chestnut-colored hair, about the same age as Shouhei, had her carp streamer trampled on by one of the delinquents. I hurriedly rushed over and picked up the girl, and opposed the delinquent. It would have been nice if I stopped here. ¡°Adults should act their age and don¡¯t snatch children¡¯s things!¡± I¡¯m sure I said something like that. At that time, I was taller than a typical middle school student and often seen as much older. ¡°Haaah!? Which high school are you from!? Who the hell do you think you are!!¡± And with those third-rate villainous remarks, the delinquents began to gather in the surroundings and started to pick a fight. I was seething with anger, so I entrusted the girl to a nearby adult and bought the fight at a splendidly cheap price. It propagated through the delinquent network, at first there were about 7 people then eventually grew up to about 15 people. I immediately realized the disadvantage I had due to their numbers, so I used the nearby metal pole with the carp streamers as a weapon. My bad habit exploded here. Yes, I went overboard. ¡°Apologize to the children!¡± ¡°S-sorry! I¡¯m so sorry!¡± I beat the fallen delinquents until they couldn¡¯t stand, chased them away until they cried, and even stomped on the ones that lowered their heads. The children saw the scene and cried, and because of that voice, I finally realized that I had made a mess of things. What remained was a group of sobbing delinquents, and the carp streamers and I, which were both stained with my blood and the blood of the delinquents. It was a painting of Hell. Probably traumatic. Shouhei sighed with astonishment when he saw me, and the adults hid their children behind their backs. And like that, a demon called ¡°Boy¡¯s Day Celebration¡¯s Rising Carp¡± was born. The infamy quickly spread to the bad guys in the vicinity, and fights with people who were prideful of their own strength or seniors who didn¡¯t like that name and the like began. I was surrounded with attacks, ambushes, threats, blackmails, and extortion. That was before I moved, and I could finally relax because I came to a place where I people didn¡¯t know about my nickname, but this bastard¡­ ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Aniki.¡± ¡°¡­ nothing, ya goddamn idiot.¡± I opened the bento Shouhei made and ate it sitting on an unpopular bench next to the school building. It¡¯s a place where there isn¡¯t much sunlight. It was the gap between the club building and the school building. The asphalt was not leveled well, and it is dusty. If you were to ask why I was having lunch in such a terrible place, it was mainly because of Kusaka, who was currently opening a fancy pink lunch box in front of me. The day after I introduced myself, he asked me with gleaming eyes, ¡°Please make me your underling!¡± I firmly refused, but he did not give up, and at the beginning of this month, I don¡¯t know what he was thinking but he dyed his hair blond and flabbergasted everyone. From last week onward, he started styling his hair into a pompadour, modified the school uniform, and even wore baggy delinquent pants. He¡¯s completely treating me as a delinquent¡­ The girl I helped that day seemed to be this guy¡¯s younger sister, and it seems Kusaka was also there. ¡°Even though Hina was crying, I couldn¡¯t do anything, but you helped. The big brother who appeared at that time was a great man! I¡¯ve always been thinking that I should be a man who is just and strong like him! And then Aniki transferred to this school! This is a chance! Aniki! Please, make me a righteous villain!¡± ¡°I ain¡¯t a villain, and I don¡¯t understand the meaning of a righteous villain, so stop coming here.¡± ¡°Usu!¡± ¡°Stop saying that! Do you really understand!¡± We continue having that kind of back and forth. If it¡¯s just willpower, this guy¡¯s definitely better than me. Many classmates were worried about Kusaka who was aiming to be a ¡®righteous villain¡¯. During this time, Lina, the catgirl with glasses, Kusaka¡¯s childhood friend, the class chairman, shouted at me with a red face while trembling, ¡°Don¡¯t drag Makio-kun down a bad path! Kusaka seems to be a mascot for the entire grade, not just the class, and alas, I was established as someone who was a bad influence on Maki-chan. The boys in the class were afraid and didn¡¯t approach, and the girls turned a cold shoulder adding insult to injury. If I ate lunch in the classroom with Kusaka, who hangs around me all the time, I wouldn¡¯t be able to stand the gazes. Apparently, the name ¡®Rising carp¡¯ was even well known in this town, they didn¡¯t know my appearance but knew about my wrongdoings. ¡°Aniki, there¡¯s cheese in today¡¯s tamagoyaki.¡± ¡°Yup¡± ¡°Today¡¯s lunch was made by Hina.¡± ¡°Yup¡± ¡°So, which high school are we gonna attack first?¡± ¡°Yup¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t manufacturing famous around here? I¡¯ve heard that there¡¯s an amazing number of delinquents.¡± ¡°Yup¡± ¡°Are you listening?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± I¡¯ve had enough of this. Ah, I want to go home early and play with the twins. There was no hope for school anymore, and I can¡¯t relax at home because of Aoi. My only solace is Jaja and Nana¡¯s smiles. How did this happen¡­ Chapter 91 - Blinding Lunch Break (4) I took the packed lunch box that I completely finished and went up the stairs. Kusaka followed quickly from behind, his rhythmic footsteps echoing around me. ¡°I always think it, but Aniki eats really fast huh.¡± ¡°Ahh¡± Not really, it¡¯s not that I eat particularly fast, it¡¯s only because you¡¯re here. Someone keeps talking about topics I don¡¯t like next to me when I was enjoying Shouhei¡¯s delicious handmade bento, so I just want to quickly finish and go back to sleep at my desk. ¡°Anyways, continuing from what I mentioned earlier. Which high school¡¯s delinquents do you want to start from?¡± ¡°Look¡­¡± What is with this convenient misunderstanding? In Kusaka¡¯s mind, I was like ¡°A solitary, taciturn, executioner who secretly punishes unscrupulous villains¡±. Like a dark hero. ¡°It¡¯s feeling ridiculous to correct you every single time, but I¡¯ll say it again. I don¡¯t like fighting, and I will never start a fight. I¡¯m a gentle person who wants to spend everyday peacefully.¡± Even if I couldn¡¯t do that. Of course, I understand that my current circumstances are not normal and I have a lot of regrets, but I¡¯m satisfied. Even in the past fights, I have suffered the consequences. Therefore, when I moved to this town, I swore to myself to not fight if possible. ¡°Yes! I understand! It¡¯s exactly as you say!¡± ¡°Are you actually make fun of me?¡± He definitely doesn¡¯t understand, I could tell from his glittering eyes. I climbed the stairs and arrived on the third floor, the topmost floor, of the main building, where the second-year classroom was. Lunch break was only around halfway through, so there were still many students in the corridor talk to each other and having fun together. I held my bento underneath my armpit, put both hands in my pockets, and walked down the corridor. ¡°¡­ We¡¯re being looked at, huh.¡± When they see me, the student¡¯s expressions changes. Some had frightened and some had odd gazes. They had various intentions, but most students we passed by were looking at me and Kusaka. ¡°Aniki stands out.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± A tall man with evil-looking eyes, and a shortie with a blonde pompadour wearing a modified school uniform. The very picture of a bizarre combination. Of course it will attract a lot of attention. ¡°By the way, please meet my sister some time. She¡¯s timid and withdrawn, but she said herself that she would like to thank you for that day. She was also taken care of by your younger brother.¡± ¡°Shouhei?¡± Ah, that¡¯s right. At the bazaar, did I initially leave the crying girl to Shouhei? ¡°Aside from that, it¡¯s not something to say thank you for. The fact is that I was the one who was pinned down by the cops who came after.¡± I was thought to be a violent criminal that until a lot of eyewitnesses revealed what happened. I was about to be taken to the station. It was close. ¡°Still, the fact is you helped.¡± ¡°Well, if you like, I¡¯ll let my brother know.¡± I gently waved my hand to end the topic. Speaking of which, Shouhei¡¯s Elementary School should have only had morning classes today. If he went straight home, it should be around the time he gets back. As for what happened that day, it was something that I don¡¯t want to remember. It was the beginning of the dark middle school days. If that didn¡¯t happen, then I would have made one or two good friends. Surely. We arrived at our classroom. When I opened the door and entered the room, the inside of the classroom quieted down for an instant, and the gazes, mainly from the girls, were concentrated on us. Yes, yes, I have returned. The other half is desperate. This is something I learned from my experience so far, but if the girls hate me, then that year is hopeless. It¡¯s not like I didn¡¯t do anything. There were times when I tried to make friends. It was still when I was nervous in the beginning, after a short while, guys in good shape and ones with monstrous communication skills came to talk. I was pleased and got caught up in the moment, but then because of the girl¡¯s warnings and they were afraid of being avoided, so they distanced themselves away from me at the speed of light. It is also bad that there is no common topic because of gender differences. I can¡¯t have any conversation that girls seem to like. So I couldn¡¯t even make excuses, and my impression got worse. The topic was spread at an astonishing speed, and like broken telephone, the message was gradually changed and transmitted. Wrongdoings that were unrelated to me and incidents I don¡¯t remember were created one after another. In addition, the boys added their characteristic exaggerations, and my name grew like a substance-less monster. It¡¯s already hopeless, I couldn¡¯t do anything by myself. In this town as well, it has already fallen into that pattern. Infinite combo. I didn¡¯t even have time to defend myself, and I can only continue to receive the heavy blow from the bad reputation. In short, it has been decided that my two years at this high school have already ended. Amen. I put the bento on the desk and pulled out the chair. The classroom gradually recovered and regained its original liveliness. ¡°Aniki, are you thirsty?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need it. I¡¯ll buy it myself if I need it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go buy it at any time, so tell me without reserve!¡± Let¡¯s talk, Kusaka-kun! There hasn¡¯t even been a time where my words could even properly reach you! I sat at my seat and stared blankly out the window. Since the seat is at the end of the corridor, the scenery is not very good. You can see the tiny Tusk Crag outside the window facing the sports ground. A huge inverted triangle-shaped crag, that was estimated to be 100 meters with a dungeon inside. It¡¯s a landmark of this country town that was popularly called ¡°Tusk Crag¡± because of its appearance resembling a tusk piercing the earth. There is a dragon¡¯s nest where Aoi and her mother Yule spent many years, deep inside the forest behind our house. But now, there is nothing left in the nest. Because Officer Doggy told us that the Treasure Hunters Association is about to start a large-scale investigation. I worked with my dad and Aoi to clean up everything. Not just the Treasure Hunter Association, but various guys are aiming for dragons. It is rumored that if you drink dragon blood, you will obtain great power, and if you eat the egg, you will become immortal. The gems accumulated by dragons are of the highest quality, and their skin and flesh also have various extraordinary effects. The world is brimming with that kind of gossip. Of course, most of it is nonsense. There are certain parts that cannot be denied, but Alba and Aoi already said that those traditions and legends were wrong. However, they believe in it and will target Aoi, Jaja and Nana. I will make them think that the dragon has already moved a long time ago. Our brains, Mikuma, who was familiar with fantasy, myths, and legends, said that, ¡°Dragon that were actually witnessed in the past has never had a nest in the same place after that.¡± So we brought her furniture into our house and used Aoi¡¯s power to destroy the nest. So now it should be disguised as ¡°I was impatient because I was targeted for my egg and moved in a hurry.¡± During the survey period, Aoi and the twins can rarely go outside. As far as Officer Doggy knows, it¡¯s going to last about two months. It¡¯s long, how annoying. For the time being, my father plans to drive them far away from the town on his days off. I¡¯m sorry that they can only leave the house once or twice a week, so I¡¯m currently makings plans with Shouhei so they can have lots of fun. ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, Tusk Crag was near Aniki¡¯s house.¡± ¡°Hmm, ah, I guess so.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen it from a distance, but I¡¯ve never seen it up close. Until a while ago, when the dungeon was still in use, there were many treasure hunters in this town.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I pretended not to know. I can¡¯t say that I¡¯ve actually been inside that dungeon. It is a crime for an ordinary person without a license to enter a dungeon managed by the association. There can be fines or prison sentences. The ¡°Tusk Crag¡± dungeon is a collection type dungeon based on rare ores and medicinal plants with special medicinal properties, but most of it is exhausted now. If the magic stones that make up the dungeon there can replenish sufficient magic power, the ores and herbs will naturally recover, but Japan is originally a region with little magic power. It seems that if there are dozens of magical points in various places, the dungeon will be larger and deeper, but it wasn¡¯t the case for this town. Also, it seems that the magic stones in Tusk Crag are quite small. It seems that the size of the dungeon is generally decided by the size of the magic stones, which have different amounts of storage depending on their size and type. Tusk Crag is on the smaller side of the dungeons in Japan. ¡°Well, it¡¯s a place deep in the forest.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± I continued to act dumb and ended the conversion. If you continue for more than this, I¡¯m going to be exposed. I once again looked, I gazed at the Tusk Crag. I couldn¡¯t see my house, but Tusk Crag was there with a strong presence. While thinking that I wouldn¡¯t go there anymore, I returned my line of sight to the lunch box. It was at that time. For a moment, the outside of the window was dyed pure white. Chapter 92 - Blinding Lunch Break (5) The light was very blinding. Even if I looked away from the window, there were still white spots in my vision. ¡°Kyaaah!¡± ¡°Wow!¡± ¡°What the!?¡± The students in the classroom all cried out in surprise. ¡°It¡¯s blinding! What happened?¡± I also spoke up. I closed my eyes instinctively. ¡°My eyes! My eyes!¡± I heard Kusaka¡¯s outcry. I rubbed my eyes a couple of times, and could finally open them after a while. ¡°What is it now¡­¡± ¡°Ah, I can gradually see.¡± I quickly stood up and rushed to the window. When I looked back at Kusaka, I found him sitting on the floor while blinking repeatedly. ¡°W-what is that?¡± Among the female students who were at the window, one murmured while looking outside. I squeezed into the vacant space, and leaned out through the window to take a look. ¡°Hah¡­?¡± The scenery of the town that could be seen from the school remained the same. Several high-rise condominiums and houses. Most of the area was occupied by fields, rivers, and some small mountains. However, there is one change that you could tell with just one glance. ¡°That¡¯s Tusk Crag¡­ right?¡± The inverted triangular monolith measuring an estimated 100 meters that towered behind our house. The famous Tusk Crag, a symbol of this rural town that contains a dungeon, has grown more than twice its original size. It didn¡¯t just increase in size. From a distance, it¡¯s green. Up until now, it was the color of rocks, but now it was completely covered with green. ¡°Ahh?¡± As I continued to look at Tusk Crag, its appearance seemed to warp for a moment. No, that¡¯s not it. It¡¯s not distorted, it¡¯s increasing. Since the points that are increasing is scattered, it just looks distorted at this distance. ¡°Are those¡­ trees?¡± It¡¯s hard to tell from here, but the green stuff were probably plants. The smallest green particles that were fluttering around what was once Tusk Crag were probably leaves? ¡°Kyaaaaah!!¡± ¡°R-run!!!¡± The beastmen couple that started dating recently screamed from the window side seat at the top. ¡°It¡¯s coming this way!¡± ¡°R-run away!¡± ¡°Where do we run to?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too fast! It¡¯s useless!¡± The students at the window also screamed one after another. I also look out the window and saw the scene with my mouth fully open. I heard an unpleasant sound as if hard objects were being rubbed together and the sound of something cutting through the air. It was from the direction of the huge green object that appeared to be Tusk Crag. A large number of trees and shrubs were growing in our direction at an abnormal speed. There was no time to escape, it swallowed the convenience store in front of the school, and after it swirled around the sports ground, it then covered the entire school building. Almost happening in a near instant, my mouth opened even further. ¡°What is this¡­¡± Thin branches, thick trunks, and trees and shrubs of various sizes were closing in one after another, and soon the outside scenery couldn¡¯t be seen anymore from the window. The trees grew along the school building as if they were flowing. The sun was blocked, and the classroom only had fluorescent lights. ¡°No way¡­ what¡¯s going on?¡± Everything was so incomprehensible that everyone was silent. I¡¯m looking at the branches that blanketed the window with a dumbfounded expression. ¡°This is an announcement for all students! This is the principal! Everyone should be seated until the homeroom teacher arrives in the classroom! Okay? Do not panic! The faculty members will immediately gather in the staff room! The teachers in charge of today¡¯s student counselling will go around protecting the students in the school building, club room building, gymnasium, and the sports ground. I will increase the number of personnel later!¡± The shoulders of all the students shuddered. A loud voice resounded from the loudspeakers installed at both ends in front of the classroom. The window glass was quivering from the noise. ¡°Was that the principal?¡± ¡°S-should I just wait at my seat?¡± ¡°Well, even if you can go outside¡­¡± ¡°Right?¡± Looking around, the students slowly return to their seats while looking at each other. The color of doubt did not fade from their faces. Probably because they didn¡¯t know what to do, so they were just going along with the instructions. For some reason, I didn¡¯t move and looked out the window again. You could only see the tightly intertwined branches and trunks of the trees, and you couldn¡¯t tell what was going on outside. ¡°¡­! My home!¡± While I was spacing out by the window, I thought of Aoi, the twins, and Shouhei. I took out the smartphone from the inside pocket of my pants in a panic, and dialed my home phone number. I hurried placed it on my ear and waited for the call sound. The short call tone continues to ring intermittently. ¡°¡­ No way, pick up, Aoi. Please pick up.¡± I continued to call while gazing at the direction where Tusk Crag was. I was impatient and clutched the window frame with my left hand. My home was located closest to Tusk Crag in this town. Even though I said it¡¯s close, it was 500 meters away, but from what I see of the current Tusk Crag, it wasn¡¯t a safe distance. ¡°Please¡­ be safe¡­ please.¡± I tapped the ground with my feet many times. She¡¯s not picking up. Why, Aoi, are you with Jaja and Nana? You didn¡¯t go out, right? I said that for the time being, you can¡¯t go out unless I¡¯m there, right? I should¡¯ve told you that, right? At this time, Yuri-san should be there, too. Is Shouhei back home yet? There¡¯s no way he made a detour. He should be at home. After a few rings, it switched to an automatic message on the answering machine. The slow mechanical voice got on my nerves. Eventually, the message changed to a recorded voice prompt, and a long electronic sound beep signalled the start of recording. ¡°Aoi! It¡¯s Kunpei! I¡¯ll call you again later, so don¡¯t go out! If Shouhei comes back, tell him not to leave the house as well! I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± I pushed aside the slowly moving classmates with my hand while avoiding the desks, and finally arrived at the door. ¡°Kazamachi-kun! Where are you going?¡± ¡°Going home. Step aside.¡± Kusaka¡¯s childhood friend Rina, the class chairman, was standing in front of the door. She was a girl that was from the short-haired calico cat tribe like Saeki, called Rina Melle. A serious glasses-wearing girl with mottled hair that went down to her shoulders. ¡°N-no! Didn¡¯t you hear the principal¡¯s broadcast! Until the teachers return ¡­¡± ¡°Melle-san. I, can¡¯t, now. Please. Move.¡± I bluntly interrupted her with short incoherent words. ¡°No, it¡¯s no use! At this time, you have to calm down otherwise everyone would be in danger!¡± ¡°My house is very close to Tusk Crag. My family is at home. I have to go home.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re worried, but please calm down.¡± ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m in a rush, I¡¯ll apologize later and you can hit me if you like.¡± Snap judgment, prompt decision. I slid my body sideways to avoid Melle. ¡°A-aniki, stop!¡± I heard Kusaka¡¯s voice, but I ignored it, took a deep breath, and put strength into my core. And like that, I kicked down the door with all my strength. ¡°Hii¡± Melle let out a short shriek. The door made a loud noise as it was blown off into the corridor. The two wooden pieces collided with the wall in the corridor and broke into large pieces. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry.¡± I quickly told her as I briskly walked down the hallway. At the edge of my field of view, Melle had a frightened expression as she sat on the floor. I rushed towards the stairs. There were still a few students in the corridor looking this way. Move. Don¡¯t get in my way. I glared at them and they hurriedly made way. Thanks. I proceeded through the corridor while thanking them on the inside. My brisk pace had gradually increased, and I already started running before I realized it. ¡°Aniki!¡± ¡°What are you doing! Go back!¡± When I was about to turn the corner to the stairs, Kusakau¡¯s voice came from behind. I replied loudly without turning around. ¡°I¡¯m going too! My sister Hina goes to an elementary school near Tusk Crag! Her classes ended today at noon, but she¡¯s doing some research in the library!¡± Shit. Isn¡¯t it the same reason as mine? ¡°Sorry! But I can¡¯t afford to look after you and your sister!¡± ¡°I know! But I¡¯m a big brother!¡± We were shouting at each other while running down the stairs. ¡°Since you wanted to come, you have to protect yourself!¡± ¡°Y-yes!¡± Eventually I could see the entrance to the school building. It was blocked by tree branches beyond that, but there was an opening that seemed to be usable. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Don¡¯t fall behind!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± We quickly rushed out. Chapter 93 - Breaking Through the Neighborhood Labyrinth (1) As I dived through the entrance to the school building, I suddenly stopped. What should have been a sports ground waiting for us just a while ago, was now a forest formed of intricately intertwined trees and shrubs. Thick trunks were laid out vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, and it was impossible to even accurately determine what was 5 meters ahead of you. A large number of leaves blocked the way, and gaudy-colored flowers with huge petals were blooming everywhere. Our school¡¯s sports ground, which was larger than the neighboring high school, was now transformed into a magnificent sea of green. ¡°The school gate is over there, right?¡± Kusaka murmured behind me with a voice filled with trepidation. I silently nodded and looked around. Next to the circular flower bed in front of the entrance, there was a metal rake used for sports ground maintenance. A tool with which a slender sheet of metal was attached to the tip to clean the soil on the ground. The soccer club, that had been training during lunch break, probably left it in a hurry. ¡°Kusaka. Take that with you. I don¡¯t know what will happen.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± Kusaka approached the flowerbed with a trot and held the rake with both hands. After I ascertained it, I slowly proceeded through the sea of trees. ¡°H-help me.¡± I heard a voice from above my head. I was surprised and raised my guard, but when I looked up, there was a female student there. ¡°Hic, um, please¡­ help me.¡± The female student was entangled with ivy, and was hanging upside down. ¡°And don¡¯t look.¡± Yeah, I¡¯m sorry. I already saw it. She was probably a first-year student. A girl from the cow tribe with long black hair. Her adult black underwear that didn¡¯t match her age was in plain sight as her skirt faithfully obeyed the gravitational pull. ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll get you down soon. I¡¯m sorry, but please bear with it.¡± ¡°Ah, I won¡¯t look.¡± Kusaka, who caught up, shyly told the female student. ¡°Fueeh¡­¡± Feebly crying, the female student gave up and shook her head. I began lowering the girl down. I used a nearby branch as a foothold and supported the girl¡¯s weight, then carefully tore off the vines one by one. After a while, the female student was able to safely land on the ground. Large teardrops ran down her face. ¡°Um, look, the inside of the school is still fine, so¡­¡± I didn¡¯t know how to console her. ¡°Fu, Hic, why me¡­ I just wanted to water the flowerbed.¡± ¡°S-sorry?¡± ¡°I forgot! I have a bad memory!¡± We should have been the ones who helped, but we apologized. Kusaka, who has the highest grade in the class, doesn¡¯t have a bad memory. The female student who finally managed to stop crying entered the school building. At the same time, the teachers appeared from inside. ¡°Let¡¯s go Kusaka. If we don¡¯t hurry up, the teachers will stop us.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± There were four teachers. Even if there was someone who was late to escape like the girl from earlier, it should be fine with that many teachers. I pushed my way through the leaves and branches that blocked the way and proceeded forwards. Since the sun was not visible, the sea of trees was very dim. It was helpful that the ground was well levelled. If this were a real forest, it would be hard to traverse because of the soft and unsteady soil. ¡°A-aniki. Wait up a minute.¡± ¡°Hurry up, Kusaka. Don¡¯t get lost okay? This disaster isn¡¯t a joke.¡± However, it seems likely in the current state. The school gate shouldn¡¯t be this far from the entrance of the school building. Despite that, it was difficult to grasp their current position because they couldn¡¯t see their surroundings. The only thing they could rely on was the walls of the school, which could be seen from the gap between the branches. If those weren¡¯t there, they would even lose sense of their direction. This forest was that dense. ¡°Are we there?¡± ¡°We¡¯re there.¡± We finally arrived in front of the school gate in a bit under 10 minutes. Why did it take 10 minutes to get out of school? The large iron gate was still open, and was tightly intertwined with ivy. I turned around and looked at the school building. I couldn¡¯t see anything because of all the trees in the way. How did it become like this in that short period of time? What on earth is happening? ¡°Huh? The road isn¡¯t that bad.¡± I cautiously passed through the school gate, and set foot on a two-lane road in front of the school. The convenience store and buildings on the other side of the road were covered with trees, but there was none of that on the road. The trees cover the top of the road, so as to avoid the road dutifully. Looking at the convenience store, several shoppers were noisily evacuating to the store. ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about it, but this makes it easy to move.¡± However, it was not completely free of trees. A few trees may have crossed the road, or a car might be crushed by thick branches. ¡°¡­Why are the cars broken even though the building are fine?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know even if I think about it, and it¡¯s not the time for that right now. Let¡¯s go Kusaka.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± I ran down the road that I usually passed by bus. It was hard to use the sidewalk because of the trees, so we were passing through the middle of the road. On our way, we passed several people. It looked like there were no injuries. ¡°It would have been difficult if this place wasn¡¯t in the countryside.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think something like this would be able to be brought under control.¡± Our high school was in a place that didn¡¯t really flourish in this town. The distance between buildings was quite far apart, and there were almost no people walking on the roads unless you were going to or leaving school. A high school and two convenience stores were the only buildings that stood out, so cars didn¡¯t pass by much either. If this was in front of the station, which was around 30 minutes away by bus, there were more condominiums and multi-tenant buildings, and more people. If these trees have encroached up to that point, it would be pandemonium. This was a hilly town and has quite a lot of slopes of various sizes. We were running on one of the steepest slopes in this neighborhood. The number of trees decreased as we went towards the top of the hill, and when we finally reached the top, we were able to survey the whole area. ¡°¡­ it seems like it¡¯s getting worse the closer it is to Tusk Crag.¡± ¡°Haaa, haaa, it looks no different from a forest¡­¡± His shoulders raised up and down as Kusaka gasped for air. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Y-yes. Aniki seems to be fine, as expected.¡± It¡¯s not that I¡¯m fine. You probably just have too less stamina. ¡°Hmm?¡± From the bottom of the slope, I saw something approaching with tremendous momentum. ¡°Hmmmm!?¡± Somehow, I have some recollection of what that is. Oh, if that¡¯s what I think it is, it¡¯s very dangerous! ¡°Kusaka! Run away!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Kusaka looked at me with a puzzled expression. It¡¯s useless. This guy can¡¯t sense anything. It¡¯s almost here! There¡¯s no time! ¡°Give that to me!¡± ¡°Uwah!¡± I snatched the rake from Kusaka¡¯s hand and sent him flying backwards. I brandished it with all my might. ¡°Guh!¡± The metal rake made a high-pitched sound as it bounced back after hitting the hard thing that suddenly jumped at us. ¡°Gururururururururu! Graaaaaa!¡± ¡°Uwaaaaaaah!?¡± Kusaka¡¯s shrieks and that thing¡¯s roar reverberated. I lost my balance after hitting it, so I put one hand on the ground and forcibly corrected my stance. I raised my head and looked for it. That thing landed behind me. While making a rattling noise, its movements appeared to be extremely flexible. After that, I didn¡¯t look away. I held the rake that was damaged from the impact and took a deep breath. ¡°Uwa, uwa.¡± ¡°Hurry up and run you idiot!¡± Kusaka who landed on his butt after being pushed away was slowly retreating . I rebuked him. ¡°Guuuuu!!¡± A monster that inhabits the Tusk Crag dungeon, a ferocious beast with a rock body, the Rock Wolf growled and maintained some distance from me. Chapter 94 - Breaking Through the Neighborhood Labyrinth (2) Remember! At that time, the characteristics of the Rock Wolf that I faced in Tusk Crag! ¡°Stop dawdling and stand up, you idiot!¡± ¡°Y-yess!¡± First, I screamed at Kusaka, who was still sitting on the floor to stand up. If it attacked again, I won¡¯t be able to deal with it. The iron rake I was holding in both hands was bent from the impact of hitting the Rock Wolf¡¯s body. I roughly hit the ground once and it became a little straighter. ¡°Shit¡­ shit! What the hell!¡± The situation does not improve when you curse. But I can¡¯t do this unless I curse at least once! ¡°A-Aniki! What is that ?! What should we do?¡± ¡°Wait a minute!¡± ¡°Huh!¡± Keeping my eyes on the Rock Wolf, I spread my legs shoulder-width apart and lowered my hips. I re-positioned the rake to right in front of me and thought about it. I tried to recall as much information as possible that Mikuma told me and my father about the Rock Wolf. ¡°Kusaka, listen carefully.¡± ¡°Y-y-yes.¡± I lowered my voice and spoke to Kusaka so as not to provoke the Rock Wolf who was looking this way and waiting for an opening. Kusaka, who slowly went behind me, nodded with a trembling voice. ¡°That¡¯s a Rock Wolf. It¡¯s a dungeon monster. As you can see, it has a body made up of rocks.¡± ¡°Rock, how is that possible.¡± ¡°Shut up and listen. It moves like a wolf in the form of a wolf, but it¡¯s not a wolf. Its rock body is too heavy and the joints are so tight that it can¡¯t move so flexibly. So this guy can only move linearly.¡± Yes, that is the strategy to defeat it. Because the body is made entirely of rock, the weight of this guy is almost tens of times that of a wolf of the same size. Moreover, the joints are also made of rock of the same material, with no muscle fibres or flesh. Therefore, the Rock Wolf cannot turn or brake suddenly. The same goes for the dive just before. A real wild animal could easily land and immediately turn around and attack. But the Rock Wolf can¡¯t do that. At the moment of landing, all its weight shifts to its legs all at once, so it cannot stop that easily. If this was a creature that evolved with the appropriate muscle strength and flexibility, it will be able to change direction immediately by softening the impact of landing with its joints and muscle strength. That will be the opening we have to take advantage of. ¡°These guys are supposed to be in groups originally, so it helps that this guy is alone. The target is its thinnest hind leg, if you can break it, then its mobility will be halved.¡± Actually the Rock Wolf is very fragile depending on the location on its body. An animal can absorb the impact with their flesh and defensive movements, but no matter where it is, these guys are formed only with the same material and they can not bend their bodies. ¡°Can you do that¡­!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not whether you can or not, you have to, or you¡¯ll die! Listen, don¡¯t run straight away, okay? Make sure you run sideways! Never avert your eyes away from him, and be sure to keep your distance! If you lose sight of it, you will immediately die!¡± Yes, it will be fatal if it chases you. No matter how heavy it is, it doesn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s slow. What¡¯s absurd is that this guy has the same speed as a wolf. Its inability to move in a flexible manner is an obvious flaw that, but its strength makes up for it. Once you¡¯re bitten, it¡¯s the end. Its Rock fangs are so sharp that they easily tear through flesh. Because there is too much weight difference, he¡¯ll easily throw me off balance and will greedily devour me. In spite of not having a digestive system! In Tusk Crag, thanks to the Dragon Fang sword that Alba lent me, the Rock Wolves were small fry as long as we were careful of their movements. But right now I don¡¯t have a dragon fang sword. It seems that Alba seems to have collected it after I collapsed. All I have right now is a rake made of iron. Speaking of strength, it is a dangerous weapon that can easily beat someone to death, but it won¡¯t help much right now. I¡¯m begging you, just please don¡¯t break until the end. ¡°Run away sideways¡­ run away sideways¡­¡± Kusaka repeatedly muttered the same words. Is this guy okay? He¡¯s stiff from nervousness and fear. What should I do. If I was alone, I might be able to manage one way or another. I could repeatedly hit it and run away at the right times, and might be able to break its two hind legs. However, that¡¯s impossible for Kusaka. He has no weapons and he doesn¡¯t have the courage to face it. He has neither experience or knowledge. Kusaka does not know about Mikuma¡¯s knowledge and the battle experience at Tusk Crag. ¡°It¡¯s coming!¡± The Rock Wolf¡¯s body creaked as it stooped its entire body. The body was compressed to its limit like a loaded bullet. A huge bullet with sufficient speed and weight to kills us was shot straight to us. ¡°Guruaaaaaa!!¡± ¡°Hii!¡± ¡°Move!¡± I stepped back and leaped to the place where Kusaka was and pushed his shoulder strongly to the right to avoid it. Kusaka succumbed and staggered. The Rock Wolf that jumped in just barely scratched my shoulder. ¡°Damn!!¡± I swung the rake aiming at its hind legs. A metallic clanging sound and a dull numbness ran up my arm. Shit! It didn¡¯t break! I damaged a part of it, I saw that there was a triangular defect at the base of the right hind leg. Despite that, it didn¡¯t break. ¡°Hiiiii!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you to not take your eyes off it!¡± Kusaka, who was completely panicked, escaped to a nearby utility pole at full speed without looking aside. That¡¯s dangerous. The rock wolf is fast even if the landing is poor and cannot stop quickly. Even after regaining its posture, it can still easily catch up to a human. If you turned your back and ran away, it will take advantage of that and dive in. And that will be checkmate. ¡°If you¡¯re running away, do it while looking at him!¡± I swung the rake sideways after the Rock Wolf landed in order to gain time for Kusaka to regain his posture. ¡°Gaaaaaaaaa!!!¡± ¡°Guh!¡± I shouldn¡¯t haven¡¯t put so much strength into it. I know that hitting it normally does not work, this was simply just to get it to pay attention to me. I swung at a speed that allowed me to reposition myself immediately, and immediately pull the rake back as soon as it hit. Of course, I didn¡¯t forget to maintain a distance from it. ¡°Horaa! Come on!¡± I raised my voice so that it¡¯ll focus on me. Dungeon monsters are not alive. If you had to say it, they would be pseudo-lifeforms. It follows the commands of the dungeon¡¯s magic stone, and pretends to be like a real creature. So I¡±m not sure whether it will actually work. However, it wasn¡¯t ineffective. The Rock Wolf looked back and locked on to me. Then, now! ¡°Kusaka! Run away! You have a chance right now!¡± ¡°But, but!!¡± ¡°Just go!¡± Kusaka, who finally reached the utility pole, was looking at me and the Rock Wolf. I pressed Kusaka to go first without worrying about me. Honestly speaking, even if he was here, he¡¯ll just get in the way, and it doesn¡¯t seem like he can fight. Oh, it¡¯s no good. He¡¯s too scared and can¡¯t move anymore. I miss my father¡¯s support at Tusk Crag! ¡°Guruaaa!¡± ¡°Come on!¡± I raised my voice on purpose to encourage myself. Kusaka was still trembling behind the utility pole. My nerves were high-strung. If I let my guard down even for a moment, then in the next moment, I will be a pile of meat on the ground. I avoided it many times, hit it many times, swung it many times, and kept the distance many times. ¡°A-Aniki.¡± ¡°Hah! Hah! Are you still here?¡± I told you to run away. My breathing was getting rough. Actually, it wasn¡¯t a lot of exercise. The amount should be less than the first 10 minutes of PE class. It was all the tension that made me tired. It¡¯s no wonder, since my life is on the line. If would have already run away if it was possible. However, that lump of rock will easily catch up with us, and the speed is completely different between me and Kusaka because of height differences, physical strength, and muscular strength. If I ran at full speed, Kusaka would be left behind. If I can run away, it means that Kusaka was already eaten. The rake was already completely deformed. It was bent into a zigzag shape like a lightning bolt and was likely to break soon. This is bad. The situation is getting worse, we¡¯re being driven into a corner. I can¡¯t see us recovering from here. But¡­ ¡°Huh¡­ Haaah¡­ Kazamachi Kunpei¡­ waits for the wind.¡± At such times, I desperately scrutinize every conceivable possibility. ¡°Guuuu¡­¡± The Rock Wolf growled loudly and once again stooped down. ¡°Smell the scent of the wind¡­¡± I calmed down and caught my breath. ¡°Anytime.¡± Are you going to die in a situation where you don¡¯t understand anything? ¡°Anywhere.¡± I can¡¯t die and leave Jaja and Nana behind. ¡°When you want to fly!¡± The Rock Wolf drove power into its hind legs, and my body reacted. ¡°Guaaaaaa !! Geh!!¡± Blown away. Not me. The Rock wolf. It was hit by a huge red ball of light, and smashed into pieces. ¡°Heh?¡± I froze in the stance where I was about to swing the zigzag rake. ¡°A-Aniki? What did you just do?¡± Eh? No, I didn¡¯t do anything. ¡°Are you kids alright!¡± I heard a rough voice from the bottom of the slope. I looked for where that voice came from. ¡°What are you doing fighting monsters! Evacuate immediately!¡± He looks familiar. A gaudy golden down jacket with huge red fur that hid one¡¯s face. A huge build, 2m tall. A fluffy mane. He shouldered a large cylindrical object with fine patterns and mysterious decorations. ¡°I¡¯m a treasure hunter! I¡¯ll take you guys to a nearby evacuation shelter.¡± ¡°Y-you! You! I reflexively pointed my finger. I see! So that¡¯s it! There was such a possibility! I thought that he was no longer in this town! Was this all their doing!? There was no basis or evidence, but it must be! ¡°Woah! What?! What?!¡± I pointed my finger, and took a step back in surprise. ¡°Gaseraio!!¡± ¡°It¡¯s Gasaraio! Wait, no, why do you know my name!¡± The kidnapper who stole Jaja and Nana. The lion, Gasaraio. Chapter 95 - Breaking Through the Neighborhood Labyrinth (3) I caught my breath and let go of the rake that was hopelessly bent. It bounced off the ground with a dull clang. I took one more deep breath and recovered. I encouraged my body that was accumulated with fatigue and lactic acid, and faced forward. In front of me was that damned kidnapper. If I didn¡¯t stop him, then those adorable twins wouldn¡¯t have been born because of this guy. Just thinking about it made my stomach churn. ¡°Oi.¡± ¡°W-what?¡± I called out to him. The gaudy golden down jacket touched my nerves even more. The kidnapper, Treasure Hunter Gasaraio, put himself on guard. I closed the distance quickly and approached him. Fufufu, it¡¯s good to be scared. ¡°Answer. Were you the ones who made the town like this?¡± I intuitively knew. I¡¯m generally acknowledged as an idiot, but I¡¯m the type who has a wild instinct. My intuition is often right. ¡°H-haah!?¡± ¡°Stop feigning ignorance! I know you¡¯re coming to investigate Tusk Crag in the near future! It should have been a while later! But you¡¯re here right now, and Tusk Crag became like that! Just with the circumstantial evidence, it smells fishy! Just confess! I kept on talking emotionally. I lost my cool. ¡°Why do you know that! Huh? Where have I seen you before¡­¡± Hmm? Huh? ¡°Those evil-looking eyes¡­ a crew cut¡­ a villainous appearance you can never forget¡­ Aah! You¡¯re that lariat bastard!¡± Ah, did I dig my own grave? Oops! I was told not to get in contact with them as much as possible! ¡°I-I don¡¯t know! That¡¯s the current situation! You Treasure Hunters must have done something!¡± For the time being, I¡¯ll try to gloss over it! ¡°Why did you know about the large-scale investigation? Stop pretending you don¡¯t know, ya brat!¡± Oh, did he get irritated? ¡°Don¡¯t change the topic, idiot lion! Answer me!¡± ¡°Who¡¯s an idiot lion, fucking human! You were the one who was with the dragon at that time, right!? I was looking for you!¡± ¡°Haah!? What the hell are you talking about? Are you having too many dreams about dragons?!¡± ¡°Ah!? Who the hell do you think you¡¯re talking to? I¡¯ll crush you! I¡¯m Gasaraio, the youngest brother of the ¡°Paradise Siblings¡±, you know! You¡¯ll regret it, delinquent!¡± ¡°What Gasaraio? Don¡¯t get carried away! Even when you disgracefully cried and ran away!¡± ¡°Look, you know about what happened at that time! Ah, I know, you¡¯re an idiot aren¡¯t you! If you¡¯re an idiot, just quietly be an idiot!¡± ¡°Huuuuuuh? Are you an idiot! Ah it¡¯s no good, this guy¡¯s hopeless. I¡¯ll teach you how dangerous it is to say idiot to a self-aware idiot, you wimpy lion!¡± ¡°Ahhhhh!? Did you just call me a wimp? Is that what you said? Bring it on, human! I¡¯ll make you cry!¡± ¡°Do it if you can, ya furball bastard!¡± ¡°This is a mane, ya scoundrel!¡± Before we knew it, we were grabbing each other¡¯s necks and arguing with spit flying everywhere. I will do this. I¡¯ll make his feline face wet with his tears and snot¡­ ¡°Stop! Stop!¡± I was stopped by a familiar voice. When I turned around, a blonde policewoman I was familiar with was standing there with her hand on her waist. ¡°Calm down Riot-kun, Kazamachi-kun! This is not the place to do that kind of thing!¡± The lovely Officer Doggy with her long ears and bushy tail was angry, it was disheartening. Her fluffy blonde hair fluttered over her shoulders, cool as usual. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Oh, my bad.¡± ¡°Ahh, who do you think you are? You¡¯re disrespecting Officer Doggy. You should say, I sincerely apologize with all my heart.¡± ¡°Ohhhh? What¡¯s with you? I apologized properly, ya little bastard.¡± ¡°I already said to stop it!¡± But this lion with his large attitude and body! Officer Doggy¡¯s tail was standing up, oh, it looks like she¡¯s seriously angry. ¡°A-Aniki, calm down.¡± ¡°When did you¡­¡± Kusaka was being protected under Officer Doggy¡¯s arm. Kusaka himself was also clinging to Officer Doggy¡¯s waist. No, what are you doing? Why are you doing something so enviable? Should I tell on you? To your childhood friend, Lina? I¡¯ll report everything to the class president who looks good with those glasses, you know? Well, it probably can¡¯t be avoided. ¡°Why are you guys here? What happened to school?¡± ¡°¡­ I ditched.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I¡¯m fine because I have that kind of image, but Kusaka is different. For Kusaka, this would be the first time for him to skip school. ¡°Sigh¡­ I can guess why for Kazamachi-kun because of your circumstances, but it¡¯s no good. It¡¯s an emergency right now. All the schools are awaiting instructions from authorities. The townspeople are in the middle of evacuating to the nearest shelter and you guys are wandering around in a place like this. ¡± Officer Doggy placed her hand on her forehead and sighed. Kusaka left her waist and helplessly looked at me. ¡°Why is Officer Doggy here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m watching Riot-kun. Because Riot-kun was among the treasure hunters dispatched by the association, and he has a criminal record.¡± ¡°Hmph! Do you not trust me!¡± ¡°Of course you idiot. What¡¯s with that attitude? I¡¯ll send you flying!¡± Think about what you did! ¡°Look, stop! Cut it out!¡± ¡°Uh, because¡­¡± This guy is irritating! ¡°I understand Kazamachi-kun¡¯s feelings, but please bear with it for now. Even if you don¡¯t, you¡¯re saying unnecessary things.¡± Officer Doggy came next to me and whispered into my ear. Certainly, I¡¯ve become too emotional and said too many things I shouldn¡¯t have talked about. ¡°Riot-kun was with me, and the other two paradise siblings were with Officer Inoue, so they¡¯re not the cause of this, because we were with them all this time.¡± ¡°Look, there you are. It was just you arbitrarily misunderstanding.¡± ¡°Now, this town is under martial law. Riot-kun, along with other treasure hunters, has been granted permission to use magic tools and weapons. Multiple dungeon monsters have been confirmed.¡± ¡°There¡¯s more other than that wolf?¡± ¡°Allow treasure hunters to use weapons?¡± The situation seems worse than I had thought. ¡°Yeah, it looks like the trees are growing according to in a certain way. It¡¯s spreading out around the walls and buildings, but it doesn¡¯t interfere with the road. I was just talking about it with Riot-kun earlier.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the expansion of the dungeon.¡± Expansion? Tusk Crag¡¯s? ¡°There are quite a few dungeons above class B. There is an automatic floor generation type. For example, the dungeon I went to recently was a dungeon with a strong water attribute, but it¡¯s not like the entire floor was filled with water. The walls, rooms, and size are arbitrarily decided by the dungeon. ¡° Hey. How does such a mysterious power work? What is a dungeon? ¡°Based on that, this is an extension of the Tusk Crag dungeon, because it was originally a dungeon with a weak earth attribute. It will happen occasionally by some chance. For example, if a magic stone grows, It wouldn¡¯t be strange for it to change to a wood dungeon since it¡¯s a derivative of earth, though the growth of magic stones rarely happens.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it happening?¡± ¡°Who knows.¡± What kind of irresponsible thing is this guy saying? It¡¯s hopeless, I have to choke this cheeky cat right here. ¡°Then, the growing tree is under the influence of magic stone. If you consider that the dungeon is expanding by using the interior of Tusk Crag as reference, then you can see why there is no effect on the roads. Roads and paths are passageways. Buildings are rock faces and large spaces are collection points. It is exactly the structure of the dungeon.¡± ¡°What the hell are you showing off for, you furball? Then, isn¡¯t this the center of the dungeon, where monsters come out normally?¡± That¡¯s bad. The Rock Wolf from earlier. Isn¡¯t it a dangerous existence that can easily kill people by itself? They group up by default on Tusk Crag¡¯s upper layers, and darkmeat and Buster Cow may also appear in the lower layers. ¡°The chief couldn¡¯t help but rely on the treasure hunters to protect the citizens, so we had to permit the use of magic tools and weapons. I was also in the middle of returning to the station to get equipment. Since my car was crushed.¡± Officer Doggy pointed at the bottom of the slope with a troubled expression. When I looked, there was a mini patrol car on the middle of the slope, blocked by trees. ¡°Because I was told by radio that ambulances and firefighting were also on the move, and the evacuation of the townspeople will be given priority. Of course, that includes you guys as well.¡± Eh, wait a minute. I have to go home. ¡°Officer Doggy! I!¡± ¡°Calm down.¡± Officer Doggy hugged me and whispered by my ears. ¡°Mom sent me a text earlier. Aoi-chan, the twins, and your brother are okay. They said they were panicking, but will call you when they calm down a bit.¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s true, I¡¯m not saying it just to console you.¡± My shoulder drooped at once. ¡°That¡¯s a relief¡­¡± ¡°U-um!¡± Kusaka raised his voice. ¡°M-my sister goes to an elementary school near Tusk Crag! I have to make sure she¡¯s okay!¡± That¡¯s right. If it¡¯s near there, then it should be the same school as Shouhei. It seems that Shouhei can already go home because they only had morning classes today, but I don¡¯t know about Kusaka¡¯s sister. ¡°She said that she had something she needed to research in the library! I don¡¯t know if she¡¯s still at school or not!¡± ¡°Keep calm, the nearest community center near the elementary school is the closest evacuation shelter. We¡¯ll also bring you there. Let¡¯s trust that your sister is safe.¡± Officer Doggy separated from me and patted Kusaka¡¯s head. ¡°¡­ The monsters in that dungeon are small fry to an armed hunter. My siblings are heading over there. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Gasaraio lifted the cylindrical object he was holding. It¡¯s a bazooka, no matter how you look at it. ¡°For the time being, let¡¯s quickly leave. I know a shortcut to the community center.¡± Officer Doggy lead the way, pointing at the road beside the houses. ¡°Kusaka, let¡¯s hurry now for the time being, okay?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± I nudged Kusaka, who was still worried and followed Officer Doggy. I looked at Tusk Crag that could be seen in the distance once more. The splendidly transformed Tusk Crag was covered with trees, and now it just looks like a single unbelievably large tree. After confirming its appearance, I turned around and proceeded. I noticed later that I saw a large silhouette flying out of Tusk Crag at the edge of my field of view. Chapter 96 - Breaking Through the Neighborhood Labyrinth (4) We passed through the side of the house and headed down the path through the rice fields. Suddenly my smartphone started to ring. I took the smartphone out of the inside pocket of my school uniform in a hurry and checked the screen. ¡°Mikuma?¡± The screen displayed the incoming call as ¡°Mikuma Yunno @ Still Growing¡±. It came with a picture of Mikuma¡¯s chest taken with clothes on. It was probably one of Saeki, the devilish cat girl¡¯s, pranks. I didn¡¯t know how to change it so I left it. I tapped the green receive button at the bottom of the screen and put it next to my right ear. ¡°Hello, Mikuma?¡± ¡°Kunpei-kun! Are you okay!? What about Aoi-chan and the twins!? Is Shouhei-kun also with you?¡± A loud voice that was rare for an adult like, Mikuma Yunno as she continued to talk. ¡°Y-yeah. I¡¯m fine. I haven¡¯t confirmed it yet because I¡¯m not at home, but I heard that Aoi and Shouhei are okay.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good¡­ have you seen what¡¯s on the internet? It¡¯s an uproar right now. I was worried, so I skipped class.¡± It was a serious voice of relief. I¡¯m thankful for her concern. ¡°No, we didn¡¯t have the time to browse the internet. What¡¯s it like?¡± ¡°Emergency alerts, SNS and tweets of isolated people and victims. It seems like the police and fire department are also in confusion. It¡¯s full of information and I can¡¯t tell what¡¯s real or what¡¯s fake.¡± I was confused even when I¡¯m at the scene. ¡°Wait, is Kunpei-kun¡­ outside?¡± ¡°Eh? Ah, well I was planning to go home¡­¡± ¡°You idiot!! What were you thinking!? There have been monster sightings!!!¡± Woah! Mikuma shouted with a voice even louder than previously. ¡°Aoi-chan and them are safe, right!? So head to an evacuation shelter! Or else Kunpei-kun will be in danger!¡± It was a slight trembling voice. Was she crying? ¡°M-Mikuma. It¡¯s okay. Officers Doggy is escorting us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not okay! ! If something happened to Kunpei-kun, what would Jaja-chan and Nana-chan do?? Kunpei-kun isn¡¯t alone anymore, you know!?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry, don¡¯t cry. My bad.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like it either. Really, please think a little, before acting¡­ I beg you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry?¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say other than sorry. I lowered my head to Mikuma, who was not in front of me. Wow. I made her cry. Shouhei has been mad at me for similar things from the past, but I haven¡¯t improved at all, huh. ¡°I will evacuate immediately. I will contact you when I arrive at the shelter. It¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t believe it.¡± Eh? ¡°I don¡¯t trust Kunpei-kun. I¡¯ll call again, so be sure to pick up the phone.¡± U-um, Yunno-san? Why is your voice so low? It¡¯s scary. ¡°Promise that you will pick up the phone.¡± ¡°O-oh¡­¡± ¡°Your voice is too quiet! You have to pick up the phone!¡± ¡°Y-yes! I¡¯ll definitely pick up the phone!¡± A powerful forcefulness was emitted from the speaker. I couldn¡¯t go against it. Well, I didn¡¯t have to go against it, I corrected my posture and answered in a loud voice. ¡°It¡¯s a promise! Where are you now!?¡± ¡°Um, a rice field near the market, 2 blocks away? A short cut from the national highway to the prefecture road. It goes to where we went shopping before.¡± ¡°Got it. Two blocks away, right? I¡¯ll call you back soon! It¡¯s cruel if you don¡¯t pick up!¡± After saying that, the presence of Mikuma disappeared from the speaker. It¡¯s cruel? What is? Well, I¡¯ll understand after she calls later. Even so, that was scary. ¡°Aniki? Was that your girlfriend?¡± ¡°No, idiot. Also, why didn¡¯t you just escape earlier?¡± Kusaka, who was walking in front of me, turned around. ¡°No, no. I can¡¯t just leave my Aniki behind and run away.¡± ¡°Idiot. You couldn¡¯t do anything about it even when you were there. I already told you in the beginning, right? I can¡¯t look after you. Since you didn¡¯t escape first, I also missed the timing to escape.¡± ¡°Sorry¡­¡± Did I say too much? But it¡¯s the truth. I wanted you to escape as far as possible while I was buying time. What you do would differ drastically depending on whether there is someone there you have to protect or not. Of course, there are more things that two people can do than one. But that¡¯s only limited to where the power of the two people can manage the situation somehow. At that time, there was nothing that could be done. The only way of surviving was to escape. Luckily, it was a good thing that Gasaraio fired a magic bazooka, otherwise, I don¡¯t know what would have happened. Of course, I have no intention of dying, and I was prepared to survive by using any means available. ¡­ In the worst case, I could use Kusaka as a decoy. Although I said that, there¡¯s no way I could do that. ¡°That¡¯s right. If you can escape, you should escape immediately. That¡¯s number one. Though it¡¯s not something Kazamachi-kun who rushed out of school should say.¡± Officer Doggy delivered the final blow to me and Kusaka. I couldn¡¯t say anything to that. Ahead of Officer Doggy, a furball lion leading the way was holding back his laugh. That bastard¡­ ¡°No, it¡¯s exactly as Aniki says. To be honest, I was too frightened to move. I couldn¡¯t do either, escaping or helping Aniki¡­¡± ¡°Kusaka. You¡­¡± Are you crying? Mikuma, and Kusaka, I¡¯m making a lot of people cry today. It feels like Aoi will also cry when I go back. ¡°I¡¯m trying to be a strong man yet I¡¯m like this. I really am no good.¡± Kusaka, who was looking down, used both hands his hands to crumple his pompadour, which I had been accustomed to seeing recently. With both hands, he brushed his hair back and looked up at the sky. ¡°I end up freezing up at crucial moments. How pathetic. It¡¯s a big difference from the Aniki I saw on Children¡¯s Day three years ago. That figure that I admired¡­¡± Then Kusaka cast his eyes downward. Fumu. What should I do. I have no words to say to Kusaka that could affect him. In the end, doesn¡¯t it depend on the person himself? You should be courageous when it¡¯s the right time. However, only Kusaka himself is in control. Even I have stuff I¡¯m scared of. The Rock Wolf was scary enough, and Aoi¡¯s mother, Yule, was trauma-inducing. I still don¡¯t understand how I managed to confront it. If you don¡¯t do it, you won¡¯t solve anything unless you face it. That¡¯s what I thought. I¡¯m frustrated. I don¡¯t know how to explain it to Kusaka. ¡°¡­ Oi, blonde pipsqueak.¡± Suddenly Gasaraio stopped. He turned around while scratching his mane with his right hand. ¡°¡­ me?¡± ¡°Yes, you. Well, what. I can¡¯t say something great, but¡­¡± Looking at a different direction like he was embarrassed, Gasaraio hid his mouth with his right hand that was scratching his head. ¡°When you¡¯re really scared, just try taking one step forward in front of what¡¯s scary.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Kusaka tilted his head and looked at Gasaraio. ¡°I¡¯m just a newbie treasure hunter who just got my license last year. There have been so many times that I¡¯ve been paralyzed by fear. When that happens, I could feel proud if I just take one step. If that goes well, I take one step further than that. It¡¯s said that fear is an accustomed thing. The things you can do will gradually increase little by little, and before you know it, you can do things that you couldn¡¯t before.¡± Although he was talking fast, near the end he was talking while directly looking at Kusaka¡¯s eyes. ¡°¡­ that guy and other strong guys just think that we ordinary guys are out of our minds and probably don¡¯t know what we¡¯re thinking, but it¡¯s different.¡± Gasaraio looked at Kusaka with a somewhat lonely gaze. Kusaka¡¯s mouth was slightly open and his lips quivering, perhaps because he was overwhelmed by that gaze. ¡°That guy¡¯s figure that you admire doesn¡¯t consist only of strength. I¡¯ve noticed these days by looking at the back of the person I admired. So don¡¯t lament even if you¡¯re weak now. There¡¯s no need. You just haven¡¯t found the thing you need to be strong just yet. Until then, you have to get used to it. ¡° ¡°Riot-san?¡± ¡°The first half is knowledge. The second half is experience. Whether you believe it or not, I will leave it to you, blonde pipsqueak.¡± With a bright red face, Gasaraio turned around and continued walking again. Officer Doggy, stood next to him, grinned and gestured me to go. ¡°What you need to be strong¡­¡± Kusaka continued staring at his hand absentmindedly. I slowly approached him and pushed his back to encourage him. ¡°Well, I honestly don¡¯t know what that furball is saying, so I can¡¯t say anything, but it¡¯s not bad to say I¡¯m going to be strong for my little sister, right?¡± ¡°Stop calling me furball, ya scoundrel!¡± Oops, did he hear me? What, you said something cool, so I went to follow up. Was his tail standing up because he was embarrassed? ¡°Alright, stop quibbling, youngsters. We need to hurry.¡± Urged by Officer Doggy¡¯s voice, we advanced. Chapter 97 - Breaking Through the Neighborhood Labyrinth (5) The forest was building up and surrounding the rice fields. The trees were spreading along the houses and the fences on the side of the road, and several branches crossed the road. ¡°The forest is dense around here.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I can¡¯t see anything.¡± Gasaraio murmured. He looked over the surroundings and lowered his magic bazooka from his shoulders to your hands. Kusaka, who responded to the voice, shrank back and looked up into the sky. ¡°Kusaka-kun. Don¡¯t leave Kazamachi-kun¡¯s side, okay?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Kusaka nodded to Officer Doggy and approached me. I already threw away the rake, my only weapon, so I was also empty handed. It was already one step away from snapping. Officer Doggy took out her pistol from the holster on her waist and aimed the barrel upwards. ¡°The visibility becomes bad beyond here, so be careful. Tell me or Riot-kun if anything moves. My gun is a magical pistol with no killing power, so it¡¯s not very powerful, but it can keep them in check.¡± A magical pistol officially adopted by the police. I once heard from a police officer in protective custody before. Introduced by interacting with the demons, this gun shoots compressed air instead of a metal bullet. The wind bullet reflects the user¡¯s intention to some extent and can change its size and power. The magic seems to be very simple, mass production is possible, and maintenance is also easy. It¡¯s ideal for Japanese police who absolutely want to avoid killing the criminal, it seems that they decided to adopt it in no time at all. There was an official long winded name, but I don¡¯t remember it. ¡°Isn¡¯t it less than a kilometer from here to the community center?¡± ¡°If we go straight, I don¡¯t think that Tusk Crag¡¯s magic stone recognizes small roads, so it may be blocked.¡± It doesn¡¯t seem like a high performance magic stone. ¡°Our big brother¡¯s schedule today is to patrol in this vicinity. It was our job to search for the dragon apart from the large-scale survey. I couldn¡¯t reach him since a while ago, but I¡¯ll try calling again later.¡± What a troublesome job. ¡°Is your big brother that sloth?¡± I don¡¯t remember much because I¡¯ve only seen him once, but I felt that he wasn¡¯t reliable. I remember the big gray sloth talking slowly. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t judge my brother by appearance. He¡¯s one of the dragon killers that there are less than 10 of in Japan. A genuine first class hunter, ya know?¡± ¡°He killed a dragon?¡± I reflexively put myself on guard. Aoi¡¯s dragon form is huge and powerful. If this guy¡¯s big brother can win against that, is he a monster? I¡¯m already someone on the dragon¡¯s side. I¡¯ve never met a dragon species other than Sky Dragon, but I feel related to them. I¡¯ll be bothered if they¡¯re killed. ¡°Are you an idiot? Dragons rarely appear and can¡¯t be killed. Those who have said they killed dragons in the past were usually swindlers or braggarts. ¡®Dragon killer¡¯ is a title used among treasure hunters. It¡¯s an honor for hunters who are strong enough to kill even a dragon. It seems that there were people who really killed dragons during the beastmen war, but it¡¯s questionable. I know because I saw a real dragon. They¡¯re an apex existence. You can¡¯t win. Well, you¡¯re an idiot so you probably don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°You were crying.¡± Must have been desperate. ¡°I¡¯m really gonna beat you up, ya scoundrel!¡± ¡°It was the truth furball!¡± He seized me by the collar, so I grabbed him. To the end, my compatibility with this bastard is the worst. ¡°Stop it!¡± Officer ?Doggy came in between us. Her temple was twitching and her lips were cramping. ¡°Jeez, Kazamachi-kun, you normally aren¡¯t so quick to anger! Wasn¡¯t Riot-kun also obedient and quiet in custody a while ago?¡± With her golden fluffy tail standing straight up, Officer Doggy lost her temper. ¡°Because this bastard is irritating!¡± ¡°This delinquent is asking for a fight!¡± Officer Doggy sighed while tapping her forehead with the gun. ¡°¡­You guys are kind of similar. Please stop fighting. Even if not, it¡¯s a delicate time for both of you.¡± No way! I¡¯m not like this guy! ¡°Delicate? I know me, but what about this delinquent? Is he under probation?¡± ¡°Shut up. It doesn¡¯t concern you.¡± ¡°Bullseye, buha!¡± How irritating. Certainly, this guy just came out of the detention center last month, so he can only walk in this town under the supervision of Officer Doggy. In my case, it¡¯s the twins and Aoi. My position is different and the reason is different, but it is really annoying to be unable to say it back. ¡°Hmm?¡± Another incoming call from Mikuma. I took out the smartphone from my chest pocket, tapped the screen and held it to my ear. ¡°H-hello?¡± I nervously answered the phone. I don¡¯t want to be cruel. It should be fine if I pick up the phone at this speed. ¡°Kunpei-kun! Hurry and run!¡± ¡°Hah?¡± That flustered voice was definitely Mikuma Yunno. ¡°Escape to a nearby evacuation shelter or nearby treasure hunters!¡± ¡°What happened, Mikuma. Please calm down.¡± Even if I was suddenly told to run away. ¡°I checked the information of the district evacuation shelter online! It came out!¡± ¡°What did?¡± Kusaka and Officer Doggy could hear her through the speakers on the top of the phone. Gasaraio was also listening to my smartphone with me. ¡°There are successive sightings of the strange bird Ruten! Hurry and run!¡± ¡°Geh!¡± Gasaraio made a voice like it was preposterous. ¡°That guy shouldn¡¯t be able to leave the top floor of Tusk Crag!¡± ¡°Strange bird Ruten? Somehow¡­¡± I¡¯ve heard of that name before. I¡¯m sure that was¡­ I remember those eyes that emitted a bright red light. Their rock bodies filled the passage with no room to spare and makes miserable cries¡­ ¡°¡­Ah!? Those Rock Griffons!?¡± The upper half of the body is made up of rock, and a bushy lower body, the boss monster of Tusk Crag! That guy! ¡°A lot of tweets and images are being posted! Apparently, they¡¯re flying around looking for something! Please hurry and escape!¡± ¡°Kyaaaaah! Guoooooo!!¡± It was then that we put ourselves on guard as we heard the strange sounds from the sky. Chapter 98 - Breaking Through the Neighborhood Labyrinth (6) ¡°Run, run, run!¡± Gasaraio screamed loudly from the back. We pushed our way through the thin branches blocking the way and kept running. I had scratches across my face because of the branches, but I couldn¡¯t afford to worry about it. ¡°Kusaka! Hurry up!¡± ¡°Hiii!¡± I pulled Kusaka¡¯s hands, who had his legs entangled, and did my best to not lose sight of Officer Doggy, who was leading the way. ¡°Quickly! Over here!¡± Officer Doggy stopped in the middle of the crossroads, pointing her finger to urge us forward. We turned right at the intersection as instructed and took refuge under the eaves of a small pharmacy-like building. ¡°That big thing, it lost us for now! Policewoman Nee-chan, is there a place where we can hide nearby?¡± ¡°One second! Umm, this is Suzuki-san¡¯s store, there¡¯s a park over there! There¡¯s dome-shaped playground equipment!¡± Gasaraio caught up and re-positioned the magic bazooka to check behind him. After that, when the bird Ruten flew over us, it cried out with delight and then plunged down towards us. We barely escaped from the approaching Ruten that was moving down the trees and we continued running as fast as we could. Ruten easily lost sight of us thanks to the bad visibility because of the sea of trees, but after that, it continued to persistently chase after us. It was also lucky that the trees grew in an intricate manner and got in the way. That huge Ruten, plunged forward with all its might, but as expected, most of its momentum was stopped. It¡¯s quite ironic that this sea of trees, which was the origin of the incident, helped us. ¡°Why is that Griffon chasing us!?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, ask him!¡± Kusaka, asked me with teary eyes. I don¡¯t know what a bird monster thinks. ¡°Calm down. We have to preserve our physical strength for now. We don¡¯t know when that bird will come again.¡± We were calmed down by Officer Doggy, and took some deep breath for the time being. Kusaka sat down along the wall. His knees were trembling due to fatigue, fear, or both. I adjusted my rough breathing and took out the smartphone from my chest pocket. It was still connected to Mikuma. ¡°Mikuma! What should we do? That guy¡¯s aiming for us!¡± ¡°Wait a minute! I just arrived home! From now on, I¡¯ll try to find out as much as I can about Ruten, the monster bird! Does the hunter there know anything!?¡± ¡°Furball! Do you know anything about that guy?!¡± ¡°¡­ It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t have any idea. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Gasaraio removed his left hand from the magic bazooka and began to ruffle his mane. ¡°Maybe, the last thing Ruten saw in Tusk Crag was us, the Paradise Siblings. Basically, he is a base defense type boss monster, but it has the disposition of eliminating intruders first.¡± He sighed and apologetically looked at Kusaka and Officer Doggy. ¡°¡­I don¡¯t know why Ruten left the magic stone room. But it was probably looking for us since its first principle of action is to eliminate intruders on the top floor of Tusk Crag.¡± ¡­ Huh? It can¡¯t be, right? Looking at it in chronological order, the intruder on the top floor that Ruten saw last. ¡°Ah, me.¡± It was me, wasn¡¯t it? ¡°Hah?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Gasaraio and Kusaka looked at me. Officer Doggy hurriedly put her finger on her mouth without saying anything. ¡°No never mind!¡± I hurriedly smoothed it over. That¡¯s right. My father and I went to Tusk Crag after Gasaraio. We even made eye contact with it on the top floor. Father was even laughing unintentionally at the monster bird Ruten who was stuck in the passageway. This is bad. This is my fault. It¡¯s aiming for me. I slowly return the smartphone to my ear and took a deep breath. ¡°Mikuma¡± At the same time as I was taking a breath, she spoke quietly. ¡°¡­ listen. I think Ruten is probably looking for Kunpei-kun.¡± It was confirmed. ¡°What should I do? What should I do?¡± I asked Mikuma for help. It probably holds a grudge against me. It was because I ignored that pitiful cry as its body was stuck. ¡°Calm down Kunpei-kun. In the first place, Ruten has no emotions. It¡¯s a dungeon monster.¡± Mikuma answered with a calm voice, and my head also cooled a little. ¡°For the time being, I¡¯ll do exhaustive research on Ruten. Leave the phone as it is, do you have enough charge?¡± ¡°Ah, yeah. I rarely use it, so it¡¯s still pretty much full. If I know his weaknesses, it may help us to escape.¡± ¡°Un. Try to avoid it as much as possible so that it doesn¡¯t spot you, okay?¡± ¡°I got it.¡± Mikuma diasappeared from the other end of the smartphone. The phone was still connected, so she was probably getting ready to do some research. ¡°Did you say she was your girlfriend?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not. She¡¯ll help us investigate Ruten.¡± Gasaraio asked without looking at me while opening the cover-like parts, on the bottom of the magic bazooka. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m checking the magic cartridges. I didn¡¯t think there would be a battle, so I didn¡¯t prepare a lot. It¡¯s a magic tool with poor fuel economy. I can only shoot two shots with one cartridge.¡± That¡¯s so less! ¡°Two shots, aren¡¯t magic cartridges also damn expensive?¡± Even if it was sold for home use, one costed about 100,000 yen. ¡°It¡¯s expensive. This type is extraordinarily expensive because it¡¯s a specialized cartridge rather than an ordinary one. Maybe the manufacturer is trying to earn through the cartridge fee, they only adopt incompatible types.¡± What dreadful business spirit. What a real problem even though you are dealing with this fantasy-like magic. How disappointing. ¡°This compression magic cannon is still on the cheap side. I think you saw it before, but the latest model gravity magic gun cannot use other magic cannonballs, and you can only shoot one shot with the dedicated cartridge. Although this one is a slightly older model released three years ago, it has a wide variety of magic cannonballs available and a short cooldown time. In addition, since recycled cartridges can be used, and there¡¯s a lot of recovered items, so it is relatively cheaper. There is no after-effects on the gunner side thanks to the cooling from the cold titanium furnace, and it is rarely distorted due to the calculated barrel design. It¡¯s a smash hit work that is said to be the best masterpiece among magic cannons that are hard to hit. It¡¯s a reliable work from Ante workshop, headed by Anten-san, the winged demon who got the title of Magic Metal Master. That workshop was famous for producing niche works, but their performance and design has always been recognized since the beginning among hunters and craftsmen. Average magic tool enthusiasts know, but its usability and reliability are surprisingly high. I¡¯ve never heard of any products from Ante workshop malfunction or stop working in a dungeon. That workshop announced three years ago without any notice of this elegantly designed compact compression gun, ¡°Gandil 2 cannon type magic cannon Black Croco¡±. It¡¯s not unusual to continue to be on top of the magic cannon category for three years even though magic tools keep improving every day. Which means it¡¯s a product with such a high degree of perfection. Do you understand that part? Is there magic to suppress recoil built into the unit? When you pull the trigger¡­¡± ¡°Stop, stop, stooop. Oi furball, calm down.¡± What happened. What a sudden surprise. I think it was a little interesting and got lost in it. ¡°¡­ Ah? ¡­ In short, I have to change the cartridge so there¡¯s never a time I can¡¯t shoot it.¡± A surprisingly short explanation. What was that earlier? ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t see the Ruten nearby. Shall we head towards the park I mentioned earlier?¡± Officer Doggy, who was wary of the surroundings, stroked her chest in relief and returned the pistol to her holster. ¡°Kusaka, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Eh, yes.¡± I shook the absentminded Kusaka and pulled his right arm to stand him up. He couldn¡¯t put strength into his body. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay. This time it¡¯s okay¡­¡± This guy is worrying too much. ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t worry. To tell you the truth, that furball should have beaten him once before. So he can do it again, right?¡± That¡¯s right. Gasaraio and them passed through Tusk Crag Dungeon once. The road leading to the summit was in a place where it would normally be difficult to find. So they should have searched the top floor very carefully. At that time, they should¡¯ve faced that rock Griffon. ¡°We didn¡¯t defeat it.¡± ¡°Hah?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t fight that guy.¡± Gasaraio said that bluntly started walking. ¡°Hey, wait.¡± ¡°Tusk Crag Dungeon¡¯s boss is famous for being able to pass by. It¡¯s quite troublesome because it has a huge body and it can fly, but there is a simple let down of a strategy that can be used to beat it.¡± I pulled Kusaka¡¯s arm while following. Officer Doggy followed behind us. ¡°A strategy?¡± If you have one, then you don¡¯t have to panic like this. ¡°Just put one person at the entrance of the room where Ruten is, and wait for that guy to charge over. When it targets that one person, the other hunters just have to watch.¡± Ah, I can already see the result of this strategy. ¡°If you dodge it to the side, it will be stuck in the entrance and won¡¯t be able to move. The success rate is 80% if it charges with enough momentum. That¡¯s why there¡¯s a strategy without fighting Tusk Crag¡¯s boss.¡± ¡­ Indeed, Ruten, who my father and I saw, was stuck at the entrance in front of the boss room. I wonder if that bird was repeating the same thing over and over. As expected of a bird brain. ¡°What a simple strategy¡­¡± I chased after Gasaraio while being amazed. Officer Doggy overtook us and stood beside Gasaraio. ¡°The park is close by. There¡¯s a dome-shaped playground slide over there, so I think we¡¯ll be able to rest for a while. If I remember correctly, there was a simple wooden door.¡± I know that park. It¡¯s quite spacious, and I often see the sight of moms bringing with their children and gossiping on days off after shopping. Someday I was thinking of making Jaja and Nana debut there in the park. Certainly there was a large round dome slide. Because of all the trees, the scenery was different, since I still wasn¡¯t too familiar with the local area, I only had a vague idea where I currently was. Officer Doggy, who was born and raised in this town, knew it well, so we continued to follow along with the navigation. Once in a while, I looked up at the sky and behind us, and when we advanced I could see a space like the park we were trying to reach. ¡°So it became a forest.¡± ¡°Was it recognized as a collection point by the magic stone?¡± Just like they said, beyond the fence, at the entrance to the park, there was a dense forest just like our high school sports ground. ¡°The slide is a little inside, but this park isn¡¯t that large so we¡¯ll be able to reach it right away. Let¡¯s go.¡± Since there were no objections, I will silently follow along. It would be better for me to take the lead here. Kusaka is weak and Gasaraio had a large body so it would be difficult to navigate. I naturally took the lead. I pushed aside the branches while making a path to make it easier for them to follow from behind. ¡°Is that it?¡± I immediately spotted the dome slide we were looking for. There was a thin wooden board on the side. It seems like the door to get inside. ¡°Uh, the branches are in the way and it doesn¡¯t seem like you can open it.¡± The tree branches were intertwined around the dome like it was vine, and blocked the door. ¡°Furball. I¡¯m going to get rid of the branches, so lend me a hand.¡± ¡°Oh¡± It seemed like he was getting used to being called furball, so he didn¡¯t complain anymore. ¡°It seems easy to break from here.¡± ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Gasaraio was messing around inside his golden down jacket. ¡°There it is. Here, you can use this.¡± ¡°Woah, what the hell?¡± From his inner chest pocket, he took out a red knife around 50 cm long. ¡°There¡¯s a pocket on the inside made of cloth that has storage magic capabilities. It¡¯s of a low rank, so I can¡¯t put much in. I can put up to about 40kg. If it exceeds that, it will be difficult to take out and put in.¡± ¡°Hou, it¡¯s a jacket with bad taste, but convenient.¡± ¡°This color was chosen to make it easy to identify the unit members within the dungeon. I know the design is bad.¡± It seems like you thought about it. ¡°To begin with, our big brother seems to have left his design sense behind somewhere. Sister basically never goes against big brother, so no one has complained. Until now, this jacket costs a reasonable price, so it¡¯s wasteful. I have already ordered a new design from the manufacturer.¡± ¡°Really, what about this knife?¡± It looks familiar. ¡°¡­ It was the knife I used to threaten you at that time. Needless to say, it has no killing ability. The blade part is thick, and it¡¯s endowed with specialized magic to cut stones, trees, and ropes. It is my handmade product that is not commercially available.¡± Ah. At that time. Just before the lariat. Even if you can¡¯t kill people with this, it¡¯s idiotic to point a knife-shaped object at people. ¡°¡­. So, this is just a blunt weapon.¡± Wouldn¡¯t someone die just by being smacked with something this big. ¡°Thanks to the magic, most things other than flesh can be easily cut through like butter. Though it can¡¯t cut rare metals and magical ores, it¡¯s surprisingly convenient.¡± Certainly convenient. It¡¯s perfect for a do-it-yourselfer. Even so, this guy can make magic tools? Like the explanation of the magic gun earlier, it seems that he has considerable knowledge and skill regarding magical tools. I silently cut the branches. Thanks to the knife, it was really easy. I could easily cut through the branches even without putting any strength into it. I looked to the side, and saw Gasaraio tearing off the branches. What¡¯s with that guy? His physical strength is amazing. ¡°Okay, you can open the door.¡± ¡°I can open it, right?¡± Kusaka, who was helping, put his strength into the door. ¡°Heave-ho!¡± He steadily opened the door with an idiotic voice. ¡°Ah, you guys!¡± Officer Doggy, who was watching us work from behind, made a startling voice. ¡°Hm? What¡¯s wrong?¡± I couldn¡¯t see the inside of the dome from my position. I bent down, lowered me head, and looked into the interior from the low entrance. ¡°Ah¡± There¡¯s someone here. ¡°Hic, Hiik¡± ¡°Fueeeeh!¡± ¡°Mama¡­ maaama¡­¡± ¡°Did you save us¡­?¡± There were about seven small children in the dome. Chapter 99 - Breaking Through the Neighborhood Labyrinth (7) ¡°Hina! Why are you here!¡± Kusaka raised his voice while propping the door open with one hand. ¡°O-nii-chan?¡± The biggest girl among the children looked at Kusaka with tears in her eyes. ¡°Oh! Onii-chan! Onii-chan!¡± She stood up and clung to Kusaka. ¡°You were okay¡­ thank god.¡± Kusaka embraced the child tightly. ¡°Kusaka¡¯s sister?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say she was at school?¡± Gasaraio and I were standing next to them and looking at Kusaka. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about that later. It looks like there are some small children. Hello everyone, I¡¯m a police officer, everything is okay now.¡± Police Officer Doggy passed by Kusaka and his sister and bent over to enter the dome slide. ¡°Furball, I¡¯ll scare them, so calm the kids down.¡± ¡°Not to brag, but kids don¡¯t like me either. Let¡¯s just leave it to the her.¡± We¡¯re no help. Gasaraio and I clearly look like bad people. As Gasaraio says, I am aware that I have a very villainous face, and Gasaraio is a lion. If two such people go inside, we¡¯ll frighten the crying children even further. ¡°¡­ A police officer?¡± ¡°Mama¡­ I¡¯m scared.¡± ¡°Everyone is going to be okay. The police officers came.¡± The children each had their own reactions and stopped crying a little. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s not scared anymore. You guys did well. See those guys over there? They look really strong, right?¡± Officer Doggy smiled gently and hugged the cowering children in front of her. ¡°Uuueeeeeeeeh.¡± ¡°Scary¡­ scary¡­¡± ¡°Hina nee-chan, it¡¯s dangerous outside, so let¡¯s hide here¡­ uuuu¡± The children started crying all at once. ¡°Oi, furball! I¡¯m wondering! They¡¯re crying!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that to me! Um, look, Gaaaa!¡± What was he thinking? Gasaraio suddenly let out an intimidating roar and made the children cry even louder. ¡°You idiot!¡± ¡°But, but¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay.¡± ?Officer Doggy spread out her arms. A total of six small children clung to Officer Doggy. 2 boys and 4 girls? ¡°Hina, why are you here? You said you were going to go to the library.¡± The Kusaka siblings who were still hugging separated from each other, and the brother wiped her sister¡¯s tears. ¡°U-un, I was looking for a book to read next time at the child welfare facility and I was going to bring it after I found it. At that time, these children were playing in the park and suddenly a lot of trees attacked. So I came here without thinking.¡± What a remarkable child. Was she protecting the younger children? ¡°Then the doors wouldn¡¯t open and I tried to calm down these kids so they won¡¯t cry. Uuueeeeeh!¡± ¡°Yeah! Good job Hina, you¡¯re amazing. Everything¡¯s okay now!¡± I wonder if Hina is now afraid, and once again she buried her face into her brother¡¯s chest. ¡°Ah, so they were able to run away, but couldn¡¯t get out after the growing trees entangled this slide? How unlucky.¡± ¡°Idiot. Read the atmosphere, furball.¡± You should praise their hard work first. ¡°Guoooooooooo!!¡± ¡°Hiii!¡± Hina let out a short scream because of the sudden strange sound and her shoulders stiffened. It¡¯s Ruten! It seems that that guy can¡¯t read the atmosphere either! ¡°Let¡¯s go inside for now! We¡¯ll think of a plan later!¡± Gasaraio and Kusaka nodded at my voice, and dived through the entrance in order. ¡°I¡¯m sorry everyone, it¡¯s a bit cramped.¡± There were now seven children and four adults, so it became cramped. Kusaka still had a stature of an elementary school student, but Gasaraio was too big. ¡°Hey furball! Don¡¯t you have some sort of shrinking magic tool? You¡¯re way too big!¡± ¡°Stop saying stupid stuff! Of course, there¡¯s no such thing!¡± With a stampede of footsteps, we managed to squeeze everyone inside. Two boys and one girl was on Gasaraio¡¯s lap. Kusaka was holding his sister, Officer Doggy was hugging two girls and there was one little girl on my lap. We were arranged so that the adults were against the outside wall and the children were on the inside so they could move easier. But it doesn¡¯t change the fact that it was cramped. At any rate, it was eleven people. Normal playground equipment aren¡¯t made to be that spacious. When I closed the door, the inside became pitch black. Did these children endure by huddling with each other in such a dark place? Really great. I inadvertently stroked the head of the girl sitting on my lap. The girl raised her neck and seemed to be looking at me strangely. I took out the smartphone from my chest pocket, a little light returns inside due to the screen. Because moving the arm in such a narrow space was an obstacle, I switched to speakers. ¡°Mikuma, are you there?¡± I called out to the smartphone that has been connected since earlier. ¡°Yup, I¡¯m here. I was listening to the situation. Everyone is amazing, this person is very strong so please don¡¯t worry.¡± A woman who can remember her lip service. That is Mikuma Yunno. Smiles have returned to the faces of the children. Unfortunately, I¡¯m not really strong. ¡°How about it? Did you learn anything?¡± ¡°Not much about Ruten. As Gasaraio-san said, it¡¯s standard practice to ignore the boss of Tusk Crag, so even the professional people on the Underground Hunter bulletin board don¡¯t talk about it much. I mean, maybe there aren¡¯t any hunters who¡¯ve fought it other than the initial ones.¡± I wonder if that bird has been ignored for a while and that¡¯s why it¡¯s holding a grudge. ¡°Furball, do you not know?¡± ¡°To speak frankly, even without any weaknesses, my big brother and sister can beat it at their level. It can¡¯t do anything if you pay attention to its lunge and wind breath. So I didn¡¯t worry about its weaknesses. That was the first time we went there, but when I looked it up, I came to the conclusion that it wasn¡¯t a big deal, so I stopped doing it halfway.¡± What kind of monsters are your siblings? ¡°Ah, just to tell you, I¡¯m not as strong as my siblings, so it¡¯s impossible, ya know?¡± ¡°I know, idiot.¡± ¡°So Mikuma, did you collect any information other than Ruten?¡± ¡°Yup, somehow when I checked my conjecture with the information on the bulletin board. It¡¯s not conclusive evidence, but I¡¯ve come to understand why Tusk Crag became like this.¡± As expected of the brain of the Kazamachi family. She¡¯s so excellent that it¡¯s dazzling. Ah, was the smartphone screen this dazzling? ¡°What does that mean? Is there a reason?¡± Gasaraio looked at the smartphone. The kids were quiet, probably because they could tell that we were talking about something important. What clever kids, looks like they have a promising future. ¡°Yes, first of all, there¡¯s something I would like to ask Officer Doggy¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°How many hunters are participating? There is information on the internet that the hunters are helping. Do you know how many?¡± The treasure hunters other than Gasaraio and his siblings? I didn¡¯t see anything along the way. I feel relieved because it seems they¡¯re working. ¡°Um, there was a little less than 100 people in the large-scale survey. There¡¯s the three members from the ¡°Paradise Siblings¡± who came to this town for another matter, and eighteen members from the association¡¯s personal research team.¡± ¡°Are you checking the magic tools, weapons, research materials, and transportation vehicles used in the investigation?¡± ¡°Pretty much. There are materials where only drivers with special qualifications can transport. Personal belongings and daily necessities are also quickly checked. What about it?¡± ¡°There was a tweet from an ordinary private transportation company, that person was complaining about being caught up on helping the Hunter Association with their transport, which was strange.¡± ¡°What¡¯s strange about that? Isn¡¯t that just transporting materials?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s the first I¡¯ve heard of it. It¡¯s strange.¡± Gasaraio was the one who answered my question. ¡°Yeah, when the Treasure Hunters Association transports goods, the company is decided. The goods are dangerous to some extent, and the ones collected from the dungeon are special. For a large-scale project like this one, that¡¯s even accepted checks by the police and government, the transportation company would have to report the vehicle model and plate number. It¡¯s against the rules to hire individual private transportation companies. The bulletin board is suspicious of it, and come to the conclusion that it¡¯s a trick. In the first place, the large-scale survey itself is conducted in secret, so people don¡¯t trust it.¡± ¡°¡­ If that¡¯s true, that means they¡¯re secretly transporting materials into this town that they want to keep secret from the police.¡± Officer Doggy placed her hand on her chin and began to think. ¡°And one more thing, Gasaraio-san, this was from another bulletin board.¡± ¡°What is it.¡± Gasaraio answered with a serious look. ¡°Are hunters notified when recent dungeon activities have stopped?¡± ¡°Ah, of course. We wouldn¡¯t want to go for no reason. Also if we do excessive things it will hinder the magic stone¡¯s revival, and it is possible to bring out the magic stone. There are penalties if you do not report it.¡± ¡°Then, did you know that a small dungeon in Aichi Prefecture suddenly stopped its activity the day before yesterday?¡± ¡°Hah?¡± Gasaraio had a blank expression. ¡°At the Mikawa Stage dungeon, when the hunter was exploring the destruction of the monster they were fighting against, the dungeon stopped producing monsters.¡± ¡°No, no, that¡¯s impossible. When we went four months ago, the magic stone should have had enough magical power to last for another ten years. And that information didn¡¯t come, it usually arrives the next day.¡± Gasaraio shook his head to deny it and his mane moved dynamically along with it. The boys sitting on his laps were reaching out at it with interest. ¡°When the hunter in the Mikawa Dungeon went to the innermost place and confirmed it, the magic stone was gone. Although I reported it, there was a reply that there was no notification of progress report from the association. After that, there was a lot of denial on the whole bulletin board, which ended up being a hoax.¡± ¡°Unauthorized collection of magic stones is a criminal offense! Isn¡¯t that serious!¡± Hey, I know you couldn¡¯t help but bark at Mikuma. But the children are startled, so stop it. ¡°Gasaraio-san, what would happen if that missing magic stone was brought into Tusk Crag?¡± ¡°Well, if it was the same type of magic stone, then it¡¯ll resonate¡­¡± ¡°No way.¡± Gasaraio stiffened. Officer Doggy touched her mouth in surprise. I, Kusaka, and the children were looking on blankly. It became a little difficult to keep up with. ¡°Fusion, growth¡­¡± ¡°Oi, oi, that¡± I finally caught up, so in short¡­ ¡°Yup, that person from the private transportation company, was probably transporting a magic stone. I think they brought a magic stone to open the ¡®Inside Dungeon¡¯.¡± ¡°Then isn¡¯t this uproar all because of the Treasure Hunters Association?¡± That¡¯s right! My intuition was on the mark! More importantly, what is the inside dungeon? ¡°What¡­ transferring magic stone without the permission of the state, that would be a felony, right?¡± Officer Doggy held her forehead and let out a deep sigh. ¡°¡­The Mikawa stage is the same as Tusk Crag, and it is made of a magic stone with the earth attribute. I see, the goal was the ¡°inner dungeon¡±, it seems that¡¯s what Chairman Bemon was thinking.¡± Gasaraio scratched his mane. It seems that it¡¯s something that these guys weren¡¯t told. ¡°Kunpei-kun, can you turn the speakers off?¡± ¡°A-aah¡± I turned the speakers off, as told. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°In dungeons, there¡¯s a hidden level called the inner dungeon, that opens only when the magic stone¡¯s power is strong. It¡¯s usually closed, so the inside is untouched, so it feels like a treasure room. There is a tendency for strong monsters to appear due to the accumulation of magical power, so the association may have judged that Aoi-chan is hiding there.¡± Ah, I see. Come to think of it, you can get to the top of Tusk Crag by helicopter. Since they knew in advance that there was no dragon on the top, they searched for another possibility. ¡°If the magic stones brought in were fused and the ¡°Inner Dungeon¡± was opened, I can understand why Ruten is here. The stronger monsters in the ¡°Inner Dungeon¡± took over the authority of the boss monster, and the top floor was probably extended to a higher level. At that time, Ruten was released from that passage and rushed out of Tusk Crag, looking for Kunpei-kun who¡¯s fresh in its memory. That¡¯s my guess.¡± No, you are really amazing. ¡°¡­ Yeah. That sounds about right, thanks.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too early for thanks, if you don¡¯t manage to deal with Ruten, the whole area there will become a danger zone. The boss¡¯s rights have been transferred, but the magical power that flowed to Ruten should still be shared with the magic stone. Maybe if Ruten is defeated, the expansion of the forest may stop¡­ This is also just a guess, so I¡¯ll investigate further.¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m counting on you. You really are reliable.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad. I was praised by Kunpei-kun. Has Aoi-chan and Shouhei-kun not contacted you yet?¡± That¡¯s right. For now, I¡¯ll know immediately when a call comes in. ¡°Not yet. If Aoi is there, monsters are not a threat, but I¡¯m still worried.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, that girl won¡¯t allow the twins to be in danger. Now we just have to think about how you guys can escape from this situation and evacuate to a safe place. I¡¯ll collect information about Ruten¡¯s sightings and tell you when to leave, so don¡¯t hang up.¡± Someone who can do anything. Thank you. ¡°Roger that.¡± ¡°Then, see you later.¡± We exchanged words with each other shortly and I put the smartphone back in my inner pocket. Officer Doggy turned on the penlight that the holster was furnished with. The children followed the light and looked at the ceiling. Jaja, Nana, Shouhei, Aoi, Yuri-san. Please be safe. Chapter 100 - Breaking Through the Neighborhood Labyrinth (8) ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s okay. The sighting information has just been uploaded. Ruten is not near here right now.¡± I nodded silently to Mikuma¡¯s voice that could be heard from the smartphone and made eye contact with Gasaraio. ¡°Okay, thank you Mikuma. Are we ready?¡± I sheathed the knife I borrowed from Gasaraio through its dedicated holder and asked while mounting it on my belt. ¡°Ah, the policewoman and the blonde chibi will be in front. After that, the children, then the villain and I will be in the rear.¡± Officer Doggy who was carrying a weapon, Gasaraio who has experience in combat sandwiched the group and I followed. Taking the children into consideration as well, the formation had to be like this. Kusaka looked after the children carefully so that they wouldn¡¯t scatter. ¡°Everyone, we¡¯re going. Please don¡¯t get separated.¡± ¡°U-un.¡± ¡°O-okay.¡± Officer Doggy smiled gently and looked at the children. Each one had a stiff expression, but they are strong children. The small children mustered their courage. If we adults don¡¯t have it together, we won¡¯t be able to stay strong. ¡°¡­ now.¡± Gasaraio stepped outside the dome-shaped slide and confirmed the safety of the surrounding area before beckoning with his hand. Nodding at those words, I first brought the boys out. Next, Officer Doggy quickly entered the forest with the girls. Finally, the Kusaka siblings went out, and Gasaraio and I went to the end. We went down the path that I made when we entered this park. Before leaving the park, Officer Doggy stopped the children and first checked that the road was safe. ¡°It¡¯s okay. The community center is this way. Don¡¯t rush, follow me, okay?¡± The nervous children nodded repeatedly and followed Officer Doggy out of the park. ¡°Furball, did you get in touch with your siblings?¡± Gasaraio and I were talking while checking the sky and behind us. ¡°No, I couldn¡¯t get through, so I sent a text. Their patrol route should be near the evacuation shelter.¡± ¡°Speaking of which, why are you by yourself?¡± If you¡¯re a newcomer, wouldn¡¯t it have been better to be with one of them? ¡°Since Nanairo-aneki is the only one who causes trouble without fail. She has a short temper and is quarrelsome, even Seijistsu-aniki doesn¡¯t know why she explodes, and only he can stop her when she¡¯s like that.¡± Your older sister is like nitroglycerin. ¡°Did you get in touch with your family?¡± ¡°No, I also sent a text.¡± They didn¡¯t answer the phone at home, so I wonder if they went to an evacuation shelter outside. Only Shouhei has a smartphone, which is inconvenient at times like this. I should have given Aoi one, but she did have a record of breaking my smartphone. ¡°I heard from Officer Doggy¡¯s mom, who was with them, so I think they¡¯re probably okay.¡± I pretend to be calm, but I¡¯m anxious. ¡°¡­ Sorry, it¡¯s because of the Treasure Hunter Association.¡± I was surprised. I was so surprised that I left my mouth open. I didn¡¯t think that this large impertinent cat would apologize to me. He did apologized once before, but that should have been for everyone. ¡°¡­ What¡¯s with that face?¡± Noticing that I wasn¡¯t replying, Gasaraio glanced sideways at my face. ¡°Ah, no. Nothing.¡± I came to my senses and was a little flustered. ¡°Well, even though I¡¯m a novice, I¡¯m still part of the Hunter Association. So I would feel some guilt. It¡¯s also disgraceful to involve an ordinary citizen.¡± Gasaraio diverted his line of sight and continued on. ¡°That¡¯s why, well, sorry.¡± ¡­ The first impression was the worst but now that I think about it now, he may have a bad mouth but he isn¡¯t a bad person. ¡°Well, that¡¯s what the guys above did of their own accord, right? Well, it¡¯s not like you were wrong, and you know, you¡¯re helping us? It¡¯s not like we¡¯re not thankful, so there¡¯s no need to apologize¡­¡± ¡°Ha ha, why are you trying to take me into consideration? Idiot.¡± Gasaraio squinted and smiled happily. ¡°S-shut up!¡± After that, we cracked jokes while following after the kids. When we walked for a while, we saw the signboard for the community centre. ¡°It¡¯s looks about just a bit further, right.¡± Kusaka lead the girl¡¯s hand and talked to Officer Doggy. The children were different in age, and the older children were holding the hands of the younger children. How admirable. ¡°That¡¯s right, everyone do your best!¡± ¡°Yup!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best!¡± ¡°Onee-chan! Just a little more!¡± The smallest girl that was holding Hina¡¯s hand looked at her with a big smile. ¡°Yeah! Let¡¯s do our best?¡± ¡°Yup!¡± Hina-chan titled her chestnut color hair and smiled at the girl. Gasaraio and I looked at that scene in the back, but didn¡¯t relax our vigilance. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen a single monster.¡± ¡°In the first place, we¡¯re far away from Tusk Crag. Monsters are born in fixed places, so only fast ones can come to this place. Even an average hunter can easily deal with a Rock Wolf, so maybe the other hunters already got rid of them.¡± I had a really tough time though. ¡°It¡¯s natural for hunters to carry around magic tools that doesn¡¯t break the rules. Rather, it was strange that you were fighting monsters without any equipment.¡± Ah, was my dissatisfaction revealed on my face? ¡°Kunpei-kun! Can you hear me!?¡± I heard Mikuma¡¯s voice from the smartphone in my chest pocket. ¡°Oh, I can hear you. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Ruten is heading there! Hide!¡± Shit! Our goal was right in front of us! ¡°There was information with a photo from a nearby building! Quickly!¡± ¡°Officer Doggy!¡± ¡°Everyone, this way! Quickly!¡± A swift judgment! ¡°Hina! Hold on to that girl! I¡¯ll carry you!¡± Without time to reply to Kusaka¡¯s words, Hina held onto the smallest girl.¡£ Gasaraio and I both ran and picked up the children by two¡¯s. Eventually, we could see a crossroad in front of us. ¡°There¡¯s a convenience store in this corner¡­ no stop! Run away!¡± Officer Doggy, who turned around the corner, suddenly shouted loudly. What!? ¡°Kyaaah!¡± Officer Doggy took a step back and her chest was cut by something that jumped out of the corner. ¡°Uwahhh!¡± ¡°Police officer-san!¡± The children¡¯s short screams echoed. ¡°Furball! I¡¯m going ahead!¡± ¡°Oh!¡± I entrusted the child to Gasaraio, pulled the knife out of the holder, and ran towards Officer Doggy. ¡°Rock Wolf!¡± The rock wolf was there, snorting. I stood in front of Officer Doggy, holding the knife. ¡°Furball! Ill attract its attention, so find a chance to shoot it! Kusaka! I¡¯m leaving Officer Doggy to you!¡± I glanced at Officer Doggy. It¡¯s okay, she¡¯s alive. It seems that the Rock Wolf¡¯s claws tore her clothes at the chest and there was some blood, but the wound was shallow. Did she black out when she was hit, she¡¯s lying there limply. ¡°Y-yes! Doggy-san!¡± Kusaska made the kids fall back, and rushed over to Officer Doggy lying on the ground, grabbed her right arm, and pulled vigorously. I faced the Rock Wolf. The wall at the crossroad should be a blind spot for it. Gasaraio who was well hidden already had his magic cannon readied. The children and Hina-chan took refuge behind there, and Kusaka also arrived there while dragging Officer Doggy. ¡°Be careful!¡± I know! Maybe it reacted to Gasaraio¡¯s words, but the Rock Wolf swiftly retreated. I don¡¯t have the skill to hit with magic cannon with one shot. If that weapon is the only weapon that can bring them down with one shot, then Gasaraio who can surely hit them has to be the gunner and I have to act as the decoy. ¡°Hey, come on!¡± I have to hurry up and lead this guy away. I don¡¯t know when Ruten will appear, and I¡¯m also worried about Officer Doggy¡¯s injuries. Don¡¯t rush. I can¡¯t be impatient. I have to deal with this thing quickly and with certainty. Keep cool, Kunpei. ¡°Guaaaaaaa!¡± The Rock Wolf roared, ignoring me and started running towards the wall of one of the buildings. What! Really! ¡°Gah!¡± ¡°Ah! That kind of thing!¡± He kicked off the wall and attack me. A so-called wall kick. The Rock Wolf came at an angle and then bent and dodged diagonally. What¡¯s with this guy! If he landed there, he wouldn¡¯t be in the line of sight of the magic cannon! ¡°Furball! Don¡¯t move!¡± I stopped Gasaraio who got impatient and tried to move, dodged, and prepared for the next attack. ¡°Are you an idiot! You have to protect the children too! If you weren¡¯t there, who would shoot Ruten down!¡± ¡°S-sorry!¡± That¡¯s right. If that monster finds us, only Gasaraio can take the initiative. If we were preoccupied by this shitty wolf and missed Ruten¡¯s attack, then we¡¯ll be finished. ¡°Onii-chan!¡± Hina-chan voice resounded. ¡°A-ah! Aniki! It¡¯s Ruten! Ruten is over there!¡± ¡°Are you kidding me!¡± While avoiding the Rock Wolf that kicked off the wall again and attacked from the side, I looked around and searched for Ruten. It was there. That annoying bird bastard flew straight towards us from over the other side of the community center. It¡¯s the worst thing that could have happened! We don¡¯t have the strength to fight the Rock Wolf and Ruten at the same time! ¡°Furball! Shoot Ruten!¡± ¡°I know! It¡¯s still out of range!¡± The Rock Wolf attacked, changing methods one after another. With Ruten¡¯s appearance, the option of receiving support from Gasaraio has disappeared. He¡¯s taking care of Ruten, I¡¯m taking care of the Rock Wolf. We can¡¯t take our eyes off either of them. Damn it, think! Think, think, come up with a method that can help, even a little! ¡°Kunpei-kun!¡± ¡°Sorry! I don¡¯t have time now!¡± I could hear Mikuma¡¯s worried scream from the smartphone. I want to say that I¡¯m okay, but¡­ sorry. I have my hands full! ¡°Hit!¡± Along with Gasaraio¡¯s voice, a red flash emitted from the magic cannon that he readied. The silent style cannonball shot out of the magic cannon that Gasaraio explained by and flew towards Ruten. ¡°Kuoooooooo!¡± Ruten¡¯s cry echoed in the sky. ¡°¡­ You¡¯re kidding.¡± Gasaraio murmured as the cry stopped. What! I¡¯m too busy to see it! Can you stop doing things that¡¯ll make me worry!? ¡°What happened? What about Ruten?¡± ¡°It¡¯s no use! What¡¯s with that guy! I didn¡¯t hear that it could to that!¡± So what happened!? ¡°It was hit back with its wings! A long-distance magic cannon can¡¯t hit him!¡± ¡°Haaah!?¡± Then, what are we going to do? ¡°Furball! Don¡¯t you have anything else!? Don¡¯t you have other hidden magic tools!?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think I would fight, and the procedures to bring them are a pain, so the only magical tool that¡¯s a weapon is the magic cannon! Even the cannonballs are the simplest ones!¡± ¡°Then, just take out what you have!¡± You can complain later! ¡°W-wait a minute! There isn¡¯t that much!? Um, this is a wall shield, this is a flash lantern, and this is no good! What¡¯s left is just magic tools to help with exploration!¡± Gasaraio screamed as he rummaged through his magic pocket. It was! This guy was like this when he¡¯s about to blow his fuse! It¡¯s the same as when we first met! Hmm? ¡°Wait a minute, what is that wall shield!¡± I was interested in that! I was finally able to hit the Rock Wolf¡¯s hind legs and glanced at Gasaraio for a moment. ¡°Eh? Ah, this? It¡¯s the toughest type of defense magical tool that you hold with two hands. It¡¯s heavy and difficult to handle, so you can¡¯t operate it unless you stop moving.¡± ¡°Send that over! And let¡¯s change spots!¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t really get it, but I understand!¡± I rolled forward to avoid the approaching Rock Wolf that had its mouth opened, and changed positions with Gasaraio who rushed over. ¡°This is it! It¡¯s heavy!¡± ¡°Guh!¡± I received the circular shield that Gasaraio hurled at me. Even after I sheathed the knife in the holder and received it with both hands, my body staggered under the weight. It was a metal shield coated in matte black and about twice the size of my face. ¡°Can this be activated just by holding it?!¡± ¡°You have two handles on the inside! Pull the right trigger to turn it on, and pull the left side at the same time to secure the barrier to the ground!¡± Gasaraio swung the magic cannon and blew the Rock Wolf away. That guy is strong as expected. ¡°Okay, I got it! Bring down that shitty wolf as soon as possible!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best! I¡¯m not compatible with this guy so don¡¯t expect too much!¡± I know! Gasaraio is a power type just like how he looks. It will be difficult to deal with the swift Rock Wolf. While keeping an eye on Ruten, I retreated to where the Kusaka siblings and the children were. ¡°Kusaka! What about Officer Doggy?!¡± ¡°Eh, ah! She¡¯s regained consciousness! The wound on her chest isn¡¯t that deep!¡± ¡°Kazamachi-kun¡­ it¡¯s okay. It hurts but I won¡¯t die.¡± Alright, okay! Officer Doggy raised her body as she pressed down on her blood-soaked chest. It seems that she¡¯s still staggering and her line of sight is not focused. ¡°Kusaka! I¡¯ll take all of Ruten¡¯s attacks, so during that time, take Officer Doggy and the kids to the community center!¡± That¡¯s it, one at a time. One by one, one by one. First of all, we need to ensure the safety of the injured Officer Doggy, and of the children and Kusaka who cannot fight. I don¡¯t know how much this magic tool can withstand, but I will do as much as I can! ¡°Eh? That¡¯s¡­ I can¡¯t do it alone!¡± Even if it¡¯s impossible, you have no choice but to do it! Kusaka must take the children and Officer Doggy to the community center by himself. I don¡¯t know how much Officer Doggy can move. ¡°Kuh, I know¡­ it should be my job, but now I don¡¯t have the strength to take on that role¡­ I¡¯ll lessen the burden as much as possible and use all my strength to follow along.¡± Sorry, Officer Doggy. You did your best to encourage the children and was even injured. We¡¯ve been depending on you too much up until now. Without Officer Doggy, we are nothing more than an incohesive group. You even mediated the insignificant quarrel between me Gasaraio. What do we do other than our best in this predicament? ¡°It¡¯s coming! Leave the talking, apologies, and excuses for later! There¡¯s no time Kusaka! Resolve yourself!¡± ¡°Ehhhhh!¡± It was not the place to answer Kusaka¡¯s screams. I had a lot to be worried about, but there was no time to think! Ruten was already coming in front of me. The first bet was that it would come straight to me! The last intruder into Tusk Crag that you saw, I¡¯m right here! ¡°Guoooooh!¡± It came! I held the two handles on the inside of the shield and hold it out in front of me. ¡°Oryaaaaa!¡± I pulled the triggers at the same time. The magic barrier opened instantly. A thick translucent pink wall spread around the shield. ¡°Guaaaaa!¡± ¡°Oh! Guh!¡± The barrier splendidly blocked its giant body. At the same time, the impact was so great that my feet sunk into the ground. ¡°Guhh! Heavy!¡± Why is it so heavy! Oh yeah, it was a rock monster! No, but normally I shouldn¡¯t be able to take a rock of this size!? ¡°While the barrier is deployed, any impact on the handle side should be absorbed! Brace your legs!¡± Further beyond Ruten and the barrier, Gasaraio, who was holding the fangs of the Rock Wolf back with the magic cannon, shouted. Thank god! I didn¡¯t even think about it because I moved without thinking! How dangerous! ¡°Guhhhh! Kusaka! Hurry up!¡± It worked! Now take this chance to get to the community center! ¡°Hii! I can¡¯t! it¡¯s impossible!¡± You¡¯re joking right, Kusaka. Are you serious. ¡°You! Are you getting cold feet at this point in time! Gahhh!¡± ¡°O-onii-chan!¡± I looked at Officer Doggy and the children who were clinging to Kusaka. Everyone was anxious and looked close to crying, but not a single person was crying. ¡°But, but!¡± ¡°Tsk!¡± The weight suddenly disappeared as soon as I clicked my tongue, Ruten disappeared. I looked up at the sky, Ruten was spreading its wings and was becoming smaller. I ??think it¡¯s going to rise to gain momentum and charge again. I lowered the shield, approached Kusaka, grabbed him by the collar and pulled him towards me. Kusaka¡¯s legs were trembling and he was withdrawing. This guy is pissing me off! ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who said it! That you couldn¡¯t protect your sister and that you wanted to change! What was that?! Was it all empty words?! Didn¡¯t you look up to me, don¡¯t you know how I am! I definitely won¡¯t shrink back from protecting the ones I want to protect!¡± ¡°Hiiii!¡± I¡¯m begging you! For God¡¯s sake Kusaka! It¡¯s your turn now! ¡°Onii-chan! I¡¯ll do my best together! Please!¡± Hina-chan had teary eyes and clung to Kusaka. ¡°H-hina¡­¡± Gasaraio and I were both tied up. Officer Doggy was injured and couldn¡¯t move like usual. Despite being reliable, Hina-chan was just a girl in elementary school. The children endured desperately from crying, and bit their lips. There¡¯s no one else but you. This situation will not change unless you muster up your courage and lead everyone! Aaah! I¡¯m frustrated for not being able to express it well! Why can¡¯t I speak properly at times like this! ¡°Kazamachi-kun! It¡¯s coming!¡± I looked up at the sky in response to Officer Doggy¡¯s voice. Ruten spread its wings especially wide and took a nosedive. After confirming it, I turned to face Kusaka again. ¡°Kusaka, it¡¯s right now! The first step to becoming stronger that Gasaraio was talking about, take that step! Now¡¯s the time!¡± I strengthened the hand that was gripping his collar and stared straight into his frightened eyes. I looked straight at Kusaka¡¯s eyes and appealed to his heart, not his head. I hoped that it would be transmitted and that he would start moving, I released my hand and left. ¡°A-aniki¡­ I, I¡­¡± Kusaka sat down in a daze. I couldn¡¯t hide my disappointment at his appearance, so I bit my lips. It¡¯s no good. If I keep looking at him, I¡¯ll surely swear at him. I took an appropriate distance from them and turned towards Ruten. I held the shield directly above and lowered my waist. I¡¯m not your Aniki. I already said that a littler brother is unnecessary. That¡¯s it. First, I have to recognize him. This guy is a man with willpower. From the day since I transferred, no matter how cruelly I treated him, he still persistently followed me around, so he was undoubtedly tenacious. I knew all along. There was some fear mixed into his eyes that were looking at me. Obedient with excellent grades. He has a lot of friends and a cute childhood friend that worries about him. How much courage did it take for the person, Kusaka Makio, who couldn¡¯t move even if his sister was crying in front of her, to follow an infamous guy like me? He modified his school uniform, and dyed his hair blond and made it into a pompadour against his friends and family¡¯s opposition. He was lectured for going against the school dress code but still continued to maintain it! All of it. Didn¡¯t he continue to have courage and am intent to become stronger starting form his appearance! What should I recognize? Yes, I¡¯m his classmate. There¡¯s no need for honorifics. It¡¯s different from being called Aniki. You are my classmate. I¡¯m a friend. ¡°I¡¯m counting on you, so do your best! Makio!!¡± I pulled both triggers on the handle without taking my eyes off of Ruten that was in front of me. ¡°Guhhh!!¡± The impact caused all the bones in my body to grate. The direct hit from directly above wasn¡¯t even comparable to the previous one. If I lost focus for even a bit, I wouldn¡¯t be able to endure this weight and would be crushed. ¡°Ye¡­ Yes!¡± A voice filled with determined reached my ears. Chapter 101 - She’s Like a Bright Red Flame That Burns Quietly (1) I didn¡¯t recognize him. Kusaka Makio, who wanted to be strong, looked up to such a such an evil and violent looking man. I have to admit it. He might still be weak. But his passion was real. So, let¡¯s recognize that guy first. ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ move! Move!¡± The small but powerful voice was definitely a voice of determination. I was in a critical situation, so it was regrettable that I was not able to imprint that magnificent image on my retina. But it¡¯s okay. If it¡¯s Kusaka, no Makio, he can do it. Because I knew that he had said that he wanted to be strong, and there was an immeasurable power dwelling in his eyes. I was pressured by his eyes that gave off a dazzling glow. Therefore, when it reached the critical point, I didn¡¯t have any feeling of doubt about his determination. ¡°Let¡¯s go Doggy-san! Everyone, don¡¯t leave our side! Hold hands, and if you¡¯re scared, you can close your eyes! Just never stop moving! ¡° A brave voice that was different from before. Officer Doggy saw that and stroked her chest and exhaled with relief. ¡°Yeah¡­ yeah! Did everyone hear that?¡± Hina-chan¡¯s delightful voice echoed. ¡°I-I got it!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not scared!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let go!¡± The children¡¯s voices had no signs of fear. While listening to that exchange, my limbs filled with power. ¡°Guuuuuuuuuu! Daammmmn ittttt! I wanted to regain my vitality and willpower, so I exhaled from the bottom of my stomach. Ruten flapped his wings above me and puts his entire weight on the shield¡¯s barrier. Is it going to be crushed? At least until those children, Hina-chan, Officer Doggy, and Makio leave here safely! It¡¯s a contest of endurance between you and me! ¡°Aniki! I¡¯ll call for help right away!¡± ¡°Nggggg! I¡¯ll leave it to you! Makio!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± I couldn¡¯t afford to, but I had to say it while looking at his eyes. I twisted my neck. The face I finally saw was an androgynous, handsome and childish face. He could even be called a girl because of his height. The face of the mascot character of our grade. But now it¡¯s different. His gaze was dignified and the determination was enough. ¡°It¡¯s not Aniki! Call me Kunpei! Buddy!¡± Makio froze for a moment. However, he immediately raised his eyebrows, looked straight at my eyes and nodded. ¡°Un! Kunpei-kun!¡± That voice was enough. I turned back to face Ruten that was above me and mustered up my strength. ¡°Blonde Chibi! Makio, was it? I¡¯ll definitely hold this back! I¡¯m counting on you for reinforcements!¡± ¡°Yes! Doggy-san, I¡¯ll lend you my shoulder!¡± ¡°Sorry, please.¡± ¡°Everyone, we¡¯re going!¡± ¡°Un!¡± He gave a short reply to Gasaraio, and you could hear the sound of their running footsteps. Thank goodness. At least the children can now go to a safe place. From here to the community center, it should not be too far away even for the children. If what Gasaraio and Mikuma said is true, there should be some treasure hunters over there protecting those who have evacuated. ¡°Kunpei-kun! You don¡¯t have to reply, just listen! The call to the fire department finally connected! A nearby hunter is heading there! So just hang in there!¡± You¡¯re so awesome that if you were in front of me I would hug you Mikuma! With this, hope and possibility increased! My family is waiting! I can¡¯t lose! ¡°Kuoooooooooooooo!!¡± Maybe it was surprised that I was gradually regaining my strength, Ruten spreads its wings and flew up, leaving me. My spirit won. To be honest, it would have been dangerous if that continued. ¡°Fuaahhhhh! Haaaaa!¡± My lungs were seeking the missing oxygen. My body was heavy with sweat it was covered in. I lowered the shield and followed Ruten with just my eyes. It flew figure eight¡¯s in the sky, with its red eyes never leaving me. ¡°Shit, just give up¡­¡± I managed to conceal it, but my body was already full of wounds. If I think about it, it¡¯s natural. Even though it was mitigated with a magical tool, I was holding back a monster that had a volume and weight that was several times, no tens of times, greater than my own. I couldn¡¯t even feel my arms or feel where my joints were. All the bones and muscles in my body was groaning. It wouldn¡¯t even be strange if one or two bones were broken. But I can¡¯t lose. I turned my body and looked at the children running away. Makio wasn¡¯t the only one who was frightened. Even Hina-chan, who was running behind, should be scared. Children should be more scared. There were few adults helping, and they should really want to bawl, but none of them even raised a complaint. What excellent children. The older children took care of the younger child, and those younger children took care of the even younger children. They held each other¡¯s hands tightly and didn¡¯t let go. In this spectacle that even grownups fears, they were running by clenching their molars, shutting their eyes and believing only in the warmth of their hands. ¡°Kuaaaaa! Gyaaaaaaa!¡± ¡°That bastard!¡± I put all my strength into my languid body and started running. That was because Ruten¡¯s line of sight moved from me to Makio and them. I don¡¯t know how monsters think, but it seems that it made the most despicable choice possible! ¡°Don¡¯t aim for the women and children!¡± I desperately tried to control my entangled legs. Honestly, the weight of the magic tool that is my lifeline is troublesome. I don¡¯t know if it was an auditory hallucination or reality, but I could hear something snapping in my ear. It may even be the muscle fibers. Or it may be the sound of my joints as I overexerted them. But it doesn¡¯t matter. I passed by Gasaraio who was tying the Rock Wolf up. We made eye contact for a moment and had an exchange. Just a bit more Gasaraio, hang in there. I know Kazamachi. Don¡¯t worry. That conversation ended in the brain at the speed of light, and after that cleared my head and continued running. Ruten spread its wings in the sky and stopped. Gasaraio had said. There were only two attack that you had to watch out for. Then that¡¯s probably¡­ The airborne Ruten passed by and chased after Makio and them. Ruten, the ominous bird, exhales towards their back. Wind breath. I predicted its path and set up the shield to intercept it. I knew somehow, so I was able to make it time. Upon arrival at the predicted spot, a swirling stream of air blew straight out of its mouth. I pulled the two triggers to deploy the pink barrier. I gritted my teeth and prepared for the incoming impact. ¡°Guh!¡± An impact beyond what I expected struck me. It hurt to tilt my body diagonally to support my body that was being pushed back by wind pressure. The tornado-like wind contained stones of various sizes, and my body shook from the vibrations as it bounced off the barrier. The stones that missed me, bounced off the ground occasionally and hit my back at a speed that I could not ignore. I¡¯m sure my back is in a terrible state now. I have to ignore it. Now is the time to endure it. If I endure and endure and reach the limit, what can I do about that bastard? Because it¡¯s aiming at injured people and small children, all I feel is anger. I¡¯ll do it. I will deny its existence. The wind breath continued incessantly. Ruten continued to exhale for a time that was unimaginable compared to humans. What a foul bastard. I underestimated it. When I dived into Tusk Crag, the dragon fang sword was too invincible, and my father¡¯s accurate support also made me underestimate it. I need to reflect on it. When the time comes, let¡¯s hit this bird bastard who¡¯s getting carried away with several times the pain I¡¯m currently in. The hate that seethed out naturally surface a smile. Even if I say so myself, I think I have a villainous expression right now. At this time, I would have already arrived back home and would be poking at Jaja and Nana¡¯s soft cheeks! ¡°Oryyaaaa!¡± Gasaraio roared and the sound of something being shattered one beat later echoed. I can¡¯t confirm where the sound is coming from because I can¡¯t afford to. ¡°I kept you waiting Kazamchi! Wait for it, I¡¯ll help you now!¡± I see, did you bury that shitty wolf? Well done. I¡¯ll brush you later. If you like I can also rub my face on your cheeks. It¡¯s a big help. Thank you. Even if you make fun of me, I already can¡¯t speak anymore. My consciousness is already hazy. I looked at my arm holding the shield and it was trembling unreliably. It¡¯s no good. I can¡¯t hold on anymore. ¡°Kuaaaaa!¡± I desperately grasped onto my consciousness, and could just barely prevent myself from passing out. The barrier projected from the magic tool was gradually lowering. Ruten¡¯s annoying voice echoed in my head. From the corner of my vision, Gasaraio was running with a ghastly pale face and shoulder the magic cannon. I lost strength in the hands that were holding the shield¡¯s trigger. Everything was in slow motion. Shit. I can¡¯t die in a place like this. I want to laugh more with Jaja. I still never saw enough of Nana¡¯s smile. I haven¡¯t seen Shouhei¡¯s growth. I haven¡¯t given my father anything back. I haven¡¯t done anything for Mikuma. I haven¡¯t faced Aoi¡¯s feelings yet. I haven¡¯t fulfilled my promise with my mother yet. The faces of my family members and close friends were spinning around my head like a revolving lantern. How half-assed I am. ¡°I made it in time.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Somebody¡¯s hand supported my body that was falling forward. ¡°Are you the father of Aoinoun¡¯s children?¡± A quiet voice. The voice calmly spoke as if it were a calm place. No, before I realized it, I couldn¡¯t even hear the sound of the breeze of Ruten¡¯s wind breath anymore. The magic tool that I should have been holding had already fallen onto the ground. ¡°It matches? The characteristics are the same as what that uncute rat said.¡± To see whose voice it was, I mustered my strength and looked up. ¡°So am I right?¡± There was a beautiful woman who was shaking her long bright red hair and also had similarly bright red horns. ¡°Ah, are you Aoi¡¯s acquaintance?¡± I struggled to barely squeeze out my voice. The bright red girl blinked and slowly opened her mouth. ¡°I am Rougerichte Dranglow. I came to protect your family.¡± She responded with an incomprehensible expression. Chapter 102 - She’s Like a Bright Red Flame That Burns Quietly (2) ¡°I¡¯m glad I found you. That uncute rat just said that something was wrong with the town, and disappeared.¡± While listening to those words, I was concerned about Ruten and looked in front. ¡°Ha?¡± I reflexively let out a short sound of doubt. There was a bright red wall in front of me. You could tell how hot it was just by looking at it, as it stood towering between us and Ruten. Fire. The blazing flame wall blocked Ruten¡¯s wind breath. ¡°It was worthwhile to come quickly. I saw some good things.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± The woman, who introduced herself as Rougerichte, slowly closed her eyes and spoke quietly. ¡°You protected the children. Truly wonderful. Yes, the small ones of any race should be protected. That¡¯s even more so for children. That Ai has grown, giving birth and living with humans, I was worried when I was told that a human was the father of dragons, but I¡¯m relieved after seeing it now. Although you look a bit evil, you are a kind person. Ai, no Aoinoun¡¯s children are also safe.¡± ¡°Y-yes?¡± Rouge Richite continued to speak, with a quivering body. ¡°Cute children should be protected with all your strength. Now that I¡¯m here, the twins will be all right. I promise that I will protect them with all my strength. Even when Aoinoun was small, she was the cutest. So those children must be cute as well. Ah, I want to hurry and see them. I want to meet them, talk to them, hold them, change their diapers, and feed them milk. I want to keep playing with them.¡± ¡°Um Rouge, Richite san?¡± Her expressionless face gradually reddened. It was a perfect expression of ecstasy. I was held under her arms and was a little distracted by that expression. ¡°Ah, sorry. The future is a little too bright.¡± What is this beautiful woman saying? ¡°It¡¯s already okay, so can you let me go? Um, thank you very much.¡± I inadvertently spoke in honorific. ¡°Hmm. If now that I look at it, you¡¯re terribly injured. Take a break. The rest is my job.¡± I was gently set down on the ground from under her arms. I changed my position and looked up at Rougerichite again. She was about the same height as me? She was wearing a tattered mantle that completely hid her body, and I can only see a rough outline of her silhouette, but she is probably a very glamorous person. A black tail extended from the mantle and was covered with hard-looking scales, unlike Aoi and the twins, it was also quite long and thick. I looked at her face. The nose was smooth and tall. Her raised eyes did not give off a villainous feeling like mines. There were two types of horns long and short, for a total of four, which extended from the top of her ear to the back, with a beautiful red-black color, and gave off light like a polished jewel. Her hair was unkempt and extended down to her waist. But she was unmistakably a beautiful woman. Her hair color also has a clear and innocent feeling like Aoi and her mother Yule. As for Yule though, it¡¯s like fraud because she has a personality like that. Rougerichite had a wild feeling. It didn¡¯t mean that she didn¡¯t feel clean. Her unreserved appearance was quite suiting. ¡°Hm, what is it?¡± ¡°Ah, no, um¡± I unintentionally continued to stare at her. I straightened myself in a hurry. ¡°I¡¯m Kunpei. Kazamachi Kunpei. Those twin¡¯s father.¡± ¡°I see, Kazamachi Kunpei¡­ It¡¯s easier to call you Kunpei. I¡¯m fine with Rouge.¡± As usual, she held out her right hand with no expression. Shaking hands, right? ¡°O-oh. Best regards, Rouge.¡± ¡°N¡­ fu¡± The moment I held her hand, Rouge¡¯s body quivered. What. What did I do? Though those movements were kind of erotic. ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± She gripped my hand with an unexpected amount of force. I couldn¡¯t let go, so I was worried. ¡°¡­ I-it¡¯s okay. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve been called this name that I got since becoming independent, other than by my mother. It¡¯s also been a long time since I¡¯ve been touched by other people, so it feels pleasant. I¡¯m happy being called by my name.¡± The corner¡¯s of her eyes and mouth relaxed and she smiled. No, um, Rouge-san? I¡¯m not doing anything lewd!? Can you stop doing those uselessly erotic gestures!? ¡°Kazamachi! What happened! Are you okay! What¡¯s with this fire! Hey! Answer me, evil face!¡± ¡°Ah.¡± When I looked closely I noticed the flame wall had completely surrounded me. Gasaraio¡¯s desperate voice could be heard from the opposite side. ¡°Kuoooooooooooooooooo!¡± I was surprised by the noise and looked up. Ruten, had stopped its breath, and was annoyingly circling the sky. ¡°Hm, that bird is not cute and in the way. I¡¯ll deal with it immediately.¡± Rouge looked up at it and finally let go of my hand. ¡°I can¡¯t fly because I¡¯m an earth dragon, but I can still reach that height.¡± She said that and swung her right hand once. At the same time, the four horns on her head shone brightly. ¡°The spirits are kind of happy. I wonder why. They¡¯ve been in an awfully good mood since I came to this town.¡± ¡°Woah!¡± Despite her monotone voice, the power of the flame released from her right hand was intense. It scorched the ground like a flamethrower. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. My control is perfect. I haven¡¯t practiced 200 years for nothing.¡± Rouge said that when she saw me drawing back from the fire. ¡°I used to be scared by everyone because I couldn¡¯t control it, but I did my best to play with the children.¡± The flamethrower gradually became thinner. ¡°I am an Earth Dragon. Arc Dragon.¡± Eventually, the color of the flame changed from red to blue, and became thin like a thread. ¡°A dragon that quells the earth and controls fire.¡± The flame that had become a single line was swung around lightly, and Rouge looked at Ruten in the sky. ¡°The only daughter of the Earth Dragon King, Ruby Drangale.¡± And with a smooth movement without any waste, Rouge swung the flame down on Ruten. ¡°Kua¡­¡± ¡°Eh?¡± A thin cloud-like track flowed in the space between Rouge and Ruten in the sky, which was about 20m. ¡°Rouge of ¡°Eternity¡± looks quite strong.¡± Rouge snorted, hands on her hips, with a smug expression. Ruten was ¡®burned¡¯ right in half. Chapter 103 - She’s Like a Bright Red Flame That Burns Quietly (3) Flames danced in the evening sky above us. The ominous bird Ruten was wrapped in flames, split into two, and fell to the ground. A heavy sound reverberated twice, and Ruten fell to the ground while silently burning. ¡°Nn. Now it¡¯s quiet.¡± Rouge nodded as if she was satisfied with something. Then, when she slowly shook her right hand, the flame wall spreading around us disappeared in an instant. ¡°Ah¡­¡± ¡°O-oh¡± My eyes met with Gasaraio. We looked at each other not knowing what happened. I get it. I can¡¯t keep up at all. ¡°Kunpei, are you okay?¡± ¡°M-me?¡± Rouge extended her slender arm. I reflexively grabbed her hand and was helped up. And then. ¡°Tell me where to go.¡± ¡°Wait, wait, wait, wait!¡± I was put in a princess carry. That was the first time I experienced it in my life. I have never been treated so importantly! ¡°Let me down! I¡¯m fine!¡± ¡°No way, you¡¯re so tattered just at a single glance. The injured should just be obedient.¡± Rouge looked around while carrying me with a resolute attitude. I noticed Gasaraio looking at this spectacle. ¡°Fluffy-san from the Lion tribe, are you Kunpei¡¯s friend?¡± ¡°Eh, me?¡± ¡°Yes, fluffy.¡± Rouge pointed at Gasaraio¡¯s mane that was swaying in the wind. Gasaraio, who was pointed at, became increasingly confused. ¡°Wait, wait! Who are you! What happened to Ruten! Why did it suddenly slit into two halves?¡± Gasaraio approached while crying out natural questions. I understand your feelings. ¡°That uncute bird? I dealt with it. Something of that level was easy to deal with.¡± Rouge nodded like it was nothing. We were having a considerably tough time, though. ¡°You¡¯re kidding¡­¡± Gasaraio had his mouth wide open and looked at the remains of Ruten that had fallen to the ground. There¡¯s no trace left of that monster bird that tormented us. ¡°Kunpei-kun! Can you hear me!? Kunpei-kun!¡± I heard Mikuma desperately shouting from the smartphone in my chest pocket. I took out the smartphone in a hurry. ¡°Oh, yeah. I can hear you.¡± ¡°Are you okay!? Are you injured!? What about Ruten!?¡± She questioned in rapid succession, and I was a bit troubled to answer. ¡°Um, I¡¯m okay. I¡¯m a little injured. As for Ruten, I think it¡¯s okay.¡± Actually, I tried to hide the injury, but it would be impossible to hide my injury by seeing me now and it¡¯ll be revealed the next time we meet anyways. The blood flowing from the wound on the back already dyed the inside shirt red. I didn¡¯t want her to worry too much, so I pretended that it was not a big deal. ¡°A little bit, aren¡¯t you seriously injured!? There should be some people from the ambulance team at the community center! Hurry up!¡± Wow, she saw right through it. It was impossible to hide something from Mikuma from the start. ¡°Ah, I got it. The community center, right? I¡¯ll bring him there right away.¡± ¡°Rouge!?¡± When I was wondering how to respond, Rouge replied arbitrarily. She was still expressionless as usual. ¡°¡­ Eh? Who?¡± Well, that¡¯s of course. ¡°Um, Mikuma, the person that the rat was picking up.¡± I explained in a hurry so that Gasaraio wouldn¡¯t suspect anything, but Mikuma should be able to understand. ¡°Ah that person, so you¡¯re strong?¡± How quick, as expected of Mikuma! ¡°N. Leave it to me. I¡¯m Rougerichite. I¡¯m pretty strong.¡± Are you pleased with that phrase? Rouge made a quiet triumphant look towards the smartphone. ¡°Hmm?¡± A window popped up on the smartphone screen showing that the remaining battery level was low. ¡°Ah, sorry Mikuma. I¡¯m about to run out of battery. Can I hang up?¡± ¡°Ah, yeah. If Rougerichite is there, it¡¯ll be okay? Once you have been treated, call me if you can? Because I¡¯m worried.¡± I¡¯m really sorry for making you worry. I still haven¡¯t been able to get in touch with Aoi, the twins, Shouhei and Yuri-san. I also have to charge my smartphone. ¡°Mikuma, san?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Rouge addressed Mikuma. ¡°I heard that you know a lot, so I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have more opportunities to meet in the future. Rouge is fine, let¡¯s get along, okay.¡± ¡°Ok ya, then I¡¯m fine with Yunno. Mikuma Yunno. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°N. I don¡¯t need formal language.¡± ¡°Eh, ah, I see. Best regards, Rouge.¡± ¡°N.¡± Rouge, apparently satisfied, nodded briefly and shifted her gaze to me. ¡°I haven¡¯t talked to many other races. Was it alright?¡± ¡°Oh, oh. In fact, you¡¯re better at it than I am. It¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°I see. I was praised. I¡¯m happy.¡± Rouge snorted, blushed a little and nodded repeatedly. Her expression never changes, but maybe she¡¯s an emotional person? Even so, I and the others related to the Kazamachi household, are too bad at socializing. Aoi still puts herself on guard when she meets humans and beastmen other than us, and Mikuma is not very good at talking with the opposite sex. What, birds of a feather flock together? ¡°Okay then, Mikuma. I¡¯ll contact you later.¡± ¡°Yup. Please find Aoi and the others soon! See you later?¡± ¡°Ah, see you later.¡± When I finished replying, I tapped the screen to end the call. ¡°This is a phone. I¡¯ve heard about it, and I¡¯ve seen some people holding it to their ears, but it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve actually talked to someone far away. I¡¯m glad.¡± ¡°Haha, is that so?¡± I pressed the home button while smiling at Rouge who was deeply moved looking at the smartphone. ¡°Hmm?¡± Huh? There was a number next to the email icon informing me of notifications. Fourteen? How did this happen? Oh, right. During a call, it vibrates to notify me of an incoming mail, so I didn¡¯t notice since I was running around so much. ¡°Kunpei. Where¡¯s the community center?¡± ¡°Hmm? Ah, straight down this road¡­ Rouge! Are you going to keep going like this!? I can walk! Put me down!¡± ¡°Nope.¡± Rouge carried me on her shoulders without minding that I was struggling about. ¡°Does this hurt your back?¡± ¡°Guh¡­ It¡¯s okay. It doesn¡¯t hurt.¡± I guess this is better than the princess carry. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re aware, but it¡¯s a serious injury.¡± Gasario had already retrieved the magic shield that had fallen on the ground into his pocket. ¡°Eh? Really?¡± ¡°Really.¡± Huh? Sure, it hurt, but I didn¡¯t think the wound itself was that bad, just a lot of blood. ¡°¡­ Shouhei¡¯s going to be angry.¡± ¡°Haha, why are you worried about him getting angry?¡± Gasaraio laughed with a dumbfounded voice. You don¡¯t know, so you can laugh. It¡¯s scary when my brother gets mad! ¡°Let¡¯s go, then.¡± ¡°Ah, yeah, please.¡± Despite carrying an adult man by himself, Rouge walked with plenty of room to spare. Somehow, this is kind of depressing. Dejectedly, I operated my smartphone with a hand I wasn¡¯t accustomed to. The first one was from my dad. ¡¾Are you at school right now? I finally got in touch with Shouhei. I tried to call you as well, but the line seems to be busy, and I couldn¡¯t get through. You know the old man at the drugstore, right? That guy seems to be from the fire department. Shouhei, Aoi, the twins and Yuri-san are taking refuge at the community center by his instructions. Apparently Shouhei lost his phone in this confusion, so he was in trouble because he did not know your number. My number was registered with the homeowners¡¯ association, so he was able to find it at the community center. I told you to contact Shouhei, so please call the number below. I¡¯m in a hurry to get back home, but I am in the middle of running after I abandoned my car because of restrictions and congestations. So I will count on you. If you can pick me up, I want you to pick me up¡¿ Wow, really? I should have read it earlier. There¡¯s a link to the phone number for the community center at the bottom. Was it a coincidence that I was able to get in touch with Mikuma? But now I know where Aoi and the others are. Are they all at the community center that we¡¯re heading to? Then, I can see them soon. I patted my chest in relief on Rouge¡¯s shoulder and bent my neck slightly to look at Ruten¡¯s remains. The former strong enemy was still divided into two and burning. Since it was in the middle of the asphalt, the flames will not spread. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Gasaraio who was walking behind Rouge, responded to my voice. ¡°No, maybe I was mistaken.¡± That¡¯s right. There¡¯s no way it¡¯d be able to move in that state. Chapter 104 - She’s Like a Bright Red Flame That Burns Quietly (4) I was fiddling with my smartphone that was low on battery on top of Rouge¡¯s shoulder. Rouge was still carrying me with plenty of room to spare, and she was also jogging. ¡°Rouge, it seems like Aoi and the kids are at the place where we¡¯re currently going to.¡± ¡°Really? Yay. I¡¯m looking forward to it.¡± It didn¡¯t sound that way because I couldn¡¯t feel any intonation in her voice, but she must really be looking forward to it. Her running speed increased. It¡¯s partly because of the swaying, but I¡¯m also not accustomed to using it, so I¡¯m having a hard time operating the smartphone. 10 of the 14 texts were from my father. The previous text was the latest one, and the first text was concern for Shouhei and my safety. Since I didn¡¯t reply, it seems he sent several confirmation texts. With my father¡¯s situation at that time, I could tell that he was gradually moving away from the workplace. The remaining four were from Yuri-san. Since she couldn¡¯t get in touch with me, it was about how they were evacuated to the community center as directed by the fire department and that they were with Shouhei with the twins and they were safe. And also about how Aoi was very worried. She reported everything in four separate texts: the incident, Shouhei returning home, the start of the evacuation, and the arrival at the community center. I did a bad thing. If I had remained calm and quietly stayed in the classroom, I might have been able to reply to this email. Aoi must still be worried. I hope she¡¯s not crying. Shortsighted thinking as usual. I hate myself. On top of that, my back is full of wounds. There¡¯s so much to reflect on. But because we were there, Hina-chan and the children were saved. That was the only good thing that came out of it. ¡°Has Makio and them already arrived?¡± I said out loud for some reason. ¡°It¡¯s okay. We¡¯re almost there, right? Gasaraio, who was running behind Rouge, worried for me. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s it right? The community center.¡± Gasaraio¡¯s arm came out from the side of my field of view. He was pointing straight in front of us. I raised my neck and followed his finger. There was a T-junction at the end of a wide tunnel of trees, and the community center was just in front of it. It was designed to be entered from a small parking lot, and there were several people standing in the parking lot. ¡°Rouge, over there.¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll be meeting the twins soon. Let¡¯s start with a greeting. I have to be careful, what if they dislike me.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t happen.¡± Nana may be a little shy, but Jaja will definitely be pleased. If you play with them properly, my daughters shouldn¡¯t hate people for no reason. The only option is to communicate patiently with Nana, but it should be okay. But what a day it¡¯s been. It felt very long. Like Rouge, I can¡¯t wait to see the twins. As long as I can see Jaja and Nana¡¯s faces, the wounds on my back are nothing to worry about. Shouhei will be pretty pissed though. ¡°H-huh. Isn¡¯t that Aniki?¡± I looked carefully at the community center again in response to Gasaraio¡¯s words. Looking closely, there was a large man with familiar gray fur and a bird tribe woman with multicolored feathers. There were rocks laying around that area. ¡°I knew they were around here. There are some monster-like bodies around, so they must have been sent to guard the evacuation center. That¡¯s why I couldn¡¯t get in touch with them.¡± Gasaraio¡¯s siblings seemed to notice us and waved their hands. ¡°Oh Aniki!¡± ¡°Lion! Behind!¡± Rouge raised her voice and interrupted Gasaraio. ¡°Hah?¡± I can¡¯t see behind me from the way I¡¯m being carried. ¡°Hey, hey, hey! Are you joking! ¡°What is it! Hey Gasaraio! What is it!¡± I twisted around at the sound of Gasaraio¡¯s panicked voice and tried to look behind me, but I couldn¡¯t turn around due to my limited mobility of my joints and the pain in my body. ¡°Watch out! Dodge!¡± ¡°Kunpei, hold on tight.¡± ¡°What? Woah!¡± Suddenly, Rouge took a huge leap to the right. A large and heavy crushing sound was heard immediately after the sound of rustling and tree branches breaking. ¡°Guh!¡± My neck shook from the impact of Rouge¡¯s landing, and pain ran down my back. I didn¡¯t have time to worry about the pain, I quickly braced my head and looked at the asphalt road we¡¯ve been running on. There was a huge rock that was sunk into the ground. ¡°That bird monster was still alive?¡± Gasaraio was a little behind Rouge. ¡°Hm. Irritating.¡± I could finally see the sky when Rouge turned. It was in the middle of the empty space where the branches were broken. ¡°Ruten?¡± It was Ruten. While flapping its rock wings, the half-bird, half-beast deformity was looking down at us. But something felt off. ¡°¡­Isn¡¯t he kind of small?¡± That¡¯s right. Ruten, which was probably at an altitude of about 20m above the ground, appeared much smaller. I don¡¯t know if my perspective is out of whack or if there is some kind of optical illusion, but from what I saw, it looks like it¡¯s only about half the size of the one before. Now that I think about it, that¡¯s something to think about¡­ It¡¯s not a good idea to let him near the rec center! If it was just you and your brothers, you¡¯d be fine, but there are some people over there who have taken refuge and can¡¯t fight! I¡¯m the only one who has equipment for long range! It¡¯s the wrong opponent to fight a defensive battle in close quarters equipment! ¡°Now that you mention it, it does feel like that¡­ more importantly! It¡¯s bad to let it get any closer to the community center! It¡¯s okay if only my siblings are there, but there are people who can¡¯t fight! I¡¯m the only one with long distance equipment! The opponent is bad for a defense battle with melee equipment!¡± Oh, I see. Rock wolves don¡¯t have any means of attacking from a distance, so if we can fortify the area around the community center, as long as we can destroy each of them, we might be able to manage it. However, there is no way to prevent an attack aimed at the building¡¯s interior from the sky, and even more so from directly above. Ruten¡¯s specialty is wind breath. And now even rock-like projectiles. The only way to prevent this is to shoot before you get hit. I mean, where the hell did it get those rocks from! ¡°It¡¯s okay. That uncute bird is mine.¡± Saying that, Rouge lightly waved the hand that wasn¡¯t carrying me. A thick pillar of flame instantly appeared and Rouge held it in her hand like a sword. If looked hot, and I turned my face away from it. What came into view was the rock that was stuck into the ground. That rock that Ruten threw somehow bothered me. ¡°Huh?¡± I looked carefully at the rock. Its size is a little bigger than my body. It was definitely heavy enough to crush a human, and it was shaking slightly. It¡¯s not good, I thought. ¡°¡®Gasaraio! Destroy that rock! Something¡¯s wrong! ¡°Ahh!?¡± Gasaraio, who responded to my voice, instantly aimed the magic cannon at the rock. It was at that moment. ¡°Kuoooooooooooooooooo!¡± It exploded and scattered sharp, fine fragments around it with great force. ¡°Owww!¡± Gasaraio screamed. As for me, I was safe thanks to being protected by Rouge¡¯s long tail. ¡°Kunpei. Are you hurt?¡± ¡°Ah, I¡­ Gasaraio!¡± I forced my head, which was too dazed to keep up with the situation, and looked at Gassara, who screamed. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m fine. It just a cut above my nose and shoulders a little.¡± Gasaraio grunted while holding his right shoulder. How is that a little? ¡°You idiot! You¡¯ve got a big one pierced in there!¡± There was a fist-sized rock stuck in his right shoulder that he was holding. It¡¯s that big as far as I can see, so it must actually be much larger. ¡°¡­Sorry, I messed up.¡± ¡°What the hell¡­¡± ¡°The birds have increased.¡± ¡°What?¡± Rouge pointed to where the rock was. ¡°Kuoooooooooo!¡± ¡°L-little Ruten¡¯s¡­?¡± What was there was a ruten, no bigger than a human. The upper body and wings was formed from rocks. The lower half of the body was covered with brown hair. The small Rutens, which look exactly the same as the one still in the sky, was there threatening us. ¡°Did it split¡­¡± What a load of bullshit. Hmm? Think about it for a moment. The Ruten in the sky felt small, could the rock that fell earlier be a part of its own body? The lost part will be revived as another Ruten. What is that? I¡¯ve heard of that. But that one didn¡¯t seem to get any smaller. But that¡¯s right. The characteristics are similar to those of the small fry I first met in Tusk Crag. An ugly looking lump of flesh that looks like it came out of a nightmare. It resembles the characteristics of Dark Meat. Huh? The lost part becomes Ruten? Ruten in front of me now and Ruten in the sky above me. It seems that even if you add them together, they won¡¯t be the same size as the original. The original monster bird, Ruten, should have been a bird of nearly 10 meters in size. ¡°No way.¡± I looked around me in a hurry. Right, left, and up. ¡°¡­Seriously?¡± I found it. It was further behind the Ruten that was in the sky threatening us. It was there arrogantly. Rouge first cut Ruten into ¡®two halves¡¯. The one piece is revived and is attacking us now. And it split the body further and another Ruten was born. Then what happened to the other piece of Ruten that was cut out of the first Ruten? The answer was obvious. ¡°Three of them¡­ that¡¯s cheating, right?¡± Yes, Ruten in the sky and the Ruten in front of us. And a Ruten larger than that, half of the original ruten. Now their threats were politely offered in three pieces: large, medium, and small. Was it customer appreciation day? Chapter 105 - She’s Like a Bright Red Flame That Burns Quietly (5) The smallest Ruten in front of us bent down and spread its wings. ¡°Kunpei, wait for a bit.¡± ¡°O-oh.¡± Rouge dropped me from her shoulder next to a thick tree branch. She treated me gently, being careful of the wounds on my back. ¡°Lion tribe person, step back.¡± She walked over to Gasara, who was crouching and holding his shoulders down, and urged him in a quiet tone. ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Step back.¡± ¡°Ow!¡± She grabbed the collar of Gasara¡¯s down jacket and pulled it. Gasara was sent flying two meters and landed next to me. Isn¡¯t that too rough of a treatment? ¡°Ah, sorry. It¡¯s cause you¡¯re bigger than Kunpei. My mistake.¡± Apparently, she judged him to be sturdy with his physique. ¡±Hm. Even three of them is not really a big deal, but it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve had to fight while protecting someone. So just in case.¡± Shaking her long, bright red hair, Rouge quickly walked towards the little Ruten. If I only looked at her back, she had zero caution and was too imposing. ¡±A-are you alright?¡± Her appearance was so natural that it worried me. When I asked, Rouge turned around a bit and nodded. ¡±Hm. It looks like I can leave that one to you.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Kuooooooooooooooo!¡± That familiar stretched out cry, echoed around the area. I looked at the sky in a hurry and saw that the airborne middle Ruten was spreading its wings and take a nosedive. ¡±Whoa!¡± ¡°Shit!¡± I put myself on guard, and Gasara readied the magic cannon. Rouge who was at the edge of my vision turns away from us and continues to face the Little Ruten. ¡±Kazamachi! It¡¯s coming! ¡°Kuh!¡± There¡¯s nothing we can do about it even if we ready ourselves. It was already falling straight towards us with sufficient speed. Gasara shouldered the magic cannon on her shoulder, but the pain caused him to grimace. There¡¯s nothing we can do, it¡¯s already in front of us! Along with a strange high-pitched voice, an extremely colorful silhouette passed over our heads and collided with the flying Ruten. ¡°W-what!¡± ¡°Sister Nanairo!¡± There was a ringing metallic sound. Colorful feathers danced around us. The feminine silhouette swung around a large lump of metal that far surpassed her own height and blew Ruten away. ¡±What the hell! Gasara! Aren¡¯t you enjoying something exciting!¡± A bird tribe woman with a huge yellow beak fully open and a silver down jacket of a different color from Gasara shouted out. ¡°We were bored over here with these small fry wolves! Why don¡¯t you leave this huge guy to me? Huh?! Hey? Oi!¡± With an expression of tremendous joy, the woman named Nanairo, who is Gasara¡¯s sister, swung down a lump of metal as she landed. The ¡®thing¡¯ that cracked the asphalt and stuck into the ground was a sword. A large sword. The unbelievably large sword acted as a brake and held Nanairo-san¡¯s body in place. ¡±You did it now, Aneki!¡± ¡°Thank you! Hyah!¡± She no longer had a maniacal smile plastered on her face as she pulled the huge sword out of the ground with one hand and leapt lightly down to the side. Hey, where did the weight of the sword go? Don¡¯t swing it around like it¡¯s a plastic bat like that. What¡¯s with that person. ¡±G-Gasara! Your nee-chan is scary!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯m scared sometimes too!¡± Is that supposed to be reassuring! ¡°Ga-sa-ra.¡± ¡°Oh my God!¡± Before I knew it, there was something behind me. I turned around, startled by the voice, and saw a huge gray beastman spreading something on my back. I-I didn¡¯t notice at all! ¡°Seijitsu Aniki!¡± ¡°I-n-e-x-p-e-r-i-e-n-c-e-d¡­¡± ¡°S-s-s-s-sorry, Aniki!¡± ¡°Gasara lowered his head in a hurry.¡± The one who was there was a beastman from the Sloth tribe. Gasara¡¯s Aniki. He was holding my back tightly with one hand and spreading something on it without any regard for me. ¡±Eh, no, um! W-what¡¯s your Aniki doing? What is that, guh! Ow!¡± Ow! It hurts like hell! Something sticky is being applied to my back and it¡¯s stinging! What is this menthol-like feeling? It¡¯s amazingly cooling. ¡°D-i-s-i-n-f¡­¡± ¡°Oww! What did he say?!¡± ¡°¡­ hmm. Ah, it¡¯s disinfectant. It¡¯s not much more than simple first-aid, but I¡¯ve applied some magic medicine to stop the bleeding and to protect you. It¡¯ll hurt like death at first, but it¡¯s better than dying later on. There¡¯s a paramedic at the shelter, so get yourself properly checked out, boy. No matter how you look at it, you¡¯re hurt too badly. Hey, Gasara, how did this happen with you here? You lose the qualifications to be a pro hunter if you let an ordinary person be hurt¡­¡± ¡°Eh, ah, no¡­¡± ¡°If you make any excuses, I¡¯ll kick your ass.¡± Who is this? Just a moment ago he had those sleepy, half-open eyes, but now he¡¯s got a look that¡¯s even sharper than mine. His tone of voice, which used to be irritatingly slow, has changed to a quick, austere tone. It¡¯s hard to believe that it¡¯s the same person. ¡°Uwah! Aniki, you don¡¯t have to get so serious!¡± Gasara was holding his shoulders down and trembling. Aren¡¯t you a little too scared? ¡°Sorry Aniki! It¡¯s flying that way!¡± I heard Nanairo¡¯s voice in the distance. I turned my head to look it, but it was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Above.¡± I looked up at Seijitsu-san¡¯s voice and saw that Ruten was flying in from far above. It had only one wing, and the remaining wing was torn in half. Its right arm was also missing from the elbow, and its left leg was also missing at the ankle. Hey, when did it end up like that? It hasn¡¯t even been five minutes since it started fighting with Nanairo-san! ¡°It¡¯s not flying, you sent it this way.¡± Seijitsu-san stood up shaking his head, took one look at the falling Ruten and disappeared. ¡±Huh?¡± In an instant, he was gone. I didn¡¯t even blink, but I lost sight of Seijitsu-san who was right in front of me. Something exploded above us. No, it sounded as if it had exploded. I reflexively shielded my head because of the sound, then I looked up. ¡±You¡¯re kidding¡­¡± I was so shocked that I muttered to myself. The huge gray sloth had raised its right fist and crushed the lump of rock Ruten into pieces. A valiant figure floating in the twilight sky. Seijitsu-san remained airborne in a right uppercut stance with a bothersome expression. ¡±Hmm. Not bad.¡± ¡°R-Rouge!?¡± Why do you keep surprising me? My heart is already hurting and I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s going to stop! Maybe I¡¯m just a dumb ass! It¡¯s possible, but you know what? ¡°What about the little Ruten?¡± ¡°Hm. There.¡± There was a small black hill in the place where she pointed with her white and slender finger. What is that? ¡°It¡¯s a hindrance if it¡¯s resurrected. I burned it carefully, then crushed it and burned it again.¡± Isn¡¯t that overkill. I mean, that was quick! ¡°Ahhhh! You¡¯re terrible! My toy!¡± ¡°You¡¯re playing too much, idiot.¡± Nanairo-san came down while flapping her colorful wings. ¡°Ah, but there¡¯s another one. But it doesn¡¯t seem like it¡¯s coming.¡± Ah, now that you mention it. I had forgotten all about it because things were so hectic in front of me, but there was still a large Ruten left. I look again at the large Ruten that was stopped in the distant sky. ¡±Ah.¡± The large Rutens opened its mouth and leaned backwards. ¡±Its breath is coming! Run!¡± At the sound of my voice, everyone, except Rouge, braced themselves. Rouge, whose expression was still as unreadable as ever, thought of something as she turned around and opened her eyes a bit. ¡±Ah, Ai.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± The unexpected name caught me by surprise, and I turned around. I saw a familiar-looking girl that stood at the entrance of the community center that became an evacuation shelter. Aoi had a bright red face, her black horns that was growing out of her temples were shining, and she was wearing my junior high school jersey with the words ¡°Kazamachi Kunpei¡± written in large letters vertically across her right chest. She was looking this way while clad in lightning. Aoi¡¯s expression looked as if she was enduring something. The lightning emitted from her body climbs up into the sky and turned into a giant sphere. ¡±Ah, shit.¡± Aoi looked up while trembling. And then. ¡±What are you doing to my husband! Along with her voice, the thunder ball, flew straight to Ruten. The large Ruten, who was about to release a breath, was engulfed by the thunderball while making a dumb noise. A momentary flash of lightning. A high-pitched explosion sound passed through my ears. I shut my eyes and protect my face with one hand. Eventually, when the sound passed into the distant sky, I opened my eyes. The large Ruten was nowhere to be seen. It was evaporated¡­ Chapter 106 - Sorry for the Worry (1) ¡°Excuse me! Doctor! My husband!¡± ¡°Ah, Aoi! Calm down!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t calm down! Where did the doctor go!¡± Aoi carried me to the community center on her back. Aoi came rushing over with a ghastly expression on her face, and as soon as she saw my back injury, her face went deathly pale, she caught me silently, and ran over here with haste. ¡°Nii-chan!¡± At the entrance to the community center, where firefighters and emergency personnel were busily moving around. My brother Shouhei was there standing in front of a shoe rack. ¡°Shouhei, you¡¯re okay¡­¡± ¡°What were you doing? What¡¯s with that injury!¡± ¡°U-um, Shou?¡± ¡°You were doing something reckless again, idiot brother!¡± Hey, why don¡¯t you listen to your brother a little bit? I was ready for him to be pissed off, but come on. ¡°Aoi-neechan! Over here! They¡¯re taking care of the injured here!¡± ¡°I understand! Excuse me, there¡¯s an injured person coming through!¡± While still on Aoi¡¯s back, we made our way down the hallway through the crowd. A temporary first aid space had been created in the small gymnasium that was attached to the community center. ¡±Aniki!¡± ¡°Kazamachi-kun!¡± When I was brought to the gym, Officer Doggy who was treated by the paramedics, and Makio, who was accompanying her, was there. A bandage was wrapped underneath Officer Doggy¡¯s shredded uniform, it appears that first aid was administered. ¡°Makio! Oh, good. You made it here okay. Where are the other kids and Hina-chan?¡± Spotting them on Aoi¡¯s back, I raise my upper body slightly to look at them, and then looked around for the children. ¡°Hina is out looking for the kids¡¯ parents. They¡¯re all kids from around here, so their parents might have taken refuge in the community center.¡± ¡°I see, that¡¯s good¡­¡± Makio¡¯s words made my shoulders relax. If those kids are safe, it¡¯s worth it to get injured. ¡°More importantly Kazamachi-kun, aren¡¯t you seriously injured! The seriously injured are being treated right over there! Over here!¡± Officer Doggy interrupted the conversation, stood up, and pointed to the first aid space separated by a partition screen. ¡°Thank you, Doggy-san! Excuse me! My husband!¡± ¡°My brother! His back is seriously injured!¡± Prompted by Officer Doggy, Aoi hurried into the first aid space. Shouhei who was accompanying us also vigorously rushed in, and startled the paramedic who was inside the first aid space. ¡±Um! Please help my husband!¡± ¡°Eh, ma¡¯am!? Ah, no. I understand! Please lie him down slowly on the bed!¡± The paramedics were confused. That¡¯s right. They would be confused if someone with Aoi¡¯s appearance told them that they were married. Well, technically, we¡¯re not married! ¡°Yes!¡± ¡°Aoi-neechan, over here.¡± With Shouhei¡¯s assistance, Aoi slowly lowered me onto the bed. I laid face down on the bed and placed my chin on the towel that served as a pillow. ¡°This is serious. It looks like he had some light treatment, but we¡¯d better hurry. Ma¡¯am, may I?¡± ¡°What?¡± Aoi approaches the female member of the squad with great vigor. ¡±Ah, um. I¡¯m not a doctor, so I can¡¯t give you a full-scale treatment, but there are demon doctors at the hospital that serves as the rescue headquarters, so please be sure to head there later. They can treat you with healing magic there.¡± The paramedic explained as she turned away. ¡°Can you not treat him here and now!?¡± ¡°Not completely, it¡¯s just emergency measures.¡± ¡°That can¡¯t be!¡± ¡°It¡¯s all right! The potion has stopped the bleeding, and it¡¯s not a life-threatening condition!¡± ¡°Ah, Aoi. It¡¯s fine if they said it¡¯s not possible. I¡¯m just grateful for the treatment.¡± You¡¯re too impatient and that¡¯ll bring them trouble. ¡°But, but¡­¡± ¡°S-sorry?¡± Aoi¡¯s eyes began to moisten. Of course she would be worried. I couldn¡¯t say anything more strongly about it, because it was definitely my fault. Aoi, who wiped the tears that never stopped flowing, slumped down next to the bed. ¡±Nii-chan! Aoi was so worried about you!¡± ¡°Uh, I¡¯m sorry. Really.¡± Shouhei, who brought a folding chair, was angry at me. ¡±Aoi-neechan. Sit over here, okay? I¡¯m going to go to the kids, okay?¡± After unfolding the chair, Shouhei placed his hand on Aoi¡¯s shoulder and guided her to the chair. ¡±Ah, thank you Shouhei-san¡­¡± Aoi feebly stood up and staggered towards the chair. ¡°Shouhei-kun, the twins are with mama, right? I¡¯ll go with you.¡± ¡°Yes. There¡¯s a nap room at the community center, and Jaja and the others are sleeping there.¡± Shouhei lead Officer Doggy out of the gym. Jaja and Nana are with Yuri-san? I can¡¯t wait to see them. ¡°Ani¡­ Kunpei-kun. I¡¯ll go help Hina.¡± ¡°Ah. Sorry for leaving to you. I¡¯m counting on you.¡± ¡°Yeah, leave it to me.¡± Makio, who still wasn¡¯t used to using my name yet, waved his hand with a wry smile and disappeared into the crowd. ¡°You¡¯re temporarily under anaesthesia from the magic potion, so I¡¯ll take care of it all at once, right? Let me know if you are in pain. Just relax as much as you can.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. Please.¡± The paramedic with disinfectant and bandages told me to relax my body. I suddenly was hit with a wave of drowsiness. Maybe it¡¯s because I saw Aoi and Shouhei¡¯s faces and know that the twins were safe. All at once, a sense of fatigue and weariness that I had forgotten in my excitement until now, flooded my body. ¡±You¡¯re not fine¡­ but I¡¯m happy just to see you.¡± Aoi, who still had tears in her eyes, spoke to me as she wiped her tears with the hem of her jersey. ¡±¡­I¡¯m sorry. I was worried about you and the kids, so I didn¡¯t think it through.¡± I¡¯ve brought out all the bad parts about me. I acted before I could think about it. There might have been a way to make it work a little better. ¡°No, we were also panicked and couldn¡¯t do anything. We lost our composure when the house was covered with trees and tried to call Kunpei-san. Then the power was out and the phone was out of service. I don¡¯t know if we would have been able to get here if the firefighters hadn¡¯t given us instructions¡­¡± ¡±Were you and Shouhei at home?¡± ¡°No, I met up with him. He was caught up in the commotion on his way out of school. Shouhei-san was leading a group of underclassmen out of school.¡± Ah, that¡¯s right. He said that he got involved in some kind of a committee. ¡°He said that he was evacuating with a small child when he was startled by a tree that grew and lost his phone.They headed for a large facility nearby, and Yuri-san showed me the route he takes when he leaves school, and I met them on my way there.¡± I see. As expected of Shohei. Even in such a chaotic situation, he was able to make a clear and calm decision. ¡°Were the kids scared?¡± ¡°Nana was scared, but Jaja seemed to be having fun. But there were too many people at the community center, so even Jaja was a little uncomfortable. The staff took us into consideration, so they made a nap room for mothers with their babies, for things like when they need to be breastfed.¡± ¡°What about the other people?¡± ¡°In the multipurpose room, the conference room and the staff room. There are a lot of households in this area and children who are getting out of school, so it¡¯s a mess right now. I helped move some desks and stuff like that.¡± I see. It was difficult here, too. ¡®The hunters, the firefighters, and the paramedics came right away and split up to search and rescue for the kids and the neighbors. The guy at the pharmacy said that they were able to act pretty quickly thanks to the A-Class Hunter that was in charge.¡± Hmm? That¡¯s certainly about Gasara¡¯s Aniki, Seijitsu-san? I kind of figured out in the battle earlier, but that guy is a pretty amazing person. ¡°Why were you out there?¡± Come to think of it, you showed up at a pretty good time. ¡°After I put Jaja and Nana to bed, I couldn¡¯t stay still and I left the nap room to help with something, and Doggy-san, who was injured, was brought into the community center with the boy from earlier and some other kids. I rushed to let Yuri-san know and when I brought him up here, he told me that Kunpei-san was outside.¡± I see. No, seriously, good job Makio. If he hadn¡¯t led the kids and Officer Doggy here, Rouge might not have made it in time. ¡°I¡¯ll have to thank him later.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Ah, no it¡¯s nothing. My dad¡¯s also on his way. I have to call him later.¡± And Mikuma, too. I¡¯m sure she¡¯s also worried. ¡°A lot of people are using the phone at the community center to check on the safety of various people. So there¡¯s quite a long wait¡­¡± The lines will probably be a mess, I¡¯ll leave calling dad and Mikuma for later. My smartphone is almost out of battery too. Ah, that reminds me. ¡°Hey, Aoi, did you see Rouge?¡± ¡°Rouge-san¡­ is it? Who¡¯s that?¡± Huh? The way Rouge talked, it sounded like you were old friends. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Whoa! When did you!¡± Her sudden voice freaked me out. Rouge was standing next to the partitioning screen of the first aid space. She was holding Gasaraio on her shoulder with one hand. ¡°U-um, can you please put me down¡­¡± ¡°Mn¡± Gasara leaned against the partition with an embarrassed expression, and Rouge patted his tattered mantle to straighten it out. ¡°This nee-chan is scary¡­¡± ¡°Your brother asked me for a favor. An injured person should act like one.¡± ¡°No, I can walk¡­¡± ¡°An injured person should act like one.¡± ¡­ how stubborn. ¡°¡­ Ru-anesama?¡± ¡°Hm. Now it¡¯s Rougerichte. Long time no see, Ai. Ah, no. It¡¯s Aoinoun now.¡± Aoi widened her eyes at Rouge. Rouge was still expressionless as usual, but if you look closely, the corners of her mouth relaxed a bit. ¡±Hmm. She was cute in the past, but she¡¯s still as cute as ever. It¡¯s good to see you. Aoi and the kids, I¡¯m here to protect you.¡± With that, Rouge gently hugged Aoi who was sitting in the folding chair. Chapter 107 - Sorry for the Worry (2) The treatment on my back and Gasara¡¯s shoulder was done almost at the same time. I got off my bed and turned my right shoulder around to check on the pain and movement. ¡°It¡¯s just a first-aid measure, so don¡¯t push it too hard. The pain is minimal thanks to the potion, without it, the injury is at a level where you should be bedridden.¡± ¡°Yes. Thank you very much.¡± The paramedic who treated me smiled and lowered his head, and immediately jumped to the next injured person. The inside of the community center¡¯s gymnasium seems to be a collection of people who evacuated and are sick or injured. I looked around and saw a line of small children and elderly people, accompanied by their relatives. The space where Gasara and I were being treated seemed to be a place to give priority to the seriously injured, but there weren¡¯t many people here. I¡¯m probably the most seriously injured person here. ¡°Kunpei-san. How are you doing?¡± ¡°Kunpei, are you okay?¡± Aoi, who¡¯s been waiting next to the bed, was anxiously watching my face. Rouge was clinging tightly to her back. Aoi and Rouge, who had just recently had an emotional reunion, hugged each other and made a lot of noise, then read the atmosphere around them and became quiet. Well, everyone around us were all people who were confused or injured by this incident. You¡¯ll stick out like a sore thumb if you act like that in such a place. It¡¯s a good idea to have the two of them be a little more patient with the reunion, because there are still people who haven¡¯t been able to confirm the safety of their families. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s difficult to move.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s expected with an injury of that extent¡­ why don¡¯t we go to where Jaja and Nana is?¡± ¡°Hmm. I also want to go.¡± Rouge nodded as she draped her arms over Aoi¡¯s shoulders and rested her chin on Aoi¡¯s head. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s go. Is the nap room this way?¡± I wish I could charge my smartphone. I have to call my dad and Mikuma. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°Ah? Me?¡± Gasara replied back as he put on that distasteful golden down jacket. ¡°I¡¯m meeting up with my siblings. I¡¯m hurt, so I¡¯ll probably be sent to guard this place, but I have to work.¡± No, haven¡¯t you been working hard enough? ¡°Don¡¯t you get a break? Aren¡¯t you tired?¡± ¡°My brother would have a field day with me if I talked like a kid like that. I¡¯m just starting out, but I¡¯m still a professional. I¡¯ve got to do what I can do.¡± ¡°I see, then I¡¯ll help you later¡­¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°Whoa!¡± Aoi suddenly shouted loudly, interrupting me. Her face turned red and she hugged my arm. ¡±You were just told not to push yourself! Kunpei-san, you¡¯re not a Hunter!¡± ¡°Okay, okay. Sorry!¡± ¡°It just came out of my mouth unconsciously when I was thinking about how hard it is.¡± So don¡¯t put any more strength on my arm! It¡¯s hitting me, or rather, it¡¯s being sandwiched between something soft! Small but certainly soft! ¡°Thanks for your concern. But it¡¯s a professional¡¯s job from here on out. You need to protect your girlfriend and your family.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not girlfriend, it¡¯s wife!¡± Still clasping my arm, Aoi corrected Gasara¡¯s words with all her strength. ¡°O-oh?¡± Gasara tilted his head. ¡°I¡¯m Kunpei¡¯s wife! Don¡¯t make a mistake!¡± Yup, her usual habit came out. Aoi is strongly committed to her position in any case. Not a girlfriend or sister, but ¡®wife¡¯. When we go out shopping or for dinner together, people often mistake her as my sibling, friend, or girlfriend, but in such cases, she always corrects them that she is my ¡®wife¡¯. Like the case with the paramedic earlier, most people are either confused or shocked, or they laugh it off lightly. I¡¯ve already warned her a few times. I told her not to do it because if someone suspects our relationship, she might be revealed to be a dragon if we¡¯re unlucky. Still, Aoi loses control of herself sometimes. As if to say she doesn¡¯t have any worth other than that. Of course that¡¯s absolutely not the case. She¡¯s Jaja and Nana¡¯s mom, and Aoi herself is incredibly kind and hard-working. She¡¯s also a beautiful girl, and she¡¯s a dragon. She has minimal contact, but she also has a good relationship with the neighbors. She¡¯s much more amazing than me, but she¡¯s somehow lacking in confidence. ¡±Do you get it! I¡¯m Aoinoun Dragoline Kazamachi! I¡¯m a full-fledged wife of the Kazamachi house!¡± ¡°A-ah, sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine as long as you get it!¡± ¡°Aoi, calm down.¡± ¡°But Ru-anesama¡­¡± ¡°There, there.¡± With a snort, Aoi hugged my arms tightly again. Behind her, Rouge was still clinging to Aoi¡¯s back and was patting her head to calm her down. What¡¯s with this composition. ¡°Ah, Aoi. I get it, so let go.¡± ¡°Absolutely not!¡± Ugh, her upturned eyes is so unfair. Aoi reluctantly released my arm. ¡°¡­ Kazamachi, I have something I want to say.¡± Gasara grabbed me by the shoulders and whispered in my ear. Gasara looked down at me with a serious expression. This guy is taller than me, so it feels oppressive when he looks down at me. ¡°Come here.¡± ¡°H-hey, what is it?¡± He pulled my arm gently and brought me to one end of the gym. Aoi and Rouge also followed with a strange expression. ¡±¡­ Ah, I just want to talk to this guy alone.¡± Gasara grimaced when he saw Aoi and the others following. Seeing his reaction, Aoi and Rouge looked at each other and reluctantly moved away. ¡±Alright. Um, Kazamachi, I¡¯m just speculating, and it might be terribly rude, but you can feel free to hit me without holding back then.¡± ¡°Ah? What the hell?¡± After making sure the two of them were gone, Gasara let go of my arm and scratched his mane. ¡±Hmm. Umm.¡± What is it? Gasara, was hesitating about something, and was paying attention to the surroundings or looking at Aoi and Rouge. ¡°Hey. I have someplace I want to go to, so make it quick.¡± I¡¯m dying to see my girls¡¯ faces. If you keep fidgeting like that, it¡¯ll seem like you¡¯re having some dangerous throughts. I¡¯m not interested in men at all. ¡°Ah, okay.¡± Gasara straightened the collar of his down jacket and straightened his back. He looked straight into my eyes, and there were all sorts of emotions swirling in his eyes. Determination, resolve, fear, confusion. I¡¯ve been trained to read people¡¯s emotions to a certain extent. Ever since junior high, the only people I¡¯ve been around since then have been the ones who approached me while hiding their true intentions. Some of them approached me with stupid ambitions or sleazy ulterior motives, while others were scared to death of me, but they had no choice but to interact with me. Of course, I would have to be able to read their emotions from their expressions. In that respect, I think Makio is amazing. Makio was brave enough to stay by my side in spite of how cowardly he is. And he was able to hide it from me. Right now there were multiple emotions intricately intertwined within his eyes that it was difficult to understand. ¡°Hey, Kazamachi.¡± ¡°What?¡± Can you just get to the point? ¡°Your girlfriend. She¡¯s the dragon from that time, right?¡± Oops. Ooops. That¡¯s bad now, isn¡¯t it? Gasaraio-san. Chapter 108 - Sorry for the Worry (3) ¡°W-w-w-what are you talking about, furball? Isn¡¯t that stupid, really? Kah! What a nasty thing to say yah. What the heck. What¡¯s wrong with you. How could you say that? I was so surprised. Nirindo-ya!¡± ¡°Calm down, what¡¯s with the dialect?¡± This is bad. This is bad, this is bad! I made a mistake! This is my fault! I let my guard down a little too much! It¡¯s not surprising. It was over as soon as Aoi showed up in front of these guys. What to do? What should we do? What can I do! Help me, Mikuma-san! Shouhei-kun! I don¡¯t have a clue what to do because the brain of our household is away! ¡°I-I-I-I-I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, Kunpei doesnt get it!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not very good at lying, are you?¡± Shut up! Don¡¯t look at me like I¡¯m pitiful! ¡°Wah! Oh! Nah! Hey! What? That¡¯s not it!¡± ¡°Calm down, okay? Let me finish.¡± Gasara grabbed me by my shoulders to calm me down. ¡°Kunpei-san! What¡¯s wrong? Is that criminal lion bullying you!?¡± ¡°Kunpei, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Hii!¡± Aoi and Rouge, who had been watching me from afar, ran up to me. As soon as Gassara saw the two of them, he let out a short scream and backed away from me. ¡±Hmm. Kunpei, take a deep breath. Inhale, exhale.¡± Suuu, haaa. ¡°What did he do? It¡¯s okay! I¡¯m here for you!¡± Rouge grabbed me by the shoulders from behind and held me in place. Aoi grabbed my hands from the front and pulled them up to her chest. ¡°No, uh Gasara, you see, so¡­¡± ¡°Kazamachi! Really, calm down! I¡¯m not going to do anything!¡± Gasara raised his voice frantically from a distance. Huh? What¡¯s he panicking for? ¡°I just wanted to check! We weren¡¯t really into this job to begin with! We decided from the beginning to just kill time and get the hell out of here! If we find a dragon, we¡¯re not going to touch it, we¡¯re going to leave it alone!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Seeing Gasara like that, I calmed down somewhat. What do you mean? Didn¡¯t he and his siblings come back for the dragon? At the very least, the Western Treasure Hunters Association planned a major survey for Aoi, right? ¡°Ah, um, Gasara. Sorry, I calmed down. Can I hear more?¡± That¡¯s right. Calm down. Think and act. Be cool, Kunpei. What I should do now is to gather information. To make sure that Mikuma, Shouhei, and my father who¡¯s in charge of the brain can make a clear decision. I pulled off Aoi and Rouge and approached Gasara. Gasara seems somewhat frightened by the two of them, and he¡¯ll only be able to talk without any hesitation if it¡¯s just me. After working together for the past few hours, I know that this lion is not such a bad guy. Leaving out the fact that he¡¯s a treasure hunter, there¡¯s no reason to be wary of this guy. Just because our first meeting was the worst, I shouldn¡¯t identify him as an enemy from the start. Let¡¯s talk about it. Dialogue is important. ¡°Sorry, I think I understand why you¡¯re so wary of us treasure hunters and why you¡¯re hostile to us. It all makes sense now that I¡¯ve seen the girl.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one who¡¯s sorry. I¡¯d like to hear it for now and I¡¯ll decide after that.¡± Finally slumping to the ground, Gasara looked up at me with an apologetic look. Gasara continuously glanced at Aoi with vigilance. Well that would be, when I saw him for the first time, he was running away while crying, and even though he didn¡¯t die, he was hit by a pretty powerful thunderball. ¡°I¡¯ve decided that we, the Paradise siblings, will no longer have anything to do with the dragon. In the first place, it was from an anonymous tip, and it was mainly the result of me being in high spirits, but Aniki wasn¡¯t enthusiastic about it from the start. It was also the first time that that battle junkie sister said she didn¡¯t feel like she could win.¡± ¡°Hmm? Is that about the egg kidnapping?¡± Come to think of it, Aoi beat Nanairo-san, didn¡¯t she? According to what Alba told me, it seems that a dragon is weakened before and after laying eggs. But even in such a state, Aoi was still able to compete with Nanairo-san. Seijitsu-san is apparently a person with a lot of ability and judgment, so he wouldn¡¯t make the decision to become an enemy again with a creature with such a difference in ability. ¡±Yeah, there was suspicious information sent to the Hunter¡¯s Association several times over the past few years. We and the other hunters didn¡¯t take it seriously either. We were just bored after a big job, so we went to check it out casually, and we really freaked out when the dragon was there.¡± ¡°Information?¡± Who else knew that Aoi and Yule were atop Tusk Crag? And from quite a while ago? ¡°And then we ended up in that state, right? So we¡¯ve reflected a lot. We didn¡¯t have enough ability to get involved with a dragon. We couldn¡¯t refuse the request because someone from the Hunter¡¯s Association had cleared us of the minor offence, but there¡¯s not much we can do about it if we can¡¯t get into the dungeon. So we were going to pass the time at random. We really didn¡¯t come back to look for the dragon.¡± I put my finger on my chin and thought about it. Nanairo-san and Seijitsu-san, who I saw earlier had enough ability to be instantly recognizable as strong, even to an amateur like me No matter how much Aoi is a dragon, and even though Rouge will be here from today, I don¡¯t want to antagonize them too much. Even Gasara is a professional hunter, albeit clumsy, rough, temperamental and slightly unreliable. If you can really get them to let you off the hook about the matter with the twins, can you explain the situation? Hmm. What to do. I just can¡¯t decide whether or not to trust these guys so easily. Well, I don¡¯t hate them personally. In fact, I¡¯d say I have a good impression of them as far as Gasara is concerned. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m a good judge of character, you know? I¡¯ve never looked at anyone in terms of whether or not I can trust them. Because outside of my family, the only thing I¡¯ve ever been able to do was to be disliked or feared by people. Of course, there were some friendly people who didn¡¯t know about my rumors, but they weren¡¯t that close to me. When it comes to Jaja, Nana, and Aoi¡¯s future, I have to question my judgment. ¡°Kunpei, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re talking about. Can you explain it to me?¡± ¡°Uwah, Rouge.¡± Rouge appeared in my field of view while I was thinking about it. ¡°Well, they were the ones who tried to steal Aoi¡¯s eggs.¡± I whispered to Rouge so that Gasara couldn¡¯t hear me. ¡°Hm.¡± Rouge snarls with a frown. ¡°Aoi, were you abused by this lion?¡± Rouge turned her head and looked at Aoi. Aoi seemed a little startled and shrugged. ¡±Eh? Not really? It was some kind of colorful bird lady who actually fought me.¡± Aoi replies, shifting her gaze to Gasara. ¡°But it was this lion who escaped with Jaja and Nana¡¯s eggs.¡± She wrinkled her brows, which was unusual for Aoi who was always smiling. Yeah. Well, I understand how you feel. Just a while ago, I was feeling exactly the same way towards Gasara. When the twins come to mind, I still have some mixed feelings. ¡°Eh, no! That was! Help me, Kazamachi!¡± Sensing something, Gasara escaped from Aoi¡¯s gaze. This guy, he¡¯s traumatized by Aoi, isn¡¯t he? ¡°We¡¯re the only ones who know you¡¯re a dragon, little girl! As for my Aniki, he¡¯s only seen your dragon form! Aneki doesn¡¯t remember too many details, and I never told anyone! The police wouldn¡¯t believe me, and I didn¡¯t even give them the information because we, the paradise siblings, are hated by the big shots in the association to begin with! Trust me!¡± ¡°Aoi, did he see your appearance then.¡± ¡°It was just Kunpei-san. When I was attacked in the nest, I felt a presence for quite a while, so I changed to my dragon from. After I fought them off once, I¡¯ve been in that form ever since I realized the eggs were gone. This lion has probably only seen this form of me in front of the supermarket.¡± Hmmm. There¡¯s not enough to judge. In this kind of situation, I¡¯m going to need Mikuma¡¯s advice. My smartphone is out of battery, and from what I¡¯ve heard, the phone at the community center won¡¯t be available for a while. There¡¯s nothing we can do about it. ¡°Lion person. A child, no matter what kind of creature it is, should be protected. What you have done is very bad. There won¡¯t be a second time. Never again.¡± ¡°I get it! I was out of my mind! I¡¯ll never do it again! Kazamachii!¡± Gasara, trying to get away from the Rouge¡¯s pressure, was looking to me for relief. As for me, I think I can trust what this guy says. While coming here, Gasara had been distancing herself from Hina-chan and the children, but he cared a great deal about them. Or rather, if he¡¯s the only one who knows what Aoi looks like, then there¡¯s no advantage in antagonizing him. If we can get Gasara, Nanairo-san and Seijitsu-san on board, then there will be no one who knows what Aoi looks like. Then we definitely need to get these Paradise siblings on our side. So how do we convince them to join us? I don¡¯t have a clue about Gasara¡¯s personality, let alone Nanairo-san and Seijitsu-san. If this thing about dragons is worth a lot, it would be troublesome if they got greedy and sold the information to the association or other guys. There¡¯s got to be some way to make it impossible to do that. For example, make them feel guilty. Hmm? Guilt? Ah, I see. What the hell. It¡¯s pretty easy to do. I think this method I just came up with would work. There¡¯s a good chance we¡¯ll be able to do this with our toy line-up. Let¡¯s thank my dad for buying it. Yeah, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s the only way to go. If you want to know why, it¡¯s because my daughters are super cute. Chapter 109 - Sorry for the Worry (4) ¡°Is it here?¡± ¡°Yes, Yuri-san is watching them. But there are other mothers inside, so please wait outside for a moment.¡± With that, Aoi opened the door and walked into the napping room. There were curtains set up just outside the door so that you can¡¯t easily see what¡¯s going on inside. I¡¯m told that the napping room was set up for moms with babies. If I stepped in the room, even if I was nursing, it would feel awkward, and I couldn¡¯t complain if I was lynched at worst. I¡¯m scared. I¡¯m terrified. ¡°Hey, hey, Kazamachi. Why do I have to go in there?¡± Gasara blamed me in a voice laced with trepidation. With Rouge positioned behind him, he couldn¡¯t easily escape. I¡¯m not worried about it after all this time, but to Aoi, Gasara is still the enemy of the twins, so it¡¯s also meant to reassure Aoi. I tried to explain to her in as simple of a way as I could saying that it was part of my plan to get the twins and Gasara to meet each other, but she didn¡¯t seem to like it. Well that¡¯s expected and no matter how many times I say it, I understand. But it¡¯s also true that if we don¡¯t clarify the position of Gasara and his siblings here, we¡¯ll be left with a lot of uncertainty about them in the future. Regardless of how much they say with their mouths that these three people, including Gasara, will never reveal the identity of Aoi and the others, I¡¯m still worried. I¡¯d like to get them on my side in one fell swoop, so that I wouldn¡¯t be as anxious. That¡¯s why I brought Gasara here. ¡°Just shut up and follow me. I won¡¯t do anything bad.¡± The line was said to reassure him, but it came across as more of a villainous phrase. I wonder how much credibility there is in this line. ¡°Lion person, show your hands.¡± ¡°I already said I won¡¯t take out my weapons here!¡± It looks like Rouge is having a pretty good time. ¡°Nii-chan, are you done with your treatment?¡± The door to the nap room opened and Shouhei came out from inside. ¡°Oh, you were inside?¡± It¡¯s supposed to be all women inside, except for the little ones. ¡°I was embarrassed to be a man all by myself. But Yuri-san said it was alright and forcibly took me in. At first, they cried a lot and it was hard for Aoi-neechan and Yuri-san.¡± I¡¯m surprised the other people didn¡¯t say anything. I would have definitely been screamed at. Well, Shouhei looks younger than he is, and after all, he¡¯s a handsome man. Society is designed to benefit good looking people, damn it! ¡°Um, who are those people behind you?¡± Ah, I see. This is Shouhei¡¯s first meeting with the two of them, right? ¡±Ah, this is Rouge. Rouge Richte. The one that that damn rat was picking up.¡± ¡°Ah. I¡¯m Rougerichte Dranglow. Are you Kunpei¡¯s brother?¡± Rouge, who was introduced, held out her hand to Shouhei with the same expressionless expression as ever. ¡±Ah, yes. I¡¯m Kazamachi Shouhei. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± Shouhei took her hand and looked at Rouge¡¯s face. Curious eyes. ¡±Well-behaved good boy.¡± Rouge stroked Shouhei¡¯s head with one of her free hands. Apparently, you¡¯ve been recognized as something to protect from the child loving Rouge¡¯s perspective. ¡°You¡¯re wary of me, but not rude. Good boy.¡± ¡°Eh, no.¡± Shouhei, flustered by those words, took a little distance from Rouge. ¡±It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not a bad thing at all. You should be very careful about the safety of yourself and your family. Kunpei, your brother is smart.¡± Right? The second son of the Kazamachi family is a splendid, cool, handsome man that doesn¡¯t bring shame. Unlike the first son, who has nothing but shame and notoriety. It¡¯s sad. ¡°And next to her is Gasara, the kidnapper.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I said I¡¯m reflecting, okay?¡± I know. I¡¯m just kidding. It¡¯s just that it¡¯s the easiest way to explain it to my family. ¡°Kidnapping, Jaja and Nana? Nii-chan?¡± Shouhei looked at me and Gasara with a dubious expression. As I thought, the keyword ¡°kidnapping¡± seemed to ring a bell right away. It¡¯s a great help that the conversation can progress quickly. ¡°It¡¯s not a problem. Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°If you say so¡­¡± Like Shouhei, the current Kazamachi family puts the twins first, no matter what. They are sensitive to the possibility of harming those two. ¡±Are Jaja and Nana still sleeping?¡± ¡°They just woke up. They can¡¯t calm down in an unfamiliar place and wakes up easily. Now that Aoi-neechan is here, she¡¯s trying to get them to stop crying with Yuri-san.¡± They¡¯re not used to it and there are a lot of people here. In the current state, I don¡¯t know when we¡¯ll be able to go home. I guess they¡¯ll have to get used to it? We¡¯ll have to do something about it. ¡°Thank you for waiting. Kunpei-san.¡± The door to the nap room opened and Aoi came out, holding Nana in her arms. ¡°Uuuh~¡± Nana, who had been crying earlier, was squeezing the jersey Aoi was wearing with an uneasy look. ¡°Nana! It¡¯s papa!¡± Finally! I still didn¡¯t feel relief until I saw her face. ¡°Dah.¡± I was waiting for her with my arms outstretched, and she clearly refused. Nana¡¯s was in a bad mood, though it seemed to be partly due to waking up in her sleep. Nana shook her head and buried her face in Aoi¡¯s small chest. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m in shock, you know! ¡°Unnn~¡± Nana squirmed in Aoi¡¯s chest. Poor thing. Normally, she should be sleeping soundly in the dining room of our quiet house at this time. ¡°Kunpei-kun. It sounds like you had a hard time.¡± ¡°Bah!¡± Following Aoi¡¯s lead, Yuri-san appeared with Jaja in her arms. As soon as Jaja saw me, she held out her arms towards me with a big smile on her face. ¡±Jaja!¡± Barely responding to Yuri-san, I put my hands under Jaja¡¯s outstretched arms and lifted her up. Thank God! If even Jaja was cold to me, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to recover in my current physical and mental state! I¡¯ll be able to play with Nana to my heart¡¯s content later! Absolutely! ¡°Dah! Kya!¡± ¡®¡±Mmm! That was so scary, right! It¡¯s all right now!¡± I¡¯m going to rub your cheeks to make up for all my worries. Yeah! This! Cutie! ¡°Kya, kya!¡± Jaja was laughing out loud with joy. Ah, I¡¯m so glad I¡¯m alive! I¡¯m really glad I¡¯ve worked so hard to get here! ¡±Fufu, she couldn¡¯t get used to the atmosphere here until now, and has been unsettled for a long time, you know? Even Jaja-chan, who is not very shy, was still afraid when there are so many unfamiliar people.¡± ¡°Yuri-san, thank you. You really helped me a great deal.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. Aoi and Shouhei are almost like my grandchildren. Ah, if that¡¯s the case, then I wonder if the twins are like my great-grandchildren?¡± Is this person a Saint? ¡°¡­Dah.¡± ¡°Does Nana want to go there too?¡± Nana, who had been pampered by Aoi, pulled her face away from her chest to look at me and Jaja. She leaned over to nod at Aoi¡¯s question and pointed her right hand at me. ¡±Ah. Dah.¡± It¡¯s a rare occurrence. What is it? Did I make you jealous? Okay, okay! You¡¯re always welcome! I didn¡¯t expect Nana to act spoiled so quickly! ¡°Come on.¡± I held Jaja with only my left arm, leaving my right arm free for Nana. ¡°Yes, say welcome back to Daddy.¡± With Aoi¡¯s assistance, I put Nana on my right arm. The weight of happiness. Even though they¡¯re small, it¡¯s two people. It¡¯s tiring, but it¡¯s nothing compared to the rush of euphoria. ¡°I¡¯m home, Nana.¡± ¡°Au.¡± Shaking her head like she was nodding, Nana rested her chin on my right shoulder. I rubbed my cheeks against the hair whorl on the top of her head. The feel of Nana¡¯s hair, which has recently become more fluffy, unlike Jaja¡¯s smooth hair, is comfortable. ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Oh, Jaja as well. I¡¯m home.¡± I think I¡¯ve been focusing on Nana too much, and Jaja clapped me in the face. ¡°Are you okay, Kunpei-san?¡¯ I gently put my hands on my back and Aoi looked at me with concern. ¡°Hmm? Yeah, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Kunpei-san, I¡¯m afraid that if it¡¯s about Jaja and Nana, you¡¯ll put up with the pain.¡± Gah. ¡°Does it really not hurt, even now?¡± Gah. ¡°Are you pushing yourself to hold Jaja and Nana?¡± ¡­Why are there so many espers around me? Is it that obvious? To tell the truth, since leaving the gym, my back has gradually started to regain its sensation. To be honest, it hurts a lot now. It hurts so much that it¡¯s hard to even bend my back. ¡±Just for now. When you¡¯re done, I¡¯ll be angry if you don¡¯t get some sleep, okay?¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± I whispered back. If she stared at me with her moist eyes, I wouldn¡¯t even be able to come up with an excuse. ¡±K-Kunpei¡­ um, I, I¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± I turned around when my sleeve was tugged on and I saw Rouge standing right behind me with a red face. ¡°Introductions. Introduce me to those very cute, no, adorable, um, you know, angelic children.¡± Her eyes were glazed over and she was breathing heavily. Her expression was as expressionless as ever, but I can clearly see that she was excited. ¡±O-oh. The girl with the black horns like Aoi is the older sister Jaja. The girl with the fluffy hair and white horns is the younger sister Nana. Here, why don¡¯t you two say nice to meet you?¡± They can¡¯t though, can they? I was overpowered by her intensity and showed her the twins. ¡°Au?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Neither Jaja nor Nana had a good reaction. What is this? Dad, what¡¯s going on with this older sister? You could almost hear lines like that. ¡°Ah¡­ c-cute. Jaja and Nana. Good names. Very good names. Names of the old dragon heroes. Fitting.¡± Enraptured, Rouge looked at the twins with the corners of her eyes lowered. ¡°I am Rougerichte Dranglow. An Arc Dragon of the Earth Dragon Tribe. I am the only daughter of Rubynein Dranglow, the Earth Dragon King. The one who will protect you.¡± ¡°Dah?¡± ¡°Au¡± The twins were still looking at Rouge with blank expressions. ¡°I have always been good friends with your mama, Aoinoun. She¡¯s like a little sister to me. So you are like my nieces. You can rest assured that you will be safe with me. I will protect you with all my might.¡± Rouge declared while lifting the corners of her eyes. Perhaps this was the kicker. ¡°Hah, haa, K-Kunpei. Can I p-pat their heads?¡± Her face slackened all at once. ¡±¡­Well once you calmed down and catch your breath.¡± What¡¯s with that rough breathing? What¡¯s that look in your eyes? If Rouge wasn¡¯t one of our friends, I¡¯d be hitting her as hard as I could. ¡°Fuu, fuu, haaa¡± Scary. Really scary. I feel like the twins are in danger. Huh? Did she have this kind of character? Isn¡¯t that a terrible gap? ¡°Well then, excuse me. I¡¯ll stop right away if it hurts.¡± Rouge gulped as she reached out her hands with bloodshot eyes. Some kind of strange tension filled the air. Shouhei, who was standing next to me, squeezed my pants like he was worried. Aoi also had a stiff expression, not knowing what¡¯s going on. ¡±Uu.¡± Duh. Rouge¡¯s hand was on her head. I heard a short, mysterious voice from the twins. ¡°¡­Hmm¡± With her eyes wide open, Rouge slowly moved her hands. ¡°¡­Rouge?¡± ¡°¡­Hmm¡± Huh? ¡°Hey, Rouge.¡± ¡°¡­Hmm¡± Rouge¡¯s hands never stopped. ¡°Ru-anesama? ¡°¡­Hmm¡± Aoi¡¯s question was only returned with a halfhearted response, and Rouge continued to stroke the twins¡¯ heads without even blinking. ¡±Hya¡± ¡°Nmnn¡± ¡±Rouge!¡± ¡°Ha!¡± I got impatient and raised my voice and Rouge jolted back. ¡°T-that¡¯s enough, right? Jaja and Nana don¡¯t like it either.¡± ¡°S-sorry.¡± Rouge pulled away from me, flustered. She dropped her shoulders apologetically and took a handful of her own bright red hair and twirled it around the ends of her fingers. ¡°They were too cute and I lost control of myself. I¡¯m so sorry.¡± ¡°O-oh¡± It was terrifying because her eyes weren¡¯t focused at all. ¡°I¡¯ll do it properly and in moderation next time so I want to touch them again.¡± ¡°Y-yeah. As long as Jaja and Nana don¡¯t mind, you can do it as much as you like, okay?¡± Look, even Aoi is pulling back a little. ¡°I¡¯m so glad I came. Angels, Ai gave birth to new angels¡­ Children are the best after all. I can feel my heart being filled just by looking at them¡± ¡­Maybe we¡¯ve invited in a new threat. I¡¯ve seen the truths of the world. What are you talking about? ¡°So, Kunepi-san. What should we do with that kidnapper over there? Bake him? Or shall I steam him? Or maybe evaporate him?¡± ¡°Hii!¡± Gasara, frightened by Aoi¡¯s words, shuddered. ¡±¡­I already explained it to you, right. You said you wouldn¡¯t do anything so disturbing.¡± ¡°I know. I know, but I just can¡¯t help but think back to that moment¡­¡± I guess she hates Gasara so much that a joke doesn¡¯t sound like a joke. I might have to think about aftercare for Aoi later on as well. It¡¯s like she¡¯s suffering from some kind of mental trauma. Well, of course. It would be traumatic to have have the children you gave birth to snatched away from you. ¡°For now, hey, Gasara. Don¡¯t worry.¡± I decided to deal with Gasara first, and took a step closer to Gasara, who continued to tremble. ¡°No harm will come to you at all. I swear.¡± ¡°A-ah, o-okay.¡± Okay, let¡¯s lay down the groundwork. ¡°You got it? Don¡¯t talk until I tell you it¡¯s okay? You can move, but don¡¯t move too much, okay?¡± That¡¯s important. First impressions are so important. In fact, Rouge seems to have failed to do so, and the twins are pressing their bodies against mine to get as far away from Rouge as possible. Poor guy¡­ ¡°O-oh.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to hurt, but whatever happens, don¡¯t ever scream, okay? I mean, if you make the little guys cry, think of the thunderballs that Aoi will throw at you.¡± An iron fist from me and a cold stare from Shouhei will come as a bonus. If you¡¯re unlucky, Rouge might also burn you. I know it¡¯s bad, but forgive me for this level of intimidation. You and your siblings have done the most abhorrent thing to the Kazamachi family. ¡°¡­ O-oh!¡± As if he thought it had already started, Gasara straightened his back and stood at attention. That¡¯s convenient. Let¡¯s keep moving forward. ¡°Okay, then.¡± I turn my gaze back to my beloved girls in my arms. Jaja was biting my left shoulder, and it¡¯s actually hurting like hell since earlier. Nana was resting her chin on my right shoulder and was pressing her body against me, trying to get as close as possible. The key to this strategy, is Jaja and Nana. Our toy lineup at home. I came up with this plan based on the one that Nana is particularly fond of. ¡°Jaja? Nana? See that?¡± I moved my chin towards Gasara. The twins turned around with a curious look on their faces. ¡°Look¡± Now, Gasaraio Riot-kun. Prepare to writhe in agony. ¡°It¡¯s a large kitty cat!¡± Spoil yourselves with stuffed animals, my super cute little ones! Chapter 110 - Sorry for the Worry (5) ¡°Dah¡­¡± ¡°Uwa¡­¡± Jaja and Nana¡¯s eyes instantly lit up when they saw Gasara standing there silently. They were itching to move their bodies and were about to jump up. Nana even grabbed my clothes tightly for a moment and opened her mouth wide emotionally. Fufu¡­ This reaction is just as I expected. Jaja, may be the curious one, but it¡¯s actually Nana who has the best chance of success. The first toys Jaja and Nana saw after they came to our house were the small stuffed dog and cat toy that Mikuma had bought. The twins didn¡¯t fight each other and instantly decided on their own favorites, with Jaja getting the dog. Nana doesn¡¯t even let go of the stuffed cat when she goes to bed. In fact, there are even times when she won¡¯t go to sleep unless she¡¯s holding it until just before she goes to sleep. Sometimes she¡¯ll be unfaithful, but in the end, she always holds her favorite. When my dad saw that, he went and bought a series of animal musical instruments, and then he went even further and bought a series of educational toys that are all animal-related. Jaja and Nana share the toys with each other without fighting, and they each have their own favorites. Jaja¡¯s favorites is a dog or monkey. Nana is a cat or a bird. That¡¯s right, Nana has a huge crush on the cat family! Saeki, who is a cat person, often comes to the house to play with them, and Yuri-san takes care of them every day, so the twins have become familiar with beastmen. Saeki is very good at playing with the twins because she herself has the personality and body of a child, and Yuri-san¡¯s maternal strength is guaranteed. To top it all off, there was the incident at the ranch last month. Since the incident, Nana and Jaja have been fond of animals with fluffy fur. A terrestrial sparrow called Chunchu that lived at the ranch. Perhaps awakened up by the chicks that Jaja played with, or by holding Kaiser Maru, the large Chunchu, the master of that flock that Nana met, they made a habit of jumping on the fluffy and cozy towels and blankets. Now, let¡¯s take a look at Gasaraio-kun here. As a lion tribe, he is a true and honorable member of the cat family. Moreover, he is the king of beasts. He even has a magnificent fluffy mane, the proof of his status as a king. His appearance looks as if it was made just for Nana so to speak. It¡¯s perfect. Perfect. I wonder what Nana and Jaja¡¯s reaction would be to seeing Gasara like that. I know what they will do. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Uwa!¡± The twins reached their hands toward Gasara. ¡°Good! Go play to your heart¡¯s content!¡± I slowly spread my arms open. On cue, Jaja and Nana flapped the small wings on their backs and took off. ¡°Dah! Uwa!¡± ¡°Kya, kya!¡± ¡°Waaa¡± A dazzling smile blossomed and Jaja and Nana jumped straight to Gasara. Jaja was at the chest and Nana was at the head. They each found their preferred spot and clung to it with all their might. Gasara, who is doing as he was told, was rigid and panicked. ¡°K-Kazamachi¡­ what should I do?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think! Feel it!¡± Don¡¯t think! Feel! Unleash your instincts that is deeply rooted within you as a beastman! ¡°Cute is justice.¡± Though Rouge said it, but it¡¯s the truth. Because our girls are super cute. ¡±Lion person, I¡¯m jealous¡­¡± Rouge grumbled from behind me. Maybe it¡¯s because I saw her earlier, but it sounds like a very dangerous line of dialogue. ¡°O-oi. It¡¯s dangerous.¡± Jaja, who was clinging to Gasara¡¯s chest was slipping and looked like she was going to fall. Of course, there¡¯s absolutely no way she¡¯s going to fall off because I¡¯m watching out for her, but I¡¯ll let Gasara move here. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Uwa¡± Jaja fell as expected because of the bold move she took, which was characteristic of babies. Gasara caught her with both hands. ¡±¡­ Dah¡± ¡°O-oh.¡± Gasara held Jaja¡¯s sides as he adjusted her position, and Jaja looked at Gasara¡¯s face in wonder. ¡°Bwah!¡± ¡°Oops!¡± Gasara was caught off guard and was surprised when Nana, who had been clinging to the side of his head, started to move. Nana placed her butt on Gasara¡¯s left shoulder and began to use her hands alternately to play with his puffy mane. ¡°Ah, don¡¯t reach your hand too far back¡­? It¡¯s going to get tangled.¡± With Jaja on his right arm, he supported Nana on his shoulder with his left. ¡°Dah! Dah!¡± It¡¯s amazing. Nana¡¯s happy face is one I don¡¯t see often. Her short, thick tail was swaying from side to side, the wings on her back were flapping rhythmically, and her little eyes were sparkling. ¡±Guh¡± What is it? It¡¯s going exactly as I planned, but it¡¯s so frustrating. What is this jet-black feeling that¡¯s bubbling up from the depths of my soul? What will happen to me if I let these emotions get the better of me? Damn it she doesn¡¯t make that face that often, even when she¡¯s playing with me. ¡°¡­ Remember this, furball.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± In response to my murmuring, Gasara turned his head. It¡¯s okay, don¡¯t worry. ¡±W-what¡¯s with the scary look on your face? ¡°I was thinking you were having a great time with my daughter.¡± Ah, I couldn¡¯t hide it. Yeah, let¡¯s keep going like this. ¡°What do you think?¡± I took a big step forward and approached Gasara. ¡°O-of what?¡± A frightened Gasara gave a weak reply. ¡°Look. That innocence. Especially Nana. That perm, and white, upward-curving horn. You¡¯re already overjoyed, aren¡¯t you, you bastard¡­¡± ¡°What the hell is wrong with you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t shout or you¡¯ll scare my girls.¡± Take a deep breath, Kunpei. You have to control your jealousy. ¡°Nii-chan, for the first time in a long time, you¡¯re scaring me too. Calm down.¡± Oops, even Shouhei is scared. Dangerous. I gently shook off Shouhei, who was holding my right arm, and consciously make a smile. It¡¯s not my goal to scare you. ¡°Look, that kid with straight black horns you¡¯re holding is Jaja. That¡¯s the older twin sister, okay? Isn¡¯t it the cutest thing, when she looks at you with that vacant look?¡± ¡°Y-yeah.¡± ¡°Look more closely. Look at her little hands. Isn¡¯t it lovely, holding on to your clothes so tightly?¡± Jaja looked up at Gasara, completely entrusting her body to him. Jaja is cute when she¡¯s smiling, but she¡¯s cute even when she¡¯s not smiling. ¡°Look, do you see those eyes staring at you?¡± ¡°O-oh?¡± ¡°¡­ Heh¡± Jaja laughed as Gasara examined her face. ¡±¡­¡­O-oh.¡± ¡°Oh, you just thought she was cute, didn¡¯t you?¡± I took another step and went around to Gasara¡¯s left side. I gently placed my right hand on Nana¡¯s back as she sat on his left shoulder. ¡°Now look at your Nana. She¡¯s already obsessed with your fur, isn¡¯t she?¡± ¡°Dah! Au!¡± ¡°A-ah.¡± Gasara moved his head as he was told to. Their eyes met as Nana sat on his shoulders. ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Heh, hehe¡± Seeing Nana¡¯s expression of delight, Gasara¡¯s expression slackened. Alright. I guess I¡¯ll give it another push. ¡±It would be a hoot if you came in here spoiled and unprotected like this. ¡°A-ah.¡± ¡°And look, Jaja-chan is in front.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Jaja spread her arms out and buried her hands in the mane. ¡°Oops, Nana¡¯s starting to bury her face in there too?¡± Nana leaned over and starts to bury her face in the mane. Jaja was enjoying the sensation of moving her buried arms up and down. ¡°Ah how enviable. Aoi, later. I also want to do that later.¡± ¡°Ru-neesama, please be quiet.¡± Rouge, who was sucking her index finger and making a heartrending noise was treated coldly by Aoi. ¡±How do you feel?¡¯ Hey? What¡¯s on your mind, Gasara? Tell me.¡± I brought my face close to Gasara and asked in a whisper. ¡®Why don¡¯t you just be honest with yourself and answer the question?¡± Mmm-hmm. Guh. With his eyes tightly shut, it seemed like Gasara was enduring something. ¡°Oh my goodness, those two look like they feel so good.¡± At a little distance, Yuri-san let out a cheerful comment. ¡°How is it? Hey, how is it?¡± ¡°Okay! I get it! She¡¯s cute! She¡¯s so cute!¡± Falldown¡­. You¡¯ve fallen. ¡°Damn¡­ what kind of creature is this? It¡¯s foul play.¡± ¡°I know, right?¡± There¡¯s no one who wouldn¡¯t be moved by this soft feeling, warm creature that spoils you without reservation. If anyone can stay composed, then that guy has no emotions. But, well, it¡¯s terrifying. They¡¯re not even a year old yet, and they¡¯re already like that. I¡¯m sure these kids are going to become demonesses. I will make sure to discipline them. ¡°You were going to kidnap and sell these cute little girls, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Guh.¡± Gasara¡¯s face cramped and bent back a bit. ¡°Do you see now? These kids are here now, and they are being spoiled by you. There¡¯s nothing wrong with that. It doesn¡¯t matter if you¡¯re the kidnapper or not, they¡¯re just playing with you in a pure and innocent way. You know what I mean, don¡¯t you?¡± If this doesn¡¯t make sense to you, I¡¯m going to have to hit Gasara without holding back. Gasara took a deep breath, closed his eyes and exhaled. Then he quietly opened his eyes and looked at me. ¡°¡­ Ah. Once again, I¡¯m painfully aware of it, of our¡­ no, my careless behavior¡­ sorry.¡± ¡°¡­phew.¡± It¡¯s like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. ¡°Please. We just want the girls to grow up okay. That¡¯s all we want. We don¡¯t want you to do anything for us. So, Gasara.¡± I slowly lowered my head. I¡¯m so helpless and pathetic, and this is the only way I can do it. ¡°Please overlook us.¡± Please. Jaja and Nana. Aoi and now Rouge, too. I just want our family to be together and have a normal, everyday life. That¡¯s all. I slowly raised my head and looked straight into Gasara¡¯s eyes. ¡°¡­ so like I¡¯ve been telling you for a while now. We, the Paradise Siblings, are going to wash our hands of the dragon. We definitely won¡¯t tell the other hunters or the association. I swear it in my brother Seijitsu¡¯s name. ¡­and I understand what you meant by having me meet these little guys.¡± Gasara said and patted Nana¡¯s back. ¡±¡­ Ah, please. I¡¯ve only known you for a day, but I trust you.¡± This guy. Gasara is a man worthy of trust. I¡¯ve been convinced of it on the way here. This big lion beastman trusted Makio, protected the children, fought with me, and worried about me. I looked at Aoi. She looked at me, Gasara, and the twins with a complicated expression, and I could clearly see the anxiety mixed in her eyes. It¡¯s natural. She is not stupid enough to so easily trust someone who has harmed her before. It¡¯s a natural part of being a mother, and a strong instinct for a mother. That¡¯s why it¡¯s my job to relieve that suspicion, and to protect her. I¡¯m a father. And her partner. Aoi noticed my gaze and nodded with a bitter smile. She wrinkled her brow, as if she were troubled. I¡¯m so pathetic that I made that look painful to watch. I have to be strong. It¡¯s the same this time. I ended up only defending myself against Ruten and the Rock Wolf, and if not for Rouge, Gasara, his siblings, and Aoi, I would have already died. I slowly walked towards Aoi. Because I was doing it unconsciously, I didn¡¯t realize what I was doing until Aoi¡¯s face was right in front of me. I feel very drowsy, almost like I¡¯m floating in the air. Still, there was one thing I had to say. I locked eyes with Aoi for a few seconds. I reflexively put my arm around Aoi¡¯s back as she looked at me in a strange and confused way. I could hear Aoi¡¯s panicked voice in my ear. But I couldn¡¯t understand what she was saying. Ah, that¡¯s right. I guess I was tired after all. That¡¯s right. I ran a lot, and I endured a lot. I¡¯m tired and weak. Combine that with the pain on my back wound and I was confused. I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m clearheaded or not, but all I know is that I¡¯m holding Aoi in my arms and leaning on her right now. It was the same at Tusk Crag, though. There¡¯s been so much going on lately, I guess I¡¯ve gotten used to losing consciousness. Experience tells me that in a little while I¡¯ll be off to the world of dreams. So I have to say something before I do. ¡°Sorry for making you worry.¡± I couldn¡¯t hear Aoi¡¯s reply anymore because of my hazy consciousness, but I knew that her arms, which had been unknowingly put around my back, had gently and strongly hugged me back. Chapter 111 - Sage’s Sigh (EP) ¡°It¡¯s really troublesome, isn¡¯t it?¡± A large, distorted rock emitting a strong magical light was floating in front of me. This rock, which emits a unique purple light, is called a magical stone. This is a special kind of magical stone, which forms a labyrinth to protect itself according to the shape of the vessel in which it is placed, a type of magical stone called a maze stone. ¡°How hard do you think it was to get the magic stone to settle in here?¡± I mumbled to myself as I worked. No matter how knowledgeable and skilled I am, it¡¯s very difficult to quell the runaway growth of the magical stone that fused with it. I had been working silently until a moment ago, but the control of the complicated magic power finally made me complain. ¡±I¡¯m the one who turned this large rock into a dungeon. It took me a lot of work to make it feel like it was there naturally and ready for Yule¡¯s birth!¡± She didn¡¯t listen to me, so I had to set it up in a sneaky way. It¡¯s easy for spirits to be born around the magical stone, so I needed to provide a place for Yule to rest and prepare for birth. Before the world collision, this area was out in the middle of nowhere, and the dungeon would have been an obstacle to Yule¡¯s nest. In the old days, the area around Tusk Crag was filled with strong magic, and Tusk Crag was also a very difficult dungeon to navigate. It has faded a lot now, so the magic stones had been collected to the point of exhaustion. These dragons¡¯ powers diminishes greatly during the spawning season, so I always provide them with a resting place. The earth and sea dragon tribes were easy. They live in packs according to their species, and they choose places where beastmen, demons, and humans can¡¯t easily get to them, so the earth and sea dragon king will keep an eye on them without me having to pay attention to them. The problem was the Sky Dragon tribe. In the past, they used to find their own dwelling place and live in packs there, but the beastmen found them during the reign of the previous Sky Dragon King. Since then, they couldn¡¯t settle down in one place. Furthermore, the entire tribe started living apart and I had a hard time keeping up with them. It¡¯s still a good thing that there hadn¡¯t been any new dragon cubs born in the last two hundred years. If this happened to coincide with the birth of another dragon, I¡¯d be very busy. ¡°Even if it¡¯s not needed anymore now that Aoi¡¯s on her own, but you know what? I¡¯ve spent a lot of time and effort to create it, so don¡¯t mess with it, okay? Jeez.¡± Even a rat sage gets angry when they¡¯re angry, okay? It seems like Rouge was able to join up with Aoi. If it¡¯s a sign of a dragon, I can recognize it even from a distance. Before arriving in this town, I felt the magic power that had exploded, and I left Rouge behind in a hurry. Magic power is scary. If a demon tribe or human hand is involved from the start, it¡¯s not as a big deal because there is a certain degree of directionality, but if the magic power spontaneously swells up abnormally, an island nation like this can be easily wiped out. This has happened in the past. When the demons messed with the magical power that had accumulated in the maritime city, it went berserk and blew up the maritime city. There aren¡¯t many magical powers that pure, even in the natural world. But even so, the current demons and humans have a really insufficient understanding of magic. This time it only ended up like this since the original magical stones were depleted, but if they were perfect, this whole prefecture could have turned into a labyrinth! ¡°Hmm. Just a bit more?¡± I checked the progress. The swelling magical stone and the magical power that exceeds the magic stone¡¯s capacity. What I¡¯m doing is crystallizing the excess magic power that leaks out and making the magic stone itself bigger. As long as it¡¯s well-circulated inside, it won¡¯t affect the outside world. In the past, before the Great War, there were a few demons who could do this technique, but now they¡¯ve lost it, and I¡¯m probably the only one who can do it. Hmm. But I don¡¯t really want to use my powers for anything other than dragon related matters. Otherwise, it¡¯s just not fair to you, father-kun. ¡°¡­ what do you think? I asked the false image created in the mind. The false image does not answer anything. Ever. Always. Years. Tens of thousands of years. I still see your unchanging smile in my mind, as you have been for a hundred million years. Silly Aruba. Pathetic Alba. How unsightly, Alba Germain. Seraphy is nowhere to be found. Seraphy is now one with the world. Damned world. A hateful world that stood in the way of her and the dragon. Something I would have destroyed it if Seraphy had wished for it. ¡°Yes. I get it. I¡¯ll do it if that¡¯s what you want.¡± There is no answer. But if it¡¯s something Seraphy says, I know it all. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll ask me of it while looking a little troubled. ¡°Alba, please forgive me, okay?¡± Yeah, I know. I¡¯ve forgiven everything. I¡¯m starting to slip back into my old ways of thinking. That was dangerous. I shook my head and raised my staff. I add my magic to the magical flow of the magical stone. Slowly guiding it, I strike a crystallization formula on a part of it. With a crisp, dry sound, the magic stone grew a bit larger. Father-kun, are you being reckless again? You too, little brother. Take care of your body, okay? After all, there are only two of you. We¡¯re out of stock, and I don¡¯t think this miracle will ever happen again. Two brothers who were born in the most twisted way into the world. Especially the older brother. Such a twisted life. There is no way he would have lived that long. If I hadn¡¯t found them before they were born, they wouldn¡¯t be here now. It¡¯s a miracle. A miracle, is it? If God wills it, I¡¯d be happy to give them a deep kiss or two. Yeah, but I¡¯m sure she¡¯d be upset if I told her I was using them. ¡°Okay. Something like this?¡± I finished refining the magic stone and returned the staff to my waist. The outflow of magic power has now stopped. The amount that leaked out of Tusk Crag would soon fade away. It¡¯s become more or less accustomed to the territory, and the expansion in the dungeon to the extent that the magic stone has grown will not be reversed, though. Has the original forest become part of the dungeon? I¡¯ll deal with it around their house. The amount that flowed into the town should have started to die off by now. Those trees that grew outside will wither in a week. It¡¯ll be up to the humans and the beastmen to clean up the mess. I don¡¯t know about this. I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s a dead tree. Just burn it. ¡°All right, one more job left, eh?¡± It¡¯s probably the father-kun. He¡¯s probably seriously injured again. You want me to toss a couple of the twins¡¯ eggshells in his mouth and force him to heal? He¡¯s starting to get used to it, so he¡¯s probably not going to stuck in bed like before. ¡±¡­Alba, do you not regret it?¡± Suddenly, the false image inside me spoke to me. It¡¯s not actually saying words. This imaginary image is a product of my unconscious mind. My unconscious mind created this imaginary image as a means of mental self-preservation, believing that I cannot maintain myself unless it exists. That is why these words must be my unconscious mind¡¯s way of defending myself. This is what Seraphy would have said. ¡°Regret?¡± I scoffed and shut my eyes. ¡°It was over when I killed you.¡± Because I¡¯ve missed you so much. Chapter 112 - Kazamachi Household’s Struggle (1) ¡°Kunpei-san. This belongs to Watanabe-san. Can you to take care of it?¡± I received a large laundry basket from Aoi. ¡°Watanabe-san is where that little girl and her brother¡¯s siblings are, right?¡¯ ¡°Yes. I¡¯m helping hang laundry outside right now, so please take it with you.¡± ¡°Copy that. I¡¯m off.¡± ¡°Have a good day.¡± I held the laundry basket in both hands and went out through the sliding door. It¡¯s a sunny day, a perfect day for doing laundry. It¡¯s been almost a week since we started living in this community center. I¡¯m getting used to living in a group. Aoi has been working hard on the laundry with the other mothers, so that¡¯s why she¡¯s come to help. After all, more than two hundred people are living in a shelter. There¡¯s no way they¡¯ll be able to finish their work if each family takes their time to do the laundry. In the countryside, they do the all laundry in a group. Our family is no exception, and since there¡¯s women¡¯s underwear and such, it¡¯s not easy for a man to help, so from our house, Aoi is the main person in charge of doing the laundry. It was my job to do the heavy lifting. There¡¯s only one automatic washing machine in the community center, so we¡¯re forced to wash clothes by hand using a washboard, even though it¡¯s outdated. I asked Aoi to sort the men¡¯s clothes and the women¡¯s clothes, and I poured water and detergent into the tub and scrubbed hard for nearly two hours. At first, I had a hard time getting the hang of it, but there are a lot of elderly people in our town who are familiar with the old-fashioned way of doing things, so I was able to get the hang of it. With the help of their instruction, I¡¯m getting better at it. Women¡¯s laundry was more delicate so Aoi and the other mothers were busy washing by hand and running the washing machine. ¡°Watanabe-san. I brought this.¡± ¡°Ah, thank you. Kunpei-kun.¡± ¡°No, no. I didn¡¯t do much.¡± ¡°Watanabe-san, a middle-aged woman, was a dog person with a large build.¡± She¡¯s an energetic mother who fits well with the term ¡°gutsy mom,¡± and who has a problem with talking too much. ¡°My kids won¡¯t help me if I don¡¯t tell them what to do! I¡¯m so jealous of how well behaved everyone in the Kazamachi family is.¡± ¡°Ha-ha-ha.¡± Ugh. I don¡¯t know what the right answer is to reply back when she says this. Shouhei and Aoi are really good at getting along with their neighbors. It goes without saying for Shouhei, who is naturally good with people, but Aoi is really great at putting up with her fear of strangers. ¡±Well then, I still have a lot of laundry to do.¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± I bowed my head lightly and left. My shoulders are stiff from sitting and straining for nearly two hours. Even though the wounds on my back have healed, Aoi and Shouhei are still annoying if I push myself too hard. I walked with my right shoulder held down while turning it. The opposite arm this time, as if to relieve the stiff shoulder. As I was doing something that old men did, I saw the cooking room. The single-burner stove in the community center¡¯s kitchen couldn¡¯t provide enough food for all of us, so we set up a tent outside and used a commercial gas stove. It was among the supplies that arrived on the third day of living in the shelter, and all the men were mobilized to set it up. Even though it¡¯s made of stainless steel, it¡¯s just that big. We all had a hard time with it. Aoi and Rouge may be able to easily handle it with their strength, but they¡¯re just a bunch of weak girls here. So my dad and I did our best. ¡°Shou, is that today¡¯s lunch?¡± I called out to Shouhei when I spotted him among the mothers in the cooking area staring down a large cylindrical pot. He recognized my voice and looked around, and Shouhei smiled when he finally found me. ¡°Nii-chan. Did you finish the laundry?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be a little longer. What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Pork soup. It¡¯s easier to make soup and curry when there are more people around.¡± The amazing smell tickled my nostrils and whet my appetite. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m ready to go. Let¡¯s just get this over with and call it a day.¡± ¡°Yeah. Hang in there. Are the kids with Ru-neechan?¡± ¡°Oh. She¡¯s playing inside with the other kids with Yuri-san. It seems like Rouge is having fun too.¡± There were, of course, many small children among the evacuated families. Yuri-san, a former nursery school teacher, is a master at keeping the children from making a racket and quietly taking care of them all together. Thanks to that, the mothers¡¯ work is progressing. I am so grateful to have Yuri-san in this shelter. Rouge is also sticking close to Yuri-san and playing with the kids. Even with her expressionless face, she seemed unable to hide her joy, and she was actively in contact with the children, and seemed happy. ¡°¡­ Sometimes I¡¯m afraid of the look in Ru-neechan¡¯s eyes when she looks at me and the little guys.¡± ¡°¡­ It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m sure she won¡¯t hurt you.¡± ¡°I know that, but¡­¡± Shouhei tilted his head with a troubled smile on his face. ¡±Yo, my sons. Are you being properly useful to the others?¡± ¡°Dad.¡± I saw my father at the entrance of the cooking area. He had arrived at this shelter on the first night. I was asleep, exhausted, but it seemed that the treasure hunters had brought him here. The trees from Tusk Crag suddenly stopped near the metropolitan area. The police set up a control line there to restrict civilians from entering. Only the families of the people sheltering inside were allowed in, and only with a treasure hunter and police convoy escort. Apparently the wait for a turn to get in was huge, and my dad didn¡¯t get here until late at night. ¡°What, are you already done?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re taking a break. We¡¯re making more progress than I thought we would.¡± If you look closely, you can see the fathers and men of the evacuated families outside the cooking area. ¡°Kazamachi-san. I¡¯ll go make some tea.¡± ¡°Ah, Tamachi-san, thank you for your concern.¡± ¡±No, no, you¡¯re working the hardest, you should get some rest. Don¡¯t you want to see your grandchildren too?¡± ¡°Ha, well, I¡¯ll take you up on your offer, then.¡± Tamachi-san, as I recall, is the owner of a butcher shop. He¡¯s a tough guy with a strong build and a high-pitched voice. My fathers¡¯ job was to remove the trees that had begun to die. I¡¯ve heard that contractors hired by the county and the prefecture are working to remove the trees in turn from the city center, but the pace is too slow. That¡¯s why the people at the evacuation center have suggested that they start removing the trees from the inside as well, accompanied by hunters. With the skilful use of light trucks and heavy farming machinery brought from each house, the scenery around the community center alone was the same as it was before the incident. ¡°What do you think about the progress?¡± I¡¯d really like to help, but Aoi and Shouhei, and even Mikuma over the phone, opposed. There¡¯s hard work to be done in the shelter, so I¡¯m working on that one. ¡°I told you we were making progress, the road to the elementary school is almost completely open. We¡¯ll be able to meet up with the evacuees over there. Well, it looks like a lot of people will be able to get home before we get there.¡± ¡°Is the power back on?¡± The section where our house is has been cut off from the power lines because of the trees. I heard that the power company people were also busy every day with hunters accompanying them. ¡°I hear the residential area is mostly done. They said they¡¯d spend so much time figuring out where the power lines were down that they¡¯d be able to restore them quickly.¡± This shelter also became a resting point for various vendors. The water tank was brought by the water department, and the gas in the kitchen was relief supply from the gas company. The community center was not a blackout zone to begin with, and since there were fewer people there than at other shelters, there was plenty of supplies. ¡°Unfortunately, our electricity won¡¯t be back for a while longer. Since we¡¯re the closest to Tusk Crag.¡± ¡°Well, I guess so. Well, how about your work?¡± He hasn¡¯t been to work for almost a week now. What¡¯s going to happen to our family¡¯s living expenses and all that. In our case, the schools are closed. I heard that the remaining high school students have been moved to the shelters where their families are waiting for them. It¡¯s a miracle that no one was injured or killed after all that. ¡°Thanks to the executive director and others, I¡¯m treated as a special case. It¡¯s not such a black company that they would ask you to come in under these circumstances.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± And it would be too egregious to leave your family alone and come to work. ¡°How¡¯s your body? That damned rat, he came out of nowhere and disappeared all of a sudden.¡± ¡°Hmm. Well, it¡¯s okay. I felt awfully sluggish for the first 2 or 3 days, but now, not so much.¡± Alba Germain, the rat sage who appeared while I was sleeping. It seems that he suddenly appeared in the middle of the night when the other refugees were asleep, threw Jaja and Nana¡¯s eggshells into my mouth while I was asleep, and then disappeared immediately. Thanks to this, I was woken up by Shouhei and had to hide in the bathroom until my dragonized body returned to normal. Pity me for being forced to hide in the bathroom for nearly ten hours. I can¡¯t tell you how sorry I am to answer that door knock with a door knock. ¡°Ah, Gasara-niichan.¡± Shouhei waved his hand as he stirred the pot. Gasara and the other treasure hunters are having a meeting at the entrance of the community center, which was visible from here. They formed a circle around Seijitsu-san and seem to be discussing something serious. Speaking of Gasara, he was pulling on Nanairo-san¡¯s arm, and looked bored. When he noticed us, he waved back with a wry smile. ¡°The hunters are also very busy. The West Japan Treasure Hunters Association¡¯s scandal has been leaked, so everyone is working up a storm.¡± My dad crossed his arms and stared at the circle. ¡®That was the head of the association¡¯s decision after all, wasn¡¯t it? Why do those guys need to make a big deal out of it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a scandal in your organization. They can¡¯t stay uninvolved when they¡¯re on the scene. It¡¯s a matter of trust. I¡¯m sure the one here are taking the initiative in restoring their credibility.¡± I feel sorry for them. In the end, they got the short end of the stick. I think they¡¯re doing a great job from our perspective. ¡°The evacuees know best how hard the hunters are working. At the very least, let¡¯s give them a break.¡± ¡°Are you going already?¡± Shouhei called out to my father, who has his back turned. From an older brother¡¯s point of view, my brother has a father complex. He wants to spend a little more time with dad. He looks a little lonely. ¡°At least let me get you a cup of tea.¡± My dad gently smiled and left the cooking area. ¡°Let the little guys see your face a little!¡± ¡°Of course!¡± I said that to my dad¡¯s back as he left, and he raised his right arm in response. When I looked next to me, I see Shouhei looking into the pot of pork soup while pouting. The speed at which he stirred the ladle was mindlessly fast. ¡±Dad is amazing, isn¡¯t he.¡± I stroked Shouhei¡¯s head. My dad has been working hard since he got here. He¡¯s a relatively young man, and he¡¯s quite capable, so I think he¡¯s being depended on. As for Shouhei, he probably wanted him to rest a bit more. ¡°Un, but I¡¯m worried.¡± It¡¯s good to be honest. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be there to stop him if need be.¡± Now, I¡¯ve been keeping Aoi waiting for a while. ¡°I¡¯m going back to do the laundry.¡± ¡°Nii-chan, in moderation, okay?¡± ¡°Oh. You too.¡± We giggled at each other with the eye contact that only brothers can make, and I left the cookhouse. Chapter 113 - Kazamachi Household’s Struggle (2) After struggling with a large amount of laundry, Aoi and I arrived at the community center¡¯s meeting room. This is the living space allocated to large families with babies like us, and we are living with three other families. The room was simply separated by a sad blue sheet, and although it is presented as a room, the sound of people talking was still audible. ¡°Alright, time to eat.¡± ¡°It¡¯s pork soup today.¡± I took off my shoes and stepped on the blue tarp while unrolling my long-sleeved shirt. Aoi, who was following behind me, did the same, and we sat down next to each other towards the interior of the room. ¡±Thanks for your help. Shouhei-kun said he¡¯s going to bring us something to eat.¡± Yur-san handed me a slightly damp hand towel. By the way, Yuri-san is also staying in this room with our family. After all, her daughter, Officer Doggy, is in the middle of her official duties. And she is very busy. She travels around town every day and has no time to come back to this shelter. I suggested that wouldn¡¯t it be safer to be with us, and she agreed, overjoyed. ¡°Ah, thank you very much.¡± I thanked her and took the hand towel, lightly wiped my hands, and handed it directly to Aoi. ¡±Are Jaja and the others okay?¡± Aoi asked Yuri-san as she wiped her hands with the hand towel. ¡°Yes. They were playing energetically. Some of the kids are close in age, so they had fun. Isn¡¯t that right, Rouge-chan?¡± ¡°Hmm. It was really fun.¡± I¡¯m not talking about you. I¡¯m talking about Jaja and Nana. Rouge nodded quietly as she sat cross-legged next to Yuri-san. Jaja sat between her legs, play biting a giraffe block toy from the community center, with undivided attention. Rouge who had red hair and was wearing my light black jacket and jeans looked like a country Yankee. ¡°I think Nana is finally getting used to her friends. Yesterday she wouldn¡¯t leave me or Aoi-chan, but today she was playing with the building blocks with them.¡± ¡°Uu?¡± Nana was sitting upright on Yuri-san¡¯s lap as she looked up curiously, with her right thumb in her mouth. ¡°That¡¯s good. She was crying so hard when I went to do the laundry, I was a little worried about her.¡± ¡°Well. Mother is the best, after all?¡± When Aoi spread her arms out, Nana giggled and jumped up from Yuri-san¡¯s lap. She flapped her little wings and slowly approached Aoi. The short tail on her hips swayed side to side. ¡°Okay, there you go.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Flying shakily, Nana finally landed vigorously on Aoi¡¯s chest. ¡°Jaja, you coming over here?¡± ¡°Hm. Jaja, you can stay here forever.¡± Biting. I spread my hands out to Jaja, and Rouge turned her body around to avoid showing it. Jaja was too busy chewing on the giraffe block to notice me. Hey, stop it. I want to hold Jaja, too. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting.¡± Shouhei, holding a large tray, emerged from behind the blue sheet that served as a wall. ¡±Aoi-neechan, this is Jaja and Nana¡¯s milk.¡± Placing the tray on the blue sheet floor, Shouhei handed something to Aoi. ¡°Thank you. Is there also some for the other babies?¡± A two-liter plastic bottle was handed to me. The contents are probably hot water. On top of the tray that Shouhei had placed on the floor, there were three more two-liter plastic bottles that were emitting soft steam. Inside the medium-sized pot was pork soup. Besides that, there were also styrofoam bowls for several people and plastic fork and spoons. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll take these to our neighbors.¡± He¡¯s a considerate guy. Holding three of the four plastic bottles, Shouhei stood up once more. ¡±Oh, me too.¡± ¡°Have a seat. Nana¡¯s there.¡± With that, my brother, a man of action, disappeared into the neighbor¡¯s space. ¡°Ah, he¡¯s gone.¡± ¡°He¡¯s truly a great kid.¡± Rouge nodded shallowly once and saw Shouhei off. ¡°Aoi-chan. I¡¯ll make you some milk.¡± ¡®Thank you Yuri-san. Nana? You must be hungry, right?¡± Yuri-san was fishing around in Aoi¡¯s bag that was left by the wall. That bag was stuffed with Jaja and Nana¡¯s milk, baby bottles, towels, and diapers. It was the third day we¡¯d been here, and it was all that Dad and I had brought from home. Along with a change of clothes and stuff. Yuri-san picked up two baby bottles, places them on her lap, and took out a milk can this time. Aoi and Rouge were looking at the little guys. Then I¡¯ll get the pork soup ready. So I took the styrofoam bowl, opened the lid of the pot and grabbed the ladle that was inside. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m hungry. Time to eat, time to eat.¡± ¡°Ah, father-in-law. Good work.¡± ¡°Hmm. Welcome home, father.¡± Aoi and Rouge greeted my dad as he returned right on time. ¡±Yes, I¡¯m back. Well, it really feels great to be greeted by gorgeous girls!¡± ¡°Hmm. Welcome home. I wonder if I¡¯m also included in that?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± My dad walks onto the blue sheet with a disheveled look on his face and slumped down between me and Yuri-san. Yuri-san smiled as he poured hot water from the plastic bottle into a baby bottle. ¡°You¡¯re still so flattering with this old lady.¡± ¡°No, no, Yuri-san is still very beautiful.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s a hand towel, father-in-law.¡± Aoi handed my dad a hand towel from in front while they traded adult jokes. ¡°Ah, thank you.¡± ¡°Are you going to work in the afternoon as well?¡± ¡°Hmm. In the afternoon, they¡¯re transporting the trees and branches that were cut down, so I was forced to take a day off because I didn¡¯t have a role.¡± While answering Aoi¡¯s question, my dad wiped his hands with the towel and then wiped his face with all his might. Ugh, it smells of old man. You¡¯re not in a bar, so don¡¯t do that. ¡°That¡¯s perfect since Shou was worried about you working too hard. Here¡¯s your portion.¡± I hand my dad the first bowl of pork soup. ¡°Ah, thank you. Where¡¯s Shouhei?¡± ¡°Giving hot water for milk to the neighbors. You didn¡¯t see him when you came in?¡± I thought they would¡¯ve passed each other. ¡°Ah, I was talking to Iijima-san as we walked so I didn¡¯t notice. Ah, thanks, Rouge-chan.¡± Dad received a forked spoon from Rouge. ¡°Iijima-san, the neighborhood association president?¡± ¡°The wife.¡± That calm old lady. She seems to be a kind person, and she seems to be good friends with Yuri-san. ¡°We¡¯ve been talking about you and Aoi for a bit. I¡¯ll talk to you after dinner.¡± ¡°Me and Aoi?¡± ¡°Me and Kunpei-san?¡± I wrinkled my brow and asked back. Um, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re talking about something dragon-related or anything, is it? It should have already gone around Aoi and Rouge are sisters from the demon race. ¡±Ah, what can I say? It¡¯s not something to get defensive about. But you might be in for a shock, though.¡± ¡°¡­I¡¯ve got a bad feeling about this.¡± My dad, who always says I¡¯m simple-minded, says I¡¯m going to be shocked. Then it must be something very shocking to me. I¡¯m scared. ¡°I¡¯m back. Ah dad, you¡¯re back early.¡± ¡°Hey, good job, Shou. Thanks for the food.¡± As I was dripping cold sweat and pondering, Shouhei came back. ¡±Nope. I¡¯m not doing much. You must be hungry. Let¡¯s hurry and eat.¡± Saying that, Shouhei took off his shoes and sat down next to Rouge. Before I knew it, my hands seemed to have prepared pork soup for the number of people, and everything was prepared for the meal. ¡°You¡¯re right. Aoi-chan, go ahead and eat. In the meantime, Rouge-chan and I will keep an eye on the kids.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll finish quickly, okay?¡± ¡°Aoi, don¡¯t rush, eat slowly. The more I can play with Jaja the happier I am. Besides, I¡¯m the only one who hasn¡¯t done any work. Let me at least do this.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯ll take you up on your offer.¡± ¡°Indeed, Rouge has spent the past week only dealing with the small children in the shelter.¡± These energetic, playful children in their prime will be allowed to leave the shelter and it¡¯s also hard for them to tolerate being confined to stay in such a densely populated place. The space in the gymnasium, which was vacated after the emergency workers finished their treatment, is now a large playground. Of course, Rouge is the one who is bearing the stress of these children. She effortlessly deals with these children who have such energy and stamina that I suspect they are inexhaustible. But for her, it¡¯s just a reward. Rouge also helps the children fall asleep earlier at night. I¡¯ve played with them once, but just one game of tag was enough to kill me. It¡¯s exhausting. ¡°Come on, Nana-chan. Do you want to have your meal with me?¡± ¡°Nmm, dah!¡± When Nana saw the hand that Yuri-san offered her, she shook her head and clung to Aoi. ¡°Nana, it¡¯s only while Mommy is eating, okay? Please.¡± Aoi lifts Nana up and admonishes her, looking straight into her round eyes. ¡°¡­ ah.¡± ¡°Un, thanks. Nana¡¯s a good girl.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help it, it¡¯s just for a bit, Nana, be a good girl for a little while, okay?¡± With a reluctant look on her face, Nana was handed over by Aoi to Yuri-san. ¡°Jaja is crazy about the Giraffe. It¡¯s a little vexing.¡± Grabbing the giraffe block firmly with both hands, Jaja continued to chew on the giraffe, ignoring Rouge¡¯s words. I¡¯m frustrated that she¡¯s disregarding me as well. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s start.¡± Thank you for the meal. My dad, Shouhei, Aoi and I joined our voices. That was how today¡¯s lunch started. Chapter 114 - Kazamachi Household’s Struggle (3) ¡°So, what was that thing the neighborhood association¡¯s president¡¯s wife talked about?¡± I asked my dad. We¡¯re taking a break after lunch. Shouhei headed off to wash the pots and pans, while Yuri-san and Rouge were taken away by the other kids. Jaja and Nana, who had their bellies full of milk, were napping comfortably under a thin blanket with Aoi. Aoi, Nana, and Jaja were sleeping side by side, and I was sitting next to Jaja, smiling and being comforted by the sleeping faces of the twins. Aoi, who should have been awake a while ago, seemed to have fallen asleep while she was putting her hand on Nana¡¯s stomach. That felt good, didn¡¯t it? I could understand how Aoi felt when she fell asleep. Why is a baby¡¯s stomach so exquisitely soft and pleasantly warm? ¡°You didn¡¯t forget about it even though you¡¯re an idiot.¡± My dad responded with a dumbfounded look on his face. ¡°Will you stop calling your own son an idiot without hesitation? Do you know that your eldest son is hurting more than you think?¡± ¡°Haha, no way.¡± I am, idiot! Why are you trying to make light of this? My dad, who had been lying next to the wall, got up and scratched his cheek. ¡°Hm, is Aoi-chan asleep?¡± ¡°Oh, should I wake her up?¡± If I¡¯m going to be shocked, then it must be a big deal, right? Aoi and I are the ones involved, so we should know. ¡°No, let her sleep. That¡¯s what I said earlier. It¡¯s probably more hurtful to Aoi than you. Well, there¡¯s nothing she can do about it.¡± ¡°What? I don¡¯t see what you¡¯re getting to at all.¡± Is this a complaint or a grievance? You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. I don¡¯t know about me, but I¡¯m sure Aoi is doing her best. That¡¯s what Aoi, who is concerned with her position as the wife of the Kazmachi family, is going through in this shelter life as well. When she helped other mothers, she was praised for being a great wife, which made her very happy, and she takes the initiative to go here and there to help whenever she can. If I do my best, the neighbors will trust the Kazamachi family! She said with much fervor. I¡¯m sure that of all the young girls in this shelter, Aoi is the one who works harder than anyone else. ¡°¡­ ah. Is it something to do with Aoi?¡± ¡°No, no. Aoi¡¯s popularity here is increasing day by day. From the very young to the very old, men and women of all ages love Aoi-chan.¡± Huh? ¡°Then what?¡± ¡°It¡¯s you. The person who¡¯s probably the most worried about that is Aoi-chan.¡± What¡¯s that? ¡°I¡¯m not bragging, but I¡¯m so used to people talking behind my back that I¡¯m fine with it after a night¡¯s sleep. I¡¯m sure Aoi knows that, so she wouldn¡¯t be heartbroken by my bad reputation.¡± I¡¯ve experienced criticism due to untrue rumors and unwelcoming treatment from my bad reputation countless number of times. I¡¯ll feel down the day I hear it, but I¡¯ll bounce back the next day. I don¡¯t want to hear it as much as possible, though, because I¡¯ll still be depressed! ¡°I¡¯m not really proud of it, it¡¯s embarrassing.¡± Hey, don¡¯t let out that deep sigh. It¡¯s real, I know. ¡°Ah¡­ this is our fault too.¡± My dad scratched his head and looked at Aoi and the twins. ¡°Aoi¡¯s setting, huh? It wasn¡¯t really that detailed, was it?¡± Setting? ¡±Yeah, I¡¯ve told people around us that she¡¯s a child of the demon race and related to Rouge-chan, and we just glossed over the rest of it. Well, it was because if I went into too much detail, it would get exposed when confronted.¡± That¡¯s because they¡¯re hiding the fact that they¡¯re dragons. I¡¯m glad they haven¡¯t been prying too deeply into it. Aoi herself is careless in some ways, so there¡¯s a chance she¡¯ll do something careless if she¡¯s grilled too much. I heard that she used to go out a few times a year when she lived at Tusk Crag, and it would be tricky if her face was remembered at that time. Then let¡¯s just decide on the general framework, and the rest is the result of consulting with Shouhei and Mikuma. ¡°What about it? Did I do something wrong?¡± That would be unpleasant. I thought about it in an idiotic way, and I was proud of myself for having gotten away with it so well. ¡°Nope. The problem is the part you glossed over.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± My dad picked up a paper cup next to the wall and drank the tea inside in a single breath. While I¡¯m waiting for it, I was trying my best to digest the talk and understand it. ¡®You know what? No matter how idyllic the atmosphere is around here, it¡¯s still a rural area with little entertainment. Think about it. A family moved in a hurry in the spring to a small country town, a young mother with babies, and twins, too. Furthermore, the eldest son is a Yankee-looking high school student. And they are a motherless family. At first, Aoi-chan didn¡¯t go out much, either. They¡¯ve all had a lot of suspicions about it until now.¡± Yes, indeed. In the countryside where the number of inhabitants is small, the Kazamachi family stood out. In the beginning, Shouhei and I were ridiculed as unbalanced siblings even before we moved here. It¡¯s not uncommon for people to look at us in a strange way. ¡°Then this happened, we were forced to evacuate and get out of the house. And Aoi-chan is in high spirits about helping out, right? It¡¯s unavoidably noticeable. That kind of thing.¡± ¡°But Aoi¡¯s impression is favorable, isn¡¯t it?¡± What¡¯s wrong with that? ¡°Ah, with all the different races living alongside each other these days, young mothers themselves are not that uncommon. Each race has a different definition of adulthood. That¡¯s why Aoi herself is making a good impression the harder she tries. So it¡¯s you.¡± Huh? ¡°Okay? Think again with your unimaginative mind? You¡¯re going to have to work hard on this one, because I feel sorry for Aoi-chan, okay?¡± ¡°W-what?¡± Hey, stop putting on airs! This is starting to freak me out. I thought about what I was told, pressured by my father¡¯s intimidating air as he looked at me with a serious face. We are a motherless family. Us two sons have been living with our father since our mother died of illness seven years ago. We moved to this town around spring, and I¡¯m sure Shouhei and I were in a bit of a hurry for the new school year. I met Aoi on the first day we moved here. It would look like we moved in with Aoi from the start. The same goes for Jaja and Nana. I haven¡¯t let her go out much until recently. I was afraid of running into the treasure hunters, and more importantly, I was worried about the little guys. We¡¯ve been able to move more freely in this refuge than before after making sure that the Gasara and the Paradise siblings have no intentions of confronting each other. That¡¯s why Aoi has become friends with other mothers, and Jaja and Nana have friends of the same age. ¡­ Huh? What about me? Shouhei is adored by the adults at the shelter for his all-around housekeeping skills, and even my dad is relied upon as the main force of the tree removal process. Ah, it¡¯s me. I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s impression hasn¡¯t changed. ¡°You know what I mean? The image that the neighbors have of Aoi now. How it¡¯s perceived by the public that a girl with young children is away from her parents and in an all male household? This is a serious problem for you.¡± ¡°A-ah¡­ aaah.¡± That¡¯s right. If I can¡¯t explain it in detail, that means I can¡¯t make excuses for it either. So the images of me and Aoi are supplemented by the neighbors¡¯ imaginations. ¡°In other words¡­¡± My dad¡¯s face gets even more serious. What is this unusual thirst? I tried to swallow my spit, but it didn¡¯t moisten my throat at all. ¡°A young demon girl impregnated by a bad man, kicked out of her home by her parents for one reason or another, is praiseworthy for trying her best to work hard in a different land. The man who impregnated her is a Yankee with a mean expression. A relative¡¯s older sister is worried about her and moves in with her, but she must be struggling with two children. The adults around her make use of the unique network in the country town to help. It¡¯s time for the husband, the eldest son, to get a sense of responsibility and try his best.¡± Ugh, uwah. Wow! ¡°That sums up what the neighborhood association¡¯s president¡¯s wife said to me earlier. It¡¯s a lot of work, but we can always count on you. All I could do was smile with a stiff expression.¡± Oh, no. That¡¯s not good! I¡¯m not the only one who¡¯s been wronged! It may look like that to others, but it¡¯s too much! No, the problem is when the story reaches Aoi¡¯s ears. Yes, the damage was severe, but it wasn¡¯t unbearable for me. I¡¯d just have to grit my teeth and endure it. But it would be unbearable for Aoi, who likes me and is also always worried that she¡¯s causing us trouble. She¡¯ll fret that my bad reputation is spreading because of her presence! ¡°D-dad! What to do! What should we do!¡± ¡°Calm down, you idiot. There¡¯s nothing immediate you can do about this.¡± Yeah, you¡¯re right. I can¡¯t even tell you what¡¯s really going on. ¡°That means you.¡± Yes, it¡¯s me. ¡°Kazamachi Kunpei, as the father of the twins and husband of Aoi-chan. All you can do is increase the reputation of that name.¡± Ah, that¡­ ¡°Your actions could determine the future of the kids and Aoi-chan. You know that, right?¡± I know¡­ Chapter 115 - Aoi-chan Love Operation (1) Now that my dad has warned me, I¡¯m going to consciously observe my neighbors¡¯ attitudes toward me better. ¡°Hello.¡± I make an effort to greet them amiably. I¡¯m here at the water storage tank that¡¯s beside the cooking area. Women and children have priority for the shower room at the community center, so most of the men just wipe themselves down with warm water. There¡¯s no way there are enough gas water heaters for nearly 200 people. I have a tank of lukewarm water in my lap. The bucket of hot water is used by three groups of people to wipe themselves down. ¡°Ah¡­ hello~¡± ¡°¡­ hi.¡± Oops. This is even more blatant than I thought, huh? The three middle-aged women in the kitchen returned the greeting, all chuckling and shrinking back a bit. I guess I haven¡¯t noticed this until now¡­ ¡°Oh, can I have some hot water?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, go ahead.¡± ¡°Ahhaha, thank you very much.¡± It was a large woman of the Polar Bear tribe who answered back. The edges of her mouth were raised as if pulled by an invisible thread. If you notice, it¡¯s obvious. Obviously, she¡¯s looking at me like I¡¯m suspicious. Well yeah. One day at the mall. The clerk at the baby goods store also had this look in his eyes. The worst looking high school student in the world, holding a young girl in a helpless position. Yeah, that¡¯s a bad image. There¡¯s no way I¡¯d trust someone like that right away. The stories passed on by people¡¯s mouths are exceeding my actual speed of movement. It¡¯s too late for me to make a move¡­ ¡°E-excuse me¡­¡± She filled a bucket of hot water with a small pot in the tank and left the cooking area quickly. I couldn¡¯t stand to be in a place where there were curious stares and the atmosphere was filled with trepidation. Oh no. The situation has progressed farther than I had imagined. If I don¡¯t take immediate action, not only me, but rumors about Aoi and the others might circulate as well. ¡°What should I do, what should I do?¡± I mumbled to myself as I carried the bucket. I wouldn¡¯t have bothered with it before now. I was the only one who would be harmed by it. No matter what kind of notoriety I got, I was determined to ignore it. I thought it was useless. I had given up on the idea that there was nothing I could do once the rumors started. But this time I can¡¯t leave it alone. After all, they are people of the neighborhood. As long as you live in this town, you will have to come into contact with them. Moreover, it is long-term. Perhaps they might be neighbors for life. We¡¯ve bought a not-so-cheap house in this town, and we can¡¯t just run away. ¡±Kazamachi? What¡¯s wrong with you. You look pale.¡± ¡°Kunpei-kun?¡± I unexpectedly came across a large golden furball in the hallway. It was Gasaraio. Kusaka Makio was next to him, the little blond boy who stopped wearing a pompadour and is receiving rave reviews. ¡°Help me, Gasara-on! Makio-kun!¡± ¡°Oh, oh?¡± ¡°W-what?¡± I¡¯m being bullied! I can¡¯t just hit him and fix it because the bully has no ill intent at all! I need a quick and easy solution with a magic tool, Gasara-on! I was at my wit¡¯s end, and I put my trust in a crass, rough, tsundere beastman, Gasara, who is representative of someone who doesn¡¯t seem to be suited to that kind of talk. Explaining. ¡°Eh? You¡¯re saying that to me?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right¡­¡± ¡°Please, lend me your wisdom.¡± Gasara was troubled as he looked away from me. I understand. If I were in the same position and got asked for advice, I would be troubled. But I can¡¯t think of anything because I am aware of my foolishness and lack the ability to socialize with others. My dad tells me to think for myself, but I can¡¯t! I can¡¯t do it, father! Makio, on the other hand, seemed to have gained some insight and nodded slightly. ¡±So in other words, you¡¯re saying you want to somehow improve the impression that the people around have of you, right? ¡°Yeah.¡± That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about. You¡¯re quick.¡± ¡°Stop talking like that. I¡¯ll blow you away.¡± I¡¯m sorry. No, I¡¯m sorry. I was so upset. I could give you a shoulder massage if you want. Oh, yeah. I promised that I¡¯d brush you. Leave it to me, I¡¯ll get it all fluffed up. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is, but just put the hand you¡¯re sticking out away.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I got carried away. ¡°So, you have a good idea?¡± ¡°Hmm. So it¡¯s the same situation between me and everyone else at school?¡± It¡¯s like that. I summarized and explained everything, but it was helpful to have Makio, who only had fragmentary information to understand it. I was worried that my explanation might be a bit lacking since I had to exclude the stuff related to dragons. ¡±Come to think of it, what have you guys been up to?¡± The treasure hunters should be staying in the convoy vehicles that is stopped on the grounds of the community center. I heard that Seijitsu-san suggested not to fill the already narrow premises with a lot of unwieldy types of hunters. I don¡¯t think there is a need for them to be so careful, but after the scandal of the West Japan Treasure Hunters Association came to light, they say it¡¯s just as well to be overly considerate of the refugees. I think it¡¯s a tough job. That¡¯s why it¡¯s rare for Gasara to be inside the facility. He¡¯s usually standing watch outside, guarding those cutting down trees and defeating monsters. ¡±Ah, Makio brought me some food.¡± ¡°I just happened to see him come back.¡± Ah, I see. That¡¯s why you¡¯re carrying a plate. ¡°Hina-chan and the other kids wanted to meet you.¡± ¡°Ah, come to think of it, Rouge called for you. Thank you for taking care of my daughters from time to time.¡± Makio¡¯s younger sister, Hina-chan, goes to the same elementary school as Shouhei. Maybe it¡¯s because of the vastness of the countryside, but Makio and his Kusaka family are our neighbors, even though it¡¯s far from our house. His parents had arrived at the shelter on the day of the incident, and they are now family friends. ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t thank me. She thinks Kunpei and Shouhei are heroes. She would be happy to see you.¡± Ah, come to think of it. Was it Hina who saved me from the incident that got me notoriety? Not just me, but you also covered for Shouhei. It¡¯s not a natural thing to say, but I¡¯m a little embarrassed. ¡°Come to think of it, Kunpei-kun¡¯s wife has a good impression, right? ¡°W-wife, you say.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she?¡± N-no. Well, I can¡¯t talk about it in detail, but it¡¯s right, I guess. Aoi¡¯s often says herself, ¡®I¡¯m the Kazamachi family¡¯s wife!¡¯ and I¡¯ve heard that, but when I hear it from someone else, my back itches. ¡°She¡¯s so enthusiastic and pure, so I¡¯m sure she¡¯s liked.¡± ¡±Hmm, then I think Kunepei-kun¡¯s bad impression comes from his relationship with his wife, right?¡± Makio told me with a serious expression. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Good. I wasn¡¯t the only one who didn¡¯t understand. Apparently, Gasara is on the same level as me. I¡¯m glad I¡¯m not the only one who¡¯s stupid. ¡°Kunepei-kun is also working one way or another. I¡¯m learning from that too, and there¡¯s a gap between them and the way they look, so I think they stand out enough to people that don¡¯t know them.¡± That¡¯s right, a young man in his prime can¡¯t be slacking off in these difficult times. Aoi and Shouhei have stopped me from going out and working like they¡¯re my parents, so I take the initiative to help out with the work inside the facility. There¡¯s also a lot of heavy work to be done. ¡°Ah, this guy will stick out with his evil face when he works so quickly.¡± ¡°What, are you trying to pick a fight, furball?¡± You bastard, picking on people¡¯s complexes. ¡°Stop, stop! Don¡¯t fight!¡± But this damn golden furball! ¡°Calm down! In short, Kunpei-kun¡¯s normal behavior itself is reasonably well regarded! I¡¯ve even heard that you¡¯re a surprisingly hard worker!¡± Oh, really? Now that you mention it, Watanabe-san and his wife, to who I gave the laundry to, were also talking about this. ¡°So what¡¯s wrong with it?¡± I haven¡¯t been in a fight, and I haven¡¯t done anything as bad as I look. The only thing that could possibly make rumors circulate is my heinous expression. If that¡¯s the only thing then I¡¯m screwed. I¡¯d be depressed. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s your attitude towards your wife¡­?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± No, I¡¯ve never treated Aoi cruelly even once, okay? I show appreciation for her hard work every day, and I respect her honesty and dedication. ¡°¡­I¡¯m going to say something a little embarrassing. Do you guys communicate properly as a married couple?¡± ¡°Communication? No, we just talk normally.¡± When it comes to conversation, there¡¯s a lot more of it compared to other girls, and it¡¯s even easier to talk. ¡°No, no. Um, look, I don¡¯t have any experience so I can¡¯t describe it in detail But like, k-kissing and hugging?¡± ¡°¡­ Eh?¡± Is that necessary? Like public displays of affection? I¡¯m still a virgin, isn¡¯t that too high a hurdle for me? ¡°Y-y-y-ya idiot!¡± No wait, Kunpei! It¡¯s true that to others, Aoi was supposed to be pregnant and giving birth to Jaja and Nana. If I deny that, it could probably make things more complicated than they are now. Why are you living with someone else¡¯s child and acting like a father figure? So it¡¯s common sense for us to do it in the eyes of those around us, and Makio feels the same way. Oh, what a pain in the ass! I kind of get it now! So now I¡¯m a terrible man who has been rejecting all the ardent affection from Aoi! Even I, an idiot and not knowing much about women¡¯s mindset, could clearly see Aoi¡¯s fondness for me and her attitude. So he¡¯s a bastard who doesn¡¯t even respond, but just makes his wife do her job! ¡°In other words, Makio-kun¡­¡± ¡°Yeah. I think you should flirt with your wife in a more obvious way.¡± Seriously? I feel like the difficulty level just jumped up, you know? ¡°Eh? What?¡± I wonder. I feel very grateful for this pure reaction from Gasara now. I guess I¡¯ll just have to try it. Chapter 116 - Aoi-chan Love Operation (2) The young couple of the Kazamachi family are happily married¡­ The young couple of the Kazamachi family are lovebirds who don¡¯t hesitate to flirt with each other, even in public¡­ The eldest son of the Kazamachi family is a lustful man who loves his wife¡­ It¡¯s no good. I¡¯ve been trying to do image training ever since then, but I don¡¯t feel like I can do it at all, even if I increase or decrease the setting. It¡¯s late at night, 11pm. Aoi and I were in the shower room washing Jaja and Nana¡¯s butts. ¡°We¡¯re lucky you two pooped at the same time.¡± ¡°Yes. It would have been twice the work if they went individually. Jaja and Nana are good friends, right?¡± Uhhhh. Nana makes a disgusted sound with an unpleasant expression. I guess she¡¯s afraid of the bathroom with its different atmosphere from home. Nana is a timid girl. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s okay. Nana is a good girl.¡± Aoi had a firm grip on Nana¡¯s arm and pointed the shower nozzle, which produces weak, warm water, at her butt. I wipe it with a baby wipe before coming here, but it would be a pity if it got covered up. Let¡¯s try to be clean. After I¡¯ve washed it clean and dried it up nicely, I¡¯m going to finish it off with baby powder. ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Hmm? Is Jaja finished?¡± Jaja was in my arms, naked and wrapped in a towel. Jaja loves bathing and is not afraid of this shower room. Rather, she wants to play more in the shower, and is squirming around in my arms. ¡°Let¡¯s splash lots when we get home, shall we?¡± ¡°Muh.¡± Ah, she¡¯s pouting. Well, this place is full of things that even Jaja and Nana have to put up with. I guess the stress is starting to build up by now. I let them make a clamor with their baby friends who are close in age at lunch, but they need to be quiet at night, or else the other evacuees will be bothered. I feel sorry for them, but they¡¯ll have to endure it for a while longer. ¡°Ah, good evening, Aoi-chan. Are you taking a bath with the twins?¡± ¡°Ah, Shiina-san. Good evening.¡± A middle-aged woman appeared at the entrance to the shower room. Ah, come to think of it, I forgot to lock the door. ¡°Ah, were you waiting? I¡¯m just washing their butt, so it won¡¯t take long.¡± ¡°No, no, don¡¯t worry about it. You can take your time.¡± ¡°S-sorry.¡± Aoi gave a shy, embarrassed smile. She¡¯s on good terms with Aoi, is she a mommy friend? The way Aoi has been working hard lately, in relationships as well, to the point where she¡¯s been welcomed into the circle of mommy friends at this shelter. She was so shy in the beginning, she¡¯s really amazing. Let¡¯s see, I think Shiina-san is the mother of a girl that¡¯s in elementary school, right? ¡°Uh, good evening.¡± ¡°Uu.¡± I didn¡¯t wait for my memory to match the face, and greeted her. I bowed lightly with Jaja in my arms. Jaja let out a short, cute greeting as I did, too. ¡°Ah, Good evening.¡± Hm? It was kind of stiff? ¡°Ah, so your husband was here as well.¡± ¡°Yes, he¡¯s helping me. Jaja would be very unhappy if papa wasn¡¯t here.¡± ¡°Heh. So Jaja¡¯s a daddy¡¯s girl.¡± Shiina-san refused to make eye contact with me. Hmm. That¡¯s the problem, isn¡¯t it? Should I just try it? Let¡¯s start simply and probe a bit first. I bent down and snuggled into Aoi¡¯s shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s right! Jaja, you know, she¡¯s selfish and doesn¡¯t want to just be with her mom. Right? Mama?¡± ¡°Eh, ah, yes.¡± Strategy number one! Call her mama as close to her as I can! I¡¯ve been known to call Aoi mama when we¡¯ve been messing around at home, but I¡¯ve rarely called her mama in front of others! It¡¯s embarrassing! This operation has one goal! We¡¯ll show them that we regularly call each other mama and papa! As expected, this was too minor, and although Aoi felt uncomfortable, she didn¡¯t know what it was. She twisted her head curiously and also shut off the water. Shiina-san was also unresponsive as far as I could tell. I knew it, perhaps the ¡®We usually call each other darling and honey!¡¯ would have been better? No, that¡¯s just not natural. It would be too much of a lie. And I would die of embarrassment. ¡°It¡¯s good that your husband helps me. Mines just goes to bed right after dinner, you know? I want him to take a lesson from your husband.¡± Huh? Isn¡¯t she softening up a bit? Could it be a great success? ¡°Shiina-san¡¯s husband was working hard too. Well, I won¡¯t deny that Kunpei-san is a good husband.¡± ¡°Ah.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you agree, Nana?¡± Aoi laughed jokingly, and Nana responded. ¡°Well, well, thank you for the meal.¡± Shiina¡¯s wife smiled wrly, amazed. ¡±Ehehe.¡± Aoi put the shower nozzle back stood up with Nana in her arms. She grabbed a baby towel that was hanging on the towel rack and wiped Nana¡¯s bottom before wrapping it around her body. ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting. We¡¯ll be going. Come on, Nana, say bye-bye.¡± ¡°Dah.¡± ¡°Bah.¡± Aoi took Nana¡¯s hand and waved it at Shiina-san. I hurriedly took Jaja¡¯s hand and gave her a bye-bye as well. ¡®Yes Nana and Jaja, bye-bye both. Good night!¡± ¡°Good night.¡± ¡°Ah, good night.¡± I turned around and thought about it. Shall I invoke at least one more strategy? Yeah, it would be Kazamachi Kunpei to do it before he thought about it. As the two of us walked side by side to the door, I resolved myself and hugged Aoi¡¯s shoulder who was to my right side. Aoi¡¯s body was stuck close to me. Like that, I moved my arm to Aoi¡¯s waist. This is something couples do all the time¡­ right? I¡¯ve seen it done in town occasionally, and I¡¯ve seen them even more excruciatingly close together, so this is still on the trivial side, right? I walked out the door and closed it. ¡°Ha, they¡¯re unexpectedly intimate, huh¡­¡± Along with the sound of locking the door from inside, the small voice of Shiina-san could be heard. G-great victory! ¡°¡­Kunpei-san?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± I don¡¯t know how many times Aoi looked at me suspiciously while walking down the corridor. Should I let go now? No, but it doesn¡¯t feel right to let go right away. ¡°W-what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No, your face is bright red. What¡¯s wrong with you, Kunpei-san?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you imagining things? It¡¯s nothing.¡± Calm down, my heart. Don¡¯t beat with such a high tempo rhythm at a time like this. I¡¯ll be revealed. ¡°Really? That¡¯s fine then¡­¡± My left hand was still around Aoi¡¯s slender waist. Uwah, it¡¯s so soft. What is this? Come to think of it, I¡¯ve never touched her this firmly before. It¡¯s no good! It¡¯s not good if I¡¯m conscious of it! And even if it wasn¡¯t, I¡¯m at an age where my lower half is hyperactive! Catch your breath and calm your mind. Let¡¯s see how Aoi is doing. Hmm. Aoi¡¯s attitude is the same as usual. If I think about it, this level of contact has been quite frequent before. In my room or on the couch, there are times when Aoi would be completely on my lap. It¡¯s probably too late for Aoi to be particularly surprised now. ¡°¡­ Somehow, Kaoruhei-san is kinder than usual today, isn¡¯t she? No, it¡¯s not that you¡¯re not usually kind too.¡± No, it¡¯s working. This is working. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Ah¡± ¡°Dah¡± Perhaps in response to Aoi¡¯s words, Jaja and Nana nodded in imitation of Aoi. ¡°See, Jaja and Nana say so too.¡± ¡°You¡¯re imagining things. You¡¯re tired, right? Let¡¯s go back and feed the little guys and go to bed, okay?¡± Did I fool her? ¡°Yes. And it¡¯s hard to find the right time to nurse them together when we¡¯re staying here.¡± Aoi, who was in somewhat of a good mood, rubbed her cheek against Nana¡¯s. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to have a good dream today. Right?¡± ¡°Au?¡± Smiling, Aoi asked Nana a question, and made her marvel. ¡­I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d be so happy with just this. It was worth the effort to endure the embarrassment. It¡¯s a good thing that Aoi is happy. And there¡¯s one thing I¡¯ve learned. It¡¯s the way the people around me look at me. It seems that people around me don¡¯t see me directly because of the rumors that precede me and my bad image. I guess it¡¯s partly because they¡¯re scared and partly because they¡¯re confused. They don¡¯t know how to treat me. That¡¯s why most people look at ¡®me through Aoi¡¯ and decides how to treat me. I guess that¡¯s partly because Aoi has been telling people how good I am. My image has lost its outline and is blurred. They¡¯re confused by the gap between what they hear about me through the rumors and what Aoi happily tells them about me. The way I treat Aoi, and how happy she was, has clearly shaped me in Shiina-san¡¯s mind. So her attitude suddenly softened. This is effective. In other words, the more I show that I get along with Aoi, the more the overall image of the ¡°young couple of the Kazamachi family¡± improves. My minus parts are compensated by Aoi¡¯s positive parts, and our overall image will increase every time we show ourselves be intimate. It¡¯s doable. I can do this. ¡°Is Jaja sleepy?¡± ¡°Fuaa¡± Aoi looked at Jaja in my arms. Jaja yawns adorably. ¡°Fuaa¡± Jaja¡¯s absent-mindedness shifted, and even Nana opened her mouth wide. ¡°Hang on a little longer, you two. We¡¯ll be there soon!¡± The conference room where my family and I are staying is just around the corner. ¡°¡­Alright.¡± I resolved my self with a bit of ardor. Normally it would be meaningless if people didn¡¯t see it, but I¡¯m honestly happy to see Aoi¡¯s happy face just now, so let¡¯s try a little harder to see it. Before I go to bed, I¡¯m going to put one more strategy into operation. This strategy had been put on hold due to the fact that I couldn¡¯t show it to others, but as long as I didn¡¯t show it to others, there was no problem. The only problem is that I might get so excited that I might die. I¡¯m kind of high on the success of my strategies right now. Maybe I can only do it at times like this. A man¡¯s got to have guts. Let¡¯s do it while we can! The door to the conference room opened. Tonight, this place will become a battlefield. Chapter 117 - Aoi-chan Love Operation (3) ¡°Aoi, over here.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Aoi, looked over with a dumb expression dropped the blanket she had prepared from her hand. I call out to Aoi, feigning composure. I sat crossed legged, patted my leg and told her to come here. ¡±K-Kunpei-san?¡± ¡°Come on, sit down.¡± ¡°E-eh?¡± Aoi looked around in confusion, unsure of what to do. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s no one around.¡± Shouhei, my dad, Rouge and Yuri-san smartly made their way to the lobby of the shelter. Now we¡¯re going to do our daily routine, the breastfeeding. The shelter has set up separate nursery rooms for babies and their mothers, but as a man, it would be taboo for me to go in there. Because both Jaja and Nana¡¯s nursing requires me and Aoi to take off our undergarments, and I can¡¯t answer when they ask me why we¡¯re so close together. So we use the space allotted to us as a family for night feeding, but it¡¯s just too small. It¡¯s extremely awkward to have my father and Shouhei around, no matter how you put it. So I¡¯m sorry to say, but I¡¯ve asked them to wait elsewhere when we¡¯re feeding at night. ¡°W-what¡¯s wrong?¡­ Kunpei-san is somehow acting strange today?¡± Confused by the different nursing posture, Aoi sat on my lap hesitatingly. ¡°I don¡¯t think so?¡± It¡¯s time to use the excuse that I prepared! ¡°We don¡¯t have to have our backs to each other, we just need to be physically touching, so this isn¡¯t so strange. Look, Jaja and Nana are getting older, so it¡¯s going to be hard to nurse them sitting up, right? Nana wouldn¡¯t like it if we tried to feed them one at a time.¡± Nana, you know. She gets cranky when she¡¯s not with Jaja. To begin with, she couldn¡¯t breastfeed both of them at the same time without straining herself with our set-up. Jaja and Nana were born a little bigger than human infants because they were born a little more grown-up. Just carrying one of those twins is a lot of work, but with two of them, you have to work pretty hard. If that¡¯s the case. ¡°In this position, you can lean on me and breastfeed them in a bit of a lying position, right? My arms are free, too, so I can help you hold them.¡± How¡¯s that for an excuse. ¡°¡­ Yes, that¡¯s true, but¡­¡± While still being dubious, Aoi squirmed around adjusting her position. ¡°Dah?¡± ¡°Au?¡± Jaja and Nana, who were playing on the futon, noticed us. ¡°Uuh!¡± Mom and Dad are playing! That¡¯s not fair! Jaja too! ¡°Dah!¡± What about Nana? Nana¡¯s good too, right? Right? Nana¡¯s going to play, too! I can almost hear their voices. The twins used their tails to crawl over. Even when they are at home, they charge at me and Aoi when we are together. There¡¯s no way they could miss this opportunity. ¡°Look Aoi, they¡¯re coming. We need to get ready.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± Getting ready means getting half naked. I¡¯m already not wearing anything on my upper body. In this position, the back of Aoi¡¯s head is right in front of me. I¡¯m staring at the top of her head in single-minded concentration. What a premature thought. Since Aoi was so happy with the physical contact in the shower room, I¡¯ve gotten carried away. The strategy to improve the image of the Kazamchi young couple is useless if people don¡¯t see it. Keep calm, calm Kunpei. This is thanks for Aoi. It¡¯s just a small reward for Aoi, who regularly seeks physical contact with me. It¡¯s a small price to pay if Aoi, who¡¯s trying her best, is happy just because I¡¯m suppressing my reasoning and giving her a little excessive skin-to-skin contact. Yes, it¡¯s my reasoning that¡¯s the problem. ¡°Let¡¯s take it off, shall we?¡± Aoi unbuttoned her pajamas and skilfully removed them so she didn¡¯t bump into me. Feeling the beating of my mischievous heart, I focused on Aoi¡¯s hair whorl. It¡¯s impossible! I¡¯m going to see it! I¡¯m going to get a glimpse! Because Kunpei is a boy! ¡°There we go.¡± She¡¯s started wearing a nursing bra recently because she¡¯s started to get a little sore from being sucked on so much. Especially Jaja, who has a habit of biting. It seems to sting just by rubbing against her clothes, so she¡¯s been using this underwear for mom¡¯s, which is gentle on her skin. Aoi, who has a rather modest chest, said she never wore a bra until she had the twins. I didn¡¯t even ask her about it, but she came and self-reported it. I¡¯m really troubled by that sort of thing. She unhooked the back of that mama bra and folded it neatly. I drape the futon, which I had grabbed in my right hand beforehand, over Aoi¡¯s legs. Even though it¡¯s covered with a blue sheet, this is an open space. Just in case, once Jaja and Nana start drinking breast milk, I¡¯ll wrap us all up in this futon. Mikuma and Saeki gave me a lot of flack at the ranch, so I¡¯m learning some things. ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°Anytime.¡± ¡°Come here, Jaja.¡± ¡°Dah! Uu?¡± Are you going to play with me? Jaja, who was climbing up into my lap while making such a nuanced sound, was picked up by Aoi. ¡±Mu. Dah!¡± I see, booby time! Nana too! Nana, who was the first to notice, clung to Aoi¡¯s legs, telling her to hold her too. ¡°Nana will have to wait a bit. I¡¯ll start with your sister¡­ Okay, thanks for waiting.¡± She held Jaja, who was picked up earlier, at her usual spot by her left chest, then Aoi grabbed Nana¡¯s arm with one hand and pulled her up. That way of holding is easy once you get used to it. At first, I couldn¡¯t do it with one arm like that because it looked painful. ¡°Uu¡± Nana landed on Aoi¡¯s chest with a thud, and she clapped her chest with a happy smile. ¡°Ow, ouch, ouch. Nana, it hurts when you slap mommy¡¯s boobs!¡± I am a gentleman. Gentle Kunpei. In the first place, I am used to seeing Aoi naked after all this time. You see, I¡¯m not even remotely excited about seeing a small hill. ¡°There you go. Hnn¡± How could I not? I am. I¡¯m regularly conscious of it. It¡¯s just that I¡¯m suppressing it with reason, and if given the chance, this sleeping beast would easily wake. Like that seductive moan I just heard. What the hell. Wasn¡¯t that just because Jaja bit a little too strongly? I just heard a voice that she made reacting to a bite. ¡°Meh! Me, damn it!¡± ¡°Wah! K-Kunpei-san?¡± The gentleman in me is desperately trying to whip the beast. You were an animal trainer, gentleman. The beast flinched at the whip and went back to its cage. That¡¯s a relief. When Aoi heard my cry, she turned around, startled. ¡®It¡¯s all right. The gentleman is a veteran.¡± ¡°What?¡± It was expertly handled. That was impressive. That¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about. ¡°Nothing, sorry if I freaked you out.¡± ¡±Haah, you¡¯re really strange today, Kunpei-san? You don¡¯t have a fever or anything, do you?¡± ¡°No, no. I¡¯m the picture of health. In fact, I¡¯m troubled because of my health.¡± ¡°Ehh¡­?¡± Aoi, who was just confused, was still staring at me doubtfully. ¡°More importantly, how¡¯s the set-up? If you¡¯re okay, I¡¯ll pull the futon over you.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. It¡¯s much easier than it has been. And Jaja and Nana aren¡¯t hitting heads.¡± Aoi showed a slightly sad expression. Ah, she said something about it. Her breasts are so small that it¡¯s hard to get enough room for two little heads. ¡°Ah, is that so, then I¡¯ll be covering you with the futon.¡± ¡°Please.¡± With her ok, I wrapped us in a thin futon. I tucked my hands under the covers and supported Jaja and Nana on either side. ¡°Ah, this is so much easier.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Those words help a little. The gentleman¡¯s efforts were not in vain. The twins started drinking their mother¡¯s milk. I watched them drink adorably from over Aoi¡¯s back. At first they sucked hard and then they slowed down. Next thing you know, those little eyelids gradually started to close, and eventually Nana was the first to fall asleep. Ah, I knew it. Just with the twins being there, the guilt already faded away. Aoi¡¯s profile was slightly visible, and there was a gentle smile on her face. Aoi and the twins seemed happy, making no attempt to hide their affection. There was nothing but a warm atmosphere. There was not an ounce of sexuality in the air, but rather, it exuded a sense of divinity. That kind of atmosphere. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s nice, something like this.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Aoi whispered. ¡°Jaja and Nana in front, and Kunpei-san behind me. There¡¯s an amazing sense of security to be sandwiched between the people I love.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Yup. In my current position, the twins and Aoi were completely in my arms. They weren¡¯t even touching the ground, and were completely wrapped up in my arms. I have them all to myself. This is quite luxurious, isn¡¯t it? I understand what Aoi is saying, but it¡¯s a little different for me. Everything I have to protect is right here. It¡¯s that sense of security. It¡¯s probably the same kind of relief as Aoi¡¯s, but at the same time, it¡¯s different. ¡°I don¡¯t know if¡­ it¡¯s okay for me to be this happy.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Aoi bitterly smiled as she rubbed her cheek against Jaja¡¯s head as she began to doze off. ¡°¡­ I¡¯ve been thinking about it for a long time. I¡¯m so grateful that these children were born, and every day is shining brightly. Originally it was my spoiled mind that was forcing everything on Kunepi-san.¡± Aoi cast her eyes downwards and looked up at the ceiling. ¡°I selfishly fell in love with Kunpei-san, I selfishly gave birth to children, and my selfishness is forcing Kunpei-san, Shouhei-san, and father-in-law to work hard. That¡¯s the truth.¡± ¡°¡­ You¡¯re still going on about that.¡± ¡°I even made my mother cry.¡± Aoi¡¯s expression blurred in the dim night light. ¡±A no-good daughter. A lack of filial piety. I made my mother, who I love, love, really love, make an expression like that.¡± I didn¡¯t see Yule leave. The only people who saw her off were Alba and Aoi. So I don¡¯t know what kind of expression Yule had on her face and what she was thinking about when she took off. But even though she was tired, she was still worried about Aoi to the point of being so distraught. ¡°Yes, I want my mother to understand that some day. Contrary to that thought, I¡¯m hating myself that¡¯s enjoying this life.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good. If you¡¯re not smiling, I would feel sorry for Jaja and Nana too.¡± That¡¯s right. Aoi is mama. She¡¯s a mother. When a mother isn¡¯t smiling, a child can¡¯t smile from the bottom of their heart. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s okay¡­ I¡¯m just taking advantage of the favors of many people. Shouhei-san should still want to be spoiled by his brother. I¡¯m sure father-in-law is also burdened with all the money. Yunno-san also had someone she likes taken from her. The other people in this shelter are also very kind, and I feel like an idiot for wasting my time alone on that rock, watching TV and reading books.¡± Aoi lowered her head and leaned back onto my shoulder. She looks at me with a sideways glance and smiles weakly again. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s okay to feel happy when I¡¯m being helped me so much?¡± That should be pretty obvious. ¡°As for Shouhei, well, it¡¯s been a bit difficult lately. Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s a solid guy. I¡¯m also thinking about my father. I can¡¯t say for sure about Mikuma¡­¡± As one would expect, that¡¯s hard to comment on. ¡°Other people are nice to you because you¡¯re doing your best. So you¡¯re fine the way you are. How can it not be okay?¡± ¡°¡­ As expected, Kunpei-san is kinder than usual today.¡± Huh? ¡°Kunpei-san¡¯s face just now had an incredibly gentle expression. I fell in love with you again. I love you.¡± ¡°Really, you¡­¡± ¡°Fu fu.¡± Aoi laughed like she was poking fun of me, as she closed her eyes and buried her face in my neck. ¡°¡­ I love Kunpei-san¡¯s smell. It¡¯s very reassuring, my precious smell.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say something so embarrassing.¡± ¡°Fu fu¡­¡± Aoi laughed as she pressed her forehead against my chin. I had sensed that Aoi was having a lot of worries. Normally, the girl named Aoinoun Dragoline is very bright and smiles a lot. She is honest, pure, and single-minded. But she is a very lonely girl. She had cried in the past because she was afraid of being alone. She had cried in the past because it was difficult to part with her mother. She had trembled with loneliness in the past because she yearned for family. That¡¯s why right now, Aoi was surely living in her ideal world. She has a family to welcome her home when she returns. They would say welcome home, and she would respond with I¡¯m home. They would say good night, and she would respond with good night. And when the sun rises, we would say good morning to each other. That kind of happiness. That¡¯s the kind of happiness that Aoi wanted, desired, and longed for. The fact that she¡¯s happy now means that she¡¯s afraid of losing it. That¡¯s why Aoi is terrified of her current situation. She can¡¯t bear the thought of losing any of it. Each and every little happiness has already become a part of Aoi. It¡¯s a painful feeling for our family, who lost my mom seven years ago. I thought she would stay with us forever. It was natural that she would greet me with a smile when I returned home. Making a delicious meal, pleased with trifling chatter, and got angry when we did something wrong. You don¡¯t know what you have until it¡¯s gone. It¡¯s a clich¨¦ phrase, but that¡¯s it. My family and I have a past of being devastated by the magnitude of what we¡¯ve lost. My dad was probably the one who loved my mom the most. Even as kids, we could tell that he was crazy in love with her. He should have been the one who suffered the most, but he gritted his teeth and continued to stand up, so Shouhei and I were able to get over our grief. The feelings that Aoi has for us is similar to the feelings that Shouhei and I have for our father. Especially me. I¡¯m a pain in the ass. All I do is disappoint. I¡¯m not doing anything useful. But he hasn¡¯t given up on me, and he¡¯s been watching over me. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not giving up on you either. No one gives up on their family. That¡¯s what family is. That¡¯s who we are. ¡°Aoi.¡± ¡°¡­Yes?¡± It seems she was nodding off. She had worked much harder than anyone else today, so he must be tired. Not physically, but mentally. Aoi¡¯s bare body, stuck close to my chest, was slightly hot. Jaja and Nana were already fully asleep. I can¡¯t tell you how much I love the way their bodies rise and fall regularly. ¡°¡­Did you call? Kunpei-san.¡± Aoi looked up when she was called with her sleepy eyes. Seeing that face, I was overwhelmed with emotion. And then I unconsciously. ¡±¡­n.¡± Kissed her forehead, gently. ¡°Ah¡­¡± I could hear the bewilderment, like a sigh, coming from her small, light pink lips. About five seconds in time. My body, completely separate from my consciousness, refused to remove its mouth from Aoi¡¯s forehead. ¡°¡­ eh?¡± Aoi¡¯s small, questioning voice brought my body back to consciousness. Then, finally, I let go. ¡°¡­ Huh?¡± What am I doing? What did I just do? ¡°Ah, no, huh?¡± I¡¯m trying to say something and I¡¯m disconcerted because I don¡¯t know what to say. I look at Aoi¡¯s face and she¡¯s frozen with her eyes wide open. ¡°Ah, Aoi?¡± I try calling out to her. ¡°You gave me¡­ from¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± It was hard to hear her voice even at this distance, face to face. I can¡¯t understand what she¡¯s saying. ¡°Aoi? What¡¯s wrong?¡± I called out again. This time, Aoi blinked and looked at me. ¡°Kunpei-san gave me a kiss¡­¡± Aoi replied in a voice that was easier to hear than before, but still quiet. ¡°Ki-¡­ I mean, it¡¯s not really a kiss, it¡¯s just¡­¡± ¡°Uuh¡­ Kunpei-san kissed me¡­¡± With teary eyes, Aoi buried her face in my neck again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Well, I don¡¯t know! Momentum, I mean, um! That!¡± ¡°Ah, please don¡¯t apologize. I¡¯m so happy, but I can¡¯t say it out loud.¡± She¡¯s taking into account the fact that this is a shelter and it¡¯s nighttime. ¡°I¡¯m so happy.¡± ¡°Is that so. That¡¯s good.¡± That¡¯s all I can say. ¡°I¡¯ll be even happier if you used my mouth¡­¡± ¡°What! No, that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m so happy.¡± Aoi attacked my throat with her head. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it. Hm?¡± I make an effort to calm Aoi down by uttering careless words. In the end, Aoi didn¡¯t leave me until my dad came back. Chapter 118 - The Daughter of the Flame is Nostalgic of the Past and Reflects on Her Happiness.(EP) I am truly happy from the bottom of my heart to have come to this place. Ai, who I haven¡¯t seen for a long time, now named Aoinoun, is living a happy life. I am very fond of Aoinoun. The first time we met was long before our worlds collided and became what it¡¯s like now. It was about a hundred and fifty years ago, to be honest, I¡¯m not sure. The Earth Dragon Tribe is laid-back, so they don¡¯t pay much attention to the months and years. It¡¯s a common thing for long-lived dragon species to do, but the earth dragons are even worse. The Sky Dragon tribe flew through the ever-changing skies every day. The sea dragons change their home along with the tidal currents every season. Unlike other dragons, the earth dragons spend most of their lives deep in the forest or in remote areas that are out of the reach of other species. They live in such places, sleeping, eating, blowing fire and breaking the ground all day long,. Because of that, I don¡¯t think deeply about time. Every day is the same, every day is boring. The earth dragons that have taken root in the land have a duty to protect the land and the spirits in the area. That¡¯s why they can¡¯t just leave the place. Even if you have to go to another location, if you have a spirit of the land, you can talk to other dragons even if they are far away from you, so they don¡¯t need to move much. The ultimate laziness. I was born as the only daughter of such a king of the Earth Dragons, the Earth Dragon King. An arc dragon, a dragon that heats the soil and creates earth. Earth dragons are said to be the most capable of fighting among the dragon species, but the Arc Dragon is the strongest of them all. That¡¯s why I was unfortunately born ¡®strong¡¯. No, I wasn¡¯t bemoaning the fact that I¡¯m powerful. The sad thing is that even those of my own race have become afraid of my power. About four hundred years ago, I was born in a forest of mist, rain and volcanoes as the only daughter of the Earth Dragon King Rubynane, and I had the power to overwhelm other dragons shortly after I was born. Even adult dragons were blown away with just a playful attack, and dragons who were hit by chance were plunged deep into the ground. If I may say so myself, it was scary. A tiny baby, who couldn¡¯t even stand properly yet, happily blew away adults many times her size. It¡¯s terrible. Even though she cries out to me to play with her, I can¡¯t go near her if I¡¯m going to be beaten up. It wouldn¡¯t be surprising if people around me felt that way at all. It¡¯s only natural that not only adults but also children close to my age would stop approaching me. The only person who could deal with me was my mother, who was more powerful than me. It was boring. I knew it wasn¡¯t that everyone hated me. The reigning Earth Dragon King, Rubynane Drangell, is an excellent monarch. That¡¯s why they respected me, her daughter. I¡¯m just afraid. I¡¯ve avoided leaving the nest for as long as I can remember and spent my days in boredom. From the entrance of the nest, all I could do was watch the other little dragons frolicking happily together. My heart grew cold. That¡¯s when I began to feel despair, thinking that I would frighten whomever I met, anyway. Aoinoun, that¡¯s when I met Ai. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô Ai came to the Earth Dragon Forest along with her mother, the Sky Dragon King. She told me that the Sky Dragon King was travelling around the forest to show her child the world. When she came to greet my mother, I saw Ai for the first time. She was a small child with beautiful, long blue hair. She was dressed in pure white clothes and on her back were small wings, the sign of a sky dragon. A short tail with short, black, straight horns. Ai never left the Sky Dragon King¡¯s side and looked up at me and my mother with an anxious face. ¡®This child is also afraid of me.¡¯ It was natural I felt that way. After all, I¡¯d never played with a child of the same generation before. After a brief greeting with the Sky Dragon King, I hurried back to my nest. I didn¡¯t want to see her scared. I curled up in my nest and prayed for them to leave soon. ¡°N-nice to meet you.¡± Suddenly, I heard a lisping voice. I got up and looked for the voice, and found Ai timidly at the entrance. ¡±Oh, um. It¡¯s me, Ai. Can you tell me your name?¡± Fearful and scared, Ai was staring straight at me. ¡°¡­ Ru¡± I gave my childhood name suspiciously. I¡¯m sure this kid doesn¡¯t know I¡¯m dangerous. ¡°Ru¡­ oneechan?¡± Ai tilted her head in puzzlement. ¡°Yeah. Ru.¡± I wasn¡¯t used to being so chatty. My mother was quiet and didn¡¯t say much, and the other dragons avoided me. I didn¡¯t have many opportunities to talk. ¡°My mother told me to go play because she had something important to talk about.¡± I was the one who was terrified by Ai, who trotted over slowly with her short legs. ¡°Ah, it¡¯s dangerous. Don¡¯t get too close.¡± I thought I¡¯d hurt her. She¡¯s a much smaller child than I am. If I by chance hit her with my arm or leg, she wouldn¡¯t stand a chance. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m very strong.¡± With that, I moved to the inner wall. ¡°Strong?¡± ¡°Yeah. I still can¡¯t control my strength yet.¡± ¡°H-how strong?¡± As I was asked, I slapped the wall to demonstrate it With a loud sound, the wall caved in with a palm shape. ¡°Ah.¡± I kind of just did it, mother is going to be mad at me. Our nest is much more sturdy compared to the other dragons¡¯ nests. My mother spent a lot of time building it so that it wouldn¡¯t lose to the power of the arc dragons. She¡¯s a neat and tidy woman, so the walls are perfectly level. I¡¯m sure my normally mild-mannered mother would be angry if she found out that I damaged the walls of the nest. ¡°Wow¡­¡± As I hurriedly gathered the dirt and rocks from around the caved-in area in a fluster, I heard a sigh from behind me. ¡°Amazing¡­¡± When I turned around and looked at her, she was looking at me with sparkling eyes. ¡±How did you do that?¡± ¡°I just tapped it.¡± ¡°I wonder if I can also do that?¡± Ai stared at her own little palm. ¡°Do you want to try¡­?¡± ¡°Un!¡± It was broken anyway, and this child couldn¡¯t possibly break it anymore. With that thought, I beckoned Ai over. Ai walked over to me happily, shaking her short, thick tail. ¡±C-cute.¡± ¡°Hmm? What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± I tapped the ground with my tail to indicate for her to come next to me. Ai plopped down on her butt and patted the wall I had broken. ¡°Fuwaa.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but grin at Ai, who let out a sound of astonishment and touched the wall in a daze. ¡°Try it.¡± ¡°U-un.¡± Saying that, Ai swung her left hand down. ¡±Wow.¡± ¡°¡­ amazing.¡± She wasn¡¯t as strong as I was, but a small hand print appeared on the wall. This child also seemed to be more powerful than the other dragons. When I thought about it, that was a given. Ai is a Sky Dragon. She¡¯s the daughter of the Sky Dragon King. ¡°Aha. A-Ha-ha.¡± ¡°Ah, do it in moderation.¡± Perhaps feeling good about her achievement, Ai continued to slap the wall with an innocent smile. Prints in the shape of Ai¡¯s hands were created one after another on the walls. ¡°Wow, wow!¡± Everything within reach was covered with her hand prints, and as if that wasn¡¯t enough, she stood up vigorously and hit the other walls. I have no idea what¡¯s so funny, but as expected, it would be bad it this continues. My mother will come when she notices the noise. She¡¯ll be angry. ¡°Ah, Ai. That¡¯s enough. She¡¯ll get angry if you do that too much.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too late. Daughter.¡± My body stiffened at the familiar quiet voice. ¡°M-mother. This, I¡­¡± She¡¯s going to be angry at Ai. So, I turn around in fear and spoke up. I was the one who gave her permission to do so. She should get angry at me. ¡°¡­ I was starting to think that it was getting noisy, but it looks like you¡¯re having fun.¡± A hand was placed on my head. I fearfully looked at my mother¡¯s face behind me. ¡°Mother?¡± My mother looked at me with a calm expression. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the wall. Ai is still young so let her play, just be careful she doesn¡¯t get hurt.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind. She gets a lot of injuries from running around our nest every day. It¡¯s not every day that she gets to meet a dragon so close in age. Feel free to poke her in the head if she does anything wrong.¡± Before I knew it, the Sky Dragon King, was standing behind my mother and said with a laugh. ¡°Mommy! Look! This is Ai¡¯s! Ru-oneechan¡¯s is amazing too!¡± Ai proudly pointed to the hand prints she made. ¡°Hey, you little tomboy. What are you doing to someone else¡¯s place? Apologize to Aunt Ruby!¡± The Sky Dragon King flicked Ai¡¯s forehead with her index finger. ¡°Ahh.¡± Ai held her forehead with both hands. ¡°Wait a minute Yule. I¡¯m not an Aunt, right?¡± Mother forced a smile and placed her hand on the Sky Dragon King¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, you¡¯re much older than me, and from Ai¡¯s point of view, you¡¯re old enough to be an old lady.¡± ¡°No, no. I¡¯m not going to concede there. Ai, call me Ruby-oneesama.¡± Even though I was her daughter, I didn¡¯t think she was an oneesama ¡°Oneesama?¡± Ai tilted her head cutely and looked at mother. She looked at her face for a while, then unexpectedly turned to me. ¡°Ru-oneesama?¡± It struck me in the chest. What a cute gesture. A sky dragon. Ai, the Sky Dragon, is supposed to be able to control lightning. I wonder when she struck me with a lightning bolt? ¡°Yes, Ru is older than you, so she¡¯s your oneesama.¡± The Sky Dragon King smiles pleasantly and pats me on the head. ¡°And this is Ruby-obasama.¡± ¡°Ruby-obasama.¡± Mother pointed at the Sky Dragon King points to his mother. An evil smile appeared on her face. ¡°Ruby-obasama!¡± I don¡¯t know why she seems to be having such fun, but Ai smiled brightly at mother. My mother saw that and made a difficult face. ¡°Give up, Ruby-nee. She¡¯s already picked it up.¡± ¡°You made her say it.¡± The Sky Dragon King placed her hand on mother¡¯s shoulder as she crossed her arms with a mortified face, and she didn¡¯t hide her grin. They¡¯re on good terms. ¡°Mom! I want to play outside with Ru-oneesama!¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good. We need to repair the sky around here, so this forest will be a problem for a while. So, can you show her around?¡± ¡°Un! Is that okay? Ru-oneesama!¡± I looked at my mother, troubled. My mother smiled gently and gave a small nod. ¡°U-un. I¡¯ll show you, around.¡± What should I do. Around here, there¡¯s a lake with a view of the horizon and a rock-crushing waterfall above it. I wonder if it¡¯s going to be okay. Am I gonna hurt Ai? ¡°Ru.¡± ¡°W-what?¡± I was thinking about what to show Ai, when my mother called me over. I looked up at my mother. My mother was smiling, shaking her short, shoulder-length, red hair, which was darker than mine. ¡°You have to protect Ai. You¡¯re her older sister.¡± Protect. Me? I, who was always hurting someone because of this power, me? ¡°U-un.¡± Can I do it? I wonder if it¡¯s going to be okay. ¡°Let¡¯s go! Ru-oneesama!¡± Ai grabbed my right hand and ran off energetically. I started running at the same speed as Ai as she grabbed me, because if she grabbed me, I could crush her hand. ¡°Ah, Ai. You¡¯ll fall if you run, so walk.¡± Since Ai was still young, she was still a little unsteady on its feet. I was a little scared, so I warned her gently. ¡°Y-yes!¡± After listening to me honestly, Ai stopped running. ¡°Ehehe, my mom is always upset with me too.¡± Blushing, Ai laughed with embarrassment. Seeing her face, my face naturally loosened up. Cute. That¡¯s right. I¡¯ll protect her. If I¡¯m strong, I can protect Ai no matter what. I¡¯ll definitely protect the smile that¡¯s not afraid of me and trusts me. ¡°Un. Let¡¯s take it slow. Don¡¯t let go of your sister¡¯s hand so you don¡¯t get lost, okay?¡± Determined, I gripped Ai¡¯s hand with great care. This hand with almost no strength in it is enough for Ai. ¡°Yeah!¡± Ai replied cheerfully and laughed again. Feeling our chilled hearts warm up, Ai and I walked out of the nest. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô Ah, how nostalgic. I can still vividly remember that day. It was so cute when Ai, who was so excited, fell into the lake and cried because she was scared by the force of the waterfall. Jaja and Nana were sleeping on top of lap. They looked very comfortable, breathing in and through their noses. They are like angels. Ah, it¡¯s so soothing. When I look at it this way, Jaja looks a lot like Ai when she was little. Especially her eyes. Nana also looks similar, but Jaja was more like a splitting image? But Nana is also very cute. Yeah. Cute. Ah, I¡¯m happy. I¡¯m so glad I came out of the woods. I was sure I¡¯d be in for a lot of trouble again when the sage rat showed up. I was right to come here. In addition to Jaja and Nana, I¡¯ve also made friends with the kids who took refuge in this community center. How wonderful. Kids are great, after all. When I met Ai, I learned the importance of keeping my power in check. Ai stayed in the Earth Dragon Forest for five years and it was very frustrating. Even if I wanted to play with her, I would hurt her if I wasn¡¯t careful all the time. I would be hesitant to hug Ai back when she was acting like a spoiled child. So after Ai left the forest, I spent all my time training with my mother¡¯s guidance. I didn¡¯t want the children I would meet to be injured. The training was tough and painful. But I never faltered. Little children are to be protected. Ai taught me that. Aoi, the girl who used to call herself Aoi, had grown up. Even I have yet to experience a spawning season. I hear it¡¯s very painful. Aoi overcame the pain and gave birth to two angels. It must have been hard for her. I¡¯m sure she was in a lot of pain. Father of the twins. Kunpei is a kind man. I was a little defensive because I¡¯d never heard of the father of dragons before, but I was relieved to see that he was a good guy who protects children, despite his scary face. I thought I might have frightened him because I showed him my power at our first meeting, but Kunpei doesn¡¯t treat me with fear. His brother and father also treats me normally. Compared to when I was in the forest, my life has become more lively. I was given the name Rougerichte when I became independent. Kunpei was the first person besides my mother to call me by that name. The first time I was called, it was somehow very comfortable. It was a strange sensation. What was that all about? Hmm. Well, that¡¯s okay. For now, let¡¯s just enjoy the warmth of the twins. I¡¯m not very smart, I don¡¯t think about it because it¡¯s useless to think about it. That¡¯s the way I am. Come to think of it, Aoi has been clinging to Kunpei lately. Kunpei¡¯s younger brother Shouhei, says they¡¯re flirting more than before. I don¡¯t know what he means by ¡®flirting¡¯, but it¡¯s a good thing they¡¯re on good terms. It¡¯s much better than being on bad terms with each other. Kunpei seems to be troubled by something recently, I wonder why. The other beastmen and humans are also watching over it warmly, so it must be a good thing. Yup. It seems that they will be able to end their life at the shelter soon and return to their nest. It¡¯s a shame that we won¡¯t be able to play with the other children, but it¡¯s best for kids to stay in the nest. Especially babies, because they sleep well. It¡¯s very important to have a safe place to sleep. I left the Earth Dragon Forest and came to this town to protect the twins and their nest. Let¡¯s give it my all. Anyone who tries to harm them will be burned without being able to lay a single finger on them. I¡¯m very good at burning things. I am the dragon who calms the earth and controls the fire. I¡¯m an arc dragon. Oops, Nana is starting to squirm. I¡¯m glad to see them so lively. Jaja will be up and about soon. What can I do to make you laugh today? Chapter 119 - I’m home, Welcome Back (1) ¡°Listen to me boys and girls!¡± My dad puts his hands on his hips and raised his voice. ¡®The Kazamachi House is scheduled to clean up today! And you, Rouge-chan!¡± ¡°Father, you don¡¯t have to yell like that.¡± Rouge replied back with her usual blank expression. We are currently in our beloved home for the first time in a month. On the sofa in the living and dining room. Shouhei, Aoi and I sat on the three-seater, and Rouge on the one-seater. Jaja was on my lap and Nana was on Aoi¡¯s lap, restlessly looking around our house in wonder for the first time in a long time. My dad was standing in front of the couch, arms crossed in front of a large flat screen LCD TV. He had an irritating smile. ¡°Welcome to the Kazamachi house, Rouge-chan! Normally, I would have liked to throw a small welcome party, but we¡¯ve been out of town for a month and our house is covered in dust! And since the electricity was off, the inside of the fridge looks like something you¡¯d rather not see! So let¡¯s invite Mikuma-chan, Saeki-chan and the others to a party this coming Saturday and make it a big one!¡± ¡°Dad, I appreciate the thought, but I¡¯m about to become a freeloader. I can¡¯t let you spend too much money.¡± ¡°No! We will! We¡¯re having a party! After all, this is Rouge, and we¡¯re the one who asked her to come! I wouldn¡¯t feel good as a father if we didn¡¯t give her a welcoming banquet! This middle-aged man. I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s so energetic. ¡±Shouhei, is it okay if I drink a bit?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯d let you drink. It¡¯s morning, you know?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just glad to finally be home, you know?¡± The work to restore the broken power lines in this area was completed the day before yesterday. The power company informed us yesterday that electricity was flowing to every household without any problems. A month has already passed since the ¡®Tusk Crag Dungeon Expansion Incident¡¯. Our area was the last place to get power restored. It couldn¡¯t be helped, especially since our house is the closest to Tusk Crag. It¡¯s also the area that had the most monsters leaking out of the dungeon and the most trees growing out of it. They had to work carefully to ensure their safety. They needed time to strike a balance between the two. The work of cutting down the dead trees, which had been prioritized in densely populated residential areas, is steadily progressing, and the streets are beginning to regain some of their pre-incident appearance. However, there are still some dungeon-like forests that remain. Now Gasara and the other treasure hunters are hard at work measuring the dungeon area. I¡¯ll bring them some food later. The town and nearby areas where the trees have been cut down. Once it was confirmed that the dungeon monsters had stopped appearing there, the evacuees returned to their homes one by one. There are still a few families left in the shelter, but they will all be able to return to their homes by the end of this month at the latest. We, the latecomers, arrived home as well, and realized the cost of neglecting the place for a month. It was dusty as hell. Even if we opened all the windows, the front door and the kitchen door, the dust still stood out. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve heard about this somewhere. I had heard somewhere that a house would fall into disrepair as soon as its inhabitants were gone. I hadn¡¯t even opened or closed the front door, let alone the windows, for the past month, so the air inside was stagnant and unable to circulate. No matter what kind of house you live in, dust is going to collect on the ceiling and it¡¯s going to fall. The floors would turn white in the blink of an eye if you didn¡¯t clean them daily. My dad was right, the contents of the stopped fridge was disastrous, and the rest of the rooms were similar to this one. The water in the toilet tank was, of course, a month old. It smelled bad and had water stains. The bathroom was filled with the smell coming from the sewer lines. The garden that my dad used to tend to on his days off had been reduced to a dismal mess of weeds. Oh, come on. In just a month, it¡¯s gone back to the way it was when we moved in. That¡¯s why we decided to clean up the house today. My dad and I came back several times during the evacuation, and lightly wiped the floors in the living room and hallway. Otherwise, we wouldn¡¯t have brought the twins back with us. ¡°Well then! I¡¯ll take the living room and the hallway! Shouhei, the kitchen and the fridge! Aoi-chan the upstairs rooms and washing the futon and stuff. I¡¯ll take the car out later and we¡¯ll go to the laundromat down the road to dry in time! Rouge-chan, take care of the kids while we clean up!¡± ¡°Wow, the fridge is terrible.¡± Shouhei looks at the refrigerator with a furrowed brow. The breaker was just turned up earlier, so it probably wasn¡¯t cold inside yet. Food that has been aged for a month would look and smell horrible. ¡°Laundry, I hope to finish it before lunch.¡± ¡°Hmm. The weather¡¯s good. I can also help at times.¡± Aoi and Rouge looked up at the sky from the garden. It¡¯s the middle of the rainy season but the skies have been clear recently. ¡°Hey, what about me?¡± I wasn¡¯t part of the roles that my dad just divvied. I mean, I know I don¡¯t have to ask. Just in case, you know? ¡°Haa? Of course it¡¯s everything except what I just said.¡± ¡°Hou? And what is that? Do you mean the bathroom, the toilet, the sink, the upstairs balcony, the garden and the front entrance?¡± ¡°Yeah. Oh, and also shopping for lunch and dinner and drying the bed mats.¡± ¡°Damn! That¡¯s never going to end!¡± I¡¯m the only one with an unusual amount of work! ¡°Oh, what, my oldest son is a late rebel? You¡¯re young and healthy, you should work ten times harder than others.¡± ¡°There are limits to what you can do!¡± ¡°Kunpei-san. I¡¯m going to help too.¡± ¡°Hmm. When Jaja and Nana are sleeping, I¡¯ll help too.¡± Aoi smiled and Rouge was concerned about me with the same blank expression on her face. They¡¯re good girls. ¡±Dah.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Jaja and Nana, sitting on my and Aoi¡¯s lap, found the toy box in the corner of the living and dining room. Those are the twins¡¯ treasures. The animal series especially are their favorites. They must be excited to see the animals for the first time in a long time. ¡°We¡¯ll play with the toys later, okay? In the meantime, let¡¯s clean up from where Jaja and Nana plays first.¡± Aoi leaned on my shoulder as she stroked Nana¡¯s head. Yeah. Close. And hot. ¡°In the meantime, I¡¯ll take them for a walk in the garden. No need to worry about them getting bitten by bugs. No insect can escape my thin fire barrier.¡± ¡°¡­Be careful of the fire, okay?¡± ¡°Hm. There¡¯s nothing wrong with a little burning. The flames are all under my control.¡± Rouge puffed up her chest with pride. If one didn¡¯t know the circumstances and your capabilities, that¡¯s the same statement as an arsonist¡¯s. ¡°Then why don¡¯t we start with Kunpei¡¯s room on the second floor? Come on, people, let¡¯s go to work!¡± At the command of my dad, who was still strangely excited, the cleaning process began. Chapter 120 - I’m home, Welcome Back (2) ¡°It¡¯s hot! Ugh!¡± The sweltering heat of July has really taken its toll on me. The sleeves of my t-shirt were rolled up to my shoulders and the hems of my shorts were up to my hips. Even though this is a high altitude area, your body will get overheated if you do full-body exercise indoors for an hour. I scrubbed the stains off the floor with a deck brush, and scrubbed the walls and inside of the bathtub with a hand-held scrubber. Scrubbing, scrubbing, scrubbing, and scrubbing. It doesn¡¯t come off. I¡¯m so sick of this. ¡°Nii-chan, what are you making a racket by yourself for?¡± I heard the bathroom door open and a quiet voice. ¡°Shouhei.¡± I turned back to the voice and saw my beloved brother holding the thing I wanted most right now in his right hand. Ah, the water of life! ¡°Here, cold tea. I know what was said earlier, but I went shopping for lunch by myself and it will be ready soon, so just finish up with the bathroom.¡± ¡°Thank God! Even though I was covered with so much water, I was parched. Ahhh.¡± I took the glass that was handed to me and downed it at once. ¡±Aoi-neechan is almost done as well. The slowest one is nii-chan.¡± ¡°Mmm-hmmm! Kahhhh, I¡¯m alive!¡± ¡°Did you hear me?¡± Wait a minute, I¡¯m really in the middle of enjoying my tea. Oh, this is a premium tea from Shizuoka, isn¡¯t it? Handpicked? No, well, I¡¯m used to drinking oolong tea. ¡°I¡¯m listening, I cleaned the bed mats, the sink, and the floor. I even cleaned the bathroom and the toilet. I¡¯d rather have you praise me for this current state of affairs with the bathrooms nearly over?¡± It was too much work no matter how you look at it. The glass I drank out of still feels nice and cold, so I put it to my forehead to cool myself. Ah, manual labor is hard. ¡°Heh, you¡¯re quick. Then is it already done?¡± ¡°Hm. It¡¯s mostly done, I just did the areas I minded the most, and then I¡¯ll have to go over the rest with water.¡± A bit of my craftsman¡¯s pride is coming out, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯m not satisfied until I get to the nitty-gritty details. ¡°All right. I¡¯ll take care of lunch. Come over when you¡¯re done. Sorry, it¡¯s so simple, but I made some soumen noodles.¡± ¡°Heeh!¡± All right! Shall I just get it over with? After Shouhei left the bathroom, I took the hose that was connected to the sink. This way was more convenient to use than the shower nozzle. I pinched the end of the hose and vigorously applied the water stream to the wall. Top to bottom. Top to right, then left. The side walls. The opposite side and the window. And the tiled floor. The bathroom in this house is quite old. The bathroom fixtures themselves are new, but the construction is old. Or rather, not only the bathroom but also the house is old. It is said that the house itself has been around since before the world collision, so it must be about at least 50 years old. It has been reworked and reinforced several times, so there¡¯s no doubt that it¡¯s sturdy. I¡¯ve heard that my father¡¯s business associates took good care of it for him. That¡¯s the secret to how my dad made enough money to buy such a big house. Even if you factor in the fact that it¡¯s a renovated house, it¡¯s still a reasonably cheap house. Well, it¡¯s a loan, isn¡¯t it? And a two generation one. The bathrooms in old houses don¡¯t have fancy bathtubs like the ones we have now, it was the old tile and mortar one. The bathtub was changed when we moved, and before that it was an ancient silver balance kettle. The gas-powered reheating type bathtub had stopped working, so we replaced it in tears. The bathtubs sold at home improvement stores were expensive, weren¡¯t they? I didn¡¯t know that. ¡°That¡¯s about it.¡± I turned off the water by twisting the faucet tap. I popped the hose out and rolled it up. I have to put it back in the storage shed in the yard. I put my arm through the rolled up hose and wipe the bottom of my feet with a bath mat before exiting into the hallway. I headed for the kitchen door next to the stairs. I put on the outside slippers and walked out the kitchen door and into the yard. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Hm. A butterfly. It¡¯s beautiful, isn¡¯t it?¡± Hmm? Isn¡¯t that Jaja and Rouge? ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Hm. It¡¯s fluttering.¡± She sat on the frame of the living room window, with Jaja sitting on her lap. Behind Rouge, Nana was sleeping with a baby towel over her belly. Did Jaja wake up first? ¡°Ah, Jaja. Kunpei is here.¡± When Rouge saw me, she took Jaja¡¯s hand and waved it. ¡°Oh. Papa is done cleaning up too!¡± ¡°Hmm. Good work.¡± ¡°Au?¡± Jaja¡¯s face finally turned to me. It looks like she was preoccupied with the butterflies. Did I interrupt you? ¡°Ah!¡± When Jaja noticed me, her eyes sparkled with delight. That look is unfair. It¡¯s so unfair. ¡°Hmm. As expected, I can¡¯t beat papa. It¡¯s so frustrating.¡± Seeing Jaja trying her best to reach out for me, Rouge hung her head. But she¡¯s still expressionless. I don¡¯t see any color of sadness at all. ¡°Wait a minute¡­¡± I hurried to the shed, opened the door and placed the hose on the shelf. I closed the door and locked it with a screw-on key. ¡°Alright! I kept you waiting Jaja!¡± ¡°Ah!¡± I turned around vigorously and held out my hands. Jaja¡¯s face lit up more brightly at that sight. ¡±Hn. Have a good day.¡± ¡°Dah!¡± Rouge removed her hand from Jaja¡¯s body and Jaja quickly spread her wings and took off. With a flap of her tiny wings and her short, thick tail swaying from side to side, Jaja flew towards me. It¡¯s a short distance, so it¡¯s an acceptable flight. The twins¡¯ flight time has increased considerably lately, but it¡¯s still too early to let them fly outside, no matter how much. I¡¯m also worried about what the rat said about the spirits that were accumulating in Jaja and Nana. We¡¯re working on removing the spirits once a week, but we don¡¯t know when it¡¯s going to flood in. It¡¯s best to be careful. ¡°Dah, ah, dah.¡± Jaja flew slowly, wobbling up and down, left and right. When she got in front of me, Jaja¡¯s face turned bright red. It¡¯s something she¡¯s learned recently. I don¡¯t know what it feels like, but the more you strain, the higher you go. By the way, Nana doesn¡¯t know how to do this yet. The other day, when she saw Jaja flying higher than her, Nana cried in frustration. I feel sorry for her, but this something that Nana has to learn herself. Do your best! ¡°Look, over here.¡± I waited for Jaja to come up at a slight speed. ¡°Dah.¡± ¡°Yes, very good.¡± I caught Jaja as she leapt into my chest. ¡°Niheh.¡± Jaja smiled loosely. Oh, this face. You look just like Nana. As expected of twins. ¡°Yes, good job.¡± ¡°Dah! Kya, kya!¡± When I rubbed her cheek against mine, she made a delighted noise. Hmm? What is it? Do you like this? Take that, take that. ¡°Kya! Dah!¡± I¡¯m getting into it. Come one, baby! Let¡¯s go some more! ¡°Heh, Jaja. You¡¯re getting better.¡± ¡°Yeah, she could be a genius.¡± ¡°Ah, father-in-law, that may be an exaggeration.¡± ¡°Hmm. Not really. She¡¯s gifted at being cute when flying.¡± I stiffened. ¡°Huh?¡± I look up towards the living room. ¡°The noodles are ready.¡± ¡°No matter how you¡¯re looking at it, you¡¯re going overboard. You need to retain more dignity as a father.¡± ¡°Ah, father-in-law, Kunpei-san is acting like a father, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°Hmm. I know exactly how Kunpei feels. I¡¯m next.¡± They¡¯re all there¡­! ¡°What are you guys looking at? I¡¯m not a spectacle!¡± Hah! This is super embarrassing! I didn¡¯t realize people were watching me, and I got carried away! ¡°Hurry up and come in.¡± ¡°Well, I guess it can¡¯t be helped. A girl in the prime of her cuteness. I¡¯ve never raised a girl before.¡± ¡°Kunpei-san must have been excited to be home after a long time!¡± ¡°Hm, Kunpei hurry up. Me.¡± ¡°Dah?¡± Jaja is looking at me curiously. Huh? Are you stopping? That¡¯s what expression it looked like she had. ¡°Haa, Jaja. Let¡¯s go have lunch.¡± Crap. It hurts that my dad, who shouldn¡¯t have seen the most, saw me. It¡¯s going to be a story for years to come, I swear. ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°I hugged Jaja, who responds back cheerfully, and walked across the yard to the living room.¡± ¡°¡­ au.¡± ¡°Ah, is Nana up too? Mommy is over here!¡± ¡°I guess I should¡¯ve eaten before she got up.¡± ¡°Leave it to me. Okay, Nana. Grandpa is going to feed you some baby food.¡± ¡°Kunepi, I¡¯m waiting.¡± Apparently Nana is up and about, too. Now, the living room is even more boisterous. While listening to the hubbub, I left Jaja with Rouge, who persistently held out her hands to me. Jaja is laughing too, as she starts rubbing her cheeks happily. Nana rubbed her eyes absent-mindedly and yawned as Aoi lifted her up. Shouhei headed to the kitchen and moved the glass bowl with the soumen in it to the table. Dad opened the fridge and pulled out a small jar of carrot-flavored baby food. This is home. This is the sight of the Kazmachi family now. ¡°¡­ If only mom were here.¡± I murmured. I don¡¯t know why. Why did I feel that way now? I guess I¡¯m just thinking about it now. Mom standing in the kitchen, pouring men-tsuyu into a bowl. Shouhei is helping beside her, and my dad makes a funny joke about it. Mom laughs and calls for Aoi, who brings the bowl over. Aoi cheerfully replies back and puts the bowls Mom gave her on the table one by one. Rouge is comforting Nana as she starts to cry, and Jaja is cackling in laughter beside her. Mom, who couldn¡¯t just watch, runs up to Rouge and takes Nana. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? You little crybaby, here, let¡¯s eat with grandma!¡± I¡¯m sure that¡¯s what Mom would say, and she would make Nana stop crying. We are all sitting around the table and Jaja is watching Aoi and Nana is watching Mom. I¡¯m sure they are all laughing. Then I would come in through the window and say, ¡®I¡¯m home¡¯. Then everyone would look at me and say, ¡®Welcome home¡¯. Ah, that would have been nice to see. But no matter how much I pine for it, I will never be able to see that scene. That day in the hospital, my mom had a very pale face. It must have been painful for her to breathe. That promise we made together at the end. ¡°Kunpei-san?¡± Aoi called me back. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Before I knew it, I seemed to have made it to the living and dining room table. ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Aoi leaned forward and looked at me. ¡°Aoi.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Because somehow that face looked like my mom¡¯s. I couldn¡¯t help it. ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± I returned, to this house. ¡°Huh? W-welcome back.¡± Aoi, confused, quickly replied. ¡±¡­ fuhahahaha, no, you see, I¡¯m back from the garden.¡± ¡°Ah. Yeah, I see.¡± ¡°What are you saying, nii-chan?¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on? Did you get heatstroke? Do you want some water?¡± It wasn¡¯t just Aoi, Shouhei and my dad also started to worry about me. That¡¯s not good. I was a little out of my mind. ¡°It¡¯s nothing! Hey, Rouge! Food, food! Come here!¡± ¡°Hm. I¡¯m coming.¡± I called for Rouge and pulled out a chair at the table and sat down. Aoi sat down next to me with Nana in her arms. Rouge sat next to her with Jaja in her arms. Shouhei was across from me. Then dad with one opening in between. A dining room table for six people, with only one opening. That¡¯s kind of frustrating. ¡°There¡¯s a lot to do in the afternoon! So everybody eat up!¡± ¡°All right, all right! Lower your voice, Dad!¡± ¡°Dad, pass the sauce.¡± ¡°Ah, Ru-neesan, you can¡¯t use chopsticks, can you? I¡¯ll get a fork, okay?¡± ¡°Hm. That¡¯s okay. I¡¯m going to practice using chopsticks.¡± A buzzing and noisy dinner table. ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Fuaaaa¡­¡± Jaja is happily slapping the table, and Nana is yawning for the umpteenth time. As I watched thatscene, I took my chopsticks and muttered. ¡°Thanks for the food.¡± Chapter 121 - Thinking of You (EP) When you open the door of the room, the first thing you see is a decorative houseplant that my dear wife had grown. It¡¯s a cactus, so it will grow on its own even if left alone, but it¡¯s something that Kaori, who doesn¡¯t really want things, was strangely fond of and pestered me for. It was two years before we got married. It was when I had just gotten the job I have now, and I was frustrated and pissed off. I had been working in the fight business until I met Kaori, so I hadn¡¯t really gotten used to the idea of a normal job, and I was pretending to be calm, even though I was frustrated by the fact that things weren¡¯t going well. At that time, I was still just a laborer, living on a daily wage. ¡°Kouhei-kun is not green enough!¡± She said that as she picked up a cactus at a flower shop in Tokyo¡¯s beastman district. ¡°You¡¯re surrounded by nothing by concrete buildings and ruins, so you¡¯re going to get annoyed like that. Hey, why don¡¯t we buy this?¡± That was when we were still quite poor. I disagreed, dumbfounded. Let¡¯s buy edible vegetable plants instead of that inedible stuff. But she laughed and pointed at me. ¡°Fufu, there¡¯s no way you can grow vegetables, is there, Kouhei? Basically, I¡¯ll take care of it, but maybe I won¡¯t be able to water it for a day or two, right?¡± Well, she was right. There was no way I, a wild and reckless person, could grow flowers properly. If it weren¡¯t for her, I think even this cactus would have died. ¡°Look, you see that?¡± I¡¯m talking about Kaori. I¡¯m sure she would grin and act haughty, saying, you¡¯re no match for me. She¡¯s been like that since the day we met. You were in high school, and I was a delinquent. How nostalgic. ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you? You¡¯re still young, so go and work hard! See, that¡¯s what Kunpei says too.¡± ¡°Dada¡± ¡°Fufu, that¡¯s the only thing that Kunpei can say well.¡± Ah what was it again? As I recall, it was when I was moved out of Tokyo after being selected for sales from the field. I was lost in thought in the empty room of my memory after moving all my belongings out of my first wooden apartment, and then she said to me. The pay would be a little less, but it would be more stable, unlike the sites that had to be cancelled due to rain. I¡¯m the start-up staff of a new sales office, so I¡¯m moving to the countryside. I really want to thank my boss and my manager. Even though I didn¡¯t have an academic background, they took me under their wing and took into account the fact that I had a child. It¡¯s thanks to them that I got the job I have now. ¡°It¡¯s nice and manly to earn money with a bang, but it¡¯s also cool to take your time and work your way up, isn¡¯t it? Sho-kun?¡± ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Play with me, dad!¡± I remember when Shouhei was born and we were discussing whether or not to change jobs for more money. Shouhei, who was a bit frail by nature, was frequently in hospital care. It wasn¡¯t a problem for me in terms of income, but it was a suggestion to increase my savings for the future. But Kaori laughed and said ¡ª¨C. ¡°You like where you work now, don¡¯t you? Then you don¡¯t have to quit.¡± Kunpei was also in a troublesome period, but I remember how happy I was that he even cared about my work. ¡°You don¡¯t have to force yourself to change your job. It¡¯s okay. Shouhei is a strong boy, and Kunpei has been a great big brother. Kunpei is a great kid. He¡¯s the one who carried the bags when we went shopping! And I¡¯m also doing my best too! You¡¯re happy to have such a capable wife, aren¡¯t you Kouhei-kun.¡± You¡¯re right. I¡¯m a lucky man. I¡¯m really happy to have met you. Because I met you, I have a lot of happiness in my arms ¡ª¨C ¡°Dad, dad! Dad!¡± ¡°O-oh?¡± Someone shook me, and I woke up. This is my room, my bed. Huh? ¡°How long are you going to keep sleeping? You have to get up. You¡¯re working today, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Ah¡­? O-oh! Is it that time already?¡± When I looked at the clock on the wall, it was a little after 6 o¡¯clock. That was close. It¡¯s about forty minutes from our house to the office by car. It¡¯s only a short drive if you take the highway, but our wallet is not so abundant that we can afford such a luxury. That¡¯s why I leave early in case anything happens. ¡°Shou! Where¡¯s my tie?¡± ¡°I ironed it yesterday and it¡¯s ready in the living room! The shirt is over there!¡± Wow, what a kid! I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s my kid! A shirt and slacks I don¡¯t remember preparing that was hanging on the hanger. They¡¯re ironed and look like new. ¡°Oh, thank you!¡± ¡°Breakfast is already ready, okay? Can you change quietly so you don¡¯t wake up the kids?¡± I know, I know! My youngest son walked out of the room in a huff. I hurriedly took off my pajamas and changed into a shirt. I slipped into my slacks and glanced at the picture of Kaori hanging on the wall in my room. ¡°He¡¯s starting to become more and more like you. That guy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because Kouhei-kun is sloppy, isn¡¯t it? Good grief.¡± I chuckled at the sound of a voice that couldn¡¯t be heard. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s what she would have said. I keep all of Kaori¡¯s photos in my room. For a while after she died, both Kunpei and Shouhei would burst into tears whenever they saw them. But I didn¡¯t want to put them in the closet, so I keep them all in my bedroom. I kept them all in my bedroom so that I could look at them whenever I wanted to. I buttoned up my shirt. I also put on the socks Shouhei had prepared for me. Once I was dressed like this, I felt like I was ready for work. This is the battle clothes of a working father. This is the proof of being the provider for the family, and I am proud of that. Now, let¡¯s give it my all today. I looked at the cactus on the drawers next to my bed. I was a little worried because I neglected it for a month because of the Tusk Crag incident, but it¡¯s still here in good health. Was this also within Kaori calculations? I looked at Kaori¡¯s picture again. Kaori was there, smiling like the sun. ¡°I¡¯m off.¡± My daily routine, which I try to do without fail. Whenever I leave the house, I report it without fail to Kaori. I opened the curtains and windows and turned off the air conditioner. Later, Shouhei will hang up the bedding. I head to the entrance of the room and turn off the light switch on the wall. I slowly closed the door. My grandchildren would be sleeping in my oldest son¡¯s room. So as not to wake up my son and his wife. Babies are so sensitive to noises, aren¡¯t they? The door closed with a slight click. I headed to the stairs and stopped for a moment and looked back at the door to my room. ¡°Have a good day. Do your best, Kouhei-kun.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Because I thought I heard Kaori¡¯s voice. Chapter 122 - Battle of Prince (1) School for the first time in a month, lunch break for the first time in a month, Shouhei¡¯s lunchbox for the first time in a month. And the bench between the school building and the club building for the first time in a month. ¡°Okay then, I¡¯ll be waiting for you on Saturday.¡± ¡°Un, I¡¯ll tell Ichika-chan too, okay?¡± I could hear Mikuma Yunno¡¯s clear voice from the speaker of the smartphone held against my right ear. ¡°Oh, and tell Koji too. I¡¯m telling some of the people I met over here, so it¡¯s going to be quite a party. The more the merrier.¡± Those words were uttered in jest, but they¡¯re about half true. Those boisterous Saeki cat siblings are going to be good mood-makers for the party. Both Makio and Hina-chan aren¡¯t the type to be so boisterous. ¡°¡­No way, but it¡¯s not a girl, is it?¡± Hyeh. ¡°No, no! Well, there¡¯s one, but she¡¯s still in grade school and she¡¯s my friend¡¯s little sister!¡± I shuddered at the cold air that came through over the phone and explained it in a hurry. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen that side of you Mikuma-san! ¡°I see. Speaking of which, have you seen Alba since then?¡± Ah, that rat. I haven¡¯t heard from him since he appeared at the community center while I was asleep. I¡¯ve got a lot of questions for him. ¡°No, I haven¡¯t seen him. Why?¡± I didn¡¯t think there¡¯s much contact between him and Mikuma. ¡°He said he had some ores that he wanted to check out for Jaja and Nana. Two of them, I¡¯m still in the process of checking out one of them, but I found out about the other one right away, so I was going to tell him about it.¡± ¡°Ores?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s for, but it¡¯s a rare ore from a dungeon on the Sphere Continent. It¡¯s something that is restricted to be taken out of the sphere continent. It¡¯s a type of iron ore called Ajinkya.¡± I never heard about that. If the twins needed it, he could have told me or Aoi. ¡°Ah that¡¯s right, the sphere continent. We¡¯re going on a family vacation.¡± Heh! ¡°Awesome! You don¡¯t get tickets very often, right?¡± In these times, it is very difficult to cross the ocean. The turbulence of the air currents is intensifying and the sea currents are swirling everywhere. According to my dad¡¯s acquaintance, a former pilot who is his drinking buddy¡­ [The sky and sea have become a dungeon] ¡ª¨C and the proof is that monsters come out in both places. Sky monsters in the sky and sea monsters in the sea. Now that it has become a stronghold of distinctive monsters, it is extremely difficult to travel abroad. It¡¯s not impossible. There are ¡°correct¡± routes for both the sky and the sea. For example, in the case of an airplane route to the United States, a route has been discovered that goes northward through Hokkaido and then via Alaska. For example, on a ship route to Brazil, one could head to Southeast Asia and then make a large detour to Brazil. For some reason, such a ¡®correct¡¯ route does not have any monsters on it. The other day, the TV said that various routes are being established in a hurry, and some people are making a living out of it. That would make airplanes and ships quite expensive, and there is a wait list. Especially in Eastern Europe, where direct routes from Japan have not yet been established, you can¡¯t get in from any country without going through Thailand once. Airline tickets are very rare nowadays, partly because of such troublesome sky conditions. Ships are not available for civilians. All of them are used for import, export, and fishing. There aren¡¯t any problems in the seas near the continents and islands, but when you get a bit further away from them, the tides become turbulent and monsters appear. That¡¯s why modern ships are all forced to arm themselves and form fleets. Even fishermen are attacked if they are just fishing, so they hire specialized armed groups called ¡®fishing warriors¡¯. In an island nation like Japan, the means to go abroad are all very expensive. I heard it¡¯s a little easier in other land-locked countries. Since they have land routes. Still, some of the terrain is very different, so it¡¯s not so easy there either. Well, it¡¯s all knowledge I got from TV. ¡°Un, my father works for a trading company dealing in magic tools. He¡¯s going over there on a business trip for two weeks, and my mom said she couldn¡¯t let him go alone because she was worried. It¡¯s summer vacation for me, too, so we decided to go together as a family, right? Mother will take time off work, too.¡± ¡°Ha. That¡¯s nice. I¡¯ve never been abroad.¡± It¡¯s an unrealizable dream with our earnings. I¡¯ve heard that Rouge crossed the ocean to come here, but she herself doesn¡¯t even know where she came from. She has no sense of direction that she would go back the way she came if the rat didn¡¯t go to pick her up. It can¡¯t be helped. The other day I asked her to help me shop for dinner because she looked free, but she took the wrong way to the community center. We¡¯ve been lived there for a month, you know. ¡°So, you know. I¡¯m going to see if I can find a way to bring some of the Ajinkya stone that Alba-san mentioned to me to Japan. You can¡¯t take it as it is, but there are cases where it can be processed.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. I¡¯m sorry, though. It¡¯s a family vacation, right?¡± It¡¯s nice of you to do that for us and I¡¯m thankful, but I wouldn¡¯t want to trouble you. ¡°It¡¯s okay! Because I want to!¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. I¡¯m happy if you¡¯re happy.¡± Huh? Why did I get angry? ¡°Well, if you see Alba before Saturday, tell him, okay?¡± ¡°Ah, okay.¡± ¡°Yeah, see you later.¡± ¡°Ah, see you later.¡± Making sure the call ended, I turned my smartphone off as well. I tucked it into my pants pocket and reached for a can of coffee I had bought. Now, it¡¯s time for lunch. Chapter 123 - Battle of Prince (2) Today¡¯s bento was also delicious. Thinking of Shouhei¡¯s face as he woke up early in the morning to make my lunch, I tidied up my finished lunch box and wrapped it up. ¡°You¡¯re already finished eating?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± I heard a high pitch voice from behind the bench. I looked over my shoulder and saw Makio. There was a plastic bag of stuff he bought hanging in his right hand and was holding a pack of juice from a vending machine. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how long it was going to take you to go buy lunch. It¡¯s so late, so I ate first.¡± ¡°Sorry, sorry. I wanted to take the opportunity to show someone around while I was at it.¡± Ah, I see. Makio sat on a bench and took out a piece of fried chocolate bread from the bag. Ah, that¡¯s the popular sweet bread from the store. I¡¯ve always wanted to try it, it¡¯s a deep-fried bread dusted with sugar and filled with chocolate cream. But I had to endure. We don¡¯t have enough money in our budget for snacks. I have to find a part-time job soon. ¡°So, where did the guy you were showing around go?¡± I looked around and didn¡¯t see the person in question. ¡°Un, he went back to the classroom to get his wallet he forgot.¡± And then there¡¯s the other thing. ¡°That reminds me, Hina-chan is also coming on Saturday, right?¡± ¡°Of course! How could she refuse? She¡¯s a fan of the Kazmachi brothers.¡± Huh? When did Shouhei and I debut as an idol group? ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. I heard that elementary school starts tomorrow. Is Hina-chan alright?¡± The Makio¡¯s younger sister who gives off a mature impression, Kusaka Hina-chan. She also suffered a scare in the ¡°Tusk Crag Dungeon Expansion Incident¡±. She was normal in the shelter, but I was still worried about her. ¡°She¡¯s timid like me, but to the core, she¡¯s stronger than I am. She¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°We each have an outstanding younger brother or sister, and we don¡¯t stand a chance.¡± Shouhei is so capable that sometimes I feel that I¡¯m the younger brother. ¡°Also, I saw you talking with Rina-chan about something earlier.¡± ¡°I was apologizing.¡± ¡°A-aah.¡± I¡¯ve done a horrible thing to Rina Melle, a short-haired calico cat girl who is Makio¡¯s childhood friend and our class president. At the time of the incident, I broke through in a violent manner without listening to her. It must have been very frightening for her. She was the victim of my recklessness. I was prepared to get down on my knees for the worst. ¡°I don¡¯t know if she really forgave me. Maybe she¡¯s just scared of me.¡± ¡°Rina-chan is so nice, she¡¯ll forgive you.¡± ¡°It would be nice if that were the case, but¡­¡± It¡¯s hard, isn¡¯t it? I suddenly looked at Makio. The blond-haired Yankee of old is no more. His dyed gold hair was shaved, his school uniform was still a bit baggy but normal. He dyed it all the way to the root, so this was faster than dyeing it back to its original color. Maki-chan, the mascot of our school year, came back to school without calling me ¡°Aniki¡± or acting tough. But just because Makio returned to his original state does not mean that people¡¯s attitude towards me has changed. It¡¯s just that, thanks to the incident with Melle, the label of ¡®a jerk who raises his hands to girls when he loses his temper¡¯ has been added. Haha! It was a big hit. It¡¯s not true! I¡¯ve never hit a girl in my life! Even with Melle, I kicked the door of the classroom, but I never meant to hit her! My notoriety is going to increase even more! Somebody help me! Help! And, well. I¡¯m still pretty depressed about this, in case you¡¯re wondering. The saving grace was a couple of freshman girls who came to class before lunch. A dog girl and a human girl came up to me in the hallway, frightened when they saw me. ¡°U-um, thank you for helping my younger brothers!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being late to say thank you for saving my sister, too!¡± I thought I had seen them somewhere before, but it was at the shelter. I remember that they were among the guardians of the children that Hina-chan was protecting. I didn¡¯t recognize them right away since the family seemed to have been evacuated to another shelter. After saying that, the girls shoved the bag of cookies at me and escaped. Aah, it¡¯s nice to be appreciated by people. I don¡¯t know why Makio was happier than I was, but it certainly lightened my depression. So the school is a little noisy for the first time in a month. It¡¯s partly because we haven¡¯t seen each other in a long time, but as expected, it¡¯s all about Tusk Crag and the Western Japan Treasure Hunter Association. I found out about the details after I got home, but it seems that that case started with the directions of a plump old man called Bemon Daimon, the head of the association, and it came to light because of a whistle blower. That organization is in some kind of trouble. At the time of the incident, the scene was in a lot of turmoil, and it seems that the internal turmoil of the association was even greater than that, and the commotion has not been settled even now. The president of the association, Bemon, naturally resigned from his post as president, and not only that, he was also arrested. The reconstruction of this town isn¡¯t all over, and there¡¯s also the matter of the dungeon inside Tusk Crag that has expanded. Apparently, that dungeon is much larger than it used to be, and the dungeon area is now in the forest behind our house, about 300 meters from our house. Monsters can¡¯t live outside the dungeon area, so our house is safe, but if they wander in by mistake, we are in trouble. The treasure hunters worked hurriedly to measure the dungeon area and set up the fence. Thank you so much for your hard work. ¡°Sorry, made you wait.¡± Oh, just as I was thinking about that, here comes the Treasure Hunter. ¡°Makio, here¡¯s the money you paid for me. Thanks.¡± ¡°Haha, you could have paid me back any time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not going to happen. My motto is pay while you can.¡± A golden furball handed Makio, who was sitting on a bench, some change. That¡¯s right, the appearance of the Lion tribe¡¯s Gasaraio Riot. ¡°Buh!¡± ¡°Whoa! Disgusting!¡± I accidentally spat at the sight of him. Oh no. This is the perfect picture. I thought I¡¯d laughed enough first thing in the morning, but I guess I still hadn¡¯t gotten enough. ¡°Buhahahahahahahahaha! What¡¯s with your appearance!¡± ¡°God damn it! Didn¡¯t I tell you this morning! It was too sudden, so it was only available in this size!¡± It¡¯s no good. My stomach hurts! My side hurts from laughing too much! ¡°K-Kunepi-kun. You shouldn¡¯t laugh like that.¡± Makio shook my shoulder with a troubled face. ¡°No, no, sorry Gasara, really sorry, but¡­ Buh! Fufu!¡± ¡°Y-you bastard!¡± Gasara glared at me, his temples twitching. Today morning. There was a school assembly and we were gathered in the gym. The sports ground was still partially covered with trees, so it¡¯s not perfect. It¡¯s a small gymnasium, as is typical for a country town, but we managed to cram all the students in. In such a crowded gymnasium, Makio and I were quite surprised to find Gasaraio. Why was he here and why was he wearing a uniform? ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you¡¯re in the same class as me.¡± This furball is so tall and well-built. Above all, his lion face is so fierce that it¡¯s hard to read his age. I didn¡¯t think he was that old, but I never expected him to be the same age as me. ¡°Shut up! How long are you going to keep saying that?¡± Gasara grabbed a concrete block stacked up next to the wall of the school building with his right hand and placed it roughly next to the bench. He sat down with a thud and devoured the curry bread he had bought at the store. ¡°But you¡¯re also unfortunate, too. You¡¯ve been stuck in this town for a year.¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s no use. It¡¯s just that my brother Seijitsu has been entrusted with the investigation and management of this dungeon. The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that we, the Brothers in Paradise, can¡¯t dive into any dungeon for another three months. The association can¡¯t afford to let someone as skilled as my brother and sister Nanairo play around.¡± It¡¯s a tough job. ¡°And the client, Chief Kouenji of the dungeon perimeter management section, is Seijitsu Aniki¡¯s mentor. We can¡¯t just bluntly refuse that request.¡± Gasara explained with a sour expression. ¡°That uniform is from your last school, right. It looks new, but did they only have a small one like that available?¡± ¡°Hmm? Yeah, that¡¯s the one I bought when I started school. I hadn¡¯t been to my old school much. It¡¯s been a long time since I wore them.¡± Makio spoke to Gasara with me in between. Gasara¡¯s expression returned to normal and replied energetically. Hey furball, you have awfully different attitudes towards me and Makio. ¡°How did you managed to get transferred here without going to school?¡± Well, it¡¯s not surprising that the attitude towards us is different. I didn¡¯t mind it and also asked a question. I just barely got through my last school without being late or absent, and I even took the transfer exam. ¡°Previously, I was at a Beastman High School. There were a lot of different traditions and tribes, so it was very loose. And it was so governed that as long as you paid tuition and you didn¡¯t fail, anybody could move up. ¡­By the way, Kazamachi. I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re so amazed, but I have good grades, you know?¡± ¡°Again, with those jokes.¡± You¡¯re a muscle-brain character just like me. You¡¯re a lovable idiot who thinks about troublesome things after you use your brute strength. ¡°¡­Kunpei-kun, look at that school emblem on the uniform. It¡¯s from a famous high-level school that preps them for university. It¡¯s famous for their ¡®as long as you get the results, they won¡¯t complain about what you do, but the required results are ridiculous.¡¯¡± Makio said with a serious face. ¡°Ha?¡± That¡¯s ridiculous. It¡¯s not possible. ¡°Humph.¡± Ah? What¡¯s with this furball. What¡¯s with that boastful look on your face. ¡°I didn¡¯t have to go to high school to begin with. Aniki said, ¡®You don¡¯t often stay in the same place for a long time, so take this opportunity to go to school like a kid.¡¯ You see, this is the only high school that is close to Tusk Crag and our current hideout, and it¡¯s full of beastmen. There¡¯s no helping it, normally, I¡¯d go to a high school with a higher ranking, but they don¡¯t have the right conditions.¡± ¡°Oh, you just bought that fight, furball. Eat your curry bread and meet me on the roof!¡± ¡°Gahahaha! Why do you have to get so pissed off, you idiot! Is that good? If you get into a fight, you¡¯ll be kicked out of school.¡± That look on your face, you damn furball! Guh! ¡°Calm down, both of you! Don¡¯t fight!¡± Me glaring, Gasara grinning, and Makio standing up and trying to stop it. The quiet and unpopular place between the club building and the school building was noisy with just us. It was that time. ¡°Hey, the commoner over there!¡± The storm came. Chapter 124 - Battle of Prince (3) ¡°Ah?¡± Between the school building and the club building, there are now six students in this unpopular place. Three of us, and one demon boy standing imposingly in front of the side entrance. Along with two girls who are also demons. ¡°U-um, did you call me?¡± It seemed like he was calling out to me, so I replied. I wonder what it is. That boy and one of the girls looked familiar. The dark-skinned, medium-build boy that¡¯s staring at us, or rather straight at me, is in the same class, I believe. I think he¡¯s the one who¡¯s always sitting in the back of the classroom with his arms crossed looking all pompous. He has an eccentric hairstyle with all his black hair swept to the left. He has an excessive number of gold earrings shining just on his right ear, and three gold rings around his neck. The pure white bat-like wings and the single large and magnificent horn on his forehead were undoubtedly the signs of a demon. Standing quietly next to him was a tall, dark-skinned beauty with long hair, who is also a girl in our class. This one had black bat wings and a jangling, ornate circlet. ¡°Hey, hey, hey! Keep your head high men!¡± ¡°Uta-chan. That¡¯s the wrong word.¡± I was a little surprised by the sudden loud voice. A small girl suddenly raised her voice and was being calmly condemned by the girl from my class. What a loud voice. The glass of the school building shook. ¡°Oh, really? Um¡­ control yourselves party people!!!¡± ¡°Shut up for a minute, Utai.¡± ¡°I thought I¡¯d go all out with a bang, you know?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine so just shut up.¡± This time, the boy stopped her with a serious face. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s with the loud voice but I don¡¯t know the little black haired demon girl. Something¡¯s not right with her physical growth. The size of those breasts are surely off. Why does she have breasts bigger than Mikuma at that height? ¡°Huh? Dailan-san and Inteira-san?¡± Makio, who unlike me could remember all of his classmates¡¯ names, called out. I can¡¯t help it. I don¡¯t call them by name, and they don¡¯t call me by name. In order for someone stupid like me to remember people¡¯s names, I need communication! That¡¯s right, I remember people who seem easy to talk to, but the two people in front of me have such a ¡®don¡¯t talk to me¡¯ aura that I¡¯ve never even approached them. I¡¯ve never even seen them talking to anyone else. ¡°Yes, His Highness Atol Ketsa Koatho Dailan is here in person. I¡¯m very sorry to have to ask you all this, but could you please spare a few minutes for this garbage bug?¡± ¡°Hah?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I, Gasara, and Makio, in that order, responded. What did she just say? ¡°¡­ Yes, I¡¯ve taken the trouble to come all this way myself. Lower your heads and kneel down, plebeians.¡± Oh, so you¡¯re just going to continue? As if nothing had happened, the demon boy slowly approached us. ¡°Kayo-san! His Highness ignored you! I¡¯m sure he heard you!¡± ¡°Uta-chan, it is of a good vassal and a good wife to keep quiet and follow him in these situations. Don¡¯t laugh at His Highness¡¯s minuscule pride, who is not accustomed to being arrogant to others.¡± ¡°Wow! As expected you¡¯d make a good wife, Kayo-san!¡± ¡°Yes, well, we aren¡¯t marrying His Highness¡¯ for power or wealth, so there¡¯s no need to worry about it, right?¡± ¡°Utai! Kayone! Please be quiet!¡± He turned to the women who were chatting about something serious behind him, and the demon boy called ¡°Your Highness¡± shouted with tears in his eyes. ¡°Oh, hey, Makio. What¡¯s with these guys?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s Atru Ketsa Koato Dailan-san and Kayone Ketsa Inteira-san from our class. Exchange students from the demon tribe.¡± It¡¯s amazing. I don¡¯t know how you can say such long names so easily. That pipsqueak over there with the loud voice is in the same class as me. She introduced herself this morning as, uh, Utai? Oh, she¡¯s in the same class as Gasara. No wonder I didn¡¯t recognize her. If I can¡¯t even match the names and faces of the people in my class, there¡¯s no way I can remember the faces of the girls in other classes. ¡°Yes! I¡¯m Utai Ketsa Inteira, the Royal Highness¡¯ attendant of the Dailan royal family, and also the fianc¨¦e of His Highness the Ninth Prince! Well done, Riot-kun!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± What¡¯s with this volume? I couldn¡¯t help but press my hands to my ears. Your cheeks just jiggled from the vibration of your voice! The little big-breasted demon girl introduced herself loudly, bowing her head vigorously. I looked next to me. Like me, Gasara and Makio were also holding their ears. I¡¯m sorry for the delay. I¡¯m Kayone Ketsa Inteira, the maid in His Highness¡¯ entourage in the Dailan royal family and also the fianc¨¦e of His Highness the Ninth Prince. Pleased to make your acquaintance.¡± She also bowed in a quiet and polite manner. ¡°And over here is His Highness, the ninth prince of the Dailan royal family. Come on, trash bug, crawl on the ground and beg for forgiveness. Oh, you don¡¯t have to be so polite, okay? He¡¯s so incompetent that he lost the right of succession to the throne to his younger brother, and he¡¯s the last in line. In fact, calling him His Highness would be disrespectful to the people of foreign countries. Here you go, trash bug, why don¡¯t you crawl on the ground and beg for forgiveness from everyone?¡± ¡°Kayone! Don¡¯t you think you should have a little more respect for me?¡± The demon boy called Atol is already about to cry. Hey, does anyone have any idea what their relationship is? ¡°Um, his highness? What business does he have with us?¡± It¡¯s impossible to pass by a place like this by accident, you have to look for it. The exit to the club building is on the other side of the building, and it¡¯s right behind an empty classroom. ¡°¡­. Hmph! All right! Listen up, commoners!¡± Oh, you¡¯ve recovered already, demon boy. ¡°Kazamachi Kunpei! I¡¯ve come to offer you a duel! Rejoice!¡± ¡°Huh? What the hell is this guy talking about? Chapter 125 - Battle of Prince (4) ¡°Why do you want a duel again?¡± There rarely have been people who pick fights like this, but I have experienced it. There have been times when people have stood in front of me with a burning sense of justice. In such a case, the only way to deal with is to try and clear up the misunderstanding while avoiding them. I¡¯m not so far gone that I¡¯m going to hit someone who is not at fault. ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re strong, ¡®Rising Carp of the Boy¡¯s Day Festival¡¯¡± ¡°¡­Wow, it¡¯s that kind of case.¡± What a bad character. My notoriety, to put it another way, is like a bounty. It was my fault that I went on a rampage, but apparently, the name ¡®Rising Carp¡¯ has a certain value in itself. Apparently, it¡¯s the pinnacle for the city¡¯s delinquents. Apparently, I¡¯m an annoying lone wolf that¡¯s an eyesore. A thorn in their side that they can¡¯t get rid of no matter what. In other words, whoever brings me to my knees in some way will be given a certain amount of honor. Often, when I get into a fight with someone with such a short-term desire for self-aggrandizement, the results are clearly divided into two types. There are those who are afraid of me and stay away from me, and those who persistently follow me around to the point of being scary. I don¡¯t like being beaten up in silence either. I try negotiating the lowest possible price for the fights that are sold to me. In other words, I¡¯ve avoided fights that I could have avoided. I¡¯ve used every word I can think of to explain in detail that I don¡¯t want violence, and in the end we end up fighting. And I¡¯ve usually won. If it¡¯s just one person, then it¡¯s fair and square. If it¡¯s more than one, I run around and take them down one at a time. If I can¡¯t escape, I use the things around me as weapons. When I win, 80% of the time, they turn tail and run away. Some of them will try to get revenge later in a different way, but after a few times, the fear of losing is imprinted on them, and they naturally stop getting involved. At any rate, I am aware that I am also a hot-blooded person. When I fight, I don¡¯t hold back. It¡¯s the other 20% that¡¯s the problem. They are the annoying battle junkies who believe themselves to be the strongest. The Prince Atol in front of me is probably the latter type. I can tell by his body and attitude. This prince is used to fighting, and he probably has never lost. ¡°Well, let me tell you something. I refuse.¡± Of course. I can¡¯t even be bothered with fights in the city, but if I get into a fight with a classmate on campus, it¡¯s going to be a big problem. Worst case scenario, I could be expelled. I may look like this, but it¡¯s not just me anymore. Jaja, Nana, and Aoi. I¡¯d have to earn money for Rouge, too. Quitting school and getting a job now might be a short-term solution, but it¡¯s out of the question. If I don¡¯t properly graduate school and get a good job, I¡¯ll be worried about our future! So, quitting high school or being forced to quit high school is not an option. Well, the main reason is because mom would be sad and Aoi, dad and Shouhei would be angry. I did think about it at one point. To quit high school and get a job. Well, how should I put it? That¡¯s a last resort. It¡¯s not the best option for those of us whose parents understand the importance of raising a child and are even supporting us. There should still be time to think about it. For the time being, I¡¯m going to get a part-time job. I¡¯ll have to find my own way while relieving my father¡¯s burden. ¡°You have no right to refuse, you lowly commoner.¡± ¡°No, no, no, I firmly refuse. I don¡¯t have anything against the prince, and I don¡¯t like to hit people.¡± Yeah, I think it¡¯s better to use honorifics. I¡¯m not sure how I feel about using honorifics with my classmates. ¡°Uh, Dailan-san. No, Prince? Why are we dueling?¡± ¡°What the hell are you talking about, you left hair part?¡± Makio and Gasara backed me up from behind. But Gasara. But Gasara, stop with that, I¡¯m going to laugh. ¡°Your question is reasonable. If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d like to explain on behalf of His Highness, if that¡¯s all right. You see, this imbecile was born lacking in the ability to explain things to others.¡± ¡°His Highness is so bad at talking, you¡¯re like a grandpa sometimes! Like, ¡®Do that thing because that thing is that thing!¡¯ Like that!¡± The two girls behind the Prince were saying whatever they wanted. ¡°Shut up! I can talk just fine myself! It¡¯s just that Big Brother told me to keep my mouth shut as much as possible in Japan!¡± ¡°His Highness, the First Prince Gatol knows exactly what¡¯s going on with His Highness Atul. When he opens his mouth, he only says unnecessary things. It¡¯s a pity. It is unacceptable for a leader of the people to be so incompetent.¡± ¡°Your brother, His Highness Setol, speaks so well for someone so small!¡± ¡°Shut up! Setol¡¯s the one who¡¯s abnormal! His black-heartedness is nothing short of abnormal!¡± Wow, it¡¯s like a comedy sketch. The two girls, his vassals, pointed out one after another, as Prince Atol shouted with his face turning red. I don¡¯t know why, but I don¡¯t hate that prince. ¡°Um, Inteira-san? Oh, that one is also Inteira-san. Is it okay if I call you Kayone-san?¡± ¡°Yes, you can just call me Kayone. I was a mere maidservant until I married into the royal family. Utai and I are cousins. If you call her Uta-chan, she will answer in a cute way.¡± ¡°Yes! I¡¯m Uta-chan!¡± Like I said, you¡¯re so annoying! What is that girl, some kind of demonic ultrasonic weapon? ¡°Well, then, Kayone. Can you explain it to me now? Well, I don¡¯t want to accept a duel, but¡­¡± I kind of pitied him to refuse him so strongly. If they have a problem, I¡¯ll properly ask about it and say no later. Yes, a peaceful resolution. ¡°Okay. Then, Uta-chan? Shhh, now, okay?¡± ¡°Shhh!¡± That¡¯s not quiet at all. ¡°Well, first of all, I have to tell you about us. As Kusaka-sama mentioned earlier, we are exchange students from a country called Dailan, located in the south of the sphere continent, facing the sea.¡± ¡°Dailan. I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t remember hearing that. I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t study enough.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it either. I know most of the famous demon countries, like Francion.¡± I¡¯m glad that I¡¯m not the only one who doesn¡¯t know. If Makio, an honor student, doesn¡¯t know about it, then most people don¡¯t know about it. Ah, but Mikuma would probably know. She has a lot of knowledge about magic, demons, and other things that are related to fantasy. ¡°I heard about it, it¡¯s a small country that¡¯s famous among some magic tool collectors for its magic-enchanting technology. I¡¯m pretty sure they have a near monopoly on enchantments of water-based magic, right?¡± Hey, don¡¯t call it a small country. That¡¯s rude. ¡°Ara, you¡¯re very knowledgeable, aren¡¯t you, Riot-sama? That¡¯s right, our country doesn¡¯t have any outstanding exports, but instead, we make our living by providing unrivalled magic enchantments to other countries. Although we are a small country, our profits are enormous, so we can be said to be a relatively wealthy country among the many demon nations. We also have some rare ores that can only be extracted in our country, and that is enough to run the country.¡± He knows it well, this furball. Wow, he looks so smug. Now that you mention it, wasn¡¯t this guy a magic tool collector? I¡¯m sure that¡¯s an expression where he¡¯s delighted to know that the knowledge he gained as an extension of his hobby came in handy. What an irritating expression. I¡¯ll give him a forced brushing later. ¡°As a small country, if Dailan were to sit on its laurels and neglect its technological prowess, it would be quickly overtaken by other countries and fall into decline. His Majesty King Garmreld, was concerned about this, and five years ago, he implemented an exchange program for students from other countries in our country. The family motto of the Dailan royal family is ¡®Set an example for the people.¡¯ As we said, we sent His Royal Highnesses to other countries ahead of the ordinary people. We have sent six princes, not including the First, Second, and Fourth Princes, who hold important positions in the country, to study in advanced and technological countries.¡± ¡°No, no, the royal family is studying abroad. Isn¡¯t it something more important? It can¡¯t just be that casual.¡± Because it seems that even Makio didn¡¯t know that this demon boy was royalty. After all even now his mouth was open and looked bewildered. ¡°Well, I knew they were some kind of important people, but not like a prince.¡± As if he realized the meaning of my gaze, Makio shook his head and answered. ¡°Yes, of course. We are treated as VIPs in this country. Even now, our country¡¯s SP is standing by around this high school, and we are very grateful for the splendid house you have prepared for us. Even this empty-brained His Highness has been taking notice, and all of us vassals are unable to repay the favor of the Japanese nation.¡± ¡°Oh, by the way. Your Japanese is very good.¡± I¡¯m pretty sure this school only has spheres in the cafeteria, gym and audiovisual room. I¡¯ve heard of a demon language on TV, but I think it was quite difficult and fast. ¡°Ah, many of our generation in our country can speak the language of this country, you know? We are the biggest supporter of this country since the world clash, and as an island nation, water magic tools are in high demand and favored. Japanese is a required subject in our secondary schools.¡± Hoh. I didn¡¯t know that. I¡¯ve heard that this country¡¯s language is difficult for foreigners to learn. Well, I¡¯ve heard that language learning is much more efficient than before, now that the sphere is widely available. Then, I guess it makes sense. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to the story, shall we? In order not to interfere in the lives of the students more than necessary, we have only one guard on campus, the attendant Utai. Our house of Inteira has been entrusted with all sorts of royal entourage since ancient times, so Utai¡¯s fighting ability is reliable. I¡¯m a maidservant because I couldn¡¯t find much in the way of training, but when the time comes, I¡¯m more than capable of dealing with ordinary people.¡± ¡°¡­ Even though I told you I didn¡¯t need it.¡± Prince Atol, who was sulking beside Kayone, muttered. ¡°¡­ Please wait a moment.¡± When Kayone heard that, she turned her head to Prince Atol without breaking her smile. ¡°You¡¯ve been in this country for over a year now, and you still weren¡¯t convinced?¡± ¡°¡­ I told my brother that Iris-baachan alone was enough.¡± ¡°Iris-sama has long since retired. Do you not think you are relying too much on someone who is already over eighty years old?¡± ¡°¡­ Even if it wasn¡¯t Iris-baachan, the castle would have had plenty of extra maids.¡± ¡°Since the seniors are unable to remonstrate with His Highness¡¯ selfishness, His Highness, your elder brother appointed me.¡± ¡°Why is it that you, who has not yet graduated from maid school, entrusted to take care of me? That¡¯s incomprehensible. Weren¡¯t there plenty of other maids? I am an incompetent prince!¡± ¡°You¡¯re belittling yourself like that again. Please grow up, Your Highness. I¡¯ve always told you that. I¡¯ve always told you that no matter what is said, you should conduct yourself with dignity as a member of the royal family. If you are so offended by the slightest comment from me or Utai, what will you do in the future when you enter the diplomatic arena?¡± ¡°Ha ha! Diplomacy! Did you say diplomacy, Kayo? There¡¯s no way I could get such an important job! That¡¯s why Father sent me to study here in the middle of nowhere! Brother Tetol and Setol are studying in Tokyo, and I¡¯m the only one here! No matter how foolish I am, how could I not notice?¡± ¡°No, Your Highness! His Majesty has chosen a suitable place for His Highness to study! When are you going to realize the King¡¯s feelings?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve noticed! I¡¯ve never wanted the throne, not even when he went to the trouble of putting me last in line for succession in front of the people! Since then, father has never shown himself to me! So be it! After all, I¡¯m so inadequate that it¡¯s hard to believe we share the same blood!¡± ¡°You¡¯re doing that again¡­¡± Eh. What is this? ¡°Hey, you haven¡¯t finished explaining why you¡¯re going to duel me, have you?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not over.¡± Makio replied with a wry smile. ¡°It seems that it¡¯s difficult for the prince too.¡± Gasara crossed his arms and sat down on the bench. ¡°Oh, yeah!¡± ¡°Uwah!¡± ¡°Hiii!¡± ¡°Puhh!¡± You scared me! Before I knew it, Utai was standing between me and Gasara, who was sitting down. The sudden loud voice caused Makio to fall over. Gasara is a beastman and has good hearing, so now his eyes are rolled back and he¡¯s foaming at the mouth. ¡°Oops, did I speak too loudly again? I¡¯m sorry. It¡¯s just a habit.¡± ¡°Gasara? Hey, Gasaraio-kun?¡± I shook the twitching fluffy furball. It¡¯s no good, there¡¯s no response. ¡°Ha!¡± Oh, he¡¯s awake. ¡°Are we under attack?¡± ¡°Calm down.¡± There¡¯s no enemy. ¡°Ahaha, sorry. Are you okay with this?¡± ¡°U-un.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s still quite loud.¡± Makio, who was still in a daze, nodded, and I quipped. ¡°Kayo-san, you know, really likes His Highness, you know?¡± ¡°Really?¡± After all that crap you¡¯ve been saying? ¡°When it was announced that His Highness was going to study in this country, the Inteira family used on their connections to get on his good side. His Highness the Seventh Prince Tetor had originally planned to appoint Kayo-san, right? I also went with the flow and came along. In the future, Kayo-san and I will both be responsible for conceiving His Highness¡¯s child and strengthening the ties between Inteira and the royal family. Kayo-san¡¯s mother said that the reason why she came with me was to prevent His Highness from learning to play with women in this country. She doesn¡¯t think anyone around her knows about it, though.¡± ¡°Hah?¡± Well, then, what is it? ¡°No, let me tell you something! Whenever you have free time, you train your muscles like a fool! What does a demon have to do with muscle training? Why don¡¯t you train in magic, magic!¡± ¡°You¡¯re denying me the only hobby I¡¯ve ever had! Setol has a job offer at the Ministry of Magic anyway! What does it matter if I¡¯m inferior and have to train now anyways!¡± ¡°There is such a thing as ambition!¡± What they¡¯re having over there is a lovers¡¯ quarrel. ¡°Hey, lunch break¡¯s already over.¡± Gasaraio showed me the watch on his wrist. Seriously, class already? Where did the time go? Chapter 126 - Battle of Prince (5) It was almost dusk. This time of day, on the way back home after school, has been one of my favorite times lately. I get off at the bus stop closest to my house and cut through the middle of the rice paddy right in front of me. This is one of the shortcuts I¡¯ve discovered recently. In the countryside, not all roads are maintained like in the city, so there are many unexpected shortcuts like this. At first glance, it looks like just a bush, but when you dive down, you find a familiar place. There are also animal trails that you can¡¯t recognize as roads unless you change your point of view, and it¡¯s fun to feel like you¡¯re on an adventure. One drawback is that there are a lot of bugs, but I¡¯m a boy. I¡¯m not so weak that I¡¯d scream over a few bugs. The sound of birds in the distance. The sound of water in the nearby canal. It¡¯s a nice feeling in this early summer when you can start to hear the faint cries of the cicadas. The unbearable heat will soon be upon us. I wonder if I should take Jaja and Nana to the mountains. It would be fun to take them to a shallow riverside to cool off and have lunch. I should take Aoi out to play, too. We had planned to go on an outing a while ago, but it all disappeared after the incident at Tusk Crag, and now that Rouge is here, we¡¯re safe. I¡¯m also going to invite Mikuma and the Saeki siblings. I wonder if Gasara, Makio, and Hina-chan will come too. Ah, but Aoi doesn¡¯t like it when I invite Gasara. It¡¯s unusual for her to so blatantly show her dislike. That can¡¯t be helped. For Aoi, Gasara and the others are still the enemies of the twins. While I was alone with my thoughts, the rice paddy road ended before I knew it. I entered an alleyway in a small residential area. This is our neighborhood, with a few old buildings scattered about. Officer Doggy and Yuri-san lives just around the corner. After exiting here, we arrived at a road sandwiched by the Tusk Crag forest and a stream. That is the road in front of our house. It¡¯s a straight road with few buildings, and there are more steel agricultural warehouses than residential houses. The street lights are spaced far apart, so it is completely dark at night. As I came to the end of the road, I suddenly found something unusual. ¡°¡­ limousine.¡± It¡¯s a black luxury car that you often see in movies and TV dramas. It¡¯s not the kind with a stupidly long body. It¡¯s the same size as a normal passenger car. That¡¯s obvious. There would be a lot of impassable roads in this rural area if the car had such a long body. A luxury car that is not appropriate for such a rural area is parked as if blocking a turn. I have a bad feeling about this. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible, but have you been chasing me? After my lunch break, I distanced myself from Prince Atol and the others anyway. Neither Prince Atol nor Kayone spoke a word in the classroom. Even at recess, he sat at the last desk, arms crossed in a pompous manner. Kayone sat in front of him, quietly meditating with a composed expression. So I took advantage of the opportunity and ran out of the classroom without a second glance at the end of the school day bell. I skipped the end of day homeroom. Sorry, teacher. I was so relieved that at least today I could go home in peace and quiet. The power windows of the limousine quietly lowered. Ah, I knew it. This sucks. A face I had just learned today was looking at me through the window of the limousine with a big smile. Oh, no. She¡¯s accumulating her breath! ¡°Kazamachi Kunpei-kuuuuuuuun!¡± ¡°Okay, okay! I¡¯m coming over there, so don¡¯t shout!¡± The one who smiled with her white teeth contrasted with her tanned skin was Utai. The trees around me were shaking unsteadily because I was called by that loud voice that made even the air vibrate. Wouldn¡¯t it be quite loud in the car? Ah, that Kayone is wearing earplugs. And the driver, too. But Prince Atol was suffering while holding his ears. If you know this road, it means you found out where I live. I got mixed up with a bunch of troublemakers again. I¡¯ll have to tell Aoi and Rouge. Shouhei¡¯s probably home by now, so I¡¯ll send him a text. I know it¡¯s not polite to do this after being called by someone, but I took out my smartphone and operated the screen. While typing a message to Shouhei, I walked rapidly because I was in a bit of a bad mood. ¡¾I¡¯m getting tangled up in something annoying. Tell the twins, Aoi and Rouge to stay upstairs just in case.¡¿ I briefly summarized the situation and sent the message. Then I reached the limousine. ¡°Ara, Kazamachi-sama. What a coincidence.¡± ¡°What kind of strange coincidence is that? What can I do for you?¡± I was almost home. How will you take responsibility if Jaja and Nana are crying? ¡°You know what I¡¯m talking about. It¡¯s about your duel with me.¡± Prince Atol crossed his arms in the back seat. You were holding your ears and flailing around until just now, weren¡¯t you? ¡°I refused, that¡¯s it. And you still haven¡¯t told me why I have to fight with you.¡± It¡¯s so annoying. I¡¯m not going to use honorifics. ¡°I don¡¯t know about this country, but in my country, the strong chosen by the dragon must compete with each other for power.¡± ¡°Hah?¡± Huh? What did he just say? ¡°Kazamachi-sama. My country is a country that excels in water magic. And we are a country facing the sea.¡± The door opened with a clank and Kayone got out of the limousine and straightened her posture. ¡°So what?¡± Calm down, calm down, Kunpei. Don¡¯t reveal yourself. Never. ¡°We are a demon tribe that has been blessed by the Sea Dragon-sama since long ago, and we have been blessed with the superiority of the water attribute. Only His Majesty the King and a few others know where it is, but there is a place in our country where Sea Dragon-sama rests every ten years.¡± ¡°S-sea Dragon?¡± Aoi is a sky dragon. Rouge is an earth dragon. It¡¯s a dragon race I¡¯ve never met before. ¡°Heh, heh. I didn¡¯t know dragons really existed.¡± ¡°We know, Kazamachi-sama.¡± Kayone looked straight at me, her thin smile still intact. The sound of my heart beating noisily. I¡¯m also sweating like crazy. What should I do? ¡°I have heard from the Rat Sage that there is a dragon living in your home.¡± It¡¯s you again! Damn rat! Chapter 127 - Battle of Prince (6) Before I knew it, it was already dusk. In the distance, a crow was cawing pleasantly. ¡°Oh, um, here¡¯s some coarse tea.¡± Shouhei placed a teacup on the table. ¡°Do the people of this country offer coarse tea to the royalty of other countries?¡± ¡°Shut up. That¡¯s the most expensive tea we have. Shut up and drink it all, talk, and then get the hell out of here.¡± It¡¯s called being humble. It¡¯s Japanese culture, you bastard. I¡¯m getting irritated. Why do I have to invite this bastard into my house? Everything is the fault of that gray rat. ¡°Kazamachi-sama, thank you for inviting us today.¡± ¡°Kunpei¡¯s house! It¡¯s huge! It¡¯s so small compared to His Highness¡¯ house though!¡± Kayone bowed deeply and Utai looked around the living room with a glint in her eye. The windowpanes in the living room shivered at the sound of Utai¡¯s voice. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Utai, but there¡¯s a baby in the house, so please lower the volume of your voice.¡± ¡°!¡± Utai hurriedly covered her mouth with her hands. Yes, it would be easier on our ears if you did that for a while. I couldn¡¯t let him talk too long about Aoi and the others out there, so I invited the Prince and his party into my home. I wondered if they were really acquainted with the shitty rat, but what I was holding in my hand assured me that they were. The Dragon Fang Sword and a letter. The Dragon Fang Sword is incredibly white and sharp. I held the hilt and scrutinized it. This is certainly the Dragon Fang Sword that I used in the past at Tusk Crag. That shitty rat¡¯s treasure. He always keeps it in his mysterious space with great care. It¡¯s not something you just hand over to a stranger. And the letter. It was in some kind of creepy bright red envelope, sealed with beeswax that looked like a grain of bean. As soon as I touched the envelope, the beeswax melted away. It seemed to be some kind of magic that could only be read by a certain person. I opened the letter inside and found that it matched the letter he had left behind when he went to pick up Rouge. The letter was written in poorly written Japanese. At the end of the sentence, there were even the footprints of that rat. I opened the letter again to check it out. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô Hey, Clumsy-kun. How are you doing? Since only Clumsy-kun can open this letter, can I assume that you¡¯ve met the prince of the demon tribe? It¡¯s really urgent, but¡­ The Sea Dragon tribe had an emergency, so I won¡¯t be able to come by for a while. So I¡¯m writing this letter after making some preparations. Yes, I¡¯m talking about the twins. It¡¯s about Jaja and Nana¡¯s special abilities. I¡¯ve been doing a lot of thought experiments and research, and it seems that the spirits themselves are not so different from magic in terms of wavelength. A tribe that used to live on the Sphere Continent used ornaments to ¡®eat¡¯ magic when they were young to prevent their excessive power from going out of control, you know? I tried to use that as a hint to make my own, but the tribe had long since lost their knowledge and skills. It¡¯s going to take some time to research and make it from scratch, and the material itself is made of ore, which is very rare nowadays, so I¡¯m having a hard time. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve enlisted the help of your friend to look into it for me. The girl with the glasses. Unlike you, she seems to be smart, so I¡¯m sure she can help us find it. The ore can only be found in the sphere continent, the area where the demon tribe lives, so I¡¯ve made the first move. The explanation is a bit long, so please ask the royal children. I was offered some kind of exchange condition, but I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t mind, right? I¡¯ve given them the sword as proof that it¡¯s my message. You have to take it. Now, I won¡¯t be seeing you for a while, but be careful, okay? It¡¯s a major operation that I can¡¯t leave in the middle of. Wish me luck. The twins are fine. They¡¯re doing great. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô It¡¯s long. And can you please stop irritating people even with your writing? Do you have to make fun of me every single time to keep on living? Then I¡¯ll just let you off! ¡°What does the Sage¡¯s text say?¡± Prince Atol, sitting in the chair in front of me, as usual, asks me in a pompous manner. I don¡¯t know why he¡¯s being so pompous. Oh, it¡¯s because he¡¯s a prince. That¡¯s why Kayone and Utai aren¡¯t sitting down and are waiting in the back. ¡°I¡¯ll let you guys tell me the details. Well, it¡¯s definitely a letter from the rat.¡± He¡¯s the only one who annoys me this much. ¡°Are you insane, commoner, to call the sage a mere rat?¡± You¡¯re the one who¡¯s insane. You¡¯re the one who suddenly offered a complete stranger a duel. ¡°Since His Highness probably can¡¯t explain it, may I explain it to you?¡± ¡°¡­ As long as you don¡¯t start flirting again in the middle of it like during lunch break.¡± ¡°W-we weren¡¯t flirting!¡± Her face flushed bright red, Kayone averted her gaze. She¡¯s so easy to read. ¡°Nii-chan, do you want me to go get Aoi-neechan?¡± Shouhei whispered in my ear. Hmm. I wonder what I should do. I don¡¯t have a good feeling about this. In case of emergency, Rouge and I will have Jaja and Nana protected. ¡°No, let¡¯s just wait until we hear what they have to say.¡± ¡°Okay. What about me? Shall I go to my room?¡± No, I want you to stay here. If it¡¯s too complicated, I might not understand it. ¡°Stay.¡± ¡°U-un. But I can¡¯t chat with a prince, can I?¡± It¡¯ll be fine. The arrogant foolish prince in front of me is probably the same type of idiot as me. I¡¯m sure Shouhei can easily handle it. ¡°It¡¯s not a problem. Leave it to me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m worried.¡± Hey, little brother. Don¡¯t look so dubious. Even I¡¯ll do it when I have to, right? Maybe. ¡°The first time I met the sage was during the ¡®Tusk Crag Dungeon Expansion Incident¡¯.¡± Kayone, who was shaken by my teasing, closed her eyes to calm herself down and slowly opened her mouth. I wondered where he had disappeared to, but he had gone to these guys. ¡°We were preparing to return to our homeland, as it would have been difficult for the Japanese to have diplomats like us there at the time of the disaster.¡± ¡°Preparing to return?¡± Packing? ¡°Yes. We demons have transference magic. It won¡¯t take us more than a minute to return to our homeland.¡± No, no, no, no. ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. The Sphere Continent is that thing, right? It¡¯s next to Australia, right? How far away do you think that is?¡± I¡¯m pretty sure I saw that on the news. The current limit for transference magic is about a kilometer, and it requires a ridiculous amount of magic power. Some research institute in Japan announced that the distance had increased a little, and it caused a big stir. ¡°Yes. Normal transfer magic is impossible. But there are always special cases.¡± ¡°Special cases?¡± ¡°The Dailan royal family¡¯s secret transfer magic can be used to transfer from anywhere in the world as long as the destination is limited. It is likely that other demon nations have similar means.¡± There you go, the story got more difficult from the start. I glanced at Shouhei. ¡°Um, you mean a one-way magic that has a fixed place to return to?¡± That¡¯s my little brother. He¡¯s smarter than his brother! ¡°Yes, and that place of return is quite special.¡± Kayone gave off a heavy atmosphere. ¡°What¡¯s special about it?¡± ¡°The royal tombs.¡± A tomb? That tomb where you bury the bodies of your ancestors? ¡°In the past, the royal family of the demon tribe had authority, power, and prestige to the point of being called the equivalent of gods. Therefore, when a member of the royal family died, it was customary to bury the appropriate vassals along with them in order to serve the royal family member who ascended to heaven.¡± ¡°Together?¡± Eh? What? I¡¯m a little scared. ¡°Together. The loyal ones commit suicide themselves, and the old ones in their families die with them. They also kill the family¡¯s slaves, tailors, cooks, bathers, poisoners, and all sorts of servants, and bury them around the royal tomb. This is a tradition that has been observed for a long time, and it is said that there are countless examples. Of course, it¡¯s an evil practice that has died out now.¡± ¡°Nii-chan¡­ it looks like you¡¯ve learned something bad.¡± Shouhei frowned and anxiously grabbed my arm. ¡°Don¡¯t say that, little brother. You know your brother doesn¡¯t like the occult, right?¡± I never watch horror movies! You planted unnecessary knowledge on me! The capacity of an idiot¡¯s brain is precious! ¡°What is unique about them is the way they are buried. The magic contained in the bodies of demons does not disappear even after death. In the past, the royal families even used it to create royal tombs. A magic circle using a corpse. By burying the corpse in a magical pattern and placing the corpse of a member of the royal family in the center of the pattern, they created a magical barrier to protect the tomb from grave robbers.¡± ¡°So, that¡¯s the special reason?¡± Shouhei asked Kayone on my behalf. ¡°Yes. This magic circle is highly sustainable, and its effects continue to this day. And importantly, it has surplus magic power.¡± Surplus magic? I¡¯m not keeping up anymore. If Mikuma were here, I¡¯m sure she¡¯d be very happy to hear all about it. ¡°The barrier itself requires only a small amount of magic power in comparison to the whole. However, since it is a royal tomb, the magic circle is always at its maximum power. The secret transfer magic of the royal family is activated by utilizing this surplus. By using the magic power of the countless corpses lying underground, it is possible to transfer long distances, which would otherwise be impossible. Do you think an ordinary mage can do this?¡± What do you mean? ¡°That means you can¡¯t use long-distance magic unless you have that much magical power, brother.¡± Ah, I see. The transference magic on the news is just magic in the ¡®general¡¯ range. More efficiency and higher performance with less energy. It¡¯s the Japanese specialty. ¡°The Sage asked us to let him use this transference magic.¡± ¡°Hmm? But that rat said that distance doesn¡¯t matter where the dragon is. He doesn¡¯t need that.¡± He¡¯s only going to the dragon¡¯s place anyway. ¡°No, it¡¯s Kazamachi-sama who will use it. The sage explained that it is you who will be using it. The transfer will take place a month from now, around the start of summer vacation.¡± ¡°Me?¡± Come to think of it, the letter also said something like ¡®See you on the sphere continent.¡¯ In other words, he wants us to go. Why didn¡¯t he tell me such an important thing? Explain it to me! Report, communicate, consult, right? ¡°After all, it is an offer from the legendary Rat Sage. We had no intention of refusing. Our nation is a nation that believes in the Sea Dragon. If it¡¯s a request from a sage with a deep connection to dragons, we will do our best to fulfill it. But, you garbage bug¡­¡± Kayone looked bitterly at Prince Atol, who sat pompously on the chair in front of her. ¡°I asked the sage for a favor. You may use it, but you must accept my conditions.¡± Prince Atol snorted and reclined back. ¡°Conditions?¡± Well, I think that was in the letter, too. I knew it was probably unnecessary anyway, but I had to ask. ¡°The sage explained to us that there was a man in this town who had been chosen by the dragon, and that he and his family needed to use the transference magic.¡± ¡°My country, Dailan, has prospered with the blessings of the Sea Dragon. Those men of Dailan who are chosen will call themselves servants of Sea Dragon-sama and become warriors who protect all. I was chosen and became a warrior before I studied abroad.¡± Aah. I¡¯m starting to get it. This is a muscle-brained way of thinking, right? ¡°Those chosen by the dragon must compete with each other in friendly rivalry! So have a duel with me, commoner! That is the condition for using transference magic!¡± Muscle language is a pain in the ass. Chapter 128 - Reason for Fighting (1) ¡°So, did you accept it? The duel.¡± Aoi, who was feeding Jaja with a bottle of milk, asked me while sitting on the sofa. Next to her, Rouge was struggling to give Nana milk while imitating her. ¡°I¡¯m going to put it on hold for now and get back to him over the weekend.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit sudden, isn¡¯t it?¡± Shouhei and I were preparing dinner together. My dad will be home soon, so we have to hurry. By the time we politely saw Prince Atol and the others off, it was already around 6pm. I ran to the supermarket and scored some boneless beef ribs that was on sale. Shouhei had decided on the menu and was now simmering the stew. ¡°You should have refused such a dangerous thing right away.¡± Aoi pouted her lips in frustration. ¡°Hmm. Is duelling dangerous?¡± Rouge finally managed to get Nana to suck on her bottle and joined in the conversation. ¡°I think it¡¯s something we need to do, since that shitty rat set us up. I don¡¯t know if I can say no to that. I just can¡¯t get into it. In the meantime, I heard that Kayone can use healing magic, so we don¡¯t have to worry about injuries.¡± ¡°Earth dragons often play with each other to test their skills, but they shave mountains and wither lakes. Everyone is a wreck by the time they¡¯re done.¡± Changing the terrain while just playing, stop shitting me. ¡°Sky Dragons don¡¯t do that, right?¡± Aoi smiled bitterly as she listened to Rouge¡¯s story. ¡°The rules of duelling, that Kayone-oneechan said, right? Shouhei asked me while stirring the pressure cooker with a ladle. As I washed the cookware in the sink, I recalled it. ¡°No weapons, no backup, it¡¯s decided by admitting defeat or losing consciousness. Was that it?¡± But the other side is a demon tribe and can use magic. As for me, I¡¯m at a disadvantage from the start because I have nothing but my body. It could be over as soon as it starts. ¡°Do you really have to win? Can¡¯t you just play along and admit defeat right away?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll let us use transference magic even if I don¡¯t win, but there¡¯s an extra prize for winning.¡± The transference magic of the Dailan royal family is a one-way ticket. Because the royal tombs have to be the destination. So if we use that transfer magic to go to the sphere continent, what are we going to do on the way back? And that¡¯s why Kayone proposed the extra prize. ¡ºWhen the Dailan royal family gives rewards to the people, they usually take the form of ¡®three wishes that are within the power of the royal family member who gave the reward¡¯. In other words, three wishes that are possible with money or power that can be moved by His Highness Atol. That¡¯s right. If Kazamachi-sama wins against His Highness, we will add this condition as well.¡» ¡ºWell, what does that mean?¡» ¡ºWith the first wish, you can wish for transportation from the sphere continent to Japan. Using a plane owned by the royal family, you can return to Japan without having your passport or identity checked. The other two are at your discretion. Money is fine, and anything else His Highness can do is possible, you know?¡» That¡¯s what they said. In other words, they¡¯ll let you use the transfer magic anyway, but if you lose the duel, you¡¯ll have to find your own way back. If you win, we¡¯ll take care of you until you return home. That¡¯s it. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s being stingy or generous. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make any sense. Why would he do something so mean?¡± ¡°Oh, that idiot His Highness thought of it. It¡¯s boring to have me hold back, so he made an excuse to make me give it my all.¡± It¡¯s the battle junkies who are the only ones who can think like that. They are self-centered people who will instantly find a convenient way to achieve their own ends. I hate that kind of thing. ¡°I¡¯ve never been to the Sphere Continent. Can Aoi fly back with everyone on her back?¡± Rouge tilted her head and asked Aoi. Ah, now that you mention it. As a sky dragon, Aoi is capable of flying long distances. In fact, I heard that Aoi¡¯s mother, Yule, flew here from the United States. ¡°Well, if it¡¯s just me, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any problem, but with Kunepi-san and the others, Jaja, Nana, and Ru-neesama on my back, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible.¡± Ah? Is that so? ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m almost useless in the sky. Earth dragons can¡¯t fly, and there are no earth spirits in the sky, so I can¡¯t give it my all.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re flying over land, there¡¯s no problem as long as you lower your altitude and fly unseen. But if you¡¯re over the ocean, you¡¯ll be attacked by monsters coming out of the water, and if you go up in altitude to avoid them, you¡¯ll be attacked by monsters in the sky. The monsters themselves are weak, so you can defeat them easily, but if there are a lot of them, there¡¯s going to be violent movements.¡± Yeah, that¡¯s impossible. I can only imagine the scene of being swung around and then falling. ¡°And I don¡¯t remember the route from the continent to Japan. When my mother took me there when I was little, it was before the worlds collided. If I had to search for the right way to fly, I probably wouldn¡¯t be able to get there in a week.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea to follow a plane from the continent to Japan. If they find us, we¡¯ll be in big trouble.¡± It looks like we¡¯re going to have to win this thing no matter what. ¡°But it¡¯s amazing. I never thought I¡¯d never be able to do it.¡± Shouhei seemed somewhat delighted. That¡¯s true. In this day and age, only people who need to travel abroad for work or the rich are allowed to do so. Opportunities like this don¡¯t come along very often. I don¡¯t mind, but I want Shouhei, Jaja and Nana to have this experience. I wonder what my father will do. I don¡¯t know how many days it will take, so he won¡¯t be able to take off work. I¡¯ll ask him when he comes back. ¡°You¡¯re so happy that you¡¯re going, but haven¡¯t you forgotten that you¡¯re smuggling people into Japan and that¡¯s a crime?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been able to point this out to Shouhei as a big brother. That¡¯s right. That¡¯s the way the rat prepared it. It must be an illegal way. ¡°But it¡¯s what Jaja and Nana need, right? We¡¯re going, right? Right?¡± He¡¯s actually looking forward to it a lot, isn¡¯t he? Shouhei pleaded with me with an unusually childish look on his face. ¡°Let¡¯s think about it, including that. There¡¯s still some time before the weekend. I want to hear Mikuma¡¯s opinion, and you never know what might happen. There¡¯s also the risk of smuggling in rare ore.¡± Our family¡¯s brain, which I can rely on, might be able to come up with some good ideas. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right¡­¡± Shouhei¡¯s shoulders slumped in disappointment. Ah, an appearance that you wouldn¡¯t normally see. My brother is so cute. ¡°Well first, let¡¯s wait until dad gets home, okay?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Dad should be happy. It¡¯s been a while since Shouhei has acted like the youngest child. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing your reaction. Chapter 129 - Reason For Fighting (2) Stifling back a yawn, I got off the bus and walked with my hands in my pant pockets, mixing in with the many students on the street. It had been a while since Jaja and Nana had cried so much at night last night, so to be honest, I hadn¡¯t slept well. Thanks to that, they were both sound asleep by the time I left the house, so I was able to get out of there easily. When Jaja wakes up, she¡¯s going to cry her eyes out because I¡¯m not here. ¡°Hey, villain face. You look even worse when you¡¯re sleepy.¡± I was grabbed by the shoulder right in front of the school gate. The soft sensation of a paw. Hmmm. It felt squishy and kind of good. I think you could sell this, couldn¡¯t you? ¡°Shut up, furball. Oh, you changed your uniform?¡± ¡°It arrived yesterday.¡± Gasaraio Riot, a beastmen from the lion tribe makes his appearance. A black uniform that suited his huge physique, and golden fur that glistened in the morning sun. The contrast of black and gold is not easy on the eyes. ¡°What is it? What¡¯s with that look?¡± ¡°That duel. It seems like I have to accept it. It¡¯s depressing.¡± I hate it. I wonder if I¡¯ll get hurt again. ¡°What? Is that how it¡¯s developing?¡± ¡°Hmm. For now. I¡¯ll tell you the details at lunch.¡± I went through the school gate and headed for the school building, looking at the baseball and soccer teams practicing in the morning. The baseball team was running in a line while shouting. The soccer team formed a circle and passed the ball around. To be honest, the sight of the bird tribe, demons, beastmen, and humans practicing together was breathtaking. In recent years, the rules of sports have become stricter due to differences in physique, muscle mass, and race characteristics. Most of them have been downsized to accommodate us humans, and the ratio of human to beastmen is increased to keep the strength of both sides in check. All sports have become more dynamic and popular than they were before the world clash, but I still hear voices of discrimination against beastmen here and there. It¡¯s a tough world to live in. ¡°It¡¯s just that, so far, I¡¯ve only heard their side of the story.¡± ¡°It seems to be getting harder.¡± Even if it was for Jaja and Nana, the conditions of the duel were too disadvantageous. The greatest characteristic of the demon race is magic, but in addition to that, Prince Atol is the type of demon that can fly. If he shoots magic from the air, no matter how powerful it is, I don¡¯t stand a chance. I wondered if there was any way we could duel on equal terms or if I had a chance. I¡¯m not in a position to be too aggressive, so I doubt if they¡¯ll accept my terms. ¡°RIOT-KUUUUUNN! KAZAMACHI-KUUUUUUUN!¡± Whoa! What the hell! The trees planted around the ground began to shake furiously, and my eardrums began to ring. ¡°Whoa!¡± ¡°Hii!¡± ¡°What? Another incident?¡± The students on their way to school are in an uproar. Everyone was holding their ears and cowering. The students in this school have become more cautious since the Tusk Crag incident. ¡°That bastard¡­¡± What kind of vocal cords do you have to have to be able to make a voice that ridiculously loud? ¡°Woah¡­ I¡¯m even getting dizzy. Is it Utai?¡± Gasara, who is a beastmen and therefore has much better hearing than I do as a human, stumbled around dizzily while holding his ears. I traced the source of the roar back to the third floor of the main school building, where I found the figure in the window of the corridor. Utai leaned forward with a pleasant smile on her face. Kayone had a composed expression next to her with her eyes shut and ears covered. The damage to the students in the vicinity would be enormous. ¡°Shut up! You don¡¯t have to call out with such a loud voice! And good morning!¡± ¡°Are you trying to kill us, you idiot! Good morning!¡± Gasara and I continued to complain and shouted our morning greetings. Utai stuck her tongue out as if to say, ¡®Did I do it again?¡¯ ¡°What the hell is that guy?¡± The volume of her voice is so loud that it would make a sound system pale. I looked at the sports ground and saw that the club members in their morning practice had also stopped and were upset. ¡°Hm?¡± A group of people wearing tank tops and shorts came out of the gym next to the field. I looked around to see what was going on. ¡°Gasara, what¡¯s with those people?¡± ¡°Hmm? Who?¡± It¡¯s a tightly knit group. Some of them are beastmen. Some of them are wearing bandages on their hands and headgear on their heads. Oh, is that¡­? ¡°Ah, there¡¯s also a guy from my class. I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Boxing club?¡± Well, I¡¯ve seen them borrowing a corner of the gym after school to do strength training before. ¡°This school doesn¡¯t have a boxing ring, does it?¡± ¡°Oh? I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s your second day at the new school. Most of them probably rent a gym in front of the station or something. I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m going to be able to do this, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll be able to do it. ¡°Ah? I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s my second day at this school. They probably rent a gym in front of the station or something. Nowadays, the boxing ranks and professional organizations are separate for humans and beastmen, and there¡¯s no way this school has the financial resources to build two rings for club activities.¡± Well, that¡¯s true. If it¡¯s just based on brute strength, some of the larger beastmen will overwhelm the others, so if we don¡¯t divide them into various groups, the weaker beastmen and humans won¡¯t stand a chance. Huh? Well, how about a demon and a human? There¡¯s not much difference in physique between Prince Atol and me. If there was a difference, it was that he was heavier because he had wings, and because he was humanoid demon, there was not much difference in the reach of his hands and feet. Is it possible¡­? For example, if we wore gloves and headgear, I¡¯ll be much less likely to get hurt. In terms of weight class, I¡¯m at a disadvantage, so it¡¯s easier to offer these conditions. If we just apply the boxing rules as they are, we don¡¯t have to make any detailed decisions. Plus, I¡¯d have a better chance of winning. As long as we¡¯re fighting in the ring and hitting each other with gloves, being able to fly isn¡¯t that much of an advantage. In any case, if he wanted to hit me, he would have to come down to the ground. Yeah, it¡¯s good, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s only healthy if you do it in the form of sport. I can do it! I can do it! ¡°Gasara! Do you know of any boxing gyms around here that can be rented out?¡± ¡°Ah? I don¡¯t know anything about that. Aah, it¡¯s not a gym, but the place we¡¯re renting has a ring for training. My brother made it himself.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it! Rent it out to me!¡± What the hell! Say that kind of thing sooner! ¡°Rent it to you? You¡¯re coming to my house? I don¡¯t mind, but I have to ask my Aniki and Aneki as well.¡± Fufu. I¡¯m getting more and more excited about this. Lately, I¡¯ve been surrounded by people who are stronger than me, so I haven¡¯t had a good time at all! I¡¯m going to take this opportunity to show Jaja and Nana what a cool dad I am! I¡¯m going to be a star in the ring! Chapter 130 - Reason For Fighting (3) ¡°How about it?¡± The morning classroom was sparsely populated. I was in the middle of suggesting a boxing-style duel to Prince Atol, who was reclining back on his chair. Why don¡¯t we compete in a fair and honest duel, in the spirit of sportsmanship? ¡°I don¡¯t mind, because it is the duty of a royal family member to listen to the voices of the people.¡± What are you talking about, you stupid prince? Are you forgetting that you wanted to fight without even asking our opinion? ¡°Yes, it¡¯s very nice to have clear rules. Even if this muscle prince is reckless, the rules will stop him.¡± Kayone, who was standing next to the prince and listening to me quietly, smiled a little and nodded. It was nice to have someone who understood what I was saying. ¡°Is that so, I was afraid you¡¯d say no. I don¡¯t want to do anything too dangerous, you know?¡± A little relieved, I sat down in the seat next to Prince Atol. Whose seat was this? Well, no matter. ¡°Normally we would never set up conditions on a request made by the Sage, who is related to the Dragons. And yet, this idiot Highness. I wonder what your older brothers would say if they heard about this.¡± Kayone stared at Prince Atol with a chilling gaze. When the stupid prince noticed her gaze, a sad expression appeared on his face. ¡°¡­ Kayone, you can¡¯t be thinking of informing my older brothers¡­¡± ¡°Why would I do that? All the members of the family have taken this to heart. It will only make the position of His Highness Atol¡¯s vassals even worse.¡± I¡¯m starting to get left behind, aren¡¯t I? ¡°Hmph! That¡¯s why I said I don¡¯t want anyone other than Grandma Iris serving at my side. I don¡¯t want a vassalage. I can do most things myself, and in fact I did when I was back home.¡± ¡°Are you still talking like that? Please don¡¯t trouble the young apprentice maids by saying so. This morning, they asked for help to stop you from standing in the kitchen.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just saying that I¡¯ll make my own food. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s an old tradition or what, but I don¡¯t think we need a poison tester for food in this day and age. If I cooked my own food, that would be enough.¡± Oh, you can cook? I was imagining you to be another selfish, leave it to others kind of fool. Is this prince unexpectedly family-oriented? ¡°Serving in the kitchen and being a food taster are both noble royal duties. The head of the kitchen and the taster are also serving His Highness at the risk of their own family name. To deprive them of their resolve and pride is not something that one who stands above should do.¡± With her temples twitching, Kayone turned her body toward the prince. Well, it feels like it¡¯s just begun. ¡°Hahaha! Family name! Stop it, stop it! I can see the whole house falling because of me! If you like, I can send you all to Setol. Oh, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be happier to stay with brother Tetol. It¡¯s not the first time I¡¯ve behaved strangely, you know. Older brother will be angry at first, but¡­¡± ¡°Your Highness.¡± Woah. Oh, no. I felt a shiver run down my spine. Kayone interrupted Prince Atol with a short call, and time stopped for the prince and me. No, it felt so tense that I thought it had stopped. A cold look that had a different meaning than before. Her gaze, quiet and sharp with anger, stretched straight towards Prince Atol. Her voice was so heavy that I thought it was a curse, and I felt as if I had been grasped by the heart, even though I had nothing to do with it. ¡°Do you really mean what you just said?¡± ¡°¡­ Ah, if you continue to follow me, Inteira and the other houses will fall as well.¡± Caught by the icy glare of her eyes, the prince turned away and looked at me. Stop, don¡¯t look at me. I don¡¯t want to get involved. I¡¯m having a really hard time staying here right now because I missed my chance to leave. ¡°It¡¯s true. My brother Tetol in Tokyo is busy day and night trying to establish connections with high government officials. I¡¯m sure he¡¯d like to have at least one capable attendant. He also thinks highly of you and Utai. There is no one else at your age who can fully handle medium-grade healing magic, and Utai¡¯s skills as a bodyguard are no different from those of a royal bodyguard. The Inteira family would also be more happy to have a connection with older brother for the future, ya know?¡± ¡°Tetol-sama is already engaged and to be married with three women. All of them are from venerable families, and all of them are excellent. There is no room for me or Utai.¡± Kayone¡¯s expression was as icy as ever. She vaguely resembles Mikuma when she¡¯s so scary. I am not confident that I can stand a chance against a woman in this state. ¡°Yes, there is. If it¡¯s just you, it¡¯s a sure thing, and I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be happy to take in the other vassals too. He is a kind gentleman. Your beloved and dear brother is¡­¡± ¡°¡ª¨C!¡± ¡°Oh, Kayone? Hey!¡± Kayone suddenly stood up and quickly started heading out of the classroom. I cried out in surprise because of her momentum, but she didn¡¯t turn around. She ran down the steps in the classroom and opened the door. ¡°Kayo-san? Are you going to the bathroom?¡± Utai, who was chatting with a girl from the next class in the hallway, was surprised to see Kayone. ¡°Kayo-san! Your Highness! What did you say to Kayo-san!¡± She saw Kayone run off and called out to the prince with an angry voice. ¡°Shut up! If you¡¯re an escort, just silently stand there like one.¡± The prince brushed Utai aside with a curt attitude and gently leaned his chair back. Frowning and crossing his arms, Prince Atol looked out the window in a bad mood. ¡°Oh, come on, Prince. I don¡¯t know much, but I think you¡¯ve said too much.¡± ¡°Hmph, I¡¯m only speaking of the truth. Although Kayone is now forced to suffer the hardships of being married to me by her family, she was originally supposed to be married to Tetol. I don¡¯t know what made her come to me, though. She should have liked him too, she didn¡¯t have to force herself to stay here for anything.¡± What? No, that¡¯s definitely wrong. No matter how you look at it, she¡¯s in high spirits to get married to you. Even I can see that. ¡°Kazamachi-kun, psst~¡± ¡°Oh? Utai called out to me in a quiet voice. When I turned around, she was beckoning me from the classroom door. So she could speak in such a quiet volume? ¡°Uh, well, you should probably apologize to her, because I¡¯m pretty sure that was definitely your fault.¡± For the time being, I suggested that to Prince Atol, and I got up from my seat and headed for the front entrance of the classroom. ¡°It¡¯s none of your business. That¡¯s impolite, commoner.¡± The words that were thrown at my back contained a hint of irritation. I reached the door and stepped out into the hallway, somewhat feeling uncertain by the voice. The class start bell would be ringing in a few minutes, and more and more students were starting to show up. ¡°Where did Kayone go?¡± ¡°She headed towards the stairs. It¡¯s unusual for Kayo-san to leave His Highness¡¯ side. What¡¯s going on? What did His Highness say to her?¡± What¡¯s wrong is with that brother of his, I guess, but it¡¯s not something I should be talking about so easily. I don¡¯t know what to say. ¡°Uh, well¡­¡± I¡¯m at a loss. I don¡¯t know how to explain it. ¡°Is it hard to talk about? Hmm, I can¡¯t leave His Highness¡¯ side even if I wanted to chase after her. Kazamachi-kun, can you go check on her for me?¡± ¡°What, me?¡± What do you want me to do, go after her? I have no idea what to say to Kayone. I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s going to involve love¡­ That¡¯s outside my area of expertise. ¡°Kayo-san tends to take things on herself. I¡¯m worried about her and I don¡¯t think His Highness is going to apologize.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll at least try to find out where she is. Morning homeroom will be starting soon, so until then, okay?¡± ¡°Yeah! Thanks!¡± Hey! Stop yelling all of a sudden! It¡¯s bad for the heart! ¡°Uh, I think Makio will be coming to school soon, so can you tell him what¡¯s going on? I might be late.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± I walked down the corridor toward the stairs, feeling like it was going to become an unexpected hassle, as I was sent off with Utai¡¯s loud voice. Chapter 131 - Reason For Fighting (4) I followed Kayone, asking students along the way. On the first year¡¯s floor, I was mistaken for a mugger. You don¡¯t have to be so scared. ¡°This way?¡± Apparently, Kayone was heading towards the gym. The club students were finishing up their morning practice because homeroom will start soon. I passed a club member in the corridor connecting the school building and the gym, and stopped. ¡°She¡¯s not going to the gym, is she?¡± There must be a lot of club members still in the gym. I don¡¯t think Kayone is the kind of person who acts in a way that is easy to spot. Then how about the courtyard between the main school building and the gym? The courtyard should be empty at this time of day. It would be crowded with students at lunchtime, but no one would be using that place in the morning. I turned off the path in the middle of the corridor and headed for the courtyard. I pass a few girls on their way to the school building. As I pondered asking them if they had seen Kayone, I spotted the person I was looking for. There were six benches surrounding a large tree in the middle of the courtyard. Kayone was sitting on one of them. With a flowerbed full of colorful flowers blooming in the background, she looked somewhat forlorn. What should I do? I came here, but I don¡¯t know what to say to her. There was no way I could come up with something clever, in fact, I might say something strange and step on a land mine. I stopped and watched for a while, and then I heard the first bell ringing from the speakers throughout the school. Kayone didn¡¯t seem to move even though she heard it. I don¡¯t have a choice. Since I came this far, I guess I¡¯ll just skip school too. ¡°Kayone.¡± I¡¯ll just call out to her. There¡¯s no point in hesitating. Kayone, who had been looking down pondering about something, slowly raised her head and looked at me. I¡¯m sure the slow movement is because she¡¯s depressed. ¡°¡­ Kazamachi-sama. What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Nothing is wrong.¡± Kayone looked at me with a weak smile that was not a smile. The areas around her eyes were slightly swollen and her eyes bloodshot. There must have been something in Prince Atol¡¯s words earlier that drove her to this point. ¡°Utai asked me to follow you because she was worried about you and couldn¡¯t leave herself.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a worrier, Utai-chan. I¡¯ll be fine. It¡¯s all¡­¡± Once more the shade fell on her beautiful face, and Kayone cast her eyes downward. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m just reaping what I sow.¡± She muttered with a trembling voice. ¡°¡­ Ah, if you don¡¯t mind, could you tell me about it?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± She looked at me again and was taken aback. ¡°What? Well, I want to know about the prince. Ah, we¡¯re going to have a duel, right? I want to know as much as I can about the enemy, right? It seems like you guys are looking into my situation, and you know, that¡¯s not fair.¡± I don¡¯t know about this excuse? Was it too far-fetched? ¡°¡­ Kazamachi-sama.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Kayone continued to look at me with a puzzled look on her face. ¡°You¡¯re a very bad liar, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­ W-what are you talking about?¡± It was obvious. It seems that it was too forced. ¡°Fufu¡­¡± Putting her hand over her mouth, Kayone laughed elegantly. With her bulging chest and her height, she looked so mature that it was hard to believe she was the same age. ¡°W-what?¡± ¡°No, I was just thinking that your awkwardness is just like His Highness.¡± I don¡¯t like the idea of being compared with that abject prince. ¡°His Highness¡­ used to be kind, too. He was not a good liar, but he was vain, and he was very hardworking and dedicated, and he couldn¡¯t leave someone who was crying alone. That¡¯s the kind of person he was.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I can¡¯t imagine it, as he is now. He¡¯s a pompous and irresponsible guy who frowns and is uncooperative. That¡¯s my current impression of Prince Atol. ¡°We¡¯ve been together since we were very little. Before I could even remember. My mother was His Highness¡¯ wet nurse. We were almost like siblings.¡± ¡°Childhood friends, huh?¡± ¡°Yes, His Highness¡¯ mother became ill after giving birth to His Highness and passed away.¡± ¡­ oh. Well, I suppose we might be similar in that way. ¡°Don¡¯t you think His Highness¡¯ wings are different from ours?¡± ¡°Wings? Now that you mention it, they¡¯re pure white.¡± They¡¯re bat-like wings. While Kayone and Utai¡¯s wings are blackish, Prince Atol¡¯s are pure white. I thought that was just the kind of race he was. ¡°In the Dailan royal family, there is a person who is born with feathers of that color once every few decades. It¡¯s a sign that they have very strong magical power. The royal family members who have had white feathers in the past have achieved great things.¡± ¡°So, does that mean that he has great magic power too?¡± Then why does he despise himself so much? ¡°¡­ Yes. The magic is so strong that even His Highness himself cannot control it.. It¡¯s probably the most powerful power in the history of our country. That is¡­¡± Kayone closed her eyes and looked up at the sky. She put her legs together, and clenched her fists tightly in her lap. She pursed her lips in frustration. ¡°¡­ His Highness is still tormented to this day.¡± Kayone let that out in a shaky voice. New tears pooled in the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill over even now. ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t really understand, what¡¯s the problem with that?¡± I dropped down on the bench, keeping one body length away from Kayone. ¡°¡­ His Highness, who has had power in his body since childhood that even adults cannot control, was like a bomb that could explode at any moment. The magical power that leaked from his body could even harm himself. His father, His Majesty the King, had no choice but to give the newborn His Highness a certain treatment.¡± ¡°As a baby?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± From the grim look on Kayone¡¯s face, I knew that this was no ordinary treatment. ¡°There is an ore on the Sphere Continent that dissipates magic power. It¡¯s called Ajinanka stone, a rare ore similar to iron ore.¡± ¡°Ajinanka¡­¡± Huh? I think I heard that name recently. I¡¯m sure that¡¯s what Alba Germain was talking about, the ore that Jaja and Nana need. I think that¡¯s what it was called. ¡°When His Highness was two months old, he was given a tattoo all over his body, constructed with Ajinanka as a dye. It was the only way to dissipate the magical power that was destroying him.¡± ¡°¡­ two months old. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Of course it wasn¡¯t okay!¡± For the first time, Kayone barked emotionally in front of me. The tears were already flowing clearly from her eyes, and her fists were clenched and shaking. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡¯m a little distraught.¡± ¡°No, no. I was a little too casual about it. Please forgive me.¡± Tattoos made from Ajinanka stone, huh? I don¡¯t think so, but is Alba planning to give it to Jaja and Nana? No, no, that¡¯s not good. Absolutely not. ¡°Well, what happened to the prince with the tattoos?¡± I have to ask. I don¡¯t mean to be rude, but I feel like this is the one thing I need to know. ¡°When he was young, his skin was so sensitive that even a little dust would make his whole body turn red and he would cry all the time. He also developed skin diseases and complications at the same time, and by combining the medical technology here and magic, he was able to survive, but there were times when we were afraid that he might not. There were several times when we were afraid that the environment in the royal capital would be harmful to His Highness¡¯ health, so before he turned one year old, we decided to take him to a lake guarded by the House of Inteira. The scales of the Sea Dragon are submerged there, and the lake has healing properties.¡± The scales of the sea dragon¡­ Does it have that kind of effect? I wondered if the dragon forms of Aoi and Rouge would have any different effects. No, it¡¯s more about the prince now. ¡°After several years of cleansing his body with lake water, he managed to become as fit as a normal person by the time he reached the upper years of his childhood. However, he still needs to purify his body in the lake water once a month for a day or so.¡± ¡°Once a month, how does he¡­ ah, there was transfer magic, wasn¡¯t there?¡± They can just use magic on the way there and take a private plane for royalty on the way back. Comet to think of it, these guys have been absent for a few days at a time. ¡°Serious magic power.¡± ¡°Magic power?¡± ¡°Yes. His Highness¡¯s original magical power was so enormous that the only way to deal with it was to carve a powerful magical mark into his body with a tattoo. However, this is not something that can be finely tuned. As a result, all the magic power was released from His Highness¡¯ body.¡± All the magic power. It¡¯s not really something that clicks for those of us who can¡¯t use magic. ¡°Those of the royal family who were born with white wings have left behind various achievements for generations. The people still have high hopes for Your Highness even knowing his personal circumstances.¡± ¡°But the prince can¡¯t use magic, right? Then¡­¡± He can¡¯t live up to the expectations of the people, can he? ¡°¡­ His Highness has been working hard. The whole time. Even if he couldn¡¯t use magic, he believed that there must be some other way to live up to his expectations.¡± Kayone looked at me and smiled gently. She looked at me as if she were looking at the prince of that time, with nostalgic eyes. ¡°¡­ but it was a cruel thing, His Highness was mediocre in other areas. The other princes had talents that easily surpassed His Highness¡¯s in academics, socializing, domestic affairs, production, and military affairs. It is not that His Highness is inferior to others. But¡­¡± Kayone shut her eyes and took a deep breath. A shuddering breath escaped from Kayone¡¯s mouth. ¡°¡­ Atol-sama worked so hard.¡± It was a weak voice that she managed to squeeze out. It was a sad voice that held back tears, suppressed sobs, and still lost to the air rushing up from her lungs. ¡°He was trying his best. Atol-sama was really trying hard. He was trying to be praised by his father, whom he had only met a few times, and he was trying to be a wonderful prince who could live up to the expectations of his people, that he even neglected sleep every day! He had to endure the pain in his skin! Endure the comments of those around him who were selfishly disappointed! He was trying so hard! And yet! And yet!¡± I completely get it now. Kayone was distraught, her face distorted into a crumpled mess. Her tears overflowed one after another, leaving a large puddle on her clenched fist. All I could do was stare at her, unable to find anything to say. I don¡¯t know what I can say to stop her tears. ¡°Being chosen as the ¡®Servant of the Sea Dragon¡¯ was Master Atol¡¯s first achievement! Training your body! Studying tactics with single-minded devotion! It was the only thing he was proud of that he had finally obtained after years of training and discipline!¡± ¡°The servant of the sea dragon¡­¡± Was that the reason why he wanted to fight me? Yeah, if that¡¯s the only thing I¡¯m proud of, I can kind of understand. He¡¯s got a lot of pride, and he wants a duel with me. I¡¯m sure he felt that he didn¡¯t want to give that up at least. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I lost my composure again.¡± ¡°Ahh. It¡¯s okay.¡± Kayone rubbed her eyelids with both hands and wiped away her tears. As I watched her, I thought about it. I¡¯m sure she really likes the prince. ¡°¡­ His Highness was delighted. After the selection ceremony, he flew straight to the Inteira house and gave me a big smile, proudly saying ¡®Finally¡¯!¡± ¡°¡­ I can¡¯t imagine that from what he¡¯s like now.¡± I recalled Prince Atol, sitting in the back of the classroom with his arms crossed in a pompous manner. The way he sits there looking bored with a frown, doesn¡¯t match what Kayone is saying now. ¡°¡­ The incident took place at the festival celebrating the 40th anniversary of His Majesty the King¡¯s reign. It was a reunion with his father, His Majesty the King, for the first time in years.¡± ¡°The incident?¡± After catching her breath, Kayone dropped her gaze to her feet again. She took a quick breath and slowly looked up. ¡°His Majesty the King said that as soon as His Highness became the ¡®Servant of the Sea Dragon,¡¯ he would lower him to last in line to the right of succession to the throne.¡± Her eyes were filled with nothing but sadness as she said that. Chapter 132 - Reason For Fighting (5) ¡°Here, is milk tea okay?¡± ¡°Ah, thank you.¡± I took out two cans from the vending machine set up by the gym and handed one to Kayone. Kayone took it apologetically. It was my treat for Kayone, who had left her wallet in the classroom and had no money. She was so agitated and cried so much that her voice was raspy. ¡°Shall we go back to class after finishing this?¡± I opened the pull tab of my coffee and asked Kayone. ¡°I understand. I¡¯m sorry for the trouble I caused you. I¡¯ll pay you back in class, okay?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind. It¡¯s a small price to pay for information.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s not possible.¡± You¡¯re so persistent. I don¡¯t need it, so why don¡¯t you just obediently receive it? You¡¯re a serious person. ¡°So what are you going to do with the prince when you get back?¡± You rushed out and left him there. It seems that one of Utai or Kayone must be by the prince¡¯s side. I wonder how they are doing now. ¡°This kind of quarrel has always been common. I don¡¯t think His Highness is that bothered by it, so I think it¡¯ll be normal.¡± It¡¯s a good idea to have a little remorse and apology for making a girl cry. It¡¯s not as if Kayone was at fault. Well, that¡¯s impossible. The prince is too abject. ¡°It¡¯s been a year since he came to Japan, right? He should have recovered a bit.¡± I think it¡¯s amazing that he¡¯s been living in this high school for a year, and he¡¯s been sulky like that this entire time. Isn¡¯t that a little too introverted? ¡°¡­ I¡¯m the reason.¡± She grasped the can with both hands and looked down. ¡°You?¡± ¡°Yes. It was me and the Inteira household.¡± She rubbed her reddened eyes once and looked at me. ¡°As His Highness said earlier, I was not meant to marry into His Highness¡¯ family from the beginning.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s the brother the prince was talking about. He said he was in Tokyo.¡± I honestly don¡¯t remember which brother he is. I mean, there are so many siblings in their stories that it¡¯s hard to remember their names. There¡¯s no way I can remember the names of people I¡¯ve never even met. Ahem. ¡°His Highness, the Seventh Prince, Tetol Ketsa Coateau Dailan-sama. His Highness Atol¡¯s brother who shares the same mother.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± In all honesty, I don¡¯t know why she explained it to me. I don¡¯t even think we¡¯ll ever meet each other. ¡°¡­ From a very young age, His Highness Atol and my marriage was almost a done deal. However, due to the recent succession rights to the throne, Utai and my grandfather, the patriarch of the Inteira household, was desperate for a connection to the royal family, so he broke it off and forced His Highness Tetol and me to get married in order to maintain our connection to the royal family.¡± ¡°Forced?¡± Even though it was in another country, I wondered if it was possible to be so forceful. Well, that¡¯s something that I can¡¯t help, even if I worry about it. ¡°My parents and most of my family were against it. His Royal Highness Prince Tetol is indeed a man of great character, and even though he is a student, he is expected to be a politician, but we, the entire Inteira family, had been watching Prince Atol¡¯s efforts for many years. It would be a terrible thing to give up on His Highness, wouldn¡¯t it? I¡¯m close to His Highness Tetol to a certain extent, but I¡¯ve never even considered marriage.¡± ¡­ No, but you¡¯ve thought about marrying Prince Atol? Hmm. I wonder if he knows. It¡¯s like she¡¯s revealing her fondness for Prince Atol to me. ¡°His Highness already has three fianc¨¦es, and he doesn¡¯t see me as one of them. That¡¯s why His Highness Tetol turned my grandfather down, but¡­ my grandfather wouldn¡¯t give up.¡± ¡°Even though he refused?¡± How can you not know when to give up. You can¡¯t expect it to go well when not only your family members but also the other party refuses. ¡°It is my grandfather¡¯s fault that once he has made up his mind, it is hard to make him give up. That¡¯s why, or perhaps worst of all, my grandfather directly asked His Highness Atol to break off the engagement¡­ to the prince in secret from our family, even lying to him.¡± Instantly, a large crease appeared between Kayone¡¯s eyebrows. She gripped the aluminum milk tea can she was holding so hatefully and so forcefully that the can cracked and crinkled. As I watched that, I felt a familiar chill and backed away. It¡¯s the kind of emotional outburst that Aoi and Mikuma sometimes get, the kind that¡¯s unique to girls. Kayone also emitted the same aura and oppressive feeling, which was honestly very scary. Aren¡¯t the girls around me too scary lately? ¡°Oh, oka¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to ask to break off my engagement to His Highness! What¡¯s more! I¡¯m not a loose, light-headed woman who would enter into a marriage with your brother right after breaking off our engagement! The only connection between me and His Highness Tetol was that we were seniors and juniors at the academy, and he is also His Highness Atol¡¯s older brother! Even if that¡¯s not the case, we only see each other a few times a year, and our words don¡¯t go beyond seasonal greetings and the courtesies of a vassal! What reason is there for me to propose an engagement to His Highness Tetol! You¡¯re the one who believed Grandfather¡¯s inept lie! I¡¯ve been with you for so long, since you were wearing diapers! You should know everything about me! We even bathed together when we were younger, and I was the one who held you and comforted you when you cried because you had wet your bed! We have nothing to hide, as we¡¯ve already played all kinds of embarrassing games, from playing house to playing doctor. What the hell is Atol-sama thinking?¡± ¡°Stop! Stop, Kayone! You¡¯re saying things you¡¯ll regret later! You¡¯re letting your momentum get the better of you.¡± Come back before you can¡¯t take it back! ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I lost my composure.¡± ¡°A-ah, I feel it¡¯s a little late for that. I¡¯ll pretend I didn¡¯t hear you.¡± ¡°My loud voice brought her back to herself, and Kayone¡¯s tanned skin heated up to the point where I could tell at a glance.¡± Holding the now compact aluminum can, Kayone squirmed, ashamed of herself. The black wings on her back were moving loudly as if to hide her embarrassment or something, and kicking up dust in the space in front of the vending machine. What an annoying way to hide your embarrassment. If you do this during the pollen season, you¡¯ll get complaints from the people around you. ¡°So, what happened? Does the prince think you broke off the engagement?¡± Is that why he¡¯s sulking like a child? What¡¯s with him? How dumb. ¡°¡­I can¡¯t even begin to understand how he felt. It must have been a shocking experience for him, and he must have been desperate. The only people of his age who were close to him were myself and Utai, so he must have felt betrayed.¡± Kayone¡¯s voice trembled as her downcast eyes clouded over. You really can¡¯t stop yourself when it comes to the prince, can you? I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s okay to expose your true emotions to someone you¡¯ve only known for a short time, like me. ¡°At first, I tried to deny it gently. But His Highness wouldn¡¯t listen to me at all, and that made me sad, so I started to speak more and more strongly, and now I¡¯ve been abusing him like that, and saying things I never thought I¡¯d say.¡± Ah, what the heck. So that was the reason for Kayone¡¯s poisonous attitude and words towards the prince. ¡°But that¡¯s still a bit much, don¡¯t you think?¡± Like trash bug, incompetent¡­ It wouldn¡¯t have been strange to get punched. ¡°¡­ His Highness, who threw everything away and gave up, is angry with me.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying. ¡°His Highness, who was so apathetic when he was back home, responds to my words. Even if it¡¯s anger or frustration with me, it brings a little bit of energy back to His Highness.¡± Uh¡­ What are you trying to say? ¡°You¡¯re saying that if you make him angry, he¡¯ll respond to you, and that makes you happy, so you¡¯ve been hurling insults at him?¡± ¡°Y-you¡­¡± That¡¯s a little perverse, isn¡¯t it? Even if that¡¯s fine with you, won¡¯t that prince be in a bad mood because of your words and become sulkier and sulkier? No, Kayone is probably aware of this. ¡°That¡¯s a little¡­¡± I was kind of scared of Kayone, so I slowly moved away from her. What¡¯s scary is that Kayone knows about this negative spiral and hasn¡¯t stopped it. She can¡¯t stop it. She¡¯s sick. ¡°A-are you guys okay¡­?¡± The darkness in the prince¡¯s heart may be quite deep, but Kayone¡¯s sickness is also very serious. She loves him too much. It¡¯s too deep, too heavy. What is this? ¡°That¡¯s why! I¡¯m also at fault for what happened in the classroom! Let¡¯s go back like normal! Normally!¡± Kayone must have noticed that I was taken aback because she hurriedly raised her head and acted cheerfully. ¡°Oh, if you say so.¡± Turning around, Kayone heads for the corridor that connects the gym to the school building. I followed after her. ¡°Somehow, I don¡¯t like it¡­¡± My mumbled words were drowned out by the sound of the wind. Chapter 133 - My Uppercut for Your Sake (1) ¡°It¡¯s kind of a sad story, isn¡¯t it?¡± Aoi replied, lathering the soap between her hands. ¡°Hmm. No, I feel sorry for them, but there¡¯s nothing I can do about it, it¡¯s their problem, right? Oh, look, Jaja¡¯s done.¡± ¡°Ah! Mmm!¡± A naked Jaja was flailing about in my arms. ¡°Nana, hooray!¡± ¡°Au?¡± Nana tilted her head in wonder, not quite sure what Aoi was talking about. Disregarding Nana, Aoi put her arms under her armpits and began to wash Nana¡¯s back with her foam-covered hands. ¡°Nana, does it feel good?¡± ¡°Ah, kyakya!¡± Nana was naked like Jaja and sitting in the baby chair for the bath, raised her arms in delight at the sensation of her hands. Without missing a beat, Aoi gently washed her back and the small wings on her back with her experienced hands. Her short, thick, and cute little tail was wrapped around her hips and rested on her thighs. ¡°There, does that feel good?¡± ¡°Uah!¡± ¡°Yes, it feels good, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Nana replied cheerfully, and Aoi responded with a smile. ¡°Mmm! Dah!¡± ¡°No, you were just washed Jaja, weren¡¯t you?¡± Jaja clung to the edge of the bathtub flailing about, looking envious. The water, which was only up to my waist, rippled noisily. It actually hurt a little because Jaja was standing on my lap. It was dusk and we were in our bathroom. It was the twin¡¯s bath time, a blissful time for me. I look forward to the feeling of their skin and watching their reactions to being washed. Jaja¡¯s and Nana¡¯s skin is so springy that the soap glides right over it. The softness unique to babies is extremely soothing. I¡¯m in the middle of spending an indescribably happy moment soaking in the warm water. ¡°Can you do this?¡± ¡°Uu?¡± Nana imitated Aoi by sticking out her chin and raised her head. Aoi immediately rubbed her neck gently. I don¡¯t know what it feels like, but it must feel really good because Nana was giggling. ¡°How nice, I also want to wash Nana too.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. It¡¯ll take too long if Kunpei-san washes and they¡¯ll catch a cold.¡± I know, but¡­ I¡¯m still envious. ¡°Hmm. I agree. I want to try washing the twins too.¡± Rouge was looking at us enviously from outside the bathroom door. ¡°It can¡¯t be helped though. You¡¯ll raise the temperature of the water.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not raising the temperature because I want to.¡± Rouge looked at me and Jaja with a sad face. I¡¯m troubled by that expression, I feel sorry for her, but I can¡¯t trust Rouge to give the twins a bath. It¡¯s really strange, but water that Rouge touches turns into hot water in a blink of an eye. It seems that earth dragons, especially Rouge and other arc dragons, have a very bad affinity with water and can boil a bathtub¡¯s worth of water in about 30 minutes. This is not because of high body temperature, but because of the power that dragon species possesses called ¡°Dragon Qi¡±. Among them, the Arc Dragon has a disposition where they react to water regardless of their intent. It¡¯s not a problem if the water is in a cup or something, because it¡¯s only limited to water that comes in contact with your skin, but in the bath, you¡¯re bound to come in contact with water no matter what. I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯ll have to be satisfied with just looking. ¡°I couldn¡¯t do anything about this, even if I practiced. Or rather, I didn¡¯t pay much attention to it. It¡¯s my mistake.¡± ¡°Ahaha¡­ well, it¡¯s a racial thing.¡± Rouge¡¯s face was as expressionless as ever, and she hung her head gloomily. Aoi smiled bitterly and washed Nana¡¯s body. I¡¯m wearing a bathing suit and soaking in the tub with Jaja in my arms, who was flailing about wanted to be washed. Aoi was also wearing a light shirt and shorts that she didn¡¯t mind getting wet in. I didn¡¯t want to mention the fact that her underwear was clearly visible after being soaked by water in some places. I¡¯ll do my best to avoid it. Please give me a break. I want the twins to live in the same cycle as much as possible, so I try to finish their meals, baths, and naps together. That¡¯s why bathing is a daily event. After all, these two tomboys love to take a bath. Jaja¡¯s reaction is especially amazing. As soon as Aoi starts to prepare the bath towels and pajamas, she would spot them and fly to the bathroom, waiting in front of the bathroom door with glistening eyes. Nana doesn¡¯t like to be washed by anyone other than Aoi, but once she¡¯s in the tub, she¡¯s in it for a while. She seems to feel so good that she doesn¡¯t want to get out of the tub. When I picked her up out of the tub, she shook her head in refusal and bawled. When the two of them start to get obsessed with their bath toys, I can¡¯t handle it anymore. It¡¯s too much for me to take care of by myself. That¡¯s why Aoi and I try to watch the twins during their bath time. Sometimes it¡¯s me and Shouhei, sometimes it¡¯s my dad and Shouhei, but basically, it¡¯s me and Aoi. Otherwise, Nana doesn¡¯t like it. ¡°Nana, can you squeeze your eyes shut?¡± ¡°Mmm!¡± Aoi made a wall around Nana¡¯s forehead with her right hand and washed her hair with her left, trying to keep as much foam off her face as possible. Nana sensed this and closed her eyelids tightly. The twins, who cannot use shampoo hats because of their horns, know the pain of soap getting into their eyes. So when they¡¯re getting their hair washed, they stiffen up and shut their eyes. This is mainly my fault. When I was still getting used to bathing the twins, I must have traumatized Nana by making her cry so much. This is the main reason why Nana doesn¡¯t like to be washed by me. By the way, the shampoo they use is also used as body soap. It is said to contain only natural ingredients, so there is no need to worry even if it accidentally gets into their eyes. The soap is reputed by mothers to be gentle on babies¡¯ hair and skin. This was given to us by a mom who became a friend of Aoi¡¯s while we were living in the shelter. We often meet her when we go shopping, and I heard that the twins are planning to make their debut at the park with her baby soon. I was impressed with how Aoi¡¯s friendships had expanded. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s coming~¡± ¡°Umun!¡± When Nana saw Aoi holding the shower nozzle, she let out a funny sound and squeezed her eyes shut, her whole body tensing up even more. She arched her back, forcing her tail to her chest and leaned forward. The pain of the foam getting into her eyes must have been etched into her memory. I¡¯m sorry, Nana. Aoi put her hand on her forehead to form a wall, just like before, and used the nozzle to wash the foam out of her hair. Nana looked frightened as she hugged her tail. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s almost there. Hang in there.¡± ¡°Do your best, Nana.¡± ¡°Nnnnngh, nnnnngh.¡± Aoi washed the bubbles off her head with a skilful hand, and Rouge cheered Nana on as she watched from behind. Just before Nana couldn¡¯t take it anymore and cried, she finished washing the foam out of her hair. ¡°Yes, well done. You didn¡¯t cry today. You did a great job, Nana.¡± ¡°Fua¡­ au.¡± Aoi smiled as she gently removed the bubbles from her body. Nana wiped the remaining water droplets from her face with her hand and quickly blinked her eyes. ¡°That¡¯s it. There you go.¡± ¡°Au!¡± Aoi picked Nana up from the baby chair and climbed into the bathtub. I bent my legs to make more room in the tub. ¡°Okay, here we go. Look, Jaja, Nana¡¯s here.¡± ¡°Dah!¡± The bathtub was not very spacious, and with me, Aoi, Jaja and Nana together, it was a tight squeeze. Even if I managed to make some space, my feet would still be in close contact with Aoi¡¯s, no matter what. I tell myself that I¡¯m not going to let that happen. That is visible through the transparent shirt same as the swimsuit. I¡¯m strangely conscious about it, and it looks lewd. Calm down, be cool. ¡°We stopped using the baby bath before we realized it, right?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll use it again when they¡¯re older.¡± No matter how careful we were, we still got wet, so recently both Aoi and I started to soak in the bathtub together. It was my fault that I bought a bigger bathtub for the twins. It was too big for the little ones and it would too dangerous for them to use and we would have to watch them. We thought that if we had to watch them anyway, it would be safer if we got in with them, so bath time naturally turned out like this. A baby bath of that size would be useful when the twins can stand and walk. Until then, they¡¯ll be with us. ¡°So, what was it again? About the prince and his wife.¡± ¡°Just fianc¨¦e, they¡¯re not married yet.¡± After skipping morning HR to listen to her personal story, Kayone and I returned to the classroom in the middle of the first period. The story was that Kayone wasn¡¯t feeling well, and I happened to be nearby and was taking care of her. The setting was that she didn¡¯t need to go to the infirmary, but I was worried about her if she was alone, so I stayed with her. Hmmm, that was an excuse that was too much for me. Kayone is a model honors student, and our homeroom teacher knows that Prince Atol is a member of another country¡¯s royal family, so she didn¡¯t say anything even though she suspected me, but if I had been alone, I would have been lectured for sure. One¡¯s daily behavior is important. I¡¯ll do my best, too. ¡°I understand that the prince is a bit pitiful, but¡­ I don¡¯t understand why he would think of duelling with Kunpei-san.¡± ¡°Hmm. I have never been able to understand demons.¡± Aoi, who was sitting across from me, and Rouge, who was sitting on the floor in front of the bathroom, asked me a question. ¡°¡­ Well, I don¡¯t know either.¡± I¡¯ve vaguely noticed something after listening to Kayone¡¯s story. There are differences in the scale of royalty and commoners, differences in positions and relationships, but there is a certain similarity between me and the prince. Losing his mother early in life, and having outstanding siblings. The only thing we have going for us is fighting, and the frustration of not being recognized by the people around us. He is at the mercy of rumors and reputations that have no real substance, and he feels sad that people don¡¯t see the real him. Of course, all of this is incomparable, and I know that the prince¡¯s situation is more difficult. But I felt sympathy, even if only a little. It set off a swirl of dark emotions in me that were hard to describe. ¡°Kunpei-san.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? It looked like you were in in a daze.¡± Before I knew it, Jaja had moved onto Aoi¡¯s lap and was happily playing with Nana and a toy duck. I was so lost in thought that I didn¡¯t even notice it. Aoi was looking at me worriedly. ¡°Kunpei, now that it¡¯s a duel, I don¡¯t recommend that you taking your opponent into consideration. It¡¯s rude to your opponent.¡± Rouge looked me straight in the face and told me with her strong, luminous eyes. ¡°Ah, yeah. I know.¡± Consideration? How stupid. ¡°¡­ Since it¡¯s Kunpei-san, you¡¯re probably feeling sympathy for the prince¡¯s story and thinking about what to do, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°¡­ Well, I feel sorry for him, but I don¡¯t hate people who fight for their own pride.¡± It¡¯s annoying, though. It¡¯s a hundred times better than those who attack you for some trivial reason, like trying to make a name for themselves or to show off their power. Using my past experiences, I would say that the Prince Atol type is the type that if you crush them head-on, they will be satisfied. Strangely, it wouldn¡¯t become more complicated after, rather there will be less trouble. ¡°Hmm, it¡¯s not really sympathy.¡± ¡°What¡¯s troubling you, then?¡± ¡°You¡¯re making a scary expression. I don¡¯t want you to look like that outside if you can help it, it scares the kids.¡± Hey, Rouge, that last part was unnecessary. ¡°Hmm.¡± Looking up at the ceiling of the bathroom, I once again remembered what Kayone had told me about Prince Atol¡¯s past. His mother died early and his father was too busy to take care of him. On top of that, due to his natural constitution, he was forced to leave his parents and spend a long and lonely recuperation period alone. Excessive expectations that he had nothing to do with was forced onto him. He tries her best to live up to them, but due to his natural constitution, his efforts were fruitless. The small pride that he had finally acquired was wiped out by the words of his father, whom he had not seen in a long time. Well, it¡¯s tragic, isn¡¯t it? It seems like there are other reasons, but the fact that Kayone didn¡¯t tell me about them is probably something I don¡¯t need to know. The information I¡¯ve learned is enough to understand Prince Atol¡¯s twisted personality and why he¡¯s so sulky. He worked so hard and worked so hard to get what he wanted, only to be shunned by his father, the person he wanted to be recognized by the most. Yeah. Straying from the right path. Even I would lose my mind. Well, I don¡¯t have that kind of achievement. But I can¡¯t accept Prince Atol¡¯s current attitude. It¡¯s true that Kayone¡¯s words and attitude may be bad. However, her every move towards the prince is, no matter how one looks at it, is out of goodwill. To a stranger who knows nothing about the situation, it might seem like she¡¯s swearing out of loathing, but even I, who knew a little about the situation, could tell. There¡¯s no way that her childhood friend Prince Atol wouldn¡¯t notice. If that¡¯s the case, why is the prince acting like that towards Kayone? I know. It¡¯s just so infuriating, but I get it. After all, it¡¯s exactly the same as I did one day. It¡¯s the same past I¡¯ve been through. In other words, the feeling I had for Prince Atol was disliking people similar to oneself. It¡¯s as if I¡¯m looking at me from a long time ago, when I was just a kid, and I can¡¯t stand to look at him. When Mom was still alive. When Shouhei was too young to speak well. When my father was too busy with his work to keep me company. He¡¯s the same as I was back then when Mom collapsed. That¡¯s why I can guess. The prince is ¡®deliberately¡¯ pushing Kayone away. It¡¯s a rotten, stupid feeling that makes you believe that it¡¯s the right thing to do to keep up a stubborn stance that you know is wrong but can¡¯t back down from. Extreme abjectness. It¡¯s a completely desperate and stupid situation. ¡°Kunpei-san¡­ are you angry, by any chance?¡± ¡°Kunpei, calm down.¡± Do I look that scary? Well, I¡¯m not in a very good mood. ¡°Au?¡± ¡°Dah?¡± The twins must have sensed this, because they swam over to me, flapping their little wings. Yes, these sisters. They can¡¯t walk or stand, but they can swim. They skillfully move their small blue wings on their backs and the short, thick tails and waded through the water with their hands. The doggy paddle is now called the dragon paddle! It¡¯s the most powerful swimming technique, and it¡¯s adorable to look at! ¡°It¡¯s nothing! Here!¡± ¡°Dah! Kyakya!¡± ¡°Au!¡± Jaja and Nana laughed happily when I stopped them with my chest and hugged them. Yeah, that¡¯s right. The duel with Prince Atol is for the sake of the twins. Then there¡¯s no room for me to cut any corners. ¡°¡­ Maybe one hard blow will take the weight off the shoulders.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Kunpei? I muttered to myself, but my words didn¡¯t reach Aoi and Rouge. ¡°Dah.¡± ¡°Fua.¡± But the two girls in my chest nodded at my voice. Chapter 134 - My Uppercut for Your Sake (2) It was after school, and the classroom was basked in a reddish hue from the setting sun. I left my seat after the end of HR and headed towards Prince Atol, who was reclined back in the last row looking pompous. ¡°Prince, may I have a word?¡± ¡°¡­ what?¡± The same irreverent attitude as ever. It¡¯s like the feeling of royalty, but it makes me angry to think that this is the one who¡¯s been sulky ever since I heard Kayone¡¯s story. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s better to wait until after the others have left, or would you like to go somewhere else?¡± I turned and asked Kayone, who was seated in front of the prince with a graceful posture. ¡°Yes, do you mind if we wait a moment?¡± The duel was not something that should be spoken openly about. I had a bad reputation to begin with, and it would cause even more rumors. Besides, it would be a scandal for the prince¡¯s side if they knew that he was picking a fight with someone from another country. ¡°I understand.¡± I nodded at Kayone and sat down on an empty seat nearby. It was the seat of the tiger boy who had scurried off when I approached him. He was a regular member of the soccer team, I believe, with an almost human appearance. I remember that when he introduced himself at the beginning of the semester, he excited everyone in the class by declaring that he would be a regular member of the team by the end of the year. It¡¯s incredible, isn¡¯t it? Beastmen really do come in all shapes and sizes. The tigers in this school alone range from the white tigers who look exactly like bipedal tigers, to the short-haired tigers like the boys in our class who look almost human and have tiger patterns on their faces. In mainland China, where the worlds collided, there are also a few tribes such as the blue-haired tiger and the sabertooth tigers. They¡¯re all the same tiger beastmen, but their appearances can be completely different. Even Gasara of the Lion tribe said that he rarely meets lion beastmen that looks like him. Speaking of Gasara, he told me that I could use the ring at the Paradise siblings¡¯ hideout during lunch break. This way I wouldn¡¯t have to worry about the location or being seen. I¡¯ll have to thank Gasara¡¯s brother, Seijitsu, the sloth beastman, sometime. I wonder what his sister, Nanairo, is like. To be honest, I¡¯m scared of her because she had such a strong impact on me when she saved us during the Tusk Crag Incident. Gasara also said that she¡¯s a power type and a battle junkie. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯ll do if she suddenly wants to fight me like the prince. I don¡¯t think I can win at all. ¡°Kunpei-kun, would it be alright if we intrude on you tomorrow for lunch?¡± Makio came up the stairs from the front of the classroom. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. My dad is really excited about the barbecue, so come hungry, okay?¡± ¡°Haha. As you can see, My sister and I are small eaters. Please go easy on us.¡± Oh, yeah, I almost forgot to talk about it. Tomorrow is Saturday, and we¡¯re having a welcome party for Rouge. I¡¯m actually looking forward to it, since we¡¯ve gathered quite a few people. Makio¡¯s sister, Hina-chan, will be there, and the Saeki siblings and Mikuma will also be staying over. When I get home today, I¡¯m going to be very busy. ¡°See you tomorrow then.¡± ¡°Yeah, see ya.¡± After re-carrying his large backpack, Makio walked down the stairs and headed for the classroom exit. The class president, Rina, a short-haired calico cat beastman was waiting outside the classroom. Unlike the prince and Kayone, these childhood friends don¡¯t seem to have any quarrels or disagreements. They take their textbooks home with them, don¡¯t they? That¡¯s how earnest they are. By the way, I keep everything in my desk. I go to and come back from school empty-handed. Homework? What is that, is it tasty? By the time Makio left the classroom, most of the students had disappeared. I¡¯m sure I¡¯m overthinking this, but I think the fact that I¡¯m still in the classroom is one of the reasons why the others are leaving school earlier. I¡¯m usually the first guy out of the classroom. What the hell. You don¡¯t have to avoid me so blatantly, do you? I¡¯m going to cry. ¡°Hmm. Is that enough?¡± ¡°Yes, I think it¡¯s good now.¡± Once I looked around and confirmed, Kayone agreed with me. Well then. ¡°Just get to the point, I also don¡¯t have the time for this.¡± Prince Atol, who was leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, opened his mouth. You can¡¯t say anything but hateful words, can you? You¡¯re a guy who irritates people in a different way than that Alba rat. ¡°What are you talking about? All you do when you go back to the mansion is muscle training.¡± ¡°What? What¡¯s wrong with that? There¡¯s nothing I can do but work out my muscles, so I¡¯ll do my best to do that.¡± ¡°No, there are many other things. Foreign languages, etiquette, general education and magic studies. You¡¯ll find a lot of things to do if you want to, such as reviewing Dailan¡¯s history and having dinner with emissaries from other countries. What is it with you and your muscles in your spare time? The ceremony to select the ¡°servant of the sea dragon¡± is already over, you know. You need to reduce the amount of martial arts and muscle training you do and start doing other things.¡± It started again. They¡¯re going to leave me behind soon, these guys. ¡°Hmph! I¡¯m sure my older brother and Satol can do better and get the best results even if I don¡¯t do it. Why should I do something when I know I¡¯ll lose!¡± ¡°Are you saying that again, Your Highness, the prince is steeped in a loser¡¯s mentality! It¡¯s not about winning or losing! And if you give up before you even try, you¡¯ll never be able to do it!¡± ¡°Because I know I won¡¯t be able to do it even if I tried!¡± ¡°What are you basing that on¡­!?¡± ¡°Stop! Stop, both of you! Please, wait until I¡¯m done!¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry.¡± My words brought her back to herself, and she hung her head in shame. ¡°Hmph.¡± Prince Atol snorted and looked out the window grimly. Oh god, this sulky prince. If I don¡¯t speak a little bit forcefully, this conversation won¡¯t end anytime soon. ¡°About the duel, if there are no problems with the boxing rules we talked about before, I¡¯d like to have it Sunday. The day after tomorrow.¡± ¡°The day after tomorrow, is it? It doesn¡¯t matter what time it is because we suggested it from our side, but is that okay with you? Isn¡¯t that a bit rushed?¡± That¡¯s not really the case. In fact, I¡¯d rather end it right away because it¡¯s the most excruciating thing to have this pent up feeling inside me. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t care if I win or lose, but I¡¯m the type of person who likes to get troublesome things done first. ¡°No, it¡¯s better for us if we finish quickly. I¡¯ve already picked out the location for the duel, so if you could pick me up on the day, that would be great.¡± ¡°I see. I understand. Then we will prepare the gloves and headgear for you.¡± Ah, that¡¯s good. I was wondering what I was going to do about the equipment. In the worst case, I was thinking of asking the boxing club to rent it. ¡°By the way. How much healing magic can Kayone use?¡± That¡¯s another thing I was worried about. We humans, who can¡¯t use magic, can only imagine the effects of magic tools based on their grade and price. You don¡¯t see natural magic very often, and information doesn¡¯t come to you unless you want to know it. I don¡¯t know how great medium rank magic is. As far as I know, there are only a few demon healers in Japan who can use practical healing magic. I heard that there weren¡¯t even ten healing magicians who were summoned during the ¡°Tusk Crag Incident¡± the other day. ¡°That¡¯s right. If it¡¯s limited to just His Highness Atol and Kazamachi-sama, I can manage lacerations, bruises, bone fractures, internal bleeding, and ruptured organs. If it¡¯s limb amputation or something like that¡­ it¡¯s going to be a little difficult for me to do it alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry to ask, but can you please stop using scary analogies?¡± I just imagined it! If you¡¯re going to get your arms and legs blown off in a fistfight, that¡¯s something close to killing each other! Is it really just a healthy duel? ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, commoner. I¡¯ll take it easy on you. We¡¯ll end this quickly and without any noticeable injuries.¡± ¡°Ahh?¡± What was that? I¡¯m a little pissed off, ya know? ¡°Ah, I see. Going easy. Heh.¡± My temples twitched. This prince is irritating. Just as annoyed as I was with Alba and Gasara a while ago. ¡°I was worried about you, you know. The prince going to school with crutches the next day, it¡¯s too uncool to be a joke, you know? As an insignificant commoner, of course, I would be worried about that, I don¡¯t want to overdo it.¡± ¡°Hoou?¡± A dull glint appeared in Prince Atol¡¯s eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re getting carried away for a commoner, but as someone who survived the selection for the servant of the sea dragon, I¡¯m not going to be defeated by a human with low physical ability and can¡¯t use magic.¡± ¡°Your Highness! That was rude, no matter how you put it! Apologize.¡± Kayone stood up in a hurry. I stopped her with my right hand and approached the prince. What¡¯s with this prince? He¡¯s really pissing me off. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, did I offend you? I¡¯m sorry, I wasn¡¯t brought up well. I should have cushioned my words so as not to offend the prince. I¡¯m reflecting about that.¡± It¡¯s already tit for tat. My thoughts were slowly boiling over, and like a dam that had burst, I hurled my frustration at the prince. The prince¡¯s lips began to twitch. ¡°You¡¯ve got guts, you commoner!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had enough of your attitude! I don¡¯t care if you¡¯re a prince from whatever country, you bastard!¡± We both got up from our seats and grabbed each other by the collar. It¡¯s kind of like d¨¦j¨¤ vu for me. I remember doing something like this just the other day: Ah, like with Gasara. The prince and I glared at each other, so close that I thought the tips of our noses would stick together. ¡°Please calm down! Your Highness and Kazamachi-sama, please calm down! Uta-chan! Utai! Please help!¡± While looking around nervously, Kayone called out for help to Utai, who was not here. ¡°Yes! You called, Kayo-san?¡± You¡¯re quick! You¡¯re here already! Utai, who had been called, came flying through the classroom door. Her voice was as loud as ever. The empty seats rattled and shook. ¡°U-uta-chan! Stop His Highness!¡± ¡°What? There¡¯s no way I can stop His Highness!¡± The prince and I didn¡¯t look away, even though our ears hurt from the sound of Utai¡¯s voice as she ran towards us. ¡°You can look forward to the duel, you commoner.¡± ¡°What the hell. You must be a masochist if you¡¯re looking forward to losing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to make you regret that remark.¡± ¡°I¡¯m giving it right back to you.¡± The tone was calm, but both sides were already heating up. The blood rising to my head was boiling and I felt like steam was going to burst out. This bastard. I¡¯ll make you cry. I will definitely make you cry. ¡°Hmph!¡± The prince was the first to let go. ¡°Kayo! Utai! Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Wait, Your Highness!¡± ¡°Hey! His Highness!¡± The two of them chased after Prince Atol, who descended the stairs in a bad mood. I glared at that while I tried to control my breathing. Calm down. Tomorrow is Rouge¡¯s welcome party. If I go home feeling like this, I¡¯ll make Aoi and Shouhei worried again, and frighten the kids. ¡°Kazamachi-sama! I¡¯m sorry for the trouble we¡¯ve caused you! Please forgive His Highness! We will be coming to pick you up early Sunday morning, I¡¯m looking forward to working with you.¡± With a speed that was unimaginable from her usual demeanor, Kayone bowed deeply and followed the prince, who had gone through the door first without waiting for my reply, out of sight. ¡°Sorry, Kunpei-kun!¡± ¡°Yeah, see ya.¡± I waved my hand at Utai, who apologized in a loud voice, and urged her to go quickly. Utai smiled and ran through the door, just like Kayone. ¡°¡­ Fuuu¡± It¡¯s not like me. I¡¯ve never had such a low boiling point in my life, even though I¡¯ve always been one to buy a fight when it¡¯s sold to me. I knew it, I don¡¯t like him. ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± I mumbled to myself and moved my feet. I hope tomorrow¡¯s party is fun. With that in mind, I left the classroom. Chapter 135 - My Uppercut for Your Sake (3) I used the wooden salad tongs to serve the salad onto the plate. ¡°Mikuma, is this okay?¡± ¡°Yes. Thank you, Kunpei-kun.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Do you want some salad, Hina-chan?¡± ¡°Ah, um, um! Just a bit!¡± You don¡¯t have to be that flustered. The girl with the black hair and hime cut, Kusaka Hina-chan¡¯s face turned bright red as she held out a paper plate to me. ¡°I made the salad and fried chicken today! I¡¯m so proud of the work that even Shouhei-san praised me!¡± ¡°Hmm. She was making a fuss over the splashing oil. It was fun to watch.¡± Aoi was holding Nana in her arms and beaming, when Rouge, standing next to her, said something unnecessary. Don¡¯t do that, she¡¯s really smug about it. ¡°Ru-anesama! You don¡¯t have to say that!¡± ¡°But you¡¯ve gotten really good at cooking, haven¡¯t you, Aoi-neechan? At first, it was really just baking and boiling.¡± Shouhei, who was preparing drinks at the kitchen counter, followed Aoi. You really did your best, didn¡¯t you, Aoi? I was honestly surprised that someone who didn¡¯t even know how to use a knife could learn to make fried chicken at home in just a few months. It¡¯s partly because Shouhei is an excellent teacher, but it¡¯s also because of Aoi¡¯s tireless efforts. ¡°Makio wants some salad, right?¡± I asked Makio, who was sitting on the sofa in the dining room, playing with Jaja on his lap. ¡°Yes, thanks.¡± ¡°Dah!¡± Jaja is not afraid of the unfamiliar Makio and laughed happily as he tickled her. Jaja is really friendly. Nana can still only be held by family members or Yuri-san, while her twin sister is adorable and spoiled by many people. I put the salad on a paper plate for Makio and put it at the end of the table. I put the salad tongs together and headed for the living room window. ¡°Dad, Koji. We¡¯d better get started.¡± Through the window, I called out to my father who was working in the garden and Koji who was watching him with interest. ¡°Oh. I¡¯m ready to go, too. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve touched a barbecue set, so it took me a while.¡± ¡°Nyaa.¡± The barbecue set that my father had worked so hard to set up since this morning was the one I washed last night after taking it out of the closet. It hadn¡¯t been used for a long time, so it was rusty and covered with dust. I think the last time we used it was when my mom was here. The charcoal that Rouge had lit for us was red hot under the grill. ¡°Hey, most of the people here are girls, can we really have a barbecue?¡± It wasn¡¯t my intention, but the percentage of girls in this house was over 70%. The only guys in the house are me, Shouhei, my dad, Koji and Makio. ¡°Don¡¯t be stingy at the welcome party, it¡¯s unseemly. Don¡¯t worry about it. Rouge-chan will eat it anyway.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure Rouge will be fine with it.¡± It¡¯s not that I¡¯m stingy. That taciturn dragon. Even though she has such a slender body, she¡¯s a big eater. I wonder where the hell it all goes. ¡°Ni.¡± Saeki¡¯s younger brother, Koji tugged at the hem of my clothes and pointed at the table. ¡°Hmm? Ah, the cake? That¡¯s for after the meal.¡± In front of his finger was the whole shortcake that he had just bought with Koji, Shouhei and Hina. I thought the little ones would enjoy it the most, so I let them choose. Hina-chan, who knows a lot about sweet treats as a girl, recommended this place, and after spending a lot of time agonizing over it, we ended up settling on a strawberry-filled shortcake that was sure to be delicious. Rouge, the star of the day, and surprisingly, Aoi, also said they¡¯ve never had cake before. So it would be best to introduce them to something more orthodox. Shortcake is the king of cakes, right? ¡°Kou-chan, it¡¯s too early for cake, no matter how you look at it.¡± ¡°Nyeeh!¡± Koji¡¯s tail and ears drooped and his shoulders slumped as Shouhei scolded him over the counter kitchen. ¡°Nihehe, you made him angry idiot Koji.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t just lie around Ichika-chan, come and get your own plate.¡± Mikuma called out from the table to Saeki, who was lying down in the twins¡¯ playground in the dining room. ¡°You¡¯re making her angry too, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Nishishi!¡± Koji laughed at my tsukkomi. ¡°Don¡¯t laugh, Koji!¡± ¡°Nyaa!¡± Saeki stood up and lightly smacked Koji in the head. Don¡¯t be so quick to make a move just because you¡¯re embarrassed. These siblings violence is really no good. ¡°Kunpei-san, I¡¯m ready over here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay too.¡± Shouhei, our head chef, and Aoi, our sous chef, gave us the go-ahead. Okay, let¡¯s get started. ¡°Makio, I¡¯ll take care of Jaja.¡± ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Wow, what a reaction. Papa is the best after all, isn¡¯t he?¡± When I extended my hand to Jaja, who was sitting on Makio¡¯s lap, she smiled and opened her arms to me. I put my hands under her arms and picked her up, and she flapped her wings to express her joy. The tip of her short tail moved to wrap around my arm, but it¡¯s not long enough to reach me. ¡°Aren¡¯t you glad big brother Makio played with you?¡± ¡°Au, fuah!¡± Ah, I see, you had such a good time. She¡¯s so cute. ¡°I¡¯m used to babysitting Hina, you know. It¡¯s worthwhile to play with Jaja because she¡¯s always happy no matter what I do. Hina was crying all the time.¡± ¡°Ah, onii-chan! How long ago are you talking about? Don¡¯t say anything embarrassing!¡± Hina shouted accusingly at Makio from the other side of the table. That¡¯s nice. It¡¯s starting to feel like a party, isn¡¯t it? Well, here we are, today is Saturday. It was the day of Rouge¡¯s welcome party, organized by my father. The living room and dining room of our house were crowded with many guests, unlike usual. Mikuma, the Saeki siblings, Hina-chan, and Makio. Even Yuri-san and Officer Doggy were there, ready for a toast. My father was in the garden preparing the barbecue. Shouhei and I were the hosts of the party, preparing the food and drinks. ¡°Kazamachi-san, is it really okay for us to join in?¡± ¡°Yes. It seems like the age group is quite young. Don¡¯t you think Mom and I look out of place?¡± Yuri-san and Officer Doggy, who were sitting around a low table, were smiling bitterly with troubled faces. ¡°What are you talking about? Of course it¡¯s okay. Yuri-san and Doggy-san are almost like family members. Please don¡¯t hesitate to make yourself at home.¡± My father replied with a big smile on his face. Well, I took it for granted that Yuri-san and Doggy-san would be partying with us. Yuri-san is like a grandmother to Jaja and Nana, and Officer Doggy is one of the few people they have known him they were born. The little ones¡¯ unreservedness towards Yuri-san is almost like that of a family member. ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Nana, this is our cup, you can¡¯t have it.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, Nana, it¡¯s the usual apple juice.¡± Shouhei¡¯s tray was lined with cups containing enough cola for everyone. Perhaps intuiting that the mysterious black liquid that appeared on the table was something delicious, Nana reached hard from Aoi¡¯s chest and tried to grab a cup. ¡°Nii-chan sorry. The miniature baby bottles in the kitchen are Jaja and Nana¡¯s apple juice, okay?¡± ¡°Oh, Dad¡¯s okay with a beer, right? What about Yuri-san and Officer Doggy?¡± I walked to the kitchen with Jaja in my arms and took a can of beer out of the refrigerator while I was at it. ¡°Ah, can I have a beer, too?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t drink too much. Kunpei-kun, I¡¯ll just have a cola.¡± ¡°All right. Here, Dad.¡± I took another beer from the fridge and pushed the door closed with my hips. ¡°Oh.¡± After happily accepting the two bottles of beer, my dad went to deliver them to Officer Doggy. ¡°Yuri-san, here¡¯s your cola.¡± ¡°Thank you, Shouhei-kun.¡± After receiving the cup from Shouhei, Yuri-san turned her body to the dining table as she sat down. ¡°Aoi, for Nana.¡± ¡°Here you go, Nana. Say thank you to papa?¡± I handed Aoi the miniature baby bottles that were lined up in the kitchen. Aoi took the bottle with the plastic handle and placed it in Nana¡¯s small hand. ¡°Unaa¡± What¡¯s with the thank you? It¡¯s super cute though. Nana happily grasped the miniature baby bottle with both hands, said a few words, and started drinking the apple juice with a great speed. ¡°Here, this is Jaja¡¯s.¡± ¡°Baa!¡± I gave Jaja the miniature baby bottle in the same way. Oh, oh. It¡¯s easy to see she¡¯s so happy. ¡°Now everyone has a glass, right? Okay, then.¡± He popped the pull tab on the beer can and stood up imposingly. ¡°Thank you all very much for coming here today! If it¡¯s too long, it¡¯ll get annoying, so I¡¯ll keep it short.¡± Everyone looked at my father. Jaja and Nana were looking at him with a sideways glance with the miniature baby bottles in their mouths. ¡°Welcome, Rouge! Cheers!¡± ¡°Cheers!¡± We all shouted a toast in unison, and each of us raised our glasses above our heads. I looked at Rouge, the star of today¡¯s event, and she was looking at everyone with an unusually troubled expression. ¡°Ru-anesama, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°NguNgu.¡± Aoi examined Rouge¡¯s expression along with Nana, who was drinking the juice wholeheartedly. Rouge turned her head slightly away from Aoi and squeezed the glass in her hand. ¡°I¡¯ve never done anything like this before, and I¡¯m happy and, well, a little embarrassed.¡± Rouge replied in a fidgety whisper. When we saw that, we couldn¡¯t stop grinning. ¡°Here you go, Rouge. Eat up.¡± ¡°Ru-neechan. There¡¯s plenty to go around, okay?¡± ¡°All right! Now, I¡¯ll grill the meat!¡± ¡°Nii!¡± ¡°Koji! You can watch uncle, but don¡¯t get in my way!¡± ¡°Rouge-san, please sit over here.¡± Rouge¡¯s face turned bright red as she was spoken to all at once. ¡°U-un. Thanks¡­¡± She sat down in the chair Mikuma had pulled out and said thank you while keeping her face down. ¡°Do you want some salad, Rouge-oneechan?¡± ¡°Yes. Thank you, Hina.¡± She took the plate from Hina and faintly smiled. Huh? It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen her smile, isn¡¯t it? She has a dangerous expression when it comes to Jaja and Nana, but other than that, her face had always been expressionless. ¡°Kunpei-san.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Aoi whispered to me. ¡°Ru-anesama has never been able to talk or play with anyone much. Since she came to this house, she really seems to be enjoying herself every day.¡± Rouge sat at the table, and Mikuma, Saeki, Shouhei, Hina-chan, and Makio surround her. Aoi looked at such a scene with compassion. ¡°I was the same way. Maybe that¡¯s the only way dragons can live. But¡­¡± Leaning her head against mine, Aoi closed her eyes. ¡°Kunpei-san changed me. He changed me and Ru-anesama. Jaja and Nana too. ¡­Kunpei-san is a really kind and wonderful person.¡± Her voice, so quiet that it was almost drowned out by the voices around her, was filled with so many emotions as it echoed gently in my ears. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t really do anything though.¡± All I did today was buy groceries and clean. ¡°Fufu, you really don¡¯t get it, do you?¡± ¡°Get what?¡± What else did I do? ¡°No. If you don¡¯t understand, it¡¯s okay not to understand. Maybe that¡¯s just the way you are, Kunpei-san.¡± ¡°What¡¯s with that?¡± I looked at the garden and saw my father drinking beer while grilling meat. Koji was watching next to him, while Yuri-san and Officer Doggy were sitting by the window talking about something. At the dining table, Rouge and the others were enjoying their food, while Jaja and Nana were still engrossed in their juice. ¡°Aoi.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Aoi raised her head and looked at me. ¡°No, I just wanted to call your name.¡± ¡°What¡¯s with that?¡± Really, I just wanted to call out to you for some reason. Aoi laughed and went to the dining table. That¡¯s right, I just wanted to try calling out to you. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll answer. The person next to me responds to me. I¡¯m too embarrassed to say that I¡¯m very happy about such a natural thing, so please just leave it at that. ¡°¡­That stupid prince needs to be made to understand.¡± I mumbled something to myself that no one else could hear. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll go toe-to-toe with the prince. It¡¯s amazing how much a person can be saved just by having someone by their side to support them. He doesn¡¯t realize that. That¡¯s why he¡¯s trying to keep Kayone away from him. I¡¯m sure that Kayone is the person who understands him the best. Jaja and Nana. Shouhei and father. Aoi, Mikuma and Rouge. Saeki and Koji, Makio and Hina-chan. Yuri-san and Officer Doggy. I¡¯m finally able to stand here with the support of so many people. The happiness I¡¯ve found and what he¡¯s trying to give up may be the same thing. Let¡¯s find out tomorrow. Chapter 136 - My Uppercut for Your Sake (4) The car my father was driving was about to finish climbing a long hill. Sitting in the passenger seat, I checked the scenery around me as I unbuckled my seatbelt. ¡°Is this the right place?¡± My father asked me as we pulled into a large space. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s right here.¡± I pointed to in front of the car. There was a person we recognized standing there. ¡°Welcome! Friends of Gasara!¡± With her long, colorful hair bobbing in the air, Nanairo-san, the lone woman of the Paradise siblings, a bird beastman, welcomed us with open arms. ¡°Thank you for today, Nanairo-san. Where are Gasara and Seijitsu-san?¡± ¡°They¡¯re working on the ring! Tightening the ropes and stuff!¡± One night after Rouge¡¯s welcome party, we¡¯re visiting a house a short distance from our home. The house in front of us was a battered bungalow. This seems to be the Paradise siblings hideout, where Gasara and them sleep. It was on a small hill not far from the expanded Tusk Crag dungeon and the surrounding forests could be seen with a glance. From here, they can quickly respond to any problems that may arise. It¡¯s also close to the community center where the treasure hunters are camped, so it¡¯s a good location. ¡°You¡¯re going to have a duel? I¡¯m jealous!¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t really want to fight in a duel¡­¡± ¡°I wish we could fight each other to the bitter end sometimes! Aniki doesn¡¯t let me fight very often! Gasara¡¯s not enough and I can¡¯t hit Aniki!¡± Battle junkies are scary. I¡¯m really glad that Seijitsu-san is holding the reins of this woman. If Nanairo was left unchecked, all the Yankees in this town would be in the hospital by now. ¡°Well then! The ring is ready at the back of the hideout! I¡¯ll also go and help!¡± With that, Nanairo-san turned towards the bungalow and ran off. She¡¯s such a restless person. ¡°Kunpei-san, are you sure those people are okay¡­?¡± I got out of the car and Aoi followed me out of the back seat. Aoi still had some misgivings about the Paradise siblings, so I could understand her concern. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Jaja and the others are staying at home, so there¡¯s no problem, right?¡± I can¡¯t let them see what I¡¯m about to do. I want the twins to grow up as peacefully as possible. ¡°But I¡¯m worried about¡­No matter how strong Kunpei-kun is in a fight, your opponent is a demon.¡± Mikuma came out from the door on the other side of the car. Saeki and Mikuma have been staying at our house since last night. Saeki, Rouge and Shouhei stayed at home with Jaja and Nana. The anxious Mikuma and Aoi insisted on chaperoning me. Actually, it was supposed to be just me and my dad. To be honest, the chances of winning weren¡¯t that great, and I didn¡¯t want to show them my unsightly side. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. That¡¯s what the boxing rules and witnesses are for.¡± I replied, trying to reassure the two that had depressed expressions. The prince and I are amateurs, to be frank, and I don¡¯t think we can abide by the rules of boxing no matter how much we apply them. That¡¯s where Nanairo-san and Seijitsu-san come in. With two professional treasure hunters that are two of the best in the business as witnesses, I could worry a little less. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re good at what they do, and they¡¯re a lot stronger than I am. If the prince is strong enough to surpass these two, it will be over in an instant. Then that would be the least of my worries. ¡°But I¡¯m still worried¡­ The Sea Dragon¡¯s servant, it¡¯s almost like he¡¯s a soldier¡­¡± ¡°Yeah. I was surprised, I didn¡¯t know the ceremony was a street fight that would last for three years.¡± As Mikuma, the brain of our family, found out, the ritual of selecting the ¡®Sea Dragon¡¯s Servant¡¯ that has been going on for a long time in Dailan was a fierce one. This was a traditional ceremony held once every ten years in Dailan. The main event of the Sea Dragon Festival. The duration is three years. It is a battle royale where anything goes, except murder, many-to-one, and the use of weapons. Participation is limited to males over the age of ten, regardless of status if they wish to participate, and no one can stop them. The ritual takes place all over Dailan. The participants wear a single golden bracelet on their right arm and go about their lives as normal. The ritual begins when the participants find each other, whether in town or anywhere else, even if it is at bedtime or in the bathroom. Those who disable their opponents by means that do not violate the aforementioned rules can take their bracelets. This is repeated endlessly. Only those who have collected five bracelets by the end of the last six months are eligible to participate in the main tournament, which starts with a festival held in the royal capital of Dailan. In the same way, the main competition uses the entire capital of Dailan and follows the same format. The festival does not end until the last person is selected. It is a violent ritual where the last person to win will be awarded the honor of being the ¡®Sea Dragon¡¯s Servant¡¯ for life. In other words, the title of a fierce warrior chosen over a period of three years. That is the honor of being the ¡®Sea Dragon¡¯s Servant¡¯, the pride of Prince Atol. It¡¯s not uncommon for a man to live a life of care every day and still win. ¡°I looked into it more carefully, and found that the rules were based around magic, yet the prince won without using any, right? He¡¯s probably very strong.¡± As Mikuma says, there¡¯s no need to guess, he should be strong. What I felt before about the prince, that he had the air of a fierce fighter, was right on the money. If he spent three years of his life fighting, he would be strong. Unlike me, who was just a punk from the streets, the people the prince fought were all warriors with determination and purpose. And if he could use magic on top of that, it would be too rude to compare him to the average Yankee. ¡°If the boxing rules work well, maybe there is a chance of winning.¡± My father said as he pulled the baggage out of the trunk. I¡¯m not so sure about that. I don¡¯t know, I¡¯m starting to think it¡¯s going to work against me. ¡°But we have to win, right?¡± It¡¯s really depressing, but there¡¯s a reason I can¡¯t lose. For the sake of Jaja and Nana, I absolutely had to go to the Sphere Continent. We can go there even if we don¡¯t win, but the reward for winning is the flight home, which is absolutely essential. Given our financial situation, we can¡¯t afford a plane ticket no matter what we did. ¡°Oh, um¡­ If it comes down to it, I can just go myself. You don¡¯t have to go out of your way to do anything dangerous, Kunpei-san.¡± Aoi made a long face and gently touched my right arm. ¡°We¡¯re in trouble because you can¡¯t do that. It would take you a week to fly there, right? Even if you can get home faster, how are you going to feed Jaja and Nana in the meantime? Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t do anything rash.¡± I patted her head roughly because she seemed like she would start crying if I left her alone. Aoi¡¯s fine hair is so pleasant to the touch it¡¯s almost addictive. ¡°Ugh¡­ But I still don¡¯t want Kunpei-san to get hurt¡­¡± Hmmm. I don¡¯t like it either, but¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t really trust Kunpei-kun¡¯s words about not being rash¡­ you don¡¯t have much credibility, you know?¡± Mikuma grabbed the other left arm. ¡°No, that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°You tend to be especially reckless when it comes to the twins, aren¡¯t you?¡± I can¡¯t deny that. As for this time, that rat is going out of his way to explain the situation. It must be very important to the twins that Alba, who always tells us important things, left a letter asking us to come to the sphere continent. Then I¡¯ll do what I can to help. ¡°That¡¯s what¡­ I think too, but¡­ The most important thing is for Kunpei-san to be next to Jaja and Nana, okay?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m sure the twins don¡¯t want to see their dad injured.¡± Oh. The worried stares coming from both sides of me are really hurting me. I know. I know. ¡°You three, you can flirt all you want, but¡­ don¡¯t you think it¡¯s time for you to help your father?¡± Oh, I forgot about my dad. He was holding all the luggage. Sorry, sorry. ¡°Ah! I¡¯m sorry, father-in-law!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll help you now!¡± Aoi and Mikuma hurriedly rushed over to my father. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô I carried my luggage around to the back of the bungalow and found Gasara and Seijitsu-san in their jerseys rampaging around in the ring. ¡°What are you doing?¡± I asked Nanairo, who was watching the fight with her head on the ropes. ¡°It was a final check. They should have called me, but they started on their own. How boring.¡± Nanairo-san looked at Gasara and Seijitsu-san. Is that a knife in Gasara¡¯s right hand? No, but it¡¯s kind of black. Ah, it¡¯s made of rubber. The soles of his shoes make a squeaking sound against the ring mat, and with a nimble step, he thrusted, cleaved, and swiped the black knife at Seijitsu-san. In contrast, Seijitsu-san used his bare hands to deal with all of them, and even from the sidelines, it was obvious that he was cutting corners. At any rate, he was only using one hand. ¡°That looks fun, how nice. I wonder if I should join in.¡± Nanairo-san muttered something terrifying as she shook the rope. Please stop. If you go out of control, the ring you¡¯ve prepared will be destroyed. ¡°Ah.¡± I don¡¯t know if they heard Nanairo¡¯s scary mutterings or not, but the two men rampaging in the ring seem to have reached an end. Seijitsu-san flicked away Gasara¡¯s black knife with his hand and went straight for a thrust to his midsection. The flow of the movement was so fast that it was over almost instantly. ¡°You let your guard down, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Ugh, ugh. Sorry, Aniki¡­¡± He stopped just before he hit his midsection. Gasara, who was soaked with sweat, let out a groan. Seijitsu-san¡¯s entire body was covered in hair as well, but he didn¡¯t even break a sweat. ¡°Fuh¡­ w-e-l-c-o-m-e. T-o o-u-r h-i-d-e-o-u-t.¡± Oh, the sloth switch is on. Seijitsu-san took a deep breath and turned to us. He walked up to the rope with a cute little step and slowly dived under it. Gasara was slumped in the middle of the ring, breathing heavily. He must have been beaten up pretty badly. I¡¯ve learned over the past month at the shelter that this irritatingly slow and gentle voice of Seijitsu-san is his true self. When he gets serious or when he needs to, he suddenly becomes quicker and his voice becomes sharper. The signal for this change is the look in his eyes. Normally, he has sleepy eyes that look as if they might not even be open, and they are dull, reminiscent of a small animal, but they become stern, as if he were a different person. Then his movements were so sharp, like a gust of wind, that I couldn¡¯t possibly catch them. ¡°Ah, thank you for today. I look forward to working with you.¡± I can¡¯t help but naturally use honorifics with this person and Nanairo-san. Nanairo-san is simply scary, but I respect Seijitsu-san because of the work I saw him do during the Tusk Crag incident and his strength. I can only praise him for his leadership of the treasure hunters, many of whom are roughnecks, and his skill in the field, as expected of an A-class hunter. At first, I was baffled by the gap between the Seijitsu-san of that time and the normal Seijitsu-san. When he¡¯s not doing anything, he doesn¡¯t move a muscle, so much so that you wonder if he¡¯s really alive. ¡°Yeah, much obliged.¡± My father handed the plastic bag in his right hand to Seijitsu-san. ¡°We had a barbecue at our house yesterday, and I¡¯m sorry to bring you some leftover meat and vegetables. Please eat up quickly.¡± My father and Seijitsu-san had become very close during their stay at the shelter. On the one hand, he was the head of the evacuees¡¯ fathers group. On the other hand, he was the manager of the treasure hunters. They had many opportunities to talk. ¡°T-h-a-n-k y-o-u.¡± ¡°Meat! Yay!¡± Nanairo-san interrupted Seijitsu¡¯s words and snatched the bag. No, don¡¯t snatch the bag. He¡¯s definitely going to be angry later. ¡°Gasara. Are you alive?¡± ¡°Shut up, you idiot¡­¡± Isn¡¯t your mane a little too moist? His fluffiness, the charm point of which he was so proud, was now nowhere to be seen. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you¡­¡± Aoi and Mikuma greeted them in the back. Ah that¡¯s right, Mikuma had never met them before, right? Those two kept a distance away. Well, they¡¯ve always been the shy type, and I don¡¯t have to tell you about Aoi anymore. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you! Huh? Are the little ones not here today?¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m keeping them at home. You know, they¡¯re going to be beating each other up.¡± ¡°Hmm. That¡¯s true! That strong sister of yours as well?¡± ¡°Yes, Rouge is also staying at home.¡± I can¡¯t let them stay at home without Rouge. By the way, Nanairo-san doesn¡¯t know that Aoi, Rouge, and the twins are dragons. According to Gasara, ¡°My sister talks without thinking too much, so it¡¯s better not to tell her. I¡¯m sure she won¡¯t, but just in case,¡± he said, explaining the situation only to Seijitsu-san and not to Nanairo-san. Even so, Nanairo-san, a hardcore battle junkie, seems to have sensed Rouge and Aoi¡¯s strength with her wild intuition and has taken a liking to them both. She¡¯s really scary. ¡°Is that so? What a shame!¡± It¡¯s not a shame at all. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve been planning to fight her every chance you get. ¡°Kazamachi, we have some time left. You can warm up in the hideout. We¡¯ve got all kinds of equipment.¡± Lifting his large body, Gasara pointed to the bungalow. ¡°Ah, sorry about that. I¡¯ll go change.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll get some exercise too. I haven¡¯t been getting enough exercise lately. Is that okay?¡± My dad brought a change of clothes, too. ¡°G-o a-h-e-a-d.¡± ¡°If you like, I can be your partner! Uncle looks pretty strong too!¡± Nanairo-san¡¯s eyes sparkled as she drew near father. ¡°Haha, stop it. How can an old man beat a youngster?¡± Is that so? I have a feeling that my father would have done well, but I wonder if that¡¯s just me favoring my family. ¡°What a shame! Oro? I hear a car.¡± Hmm? I don¡¯t hear anything. I tried to listen carefully, but all I could hear was the sound of birds from the surrounding forest and the noisy chorus of cicadas. ¡°It¡¯s because Aneki¡¯s ears are abnormal. I think the prince is here.¡± Gasara replied, leaning against the top rope of the ring. What kind of hearing do you have to be able to distinguish the sound of a car in the distance from all this noise? ¡°Ah, she¡¯s right. It¡¯s the sound of a car.¡± Aoi put her hand to her right ear and closed her eyes. Why can¡¯t I hear it? ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô ¡°I¡¯m sorry to keep everyone waiting.¡± ¡°Hello!!!¡± Kayone and Utai were the first to emerge from the limousine doors. Kayone bowed respectfully with both feet together, while Utai raised her right hand and greeted us with an unnecessarily loud voice. A large number of birds took off from the surrounding forest at once, and Utai¡¯s voice echoed in the sky far away. Don¡¯t bother the wild birds. ¡°You¡¯re so energetic! Ya pipsqueak with big breasts!¡± ¡°Yes! Nice to meet you, bird beastman onee-san! My name is Utai Ketsa Inteira!¡± ¡°I¡¯m Nanairo Oohashi!¡± ¡°Wow! What beautiful feathers! It¡¯s so lovely!¡± ¡°Oh? That¡¯s so nice of you to say! I know!¡± Oh no. The combination of Nanairo-san, who has always been light-hearted and talkative, and Utai, who is constantly exploding with energy, is noisier than I imagined. They seem to be hitting it off, so I¡¯m going to step away for a bit. My eardrums are about to burst. ¡°¡­ fuh, it¡¯s a dingy place.¡± ¡°Hey, prince.¡± I raised my right hand in greeting to Prince Atol, who was getting out of the limousine with a grumpy look on his face, saying something rude at the start. ¡°Don¡¯t greet me so familiarly. We¡¯re going to be beating each other up, you know?¡± Well, I guess that¡¯s true. But we don¡¯t hate each other to the point of killing each other. We¡¯re just a little pissed off at each other. I think it¡¯s okay to at least to greet each other. ¡°Kayone. Utai. I¡¯m going to change my clothes. Where is my luggage? Where am I going to change?¡± ¡°Please wait, Your Highness. I must thank the treasure hunters for giving us the location earlier.¡± ¡°Your Highness! Wait!¡± Kayone and Utai chased after the prince, who crossed his arms and strode toward the bungalow. Ugh, selfish. ¡°Kunpei, you better get dressed and up too. Don¡¯t forget to stretch.¡± ¡°Oops, got it, got it.¡± My father hurried me to the bungalow, too. My dad is supposed to be my cornerman. He¡¯s supposed to be my trainer, so to speak. I should follow his instructions. I don¡¯t get the vibe that we¡¯re about to have a duel at all. I wonder why. From now on, the prince and I are supposed to beat the crap out of each other until one of us admits defeat, but there¡¯s no sense of tension. ¡°Kunpei-san, here is your change of clothes.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll wait here for you, okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks.¡± I received the backpack from Aoi in front of the door of the bungalow and went through the door with Mikuma seeing me off. It was a big room that was not very clean, with a couch and a TV roughly placed in it. There were four doors in a row at the back, this seemed to be the living room. ¡°Oh, you can change in my room. No shoes allowed in my room. And don¡¯t touch anything you don¡¯t need. There are expensive magic tools in there. I took the prince to my brother¡¯s room first.¡± ¡°Ah, thanks.¡± Gasara, still moist with sweat, pointed to the rightmost of the four doors. ¡°The match starts in an hour, my sister and I will call you, so do what you want until then. I¡¯m going to take a bath.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± A bath. With that much fur, I wonder what would happen if he took a bath. What if his body was more slender than mine? No, that guy was a power type. He looks like he works out a lot, so is he as muscular as he looks? I opened the door, thinking about such trivial things. Now, I¡¯ve got to get motivated before the match starts. Chapter 137 - My Uppercut for Your Sake (5) From the time I was in the upper grades of elementary school until I moved to this town, the world in which I, Kazamachi Kunpei, lived, was very small. I¡¯m not talking about the town where I was born and raised, but about the range of activities that a person like me can do. No matter what I did, my reputation would follow me around, and my ¡°true character¡± as a real person would be twisted and spread. If I helped a classmate who was being extorted on the street, somehow it will become I asked for a larger sum of money after saving them. If I reached out to a girl who was in trouble because of a persistent pick-up artist, a rumor quickly spreads that she was forcibly taken to a hotel in return for my help. If I approached someone who was being bullied excessively, a rumor would spread throughout the school that I was overseeing the bullying in the shadows. The reason behind the spread of such lies had a lot to do with my ¡°overzealous¡± personality. In any case, I¡¯m not very smart, and the only solution I could come up with was to use my body, which was stronger than most people¡¯s, and my muscles, which I had trained in vain. Only in the world of shounen manga does the adage ¡°yesterday¡¯s enemy is also today¡¯s strong enemy¡± apply. The high school seniors who were beaten by the junior high school students were amplified in frustration and shame, the hoodlums who were defeated in one-on-one matches were amplified in shame and ridicule, and my wounded self-esteem was not easily healed, and I must have continued to writhe in pain every day. In other words, all the infamy, abuse, and vituperation against me came from my enemies, and the ones who spread it had a wealth of connections. It is said that a rumor about a person lasts for 75 days, but it is more correct to say that it keeps getting tuned up every 75 days. The victims I¡¯ve (unsolicitedly) helped are those who were spotted because they were too weak or timid and easily involved. The perpetrators who are ¡°big, arrogant, violent, and self-righteous¡± are much louder than them. Ill weeds grow apace. If I were smart, I¡¯d stop all activities and focus on erasing their existence. The right thing to do would be to endure until the rumors disappear and start fresh with a clean slate. But the trouble was, my personality wouldn¡¯t let me do that. I¡¯m just so disappointed in myself for being such an extreme fool. Every time I get into trouble, I regret it and reflect on it. I¡¯ve been lectured by my father as well as Shouhei, and I¡¯ve received more painful fists than I can remember. Even so, the fact that I can¡¯t leave someone who¡¯s crying behind when I see them is the result of my troubled ¡°nature,¡± which is almost like a disease. Or perhaps it is the result of my dead mother¡¯s education. My mother used to tell me that if someone was in trouble, it was cool to help them out. My mother said that my father was such a man. It was the most sinful part of my stupid mind that I interpreted it so broadly. I really can¡¯t help it. I now understand how scary, annoying, and stupid it is to oblige oneself to ¡°help someone¡± without a sense of justice, a sense of purpose, and without meaning. It¡¯s probably wrong for a person to do that. I somehow think that people have to do it for some reason or for something. When I walked the streets, I was met with scornful stares, I was isolated at school, and most of my conversations were with my family or my enemies. That was the extent of the world to Kazamachi Kunpei until he graduated from junior high school. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± At the back of the Paradise Sibling¡¯s hideout. It was just me, Prince Atol, and Nanairo-san standing in the handmade ring. My father was in the blue corner, and Kayone and Utai were standing by in the red corner. This was a boxing-style duel. It was not boxing at all. The prince and I were not boxers, we¡¯re just amateurs. There¡¯s no way we can follow the rules strictly, and it¡¯s obvious that there will be a lot of inconveniences when we¡¯re from different races. So, this duel is a ¡°boxing-ish¡± style of duel. Strikes to the back of the head. Strikes with elbows and knees. Strikes with the head. Strikes to the vital points. Strikes from the waist down. Striking with one hand while holding the opponent down. Those were all forbidden, and gloves and headgear were required. Well, it¡¯s a lot better than a duel in an uninhabited wilderness like in a period drama. If the rules become useless, there¡¯s a big chance that it will be more than just an injury. ¡°Three minutes per round! Five rounds with a one-minute interval between rounds. We¡¯ll have knockouts, ten-count, and technical knockouts, okay? If a fighter can¡¯t strike a fighting pose within ten seconds of falling, or if he falls three times in a round, it¡¯s a knockout! Or if we deem it impossible to continue, the fight is over! If Aniki or I deem it a foul, we¡¯ll penalize you! It¡¯s a point deduction system out of 10, but it¡¯s not as detailed as real boxing, so we¡¯ll trust in your pride and sportsmanship! When the score reaches zero, you are considered defeated. Do you understand?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± The prince and I nodded lightly at Nanairo-san¡¯s explanation. ¡°Okay, corner in! Don¡¯t forget your mouthpiece, okay?¡± We stared at each other in the center of the ring, and with Nanairo-san¡¯s words, we went back to our seconds. For the record, we were wearing shirts and shorts. We didn¡¯t have boxer trunks. The gloves and headgear were provided by Gasara and them to make things fair. Well, we both know that we won¡¯t be doing any petty tricks, so it¡¯s just a formality. If that premise wasn¡¯t held, then I wouldn¡¯t even know what the duel was for. ¡°Here, mouthpiece.¡± ¡°Ahm. Rhis fheels soh srange. (This feels so strange.)¡± My father, who was waiting for me in the corner, urged me to put the mouthpiece made of resin on my upper teeth. It was hard to talk and my mouth felt a bit stiff. For the first time in my life, I had a mouthpiece in my mouth. ¡°Just endure it, it¡¯s better than getting your mouth shredded by too many blows.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± That¡¯s true, too, but you don¡¯t have to describe it in such a scary way, do you? Well, boxing is mainly about striking each other in the face. You also get hit in the body a lot, though. ¡°¡­ Both you and the prince don¡¯t seem to be in a good mental state.¡± ¡°¡­ Yuu kan rell? (You can tell?)¡± I¡¯ve been trying to raise my spirits since I was in Gasara¡¯s room, but I just can¡¯t seem to do it. I don¡¯t feel any spirit in the prince either, and he doesn¡¯t feel like he¡¯s ready to fight at all. I wonder why. It was a duel that he proposed to me in the first place. ¡°¡­I¡¯m a parent too, you know. I¡¯m not going to look directly at my son getting beaten up. On the other hand, there¡¯s something about seeing my son beating the shit out of people. I¡¯m getting a little pissed off.¡± ¡°Eben iffu you hay rhat (Even if you say that)¡­¡± What do you want me to do? I didn¡¯t really have a choice. ¡°Win or lose, just get it over with as soon as possible, okay?¡± ¡°Ahm goeng who wen. (I¡¯m going to win.)¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then at least show me some motivation.¡± You¡¯re right. ¡°Seconds out!¡± Nanairo-san, who seemed to be enjoying herself, gave the order. ¡°Hang in there, okay? Aoi-chan and Yuuno-chan are watching you.¡± My father pointed to Aoi and Mikuma, who were still looking worried. Aoi was on the verge of tears, and I was starting to worry about her. I nodded to the two who were appealing to me, ¡°Don¡¯t be reckless,¡± and turned my gaze to the prince in the opposite corner. He looked irritated after Kayone and Utai said something to him. ¡®Un. I¡¯ll ru my est. (I¡¯ll do my best.)¡± ¡°Alright, go ahead.¡± My father patted me on the back, lifted the top rope and walked out of the ring. He tightly clutched the towel around his shoulders, ready to throw in case of an emergency. ¡°Nn!¡± Forcing myself to be motivated, I gripped my 12-ounce boxing gloves tightly and hit my hands together. They¡¯re a bit heavier than I expected. Well, if it¡¯s this thick and soft, I¡¯m sure I can punch with all my might. But it still hurts when you get hit in the face as hard as possible, and it doesn¡¯t mean you won¡¯t get hurt. ¡°Alright then! Gasara!¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Gasara, who was waiting outside the ring, struck the gong. Why do you guys have gongs? ¡°Fuhn!¡± Before the gong could stop ringing, I started running at once. It¡¯s all about momentum! It might be proper for a sportsman to hit their fists together first, but I¡¯m half in desperation. Thanks to the thick headgear that was tightly held in place, my vision was extremely poor. So I just ran straight at the prince, I wanted to the preemptive strike and get the flow going. On the inside of the glove was a bandage that my dad wrapped around me. The bandage was wrapped so tightly that it gave the illusion that my fists were harder than usual. I held both fists in front of my face and tightened my arms. This is the peekaboo style that I learned through imitation and limited knowledge. This is the ¡°peekaboo style¡± that the world-famous champion was so good at. Now that I¡¯m leaning forward, I have to aim directly at his face. That¡¯s why it¡¯s peekaboo. ¡°Shhhh!¡± I¡¯m not used to wearing a mouthpiece, so breathing was very difficult. I exhaled through my teeth and thrust out my right fist. ¡°Fuh!¡± The prince, who had been holding out his right fist as if waiting for me, punched with only the movement of his elbow joint. It¡¯s not very powerful, but it seems to have the effect of bouncing my fist a little. My right hand collided with the prince¡¯s right hand, just as I expected it to. Now, it¡¯s on. Chapter 138 - My Uppercut for Your Sake (6) ¡°But you promised me!¡± My screaming voice echoed in the small room. My mother was holding a feverish Shouhei in front of my eyes as I let my emotions explode with rage. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Kunpei. Sho caught a cold, so we¡¯ll have to go to the department store another time, okay? Mom¡¯s face had an unusual reddish tinge as she said this. I was throwing a temper tantrum, and as a kid in the true sense of the word, there was no way I could have noticed the change in her condition. I was just sad and lonely that my promise to go out, which I was looking forward to, was broken. The disappointment that the promise wasn¡¯t kept became a wave of strong anger that swirled around in my chest and I couldn¡¯t stop it. ¡°You also promised to go to the zoo last week! We didn¡¯t go!¡± ¡°That was because of your father¡¯s urgent work¡­¡± Mom¡¯s face clouded over as she looked really apologetic. It was raining heavily outside the window, and I vividly remember how dark it was in our apartment even though it was daytime. ¡°Eho, gho¡­¡± ¡°Shouhei? Do you have a sore throat? Shall I take your temperature and give you some medicine?¡± Shouhei, dazed from the fever, coughed. He cried and hugged his mother, desperately grabbing at her clothes. It¡¯s natural. Everyone wants to be pampered when they are sick. Besides, Shouhei had just started kindergarten at that time, so there was nothing strange about it. But as the tantrum thrower, I found such a gesture irksome. ¡°¡­ What the hell.¡± ¡°Eh? What did you say, Kunpei?¡± Mom asked me as she stood up while holding Shouhei and took out a thermometer from the dresser . I didn¡¯t like the fact that she asked me back, even though I had muttered it in a small voice that she couldn¡¯t possibly hear. ¡°What the hell! Dad and mom are all about Shouhei, Shouhei! It¡¯s always Shouhei! We didn¡¯t go to the beach during summer vacation because you thought Shouhei would get sick! No matter where we went, we¡¯d always go home because he¡¯d get tired! You never listen to me! You¡¯re not listening to me at all!¡± ¡°Kunpei¡­¡± Mom¡¯s face twisted into a sad expression. It made me sad, too, but I couldn¡¯t stop myself. If you think about it calmly, it¡¯s obvious. Shouhei was born with a weak body, and he was prone to catching colds and falling asleep when the temperature changed or he was tired. I was well aware of this, and normally I would never have thought or said such a thing. He was four years younger than me, and he was so cute. I loved the way he always followed me around, pinching my clothes when he could walk. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, niichan¡­ ehohohohoho!¡± Seeing Shouhei apologize so weakly, even though he couldn¡¯t open his eyes properly, made me feel even more pathetic. But such patheticness only fueled my anger that I had nowhere else to go. Even if I say so myself, I was really a helpless kid. ¡°Kunpei, Kunpei is the older brother, so can you endure it a bit? It¡¯s hard for Sho too, you know?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­! Uuuuuuh¡­!¡± It was an answer I didn¡¯t want. Maybe I just wanted a word of comfort. What was it about that day, that time, that was different from usual, what was it that I didn¡¯t like? Now that I think about it, I can¡¯t remember that at all. I regret and regret and regret, and even now, seven years later, I can¡¯t help but want to apologize to my mother. If only I had been a little smarter. If only I had been a little more honest. If only I had been a little more calm. ¡°Mom, you and Dad don¡¯t like me, do you? Because Shouhei is more important to you! You always break your promises to me!¡± Even though I wouldn¡¯t have said such an irreversible line even if it killed me. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô ¡°Guh!¡± I clenched my teeth and endured the incessant rain of blows. It had been quite a while since the first round had started. Since the first time we put our gloves together, I¡¯ve been beaten up in the middle of the ring, helpless to do anything about Prince Atol¡¯s onslaught. ¡°Kunepi! Don¡¯t lower your guard!¡± I heard my father¡¯s angry voice in my ears between the continuous sounds of blows. Even through the thick glove, Prince Atol¡¯s fist, which was extremely fast, was painful in its own way. The arms that I held out in front of my face were tossed left and right, if I lost focus, I wouldn¡¯t be able to maintain my stance. Why is this guy jumping the gun so early in the game? ¡°Fuuh!¡± Prince Atol, wearing a black tank top, attacked me while skillfully moving the pure white wings on his back. That¡¯s the reason for the weight of this fist. In addition to body twisting and muscular strength, the centrifugal force generated by the movement of the large wings is also applied to the fist. ¡°Guh! Nnngh!¡± The combination of his right and left fists. I take advantage of the one-two rhythm and thrust out my right fist with all my might. My stance is unstable. In addition, I¡¯m not used to wearing gloves. Even so, with my strength, which I¡¯m proud to say I¡¯ve been working on for some time, I should be able to shake the prince¡¯s body, even if I can¡¯t hurt him. But I couldn¡¯t do that. ¡°Fuhn!¡± Not again! Those wings are a real hindrance! It¡¯s completely unexpected and unplanned for, you idiot! My straight right was blocked by the prince¡¯s wing and ended in failure. My arms were not fully extended, and there was no way I could transmit any power to them. They were so weak that they were pushed back by the wings. This is it. This has been really annoying since a while ago! I¡¯m not going to just sit back and be beaten up. I can endure, endure, endure, and calmly find an opening like I was doing. But all of that is blocked by the white wings that symbolize the demon prince Atol. At first I couldn¡¯t believe my eyes, but then I quickly understood. Those wings are not just for flying. They are an extension of the body for the demon prince, just like hands, feet, mouth and nose for us humans. Rather, it is a part of him. If you want to move it, you can move it freely, and if you use it well, you can even use it for defense. I thought, ¡°Oh no.¡± I hadn¡¯t thought of that at all. Wings are for flying. I was bound by this stereotype. The rules restricted the use of magic, but not the use of wings that are connected to the body. What a blind spot. I didn¡¯t have enough imagination. In my imagination, the prince was supposed to be flying in the ring right after the start. It was so unexpected that it killed my enthusiasm. ¡°Kunpei! Step away from him at once!¡± I regained my composure at the sound of my father¡¯s voice and back stepped with all the strength I could muster in my legs. The prince¡¯s right fist, cut through the air. Hi fist ripped through the air like a heavy blunt weapon, and I heard a heavy sound that I didn¡¯t want to hear too much. ¡°Fu¡­ fu¡­¡± My shoulders raised up and down as I desperately tried to gather the oxygen I was lacking. The mouthpiece in my mouth was getting in the way. I couldn¡¯t swallow well and I wanted to spit it out. I¡¯ve never used anything like this in a fight before, so I¡¯m not used to it at all. This is so hard! I don¡¯t remember three minutes being this long! I feel like I¡¯ve been beaten up long enough! But more than that. I felt uncomfortable. The current one-sided slug fest was accompanied by a sense of discomfort other than the mouthpiece in my mouth. ¡°Round one is over!¡± The sound of a loud gong was followed by Nanairo-san¡¯s loud voice. Prince Atol, who had been bending down and closing in on me, came to an abrupt halt in his bent position and slowly straightened up, wiping the sweat that was seeping out of him with his arm as he headed for his corner. At his side of the corner, Kayone¡¯s face was clearly clouded with worry. She tried to hand the towel in her hand to the prince, but was rejected without a second thought. ¡°Hey! Hurry up and come back, Kunpei!¡± ¡°O-oh.¡± I was looking at the prince and Kayone in a daze when my father¡¯s voice brought me back to my senses. I took a deep breath to regulate my ragged breathing and returned to my corner. ¡°Take a seat.¡± ¡°Mogo, muga, ah, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯m okay.¡± My father pulled out a round chair and forced me to sit on it. He put his hand in my mouth and forcibly took off my mouthpiece and shoved a straw from a plastic water bottle into my mouth. Why is he so experienced with this? Eh? ¡°Just drink it. How about it? Do you think you can do it?¡± Before I replied, I took a mouthful of water and swallowed it with a loud gulp. Aah, it¡¯s delicious. My tired body regained its energy. My thirsty throat was moistened again. Once again, I took in a large amount of water and washed my mouth, which was covered in saliva. When I finished gargling, I spat it out vigorously into the bucket. Again, I¡¯m not sure why you¡¯re so used to it. ¡°Puh-uh! Uh-huh.¡± I leaned my back against the corner post and finally replied to my father¡¯s question with a nod. The headgear has narrowed my vision and I shook my head in annoyance. My head is heavier than usual, and it¡¯s bothering me a lot. ¡°No, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. I¡¯ve been hit so hard, but it¡¯s not affecting me much. There were a few times where it felt weird, but why?¡± Yes, that¡¯s what the strange feeling was. Even with that seemingly one-sided onslaught, somehow I still had room to spare. It is true that each shot was heavy, and a clean hit could end the match, but Prince Atol¡¯s fists have yet to give me an effective strike. There have been a few times when I thought, oh no. I tried to brace myself for the pain this would cause me, but for some reason, the prince¡¯s fist didn¡¯t take advantage of the opening. ¡°Who knows, maybe that¡¯s the prince¡¯s weakness. You should take the initiative next time, maybe you¡¯ll understand something.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m talking about.¡± ¡°Just try.¡± Well, I have no choice but to try. I wonder what it is. When the duel began and the prince and I actually exchanged fists, I couldn¡¯t muster up any fighting spirit. It wasn¡¯t just me. Prince Atol in front of me doesn¡¯t seem to have any spirit or vigor at all. It¡¯s as if we¡¯re punching at the air. It¡¯s like a ritualistic farce. At this point, all we can see is Prince Atol¡¯s ability and the results that don¡¯t match it. As expected of a man who survived the insane selection process of the ¡°Sea Dragon¡¯s Servant¡±. He is keen-eyed, he doesn¡¯t miss a single move I make, and he always takes the initiative. Damn, it¡¯s starting to feel a little unreasonable. ¡°Seconds, you¡¯re out!¡± Nanairo-san, who was somewhat uneasy, lowered her hand toward us and Prince Atol¡¯s side. Behind her, Gasara looked worriedly at Nanairo-san as he prepared to ring the gong. Outside the ring, Seijitsu-san, the timer, was glaring at Nanairo-san with his sleepy eyes. Ah, he¡¯s on alert because he might needs to intrude. ¡°Okay, for this round, just go for it. You may be outclassed in experience and skill, but you are not inferior in physical strength. After all, your opponent has been attacking you for the whole round. Well, if you lose in physical strength as well, then just get defeated honorably.¡± ¡°An honorable defeat, you say¡­.¡± ¡°We can find another way to get to the continent and back, right? I¡¯m just saying, don¡¯t get too worked up about it.¡± Even if you say that. What kind of idiot goes into a match thinking he¡¯s going to lose? Yeah, I¡¯m pent-up. ¡°First of all, I¡¯m going to punch him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the spirit. Here¡¯s the mouthpiece.¡± ¡°Ahmm. I¡¯m going.¡± ¡°Ah, go ahead.¡± I stood up from the round chair with a mouthpiece shoved in my mouth and a pat on my back. I spun my arms around and though for a moment. That¡¯s right. I still haven¡¯t managed to punch the prince in the face once yet. Up until yesterday, I was a little frustrated, and I thought I would definitely dent that composed face. ¡°Alright!¡± I couldn¡¯t speak well because of the mouthpiece, but I said something to pump myself up. Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯ve been losing so much lately that I¡¯ve been thinking in a way that¡¯s not like me. I¡¯m an idiot. So I¡¯m just going to go straight ahead like an idiot. Anyways. I don¡¯t care about boxing or dueling anymore. Let¡¯s just beat that prince to a pulp. Chapter 139 - My Uppercut for Your Sake (7) I didn¡¯t care about boxing style anymore. I just thrust my right arm straight out, with all my might. I was leaning forward with a posture as if I was throwing a baseball. At the signal to start the second round, I released my telephone punch. The prince was bewildered and took a defensive posture with his pure white wings. Guard? I don¡¯t give a damn! I¡¯ll blow you away with it! ¡°Guh!¡± My fist, with the added momentum of my run-up, dug deep into the prince¡¯s wing. ¡°Haa!¡± At the same time, I let out a yell of enthusiasm and put all my weight behind my fist and swung. The prince¡¯s body floated slightly, and it was unlikely that he would be able to immediately turn to attack from his guard position. ¡°Kunpei-san!¡± ¡°Kunpei-kun!¡± I clenched my left fist tightly, as if responding to his father¡¯s encouragement and Aoi and Mikuma¡¯s cheers. An effective attack? Boxing theories? I don¡¯t care! All I can do is punch this guy as hard as I can! If I make it too hard, I¡¯ll get a flat tire! My brain! ¡°Your Highness!¡± ¡°Whoa! Kunpei-kun, that was intense!¡± Just before the impact of my left fist, I hear Kayone¡¯s worried voice and Utai¡¯s loud voice. It¡¯s a shame, though. I know better than most that it¡¯s not working at all! This is not a cross-arm block, but a cross-wing block. My fist blew the prince away with his folded wings. Prince Atol retreated slightly from the ring, but the damage was probably minimal. But. I knew that from the beginning. For the time being, I didn¡¯t think about anything and just mindlessly hit him with all my strength and pent-up frustration. You bastard! ¡°If it goes to the third round, you¡¯ve lost! Go with the intention of finishing him!¡± I know! Even if you don¡¯t tell me, that¡¯s what I planned to do! Full power with my left, super full power with my right! I hit the prince with all the energy I had saved in the first round, or rather the energy I hadn¡¯t even been allowed to use, and use it up. With the momentum of bringing back the right arm that I swung down, I shook off the wings that formed a solid guard. I gave him a straight left with all my might, over the top of a defense that was one layer thinner. ¡°Guh!¡± The prince¡¯s torso bent slightly. Taking advantage of this momentum. Don¡¯t stop your legs, don¡¯t stop your arms, don¡¯t stop! Straight for the face! A sharp angle towards the body! You¡¯re about to use a kick, but you hold it back and hit, hit, hit, hit, hit! ¡°Fuhn! Fuu! Haaaa!¡± I¡¯ve been clenching my teeth and frantically attacking, so my breathing was rough. I¡¯m forcing myself to set the pace, as if I¡¯m trying to exchange the stress simmering in the pit of my stomach for motivation and high spirits. ¡°Guh! Ngh!¡± With each blow, Prince Atol squeezed out a painful sound from the back of his throat as he endured my onslaught. Just by the looks of it, the situation was completely reversed from the first round. I¡¯m overwhelming, and the prince was at a disadvantage. That¡¯s what everyone would say if they were an onlooker. However. It was different. I¡¯m beginning to understand. The source of the discomfort I¡¯ve been feeling is now clearly outlined, and I can already clearly see its silhouette. It was almost three minutes into the second round. I have the upper hand those three minutes. No, I was given the upper hand. This bastard! ¡°Hold it right there! Both of you, in the corner!¡± The heavy sound of gongs echoed as Nanairo-san announced the end of the round. I stopped my swinging arm and couldn¡¯t hide my mental discomfort as much as my sweat-stained skin. I glared at Prince Atol in front of me. The prince spread his stiffened wings in front of his body and lowered his arm, which has turned red from the constant beating, as he slowly walked back to the corner where Kayone and Utai were waiting. As for me, breathing heavily, I lowered my arms and continued to watch Prince Atol¡¯s back from the center of the ring. My whole body began to shake. The stress that had built up over the past few days had turned to red rage in the past three minutes, and I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. ¡°Kunpei! You did well! Come back and rest!¡± Without reacting to my father¡¯s voice coming from behind me, I raised my arms and grabbed my headgear. ¡°Hey, Kazamachi. It¡¯s interval time, okay? Gasara, who was outside the ring with a mallet on his shoulder, spoke to me. I didn¡¯t respond to his voice and forcibly took off my headgear. The headgear, which was tightly secured to the back of my head with a string, did not come off easily and was slowly removed from my head with some pain. ¡°K-Kunpei-san? ¡°Kunpei-kun? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Aoi and Mikuma were watching at ringside. I still didn¡¯t reply to their words, but finally put one arm through the headgear that¡¯s been removed from my head, and then¡­ ¡°I can¡¯t do this! This son of a bitch!¡± I slammed it into the ring with great force. A throat-wrenching scream, the frustration that had been building up, erupted vigorously from the pit of my stomach. ¡°Hah! What a duel! ¡®Sea Dragon¡¯s Servant¡¯! What kind of strong person are you? ! Don¡¯t you dare make fun of me!¡± My body was asking for oxygen, which was in short supply because of the amount of energy I spent in the last two rounds. There was an imbalance between the supply and demand of the air I was exhaling and the air I was seeking. Heat began to gather on my face from the blood that has begun to climb. A blood vessel that was on the verge of bursting from too much anger twitched and quivered at my temple. ¡°K-Kazamachi-sama?¡± ¡°Oh, oh? What¡¯s wrong, Kazamachi-kun?¡± As I glared at the prince, Kayone and Utai, standing behind the corner post, looked at me with eyes wide with surprise. The prince, unconcerned, took the mouthpiece out of his mouth and started drinking water from a plastic bottle. ¡°H-hey. What¡¯s the matter, Kunpei?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t give a shit about this! You made me be a part of this stupid farce! That¡¯s enough, you stupid prince!¡± I replied angrily to my father¡¯s confused voice. I untied the laces of my right glove with my mouth. The difficulty of unraveling it frustrated me again, and I pulled the string roughly, biting the glove itself and pulling my arm out. ¡°I knew something was wrong! I¡¯ve finally figured it out! What are you going to do about it? Haaa?¡± In a fit of rage, I slammed the glove into the ring and then removed the glove from my left hand. I was able to remove it somewhat more smoothly than with my right hand, and threw it as hard as I could at Prince Atol. ¡°¡­ What are you talking about?¡± He lightly brushed off the flying glove with his hand, and without even making eye contact with me, Prince Atol feigned ignorance. You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. You know best what I¡¯m talking about! ¡°You don¡¯t want to win this duel at all, you idiot!¡± Yes, the prince was not interested in the duel from the beginning. The relationship with Kayone, the prince¡¯s childhood, his current situation, and what Kayone and Utai have to say about the true character of Prince Atol. All of which had led to the answer from the beginning. Unbalanced behavior and a reckless attitude. His irreverent manner and his usual quiet demeanor. There was something wrong with all of it. This was what was bothering me. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me! I think I know what you¡¯re up to now! How sad!¡± Yes, maybe it was because it was me, that¡¯s why I was able to understand. The rumors surrounding me and the inferiority complex that I couldn¡¯t shake. The complex that grows in the depths of your heart and the ideals you¡¯ve sought. And the glory that you could not obtain. That¡¯s why the prince and I were so much alike. The more we hated each other, the more the prince and I understood each other. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­¡± I know where people who say things like that are bound to end up. ¡°¡­ Nonsense. Put your gloves back on. I¡¯m going to beat the crap out of you, commoner!¡± ¡°Stop with those shitty provocations! I haven¡¯t fallen so low as to fight a duel I¡¯m treated to!¡± The prince, flinched at my words as he ground his molars and glared at me. ¡°What do you mean? You¡¯re saying that the prince challenged you to a duel with the intention of losing?¡± Perhaps scared by my menacing behavior, Mikuma timidly expressed her suspicion. Ah, I messed up. I didn¡¯t mean to scare you at all. ¡°¡­ Ah but it¡¯s nothing more than a nuisance to us, though! Isn¡¯t that right, Your Highness!?¡± When I called him that with sarcasm and irony, Prince Atol clicked his tongue in plain sight. What kind of attitude is that after all this time? ¡°But why? Why would the prince engage in a duel that he has no intention of winning, after even offering rat-ojisama a condition¡­¡± Aoi was so confused that she almost had a question mark floating on top of her head. ¡°¡­ I¡¯m not sure what the details are, but most likely, it has something to do with Kayone.¡± ¡°¡­!¡± Look, bull¡¯s-eye. You can¡¯t be so blatant about it, prince. You¡¯re not cut out for poker. ¡°M-me?¡± ¡°Kayo-san?¡± The person in question looked puzzled. If you don¡¯t mind my speculation, I¡¯ll give you an explanation. ¡°Kayone said that the prince in the past didn¡¯t have a big attitude like he does now, and he was an honest man who never neglected his efforts.¡± ¡°Y-yes, the reason why he gave up on everything is because his father, His Majesty the King¡­¡± ¡°Kayone! What did you tell this guy?¡± The prince raised his voice unusually and interrupted Kayone¡¯s words. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a guess, Prince Atol. I¡¯ll tell you what you¡¯re up to and why you¡¯ve decided to involve me and my daughters in this farce.¡± ¡°Guh! Shut up, you¡¯re flapping your gums during a duel! Shut up and put your fists up!¡± Don¡¯t be flustered. Your intentions will become transparent. It¡¯s because you¡¯re like that, that¡¯s why I sensed it. How fragile. People who force themselves to do everything in their lives are really fragile. ¡°You¡¯re so sneaky, you know that?!¡± ¡°Shut up! What do you think you know? You don¡¯t know anything about me!¡± I know. I can¡¯t help it, I just know it. I glanced at my father. My dad, who didn¡¯t know what was going on, tilted his head when he noticed me looking at him. It¡¯s something that someone as experienced and straightforward as my father would never understand. It¡¯s a kind of disease that affects people like me and the prince, who are just kids. It¡¯s a horrible disease that affects not only you, but everyone around you as well. Just like I once did to my mother when I was a child. ¡°Prince.¡± ¡°W-what!¡± As soon as I looked back at him, I looked straight into Prince Atol¡¯s eyes. The prince was so upset by the look that he couldn¡¯t help but look away from me. ¡°To Dailan, being ¡®Sea Dragon¡¯s Servant¡¯ is an honor, right?¡± ¡°W-what about it!¡± The one who overcame three years of grueling rituals and won it was a ¡®royal failure¡¯ who the people once had great expectations for and became disillusioned on his own. Then what is that honor? ¡°And as the ¡®Sea dragon¡¯s servant¡¯, it¡¯s your duty to fight the strong, fair and square, right?¡± ¡°Ah, yes! Honorable! I represent the warriors of Dailan!¡± You¡¯re not going to fight a one-sided battle in an unofficial setting like this with a person who can¡¯t even use magic and is in a disadvantageous position, are you? ¡°Why are you secretly having this duel without telling your brothers?¡± ¡°That¡¯s!¡± Why would the representative of Dailan, the honorable ¡®Sea Dragon¡¯s Servant¡¯, be trying to hide his achievements? ¡°What will happen to you if your brother found out that you were defeated in such a sneaky duel?¡± ¡°Ggh, guh!¡± One step at a time, I cornered the prince. The prince, who was stuck due to the corner post behind him, struggled to get as far away from me as possible by turning his upper body away from me. You¡¯re not getting away. I¡¯m not going to let you get away with this. ¡°This is completely my guess, but I¡¯m 100 percent sure it¡¯s right. Prince Atol, your goal is¡­¡± ¡°S-stop¡­ don¡¯t say it!¡± No, that¡¯s no good. You brought me and my daughters into this. You took away the card of traveling to the sphere continent, which was a matter of life and death for Jaja and Nana, and then you made fun of it. Even if you were to come begging for forgiveness, I would never forgive you for that. Jaja and Nana. Jaja and Nana, you must know that the crime of making the lives of my precious daughters the object of a bet. ¡°You¡¯ll quit the royal family and give up Kayone, right?¡± ¡°You bastaaaard!¡± The light disappeared from Kayone¡¯s eyes as she stood behind the pathetically shouting prince. Chapter 140 - My Uppercut for Your Sake (8) ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô ¡°Kunpei! Wait! Where are you going? Come back, Kunpei!¡± Without listening to Mom, I ran out of the apartment room barefoot. I was hurt by the meaning of the words I had said, but my childish stubbornness got in the way and I was afraid of getting angry even though I could have just apologized. I would get caught if I waited for the elevator, so I ran down the emergency staircase, crossed the entrance lobby, and just ran without a destination in the pouring rain. ¡°Aaah! Aaahhhh!¡± I was shivering partly due to the freezing rain, but it was also because I was crying without caring about being seen, with regret welling up inside my chest and a sense of disappointment in myself that exceeds that. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t like her. I love my mom. I admired my father. I cared about my brother more than anyone else. The one who was most surprised by the words of rejection that came out of my mouth was, of course, me. I was so worried that I might have hurt my mother with those words that I couldn¡¯t stand it. For the first time in my life, I escaped from reality. I couldn¡¯t stay in the room like that. So I just kept running, looking for a place to escape. There was no such place. My family is all I have, my family is my world. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô ¡°¡­ Your Highness?¡± With her eyes wide open, Kayone was staring straight at Prince Atol. It seems that she did not understand the meaning of my words and has not yet caught up with her thoughts. Utai, who was standing next to her, closed her mouth tightly and looked at Kayone with concern. ¡°U-um, the interval is over?¡± The minute between rounds had already passed. The Paradise siblings were the witnesses of this duel. Nanairo-san, who was the judge referee, asked me with hesitation. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Nanairo-san. Can you wait just a little longer?¡± I replied without turning around. ¡°Ah, I don¡¯t mind, though?¡± ¡°Aneki, this is where you be quiet.¡± ¡°Ah, un.¡± She nodded her head in agreement with Gasara and stepped back to the rope. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Gasara. I might cause you trouble.¡± I looked at Gasara and saw that he had crossed his arms while holding the drumstick. ¡°¡­ Well, I was afraid it wouldn¡¯t end well. It¡¯s just like Makio said it would be.¡± ¡°Makio?¡± What did Makio, who had been asked to refrain from coming today because it would be rough, say? ¡°He said, ¡®Kunepi-kun, doesn¡¯t seem to think when he gets fired up, so please stop him.¡¯ He was really spot on.¡± ¡°Guh.¡± I couldn¡¯t say anything because I felt like he saw right through me. I mean, I¡¯ve been told similar things by Shouhei, Aoi and Mikuma, haven¡¯t I? I usually try to keep my cool. ¡°My brother and I are standing by to make sure nothing happens to you. No one is going to complain or make you complain about how you ruined this duel that you had no choice in the first place. Do what you want. Right, Aniki?¡± ¡°Leave. it. to. me.¡± Seijitsu-san nodded and spoke slowly as Gasara spoke to him. Oh, you were awake? I thought you were asleep because you didn¡¯t move at all. These fluffy brothers are really dependable. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m counting on you. Thanks.¡± I smiled and bowed slightly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± I¡¯m really glad you said that. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Dad. You¡¯ve come all this way to be my second, but maybe we¡¯ll just end up in a fist fight.¡± When I looked at my father, he crossed his arms and did not look amused. Well, that¡¯s expected. If it was a sport that followed rules and formality, he can understand it. I¡¯ve never had a fight in front of my dad, no matter how unfilial I am. ¡°¡­ Is this for Jaja and Nana?¡± ¡°Uh, no. This is¡­¡± This duel has nothing to do with Jaja and Nana. I don¡¯t want them to be involved. It¡¯s going to be a very violent and barbaric reason, simply because I¡¯m pissed off at the prince. I don¡¯t think I can take much more of this. ¡°¡­ No. It¡¯s because of my beliefs and my will.¡± So I answered like that. ¡°¡­ Okay. I¡¯ll overlook it this time.¡± He let out a deep sigh and shook his head. I¡¯m really sorry for being such a stupid son. One day, I¡¯ll be the eldest son that my father can proudly show off. Without fail. ¡°Kunpei-san¡­¡± ¡°Are you going to continue the duel?¡± Aoi and Mikuma looked at me with concern. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, okay? I¡¯m going to go teach that stupid prince a lesson.¡± I wonder how many times I have to make these two look at me like this. Aoi and Mikuma looked down, swallowing the words they were about to say. The pain in my heart constricted my chest. But I can¡¯t stop now. It¡¯s just my nature, I was born this way. Someday, you may be disgusted with me. But for now. ¡°¡­ Now then, Prince Atol. No, Atol. Let¡¯s start over. But this time, let me set the terms of the duel.¡± As if to shake off my guilt, I turned back to Atol with great vigor, glared into his eyes, and said. I don¡¯t even want to call him by his honorific title or anything like that anymore. In the first place, why should I humble myself to this guy who is the same age as me? The stage of respecting status has long passed. It¡¯s enough to call him by his name. ¡°Y-you! What are you doing as you please!¡± Dismayed, Ator stepped forward, then hesitated and stopped. I don¡¯t want to hear that from you. I¡¯m not going to let you say that now, after you¡¯ve taken away our options and dragged us all into this. I¡¯ll say it again. ¡°I¡¯m going to make you pay for what you did.¡± Yes, it¡¯s not just our family. But also Kayone and Utai who are behind you. ¡°You can use magic, wings, or whatever you want. I¡¯m not going to complain about flying. But we¡¯re going to settle this right here in this ring. No intervals. If you can get your opponent to admit defeat, you win. Simple, right? If I lose, I¡¯ll take all of your complaints. I¡¯ll get down on my knees, or whatever, and do whatever you want. But if I win¡­¡± ¡°W-wait. Just wait a minute!¡± No, I won¡¯t. I won¡¯t wait. I won¡¯t wait for you. ¡°Confess everything to Kayone and Utai, apologize, and then get married.¡± Isn¡¯t that what you should be doing? I know you. I know your twisted and distorted true feelings. ¡°Y-you¡­ are you an idiot? What¡¯s in it for you? What¡¯s¡­ your goal? Why are you doing something like this!¡± There is no reason. I¡¯m not a fan of the idea of using violence to win something in the first place. I¡¯ve never picked a fight for my own sake before. That¡¯s something I¡¯m proud of. But, well, this time. ¡°No reason. No goal. It¡¯s just that you¡¯re the most frustrated, and it makes me feel a little better. That¡¯s all.¡± You¡¯ll have to forgive me for this level of harassment. ¡°What the hell are you talking about¡­ I don¡¯t understand.¡± The prince was so bewildered that he retreated involuntarily. When he put his back against the corner post, he noticed Kayone and Utai right behind him, and he tensed up. Kayone¡¯s sad eyes and Atol¡¯s frightened eyes. As their gazes crossed, silence fell over the ring and its surroundings. ¡°¡­ Kunpei-san is just that kind of person. There is no reason.¡± Aoi¡¯s voice cut through the silence. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s right. If Kunpei-kun is this angry, we can¡¯t stop him with reason.¡± Mikuma¡¯s voice was in sync with Aoi¡¯s. I look at the two of them. The face that had looked so worried and downcast just a moment ago was now filled with a kind of strong determination. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Kunpei-san. If that¡¯s what you¡¯ve decided, then please fight to your heart¡¯s content. I will respect Kunpei-san¡¯s decision no matter what. If I¡¯m wrong, I¡¯ll definitely stop it.¡± ¡°He¡¯s cool in the weirdest ways, reckless in the weirdest ways. It¡¯s our bad luck to have fallen in love with someone who¡¯s bad for the heart.¡± Mikuma smiled as she said this. Aoi also smiled next to her. ¡°You guys¡­¡± What¡¯s with this atmosphere? The atmosphere of the place between Atol and me, which had been bleak, changed completely. ¡°I¡¯m sure, but¡­ You can¡¯t leave that Kayone-san woman alone, can you? That¡¯s just like Kunpei-kun.¡± Mikuma nodded and looked at Aoi. Aoi met her gaze and nodded in the same way. ¡°Kunpei-san. Kunepi-san doesn¡¯t seem to understand what¡¯s going on.¡± Aoi¡¯s eyes caught mine. I flinched a little when I saw those powerful eyes that seemed to be sucking me in. ¡°W-what?¡± When I asked them back, Mikuma and Aoi smiled. ¡°To just try to help someone in need without a reason, without a goal.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a ¡®really kind person¡¯, you know?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The two of them talked happily. What¡¯s with that combination? Isn¡¯t it too effective on me? Can you please stop trying to grab my heart like that? Isn¡¯t it a little unfair that it takes two people to do it? ¡°Ah, yes.¡± I didn¡¯t know what to say, so I unintentionally affirmed. They are really good women. No, seriously, there must be some mistake or something if they fell in love with me. But, well. ¡°¡­ Ah, Atol. Sorry.¡± ¡°W-what?¡± I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s because he¡¯s a little confused about the atmosphere of the place, but Atol jerked as he reacted to my sudden words. The girls who trust me so much. They respect my intentions, approve of me, and support me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m motivated. If you don¡¯t give it your all, you won¡¯t be able to beat me easily.¡± A man who doesn¡¯t get excited by this is not a man. Chapter 141 - My Uppercut for Your Sake (9) ¡°Come on, get ready. No more gongs, okay?¡± ¡°Kuh!¡± Atol glared at me hatefully, and hurriedly took off his gloves. I¡¯ll wait, let¡¯s do this fair and square. The bandage wrapped directly around my fist was still in place, and I positioned myself as I normally would in a fight. With the right half of my body in front of me, my stance emphasizes ease of movement, and although not as much as Atol, it¡¯s a stance I¡¯ve acquired through experience. Now, let¡¯s go wild. ¡°You bastard!¡± Finally taking off his gloves, he threw them out of the ring and held his fists in front of his face as he stared at me. See, the stance is different from before. This is your real stance, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯ve given Atol a reason for why he must win. If he loses to me, there¡¯s no way out for him. The original purpose of this duel is to break off his engagement with Kayone. Because the people around him wouldn¡¯t allow it, he tried to do it by lowering his own rank and honor to the bottom by suffering a shameful defeat in the duel with me. You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. You¡¯re using people and their families as pawns. I know. This guy never hated Kayone. In fact, he¡¯s probably in love with her. As proof of this, during his first year in Japan, Atol did not keep Kayone away from him. He was a prince, after all, and he could have made up any number of reasons to distance himself from Kayone. That¡¯s why he acted in a way that made Kayone dislike him. He acted in such a way that Kayone would be disappointed and naturally leave him. What a coward. That¡¯s not kindness. It¡¯s a betrayal of the people who believe in you. I¡¯ll never accept that. ¡°Let¡¯s start, shall we?¡± I whispered to Atol as I lowered my waist. Atol, on the other hand, dropped his hips to match mine. I could see Kayone still in a whirlpool of confusion, and Utai looking at her with concern. It became completely silent, both on and out of the ring. It¡¯s not an uninhabited wilderness, and it¡¯s not rule-free, but it¡¯s like a scene out of a movie. Neither Aoi nor Mikuma made any attempt to cheer aloud. They had made up their minds to watch over me, so they must have decided to push their worries aside until the moment I collapsed. I felt sorry, but at the same time I felt grateful and ready. Don¡¯t worry. My father is watching me. I¡¯m not going to let him down. ¡°Kuh¡­¡± Atol growled with a grim face. The turmoil caused by the fact that his plan was seen through seems to be having a major impact on Atol¡¯s condition right now. Serves you right. I chuckled a little and calmed myself down. We looked for an opportunity as we stared at each other. It¡¯s not that I¡¯m scared or nervous. Just one shot. We are timing our first shot to make the most of it. Both Atol and I know the weight of a blow. It¡¯s not the physical weight. It¡¯s about how important the first shot is when you decide to beat up your opponent. I know that in a one-on-one fight, the result of ¡®hitting the first shot¡¯ will have a heavy impact later on, both in terms of controlling the flow of the fight and in terms of damage. The only sounds were the scraping of the surrounding trees and the distant chirping of birds. Not then. Not now. Don¡¯t be in a hurry. Don¡¯t panic. ¡°A-Atol¡­¡± Move. We stepped in at the same time at the sound of Kayone¡¯s voice, who couldn¡¯t endure anymore. I put all the strength I had into my right foot and took the fastest step I could just to close the distance between me and my opponent. Faster than that guy, stronger than that guy! ¡°Uraaaaahhh!¡± ¡°Wooooaaaaaah!¡± There were two savage beasts on the ring. With their muscles bulging all over their body, they only wanted to deliver this one shot to their opponent. With that as their sole purpose, the savage beasts rushed across the ring at a furious pace. ¡°Buh!¡± ¡°Guh!¡± My right fist struck Atol¡¯s face with all my might. But Atol¡¯s right fist also struck my left cheek. The result was a mutual strike. It was like something out of a manga. My vision wobbled and my body lurched. But I didn¡¯t care about that, I clenched my left fist tightly and swung it out wide. Atol, who knows that both of us received damage, looked at me sideways and was astonished. He shouldn¡¯t be able to move, that¡¯s what you thought, wasn¡¯t it? ¡°I¡¯m proud of my durability!¡± And the expectations and the spirit that we¡¯re carrying are different! ¡°Uraaaaah!¡± As if scooping up from underneath, I swung my fist at Atol¡¯s chin, who was still in a slumped position. The white wings that quickly tried to guard were obstructed by my body and could not be folded. No matter how thick those big wings are, when infighting, the conditions are the same! A dry, pleasant sound rang out in my head. I¡¯ve got a good response! I¡¯m going for it! ¡°I¡¯m not done yet!¡± I put all the strength I could into my hips, which was twisted from the recoil of the swing. I opened my sides, dropped my hips, and my calf and hip muscles screamed so loudly that I thought I was going to explode. Then I swung my right fist immediately after. Fuuhn! My fist, riding on the centrifugal force, hit a layer of air. In that instant, the calm part of my mind reminded me. My fists are now wrapped tightly in the bandage that Gasara and the others have prepared for me, and they are hard enough to beat a man to death depending on where I strike. But the die is already cast. There¡¯s no stopping it. For me. I can¡¯t stop. For Kayone. I can¡¯t stop! For the sake of the stupid prince himself, right in front of me! ¡°Don¡¯t look down on me, you idiot!¡± ¡°Woah, gah!¡± Prince Atol, his mouth bleeding, slammed his knee into my abdomen. My right fist, killed by the momentum, cut through the air in vain. That¡¯s right! It¡¯s not boxing anymore, is it? Legs are also allowed! ¡°You think just that much is going to make me falter?¡± The dull pain in my abdomen made me bend over and my lowered head was grabbed by Atol¡¯s hands. ¡°Lie down!¡± ¡°Gah!¡± A headbutt. Atol¡¯s forehead, with its magnificent horns, struck the back of my head. ¡°Ow!¡± It pricked me! It¡¯s not just painful. It¡¯s hot! The sharp tip of one of Atol¡¯s horns pierced my scalp! My vision flickered. The shock and sharp pain spread instantly as if on fire. I was in so much pain that I almost fell down, but I held on and took a big step with my left foot. I kicked my right foot and rammed it into Atol¡¯s stomach. ¡°Guh!¡± Surprised by my unexpected behavior, Atol took two steps backward. ¡°Ow! That¡¯s a lethal weapon!¡± I jumped up and rubbed the back of my head with both hands. Aah, it¡¯s a little dented! ¡±Don¡¯t be absurd! This is part of my body, human! If you¡¯re so frustrated, why don¡¯t you grow a horn or two!¡° ¡°Kuh! You¡¯ve been talking a lot.¡± But I¡¯m frustrated, I can¡¯t retort! ¡°You¡¯ll be sorry you ever allowed me to fly!¡± Aah! Oh, no! With a flap of his large, white wings, Atol rose up. Damn it! I was closing the distance to keep him from flying away, but I pushed him away from me! ¡°Ha, ha! It¡¯s no big deal! Bring it on!¡± He smiled at my appearance and words and flew even higher. ¡°Kunpei! Concentrate! If there are no long-range attacks, that means you should be aiming for a counter!¡± My father¡¯s precise instructions instantly calmed the thoughts that had begun to rush through my mind. That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve heard from Kayone. Atol can¡¯t use magic. Then he¡¯s going to have to come down here to defeat me no matter what! ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± Atol¡¯s figure blurred for a moment as he flapped his wings vigorously with words of enthusiasm. ¡°Hah?¡± The next moment when I was still dumbfounded by that scene¡­ ¡°Oof!¡± I felt an unusual pain in my abdomen, and the scenery changed. The scenery was changing at such a rapid pace that my mind could not process it. ¡°Hah! Aghhh!¡± Something hit me hard, and knocked all the air out of my lungs. What the hell? What happened? ¡°Kunpei!¡± ¡°Kunepi-san!¡± ¡°Kunpei-kun!¡± Dad, Aoi and Mikuma¡¯s voices sounded awfully close. ¡°Ha! Goha!¡± The bitter taste of gastric juices looming in my throat made me nauseous. A few moments later, a heavy, intense pain tormented the area around my stomach. ¡°W-what¡­?¡± I shook my head, trying to find Atol, who I¡¯ve lost sight of, and saw what looks like a black bar next to my face. Ah, this. Ring rope¡­? Oh, come on. All I could do was laugh. I mean, I was almost in the middle of the ring, and in an instant I was blown to the ropes? ¡°Seriously¡­? I didn¡¯t even see that?¡± I was surprised at the words that came out of my mouth. The only thing I can think of is a dive attack from the air. Are you saying that Atol attacked my stomach with the same momentum as he was falling at breakneck speed? ¡°Where is he? Aah¡­ seriously?¡± When I finally found Atol, he was standing far above the ring with his arms crossed. He¡¯s at a higher altitude than before. He looked down at me and gave me a bored look. ¡°So this time, from over there¡­?¡± Hey, I¡¯m probably going to die, aren¡¯t I? It was so powerful even at the height it was at earlier, but a blow at even greater speed would without a doubt be overkill. ¡°Kunpei! Hang on, Kunpei!¡± ¡°A-ah.¡± I can hear my father¡¯s panicked voice. It¡¯s okay. I was blown away, but I¡¯m still conscious. I just don¡¯t know what to do. Earlier, I was thinking of punching him when he descended, but Atol¡¯s flight speed was several times faster than I imagined, and I¡¯m not confident I can see him. That¡¯s the limit of my perception. What should I do? ¡°Hey, dad. do you have any plans?¡± Without taking my eyes off Atol, l asked my father for help. Since I¡¯m this close, so just a bit. I¡¯ll cheat a little bit. ¡°¡­No, I can¡¯t think of anything.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know, right?¡± No, no, no. I¡¯m so desperate that I¡¯m starting to get a little na?ve. This is a fight between me and Atol. It¡¯s too lame to get your parents involved in a child¡¯s fight. Even if I lose, I¡¯m going to fight as hard as I can. ¡°¡­ All I can say is, good luck. Sorry.¡± From behind me, across the ropes, my father muttered in a dejected tone of voice. No, no, no, don¡¯t apologize. It¡¯s not your fault. ¡°Oh, no. I¡¯m sorry, too. I¡¯ll figure it out. You see, I still have mother¡¯s spell.¡± Oh yeah, I forgot the most important and most reassuring thing. Mom taught me a spell to encourage me. The most important words she left for me. Without it, I can¡¯t say I¡¯m going all out. ¡°¡­ Is that so?¡± ¡°Hmm. Now, what should I do?¡± I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯s waiting for me to get up, but he hasn¡¯t moved from his position. It¡¯s not cool to buy too much time, so let¡¯s stand up for now. I hit my trembling knees and sluggishly stood up. It hasn¡¯t even been five minutes since we started again. I can¡¯t afford to lose so easily. It was obvious to me that I was at a disadvantage because of my race. Then, I¡¯ll just have to do whatever I can. In my uselessly positive judgement, it¡¯s not considered disgraceful to scramble for survival. ¡°She¡¯s amazing, your mother.¡± ¡°Hah?¡± My father said in a tone of voice that was weaker than usual. What¡¯s wrong with you all of a sudden? Such a tragic air doesn¡¯t suit you and it¡¯s still too early for you. I turned my head slightly and looked at my father¡¯s face. The self-mocking smile on his face is not the same as my father¡¯s smile when he¡¯s making fun of me. ¡°¡­ You and Shouhei, everything important was prepared by her. How pathetic is that? There really isn¡¯t much left that I can do for you guys as a father.¡± Ah, this. I¡¯ve never seen this side of him before, but this guy¡¯s no good. ¡°¡­ Are you an idiot?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± I¡¯ll clearly deny it. I can¡¯t let Shouhei see him like this. So I¡¯m going to say something pretty embarrassing now. I¡¯m sure I¡¯m going to bury my face in my pillow tonight and scream, it¡¯ll probably be traumatic and embarrassing for the rest of my life. I turned my face away from my father as much as I could and took a deep breath. My face was hot. It¡¯s not pain or excitement, but a flushing heat that comes from embarrassment. But it¡¯s the truth, my honest truth. It¡¯s our feelings. I¡¯m sorry for dragging you into this, Shouhei. ¡°I¡¯m telling you! Me! And Shouhei too! Have a lot of respect for you!¡± ¡°Ha?¡± He responded with a idiotic tone. Stop it. Don¡¯t give me that kind of realistic response! I don¡¯t think it¡¯s fair! ¡°Ever since mom left! You¡¯ve been working hard! We know it! Well, you know! We think you¡¯re so cool!¡± Aah! I can¡¯t do it anymore! I¡¯ll die of embarrassment! ¡°That¡¯s why! We¡¯ve been watching your back very carefully! Shouhei and I!¡± I couldn¡¯t take it anymore, so I stepped away from the rope. My face was probably red up to my ears right now. I feel like my consciousness was getting a blow by something other than the damage I received from Atol. Damn it, that bastard! You made me say something I shouldn¡¯t have! I¡¯ll never forgive you! ¡°Hey, I kept you waiting you stupid prince! Come and get me!¡± I¡¯ll take it out on you! This is all your fault! ¡°Kazamachi Kunpei! Waits for the wind!¡± I screamed out loud to drown out my embarrassment. Far up in the sky, Atol spun around in a circle and faced downwards. ¡°Smell the wind!¡± I spread my legs in an open stance and held my hands tightly in front of my hips. ¡°Anytime! Anywhere!¡± The more I yelled, the more strength I felt in my body. It might be an illusion. Maybe it was because I was so worked up. ¡°When I want to fly!¡± Maybe chanting these words is a habitual way of self-suggestion. But there were no lies in these words. ¡°Fly with a bang!¡± The chanting of the last words and the blurring of the prince¡¯s figure occurred almost simultaneously. Chapter 142 - My Uppercut for Your Sake (10) I can only assume that my body moved by itself because of the uncomfortable feeling I felt in the back of my nostrils. Almost unconsciously, I twisted my body to the right and avoided the plummeting mass of wind that passed beside me by the skin of my teeth. ¡°¡­ Hah?¡± The one who was most surprised was, of all people, me. For a moment, I was eye to eye with Atol, who looked at me sideways with astonishment in his eyes. I¡¯m sure he didn¡¯t think I could avoid it. His eyes were wide open, perhaps because he had missed out on certain victory. Because there was no impact from the rear-end collision that should have come, the trajectory of the collision has deviated greatly from its original position. The time between me and Atol flowed as if in slow motion. ¡°Aah! Guh!¡± Time regained its normal flow. After bouncing several times on the ring mat at breakneck speed, Atol bounced off the ropes gasping. I watched that, dumbfounded. ¡°¡­ Eh?¡± What just happened? How could I have avoided an attack of that speed? I was half-heartedly trying to counter, even though it was absolutely impossible. ¡°Kuh! Kunpei! Stop spacing out!¡± ¡°Ah? Ah!¡± The angry voice of my father standing at the ringside brought me back to my senses. I put all my energy into my wobbly body and ran as fast as I could towards the collapsed Atol. ¡°Ah, Atol-sama!¡± ¡°Your Highness?¡± Kayone and Utai¡¯s voices echoed in the ring. Their voices, laced with worry and surprise, was urgent. ¡°Guuuuh!¡± Atol, who was supposed to have slammed his entire body hard into the mat, groaned as he stood up. I honestly thought it was amazing. That was not the kind of damage that you can shake off with just willpower alone. But Atol stood up. Why? What is driving you? How can you, a self-deprecating, abject, helplessly negative person, stand up with that kind of damage? ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhh!¡± With a shout, I clenched my fists and readied myself, turning all the remaining air in my lungs into fighting spirit. I was defeated by his spirit. It was because I felt that way when I saw Atol. ¡°G-guh! I can¡¯t lose!¡± Atol bellowed determinedly. There was no sense of negative thoughts in his voice, which was so strong that even the air seemed to vibrate. Despite the blood spewing out of his mouth and the cruel red stain on his white wings, his fighting spirit had not been broken in the least. He readied his fists, glared at me, and moved his heavy legs as best he could to face me. ¡°Aaaaaaaah!¡± I was the one who made the first move. My fist struck Atol¡¯s face. The upper half of Atol¡¯s body was blown back by the blow. But he endured, and his fist immediately struck my right cheek in a counterattack. My vision flickered white. Barely grasping onto my blurry consciousness, I put all the strength I could into my waist and upper body and clenched my right fist again. ¡°Aaaaahhhhhh!¡± ¡°Ooooohhhh!¡± Our spirits collided. When I punched him in the face, he punched me in the stomach. The pain almost took over, and I hung on to my consciousnesses, my will to not fall over overwhelmed my body. ¡°Guaah!¡± ¡°Hmph!¡± Face, stomach, arms. Face, torso, face. The exchange of fists between me and Atol was like a turn-based battle in a video game. I couldn¡¯t even do my footwork properly. We confronted each other with only willpower, and we exchanged blows with tenacity and persistence. His puffed up face was so cruel to look at that I couldn¡¯t help but wonder why Atol hadn¡¯t collapsed yet. But I¡¯m sure he feels the same way, because I can¡¯t even feel my face anymore. If you don¡¯t go down, I can¡¯t go down, and the two beasts exchanged fists on top of the ring. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô ¡°Guh¡­¡± ¡°Gah¡­¡± How long have we been hitting each other? I don¡¯t even know what time it is anymore. The only sounds in both ears were the faint exhalations of me and Atol, and the unidentifiable screams coming from outside the ring. Our fists were slowly losing strength, and we¡¯ve lost all momentum. Because I lost consciousness here and there, the scene changes immediately like a flip book. I got hit, woke up, hit him, then got hit again. The only thing that my noisy thoughts can lead me to, is to hit the man in front of me as many times as I can. ¡°Guaah¡­¡± My right fist caught Atol¡¯s left cheek, there was no power left. Off balance, Atol clung to the ropes and put his left knee on the mat while holding his trembling right leg. My mouth was full of blood, but I couldn¡¯t stop being thirsty. I felt a dull ache in my chest from breathing so heavily. Still, I looked down at Atol, trying hard not to lower my raised fist. ¡°Guha¡­ gah¡­ haa¡­ even I, understand¡­¡± Perhaps unable to support himself anymore, Atol, who kept his head down, muttered. He couldn¡¯t give up and his right hand that gripped the rope was trembling, as if he was frustrated that he couldn¡¯t even stand up. I didn¡¯t reply to his words, and just stared at him in silence. No, it¡¯s more accurate to say that I don¡¯t have the strength left to reply. ¡°The reason why father lowered my right to the throne is to praise my younger brother Setol¡¯s contribution to the country¡­ My Dailan, who is pushing for modernization, can not afford to disparage those who have done excellent work¡­ Even if father does not want it, those around will not allow it¡­ For me who hasn¡¯t accomplished anything, I don¡¯t have the right to criticize it¡­ It¡¯s no wonder¡­ In order to become the ¡®Sea Dragon¡¯s servant¡¯, I only looked at myself. I didn¡¯t think about it. So I¡¯ve never hated father. I understand that¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t see his face, so I didn¡¯t know what kind of expression he had on his face. But his voice was firm, and I knew that he was speaking from his heart. Glancing above Atol¡¯s head, I saw Kayone, who had moved over some time ago, looking down at him with a pale face and a worried expression. The tears in the corners of her eyes and the bite marks around her mouth were painful to look at. The thin tanned hand clasped in front of her face was probably a sign of her heart that wanted to reach out to him, but hesitated to do so. Utai had her hand on her back to support her. ¡°I know that he chose this town to study in because he was concerned about my overly sensitive skin¡­ I have never hated or disliked father¡­ He is a splendid king. I respect my father. Of course, I love my brothers, too¡­¡± ¡°A-Atol-sama¡­ It¡¯s okay, that¡¯s enough.¡± I guess she couldn¡¯t take it anymore while listening to him. Kayone collapsed while spilling tears, as if trying to cling to Atol¡¯s back through the ropes. ¡°K-Kayo-san, hang in there.¡± Utai¡¯s voice lacked its usual energy. The way she spoke to Kayone in a faint voice was very unreliable. ¡°So for me, all I needed was Kayone¡­ Kayone has supported me since I was young, and that¡¯s why I¡¯ve never given up.¡± ¡°A-Atol-sama¡­ Atol-sama?¡± Kayone, her face contorted into a crumpled mess of tears, touched Atol¡¯s back through the gap in the ropes. Slowly, as if touching a fragile object. With great care. ¡°To me, her existence is already irreplaceable¡­¡± I know. I¡¯ve known that for a long time. Because whether you were in the classroom or not, you never tried to look anyone in the eye except Kayone. Even when you acted bluntly and disinterestedly, your gaze always found Kayone. ¡°Of course I want you by my side¡­ Ah, I love you¡­ I love you so much! I can never thank you enough, I¡¯ve lived my whole life with Kayone¡¯s support!¡± ¡°¡­ So you can say it honestly, you idiot.¡± If you¡¯d been like that from the beginning, we wouldn¡¯t have gotten into this mess. ¡°But¡­! But!¡± Putting all his strength into his unreliable legs, Atol stood up. Ah, that¡¯s right. Unless there was a reason, he would not be able to fight with such a strong will. I clenched my fists again. The end is near. ¡°That¡¯s why! I¡¯m no good! My existence! I¡¯ll get in the way of her future! Do you know how amazing it is to be able to use medium-level healing magic at that age? That much skill and ability at that age! Do you know how much happiness it will bring her?¡± His voice was squeezed out as if he were trying to convince himself. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s something inside you that you haven¡¯t fully understood yet, and that¡¯s why you can¡¯t even control yourself well. You don¡¯t have to be so much like me, you know. ¡°The reason why older brother who¡¯s in Tokyo is keeping Kayo away is because Francion¡¯s royal family is pressing her for marriage!¡± ¡°¡­ Eh?¡± Kayone who was still crying, widened her eyes. ¡°A-Atol-sama?¡± Wait a minute, it seems like there¡¯s some new information. From the looks of it, it¡¯s something she didn¡¯t know about either? I¡¯m pretty sure that Francion is the demon country that¡¯s famous for exporting the language spheres, right? ¡°I was persuaded by the elders of Inteira before I came to this country that Kayo had a good match through my brother¡¯s diplomatic channels! For Kayo¡¯s sake, and for Dailan¡¯s sake! They wanted me to break off my engagement to her! My brother rebuked the elders and the matter was dropped at that time! But even now, my brother reports to me regularly that he is still being approached by people who are very persistent!¡± Huh? Isn¡¯t this a little different from Kayone¡¯s story? Didn¡¯t she say that her grandfather lied to you and tried to get you to break off the engagement? ¡°Francion is the largest country of the demon race! Marrying into its royal family is like a lifetime promise for Kayo¡¯s future! She¡¯s wouldn¡¯t just be the wife of someone like me, who¡¯s only royalty in name! You¡¯ll be joining the royal family of a great country, with status, honor, and prestigious history! It would be ridiculous to even compare the two!¡± ¡°But, eh? My father and mother never said a word about that¡­¡± The bewildered Kayone was flustered and upset. It¡¯s true. Francion is a country that even someone like me knows the name of. The royalty of that country must have a status comparable to that name. ¡°It¡¯s something that brother has officially turned down! The Inteira family didn¡¯t want the story to spread, so they only told the Council of Elders and a few others! Not even to Kayone herself!¡± Oh, I get it now. It¡¯s all connected. He¡¯s so twisted, isn¡¯t he? It¡¯s just like Kayone, isn¡¯t it? She cared so much for the other person that she left herself behind. Just like Kayone couldn¡¯t stop her foul-mouth because it would make Atol feel better. He compared his position with the royalty of Francion and chose Kayone¡¯s future. Wow, what a well-matched couple. Self-sacrifice at its finest! ¡°Aren¡¯t you just an idiot! You idiot! Idiot!¡± ¡°You!¡± This guy is really no good! He¡¯s too much like me. ¡°Ready? As someone who¡¯s been there, let me tell you! So clean you ears and listen with gratitude!¡± Yes, that was something that happened in early spring. When Jaja and Nana were born and came with Aoi to live with us. That was the time when Yule attacked. I, we are making the exact same mistake. ¡°It¡¯s something that involves the both of you! So, talk it out!¡± Don¡¯t let Aoi think alone. Don¡¯t let me think alone. I¡¯m an idiot and Aoi doesn¡¯t know anything about the world. If two people like that tried to find the answer separately, there was no way they could find it. ¡°Talk it out! Be upfront about everything! That¡¯s when you have to start worrying! That¡¯s the starting point! Right!¡¡Aoi!¡± I looked at Aoi who was outside the ring. ¡°Y-yes! Hardship is! It¡¯s something we overcome together!¡± Aoi nodded her head so vigorously that it looked like her head was going to fall off, and she looked somewhat happy. ¡°What are you being so self-important for!¡± ¡°Well then! Did you even ask Kayone how she feels?¡± That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong. ¡°Kayone! This guy and that Francion guy who you don¡¯t even know! Which one do you want?¡± ¡°That¡¯s! It will always be Atol-sama, of course! Please don¡¯t mock me!¡± No, why did you get angry at me? ¡°Kayo! But¡­¡± ¡°I! I¡¯ve made up my mind since I was a child to be with Atol-sama!¡± Kayone spoke over the prince¡¯s angry voice and looked straight into Atol¡¯s eyes. ¡°I love you! I admire you! The only reason I learned healing magic was for your skin! I don¡¯t care about anyone else!¡± It was a straightforward confession. Somehow, the atmosphere was pink before I realized it! The seriousness that had been there earlier is missing! ¡°No matter what you think or do, I will never leave your side! Never!¡± ¡°Y-you¡­¡± You¡¯ve lost. It¡¯s a complete defeat for Atol. ¡°Well now! Atol! Let¡¯s put an end to this! This was a travesty to the end, a lovable farce!¡± I feel like I¡¯m getting my strength back. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s because we¡¯ve resolved a lot of complicated mysteries and I feel refreshed! But in the end, I still have something to say. ¡°W-wait! Hold on a second!¡± ¡°This is a very pointless incident that happened because you and Kayone were going around in circles. So let¡¯s forgive everything with this one hit.¡± I took a step toward Atol, who was in an embarrassing panic. ¡°But as expected, I still can¡¯t forgive you for dragging me, Aoi, and my daughters into this.¡± I took a forceful step forward and smashed my right fist and left palm together, making a fearless smile. ¡°So let me tell you something.¡± With every muscle in my body pulsating, I pulled back my right fist. Atol, who had lost all strength in his body through the series of events, staggered back. ¡°We¡¯ve decided that we¡¯re going to work hard and do our best for our normal lives, for Jaja and Nana¡¯s happiness. That thought, that determination, is not something half-hearted!¡± My fist that was drawn to the limit made a creaking sound like a drawn bow. This fist contained something from me and Aoi and everyone else in my family. It also contains the feelings of Rouge, Mikuma, Officer Doggy and Yuri-san. That¡¯s why this hit is super heavy. ¡°So from now on!¡± ¡°Wait!¡± I took a big step with my right foot and released it. ¡°Mine! And Aoi¡¯s!¡± I swung my fist at the sky with all my strength from down below. ¡°Don¡¯t get in the way of our resolve!¡± ¡°Buhaa!¡± What do you think? It works, right? Me and Atol. The stupid, clumsy, helpless us. It¡¯s an all-out uppercut to discourage the kind of smiling idiot you can¡¯t really hate. Chapter 143 - Mother ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô The interrupted memory began again when I was standing in front of the hospital room, soaking wet. I don¡¯t remember how many minutes or hours I ran around. The soles of my feet were in terrible pain from going barefoot and were covered in blisters and cuts. For some reason, I was afraid to open the door and couldn¡¯t take a single step. The interior lights of the hospital were dim and that made me feel uncomfortable. It took courage for me to remember why I was standing here. ¡°Kunpei¡­. mom is waiting for you.¡± My father, who was soaking wet like me, pushed my back. My cheek, which had been slapped earlier, ached slightly. I was sheltering from the wind and rain in the multi-story parking lot of the department store I wanted to go to, when my father appeared out of nowhere, out of breath, and hit me. He then hugged me strongly then gently and brought me here. It was already dark outside, and the rain hadn¡¯t stopped yet. ¡°Dad, why are we in the hospital? Is Shouhei sick?¡± ¡°¡­It¡¯s okay, just go. Mom, isn¡¯t mad.¡± I thought that Shouhei¡¯s condition had gotten worse because I had been selfish. In hindsight, there was no relationship at all, but as a young child, I could only think that way. ¡°U-un.¡± He pushed me gently again, and I finally grabbed the handle of the door. The door, which was a sliding door, opened much more smoothly than I had imagined, and I squinted a little at the bright lights inside. ¡°¡­ Kunpei?¡± I heard my mother¡¯s voice. It was definitely my mother¡¯s voice, but it was muffled and hard to make out. She was lying on the bed and turned her head to look at me while stretching her arms out from under the covers towards me. ¡°Kunpei, thank god¡­ Where have you been? Your father found you, didn¡¯t he? Are you hurt? Ah, you¡¯re soaking wet, Kouhei-kun, there¡¯s a towel over there. Oh, your feet are all injured! We need to see a doctor. The reception isn¡¯t closed yet, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, you go back to sleep.¡± She wriggled her body to get up, but father immediately stopped her. Her voice was muffled because she was wearing an oxygen mask. I didn¡¯t know what it was called at the time, but I immediately understood that it was something that sick people often wore on TV. ¡°M-mom! Why? What¡¯s wrong with you? Dad!¡± I immediately ran to the bed and grabbed her hand. ¡°What? Mom¡­?¡± My mother¡¯s hands that were always warm and gentle. My favorite hands were as cold as ice. ¡°Ah, your hands are so cold¡­ make sure to take a bath as soon as you get home¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s your hands that are cold!¡± She was more worried more about my body than her own. She grabbed my hand with a hand that didn¡¯t have any strength in it at all, and I couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy as he talked to me in the same way she usually did. I couldn¡¯t help but interrupt her loudly, and she let go of my hand, took off her oxygen mask, and put her index finger over her mouth. ¡°Shh. Shouhei is asleep. This is a hospital, so you need to be quiet, okay?¡± ¡°Shouhei?¡± With those words, I realized for the first time that Shouhei was asleep next to Mom. A cooling sheet was placed on his forehead, and he was breathing hard, gripping Mom¡¯s shoulder with his eyes closed. ¡°¡­ Kunpei, sorry about the department store, okay?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. I¡¯m sorry I was so selfish too. Let¡¯s go again some other time when Mom and Shouhei are feeling better.¡± It was at this point that I was finally able to be honest. It was my fault for not listening to her. Shouhei¡¯s body is weak and it was all my fault that I had troubled her by saying all that. My dad patted me on the head. His hand, which always crumpled my hair without hesitation, was very unreliable at that moment. When I looked at my father¡¯s face, he looked at me as if he was troubled, and his mouth was bent into a crooked line. ¡°Kunpei, make a promise with Mom.¡± I looked at mom again. My mother, who looked somewhat pale, smiled gently and stroked my cheek. ¡°Promise?¡± ¡°Yes, a promise.¡± She slowly sat up to not wake Shouhei up, and cupped my cheeks with both her hands. I felt the cold hand gradually regaining its temperature, and with a sense of relief, I rubbed my cheek against her hand. ¡°The most important thing is to protect Shouhei. You¡¯re his big brother, so make sure you help him when he¡¯s in trouble or in danger, okay?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me that.¡± He¡¯s my cute, precious, and important little brother. It¡¯s only natural to protect him. ¡°Yes, as expected of a big brother. Next time, don¡¯t trouble your father too much.¡± ¡°Dad is the one that makes fun of me, you know?¡± It was always me who was annoyed by my father, who would poke fun of me with an unpleasant smile on his face. I¡¯m not sure what to do. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not the only one. Mom said that Dad was always working hard for Kaoru and Shohei, so she didn¡¯t want him to be too selfish. Yeah, but sometimes it¡¯s okay, okay? Until they¡¯re a little older, selfishness is their prerogative. ¡°Ahaha, when he does that, make sure to fight back, okay? Dad is always working hard for Kunpei and Shouhei, so she doesn¡¯t want him to be too selfish. Ah, but it¡¯s fine occasionally, okay? Until you¡¯re older, selfishness is a privilege for Kunpei and Shouhei.¡± ¡°What do you mean by ¡®privilege¡¯?¡± She pinched my cheek more forcefully than before, and I almost forgot that I was in a hospital room, as if she was as usual. ¡°It¡¯s a special right for children. Also, if you see someone in trouble, help them, okay? Pretending not to see something is something uncool boys do. But don¡¯t hit or kick them. Ask the adults around you to help, and just make sure you don¡¯t get hurt, okay?¡± ¡°U-un.¡± At this point, I noticed that my mother¡¯s attitude was strange. What she was saying was the same as always, but it seemed as if she was not included in the promise. The anxiety that had once receded came out again, and I put my own hand on top of hers hand that was cupping my cheek, and squeezed it tightly. ¡°Make sure to eat your meals every day. I¡¯ve taught you a little about cooking, but don¡¯t do anything too complicated, okay? Never mess around when you are using knives and fire, okay? Also, make sure to take a bath every day. I don¡¯t want you to have to be told to take a bath like you¡¯ve been doing now. Make sure to brush your teeth before you go to bed, and make sure you finish your homework. Don¡¯t play too many games, okay? Don¡¯t eat too many snacks. Oh, and also¡­¡± ¡°Kaori.¡± My father stopped my mother who was speaking in a hurried manner. Still resting his hand on my head and not wiping the dripping water from his wet body, my dad looked at my mom with sorrowful eyes. ¡°¡­ Un.¡± She made eye contact with my father, nodded deeply once, and looked at me again. ¡°¡­ Kazamachi Kunpei waits for the wind. Do you remember?¡± ¡°U-un. I remember it well.¡± It¡¯s something that has been told to me since I was a child, a god luck charm that gives me courage. I don¡¯t even know how many hundreds or thousands of times I¡¯ve heard that spell, but I remembered it all. ¡°Kazamachi Kunpei waits for the wind. He smells the scent of the wind and flies whenever and wherever he wants to¡­ Whenever you have a hard time, remember this incantation. When you want to cry, it¡¯s okay to cry. When you want to run away, you can run away. But be sure to grit your teeth and try your best not to lose at least once. Kunpei is a kid that won¡¯t lose¡­ isn¡¯t he? You¡¯re my pride and joy.¡± Mom spoke to me in her beautiful, gentle voice that I love. ¡°Yes, yes. You can¡¯t lose, okay?¡± To what? To whom? I nodded vigorously, without questioning the details. ¡°Yes, good boy. A really good boy. My treasures¡­¡± My mother was crying. Her eyes were dyed red and she was trying to keep her voice from trembling, but she couldn¡¯t hold back the tears. I was shocked as if my heart had been pierced and I was at a loss for words. It was the first time I had ever seen my mother cry. ¡°M-mom? That was all a lie, you know? I didn¡¯t really mean what I said earlier. I¡¯m sorry¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­ uwah. I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry for leaving, I¡¯m sorryyyyy.¡± There¡¯s no way my mom and dad would hate me. But I made my mom cry because I said something like that. When I thought about it, I couldn¡¯t understand what was going on. Something hot and unstoppable surged from the back of my eyes, becoming large tears that flowed out all at once. ¡°No, that¡¯s not it Kunpei. It¡¯s me who needs to apologize. It¡¯s not Kunpei¡¯s fault. I¡¯m sorry, okay? I love you, Kunpei. I love you so much!¡± ¡°Uwaaaaaahh, hic, uwaaaaah!¡± I continued to cry in my mother¡¯s chest as she hurriedly hugged me, not knowing how to make amends. ¡°Because I love Kunpei, I have to tell you the truth. So, you know what? Kunpei, Kunpei, Kunpei, aah, my Kunpei.¡± She kept calling my name as if she was delirious. She clung to me desperately, so tightly that my body ached from the hug. She didn¡¯t care about my rain-soaked shirt and continued to hug me tightly. ¡°¡­Kaori. I can do it if it¡¯s too difficult.¡± My father muttered as he sat on the bed, stroking Shouhei¡¯s hair, ¡°No, I¡¯ve decided a long time ago that I¡¯ll tell Kunpei properly. Shouhei is still too young to understand, so I will at least tell Kunpei. I don¡¯t want to lie to him until the end.¡± She suddenly pushed me away and grabbed me by the shoulders. Taken by surprise, I gulped and opened my eyes to look at my mother. I¡¯ll never forget those beautiful eyes, filled with deep sadness, affection, and strong determination. ¡°Kunpei, I¡­¡± She slowly opened her pale pink lips and told me. ¡°¡­I¡¯m going to die soon.¡± I was in the fourth grade and Shouhei was in kindergarten. After that day, my mother never came home again. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô Chapter 144 - If It’s Just Myself ¡°Kunpei-san? Kunpei-san.¡± Aoi¡¯s voice woke me up. Oh? Oops, it seems like I fell asleep. I felt like I was having a very nostalgic dream. ¡°Are you okay? You look like you had a nightmare.¡± ¡°Are you thirsty? Here¡¯s some water.¡± Mikuma and Aoi¡¯s worried faces filled my vision. It might be because I just woke up, but I was a bit startled. ¡°Ah, sorry. Healing magic feels so good, doesn¡¯t it? How long was I asleep?¡± ¡°About ten minutes?¡± I took the mineral water that Aoi handed me and looked around. This was inside their hideout. I was lying on a worn-out couch in the corner of the living room. I was in the middle of having my injuries treated with Kayone¡¯s healing magic after the duel. I had fallen asleep to the unexpected comfort of healing magic. ¡°The wounds on your body have mostly healed, but your fatigue and physical exhaustion should have increased. When you get home today, make sure you get some rest, okay?¡± ¡°Ah, thanks. Just taking care of the injuries is already enough.¡± I replied and sat up. Ah, I see. My body felt heavy. ¡°In addition to healing with magic power, I also increased Kazamachi-sama¡¯s own recovery power. Hmm, even if you tell me that, it doesn¡¯t quite make sense to me. I touched my face. My face, which had been puffy and swollen earlier, was now just a little swollen. Magic is amazing. ¡°Where¡¯s Atol?¡± ¡°His Highness¡¯ treatment is just beginning. It¡¯s like my own little revenge, to make him reflect a little¡­¡± Kayone stuck out her tongue a little after saying that. Kayone looks much more mature with her tanned skin and black hair, but when she makes gestures like this, she is more like a girl of her age. Yep, an oriental beauty. ¡°If you¡¯re talking about me, I¡¯m right here.¡± We suddenly heard Atol¡¯s grumpy voice, and we all turned around at once. ¡°Your Highness, please don¡¯t forcibly get up.¡± ¡°Shut up. This is nothing. Hey, Kazamachi.¡± Atol glared at me as he backed away slightly from Kayone, who rushed over to him. ¡°What?¡± My heavy body couldn¡¯t move very well, so I leaned back against the sofa and replied. I don¡¯t think of this guy as a big deal anymore. ¡°¡­ The duel is my loss. Tell me three things you want. Ah, the round trip to sphere continent is separate. I was planning to do that originally.¡± ¡°Hah?¡± Like usual, he¡¯s still saying the same incomprehensible things. ¡°Then, just one thing.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Apologize to Kayone right now.¡± It¡¯s no fun unless you see it. ¡°Hey! You!¡± Hey, he¡¯s flustered! I¡¯ve been trying so hard to see that face of yours since the beginning! ¡°K-Kazamachi-sama! I¡¯m fine!¡± Kayone appealed to me in a big hurry while shaking her hands. ¡°Even if you¡¯re fine with it, I¡¯m not fine with it. Come on, hurry up.¡± It¡¯s getting a little interesting, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Kunpei-san, you¡¯re making a very evil face.¡± ¡°Hm, it looks like he¡¯s having fun, but it¡¯s little scary, isn¡¯t it?¡± Huh? Ladies, this is not your turn to humiliate me, okay? ¡°People with villainous faces like you shouldn¡¯t smile like that, you know.¡± ¡°Shut up, furball!¡± Gasara appeared from behind Atol and pointed at my face with a grin. Ah, it seems that Atol was resting in Gasara¡¯s room. ¡°Never mind that and apologize! You said I can ask for anything, right?¡± I have to turn the focus back to Atol as soon as possible! ¡°Yes! I have a suggestion!¡± ¡°Whoa!¡± ¡°Kya!¡± ¡°Aah!¡± ¡°Gyaaaaah!¡± Aoi, Mikuma and I quickly covered our ears in surprise at the loud sonic attack that was suddenly unleashed, while Gasara, who had been hit up close, screamed and fainted. Serves you right! It was the sudden appearance of the smiling ultrasonic girl, Utai. ¡°D-don¡¯t startle me like that, idiot!¡± ¡°What an amazing voice¡­¡± ¡°I thought my heart was going to stop¡­¡± You¡¯re going to kill someone if you keep showing up at that volume without warning! The windows of the hideout are shaking dangerously! ¡°I¡¯m sorry? Is this okay?¡± Utai apologizes with a mischievous gesture while laughing and sticking out her tongue. As she moved, her chest, which was larger than Mikuma¡¯s, jiggled. She¡¯s only a little taller than Shouhei, so how did she grow so much over there? I¡¯m curious. Her similarly tanned skin, like Kayone¡¯s, perfectly accentuated Utai¡¯s atmosphere. ¡°You know what? I was almost forgotten today, wasn¡¯t I? Even though I¡¯m His Highness¡¯s fianc¨¦e too.¡± I know you think you¡¯re whispering, but it¡¯s still very loud, you know? That¡¯s right, Utai was also Atol¡¯s fianc¨¦e, wasn¡¯t she? She was completely excluded, though. ¡°It¡¯s not the first time that His Highness and Kayo have been lovey-dovey with each other, and I love them, so it¡¯s okay. But it¡¯s still quite a shock that they forgot about me.¡± This person, when you think about it, is probably in the most complicated position. Sandwiched between Atol and Kayone, an idiot couple who are mutually in love with each other, and on top of that, it is already decided she¡¯ll be his future second wife or whatever, what kind of feeling is that? ¡°So, your apology to Kayo-san and your apology to me will be counted separately from Kazamachi-kun¡¯s reward for the duel! Isn¡¯t that good, Your Highness!¡± ¡°You! Saying that as you please!¡± Oh? What does that mean? ¡°Because, this time¡­ or rather, since we left Dailan until now, His Highness¡¯ attitude was the worst, wasn¡¯t it? I think it¡¯s only natural that you apologize to me and Kayo-san, who were following you around. Ah, that was tough, wasn¡¯t it, Kayo-san?¡± Ah, I see. That¡¯s right, it¡¯s true that I was the most inconvenienced one today, but Kayone and Utai have been pushed around by Atol for over a year. There¡¯s nothing wrong with demanding an apology for something like that. Rather, getting told to apologize by an outsider like me, doesn¡¯t make sense. ¡°Guh! But!¡± ¡°Is that okay? Is it really okay to act like that towards me? Is that really okay?¡± With a smirk on her face, Utai bent her waist and looked up at Atol while approaching him. Doesn¡¯t it look like you¡¯re having fun? ¡°Um, what was it again? ¡®Don¡¯t be silly. I¡¯m the only one who understands how good Kayone is. The smile that appears on her face at a moment¡¯s notice is like the holy mother, I¡­¡¯ mmfgh¡± ¡°Ha!? Y-you! Why do you!¡± Atol¡¯s eyes widened, and he hurriedly covered Utai¡¯s mouth with his hand. Holy mother? What are you talking about? ¡°Mmmmhm! Fuhah, Your Highness must have forgotten, right? You must have forgotten who showed His Highness around at the mansion on the day that the elders¡¯ meeting said that Kayo-san had a marriage proposal. Well, that was a passionate speech. It was so loud that even I, who was cleaning outside the room, could hear it, you know?¡± ¡°You knew? You knew this whole time and didn¡¯t say anything?¡± What¡¯s going on? Are they leaving us behind again? ¡°I wonder if Jaja and Nana are awake right now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s already evening. Let¡¯s go home as soon as we¡¯re done.¡± Aoi and Mikuma didn¡¯t seem to be interested anymore. Hm, it seems like this sketch comedy is going to be prolonged. ¡°I knew it, you know. I heard everything after all. After that, His Highness started to think a lot and his attitude suddenly changed, so I thought he must have something on his mind, so I kept quiet. I¡¯m great, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°No, not great or anything like that! Listen up, okay? Don¡¯t ever tell anyone, okay? Not even to Kayone! Ever!¡± I¡¯m going to have to cut them short, I¡¯m starving. I still have two infants waiting for me at home. Please hurry it up. ¡°Guh!¡± ¡°Uta-chan was that true?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true. From now on, every time His Highness does something terrible, I¡¯ll teach you one phrase, okay?¡¡After all, he was giving a speech to the old men about his feelings for Kayo-san for almost an hour.¡± ¡°A-an hour? W-what else? Can you tell me a little bit? You know? I¡¯ll buy you your favorite cake, Uta-chan.¡± Next to the flustered Atol, Kayone was having a private conversation with Utai. It¡¯s a Utai quality that everything that goes in one ear comes out the other. ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t bribe her! I get it! All I have to do is apologize! Just apologize!¡± You¡¯ve finally made up your mind. Yes, if you honestly apologize, everything will be all right. ¡°Guh¡­ Kayone.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± They turned to face each other and stared straight into each other¡¯s eyes. Atol looked uncomfortable, while Kayone¡¯s eyes were filled with passionate fervor. Atol repeatedly grasped and opens his hands, as if he was restless. Kayone¡¯s tanned skin was taking on a red tinge from too much anticipation. What¡¯s with this atmosphere? It¡¯s strange. This is the house of the furball who was currently foaming at the mouth by my feet. It¡¯s a worn-down house with training equipment scattered all over the place, and it¡¯s the number one house of not seeming to have anything to do with love. Come to think of it, I wonder where my dad went. I can¡¯t find Seijitsu-san and Nanairo-san either. ¡°Oh, um, well, what is it? Uh¡­¡± Perhaps unable to endure Kayone¡¯s gaze anymore, Atol looked away to various places and then looked back into Kayone¡¯s eyes again. ¡°Yuuno-san¡­ I¡¯ve seen this kind of thing in a lunchtime drama.¡± ¡°It¡¯s also the first time I¡¯ve ever seen someone confessing their love this close up, Aoi-chan.¡± Before I knew it, my ladies had become spectators. No, I¡¯m honestly happy that you guys seem to be getting along, but this is not a confession scene, okay? It looks like he¡¯s about to confess, but in reality, it¡¯s not strange if Atol prostrates himself to Kayone, you know?¡± I mean, come on! ¡°Just get off your ass and apologize, I¡¯m getting fed up!¡± How long were they going to keep staring at each other? I just want to go home and take a bath with Jaja and Nana! I¡¯m sweaty as hell! Thanks to a certain someone! ¡°I know, I know! Kayone!¡± ¡°Yes! Atol-sama!¡± Kayone, replied vigorously to Atol¡¯s voice. I¡¯m not going to go into it because you didn¡¯t seem to notice, but you¡¯re using ¡®Atol-sama¡¯ instead of ¡®His Highness¡¯, is that okay? ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry for the inconvenience. I guess I was a little¡­ out of control. I¡¯m sorry¡­ If you haven¡¯t grown tired of me¡­ from now on, I want you to stay by my side.¡± That¡¯s a confession, ya goddamn idiot! Gah! I want to say something, but I can¡¯t because of the pink atmosphere around me! ¡°There is no such thing! Kayone will always be Atol-sama¡¯s Kayone!¡± ¡°K-Kayo¡­¡± ¡°Atol-sama¡­¡± Hey. Wait a minute. Stop it! ¡°Yuuno-san! This! They¡¯re going to kiss, right? Right?¡± ¡°No, no, Aoi-chan! Don¡¯t interrupt! I have to watch this carefully for future reference!¡± ¡°No, you guys, stop enjoying yourselves!¡± You¡¯re just an onlooker! ¡°Your Highness? What about me? I¡¯d like you to apologize to me as well, not just Kayo-san.¡± ¡°Whoa! Utai, I¡¯m sorry as well!¡± ¡°That¡¯s so sloppy~¡± Well done, Utai! I¡¯ll give you that! You destroyed the atmosphere! Why don¡¯t you guys just go home and flirt as much as you want!? How should I put it, but I¡¯m starting to feel like I¡¯ve just been caught up in a lovers¡¯ quarrel with you guys ever since you offered to fight me. Damn it! I won, but I feel like I lost! ¡°Ah, I¡¯m done! I¡¯m going home! I¡¯m going home to play with Jaja and Nana and sleep!¡± I¡¯m getting pissed off! Damn it! ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. I also have to help prepare for dinner.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll also help you today, Kunpei-kun.¡± Thank goodness, our girls came back. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right! We have to heal His Highness, too! When we get back to the mansion, I¡¯ll give you a lot of healing!¡± You know, that¡¯s really healing, isn¡¯t it Kayone? It¡¯s not because I¡¯m going through puberty that it sounds lewd, is it? ¡°Dad! Let¡¯s go home!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t stay in this place any longer! I¡¯m going to say farewells to Seijitsu-san and Nanairo-san and get the hell out of here!¡± I got up from the couch and headed for the door leading to the backyard. After a few steps, I remembered something and stopped. That¡¯s right. There¡¯s something I have to tell him. That¡¯s why I went along with this farce. ¡°Hey, Atol.¡± I turned around and stared at Atol¡¯s face. His face, which was still bright red, was still annoying to look at. But it doesn¡¯t matter anymore. ¡°W-what?¡± Atol was not expected to be called and tried to keep up his appearances. It¡¯s too late now. I¡¯ve seen all your embarrassing parts. That¡¯s the only thing I¡¯ve won. Ah, no. An extra prize for the duel. I still have three wishes left. I¡¯ll have to use them somewhere. I can¡¯t think of any at the moment. ¡°Don¡¯t say things like ¡®If it¡¯s me¡¯ again.¡± ¡°Ha?¡± What¡¯s with that dumbfounded expression? You¡¯ve been abject for a while now, have you already forgotten? ¡°The words ¡®It¡¯s just myself¡¯ hurt the people around you more than the person who said them. It hurts the people who believe in you and care about you. In this case, it¡¯s¡­ Kayone and Utai.¡± Yes. These words pierce deeply into the people around you, not yourself. ¡°Actually¡­ I think there are many people around you who trust and watch over you more than you think. Not just Kayone and Utai, but others too.¡± Otherwise, why would there be so many people around you? Your brothers, the servants at your house. They¡¯re definitely on your side. I¡¯m sure of it. ¡°So, I can say this for me, too. We¡¯ve already graduated from working hard just for ourselves. I can¡¯t say anything too substantial, but¡­¡± Aoi is here. Mikuma is here. Rouge is here. My father is watching over me. Shouhei is on my side. Mom is watching over me. And then there¡¯s Jaja and Nana, who trust and rely on me. Just like the words my mother once said that had haunted me for a long time. I¡¯m sure the words ¡®I don¡¯t care about myself¡¯ are more sinful than we think. ¡°Well, that¡¯s all I have to say.¡± I raised my right hand and waved it at him as I turned around. It was a bit of a cringe-worthy line, and I was actually embarrassed. ¡°¡­ Fufu, Kunpei-san, please wait.¡± Aoi followed behind me, making a happy noise. ¡°Ah, Kunpei-kun. I¡¯ll get your stuff, okay?¡± Mikuma¡¯s cheerful voice faded a little. ¡°¡­ Sorry.¡± I could hear Atol¡¯s quiet, almost vanishingly quiet, but heartfelt apology. It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s over. I shook my right hand again without saying that. Now, I can¡¯t wait to see the twins. With that thought in mind, I went through the door. Chapter 145 - If Only You Were Here (EP) That was a close one. I almost came close to crying. Phew, I guess it¡¯s true that our tear glands weaken as we age. As I was driving my beloved car, I looked at my eldest son, who was sleeping with his mouth wide open and a stupid expression on his face. Ever since Mom left! Dad has been working hard! I know that well! I think he¡¯s cool! That¡¯s not fair. What kind of thing are you saying? It¡¯s a good thing that Kunpei was too embarrassed to look at me. If he had looked me in the eye, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to take it. That¡¯s why! We¡¯re watching dad¡¯s back, Shouhei and I! My back, huh. Surprisingly, I¡¯ve been watched. After Kaori left, until now, I have been swamped by many things and have not been able to pamper my sons enough. Shouhei was still very young and was at the peak age of wanting to be pampered, and Kunpei, being the eldest, took on more responsibility than he needed to. I lost count of the number of times I came home late at night after a long day at work and found my sons already under the covers, breathing heavily in their sleep. I feel inadequate. I told myself to pull myself together. These were the days when I encouraged myself, but I became disillusioned with myself. There were too many things that Kaori could do that I couldn¡¯t do. But I couldn¡¯t think of many things that I could do that Kaori couldn¡¯t do. If I did the cleaning, I would slack off towards the end. If I cooked, I would burn it. My laundry was wrinkled, and I¡¯m not good at getting along with the neighbors. All I can do is work hard, feed my sons a good meal, and keep a warm house to come home to. That¡¯s all I could do, I thought. After the duel between Kunpei and Prince Atol, I felt an irresistible urge to exercise, so I asked Seijitsu-kun to accompany me for a little sparring. Ah, I really don¡¯t want to get old. In the past, I would have been able to spar for about thirty minutes, but after the first ten minutes, I couldn¡¯t keep up with Seijitsu-kun. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve been in the ring. It¡¯s good thing that I was at least able to get one hit on you, Seijitsu-kun. I received a couple of good ones, though. But it was a nostalgic feeling. At that time, right? I was about the same age as Kunpei and the others. When I was a fighter in unauthorized betting matches, I was desperate because if I didn¡¯t win, I wouldn¡¯t be alive tomorrow. I didn¡¯t know what a family was until I met Kaori. For as long as I can remember, I¡¯ve lived in an orphanage in the dodgy part of Shinjuku, doing things that were against the law in order to earn my daily bread with others in the same situation. Back then, there were plenty of orphans like us because of the world clash, and even here in Japan, which was relatively unaffected, things were still pretty bad. It¡¯s better that we didn¡¯t know our parents from the start. The beastman children were abandoned by their parents because they were in need of money. When the orphanage was in trouble, I and a few others who were confident in their physical strength sold themselves to an unauthorized gambling ring in the hope of helping out. They were yakuza or mafia. Now the government has moved in and cleaned up the place, but it¡¯s still a crucible of desire for all kinds of scumbags. A betting match between a beastman of many times the size and physical ability of a powerless human. It was popular at the time and we fighters, whose lifespan tended to be short, could make a fortune if we survived. Well, our contract was almost like a slave contract, and I was the only one who survived. Not a penny of the money I had accumulated was left after freeing myself and the matter on Kaori, but I never regretted it. Because it made it possible for me to live with Kaori. I glanced at the back seat in the rear-view mirror. Aoi-chan and Yuuno-chan were chatting happily. Haha, kids these days are so cute. What a waste for this idiot who¡¯s slobbering while asleep. Well, I¡¯m actually proud of him. They are two precious people who appreciate his honest and sincere side. They recognize my clumsy and stubborn eldest son, who is just like the old me, not his outside but his inside, and they are in love with him. It must be tough to be courted by two people at once, and both of them are honest and good-natured, so Kunpei is going to have a hell of a time in the future. I¡¯m troubled, but if it¡¯s the path you¡¯ve decided, I¡¯ll do my best to follow it. It¡¯s my role and it¡¯s what I promised Kaori. We¡¯ll be arriving home soon. The twins, my first grandchildren, Shouhei and Rouge are staying there. Ichika-chan and Koji-kun are also there. Our house, which used to be lonely with just the boys, has somehow become more lively. Every day is enjoyable. Both Jaja and Nana are ridiculously adorable, they could be said to be the apple of my eye. The grandchildren folder on my laptop in my room is almost full. I wonder if I can find an external storage device, something cheap. I¡¯ll ask my younger subordinates at work tomorrow. I¡¯m already being treated like a doting grandfather in the company now. I think it¡¯s a great change for me that I don¡¯t worry about it at all. ¡°Hey, Kunpei, wake up. We¡¯re almost there.¡± ¡°Huh? Ah¡­¡± Wake up. You¡¯ve done a pretty cool job today, so make sure you finish everything up properly. ¡°Kunpei-san, please wake up. Jaja and Nana are waiting for you.¡± ¡°Shouhei-kun¡¯s sermon is also waiting for you.¡± ¡°Shouhei! That¡¯s not true, I¡¯m doing my best!¡± Aoi-chan shook Kunpei, and Yuuno-chan confronted him with the terrible reality. Awakened at once by the wave of attacks, Kunpei stiffened and blurted out excuses. What a guy, how long are you going to be dominated by your little brother? But I can¡¯t speak for others because I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever be able to beat Shouhei¡¯s sound arguments. The youngest son is becoming more and more like Kaori every year, and once he gets angry, it¡¯s too late to do anything about it. ¡°All right. Here we are.¡± ¡°Oh, thank you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take care of your bags, father-in-law.¡± Aoi opened the back door and took most of the bags with her. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take Kunpei-kun¡¯s bag.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s okay, Mikuma. I can carry that much.¡± ¡°Nope, you¡¯re so exhausted that you can¡¯t keep even your footing.¡± Kunpei and Yuuno-chan headed for the front door, noisily messing around with each other. I pushed up my glasses with my left index finger and looked at our house. Our parking lot is across the street and I can see the whole house from here. The design is a bit old-fashioned, but the durability and comfort are perfect. There was a house like this in a housing magazine that Kaori used to read with pleasure. I knew that she had stickied it to secretly look at it, so I spent some money to renovate it and got it. The loan was for two generations, the mortgage lasted until Kunpei¡¯s generation. There was a girl in that town. The sky dragon¡¯s daughter. She was living alone in the forest. Ah, I found her. The girl you worried about until the end. She¡¯s now Kunpei¡¯s wife. You never know what¡¯s going to happen in this world. She was very surprised when I told her there was a baby in my belly. When I let her touch it, she was very happy. That boy is having a grandchild with that girl, you know? Even you couldn¡¯t have imagined that. I told her to become friends when this child is born, she made a troubled smile. If Kouhei-kun was awake, I would have taken you with me. She was a really cute girl, you know? Yeah, I recognized her right away from the first time I saw her. The girl you were talking about. She looked as lonely as ever, though. It¡¯s a nice town, don¡¯t you think? How about saving up some money and moving there when we can afford it? Ah, I see. Kouhei¡¯s work is also a factor, it¡¯s not going to be that easy. What are you talking about, Kaori-san? I swore under the night sky of Shinjuku that I would do anything you wanted me to. ¡°Dad! Dad, come here for a minute! Hurry up, hurry up!¡± Kunpei¡¯s loud voice brought me back and I ran to the door to see what was going on. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± I hurriedly took off my shoes at the entrance and rushed to the living room. ¡°Take a picture! Hurry!¡± A picture? What are you talking about? Everyone was in the living room, looking up at the ceiling around the baby mat that we had set up for the twins to play on. I did the same, and looked up at the ceiling. ¡°Hahahahahaha!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but burst out laughing. ¡°Welcome back, dad. Isn¡¯t Jaja amazing?¡± ¡°Come on, Jaja-chan, try a little harder! ¡°Nii!¡± Shouhei pointed to the ceiling, while Ichika-chan and Koji-kun cheered for Jaja. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m back. It¡¯s amazing. How did she end up like that?¡± ¡°Welcome back. When I was letting Jaja and Nana fly around at noon today, Jaja started spoiling Nana, and I think Nana liked it. She fell asleep a while ago.¡± Rouge-chan, sitting on the baby mat and holding a towel, explained. I see. So that¡¯s why Jaja couldn¡¯t get down and ended up in that state. ¡°Hmm¡­ ah¡­¡± The two princesses of the Kazamachi family were floating on the ceiling of the bustling living room. Jaja¡¯s face was stiff, and Nana was on Jaja¡¯s back. The two of them were stuck close together and my adorable granddaughters were at the center of everyone¡¯s smiles. The little sister who does things as her own pace, was sleeping with her cheek resting on her sister¡¯s back, and the big sister was doing her best to support her without complaining. Oh, my God. It¡¯s so cute. ¡°Dad, hurry up and take a picture! Jaja¡¯s probably at her limit!¡± ¡°Ah, she¡¯s so cute! She¡¯s so cute, but I feel so sorry for Jaja, I don¡¯t know what to do!¡± The young couple were panicking underneath the twins, alternating between being happy and worried. ¡°You guys are too flustered, anyone can take a picture, it doesn¡¯t have to be me.¡± Having said that, I quickly pulled out my smartphone from my pocket and quickly activate the camera. This behavior has become second nature to me lately, hasn¡¯t it? ¡°No, it¡¯s your role to be the photographer, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Ah, Jaja! Just a little more, okay? Just until grandpa takes your picture!¡± Ah, is that so? When did that become my role? Oh, well. I¡¯m not complaining. While they were saying that, my smartphone was showing off its continuous shooting function, capturing the twins in the viewfinder while focusing on the angle and composition for the best shot. Hmm, maybe I should push myself a little more and buy a better camera. I don¡¯t know much about photography, so it might be a waste, but I might be able to take better pictures of Jaja and Nana than with my current smartphone. I guess she finally reached her limit, and Jaja fell down as if the string that was suspending her snapped. ¡°Yes, well done.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll hold Nana.¡± Aoi, who had been standing by with her large wings revealed, quickly caught the twins and landed on the floor and Kunpei took Nana. ¡°How long has she been flying?¡± ¡°Hm, Nana fell asleep about ten minutes ago.¡± Yuuno-chan and Ichika-chan rushed over to take a peek at the twins that Kunpei and Aoi-chan were holding. Wow, she can fly for 10 minutes already? They¡¯re growing day by day, aren¡¯t they? It¡¯s different from the way a human child grows, and it never ceases to amaze me. I miss this feeling. Kaori and I were new to childcare when Kunpei was born, so it was hectic every day, and in the case of Shouhei, he was born weak, so we couldn¡¯t take our eyes off him. Several years have passed since then, but I never get tired of raising children. They¡¯re fine now because the twins are in their most adorable stage, but when they start walking and running, it¡¯s going to be a lot of work. Heh, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll come crying to me for help when the time comes. ¡°Dad?¡± My two sons looked at my face. Hmm? What is it? ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Are you hungry?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re tired, why don¡¯t you just go to bed? You¡¯re not young anymore.¡± Excuse me, it¡¯s true that I¡¯m no match for Seijitsu-kun, but I¡¯m an old man who can move around a lot more than most people my age. ¡°Why do you look like you¡¯re in such pain? Do you have a stomachache?¡± In pain? Ah, that¡¯s not it. I¡¯ve been thinking about Kaori a lot today. That¡¯s why I¡¯m just a little lonely. I¡¯m just feeling that hopeless resentment, wondering why she¡¯s not here. ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Jaja, who was laughing in Aoi-chan¡¯s chest, extended her hand towards me. ¡°Do you want to go to where grandpa is?¡± ¡°Ah.¡± Oh, that¡¯s unusual. She¡¯s usually all over Kunpei. But it¡¯s greatly welcomed! ¡°Come on! Come here!¡± ¡°Kya!¡± I opened my hands in a grandiose manner, and replied with a big smile. ¡°Yes, father-in-law. I¡¯m counting on you, she¡¯s probably going to fall asleep soon.¡± ¡°Un, leave it to me.¡± I took Jaja from Aoi-chan and brought her face to face. ¡°Dah.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. It was tough, wasn¡¯t it, as expected of the older sister.¡± I tried to guess what Jaja meant. I honestly don¡¯t know what Jaja is trying to tell us, but I¡¯ve found that babies listen to adults quite well. It was the same with Kunpei and Shouhei. If the adults around them looked happy, they were happy. If the adults around them look sad, it was painful. Children are the mirror of their parents. In fact, they are the mirror of everyone. That¡¯s why their family always want to be close. I don¡¯t even want to imagine these children crying alone. Please get alone well, okay? Even after I¡¯m gone, always. Yes, I know. I haven¡¯t been able to keep all the promises I¡¯ve made, but I¡¯ve always kept that one. Family is always best together. Yes. I love these lively, restless people, too. But I still miss you. Kaori. I love you. Kouhei-kun. Ah, I miss you, Kaori. Even if my form changes, I¡¯m still Kouhei-kun¡¯s wife and Kunpei and Shouhei¡¯s mother. That¡¯s right. There¡¯s no time for whining. Even now, you¡¯re still working hard to endure the loneliness, aren¡¯t you? Chapter 146 - Let’s Go on a Family Vacation! (1) The kitchen knife clacked with a soothing rhythm. I sat down on the sofa and looked at the kitchen, thinking about the dinner to come. Shouhei was humming and Aoi was staring at the vegetables with a serious face. Come on! Do your best! I¡¯m hungry! ¡°Nyanyamaru nya!¡± ¡°Dah!¡± Jaja was by my feet, who was waddling around with her butt on the baby mat, and Nana, who was sitting on Rouge¡¯s lap while Rouge was singing a song. ¡°Pongorou is here too.¡± ¡°Ada! Uda!¡± Jaja happily sang along as Rouge sang along to the children¡¯s program on the TV. Even as Rouge swayed her body to the music, her face was still the same as always. Recently, I¡¯ve come to understand that Rouge¡¯s emotions are expressed more on her body than on her face. I guess she¡¯s happy to have Jaja and Nana with her. Her stiff-looking tail was flicking and swaying just above the floor. If you look closely, you can see a slight blush on her face. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re having fun. What Jaja and the others are watching now is a children¡¯s show for infants, a must for the Kazamachi family these days, it¡¯s a cartoon-character costume show that both Jaja and Nana love. The characters are Nyanyamaru, a stuffed cat, and Pongorou, a stuffed tanuki. Orko-chan, a dolphin mermaid costume, and Takeru-kun, a human child. The program, in which the four of them go on for about ten minutes, is now taking up most of the space on our recorder. Whenever Jaja and Nana start to get a little restless, I play this program to distract them, which is a little dirty. Because they are both crazy about it. It¡¯s a thirty-minute show, and the character costume play is only the first half. For the other 20 minutes, an older sister and older brother sing children¡¯s songs and perform little skits. They do this every day, so Jaja and Nana never seem to get bored. The song Rouge is singing now is the opening song, and the whole Kazamachi family can sing it. Of course, I can too. That¡¯s because I¡¯ve seen it so many times. ¡°Takeru-kun and Orko-chan are both good friends, look Nana.¡± ¡°Au?¡± Nana, who was suddenly called, looked over at Rouge curiously. Oh, are you not interested today? ¡°Dah! Bah! Udah!¡± On the other hand, your sister is so excited that she looks like she¡¯s about to stand up. I¡¯d be surprised if she actually stood up though. ¡°Kunpei, Nana seems to be sleepy.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Ah, look at her eyes, they¡¯re almost closed. That means Jaja will also go to sleep when this show is over. ¡°Hey, Aoi. Nana looks sleepy.¡± I called out to the kitchen, and Aoi, wearing an apron the same color as her hair, looked up. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll just quickly go feed her, okay, Shouhei-san?¡± ¡°Un, it¡¯s almost done, so it¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°Thank you very much. Nana, I¡¯m coming!¡± Aoi took off her apron and folded it and rushed over to the sofa. ¡°Come, sit over here. Dad will be home soon.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you, Kunpei-san. Sorry to keep you waiting Nana.¡± Daee. I picked up Nana, who was reaching for Aoi on Rouge¡¯s lap, and sat her down next to me. Now, feeding her at night before she goes to bed is still a joint effort between the two of us, but other than that, I don¡¯t have much to do. So I¡¯ll go help Shouhei. I got up from the couch substituting Aoi and headed for the kitchen. ¡°What¡¯s left to do?¡± ¡°Plates.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± I walked behind Shouhei, who was holding the vegetables in a salad bowl without looking at me, and stood in front of the stove. The pot on the fire smelled delicious. Whoa. Beef stew today, chef! I can¡¯t wait! ¡°Oh, is this the right plate?¡± I took out five deep round plates from the cupboard behind him. ¡°Yes. Here¡¯s a ladle.¡± ¡°Okay, here they are.¡± I took the ladle that Shouhei handed me and placed the plates in the space next to the sink. I opened the lid of the pot and stirred it with the ladle. It looks so good. That¡¯s our chef and his apprentice. I stirred the pot with the ladle and picked up a plate. I ladled a scoop of the stew onto the plate and placed it on the counter. ¡°Rouge, sorry, but could you please help me bring it to the table?¡± ¡°Hmm. Okay, Jaja¡¯s over here.¡± Rouge, who was sitting under the sofa, nodded and gently picked up Jaja, who was sitting next to her, and sat her down next to Aoi on the sofa. Her eyes were still glued to the TV as she cackled in laughter. ¡°Jaja loves pongorou, doesn¡¯t she? ¡°Dah!¡± When Aoi spoke to Jaja with Nana in her arms, Jaja cheerfully replied. It¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it? It¡¯s true that Jaja is obsessed with Pongoro, who is a stocky little tanuki. Every time he appears on the screen, she looks happy and excited. I¡¯m a little jealous. He¡¯s always up to mischief, you know? As a dad, I don¡¯t think I can accept someone like that. ¡°Kunpei, this?¡± ¡°Ah, yeah, that¡¯s it. I¡¯ll bring out the tray now.¡± Before I knew it, Rouge had come to the kitchen and was speaking to me over the counter. That¡¯s not good, I was about to turn black with jealousy. I really don¡¯t know what I need to be upset about with a cartoon character. I opened the door under the sink, took out a tray, put it on the counter and put the plate on top. ¡°Hmm, it looks good. Everything I¡¯ve eaten since I¡¯ve come to this house has been delicious and I¡¯m really happy. Earth dragons only eats grass, rocks and raw meat.¡± ¡°Aoi was the same way. Why are dragons so indifferent about food?¡± They have horns and tails, and Aoi has wings, but other than that, they don¡¯t look that different from us humans, but when it comes to food, they¡¯re very rough with it. Before coming to this house, Aoi used to eat the monsters in Tusk Crag dungeon by cooking them with lightning, and what Rouge just said is also inexcusable. ¡°Hmm. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because we dragons are long-lived, but we¡¯re pretty rough around the edges. I think most of us think that as long as we can eat and be full, we¡¯re good.¡± I don¡¯t know if I should use the word ¡®rough¡¯ to describe it. With a tray of three plates, that was no longer able to hold any more, Rouge made her way to the table. ¡°I¡¯m home.¡± Dad¡¯s voice came from the doorway. ¡°Oh. Dad¡¯s home. Right on time.¡± ¡°Ah, nii-chan, please take this too.¡± Without waiting for my reply, Shouhei¡¯s slippers flapped as he ran to the door. ¡°He really looks like a new wife, doesn¡¯t he?¡± He probably went to pick up dad¡¯s bag and suit. I¡¯m a little worried about you, Shouhei-kun. ¡°Oh, Rouge, he said this too.¡± I called out to Rouge, who had finished carrying the tray to the table, and placed the salad bowl Shouhei had left on the counter. ¡°Mhm, got it.¡± She nodded and came back with after unloading the plates from the tray. ¡°Ah! Dah! Uwa!¡± Before I knew it, the children¡¯s program had progressed to the part where they were singing the nursery rhymes. While listening to the song, Jaja clapped her hands along. Hmm! I think my daughter might be a genius with that sense of rhythm. Nana usually sings the same way as Jaja, so I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be great if they¡¯re released as a twin idol duo. But I won¡¯t let that happen. We¡¯ll have to wait until they¡¯re older to do that! ¡°I¡¯m back, everyone.¡± My father came into the living room, grinning happily as he forcibly pulled off his tie, followed by Shouhei with his bag and suit. ¡°Welcome back, Dad.¡± ¡°Welcome home, Dad.¡± ¡°Welcome home, father-in-law.¡± I, Rouge and Aoi each replied. ¡°Jaja, Nana, grandpa¡¯s home. Oops, Aoi¡¯s breastfeeding.¡± When he got close to the sofa, he noticed that Aoi was holding Nana on her side. He immediately changed directions and came to the kitchen. I can only see Aoi¡¯s back from here. ¡°Dah!¡± Jaja replied cheerfully to him, even enough for Nana, as she was engrossed in her mother¡¯s breasts. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m home. I¡¯m so tired. Shouhei, I can drink today, right?¡± He could hear her voice but could not see her, but my father still made sure to call out to Jaja. It¡¯s the same for us. Just because they¡¯re babies doesn¡¯t mean we can ignore them. ¡°Okay, with the meal?¡± Shouhei answered as he hung the suit on the clothes rack next to the living room. I guess we¡¯re the only family in that gets permission to drink alcohol from an elementary school student. ¡°Ah, thank you. Everyone, please listen up. Ah Aoi, you can listen from there.¡± As he rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, my father called us in a whisper, paying attention to Nana who was almost asleep. What is it? What¡¯s with all the formalities? ¡°Next week, Kunpei and Shouhei will start their summer vacation, right? So I thought we should at least take a quick trip, so I rented a cottage.¡± Huh? ¡°Wait, wait, wait. A cottage? Where did you get that kind of money?¡± ¡°Dad¡­ what are you talking about?¡± ¡°Shouhei stay. Calm down.¡± The color suddenly disappeared from my brother¡¯s face. The change was so great that I panicked. Oh no. He¡¯s really upset about this. Our Minister of Finance is not happy about this, Dad! ¡°Listen until the end, Sho. The cottage belongs to one of our clients, and it¡¯s free of charge. But we¡¯ll have to clean up in exchange.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s free, it¡¯s fine, if it¡¯s free.¡± Shouhei did a complete 180 and his smile turned into a refreshing one. It¡¯s amazing how quickly his attitude changes. ¡°Well, the client¡¯s family uses the cottage during the height of summer, and every year they have a hard time cleaning it. So in exchange for renting it to us, they want us to finish the tedious cleaning. What do you think? I can still say no right now.¡± ¡°Cleaning?¡± Aoi twisted her head around to look at her father from the sofa. It seems Nana was already asleep. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the blueprints and it¡¯s quite a big cottage. It¡¯s going to be hard to clean.¡± Oh, that makes sense. To put it simply, it¡¯s a pain in the ass to clean, right? That¡¯s why they¡¯re letting us do it and renting us the cottage as payment. ¡°Where¡¯s the cottage?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about a two-hour drive from here. It¡¯s in the mountains with a stream running through it. It¡¯s a great place to escape the summer heat, right?¡± Ah, that sounds nice. Summer was in full swing, and the heat and humidity in this relatively high altitude town was getting to be quite intense. I¡¯d love to take Jaja and Nana outside to play, but the heat is enough to make even adults complain. It¡¯s not good for the babies¡¯ health. Our air-conditioned house is certainly comfortable, but it would be a pity to keep them inside all the time. ¡°I¡¯m all for it. I want to let Jaja and Nana play.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind either, as long as we come up with a reasonable budget.¡± The cottage is free, but we¡¯ll have to prepare our own food and drinks. ¡°I¡¯d like to go, too.¡± ¡°The mountains is my domain, so leave it to me.¡± What are you planning to do, Rouge? ¡°All right, it¡¯s decided then. Ask Yunno-chan, Ichika-chan and the others. I¡¯ll tell Yuri-san.¡± ¡°Got it. Man, how long has it been since we had a family vacation?¡± We haven¡¯t had the time since mom died. For about seven or eight years, our summers were spent either at home or at the library. When I think about it, I¡¯m pretty excited. ¡°Okay, so we¡¯ve decided that the first event of our summer vacation will be a two-night stay at the cottage in the forest! I¡¯m looking forward to it. We also have to buy swimsuits for the twins.¡± My father seemed to be having some kind of wild ideas, with sparkling eyes that didn¡¯t suit his age. ¡°Dah! Daa! Uuwah!¡± Jaja was also approaching the climax on her side. Chapter 147 - Let’s Go on a Family Vacation! (2) ¡°Wow¡­ It¡¯s so big, isn¡¯t it Jaja?¡± ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Hmm. Wow.¡± Aoi, who got out of the car with Jaja in her arms, looked up at the building and let out an exclamation of admiration. Jaja replied cheerfully. Then Rouge, who was carrying a backpack, responded. No, really. What¡¯s with the size of this thing? Is it okay for an individual to own this? ¡°Well it¡¯s a cottage, you know. The original plan was to run it as a rental villa, but they haven¡¯t found anyone to manage it yet. So my clients are treating it as their company¡¯s recreational facility. Well, it seems they only use it during the summer season.¡± Hmm? What do you mean? My dad explained as he took out the cooler box from the back seat, but I couldn¡¯t follow him. Can you explain it a little more to me? ¡°A recreational facility is a facility that companies offer to their employees at a discounted price, Kunpei-kun. If that were true, there would have to be someone to do regular maintenance, but since they couldn¡¯t provide one, I guess they can¡¯t open one. It¡¯s probably something like a pension that costs a certain amount of money, right?¡± Ah, thank you for the explanation, Mikuma-san. Mikuma sensed my confusion while unloading the trunk case from the car. She¡¯s a really thoughtful person. ¡°But it¡¯s not really a cottage at this size, is it? It¡¯s more like a mansion.¡± ¡°Those who have it, have it. Money.¡± ¡°This area is a popular summer resort. I think this is a very expensive property.¡± Coming out of the second van were Officer Doggy, Yuri-san, and Officer Inoue. The two officers, who were rarely off duty, had even used their pay to join us on this trip, thanks to Yuri¡¯s recommendation. Because of the unexpected increase in the number of people, Officer Inoue had to drive as well. After all, it¡¯s three days and two nights, so we have a fair amount of luggage. I wonder if Officer Doggy and Officer Inoue have come out to Yuri-san that they¡¯re dating since they¡¯re still together on a day off. It was obvious to me that they were in a relationship, so there was no way Yuri-san hadn¡¯t noticed. ¡°Nii-chan, can I go check out the river?¡± ¡°Nii.¡± Here¡¯s a pair of elementary school students who get along really well. Shouhei and Koji pointed to a river a little further away. ¡°Okay, but don¡¯t go in, okay? We¡¯ll play after we finish cleaning. When we¡¯re all together, okay?¡± ¡°Okay, okay. Let¡¯s go, Kou-chan.¡± ¡°Nya!¡± Oh, you¡¯re running so fast. My little brother is a normal elementary school student in these kind of situations. ¡°Koji! Don¡¯t go into the river, okay? Did you hear me!¡± ¡°Da.¡± Saeki, holding Nana in her arms, warned Koji in a loud voice. It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t know how you feel. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s going to listen. Well, it¡¯s not a problem since Shouhei is with him. ¡°Au. Dah.¡± ¡°Uuuhhh, Nana, can we stop this now?¡± Nana was happily touching Saeki¡¯s cat ears with both hands. She has been crazy about them since before we left, and she¡¯s been doing it for three hours now, so Saeki is kind of worn out. ¡°Kunpei. I¡¯ll watch Shouhei and Koji.¡± ¡°Ah, please, Rouge. That river looks pretty deep when it¡¯s that big.¡± ¡°Hmm. Roger that. Leave it to me.¡± Rouge, wearing a tight t-shirt and shorts, followed Shouhei and Koji in the direction of the river. That outfit was a gift from Mikuma, but honestly, I don¡¯t know where to look. It¡¯s not as big as Mikuma¡¯s, but Rouge was also well endowed. No, no, no. Disperse evil thoughts! Seal my worldly desires! Sleep, sad adolescent nature! I can¡¯t help but feel that Aoi and Mikuma are staring at me. ¡°There¡¯s nothing more unexpected than a water accident. You can never be too careful. Inoue-kun worked as a lifeguard part-time when he was a student, and he is also certified, so don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°That certification came in handy in an unexpected way.¡± I wonder why he got such a certification when he lives in a prefecture with no ocean¡­ Oh well. When a police officer says it, it¡¯s very persuasive. I mean, Officer Inoue¡¯s hidden qualification is just amazing. I guess a skilled hawk hides its talons. I knew he was a Judo expert, but he also held dan ranks in karate and kendo, and until a few years ago he was a regular on the podium at various competitions. Who would have thought that this good-looking (and a little old-fashioned) guy was actually a martial arts expert? ¡°But it¡¯s a really refreshing and nice place. The river is beautiful, too.¡± I agreed with my father¡¯s words. The river is a little downhill from the cottage, and it¡¯s quite wide, even from here. It was not so easy on the eyes as the river reflected the glaring sunlight of summer, but it also created a nice atmosphere. The current was gentle, but it was still deep enough for a child to drown. You can¡¯t go in there unless you are supervised by me, father, or Officer Inoue. Don¡¯t underestimate nature. That¡¯s what you promised your brother, remember? ¡°Kunpei, take this too.¡± ¡°Hey, how many times do you think we¡¯ve been going back and forth! Help me out a bit!¡± I shouted in reproach at my father¡¯s words. Naturally, I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s been going back and forth between the building and the car. I had to climb a large wooden staircase from the parking lot to get to the cottage, and even though it was so cool, I was already sweating. ¡°Huh? Why don¡¯t you stop complaining and get to work?¡± No, I know, but¡­! I know I¡¯m supposed to do most of the heavy lifting because there¡¯s a lot of women! There was no way I could boss my middle-aged father or Officer Inoue around, and there was no way elementary school kids Shouhei and Koji could carry such heavy things. Rouge and Aoi will be able to easily carry it, but my pride as a man would not allow it. As a result, I had to carry all the large luggage that was unloaded from the car. ¡°Please let me at least complain!¡± I whined as I carried the pile of luggage. The BBQ set is too heavy! Was it really necessary to bring this? ¡°Haha, I¡¯ll help you too, Kunpei-kun.¡± As I was desperately climbing the stairs, I heard Officer Inoue¡¯s gracious voice from behind me. Thank God! He¡¯s really a good guy! ¡°It¡¯s okay, Toshio-kun. Young people need to work hard in times like this. Besides, they¡¯re already on summer vacation, so they can rest every day. It won¡¯t hurt us working adults if we can take it easy for a change. Toshio and the others are police officers, so even more so.¡± That old man said unnecessary things! And it¡¯s a sound argument, so I can¡¯t say anything! ¡°Guh, thanks for your hard work every dayyyyy!¡± I couldn¡¯t say anything, but thanks. I shouted from the bottom of my stomach and ran up the stairs with all my might. I¡¯ll do my best! ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Uwah.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Papa is working hard.¡± ¡°Haha, we¡¯ll give you a massage later, okay?¡± ¡°Hey, Kazamachi! I have a reward for you!¡± The cheers from the girls, mostly from Jaja and Nana, motivated me to rush up the stairs. In hindsight, there was no particular need to run up at all. I only realized it when I was exhausted and collapsed on the floor. Chapter 148 - Let’s Go on a Family Vacation! (3) ¡°Kunpei, pull a little more in that direction.¡± ¡°Okay, how¡¯s this?¡± I pulled the rope in my right hand as my father instructed. Being careful not to overstretch the slack rope, I minutely adjusted the rope in my left hand. ¡°Hm, I guess that¡¯s about right. Hey, elementary school kids! The hammock is ready!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a hammock, Kou-chan!¡± ¡°Nya?¡± Shouhei and Koji, who were called by father, came running up to us. Koji didn¡¯t seem to understand, while Shouhei seemed happy. Don¡¯t you know what a hammock is? If you¡¯re camping outside, you¡¯d love to have a hammock! Doesn¡¯t it tickle your childlike interest! ¡°Come on, come on, let¡¯s have some fun in the unknown comfort of a hammock, kids!¡± At father¡¯s excited urging, Shouhei and Koji touched the fascinating bedding hanging in front of them to check it out. From the looks of it, it doesn¡¯t look very stable, does it? My dad and I checked it a few times while we set it up, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s fine. This hammock, set up with a large tree branch and a pole driven into the ground, seems to have been borrowed from one of my father¡¯s colleagues. It was the result of my father¡¯s unconcealed anticipation for this trip, and he told everyone about it. He¡¯s like a child, really. Shouhei started to climb into the hammock cautiously. It seems that his curiosity won out over the hammock¡¯s unstable appearance. He looks happy with a rarely seen childlike twinkle in his eyes. I¡¯m glad I came just to see Shouhei like this. He seems to be busy with housework, homework, and school every day, doesn¡¯t he? I was surprised at how easy it was to set up. I thought hammocks were a bit more complicated than that. ¡°Kunpei-san! I¡¯ve almost finished cleaning upstairs!¡± I looked up at the sound of a voice from above me and saw Aoi peeking out from the second floor balcony. I responded by raising my right hand. ¡°Oh! I¡¯m almost done with the first floor! Come down and let¡¯s eat!¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m coming down!¡± Waving her hands and tail, Aoi disappeared from the balcony. ¡°You can finally take a break now, Dad.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad it wasn¡¯t too dirty. You have enough futons and stuff, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± I wasn¡¯t expecting a bed mat. I had prepared enough bed covers for all of us and air mattresses I bought at a home hardware store. It was a cheap one, but it would be fine for a couple of nights. We arrived at the cottage early in the morning and quickly started cleaning up the accommodation. Our house has been cleaned several times in the past year. Before and after the move, after the tusk crag incident and the creation of Rouge¡¯s room, that¡¯s four times? I¡¯m sure the efficiency of the work will increase. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s just her age or what, but Yuri-san is also a very good cleaner. It¡¯s great that we were able to finish the cleaning much sooner than expected, because of the prompt directions given to Officer Inoue, Officer Doggy, Mikuma and the Saeki siblings. ¡°Wow! This is nice!¡± ¡°Is that a hammock? It has a nice atmosphere.¡± Two girls came out of the cottage. Saeki reacted with her cat ears perking up and Mikuma followed behind her, looking interested. ¡°Nii!¡± ¡°This is amazing, Chika-neechan. It¡¯s a strange floating feeling.¡± The elementary school students, already captivated by the hammock, swayed back and forth. Both of these guys were small, so there was plenty of room for the two of them in the hammock. ¡°Koji, me too, me too!¡± ¡°Nihihi! Blehhh.¡± Koji stuck out his tongue in a aggravating way at Saeki¡¯s begging. I¡¯m not sure why you¡¯re going to go out of your way to pick a fight you can¡¯t win. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re getting carried away my foolish brother! Punishment time!¡± ¡°Ni! Nyeeeeeeeeeh!¡± ¡°Whoa! Ichika-neechan, it¡¯s dangerous! Don¡¯t shake it!¡± ¡°Ichika-chan, don¡¯t shake it too much or you¡¯ll make Shouhei-kun and the others feel sick.¡± Saeki shook the hammock with an evil smile on her face. Mikuma, who heard Shouhei¡¯s scream, stopped her with a wry smile. Well, everyone is enjoying themselves. ¡°Kazamachi-san. How¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Oh, Toshio-kun. You work fast. Well, I¡¯ve never used a wood stove before, so I don¡¯t know anything about it.¡± Officer Inoue, who had been struggling with the chimney stove for a while, called my father. ¡°Dad is always trying to get in the mood, if you ask Rouge to do something like this, she¡¯ll be able to do it in one go.¡± Rouge, who is an arc dragon, can freely control fire, so it should be a piece of cake for her. You don¡¯t have to do anything complicated like this, I¡¯m not sure why you¡¯re using kindling to start a fire nowadays. ¡°You idiot. In times like this, you have to enjoy the atmosphere to the fullest. Look at this forest and the large river! To enjoy this nature to the fullest, you can¡¯t just rely on convenient equipment! If I could just use a gas stove, I¡¯d do it in the yard.¡± You don¡¯t have to be that insistent. ¡°Haha. It¡¯s a little hard for young people to understand, isn¡¯t it? In times like this, the right thing to do is to enjoy the unusual. By doing something different from the norm.¡± ¡°Toshio-kun, this little boy still can¡¯t understand the wabi-sabi of adults. Oh, what a pity. Is this what you call kids of today?¡± You¡¯re a middle-aged man, you know that? Normally, I¡¯d get upset and argue with you, but you know what? I¡¯m a guy who¡¯s starting to climb the stairs to adulthood. So I¡¯m going to hold back and let the old man have his moment. ¡°Shouhei-kun, I¡¯m not sure if we¡¯ll be able to fit all the food in the fridge.¡± ¡°I wonder if we can use Kazamachi-san¡¯s cooler box.¡± Officer Doggy and Yuri-san appeared from the wooden deck by the kitchen on the first floor. They were in charge of the kitchen with Shouhei, and were currently organizing the large amount of food we had brought in. It looks like Shouhei was released to go play because he was fidgety, right? ¡°Ah, that¡¯s fine. The red box is empty, and there¡¯s ice in the blue one.¡± ¡°All right. I think a cooler box is better than a refrigerator for alcohol, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take care of the drinks, Mom.¡± Officer Doggy¡¯s face became serious. When I was at Rouge¡¯s welcome party, I thought to myself, that person drinks a lot. She drank about four times as much as my dad. ¡°Man, that¡¯s still a lot of food.¡± ¡°I also got some from Saeki-san and Mikuma-san, I hope that was alright?¡± When we went to pick up the Saeki siblings and Mikuma in the early morning before the sun came up, their parents forced a large amount of food on us. Yuri-san and Officer Inoue also brought some food with them, so there¡¯s enough food here for about a dozen people. ¡°It¡¯s all right, father-in-law. You¡¯ve always taken care of me. Please at least let me do this much.¡± Mikuma smiled at my father. But I was glared at by your father, wasn¡¯t I? I¡¯m sure he doesn¡¯t have a very good impression of me¡­ ¡°Yuuno¡¯s father loves his daughter very much, just as much as you love Jaja-chan and Nana-chan.¡± ¡°Saeki-san. Can you please stop reading my thoughts?¡± Why are the girls around me so easily able to see through my thoughts like this? It¡¯s scary. ¡°I guess that¡¯s what happens to most fathers who have daughters.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. My husband also had a tough time when he was alive. When my eldest daughter got married, it was terrible.¡± ¡°Nee-san and brother-in-law looked so discouraged.¡± Yuri-san and Officer Doggy agreed with my father, who nodded his head with his arms crossed. Well, I understand the feeling. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d do if Jaja or Nana grew up and suddenly brought their boyfriend along. Worst case scenario, I might go on a rampage. ¡°Uncle, you don¡¯t have to worry about my parents, our family is very grateful to Shouhei for Koji.¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°Nii?¡± Shouhei and Koji looked up from the hammock because Saeki suddenly mentioned their names. Ah, I see. If I had grown in Koji¡¯s times, it would have been very difficult for me. It was none other than my brother, who brought him down to the level of the mischievous little boy he is today. Somehow, I think I can understand the Saeki family¡¯s feelings toward Shouhei. But how did he manage to get such a rambunctious kid to be so quiet? I¡¯ll ask him in secret later. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, it¡¯s time!¡± ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Uwa?¡± Hmm? Aoi was holding Jaja and Rouge was holding Nana wile standing on the wooden deck. The twins were wrapped in bath towels, it looked like they couldn¡¯t calm down and were squirming around. ¡°You¡¯re late, Aoi. What happened?¡± ¡°Fufufu, I was with Ru-anesama, dressing Jaja and Nana in these!¡± Aoi smiled somewhat fearlessly. She¡¯s also very excited, isn¡¯t she? It¡¯s good that she¡¯s having fun, though. ¡°Ta-da!¡± In contrast, Rouge¡¯s voice was not filled with much emotion, and she peeled the bath towel off Nana. ¡°Dah.¡± ¡°S-she¡¯s so cute!¡± I gulped. There she was, wearing a one-piece swimsuit with a white flower pattern. Her short tail and small wings made her look like an angel and her chubby legs and smooth arms were just so cute! I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll agree that Nana¡¯s adorableness knows no bounds. ¡°She¡¯s cute!¡± ¡°Wow.¡± ¡°Wow.¡± Dad reacted exaggeratedly, and Yuri-san clapped her hands together in surprise. Only Shouhei was cooler than expected, which was a little disappointing, but each of us had our own reactions. ¡°Yep, I thought it looked good when they tried it on at the store, it¡¯s very fitting.¡± ¡°Jaja-chan as well.¡± Huh? Did Mikuma and Saeki know about this? ¡°Here we go!¡± ¡°Kya!¡± ¡°Whoa!¡± Jaja laughed exaggeratedly, probably amused by the movement of the bath towel being stripped off her. It was a pink one-piece swimsuit with a matching pattern to Nana¡¯s. It was equally adorable. Ah, I¡¯m so glad I came! ¡°Yes! It¡¯s a cheap one, but it was worth the time I spent choosing it! What do you think, Kazamachi?¡± ¡°Aoi-chan, Rouge-san, and I secretly bought it at a nearby mass retailer the other day. It looks good on them, doesn¡¯t it?¡± Saeki and Mikuma were grinning at me. Ah, come to think of it. There was a time when Aoi and Rouge took Jaja and Nana out for a walk in the evening. When I said I would go with them, they refrained from doing so in a very strong manner. I was kind of shocked, but I guess that¡¯s why. ¡°By the way, we also brought swimsuits too, so look forward to it, okay?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± What did you just say, Saeki-san? ¡°We¡¯re going to play in the river tomorrow, so don¡¯t worry about it for today.¡± ¡°Wait a minute, Saeki.¡± After saying something that was hard to ignore, Saeki walked toward the cottage with a grin on her face. Eh? Swimsuit? We? I looked over at Mikuma standing next to me. ¡°¡­ Yeah. I did my best. I¡¯ll be happy¡­ if you liked it.¡± ¡°Ah, yeah.¡± With her face gradually turning bright red, Mikuma also hurried to the cottage. ¡°Of course, me too, you know?¡± ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Uwah!¡± I was surprised to see Aoi and Jaja nearby before I knew it. What a surprise! I didn¡¯t notice them at all! ¡°Hmm. By the way, I bought one too.¡± ¡°Au?¡± Rouge, who was holding Nana, quietly approached me. ¡°You too, Rouge?¡± Ha! That means! I realized something and quickly turned around. Aoi and Rouge didn¡¯t have swimsuits. That meant they had recently purchased them. I hadn¡¯t given the money to Aoi, which meant that there was someone else who had provided the money! It could only be one person! ¡°Fufu, you reacted just as I imagined you would.¡± You knew and you didn¡¯t tell me! ¡°You¡¯re a little more naive than you think, you know that? I thought it would be fun, so I helped you out. You were caught off guard, weren¡¯t you?¡¡It¡¯s not the ocean, so you didn¡¯t expect swimsuits, did you? A-ah¡­ Recently, I was finally able to endure Aoi¡¯s closeness to me and Mikuma¡¯s aggressive appeal¡­ And then Rouge joined in, and even Saeki as an extra¡­ ¡°Kunpei-san.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I turned around when Aoi called me. Aoi, her cheeks slightly dyed, moved her face closer to mine and opened her mouth next to my ear. ¡°You have to be prepared, okay?¡± With a sexy whisper, Aoi¡¯s sweet voice shook my eardrums. Chapter 149 - Even Apart, We Will Always be Friends (1) ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a beautiful day.¡± Early in the morning, I woke up somehow and was stretching by the river. Jaja and Nana were crying less than usual, and it was cooler than usual around here, so I slept well. Normally air conditioning would be essential, but the provided electric fan was enough. Maybe that¡¯s why Jaja and Nana didn¡¯t wake up at night. I listened to the birds and the cicadas chirping from the forest as I slowly relaxed my body. It was the same in the duel with Atol, but lately, I¡¯ve obviously been injured too much compared to before I moved. Even though my injuries were quickly healed by healing magic and whatnot, there¡¯s no way I can continue on like this. Aoi, Mikuma, Shouhei and my dad would be worried, and Jaja and Nana might be anxious too. If I didn¡¯t become as strong and tough as possible, I might not be able to protect the twins, so I have no choice but to train my body. ¡°Good morning. You¡¯re very energetic, Kunpei-kun.¡± I turned around at the sound of the voice and saw Officer Inoue on the wooden deck. ¡°Good morning, Officer Inoue.¡± He was wearing training clothes and shorts, looking like he was about to start exercising. I wonder if he¡¯s okay after staying up late last night with my father drinking. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about my dad yesterday¡­¡± That middle-aged guy was making too much noise.Maybe he was so excited about the trip that he didn¡¯t even listen to Shouhei¡¯s warning and just continued drinking beer. ¡°Well, I¡¯m used to Doc, so it¡¯s not a big deal.¡± Ah, Officer Doggy is also a terrible drinker. Huh, did he just say Doc? That¡¯s the same way Yuri-san calls Officer Doggy. ¡°Is it okay not to hide what you call her?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve already figured it out, haven¡¯t you? I¡¯ve already formally proposed to her, so I thought I¡¯d be more open from now on.¡± A marriage proposal! Huh! Are they getting married? ¡°I¡¯m planning to tell aunt¡­ mother-in-law about it during this trip.¡± ¡°Congratulations! Wow, a marriage proposal¡­¡± It¡¯s amazing. As a man, I honestly respect you. I¡¯ve skipped that stage. And on top of that, another girl has been approaching me and I haven¡¯t been able to clearly turn her down. Yeah, judging by the situation alone, I¡¯m an asshole, to say the least. But you know¡­ I wonder why I can¡¯t make a clear decision. Ah, no matter how I try to smooth it over, I¡¯m the worst. ¡°K-Kunpei-kun? Why are you suddenly depressed?¡± ¡°Oh, no. I was just think about how I¡¯m a jerk.¡± I¡¯m such an indecisive bastard. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if one of them, Aoi or Mikuma, stabbed me. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re worrying about, but I think you¡¯re amazing. You¡¯re a broadminded guy.¡± No, I¡¯m not. I just go with the flow. Once I get negative thoughts, my spirit won¡¯t be lifted easily. Just give me more praise. I think I¡¯m the type of person who improves with praise. ¡°Now, would you like to join me for a little flexibility and exercise?¡± ¡°Sure. Officer Inoue, you have dan in judo, karate and kendo, right?¡± ¡°Just at a hobby level.¡± ¡­ No, I¡¯ve never seen anyone with that kind of humility who was weak. I can¡¯t believe it. ¡°Kunpei.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Huh? Did my dad wake up too? He was sitting on a wooden chair on the deck, scratching his disheveled hair. ¡°Toshio-kun, is strong. You should let him play with you a bit.¡± ¡­ If my dad says it, then it must be true. This man, with a mysterious career, is honestly one of the strongest people I¡¯ve ever met in my life. As far as humans go, that is. It¡¯s true that there are many strong beastmen, such as Seijitsu-san, Nanairo-san, and even prince Atol. But, to be honest, I can¡¯t imagine my father losing to any of them. Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m his son, but there¡¯s something about this tired, middle-aged father that I can¡¯t shake off. That was the advice of such a father. I¡¯ll listen to what he has to say. ¡°Officer Inoue, is that alright?¡± ¡°Uh, haha.¡± Laughing with a troubled expression, Officer Inoue glanced sideways at my father. ¡°Toshio-kun, give him a light pat. He seem to be a little recklessly lately.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Hm? Huh? Isn¡¯t he reacting like he¡¯s already beaten me? ¡°Please!¡± I¡¯m a little irritated! I feel like distorting that face of yours that looks so relaxed! ¡°Okay, then. Just a little.¡± As he said this, Officer Inoue spread his legs wide and raised his arms in a stance. I wonder if it¡¯s a judo stance. The ground is dirt, so I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll get hurt much, so why don¡¯t I just jump in with some force? Okay, let¡¯s do that. There¡¯s nothing I can do if I¡¯m scared. I took a deep breath, lowered my hips and positioned myself. I¡¯m right-handed, so I want to make sure that I¡¯m able to get the first shot with my right as hard as I can. I exhale more than I inhaled, then inhale shallowly and held my breath. Okay, I¡¯m in perfect condition. I¡¯ve had a good night¡¯s sleep and I¡¯m fully conscious. Now, I¡¯m going to break through that composure. ¡°Then! Please¡­!¡± My consciousness was cut off as I dove into Officer Inoue¡¯s bosom, screaming. Chapter 150 - Even Apart, We Will Always be Friends (2) ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± I have no idea what happened. ¡°Dah.¡± ¡°Jaja thinks so, too?¡± ¡°Abu.¡± Jaja, who was playing with her tail in my lap, agreed. Yeah, you¡¯re going to comfort papa? Jaja is really a good girl. ¡°How long are you going to be depressed? Here¡¯s your sandwich. Milk for Jaja.¡± ¡°Thank you. Jaja, food¡¯s ready.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± I took the breakfast that Shouhei brought from the kitchen. ¡°I was thrown cleanly again, it¡¯s pathetic that I couldn¡¯t even break my fall.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even know I was being thrown.¡± It¡¯s been about two hours since my morning training. I¡¯m in the middle of having breakfast on the wooden deck. The reason I¡¯m eating a late breakfast when I had gotten up early is because I went back to sleep, or rather fainted. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Your timing was so perfect that I threw you almost by reflex.¡± ¡°It was so beautiful to watch, you know? It was like a textbook throw.¡± My father cackled next to Officer Inoue, who had a troubled smile. ¡°I really thought I could put up a better fight, you know. It¡¯s so frustrating.¡± Not just a single blow, but I was floored within five seconds after starting. As for me, the guy who was thrown, I have no idea what he even did to me. It was amazing. This is the difference in strength between someone who has truly studied martial arts and a thug who has only been in fights. ¡°I mean, you should have noticed this if you had observed how Toshio-kun normally moves. His core, his movements, his footwork, everything wasn¡¯t that of a normal person.¡± I don¡¯t get it. How did my dad know? ¡°Toshio-kun is one of the top five judoka in western Japan. He works in the countryside, but he¡¯s been asked to join not only the prefectural police but also the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. If you hadn¡¯t turned down the offer of a transfer, you might have been a vigorous riot policeman in Tokyo by now. It¡¯s a shame, isn¡¯t it?¡± It was Officer Doggy who spoke with a bit of pride. Her golden hair swayed in the wind as she drank milk, just like in a TV commercial. She¡¯s so stylish, so she looks good no matter what she¡¯s doing. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just don¡¯t feel comfortable in the city. Since I¡¯ve been assigned to the town where I live, I wanted to work in my hometown as much as possible.¡± ¡°But someday you¡¯ll be transferred to a department you can¡¯t refuse, right? You¡¯re a public servant. Right, Doc.¡± Handing Officer Doggy a sandwich, Yuri-san asked Officer Inoue. ¡°Well, I guess they¡¯re coming. They¡¯ve been able to place me where I wanted to be, but there¡¯s still a shortage of people in the big cities. But we¡¯ll be fine for a few more years. Now that Tusk Crag is gone, our jurisdiction is also very busy.¡± Officer Inoue laughed as he grabbed a cup of hot milk with both hands. It¡¯s tough being a police officer. But it¡¯s true, isn¡¯t it? Now that we live in a society where beastmen and humans coexist in harmony, the police are also short of manpower. There are so many different races of beasts that the government can¡¯t keep track of them all, and each tribe or community has its own customs and way of life. With all of them living together in one city, there is bound to be friction, misunderstandings, and crime. You can¡¯t just deal with them like how we used to when there were only humans. There are more and more beastmen police like Officer Doggy and the others, but most of the police are still human. Humans, who are overwhelmingly inferior in physical ability, have only one advantage in dealing with the beastmen, sheer numbers. If you think about it, it¡¯s a pretty difficult situation in the world today. ¡°This time¡¯s vacation is also special. Since the Tusk Crag incident, we¡¯ve barely been able to take a day off.¡± Officer Doggy replied, sitting on the railing of the wooden deck. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Both Doc and Toshio have been working a lot. I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t complain if you take some time off. Isn¡¯t that right, Jaja-chan?¡± ¡°Dah!¡± Jaja smiled at Yuri-san¡¯s words. The tail and wings that popped out of the dog-eared hooded toddler suit flapped in a good mood. ¡°Jaja is so sweet. How nice, a baby. It¡¯s soothing.¡± Officer Doggy bent down and stroked Jaja¡¯s head. ¡°Oh, you can have one right away if you want, Doc. I still haven¡¯t seen a grandchild yet with three daughters, so mom will always welcome it.¡± ¡°Yeah, but I still feel like I want to work. You know, Toshio-kun?¡± ¡°Ah, what? Uhh, yes. That¡¯s right.¡± Why are you stammering, Officer Inoue? You said you¡¯ve already proposed to her, so why don¡¯t you just stand tall? Huh? Could it be he didn¡¯t tell Yuri-san about it yet? ¡°I¡¯m sorry to keep you waiting, but Nana¡¯s been acting up.¡± ¡°It seems she was scared because she woke up in a different room than usual.¡± ¡°Eugh, eugh, eugh.¡± Aoi and Mikuma came out of the kitchen onto the wooden deck. Nana, who was wearing a toddler¡¯s hoodie with cat-ears, grabbed Aoi¡¯s T-shirt and held on to it. Her eyes are bright red because she just stopped crying. ¡°Jaja seems to be fine though.¡± ¡°Dah?¡± You energetic little bastard. Your sister seems to be a little more delicate, you know? Jaja, who was playing with a baby bottle on my lap, looked up at me. ¡°Hii.¡± Hmm. Cute! When Jaja saw my face, she giggled and laughed. ¡°Where¡¯s Ichika-neechan and Ru-neechan?¡± ¡°They¡¯re still sleeping. Ichika-chan stayed up late playing with Koji-kun last night.¡± ¡°Jeez, even though I told her to go to bed early. Kou-chan didn¡¯t wake up at all either.¡± I wondered if those siblings were on good terms or not. ¡°Rouge is still weak in the morning as usual.¡± ¡°It¡¯s always been that way. I mean, the Earth Dragon Tribe sleeps a lot. They seem to be very laid-back people.¡± As is the case every morning, Rouge has a hard time getting out of bed. When she wakes up, she¡¯s in a daze for about an hour, and it takes her an inordinate amount of time to wake up. But at least for today, I¡¯ll let her sleep in. On school days, when I leave the house, Jaja cries a lot, so Rouge, who¡¯s half asleep, sluggishly wakes up and takes care of her for me. ¡°Fueh, ah. Dah.¡± ¡°Hmm? Does Nana want milk too? Wasn¡¯t she breastfed earlier?¡± Nana, who was hugging Aoi¡¯s chest, reached out for me. I thought she wanted Jaja¡¯s baby bottle, but apparently not. ¡°Kunpei-san. When Nana¡¯s really scared, she seems to want to be held by papa. She really didn¡¯t like waking up in a different place from home.¡± Really? I guess she¡¯s uncomfortable in this cottage, which is much bigger than our house. Nana¡¯s pace is slow, but she¡¯s delicate. She¡¯s a difficult child. ¡°Here we are. There¡¯s an opening on my lap, princess.¡± ¡°Dah!¡± I shifted Jaja a little to make room for her on my lap. It seems that Jaja understood what I was saying and willingly gave up her lap to Nana with a big smile on her face. ¡°Yes, Nana. Papa said come here.¡± ¡°Dah, eugh.¡± Aoi put her arms around Nana¡¯s sides and carried her over to my lap. ¡°Come on, stop crying. Don¡¯t be afraid. Don¡¯t be afraid.¡± ¡°Ugh, dah.¡± Nana rubbed her face against my stomach. The way she tickles my protectiveness with all her might makes my heart tighten. ¡°Da?¡± As if she couldn¡¯t stand to see her sister like this, Jaja tilted her head and gently placed her left hand on Nana¡¯s head. ¡°Ada¡­¡± Nana looked at Jaja with slightly moist eyes. ¡°Jaja said, Don¡¯t cry.¡± ¡°You¡¯re very considerate of your sister. Jaja-chan.¡± Aoi and Mikuma bent down in front of me and looked at Jaja and Nana. Hey, you two. I want you to be a little more aware. That thin shirt you¡¯re wearing as a nightgown. The collar is quite unprotected. If you bend down a little more, you can see it¡­ or rather, they¡¯re not wearing any underwear, are they? I turned my head away with all my might. I could almost see the summit, which I shouldn¡¯t have been able to see. Aoi, whose breasts are much more modest than Mikuma¡¯s, was already visible, wasn¡¯t it? In Mikuma¡¯s case, her two mountains, which were growing in size, looked as if they were about to spill out. I¡¯d appreciate it if you didn¡¯t directly attack my mental health so early in the morning! ¡°Dah?¡± ¡°Au¡­ ada.¡± The twins sat on my lap, conversing in baby talk that only they can understand. Jaja¡¯s left hand was gently stroking Nana¡¯s head. She¡¯s probably imitating Aoi. In her own way, Jaja remembered that¡¯s what Aoi does when Nana cries. ¡°Fuheh.¡± ¡°Heh¡­¡± Nana also laughed softly, caught up in Jaja¡¯s laughs. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great, Jaja. Nana.¡± I patted them both on the head. Jaja tried to stop her sister from crying, and Nana was able to stop her crying. Both of them are equally clever. I have a policy of giving praise whenever I can. ¡°Let¡¯s play a lot today, okay?¡± ¡°Dah?¡± ¡°Au?¡± Jaja and Nana tilted their heads in wonder at my words. ¡°Let¡¯s put on our bathing suits and go to the river together later, okay?¡± ¡°After we¡¯ve eaten.¡± Aoi and Mikuma continued to talk to the twins. ¡°Dah!¡± The sound of birds and cicadas chirping. The sound of water flowing down the river. In the morning at such a pleasant cottage, Jaja and Nana¡¯s cheerful voices echoed. Chapter 151 - Even Apart, We Will Always be Friends (3) ¡°Wow, it¡¯s cold!¡± ¡°But it feels good.¡± ¡°Nyeeeh¡­¡± The boys came to the riverside after breakfast. The girls were changing into their swimsuits. We didn¡¯t bring swimsuits to begin with, so we stayed in our regular clothes, and even if we got wet, they would dry quickly in this sunny weather. ¡°Kou-chan, are you able to swim now?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± ¡°Let¡¯s practice later.¡± Both Shouhei and Koji were playing in water that went up to their shins. I sat down on a large stone and dipped my feet in the water. The contrast between the cool feeling of the water and the heat of the sunlight leaking through the trees was quite comfortable. The bottom of the river was strewn with small stones, so I kept my sandals on. ¡°Shouhei, Koji. I need your help.¡± ¡°With what?¡± ¡°What?¡± I stood up and looked at the bottom of the river. Yeah, I think we can manage by collecting some of the big stones. ¡°I want to build a shallow enclosure for Jaja and Nana to play in. I think they¡¯ll be fine if we use rocks to separate them.¡± Ideally, the water would be shallow enough for Jaja and Nana to sit in, just enough so the water goes to below their stomachs. I think we can do it by blocking the water with stones. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s a good idea. Kou-chan, let¡¯s look for some big stones.¡± ¡°Nii!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go too deep yet.¡± As I watched Shouhei and Koji cheerfully start collecting rocks, I also started preparing. ¡°Maybe here.¡± As I searched the riverbank, I found a flat bedrock on the bottom of the river in a good spot. The surface of the rock, polished by the current, was so smooth that it didn¡¯t seem to hurt to put my butt on it. The water was shallow because of the slope, and if we gathered rocks around it, we could make a simple pool. ¡°Nii-chan, what about this?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s good. I¡¯ll carry the ones you can¡¯t carry, call me when you find some.¡± ¡°Nyaa.¡± Well, I guess I¡¯ll do my best. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô ¡°We finished!¡± ¡°Nii!¡± Shouhei and Koji shouted loudly in joy. It took about forty minutes from the start of work to create a natural pool for the twins. ¡°Oh, it looks so much better than I expected.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know that just piling up stones would stop water from getting in.¡± I¡¯ve tried to eliminate the gaps. I¡¯m surprisingly good at this kind of work. ¡°It¡¯s hot as expected after all that exercise.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just right, isn¡¯t it? The water also feels good.¡± I was so absorbed in my work that I found myself drenched in sweat. If you looked at them, both Koji and Shouhei had beads of sweat on their foreheads. It seems that Aoi and the others should be here by now, but it¡¯s taking a long time. I wonder what they¡¯re doing. ¡°Hey. I¡¯ve brought you something to eat.¡± It was Officer Doggy who came down the stairs leading to the cottage. Officer Inoue followed behind her. She was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, her golden hair, tail and ears shining in the sunlight. He was holding a plastic bag on his right arm and a portable chair on his left. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Shouhei got out of the river and ran up to Officer Doggie. ¡°Lemonade my mom brought from home, and rice balls for lunch. The scary thing about playing in the water is dehydration.¡± ¡°Your body may be cold, but you¡¯ll sweat. It¡¯s important to drink plenty of water. Here.¡± The plastic wrapped rice ball, water bottle, and paper cup were all in the plastic bag. Thank goodness. I was actually thirsty. ¡°The girls will be here soon, so take a break. Oh, I like your enclosure.¡± Officer Doggy nodded at the stone pool we¡¯d built. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m sure the twins will be fine in this. Koji-kun and Shouhei-kun, don¡¯t go too deep, okay?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Nyaa!¡± The elementary school students replied cheerfully to Officer Inoue¡¯s words. ¡°What are they doing?¡± Aren¡¯t they too slow? Did something happen to Jaja and Nana? ¡°It takes time for a girl to get ready and they¡¯re wearing swimsuits, so there¡¯s a lot to check.¡± Is that so? I don¡¯t get it. ¡°I kept you waiting! Look, Kazamachi! It¡¯s okay to be charmed!¡± ¡°Ah?¡± The one who appeared with a high-pitched voice was Saeki. What¡¯s that bright lime green thing you¡¯re wearing? Is that a tankini? She was wearing a swimsuit that had a separate top and bottom, and the bottom was like hot pants. Her short, speckled hair, characteristic of the short-haired calico cat tribe, was pulled back into a short ponytail. ¡°Oh, you look good, Saeki.¡± It¡¯s the perfect outfit for the lively Saeki. This guy, too. If only she¡¯d shut up, she¡¯d be popular. ¡°What? That¡¯s not the reaction I was expecting. I wouldn¡¯t despise you if you had a nosebleed or something.¡± ¡°Even if you say so¡­¡± With Saeki¡¯s appearance, cuteness is more prevalent than sex appeal. How can I be shaken by someone, when it wouldn¡¯t even be weird if you were said to be younger than me? ¡°You¡¯re thinking of something very rude right now, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Nope! You have a nice body, Saeki! Wow!¡± I told you not to read my thoughts so naturally! ¡°Shouhei, what do you think? Isn¡¯t it cute? Isn¡¯t it a little embarrassing?¡± She placed her right hand on her head and her left hand on her waist. Saeki appealed to Shouhei by wiggling her entire body. ¡°It looks good on you, Ichika-neechan. It¡¯s cute.¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy, but that¡¯s not¡­¡± Poor Saeki. You can¡¯t expect the kind of reaction you¡¯re looking for from our cool youngest. Even then, you have a child¡¯s build. In fact, you look like a child who¡¯s tiptoeing to make themselves seem a little taller, which is rather funny. ¡°Kazamachi, you better remember this.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say anything!¡± False accusation, it¡¯s a false accusation! ¡°Nishishishi!¡± When Koji saw his sister, he shook his shoulders in amusement and laughed. He held his mouth in an attempt to hold back, but apparently he couldn¡¯t. ¡°You too, idiot brother.¡± ¡°Nii!?¡± So why is Koji picking a fight he can¡¯t win? ¡°Wait up, Icika-chan! Really! You should at least carry your stuff!¡± I could hear the pattering of sandals coming from the cottage. Is that Mikuma? ¡°Ah, Mikuma¡¯s here too¡­¡± Wow¡­ ¡°Oh, Kunpei-kun¡­ um, how¡­ is it?¡± ¡°Well, no, I mean, what can I say?¡± She dropped the bag on her shoulder and hid her body with her arms as she looked up at me. I didn¡¯t know what to say to that. No, I have to say something! I need to say something tasteful! You have to wring out your limited vocabulary, Kazamachi Kunpei! ¡°T-thank you?¡± That was the result. ¡°What¡¯s that? Aren¡¯t you an idiot?¡± Saeki interrupted me in a bad mood. Yeah, that was my fault, wasn¡¯t it? ¡°I-it looks good on you¡­¡± ¡°T-thank you¡­¡± Her long hair, which she usually wears in braids, was tied back, and her swimsuit boldly exposed the nape of her neck, shoulders, collarbone, and chest. The thin straps wrapped around her neck, not back. The two large mountains were covered only by a thin cloth with a red and blue border pattern, which swayed with Mikuma¡¯s movements. The sunlight shone through the pareo covering her lower body making it transparent and it became a sight that¡¯s hard to look at directly. ¡°I tried my best. Ehehe.¡± Mikuma¡¯s face turned red and she fidgeted with her hands in front of her chest, rubbing them together. What is this cute creature? ¡°W-what happened to your glasses?¡± I forcibly change the direction of the conversation. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to say something weird when I see something like that. ¡°I¡¯m not going to swim, so I thought it would be good once in a while.¡± Yeah. The glasses-wearing Mikuma is also good, but¡­ ¡°¡­ Mikuma without glasses is also cute.¡± My impression has changed, and it feels fresh. ¡°Huh.¡± Huh? Mikuma¡¯s eyes widened and she stiffened. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re too direct.¡± ¡°Nii-chan, what you were thinking probably came out of your mouth.¡± Eh? ¡°C-cu-cu-cute¡­¡± Mikuma¡¯s mouth flapped open and shut and her red face turned even redder. What came out of my mouth? ¡­ Maybe I let something slip? ¡°Ah, no! That¡¯s not¡­ well it is but! It¡¯s just that you¡¯re usually cute! Oh, of course, now too! But not now! Um! Mikuma!¡¡Hey, Mikuma, get a grip!¡± ¡°Awawa¡± I grabbed Mikuma by both shoulders and supported her as she staggered around with her eyes rolling around. Wow, it¡¯s so smooth! Not! ¡°Mikuma! Hold on, Mikuma!¡± I feel like this is my fault! ¡°Wow, their so young! It makes me embarrassed to look, Toshio-kun.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tease them, Doc.¡± The pair of officers sitting on leisure chairs pouring lemonade into paper cups were laughing happily. No, don¡¯t just look, can you help me? I¡¯m so happy for you, Yunno, it was worth the four hours I spent picking out a swimsuit. It¡¯s a good thing I was brave enough to go for it. Four hours? Don¡¯t the employees complain about that! ¡°Aoi and Rouge-san will be here soon. They had a hard time getting the twins ready, so we came out first.¡± No, so don¡¯t try to just brush it off Saeki! You¡¯ve got to help Mikuma! Your best friend¡¯s in trouble, you know! ¡°Kunpei-san!¡± It was then that I heard Aoi¡¯s voice. Chapter 152 - Apart, We Will Always be Friends (4) ¡°Dah!¡± Jaja, who was hugging Rouge¡¯s chest, extended her hands happily towards me when she saw me. Ah, Jaja. I want to go pick her up, but I can¡¯t seem to get close. Because¡­. ¡°K-Kunpei-san. How is it?¡± ¡°Hm, I can¡¯t keep calm around swimsuits.¡± Because these dragon girls are chipping away at my reasoning! Mikuma, who was still being supported by me with her eyes spinning, I¡¯m hoping you¡¯ll be a little more considerate of my adolescence! I¡¯m in trouble! Kunpei, you¡¯re in trouble! ¡°It would be nice if it suits me.¡± ¡°It looks good on you.¡± ¡°Ah, thank you¡­?¡± Ah, I answered immediately without thinking. Her long, blue hair was tied up in a ponytail at the top. The nape of her neck, no longer hidden, was too dazzling. Aoi¡¯s swimsuit was also a bikini. The top and bottom of the bikini are separate, and her cute navel was fully visible. It was a white bikini with light blue polka dots, with the strap wrapped around the neck. The only problem was that it was so tightly fitted to her that it didn¡¯t hide any of Aoi¡¯s slender body lines. Her shoulders were completely exposed, which was more sexy than a normal swimsuit. That¡¯s not good, it¡¯s almost like I¡¯m remembering the naked Aoi I usually know. ¡°I said I don¡¯t need it because I¡¯m not swimming, but Aoi and Ichika forced me to.¡± Rouge scanned her own body while holding Jaja. This fellow was the worst. She was a little bit shorter than me, and she has the style of a fashion model, so she looks great in that orthodox black bikini. Her long red hair danced freely in the wind as it usually does, but the contrast made the black bikini stand out so much that I honestly couldn¡¯t look at it. It¡¯s erotic. Honestly speaking, Rouge is straight up erotic. ¡°Nii-chan, your face is so red it¡¯s scary.¡± Eh? Is it that red? Well, I think my head might be spinning a little. ¡°This pervert.¡± ¡°I-I can¡¯t help it! I¡¯m a boy too!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but give an honest rebuttal to Saeki¡¯s cold voice. But I can¡¯t do anything about all this. I¡¯d rather worry about adolescent boys who aren¡¯t aware of the fact that there are cute girls in swimsuits as far as the eye can see! ¡°K-Kunpei-san. Are you conscious of me?¡± Aoi, smiling happily, gradually approached me. ¡°Huh? No, not at all! That¡¯s not true! And Mikuma, when the hell are you going to come back, it¡¯s hitting me! Help me, Shouhei! Rouge? Why do you want to come here too, Jaja? I got it! I¡¯m going to hold Jaja, so get out of my way¡­ why are you on my back? Saeki, don¡¯t tell me what I need to know! Officer Doggy! Officer Inoue! This is not a good situation for a minor, is it? Why are you smiling like that! Wait! Nana, don¡¯t grab papa¡¯s face! H-help meeeeeeeeee!¡± What the hell! ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Au?¡± A little time has passed, and now I¡¯m letting Jaja and Nana play in the water. I put Jaja and Nana in the simple pool I made earlier, and was soothed by their adorable appearance as they played with the water. I dunked myself inside and supported Jaja¡¯s back. ¡°I thought I was going to die.¡± Don¡¯t tell anyone that it was the pathetic me who almost fainted from over excitement from paradise hell. Normal boys would be overjoyed with¡­ No, I think it would be overkill for any boy in that situation. As my father predicted, I exposed my ugliness. I¡¯m sorry. ¡°Adah!¡± ¡°Whoa, that¡¯s cold, Jaja.¡± Jaja slapped the surface of the water and the flying spray splashes my face, it was quite pleasant. As we had planned, when the twins sat down, the water was only just below their navel. I¡¯m supporting their backs, so they won¡¯t fall over, and if the water gets too much, we can just scoop it out. ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°Why has Nana been looking so curiously like that since earlier?¡± Aoi was the one supporting Nana. She was holding her hand on Nana¡¯s back and letting the twins play by slapping the surface of the water with her tail, just like me. ¡°I think it¡¯s strange to feel the water flowing. It¡¯s different from a bath.¡± Mikuma, sitting in front of me, replied to Aoi. Oh, yeah, that¡¯s right. The small bathtub at home and this big river must feel different. It¡¯s a good deal for Jaja and Nana to experience everything for the first time. There¡¯s always a new surprise. ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Nya!¡± Jadeja was playing with the water, and splashed water on Nana¡¯s face, and she looks displeased. ¡°Da!¡± ¡°Kyah!¡± Nana weakly slapped the surface of the water in return. She managed to hit Jaja¡¯s face with a splash, but Jaja seemed unconcerned and loudly rejoiced. ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Nya! Fuhn, fuyeeeeh!¡± Nana finally cried out as she was hit by the spray of Jaja¡¯s counterattack. ¡°Haha, you¡¯re no match for Jaja having fun, Nana.¡± Highly excited people are invincible. Jaja is just trying to be playful, she¡¯s not trying to be mean. ¡°Jaja? Don¡¯t do it when Nana doesn¡¯t want you to, okay? Nana, come here.¡± ¡°Fueeeeeh!¡± When Aoi picked up Nana, she buried and rubber her face on her chest. ¡°Nana, if you rub like that my swimsuit is going to come off. I¡¯m not as big as Yunno-san or Ru-neesama¡­¡± ¡°Hey, Aoi.¡± Why do you say things like that to hurt yourself? Make a straight face, make a straight face. ¡°Kunpei-san, I think I dropped my breasts when I was changing¡­ I¡¯m looking for them¡­¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t drop it, you didn¡¯t drop it! Come to your senses, you idiot!¡± You have the same lovely breasts as usual! ¡°Aoi-chan, beiing too big isn¡¯t a good think, you know?¡± ¡°Big people say that all the time. You should know how cruel that is! I saw it on TV!¡± Aoi snapped at Mikuma¡¯s comforting words with tears in her eyes. Another TV show, huh? You need to change the TV shows you usually watch. ¡°Kou-chan, be careful!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t swim, so what the hell do you think you¡¯re doing?¡± I heard Shouhei and Saeki¡¯s voices. I turned around to see Koji on a large rock, about to jump into the river. ¡°Hey, hey! That¡¯s dangerous, Koji!¡± I thought he couldn¡¯t swim? ¡°Nii!¡± Koji¡¯s face was smug. ¡°I can just barely reach the ground with my feet here, so Kou-chan, let¡¯s not do that, you¡¯ve drowned in shallow water before.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so lame! I¡¯m a little embarrassed as your sister!¡± How can you drown in shallow water? ¡°Kunpei.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Rouge, who was watching us from a chair on the riverbank, called out to us. It seems that she had no intention of going into the river in the first place, because apparently Earth dragons would boil the water when they touch it. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Something is approaching. The spirits of the earth told me.¡± Oh, so spirits can tell you things like that? ¡°Is it another tourist?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s not human.¡± Huh? ¡°Niiiiiiiiiiii!¡± Suddenly, I heard Koji¡¯s shriek. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? What happeend, Koji!¡± ¡°Udah¡± I stood up, holding Jaja in my arms. Aoi, who was next to me, also climbed out of the river with Nana in her arms. ¡°Nii! Nii!¡± ¡°Ah? What¡¯s wrong with the forest?¡± ¡°Nii-chan, Kou-chan said there¡¯s something in the forest.¡± How can Shouhei understand Koji¡¯s words? ¡°What do you mean by ¡®something¡¯, Koji?¡± ¡°Nii!¡± ¡°Was it too fast too understand?¡± Well, Saeki¡¯s his sister and they¡¯re both short-haired, calico cats. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she could understand. ¡°Kunpei, calm everyone down. It¡¯s not something bad.¡± ¡°Rouge? Do you understand?¡± ¡°Hmm, this is¡­¡± When Rouge was about to explain, the grass on the other side of the river from us shook violently. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, guys?¡± ¡°Probably a wild animal. If I¡¯m not mistaken, there are wild boars around here.¡± The pair of officers who had been watching us from the wooden deck came down the stairs. ¡°No, um, everyone calm down¡­¡± Rouge was unusually flustered. ¡°For now, Koji-kun, stay where you are! Everyone come up here too!¡± ¡°Hurry up!¡± Saeki and Shouhei came out of the river, reacting to the voices of the officers. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Did a wild dog come out?¡± My father followed them down from the wooden deck, and the scene became a little more hectic. ¡°Well, you can never be too careful.¡± ¡°Right. Shouhei, hurry up and get up here. ¡°Un.¡± Shouhei hurried up from the river under the direction of father who agreed with Officer Inoue. ¡°Wait everyone, Rouge was saying something.¡± ¡°Aoi-chan, should I take Nana and Jaja up to the cottage?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m not going to lose to an animal.¡± No, it¡¯s not about winning or losing! Let¡¯s all just calm down! ¡°It¡¯s coming out!¡± At the sound of Shouhei¡¯s voice, everyone looked at the grass in unison. ¡°¡­ Kyu.¡± What came out was a small, hairy, black bear. Chapter 153 - Even Apart, We Will Always ¡°A bear?¡± Saeki whispered, her mouth twitching. ¡°Y-yeah, a bear cub¡­?¡± Mikuma replied to the question with a question. What emerged from the grass was a small bear cub covered in pitch black fur. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s wary of us, but it was slowly retreating. Eventually, with only its face sticking out of the grass, it was staring at us. ¡°Hmm. Still a young child and you¡¯re all making too big a deal out of it.¡± Rouge grabbed one of the rice balls from the chair and headed for the river. ¡°Oh, hey, Rouge.¡± Without listening to me, Rouge easily jumped across the width of the river. She landed without making a sound, as if she was trying not to scare the bear, and sat down with her knees. ¡°Come here. There¡¯s nothing to be afraid of, there¡¯s food.¡± ¡°Kyu?¡± The little bear tilted his head and looked at Rouge. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. No one will hurt you. Are you hungry? The smell of onigiri is what drew you here, wasn¡¯t it?¡± Smiling a little more gently, Rouge continued to talk to the bear cub. ¡°A bear¡­ huh. In this situation, it¡¯s the police and the hunting club, right.¡± The old man asked Officer Inoue. ¡°I guess so. We should also contact the town hall, because it would be serious if a bear appeared in this area, which is close to human habitation.¡± ¡°I think we should contact the police station that has jurisdiction over this area. I¡¯m sure they the parents are nearby. Toshio-kun, do you know anyone?¡± Wait, a hunting club. Are they going to kill the parents? That¡¯s¡­ ¡°Wait a minute. That¡­ that kid is a beastmen, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± At Mikuma¡¯s words, everyone looked at the bear cub again. Well, for a bear, it¡¯s moving a bit¡­ huh? ¡°It¡¯s wearing something around the neck. Rouge, do you see that thing around the neck?¡± ¡°Hmm. A necklace with a sparkling stone, like some kind of black gemstone. The string is made from a wooden vine, it¡¯s triangular and pointed.¡± Black, pointy, triangular? ¡°Is that an arrowhead¡­?¡± Mikuma put her hand on her chin and started to think about something. ¡°An arrowhead, like a tip of an arrow?¡± ¡°Yes. I think it¡¯s a stone tool¡­¡± While answering Saeki¡¯s question, Mikuma was observing the baby bear closely. ¡°¡­ Officer Doggy, I¡¯ve seen something about it before, wasn¡¯t there a special reserve nearby?¡± ¡°Ah!¡± Officer Doggy clapped her hands as if she remembered something. ¡°There is! Oh, yeah, that¡¯s this prefecture. Now I remember.¡± ¡°Now that you mention it, there is a special tribal reserve in the mountainous area between here and the next prefecture. Even though it¡¯s a neighboring prefecture, it¡¯s bad that we both forgot about it.¡± What¡¯s that? Another word I never heard of. Is this going to be another pattern where my lack of knowledge is going to be exposed? ¡°Saeki, what¡¯s a special protection zone?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way I know about it. Do you know Shouhei?¡± ¡°No? What about Kou-chan?¡± ¡°Nya nyai.¡± Oh, good. I¡¯m glad I¡¯m not the only one who doesn¡¯t know. ¡°Oh, I knew there was such a thing. I didn¡¯t know there was one in the next prefecture.¡± What? Does my father know about it? ¡°It¡¯s related to work. Um, it¡¯s a restrictive inviolability zone protected for the beastmen tribes that don¡¯t fit in with human society. They can¡¯t be forcibly removed from their homes, so it¡¯s decided through consultation between the government and the tribes.¡± ¡°Sorry dad, your eldest son¡­ is an idiot.¡± How am I supposed to know what¡¯s going on if you explain it to me in such technical terms? How many years have we been living together? I hope you¡¯ll learn by now. ¡°¡­ I¡¯ve been trying not to bother you about your studies, but I guess I was wrong.¡± ¡°I¡¯m really sorry about that.¡± No, seriously. I¡¯ve been making an effort to stay awake and listen to my classes lately. I thought I¡¯d at least try. ¡°Yuuno-chan, can you help me?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see.¡± Mikuma, who had been thrown the role of explainer by his father, immediately went into explanation mode. I¡¯m really sorry for the trouble you¡¯re going through, teacher. ¡°The world clash brought many different races into human society, but there were a few tribes that just couldn¡¯t leave where they lived. There are differences in customs and lifestyles, but mostly physical differences.¡± Even physically, Gasara, Seijitsu-san and Nanairo-san look very different from humans, but they are still able to live. ¡°What¡¯s so different about them?¡± Saeki, Koji, Officer Doggy, and Yuri-san are relatively human-like in appearance, but there are many beastmen that look exactly like animals that walk on two legs. ¡°The thing that¡¯s most different, and most troubling, is physical ability.¡± ¡°Physical ability?¡± I think that most of the beastmen have more strength and better reflexes than humans. ¡°For example, wolf beastmen are very fast on their feet and have great jumping ability, right? Compared to humans, they have a lot more potential, or basic status, or physical strength. It¡¯s something that even humans can do if they have access to vehicles and tools. But of course, there are beastmen who have abilities that humans can¡¯t even begin to match.¡± Ah, I see. So the ¡®too strong to handle¡¯ beastmen. ¡°A light tap on the shoulder can cause the arm to fall off, or a hug can fold someone in half. There were a lot of incidents like that a long time ago. Even now, though, there are a few minor inter-species problems.¡± It¡¯s like a gentle expression, but it¡¯s a cruel one, you know? That analogy. ¡°It¡¯s not the only reason, but there are a few tribes that don¡¯t want to have too much to do with society. Let¡¯s see.¡± While supplementing Mikuma¡¯s explanation, Officer Inoue started fiddling with his phone. ¡°From here it¡¯s¡­ Doc, is this the right place?¡± ¡°Well, I think so. Here is the border of the prefecture¡­ here is the mountain range¡­ here is the city¡­ so we¡¯re here now.¡± Ah, you¡¯re looking at a map on your phone. ¡°Come on, come here.¡± I looked at Rouge and saw that she was still struggling to get the bear cub to come to her. But the distance between them was much closer than before. ¡°Ru-anesama, can I take Jaja and Nana with me?¡± Aoi, who was holding Jaja and Nana while sitting on a leisure chair, asked Rouge. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s still scared, so give it some space, okay?¡± ¡°I understand. Okay, Jaja, Nana, it¡¯s your friend, okay?¡± ¡°Au?¡± ¡°Dah?¡± Aoi stood up with the twins in her arms and made her wings appear on her back. It¡¯s a good thing she¡¯s wearing a bathing suit right now, because if she was wearing regular clothes, the back part would tear every time she takes her wings out. That¡¯s why Aoi always wears light clothes when she flies. ¡°Here we go!¡± Once she flapped her wings, she flew over the surface of the river. ¡°Oh, I want to see it too. Do you think I can get there from here?¡± ¡°Yuuno¡­ You¡¯re not very athletic, so it¡¯s dangerous for you to go alone. I¡¯ll go with you, wait a minute.¡± ¡°Kou-chan, shall we go too?¡± ¡°Ni, ni!¡± A group of young people brimming with curiosity crossed the river one by one. They¡¯re so energetic. ¡°Hmm, no matter how you look at it, it¡¯s so far away.¡± ¡°That little bear didn¡¯t come alone, did it?¡± The pair of officers, staring at their phones groaned. ¡°Dad, how do you know about the special protection zone? What does it have to do with your job?¡± What¡¯s it got to do with construction? ¡°Idiot, this is something that has to do with buying and selling land. The land near a protected area has different building requirements. Land prices are naturally different, and you can¡¯t build commercial facilities there. If you don¡¯t know about it, you might get into unnecessary trouble.¡± Wow. That¡¯s tough. Thank you for your hard work. ¡°But it¡¯s scary.¡± ¡°What is?¡± My father crossed his arms. ¡°Yuuno-chan was the only one who noticed that child was a beastmen, right? He¡¯s still a cub, so we weren¡¯t wary, but if it was an adult of the same species, it would have been mistaken for a bear. That¡¯s the scary thing about beastmen society. It¡¯s a problem that the only way to distinguish them from wild animals is through clothing or language.¡± Oh, yeah. If we were hunters, we might shoot a tribe that didn¡¯t wear clothes by mistake. ¡°That¡¯s a problem.¡± ¡°What?¡± I asked Officer Inoue, who was scratching his head. ¡°There¡¯s a tribal settlement in a special reserve, but the nearest one is about twenty kilometers from here. It looks like the child is by itself, so I was wondering what to do.¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s just a kid. I¡¯m sure its parents are with him.¡± It doesn¡¯t look like it can travel 20 kilometers by itself. ¡°Hmm. We¡¯ll take care of it for now. I¡¯ll make a call.¡± ¡°Please.¡± I wonder if the parents are frantically looking for their child. I look at Rouge and the others on the other side of the river. The little bear sniffed the scent of the rice ball in Rouge¡¯s hand. They were already that close together. It¡¯s such a friendly little guy. All right, I¡¯m going to ask Yulie to prepare something for me too. ¡°Oh.¡± I told my father and headed for the cottage. I hope your parents will be here soon. Chapter 154 - Even Apart, We Will Always be Friends (6) ¡°Kyu?¡± ¡°Dah?¡± ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Oh, my God, what is this, what is this! They¡¯re too cute! It¡¯s not right!¡± In the living room of the cottage, Saeki was writhing her tiny body. The sight of the three babies sitting on the mattress with their buttocks flattened against it was irresistibly adorable. ¡°Hmm. Happy.¡± Rouge was sitting while hugging her knees, staring at the children with a slight flush on her face. ¡°Sure enough, children are the cutest when they¡¯re playing and laughing, and when they¡¯re sleeping.¡± That means they¡¯re cute whether they¡¯re awake or asleep, right? I completely agreed. I have no objection. If I had to say, they are cute when they are crying or in a bad mood as well, but smiling and sleeping faces are the cutest. In other words, everything is cute. ¡°Let¡¯s take a bath later. Saeki, can you help me?¡± I told Saeki, who was leaning against the wall watching from a little distance. ¡°Leave it to me!¡± ¡°How nice¡­¡± Rouge looked enviously at Saeki, who cheerfully replies to my words. It can¡¯t be helped. If you touch the bath water, it will turn into hot water. ¡°Kyuu!¡± ¡°Dah!¡± Jaja responded to the happy squeals of the bear cub. I have no idea what they¡¯re talking about, but it¡¯s good that they get along. Maybe it¡¯s because this bear looks somewhat like Pongoro-kun, Jaja¡¯s favorite stuffed animal from the children¡¯s TV show. The bear¡¯s fur was a light brown, and his body shape was stocky and chubby. The way he waddled on his two feet. Jaja was so happy to see Pongoro-kun, whom she always saw on TV, in front of her that she was in high spirits the whole time. As it turned out, this cub was a girl. I guess it¡¯s rude to say that a girl looks just like the boy character Pongoro-kun. Jaja, Nana, and the lost baby bear beastmen. The three of them were playing with a toy together. Their appearance has an invincible loveliness that charms all who look at them, and I never seem to get tired of looking at them. It¡¯s no wonder Saeki was wiggling around. The area around the river and forest where the cottage was located was enveloped in darkness, it was already night. We waited and waited for her parents to come, but there was no sign of them, so we had no choice but to protect her for the day. Aoi, Mikuma, Shouhei and Yuri-san were in the middle of preparing dinner. Dad, Officer Inoue, and Koji were enjoying the cool evening air on the wooden deck. ¡°Officer Doggy, have you made any progress?¡± ¡°I just made another attempt to contact the police station here, but there seems to be no word from the tribe in the protected area. I¡¯m sure that the tribe that resides there is a beast called the Great Bear Tribe, and I¡¯m sure that this cub is a stray from there.¡± Officer Doggy, wearing a T-shirt and shorts, sat on a chair in the kitchen and gulped down her beer. Yeah, that¡¯s troubling. If it¡¯s not a species that we interact with frequently, we can¡¯t just move this little bear from here. If there¡¯s an ongoing search, we don¡¯t want to cross paths. ¡°In the meantime, I¡¯ve asked the liaison with the Great Bear Tribe to let them know that we¡¯re protecting her.¡± ¡°Liaison?¡± I¡¯ve been wondering how they keep in touch with such a tribe that has no contact with human society. ¡°It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t have any contact at all. Even though it¡¯s far away, there¡¯s a town just over a mountain or two. That¡¯s why they set up a department in the city hall that can communicate with the tribes, and they visit them regularly to get advice. But the troublesome thing is¡­¡± Officer Doggy frowned as she rested his chin on her hands. ¡°What happened?¡± The look on her face indicated that there must be something bothersome. Officer Doggy is an easy person to understand. It can also mean she¡¯s someone with no other side. ¡°The Great Bear tribe seems to be a tribe that moves its residence regularly. The city officials have a hard time meeting them every time, so they don¡¯t know where they live now. It seems that the city hall even has a department to recruit people to look for their place of residence.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± That¡¯s a pain in the ass. The protected area that was shown to me earlier was quite large. It is an area that newly appeared due to the world crash, and it is also quite mountainous. You¡¯ll need a lot of patience to find it. The total area of this country is about three times larger than before and after the world clash. This is true globally, but experts say that the planet has simply grown more than twice as large. Therefore, there is still a lot of uncharted land in this country, and we don¡¯t have a full grasp of everything. The world map is made from actual measurements from the ocean side, but inland, we can only confirm the living scope of people and beastmen. Even the aerial photos taken by the weather observation tool, the fruit of magic and science, are blurry due to the magic that covers the entire planet. It seems that the protected area, where these little bears live, is also part of this ¡®unidentified zone¡¯. ¡°She may be a beastmen, but she still only has the legs of a baby, so I¡¯m sure we¡¯re not too far from where they live.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯re worried about her right now, so I¡¯d like to send her home.¡± We¡¯re going to keep her under our protection until tomorrow, and then we¡¯ll leave it to the town hall or the police. Then she probably won¡¯t see her parents for a month or two. I feel sorry for her. It¡¯s too hard for such a small child to be separated from his parents. ¡°Kunpei, what¡¯s troubling you?¡± ¡°Hmm? Ah, I was just wondering if we could get her back to her parents somehow. It seems like we don¡¯t know where they are.¡± The next thing I knew, Rouge was sitting beside me. The small size of the shirt was a hand-me-down from Mikuma, it was something from when she was in middle school. The size of her body hasn¡¯t changed much, but the reason it¡¯s a hand-me-down is mainly because of Mikuma¡¯s rapidly growing breasts. If she wears this now, her navel will probably be fully visible. In fact, Rouge also showed glimpses of her belly. ¡°Can we find them and get her home? It¡¯s best if children are with their parents.¡± ¡°If we can get her home, it¡¯s better to get them home.¡± The problem is that we don¡¯t know where her home is. I think I¡¯ll just look around the nearby area tomorrow. ¡°Hmm. I understand. I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Rouge stood up, opened the living room window and went to the wooden deck. ¡°Rouge? What¡¯s going on?¡± I hurriedly got up and followed Rouge out onto the wooden deck. Barefoot, Rouge walked across the wooden deck and down the stairs to the parking lot. ¡°Oh, hey. Where are you going? Are you planning to go look for them right now?¡± It¡¯s already pitch-black and you¡¯re barefoot. At least put on some shoes. Since we were deep in the mountains, the only road that was maintained was the roadway. The parking lot was a natural open space made up of dirt and gravel, so I followed along and got a stone stuck in the sole of my foot, which hurt a little. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get lost! Don¡¯t you realize how directionless you are?¡± Who was it that was about to cry a little when she couldn¡¯t find her way home after getting lost for two hours while shopping in the neighborhood? I ran around and finally found you! ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll just tell them today.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Rouge stopped in the middle of the parking lot and spread her hands wide. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± ¡°Please be quiet, she¡¯s probably asleep and I want to concentrate on finding her.¡± Asleep? Who? ¡°¡­there he is.¡± After muttering that, Rouge closed her eyes and took a deep breath. I wasn¡¯t not sure how much she was able to inhale, but it was a lot. She stretched her body backwards to the limit, closed her mouth, and opened her eyes. And then¡­. ¡°Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!¡± ¡°Whoa!¡± She roared. The surrounding trees shook at the sound of her voice, and the surface of the nearby river rippled. The soles of my bare feet were shaken by the vibrations of the earth, and I was also startled by the unexpected roar. ¡°Aaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh¡­ wait a minute.¡± ¡°Huh? What?¡± Rouge, who had finished roaring, shifted her body toward me. ¡°I think he¡¯ll reply in a little while.¡± ¡°Like I said, what?¡± I was startled. What a voice you¡¯ve suddenly got. I¡¯ve recently met a girl from the demon tribe, Utai Ketsa Inteira, who I call ¡°the demon tribe¡¯s broken professional woofer weapon¡±, and she has an amazing voice. No, I¡¯m not sure, but if she were to get serious, she¡¯d probably be as loud as this, if not louder. Can you please stop doing something that doesn¡¯t fit your character all of a sudden? I was so surprised that my heart is still racing right now. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong? It was Ru-anesama wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Nii-chan, what are you doing? It¡¯s already night.¡± I could hear everyone¡¯s voices buzzing from the cottage. See, they¡¯re surprised, too. ¡°Hey, can you tell us what you did?¡± ¡°Hm, it¡¯s best to ask the local earth dragon about the local area.¡± What? ¡°An Earth Dragon¡­ here? In this forest? I mean, were you trying to contact them?¡± ¡°If there is earth, forest and mountains, there are always dragons that protect them. There are six of them in this area. There¡¯s four that are far away and two a little further over the mountains.¡± Six of them¡­. I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s too many or too few. ¡°How far away is far away, by the way?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure exactly how far, um, very, very far.¡± You¡¯re a terrible explainer. ¡°How do you know where they are?¡± ¡°You know, if you¡¯re also an Earth Dragon. But if they¡¯re too far away, they can¡¯t be reached by voice. You have to send an earth spirit on an errand.¡± Huh. you can make the spirits run errands? It must be tough for you spirits. ¡°Ah, a response.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Gaaaa¡­¡± From beyond the pitch-black sky, I heard a voice so quiet that I had to strain my ears to hear it. ¡°Hmm. He wants me to wait until tomorrow morning. He said he¡¯ll try looking. I¡¯m sorry for forcing him to wake up. When I see him tomorrow, can I feed him Shouhei¡¯s delicious meal?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s fine. What did he say?¡± I mean, did that short voice mean that much to you? ¡°Hmm. He said he¡¯s looking for a bear beast around here and he¡¯d like to know if you know anything about it. He said he had an idea, so he was going to search the place he knew. Maybe because I¡¯m the daughter of the Earth Dragon King, he¡¯ll try his best to find me even though he¡¯s sleepy. I really don¡¯t want to do this, but it¡¯s for her sake. At the very least, I want him to have Shouhei¡¯s delicious meals.¡± Ah. Ah, that reminds me, she¡¯s also the daughter of a dragon king. If someone like that terrifying Sky Dragon King, Yule, is backing her, they¡¯ll do their best to look. ¡°Well, until then, she, Jaja and Nana. I want them to have lots of fun. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll take them home. Okay?¡± Shaking her bright red hair, Rouge tilted her head at me. You¡¯re also a good beggar, aren¡¯t you? I can¡¯t say no if you have such a desperate face. Normally, you keep a straight face and don¡¯t move your eyebrows, but you¡¯ve got a troubled face and you¡¯re looking up at me. That¡¯s a little too much of an impact. I have no intention of refusing, but such a face, which I have never seen before, is in a way unfair. ¡°Yeah, I get it. I¡¯ll be counting on you in return, okay?¡± ¡°Hmm. Thanks, Kunpei.¡± Rouge smiled at my words, a soft and gentle smile. She went straight past me and climbed the stairs to the cottage. ¡°She could make a face like that, huh¡­¡± I stayed like that, dumbfounded. What a beautiful smile you have. Chapter 155 - Even Apart, We Will Always be Friends (7) ¡°Jaja and the bear cub are good friends, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Kyu?¡± When Aoi sat Nana down on her lap, Jaja responded cheerfully and the bear cub responded curiously. ¡°They¡¯re already friends now, right?¡± Rouge, who was supporting their backs, looked proud for some reason. The girls had all finished dinner and were relaxing on the living room floor with the kids. I had just finished washing the dishes used for dinner and was wiping off the water with a towel. It¡¯s my way of showing my gratitude to the people who cooked for me with labor. That¡¯s my style. I piled up the plates with a practiced hand while looking at the girls from a distance. Although I can¡¯t quite match Shouhei¡¯s housekeeping skills, it looks like I¡¯m a pretty good housekeeper myself. Officers Doggy, Yuri-san, and Officer Inoue were dragged by my father to the wooden deck for a drink. All of us were here, except for Koji and Shouhei, who fell asleep earlier after getting tired from playing. ¡°You¡¯re so fluffy, how cute.¡± ¡°Kyuu!¡± The little bear tickled by Mikuma looked ticklish, but sounded happy. She¡¯s such a friendly little guy. We¡¯ve only known her for about half a day, but she¡¯s already acting spoiled to all the members in this place. ¡°Look, Jaja too! So cute, so cute!¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± Jaja smiled happily as Saeki stroked her belly dynamically with both hands. Like the little bear, Jaja is not afraid of anything. I think my daughter may be a devilish girl who can win people over with her smiling face, whether they¡¯ve never met her before or not. Her younger sister Nana was like how Aoi was before, she¡¯s shy and doesn¡¯t open up easily to people she meets for the first time. Whenever we go out, she usually hugs Aoi tightly and won¡¯t leave her side. If Aoi is not around, it¡¯s me. When I¡¯m not around, it¡¯s Rouge, Shouhei, Yuri-san, or my dad. Mikuma, Saeki and Officer Doggy are already familiar faces, so it¡¯s a little better, but she never tries to get close to Officer Inoue or Koji, and when he does, she looks blatantly uncomfortable. ¡°Kyuu!¡± ¡°Uda!¡± Jaja and the little bear started to play with each other, clapping their hands, and Nana was staring at them on Aoi¡¯s lap. She was sucking on her right thumb, her back was resting against Aoi¡¯s while blinking her eyes. ¡°Nana too, together with your friends.¡± ¡°Ua?¡± She tilted her head at Aoi¡¯s words. ¡°Let¡¯s play with the little bear, shall we?¡± She put her hands on Nana¡¯s sides and slowly lowered her to the living room floor. ¡°Dah! Uda!¡± ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡± Jaja and the little bear played with each other, clapping their hands and shaking their bodies in a strange rhythm. Nana watched them for a while, then slowly rolled over and laid down on her stomach. ¡°Uah.¡± Nana kicked the floor with her short tail and waddled awkwardly with her hands as she slowly approached Jaja and the little bear. She¡¯s about to learn how to crawl. I wonder if we should build a fence or something, because then they will go everywhere in the house. ¡°Oh? Nana-chan is going to jump in too?¡± ¡°Hmm. Come here, Nana.¡± Ignoring Saeki and Rouge¡¯s words, Nana pushed her way between Jaja and the little bear. She forcefully sat up and flattened her buttocks on the floor, trying her best to stabilize her dizzying body. ¡°Huh? Nana?¡± ¡°Huh? Nana-chan?¡± I heard Aoi and Mikuma¡¯s confused voices. What? From where I am in the kitchen, it¡¯s hard to see them past Rouge¡¯s back, so I can¡¯t see what they¡¯re doing. ¡°Nnngh! Niiii!¡± ¡°Kyu?¡± ¡°Dah?¡± ¡°Nana. Watch out.¡± ¡°Hmm. Nana, why are you doing this?¡± What is she doing? It looks like Aoi and Rouge are blaming Nana. I¡¯ll go have a look. I finished wiping some of the dishes, put the folded towel on the kitchen table and headed for the living room. ¡°Hmmm! Yaa!¡± ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡± ¡°Nyeeh, udah!¡± What is this? Nana spreads her arms wide between Jaja and Little Bear and pushed them. The two being pushed didn¡¯t like it and pushed it back. If Rouge hadn¡¯t been supporting their backs, they would have fallen over. There¡¯s no carpet on the floor here. It would have been terrible if they had fallen and hit their heads. Good job, Rouge. ¡°Don¡¯t be naughty, Nana. Let¡¯s play nicely with your older sister and her friend, okay?¡± Aoi, who couldn¡¯t bear to just continue watching, picked Nana up. ¡°Yaah! Nii!¡± Nana struggled to shake off Aoi¡¯s hand. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve ever seen Nana refuse to be held by Aoi. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Nana?¡± ¡°Ah, Kunpei-san.¡± ¡°Fuaaaaaaah!¡± Oops, she finally started to cry. She flapped her legs, trying to get Aoi¡¯s hand off her stomach, and desperately pointed at Jaja. ¡°Nana, what¡¯s wrong? Are you already sleepy?¡± ¡°Niiiiiiii! Fueeeeeeeeeh!¡± Aoi spun Nana¡¯s body around and held her from the front. She bounced her body up and down while patting her gently on the back, and spoke to her in a calm tone, but Nana still tried to push Aoi¡¯s chest away. ¡°Well, the diaper¡­ seems to be okay. She was nursed earlier, so I don¡¯t think she¡¯s hungry.¡± ¡°You were fine until a while ago, Nana-chan. Do you have a fever?¡± After touching Nana¡¯s bottom to make sure her diaper was not wet, Mikuma looked at me. Saeki put her hand around Nana¡¯s to check if she had a fever. She¡¯s got a younger brother named Koji, so she¡¯s used to taking care of kids. ¡°No, she doesn¡¯t seem to have a fever.¡± Aoi put her hand on Nana¡¯s forehead to check. The twins have never been very sick. I¡¯m sure Alba said that they wouldn¡¯t get sick like humans. I don¡¯t know what kind of illnesses dragons get, but she hasn¡¯t shown any noticeable symptoms, and my hunch is that she¡¯s probably not sick. Hmmm, I wonder what¡¯s wrong. She doesn¡¯t seem to want to be pampered by Aoi, so it¡¯s not like she wants to sleep. ¡°Dah.¡± ¡°Kyu?¡± When I looked next to her, I saw that Jaja and the little bear had picked up musical instruments toys and were already playing something else. Rouge who was supporting their backs was looking at Nana with concern. ¡°Aaahhhh! Daaah!¡± Nana twisted her body as hard as she could and reached out towards Jaja and the little bear. Ah, perhaps. ¡°Nana, are you jealous?¡± Jaja is playing with another kid, and you don¡¯t like it? Hmm, but¡­ when we were living in the community center, she was playing with the other children of the evacuees that Yuri-san was taking care of. It didn¡¯t seem to be a problem at that time. ¡°Dah! Dah!¡± ¡°Kyu! Kyu!¡± We brought a series of animal instruments from home. Jaja was happily shaking the monkey tambourine, her favorite among them. The little bear was playing with a rabbit trumpet that she took a liking to. The two of them were smiling together and even singing together. ¡°¡­They¡¯re really getting along well.¡± Aren¡¯t they getting along a little too well? I¡¯ve heard that children can make friends quickly, but can they really get along this well in just half a day? ¡°Jaja, do you really think this kid is Pongoro?¡± The Pongoro that she always sees on TV. She watches it over and over again every day, so maybe in Jaja¡¯s mind, she¡¯s as familiar with her as she is with family. Nana senses this and is jealous? ¡°Nyeeeeeee! Yaaaah!¡± ¡°Whoa! Nana, watch out! You¡¯re falling, you¡¯re falling!¡± Aoi soothed Nana, who was flailing around in her arms. She really doesn¡¯t want to lose her big sister. Nana loves Jaja, doesn¡¯t she? ¡°Come here, Nana.¡± I opened my arms and held them out to Nana. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. Jaja will always be your big sister. Come on.¡± ¡°Fueeh! Kyaaah!¡± Nana stopped flailing and concentrated on crying, not even listening to my words. ¡°Kunpei-san. Please¡­¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Aoi, with a troubled look on her face, took Nana in both hands and handed her to me. I took Nana, hugged her tightly, and stood up. ¡°Come on, come on. Jaja and the others will laugh at you if you cry too much.¡± ¡°Fueh, funiii.¡± I pushed her head gently against my right shoulder and patted her on the back. When she finally recognized that I was holding her, she squeezed the shoulders of my clothes and rubbed her face against them. She¡¯s just like Jaja in this way. You two are so close. I move my body up and down in a rhythmic pattern to soothe Nana. Nana¡¯s body temperature had risen after crying so hard, and it was very comfortable. Her hair tickled my cheeks, and a smell distinct to babies, a mixture of milk and baby powder, tickled my nostrils. Oh, man. I¡¯m starting to feel sleepy. This is the smell that I smell when I go to sleep, and it gives me a sense of security. The twins are sandwiched between me and Aoi so that they don¡¯t fall out of bed when they sleep. Jaja is next to me and Nana is next to Aoi. I love the smell of the twins as I doze off. Maybe that¡¯s why my body naturally feels sleepy when I smell Jaja and Nana in close proximity like this. Habits are a scary thing. ¡°Dah?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± I noticed that Jaja was right next to my face. She was floating in the air with her small wings flapping slowly on her back. She was looking at Nana curiously with her sparkling eyes, as if to say, ¡°Why is Nana crying?¡± ¡°Kyu?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Something was leaning against my right leg. When I looked down, I saw the little bear wobbling and clinging to my leg. Her round and cute eyes were fixed on Nana. Oh, you guys. You¡¯re worried about Nana, aren¡¯t you? They¡¯re really good kids, aren¡¯t they? ¡°Look, Nana? Jaja and the little bear are here for you.¡± Nana rubbed her head against my shoulder, not wanting to look up. ¡°Dah.¡± ¡°Hmm? Jaja?¡± Jaja placed her small hand on my shoulder and moved closer to Nana. She put her other hand on Nana¡¯s head and stroked it gently. ¡°Dah.¡± ¡°Nyee¡­¡± Nana finally looked up after being stroked. ¡°Nihee.¡± Jaja¡¯s carefree, dazzling smile. She couldn¡¯t overlook her sister¡¯s crying. In an attempt to make her stop crying, she probably mimicked what Aoi and I usually do. She¡¯s a sweet girl. ¡°¡­Ah.¡± Wiping the tears from her eyes, Nana reached out her hands to Jaja. ¡°Ah.¡± Jaja took her hand and began a slow descent. ¡°¡­Good girl.¡± I¡¯m so proud to see that. Jaja, who was kind and caring, and Nana, who stopped crying. And the little bear who quietly watched over them. I was even moved by the sight of the little ones. As Jaja descended, I slowly lowered Nana. Jaja sat down in front of Nana, who was sitting with her butt on the floor, and the little bear sat down next to her. ¡°Come on, we¡¯re going to play together, okay?¡± ¡°Dah!¡± Jaja replied cheerfully to my words. ¡°Kyu!¡± ¡°Au!¡± The little bear grabbed a stuffed cat from the floor and handed it to Nana. Nana gently grabbed the stuffed animal that was offered to her and shook her head. Oh, are you saying thank you? It looks like they¡¯ve made up. ¡°So cute¡­¡± Saeki, who was watching the scene, was enraptured, her cheeks dyed red. ¡°That¡¯s great, Jaja. You too, little bear. What good girls.¡± Mikuma also smiled and patted Jaja and the little bear on the head. ¡°Nana? Play nice with your friends, okay?¡± Aoi smiled gently as she stroked Nana¡¯s head. ¡°Hmn, they¡¯re really good kids.¡± Rouge seemed proud for some reason. Phew. It looks like the little guys are going to get along just fine. I¡¯m a little relieved. I hope we can find the little bear¡¯s parents tomorrow. She doesn¡¯t seem to miss her parents too much, but it¡¯s not good to be separated from them for too long. ¡°Here we go.¡± Rouge is the one I¡¯m worried about. When we found the baby bear by the river, I felt that she was a little too attached to it. That¡¯s not a bad thing at all, but she¡¯s still patting the bear cub¡¯s back and looking after it with a very gentle expression. Just like a mother. She really likes kids. At the end of the evacuation period at the community center, she was sadly watching over the children as they each went home. We are in the same town, and we can meet each other as soon as we want to, but still, she was so depressed. ¡­I don¡¯t think so, but you¡¯re not going to tell me you¡¯re going to take the baby bear back if you can¡¯t find her parents, are you? Or that you¡¯ll cry¡­ ¡°Hm, Plushie wants to play with you.¡± The little bear was playing with a stuffed animal with Nana. Rouge tries to join it with another stuffed dog. With a strange feeling of uneasiness, I went back to the kitchen to do the dishes. ¡°Hmm. Are you going to let Nana use it? What a good girl.¡± Really, it¡¯s okay, isn¡¯t it? Rouge? Chapter 156 - Even Apart, We Will Always be Friends (8) The last morning of the trip arrived. My father and the officers who had been drinking late the day before were still fast asleep, and Shouhei and I were helping Yuri-san with breakfast. The girls were also up early, sorting through their luggage, and things are a bit hectic. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to touch any of the women¡¯s stuff, and I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a lot of stuff they don¡¯t want me to see (mainly me), so that¡¯s why I¡¯m standing in the kitchen with Yuri-san. It¡¯s a light breakfast, but it takes a lot of time when there are so many people. Yuri-san made miso soup. Shouhei is cooking scrambled eggs and bacon, and I¡¯m making a salad. We¡¯re a rice family, but sometimes bread is good. The miso soup was Yuri-san¡¯s consideration for when they wake up with a hangover. The next day after a day of drinking, they crave miso soup, which is something I don¡¯t understand since I¡¯m not allowed to drink yet. ¡°Shouhei, go wake Koji up.¡± ¡°Ok, what about Rouge-neechan?¡± ¡°Oh, I saw her just now, she was happily holding the baby bear. Let her sleep a little longer.¡± Koji and Rouge were the ones sleeping in, and also the baby bear. Jaja and Nana tend to wake up very early in the morning. I guess they¡¯ve gotten into the habit of it, because Jaja cries when she senses when I wake up for school. When I checked the futon a while ago, I found the two of them playing with their arms and legs next to the sleeping Aoi. I tried not to wake Aoi who was tired from the crying at night from being in an unfamiliar environment, but she woke up because Nana, who was hungry, dove into her clothes and wanted breast milk. It¡¯s really tough being a mom. I looked at Rouge, who was sleeping in the same room as us, and she was happily sleeping with the baby bear in her arms. She had her face buried in her fluffy fur and her hand gently resting on her equally fluffy belly. It was as if they were a real parent and child, and I felt a bit relieved. Rouge is not a morning person by nature, so there¡¯s no problem if I let her sleep a little longer. Today, we said goodbye to the little bear. It was only one day, but I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll miss her. I want to let Rouge do whatever she wants as much as possible. As for Koji, he¡¯s just sleeping too much. He went to bed earlier than anyone else last night, but he hasn¡¯t shown any signs of waking up. If you don¡¯t work, you can¡¯t eat. I won¡¯t tolerate self-indulgence. I¡¯ll assign him some kind of work. ¡°I¡¯ll see you later.¡± ¡°Oh, please. Go wake him up.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Shouhei left the kitchen, wiping his hands on his apron. As I listened to the sound of his slippers clomping up the stairs, I portioned out my salad from the salad bowl onto the paper plates I had prepared. ¡°What did you decide to do in the end with that little bear?¡± Yuri-san asked me while tasting the miso soup from a small plate. The gesture was very picturesque, like an experienced mother. ¡°I heard that there are dragons of the same tribe as Rouge in this area. They seem to know where her parents are, and should be coming to show her around in a little while.¡± ¡°Oh my. I¡¯m surprised to see a dragon species in this place. I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t find them before. Yuri-san placed her hand on her cheek as she said this. As far as Rouge could perceive, there were six of them. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a lot, but dragons are unexpectedly common. Hmm? I wonder if that means Aoi can find out the whereabouts of her own kind. I¡¯ll ask her next time. ¡°Dragon King¡¯s daughter! Good morning! The herb dragon is here. Hey, Wera, are you sure this is the right place? This is a human nest, right?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. But I can feel the presence of dragons from here, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s right?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk like it¡¯s somebody else¡¯s problem. I¡¯ve never met the dragon king¡¯s daughter before and I don¡¯t know what to do! Oh, I¡¯m afraid she¡¯ll get mad if I¡¯m rude.¡± ¡°Azui is such a worrier, but I didn¡¯t expect the dragon king¡¯s daughter to come here. I¡¯ve seen the face of the Earth Dragon King a very long time ago. She was a beautiful woman.¡± Hmm? The voices came from the wooden deck instead of the entrance. It seems that the dragons that made this area their territory are here to greet us. ¡°It looks like they¡¯re here. I¡¯m sorry, Yuri-san but can you go wake up Rouge? Also, please go and get Aoi. I¡¯ll go welcome them.¡± ¡°Yeah, okay.¡± After turning off the burner for the miso soup, Yuri-san left the kitchen with a slight rush. I took off my apron, hung it on a chair in the dining room, and headed for the window that led to the wooden deck. I¡¯m actually a little traumatized by the idea of welcoming a dragon. After all, the precedent is that Yule. It¡¯s not unreasonable for me to suddenly get blown up without even listening. You can¡¯t help but feel a little defensive. ¡°Um, sorry for keeping you waiting. Rouge is asleep right now¡­ huh?¡± They¡¯re not here? That¡¯s strange. I¡¯m sure I could hear their voices coming from here. ¡°H-h-h-human? Wera, there¡¯s a human! We¡¯re going to be eaten! They¡¯ll attack us! They¡¯ll kill us!¡± ¡°Calm down, Azui. It seems this human knows the name of the dragon king¡¯s daughter. Hello, human, nice to meet you.¡± ¡°What?¡± I could hear their voice, but I couldn¡¯t see them. I wonder if I¡¯m being affected by something. ¡°Ah, over here, over here.¡± ¡°Oh, Wera! Don¡¯t go near it! You¡¯ll get eaten!¡± I felt a tug at my shirt. I looked down and saw two kids. ¡°What? Kids?¡± Two brown-haired kids with two black horns on their foreheads, wearing some kind of risqu¨¦ piece of cloth, were standing there. They were wearing a piece of cloth with a hole in the middle just big enough for their head to fit through, and tied together at the waist with a string. I guess you can see them from the side, can¡¯t you? ¡°We may look small, but we¡¯re not children. We herb dragons of the Earth Dragon Tribe are a small tribe by nature. I¡¯ve lived 1,200 years. Azui has lived for 800 years.¡± A child with her long hair in a ponytail and her left eye hidden by her bangs smiled and explained. ¡°Nice to meet you, human. I¡¯m Wera, Wera Draffilo.¡± ¡°Ah, nice to meet you. I¡¯m Kazamachi Kunpei.¡± She introduced herself to me, so I hurriedly introduced myself back. A slender waist, thin arms and legs. I thought for a moment that he was a boy based on how she spoke, but I thought there were only girls in dragons. So this must be a girl too. ¡°Come on, Azui. It would be rude if you didn¡¯t introduce yourself too.¡± She smiled and pulled the other girl, who had hidden herself behind Wera¡¯s back, forward. This one had long hair tied up that reached her hips and, contrary to Wera, had her right eye covered. Ah, and if you look closely, you can see a rather short tail. You can see that she is on guard, pointing upwards under the cloth. ¡°Ughhhh¡­ I¡¯m Azui, Azui Drafexy. I¡¯m afraid so please don¡¯t come near me. Ah, I don¡¯t even taste good! Wera doesn¡¯t taste any better! So please don¡¯t eat us!¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t, but¡­¡± You don¡¯t have to be so frightened as soon as you see my eyes. It was the same with Yule, and Rouge also told me gently, but I wonder if my look gives a bad impression to dragons¡­ ¡°Doesn¡¯t taste good, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m supposed to be happy about this.¡± Wera smiled and patted the frightened Azui on the head. ¡°B-because if you don¡¯t say so, they¡¯ll eat you! Wera is, um, well, I¡¯m sure you must be delicious, but! But!¡± ¡°Calm down, Azui. I¡¯m very happy that you tried to protect me. But it¡¯s rude to do that in front of a human you¡¯ve never met before. It¡¯s okay. This human is not going to eat us, or rather who even told you that humans eat dragons?¡± As she gently nursed Azui, who had her face buried in her chest, Wera smiled with a troubled expression. ¡°Oh, my mother taught me that a long time ago. Weak dragons like us are easy targets, so never get too close.¡± ¡°Auntie¡¯s a worrier, too. Don¡¯t worry, Azui. No matter what happens, I will protect you. I won¡¯t let anything happen to my precious Azui.¡± ¡°W-wera.¡± ¡°Azui¡­¡± Two little girls started flirting right in front of me. What is this? What should I do? ¡°Oh, you know what? I¡¯m not going to do anything to you two, so don¡¯t worry.¡± I tried to talk softly to her, trying to manage the atmosphere that was starting to become amorous. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, human. Azui is very timid. But that¡¯s one of the cute things about her.¡± ¡°Well, if it¡¯s okay with you, it¡¯s okay with me.¡± No, I can¡¯t. I¡¯ve been forced into a love affair. This is something I can¡¯t handle. I wonder if sickeningly sweet love birds are popular recently. ¡°Hmm. Good morning, Kunpei. I¡¯m late.¡± I heard a sleepy voice behind me. ¡°Oh, good morning.¡± I turned around to find Rouge still rubbing her eyes with a sleeping baby bear in her arms. My shirt and sweatpants, which she use as pajamas, were loose, and her shaggy hair was bouncing around freely. I could tell at a glance that she hadn¡¯t had enough sleep, as her tail was hanging down weakly. ¡°Good morning, Ru-anesama. Did you call for me, Kunpei-san?¡± ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Ah, Rouge-san, good morning.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± Aoi, who was holding Jaja, and Mikuma, who was holding Nana, also came into the dining room, their slippers clattering. ¡°Ah, the dragons are here. Look, there they are.¡± Thank God. We can now break through the rose-colored atmosphere of the two girls. ¡°Good morning, Aoi and Yuno. Jaja, Nana, good morning.¡± ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Au¡± Jaja replied cheerfully to Rouge¡¯s voice, and Nana nodded quietly. A healthy day starts with a cheerful greeting in the morning. Our twins are great. ¡°You girls are the earth dragons that has this area as its territory¡± ¡°Yes, yes! The dragon king¡¯s daughter is in a very good mood! ¡°Nice to meet you, Miss Rougerichte. The Earth Dragon Tribe is the Herb Dragons. I¡¯m Wera Drafillo. This is Azui Drafexy.¡± When Rouge turned around and looked at them, Azui tensed and stood upright, while Wera softly bowed in reply to Rouge¡¯s question. ¡°Hmm. You don¡¯t have to be so respectful. I¡¯m the one who needs a favor.¡± Rouge, fixing the misalignment of the little bear¡¯s head. ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t know the other dragons were so close.¡± ¡°Well, I heard that Aoi-chan has been cooped up for a long time.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re right, but¡­¡± Aoi made a bitter face after Mikuma quickly pointed it out. ¡°So, about that thing I asked you to do yesterday. What did you find out?¡± ¡°Y-yes! It¡¯s a tribe of beastmen who live all over these mountains, but it seems that they started living along the river near here last week!¡± Azumi, who was still nervous, replied louder than necessary. ¡°Adah!¡± ¡°Udah¡± No, no. It¡¯s not like they¡¯re playing with us, little guys. Let¡¯s be quiet for a minute, okay? ¡°We live in a place where we move around to avoid running into them, so we know exactly where they are. It¡¯s just a little weird.¡± ¡°Weird?¡± I unconsciously interrupted Wera. ¡°Yeah. The tribe has been making a lot of noise since about the day before yesterday, you know? They came out to a distance where we don¡¯t usually go hunting, so we were in a hurry to get away from them. If we were discovered, it¡¯s going to be a lot of trouble.¡± ¡°Oh, you know. It seems that the men of the tribe are searching for something with their armor. They¡¯re not hunting, but they¡¯re splitting up into different parts of the forest and mountains. We¡¯ve been running this way and that way.¡± Searching? Could it be? ¡°Rouge, I think they¡¯re looking for this girl.¡± A small child is missing in this huge forest. It would be a big deal, wouldn¡¯t it? ¡°Hmm. I want to take her home right away. Kunpei, is that okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ll go as soon as we¡¯re ready. Wera, Azumi. I would like you to show us around.¡± We have to get her back to her parents as soon as possible, they¡¯ll be worried about her. ¡°O-okay!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be happy to show you around. I¡¯ll be happy to show you around. This area has become quite difficult to live in since the world collision. If there¡¯s too large of a commotion, we¡¯ll finally have to move out.¡± Oh, you guys are going through a lot too. ¡°Are you going into the mountains?¡± Before I knew it, Aoi, who was standing next to me, looked at me. ¡°Yeah, I want to get the little bear back to her parents as soon as possible. Can you stay here?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll go with you. I¡¯m sure Jaja and Nana will want to stay with their friend until the end. I mean, Kunpei-san might get hurt again, so I¡¯ll definitely go. No, I¡¯m not going to get hurt. You don¡¯t trust me¡­ ¡°But for Jaja and Nana¡­¡± ¡°Kunpei, don¡¯t worry. There are three earth dragons. It¡¯s impossible for them to get injured in the forest or mountains.¡± Rouge interrupted me and pointed to Wera and Azui.¡± ¡°Really? If you guys say so, then let¡¯s take them¡­¡± But you know what? I¡¯m still worried. ¡°I think I¡¯ll stay here. I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll be able to keep up with everyone in the mountains, and I¡¯ll just slow you down.¡± Mikuma smiled bitterly while holding Nana. If we go with too many people, it¡¯ll just make it harder to move. It would be better for Mikuma to stay behind, physically. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯d like to be back by evening, so can I have you pack up my things?¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± Mikuma nodded and smiled. ¡°Shall we have breakfast first? Well, Wera, Azui. Are you hungry?¡± ¡°Hungry? Yes¡­ but¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been looking all over for the beastman in a hurry. Are you going to feed me?¡± Azui patted her own belly timidly. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve been working hard for Rouge¡¯s request. I¡¯ll make sure to let you eat to your heart¡¯s content. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll enjoy it. Our food is delicious.¡± ¡°Hmm. Thank you.¡± All right, let¡¯s get ready. ¡°¡­Wera, I¡¯m kind of out of touch with the situation.¡± ¡°I wonder why the dragon king¡¯s daughter is with the humans. Those kids also seem to be of the dragon species too.¡± Even if you think you¡¯re being sneaky, I can hear you perfectly! ¡°Nii-chan, I woke up Kou-chan. Huh? Who are you?¡± ¡°Ni?¡± ¡°Oh? More kids?¡± ¡°Oh my, there doesn¡¯t seem to be enough for breakfast. Shall I make a few more dishes?¡± Shouhei, the Saeki siblings, and Yuri-san came into the dining room. ¡°I¡¯ll explain it to you over breakfast. I¡¯ll help you too, Yuri-san. You guys, come on in.¡± ¡°Oh, excuse us for the intrusion.¡± ¡°Thanks for the food.¡± I urged the dragons, who were still standing on the wooden deck, to come inside. Ah, they¡¯re barefoot, aren¡¯t they? And they¡¯re covered in mud. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go take a bath first? Do you know how to use a bath?¡± ¡°Ah, why don¡¯t you come in with us? Jaja and Nana were sweating in their sleep. Ah, that¡¯s right. By the time they come out, the food will be ready and dad and the officers will be up. ¡°Why don¡¯t we all go in together anyway? The baths are huge here.¡± Saeki said, looking around at all the girls. ¡°Uh¡­ I, um¡­¡± ¡°Give it up, Yuuno. It¡¯s only women and there¡¯s no need to be shy.¡± ¡°Because Ichika-chan will definitely do something unnecessary!¡± ¡°Well, of course.¡± Your hands are very erotic, Saeki. It¡¯s a misfortune that Mikuma has such an uninhibited childhood friend. ¡°How nice¡­ I want to go in too. Yuuno, can you wash this child as well?¡± Before I knew it, the little bear had woken up and was rubbing her eyes while being held by Rouge. ¡°Ah, yes. I understand¡­ Jaja-chan and Nana-chan too, the more people there are, the better¡­¡± It seems that Mikuma has given up. ¡°What? A bath?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I had a hot bath, Azui.¡± ¡°Your clothes are pretty dirty, too. I have a change of clothes if you¡¯d like one of my shirts?¡± ¡°I think Ichika¡¯s size fits better than Aoi¡¯s. ¡°What¡¯s that? Are you trying to say I have a child¡¯s body?¡± ¡°Hmm. Ichika is cute.¡± They all headed for the bathroom with Azui, who was swept away by the situation, in tow. It was the kind of lively atmosphere that was unique to girls. They¡¯re so energetic in the morning. ¡°Shouhei-kun, is there any bacon left?¡± ¡°There¡¯s plenty left. shall I cook some more eggs too?¡± ¡°Sure. I¡¯m sure bread won¡¯t be enough, so let¡¯s cook some rice as well. I have a feeling that dragon children seem to eat a lot.¡± In the kitchen, Yuri-san and Shouhei were already cooking. ¡°Funyaaaaah¡­¡± ¡°Why do you look so sleepy? You¡¯ve already slept a lot.¡± ¡°Nyaa!¡± I lightly chopped the top of Koji¡¯s head as he curled up on the floor and yawned. ¡°Go do the dishes and pour the drinks. Come on, come on.¡± ¡°Nya, nya, nya, nya.¡± I helped Koji up and nudged his back as we headed for the kitchen. It¡¯s going to be a busy day. Chapter 157 - Even Apart, We Will Always be Friends (9) ¡°That miso soup thing was really delicious, Wera!¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been talking about breakfast for a while, Azui.¡± In the shaking car, two small dragons with brown hair and two horns were chatting happily. Their hair, which had regained its luster after a bath, swayed freely, and they wore T-shirts that had been handed down from Aoi and Saeki, making them look like they were in their early elementary school years. She¡¯s not wearing any clothes on the lower half of her body, which made her look a bit risqu¨¦, but thanks to the waistband, nothing was set free. She seemed to be very impressed by her first human meal, and her eyes sparkled as she ate more without hesitation. It was very funny to see her eat so much food in this form, and all the adults, including Yuri, who was struck her adorableness, encouraged her to eat this and that, and she ate it all. Dragons eat a lot, after all. Aoi didn¡¯t eat so much, so maybe it¡¯s a difference in tribes. Rouge also eats a lot. I wonder if all earth dragons are gluttons. ¡°Hmm, Shouhei and Yuri-san¡¯s food is really delicious.¡± ¡°Kyu?¡± The little bear tilted her head as she watched Rouge nod deeply over and over again. Rouge was wearing a tight checkered shirt and jeans, an outdoorsy style. I guess she¡¯s expecting to move around in the mountains. Those are the jeans I bought her the other day, aren¡¯t they? The structure of clothes for a species with tails and wings is more complicated, so Rouge, who has a long tail, couldn¡¯t wear them even if I gave her my hand-me-downs. I was able to manage four or five pieces of clothing on my allowance, and Rouge didn¡¯t have many clothes to go out in, so it was a necessary expense. ¡­Don¡¯t tell Aoi or Rouge that I have to put up with a lot for a few months. I don¡¯t want them to be troubled by it. I¡¯ll have to find a part-time job. I don¡¯t care if it¡¯s close to home, but if it¡¯s available, I¡¯d prefer a part-time job that pays more. I¡¯m confident in my physical strength, so I don¡¯t mind doing hard work, but this is the countryside. There are seasonal agricultural jobs, but there are very few jobs available for high school students. Even if you can find one, you have to go to the station in front of the station, which is a 40-minute bus ride away, or to a more prosperous town about an hour¡¯s train ride away. Hmm. I should try asking Gasara and the others about the idea I¡¯ve been thinking about for a while. ¡°Is this place okay?¡± As I was grumbling in the passenger seat, the driver, Officer Inoue, stopped the car. Officer Doggy, who was hungover, and my father, who had probably had too much to drink, stayed back. The only person who didn¡¯t drink to take care of Officer Doggy was Officer Inoue, who offered to drive us. He didn¡¯t want to let us go alone as minors in the first place. Aoi and Rouge? Well, they¡¯ve both been alive for more than 200 years, but they¡¯re both children in appearance and mental age. I guess they¡¯re under the protection of the adults. ¡°Azui, Wera. Are we close?¡± ¡°Here, here, Jaja, Nana. It¡¯s a big mountain.¡± ¡°Dah?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Jaja and Nana were in the baby seat for twins in the back seat, and Aoi was sitting next to them, pointing out the window. In the back seat, Rouge was holding the baby bear, while Wera and Azui were side by side. I really wanted to get a baby seat for the baby bear, but unfortunately, we only had enough for the twins. So I had Rouge fasten her seatbelt tightly and secured her and the baby bear with a baby sling. Officer Inoue, a police officer, will be driving. I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t tolerate even the slightest infraction. I heard that as long as the number of people in the car doesn¡¯t exceed the limit, you were exempted from the obligation to install a baby seat if it couldn¡¯t be helped. I didn¡¯t know that. ¡°Um, um, yes. This is probably the closest place to where the beastmen live¡­¡± Azui pressed her face against the window and squinted at the mountain. Well, you don¡¯t seem very confident, do you? ¡°Hey, hey, are you sure?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve never seen the mountain from the road. That¡¯s where the mushrooms are, and that¡¯s the river¡­ Un, I¡¯m sure of it.¡± The calm Wera quickly followed up the uneasy Azui. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll explain the situation to the people at the house we passed on the way here and ask them to let me park there. I¡¯ll be back, so get off here and wait for me.¡± ¡°Okay. Aoi, I¡¯ll take Jaja, can you hand me the sling?¡± ¡°Okay. Nana will go with Mommy, okay?¡± ¡°Da?¡± We hurriedly got ready and got out of the car. We watched the car slowly make a U-turn and began to prepare to enter the mountain. With Azui and Wera assisting me, I put on the sling, holding Jaja. It was easy, but surprisingly, Jaja didn¡¯t like it. ¡°It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen a baby sky dragon. Come to think of it.¡± ¡°Even the earth dragons rarely see babies. It¡¯s natural. The last baby I saw was Azui, you know?¡± ¡°I-I¡¯m kind of embarrassed about that.¡± Azui, who was tying the straps on my back, squished Jaja¡¯s foot. Wera was working on the front part of Jaja¡¯s tail, putting it in the hole for her tail. ¡°Jaja, say thank you to your sisters, okay?¡± ¡°Mmmm, yaya.¡± Jaja lowered her eyebrows and shook her head, like her buttocks were getting itchy or something. Apparently, the princess is not in the mood for that right now. ¡°Have you ever met any of the other sky dragons?¡± In Aoi¡¯s chest, Nana was completely surrendering herself to Aoi with a relaxed face. You spoiled brat. ¡°Before the world collision, there were quite a few of them. They told us where to feed from the sky, told us that beastmen were nearby, and came to rest before the storm. We were separated from the herd by the commotion, so we don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on in our home now.¡± ¡°We¡¯re weak dragons, you see. The first human we saw was scary, so we¡¯ve been running from place to place ever since.¡± I guess dragons help each other. It¡¯s surprising. The three dragons I¡¯ve met are Aoi, Rouge and Yule. I¡¯m not blind of my own shortcomings, but I don¡¯t think any of them are very good at communicating with others. That reminds me, Aoi and Rouge have known each other for a long time, haven¡¯t they? ¡°Hmm. By the way, my mother was also very close with Aunt Ruby, the Earth Dragon King.¡± ¡°I heard that they had a big fight once before and then they became friends.¡± A big fight between the Earth Dragon King and the Sky Dragon King, what a big nuisance that would be. If you were caught in it, you could easily die. I imagined the earth splitting open and spewing magma, and the sky filled with whirling storms and lightning strikes. In the middle of the scenery that looked like the end of the world, Yule with her wings spread wide and the vaguely silhouetted Earth Dragon King were facing each other. Wow, scary. ¡°After the Sky Dragon and the Earth Dragon¡­ the only ones I haven¡¯t met are the Sea Dragon and the Dragon Princess?¡± I remembered what the Rat Sage, Alba Germain, had once told me. There are three tribes: the Earth Dragons, the Sky Dragons, and the Sea Dragons. The Dragon King of the Earth sunk the earth, the Dragon King of the Sky appeased the sky, and the Dragon King of the Sea purified the sea. Finally, the Dragon Princess joined everything together¡­? ¡°I¡¯ve never met a sea dragon before either, though my mother seemed to know one.¡± Aoi responded while stroking Nana, who was relaxing with her head resting on her chest. ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ve only met them once. A messenger from the Sea Dragon tribe came to the village of Earth Dragon to visit my mother. I greeted them then. The overland journey was very hard on them, my mother took them home. I heard that the sea dragons don¡¯t come up from the sea very often.¡± Rouge closed her eyes and tried to remember, tickling the little bear with her fingers as she moved her arms and legs happily in the sling. That¡¯s because they¡¯re creatures that live in the sea. I heard that the earth dragons are located in a place where humans and beastmen can¡¯t enter, and it¡¯s probably a long way from the sea. It must be quite difficult to walk there. ¡°I don¡¯t really like¡­ the sea dragons.¡± ¡°They talk in a difficult way just because they¡¯re a little bit smart.¡± Azui made a disgusted face, and Wera bitterly smiled. That doesn¡¯t sound like a good match for me, either. If anything, Mikuma is only rather knowledgeable in her hobbies, so she¡¯s totally fine, but I just can¡¯t get into a conversation with someone who can study. It¡¯s just the backwardness and prejudice of an idiot, though. ¡°The Sky Dragons are free and uninhibited, while the Earth Dragons are laid-back and love peace and quiet. In the same way, the Sea Dragon is a dragon species that likes knowledge and seeks change. I¡¯ve heard this from my mother.¡± ¡°Hmm. It seems like we¡¯ll be able to see them when we go to the Sphere Continent, so I¡¯m kind of excited.¡± Now that you mention, the departure date for the Sphere Continent that I promised Prince Atol. It¡¯s in three days, right? My dad, who took a lot of time off for the Tsuk Crag incident, can¡¯t take any more time off work, so he¡¯ll be staying home, but the whole family will be there except for him. In any case, Shouhei is looking forward to it the most. I¡¯ve heard that in this day and age, many people go their whole lives without ever going on an overseas trip. Even though I can¡¯t make it public, I¡¯m being invited as a guest by Prince Atol and the others, but we¡¯re not leaving Japan with Japanese approval, so we¡¯re technically leaving the country illegally. That¡¯s why I made sure to tell Shouhei, who was itching to show off to everyone at school, to keep it to himself. My little brother, who doesn¡¯t brag much, must be really looking forward to it. I wondered if it would be a diplomatic problem if I moved too fast and was found out. We were always walking a tightrope as a family. I feel like we¡¯re hiding more and more things every day. Mikuma was originally planning to go to the Sphere Continent for a family trip that was separate from ours. I¡¯ve heard that there are only a limited number of countries that non-Demons are allowed to enter, and the only ones we¡¯re staying in are Dailan and a few neighboring countries. Maybe we could meet up with them there. ¡°Oh, there¡¯s Officer Inoue.¡± From the other side of the road, Officer Inoue came running towards us. It seems like he was able to borrow a parking space. ¡°Hmm. Let¡¯s go. Can¡¯t wait to see your mom, right?¡± ¡°Kyuu!¡± The little bear replied cheerfully to Rouge¡¯s question. When you see a face like that, how can you not try your best? ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô ¡°We¡¯ve come a long way, haven¡¯t we?¡± I was sweating behind Officer Inoue as he stretched his back. We quickly entered the mountain, and Azui and Wera led us up the mountain. We must have been climbing for about an hour. We had passed over two small mountains and were now halfway up a rather large mountain. We were now in the middle of a large mountain, surrounded by mountains, and the sparse man-made structures on the roadway were long gone. ¡°Watch your step, Aoi.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine though?¡± Yeah, she does seem to be really relaxed. Huh? Actually, the biggest hindrance in this group is¡­ me, isn¡¯t it? The three earth dragon girls climbed up the mountain with great speed, and Aoi was as fast and steady as if she were on level ground. Officer Inoue also assessed the route with a somewhat practiced gesture. As for me, I was struggling with the unfamiliar mountain roads and unstable footholds, in addition to the weight of Jaja in my arms. I put a towel over Jaja¡¯s head and managed to keep up with him while weaving through the growing branches and grass. This is not the time to be worrying about others. In fact, I¡¯m the one who should be worried about the most. ¡°O-Officer Inoue. It looks like you¡¯re good with the mountains.¡± ¡°Do I? I¡¯ve only climbed a few times with friends when I was a student. But you can¡¯t be too careful. Mountains are really scary. I should have packed my gear in the car.¡± A mountain that requires equipment is not normal mountain climbing. Are you planning to attack the mountain? I mean, this guy can do anything, really! ¡°Hmm. Don¡¯t worry officer, there are three earth dragons. They won¡¯t get lost and they¡¯ve chosen the safest path.¡± ¡°Yes, yes, this mountain is our garden, so we can take a gentler path than the walking path, right?¡± ¡°Besides, our destination is not far from here and we¡¯ll be back before dark.¡± It¡¯s not a metaphor, but the dragons are jumping ahead of us on the mountain road. When the difference in physical ability of the races is shown like this, I can¡¯t help but feel frustrated. ¡°Ada! Dah! Dah!¡± ¡°Jaja, you¡¯re full of spirit, too.¡± Jaja seems to be very happy with everything, from the vibration of me walking to the sound of the trees shaking. She almost reached out and grabbed a leaf, which really freaked me out. Don¡¯t do it, you might cut your hand! ¡°Dah!¡± Jaja was really enjoying this situation right now as she occasionally patted my sweaty face. I envy her. ¡°Is Nana alright?¡± ¡°She¡¯s sleeping soundly.¡± Sleeping! She¡¯s really going at her own pace! If you look, you will see the towel in Aoi¡¯s chest that Nana was wrapped in, moving up and down regularly. I thought I didn¡¯t hear any voices from earlier, but¡­ I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d ever fall asleep in this situation. No, maybe she has peace of mind because Aoi is so good at walking around the mountain with so much confidence. It¡¯s a little frustrating. ¡°Kunepi-san, if it¡¯s difficult, I can carry your bag for you?¡± Diapers and other light items were in the bag I was carrying. Officer Inoue was carrying the milk and water bottles. It¡¯s very important to keep hydrated, so I brought more than enough. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. I have a man¡¯s pride.¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, is that so?¡± My pride won¡¯t allow me to let a girl carry my luggage while I enjoy myself! Aoi seemed to have no idea about the psychology of such a worthless man. She tilted her head in puzzlement. In the end, it¡¯s all about self-gratification. It¡¯s cute, right? ¡°Shh.¡± Azui, who was walking at the front of the group, put a finger to her mouth and bent down. Wera slowly passed Azui and put her ear to a large tree that was growing nearby. ¡°¡­Yeah. You¡¯re right, Azui. I can finally smell them now. I think there are five or six beastmen a little ways from here. I can hear their footsteps. How did you know?¡± ¡°Those beasties do a lot of things with burning pine branches, don¡¯t they?¡¡Even from here, I can smell the smoldering pine on their bodies.¡± Huh? ¡°Do you? Smell it.¡± I felt like they were saying something amazing, and I asked Aoi to try it out. ¡°I don¡¯t know, and I think I have good hearing, but I can¡¯t distinguish the sound of footsteps when there¡¯s so much wood scraping in the wind.¡± ¡°Hm. The Herb Dragons are a tribe of earth dragons with a very good nose, and I think their senses are the best of the dragon species. They don¡¯t have the power to fight, but they are sensitive to signs. They also grow special herbs to protect themselves. Some of them are very effective medicinal herbs, and some of them are hallucinogenic. As I recall, the smell is important to check the growth.¡± Wow. Those little dragons are amazing. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that when that not-so-pretty rat sage cures dragon illnesses, he gets herbs from them. Herb dragons are indispensable to the dragon species. But they are really weak. Very, very weak. Maybe Kunpei can make them cry right away.¡± ¡°¡­ Are they okay? Shouldn¡¯t someone take care of them?¡± Suddenly I felt uneasy. I¡¯m not sure how those two feeble-looking people could have survived all this time. ¡°Can¡¯t they just move into the woods behind the house? Aoi tugged at the hem of my shirt, looking worried. ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ve got a feeling that would be better for them too. As long as the forest is there, they can survive, and I¡¯ll have peace of mind if I¡¯m nearby.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask them. If they want, we¡¯ll bring them back. I don¡¯t think we can leave them alone.¡± Azui was just like a defenseless child when she was eating breakfast. They¡¯re wary of humans, so it¡¯s probably a good thing that they¡¯ve been living in hiding until now. If they want, they can have dinner and take a bath at my house. ¡­ Let¡¯s ignore the financial issues for now. But what do you think? I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s not a good thing for dragons to gather in one place. But I¡¯m not sure if leaving them here is a good thing or not either. ¡°What?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Azui, who was sniffing around, and Wera, who was looking at her proudly, turned to us. ¡°Hmm. We¡¯ll talk about it later. Anyway, how long until these beastmen get here?¡± ¡°Yes, I think it will be about ten minutes. And they¡¯re coming this way, too.¡± That¡¯s quite a distance. ¡°If we head towards them, we might give them the wrong idea, so let¡¯s just wait here.¡± Officer Inoue suggested while taking out a water bottle from his shoulder luggage. That¡¯s right. It would be less likely to be misunderstood if the other side found us first, rather than meeting us while we were walking. I don¡¯t want them to suddenly come face to face with me and point a weapon at me. ¡°Hm, you¡¯re going to meet Mom and Dad soon, ok?¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± In Rouge¡¯s arms, the little bear made a happy sound. ¡°Let¡¯s sit down. Let¡¯s get some water and drink while we can. Are the babies okay?¡± Before I knew it, I was looking at Jaja, who had ripped the towel off her head and was playing with it, chewing on it, and Nana, who had completely surrendered herself to Aoi and was sleeping with her thumb in her mouth. ¡°Yes, Jaja looks as happy as ever, and Nana is¡­ well, she¡¯s sleeping.¡± ¡°Nana, if you fall asleep now, you won¡¯t be able to take a nap anymore.¡± Yes. Aoi is very happy as usual. ¡°Here, Jaja, the little bear is going away, so why don¡¯t you talk to her while you can?¡± ¡°Dah?¡± Jaja looked up when I called her. I leaned over and urged her to go to the baby bear, and she continued to stare at me for a while, gnawing on her towel. ¡°¡­ Niheh¡± ¡°Kuh-ah!¡± Ah, how cute. Both of them made eye contact and smiled at each other. ¡°Yeah, It¡¯s almost time to say goodbye¡­¡± I didn¡¯t miss Rouge¡¯s slightly sad face as she smiled. Chapter 158 - Even Apart, We Will Always be Friends (10) We waited for what seemed like forty minutes. From the top of the mountainside, a bear, at least two meters tall, slowly appeared. ¡°They finally approached us.¡± ¡°They must have been vigilant.¡± Aoi, who was sitting on a slightly larger rock face, stroked Nana¡¯s sleeping head and looked at me. ¡°You can¡¯t live in the woods or mountains without that much caution.¡± Rouge, who was sitting next to Aoi, nodded in agreement. On my lap, Jaja and the little bear were happily playing. They really get along well, don¡¯t they? ¡°It was worth the wait. I didn¡¯t want to have their bows pointed at us because of a misunderstanding.¡± Officer Inoue, who had been leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, straightened his posture and prepared to greet them. The negotiations and explanations were to be left to Officer Inoue. He is a policeman and a public servant. In terms of position, he is a member of the country that is protecting them. ¡°W-what should we do?¡± ¡°We should stay back and not interfere. It can¡¯t be helped that they already saw us.¡± The little dragons went behind me. They were so absorbed in their stories that they forgot to hide. These careless dragons. They¡¯re so carefree that it really worries me. ¡°Hmm. We¡¯ll be home soon, okay?¡± ¡°Kyu?¡± The little bear looks up curiously at Rouge¡¯s question. When she saw Rouge¡¯s somewhat lonely face, she stood up unsteadily and touched Rouge¡¯s face. ¡°Kuah?¡± ¡°Hmm. It¡¯s okay. Sweetie.¡± Rouge slowly stroked the little bear¡¯s head as she gently tapped Rouge¡¯s face with her little hands. ¡°Now, are the other beastmen not moving?¡± ¡°¡®Huh?¡¯ I asked Wera as I picked up Jaja from Rouge¡¯s lap. ¡°Yeah, they seem to be lurking behind trees and in the grass, watching us.¡± Wera replied, looking around. Thanks to Azui and Wera¡¯s noses and ears, we knew all along that they were surrounding us. Once they spotted us, they stayed at a distance, probably waiting to see what would happen. Eventually, the other beastmen received the news and joined in, completing our encirclement with their well-coordinated movements. ¡°They¡¯re not going to attack us after all this, are they?¡± ¡°The fact that they sent a representative suggests that they intend to talk to us. They know that if they try to harm us, the little bear might be in danger.¡± Of course, we had no intention of doing anything to the little bear, but in short, they¡¯re worried that an arrow or something may accidentally hit the little bear. There is no way that such a mistake could happen because we have Rouge, who can put up fire walls, and Aoi, who seems to be confident in her wind barrier, but they don¡¯t know that. ¡°The presence of Jaja-chan and Nana-chan has worked in our favor. I think it¡¯s partly because the sight of a smiling baby has taken their guard down, you know?¡± That¡¯s right. It¡¯s only natural that one takes to such cute kids. We didn¡¯t want to mislead them by taking a stance, so we decided to pretend that we didn¡¯t know about the existence of the beastmen, and we showed them that we didn¡¯t have any strange intentions by letting Jaja and the little bear play innocently. Nana was asleep the whole time. You wouldn¡¯t think that such an easygoing group of people would be malicious. There were about five beastmen with bows and arrows, probably men. Their bows were already drawn, but the tip of the arrow was pointing toward the ground. I guess they are trying to be ready to respond immediately if something goes wrong. ¡°Ah, Aerilikatte. Zung manana.¡± The bear in the lead suddenly spoke to me. ¡°What?¡± Huh? Did I lose my hearing? ¡°Ah¡­ I completely forgot about it. I should have listened.¡± Officer Inoue scratched his short hair and made a troubled face. ¡°This tribe is like a tribe of other languages. We can¡¯t communicate without a sphere.¡± ¡°Eh? Is that so?¡± The world¡¯s most famous and most used magic tool that automatically translates between different languages. That¡¯s the word sphere. They are only made in Fracion, a large country on the sphere continent, and even the small ones for home use cost a fortune. Of course, there¡¯s no way we¡¯d have such an expensive item. That¡¯s troubling. Is the language barrier getting in the way here? ¡°Hm. Kunpei. Leave it to me and Aoi.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Rouge, who had stood up before I knew it, put her hand on my shoulder. ¡°Yes, if the effect of the magic is the same as the translation magic, the spirits can also do it with dragon qi. So Ru-anesama and I will negotiate with them, okay?¡± ¡°Eh? Is that so?¡± I didn¡¯t know that. Spirits are so useful. ¡°Kunpei, have you forgotten that I came from another country? I¡¯ve been studying it a little bit lately, but Japanese is difficult.¡± As Rouge tilted her head, I remembered. I remembered that she came to Japan from the continent across the sea. I didn¡¯t notice it because we were having normal conversations, but it¡¯s strange that she can speak in Japanese, isn¡¯t it? ¡°I¡¯ve been living in Japan for 40 years now, so I can speak it, but Ru-anesama has been talking to Kunpei and the others with the help of spirits from the beginning. Dragons have their own language, but it¡¯s not understood by Kunpei-san and the others.¡± Huh. I didn¡¯t notice that at all. Maybe that¡¯s the reason why Rouge¡¯s mouth doesn¡¯t move much? Ah, now that you mention it, last night. The conversation I had with Azui and Wera in the distance was more of a roar than words. Is that kind of howling dragon language? I looked at the little herb dragons hiding behind me. ¡°We¡¯re talking to you through the spirits even now, you know?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a very simple technique. We don¡¯t even need to control the spirits. The only difference with translation magic is that the effect is limited to you.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯m counting on you. I¡¯m no good, if it had been a police car, it would have been loaded with a portable sphere.¡± Officer Inoue stepped back with a wry smile. ¡°Are you okay with negotiating, Rouge? I can¡¯t say you¡¯re a very talkative person.¡± ¡°Hm, excuse me, I like to talk, even though I look like this. I just never had anyone to talk to before.¡± Please don¡¯t come out with something sad. I¡¯ll sympathize with you. ¡°You too, Aoi. Don¡¯t you have a fear of strangers?¡± And you used to be a recluse. ¡°N-not so much these days! ¡­Well, it¡¯s a little scary. But it is for the sake of the little bear! I¡¯ll do my best!¡± Aoi stood up with great enthusiasm, holding back Nana who was slightly slipping. She slowly stood in front of the bear beastmen while fixing the baby sling that was digging into her shoulder. That beastman in the lead is the representative? He carried a bow larger than the other four, and his waistcoat-like cloth was gaudily embroidered. On his exposed upper body, he wore a black arrowhead pendant, the same as the one worn by the little bear, but this one had a lot more arrowheads. I wondered what the meaning of the arrowheads that were strung together like beads were. When I looked, I saw that the other beastmen were also wearing black arrowhead pendants, though in different numbers. ¡°Oh, um¡­ Hello! Nice to meet you! We¡¯re here escorting a lost child. My name is Aoinoun Dragoline Kazmachi. This is Rouge-anesama. This is Kazamachi Kunpei.¡± Aoi, looking nervous, bowed deeply. Somewhat worried, I positioned myself right next to her and unintentionally hugged her shoulder. To my left stood Rouge, holding the little bear. ¡°Yusufuts, Beara Kelusha. Gownosse. ¡­Grumeluerte. Avolonial. ¡­Lyrica, elte aero?¡± The bear beastmen who seemed to be the representative gestured to Aoi to tell her something. It¡¯s no good. I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. ¡°Um, you¡¯re Gaunosse the head hunter of the Beara tribe? Yes, that¡¯s right. Yesterday, we took care of Ririka-chan downstream at the river! I think she was hungry and was attracted by the smell of the rice balls. She ate well yesterday, and this morning she was eating bread and salad, so I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything to worry about, right? She doesn¡¯t seem to be injured either.¡± Aoi also began to explain, waving her hands in an exaggerated manner. That¡¯s good, it seems she¡¯s able to communicate. Is Ririka the name of the little bear?¡± ¡°Hmm. Ririka was very well behaved. How did she get lost?¡± Rouge nodded lightly and cut into the conversation. ¡°Elle, Ambasca. Gurmel elte. Lirica palma, permaci. Liricaemma, caelo, fugleran.¡± ¡°What? Is that so? Ririka-chan¡¯s mother, is she alright?¡± Aoi seemed to be somewhat surprised. ¡°Oh, hey, Rouge. What is it?¡± I asked secretly in Rouge¡¯s ear. ¡°Ririka¡¯s mother has been sick in bed. She disappeared from the village when her father took his eyes off her while nursing her mother.¡± Oh, that must have been so surprising and worrying. I don¡¯t know what would have happened if we hadn¡¯t found her. After a few conversations between Aoi and Gaunosse-san, they found out how the little bear, or Ririka, got lost. It seems that the Beara tribe are a migratory tribe that uses large canoe-like boats to move around, mainly along the river, and their current village is located upstream from the river where we were playing. Ririka¡¯s mother was lying in bed with a seasonal illness. Her father was taking care of her, but the energetic Ririka was playing around when she got on a boat and was swept away by some accident. When she disappeared, everyone made a fuss and looked around the village for her. They noticed that there was one boat missing, so they rushed down the river and found a boat by the shore. They had mistakenly thought she had gone into the mountains and had been searching the mountains since yesterday. Actually, she had just followed the river downstream and we had taken her under our protection. I see, the boat was the reason why she could walk such a long distance even though she was a baby. That¡¯s one mystery solved. But it¡¯s really dangerous. What if she had fallen into the river by mistake? ¡°Um, the father is on his way here now and her mother is very worried and very weak.¡± Aoi translated with concern. As a mother with a baby of her own, I guess it didn¡¯t feel like someone else¡¯s problem. We have to be careful, too. In the case of Jaja and Nana, they are able to fly, so we have to be even more careful. ¡°It¡¯s really dangerous to take our eyes off them. I¡¯m so glad we found her. Hey, you little tomboy. You shouldn¡¯t be walking around on your own either.¡± ¡°Kyu!¡± Rouge picked up Ririka, looked her in the eye, and gently scolded her. The one who was being scolded didn¡¯t seem to understand and was happily wiggling her arms and legs. I mean, this kid was on her own for a whole day, wasn¡¯t she? I wonder if she was worried about her parents being away. She¡¯s an unexpectedly bold child. ¡°Ririka!¡± ¡°Ririka! Ririka!¡± I heard a voice calling for her from the top of the mountain slope. I looked up to see two bear beastmen coming down the slope at high speed, their faces pale. It seems your parents have arrived. ¡°Ku! Kyuu!¡± Ririka squealed with delight when she saw them. ¡°Hm, go ahead.¡± When Rouge saw that, she lowered Ririka to the ground with a wry smile. She landed slowly, kicked the ground with her arms and legs without looking aside, and ran to her parents. ¡°I¡¯m glad. That¡¯s a relief.¡± A few words leaked out of Rouge¡¯s mouth as she saw her off. You don¡¯t look like you¡¯re¡­ relieved, though. You¡¯ve got to put up with being lonely. ¡°Ririka! Ririka!¡± ¡°Aah! Ririka! Hotegrull! Ririka!¡± The bear couple picked up Ririka, who rushed to them, and hugged her tightly. The family was digesting their reunion, tears streaming from their round eyes. ¡°¡­ that¡¯s good, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Ah. Well, I guess that settles it. Hmm?¡± Aoi exhaled as she patted her chest and leaned on my shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ve also got to get our act together¡­¡± Oh, I guess she saw a little bit of herself in that parent and child relationship. I would also be distraught when I think about Jaja and Nana being gone. If I¡¯ve been running all over town, looking for them in the woods, and if I still can¡¯t find them. I don¡¯t want to think about it too much. I have to be careful not to let that happen. They¡¯re too important to lose in a moment of carelessness. ¡°¡­ Ah, yes.¡± I took Jaja and Aoi took Nana. Each of us held tightly in our arms, and we huddled together. This is the perfect form, this is the best form. Nothing should be missing. No one should be left out. Before we came to that house, we never imagined what we¡¯d become, but now it¡¯s all we have. ¡°U-um!¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Ririka-chan¡¯s father came running towards us. The image of a black bear over two meters tall, with black fur, walking on two legs, coming at you from the mountainside. I was a little freaked out even though I knew it was coming. ¡°Oh, thank you! I¡¯m going to be there. Nihongo tokotto wakaru. Japanese is a little clearer. Ririka, arigato. Desu.¡± Ririka father tried his best to express his gratitude in broken Japanese. There were still tears in the corners of his eyes. I could feel the joy from his face rather than his words. The mother came up behind him, holding Ririka, and bowed her head so deeply that I thought her head would touch the ground. No, you¡¯re sick now, you don¡¯t have to bow your head so many times. ¡°Realy! Arigato. Death! Tottemotemo! Arigato! Death!¡± ¡°Oh, no, um¡­ I¡¯m glad you found her! Desu! You¡¯re talking too much. ¡°Kyu!¡± ¡°Dah!¡± Ririka-chan, in her mother¡¯s arms, reached out to Jaja, in my arms. Jaja responded cheerfully and extended her hand in the same way. ¡°Ada! Da-da!¡± ¡°Kyu! Kuah!¡± I wonder what¡¯s so fun about it, when they¡¯re not even within arm¡¯s reach of each other. But if the little ones are laughing, there¡¯s nothing wrong with that. I wonder if they realize that we¡¯ll be leaving soon. I don¡¯t think they understand. I¡¯m getting a bad feeling about this. ¡°Kunpei-san, Kunpei -san.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Aoi tugged on my sleeve and I turned around. ¡°Gaunnosse-san wants to hold a thank-you party and would like us to come to the village¡­ What should we do?¡± A banquet again. Oh, they¡¯re hunters, right? ¡°No, it¡¯s getting late and my father and Officer Inoue have work tomorrow, so we have to go home.¡± ¡°Right.¡± I appreciate the sentiment, but¡­ unfortunately, we don¡¯t have time. I asked Aoi to translate for me, but Gaunosse-san didn¡¯t back down. Instead, he offered us a whole wild boar or a pile of freshly caught fish. How were we going to bring that back? It wasn¡¯t until about half an hour later, with the help of Officer Inoue¡¯s wisdom, that I managed to convince him. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go home then.¡± ¡°Yes, we should. Nana¡¯s awake too.¡± ¡°Au?¡± The princess who did things at her own pace, who had been awake for some time, looked up at Aoi¡¯s face curiously. ¡°Jaja, say bye-bye to Ririka.¡± ¡°Dah?¡± Jaja replied to my question with a question. Yes. It¡¯s obvious, but you don¡¯t understand, do you? ¡°Ririka, Jadzhaerunno, Souler?¡±¡± ¡°Kyu?¡± Ririka¡¯s mom was also talking to Ririka-chan, but she had a similar reaction. ¡°The sky will be dark soon, and if we don¡¯t get home soon, the mountain roads will be scary.¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to be another hour from here to the car. It¡¯s going to be tough.¡± It was up to Wera and Azui, who had been reading the air and keeping their mouths shut, to show us the way back. ¡°Then, we¡¯ll be going now.¡± ¡°Bye, little bear.¡± ¡°Kuah!?¡± Rouge waved her hand in the air, and Ririka looked at her with a surprised face. ¡°Kyu! Kyuuuuuun!¡± Ririka-chan desperately reached for Rouge in her mother¡¯s arms. ¡°Hm, I¡¯ll miss you too, but I have to go home.¡± ¡°Kyu! Kyu! Wow, what an unbelievable way to say goodbye. She was very fond of Rouge, wasn¡¯t she? She must have sensed the parting even as a baby. But there¡¯s nothing I can do about it. ¡°I¡¯m sad too, but Ririka is going to live with her mom and dad in this mountain. That¡¯s why. So¡­¡± ¡°Rouge¡­¡± I noticed that she had been holding back for a while now. I¡¯m not sure what to make of it. Tears began to well up in Rouge¡¯s eyes. ¡°Fueeehh! Hyahhhh!¡± ¡°Ah¡­ you too, Jaja?¡± This one finally noticed, and Jaja started crying loudly. She stretched out her arms and legs desperately trying to get closer to Ririka. ¡°Jaja, Jaja, don¡¯t cry. If Jaja cries, I¡¯ll also¡­¡± Once the dam burst, the tears won¡¯t stop. The tears rolling down her cheeks were getting bigger and bigger, and Rouge was sniffling and trying to stop them. ¡°Udah¡­ fuyaaaah!¡± ¡°Oh no! Nana is crying too!¡± Jaja¡¯s crying made Nana start crying loudly. ¡°Okay, okay, well, it¡¯s better than not crying, right? It means you love your friends, right?¡± It would have been a bit tasteless if she hadn¡¯t reacted at all to the farewell. ¡°Heeeee! Aaaaaaah!¡± I rocked her and tried to soothe her, but to no avail. Jaja shook her head in disgust and began to cry even louder. Jaja, Nana, Ririka, and Rouge were all crying, and there was a great commotion. Birds flew away from the trees in the distance as their cries echoed in the quiet mountains. The rest of us adults are just in a quandary. What should we do? ¡°Ririka.¡± Ririka¡¯s father picked her up with a wry smile and walked over to us. ¡°Kyuuu! Kyuuuu!¡± He removes the black arrowhead pendant from Ririka-chan¡¯s neck, who continued to cry like Jaja. ¡°Our precious thing. Give, together.¡± As he said this, he put a cord made from a wooden vine around Jaja¡¯s neck. It fit snugly around her neck so that it wouldn¡¯t get tangled or strangled, and there was only a gap of about one of my little fingers. ¡°What? No, we can¡¯t take such a precious thing.¡± I mean, it¡¯s like a birthday gift, right? It¡¯s not something that should be taken lightly. ¡°Fine. Jaja, Ririka¡¯s friend. Very friend, it¡¯s okay.¡± With a smile, he patted Jaja¡¯s head. ¡°Fueh, egu¡­¡± Jaja, who has stopped crying for a bit, looks up at Ririka¡¯s father and Ririka-chan in his arms. ¡°Kuu, Kuuu¡­¡± Ririka-chan also stopped crying and looks at Jaja. ¡°Ririka, I¡¯ll give you this.¡± Rouge pulled out a small, black object from her jeans pocket. ¡°Ru-anesama, that¡¯s¡­¡± Aoi, who was watching her while nursing Nana, was surprised. I wonder what it is. ¡°Un, it¡¯s my horn. It¡¯s a good luck charm that I¡¯ve carried around with me ever since they were replaced when I was a little girl. There are four of them, one I gave to Aoi a long time ago, and one my mother has. They are special things that I give to my loved ones.¡± Rouge said and put something in Ririka¡¯s hand. Ah, that¡¯s Rouge¡¯s horn. Unlike Aoi and the twins, Rouge¡¯s horns were bright red. There were four horns, two long and two short, extending back from the top of the ear. The tips were rounded and had a jewel-like luster. They get replaced? ¡°If you have this, I¡¯ll be with Ririka wherever she is. It will protect you. When you grow up and forget me, just keep this horn with you, okay?¡± ¡°Kyu¡­¡± Rouge and Ririka talked to each other in silence as they stared into each other¡¯s eyes. Both of their faces were covered with tears and snot, not even bothering to wipe it off. ¡°Fyaa¡­ nii, egu, higu.¡± ¡°Jaja.¡± I followed suit and lifted Jaja up so we were forehead to forehead, looking into each other¡¯s eyes. ¡°Dah¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯re sad to say goodbye, aren¡¯t you? You really wanted to play more. I¡¯m really sorry that you have to leave your friends.¡± I don¡¯t know what to do about it. The only thing we can do is to ignore the small but important wish of the children to just play together. I¡¯m sorry. But we have to go home. To that house. To that town. It¡¯s the most important thing for the whole family to return together. ¡°We¡¯ll come back someday. I don¡¯t know if we¡¯ll be able to see her again, but we¡¯ll keep coming back until we see Ririka-chan. Jaja and Ririka0chan are now friends, remember? No matter how far apart they are, they will always be friends?¡± ¡°Egu¡­ ah.¡± Jaja rubbed her eyes and responded. ¡°Do you understand? ¡°Dah.¡± I rubbed my forehead gently against her¡¯s. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead against , which was very commendable. ¡°Good girl.¡± I kissed her gently on the forehead and hugged her to my chest. Jaja grabbed my shirt tightly and buried her face in it. ¡°Nana¡¯s okay now, right?¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± I turned around at the sound of Aoi¡¯s voice and saw her looking proudly at me and Jaja, holding Nana, who was leaning over her with her thumb in her mouth. What the hell. Wouldn¡¯t it be embarrassing if they saw us? ¡°¡­ Let¡¯s go home. Rouge.¡± ¡°Hmm. Let¡¯s go home.¡± Rouge stood next to me, reluctantly parting from Ririka-chan. ¡°So long, Ririka-chan and everyone from the Beara tribe. Goodbye.¡± ¡°Goodbye!¡± ¡°Bye!¡± ¡°Whoa!¡± You startled me! As soon as Aoi bowed her head, many beastmen appeared from the surrounding grass. What? How many of them were hiding and watching? There must have been at least forty of them. ¡°It seems that everyone is interested in people outside the mountain. Maybe they¡¯ll come out into the world in the near future?¡± Officer Inoue, who had been in the shadows until just now, smiled wryly. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Hmm. We turned our backs on the beastmen and started down the mountainside. ¡°Hey, hey, did they forget about us too?¡± ¡°We were forgotten, but what were we supposed to do in that situation?¡± Wera and Azui, who were ahead of us, were whispering to each other. I haven¡¯t forgotten. I just didn¡¯t mention it. Because it was obvious that you guys were scared out of your minds. ¡°Nana, come on, say bye.¡± ¡°Dah.¡± Aoi grabbed Nana¡¯s hand and shook it. ¡°Ugh, hic¡­ Ririka.¡± Rouge looked down and struggled to hold back her tears. ¡°Ah, at least endure until you can¡¯t see Ririka-chan anymore. You can cry as hard as you want later.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best¡­¡± I stroked her head from behind. ¡°Dah.¡± Jaja, who had completely stopped crying, waved her hands in imitation of Aoi. ¡°I¡¯m hungry. I thought we were going to have dinner on the way back from the highway?¡± ¡°You said we were going to a family restaurant.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a family restaurant?¡± ¡°Do you know Wera?¡± ¡°How would I know?¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah¡­. ¡°Oh, come on, Rouge, at least look at the road ahead. I¡¯ll hold your hand.¡± ¡°Ru-anesama, please blow your nose with this.¡± It was noisy, but fun. No matter if it¡¯s goodbye or not, we¡¯re going to stay positive like this. I think that¡¯s what suits us best. Chapter 159 - Gardening Dragons (EP) ¡°Meow, meow, meow!¡± ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Pongoro¡¯s here too.¡± ¡°Aba!¡± ¡°Takeru-kun and Oruko-chan are here too.¡± ¡°Dah!¡± Rouge and Jaja sang along with the opening of the usual toddler program recorded on the hard disk. She sat on the sofa in front of the TV, with Jaja and Nana on her thighs, swaying from side to side. ¡°Ririka, Jaja and Nana are even better friends now, right?¡± ¡°Kyah!¡± ¡°Uah?¡± Patting Jaja on the head, Rouge smiled wryly. Whether she understood what he said or not, Jaja cheerfully raised her arms up. Nana, who was holding her favorite stuffed cat, looked at Jaja curiously. The twins are full of energy again today, one night after their first sleepover. Jaja was watching her usual toddler show, and I can¡¯t help but feel that her tension is higher than before. I think she might be thinking that Pongoro-kun, the stuffed tanuki beast, is Ririka-chan. I mean, there is a resemblance, but¡­ Ririka-chan is a girl, right? Today the twins were wearing matching cow-eared baby one-pieces. The black-and-white spots are so adorable. They¡¯ve been growing so fast these days that I¡¯m going to have to replace the twins¡¯ clothes when I go shopping for fall clothes in a little while. As a father, I¡¯m pretty nervous because they¡¯re going to grow up so fast before I know it. My financial standing is sad, to say the least, but I¡¯m more afraid of missing out on the twins, who are growing up day by day. The Jaja and Nana of today are only here now. Every time they sleep, or even every time I take my eyes off them, they are doing something that they couldn¡¯t do before. I really want to capture it all with my own eyes, to witness every second of it, from the bottom of my heart. Well, I can¡¯t, can I? I have school. What if they crawl or get up when I¡¯m not around? When it comes to crawling, I feel like the twins could already do it if they wanted to. It¡¯s just that they rarely move on the ground because they can fly, and in terms of size and muscle mass, they¡¯re already well past infancy. I don¡¯t like it. I want to see it. I wonder if I can get them to do something during this summer vacation. No, but it would be a pity to force them to do so. I want to let them grow up at their own pace, with as little pressure as possible. I wondered if all the mothers and fathers of the world think about the same thing. Thinking about this, I sat beside Rouge, resting my cheek on the armrest of the sofa and watching the twins. Past the living room window, Aoi was hanging up all the laundry from the trip. It looks like a lot of work, with clothes for the twins and shirts for me and my dad. I couldn¡¯t stand to see her do it, so I offered to help, but Aoi refused, and here I am. Shouhei can do all kinds of household chores, so Aoi tries her best to do what she can. Since the first thing she was assigned to do when she came to this house was laundry, she wants to do everything herself no matter what. I wish she wouldn¡¯t be so stubborn and would just take it easy on me. We¡¯ll talk about it a little later. For now, I want to give priority to Aoi¡¯s satisfaction. Shouhei went to the library with his friends in the afternoon. He said he wanted to finish his summer homework before he left for the Sphere Continent. He¡¯s the one in the family who¡¯s looking forward to the trip the most. Even though it¡¯s a trip, it¡¯s a trip with a purpose. We don¡¯t even know if we¡¯ll be able to do any sightseeing yet. I mean, I¡¯m not even sure how many nights we¡¯ll be staying. Or when are we going to meet up with Alba? I don¡¯t even know where we¡¯ll be going or what we¡¯ll be doing. I¡¯m worried. There¡¯s nothing but anxiety. At least Prince Atoll and the others have helped me secure a place to stay. They have a house in the royal capital of Dailan just for Prince Atol, and they said that we can stay there as many nights as we want. Considering our family¡¯s financial situation, I couldn¡¯t help but take him at his word. If we had to pay for a week¡¯s worth of hotels, we might be forced to live on nothing but edible wild plants after the summer vacation! I¡¯ll take what I can get without reservation. I can¡¯t say I¡¯m ashamed of myself! After all, we¡¯re a family of nine now. Huh? I thought there were only three of us before we came to this town, but why? ¡°It¡¯s amazing! This place is really amazing!¡± ¡°Kunpei! This forest is amazing!¡± The new members of this season¡¯s team turned up at the garden, looking excited. ¡°Oh. You¡¯re back. How¡¯d it go?¡± I got up from the couch and walked over to the window to sit down. ¡°It¡¯s amazing! The magic is rich, and the spirits are plentiful! And the soil is so healthy! We¡¯ll be able to grow good sacred herbs here!¡± ¡°Dragon Princess! Sky Dragon Princess! I like it here!¡± Wera and Azui were delighted while wearing Shouhei¡¯s hand-me-down T-shirt and shorts that became covered in mud. They look like early elementary school girls for all intents and purposes. ¡°That¡¯s good. But the only place you can garden is behind the house. Behind the fence is a dungeon, so stay as far away from it as possible, okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going near it! I¡¯m scared!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going near it! I¡¯ll die!¡± It¡¯s good to see you being so honest. These little dragons are now under our protection. After we left Ririka and the others, I asked them if they wanted to come to our house. It was so easy that I was really worried. I¡¯m going to teach her very well not to follow strangers. I¡¯ll teach them well from now on. They were sent far away from their village during the world clash, and since then they have been living secretly, avoiding beastmen, humans, and animals. Herb dragons originally live by growing medicinal herbs and vegetables while being protected by other dragons. I wonder if this is also the instinct of the dragon species that Alba was talking about. It seems that growing plants is the greatest pastime and joy of these dragons. There were many other wild animals living in those mountains, so it was difficult to grow plants in one place, and they have been frustrated for a long time. The forest around our house was getting denser due to the expansion of the Tusk Crag dungeon, and more importantly, there was a being that could protect us from the threat of other creatures. She is the daughter of the Earth Dragon King, the strongest of the dragon species. There¡¯s Rouge, the Arc Dragon, and Aoi, the daughter of the Sky Dragon King, is much stronger than ordinary dragons. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s safer here. In addition, the little dragons were so impressed by the first human food they ate that they easily made the decision to move. ¡°Wera Wera! What should we do? What should we grow?¡± ¡°Calm down, Azui! What should we do? I want to grow medicinal herbs, but I also want to grow fruits and vegetables, don¡¯t you?¡± That¡¯s why. We have two new little girls in our family, but the fact is that our family¡¯s finances are already in dire straits. Shouhei had a bitter look on his face when he looked at the family account in the morning, and my dad had a bit of a headache before he went to bed. However, it was decided in a family meeting that Azui and Wera would be protected. Both my father and Shouhei had agreed to it. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re not overreacting. I¡¯m going to get a part-time job after the summer vacation. ¡°Wera-san! Azui-san! You can¡¯t go into the house covered in mud like that!¡± ¡°Y-yes!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± Aoi¡¯s thunderbolt struck the two of them as they squealed. It¡¯s not that she actually struck them, but that she scolded them. That was a joke because Aoi can really make lightning bolts, but I don¡¯t think ordinary people will understand it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Sky Dragon princess¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯re just a little excited¡­¡± The two of them huddled together and reflect on the situation. Both of these lesbian little dragons are supposed to be older than Aoi. I¡¯m a little confused because it looks like the little sister is being scolded by the older sister no matter how you look at it. ¡°No, no, no. As long as you wash your hands and feet properly, there¡¯s no problem. You have Jaja and Nana at home, so please be careful about cleanliness, okay?¡± ¡°O-okay!¡± ¡°Yeah! Me too!¡± ¡­ You¡¯re really old, aren¡¯t you? ¡°And you can call me Aoi, okay? I¡¯m a lot younger than you and Azui. It embarrasses me to be called princess.¡± ¡°Hmm. You can call me Rouge, too. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m a princess.¡± Rouge, sitting on the sofa, agreed with Aoi¡¯s words. Jaja and Nana seem to be obsessed with the stuffed animal show on TV. ¡°We can¡¯t just say that! What should we do, Wera?¡± ¡°Hmm. Well, how about Aoi-sama and Rouge-sama?¡± You don¡¯t want your superiors to suddenly tell you not to be afraid. I remember that too. I didn¡¯t know what to do when the only senior I respected at my old school told me that I could call him by his name and that I didn¡¯t need to use honorifics. I didn¡¯t know what to do, though he did allow me to use ¡®-san¡¯. ¡°Well, it¡¯s still a little embarrassing.¡± ¡°Hmm. Try not to say it too much in front of others, okay?¡± They didn¡¯t seem to be too convinced. It¡¯s not easy. ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it and won¡¯t mind it. But more importantly, Wera. How big do you plan to make the garden? Is there anything I can do to help?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll help me? Well, you can help me till the soil! The bigger the garden, the better, if you don¡¯t mind!¡± ¡°Wow! Oh, my God! What should I do? What should I do? I¡¯m so happy, so happy, so happy! Let¡¯s go, Wera!¡± The two of them, with their tensions suddenly swept to the max, joined hands and ran to the back of the house. ¡°Hey, hey. Wait a minute.¡± I hurriedly put on the sandals I had prepared outside the window. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a bit.¡± ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll take care of the laundry!¡± ¡°Hmm, take care, let me know if there¡¯s anything I can do to help.¡± Rouge waved her hand with a flutter. The summer sun was baking my skin, and it was so hot that my sweat would immediately seep out. Every time a gentle breeze blew, the laundry that Aoi had hung out to dry swayed, making it feel a little cooler. Let¡¯s pretend for the moment that I didn¡¯t see the swimsuit hanging in the laundry. My first summer in this town is much more lively than last year. ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Au?¡± Jaja and Nana¡¯s voices could be heard from inside the house. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô I didn¡¯t know that the garden created at that time would become the savior of the Kazamachi family¡¯s finances six months later. No one had even predicted it yet. Chapter 160 - Happiness is in Slumber I¡¯m having a dream. It¡¯s a familiar dream. When you see it every day like this, it¡¯s easy to realize that it¡¯s a dream, but I still keep seeing this memory over and over again. Those were the happy days. A dream of those days that I can no longer get back. Of course, I had some frustration and anxiety, but I was still filled with a sense of happiness that seemed to overflow from my body every day. I had someone to love, and my children to love. They were within my reach if I wanted them to be. The older one was a good, honest child who was willful and mischievous, but very considerate. The younger one was lonely and spoiled, but very smart and good. That person was dependable, clumsy, and very loving. My precious, precious family members were always there for me. If only I could be immersed in these happy, nostalgic, and lonely memories, I could sleep forever. But even that is not possible for me. It always starts with that night. Between the crumbling buildings. In the corner of a desolate park, the man from my youth looks down at me, holding the ¡®old¡¯ me. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Y-yeah. Thank you¡­¡± There¡¯s the younger, more human version of me, staring at his face with admiration. That was our first encounter. It was on that night that we met that I grabbed the tail of happiness. I¡¯ll never forget it. Eventually, the scene changes, and there¡¯s a bloody man holding my shoulder. ¡°Tell me to help you! I¡¯ll do anything for you!¡± My beloved riddled in wounds, who protected me. ¡°Hic¡­ h-help¡­ help me!¡± With tears streaming down my face, I was protected by his chest. That night, I became aware of this feeling, and it became a definite thing. My prince, who not only scooped me up from my deepest despair, but also led me to the light. No matter how many years pass, this feeling will never fade away. In fact, the more time passes, the stronger and heavier it becomes. Kouhei-kun¡­ Kouhei-kun, Kouhei-kun! Kouhei-kun! With a cry that will never be heard, the ¡®current¡¯ me, who is not supposed to be there, reaches out to you. My fingertips turned mercilessly to haze, and the memories of us faded into the distance. Ah, I still can¡¯t reach you. I don¡¯t even know how many times I¡¯ve done the same thing, but I keep asking for that person. Even if it¡¯s a false image of a memory drawn in my unconscious, if Kouhei-kun is right in front of me, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll continue to seek him. I want to see him. I want to see you and touch you¡­ Kouhei-kun. Eventually, the scene changed, and I found myself in a room with a bright white light. This is a delivery room. The only people there were me, Kouhei-kun holding my hand tightly, the nurses, and the doctor. I was covered in sweat, tears, and snot, screaming in anguish, while a pale Kouhei-kun kept encouraging me. Eventually, my voice echoed loudly in the room, and Kouhei-kun, hearing it, looked at the doctor with more blood lust. You¡¯re a worrier, you¡¯re being unreasonable. Eventually, we heard the voice we had been waiting for. ¡°Fuya! Nyaaaaaaahhhh!¡± With an energetic cry, my treasure was born into the world. He looked like a bright red monkey, but he was a very cute little boy. I cried as he squeezed my hand, opened his mouth wide, and tried his best to call out for me. When the doctor handed my son to Kouhei, he hurriedly and sacredly held him to his chest and cried without fear of being seen. I try to keep my consciousness together and watch the scene closely, trying to catch my breath. ¡°Ah¡­ it¡¯s our baby. It¡¯s yours and mine. I can¡¯t believe it. Oh, damn. It¡¯s so cute¡­¡± ¡°Haa¡­ haa¡­ you¡¯re crying too much!¡± I was also very emotional, but I think I was defeated by Kouhei-kun. ¡°Look, it¡¯s your mother.¡± ¡°Fuyaaaah!¡± Kouhei-san then gently placed the child in my hands. I put my arms around its small back and felt his weight on my chest. I lightly kissed his head, which was trembling and crying, and gently placed my cheek on him. ¡°It¡¯s mom, you know?¡± ¡°Hyaaaaah!¡± The sound of his voice echoing in my ear was so pleasant that I could listen to it for a long time, at least for us. Kouhei had already decided on a name for the baby. He had been calling him that name since he was in his belly, and it was a name that he was so familiar with that he sometimes responded to it by kicking my belly. But this was the first time I called him face to face, wasn¡¯t it? ¡°Happy Birthday¡­ Kunpei.¡± ¡°Funyah.¡± Kunpei¡¯s crying stopped for a moment as he let out a cute, nasally voice. Kouhei and I looked at each other, and we laughed through our tears. I¡¯m sure that Kouhei and I were both thinking the same thing at that moment. I was sure that my husband and I were meant to meet this child. That¡¯s what I was convinced of. Kunpei. A kind and strong big brother. The first treasure that grew up in my belly. Ahh. How nostalgic. And how adorable. When I reached out to touch that little life, it moved away from me at an incredible speed. There it is again. This dream is my dream, but it always makes me sad. I felt a twinge in the back of my throat and my eyes were burning. I want to hug him. I want to feel that soft body, that warmth, if only for a second! Wait. Please don¡¯t go. Please, just a little longer. Such thoughts were futile, and the scene of that day was already far away. I closed my eyes tightly and held it in. Don¡¯t cry. Even in a dream, if I cried, my heart would break. The things you¡¯ve been suppressing will come pouring out. ¡°Look Kunpei, this is your brother. ¡°My brother? This kid?¡± I immediately opened my eyes. Oh, this scene too. It¡¯s something I¡¯ve been longing for. ¡°That¡¯s right. Kunpei¡¯s younger brother. His name is Shouhei.¡± As I nursed the baby in the hospital bed, I held another precious treasure in my arms. A new life, born a little smaller. He was so weak that I was worried about how fast he would drink his mother¡¯s milk, and I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off him at any time. Kouhei-kun, standing next to me, smiles and watched over us. What a show-off, even though he was just crying earlier. ¡°Shouhei.¡± ¡°Yes. Here, Kunpei. Would you like to touch him?¡± The older brother, who was staring at his younger brother, started to move at the sound of my voice. He fearfully reached out his hand to the cheek where he was quietly drinking his mother¡¯s milk. His small fingers sank softly into his plump cheeks, and he let out a loud gasp. Slowly releasing his hand, he places his fingers on the loosely opened palm of his hand, which resembled an autumn leaf. ¡°Ah!¡± The little brother squeezed his fingers tightly. The startled look on his face was quickly followed by a full-blown grin on his brother¡¯s face. ¡°Heh, heh, heh. Dad, Shouhei nibbled.¡± ¡°Ah, he¡¯s greeting you.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Kouhei stroked Kunpei¡¯s stiff hair, which made him so happy that his face turned bright red. He has his father¡¯s hair. When you look at them like this, they really do look alike. Although it hadn¡¯t fully grown out at that time, Shouhei¡¯s hair had the same color and texture as mine. Such small discoveries were also a great joy. ¡°Hey, Shouhei. Let¡¯s play together in a little while, okay? What do you want to do? Play tag? Hide and seek? Let¡¯s play baseball or soccer, too.¡± You¡¯re a hasty older brother, aren¡¯t you? When he¡¯s a little older, okay? I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve seen it over and over again, but I still feel like I¡¯m there. Even though I can¡¯t reach out and touch you. I¡¯m not the same as I was then. I clasped my hands tightly in front of my chest. I bit my trembling lips hard. Even the blink of an eye becomes regrettable. Because I¡¯m afraid of missing it, even though I remember everything. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Oh, Dad!¡± When he saw Shouhei¡¯s still-open eyes relax, Kunpei happily reported to Kouhei-kun. When Kouhei nodded with a gentle smile, the view of the hospital room suddenly became distant. It became smaller and smaller, as if it was being sucked into the blackness. A single light completely disappeared, and the surroundings became pitch black. I looked around. A series of faint square windows appeared, each one reflecting the scenery. The service area when the family of four went for a drive together for the first time. Unlike Kouhei, who was afraid of driving, both Kunpei and Shouhei were very happy, weren¡¯t they? When we went swimming during our summer vacation, Kunpei pulled Shouhei¡¯s hand while he was wearing a floatation ring, and Kouhei held him while they swam. The zoo. Kunpei, excited by the eagle, held Shouhei and showed him the inside of the cage. One hot summer day, Kunpei was helping me fold the laundry, while I was holding Shouhei in my arms and sitting by the fan. When Kouhei came home from work, Kunpei ran up to him, and Shouhei, still unsteady on his feet, hobbled after him. When I followed him, wiping my hands on my apron, I saw Kouhei holding Kunpei in his arms and reaching for Shouhei. Shouhei and I were cheering for Kouhei as he ran with Kunpei at the elementary school field day. Kouhei was taking pictures of Kunpei dancing shyly under Shouhei¡¯s gaze at the school arts festival, and I was struggling to hold back my laughter. The Milky Way, which our family stayed up late to see. A father and his sons sleeping side by side at a rest stop in a little-known vacation spot. No one could ski, so we ended up making a snowman. When we went camping, Kouhei was more excited than the kids, and it was hard work. When we all went to the office to deliver lunches, Kunpei saw Kouhei working and said how cool he was. Shouhei¡¯s fourth birthday. Shouhei tried his best to blow on the four candles on the cake, but they wouldn¡¯t go out, so Kunpei secretly helped him. On Father¡¯s Day, Kunpei drew a pretty good portrait of him, and we were both impressed by how well he was watching us even though he was a little boy. On Mother¡¯s Day, the two children gave me a lavender flower as a present. I actually knew that Kouhei had been preparing it in secret. We went to an amusement park on our wedding anniversary. When I kissed him in front of the kids, he turned red and embarrassed, and I thought he was cute no matter how old he was. But I know he¡¯s even cooler than that. I was very grateful to him for all the hard work he put in every day. I tried my best to be a proud wife to Kouhei-kun and a proud mother to Kunpei and Shouhei. In the end, it turned out like this. We were not wealthy and life was not easy. But I was happy. I loved the moment when I waited with my children for your return. I really loved those times when I was laying on the pillow with you, watching the children sleep. The days I saw you off with the kids, or the days we decided to sleep in together on a day off and fell asleep. Ever since the day I met you, I¡¯ve been so happy every day. The small windows of memories around me are disappearing one by one. All of them are my memories. Memories of that day that will never fade away. I¡¯m still their mother. As long as I can reflect on this happiness, I can be Kazamachi Kaori forever. Yes, no matter what my appearance is. ¡°¡­tama! Hilde¡­.tama!¡± I hear voices. Oh, I have to get up now. Anmira is a very serious girl. She¡¯s probably trying to wake me up on time, just like I asked her to. All the small windows of my memories are already closed. I looked around to see if there was even one left, but I couldn¡¯t find one. ¡°Hildegarde Tama ! It¡¯s time! Please wake up!¡± Yes, Anne. I¡¯m getting up. ¡°Mommy!¡± ¡°Mom!¡± ¡°Kaori!¡± The voices of my family, imbued with memories, call out to me. But I know. This is the reverberation of my unfulfilled desire to imitate their voices. The last resistance of the unworthy, weak part of me. ¡°I¡¯m going¡­ okay? I have to work hard.¡± I smiled back at the voices and close my eyes. I admit that I¡¯m not ready. I¡¯m weak. But more than that, I am strong. I am proud to continue to protect this world where those children and Kouhei-kun are living. It¡¯s my pride to continue to protect them. Don¡¯t look down on your mother, okay? ¡°Please wake up! Hildegarde Tama! Hildegarde Tama!¡± It was time to wake up from my dream. I was Kazamachi Kaori, and now I¡¯m going back to Hildegarde. I woke up in an isolated world. The world where I live, where I am not allowed to grow old. It is an unreasonable world that no one is allowed to enter, and no one is allowed to leave. The milky white sky and the few remaining greens. This is the prison I¡¯m trapped in. Chapter 161 - Sanctuary and Snake Eyes (1) ¡°Are you ready to go?¡± Prince Atol asked, staring at my face. ¡°Yes, we are. What about you guys?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± ¡°Yes, anytime.¡± ¡°Yes, we¡¯re good.¡± Shouhei, who was obviously nervous, nodded awkwardly, and Rouge had her usual composed expression. Aoi smiled and replied back. ¡°Jaja and Nana are asleep, and if they were awake they would have been scared, so now is our chance.¡± I looked at the twins, who were sleeping peacefully in their stroller, sleeping comfortably with their little foreheads pressed against each other. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m going to be lonely. I hate it. I want to go too. Maybe I¡¯ll take a break off work.¡± Dad, I understand how you feel, but that doesn¡¯t mean you should hang on to the stroller. It¡¯s disgraceful. Also, go to work. I¡¯m begging you. If dad loses his job now, our family will fall apart. Please, please, please do your best! ¡°Please take care of my dad and Azui and the others.¡± ¡°Yeah, have a safe trip. Leave it to me and have fun.¡± I bowed lightly to Yuri, who was carrying Aoi¡¯s luggage, and received it. While we were gone, the Kazamachi household¡¯s kitchen was left in Yuri-san¡¯s hands. I¡¯m worried about the food for my dad, Wera and Azui. I¡¯m really grateful that she¡¯s willing to do this. ¡°Have a good day, Rouge-sama and Aoi-sama. We¡¯ll be fine. We have some gardening to do.¡± ¡°Yes, it will be a bit lonely without Jaja-sama and Nana-sama, but we¡¯ll bear with it.¡± The two little ones who had been peering into the stroller beside dad waved their hands. They had only arrived at our house two days ago, but Wera and Azui were already in love with the twins. They are the daughters of Aoi, the daughter of the Sky Dragon King, so they are Jaja-sama and Nana-sama. That¡¯s what they call them, and they and Rouge have been taking care of the twins. There are many times when Aoi and I are in the middle of something., so it¡¯s been a big help. ¡°Shouhei, you have a wallet, right? Don¡¯t put too much in it, put it in your bag or socks, okay? Also¡­ you have your medicine, right? You seem to be doing well lately, but you¡¯re always falling asleep when the environment changes.¡± Dad opened the zipper of Shouhei¡¯s backpack as he said that. When he finally left the stroller, he went over to Shouhei. He¡¯s so overprotective. ¡°I put them in my nii-chan¡¯s and Aoi-neechan¡¯s purses separately. And the medicine is fine.¡± Was he afraid of his first trip abroad, or was he afraid of his first transference magic? Shouhei was unusually timid, as befits his age. I understand how he feels. I¡¯m a little scared too. ¡°Kunpei, I leave it to you. Don¡¯t do anything dangerous, okay? And make sure to tell that Alba to be careful too.¡± ¡°How many times is it already? You worry too much, Dad.¡± In the meantime, I¡¯m being protected by Prince Atol and the others over there. I¡¯m a guest, so to speak. There¡¯s no way I¡¯m going to a dangerous place, right? ¡°But even so¡­ Dad¡¯s never been abroad before.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, father. You are all related to the rat sage. You are also dragons. I swear by the name of our country, which worships the sea dragon, I promise to protect you.¡± ¡°Dailan is a very nice country! It¡¯s more rural than a developed country like Japan, but it¡¯s warm all year round and the people are generous.¡± Kayone and Utai, who were waiting by Prince Atol¡¯s side, called out to reassure father. Kayone was quiet. Utai was as loud as ever. Utai. I told you, the twins are asleep. Turn it down! If you can¡¯t, don¡¯t talk! ¡°Utai. The babies are sleeping. You shut up for a minute.¡± Prince Atol spoke for me as I pushed back my words from my mouth. ¡°Ah, Kazamachi father. I understand how you feel, but don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sorry for the trouble I caused you in the previous duel. I swear to protect you on my honor during your stay.¡± ¡°See, the prince says it¡¯s okay. It¡¯s going to be okay.¡± ¡°¡­ Oh, okay. I just have a bad feeling about this.¡± It¡¯s all in your head, it¡¯s all in your head. It¡¯s the first time that Shouhei and I have been away from home together. And for a long time. ¡°If everything¡¯s all right, let¡¯s go. Only those with crests can go down from here. This is as far as you can see us off.¡± Then Prince Atol raised his right hand. Oh, you mean this pattern written on the back of both hands? It was a red dye made by grinding up some herb called ¡®red henna¡¯ or something like that, and the fine patterns were applied to everyone by Kayone just now. It is said to be a harmless dye that is hard to remove once it dries and will disappear in a week or so as long as you take a bath. ¡°The magic circle in the basement is the starting point and the magic circle in the tomb of King Dailan is the endpoint. The pattern is a marker that allows the magic circle at the endpoint to accurately identify the individual. Without it, they would be a bit off from the royal tomb. It is also a key to prevent indiscriminate operations. So those of you who aren¡¯t transferring should stop here, just in case. If you make a mistake and get caught in the transition, you never know where you¡¯ll end up.¡± Kayone smiled while explaining something scary. Look at that. My dad¡¯s face is all cramped up, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry, no one has ever been injured, killed or disappeared by this transference magic circle.¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t let royalty use such a thing.¡± Prince Atol made a more convincing case for Kayone¡¯s supplementary explanation. I see, the stupid prince in front of me looks like this, but he is a prince without a doubt. They wouldn¡¯t let you use something that could endanger you frequently. ¡°So long, Dad. See you later.¡± ¡°Dad, make sure you clean your room and wash the dishes, because I¡¯ll get angry if you leave it to Yuri-san, okay?¡± ¡°I know, I know. You guys too, okay? Don¡¯t stay up too late just because it¡¯s your vacation, okay?¡± ¡°Yuri-san, take care of father-in-law.¡± ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Hmm. Wera, Azui. Make sure to listen to father and Yuri-san.¡± ¡°I know!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be good.¡± We were sent off with a clamor. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô Yes, today is the day we leave for the continent. Since last night, my dad hadn¡¯t been able to hide his worry, and Shouhei was anxious with anticipation. It was our family¡¯s first trip abroad. I don¡¯t like the fact that it all started with that rat. Let¡¯s enjoy the trip abroad to the fullest. Mikuma is leaving Japan by plane tomorrow. It seems that Mikuma¡¯s father, who works for a trading company, will be taking a business trip with the family. It¡¯s a large-scale magical equipment exhibition held in Francion, a famous magic powerhouse. This is the reason for Mikuma¡¯s father¡¯s business trip. It¡¯s a global event that¡¯s been all over the news lately, much to Gasara¡¯s teary-eyed chagrin. He¡¯s a magic tool geek. Mikuma also said that her father was going to take her to see the event. He said he would spend the rest of his stay sightseeing. Her mother laughed at him, saying he was too excited. If all goes well, maybe we can meet up there. No, I don¡¯t know about us, because we haven¡¯t decided on our travel schedule yet. Alba Germain. That rat sage who calls himself the Dragon Doctor. Finally, he didn¡¯t show up until today. You¡¯ve been saying that distance and location don¡¯t matter as long as there¡¯s a dragon, but since Aoi, Rouge and the twins are here, why don¡¯t you come back often to explain? In the letter that Alba left with Prince Atol, it said something about a major surgery that even he couldn¡¯t be distracted with, but I wonder if there are any dragons that are that sick. The research he asked Mikuma to do was also written up in a report, which I¡¯ve kept. I read it once, but I couldn¡¯t understand a word of it. If Alba can understand it, that¡¯s fine. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll be able to explain it in a way that even I can understand. There are a lot of things I don¡¯t understand and worry about, but the purpose of this trip is for Jaja and Nana¡¯s health. The green glowing spirit that seems to be produced from my body is a mysterious spirit that Alba calls the ¡®Spirit of Life¡¯. It seems that those things that make no sense whatsoever, even to me who is producing them, have become a burden to Jaja and Nana by accumulating in their small bodies. I¡¯ve been taking them in once a week, so it hasn¡¯t gotten to the point where they¡¯re in trouble, but the process of taking them in is incredibly painful. I try to do it on Friday, the day before my day off because I get so tired on the day I do it that I can¡¯t stand up. The fatigue and headache that hit my whole body made me feel like I was running a full marathon. It seems that what Alba is looking for in the sphere continent is something that can alleviate such work. The tattoos on Prince Atol¡¯s body. It¡¯s a magic mark to release the prince¡¯s overflowing magic power out of his body, using an iron ore powder called azinka stone as dye. Alba wants this Azinka. If it might be a solution to Jaja and Nana¡¯s problem, I have to go, sphere continent or not. It¡¯s just that¡­ If they¡¯re going to tattoo their entire body like the prince, I¡¯m going to have to strongly object. It¡¯s a last resort after we¡¯ve exhausted all other options. I won¡¯t allow you to damage the skin of the twins, which is so soft and supple. Even before that, I feel sorry for them. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± We¡¯ve been walking down the stairs ever since my dad and the others saw us off. ¡°It¡¯s a long way down.¡± ¡°Of course. It¡¯s Dailan¡¯s secret magic.¡± My question was answered by Prince Atol. It is a long-distance transfer magic that can be used to transfer from any location on the planet as long as it is a one-way trip. We¡¯re going to use that magic to travel about 6,000 kilometers in an instant. The world collided 42 years ago. At that time, a sphere continent suddenly appeared on the east side of the Australian continent. Most of the continent is covered by a spherical wall, and in the southeast of the continent, along the sea, lies the country of Atol and his friends, Dailan. ¡°This is the center of the transfer magic circle. The magic circle itself covers the entire site of the mansion, so you can¡¯t get the full picture by just this area. There are even parts of the garden that are disguised, such as the location of the trees and the arrangement of the furniture.¡± After Kayone explained that, we went under the door at the end of the stairs. Prince Atol¡¯s mansion was several times the size of my house. There was a room the size of a small gymnasium at the end of the basement, about four floors down. ¡°Wow¡­ it¡¯s amazing.¡± Shouhei, who was looking around the room, let out a loud cry of admiration. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful.¡± Aoi and Rouge were looking up at the ceiling. ¡°Are these all magic circles?¡± Numerous luminescent, pale blue lines ran down the wall of a pitch-black room. I wondered if that line running from the ceiling to the floor in all directions was a transference magic circle. I picked up Jaja and carried her back down the stairs. Nana was in Aoi¡¯s arms, and Shouhei was carrying the stroller. It¡¯s Rouge who¡¯s been carrying our heavy luggage with ease. I have about a week¡¯s worth of stuff in my trunk case. As expected of a dragon. It¡¯s no problem! ¡°Stop fooling around and get going. It¡¯s hard to maintain the magic circle on this side. My servants won¡¯t last.¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± I looked and saw five people standing in each of the four corners of the room, hands out in front of them, shaking. Say that earlier. That maid is sweating, isn¡¯t she? ¡°The magic circle on the side of Daelan¡¯s tomb is always working without maintenance, but the activation on this side is completely man-powered. We¡¯ve been preparing for the activation for about an hour now, and I think we¡¯re about to reach our limit. I¡¯m sorry to rush you, but please hurry to the circle in the center of the room.¡± ¡°I-I understand.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Shouhei and Aoi bowed to the servants who were working so hard and headed for the circle that shone so strongly in the middle of the room. Rouge and I followed, and we all entered the circle, as did Prince Atol, Kayone, and Utai. It seems that half of the servants in the mansion collapse for a day when they use this magic circle, so Prince Atol and the others decided to return home at the same time. ¡°Okay, nii-chan. Can I put Jaja to bed?¡± ¡°Oh, thank you.¡± Shouhei unfolded the stroller, and I put Jaja down. Aoi did the same with Nana and fastened her securely with a belt. Aoi grasped the handle, while Rouge and Shouhei flanked her for complete protection. I took the lead. This is the absolute defense formation of the Kazamachi family, a formation that protects Jaja and Nana. That¡¯s a lie. I just thought of it. ¡°Are we done? Let¡¯s activate it?¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± I nodded lightly at Prince Atol¡¯s words, and someone grabbed my right hand. ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, nii-chan. I¡¯m a little scared.¡± Ah, Shouhei. It¡¯s been a long time since my little brother has been this sweet to me, hasn¡¯t it? I¡¯m glad. ¡°Distance acquisition. Coordinate identification. Spell pattern recognition. Confirming activation of Dailan¡¯s royal tomb. No problem.¡± Whoa. What¡¯s going on? Kayone was mumbling to herself with her eyes closed. The servants in the four corners of the room also seem to have begun their work. ¡°Prepare to activate the transfer system. Confirm activation. Start checking the operation of each of the magic crests. Perimeter unit one operating normally.¡± This time, Utai started chanting something. What? You can speak at that volume? ¡°Outer perimeter two functioning normally. The third and fourth are also working fine. Confirming operation of five.¡± ¡°Confirming normal operation of one to three inner perimeters. Commencing initial transposition maneuvers.¡± ¡°Next, omit the test operation procedure. Utai, make it a little quicker.¡± Prince Atol crossed his arms as he looked alternately at Utai and Kayone, who had begun to glow faintly. ¡°Ugh¡­ Don¡¯t be reckless with such a precise magic circle, Your Highness.¡± ¡°Concentrate, Uta-chan. Here are the results of the five outer perimeters.¡± Um, we¡¯re not supposed to do anything? I¡¯m feeling a little restless. ¡°Don¡¯t get nervous. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Prince Atol, who sensed something, looked at me sideways and opened his mouth. ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry.¡± I apologized for something. ¡°Fue¡­ fueeeee!¡± ¡°Ah, Jaja, did you wake up?¡± I heard a cute cry coming from inside the stroller. Aoi hurriedly bent down and patted her head. ¡°Nnngh, nbii¡­¡­ nyaaahhh!¡± ¡°Oops, Nana too?¡± I guess they were sensitive to the atmosphere around us. However, we¡¯re on the verge of starting the transition. I¡¯m afraid to take her out of the stroller. I reached out and touched her cheek to pet her. ¡°Huh¡­? Whoa! A large amount of magic power is flowing in from the outside! Some of the formulas have been tampered with! This is happening too fast!¡± ¡°What?¡± When Prince Atol heard Utai¡¯s report, he rushed down to one knee and dropped his right hand to the ground. ¡°Your Highness! There is an anomaly in the spell pattern identification! We¡¯ve confirmed that the shifting magic circle is fully operational! Everyone, please evacuate immediately!¡± ¡°Dragon-sama¡¯s! Kazamachi! Get out of the room!¡± Prince Atol looked at me with a menacing expression. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but I move my legs to move the stroller. ¡°Huh?¡± I can¡¯t move my legs. Not only can¡¯t I move my legs, I can¡¯t even move my fingers. What the hell is this? ¡°No! I can¡¯t make it in time!¡± ¡°Are you sure the destination is the royal tomb?¡± ¡°What the hell! What¡¯s the meaning of this technique? I mean, where is this magic power coming from? No way! How can such a detour interfere so much!¡± ¡°Your Highness! Please get ready! Everyone!¡± ¡°Kunpei-san, come here! Kunpei-san!¡± ¡°Nii-chan! What are you doing?¡± ¡°Kunpei!¡± A chill ran down my spine as I listened to everyone fussing over me. Something was touching me on my back. Something soft was wrapped around my arms and legs, tightening them painfully. I couldn¡¯t even make a sound as I was being pulled backward by a strong force. ¡°¡®Coordinates confirmed! It¡¯s definitely the Royal Tomb! I¡¯m sure of it! One location has been added! That¡¯s ridiculous!¡¡There¡¯s no way we can go anywhere but the tomb!¡± ¡°Kunpei-san, what¡¯s wrong! Why aren¡¯t you answering me!¡± Aoi, noticing my strange behavior, grabbed my shoulder and shook me. ¡°I¡¯m checking the spells one by one! Affected person©`©`Kazamachi-kun! Run away!¡± ¡°Nii-chan!¡± Utai looked at me and shouted, and Shouhei grasped my hand tightly with a frightened face. ¡°It¡¯s no good! The magic power injected into the formation has surpassed the prescribed value! The transfer door will be forcibly opened from the outside! Everyone, stay close!¡± ¡°Kunpei!¡± Protect Jaja and Nana, who were still crying, Rouge called out to me. I felt a sharp pain in the center of my brain, right between my eyes. It¡¯s so hot I think my insides are igniting. My heart was beating faster and faster like a broken metronome as something unidentifiable moved around my heart. I¡¯m being probed. Someone was searching every inch of my body. A flickering light ran across my entire field of vision, and I feel like I¡¯m going to cry from the pain in my eyes. The next thing I knew, green luminous bodies were flying around, filling up this room. It was the ¡®Spirit of Life¡¯ as Alba called it. But not only did I see familiar butterflies, but I also saw small lizards and small fish. I wonder if it¡¯s just my imagination that they¡¯re crowding around me. Perhaps they¡¯re worried about me. The green butterflies that touched my face gently caressed my cheeks, and the green lizards that clung to my feet grasped my clothes tightly. Small green fish swam around me, their movements reminiscent of giant waves. Instead of my face, which I couldn¡¯t move, I shifted my gaze to the back of my hand. The spell mark that Kayone had written on the back of my hand was glowing green. Something began to swirl on my back. It was slowly getting bigger. The sound of the wind was deafening, and slowly, slowly, my body was being sucked into it. ¡°Byaaaaah!¡± ¡°Niiieeeeee!¡± I put all my energy into reaching out towards Jaja and Nana¡¯s voices. The sound of something breaking and my body moving at the same time. ¡°J-Jaja! Nana!¡± I finally managed to raise my voice and called out for the twins. My hand reached out with a squeak, like a machine that hadn¡¯t been oiled. ¡°Kunpei-san!¡± ¡°Nii-chan!¡± ¡°Kunpei!¡± Aoi leaned forward to take my hand, and just when I think that the outstretched hand was almost there¡­ ¡°Woah¡­. aaaaahhh!¡± ¡°Kunpei-san! No! Kunpei-san!¡± Aoi¡¯s face, which looked like it was about to cry, was moving away at an unbelievable speed. The invisible ¡®something¡¯ that clung to my limbs pulled me backward at once. My feet left the ground and my body floated into the air. With a bang, my vision turned completely dark. An empty space. There was no floor, no ceiling, no walls, and my body was flying through an endless dark space. I couldn¡¯t see anyone anymore, and fear and confusion took over my mind. ¡°What the hell is this? Aaaaaaaahhhhh!¡± My voice reverberated like an echo. My body was still being pulled backward. ¡°Guh! Aaaahhhhh!¡± It¡¯s shaking. Everything was shaking, left and right, up and down. My body and head were shaking violently, and the sound of something buzzing and shredding kept ringing in my ears. ¡°Guha!¡± I hit something with great force. The air in my lungs leaked out of my mouth. But the momentum continued to break through that something, and my body continued to be pulled. The pitch-black space gradually turned white. As I watched the scenery change in a daze, I was very aware of death. I¡¯m going to die. I¡¯m really going to die. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening, but I¡¯m going to die here today. I¡¯m going to die here today, leaving the twins behind, without my father or Shouhei. I remember Aoi¡¯s face. The last time I saw her face. Her worried, tearful face. I hate it. I want her to always be smiling. I don¡¯t want her face to be like that, watching me die. I don¡¯t want to die! I don¡¯t want to die like this! I¡¯m not going to die! I¡¯ll keep trying until the end! As I raised my voice with determination, my vision suddenly turned completely white. ¡°Guh! Agh!¡± I rolled over. A rough feeling on my cheek, the smell of fresh trees in my nose. The sudden shock made me close my eyes, and I had no idea what was going on. Is this feeling¡­ ground? It seems I fell down. The invisible something that had been pulling me along was gone. The evidence was that my arms and legs were moving freely. ¡°What the hell is this really¡­?¡± I was puzzled, but also relieved. It was because I was now free of the unfathomable fear I had felt earlier. With my eyes closed, I put my hands on the ground and raised myself up. I got up with great force and tried to calm my still shaking thoughts by supporting my head. ¡°Where am I?¡± I slowly opened my eyes and saw the sky. ¡°What the hell?¡± I think it¡¯s the sky. But it¡¯s not the color of the sky I know. It was a soft milky white. It might be easier to describe it as a vanilla color. Under that vanilla sky with not a cloud in the sky, greenery was spreading. A forest. A deep forest with shadows in some places. And I¡¯m in the middle of it. ¡°It¡¯s not the Sphere Continent¡­ is it? The sphere continent that I had researched on the Internet and in books had a high spherical wall covering the sky. It¡¯s supposed to be a very strange place with large holes in the sky letting in sunlight. At least, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a scene like the one in front of me right now. Hmm? Sun? No, there¡¯s no sun. If it¡¯s this bright, there should be a sun in the middle of the sky. ¡°¡­ who is it?¡± I heard a voice from behind me. ¡°What?¡± Slowly and fearfully, I turned around. ¡°What brings you to¡­? How did you get here?¡± A girl? ¡°Oh, um¡­¡± The owner of the voice was a young girl. With both knees on the ground and hands folded across her chest, she looked as if she was praying for something. On what looked like a stage made of stone, a pure white girl was looking at me. Her eyes were wide with surprise. Her dazzlingly white hair was longer than the girl¡¯s body as far as I can see. It was left flowing haphazardly, without any attempt to tie it up, but there was not a speck of dirt in it. Her clothes, which were as pure white as her hair, had golden lines all over them. I wondered if it was a dress. The elegant appearance of the dress was somehow very divine. I was admiring the girl for a little while when I realized that I was still lying on the ground. I stood up in a panic and brushed the dirt from my cheeks and clothes with my right hand. Then, as gently as possible, I spoke to the girl. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going on either. Where am I?¡± Yes, first of all, let¡¯s recognize the situation properly. There¡¯s no way I can know what¡¯s going on. The girl was still looking at me. Her eyes were wider than before, and her small mouth was gaping. ¡°Well, I¡¯m¡­¡± ¡°¡­ are you Kunpei¡­¡­?¡± Huh? ¡°Kunpei¡­ right?¡± How do you know my name? Chapter 162 - Sanctuary and Snake Eyes (2) ¡°You¡¯re Kunpei¡­ right?¡± The pure white girl looked straight at me and lowered her hands that were crossed over her chest. She slowly stood up and squeezed the hem of her white dress. ¡°U-um. Yes, I¡¯m Kazamachi Kunpei¡­¡± I wondered how she knew my name. Did I ever meet her before? No, how could I forget such a pure white, extremely beautiful, and cute girl? ¡­ I haven¡¯t, right? No matter how much of an idiot I am, I¡¯m not that dumb. The girl approached one step at a time with sluggish steps and stopped at the edge of the stone stage as if remembering. ¡°Ah¡­¡± She followed the edge of the stage with her eyes and bit her lip tightly. You can¡¯t get off? No, that¡¯s ridiculous. Those steps aren¡¯t even ten centimeters wide, okay? ¡°A¡­ah¡­¡± She looked at me and the stage floor with a troubled expression and folded her hands in front of her chest again. ¡°Oh, um¡­ can¡¯t you get down? Do you need help?¡± After asking her, I took one step closer to the stage. Just as I raised my left foot, about to take my second step. ¡°No! Don¡¯t come any closer!¡± The girl shouted, stopping me. ¡°Please¡­ stop right there. It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s okay¡­¡± Her voice began to tremble, and I wondered if she was trying to hold back tears. ¡°O-okay.¡± I took my second step backwards and backed up even further just to be sure. ¡°Oh, why are you here¡­ Alba, what are you doing?¡± The girl covered her face with her hands and looked down. Hmm? Alba? ¡°Alba? You mean Alba, Alba Germain? That tiny rat?¡± If you looked closely at the girl, you could see that she has a tail. There were two small white horns on her forehead. I didn¡¯t notice them because they were the same color as her hair, but they were definitely horns. Could she be a dragon? ¡°Hilda Tama! Hildegarde Tama! What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Hilda-sama! What¡¯s going on?¡± Suddenly, from behind me, towards the forest, I heard the voices of children. A girl and a boy. It was very young voices. When I turned around at the sound of the voice, I saw two balls of light about the size of my palm. Two balls of light about the size of the palm of my hand flew at a great speed, whizzing by. ¡°Hilda Tama! Ammira¡¯s here!¡± ¡°Rockhilt¡¯s here too! Woah! Where the hell did you come from!¡± The ball of light braked when it saw me. It flew around me warily and then stopped to stand between the girl and me. ¡°R-r-r-rock! There¡¯s a creature I don¡¯t know! I¡¯ve never seen anything like it!¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, An! I¡¯ll protect you, I promise! I mean, what the hell are you doing here? How did you get into this sanctuary!¡± ¡°Ah, what? How¡­? That¡¯s what I¡¯d like to know. Sanctuary?¡± The ball of light on one side bobs up and down energetically. I just noticed that it¡¯s a little red light. As I stared at the light, I saw what looked like the silhouette of a person in it. ¡°Anmira! Rockhilt! It¡¯s okay!¡± The girl called out to the two balls of light. ¡°But, HildaTama! I don¡¯t know this creature! It¡¯s a talking creature I¡¯ve never seen before!¡± The other ball of light flew towards the girl with great force and dived into her chest. It¡¯s a¡­ bluish light. Is the red one a boy and the blue one a girl¡­? No, I don¡¯t know if the balls of light have genders or not. ¡°This sanctuary is a closed land! How did you get in here when even Lady Hilda, the administrator, can¡¯t get in or out!¡¡Did you come here to get her? I won¡¯t let that happen! I¡¯m not going to let that happen! Rockhilt, the Torch Fairy, won¡¯t stand for it!¡± ¡°A-Ann too! The Calm Fairy¡¯s protective magic is amazing!¡± ¡°No, no! I¡¯m just really lost! I don¡¯t even know where I am! I didn¡¯t even know this was a sanctuary!¡± I just found myself here! ¡°Calm down, Rockhilt! Ammira! Calm down.¡± ¡°Y-yes!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± The two balls of light stopped as the girl known as Hilda shouted. Gradually, the amount of light diminished and the figures of a small boy and girl with four butterfly-like wings appeared on their backs. ¡°F-fairies?¡± They really are fairies¡­ What a fantasy, I¡¯m sure Mikuma would be delighted. The red ball of light that was called Rockhilt was a short red-haired boy with a cheeky face. The blue ball of light known as Anmira was a quiet-looking blue-haired girl who looked at me with trepidation and did not hide her fear. Her hair was lighter in color than Aoi¡¯s, who also had blue hair, but it was almost twice as long as the girl¡¯s height. Both of them were wearing small clothes. The clothes were small, but they are very finely made and look like something you would find on a high-class doll. ¡°Good. I know you were surprised, but don¡¯t be too quick to judge, okay? Now, why don¡¯t you apologize to Kunpei?¡± Hilda lifted Anmira up in both palms and held out her small body towards me. This kind of scolding feels nostalgic. My mother used to scold me in the same way. She didn¡¯t just get angry, she taught me what was wrong, and at the end, she would always ask me to apologize. It was her way of making me apologize for being stubborn and easily annoyed. ¡°But, Hilda-sama¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know this creature. Is it called a Kunpei?¡± The fairies still didn¡¯t back down. ¡°Well, I told you before, didn¡¯t I? It¡¯s a race called humans. There are many of them outside the sanctuary, you know?¡± ¡°Oh! I¡¯ve heard of them! Demons, beastmen, and humans! Hilda told me about them before! There are also¡­ there are also giants, cryptids, and dragons just like you, Hilda!¡± The blue-haired elf, Anmira, proudly proclaimed. What¡¯s a giant? ¡°Hey human! Hilda-sama wants me to apologize, so I will! I¡¯m sorry, you bastard!¡± I¡¯ll give you credit for your energy and vigor. But is that how you apologize to people? Why are you looking at me from above? But, well, I¡¯m not angry. He didn¡¯t do anything terrible to me. There¡¯s no reason for him to apologize. ¡°Oh, yeah. I¡¯m also sorry for suddenly showing up.¡± I should apologize too, right? It seems that Rock was just trying to protect that girl Hilda. ¡°Good, Rock and Kunpei are both good kids who can apologize properly. Good, good.¡± Hilda smiled proudly. I feel like I¡¯ve been treated like a child for a while now. It¡¯s weird. I have a great sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu. Every move Hilda makes stimulates a memory in me. The way she praised us just now, the way she scolded just now, why is it that they are so similar? It¡¯s just like my mother. I could see the image of my mother when she was in good health before she died in Hilda. They don¡¯t look like each other at all. Mom had chestnut-colored hair like Shouhei¡¯s, and it was shoulder-length. Hilda¡¯s hair was pure white from tip to root, and was longer than she was tall. She was about the same height as my father¡¯s chest, which was on the small side for a woman, but not much taller than Hilda in front of me. Her face was also different. My mother was a beautiful woman, even without the favoritism of her son, but she had a very Japanese face. Hilda, on the other hand, was a beautiful woman who was far from Japanese. She has a face like a Russian or Eastern European girl. Even though they looked nothing alike, their gestures, the way they stood, and the way they spoke were just like each other. It was just like her. ¡­ No, no. That¡¯s ridiculous. My mom is dead. Seven years ago, right in front of my dad and me. It¡¯s as if she died in her sleep. I touched her cold body at the wake, and watched her body being burned in the crematorium. Shouhei and I cried ourselves to sleep for three days and three nights. I know my father was crying when we weren¡¯t looking. There¡¯s no way Mom is still alive. I wish I could see her. How happy I would be if I could see her face one more time. But it¡¯s a wish that will never come true. Dead people don¡¯t come back. That¡¯s why we have to live well. That¡¯s what my father said to me with a serious face after my mother¡¯s funeral. My siblings and I feel it more than anything. No matter how much Hilda gestures like Mom, she¡¯s not Mom. ¡°Hey, can you tell me where we are? I¡¯ve been sent here out of nowhere. I have to go back to Jaja, Nana, my daughters¡­¡± ¡°Daughters?¡± Hilda, who was stroking Ann on the palm of her hand, looked up in surprise at my words. ¡°O-oh?¡± What a surprise. I was startled. ¡°Kunpei! What do you mean daughters? Are they your children? You just said daughters, didn¡¯t you! So that means you¡¯re not alone! You¡¯re only 17 years old, where the hell did you get your hands on a girl! Does your father know about this?¡± ¡°Eh? No! Um! I¡¯m sorry!¡± I¡¯m scared! I don¡¯t get it, but I¡¯m scared! I couldn¡¯t help but apologize. Why do I have to apologize? I mean, how do you know how old I am? I¡¯ve been told that my face makes me look older than I am, and that people can¡¯t tell how old I am! ¡°Jaja-chan and Nana-chan¡­ are they foreign kids? Are they half? Who did you have kids with? You go to school, right?¡¡What is Shouhei saying?¡± ¡°Wait! Wait, calm down!¡± You¡¯re really coming on strong! She still wouldn¡¯t come down from the stone stage, but her momentum was so strong that I was pressured from about five meters away! ¡°¡­ Shouhei?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject!¡± It¡¯s strange. How does she even know Shouhei¡¯s name? No, it¡¯s strange that she knows my name and age, but it¡¯s too strange that she knows about Shouhei, who isn¡¯t even here. ¡­ You¡¯re lying, right? ¡°You! What did you do to the other party¡¯s parents? What did you say to them? Is it a girl close to your age! It¡¯s not¡­ an older woman is it! Did she seduce you? Or did you seduce her! Look me in the eye and answer me, Kunpei!¡± ¡°No, you have to listen to me! It couldn¡¯t be helped! I didn¡¯t do anything wrong and Aoi¡¯s not a bad person!¡± ¡°Do you have any idea how hard it is to have a child at your age? Do you know how expensive it is! Your father doesn¡¯t make that much money, and you still have to pay for your schooling!¡± The words were spoken at a furious pace. In the midst of it all, I lay one trap. ¡°I¡¯m begging you! Please calm down and listen to me! ¡­. Mother!¡± ¡°Then give me a story that will convince me¡­¡± Hilda¡¯s momentum came to a halt. While looking at my face, a hint of agitation appeared in her eyes. ¡°¡­ Hahaha, hahaha! Ahahahahaha! No, no, no!¡± No way. Really? ¡°¡­ Mom, is that you?¡± A white girl stepped back from me on the stone stage as if to escape me. ¡°No, no¡­ no! I¡¯m Hilds! I¡¯m Hildegarde Dragneel, the Dragon Princess! I am the priestess of this sanctuary! I am the Wind Dragon, the one who holds the world together! I am not your mother!¡± Hilda held her head and shook it. She looks like she¡¯s about to cry, and it looks painful. ¡°¡®Mother! You¡¯re mother, right! Because you know me and Shouhei! Mom!¡± My feet moved of their own accord. I stepped toward the stone stage with a feeling of impatience. ¡°No, no, Kunpei! Stop! You can¡¯t come here! You can¡¯t come here! I¡¯m the only one who should be trapped in this place! Go home! To Kouhei-kun¡¯s place©`©`Go back to your father¡¯s place! I beg you!¡± ¡°Look! You know my father¡¯s name! Explain it to me! What¡¯s with that look? I thought you were dead!¡± Words couldn¡¯t stop me anymore. I¡¯ve missed you so much! I¡¯ve missed you so much! Even though you look different, you¡¯re my mother! Mine and Shouhei¡¯s! Father¡¯s! Our mother! ¡°Shouhei¡¯s all grown up! Shouhei is much better at running the household than me and dad! He¡¯s doing his best too!¡¡We moved to a town that Mom wanted to live in, you know? It¡¯s worn out, but he still bought a big house! The mortgage is huge, but it¡¯s a really nice house! My daughters¡­ they¡¯re your grandchildren! They¡¯re twin girls called Jaja and Nana and they¡¯re so cute!¡± ¡°No! Please Kunpei! Please listen to your mother!¡± ¡°Then! Explain it to me! We¡¯ve been wanting to see Mother for a long time¡­¡± The boundary between the ground and the stone stage. It was the moment I stepped onto it. ¡°Woah!¡± Something invisible wrapped around my limbs. ¡°Damn, damn, damn! Not again! What the hell is this?¡± It¡¯s just like when I came here! It¡¯s like a thick, soft rope restraining my arms and legs! ¡°Mom! Mom!¡± Get off me! She¡¯s right in front of me! The one person our family has wanted to see for the last seven years! The one we thought we¡¯d never see again! ¡°What, space-time transfer magic? No way!¡± ¡°Hilda-tama! No, no! This is ordinary transference magic!¡± ¡°But it¡¯s really strong! But that shouldn¡¯t be enough to get you into the sanctuary!¡± I looked back to the end of the invisible rope. When I came here, I couldn¡¯t even move my face, but now I can move all but my bound arms and legs. On the border between the forest and the sky, there was a hole that looks like the middle of a piece of paper has been torn open. It was pitch black inside the hole. I can¡¯t see anything ahead. ¡°Damn it! I¡¯m not going to be pulled back to that place again!¡± I put all the strength I could into my arms and legs and held on. We¡¯ve just met! I haven¡¯t even told her anything yet! Mother is right in front of me! ¡°Kunpei, no! Don¡¯t fight it! I don¡¯t know where it leads to, but it¡¯s still better than being here!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not possible! If I¡¯m going, then you¡¯re coming with me!¡± Why would you say that? Let¡¯s go home together! Dad¡¯s waiting for us. Shouhei¡¯s waiting for us! ¡°No¡­. I have to stay here and keep the world together. I have to protect the world you live in!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what that means!¡± I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about, Mom! ¡°Kunpei!¡± Mom¡¯s small hands wrapped around my cheeks. ¡°¡­ Listen carefully, Kunpei. I don¡¯t know where you¡¯re moving to, but don¡¯t ever give up. You must find Alba Germain. The way you said it, you know him, don¡¯t you? It¡¯s been almost half a year since he stopped coming here, but I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll find you if we want him to. No matter how hard it is, grit your teeth and keep going. You can do that¡­ can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No!¡± Why do you say that like it¡¯s the last goodbye? You¡¯ve already done that once! That¡¯s enough! You should be satisfied! ¡°¡­ Kazamachi Kunpei waits for the wind. Whenever and wherever you want to fly¡­¡± My mother closed her eyes and said that ¡®spell¡¯. The words of my mother¡¯s promise to me. The words that were deeply rooted in my heart, the words that were important to me. ¡°I¡¯m going to fly with a bang. You can do it, right? Kunpei is a strong boy.¡± Ah, that. ¡°Mother is proud of you, okay?¡± Exactly the same face as that time. The same words. ¡°In that world, where our family live strong together. That¡¯s all I want. Promise?¡± ¡°Aaaahhhhhh!!!¡± And that same smile. ¡°Nooooooo!¡± My cries echoed in vain. Mom¡¯s figure quickly disappeared into the distance. Chapter 163 - Sanctuary and Snake Eyes (3) My body was tossed about. My brain was shaken. My rapidly moving vision and flickering consciousness. Regret and sadness. And questions swirling around in my chest. I¡¯m at the mercy of my body and mind, and I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening to me anymore. Tell me, Mother. Why did you look like that, why were you in that place? Why didn¡¯t you come with me? Tell me, Alba. What do you know, and what are you hiding from me? Why didn¡¯t you tell me anything? Tell me, father. Did you know that mother was living in a different form? Did you know, and didn¡¯t tell us? No one will ever tell me the truth. Shouhei and I, we¡¯re not told anything. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on anymore. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô I found myself in the wilderness. ¡°¡­ What the hell?¡± I don¡¯t know how to break it down and understand it. I don¡¯t know where this wilderness I¡¯m in right now is, or where I was until just now. Was that white girl I met really my mother? For a while, I couldn¡¯t muster up the energy to stand up, and I savored the feeling of pebbles rolling around on the ground. I wonder if people¡¯s thoughts freeze when they are in a situation they really don¡¯t understand. I had no idea where to start thinking. I slowly got up, sat up, and looked at the sky. There was not a cloud in the sky, and the moon was bright and full. I¡¯m under a small group of stars that I can clearly see. ¡°You¡¯re awake, aren¡¯t you?¡± I heard a voice. It was a female voice. I couldn¡¯t even react to the sudden voice, which would normally have startled me. I looked around and saw only one large rock. There it was, on a rock as tall as I was. ¡°Hmmm, it¡¯s just a human being. I waited all this time to wake up, but nothing interesting seems to be happening. I¡¯ll ask you anyway, who the hell are you?¡± A rather pompous voice emanated from the silhouette on the rock. I looked at the silhouette for a while. The backlight of the moonlight made the shape vague, but as my eyes got used to it, the shape gradually became clearer. ¡°¡­ Snake?¡± It was a snake. It was a black snake with a bright red jeweled charm on its forehead. The eyes of the snake caught me straight and did not let go. The red eyes swayed, and I felt as if I were being sucked in. ¡°Hmm? Wait a minute? What¡¯s going on inside your¡­? How can you live with that? Oh, I¡¯ve seen that technique before.¡¡Oh I see, he¡¯s related somehow. This is going to be interesting.¡± What is this snake talking about? I mean, why is the snake talking? Give me a break. My brain, which has a limited capacity, is already full to the brim. I¡¯ve had enough of incomprehensible things. I want to see Jaja and Nana. But for now, I¡¯ll reply back. ¡°¡­Hey, where am I?¡± I asked the snake as I sat on the ground. One important thing at a time. If you¡¯re an idiot, be an idiot and don¡¯t panic. ¡°Is this it? We¡¯re near the ruins of a shitty old place called the Tomb of Dailan.¡± The royal tomb¡­ Ah, so the place where we were originally headed. Good. It¡¯s not like we don¡¯t know the place at all. As long as I can meet the people of Dailan and get in touch with Prince Atol, I¡¯ll be able to manage somehow or another. ¡°I¡¯ve been sent here all of a sudden. Oh, I forgot. My name is Kazamachi Kunpei. May I ask for your name?¡± Yes, it¡¯s important to introduce yourself. The relationship changes a lot depending on whether you can call them by name or not. ¡°Name¡­ my name, huh. In the past, I was called ¡®the last one¡¯. It¡¯s been changed a few times since then, but nowadays it¡¯s mostly ¡®mother¡¯, I think.¡± ¡°Hmm? No, I don¡¯t really understand. That¡¯s not a name, is it?¡± ¡°I never really cared about names. Oh, but it¡¯s still better to have a name. Hmm.¡± The snake began to move. It dexterously climbed down the rock and came to me. It stopped once and started again. This time, it slowly circled around me. Her gaze alternated between my face and my chest. It was an unpleasant gaze. It was as if she was licking me, probing me. It was looking at me with great interest, but it was just a snake. It¡¯s not a big snake, about the size of a viper. ¡°It¡¯s his magic, right?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± The snake pointed at my chest with its neck, and made one quick movement that scared me a little. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to attack me because I¡¯m talking to it and it¡¯s talking to me, but the way it looks scares me. ¡°Which one is it?¡± I don¡¯t have any magic tools. ¡°It¡¯s a multi-layered sealing spell on its heart. It¡¯s a thin, yet very sturdy sealing formula. Even the secret formula has been carefully woven into it. I don¡¯t know how you can live with that. There¡¯s no way that the current demon race can handle that kind of magic. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s the work of that cheeky rat.¡± ¡°Heart? Rat¡­ you mean Alba Germain?¡± I still don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about, but I do remember the word rat. As far as I know, he¡¯s the only rat that seems to be able to use magic. That elusive rat with a big attitude, and who is probably causing me the most trouble right now. It¡¯s Alba Germain, the Dragon Doctor. ¡°Oh¡­ is that what he calls himself now? A man who comes from the dawn and is softer than mud. It¡¯s a nice touch of irony, just like him. I¡¯ve decided on my name.¡± The snake then tautened what seemed to be its chest, though I couldn¡¯t tell where it was. ¡°Clay. From this day forward, I am clay. Clay End. It¡¯s also interesting to follow in his footsteps.¡± Clay. Clay End. Clay? Is that English? I think it means clay or mud. What¡¯s ¡®End¡¯? I think it means end in English. ¡°Well, let me take a closer look, shall I? I¡¯ve pulled you all the way out here. I dragged it all the way out here. There¡¯s no way there¡¯s nothing.¡± Pulled? ¡°What do you mean by pull?¡± ¡°Hm? Well, that¡¯s, fufu.¡± Clay laughed proudly at the sound of my voice. ¡°You were trying to use the transference magic circle in the tomb, right? I¡¯ve been curious about it for a while, and I¡¯ve been exploring it. The moment it was activated, there was a reaction I hadn¡¯t seen before, so I tried to interfere with it a bit. We can find any number of holes in a magic circle like this. At least for us.¡± ¡°Ha?¡± Wait, wait, wait. What are you talking about? Clay chuckled in response to my questioning voice. Just the sight of that incredibly disgusting smile sends chills down my back. ¡°You were supposed to fly right into my sleeping quarters, but you went somewhere else on the way. Where did you go? You¡¯re not the one who has the ability to counteract my magic, are you? Be honest with me. I¡¯m not going to hurt you just yet.¡± Oh no. Something inside of me is telling me to stay away from this guy at all costs. The first time I met Aoi¡¯s mother, Yule, I felt something similar, but this is completely different. At that time, I was frightened by the overwhelming power that Yule possessed. I couldn¡¯t find any way to deal with the power that was beyond my control. Now, it¡¯s different. I¡¯m just genuinely scared. My instincts told me that the little snake in front of me was an abomination, formed only of evil. It was nothing short of terrifying. The back of my throat instantly dried up and sweat began to pour out of my body. My legs began to tremble, and I gave up on standing. I want to run away, but if I move even a millimeter from here, something terrible will happen. I can¡¯t even move a muscle as I stared at Clay. ¡°Hmm? What are you scared of? You¡¯re so cute. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not going to take it and eat it. Maybe.¡± It¡¯s smiling. Smiling so delightfully. What¡¯s so funny? Stop it. Please don¡¯t smile. A smile is supposed to be more beautiful. Jaja, Nana, Aoi, Rouge, Mikuma are all so cute when they smile. That smile is an affront to those beautiful smiles. Stop it! Don¡¯t smile! ¡°That¡¯s enough. Stupid snake.¡± I heard a familiar voice. My strength returned to my body, which had been in a state of paralysis. I hurriedly searched for the figure. I found it. It was standing proudly on the rock where Clay had first been, with the moonlight behind it. ¡°Can you please stop that mind-polluting magic? It¡¯s freaking him out.¡± Just a few moments ago, the thought of his voice and figure would have irritated me, but now I¡¯m fine. A staff larger than his body. The triangular hat that seemed to completely hide his face. The slightly dirty robe. I feel relieved just by looking at him. ¡°Mmm-hmm. Fufufufu! Hahahahahahahahaha! Well, well, well! It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen you! Huh! Poor little rat!¡± Alba Germain was there. Chapter 164 - Sanctuary and Snake Eyes (4) In front of me, a clothed rat and an ornate snake stared at each other. It was as if the one who looked away was going to be eaten. With such a tense atmosphere, Alba and Clay faced each other, glaring at each other. Alba Germain, the wise rat, showed no emotion at all, while Clay, the snake, grinned happily as they looked at each other silently for a while. It was Alba who looked away first. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m late. It took me a while to detect your non-dragon presence.¡± As he said this, Alba lightly jumped down from the rock where he had been standing and came to my feet. ¡°Aoi and your brother are very worried about you. Oh, don¡¯t worry. They¡¯ve arrived at the tomb of King Dailan without any trouble. Prince Atol is probably taking them to a safe place right now. I¡¯ll get Aoi to come pick you up later.¡± ¡°¡­ Aah.¡± Alba smiled and stood on my lap, acting as if Clay did not exist. ¡°Well, to do that I need to go back to Aoi and let her know where you are, but it¡¯s not safe to leave you with this snake. Let¡¯s get rid of it.¡± Alba turns around and looks at Clay. I felt a slight irritation in his voice. He was not the aloof Alba he usually was. He didn¡¯t have his usual irritating attitude where he treated people with contempt. ¡°Hmm.¡± Clay pulled his head back to observe me and Alba. The gesture of looking at the whole thing together was like that of a predator trying to catch its prey. ¡°You¡¯ve been taking very good care of him, haven¡¯t you? That¡¯s unusual. It¡¯s unusual that you, who has no interest in anything other than dragons, would try to protect something as weak as a human.¡± Clay was still smiling. As usual, I have no idea what¡¯s so interesting to me. The only thing I feel is discomfort and disgust. ¡°Can you please stop talking about me as if you know me? It¡¯s very unpleasant.¡± ¡°I know. Yes, I do. In fact, who else but me could possibly understand you?¡± Clay said and began to circle us. The black snake undulated around us, giggling, or rather, hissing. ¡°Hey? My brother.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± I was the one who reacted to the words. Brother? Who? ¡°¡­ Please stop. I¡¯ve never once thought of you as my older sister. We were just born in the same place, okay?¡± Alba jumped off my lap and began to circle around me as Clay moved. I knew this wasn¡¯t his normal attitude. He¡¯s been keeping an eye on the snake in front of him, Clay. Are these two really siblings? Are there really siblings who are so bitter? Shouhei and I are really close, so I can¡¯t imagine it. I mean, first of all, how can a rat and a snake be siblings? How can a snake¡¯s brother be a rat? ¡°Is that so? I think of you as my brother, but a bad, bad, bad brother. Didn¡¯t you almost kill your own sister when a bad woman took advantage of you?¡± ¡°Stop.¡± Alba held up his staff. He pointed it at Clay and glared at him hatefully. The tone of his voice was heavy and did not contain any of Alba¡¯s usual lightheartedness. ¡°Don¡¯t you talk about Seraphy. Shall I destroy you once again, this time completely?¡± Who the hell is Seraphy? Wait a minute. I really can¡¯t keep up anymore. There were so many incomprehensible things going on that I had no time to calm down at all. ¡°You still have feelings for that gloomy bitch? That¡¯s the spirit. I don¡¯t know what made you do it. Oh, even though I hurt you, it looks like you got the better of me. Well, it¡¯s not your place to hate me. It¡¯s her fault for picking a fight with me in the first place.¡± ¡°How dare you? You can¡¯t say that. If Seraphy hadn¡¯t risked her life to stop you, there would be no life in this world today. I never thought I¡¯d see you again after all these years. I had no idea you were still alive. The way you look, you look so worn out that you can¡¯t even keep your form without clinging to your little life. It¡¯s disgusting, but it seems we¡¯ve both been through something similar.¡± ¡°Oh, this look? I like it, actually. I¡¯ve been secretly watching you borrow the flesh of a dying rat. There¡¯s nothing you can do that I can¡¯t do. Besides, my original body was torn to pieces by that woman.¡± ¡°You got what you deserved, didn¡¯t you? It¡¯s a small punishment compared to what you¡¯ve done. I¡¯m honestly surprised you¡¯ve managed to live this long without me noticing. I guess you could have done it if you were persistent. I knew I should have looked for you carefully back then.¡± ¡°Haha, even so, I had a hard time. I¡¯ve been struggling to find a way to regain my original power. Well, from the looks of it, you¡¯re no different. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been able to live until now.¡± ¡°Now, what have you been cheating on and who have you been screwing over to stay ugly? If you call me your brother, why don¡¯t you tell me, sister?¡± ¡°Well, I wonder. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the kind of person who would expose his hand even to his only family member. After all, my foolish brother still seems to be trying to kill me.¡± ¡°Of course. I really want to kill you right now. The only people who can completely destroy you, an immortal, are the same, me and Seraphy.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say things you can¡¯t do.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not impossible. It¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t do, as long as you keep me company for a month or so. But you¡¯ll run away, won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m running away. I don¡¯t want to die either. I¡¯ve got things to do.¡± ¡°What makes you think I¡¯ll let you do that?¡± Alba and Clay exchanged words in a defensive posture, both of them biting at each other¡¯s words. Clay kept his head pointed at Alba, and Alba kept the tip of his staff pointed at Clay, never looking away from each other. Wait. Really wait. Somebody explain something to me, even just a little bit. Just tell me something that I can understand! ¡°Boy, what are you?¡± Clay looked at me sideways. ¡°I set it up so that when I interfered with the transference, you would come right to me. But this kid disappeared from subspace once and then shifted to a place where I couldn¡¯t detect him. That¡¯s impossible. There is no way that my eyes could lose sight of something once it has been captured. Except for that one place.¡± ¡°¡­ What are you talking about?¡± I know. Even I¡¯m an idiot, but I kind of get it. So that place where I was just now, is it a place that Clay shouldn¡¯t know about? Mom, no, the place where the white girl and the two fairies were. The milky white sky and the tattered stone stage in the deep green forest. There is something in that place that Alba is trying to hide. It means there is someone who needs to be hidden, right? Then I won¡¯t say anything. If I¡¯m stupid enough to blurt out something about that place, I¡¯ll never be able to get it back. It¡¯s just a hunch I have. I kept my mouth shut. If I don¡¯t say a word, there¡¯s no chance of them getting the information they want. ¡°And¡­ if you try to hide it. Well, I already know most of it.¡± Clay¡¯s eyes narrowed once, and she smiled again. ¡°Sanctuary.¡± It was Alba who reacted to the word. He shook his shoulders once and shook the tip of his staff. ¡°The place where that damned white woman died. That¡¯s what they call the Forest of Protection now, isn¡¯t it? I believe there was a dragon in her direct lineage that was supposed to have disappeared when the world collided 42 years ago. But it¡¯s strange that the spirits are still alive even after that land disappeared. I knew they must be hidden somewhere, but I couldn¡¯t find them. Even with my all-seeing eye, I couldn¡¯t find it at¡­ That means it doesn¡¯t exist in this world, it¡¯s in another dimension.¡± The red of Clay¡¯s eyes glowed more intensely as she looked at me. ¡°But then there¡¯s no way anyone can get to it. So how did the little boy get there? What does he have? What is the purpose of the multiple seals on his heart? I¡¯d like to know. Yes, I want to know. My brother. The half of me born of the same mud. Who now call himself Alba Germain, foolish, foolish one from the beginning.¡± Clay¡¯s tone of voice changed. Clay¡¯s voice, which had been feminine, became heavy and sharp enough to resonate in my brain. My body began to tremble. I was scared. I was terrified. There¡¯s no way such a being can exist. Everything about its long, thin body is ugly, fearsome, and sinister. The Clay End in front of me is a person who exists to make everyone involved unhappy. This snake will surely hum all the evils of the world. I don¡¯t know why I think so, but the goosebumps running all over my body tell me so. I want to run. But I can¡¯t move. ¡°So I¡¯m telling you to stop that mind magic¡­ There¡¯s one thing I want to ask you, too.¡± As soon as Alba said the words, the fear that clung to my body disappeared. What the hell? What did she do to me? I can¡¯t take this anymore! I need to see Jaja and Nana! ¡°What is it?¡± There was no way they could hear my cries, and Clay smiled again. ¡°Forty-two years ago, on the day the two worlds collided, the eighty-three demons and beastmen that started it. You were involved in the incident where they attacked the sanctuary and the magic ritual¡­ that created the Fire of Extinction, weren¡¯t you?¡± A pale light was lit on Alba¡¯s staff. The light grew stronger and louder while emitting an ear-piercing sound. ¡°Answer me. You planned the attack and used the lives of thousands of beastmen and demons to perform that magic, didn¡¯t you? You didn¡¯t think that the worlds would collide again after so much time had passed, but you did it to kill Hildegarde, who was protected by the sanctuary, didn¡¯t you?¡± Alba asked Clay in a dignified voice. His voice was strong and dependable, and above all, reassuring. ¡°¡­¡­ I don¡¯t know. Well, it could have been me, but what does that matter? The dragon is a pure enemy to me. If the one in the sanctuary is a direct descendant of the white woman, then there are plenty of reasons to kill her. The simple question is, why else would a dragon have been born to her? Clay told us, keeping a smile on her face. ¡°I told you that I would never forgive anyone who hurt Seraphy, and all dragons living today are Seraphy¡¯s children. I will show no mercy to those who threaten them.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Clay listened happily to Alba¡¯s voice. The red jewel on his forehead began to glow, just like Alba¡¯s staff. ¡°So, what are you going to do with me?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± They both smiled faintly at each other, and at the same time, an intense light shot out from Alba¡¯s staff. ¡°Whoa!¡± Right in front of me, there was a huge explosion. It was followed by a blast that almost blew my body away. The ground shook from the vibrations, and the lights flickered repeatedly around me, making me nauseous. Before I knew it, Alba, who was supposed to be at my feet, was gone. Flickers of light were everywhere in my field of vision, above and behind me. Alba and Clay were fighting in an incomprehensible way. I had a hunch. I cowered on the ground and held my head to protect myself. ¡°Stop it! Just stop it! What the hell, really!¡± No matter how hard I shouted, my voice was drowned out by the sound of the explosion. ¡°Give me a break! Somebody, please explain this to me properly!¡± For what seemed like an eternity, Alba and Clay continued to fight. A series of explosions. A violent light pierced the back of my closed eyelids. The strong wind and vibrations shook my body, which was lying firmly on the ground, to the left and right. The flickers of light were so violent that they gouged the ground, ate up the space, and erased the darkness of the night. Just one hit of this light would probably wipe me out without a trace. This is something that a weak creature like me should not be involved in. If that rat and snake¡¯s hands or thoughts were to go even slightly awry, my existence would vanish as quickly as if I were a fool. In an instant, the wilderness of the night turns into a battlefield for the inhuman, and there I am, with my fragile life as if I were blown away. I want to go home. I want to go home and be pampered by Aoi. I want to take care of Jaja and Nana to the fullest and laugh at Rouge¡¯s envious glances. I want to get told off by Shouhei, who is exasperated with me, greet my father when he comes home, eat dinner together, hold Aoi to my chest to nurse before bed, add the weight of Jaja and Nana, and doze off in happiness. I don¡¯t want to listen to incomprehensible stories in this incomprehensible place! I don¡¯t want to die without understanding a single thing! Let me go home! Let me go! To our home! To the warmth of my family¡¯s home! ¡°Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!¡± Let me go home! Aoi! Chapter 165 - Primordial Wind (1) I crouched with my head on the ground and could do nothing but cower. All I can think about is Jaja, Nana and Aoi. They are waiting for me to come home. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re worried about me. They¡¯re probably crying because I¡¯m suddenly gone. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll be back for sure. ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± I shouted, not knowing what to do. But my voice was drowned out by the sound of explosions that echoed in the pit of my stomach. There are still flashes, explosions and blasts going off all over the wilderness. Alba, the wise rat, and Clay, the black snake, are having a sister-brother fight that defies my common sense. No, it¡¯s not a simple fight anymore. They¡¯re killing each other. They are hitting each other with magic, probably with a force that would blow the other person to pieces if it hit. How did this happen? Until this morning, I had been half-excited and half-anxious about traveling abroad for the first time in my life. What happened to make me wander into this danger zone? Think. To survive. Figure out what I have to do to see Jaja and Nana again. It all started in that mysterious place. The milky white sky and the deep green forest. That battered stone stage in the center of it all. What I met was a pure white girl. A girl with white hair longer than her height, who somehow knew about me, Shouhei, and my father. That¡¯s my mother. It was our mother, who was supposed to have died of an illness seven years ago. She may have looked different, but she was definitely our mother. That¡¯s right. She told us to live. She told us not to give up. She told us to work hard and live together. ¡­ That¡¯s right. There¡¯s something I need to ask Alba. He¡¯s hiding something from me, Shouhei, maybe even Aoi, and I need him to explain everything to me. But why? Why is he leaving me alone right now? It¡¯s wrong. You¡¯ve got the priorities wrong. Ah, I¡¯m getting frustrated. Isn¡¯t this a situation where I should get mad? I¡¯m in this kind of trouble without any explanation. If it was just a fight between normal people, no one would complain if I lost my temper, right? That¡¯s right. That rodent. I¡¯m running out of patience with him. Clay too. I don¡¯t know what it is, but he¡¯s the reason I¡¯m here, right? Then I should be pissed. He ruined a trip we were looking forward to, and now I¡¯m separated from my family. Shouhei was so nervous about his first trip abroad that he hasn¡¯t been able to sleep much. Aoi was too busy getting ready for Jaja and Nana, and stayed up late checking her luggage. Rouge¡¯s usual blank expression didn¡¯t change, but I knew she was curious about a place she¡¯d never been before. Even my father stayed at home, holding back his desire to go. Even Azui and Wera. No, they were having too much fun taking care of the garden and didn¡¯t seem to want to leave the house too much. But they seemed to miss playing with Jaja and Nana. Yes, Jaja and Nana. My precious twin daughters. My precious twin daughters, cute, cute, cute, and in their prime. Ah, it¡¯s here. It¡¯s here, it¡¯s here, it¡¯s here. I¡¯m so pissed off. It¡¯s the twins¡¯ first trip abroad. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll have all kinds of reactions. Such a savage thing to do in such a place. I can¡¯t do this. ¡°Whoaaaaaaa¡­¡± Something bright red rose from the bottom of my own heart. ¡°Ohhhhhhhhhh¡­¡± It was boiling hot. ¡°Aaaaahhhh!¡± I was filled with a feeling of nostalgia that I hadn¡¯t felt in a while. I put strength into my hands and raised my body. ¡°Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!¡± With a roar, I let out a fierce, formless urge that rises from the bottom of my stomach. I stood up and looked up at the sky. The clouds have disappeared due to the explosions and blasts, and the silvery moonlight was shining brightly. This is a feeling I had many times during my wildest days in middle school. Pure, unadulterated anger. When it came to Yule, I couldn¡¯t really get seriously angry with her because she was Aoi¡¯s mother. When it came to Ruten, I was desperate to protect the children who were running away with me. When it came to Prince Atol, rather than anger, I was just more fed up. But now it was different. From the bottom of my heart. They¡¯re pissing me off. ¡°Don¡¯t fuck with meeeeee!¡± The more I shouted and the more I spat out, the clearer my thoughts became. It¡¯s dangerous. This is a very dangerous situation in my experience. It¡¯s the first sign that I¡¯m going to overdo things. My chest is hot. I feel a fierce heat, as if I¡¯m holding the sun in my arms. But strangely enough, it feels good. I had the illusion that magma was being pumped through my veins and from my heart to my entire body. The heat traveled along my neck and into my eyes. My eyelids, eyeballs, and the back of my eyes were pulsating and emitting heat. Then my temples were hot. Just above the back of my ear, on the side of my head, something was trying to pop through my skin. There was no pain. I¡¯d rather it go through. ¡°¡­Oh?¡± I noticed that there were countless butterflies flying around me. Green butterflies, their tiny wings flapping, fluttering happily and joyfully. It¡¯s the ¡°Spirit of Life¡± that I¡¯ve been seeing lately. The source of Jaja and Nana¡¯s mysterious abilities. These butterflies were flying all over my field of vision, and they were beautiful. Against the backdrop of the black night, a silvery full moon illuminated the wilderness, and the green butterflies danced in countless circles. Compared to the magical light of Alba and Clay, this was definitely more interesting to watch. ¡°What do you want to play?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Suddenly, I heard a voice. It was the voice of a small child. ¡°Do you want to play a lot?¡± ¡°Do you want to play with Kunpei again?¡± ¡°Do you want to play as much as you did when you were little?¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy.¡± ¡°Kunpei will play with us again.¡± ¡°My favorite, Kunpei, will play with us again.¡± I felt as if my heart would be torn apart by nostalgia. A small voice, a young voice, happily called my name. I know it. I can¡¯t remember, but I know this voice. A long time ago, when I was still small. Back then, I was always with these guys. They were always there for me. My mouth naturally starts to grin. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s play.¡± The one who was most surprised by the words that came out of my mouth was none other than me. My mouth moved of its own accord. My hand moved without my permission. My feet moved without my permission. My head. My tail! My wings! I¡¯m in a really great mood! I moved with my emotions, without thinking! ¡°Together again!¡± I spread my arms and spread my wings. What? When did I get wings? And this tail, too. Well, what does it matter? For now, let¡¯s play with these guys to the fullest. First, let¡¯s play with those annoying rats and snakes. ¡°Let¡¯s play.¡± ¡°Everybody, play with Kunpei.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s play with our favorite, Kunpei, again.¡± The green butterflies flapped their wings in unison. They gathered more and more around me, scattering sparkling grains of light. Yes. That¡¯s right. This is mine. It¡¯s an extension of my limbs, something that I can move as I please. It¡¯s an important thing for me and them. ¡°It¡¯s fun.¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy.¡± ¡°Do you want to sing?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s sing.¡± ¡°Kunpei¡¯s song.¡± ¡°Our song.¡± That¡¯s right. I have to sing it. Whenever I¡¯m having fun, I always sing that song. ¡°Kazamachi Kunpei.¡± It¡¯s a song of promise between me and these guys. ¡°Waits for the wind.¡± ¡°Catch the scent of the wind. ¡°Anytime.¡± ¡°Anywhere.¡± ¡°Where your wings lead.¡± ¡°As your heart desires.¡± ¡°When I want to fly.¡± Ah, that¡¯s right. ¡°Fly with a zoom.¡± I was free. Chapter 166 - Primordial Wind (2) I spread my arms as wide as I could and looked at the sky. The lights of the stars spread out in my field of view, and I felt as if I could reach out and grab them. Let¡¯s grab it. Let¡¯s do that. ¡°Will you go?¡± ¡°Will you dance?¡± Can you go? ¡°You can.¡± ¡°Kunpei can go anywhere.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯re here.¡± ¡°With Kunpei and us, we can do anything.¡± I see. Then we have to go. I spread the wings on my back wide and accepted these guys. The white feathers danced around me, and I inhaled the smell of the wind deep into my nose. ¡°Let¡¯s go grab a star.¡± I put all the strength I had into my legs and kicked the ground. The butterflies pushed my body up from below as I softly floated up. I slowly rose and my wings eventually caught the wind. ¡°Now you can fly high, right?¡± ¡°You can fly faster now, can¡¯t you?¡± Is that so? I¡¯ve never flown before, so I don¡¯t know, but if you guys say so, then I guess so. Then I looked up at the moon shining in the middle of the sky and flapped my wings. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Aah! That was awesome! ¡°Hahaha! Whaaaaahhh!¡± Turning my excited emotions into a shout, I soared straight up to the moon. With each flap of my wings, my body soared higher and higher. I flapped my wings harder, faster than before. A swarm of butterflies followed me at the same speed. Countless butterflies lined up in the night light with me, flapping their wings happily. It¡¯s a great feeling. The wind on my cheeks was getting colder as I gained altitude, but it didn¡¯t matter. I can go anywhere I want now. With these guys, I can do anything. ¡°Come back! If you go any higher, you¡¯ll hit a wall in the sky!¡± Hmm? Whose voice is that? ¡°Wake up! If you accept any more spirits, you¡¯ll die!¡± What the hell. I¡¯m in a really good mood right now. I don¡¯t want you to interrupt me. ¡°Get a grip! Don¡¯t surrender your will to the spirits!¡± I stopped flapping my wings and spread them wide to catch the wind head-on. The butterflies and I came to a stop in the sky. As I balanced my suddenly stopped body, I looked down. ¡°Oh, yeah. There you are.¡± That¡¯s right. The Rat Sage, Alba Germain. A rat dressed like a wizard, with a light red light all over his body, ascended with a desperate face. ¡°Huff! Huff! Okay, good boy.¡± Straddling a staff larger than his usual height, Alba stopped in front of my face, breathing hard. ¡°What is it, Alba? You look so scary.¡± With sharp eyes, Alba glared at my face and chest, and then at the butterflies around me. I felt a little uneasy at the unfamiliar expression on his face. ¡°Please be quiet for a minute, please¡­ Damn, that was careless. The three outer perimeters of the seal have been breached. When that snake intervened with the transference magic, it pulled out the spirits inside you. She¡¯s a¡­ nuisance.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± I¡¯m really sleepy. Like I said, I can¡¯t understand what you¡¯re saying. I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m so flustered. I¡¯m sure I was angry about something just now. Now I can¡¯t remember what I was angry about. Where am I? ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s okay. Leave it to me, I¡¯m not going to let you die. Yes, I will not let you die¡­. The sealed formula that was broken is no longer functional¡­ It has been acclimatized to the body over time, so if the same formula is put on top of it, it will be rejected¡­ It¡¯s a good idea to use what leaked to build a new one. That¡¯s right. The spirits were born from his body, so they should be able to adapt to his body with less effort than my magic power. The amplified amount is¡­ ah, this is a reaction to contact with Hilda¡¯s dragon qi. Damn it, then I can¡¯t counteract it with my power¡­ or should I just let them consume it? No, I can¡¯t do that when I don¡¯t know if his body will hold up¡­¡± The mouse in front of me is muttering something complicated with a difficult expression. His little hand was touching my left chest while the red light was flickering. I wonder why this rat looks so desperate. Come to think of it, I think I know him. I thought I knew his name until just now, eh? I wonder what it was. But it¡¯s a cute little rat. I remember Shouhei used to watch cartoons with rats like this. Shouhei? Who¡¯s Shouhei? He was a very important guy, I think. ¡°Hm, it became something interesting?¡± Before I knew it, a pitch-black snake was floating behind me. It had a red jewel on its forehead that gave me a bad feeling. ¡°A soul with a power disproportionate to its weak human body¡­ I see, so the sealing ceremony is designed to keep this monk¡¯s body from exploding from the inside by consuming his power with his heart. How complicated. So the boy¡¯s own power keeps the seal in place, which also keeps it strong?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have time to deal with you right now. Go away.¡± The rat replied to the black snake¡¯s words in an annoyed tone. ¡°The broken part is where I pulled up. I see. I¡¯m not sure what to do, but I¡¯m going to try to find out. The structure of the formula made it difficult to release from the outside, but it couldn¡¯t withstand a crack from the inside.¡± ¡°So the broken part is where I pulled it. I see. That¡¯s what happened when I forcibly pulled out the power that was leaking slightly from the outside. Due to the structure of the formula, it was difficult to release from the outside, but it couldn¡¯t withstand a crack from the inside.¡± ¡°I told you to fuck off! Suddenly the shouting rat looked at the snake. ¡°It¡¯s you again! You¡¯re the one who¡¯s trying to take away my precious things! How much sorrow do you need to spread in this world to make you happy? You can hold a grudge all you want! You¡¯re selfishly jealous! You selfishly try to erase it! You really are! You!¡± I wonder. Is this rat sad? What is it that you¡¯re so afraid of? ¡°Scary.¡± ¡°Poor thing.¡± The butterflies began to rustle and buzz. Butterflies begin to buzz around me and the mouse, leaving behind a greenish trail of light. ¡°Because Seraphy¡¯s not here?¡± Seraphy? I wonder who that is. ¡°Because Seraphy was killed?¡± ¡°The devil killed Seraphy.¡± ¡°You cut down Seraphy while she was crying.¡± ¡°Because Seraphy wanted it.¡± ¡°Because Seraphy asked the devil.¡± The words of the butterflies reverberated in my mind. My heart squeaked as if it was being clenched by the faltering, painful voice. Oh, you guys are sad, too? You loved that Seraphy person, didn¡¯t you? ¡°Seraphy was always with us.¡± ¡°Smiling with a lonely expression.¡± ¡°But she still played with us.¡± ¡°Poor Seraphy.¡± ¡°Poor devil.¡± ¡°I always wanted to be with you.¡± ¡°I wanted you to keep smiling beside me.¡± ¡°That snake¡­¡± ¡°The woman who came at the end¡­¡± ¡°Took everything away.¡± It took everything away. ¡°Unforgivable.¡± Unforgivable. ¡°Seraphy and the Devil¡¯s tears. ¡°We¡¯ll never forget.¡± ¡°The Bird in the sky.¡± ¡°The Lizard of the earth.¡± ¡°The fish in the sea.¡± ¡°We spirits¡­¡± ¡°Will never forgive¡­¡± ¡°That woman.¡± Yes, we must not forgive. That snake, that woman. That devil who took everything. ¡°Ahahaha! What are you so excited about, Alba Germain? That¡¯s what I call you now, my foolish brother! I was just doing what I had to do! I was just trying to take back what I created, what is mine, from that woman! And you interfered! You guys! You¡¯re the ones who got together and tortured me into this pathetic mess! I¡¯m the one who was robbed! Me! This Clay End, this one, has every reason to seek revenge! I am the one! Hahaha! AHahahahaha!¡± The snake laughed. It laughed loudly and wickedly. ¡°What the hell is Clay End? There¡¯s no irony in that, thing of the end! Seraphy was even trying to save you! You didn¡¯t even listen to her! Don¡¯t you dare play the victim here!¡± The rat yelled. He sounded sad and distressed. Screaming in grief, but still yelling. It¡¯s that thing that makes you sad, isn¡¯t it? The black snake in front of you is probably all to blame. Then. ¡°Wind.¡± ¡°Life is a gentle breeze that brings forth life.¡± I extended my right hand. I opened my palm and touched the wind. ¡°Seraphy¡¯s love, the scent of the wind.¡± ¡°Please, lend us your power.¡± I extended my left hand. I opened my palm and stroked the wind. ¡°The only thing that can hurt the woman¡­¡± ¡°is the wind.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the only one.¡± I raised my hands above my head and flapped my wings. The wind began to fly through the sky, matching the trajectory of the butterflies. This wind is a primordial wind. In a world of chaos, it is an innocent wind that came from the sea and carried life. It is the wind of the beginning that traveled through the sky, the earth, and the sea, and came back here again. It is a wind that has existed in this world for a long time, but that no one has been able to find. A wind that has seen all life and holds the memories of all life. ¡°Turn.¡± And it was also Kazamachi Kunpei himself. Chapter 167 - I Want to Tell You (1) The feeling of consciousness assimilating with the butterfly. What I want to do, what I can do, what I want, and what I don¡¯t want. The butterfly flapped its wings and created a breeze with the answers that are instantly derived. A clean, clear, unadulterated, pure wind. All of it responded to me through the butterflies. Come on, blow. Let it blow wildly. Run through the sky, race through the earth. Swirl and swallow everything. ¡°What?¡± I heard Clay¡¯s startled voice. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Alba¡¯s curious voice reached my ears. A bunch of wind, calm at first, then gaining momentum, then raging. The wind storm around me turned into a tornado. ¡°Impossible! This is that woman¡¯s!¡± I raised my right hand and held up my index finger as I heard Clay¡¯s cry. ¡°Gather round, wind.¡± At the sound of his voice, the tornado compressed at once. The storm, now shaped like a green sword, settled in my hands. ¡°Seraphy¡¯s will is here.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s play again with Kunpei.¡± ¡°Let us give life to this world.¡± ¡°Under the will of the first dragon.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s give life to the world.¡± The butterflies that filled my field of vision flapped their wings in unison and surrounded my sword. ¡°Get lost.¡± That¡¯s right. I don¡¯t need this snake. It¡¯s a bad guy who will hurt me and everything I care about. I¡¯d be better off without it. Then I¡¯d better make it go away. ¡°Ah!¡± Clay wriggled his long, thin body away from me. I took one look at the silver moon shining above and exhaled. I then swung the sword down. ¡°No! That¡¯s not good!¡± A vortex of wind was unleashed from the tip of the sword. It was a tornado that moved at my will. No matter how much Clay tries to escape, I will never let him get away. ¡°No! That¡¯s not something you can handle! Come to your senses!¡± Alba screamed desperately, clinging to my chest. It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s going to be okay. ¡°It¡¯s the primordial wind that started the world! It is a pure thing that brought the seeds of life to the world! Touch it with a human vessel, and it will suck the life out of you!¡± I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re talking about. It sounds serious, but don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll get rid of that snake. ¡°Damn it! What the hell is going on here? Why is that woman¡¯s technique still!¡± The tornado continued to chase Clay as he flew away at a high rate of speed. Blocking the escape route, getting ahead of it, sometimes splitting, sometimes merging, slowly taking away the snake¡¯s escape. ¡°Haha.¡± A smile appeared on my face. I don¡¯t know why, but I¡¯m really enjoying this. ¡°Haha, hahaha!¡± Watching that snake run away was very entertaining. ¡°Unsightly snake.¡± ¡°Miserable snake.¡± ¡°Ravenous snake.¡± ¡°Lonely snake.¡± ¡°Think of Seraphy¡¯s pain.¡± ¡°Think of Seraphy¡¯s tears.¡± ¡°Think of our anger.¡± That¡¯s right. That snake must be punished. He must pay for the butterflies¡¯ hatred, anger, and sorrow. ¡°Ahahaha! Hahaha! You shall have your retribution! Clay End!¡± ¡°No! Do not be swallowed by the will of the butterflies! You must wake up!¡± My high-pitched laugh coincided with Alba¡¯s scream. I can¡¯t listen. No matter how much you ask, I can¡¯t hear that, Alba. Alba? I don¡¯t know who Alba is. What¡¯s this rat getting so worked up about? Huh? What am I doing here? Me? Who am I? ¡°Hahaha! Hahahaha! ¡°For God¡¯s sake, come to your senses! You¡¯ve got a lot of people waiting for you! Jaja, Nana, your brother, your father!¡¡Aoi and that girl with the glasses are waiting for you to come back! Hildegarde was hoping this wouldn¡¯t happen to you! She even gave up her human form to fight for you and your brother in that hellhole!¡± Jaja and Nana? Oh, those are very nice-sounding names. Just hearing those words makes my heart beat faster. Aoi, Aoinoun? Who¡¯s Aoinoun? I¡¯ve heard of her. I think she was very kind, hardworking, and healthy. She was the girl who told me she loved me. ¡°Ggh!¡± It hurts. My head hurts. My chest hurts! My back! My legs! My arms! ¡°Ah, gaaaaaahhhhh!¡± It¡¯s burning! It¡¯s numbing! It¡¯s like I¡¯m being ripped apart! It hurts! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts! ¡°Aaaaahhhh!¡± ¡°Whoa!¡± The wind that was separated from my will split apart, unable to retain its form. ¡°This is! Clay! If you don¡¯t want to be wiped out, give me a hand!¡± ¡°What the hell are you talking about?¡± ¡°Gaaaaaaaahhhh!¡± The wind was ripping through the sky, splitting the earth, and blowing with a vicious force. In the center of the wind, I was curled up in pain. ¡°You know it! This power is the only power that can destroy us! It¡¯s the same primal power that takes away life itself! If you don¡¯t stop it here and now, it will uproot not only you and me, but all life in this world!¡± ¡°Ha! That¡¯s very good! Very funny! Let¡¯s hear it Alba Germain! Who is this little boy? Why does he have the same power as the Founder¡¯s Dragon! Even the Wind Dragon Princess in the Sanctuary couldn¡¯t have that power, so why would a human have it? ¡°I¡¯m not nice enough to you to answer that! Come on! If this wind continues to blow over this land, even you will have nowhere to run! You have to use my power to stop it, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Damn! How annoying! What do you want me to do?¡± There was a rat and snake screaming, but I had no time to worry about them. It hurts. Somebody help me! Dad! Mom! It hurts! I don¡¯t want to be in pain anymore! ¡°Kunpei-san!¡± I heard a voice. It was a very beautiful and familiar voice. ¡°Aagh! Who is it!¡± Forcing down the incessant pain, I turned toward the voice. ¡°Kunepi-san! What happened to you? Why do you look like that!¡± Through the gusting wind, a girl with blue wings approached me, calling out to someone. Kunpei, that¡¯s right. That¡¯s my name, Kunpei. ¡°Aoi! I told you to wait for me! Why did you come!¡± ¡°¡®The sky is acting so strange! Of course, it¡¯s because I was worried! More importantly, please tell me! Why is Kunpei-san in dragon from again! Why is he in so much pain! And what¡¯s with this wind? It¡¯s definitely strange that I, a sky dragon, have never seen such a wind before!¡± Sky dragon¡­? Sky dragon¡­ what is that? ¡°The sky¡¯s arbitrator has come.¡± ¡°Another one has come to take Seraphy¡¯s place.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s not Seraphy.¡± ¡°But she smells just like Seraphy.¡± The butterflies fluttered noisily in the air. ¡°A-Aoi?¡± ¡°Kunpei-san! Are you in pain? Where does it hurt?¡± The girl grabbed my shoulder and looked into my face. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m¡­ Kunpei¡­?¡± That¡¯s right. My name is Kunpei. Kunpei? Whose name is that? ¡°Aoi! Keep calling his name! It seems he¡¯s regaining a little bit of his ego in response to your voice! The current Clumsy-kun is so assimilated with the will of the spirits that he has lost sight of himself! If this continues, his consciousness may be swallowed by the spirit and he may disappear!¡± ¡°Hey! Kunpei-san! You can¡¯t! Please come back! Jaja and Nana are waiting for papa¡¯s return!¡± I was shaken violently, and my head started to clear a little. Jaja and Nana, oh how I miss them. My cute little girls. They¡¯re probably crying. They¡¯re probably crying because I¡¯m not here. ¡°Clay! We¡¯ll just blow up all the spirits around him! We¡¯ve got to get the spirits away from him!¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be faster if we just wiped him out?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do that! I¡¯ll do whatever it takes to destroy you! Even if it costs me my life!¡± ¡°All right, all right! I¡¯ll obey you for now!¡± Shut up. Shut up, shut up. Right now, I¡¯m busy thinking of Jaja and Nana¡¯s faces. ¡°Kunpei-san, I don¡¯t want to! Don¡¯t leave us behind! Please be Jaja and Nana¡¯s father forever! Please be my Kunpei-san!¡± The girl¡¯s hands gently wrapped around both my cheeks. ¡°Yours, me?¡± ¡°Yes! My favorite, my favorite Kunpei-san!¡± Aoi¡¯s favorite, me. Jaja and Nana¡¯s papa. ¡°Kunpei-san! Please look at me! I won¡¯t let them take you away! I don¡¯t know what these spirits are, but I beg you!¡¡Please give us back our Kunpei-san!¡± She¡¯s crying. Jaja and Nana in my mind and the beautiful girl in front of me is also crying. Did I make them cry? Did I make them cry again? I did. I did. Did I? Me, me, me. I did. It¡¯s my fault. ¡°Don¡¯t cry.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Aoi. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m really sorry for making you worry all the time. I don¡¯t want to see you cry, but I¡¯m always making you cry.¡± ¡°K-Kunpei-san? Kunpei-san! It¡¯s not like that! No, it¡¯s not! Always! It¡¯s my fault that Kunpei-san always gets hurt!¡¡There¡¯s nothing wrong with Kunpei-san!¡± But if only I was a little stronger. ¡°I will definitely stay by your side, Kunpei-san! Even if I cry, even if I¡¯m in pain! I will never leave your side! Until Kunpei-san runs out of love for me, I promise!¡± That¡¯s because I¡¯m with you. I want you to stay by my side. If it¡¯s true, I want you to keep smiling. I¡¯ll do anything to keep you and Jaja and Nana laughing. Because I¡­ I love you. ¡°I love you.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Yeah. For a long time, I didn¡¯t know what I was thinking. I didn¡¯t know that this feeling had a name. I feel uncomfortable when you¡¯re not around. I can¡¯t help but feel uneasy when you¡¯re not smiling next to me. I¡¯ve never forgotten the warmth of your touch. When I hear your voice, it makes me so happy. I take your presence for granted, and I don¡¯t want to imagine that you are gone. Smile for me. I beg you. Hold those adorable twins in your arms and smile with the same color as your wings and as pleasant as the sky. I want to look at that dazzling, sunny smile for a long, long time. ¡°I like you. Aoi, thank you so much for saying you like me. I love you so much.¡± ¡°Kunpei¡­ san?¡± My body ached all over. But I didn¡¯t look away from Aoi and forced myself to smile. If I look even a little distressed, she¡¯ll probably cry again. That¡¯s why I have to tell her. I need to gather my consciousness and tell her what I need to tell her right now. ¡°I love you.¡± I want you to know how I really feel. Chapter 168 - I Want to Tell You (2) ¡°Kunpei-san? Kunpei-san! Pull yourself together, please! Kunpei-san!¡± Ah, I was able to say it. I was able to say what I wanted to say, what I needed to say. I can go to sleep now, right? I¡¯m feeling really sleepy. ¡°Now, Clay! The kids and the spirits consciousness are separating!¡± ¡°Oh my God! What a pain in the ass!¡± The sound of the explosion was so loud that I felt a pain behind my ears. The vibrations that shook my body and the fast flickering lights frightened me. I¡¯m scared. The sound and the lights are really scary. I don¡¯t know what it means, and I can¡¯t even use my brain to understand it, but fear just takes over my mind. My body began to tremble in small increments. Everything in me is afraid of that light. ¡°Kunpei-san! Don¡¯t worry, Kunpei -san! I¡¯ll protect you! I promise! I¡¯ll protect you for sure!¡± Aoi hugged my head tightly to her chest, shouting as loud as the sound. I buried my face in her chest and felt her smell and body heat. Aoi¡¯s hand around my back was reliable. Aoi¡¯s breathing, with her face buried in my hair, conveys a warmth to my brain. More, more, still not enough. Both of my hands move, wanting that heat. My left hand wason Aoi¡¯s waist, and my right hand was searching for her hand. ¡°I¡¯m here. I¡¯m here.¡± Aoi found my right hand as I wandered in search of warmth. She immediately grabbed that hand and held it. She intertwined her fingers, never to let go. ¡°You¡¯re so frightened, poor thing. Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t leave you alone. I¡¯ll be with you. I¡¯ll always be with you.¡± She laid her cheek against my hair and stroked me with her arm. ¡°¡­ Ah, forever. Always.¡± ¡°¡­ Yes. Because we can only stay with you.¡± The violent sound and light was still raging around us, over and over again. But I was no longer afraid. If Aoi is next to me, I¡¯m not afraid of anything. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be able to overcome anything. ¡°Kunpei, won¡¯t you play with us anymore?¡± A very young, sad voice echoed inside me. ¡°Why do those snake and rat keep us and Kunpei away?¡± ¡°Seraphy did the same.¡± ¡°You told me you¡¯d play with us forever.¡± ¡°I thought you said you¡¯d stay with us forever.¡± ¡°I miss you, Seraphy.¡± ¡°I want to meet you, Seraphy.¡± ¡°That snake is detestable.¡± ¡°That rat too.¡± ¡°But the devil loved Seraphy.¡± ¡°And Seraphy loved the devil too.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand, Kunpei.¡± Ah¡­ I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry, okay? It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t like you guys. But there are kids who can¡¯t live without me. There are children who won¡¯t stop crying unless I¡¯m around. I want to live with them. I want to see their smiles. And I want to be by Aoi¡¯s side. That¡¯s why I can¡¯t stay playing with you guys all the time. Because I¡­ ¡°I¡¯m Jaja and Nana¡¯s¡­ father.¡± That¡¯s right. My name is Kazamachi Kunpei.¡± I¡¯m the father of Jaja Dragoline Kazamachi and Nana Dragoline Kazamachi. The husband of Aoinoun, Dragoline Kazamachi. ¡°Yes! You have to be you!¡± Alba¡¯s voice echoed in the night sky, drowning out the sound of the explosion. ¡°Listen! My old friend!¡± Alba barked in a voice so dignified that it was hard to believe it was coming from his tiny body. ¡°This child you love is the very wish that Seraphy had at that time! Perfect, yet imperfect! That kind-hearted founder dragon who loved the fragile because they was powerful! The very thing they begged and pleaded for until the moment of their death! So listen! The ancient wind that carries life! The innocent spirits of life!¡± It echoed. The voice resonated not outside, but inside. A wish that I want to convey deep in my heart. Alba Germain¡¯s true words, devoid of all lies and falsehoods. The words vibrated through the air, conveying not sound, but only meaning to my heart. ¡°Please watch over him! Your anger! I know your hatred better than anyone! Please, my friends! My old friends! This is the miracle the white dragon wished for! I beg you to watch over it and not harm it!¡± His voice sounded as if he was crying. ¡°The devil is crying.¡± The young voices of the butterflies reached my ears. ¡°At that time, the tears of a devil¡­¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± ¡°Let us once again protect.¡± ¡°Let us once again look after the future of Kunpei.¡± ¡°The devil¡¯s promise¡­¡± ¡°But we will not forget.¡± ¡°But we will not forget Seraphy¡¯s sadness.¡± ¡°So, Kunpei¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be back.¡± ¡°Whenever you want.¡± Yeah, that¡¯s right. But for now, it¡¯s okay. ¡°Demon of the Beginning! The promised Alba will not forget your thoughts! That¡¯s why I¡¯m looking! That¡¯s why I want to know! The answer to the question Seraphy asked the world that day! I¡¯m sure it will clear up all our thoughts!¡± Alba Germain¡¯s cry was surely a cry of sorrow. A part of my heart squeezed tightly at the sound of his sorrowful voice. Soon, all sounds were drowned out. The only thing I could definitely feel in the ear-splitting silence was Aoi¡¯s warmth. The pure white light that Alba and Clay must have emitted swallowed up the blackness of the night and the light of the stars. I held Aoi¡¯s hand tightly in the all-white world that still spread even after I closed my eyelids. Suddenly, I felt the presence of someone other than Aoi. It wasn¡¯t next to me, it wasn¡¯t near me, it was a presence I could feel from inside me. ¡°Alba loves you.¡± Who are you¡­? ¡°I am Seraphy, the world itself.¡± Ah, you¡¯re Seraphy. You¡¯re Seraphy, the First Dragon. They¡¯re looking for you, aren¡¯t they? ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll be with you all the time. Even Alba knows that. But I can¡¯t see anyone, and I can¡¯t hear anyone. But¡­¡± But? ¡°I believed you could hear me.¡± I can hear you¡­ ¡°Yes, you and your brother.¡± Me and Shouhei. ¡°Children born to Hildegarde through a series of miracles. The world¡¯s most twisted, yet the world¡¯s purest lives. I am certain that you will grasp the future that I want for you.¡± The¡­ future that you wanted. ¡°It¡¯s the future you¡¯ve been hoping for, and it¡¯s shown to you by Aoinoun and your daughters. It is a very happy and very kind future. But you don¡¯t have to worry about anything. You can live your life your way. Don¡¯t worry. Alba will protect you.¡± Alba. ¡°I love you¡­ and¡­¡± Seraphy¡­? Wait, Seraphy. I have a lot of questions. Please don¡¯t go. ¡°Seraphy¡­¡± In my slumber, I called out her name, even though I didn¡¯t know her face. Aoi held me in her arms while I listened to her heartbeat. My consciousness was slowly being swallowed by the dream. All that comes to mind is that completely white person who was looking at me worriedly. Mother. I don¡¯t even know what I don¡¯t know anymore. But I¡¯m going to live. With Aoi, the twins, and the whole family. So please tell me someday. Everything. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s fine. Kunpei-san. It¡¯s okay to sleep. You¡¯re tired, aren¡¯t you? You¡¯ve been through a lot, haven¡¯t you? I understand. I won¡¯t let you go until you wake up. So, good night.¡± Is it okay to sleep? Yeah, that¡¯s fine. Then I won¡¯t hold back. ¡°Ah¡­ good night, Aoi.¡± ¡°Yes, at least have a good dream. I love you too. Kunpei-san.¡± I wish I was with you, even in my dreams. Chapter 169 - Secret (EP) I slowly diffused the magic power that stayed in the field. It had been tens of thousands of years since I had used such a large amount of power. The magic power that had been stored in this small body for so long was almost gone. I had to go back to my nest and replenish the magic power in my magic stone. I¡¯ve got a lot of time on my hands, and I¡¯ve got more than enough magic stones. ¡­ With the body I once had, there was no need to worry about the amount of magic in the first place. No, no, no. Let¡¯s not dwell on the past. There is no limit to the number of times you can say what if. ¡°¡­ Wait.¡± Without looking back, I stopped her with my voice. The one who was restrained was not particularly surprised, she just froze and stopped moving. ¡°Where are you going? Clay.¡± ¡°What does it matter where I go? I¡¯m nothing but a hindrance to you.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯d appreciate it if you¡¯d get out of my sight, but I¡¯m not done talking.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have anything to say to you. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s selfish that you give me nothing and only take from me?¡± While I was spreading my magic, the snake was trying to sneak away. Clay. Clay End. The only one of my kind who shares my origins. She calls me her brother, but I beg to differ. I¡¯ve never thought of her as my sister. She¡¯s arrogant, selfish, and cruel. And she¡¯s terribly greedy. Even I, who have been told by many that I have a bad personality, am nauseated by this snake¡¯s character. Compared to her, I¡¯m like a saint. No, let¡¯s put it this way. She is truly, truly evil. ¡°I think I know what I want to know now, thanks to all this commotion. That boy is quite interesting.¡± ¡°Try messing with him. If you touch him, I will do everything in my power to destroy you.¡± ¡°Oh, scary, scary.¡± I couldn¡¯t hide my annoyance at Clay¡¯s mischievous laugh. I didn¡¯t want her to know. The snake should not know about Clumsy-kun¡¯s existence. It was a blind spot. I had no idea that this woman was still alive. I hadn¡¯t even imagined that she could go this long without me knowing about her existence. It was completely my oversight. Even if this snake is no longer as powerful as it once was, its mere existence could be a threat to the world. That time. It was so long ago that I can¡¯t even remember how much time has passed. This woman should have been extinguished by Seraphy¡¯s breath. I saw it with my own eyes. I¡¯m curious as to what means you used to withstand that breath, but that¡¯s not important right now. What was important was why this snake was monitoring the transference magic circle in Dailan¡¯s royal tomb. If it had taken over the body of someone as small as me, then this snake must be much weaker than it used to be. It won¡¯t be able to fly around like it owned the place and distort space like it used to. Even I have sacrificed many of my powers to retain the ability to travel at high speed through subspace. Even though I expect Clay¡¯s personality wouldn¡¯t allow him to give up her other powerful and offensive abilities, I don¡¯t think the transference magic circle is that necessary. After all, it¡¯s only a one-way transfer. That transference magic is indeed excellent and convenient, but it limits the destination to Dailan¡¯s royal tomb. The secret transfer magic of other demon nations is also not free from this restriction, although the destination is different. Why the Dailan Royal Tomb? It should be the magic circle in the royal castle of Francion, the demon powerhouse. Francion, located almost in the center of the sphere continent, would be a good place to head to other demon nations and ancient ruins that are still in operation. ¡°You¡¯re not going to give me any answers anyway. There¡¯s no reason for me to stay here. Can¡¯t you just leave me alone? You can¡¯t just leave the seal that I accidentally broke, can you?¡± ¡°Guh.¡± What an ill-natured woman! You¡¯ve always had a knack for finding people¡¯s pain points! ¡°¡­ Okay, go. I can¡¯t do anything about you now that I¡¯m exhausted, and besides, you¡¯ve used up most of your magic, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about. There¡¯s nothing to be gained by sitting here staring at each other.¡± ¡°But it won¡¯t happen again.¡± That¡¯s right. I can¡¯t let this snake live. Her dark nature will surely turn on these children and the dragons one day. No, this woman is the natural enemy of all living things. If we don¡¯t take action soon, we will never be able to recover. ¡°Oh, yes, yes. The hated person will leave now. Give my regards to the boy. Tell him to live a good life.¡± Another insincere comment. When I turned around to complain about the unfunny joke, she had already disappeared. ¡­ A short-range transfer magic tool? Was it the circlet on her forehead? I expanded my perception to the fullest extent and checked the surroundings for the presence of snakes. Heat, vibration, noise, and magic detection. Everything told me that the snake was no longer here. But we can¡¯t let our guard down. She¡¯s been faking her death for hundreds of millions of years. It would be easy to pull the wool over my eyes. From now on, I won¡¯t be able to stay away from Aoi, the twins, and the people from the Kazamachi household. I have to finish my business in this sphere continent as soon as possible. I¡¯m worried about Alice¡¯s health, I need to plan countermeasures against the snake, I need to strengthen the pathways between the twins and the spirits, and I need to strengthen the seal on Clumsy-kun¡¯s heart. We have a lot of work to do. The magic that Clay and I used to keep the spirits and Clumsy-kun apart was ancient magic. The reason is that modern magic is not enough to deal with spirits that don¡¯t have a physical form. So we had to be very careful to remove any residue of the magic we used. Ancient magic can contaminate the mind. After spending several minutes diffusing the magic, I used my flight magic to fly to Clumsy-kun¡¯s place. A large rock towering over the rugged wilderness. Clumsy-kun and Aoi were on top of it. Clumsy-kun must be pretty worn out. His head was resting on Aoi¡¯s lap, his body curled up asleep. I felt a little nostalgic at the sight of him, as if he were an infant. It¡¯s not a long time for me, living in eternity, but it¡¯s strange. When he was just a young child, Clumsy-kun was like that, Hilda¡¯s, no. At that time, he was sleeping comfortably in the lap of Kazamachi Kaori. I still can¡¯t believe that the vivacious, and very spoiled child is now the father of twin dragons. Miracles really do exist, don¡¯t they? The fact that Hilda found Aoi, the fact that Aoi gave birth to Jaja and Nana, all came about because this child was born into this world. Yes, it all started with this child. Seraphy¡¯s last wish has become a reality with the birth of this child. What can I say other than it¡¯s a miracle? ¡°Aoi, how is Clumsy-kun doing?¡± ¡°¡­. He¡¯s sleeping comfortably.¡± Aoi glared at me. Well, that¡¯s expected. From the point of view of Aoi, who knows nothing about me, everything I¡¯ve done looks suspicious. ¡°Please tell me, Uncle. What happened to Kunpei-san? Who was that snake? What happened to Kunpei-san earlier?¡¡What were those spirits?¡± ¡°Calm down a bit, Aoi.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t calm down! I¡¯ve never seen Kunpei-san so weak! It depends on the explanation, even if it¡¯s you, uncle!¡± Hmm, I¡¯m in trouble. I can¡¯t explain it, and I don¡¯t want to explain it. To be honest, this and that about Clumsy-kun is quite delicate. The multiple seals I put on his heart. It¡¯s very strong, but it¡¯s not absolute. I¡¯ve prepared several ways to break it. Because the seal needs to be fine-tuned as he grows, we have made it so that it can be broken with a specific word or password, and we originally planned to renew the seal when Clumsy-kun comes of age. If Aoi understood what was going on, and if she accidentally mentioned the word. Depending on the seal that was broken, the power overflowing from inside the heart would kill this child instantly. The pathway for the spirits was opened up by the contact with Jaja and Nana, as well as the incident with Yule at Tusk Crag, where he had ingested the eggshells orally. By eliminating every possible element of anxiety and gradually blending reinforcement techniques into his daily activities, he finally got where he is today. That¡¯s why I can¡¯t just carelessly explain the situation to Aoi. It¡¯s not just Aoi, but also Hilda and Kazmachi Kouhei that I¡¯m not telling everything to. All these measures were taken so that Clumsy-kun could live and die as a human being. That was the hope of Seraphy and me. But Clay. She¡¯s done something unnecessary. She must have sensed the small spirit pathways in Clumsy-kun¡¯s body through the transference magic circle and grabbed that uncomfortable feeling by rewriting the magic circle¡¯s formula, and summoned him here. This pried open the gaps in the seals along the route. The reason for the transfer to the sanctuary is probably because of his synchronization with Hilda¡¯s wavelength. I can only say that I did not expect that. I thought it was only possible for me, who can travel through subspace, to enter the sanctuary, which is spatially closed off. Oh well, it was a blind spot when I thought about it. As the Dragon Princess, Hilda¡¯s ability is to spread the correct path of the spirits to the world, which has been spread by the Dragon Kings¡¯ modifications. Spaces and distances do not matter to spirits, whose bodies are a mass of invisible energy. Even if the sanctuary is closed to them, they can move around without any problem. The structure of Clumsy-kun¡¯s soul is similar to that of a spirit, and if the route of the transfer magic twisted by Clay intermittently shortened space and temporarily connected to subspace, it would break through the dimensional barrier that separates the sanctuary from this world. Only the primordial dragon, Seraphy, could have been so sensitive as to be able to synchronize with a spirit, and that would be an abnormal existence for a living being. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve never even considered the possibility. I don¡¯t know what kind of unexpected events will happen in the future. If something goes wrong with the seal at that time, even I won¡¯t be able to deal with it. So, just to be on the safe side, I¡¯ll ignore Aoi¡¯s question. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it when we get back to Prince Atol¡¯s residence. I want to give him a good night¡¯s rest.¡± Before we get to the mansion, I¡¯ll tie up the broken seal and reinforce it as well. Ah, yes. We should also seal up Clumsy-kun¡¯s memories of the last few hours as well. The knowledge of Hilda¡¯s existence might have some effect on the sealing of the heart. After that, I think I¡¯ll hide with the sea dragons and the others until the evening of the day after tomorrow. I also need to check on Alice¡¯s progress. Even though the surgery was a success, the situation is still unpredictable. ¡°When we get back, please give me a proper explanation.¡± Murmuring this, Aoi began to hold Clumsy-kun¡¯s body. Explanation, huh. Or not. I¡¯m sorry, but even if I¡¯m the person you hate the most in the world, I¡¯m never going to talk about it. It¡¯s all for Clumsy-kun¡¯s sake. ¡°There we go.¡± Holding Clumsy-kun in front of her, Aoi let out her wings. ¡°I¡¯m going to join you.¡± I jumped on Clumsy-kun¡¯s shoulder and stealthily thrust my staff into his skin. It¡¯s a good thing that his clothes burst open when he transformed. I can naturally disguise it and formulate a technique inside Clumsy-kun¡¯s body. ¡°I¡¯m going.¡± With a few words, Aoi took off into the night sky. Once the dragon energy lifts the body, the rest is the work of the wind spirits. I¡¯m very impressed with the smoothness of the spirits. This girl has grown so much, hasn¡¯t she? I looked at the ground, thinking wistfully. ¡°¡­ I knew there was still some ¡®mud¡¯ left.¡± ¡°Yes? What did you say?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± I dodged Aoi¡¯s question in an appropriate manner. That¡¯s probably where Clumsy-kun would have been transferred to. The only evidence of this was the muddy area in front of the rock where Clay had used his magic. This is the ancient sea that gave birth to the elements of life. It is the soup of life, the same thing as our home. Everything that makes up the original bodies of Clay and me. ¡°I wondered if I could create that much mud just by transferring to¡­¡± I muttered again. Really, a lot of nasty things are happening today. I never thought I¡¯d see that mud again now. That mud over there is the beginning and the source of everything. Chapter 170 - Insane Parent and Daughter (Interlude) ¡°Welcome back, mother.¡± When I arrived at the mansion where I was staying, I was greeted by the daughter of the demon tribe who called me mother. She was sitting at the bottom of the grand staircase in front of the large entrance, looking at me with sleepy eyes. ¡°What is it? You¡¯re still up? Staying up late is bad for your skin, you know.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve decided that I¡¯m going to stay up until mother comes home. That¡¯s what I¡¯ve decided.¡± Oh, I see. She¡¯s still so obsessed with the weirdest things. It¡¯s a puddle of dirty magic that occurred in various parts of the world during the world clash. If it is unlucky enough to overlap with the city center, it will become a ¡®corrupted city¡¯. This girl is a child I found there. She was standing next to the corpse of her parents who had died of magic poisoning, staring at me blankly without crying. It seemed interesting, so I brought her along. Creatures contaminated by dirty magic can no longer live in normal places. This is because you will not be able to breathe where there is no magic, and even if there is magic, your body will reject it if it is not clean. Only constant immersion in high concentrations of magic will bring the contaminated person peace, and eventually everything from their internal organs to muscles will stop functioning, and they will die in an instant. I gave her my ¡®mud¡¯ to drink, so she¡¯ll probably live longer than a normal person. She can now contaminate her body with normal magic power and circulate it efficiently. I¡¯ve been taking care of her, and before I knew it, she started calling me ¡®mother¡¯ and became very fond of me. It¡¯s okay, though, because it¡¯s convenient. At any rate, she obeys my commands very well. I can do things with her that I can¡¯t do with my body, which has so many restrictions. She is literally the arms and legs of my body, which is a snake. There are very few beings that are so convenient for me. ¡°You went to Dailan, right? Was there anything interesting?¡± ¡°Yes, I did. I met some old faces.¡± ¡°Wow, it¡¯s unusual for mother to make a face like that. Was it a friend?¡± She ruffled her gray hair and sighed sleepily. ¡°No, my brother.¡± ¡°Mother, you have a brother? Uncle?¡± She tilted her head, touching the two horns on the back of her head that were unique to the goat tribe. ¡°Ah, I had a brother. Now called Alba Germain, a heartless bastard who chose the woman he loved over his own sister.¡± It was tens of thousands or hundreds of millions of years ago, but even thinking back on it now makes me angry. If only it hadn¡¯t been for that dragon. If only that guy hadn¡¯t existed. ¡°What¡¯s that? Did he betray you?¡± Betrayed, yes. I was betrayed by my own, the only person I thought I could trust in this world. It was frustrating to say something like that, so I ignored it and moved deeper into the mansion. ¡°¡­ Hey, hey. That brother, should I kill him?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t. You¡¯re no match for him. After all, he¡¯s my family. You can¡¯t fight him with simple strength alone.¡± ¡°But you see, I¡¯m strong, aren¡¯t I? I¡¯ve killed all the people in this mansion.¡± You really are a foolish girl. I taught her how to use her power, and she immediately got carried away. She took in my ¡®mud¡¯. You should be able to do at least that. But compared to us, such power is meaningless. Ancient magic that corrupts the mind instead of the body might be able to resist a little, but I didn¡¯t teach this girl that. ¡°You killed them and took this place without asking me, didn¡¯t you? Well, that¡¯s fine. I was just looking for a base on the Sphere Continent.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that right? Don¡¯t you think mother should praise me more?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get carried away. Now, give me a report during my absence.¡± I was poking fun at the despair and anxiety that had originally taken root in her psyche, and it grew into a ridiculous personality disorder. I thought about depriving her of her ego like the rest of them, but it was hard to get rid of this one because it was so interesting. ¡°I gave those idiots the weapons from the Sphere Continent route and the medicine mother mentioned.¡± ¡°Hm, that¡¯s pretty sudden, isn¡¯t it?¡± It¡¯s been two years since we made contact with the other side. They were happy to explain the philosophy and purpose of the organization, which I didn¡¯t really understand, so I gave them a little help as a test, but they hadn¡¯t taken any action until now. I don¡¯t know why they suddenly decided to move again. ¡°If they wanted that medicine, are they planning to go on a rampage in the near future?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve given them all the explanations mother told me, so I guess so.¡± The drug, a byproduct of my research for the last few thousand years, is a failed product with an extremely short shelf life after it is refined. It¡¯s costly, it always kills the user, and most importantly, it¡¯s not even a tenth as effective as it¡¯s supposed to be. Two weeks in a sealed container. If it comes into contact with the air, it will turn to gas in two minutes, so there is no use for it, and I was wondering if I should dispose of it. But now that I¡¯ve made it, I was looking for some disposable lab animals that I could use for data, and those idiots jumped at the chance. They¡¯re really stupid. They knew that if they used it, they would surely die, but they still wanted it. Do they really hate the demon race and magic that much? There are more than a few people who do not like the existence of magic, which has suddenly become a part of their lives due to the collision of worlds. This is because there are many fields that have rejected the science and technology that mankind has built up and made it a thing of the past. They believe that they are the pinnacle of primates and that they should always have the upper hand in a chaotic world. It makes me laugh. I am the apex. No matter how smart the humans are, no matter how strong the beastmen are, no matter how skilled the demons are in magic. The only one who can transcend all life and reign on the throne is this Clay End. Now I¡¯m stuck in this miserable state, but in time I will regain that form. That¡¯s when all the stupid creatures will bow down to me. In accordance with my wishes, they will give me everything they have. I¡¯m looking forward to it. Ah, that¡¯s right. I forgot. ¡°Oh, by the way, I came up with a name.¡± ¡°A name? Mother¡¯s?¡± I was climbing the stairs, wriggling my snake body, when my daughter lifted me from behind. ¡°Yeah, Clay. I¡¯ve decided to call myself Clay End.¡± ¡°What do you mean? You¡¯ve been stubbornly refusing to make a name for yourself.¡± She clutched me to her chest and climbed the stairs with a firm step. A name. Names are inconvenient things. Not only does it identify me, but it also establishes me as an individual in a magical sense. The only reason I was able to survive all this time without Alba noticing me was because I didn¡¯t have a name and was posing as a lone snake. I blend in with the herd, lurking in the shadows, eliminating everything that identifies me, obscuring whether or not I even exist. By doing so, I could easily create a different ¡®me¡¯. There are far more disadvantages to having a name than there are advantages to having one. Once the appearance, the name, and the existence are established, then the possibility of arriving at the existence that is me is greatly increased. But tonight, things have changed. The kid. That kid. Even I couldn¡¯t make it to the sanctuary. I¡¯ve been itching for forty years to find a way to cross into subspace, but I¡¯ve finally found a clue. Interesting. Really interesting. Alba Germain. The existence you¡¯ve been stubbornly trying to hide. The four dragon princesses who live hidden somewhere in this world, and the three powerful dragon kings. Of the seven, only the Wind Dragon Princess was able to be seen. The first three thousand years when I was most weakened and asleep. In that short period of time, the number of dragon species had exploded to an unnatural degree. From that point on, this world has already begun to distort. The dragon was supposed to be a single entity, the absolute only entity. The abominable primordial dragon does not have the ability to give birth to children. Because that woman is not a creature, but a concept. A concept created by the will of this planet, a system-like concept that exists only to maintain the cycle of life and the equilibrium of the planet. That¡¯s the original dragon. And yet, today, there are probably thousands of dragons, from the weakest to the strongest. Why? How are they multiplying? They have not benefited from the ¡®mud¡¯. They have not acquired a way of being as life. They must have been nothing more than puppets that appeared to be alive. Ah, I see. I¡¯m sure that Alba had something to do with it. His original power was to nurture. I¡¯ve been thinking and experimenting a lot, and I¡¯ve gotten the general idea of the process, but I still need one more step. The corpse of Seraphy, the founder dragon, is supposed to be lying in the sanctuary. I believe that if I can examine it, I will be able to find the answer soon. And therein lies the way to regain my true body. My power and body that was eaten by the First Dragon must still be somewhere in the sanctuary. That¡¯s why I have to go to the sanctuary. By any means necessary. ¡°Hey, Mother. Please tell me. Why did you suddenly create a name for yourself?¡± Eventually, I climbed the stairs and my daughter set me down in front of the room at the far end of the second floor. Just as she opened the door, I twisted my body inside and climbed up to the bed inside the room. ¡°You¡¯re such an annoying child. It doesn¡¯t matter, does it?¡± I wrapped myself around the pillow to get comfortable and my daughter sat on the edge of the bed. ¡°It¡¯s not good. If mother is going to be named Clay End, that means I can take End as my name too, right?¡± What a boring thing to say. ¡°You can call yourself whatever you want. Mother is also something that you started calling me as you pleased.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t mind? Yes!¡± This girl is so particular about things that really don¡¯t matter. Sometimes I find her annoying. But that¡¯s okay. You can waste your remaining life for me as much as you want. I¡¯ll let you die happy, immersed in sweet dreams until your last breath. How kind of me. I am. ¡°I see. End, huh?¡± My daughter jumped out of bed and landed lightly, looking back at me with a carefree smile. Her face, which hadn¡¯t changed since I picked her up in that dirty town, was still young, but unlike that time, she was smiling expressively. ¡°Then I¡¯m Eiren Has End from today!¡± Eilen started to spin around, I don¡¯t know what she found so amusing. ¡°I¡¯m your daughter! I am Eilen Has End!¡± ¡°All right, all right. I¡¯m tired today. Let me sleep.¡± You¡¯re so annoying. ¡°Yes, good night, mother.¡± Grinning, Eilen left the room. Before closing the door, she looked into the room and smiled again. ¡°Good night, Mother. You can tell me anything, right? I¡¯ll do anything for you, mother.¡± With that, Eilen closed the door. ¡°Hmm.¡± What the hell is that girl talking about? That¡¯s a given, isn¡¯t it? I picked her up. You are my property, down to the last drop of blood that flows from your body. If I tell you to die, you¡¯re supposed to die laughing. Now, I have more work to do. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll have to start working again to determine the coordinates of the subspace where the sanctuary is located. The key is that boy. If I can trace back from the starting point of the transference magic circle, I can probably find the residue from when he crossed the subspace barrier. Fufu, this is getting fun. That¡¯s right. You have to enjoy everything. Chapter 171 - First Day of the Trip ( The demon nation of Dailan. At the southeastern edge of the small nation facing the sea, there is Prince Atol¡¯s mansion. The mansion, which was many times the size of the Kazamachi¡¯s house, was so big that the word ¡®mansion¡¯ sounded cheap, and we were all unaccustomed to it. ¡°¡­ Nii-chan¡¯s not getting up is he.¡± Shouhei-san looked at the bed from the sofa by the window and muttered. I guess he¡¯s worried about Kunpei-san, who¡¯s sleeping in the canopied bed. ¡°Uncle Alba says he¡¯s fine now. His injuries are all gone, he just needs to wake up.¡± I poured a cup of tea from the teapot Kayone-san had brought me and placed it on the low table next to the sofa. ¡°It¡¯s late, Shouhei-san, so you should get some rest. In Japan, it¡¯s already night.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m going to bed after drinking this. Thank you, Aoi-neechan.¡± Shouhei-san, who was suffering from jet lag for the first time in his life, took the cup in both hands and sipped it. ¡°Rat-san left after examining Nana. I wonder what really happened¡­¡± The tiny little rat sage had already disappeared. It¡¯s been five hours since the accident with the transference magic circle. I wanted him to explain what had happened to Kunpei-san during that time, but he didn¡¯t give me any answers. ¡°Listen, Aoi. Clumsy-kun will have lost his memory for the past few hours. Please don¡¯t tell him that he was turned into a dragon or that he was almost swallowed by a spirit. This is a very sensitive issue for you, the twins, and Clumsy-kun. I¡¯ll tell you about it someday, but until then, I want you to stay as you have been.¡± After saying this, he checked on Nana, who was feeling a little sick, and then immediately left. His voice was heavy and serious, which was unlike my uncle who always spoke in a mischievous manner. I had a lot to complain about, and even more questions. I felt that his voice and Kunpei-san¡¯s appearance at that time told me the magnitude of the situation, and I hesitated to delve deeper into the matter. ¡°Aoi. Jaja and Nana are asleep.¡± ¡°Ru-anesama. Thank you very much.¡± Ru-anesama appeared from the door that led to the next bedroom. Since Kunpei-san had collapsed today, I was the only one who nursed the babies. I don¡¯t know if it was because of that, but the twins were not sleeping well. Normally, Kunpei-san would hug me from behind and we would have a nice relaxing time as a family. Jaja, who loves papa, and Nana, who has become more spoiled since her fever, seemed to feel uneasy when he was not around. Maybe that¡¯s why they wake up and cry right after when we think they¡¯re asleep. Earlier, I was wiping Kunpei-san¡¯s body, so I asked Ru-anesame to go comfort them. ¡°Nana¡¯s fever is still rising. The rat said she was fine, but I¡¯m worried.¡± Ru-anesama sat down on the sofa, worrying about the next room. ¡°Uncle says it¡¯s because she¡¯s nauseated from the magic of the transference circle and she¡¯s not used to the air here. Don¡¯t worry too much, she¡¯ll get better with time.¡± There were many suspicious things going on, but there was no one else I could turn to when it came to dragons and their illnesses. The only dragon doctor in the whole world is Alba Germain. ¡°Hmm. I put a fever reducer on her forehead, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be very effective because it¡¯s for demons and humans.¡± ¡°Nana had a very high fever. I can¡¯t believe it was only a slight fever.¡± Shouhei-san nodded at Ru-anesama¡¯s words. The body temperature of us dragons is much higher than that of humans and demons. Or rather, the range of our body temperature is quite wide. For humans, a temperature of over thirty-eight degrees Celsius is considered a high fever, but for us, it¡¯s a normal temperature. I remember that when I had a cold in the past, my body temperature rose to a very high level. I don¡¯t get colds very often, and when I do, as a dragon, it goes away quickly. Nana¡¯s temperature was forty-two degrees. If she were a human baby, she would have been hospitalized in an emergency. When Shouhei-san saw the thermometer, his face turned pale and he panicked, which made me a little upset too, but after thinking it over, I realized that the temperature was not that high. ¡°Uncle left me a fever reducer. He told me to use it if her temperature exceeded fifty degrees.¡± ¡°You mean these suppositories?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Shouhei-san lifted up the bag that had been left on the low table. This is the first time I¡¯ve seen a medicine that can be inserted into the butt, it¡¯s called a suppository¡­ Nana¡¯s not going to like this¡­ ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ve never been sick before, so I don¡¯t know, is it painful?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only been sick once before¡­¡± It¡¯s really rare for a dragon to get sick. If you¡¯re a dragon and you¡¯re sick, you¡¯re usually back to normal within a few minutes, and you don¡¯t have time to feel pain. I¡¯ve heard from my uncle before that Jaja and Nana aren¡¯t pure dragons, but rather a mixture of humans with Kunpei¡¯s blood, which may make them more susceptible to human diseases. I¡¯ve heard that once you get a disease, you¡¯re less likely to get it the next time around because you get something called a human¡­ immunity from Kunpei-san through daily breastfeeding. I strongly realized now that those twins are special after all. ¡°Shouhei-san, please sleep here with Kunpei-san. They¡¯re probably going to cry more than usual tonight, so we¡¯ll use the next room.¡± I¡¯m sorry Jaja and Nana, but papa can¡¯t sleep with you today. I know he¡¯s tired, and I want to let him get some sleep. ¡°Are you okay? Aoi-neechan, aren¡¯t you tired too?¡± ¡°No. Take it easy, Aoi. I¡¯ll keep watch tonight.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m confident in my physical strength!¡± She raised her arms to show her energy. I¡¯m a mother! It¡¯s no big deal! ¡°¡­ Well, if you say so, Aoi-neechan. Then leave nii-chan to me, I¡¯ll take good care of him.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sorry, but please do.¡± Putting the empty cup on the low table, Shouhei-san got up from the sofa. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a bath. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± ¡°Hmm. Don¡¯t worry about it, Shouhei. Take your time.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It would be terrible if Shouhei-san collapsed too. Please take your time to recover from your journey.¡± But in reality, I was transported in a matter of seconds by the transfer magic circle, but even so, I was in a strange place and had been through a lot, so I must be tired, although I don¡¯t think I realized it. ¡°Okay, but¡­ anything I can do to help, just let me know, okay? Oh, where¡¯s the bathroom?¡± ¡°The prince said that the maid outside would show us.¡± Ru-anesama pointed to the door. On the other side of the room, two maids were supposed to be waiting for us in shifts 24 hours a day. There are many maids in Prince Atoll¡¯s mansion, and several of them, Kayone and Utai, are standing by for us. The prince seemed to be concerned about the accident with the transference magic circle and said that he would take care of everything during our stay in Dailan. ¡°What should I say to the maids¡­¡± The Kazamachi family is a slightly lower than average middle-class family, Father-in-law, Shouhei-san and Kunpei-san are all capable of taking care of themselves and the house, so they are not used to relying on others. Maybe that¡¯s why the person who is most troubled by the sight of a maid¡­ It¡¯s actually Shouhei-san. He¡¯s probably confused because he doesn¡¯t know what to ask for or how to ask for it. It¡¯s even worse for me and Ru-anesama. For the first time in a long time, my shyness and Ru-anesama¡¯s lack of familiarity with other people came into play, and I couldn¡¯t even have a proper conversation with the maid. ¡°So this is what it means when they say on TV that ¡®one¡¯s own home is the best¡¯.¡± ¡°Hmm. I feel restless.¡± ¡°If it was nii-chan, he¡¯d probably get used to it in no time at all.¡± That¡¯s right. Kunpei-san often calls himself ¡®unsociable¡¯ or a ¡®loner¡¯, but we know he¡¯s not like that at all. I look at Kunpei-san who is sleeping peacefully in his bed. His adaptability is truly amazing. No matter what kind of place, what kind of environment, what kind of atmosphere, he can adjust in just a few minutes and behave as usual. No matter who he is talking to, he can immediately open up to them and talk to them in a friendly manner. Most people who get over the fear of his appearance and come to talk to him would probably be taken aback. Kunpei-san is quite a friendly and cheerful person. I mean, I still haven¡¯t convinced myself that he looks scary. I understand that he has sharp eyes and that he¡¯s big, but why should I be afraid of him? He sometimes gets angry in public, but I think he laughs more often than that. He is a good listener and cares for others, and he takes a step back, but when the time comes, he steps forward. I don¡¯t think there are many people like him out there, even if you were to look for one. Is this something I feel because I¡¯m in love with this person? I don¡¯t think so, but in my eyes, Kunpei-san is always calm, dignified, and cool, so I feel like there could be a filter for who I like. ¡°I love you.¡± That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve had so much to worry about that I forgot. He told me he loved¡­ me. I was in a different state than usual, but Kunpei-san said he liked me. ¡­ What should I do? I¡¯m too happy. ¡°Aoi? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ru-anesama was worried about me as I plunged headfirst into bed, holding my mouth that naturally started to twist into a grin. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m fine¡­ I¡¯m fine.¡± Calm down, me. I¡¯m calm. Kunepi-san was in a daze at the time, he wasn¡¯t normal. So it¡¯s not confirmed yet. Don¡¯t jump to conclusions. It¡¯s meaningless unless I get the usual Kunpei-san to tell me. But I¡¯m too happy. I¡¯m so happy that if Shouhei-san and Ru-anesama weren¡¯t here, I¡¯d probably embarrassingly hug Kunpei-san and do something I couldn¡¯t show to anyone. What should I do? I wonder what a normal human girl would do in a situation like this. I have to study. I have to study hard so that whenever Kunpei-san asks for me, I will be able to respond properly. When Kunpei-san wakes up and Nana¡¯s condition returns to normal, he will be able to¡­ Maybe Kayone-san will be able to teach me. Kunpei-san said it before, too. He said, ¡®Prince Atol and Kayone make a great couple.¡¯ Kayone-san, who has been in a proper relationship with a man and a woman, must have a lot of knowledge and experience. I¡¯d like to continue with that video that Ichika-san showed me before. Now is the time to understand it and put it into practice. I¡¯m sure of it. First, Kunpei-san undressed me¡­ and I undressed him¡­ and I kissed him in various places¡­ and finally he kissed me on the mouth¡­ and then¡­ and then¡­ ¡°Aoi-neechan?¡± ¡°Aoi. What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°N-nothing!¡± I was wriggling around on the edge of the bed where Kunpei-san slept, and they were seriously worried about me. I jumped up and straightened my posture. That¡¯s right. This is not the time for that right now. I came to this country for Jaja and Nana, and now my husband and children are weak. I have to be strong! ¡°I hope you¡¯re okay. I¡¯ll be going then.¡± Shouhei-san took out a bath set from his luggage next to the door and walked out of the room. ¡°Hmm. I¡¯ll get some water too.¡± Taking the empty teapot, Ru-anesama also left the room. Ah, I¡¯m all alone now. ¡­ a chance? I looked at the sleeping Kunpei-san. I gulped. I can¡¯t do it. I can¡¯t control myself. Just a little bit. I can even put my mouth over his now¡­. I slowly brought my face closer. My heart was racing with excitement. My nose collided with the top of Kunpei-san¡¯s nose, and our body temperatures slowly transmitted from there. ¡°Nyaaaaaaah!¡± ¡°N-Nana?¡± Did she wake up again! Yeah, I know, right! Mama has been bad, hasn¡¯t she? Attacking pap in his sleep, that¡¯s not something a mama would do! That was close! My little girl has brought me back from the path of evil! She¡¯s a good girl! Great job, Nana! ¡°Fuaaaaaaahn!¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± The sound of Nana¡¯s crying seemed to have startled Jaja awake. I tidied myself and hurried to the next room. Don¡¯t panic! I¡¯m going to get my first kiss from Kunpei-san when he¡¯s properly awake! You don¡¯t have to do something so cowardly, I¡¯m sure Kunpei-san will do it for you! I opened the door and entered the bedroom. On the big bed, Nana was flailing her arms around, looking for me. Next to her, Jaja was crying as she sat up. Yes! Mama¡¯s here! ¡°¡­ what was that?¡± Hmm? I think I heard a voice from the next room. Was it my imagination? Chapter 172 - First Day of the ¡°Dahhhh! Aaaaah!¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Nana-chan? Are you feeling bad? There, there.¡± Aoi, who was breastfeeding on the sofa, lifted Nana up and nursed her. Nana¡¯s face was even redder than usual, and she was crying in a voice that was not as cheerful as usual, which was very pitiful to see. ¡°Uuh?¡± ¡°Hmm? Ah, Nana looks like she¡¯s in pain, are you worried Jaja?¡± ¡°Dah.¡± Jaja, who was playing with me on the bed, has been worrying about Nana since a while ago. Whenever she heard her pained voice, she glanced at Nana and appealed to me. You¡¯re a sweet big sister, aren¡¯t you? Don¡¯t worry. Nana will get better soon. So for now, let¡¯s just play quietly in this room, okay? ¡°Dah.¡± Oh? You understand me now? As expected of a big sister. A day has passed since we arrived in the demon nation of Dailan. At any rate, I seemed to have been asleep all day and have no memory of yesterday. All I can remember is arriving at Prince Atol¡¯s house and being seen off by my father, Yuri, Wera and Azui. I woke up once last night and asked Shouhei to explain the whole situation to me, but I couldn¡¯t remember a single thing. I was sent to a different place by a transference accident, and was missing for over five hours¡­ that¡¯s pretty important, isn¡¯t it? Why can¡¯t I remember anything? This general malaise, the aching muscles in my limbs, it¡¯s all too mysterious. I heard that bastard Alba found me and Aoi carried me to Prince Atol¡¯s main house here, but what the hell was I doing for five hours? Hmmm. I don¡¯t know. I have no idea. So I gave up thinking about it as soon as possible. There¡¯s no point in dwelling on something I don¡¯t know. It would be better for my mental health to take care of the twins instead of worrying about it. That damn rat disappeared before I could even see him. Next time I see him, he¡¯ll have to explain everything to me. ¡°There we go.¡± ¡°Dah!¡± I lifted Jaja up with my hands at her sides and fell backward onto the bed. Jaja smiles a carefree smile as she jiggled her arms and legs in delight. I can¡¯t get enough of this. The time I spend lounging with Jaja on the big canopied bed is priceless. It would have been even better if Nana could have played with us, but she¡¯s not feeling well right now, so she¡¯s on absolute bed rest. Apparently, she¡¯s a lot more delicate than we thought, and the unfamiliar air has given her a fever. When I touched her forehead earlier, I was startled by the ridiculously high fever and panicked, but Aoi said it was nothing to dragons. I was a little skeptical, but if Aoi says so, then it must be so. I heard that Alba¡¯s examination was over and he gave us some medicine, so for now we¡¯ll just have to wait and see. I¡¯m worried, you know. Dragon or not, a baby is still a baby. Even a small cold or illness can put a much greater burden on a baby¡¯s body than on an adult. Nana, in particular, cries so loudly that it makes me uneasy to watch her. A while ago, I was so worried about Nana that I was pacing around Aoi with Jaja in my arms when I was told angrily, ¡®Kunpei-san is also like a sick person, please stay in bed!¡¯ She got angry at me. Well, my worrying won¡¯t make Nana feel any better, and I can¡¯t do anything for her. At best, I could do the joint breastfeeding that I couldn¡¯t do yesterday. We just finished that, and now there¡¯s nothing more I can do for Nana. ¡°Papa, you really are incompetent¡­¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± When Jaja heard my complaint, she tilted her head. It¡¯s so cute. ¡°She won¡¯t let go of my breasts, will she?¡± Aoi, sitting on the sofa smiled as she held Nana who was squirming. ¡°You want to be pampered, don¡¯t you? It¡¯s because you¡¯re sick.¡± Everyone wants to be pampered when they are sick. Even Shouhei comes to me in a tearful voice when he has a fever. It may be hard to believe, but it¡¯s true. He seems to be in good health these days, but up until the year before last, he was always sick in bed when the seasons changed. My brother. ¡°Nana? You¡¯re full, aren¡¯t you? Mama wants to go to the bathroom.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± ¡°Haha, okay.¡± As soon as I tried to release Aoi¡¯s breast, which Nana was holding in her mouth, she immediately started to squirm. It¡¯s been almost an hour since Jaja and her started breastfeeding, but Nana never took her mouth off the breast. ¡°I guess a pacifier won¡¯t work. I mean, they¡¯re kind of similar.¡± Both Nana and Jaja don¡¯t use pacifiers very often. ¡°It¡¯s all about the temperature and sound, isn¡¯t it? Didn¡¯t father-in-law say something like that before?¡± Yeah, the one about the mother¡¯s heartbeat. ¡°The shape is different, too. A pacifier and mine¡¯s.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Would you like to check?¡± Aoi turned her body towards me and Jaja with a somewhat triumphant look on her face. I quickly turned over and looked away. That was close. I almost saw it. Don¡¯t do that. You startled me. ¡°You can touch me if you want. You¡¯re more than welcome.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯m saying that if Kunpei-san asks for it, I will never refuse.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Let¡¯s not talk like that when Jaja and Nana are awake, okay? It¡¯s embarrassing. I don¡¯t know. Something¡¯s wrong with Aoi. I can¡¯t really explain it, but it¡¯s like she¡¯s more aggressive, more proactive, more excited than usual. The usual Aoi is also very flirty, but today she seems to be one step more than that. When I woke up once last night. What was Aoi trying to do then? She was trying to¡­ kiss me, wasn¡¯t she? In the past, she would touch my body, but she would wait for my action, or rather, she would be passive from there. In the morning, she gave me a big hug when we met, and while we were eating, she kept looking at my face and smiling. When I tried to take a bath, she tried to come with me, and when she buried her face in the clothes I took off, I felt a little scared. What is it really? Is she in a hurry? It¡¯s like a big dog waiting to be fed in front of you. ¡­Did something happen yesterday after all? Did I do something? ¡°Shouhei-san and Ru-anesama, went out to eat, right?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah. Prince Atol said he would show them around the city, so they went out to eat for lunch.¡± Nana finally started to nod off, so Aoi whispered. Shouhei and Rouge were out, so that we could breastfeed. They were out sightseeing in the city, guided by Kayone and Utai. The name of this town is Inteira. It¡¯s a rural town in Dailan, governed by Kayone and Utai¡¯s family. We¡¯ve come all this way to a foreign country, and it would be a shame if we didn¡¯t see some things. Both of them were reluctant to leave us, but there was no reason for all of us to be holed up in the room, so I forced them out. I could tell just by looking at them that they were bored, so I¡¯m sure they¡¯re enjoying themselves right now. Prince Atol had given us some money so we could eat out, and I heard that there were many people who could speak Japanese, so I wasn¡¯t worried about the language. The guide is a local, so I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll know some good restaurants. Prince Atol, perhaps feeling responsible for the accident with the transference circle, said he would take care of us all while we were in the Sphere Continent. And by everything, I mean travel and food expenses. We don¡¯t even know how many nights we¡¯ll be staying on this trip. To be honest, I was prepared to have the Kazmachi family¡¯s wallet stretched pretty thin, so I gladly accepted the offer. Shouhei and Aoi were reluctant to accept, but I wouldn¡¯t change my mind. If you offer it to me, I¡¯ll take it without reservation. After all, we¡¯re just ordinary citizens from ordinary families. We don¡¯t intend to spend that much money on a single meal, and we¡¯ll be fine as long as you rent us two rooms in this mansion. As expected, we buy our own souvenirs, so we can minimize the amount we have to ask the prince for. I don¡¯t know what would happen if Rouge ate a full meal, but he¡¯s a prince. I don¡¯t think he¡¯d go broke over it. I don¡¯t know, though. He also said that he would provide me with a maid 24 hours a day, but I refused. We don¡¯t really have anything to ask for. We might ask to do some shopping once in a while, but our family tradition is to take care of most things ourselves. As my father says, ¡®Don¡¯t take advantage of others.¡¯ There¡¯s a big difference between relying on others and being spoiled. If you know where the maids¡¯ are, all you have to do is go there and ask for help. They don¡¯t have to stand in front of this room all the time. Standing all the time is just tiring. ¡°Fuaaah¡± Jaja, who had been resting her cheek on my chest for some time, yawned loudly. She was playing with me because she couldn¡¯t sleep because of Nana¡¯s crying, but she must have wanted to sleep for a long time. I patted her back. ¡°Uyuuuu¡± There it was. This is the mysterious voice that babies sometimes make. It¡¯s a super cute voice that I often hear when they¡¯re sleepy or when they feel good. ¡°Is Jaja going to sleep?¡± ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s probably already half asleep.¡± Aoi comes up to the bed with Nana in her arms. Miss? Are you aware of what¡¯s going on with your breasts right now? Well, Nana¡¯s still sucking on them, so it can¡¯t be helped. If you can, at least pretend to try to hide them. ¡°There we go.¡± While adjusting the angle of how she was carrying Nana, Aoi lied down next to me. What is that complicated movement? Moms are really skilled. How can she change her position while having her breasts sucked? ¡°Shall we eat when Jaja and Nana are asleep?¡± ¡°Ah, then I¡¯ll go.¡± ¡°No, no, I¡¯ll go. Today is a day for Kunpei-san to rest. It¡¯s my day to work hard.¡± ¡°Just because I¡¯m a little tired doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m sick.¡± It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t have as much energy as I used to, physically and mentally. Besides, it¡¯s a low-difficulty quest where you just have to go downstairs to the kitchen to get some food. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ve decided that I¡¯ll do everything today.¡± ¡°If you say so, well, I¡¯ll leave it to you.¡± Aoi was lying next to me, and Nana was curled up to fill the space. Even though it was such a large and luxurious bed, the space the four of us were using was very small. Aoi reached out and stroked Jaja¡¯s back, then placed her hand over mine and smiled. The pale sunlight that filtered through the blackout curtains made Aoi¡¯s beautiful hair glisten. ¡°¡­ Hey¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Aoi looked at me with a gentle smile. ¡°Are you happy about something?¡± ¡°I¡¯m full of joy every day.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Well then¡­ that¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I started to hear Jaja¡¯s little sleepy breathing. She wasn¡¯t deep asleep yet, so neither of us could move. Jaja is a very sensitive child and wakes up at the slightest hint of someone¡¯s absence. Nana, on the other hand, still goes at her own pace and sleeps whenever she wants to. The only things that can wake her up are Aoi and Jaja¡¯s cries. It¡¯s hard to judge whether they¡¯re thick-headed or delicate, but that¡¯s how babies are. I touch Nana¡¯s back with my free hand. It¡¯s warm. It feels good. It really makes me sleepy. ¡°Do you want to get some sleep?¡± ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll probably fall asleep.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay, you must be tired. Take your time. I¡¯ll have some food ready for you when you wake up.¡± ¡°Thank you so much¡­.¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s because I¡¯m your wife.¡± ¡°¡­ a good wife.¡± I¡¯m already half in dream world. ¡°My husband is a wonderful man.¡± What¡¯s that? Praise doesn¡¯t get you anywhere, you know? It would be a shame to spend all my time sleeping, even though it was my first time abroad. But somehow, I feel like I¡¯m spending a very luxurious time. On the soft bed, I could feel Jaja and Nana¡¯s body heat. Aoi¡¯s nice and gentle smell tickled the back of my nose. Ever since I woke up today, I¡¯ve been feeling a hazy feeling in my chest. Is it my imagination, or am I forgetting something very important? Something that I shouldn¡¯t forget. I keep forgetting things that I shouldn¡¯t forget. But for now, let¡¯s get some sleep. Still, I¡¯m really sleepy. Chapter 173 - Us of the Future AN: This chapter contains some spoilers for the future, so if you don¡¯t like spoilers, be warned! ¡°Sis, what are you going to do for Dad¡¯s birthday?¡± My twin sister asked me, lying her face against the low table. It was a Sunday afternoon. My sister and I spend our time in different ways. I was on the bunk bed reading a book I borrowed from the library, while my sister was reading a shoujo manga she borrowed from a friend. It¡¯s amazing that she read through all 12 volumes in just two hours. I don¡¯t think I can match her power of concentration as an older sister. ¡°I¡¯ve already thought about it.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Why are you surprised? Because Dad¡¯s birthday is the day after tomorrow. It¡¯s too late to ask for advice now. ¡°That¡¯s not fair! We were planning it together even last year!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who insisted that we separate this year.¡± I remember you saying that you don¡¯t want to give childish gifts like before because we¡¯re in the upper grades of elementary school this year. ¡°Is that right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Let¡¯s see, last year I think it was¡­ oh yeah we drew a picture and gave it to him. I drew a picture of dad on a big piece of construction paper and Nana colored it and I wrote, ¡°Happy birthday! I love you!¡± Nana didn¡¯t like the words ¡®I love you¡¯ and we had a big fight. She¡¯s a shy person and she¡¯s always trying ways to be taller, and that¡¯s what this girl is. She really loves her daddy, but it¡¯s too childish so she wouldn¡¯t act spoiled. We¡¯re already in the upper grades of elementary school, so we¡¯ll take baths separately! And so on. I don¡¯t know who or what she¡¯s worrying about, but Nana has been cold to Dad lately. Me? I still love my dad. He¡¯s away from home for a couple of days for work, so I don¡¯t get to see him very often. So when he comes home, he gives me all the attention I can handle, and I rub his shoulders and step on his back to show my appreciation. There are five children: me, Nana, Lulu, Nito, and Sou-chan. My mom said that with five kids, my dad has to work a lot harder than other fathers. My grandfather is still working, Yuuno is helping my dad with his work, and Wera and Azui have their own gardens, so he doesn¡¯t have to worry about money, but he still has to work hard to save money for the future. It¡¯s tough. It¡¯s really hard. My friend¡¯s house is very different from ours. First of all, in a normal house, there is only one mother. They don¡¯t have three like we do. To be more precise, there are two mothers and one and a half mothers, so maybe three and a half. I guess. Yuuno mama is the only one who is properly married to dad, but our mom and Rouge mama are also his wives. We still don¡¯t know why it¡¯s so complicated, but we think it¡¯s okay because our moms seem to be happy. Lulu is one year younger than me, and Nito is four years younger. Sou-chan or Souhei was born last year. The reason why I have cute sisters and brothers is because I have three and a half moms. So I have nothing to complain about. But don¡¯t tell the others. I have a lot of moms. They say it¡¯s better not to tell anyone, because if they find out, it¡¯ll be a big problem. But most of the people in this town know about us, so it doesn¡¯t matter. The Kazamachi family is famous in this town. My dad has a fan club, you know? He doesn¡¯t seem to know about it, though. My moms are doing their best to hide it, and he¡¯s not really into that kind of stuff. Oh, yeah. There¡¯s another secret. We¡¯re dragons, which is also pretty famous in this town. My twin sister Nana, Lulu, daughter of Rouge mama, Nito, daughter of Yuuno mama and Alice mama, and Souhei. Souhei is a boy, but he¡¯s a dragon, so everyone was really excited about him. My very cute little brother. My little brother, with his little pudgy hands. His cheeks were soft and springy. His short horns, the same color as mama¡¯s and mine, are so adorable that our family has been in love with him for the past year. At first, Nito was upset because she thought that Sou-chan had taken all of us, but now she plays with Sou-chan more than anyone else. Even Nito is insanely cute, so you shouldn¡¯t have to worry about him. ¡°Ahhh¡­ What should I do? I haven¡¯t prepared anything.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you sing a song like you did in second grade?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s childish! We¡¯re already in the fourth grade!¡± Childish or not, we¡¯re still kids. I wonder why she tries to act so mature. ¡°By the way, what did you do?¡± ¡°I knitted with mom. She made a sweater and I made a scarf.¡± It¡¯s a beautiful blue scarf, the same color as our wings, tail and hair. In fact, I¡¯ve been working hard on it since last year, and I¡¯m very proud of it. Mom taught me how to make it, and after many failed attempts, I finally completed it. I hope dad will be happy with it. ¡°¡­ father complex.¡± I was grinning, imagining my dad praising me, when Nana blurted that out. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with liking dad?¡± He¡¯s always working so hard for us. How could I not like him? ¡°Out of all of us, only you like dad way too much. You even still take baths together.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with taking a bath with your dad, right?¡± I just wash his back. Even if I don¡¯t, I don¡¯t get to spend much time and get spoiled by my dad. Because I¡¯m the eldest daughter. My younger sisters still want to be pampered, so I have to give priority to them, so I can¡¯t monopolize my dad except for bath time. ¡°You keep saying that, but Nana has a father complex too, you know.¡± ¡°Me? No way.¡± You just don¡¯t have any self-awareness. She never leaves dad¡¯s side when he¡¯s home, and the way she happily reports to him about school and her friends is definitely the same as mine. ¡°Well if you don¡¯t like it, that¡¯s fine. What are you going to do for a present?¡± ¡°What should I do!¡± With her tail wagging, Nana plopped down on the table. I climbed down the ladder of the bunk bed and sat across the table from her. It¡¯s very quiet in our house today. Sou-chan, mom, and Grandma are at Yule Grandma¡¯s place. Rouge mama has been helping Azui and Wera with the garden since a while ago. My grandpa, dad, and Yuuno mama are at work, and uncle Shouhei left for university abroad this spring. It¡¯s just us, Lulu and Nito in the house now. My younger sisters are watching cartoons in the living room, and they¡¯ll probably storm into our room soon, saying they¡¯re hungry. ¡°What do you want for lunch?¡± ¡°Are you going to make it?¡± ¡°Why do you look so worried?¡± That¡¯s rude! I can make a simple meal too! Unlike Nana, I help my mom and dad a lot and I¡¯m uncle Shouhei¡¯s apprentice! ¡°That cake you made the other day¡­¡± ¡°T-that was the first time I made it, and I just burned it by accident!¡± I remembered that I tried to make a Christmas cake by myself and failed spectacularly. Damn¡­ this girl only remembers the things that don¡¯t matter. ¡°Well, do you want me to have Rouge mama make it for you?¡± ¡°I love my sister¡¯s food!¡± Hmph. That¡¯s better. ¡°Jaja, Nana. I¡¯m hungry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m hungry!¡± The door of the room slowly opened, and Lulu and Nito came in. Lulu with her short red hair and Nito with his long green hair. They are my two younger sisters, cute and adorable. ¡°Okay. What do you want?¡± I stood up and rolled up the sleeves of my arms. ¡°Omelet!¡± ¡°Nito too!¡± Nito jumped up and down in agreement with Lulu¡¯s cheerful reply. Leave it to me! I¡¯ll make a very tasty omelet! Hmm, what about a cheese omelet? ¡°What? I want a gratin.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll take a long time to make a gratin now. Just so you know, you¡¯re going to help too, okay?¡± You should help out sometime! Mom¡¯s going to get mad at you again, you know? ¡°Nana-nee¡¯s going to cook as well?¡± ¡°Can you cook?¡± ¡°Yes, I can!¡± She¡¯s so vain again. You rarely go near the kitchen, so how can you cook? ¡°Then let¡¯s go downstairs. Lulu, can you go downstairs and tell Rouge mama and them that it¡¯s time to eat?¡± Just behind the house, there is a garden owned by Wera-nee and Azui-nee. The living room is connected to the garden, so taking messages there is one of the ways that even little Lulu can help. ¡°You can do it, right?¡± ¡°Yes! Lulu¡¯s in the third grade now!¡± ¡°What a good girl!¡± Lulu smiled triumphantly as I stroked her bright red hair, which was the same as Rouge Mama¡¯s. Nito, who was watching the scene, enviously tugged at the edge of my clothes. I think I¡¯ll make another request to Nito, who is even smaller than Lulu. ¡°As for Nito-chan, that¡¯s right. Can you please help prepare the bath? I¡¯m sure Rouge mama and them will come back muddy and will be happy with that?¡± ¡°Yes! Yes, Nito can do it! I can do it!¡± Nito laughed with a big smile on her face. ¡°Alright, good girl.¡± I lifted Nito up and rubbed her cheek. Yep, my sisters are too cute! Except for one Nana, who was still not happy. If only she were more honest, she¡¯d be so cute. ¡°Are Lulu and the others going to do something for dad¡¯s birthday?¡± Nana stood up and stroked Lulu¡¯s head, her eyes narrowed and she looked comfortable. ¡°I¡¯m going to sing a song with Nito. I practiced with Yuuno mama and Alice mama.¡± ¡°You know¡­ you¡¯re in third grade now, why don¡¯t you do something else?¡± ¡°You did the same thing, Nana. Last year.¡± ¡°Ugh.¡± Nana was dismayed by the fact that she had hit the nail on the head. It¡¯s a punishment for saying something unnecessary. Your cute sisters are trying to do something cute, so why don¡¯t you just give them an honest compliment? It¡¯s the only time they get to do that. If they acted weird and mature like Nana, they would never do it again. I¡¯m sure my dad would love to hear Lulu and Nito sing. ¡°Nana says she¡¯s going to do something even better.¡± ¡°Even better?¡± ¡°Oneechan!¡± Nito, who was overly surprised by my words, gazed at Nana with expectant eyes. There¡¯s no one in our house who can match those sparkling eyes. ¡°What are you doing?¡± Lulu also looked up at Nana, her eyes shining. ¡°Ugh¡­ it¡¯s a secret! It¡¯s just a fun thing to do on the day!¡± Nana, who could no longer bear the stares of her two sisters, turned away and looked away. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it!¡± ¡°Yeah. I wonder what she¡¯ll do.¡± As I left the room with Nito in my arms, Lulu and Nana followed. ¡°¡­ Oneechan, I¡¯ll hate you.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t heaaar you.¡± I ignored Nana¡¯s bitter words and went down the stairs. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s make some omelets.¡± ¡°Omelet!¡± ¡°Omere!¡± ¡°yay¡­¡± Lulu shouted energetically at my words, and Nito, tripped over her words. Nana seemed to be forcing herself to get more excited. The four sisters of the Kazamachi household, who were slightly famous in this town, were always like this. Now, the eldest sister is going to do her best to fill the bellies of her cute younger sisters. Chapter 174 Well, for the time being, we¡¯ve been in a flurry of activity due to too many things happening, but for the time being, we¡¯ve made it to our destination, the sphere continent and the small country of Dailan located in the southeast of it. Our goal here is to find and secure the ¡®Azinanka¡¯ ore that will release the spirits stored in Jaja and Nana¡¯s bodies. Alba Germain says that we also need another type of ore, but we don¡¯t have any information about it, so we¡¯ll put it off for later. Azinanka, a rare mineral, is apparently a restricted export item, so it won¡¯t be easy to obtain. That was what I was thinking. ¡°Hmm? Azinanka ore? I don¡¯t have a huge amount, but you can take a kilo or so with you.¡± ¡°What?¡± The second night. I was explaining the purpose of my trip to Prince Atol in the parlor before my bath, and I got it easily. ¡°We banned the export of the ore because it was too scarce and too important. The amount offered to the royal family was not of much use, and it was accumulating year after year. I¡¯ve been told that if it¡¯s allotted to me, I¡¯m free to use it as I please. No one would complain if I gave it to you guys.¡± ¡°Are you sure? I thought you said you¡¯re not allowed to export it.¡± ¡°What are you guys talking about now that you¡¯re smuggled into the country with the royal family¡¯s approval?¡± I see. No, not really. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s a good idea to give it away so easily. ¡°The Azinanka stone has the property of absorbing the magic power of anyone who touches it and dispersing it into the air. Processed accessories are used as a safety measure to prevent criminals from using magic. This itself is very important as a source of income, since only Dailan has the know-how to manufacture it, but the profits are not that huge. It wouldn¡¯t be a problem if some of it made its way to other countries.¡± ¡°I-I see.¡± ¡°If you¡¯d told me first, then I wouldn¡¯t have had to come to Dailan.¡± ¡°I thought you knew about it.¡± I didn¡¯t even know how much that rat was going to explain. What a half-baked sage. I don¡¯t really get it, but I guess I had achieved the goal of my trip. To be honest, I was prepared to cross a dangerous bridge, but now my father will be relieved. So, what should I do now? I thought it would take a long time, but now I have nothing to do at all. ¡°Hmm. Nana¡¯s condition is still not back to normal, so can we stay at the mansion for a while?¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s fine. As for the royal plane that will take you back, it hasn¡¯t come back to Dailan yet. I heard that it¡¯s currently in New York with third brother. If someone has interfered with the transference magic circle in Dailan¡¯s royal tomb, it is not possible for him to return by transference.¡± ¡°You still don¡¯t know what happened?¡± That transfer accident had never happened since the beginning of Dailan, and it seemed to be affecting many things. It¡¯s not my fault, but I feel bad about it. ¡°¡­No idea at all. The transference magic of the Royal Tombs are a kind of ancient magic that is half lost. The activation formula and how to access the system has been handed down in the royal family for generations, but the crucial transfer logic is a black box. There is no way to know how the transfer formula was rewritten, or even if it was truly man-made. I don¡¯t even want to think about the fact that there are people who can interfere with it. It¡¯s a magic circle made up of the bodies of more than several hundred thousand demons. Normally, the backflow of magic power would cause the body to explode from the inside, killing you.¡± ¡°So¡­ you have no idea?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t understand, just say so.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even understand half of what you said!¡± Don¡¯t talk to me with technical terms! Go easy on the amateurs! I think it¡¯s time you understood the level of my brain. ¡°I¡¯m sure that Riot, who is a collector of magic tools, is more familiar with the theory behind the¡­ magic system. The demons who can use magic originally use it with their senses and instincts, so it¡¯s tough to explain to a layman.¡± He¡¯ll definitely look at me like I was an idiot with a smug look on his face! I can¡¯t stand that! ¡°This may have implications for your daughters, the dragons, in the future. There¡¯s no harm in knowing about it, right?¡¡I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be able to understand that the power of dragon qi and spirits, which is unknown energy to us, is essentially the same as magic power, as the sage said.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, I think I¡¯ve read something about that, too¡­ Oh, right. That¡¯s why we need Azinanka, right?¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Oh, stop it. Don¡¯t look at me like that. ¡°For now, I don¡¯t care what you do here until Nana-sama¡¯s health improves. As long as you stay in this country, I will be happy to give you any help you need. I won¡¯t complain even if you bankrupt me.¡± ¡°What the hell do you want me to do?¡± I¡¯m glad you feel that way, but¡­ It¡¯s too heavy, Atol. The only luxuries we can think of are good food and good lodging. If you want to bankrupt royalty, you¡¯ll have to buy a city or a plane or something, right? Ah, but Shouhei wanted a new game console¡­ And my dad¡¯s golf set, and Aoi and Rouge¡¯s clothes¡­ Oh yeah, the kids¡¯ clothes! I thought it was time for a new look. They¡¯ve been growing so fast lately. Their animal sets also looks tight. Is that okay? Atol says he¡¯s willing to help in any way he can, so that¡¯s fine, right? We can also buy some souvenirs for Wera and Azui, and the total amount would be around 100,000 yen, right? No, but you know what? As expected, wouldn¡¯t that be too reliant on others? How is that for a Kazamachi? Be modest in everything you do, and don¡¯t cause trouble for others. Do what you can on your own! ¡­I¡¯m sure even my dad will overlook a few things. Alright. I¡¯ve got nothing better to do and I¡¯m bored. I¡¯ll just enjoy my first trip abroad until Alba says we can go home! I¡¯ve heard that the southern coast of Dailan is a bit of a resort area, and there¡¯s even a shopping mall for tourists. And it looks like they¡¯re going to show us the royal capital, which is only a short distance from here! I¡¯ll take the girls shopping there! ¡°With Atol¡¯s money!¡± ¡°You¡¯re too dumb to realize it, but you just voiced your thoughts halfway through, okay?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s okay.¡± ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô ¡°That¡¯s why. We¡¯ll stay here until Nana is feeling better.¡± ¡°Dah!¡± After the bath, I gathered everyone together and announced today¡¯s decisions and the schedule for the future. As I sat on the couch, Princess Jaja on my lap cheerfully gave me a few words. Thank you. I¡¯ll give you a belly rub in return. There you go. ¡°Kya!¡± Oh, you¡¯re pleased, aren¡¯t you? ¡°Hmm. That¡¯s good, because Nana¡¯s fever hasn¡¯t gone down yet.¡± Rouge, her wet red hair unkempt, sat in a chair and flapped her shirt across her chest. Stop that! In the first place, you don¡¯t usually wear underwear or anything like that, so we¡¯ve got glimpses of something that are bad for me and Shouhei! Don¡¯t try to tempt adolescent boys like that! Please! ¡°Ru-anesama, you need to dry your hair.¡± ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not. Come here, please.¡± Holding the hairdryer and hairbrush that were provided in the room in both hands, Aoi called Rouge to the three-sided mirror on the wall. It¡¯s a big, needlessly extravagant, three-sided mirror. It¡¯s so big that it could completely reflect me. ¡°You have such beautiful hair, but you¡¯re too careless.¡± ¡°Aoi¡¯s hair is more beautiful.¡± ¡°No, Ru-anesama¡¯s hair will be even better than mine if you take good care of it.¡± Aoi is not going to deny that her hair is beautiful. Aoi is proud of her mysteriously long, natural and shiny hair, and she never fails to take care of it before going to bed and after waking up. It is the only thing that this quiet girl, who doesn¡¯t want to put herself forward too much, is proud of. No, she¡¯s the only one who thinks so, but there are many other things she can be proud of. She¡¯s a hard worker, she¡¯s honest, she¡¯s cute. Well, it¡¯s my fault for being too embarrassed to praise her, isn¡¯t it? I think it¡¯s okay to have a little higher self-esteem. ¡°So, are you going to stay in Inteira for a few more days?¡± Shouhei was sitting cross-legged on the bed while holding Nana, who was nodding off in his arms. ¡°What? Do you want to go to the capital as soon as possible?¡± ¡°When Kayone showed us around today, there was a place I was curious about, so I thought maybe we could go there.¡± Ah right, Shouhei and Rouge took a look around this city of Inteira territory with Kayone¡¯s guidance. The city of Inteira, ruled by Kayone and Utai¡¯s family, is the most rural city in Dailan. However, it¡¯s a bit more prosperous than the city we live in. It¡¯s amazing that there are streetcars running through the city. I can see the tram line from the window of this room, and it seems to be called a magic tram, which is being operated on a trial basis with technical support from Japan, and has revolutionized the traffic situation in Dailan in the past few years. I heard about something slightly difficult so I didn¡¯t really pay attention, but I heard that Dailan is improving the accuracy of the new magical technology that is scheduled to be used in Japan by operating it on a trial basis. I heard that Dailan, which supports its country with magic technology, is more interested in this kind of technology that combines science and magic than other countries. Well, I¡¯m not sure. ¡°If there¡¯s anything you want to see, ask them to show you tomorrow. We¡¯re finally overseas, it would be a waste of time if you¡¯re hesitant.¡± ¡°But you and Aoi haven¡¯t left the house at all¡­¡± ¡°Well, we can¡¯t take our eyes off Nana.¡± Don¡¯t worry about it, my brother. ¡°Hmm. Kunpei is dense.¡± ¡°What?¡± Rouge, who was being blown around by the hairdryer in front of the mirror, looked at me with a rare scowl. That hairdryer is a magic tool, so it emits air very quietly. ¡°Shouhei wants to go sightseeing with Kunpei. Even when he was going around town with me, he kept talking about Kunpei.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± While combing Rouge¡¯s hair, Aoi asked Shouhei while looking into the mirror. ¡®R-Rouge-neechan!¡± ¡°Hii!¡± Shouhei¡¯s loud voice, startled Nana, who was being held, awake. Oh, she was almost asleep. ¡°Oh, Nana, I¡¯m sorry, okay? It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°Fu, fuah, hic.¡± Oops, the way she¡¯s straining and breathing¡­ it looks like the countdown to her crying has begun. ¡°Alright Jaja, let¡¯s swap with Nana. Here¡¯s Shouhei-nii-chan.¡± I picked up Jaja, got up from the sofa and approached the bed. ¡°Da!¡± I sat Jaja down next to Shouhei and took Nana, who looked like she was about to start crying, instead. I gently pressed Nana¡¯s head against my shoulder and rocked her body while patting her back. She¡¯s a little startled, but she¡¯s already half asleep, isn¡¯t she? So, if you do this, you can let her know that there¡¯s nothing to be afraid of. There, there, go to sleep. Hmm, she¡¯s still a little hot. Poor thing. ¡°I think it¡¯s good for you and Shouhei to go out together once in a while. Shouhei loves his big brother after all.¡± ¡°N-no, it¡¯s not like that.¡± I see. Well, I haven¡¯t been able to give him much attention since the twins were born. ¡°Well then, you two should go out together tomorrow. Ru-anesama and I will take care of Jaja and Nana.¡± ¡°Leave it to me. Or rather, let me.¡± The two dragon girls were telling me that. I guess I¡¯ll take their word for it here. ¡°Alright then, Shouhei. Let¡¯s go out together tomorrow.¡± ¡°Uh-uh, yes!¡± Oh my, your eyes are shining so brightly, so easy to read. He¡¯s such a cute little brother. ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Jaja is staying home.¡± ¡°Dah?¡± Jaja tilted her head at Aoi¡¯s voice. Chapter 175 ¡°Is it here?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s called Interira¡¯s Guradian Lighthouse.¡± With the guidebook Kayone had prepared in hand, Shouhei and I looked up at the lighthouse. The lighthouse stood tall on a mountain overlooking the city of Inteira. Inteira is a port city. It¡¯s not very big, but it has a solid fishing port. At the foot of the mountain where we are, there were the mansions of the lords of the city, the Inteira family and Atol¡¯s, and from here the city spreads out towards the sea. ¡°It was big from below, but it¡¯s even bigger up close.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t see many lighthouses like this in Japan.¡± The lighthouse looked sturdy, built with a lot of red bricks. The lighthouse¡¯s simple yet somehow solemn atmosphere could be attributed to the fact that its battered exterior walls, which were exposed to the sea wind, had been well repaired. I see. On top of this mountain, the light of the lighthouse stands out well even if it is a little far away. ¡°Did you know? The light at the top is from a magical flame that has been kept alive by generations of lighthouse keepers for hundreds of years.¡± ¡°Really? So they¡¯ve been using the same light as a landmark for a long time to guide their ships.¡± That¡¯s so romantic. A magical flame that never goes out and keeps watching over the city of Inteira. I wonder if that¡¯s where the name guardian comes from. ¡°Can you go up?¡± ¡°The only time it¡¯s open to the public is before the finals of the Sea Dragon Festival. Only lighthouse keepers can enter now.¡± The Sea Dragon Festival? You mean the Battle Junkie Festival? The one that Atol won. ¡°I wish I could have seen the inside.¡± While reading the guidebook in Japanese, Shouhei wiped the sweat from his face with a towel. We took a bus from the base to the middle of the mountain, and then walked to the top. It must have been pretty hard for the physically weak Shouhei. He had been drinking nothing but bottled tea. The trail was well maintained and had a safety fence, so it was a bit of a steep slope. My brother¡¯s biggest weakness is that he is not physically strong enough. It¡¯s not that he can¡¯t exercise, it¡¯s just that he has no endurance. There¡¯s nothing that can be done about that. Shouhei has always been a weak person. When he caught a cold, he would stay in bed for a week, and he also had chronic headaches and stomachaches. His bronchial tubes were weak and he coughed easily, and he was always too sick to exercise. Although it got better in his upper years in elementary school, he still complains of headaches when it rains, and he always gets sick in the winter. The second son of the Kazamachi family is just as sickly as he looks. ¡°Nii-chan, let¡¯s go over there. Look, you can see the whole city!¡± Such a sickly boy is running to the observation space under the lighthouse with sparkling eyes. ¡°Okay, I get it, so don¡¯t run. You¡¯ll fall.¡± You¡¯re awfully energetic even though you¡¯re exhausted from climbing. Did you want to see it so badly? This lighthouse. It stands out. It¡¯s my first time abroad. It would be a shame if we didn¡¯t visit the famous tourist spots in the area. There¡¯s a chance that the Kazamachi family¡¯s financial standing will never allow us to leave Japan again, so let¡¯s make sure we enjoy it. ¡°Hurry up, nii-chan! You can see the ocean! You can see the prince¡¯s house over there.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be right there. Take your time.¡± I weaved my way through the noise of other tourists looking up at the lighthouse and setting up their cameras. I turned on the camera function on my phone and pointed the viewfinder at Shouhei as I walked. I took a shot of his back as he looked at the scenery happily. He¡¯s grown up, hasn¡¯t he? Just a while ago he was only up to my chest, but before I realized it, he¡¯s almost as tall as my neck. Like Jaja and Nana, Shouhei is growing day by day. I wonder if he¡¯ll stop acting spoiled with me when he gets a little bigger. I don¡¯t know much about other siblings, but I think Shouhei and I get along pretty well. I often get angry with him, but we rarely fight over trivial things these days, and he¡¯s not too selfish. As the good-for-nothing older brother, I¡¯d like to spoil him a little more, but Shouhei is obedient and smarter than me. If anything, I feel like I¡¯m taking advantage of him more than he¡¯s taking advantage of me, but I don¡¯t think I should worry about it. Yeah, let¡¯s not think about it too much. ¡°I¡¯m glad the weather is nice.¡± ¡°Yeah. I wish I could show it to Jaja and Nana.¡± Shouhei clung to the fall prevention fence and looked at the scenery. I stood next to him and looked at his profile as well as the scenery. The chestnut hair he inherited from mom was swaying in the wind. ¡°Shall we come back again when Nana is feeling better?¡± ¡°Yes. It would be a shame not to see it.¡± The two of us looked at the scenery for a while. I stroked Shouhei¡¯s head for some reason. I always unconsciously stroke his fine hair because it feels so good to the touch. It¡¯s like a little habit of mine. ¡°What is it, nii-chan?¡± Shouhei looked a little uncomfortable and gave me a protesting look. ¡°Hmm? Nothing?¡± Still, I couldn¡¯t stop stroking him. That¡¯s good. He might not let me pet him again in a little while, so I¡¯m going to pet him as much as I can while I can. It¡¯s a big brother privilege. Is he worried about the tourists around him, he¡¯s embarrassed. Your ears are bright red, Shouhei? ¡°¡­ I never would have thought I¡¯d be able to travel abroad last year.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Shouhei muttered in a faint voice. The strong wind blowing at the top of the mountain made it a little difficult to hear. ¡°Since we moved here in the spring, it¡¯s been completely different from last year, hasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s true. I never thought I¡¯d have a baby.¡± We met Aoi in early spring, Jaja and Nana were born, Rouge came, and then we welcomed Wera and Azui. In less than half a year, our house has become much livelier. Even outside of my family, I¡¯m getting to know Mikuma and Saeki sisters even better than before, even though I thought I¡¯d never see them again after moving and changing schools. I¡¯ve also gotten to know Yuri and Officer Doggy, and even Gasara and the others, with who I had a bad encounter with, are now, well, like my friends¡­ We were trying so hard to cope with the rapid changes that not only me and Shouhei, but even my dad was very busy. When I think about it, this is the first time since Jaja and Nana were born, isn¡¯t it? It was the first time since Jaja and Nana were born that Shouhei and I went out alone. As a big brother, it¡¯s pathetic. I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m neglecting my brother like that. ¡°¡­ At first. I didn¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°¡­ Didn¡¯t like what?¡± Shouhei, with his arms crossed on the fence and his chin resting on it, looked at the ocean with somewhat distant eyes. ¡°You know, Aoi-neechan and the little guys.¡± ¡°¡­ I see.¡± It¡¯s because everything was so sudden. Maybe it was Shouhei, not me, who was being pushed around the most. ¡°It¡¯s not like you did anything wrong, but she just suddenly selfishly called you the dad.¡± In the early days of living with Aoi and the others, I knew that Shouhei was somewhat distant from Aoi. At that time, I was so absorbed in taking care of the twins and crying at night that I neglected many things, which may have seemed unreasonable to Shouhei. I guess he was wondering why his brother. ¡°She gave birth to the child of the man she fell in love with without permission, and then told nii-chan that you were the father. Now I think about it, it¡¯s really absurd.¡± ¡°Aoi was also reserved at first, you know. I was the one who said I would take responsibility for the twins, so don¡¯t blame her too much.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think anything of it now, you know? Aoi-neechan is a good person, and she is a hard worker. Jaja and Nana are cute.¡± ¡°I see. Thanks.¡± ¡°Why are you thanking me?¡± Well, I don¡¯t know. Lately, I¡¯ve been feeling happy when Aoi compliments me. It¡¯s a little strange for me. ¡°Even now, sometimes. Sometimes, when Jaja or Nana cry or act out, I think, ¡®Why me¡¯? But when they laugh or act spoiled, I¡¯m like, ¡®Oh well¡¯. I don¡¯t know what it is. I can¡¯t really put my finger on it.¡± ¡°¡­ When I¡¯m tired or busy, you know. It happens to me sometimes.¡± I guess we¡¯re still kids after all this. ¡°But Aoi-neechan always seem to be fine, doesn¡¯t she? Even after all the crying at night, I think that¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s a great mom.¡± I¡¯m kind of proud of her. No matter how cranky Nana gets, or how rambunctious Jaja gets, Aoi will laugh and pick them up. I often see parenting troubles on TV and in magazines. My twins are no exception, and every day they have all sorts of little incidents. Nana throws a tantrum and doesn¡¯t want the baby bottle, Jaja tries to climb on the dining room chair and falls down. Such small problems occur over and over again in a day. Aoi is always in such a hurry to deal with them that she doesn¡¯t seem to have time to breathe. But she never complains or whines. There¡¯s no doubt about it. There are times when she needs help, and times when she just wants to be alone. Although she has lived for 250 years, Aoi is still a child compared to the other dragons. But she¡¯s still a great mother. It¡¯s not strange to be proud of her, is it? I want to take care of her somehow. I¡¯ve been thinking about it, but I don¡¯t know what to do. ¡°I¡¯m really grateful that you and Yuri-san are here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal.¡± Shouhei smiled tantalizingly when I strengthened my hand to pat his head. We have a lot of people helping us, not just Shouhei. Compared to other mothers, I think we have a lot of fun. If it were a normal couple with a child, the husband would have to work to earn money, and the mom would have to raise the child alone for almost half of the day. In this respect, we have a very experienced mother, Yuri-san, who follows us around, and Rouge, who loves to babysit, is happy to help. Recently, Wera and Azui have also joined us, so we have enough manpower. Shouhei does half of the housework, and only my dad is at work. ¡­ So I¡¯m the one who¡¯s useless. I¡¯m the only one doing nothing. The twins are left to Aoi when I¡¯m at school, and I¡¯m not helping out financially. I help with the housework, but it¡¯s really very little in the grand scheme of things. Just cleaning the bathroom and doing the dishes. If I wasn¡¯t a student, I wouldn¡¯t complain about being called a pimp. ¡°I should do something about it.¡± ¡°What?¡± Shouhei looked up at me curiously. When I brushed the sweaty hair from his forehead, he narrowed his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s money. It¡¯s getting tougher and tougher for dad to be the sole provider for our family of nine, isn¡¯t it?¡± Yes, the Kazamachi family¡¯s finances were already on the verge of the red line. It doesn¡¯t matter how cute the twins are, money is not something that can be dealt with nicely. If you don¡¯t go out and earn real money, you¡¯ll never get it. That¡¯s money. It¡¯s money. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were thinking about something?¡± ¡°Yeah, a little bit. I¡¯ve been talking to Gasara about it.¡± If I wanted to get a part-time job in town, I would have to go to the station to find one. Actually, I¡¯ve been looking for a part-time job since before the summer vacation, but since everyone in the countryside is looking for a way to earn money, I haven¡¯t been able to get a good response. I mean, I¡¯ve been so busy with Atol and this trip. ¡°Gasara-niichan?¡± ¡°Yeah, a treasure hunter. I was wondering how to become one.¡± Yes, I think I can do pretty well. There is a recently expanded tusk crag dungeon right near our house. According to Gasara and Seijitsu-san, that dungeon is a typical ¡®harvesting dungeon¡¯, the type of dungeon where you can gather dungeon-produced medicinal herbs, spirit plants, and rare minerals. In order to collect these items, which are sold at a high price depending on the item, it is essential to have a treasure hunter license, which is a qualification to enter the dungeon. If you don¡¯t have a license, you can¡¯t sell the items you collect to the market. I¡¯ve been approved by Gasara and Seijitsu-san to be able to handle the dungeon monsters in the surrounding forest area as long as I have the right equipment. So, if I can get a license, I might be able to make a living in that forest alone. It may be an easy idea, but if I¡¯m willing to bet on the possibility, I think it¡¯s totally feasible. When I get back to Japan, I¡¯m going to work it out with Gasara. ¡°¡­ Are you going to be a treasure hunter?¡± ¡°Gasara, who¡¯s the same age as me, can do it, so I feel like I have a chance.¡± To be honest, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d lose to Gasara if we were to go at each other with bare hands! Me! ¡°Isn¡¯t it dangerous?¡± ¡°The income is worth the risk, and it¡¯s not like I can really become one yet. Don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Dad¡¯s probably going to say no.¡± That¡¯s the thing, isn¡¯t it? The biggest obstacle is convincing my father. My father is quite overprotective, even though he looks like that. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll see about that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m against it.¡± I patted the pouting Shouhei on the head again. ¡°Well, it¡¯s still something far away, right? Now, where else are we going?¡± ¡°I was thinking of going to lunch. There¡¯s this place.¡± Shouhei opened the folded part of the guidebook and happily showed me a picture of the restaurant. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s nice.¡± ¡°Right? We can get some to-go here, so let¡¯s buy some for everyone.¡± ¡°Are we going to eat at the house?¡± ¡°We have to eat lunch together.¡± Really? Well, it¡¯s better to have a lively lunch. ¡°Shall we go?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Shouhei turned around energetically and hurried to the bus stop. ¡°It¡¯s not like the store is going to run away, so calm down.¡± ¡°I heard it¡¯s going to be crowded, so let¡¯s go quickly!¡± It can¡¯t be helped. He always looks like an adult, but he¡¯s still a kid. I felt somewhat reassured by the sight of my little brother, and I started walking after him. Chapter 176 ¡°What should we for the souvenirs?¡± The restaurant we wanted to visit was a little crowded, so we got a ticket from the clerk and waited on a bench outside. Shouhei, who had nothing to do while waiting, asked me while dangling his legs on the bench. ¡°We can¡¯t buy it now, it¡¯ll just become luggage. Let¡¯s buy it when we know the date of our return.¡± ¡°Yes, but we also need to buy something for Yuri-san, Ichika-neechan, Kou-chan, Officer Inoue, Gasara-niichan, and everyone at school. I have to buy a lot of things for the grannies in the neighborhood. We have to buy a lot of things, so we have to decide what to buy now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. I didn¡¯t think about it at all.¡± That¡¯s right. Aside from Gasara, I can¡¯t thank Yuri-san and the others enough for what they¡¯ve done for me. I have to give gifts to my neighbors, especially. Our house and the neighbor¡¯s house are far apart, but it¡¯s not as if we don¡¯t know each other at all. When we first moved in, we didn¡¯t have much contact with each other because we were hiding Aoi and the twins from each other, but since the incident at Tusk Crag, we¡¯ve become friends to the point where we usually greet each other. They greet me when I take Jaja and Nana for a walk, and since they¡¯re farmers, they¡¯ve even given me some of their vegetables. There are very few children in the area, so the twins seem to be especially loved. There are a lot of old people there. ¡°You should buy something for everyone in your class, too, nii-chan. You want to get along with them, right?¡± ¡°I was thinking of buying one for Makio, but I wondered if the guys in my class would be happy to get one from me.¡± I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll accept it in the first place. It seems that my image is really only slightly better now that the Tusk Crag incident is over and Makio is back to normal. I don¡¯t really feel it, but since Makio says so, I guess he¡¯s right. The chairperson cat beastman, Rina, Makio¡¯s childhood friend, is now able to talk to me normally. Some of the girls who seem to have good communication skills are starting to talk to me. Oh, I¡¯m so glad I moved to the country! I¡¯m really grateful to Makio! ¡°Are you going to give some to Makio-niichan? I¡¯ll give it to Hina-chan, so please don¡¯t give her any sweets.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Huh? ¡°Aside from Makio, I was thinking of an assortment of sweets since I¡¯m giving it to my classmates, but you¡¯re not?¡± I thought the only souvenirs from the trip would be food. Oh, wasn¡¯t Hina-chan and Shouhei in a different class to begin with? ¡°Oh, well¡­¡± Shouhei looked down at my words. His ears turned red. Oh? Ohhh? What¡¯s with that reaction? I¡¯ve been Shouhei¡¯s big brother since he was born, and this is the first time I¡¯ve seen such a reaction. ¡°Oh, you see. You know, Hina-chan often comes to our house to play. Makio-niichan is also your friend, so I thought she¡¯s a little different from other girls.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but¡­¡± He comes over to our house on his days off and brings us cakes and other gifts. There¡¯s nothing wrong with that, but why is he embarrassed? ¡°And look, it¡¯s weird to give it to Makio-niichan and not to Hina-chan!¡± ¡°Ohhh.¡± I see. Is that so? No, I¡¯m sure you¡¯re right, but you don¡¯t have to be so forceful about it. ¡°¡­¡­?¡± ¡°W-what? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m saying anything strange.¡± Sensing something in my gaze, Shouhei did his best to look away and turn his body the other way. His ears are so red I think they¡¯re going to catch fire. I see. He¡¯s cool and mature, so I¡¯ve never heard him talk about it before, but now he¡¯s a boy and he¡¯s conscious of the opposite sex. When I think about it, since he was young, he would come straight home after school without stopping anywhere because there was work to do at home. But now that Aoi and Yuri-san are here, he can leave a little bit of the work to them and go out with his friends after school. He used to have so much to do at home that he didn¡¯t have time for that, but now he has more contact with girls. And then there¡¯s Hina-chan. As the younger sister of his brother¡¯s friend, he has more contact with her than the other girls. You¡¯ve become conscious of her, haven¡¯t you? It was a simple gesture that made him fall in love with her. Puberty has arrived. It seems that my little brother has grown up one more time. I¡¯m both happy and sad. I wonder if my father would be happy or sad if I told him. What should I do if he asks me to cook red rice? I¡¯ll call him this evening and tell him. I¡¯m looking forward to it. I see. Hina-chan, huh? She is a quiet but strong girl who can take care of small children. There¡¯s nothing wrong with her as Shouhei¡¯s first love. In fact, she¡¯s the kind of girl you want to root for. The only problem is that she¡¯s Makio¡¯s sister. He seems to be trying to hide it from me and Gasara, but he has quite the sister complex. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll try to oppose it. It¡¯s my job as the older brother and friend of Makio to appease him. I know he cares about his sister, but I also want to support my brother¡¯s first love. I¡¯m sorry, Makio. Depending on the situation, I may become your enemy and stand against you. I hope you¡¯ll be prepared for that. ¡°I see. Shouhei is at that age, huh? You¡¯ve gotten bigger.¡± I grabbed his silky hair and shook. ¡°S-stop it! Don¡¯t make any weird assumptions.!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a misunderstanding, is it? You like her, right? You¡¯re in love with her, right?¡± Have you fallen in love? Did you fall in love with a cute girl in the same grade? No, my brother¡¯s love story! He¡¯s a lot stronger than I am, you know. We¡¯ve never talked about this before. ¡°Ughhhhhhhh! You¡¯re so annoying! You¡¯re like an old man!¡± ¡°Haha, sorry, sorry. I¡¯m just happy.¡± Yes, I¡¯m happy. So please forgive me if I get a little excited. ¡°You also have Aoi-neechan and Yunno-neechan, right? You should think about yourself instead of me!¡± ¡°That¡¯s the end after you say that, you know.¡± I won¡¯t be able to say anything. I know that much. I¡¯m aware that I¡¯m doing a terrible thing to those two by postponing the conclusion until now. As a man, I have to be sincere and honest with the two girls who are sincerely interested in me. Even if I end up being resented for it, it¡¯s something I have to bear. ¡­ Well, neither Aoi nor Mikuma is that type of girl. They might cry, but they won¡¯t hate me. It¡¯s also painful. What are these problems? Only good-looking people would be allowed to have such problems. I wonder why they both fell in love with such a crude and uncivilized guy like me. I think it¡¯s disrespectful to them to think that way, but I can¡¯t help it. If you look at me from a bird¡¯s eye view, you can¡¯t find anything to fall in love with. Really. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to do.¡± ¡°¡­ Do you like Aoi-neechan and Yunno-neechan?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re asking whether I like them or not, I do. It¡¯s hard to find such admirable and nice people like them.¡± However, I don¡¯t know if this feeling is love or not. ¡­ Though that¡¯s changing a bit lately. It¡¯s the way I feel about Aoi. When I¡¯m with the twins, and when I¡¯m not. When Aoi is around me, I naturally feel calm. There¡¯s a part of me that thinks it¡¯s strange that I¡¯m not there, as if it¡¯s normal for us to be together. This is clearly a different feeling than when I¡¯m with Mikuma. Yunno Mikuma is an old friend of mine. I¡¯ve known her since elementary school, and we¡¯ve known each other much longer than Aoi. But she¡¯s still a girl in my class, and she¡¯s a stranger to me. I know her better than most girls, but she¡¯s still the kind of girl that I have to pay attention to every move she makes. But I don¡¯t know about Aoi. When I was with her, the only time I really cared about anything was in the beginning. Now, the first face I see in the morning is Aoi, and the last face I see is Aoi. There is no sense of discomfort there at all. From good morning to good night, Aoi and I can stay together in our natural state. ¡­ I¡¯m also aware that the twins are a big part of this. That¡¯s because it¡¯s inseparable for me and Aoi. Even without that, the time I spend with her is comfortable. ¡°¡­ Maybe the conclusion has already been reached.¡± ¡°Nii-chan?¡± Shouhei peeked at me worriedly as I pondered for a while. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Hmm? Yeah, I¡¯m fine. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine then. Oh, I think we¡¯ve been called.¡± The female clerk who just gave me a numbered ticket was smiling and waving at me outside the store. We had to wait quite a while, but it seemed to be a popular restaurant, so I guess it couldn¡¯t be helped. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Shouhei, who had gotten off the bench with vigor, stepped into the store first. ¡°Ahh.¡± I got up from the bench and stretched. Looking at the sky, I was reminded that we were on the sphere continent. Far above, there was a ceiling made of rock, with large holes in various places in it. The sunlight shining through the holes poured brightly into the city. The ceiling must be the reason why it is so comfortable to live in such a hot climate. What¡¯s strange is the sense of seasonality; it¡¯s always summer on the continent, while Australia, which is almost at the same location, is in the middle of winter. I was told that this was due to the large-scale defensive magic that had been applied to the continent, but I couldn¡¯t understand much about it even after hearing the details. I looked at the restaurant. The restaurant was crowded with customers. It seemed to be a noodle restaurant unique to Dailan, and takeout was available. I¡¯m going to buy lunch here and have it with everyone at Atol¡¯s house. ¡°¡­ All that¡¯s left is my determination, right?¡± I muttered to myself and followed Shouhei. Yes, what¡¯s lacking is courage and determination. I was determined to face the reality of making a girl cry. I know. I¡¯m going to do something terrible. I won¡¯t complain if she hits me. I know she won¡¯t hit me, so it¡¯s not fair. Yunno Mikuma. The girl who was strong, kind, and told me she loved me. I have to face her feelings and give her an answer. Chapter 177 ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± ¡°What? Welcome back. Back already?¡± Aoi, who was changing Nana¡¯s clothes on the big bed, turned around. ¡°Yeah, I brought lunch. Where¡¯s Rouge?¡± I held up the bag of lunch I had bought and looked around the room. There was no sign of Rouge. In fact, Jaja wasn¡¯t there either. ¡°She went for a walk in the garden with Jaja because she went on a rampage and wanted to play. What happened to Shouhei-san?¡± Oh, I see. The first day she came here, she was quiet because she was scared of the unfamiliar room, but since yesterday, she¡¯s been getting nervous, right Jaja? I guess she was bored from being in the same room all the time. We couldn¡¯t let Nana out of the room, she¡¯s on absolute bed rest, so we¡¯re sorry but we had to ask her to put up with it. I¡¯m really glad Rouge was there. ¡°Shouhei went to Kayone¡¯s to return the guidebook.¡± He¡¯s really upright like that. If it were me, I¡¯d put it off. ¡°Nana? Papa bought lunch. Can mama eat some?¡± Aoi tickled Nana under the chin, who was wearing my thin short-sleeved T-shirt. It feels so good there, doesn¡¯t it? It¡¯s so plump and springy, it¡¯s addictive. As long as I don¡¯t go overboard, Nana and Jaja both seem to be comfortable, so I can¡¯t help but touch them. Also, the base of her feet, her thighs, and her stomach! These three areas are a must! These are the three areas you can¡¯t miss when you enjoy touching babies! ¡°Uyu!¡± Nana¡¯s eyes narrowed and she nodded her head. I¡¯m sure she doesn¡¯t understand, but she probably reacted to her mom¡¯s voice anyway. Her eyes are half asleep. I wonder if she woke up from sleep. ¡°Did Nana just wake up?¡± ¡°Yes, her fever has gone down, but I was wiping her with a towel because she was having night sweats. Ah, I also borrowed Kunpei-san¡¯s clothes, Nana¡¯s clothes look too hot indoors.¡± ¡°Got it. Isn¡¯t that great, Nana.¡± I stroked Nana¡¯s head with the hand that was not holding the bag. Nana looks at me curiously. ¡°Heh.¡± She laughed as if something had amused her. It¡¯s so cute. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s play with daddy while mommy eats.¡± I put the bag on the chest next to the big canopied bed and opened my arms to Nana. ¡°Okay, come on.¡± ¡°Dah?¡± Nana responds to my gesture with a puzzled look on her face. No, I¡¯m really going to be lonely if you don¡¯t come. Please, princess. ¡°Dah!¡± Nana finally understood and extended her hand to me with a big smile. Thank God! Thank you, princess! ¡°Dah, dah, dah!¡± Nana wriggled the wings on her back inside her shirt. Oh, yes, yes, yes. I forgot. My shirt doesn¡¯t have any holes for wings, so she can¡¯t fly even though she¡¯s trying to. ¡°There you go!¡± I put my hand under her armpit and lifted her up. ¡°Kya!¡± I lift Nana up above my head, who is laughing happily. She¡¯s getting a little heavier than before. Will it become difficult for me to pick her up someday? I don¡¯t like it. I wish I could hold her forever. No, no, no. Growth is a joyous thing. No matter how big Nana gets, I¡¯ll always be happy to hold her in my arms, so don¡¯t hesitate to come and act spoiled, okay? Don¡¯t be shy, okay? Please? ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll go get Ru-anesama and Jaja and use the restroom while I¡¯m at it.¡± ¡°Okay. Take your time. I just bought it. It¡¯s still hot.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Aoi sneaks out of the room, out of Nana¡¯s sight. If Nana sees her, she¡¯ll cry and ask to be taken with her. Nana doesn¡¯t notice because she¡¯s too busy dangling her hands and feet on my head right now, but just in case. Wait, she left in her sleepwear, didn¡¯t she? Oh well. Atol told me not to be shy while in the house. ¡°Dah! Aua!¡± ¡°Hmm? Higher? At Nana¡¯s urging, I thrust my hands out to the ceiling as high as I could. ¡°Kyaa!¡± Nana laughed loudly, as if the feeling of floating felt good. She smiles just like Jaja. As expected of twins. ¡°Look, it¡¯s high, high!¡± ¡°Kyaa!¡± I continued for a while until Nana got bored. My arms were getting a little tired from holding Nana up above my head over and over again. I took a break. ¡°Nana, Daddy wants some water.¡± ¡°Uuh?¡± Yeah, you wouldn¡¯t understand. I sat Nana on my left arm and pulled her to my chest. At first, I thought it was impossible to carry her with one arm, but before I knew it, I was able to do this. I wonder if I¡¯m growing as a father. I¡¯d be happy if I was. I walked to the refrigerator next to the door of the room and opened it with my free right hand. Let¡¯s see, water, I guess. Oh? There¡¯s apple juice. I thought the last time I gave it to Jaja was yesterday, but I guess Kayone restocked it for me. Thank goodness. I¡¯ll have to thank her later. I picked up the apple juice in the small plastic container and turned the lid. It¡¯s an infant¡¯s drink, so it¡¯s made to be sealed and a little hard. It¡¯s also a little hard so that it won¡¯t come off easily when a baby holds it in their hands. Both Jaja and Nana are quick to grab and shake things around. If the lid comes off easily, they will spill a lot. ¡°You got this, Nana?¡± ¡°Dah!¡± Nana¡¯s eyes sparkle as she reached for the apple juice in my right hand. You guys love apple juice, don¡¯t you? ¡°Wait a minute. I¡¯ll put the nipple on it.¡± The nipple is not the one on my chest, it¡¯s the one on the top of the bottle. I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s called officially, but when we were living in the community center, other mothers understood it, so I think it¡¯s probably the nipple. I walked over to the mirror stand set up against the wall. I was looking for the baby bottles that were plugged into the sterilizer set up on top of it. This machine is a little bulky, but I brought it from home and it¡¯s a favorite of the Kazamachi family. We want to use the same things as at home as much as possible when it comes to Jaja and Nana. It¡¯s not that I doubt Dailan¡¯s products, but I feel most comfortable with what I¡¯m used to. I put the apple juice on the mirror table and lifted up the cover of the machine. Two baby bottles were inserted with their mouths upside down. The one with the dog picture on it is Jaja¡¯s, and Nana¡¯s is the cat. I guess it doesn¡¯t matter which one you use. The twins are very particular about these things. They don¡¯t like it when I give them different bottles. I take the cat bottle out of the machine. With Nana in my arms, I can¡¯t use both hands, so I hold the bottle between my thighs and turn the lid with my right hand only. For the same reason as the lid of the apple juice bottle, this bottle is also tightly sealed and cannot be easily removed. With a little effort, I remove the nipple and pass it to my left hand. I put the bottle between my thighs back into the sterilizer and put the cover back on. ¡°Hold on for a second.¡± I put the nipple on the apple juice and tightened it dexterously with one hand. The nipple was clamped with as much force as I could muster. Now you won¡¯t be able to remove it so easily anymore. ¡°Here you go.¡± ¡°Dah!¡± Nana grabbed the apple juice container with both hands and sucked on the nipple with the same force. Oh, man. You couldn¡¯t wait that long? ¡°Guh, guh.¡± You were thirsty, weren¡¯t you? I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t notice earlier, okay? I smiled at Nana, who was drinking apple juice at a furious pace and went back to the refrigerator to take out a plastic bottle of mineral water for myself. I pinched it between my thighs, just like the baby bottle, and removed the lid. I placed the lid on top of the refrigerator and downed the water all at once. I hadn¡¯t had anything to drink since I got back from outside, so I was thirsty too. The water that went directly down my throat tasted very good. Nana and I drank together. It¡¯s not a big deal, but it makes me happy, and I feel like I¡¯ve become a doting parent. ¡°Puh-ah!¡± ¡°Puah!¡± I finished my drink and took a breath, and Nana imitated me. Both Jaja and Nana often imitate me and Aoi. The sight of them is so cute that it makes me writhe. ¡°Haha, yummy, huh?¡± ¡°Dah!¡± I did what Yuri-san often does. When I asked them if it tasted good like this, both Jaja and Nana would raise their hands in reply. Yuri-san told me that this is how they learn the language little by little. She was absolutely right. Even if they don¡¯t understand the words at first, they will naturally learn them if they hear them every day. That¡¯s why we started to say everything to Jaja and Nana. Even if they don¡¯t understand, they¡¯ll respond back to us. I wonder if it¡¯s time to read them a picture book or something. ¡°Oh, I see. Well, drink up.¡± ¡°Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm.¡± She lifted the apple juice smilingly and drank it. It¡¯s so cute. It¡¯s really cute. ¡°Thank you for waiting.¡± The door of the room opened and Aoi appeared with a towel in her hand. ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m back.¡± ¡°Dah!¡± It looks like Rouge and Jaja are with her. ¡°Kunpei, welcome back.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m back. Jaja, did you have fun outside?¡± ¡°Adah!¡± Jaja, who was being held by Rouge, replied with a smile just like Nana¡¯s. Your sister seems to be full of energy today. ¡°Ah, Nana-chan, are you drinking juice?¡± ¡°Guh, guh.¡± Nana was so engrossed in her apple juice that she didn¡¯t seem to notice Aoi and the others. ¡°Does Jaja want some too?¡± ¡°Dah?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll prepare it now, okay? Would you like some water, Ru-anesama?¡± ¡°Hmm. Thanks.¡± Aoi opened the refrigerator and took out water and apple juice. ¡°Puah!¡± ¡°Oh, you drank all of it?¡± Nana¡¯s container was already empty. ¡°Dah!¡± Nana held out the container to me with a big smile. ¡°Another one? No, you¡¯ve had too much to drink, princess.¡± You can¡¯t have too much, you know. You¡¯ll get a stomach ache. I take the container from Nana and turn around to put it on the mirror stand. ¡°Ah, Kunpei-san. Don¡¯t move Jaja¡¯s bottle either!¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I stopped in my tracks, startled by Aoi¡¯s sudden loud voice. ¡°Dah!¡± Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound, and a flash of lightning flashed in front of me. A small bolt of lightning struck at my feet. Chapter 178 After a cracking sound like firewood being chopped in half, my vision went blank for a moment, and when I thought it was back to normal, I saw smoke rising from the carpet at my feet. I looked at the carpet and saw a black mark the size of a ten-yen coin. What the hell is this? ¡°Kunpei-san, stay where you are. Please don¡¯t move.¡± ¡°Eh? What?¡± Aoi slowly approached me, she slid across the carpet, looking at me and Nana with a straight face. ¡°Nana, you¡¯re a good girl. You¡¯re a good girl.¡± ¡°Kya! Dah!¡± Nana, lingering in the aftermath of her apple juice, flapped her arms and legs and laughed. Give me another one! Nana loves apple juice! She¡¯s probably getting excited about something like that all by herself. ¡°Aoi? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± When I tried to turn my body to Aoi, she got angry. I was startled and stiffened up. ¡°Yes¡­ just like that¡­¡± ¡°Dah!¡± I¡¯m not sure if she was impatient with me for not being able to move, or if she was unusually excited, but Nana raised her hands as if to say, ¡®Dad, hurry up!¡¯ At that moment¡­ ¡°Woah!¡± There was another flash of light in the room. When I looked at the spot that lit up in surprise, I saw that the corner of the mirror stand, where the sterilizer for baby bottles was kept, was smoking and making a sizzling sound. ¡°L-lightning? Indoors?¡± ¡°Nana, please calm down.¡± Before I knew it, Aoi, who was standing next to me, put her hands on both of Nana¡¯s cheeks. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Kunpei-san, can you see the spirits now?¡± Spirits? Ah, I can manage to see them if I want to. I slowly calmed myself down when I was told. The green spirits that accumulated in the twins¡¯ bodies. If I concentrate, I can see what Alba calls ¡®the spirit that controls life¡¯. ¡°What you see are the spirits of the sky. What do you think?¡± ¡°Spirits of the Sky? Well, I¡¯ve never tried to see them.¡± There are three kinds of spirits: the spirits of the sky, earth, and the sea. It seems that there¡¯s a different way to see them and the spirits of life. The only sky spirits I¡¯ve ever seen was the one I happened to see during the Yule incident. I calmed my mind and closed my eyes. I wonder if it¡¯s okay like this. As I hold Nana in my arms, I try to feel the spirits that I can¡¯t see, but they are definitely there. I¡¯m used to seeing the spirits of life once a week, but this is the first time I¡¯m trying to see the spirits of sky. I calmed down and turn my attention from the back of my mind to the outside of my body for the first time. ¡­ Like this, I guess? I could somehow grasp its presence. I recognized the presence, which was slightly different from the spirit of life, and slowly opened my eyes. ¡°Wow.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but exclaim. What¡­ is this? There are so many of them! There are so many little white butterflies flying around, filling this room! There are as many of them as there were of the spirits of life when Jaja first made the things float before. ¡°They weren¡¯t there at all just a moment ago, but suddenly they started gathering¡­ The spirits themselves are everywhere, but this number is extraordinary.¡± ¡°Oh really? Why so sudden?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. All I know is that these spirits are being controlled by Nana¡­¡± By Nana? ¡°That¡¯s¡­ why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know! I don¡¯t understand! It¡¯s strange that Nana¡¯s horns are still so tiny and yet she can control so many spirits!¡± Horns? I look at Nana, who was smacking my face and urging me to get some apple juice. ¡°It¡¯s glowing¡­¡± It was already shining. The pale, gentle blue light flickered, and the tiny, upturned horns of Nana were just like those of Aoi¡¯s. Her horns were glowing more clearly than when she used the spirits of life to control the ChunChu at the ranch before. Alba had told me this before. The dragon¡¯s horn is an organ used to control the spirits. With the light emitted from its horns, it can use spirits to cause various events. For example, Aoi created a giant lightning ball, Rouge manipulated fire wards and flaming swords. Jaja has made things float and sink, and Nana has manipulated birds. All of them are supernatural to me as a human, and the part that is different from other creatures in terms of appearance and ability is the horn of the dragon species. ¡°Au!¡± Nana, who hadn¡¯t quite cooled down from her apple juice fever, squealed in a good mood. She must really love apple juice, because her little eyes, which usually droop sleepily, were sparkling. But that¡¯s not the point right now, okay? ¡°Nana? Do you understand this?¡± ¡°Dah?¡± Oh, you don¡¯t know anything, do you? Stop squeezing my ear. It hurts like hell. Yeah, thanks. ¡°What are we going to do with this?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to do something about it for a while now, but the spirits won¡¯t listen to me.¡± ¡°Seriously?¡± When I saw Aoi¡¯s face, which was gradually becoming teary-eyed, I began to feel a sense of crisis. In other words, this is an unusual situation. Jaja and Nana have grown to a certain extent since birth, and if you convert them to human age, they are roughly around one year old. They are probably doing things that are impossible for a sky dragon infant of that age. ¡°A spirit that even Aoi can¡¯t control, so why Nana?¡± ¡°¡­ I wonder why. I can understand if the dragon is more powerful than me, like my mother.¡± ¡°Like Yule¡­ that¡¯s scary.¡± How can there be a dragon as powerful as the Dragon King of the Sky? Yule, Aoi¡¯s mother. Yuriel Dragoline. The king of the sky dragons, who rules the skies of the world, is also known as ¡®Night Sky Light¡¯. She¡¯s a slender, innocent-looking beauty and her daughter Aoi will probably look like her when she grows up, but she¡¯s a crude and violent tyrant. She¡¯s a fraud. She¡¯s so beautiful, you know? If only she hadn¡¯t opened her mouth. When I confronted her on top of Tusk Crag. Even when I was exhausted and wobbly, she was so scary and strong. I don¡¯t want a being with that kind of power to be around very often. I¡¯m sorry, but even though Yule is my mother-in-law. I don¡¯t really have a good impression of her. I¡¯m just scared of her. ¡°Nana is doing it unintentionally, right?¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t seem to understand.¡± Since a while ago, there¡¯s been a crackling electrical discharge around me. It¡¯s like an occult sound, and it¡¯s very scary. ¡°Dah, uwah.¡± As if she didn¡¯t notice the sound, Nana kept slapping my face, urging me to get her apple juice ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Jaja, get away for a bit. It¡¯s dangerous.¡± Jaja, the older sister, was being carried by Rouge to the entrance of the room for shelter. The sound of electrical discharge was amusing to her, and she stuck her hands out in front of her and fidgeted. No, this is not a musical toy. ¡°Ru-anesama, can I ask you to stay in the next room with Jaja for a moment?¡± ¡°Hmm. Yes, of course. Is Nana okay?¡± Rouge, who was holding Jaja back and holding her tightly, looked at Nana with concern. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I¡¯m sure if uncle was here, he¡¯d know why.¡± ¡°That uncute rat. Useless at the critical moment. I¡¯ll punish him next time.¡± Alba Germain. The Rat Sage. Even if that shady rat appears in unexpected moments, he wouldn¡¯t appear so conveniently. ¡°How upsetting, didn¡¯t I come here in a rush because I sensed something was wrong?¡± ¡°Whoa!¡± ¡°Kya!¡± Aoi and I screamed, startled by the sudden voice. The Rat Sage, Alba Germain. A robed rat with a wizard-like triangular hat and a wooden staff larger than his body suddenly appeared on my right shoulder, opposite the one holding Nana. ¡°Uncle!¡± ¡°You! Don¡¯t always show up without warning!¡± It¡¯s bad for the heart! ¡°Hahaha. No, sorry, sorry. I was just amused by your reactions, you know?¡± ¡°You son of a bitch¡­¡± You really are a genius at irritating people, aren¡¯t you, you rat? ¡°Fueh. fuyahh!¡± ¡°Oh, Nana, I¡¯m sorry. You were startled, weren¡¯t you? There, there.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s mama¡¯s bad, okay? It¡¯s okay, alright?¡± Nana, startled by our sudden scream, was on the verge of tears. Aoi and I stroked her head and cheeks and touched the bottom of her neck to quiet her down. Look! This is what you¡¯ve done, Alba! If you do it again, I¡¯ll get really angry! ¡°Hmm. Rouge.¡± ¡°What?¡± Alba, who was watching the scene, called out to Rouge. ¡°My sword is in the next room, isn¡¯t it?¡± Ah, that reminds me. This was his prized possession that Alba handed to me through Atol. The Dragon Fang Sword, a beautiful white sword with a terrible sharpness, was in the next room. I was going to return it to Alba. How did he know? That sword was too dangerous and scary when it¡¯s unsheathed, so I wrapped it in cloth and brought it to this country in a trunk case. It was so sharp that it would go through the trunk case if I wasn¡¯t careful. I had a hard time carrying it, you know? ¡°That sword is very special to me, I¡¯d recognize it anywhere in the world. I¡¯m sorry, but can you bring me the sword?¡± ¡°Hmm. Okay, sure. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Jaja and Rouge went through the door to the next room. There¡¯s a bedroom next door that¡¯s about the same size as this one, so we¡¯ve got two rooms to ourselves. ¡°Well, the fever seems to be gone now.¡± ¡°Yes, the medicine that Uncle gave me seems to have worked. Nana didn¡¯t like it, though.¡± The first day of my trip, I was out cold. Alba was the one who found me after I went missing in the transfer accident. He contacted Aoi and brought me to the house, and while he was there, he also checked Nana¡¯s condition, and prescribed a suppository for her. The reason why Nana cried was because she didn¡¯t want to take these suppositories. I understand. I¡¯ve used them before when I was sick, but even as I grew older, I couldn¡¯t get used to them. Even Shouhei doesn¡¯t like it. ¡°Yes, her magic sickness is gone. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be fine to go outside. Nana seems to be more sensitive to magic than Jaja.¡± ¡°I see, should we be careful with Jaja too?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve prepared some medicine for Jaja. I¡¯ll give it to you just in case.¡± Then Alba reached out his hand into the empty space. The tip of his small hand disappeared, only to reappear holding a cloth bag the size of my palm. The bag was tied with a green string and he held it out to Aoi. ¡°Be careful not to make a mistake, okay? The green one is Jaja¡¯s and the blue one is Nana¡¯s. The twins look exactly alike, but they are different in many ways.¡± ¡°Okay, I understand.¡± After receiving the bag, Aoi went to the mirror stand and carefully placed it in the makeup pouch that Yuri-san had given her the other day. When I say ¡®makeup bag¡¯, what¡¯s in that bag is toothbrushes and soap for the twins. She doesn¡¯t wear makeup, you know. ¡°Now, the next question is¡­¡± Alba slowly moved around my shoulders and back, stopping in front of Nana¡¯s face. He looked around at Nana¡¯s face and body, then crossed his arms and began to think. ¡°Uncle, sky dragons have to be a little older before they can control lightning at will, right?¡± Aoi peeked out from behind me after she put her makeup bag back on the mirror stand. ¡°That¡¯s right. In addition to Aoi, Yule, and Lynell, there are several other dragons in the sky dragon tribe that can control lightning, but none of them were able to control spirits at Nana¡¯s age.¡± ¡°Lynell?¡± ¡°Oh, she¡¯s my aunt. She¡¯s my mother¡¯s younger sister.¡± Ah, so you have relatives. I thought Yule was the only one. ¡°What kind of other sky dragons are there?¡± ¡°Cloud dragons, thunder dragons, they control lightning. The hail, frost and ice dragons love the cold. The most common are the wyverns. They can only fly, but they¡¯re still pretty strong, you know?¡± ¡°I came here to greet them when I was little. Everyone was very kind. There is also a dragon with a special role called the Wind Dragon, though I have never met them.¡± ¡°Really?¡± After all this time, I don¡¯t know anything about dragons. ¡°The Sky Dragon is also the chief of the tribe that unites the Sky Dragons. The Sky Dragon King is chosen by the Sky Dragons because they can do anything the Sky Dragons can do, right?¡± Anything? I¡¯ve seen abilities like¡­ Aoi can control lightning-like thunderballs, and Yule can control wind. Oh yeah, they can also fly through they sky. ¡°You are a pretty amazing dragon, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Uh, yes.¡± Aoi blushed and turned her head. I wonder if she¡¯s embarrassed. ¡°So you can control the wind and stuff too?¡± ¡°Um, yes. I can do it. I¡¯m not as good as my mother, though. Oh, I¡¯m confident with lightning. I can also make it rain and make it snow. It doesn¡¯t really help me much, though.¡± Well, they don¡¯t force rain to fall unless there is a water shortage due to continuous sunshine. Especially with snow. It just gets in the way when it piles up. ¡°The lightning was pretty useful, you know? I used it to roast the monsters I caught.¡± Ah, that¡¯s right. When she first came to the house, Aoi, who didn¡¯t know how to cook, tried to roast meat in the garden and struck it with lightning. Both Shouhei and I rushed to stop her, but I guess that was normal for Aoi. ¡°So, back to the topic at hand, why is Nana able to control spirits so well now?¡± Even while we were talking like this, the spirits were flying around in the room. There was a crackling sound of electrical discharge. This seems to be caused by the wings of the spirits rubbing against each other. Whenever the spirits in the form of butterflies pass each other, there¡¯s a light and sound that sounds like tiny static electricity. ¡°Yes, in short¡­¡± Alba uncrossed his arms and thrust his staff into my shoulder. Can you please stop doing that because it¡¯s ticklish? ¡°Nana, seems to have gotten too energetic, right? ¡°Da.¡± What do you mean? Chapter 179 I opened my right hand gingerly in front of Nana¡¯s face, who still can¡¯t give up her apple juice. ¡°Uu?¡± Okay. She¡¯s caught, right? ¡°Au, da, dah.¡± Then, I shook it. She stretched out her small hand as best she could and tried to grab my hand. Yeah, that should keep her occupied for a while. ¡°Au. Dah!¡± Oops, I guess I got caught. Nana chasing my hand was so cute that I let my guard down. ¡°Ummm, hmmm.¡± She grabbed my finger and happily sucked on it. It¡¯s a good thing I washed my hands before coming here. You can¡¯t put too much of anything in your mouth, right? When you¡¯re a little older, you¡¯ll be properly trained in this area. Right now? It¡¯s okay for now. It¡¯s so cute. ¡°Ahm, uuh.¡± She¡¯s biting me so sweetly. It doesn¡¯t hurt as much as Jaja¡¯s bite, so I¡¯ll let her play like this. If this were Jaja, it would be more than just a sweet bite. It¡¯s the kind of pain that would make a grown man scream. ¡°What do you mean, she¡¯s too healthy?¡± It¡¯s good to be healthy. I¡¯m just happy to see Nana healthy, because she was so pitiful and weak yesterday. ¡°Let¡¯s see. I wonder what I should say.¡± The rat sage scratched his cheek with his staff. Hm? ¡­ What? It¡¯s not the same as usual, it feels like he¡¯s being evasive. ¡°You¡¯re right. Of course, it¡¯s good to be healthy, but it¡¯s too good. It¡¯s a bit abnormal¡­¡± He started to squirm. When I looked at Aoi, wondering at Alba¡¯s appearance, she shook her head a few times with a puzzled look on her face. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong with you, uncle.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± If Aoi, who¡¯s known Alba longer than I have, says so, so I¡¯m sure of it. It¡¯s not the usual smug rat face. ¡°Hey, Alba.¡± ¡°But it doesn¡¯t have any adverse effect on Nana¡¯s body. It¡¯s just that, well, you know. It¡¯s just that, you know, when we get overexcited, it happens to us too, right? So it happens all the time, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Alba?¡± ¡°Yeah. So, let¡¯s take care of it as soon as possible. If we don¡¯t, this room is going to blow up, and the spirits are getting more active.¡± ¡°Hey, Alba Germain!¡± You just casually said something that can¡¯t be allowed to pass! What do you mean the room is going to blow up? ¡°Ah, haha. What¡¯s wrong? You look so scary.¡± ¡°¡­ Do you have something to be guilty of?¡± That¡¯s a little out of character for you, don¡¯t you think? Normally, you would be more interested in stimulating my stress gauge with smugness and small talk. ¡°Ah. That¡¯s right. Can you please listen to me without getting angry?¡± ¡°Depends on what you¡¯re talking about.¡± You can¡¯t make a decision without hearing it, right? ¡°Uncle, what¡¯s going on? Do you have any idea what happened to Nana?¡± ¡°Come on, spit it out.¡± Aoi and I both questioned him. ¡°I have an idea or something. You know that medicine I gave you for Nana?¡± Alba crossed his arms and adopted a thoughtful posture. ¡°Yes. That suppository, right?¡± Aoi pointed to the makeup bag on the mirror stand. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it. That¡¯s it, right?¡± Stop putting on airs and just tell me what¡¯s going on. Nana is going to get tired of my fingers soon. ¡°Sorry, I made a little mistake.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Aoi and I both stiffened at the unexpected words. ¡°With the medicine?¡± The medicine, right? I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m using the wrong medicine for such a small child¡­ ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± ¡°Oh, my God!¡± ¡°N-Nana! Are you okay? Is there anything wrong with you?¡± ¡°Amu?¡± Ignoring Alba, who was about to say something, we hurried to check Nana¡¯s body. The actual person in question tilted her head curiously. Mom and dad are panicking, you should have some sense of urgency! I slowly took the hand that Nana was holding in her mouth and placed it directly on her forehead. ¡°No fever.¡± ¡°Ah¡± ¡°She had a normal poop this morning.¡± ¡°She seems to have a good appetite, and her legs and hands are working well, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Nana, show Mommy your eyes, will you?¡± ¡°Dah.¡± ¡°Are her wings and tail normal?¡± ¡°Yes, there¡¯s nothing wrong with them. Hold still, Nana. I¡¯ll give you a little pat.¡± ¡°Uuh?¡± From the head to the tail, to the feet, to the stomach and back. Aoi and I checked Nana over and over again, trying not to miss even the slightest change. ¡°Kyakya!¡± I wondered if she was ticklish or just amused by the situation. Nana laughed happily, ignoring our concerns. No, that¡¯s not it, princess. We¡¯re worried about you. ¡°Calm down, you two.¡± ¡°How can we be calm about this?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± We disagreed with Alba¡¯s calm words. What the hell is wrong with you, you quack? ¡°I want you to listen to me, okay? When I say that I made a mistake, it¡¯s not a mistake that will directly affect her body. I¡¯m not senile enough to make that mistake.¡± ¡°But there is something wrong!¡± This room is still overflowing with spirits! If that¡¯s not strange, I don¡¯t know what is! ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯ve never seen such a large number of spirits gather on their own before!¡± See! This is coming from a professional with 250 years of experience in the field of spirits. There¡¯s no doubt that something strange is going on! ¡°So calm down. I assure you. Nana is fine. If she wasn¡¯t okay, we wouldn¡¯t be having this long conversation.¡± ¡°Even if you say so.¡± Nana and Jaja are unprecedented even for dragons. With the human element of me in the mix, the possibility of a small problem becoming a big deal is extremely high. We¡¯ve been living in fear of that ever since the twins were born, you know? And the signs are already there. From being able to fly faster than other sky dragon species to storing the spirit of life in their bodies, Jaja and Nana are clearly special twins. ¡°I¡¯m going to make this a little easier for you, so please listen to me carefully. I¡¯m sure this was my mistake, but I still took the utmost care in preparing the medicine.¡± Alba waved his staff in front of Nana¡¯s eyes. ¡°Uh.¡± Nana¡¯s eyes swayed as she was distracted by the staff. ¡°It was the first time for me too. The human part and dragon part, I thought I¡¯d taken care to make it easy on both parts¡­¡± Alba glanced at me as he waved his staff. ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°No, it seems the twins are more special than I imagined.¡± Why did he just look at me like that? ¡°So, what¡¯s going on with Nana now?¡± That¡¯s the most important thing. What¡¯s causing all these spirits to gather and flock to Nana, and how can we improve this situation? If we don¡¯t know that, then that¡¯ll be troubling. In any case, the spirits are still rubbing their wings against each other and creating a crisp electrical discharge phenomenon. ¡°Yes, Nana¡¯s many characteristics as a dragon species are being emphasized right now. I think this is a side effect of my medicine that boosted the dragon¡¯s recovery power. If she was a normal dragon, she would be able to recover from magic sickness in a day, but because of her human part, she didn¡¯t have that much strength.¡± ¡°Characteristics of a dragon¡­ ah, so that¡¯s why the spirit, huh?¡± I don¡¯t understand any of this, but Aoi seems to get it. ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°It seems that we dragons are the only living species that can communicate with spirits. I guess that¡¯s our characteristic.¡± When I was scratching my cheek because it was difficult to say I didn¡¯t understand, Aoi explained it to me. I see, I¡¯m starting to get the idea. ¡°Hm, then why isn¡¯t the spirit of life here this time?¡± The room was filled with sky spirits formed by white light. The spirits of life are also in the form of butterflies, but they emit green light. I took a quick look around, but I could only find a few of them, though they were faintly mixed in. ¡°Oh, the spirit of life has more to do with the ¡®it¡¯s Jaja and Nana¡¯ part than as a dragon. It¡¯s a characteristic of being half human and half dragon.¡± ¡°¡­ I don¡¯t really get it, but I¡¯m assuming you can handle it?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± That¡¯s good. Yeah. ¡°Hm, sorry for the wait, I¡¯ve brought it.¡± The door to the next room opened and Rouge brought out a stick-shaped object wrapped in cloth. The contents are the Dragon Fang sword, which I borrowed from Alba. It¡¯s a dangerous thing that has no decorations on it, not even a guard, and has an amazing whiteness and sharpness. If you carry it around with you, you¡¯re sure to get caught by the police. It¡¯s good that Officers Doggy and Inoue know about it, but I guess there is no excuse for the other police in this country. ¡°Thank you, Rouge.¡± ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m taking refuge in the next room with Jaja, so if there¡¯s anything I can do to help, just let me know.¡± I took it for Alba. The sword is about six times the height of this rat. It¡¯s usually stored away in a mysterious magical space, but I wonder how he¡¯s going to use it. ¡°Is Jaja in bed?¡± ¡°Yes. She¡¯s a little woozy, so I think she¡¯ll be asleep soon. I¡¯ll bring her some milk, okay?¡± Ah, well, it¡¯s already noon. Is it time for a nap? We haven¡¯t had lunch yet either, right? ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll get it ready.¡± Aoi went to the sterilizer on the mirror table to boil the baby bottles. ¡°It¡¯s okay Aoi, I¡¯ll do it.¡± Rouge followed her. Nana had just woken up, hadn¡¯t she? She won¡¯t sleep for a while. ¡°So, what do you want me to do?¡± Holding the sword in my right hand, I asked Alba on my left shoulder while holding Nana with my left arm. He said that if we don¡¯t do something quickly, this room will blow up. Alba still looks like there is plenty of time, but I want to get that dangerous thing over with. ¡°Yes, first¡­¡± Alba scurries around the room, looking around. With the noon sun shining through the window, the room was much brighter. The mansion is well-lit, even though the sunlight is coming from many places on the ceiling that symbolizes the sphere continent. Well, it¡¯s a royal residence, right? The location must be pretty good. ¡°Let¡¯s go outside.¡± ¡°Outside?¡± Is it something we can¡¯t do indoors? ¡°Is there someplace big and empty¡­ where the damage will be minimal?¡± Hey. Did you just say ¡®damage¡¯? Chapter 180 I asked Aoi to open the door to my room and hugged Nana tightly. ¡°May I?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± Alba, who was clinging to my hair on top of my head, poked me on the head with the staff in his hand. ¡°These spirits are just attracted to Nana¡¯s active dragon qi and are flocking to her. So when Nana moves, they will follow her. They are gathering more and more, and if left unchecked, the power will become too strong, and they will turn into a big mass of lightning.¡± While rhythmically tapping my head, Alba explained in a matter-of-fact manner. A mass of lightning. Was it that lightning ball that Aoi had shown me several times? When he had first met the twins and Aoi, she had blackened and wrecked the minivan in which Gasara and the others were in, even though she had taken it easy on them. The rock griffon Ruten was literally vaporized by Aoi¡¯s lightning ball, and if such a dangerous thing appeared in such a small room, we¡¯d be finished. ¡°I wonder if I should be happy about the dragon qi that makes her gather so many spirits, even if unconsciously.¡¡Nana¡¯s potential is even greater than Aoi¡¯s. But that¡¯s only if she grows up properly. Right now it¡¯s a threat to Nana¡¯s still immature body. It would hurt Nana herself.¡± ¡°Are you saying it¡¯s too early?¡± ¡°Yes, it is.¡± I see. If the twins have a promising future, not just Nana, I have no complaints. I¡¯m looking forward to their growth. ¡°There is only one way to deal with this situation. Let¡¯s dissipate the dragon energy that has been activated. It¡¯s only a temporary increase due to the effects of the medicine, so once it¡¯s consumed, it will never recover. Only up to the amount that matches Nana¡¯s original power.¡± ¡°I see.¡± I can understand that. So, if it¡¯s increasing, we should reduce it. ¡°The twins are the first-ever half-dragon, half-human, which even I have never experienced. This kind of situation could happen again in the future. So I want you to learn how to deal with them. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s not that difficult as long as you follow the proper procedures. I¡¯m sure you can figure it out.¡± ¡°I-I got it.¡± Wait, don¡¯t put any weird pressure on me, okay? It makes you nervous, doesn¡¯t it? What if I¡¯m not as smart as you think I am? ¡°Well then, Aoi.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Aoi, who had been watching me and Alba with a serious face in the corridor outside the room on the other side of the open door, nodded at Alba¡¯s voice. ¡°Where¡¯s a big place around here that¡¯s not too crowded? Preferably somewhere that¡¯s not too conspicuous?¡± ¡°Well, the garden behind the house, I guess. That¡¯s the place where Ru-anesama and Jaja were taking a walk a while ago. There¡¯s a forest outside the garden. There are no other buildings around the mansion, and I think the walls of the estate are tall.¡± The mansion itself was quite large, but the land was even larger. You can look down from the lighthouse that Shouhei and I went to earlier, but the far side of the garden was overgrown with trees and hidden. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go there first. Clumsy-kun, there are three things to keep in mind. The first is to run as fast as you can without the spirits catching up with you. The second is to never stop. And don¡¯t get Nana excited. Okay?¡± ¡°I-isn¡¯t that hard?¡± I don¡¯t know how fast the spirits are moving, but those butterflies are flying, right? And don¡¯t get Nana excited, she¡¯s a moody girl who gets excited by the most unexpected things. The spirits are a collection of tiny lightning particles. In addition, they have the characteristic of flying while creating a slight breeze. You won¡¯t be able to take your time walking as more of them will gather, and the gusts of wind and the electrical discharge caused by rubbing their wings together will cause some significant damage to this house. So that¡¯s why it¡¯s better to go outside at once, isn¡¯t it?¡± What do you mean by ¡®better¡¯? What do you think you¡¯re doing in someone¡¯s house? Even in this room, which has been crackling since a while ago, it¡¯s starting to get rough out there. No matter how rich and royal Atol is, I can¡¯t just say, ¡®A little bit is fine, right?¡¯ Damn it. I¡¯ll apologize so much later. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough chitchat.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± I hugged Nana again tightly and bent down. ¡°Aoi, you run ahead and watch out for the maids and Atol.¡± ¡°O-okay!¡± From here, we had to go down a long corridor, down the stairs, past the dining room and common room, and through the entrance, before we could leave the mansion. There are at least around 20 maids in this mansion. There is also a gardener, an uncle who looks like a butler, and some children who are here for an apprenticeship. If those people were in our path, we would be in trouble. I don¡¯t know how to apologize if I hurt them. That¡¯s why I need to ask Aoi to go ahead of me and take safety measures. ¡°Uh?¡± ¡°Okay, Nana? Let¡¯s go for a run with Daddy.¡± I smiled at Nana, who looked up at me curiously. Nana gripped my shirt as I held her tightly. It doesn¡¯t seem to be painful. I¡¯m glad. ¡°Dah.¡± Nana smacks my cheek with both hands. You still haven¡¯t given up on apple juice? You¡¯re a glutton. Okay, okay, okay. I¡¯ll let you drink a little of it when you¡¯re all done. So just wait a little longer. I looked at the door and nodded silently to Aoi. When Aoi saw this, she nodded once, and then ran off at a brisk pace, disappearing from sight. All right, I¡¯ll go with you then! ¡°Udah!¡± Nana¡¯s happy voice overlapped my booming voice. I put all my energy into my legs and kicked the floor. I make a right-angle turn through the door and turned my feet toward the end of the long hallway. Don¡¯t fall down. To be honest, it¡¯s difficult to run with Nana in my arms. Even though she¡¯s light, she¡¯s still big enough to unbalance my body. I¡¯m holding her from the back of her head, gently supporting her on my shoulders, and holding her from underneath her butt, so I¡¯m worried that she might get sick from the shaking. The sooner we get to our destination, the better. We have to get where we¡¯re going! ¡°Shouhei-san!¡± I turned my attention to the sudden voice of Aoi, who was walking ahead of me. ¡°Aoi-neechan? Nii-chan too, what are you doing?¡± Shouhei, who had just climbed up the stairs and was carrying a large bag of some kind, and Kayone and Utai, who were standing next to him with similar bags, stood there in wonder. ¡°Shouhei! Just get in your room!¡± Behind me, there were a series of loud explosive sounds that were incomparable to what I had heard earlier. At the same time, there was a heavy wind noise. ¡°What, what, what, what?¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Utai, whose voice was as loud as ever, hurriedly pulled Shouhei to her and opened the door to a nearby room for shelter. Kayone followed, unusually flustered, and went into another room. ¡°Kayone! I¡¯m borrowing the backyard! Tell Atol not to let anyone near it!¡± ¡°I¡¯m counting on you!¡± ¡°Sage! Yes, sir!¡± Oh, the name of the rat sage lives on here! When Kayone saw Alba, she hurriedly bowed her head. No explanation was necessary, that really helped! ¡°Sorry! I¡¯ll explain later!¡± ¡°Nii-chan!? Aoi-neechan!?¡± Shouhei¡¯s bewildered voice faded into the distance due to the Doppler effect. I hurried down the stairs, but still carefully so as not to let go of Nana. ¡°Uda, adah!¡± ¡°Nana! I¡¯m not playing with you!¡± Look at that! Nana was starting to enjoy this situation and was excitedly flailing her arms and legs. She looked happy with a big smile on her face, and the sounds behind us grew louder in response. It¡¯s impossible to control Nana and Jaja¡¯s emotions. They¡¯re at the age where they laugh when chopsticks roll over, you know? No, really. ¡°Kunpei-san! I¡¯ll carry you after you¡¯re through the door!¡± ¡°Please!¡± That¡¯s right. Aoi can also carry us in the air, right? It¡¯s too small to spread her wings when she¡¯s indoors, but there¡¯s no problem when she¡¯s outside. ¡°Kya!¡± ¡°Whoa!¡± At the bottom of the stairs, we passed two maids who were carrying bedsheets and laundry. If Aoi hadn¡¯t held out her hand to stop them, I would have almost run into them. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m in a hurry!¡± ¡°Sorry!¡± ¡°Dah!¡± The three of us walked past, apologizing. Nana was definitely not sorry, though. In case you were wondering. ¡°Ah, yes.¡± ¡°Bye-bye, Nana-chan!¡± Nana was waving to the maid. Oh, you. Where did you learn to do that? How nice, do it for me later. Both Jaja and Nana were treated like little idols in this mansion. They are very popular, especially with the young maids, because they show off their loveliness. When I give them baths, they join in saying, ¡®Please let me wash them too!¡¯ Oops, it¡¯s not the time for that. Aoi and I ran through the ridiculously large entrance. ¡°What¡¯s with the uproar!¡± Atol came running out from the other side of the corridor, looking bloodthirsty. ¡°Atol, I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯ll apologize later!¡± ¡°Prince! I¡¯m borrowing the backyard!¡± ¡°S-s-s-sage-sama!?¡± Oh. That prince is faltering and acting all suspicious! He¡¯s always been so irreverent, so this is refreshing. I also feel like I¡¯ve seen that side of him before, but for the sake of Atol¡¯s honor, let¡¯s say I haven¡¯t. ¡°Kunpei-san!¡± ¡°Please!¡± Aoi, who was the first to open the front door and spread her wings, reached out her hand. I took her hand and entrusted my back to her. ¡°I¡¯m going!¡± Every time Aoi¡¯s wings flapped, our bodies floated up. ¡°Dah, kya!¡± ¡°Whoa, Nana, don¡¯t go crazy.¡± Nana moved around in my arms energetically, as if she was enjoying the feeling of floating. ¡°Ugh, huh?¡± Aoi, who was lifting me up with both arms, made a strange sound. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°It¡¯s kind of hard to fly. Huh? Why?¡± Aoi flew through the garden of the mansion, swaying left and right. ¡°The way the sky dragon flies is with the help of the spirits. I¡¯m sure it¡¯s more difficult to fly than usual because the spirits that should be under Aoi¡¯s control are now under the influence of Nana¡¯s dragon qi, which has become more active. It¡¯s terrifying.¡± Alba explained calmly on top of my head. So you¡¯re saying that for such a little guy, she¡¯s now more powerful than Aoi? Is that something to be happy about? ¡±It¡¯s kind of complicated, but it¡¯s not a problem! ¡°Udah!¡± Hey, Nana-sama. Mama¡¯s in trouble, so cut me some slack. ¡°Uncle! How about over there?¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Let¡¯s go down there.¡± Aoi was looking at a small pond in the woods. It¡¯s faster than I can run, after all. At first, it was wobbly, but now it¡¯s stable. That¡¯s the daughter of the king of the dragons that rule the sky. After landing gently in a slightly open space, Aoi loosened her arms from my body and wiped her slightly sweaty forehead. ¡°Good work.¡± ¡°No problem!¡± She puffed up her chest to appeal, but unfortunately, it was not that big. I¡¯m kind of sorry about that. ¡°Are you thinking about something weird?¡± ¡°No.¡± That was dangerous. I don¡¯t know why girls¡¯ intuition are so sharp, like Mikuma and Saeki. What are you, an esper? ¡°Uncle, what are you doing here?¡± Aoi returned her gaze to Alba, who was still stomping around pompously on my head. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m sure we can get away with a few big lightning strikes here.¡± Lightning¡­ hey, you know¡­ ¡°I¡¯m here too.¡± I don¡¯t have the kind of body that can handle being struck by lightning. ¡°Aoi has her own things to do, so you are the only one who can hold Nana. It¡¯s a little painful, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s going to do much damage if you¡¯re a dragon.¡± ¡°¡­ Are you going to turn Kunpei-san into a dragon again?¡± Again? It¡¯s been a while since I spent the night in the bathroom of a shelter during the Tusk Crag incident. ¡°Aoi, you have to endure. If he was hit by lightning like that, he¡¯ll die.¡± ¡°¡­ It¡¯ll be okay, right?¡± Huh? I¡¯m not sure why you¡¯re being so serious. That¡¯s right, though, if you become a dragon, you won¡¯t be able to move for a while. I mean, it¡¯s not like it¡¯s that serious, right? ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not flawless in this matter. Rather, I need you, Clumsy-kun, to keep turning into a dragon and get your body used to it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to explain it to me in detail, are you?¡± ¡°¡­ Someday, I promise.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I¡¯m the one who got left behind. You¡¯re talking about Nana, right? ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯m talking about me.¡± ¡°Yeah. Don¡¯t worry about it, Clumsy-kun. Here.¡± As soon as Alba swung his staff, a ripple-like distortion appeared in the space in front of me, and when I put my hand underneath it, a small white fragment fell from the center of the ripple. When I looked at the piece that fell onto my palm, I knew. It was a piece of Jaja and Nana¡¯s eggshell. So why do you have it? I collected those without missing a single piece, and I keep them under lock and key at the bottom of my desk in my room. Well, that¡¯s enough about that for now. For now, I¡¯ll just quickly turn into a dragon. I opened my mouth wide and put the shard in my mouth. I chewed it with a crunching sound. It¡¯s not a tasty flavor or texture. It¡¯s like chewing sand, and frankly, it¡¯s hard to swallow. But if I swallowed it without chewing, my throat would be in trouble. It¡¯s dangerous if you don¡¯t chew it finely. ¡°Aaah! Nnngh!¡± Nana, who was getting angry, slapped my mouth with both hands. ¡°N-Nana? It¡¯s not like I¡¯m eating a snack. It¡¯s, um¡­ yes! Medicine! It¡¯s medicine!¡± Don¡¯t be so desperate to hit me in the mouth! It hurts more than you think! ¡°Whoa, whoa.¡± What is that? What is this feeling? It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve experienced the sensation of my back, buttocks and temples rising up. Oh, on second thought, this might be the first time I¡¯ve been in a perfect physical condition when turning into a dragon. At the top of Tusk Crag, I was in a state of extremes, and at the shelter, I was asleep before I knew it. ¡°Hmm¡­! H-how is it going?¡± ¡°Ah, yes. I¡¯m fine.¡± I show my back to Aoi for confirmation. Yeah, the tail and wings are in place. It¡¯s strange to be able to move them like you can move your fingers. I¡¯ve torn my clothes again. I¡¯ve ruined my top, bottom, and two sets of underwear since I¡¯ve been here, though the first set was ruined before I even knew it. The jacket is almost unrecognizable due to the wings that have popped out. This is not clothes anymore, it¡¯s just a piece of cloth¡­ ¡°Dah?¡± Nana, who was staring at my temples, has a strange look on her face. Come to think of it, is this perhaps the first time you¡¯ve seen me like this? ¡°It¡¯s papa. Do you understand?¡± ¡°Ahm.¡± She nodded her head and sucked her thumb. Yeah, well, that¡¯s okay. ¡°Okay, Alba. Is this okay?¡± ¡°That¡¯ll do for now.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± A ripple spread through the space again, and a beautiful white blade appeared from it. Carefully holding the hilt that appeared with the blade facing downward, I positioned it in front of my body. ¡°The Dragon Fang Sword?¡± The sword, which Rouge had just returned to Alba, was Alba¡¯s terrifying sharp treasure. ¡°Whoa, Nana. Don¡¯t touch it, it¡¯s dangerous.¡± ¡°Nuu, dah.¡± I know you¡¯re curious, but unfortunately, that¡¯s no good. You¡¯ll have to wait until you¡¯re older¡­ or maybe not even when you¡¯re older. ¡°What are you going to do with this?¡± ¡°This sword is the only instrument in this world that can interfere with spirits. It¡¯s based on the fangs of a powerful dragon, after all. It can affect not only spirits but even the phenomena that they cause.¡± ¡°Hmm? Oh, yeah.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t understand it, say you don¡¯t understand it.¡± No, it¡¯s not that I don¡¯t understand everything. I mean, this sword can cut spirits, right? ¡°You¡¯re going to repel the spirits with this?¡± ¡°This is what¡¯s called ¡®grounding.¡¯¡± ¡°Grounding?¡± Aoi and I looked at each other with a question mark on our faces. What¡¯s a grounding? ¡°You have them in your home appliances, don¡¯t you? They¡¯re used to release excess electrical charges to the ground.¡± Ah, that. It¡¯s attached to the power plug. ¡°It¡¯s necessary to divert the excess of lightning that hits you, Nana and Aoi to the ground so that you can work safely, right?¡± ¡°Eh?¡± What did you just say? ¡°Did you just say ¡®hit¡¯?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± I asked again, and Alba replied without hesitation. No, wait, wait, wait. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m going to ask you one more time, but lightning is going to hit me, Nana and Aoi.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I just said.¡± Hey, you. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Can you say it again, this time in plain English? ¡°As a parent, I want you to take Nana¡¯s excessive energy head-on.¡± Oh, yeah. I see. This guy¡¯s an idiot. Chapter 181 ¡°I¡¯m fine with it, but¡­ even in dragon form, it¡¯s impossible for Kunpei-san.¡± ¡°R-right!?¡± I clung to Aoi¡¯s words. Tell him! Tell this stupid rat more! He doesn¡¯t understand! He¡¯s forgotten that I¡¯m just a weak high school boy! ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I told you before. It¡¯s going to hurt a little, but you should be able to take it. Just hang in there!¡± ¡°Hey, you¡¯re having fun now, aren¡¯t you?¡± You sound so happy on top of someone else¡¯s head. How can that be? You know I trust you, right? ¡°How dare you¡­ you shady rat?¡± At any rate, the rodents who call themselves wise must be given a crash course in human common sense. ¡°Listen! A normal human is not strong enough to be struck by lightning without batting an eyelid! In worst case, your heart will stop beating immediately, and even if not, you¡¯ll be severely burned!¡± ¡°I know that too. It¡¯s okay, if it¡¯s just a burn, it will heal in a few minutes thanks to your resilience as a dragon, and there will be no burden on your heart.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not stupid enough to believe that and let myself be struck by lightning¡­¡± I think you¡¯re looking down on me too much. The base is still just a human, what a crazy thing to say. ¡°This is the quickest and safest way, you know? You can wait for the drug to wear off over time, but then Nana might get hurt while you wait, right?¡± ¡°¡­ Wait a minute. Let me prepare myself.¡± I can¡¯t say anything if Nana is mentioned. ¡°Then I¡¯ll explain it to Aoi in the meantime.¡± If it¡¯s for Nana¡¯s sake, I know I have to do my best. But isn¡¯t it still too difficult to get hit by lightning? ¡°I want Aoi to take the form of a dragon and use up all the power of these spirits.¡± ¡°Me?¡± Aoi and Alba began to have a strategy meeting, leaving me to ponder in fear. ¡°Yes, no matter how strong Nana¡¯s power is due to the potion, it doesn¡¯t mean that she¡¯s stronger than you are. I know these spirits won¡¯t like it, but you just have to let all of Nana¡¯s stored power dissipate from the outside. Can you do that?¡± ¡°So, it¡¯s not impossible, but it¡¯s going to be difficult¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I asked clumsy-kun to become a dragon. It¡¯s not a problem even if it¡¯s a little too powerful.¡± ¡°But will Nana be okay? We are a race that is resistant to lightning and wind, but I don¡¯t think Nana can handle it yet.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Nana and Jaja are both small but magnificent sky dragons. And you, in your dragon form, can put up wind wards to block lightning, can¡¯t you? Clumsy-kun can also unconsciously set up a dragon qi ward to protect his body. I¡¯ve already confirmed that with Yule.¡± All right! I¡¯m ready! ¡°Yeah! I¡¯m ready, you fucking rat! Bring on the arrows or guns!¡± I think they¡¯ve been discussing some stuff, but thanks for waiting! ¡°It¡¯s lightning!¡± He poked me on the forehead with his staff. I know, I know! Don¡¯t be so nit picky about every little thing! ¡°So, what are you going to do?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear?¡± I was busy making up my mind. ¡°Au, dah¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Nana started to squirm in my chest. I saw a white butterfly perched on the tip of her nose, and she was trying her best to catch it. ¡°Nana, don¡¯t be surprised, okay?¡± ¡°Dah?¡± Aoi moved her face closer to Nana¡¯s and rubbed her cheeks softly. She smiled at Nana¡¯s curious face. ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¡°Aoi!?¡± Why did you suddenly take off your top? Is this what you mean by surprised! ¡°I¡¯ll tear my clothes if I turn like this.¡± As she said that, she took off her thick light pink bra. It was a pair of nursing underwear for moms that I bought because she said it chafed and hurt from breastfeeding. ¡°There we go.¡± She then took off her pajama pants. First, she took out her tail from the tail hole, then one leg at a time. Hey, hey, hey. Are you really going to strip naked? ¡°¡­ Your eyes are kind of scary, Kunpei-san.¡± I found myself staring at Aoi as she undressed. As she reached for her bra and matching colored panties, Aoi looked at me with a troubled smile. ¡°S-s-s-sorry!¡± I¡¯ve seen Aoi naked quite often, haven¡¯t I? What am I getting flustered about now? No, it¡¯s not like that. After the bath, you know. I sometimes see her when she¡¯s changing clothes. If it¡¯s just her upper body, I can¡¯t help but see it when we¡¯re co-feeding every night. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t like it! In fact, it makes me kind of happy! What? It¡¯s just the nature of high school boys! I can¡¯t help it! ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll start then. Uncle.¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± Huh? Start what? ¡°Suu¡­¡± Leaving me bewildered, Aoi closed her eyes and took a big breath. While puffing out her tiny little chest, she looked up to the heavens and then©`©`. ¡°¡­ uuuuuugggghhhhh, gaooooooooo!¡± She roared. ¡°Whoa!¡± ¡°Fuyaa!¡± The silhouette of the creature swelled up at a great speed, emitting a dazzling light. The wind around it reversed and blew as an updraft. I held Nana in my arms as if to protect her. It was too bright and windy to keep my eyes open. Nana¡¯s body tensed up in my arms. I guess she was a little startled after all, she was desperately grabbing at my clothes. ¡°Fueeeee¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. It¡¯s your mama.¡± With Aoi still glowing in the background, I nursed Nana, who had started to cry a little. It¡¯s impossible not to be surprised, right? I¡¯m sorry, okay? ¡°Goooooooooo!¡± There was a loud bang of wind and light, and a high-pitched yell. When I turned around, there was a huge dragon with blue fluffy body hair all over its body towering above me. A majestic looking dragon in the sky, flapping its large wings once and rustling the trees around it. Slapping its large tail against the ground with a bang, and ruffling the surface of a small pond. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen Aoi as a dragon. ¡°Grrrr¡± The blue sky dragon looked down at me and Nana with kind eyes. No matter what she looks like, the way she looks at her daughter will never change. ¡°Auu¡­¡± There was a hint of trepidation in Nana¡¯s eyes as she looked up at the figure. Come to think of it, isn¡¯t this the first time Nana and Jaja have properly seen Aoi like this up close? ¡°Guuuu¡­¡± ¡°Uu?¡± Aoi curled up her large body and moved her nose closer to Nana. Nana tilted her head in disbelief when she saw that. ¡°Look, Nana, it¡¯s your mama.¡± ¡°Dah?¡± I reached out with my right hand and tapped the head of the dragon¡¯s nose. I¡¯m still not sure if she understands, but apparently, she¡¯s stopped being scared. ¡°Aoi, let¡¯s get started. Your appearance is still conspicuous, you know. You¡¯ve not been noticed yet, but it¡¯s better to be careful.¡± ¡°Gah!¡± Aoi nodded loudly, pulled her face away from Nana¡¯s, and covered us with her body. This is the back of Atol¡¯s compound. The land of the royal family with a vast area. Any citizen of this country, much less this city, would know this, so there would be no one who would come all the way here to see the commotion. But it¡¯s still noticeable. She curled up her huge body in the woods, though, so it¡¯s hidden. ¡°Clumsy-kun, are you ready?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± I flapped the wings on my back and my tail wrapped around my waist. The sensation of moving an organ that doesn¡¯t normally exist is so strange. ¡°Dah?¡± Nana has been looking up at me curiously for a while now. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Nana. Mom and Dad will take care of you.¡± ¡°Dah!¡± Nana answered with both hands raised. I¡¯m actually a little happy that she recognizes me even though I have horns. ¡°Grrrr!¡± At the same time as a low growl, a magnificent black horn grew on Aoi¡¯s temple. The black horn on the temple of Aoi glowed brightly. ¡°Clumsy-kun, hold on to Nana tightly. There¡¯s going to be a lot of light and impact, so keep her face covered.¡± ¡°O-oh.¡± I put my hand on the back of Nana¡¯s head and pressed her face against my chest as instructed. I pressed my nose against the nape of her neck, being careful not to block her mouth and nose. ¡°Adda¡­¡± ¡°Hold on, hold on, just a little longer, okay?¡± As she shook her head, I also shut my eyes. ¡°Uuuuuuu! Gaaaaaaaaaah!¡± Aoi¡¯s yell, which seemed to vibrate the entire air, assaulted my eardrums. Nana, startled, shook her head and cowered. ¡°It¡¯s coming! Hold on!¡± At the same time as Alba¡¯s shout, a creeping, unpleasant sensation ran across the surface of my skin. The butterflies began to rub their wings in unison, and static electricity began to build up rapidly. The hairs on my body began to stand on end. There was a crackling sound coming from the ground, and it gradually increased, overlapping and getting louder. ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay.¡± I continued to tell Nana as I gently stroked her back. I know I was saying that, but to tell you the truth, my heart was still racing with nervousness and fear. At the same time as I was telling Nana, I was deceiving myself. It¡¯s natural. It¡¯s easy to imagine what would happen if you were hit by lightning. At best, severe burns. At worst, instant death. I can¡¯t imagine any other outcome. The only reason I¡¯m able to hold on and not run away is because I trust Alba Germain¡¯s words, and I believe in Aoi. This championship world representative shady rat deserves to be trusted, considering his track record so far. And, much to our chagrin, we don¡¯t know of anyone else who can be relied upon for dragon problems and illnesses. For those of us who can¡¯t go to a public institution or hospital, we can only rely on his words. It¡¯ll be okay, right? I don¡¯t mind if I get hurt a little, though I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll complain. But Nana. I¡¯m begging you, please don¡¯t hurt Nana. I¡¯m begging you. Alba! ¡°Gah!¡± Aoi¡¯s short roar changed the situation at once. Even when my eyes were shut, the amount of light was still dazzling, and the surrounding area suddenly turned white. At the same time, my brain was shaken by an unbearable roar. The ringing in my ears, which occurred almost simultaneously, was very unpleasant. I covered Nana¡¯s ears with my arms as best I could, but my ears were unprotected. The high-pitched sound reverberating in my head makes me feel as if the ground is shaking. I grit my teeth and endured it all. It was porbably only a moment. A few seconds, maybe even less than a second. Even the sense of time is vague, and all I can feel is the warmth in my arms that I need to protect. My body, which has lost feeling, tells me that everything is wrong. The muscles in my arms, legs, and stomach were twitching on their own. The smell of something burning stuck in my nose. I remember. This is the smell I smelled at the top of Tusk Crag when I took that blow from Yule. The smell of my own flesh scorching, my blood boiling, even the air burning. I¡¯m scared. Honestly, I can¡¯t stand the fear. If Nana hadn¡¯t been here, I would have been screaming and flailing around in misery. Endure. Nana¡¯s here. She¡¯s in my arms, and she¡¯s counting on me. I can¡¯t let her see how pathetic I am. I can¡¯t let her see that! Suddenly, I felt something warm and soft on my back. My eyes were closed and I can¡¯t open them, but I knew somehow that it was Aoi. I wondered if she was cuddling up to me, worried about me and Nana. The hair on her body, which was fluffy to the touch, wrapped around us from the back. ¡®Don¡¯t worry, Kunpei-san. I¡¯m here.¡¯ Aoi¡¯s voice, which I couldn¡¯t possibly hear, echoed in my mind. ¡®Do your best, for Nana¡¯s sake.¡¯ Yeah, I know. You¡¯re the mom, and I¡¯m the dad, right? I can endure anything for our daughter. That¡¯s what being a parent is all about, isn¡¯t it? I wondered how long it¡¯s been since the back of my eyelids regained their darkness. I gingerly opened my eyes, leaving behind only the ringing in my ears that hadn¡¯t stopped. The high-pitched sound made me dizzy, and I slumped slightly. I put all the strength I had into my right foot and stepped on it to get myself back into position. ¡°Hot!¡± Hot! I looked at the abnormal heat I felt in my legs and saw that the hem of my jeans was on fire, blowing out a little black smoke. I tried to put out the fire, but it wouldn¡¯t go out. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Alba told me in a quiet voice over the ringing in my ears that had begun to subside. A weak stream of water fell from the tip of my head. The water soaked my legs and my pants and extinguished the fire that had started to burn. Ah, I was surprised. I think I got a little burned around my ankle. It hurts a little. ¡°It looks like the warding was only weak at your feet. Nana is¡­ yeah, she¡¯s fine.¡± Flustered by those words, I quickly inserted my hands into Nana¡¯s sides and lifted her up. ¡°Nana!¡± When I forced myself to look into her upturned face, Nana looked at me with her cute, pouting eyes. Thank God. I can¡¯t find any injuries that look like injuries. ¡°Fueh, fueeeeh.¡± Her hands, which had been ripped from my shirt, were clenched tightly. Ah, she¡¯s going to cry. This is the posture for crying. The situation finally caught up with her, and she began to break down in tears. ¡°Gyaaaaaaaah!¡± ¡°Ah, sorry, sorry. You must be scared. It¡¯s okay now. Come on, stop crying, princess.¡± ¡°Gyaaaaaah!¡± I tried to quiet her down by making funny faces and shaking her whole body gently, but she wouldn¡¯t stop crying at all. I¡¯m in trouble. She¡¯s in full-on crying mode. The only person who can stop her is Aoi. I can handle Jaja, but Nana is a mama¡¯s girl. I hugged Nana back to my chest and looked at Aoi, who was probably above me. Aoi, still in her dragon form, probably smiled with a troubled expression. She was looking down at Nana and me with her eyes narrowed. ¡°Guaa¡­¡± Aoi¡¯s thick, fluffy tail dexterously moved as she stroked Nana¡¯s cheek. ¡°Nnbiiiiiiiii!¡± Aoi stroked Nana¡¯s cheek with her tail over and over again as she cried out with large tears streaming down her cheeks. ¡°Hic¡­ egh¡± I wondered if she had cried and screamed until she felt better. ¡°Aoi, your wounds still haven¡¯t healed, have they? Stay in that form for a while. You¡¯ll heal faster in dragon form.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± I asked Alba, who was waving his staff over my head. Or rather, what are you doing? ¡°Just a little bit, okay?¡± Alba waved his staff as he said that. ¡°I¡¯m trying to get rid of the spirits that have calmed down after the thunderstorm. It¡¯s not good to have too many of them around.¡± He responded to my silent question. I looked around to see if that was the case, and the spirits slowly scattered in all directions. Thank God. I¡¯m not sure, but it looks like things have calmed down. ¡°Ahn¡­¡± Nana, who had wiped the tears from her cheeks with Aoi¡¯s tail, let out a strange sound. ¡°It¡¯s done, Nana. Let¡¯s go back to the room and have some apple juice, okay?¡± We haven¡¯t eaten lunch yet either. I¡¯m sure Nana will sleep now that she¡¯s had such a good time. I wonder if Jaja is asleep yet? I¡¯ll have to go check on her later. ¡°¡­ Dah¡± Nana looked up at Aoi on top of her head for a moment, then suddenly held out her hands. ¡°Mmm, mmm!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Does she want to be held? Does she understand that the big one in front of her is her mom? ¡°Grrr.¡± Aoi growled and scratched her cheek with her big hand. So you want to go back to your original form, but you can¡¯t go back yet. ¡°Nana, wait a little longer, okay?¡± Red smoke was rising in places from the dragon¡¯s body. That¡¯s the dragon¡¯s healing ability. A little bit of it was rising from my leg, and the pain was disappearing as quickly as it came. There was probably no trace of the burns I had received earlier. ¡°Mnn! Baa!¡± I managed to restrain Nana from flailing about. Nana, you¡¯re hurting me. I know you prefer mommy to daddy, but it still hurts me. ¡°Maa!¡± Eh? ¡°Guu!¡± Aoi and I both froze at the words she said. ¡°Maa! Ma!¡± ¡°Gua!¡± Wait! Wait a minute, Nana! What did you just say? ¡°Maa! Maa!¡± ¡°Guooo!¡± Aoi suddenly roared out, and began to shrink rapidly with luminescence. ¡°Whoa!¡± ¡°Nana! Say that again!¡± I closed my eyes, feeling a little dizzy, and when I opened them, I saw a naked Aoi clinging to my shoulders in a desperate manner. She still has some scars in places, but I guess she couldn¡¯t afford to worry about it. ¡°Baa!¡± Nana laughed when she saw Aoi¡¯s usual appearance. ¡°Maa! Maa!¡± ¡°Uh-huh! Look, it¡¯s mama! Mama!¡± Aoi was so overcome with emotion that she was on the verge of tears. She held out her hands and took Nana away from me. Forgetting to even put on clothes. ¡°Maa!¡± ¡°Yes! Yes!¡± ¡­ How nice. Aoi was crying, her face tearing up as she rubbed her cheek against Nana. I guess Nana was the first to talk. Jaja was the first to fly and crawl with her tail, but I didn¡¯t expect this. And the memorable first word was ¡®Mama¡¯. ¡­ Where¡¯s Papa? As Aoi and Nana rubbed their cheeks together happily, I held out my free right hand in vain. The rat sage laughed happily above my head. ¡°You look lonely. You.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± Leave me alone for a minute! ¡°Maama!¡± Chapter 182 The light diffused through the clear crystal and hit my eyelids. ¡°¡­Mhmn~¡± It¡¯s too bright. Please stop. ¡°Let me sleep a little longer.¡± The light caused my drowsiness to withdraw, and I slowly woke up. Eh¡­ is it morning already? I just fell asleep a few minutes ago. Mr. sun, you can rise up a little slower, you know? Why is the world so busy? Let¡¯s take it easy, let¡¯s take it easy. ¡°Alice-sama, are you awake?¡± ¡°I¡¯m asleep.¡± I heard the voice of my attendant, Tesserae, from outside. She¡¯s a hard worker, too. The Sea Dragon tribe is always too serious. I think it¡¯s important to slack off once in a while. It¡¯s not good to overwork. ¡°You¡¯re awake. The Dragon King wants to see you.¡± Tesserae came into my room, her long golden hair swaying along with her bouncy breasts. The long silk dress that we both knitted and made the other day looked great on her, and I was very jealous. I get more frustrated every time I see it. My mom is so mean to make such a mature Tesserae as my attendant. ¡°Come on, come on, everyone else is already up and at work.¡± Tesserae¡¯s hand ripped off the thin sheet covering me. Stop it. I¡¯m cold. I¡¯m sleepy. It¡¯s too bright. It¡¯s so annoying. ¡°Hmm¡­ what does mom want?¡± I scratched my shaggy hair and sat up. I wonder. I¡¯m sure she knows I¡¯m still recuperating, but she went out of her way to call me. ¡°You have a guest. You should greet them.¡± ¡°A guest? That¡¯s unusual.¡± What could they possibly want in such a remote place? ¡°Come on, don¡¯t look so immodest all the time. Put some clothes on.¡± It¡¯s comfortable and it¡¯s my bed, so I don¡¯t have any problem with being naked. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t mom just deal with the guests, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll make a mistake if I go.¡± Tesserae knows that. I find everything bothersome, and I¡¯ll only end up doing something rude and pissing off the guests. ¡°Alice-sama, please don¡¯t be so selfish. You are the proud next Dragon King.¡± ¡°Mom is still active, you know. It will be thousands of years before I become the Dragon King.¡± That¡¯s if I¡¯m still alive by then. You are so kind, Tesserae. You care for me? ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the princesses of the Earth Dragon and Sky Dragon tribes are already independent. You¡¯re older than them, Alic-sama, so you should be more responsible.¡± Really? That¡¯s early. I¡¯ve only heard their names, the earth dragon tribe one¡­ was it Ru-chan? I think she was 200 years younger than me, but she¡¯s already left the nest. The earth dragons are strong. I¡¯m sure they can do well on their own. I think the daughter of the Sky Dragon was the youngest. Well, that¡¯s impressive. I¡¯m no good at that, aren¡¯t I? I¡¯m at the age where I just want to laze around and do nothing. I just want to spend all day long reading books. It¡¯s just so bothersome. ¡°Hey, hey, hey! How long are you going to be naked? Please wash your face quickly and wake up! Your guests are waiting for you!¡± ¡°Ehhhh¡­¡± Mom and Tesserae have been taking care of all the visitors until now. I don¡¯t know why this time you¡¯re dragging me into this. There are so many books I haven¡¯t read yet. ¡°Come on! Quickly!¡± ¡°Okay, okay. Pass me those clothes.¡± How annoying, you¡¯ll get old if you keep lecturing me like that. You¡¯re only four hundred years older than me, but the other races think you¡¯re a lot older. I pointed to the pure white dress at Tesserae¡¯s feet. It¡¯s a little short, but it¡¯s comfortable. ¡°Is this okay? Wait, Alice-sama! Please wear underwear! It¡¯s improper!¡± I don¡¯t care who sees me. What¡¯s there to be embarrassed about when there are only women here? Or is it that? Is Tesserae a pervert who lusts after my body? For a little girl like me? ¡°Nooo, Tesserae¡¯s perverted.¡± ¡°Where did you learn to say that? It¡¯s a matter of etiquette!¡± If you ask me where, it¡¯s knowledge from books written by humans and demons. Didn¡¯t the girls who went to town before buy a bunch of stuff? Everything from erotic books and phone books to novels and dictionaries. It¡¯s been a big help since I can¡¯t leave the island. You know what? I wonder why we dragons, who have no males, have any sense of chastity. Ultimately, the idea of wearing clothes is questionable to me. I wonder why dragons, who are so strong that they don¡¯t even need to protect themselves, have to wear clothes. We don¡¯t have to worry about the eyes of the opposite sex, and manners are defined by beastmen and humans, right? I wonder. ¡°No time to relax! Hurry up and get dressed!¡± ¡°R-o-g-e-r.¡± What a nag. Tesserae. I mean, the guests are probably dragons of other species anyway, right? This island is protected by purifying waters and a torrent that even dolphins and aquatic monsters can drown in. The only ones that can enter are their own people or the demon tribe that my mom invited in. I shoved my head through the dress. My peach-colored hair, which has not been groomed at all, became puffy and unkempt. ¡°Oh my! Alice-sama! You¡¯ve ruined your beautiful hair! If you combed your hair properly on a regular basis, it wouldn¡¯t look so shaggy!¡± ¡°I do.¡± ¡°This is what happens when you don¡¯t do it!¡± The scales on Tesserae¡¯s tail shone in rainbow colors as the diffused sunlight shone on it. ¡°Sit here! Good grief!¡± ¡°You¡¯ll do it? Yay~¡± I sat down at a dressing table with a mirror stand that was given to me by the King of Dailan several generations ago. The reflection in the mirror is of me as a child, having stopped growing long ago. ¡°You¡¯re pretty cute when you¡¯re like this.¡± While brushing my hair, Tesserae¡¯s didn¡¯t stop lecturing me. ¡°You make it sound like I¡¯m not usually cute.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not cute when you¡¯re always complaining and making excuses.¡± Mmm. I can¡¯t say anything back. ¡°¡­ How are you feeling?¡± Tesserae lowered the tone of her voice and asked me through the mirror. She¡¯s worried about me. I¡¯m glad. I¡¯m fine. The rat sage said, didn¡¯t he? He said I¡¯ll be fine for the time being.¡± ¡°For the time being?¡± Yeah. For a while. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯ll be ten years or a hundred years. What I do know is that I¡¯ll never be completely cured. I don¡¯t know how long this period of time the sage is talking about will last, but eventually, I¡¯ll fall ill again. The pain that tore me apart and the heat that burned. Those days of hell will come again. ¡°Thank you.¡± On the other side of the mirror, Tesseara was looking at me with shadows in her beautiful eyes. I think it was hard for her to keep seeing me like that. Even so, she never left me and nursed me all this time. That¡¯s why I love her. ¡°¡­ No, I can¡¯t do anything for you. I can¡¯t do anything for Alice-sama, who is in so much pain.¡± Still, I honestly appreciate that you¡¯re worried about me. The other daughters of the Sea Dragon tribe, and my mom, too. I am blessed to be surrounded by people who love me so much, and I am able to live my life peacefully. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to do my best at what I can do. As the Sea Dragon King, mom¡¯s job is to protect and cleanse the seas that cover this planet, to calm the seas that are dirty, muddy, and raging due to the collision of worlds. I am too inexperienced, too sickly, and too weak to even leave this island to help. That¡¯s why I continue to learn. Knowledge of demons, beastmen, and humans. I spend most of my time reading books on magic and science, hoping that I can find something useful for my mom from a perspective that she has never had before. Well, it¡¯s mostly a hobby, isn¡¯t it? The best thing I can do is to heal this troublesome body, but it is difficult. Even the rat sage can only alleviate the symptoms of my disease. The sage calls this disease ¡®Spirit Deficiency¡¯. He said. ¡°You, like Hilda the Dragon Princess, have a close relationship with the spirits. You are directly affected by this abnormal flow of spirits that is no longer circulating normally due to the world clash.¡± Or something like that. Well, I¡¯ve already figured out that it¡¯s just a trick. The fact that he¡¯s not lying is what makes him so cunning. The wind dragon and I have completely different processes and results. Dragon Princess, Hildegarde, the Wind Dragon, has a completely different body mechanism from the other dragon species. Because she is so assimilated with the spirits, the concept of ¡®growth¡¯ is completely missing from her body. But even though they don¡¯t grow, it doesn¡¯t mean they don¡¯t die. As proof of this, the Dragon Princess is the fifth generation from the generation of the originator. All the previous generations of princesses have died very young. Those wind dragons don¡¯t age. We dragons are unnatural creatures. The wind dragons are the strongest embodiment of this. A life with power and a loss of aging. I wonder if we can really call it life. And then there¡¯s me. I am the most powerful in the history of the sea dragons, able to resonate strongly with the spirits. This body has resonated so much that it has almost been assimilated. A cursed body, deprived of the concept of growth. And then, forty-two years ago, I suddenly developed this disease. This is due to the fact that it was taken away from me when the worlds collided. My power, which was immature and lacking to begin with, was forcibly taken away to compensate for the broken world. That¡¯s probably why I¡¯m already¡­ Oh, no, no, no! It¡¯s not like me to be negative! I¡¯m laid back, I¡¯m relaxed. It¡¯s me to be positive and lazy! ¡°Okay, it¡¯s done.¡± ¡°Ah, my head feels lighter.¡± ¡°Your hair was too tangled! Come on, let¡¯s go! The Dragon Kings are waiting.¡± ¡°Dragon Kings?¡± Why the plural? ¡°Ah, I forgot to tell you. The guest who is here today is the Sky Dragon King. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll understand. ¡­ What on earth does the violent Sky Dragon King want? I¡¯ve got a bad feeling about this. ¡°I have a book I need to read.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± I was lifted up and carried away. I struggled, but my small body could not stop Tesserae at all. ¡°No, no, no! I¡¯ve heard that the Sky Dragon King is very scary!¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a rumor. It¡¯s a rumor, but it¡¯s not so bad when you meet her in person.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve never even met her either, Tesserae!¡± ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m going with you, Alice-sama! Do you want me to deal with the Sky Dragon King by myself?¡± ¡°Ah! So you¡¯re going to use me as a sacrifice! Mother is there too!¡± ¡°How can you say that to the Dragon King?¡± ¡°Is it fine if it¡¯s me!¡± ¡°Of course!¡± I was dragged out of my room while screaming noisily. Chapter 183 ¡°Maama!¡± ¡°Yees?¡± Aoi and Nana were smiling on the sofa by the window, which was illuminated by a good amount of sunlight. It was noon and we were spending the lazy hours after lunch in our room. A day after Nana¡¯s discharge, we were going to discuss the itinerary of our still unplanned trip, but before we knew it, it had turned into a time to interact with the twins. ¡°Maamaa!¡± ¡°Ma-ma!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Nana, who was sitting on Aoi¡¯s lap, called out to Aoi with the word she had just learned yesterday, to which Aoi happily responded. They¡¯ve been doing this for a while, about ten minutes now. She¡¯s been repeating it over and over again, but never gets tired of it. Hmph, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m frustrated or jealous of you! ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°You¡¯re so good! You¡¯re so cute, Nana!¡± ¡°Kyah!¡± Nana was wearing a pink t-shirt with a rabbit print and a diaper. ¡°How nice¡­¡± I¡¯m so frustrated and jealous. I want that too! I want her to call me papa! Nana¡¯s first words were given over to Aoi, but not yet. It¡¯s not time to panic yet. I have Jaja! Nana is a mama¡¯s girl, but Jaja is more of a papa¡¯s girl! If it¡¯s Jaja! Across the table from the sofa where Aoi and Nana were sitting. Jaja was sitting on my lap while sucking her thumb and staring at her mom and sister. I leaned forward a little and looked into Jaja¡¯s face. ¡°Uh?¡± She had a blank look on her face like she was wondering why mama and Nana were having so much fun. Okay, here¡¯s my chance. ¡°Here, Jaja? Papa.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Jaja looked up at me and tilted her head. ¡°Pa-pa.¡± Repeat after me? ¡°Maama!¡± No, no, no! That sounds more like mama! You too, Jaja! You want to start with ¡®mama¡¯ too? Call me papa! Please! ¡°Hmm. Nana, nee-nee.¡± ¡°Try saying nii-nii?¡± Before I was aware, Rouge and Shouhei had surrounded Nana and Aoi. Haha, but it¡¯s no use. Even I can¡¯t get her to say it yet, and you guys¡­ ¡°Ii-ii?¡± Hm? ¡°Close! It¡¯s nii-nii, Nana.¡± Shouhei touched Nana¡¯s springy cheeks. ¡°Shouhei is sly. Nana, try saying nee-nee. Please.¡± ¡°Ee-ee!¡± ¡°It¡¯s different, but it¡¯s cute, so there¡¯s no problem.¡± With a sniffle, Rouge patted Nana on the head. You guys, you guys, you guys! ¡°Dah?¡± I¡¯m not sure if she was aware of how I was feeling, but she put her back against my stomach with a thud. ¡°Au.¡± Are you trying to comfort me? Jaja is so sweet. ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Kyakya!¡± I flipped up the hem of the yellow t-shirt of a different color from Nana¡¯s and gently rubbed Jaja¡¯s belly. Aah, this softness. This is the best kind of healing. An essential item to survive in today¡¯s stressful society. If only I could keep touching my baby¡¯s belly, there would be no more conflicts in this world. ¡°Kazamachi-sama, may I come in?¡± After a few light knocks, Kayone¡¯s voice came from behind the door of the room. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s okay.¡± I put my hands on Jaja¡¯s sides as I answered and got up from the couch. No, no, no, Aoi, just sit down. Since Nana is having so much fun, you should play with her. ¡°Da, da, da.¡± Jaja begins to play with the rhythm and vibration of my feet as I head for the door. Her tail shook from side to side, wagging in a steady rhythm, and her arms shook in the same way. What is this girl? She can enjoy any object, any sound, anything. You¡¯re a genius, aren¡¯t you? ¡°Sorry to keep you waiting.¡± When I opened the door with Jaja back in my arms, Kayone was standing there in her maid¡¯s uniform. She was dressed in black. The white apron dress and white trims looked great against her tanned skin. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to disturb you on your day off. There was a phone call for you.¡± ¡°A call?¡± For me? ¡°Yes.¡± There are few people who know I¡¯m here and will contact me. Or rather, only my father does. I¡¯ve told Gasara and Makio that I¡¯m going abroad, but I haven¡¯t told them that I¡¯m staying at Atol¡¯s house, and they probably don¡¯t know the phone number. If you call from the Japanese side, you will be charged a huge amount of money later. So it wasn¡¯t them. Hmm? Then who is it? ¡°It¡¯s Mikuma-sama.¡± Kayone gave me an answer. ¡°Ah, Mikuma.¡± I didn¡¯t have to think about it. That¡¯s right, that¡¯s right. She¡¯s the only person who knows Atol and the others and knows that we¡¯re staying here. ¡°The phone is at the end of the hallway, in front of the stairs.¡± Kayone smiled and pointed her palm upward, indicating the end of the hallway. ¡°Oh, thanks. Rouge, can you help me with Jaja? ¡°Hmm. Jaja, come here. Come and play with nee-nee.¡± As soon as she was called, Rouge walked towards me and opened her arms to invite Jaja. ¡°Hmm! Nya!¡± Jaja grabbed my clothes and shook her head unwillingly. ¡°Jaja, do you want some apple juice? ¡°Na!¡± That was fast! She turned to Rouge with super speed! Damn, I lost to apple juice¡­ ¡°Come here.¡± ¡°Dah! Ahda!¡± With a flap of the small wings on her back, Jaja flew away from my chest. She continued on her way slowly and lightly, and landed with a poof on Rouge¡¯s chest. ¡°Yes, good job.¡± ¡°Heh.¡± Jaja, who was praised, put on the twin¡¯s signature triumphant smile. Rouge, a dragon that manipulates fire, is said to have a high body temperature. Maybe that¡¯s why Jaja and Nana like to be hugged by Rouge. ¡°Where¡¯s Jaja¡¯s apple juice?¡± ¡°Aah!¡± I left the room while Rouge, who was going to the refrigerator and spoke in a tone that mimicked Yuri-san¡¯s, and Jaja who was in high spirits. If you¡¯re not in a good mood, she¡¯ll cry. When she¡¯s in a bad mood or wants to sleep, she cries a lot just because I¡¯m not there. ¡°Rouge-sama, let me help you.¡± ¡°Yes, please.¡± Kayone, who had replaced me in the room, made a short run for the refrigerator. I closed the door slowly, leaving Kayone¡¯s body in a blind spot. I hurried down the hallway and reached the phone in front of the grand staircase at the end of the hall. There was something written in unfamiliar characters on the touch screen display, but there was no way I could read demon characters. I picked up the receiver next to the phone and put it next to my ear to hear classical music playing. It was the hold function. ¡°Uh, I think it¡¯s this button?¡± I pressed the large button that was glowing green, and the music stopped. ¡°Hello? Mikuma? We¡¯re connected, right? ¡°Ah, hello? Kunpei-kun?¡± A familiar voice rang in my ears through the speaker on the receiver. Hmm? It seems like there¡¯s a commotion. ¡°Oh, thanks for waiting.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine. Sorry to bother you all of a sudden.¡± I don¡¯t know why Aoi and this girl are so concerned about others. ¡°No, it¡¯s okay. What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°U-um, we¡¯re going to be in Dailan for my father¡¯s work. We¡¯re planning to stay in the capital for five nights, so I thought it would be nice to join you.¡± Huh? Mikuma¡¯s father came to the Sphere Continent for the magic tools expo to be held in Francion, right? It¡¯s the most famous and largest of the demon nations in the middle of the sphere continent. It dominates the market share of the word sphere, a magical tool for language translation, and is truly a Mecca for magical tools. That¡¯s Francion. What brings you to Dailan? This is a country on the edge of the sphere continent, facing the sea. It¡¯s quite a distance. ¡°Dailan is more famous than Francion for its water-attribute magic tools. It seems to be firmly in the schedule of overseas business trip.¡± Ah, I¡¯m sure Gasara said something like that before. ¡°I see. I understand. I¡¯ll talk to Atol and see if we can schedule it. When are you coming?¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ll be arriving at the capital tomorrow night. The manarail will take us to Dailan in about five hours. We can meet anytime from the day after tomorrow.¡± High-speed magic railroad! The manarail! ¡°Wow, that¡¯s great. I want to ride it too.¡± ¡°Kunpei-kun, you seem to like that kind of thing.¡± I like it a lot. As a boy, I long for something like that. I¡¯ve always wanted to ride one of these things if I had the chance. A magically operated monorail that can only be operated in areas where the magic in the air is dense. That is the manarail. The streetcars that run in this town are powered by both magic and electricity, and can be operated with fewer people. As a result, they can¡¯t go very fast, and the weight they can carry is also limited. On the other hand, high-speed magic railroads, as the name implies, can go much faster and have a much higher weight limit. I read in a book once that it carried a disassembled super-large passenger ship in a single run. In terms of power, they are as different as an ant and an elephant. Of course, it also takes time to control and maintain the aircraft, and a hundred people are not even enough to operate it. The magic that was applied to the aircraft, the academic magic name for it, was the ¡®high-move¡¯. It¡¯s a technique in which a large amount of magic power is gathered from the surrounding area and channeled to the overhead wires and tracks to make the body of the vehicle, which is also lightened by magic, flow in any direction. In the inside, there are ¡®shock mitigation¡¯, ¡®resistance mitigation¡¯, ¡®simple space fixation¡¯, and even a magic-resistant wall. That¡¯s all controlled by the crew in the car, which inevitably requires a lot of people. That¡¯s why the fare for the manarail is so expensive. It is a high level service that requires highly skilled and knowledgeable crew members to transport tourists and important people from different countries. Due to the nature of crossing between countries, one has to be very careful about safety. Some enthusiasts call it ¡®the world¡¯s fastest three-star hotel¡¯ and tickets for that ride are not something that ordinary people can afford. ¡°That¡¯s amazing Kunpei-kun, I didn¡¯t know that.¡± I was the one who was explaining this to Mikuma over the phone. I¡¯m actually quite a vehicle enthusiast! I¡¯m not a specialist, I¡¯m just a broad and shallow enthusiast, and I only pick out the cool ones, such as cars, motorcycles, boats, airplanes, and the like. ¡°A-anyways, I¡¯ll be in Dailan tomorrow night, so if we can meet somewhere, I¡¯d love to see you!¡± ¡°Wait a minute, Mikuma. There¡¯s still more to explain.¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to hear about it in person!¡± ¡°Is that so? Okay. I¡¯ll see you day after tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yeah! Thank you!¡± What the? Why was she trying to wind me up with that? That¡¯s not like Mikuma. We said a quick goodbye to each other and I put down the phone. I¡¯ll have to talk to Atol about it at dinner. I¡¯ve heard that it takes a few hours to get to the capital by car, I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be fine. I se, the manarail, is it? There will be at least time to take pictures¡­ right? Chapter 184 The next day, we got permission from Atol and drove to the royal capital. We were in a royal limousine, and I felt like a rich man. A dignified old chauffeur sat in the driver¡¯s seat. He is a wingless type of demon, with a beard, and despite his large and scary appearance, he is a playful person. Before we left, he looked at Jaja and Nana and said, ¡®This reminds me of when my grandchildren were little.¡¯ Aside from Jaja, who is very friendly, even Nana, who is shy, laughed at him, so he is probably a good person. Iris, a prim elderly maid, sat in the passenger seat. She looks like a beautiful grandmother. She is a relative of Kayone and Utai, and is said to be an experienced maid with a lot of say in the Inteira family. She is also the wife of the driver, who has been taking care of Atol since he was a baby. The first and second rows of the back seat were arranged so that they were facing each other, a rich design. I¡¯ve seen this on TV and in movies, but I guess it¡¯s real. In the first row, Atol and Utai are on the window side, and Kayone sat on Atol¡¯s side. In the middle of the seat facing the opposite direction of travel, between Kayone and Utai, there was a table with a refrigerator inside that could be used to cool drinks if the top panel was removed. In the second row facing them were me, Jaja, and Shouhei. Jaja, of course, was tucked into her car seat and went off to dreamland soon after our departure. In the large space between the first and second rows, there was a long table with pockets for drinks, our drinks and Jaja¡¯s baby bottle. Behind us, in the third row, sat Aoi, Nana, and Rouge. Aoi had fallen asleep before we knew it, probably because she was tired. The twins had been crying so hard last night, I wanted them to sleep when they could. Sweet dreams? ¡°So many skyscrapers.¡± I muttered to myself as I looked out the window of the limousine. The scenery flowing by at a safe driving speed is the opposite of my image of the demon nation as a fantasy place where magic is developed. Modernized buildings, landscaped roadways, and beautiful cityscapes. The scenery was not so different from that of a Japanese city, although there were a few aspects that showed the character of the country. ¡°This is the section of the royal capital where commercial facilities and offices are concentrated. But it¡¯s still not as bad as Japan.¡± Atol, who was sitting across from me, replied in a bored tone. It wasn¡¯t so bad when we left the mansion, but as we approached the capital, it was easy to see he was in a bad mood. Kayone is laughing next to you. In addition, the maid who is sleeping next to him has a baby face, small size, big breasts and many other attributes. She¡¯s drooling profusely out of the corner of her mouth, exposing a sleeping face that no girl should ever show. If she¡¯s awake, she¡¯s noisy, but even if she¡¯s asleep, she¡¯s noisy in her own way, which is great in a way. ¡°Why are you so grumpy?¡± ¡°The royal capital is not my favorite place to begin with. There are a lot of annoying people and I have to face my brother.¡± Atol looked out the window resting his cheek in his hands, not making eye contact with me. The white wings that were folded behind his back were drooping. He hated coming here so much, didn¡¯t he? ¡°Nii-chan, nii-chan, look at that!¡± Shouhei, whose heart was still dancing with the exotic cityscape, pointed out the window with sparkling eyes. ¡°Oh, what¡¯s that snake statue? It¡¯s really sparkling.¡± In the center of a large square along the road, a huge golden snake about ten meters long sat coiled in a coil. Men and women of all ages were kneeling in prayer around the statue, which was as golden as it could be. ¡°Hmm. Look, Nana. It¡¯s Mr.snake.¡± ¡°Uu?¡± When Rouge, who was sitting by the window, pointed her finger, Nana, who was lying on the child seat in the middle seat, tilted her head curiously. She was still a little sleepy, probably because she had just woken up. Her usual sleepy eyes were even more half-open. The worn out cat stuffed animal, which she hadn¡¯t let go of even when she was sleeping, was in her arms. Maybe I should buy her a new stuffed animal. ¡°That¡¯s not a snake. It¡¯s a bronze statue of a sea dragon.¡± ¡°Sea dragon?¡± That¡¯s not a dragon, it¡¯s an ugly snake. But if you look at it like that, you can see an ornament on the side of the head and a long horn on the forehead. The tip of the tail is also not pointy, but looks like a fish¡¯s tail fin. ¡°It¡¯s a statue of the first Sea Dragon King, who was said to have given water blessings to the drought-stricken people when the country was founded.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the Dragon King¡­¡± It is said that there are three kings of the dragon species. The one I know is Aoi¡¯s mother, the Sky Dragon King Yuriel Dragoline. She is a conqueror of the skies with terrible power. ¡°Rouge, do you know them?¡± ¡°No. The first Sea Dragon King is already dead. The current Sea Dragon King is the eighth generation. I think her name is Coloria-san.¡± ¡°You fool. The predecessor of this country, the Kingdom of Dailan Amistina, was founded several thousand years ago. No matter how much of a dragon you are, you won¡¯t live that long.¡± That¡¯s true. Even the current Sky Dragon King said she was two thousand years old. ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true. The sea dragons have the longest lifespan of all the dragon species. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve met the second Sea Dragon King. I heard that she was traveling around the world in her spare time after she quit being a Dragon King, and she once came to visit the earth dragons. Aoi was with him at the time, and she was very kind.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°He said he hadn¡¯t kept track of her age after 10,000, so I don¡¯t think she was involved in the founding of this country, at least not the first or second generation.¡± Oh, I see. The math doesn¡¯t add up, does it? ¡°¡­ Atol-sama, a shocking story about the state religion was just told to you.¡± ¡°I know. Don¡¯t say anything now. I¡¯m a little anxious myself.¡± Hmm? Kayone and Atol look as if they¡¯re biting down on something bitter. I wonder why. ¡°So, where are we staying today? According to the text I got from Mikuma in the morning, I won¡¯t see her until tomorrow?¡± Except for Shouhei, all of our members are not familiar with machines and the latest gadgets. It¡¯s a good thing we found out that we can use the Wi-Fi in Atol¡¯s house to send e-mails. I almost lost contact with Mikuma. I didn¡¯t want to have to go through the hassle of having my dad contact them through Japan. ¡°It¡¯s smaller than the mansion in Inteira, but there is a mansion in the royal capital that the royal family uses as a secondary residence. We¡¯ll stay there tonight.¡± ¡°Wow, as expected of the royal family. They have a lot of money.¡± I¡¯d like to say that I have a secondary residence, at least once. ¡°¡­ I¡¯ll try to make an effort, but I may have to ask you and the dragons to prepare yourselves a little.¡± ¡°What?¡± Preparedness? What are you talking about? We don¡¯t mind at all if the house is a bit shabby. Since we have babies, so a little cleanliness would be preferable, but it¡¯s a royal residence, so it should be fine. ¡°My father and brother have found out that I¡¯m bringing you here.¡± ¡°Hmm? No, was it a secret to begin with?¡± I thought everyone knew since we were staying in your mansion without a care in the world. ¡°You saw the statue of the Sea Dragon earlier, right? In this country, the existence of dragons is very important. If you want to welcome a person of the same dragon race into your country, even though they are of a different species, you have to make certain preparations.¡± ¡°Considering Kazmachi-sama¡¯s situation, we were working in secret until the last minute, but we couldn¡¯t hide the recent incident of the transfer magic circle being hijacked . So we expected to receive a formal invitation from the Royal Castle in the near future.¡± Following Atol¡¯s words, who had a finger pressed between his eyebrows and was making a somewhat delicate face, Kayone apologetically told us. ¡°The royal castle, no, that¡¯s not such a big deal, right.¡± ¡°Not really. You may not understand it because you¡¯re already numb to it, but it¡¯s not often that you get to meet dragons. Especially in this country, they have a lot to do with the foundation of the country. Although it is not told to the people, every fifty years when the royal family meets with Sea Dragon-sama, all the members of the royal family have to cleanse themselves and cancel their political duties. The original dragon is such a powerful being.¡± Hearing Atol¡¯s words, I looked back at the back seat. Rouge was stroking Nana¡¯s cheek while looking at the scenery outside, and Aoi looked happy in her sleep. I have no idea, because I see them face to face every day, but they¡¯re those dragons, too, aren¡¯t they? Hmmm. Familiarity is a scary thing. What am I supposed to do about meeting the king?¡±What am I supposed to do, meet the king?¡± This is troubling. I¡¯ve never met such an important person before, so I don¡¯t know how to behave, and I don¡¯t have any clothes to wear. ¡°Nii-chan, don¡¯t say anything rude, okay?¡± Shouhei, I¡¯m worried about that too. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Don¡¯t worry, Father is away from Dailan on an outing, so it will be the eldest brother you will meet. The other brothers may come too, but basically they¡¯re all very friendly. Well, that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been told. ¡°Nya, Kunpei-san¡­ this is also delicious¡­¡± Aoi leaked a mumble in her sleep. I wonder what she¡¯s dreaming about. Oh, I¡¯m starting to get a little nervous. Chapter 185 ¡°Thank you for your patience. We have arrived at the royal residence.¡± The poised, elderly driver slowly opened the door of the limousine and bowed. ¡°T-thank you very much.¡± ¡°No need to thank me, sir. Please watch your step.¡± He replied in fluent Japanese, his white beard swinging elegantly. Hmm, dandyism. ¡°Aoi, we¡¯re here, Aoi.¡± ¡°H-huh.¡± When I leaned over the seat and shook Aoi¡¯s legs, she woke up with a strange voice, probably because she had just woken up. You¡¯re really tired, aren¡¯t you? ¡°Yawn¡­ a-are we already there?¡± Rubbing her eyelids sleepily, Aoi hurriedly began to rummage through her things to get ready. ¡°Okay Nana, come here.¡± ¡°Uuh¡± When Rouge unbuckled the child seat in the middle of the seat next to Aoi and held out her hands to Nana, Nana turned to Rouge with both hands as if she had been waiting for her. She was leaning forward, the little wings flapping happily on her back as she wanted to be picked up. It was boring in the car. It took us a little less than three hours to get from Inteira to the royal capital. Even though we were excited to see the unusual scenery of a foreign country, but we eventually got bored of it. Nana may have been even more bored in the cramped child seat. ¡°Nii-chan, I¡¯ll take care of the luggage, so please take Jaja.¡± Shouhei said, slinging his shoulder bag full of wallets and baby bottles over his shoulder. ¡°Okay, leave it to me. Jaja, we¡¯re here.¡± Taking my brother up on his offer, I leaned forward in the back seat and gently rocked Jaja, who was curled up in a ball, looking comfortably asleep. If I lifted her suddenly, she would probably be startled and end up crying, so I felt sorry for her, but I had to wake her up. ¡°Nnngh¡­¡± Oh, as expected, she still wanted to sleep. ¡°Nyaaah¡­¡± ¡°Okay, okay. You can go back to sleep. Here.¡± I gently held Jaja, who shook her head didn¡¯t want to wake up, and carefully left the car. Come on, I¡¯ll hold you. Go back to sleep. ¡°Nggghh¡­¡± You spoiled brat. As soon as Jaja buried her face in my neck, she immediately fell asleep. Jaja¡¯s and Nana¡¯s body temperature is quite hot when they are asleep. The temperature in Dailan is much higher than in our town, so I tried to keep them in light clothes, but it might have been better to dress them in something even cooler. ¡°It¡¯s hot.¡± Feeling Jaja¡¯s body heat on my chest, I looked up at the sky. The Sphere Continent is a unique land covered with a spherical wall that is unparalleled in the world. There are holes of various sizes throughout the wall, letting in sunlight and other elements. The heat peculiar to the southern hemisphere, combined with the humidity in the enclosed space, gives the continent a subtropical humidity and heat, even though it is not in the tropics. ¡°Ah, huh. Where¡¯s my pouch?¡± ¡°Oh, come on, Aoi. Look, it fell right beside you. You can sleep a little longer once they show you to your room.¡± ¡°S-sorry.¡± I tugged on Aoi¡¯s arm as she staggered out of the car, rubbing her eyes. She¡¯s been having trouble waking up lately. I wonder if there is some imperceptible fatigue building up. I¡¯m a little worried. ¡°We¡¯ll take your larger luggage to your room, after you.¡± ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry, Iris-san.¡± I bowed to the head maid, Iris-san. This elderly maid, smiling with a kind expression on her face, was very beautiful, even in her old age. She must have been quite a beautiful girl in the past. The driver got a nice wife. ¡°Ah, Iris-sama! I¡¯ll carry it!¡± When Kayone saw Iris-san about to open the trunk of the car, she rushed over to her. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯m retired but I can still move around. You should be carrying Atol-sama¡¯s luggage.¡± After handling Kayone, who was flustered, Iris opened the trunk of the car. She took out our carry-on bags and travel bags one by one with one hand and quietly laid them out on the ground. ¡°Please don¡¯t be unreasonable! Come on, Uta-chan, wake up! We have work to do!¡± Kayone ran over to Utai, who was still asleep in her seat, and shook her body violently. ¡°Ah, bababab. I¡¯m awake, Kayo-san, I¡¯m awake. Don¡¯t shake me like that.¡± ¡°Stop lying, you were sleeping like a baby.¡± She had a habit of snoring and making faces that were unbecoming of a maiden. ¡°Uta-chan! Hurry up and get to work!¡± ¡°Okay, okay.¡± Why is Kayone in such a hurry? Well, even when I was at Atol¡¯s mansion in Inteira, she seemed to be quite nervous in front of Iris-san. ¡°Hey, Atol. Is Kayone not that good with Iris-san?¡± We started to walk after Atol, who was leading the way with an air of authority. In the car, it seems like Kayone and Iris struggled with each other, but Kayone looks more troubled. ¡°Iris was my educator and nanny. She has been watching over me since I moved to Inteira after my mother died early.¡± ¡°Oh, so she acted as your mother.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why I can¡¯t face her properly either. As for Kayone, she is like a boss, an aunt and maybe even a mother-in-law to her. So it must be very complicated.¡± It¡¯s also a very annoying relationship¡­ ¡°Utai, Kayone! What kind of maidservant would leave Atol-sama alone!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Iris-sama!¡± ¡°Uwaah, Prince! You could¡¯ve waited!¡± In response to Iris, Kayone and Utai rushed over. ¡°I don¡¯t care. I¡¯ve been telling you for a while, just let Iris do as she pleases.¡± ¡°But Iris-sama has already retired from active service. We are too young and inexperienced to trouble a retired person¡­¡± As we walked along the clean road leading to the mansion from where we parked the car, Kayone¡¯s face clouded over as she complained. ¡°And you know what? Aunt Iris is a bit annoying, isn¡¯t she? We¡¯re doing our best, too. Right, Kayo-san?¡± ¡°I think she should be a little angrier at Uta-chan.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Of course, you idiot. In the few days since you¡¯ve been taking care of us at Atol¡¯s mansion, not a single day has gone by that you haven¡¯t screwed up. You¡¯ve broken dishes, you¡¯ve broken furniture, you¡¯ve forgotten to clean the house. Perhaps because we were guests, the other maids didn¡¯t outwardly scold Utai, but they all had scary looks on their faces with their mouths and temples twitching. ¡°¡­ You¡¯re my bride, and you¡¯re a member of the Inteira family. I¡¯m sure the maidservants from the outside can¡¯t say anything. The only people who can chastise you are Iris and Kayone.¡± ¡°G-gah!¡± Perhaps shocked by Atol¡¯s words, Utai exaggeratedly dropped her shoulders and nodded. Her petite body swayed in a way that was out of character for her. ¡°Well, what the hell? I can see that you¡¯re doing your best in your own way.¡± ¡°R-really?¡± I couldn¡¯t stand it any longer and when I followed up with a few words, Utai looked up at me with tears in her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t spoil her too much, Kazamachi.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. When Uta-chan gets carried away, there¡¯s no limit to what she can do.¡± H-hang in there, Utai. I¡¯m starting to feel a kinship with you. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for you!¡± ¡°Guaaah!¡± Suddenly, Atol was blown away. The silhouette that had been walking pompously in front of me instantly disappeared from the edge of my field of vision in a crooked shape. ¡°How have you been? Oh, my sweet, sweet brother! It¡¯s been a long, long time. Brother has missed you so much!¡± ¡°B-big brother!¡± It was a thin, macho, handsome man who tackled Atul with a fierce charge. However, his neat face was sloppy and he was sliding his cheek against Atol¡¯s without paying any attention to us. ¡°What, what, what?¡± ¡°I was so surprised.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°Nana, don¡¯t worry. It¡¯s not scary.¡± ¡°Fueh.¡± We, who were completely unable to keep up with the sudden turn of events, watched in black and white as Atol and the thin, macho handsome man made out with each other. ¡°You never send a single message! Your brothers were worried that you might be bullied in Japan! The second son selfishly insisted on going to Japan himself! Setol and Tetol are always reporting back to me, but you, you lovable, lovable bastard!¡± ¡°Whoa, whoa, whoa, big brother! Please wait! Ouch, ouch!¡± The blonde-haired, handsome, thin macho man was giving him a series of thick kisses on the cheeks. It¡¯s a terrible sight. The communication, which could be described as either scolding or doting, was shocking. ¡°But it¡¯s that kind of unreliable that you have! It¡¯s just so cute and adorable! It¡¯s good to have siblings who are ages apart from you! Father is still thriving, so having another sibling or two might not be such a bad thing! Even the eldest daughter said she wanted a sister! Even though they are half-siblings, it must be lonely to have thirteen siblings and only two women! Hey, Atol, don¡¯t you think so too!¡± ¡°B-big brother¡­ you¡¯re crushing me.¡± Atol, whose spine warped and creaked from the bearhug, reached out his hand in pain. ¡°Your highness Gatol, Please calm down! Your Highness, the First Prince Gatol!¡± Kayone called out. ¡°Oh! Kayone and Utai! How are you guys doing?¡± ¡°Uwah! He¡¯s coming!¡± In no time at all, the thin macho man released his embrace on Atol and lifted Kayone and Utai in his arms. It was an unbelievably fast move. ¡°You¡¯re looking good! What¡¯s with those breasts of yours, Utai? That¡¯s ridiculous! It¡¯s outrageous, but brilliant! Hahahahaha!¡± Oh, wow. What brazen sexual harassment. ¡°Let go, Gatol-sama!¡± ¡°It hurts.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be reserved! As Atol¡¯s wives, you are like sisters-in-law to me! You¡¯re my sister-in-law, and there¡¯s no need to hold back on family skinship!¡± That¡¯s not skinship, it¡¯s just sexual harassment, isn¡¯t it? In a different country and position, it would be a big problem, you know? ¡°Nii-chan, what¡¯s this?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± How would I know, my brother? We were left at the door, and no one had explained to us about this strange, excited, thin macho man. I have a vague idea that he¡¯s Atol¡¯s brother from what he¡¯s saying. ¡°Gatol-sama! That¡¯s enough.¡± A sudden loud voice echoed through the doorway. I looked in the direction of the voice and saw a beautiful woman coming down from the top of a ridiculously large staircase. She was wearing a bright red dress with a thin fabric that clearly showed the lines of her body. The contrast with her brown skin, which was the same as other women in this country, made her look very glamorous. With her large bat wings and short bob of shiny black hair swaying down her back, her thin waist twisting elegantly, and her large, heaving breasts wrapped in an expensive-looking silk stole and some kind of colorful cloth, the beautiful woman puffed out her cheeks like a child and stared at the thin macho man she called Gatol. ¡®Oh, Garsha! It¡¯s Atol, Atol! Kayone and Utai are also here! It¡¯s been a long time since you¡¯ve seen them too!¡± ¡°I understand how you feel, Gatol-sama, but these children are scared! And it would be cruel to leave Garsha behind! Even Garsha! Garsha, too!¡± With a clacking of her heels, the woman called Garsha hurried down the stairs, and went to¡­ ¡°Oh! It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen you, Kayo-chan! Uta-chan! You¡¯ve become so beautiful! You¡¯re so cute, cute, cute! Hey, hey! I have a lot of dresses and clothes I want you to wear! My sister Gur designed a lot of dresses and outfits with your image in mind!¡¡I¡¯ve been talking to Mia-chan and Stella-chan a lot about how you guys are doing!¡± She tackled them with great force. ¡°Gueeeh!¡± ¡°Gah, Garsha, sister-in-law!¡± Kayone and Utai screamed as the beautiful woman gave them a fierce physical attack while being held by the thin macho. It¡¯s like lettuce and bacon sandwiched between two pieces of bread. I wonder what kind of sandwich this is going to be. ¡°G-guh.¡± ¡°Oh, hey, are you okay, Atol?¡± I reached out my hand to him, who was rubbing his back with his butt on the floor. ¡°Ah, thanks.¡± I thought he was going to shake me off, but he unexpectedly took my hand and got up, brushing the dust off his clothes. ¡°And, what¡¯s with this situation?¡± He seemed to have calmed down, so I asked him to explain. I just wish they¡¯d stop leaving us behind, you know? Surrounded by strangers in a strange country, and not understanding the situation at all, it¡¯s more than a little disheartening, isn¡¯t it? ¡°That¡¯s my oldest brother and his wife.¡± Once again, I look at Kayone and Utai, who were being pressed in some unknown way. I wonder how the two of them feel when they are sandwiched between their disgusting muscles and a sister with an enviable body. Ah, Utai. If you look closely, you can see the whites of her eyes. Chapter 186 ¡°Oh, no, excuse me. It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen my brother, and I got carried away. I hope you¡¯ll forgive me.¡± ¡°Ha, ha.¡± The thin macho man, who seemed to be Prince Atol¡¯s oldest brother, bowed his head so deeply that it made me feel sorry for looking at him. Huh? Where is the excited, annoying, thin macho who was here earlier? I¡¯m looking at an invigorating, handsome man who¡¯s full of dignity and nobility, even as he¡¯s apologizing. ¡°Well, since he¡¯s younger so I tend to spoil him. As the eldest brother, I¡¯m really no good.¡± Oh. Your face is slack as you¡¯re saying that. Yeah. It¡¯s the same person. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry for the delay, but welcome to Dailan. I am Gatol Ketsa Agul Dailan, advisor to the King of Dailan.¡± ¡°Ah, yes. I am Kazamachi Kunpei.¡± I grasped back the burly right hand that was offered to me. The handshake with that shiny black, healthily tanned arm was as strong as it looked. This is a reception room in a separate house of the royal family. After that, with Kayone and Utai screaming in agony, Iris led me here, and I sat on the long, fluffy sofa to meet the first prince Gatol, a thin macho man. On the other side of the thick, luxurious door, I can still hear the voices of the girls, which sounded like screams or cries of despair. Amen. ¡°My wife is an old friend of Kayone and Utai, and she was very worried about them leaving the country and living in a foreign land, which she loved like a sister. I hope you will not be too hard on them.¡± ¡°No, no, no. Don¡¯t worry about it¡­ Oh, can you stop using honorifics? No matter how you look at it, I¡¯m younger than you¡­¡± The other party is the son of the king of this country, and the first prince is like the next king, right? I¡¯m not someone to be treated with honorifics by someone like that. In fact, I¡¯m the one who should be speaking to you in a respectful and humble manner. He¡¯s not someone a normal Japanese citizen should have to meet face to face. I know it¡¯s a little late, but I¡¯m pretty sure that even talking to Atol like that is a problem. ¡°U-um, I¡¯m Aoinoun Dragoline Kazamachi¡­¡± Aoi, who was sitting next to me, stretched out her right hand with some hesitation. ¡°Ooh! You¡¯re Sky Dragon-sama, right! Welcome to Dailan!¡± Prince Gatol squeezed Aoi¡¯s hand back, his voice even more emphasized than when he was talking to me. ¡°Roughrichte Dranglow. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°This is Earth dragon-sama! Oh, what a day this is! I¡¯m delighted to be here!¡± He then took Rouge¡¯s outstretched hand, who was sitting next to Aoi, and Prince Gatol gave a big smile. Nana, who was being held by Aoi, and Jaja, who was being held by Rouge, were startled by his voice. It¡¯s okay. ¡°Oops, I startled the little dragons, didn¡¯t I? My apologies.¡± Laughing with a troubled expression, Prince Gatol scratched the back of his head with his left hand. I¡¯m not sure how he knows about Aoi, but how does he even know about Rouge? Maybe we¡¯re being watched or something? ¡°Well, it¡¯s just as the Sage said! The sky dragon, the earth dragon, and the young dragon are all adorable.¡± Oops, my question was already answered. Alba Germain, that bastard¡­ I thought you understood our position! ¡°Well, Alba¡­ did the Rat Sage tell you that we were coming here today?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been asked to cooperate with you. Well, apart from that, I¡¯ve also received a message from a certain person.¡± ¡°Message?¡± Who is it? I don¡¯t remember knowing anyone in Dailan other than Alba. Mikuma wouldn¡¯t have arrived yet. ¡°It¡¯s the Sea Dragon King.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± What¡¯s that? How the hell does the sea dragon know about us? I suddenly became curious and looked at Aoi, who was shaking her head with a puzzled look on her face. Next, I looked at Rouge, she tilted her head in a puzzled manner. You said you¡¯ve never met her before, right? ¡°May I ask what the message is?¡± I guess we¡¯ll never know until we ask. I wondered what it was about. ¡°Yes. Garsha!¡± Prince Gatol called out through the large door. On the other side, Utai and Kayone were still screaming. ¡°Good grief. One moment, please.¡± Prince Gatol stood up from the sofa with a dumbfounded face and headed for the door. ¡°What¡¯s the message from the Sea Dragon King?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know any of them, do you? It¡¯s kind of scary.¡± There are three of them, the top of the dragon species. It¡¯s the Dragon King. One of those Dragon Kings, the Sky Dragon King, is an acquaintance of mine. Aoi¡¯s mother, Yuriel Dragoline. She was a scary and powerful person who traumatized me. I¡¯ve only seen her in her weakened state, but even in that state, she had supernatural powers that were far beyond me. When Aoi and I had no choice but to fight, the two of us couldn¡¯t do anything. The other Dragon King, the Earth Dragon King, is Rouge¡¯s mother. I don¡¯t know her, but from the old stories Rouge sometimes tells me, she seems like a warm-hearted person. But after seeing Rouge¡¯s battle in the Tsuk Crag Expansion incident, I¡¯m a little scared to think that she¡¯s even stronger than that. Yeah. Definitely. It¡¯s all Yule¡¯s fault that my image of the Dragon King starts with fear. Because it was really scary! ¡°Ah, Gatol-sama. I want to play with Kayo and the others more.¡± ¡°Later, later. The dragons are waiting for you.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s not good. I¡¯m sorry.¡± As I shuddered at the image of fear burned into my brain, Prince Gatol appeared from behind the door, pulling on Garsha¡¯s arm. Behind them, Kayone, Utai, and Atol, who had lost weight in this short time, followed breathlessly. ¡°A-are you okay?¡± I called out to Atol, who sat on the other side of the sofa from Aoi. ¡°It¡¯s not okay¡­ that¡¯s why I hate coming to the capital.¡± Atol looked up at the ceiling, holding his eyes. I wondered if I should ignore what looked like a hickey on his neck. ¡°The other siblings do similar, if not better, things than sister-in-law Garsha¡­ It¡¯s exhausting.¡± ¡°They love you guys, don¡¯t they?¡± Because of the circumstances you told me about when we dueled, I imagined that you had a disagreement with your family, but you¡¯re totally friendly with them. The only one you don¡¯t get along with is your father, the king? From what I¡¯ve seen, your father is also probably very attached to you, isn¡¯t he? Behind the sofa, Kayone and Utai were retying their maid uniforms. What did they do to you to make you take that much off? Something erotic? ¡°Dah.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Before I knew it, Nana was on my lap. It seems that she has dexterously crossed over from Aoi¡¯s lap using only the power of her arms and tail. Isn¡¯t this the same as crawling already? Amazing! ¡°Dah, dah, dah.¡± ¡°Nana?¡± I was waiting with my hands outstretched to catch her, but she didn¡¯t stop at my lap and moved closer to Atol. ¡°Ugh.¡± Nana slapped Atol¡¯s knee. ¡°Nana-sama¡­ are you comforting me?¡± ¡°Heh.¡± Looking up at Atol, Nana smiled wryly. Wait a minute, Atol. What are you doing ignoring me and ogling someone else¡¯s daughter? ¡°You¡¯re kind, thank you.¡± Then Atol stroked Nana¡¯s hair. ¡°Kya¡± Nana had a very lovely smile. Eh? No way. Why do you look so happy, Nana? Is it possible that you like people like Atol? No, no. As a father, I have no problem with Nana¡¯s serious choice of partner. I don¡¯t have any problem with it, but isn¡¯t it still too early? Wait a bit! It¡¯s better when you¡¯re older! Besides, he¡¯s got a fianc¨¦e! And there are two of them! ¡°Kunpei-san, why do you have such a scary expression¡­?¡± Aoi, who sensed something, pulled on my clothes with a dumbfounded look. ¡°No, because Nana with Atol!¡± ¡°He can¡¯t take her away¡­ She¡¯s not even a year old yet, you know?¡± No, no, I know! I know that, but you know what? Nana¡¯s smile is special to me! The only time she shows it to me is when she¡¯s in a really good mood! ¡°Haa¡­ I¡¯m even worried about Kunpei-san¡¯s daughter¡¯s stupidity lately.¡± ¡°What? No, this is normal!¡± ¡°Shouhei-san¡­¡± Aoi and Shouhei looked at each other and shook their heads. ¡°Aoi-neechan, it¡¯s probably too late for that.¡± For what? ¡°Garsha, that thing.¡± Prince Gatol and Garsha-san sat down on the sofa facing each other. ¡°Yes. Here we go.¡± ¡°Whoa!¡± From the boldly opened cleavage of her ample breasts, Garsha pulls out a fist-sized round crystal-like object. What¡¯s that! A four-dimensional pocket! How can something normally come out of a pocket like that? It¡¯s only a little bigger than Mikuma, you know? Hmm!?? Maybe Mikuma has something hidden in that cleavage of hers, too¡­ I¡¯ll ask her next time. ¡°K-u-n-p-e-i-san?¡± ¡°Owww! You can¡¯t help it! A boy would see it!¡± She pulled my left ear as hard as she could. Aoi had a friendly smile but her voice was really scary! Aoi took her hands away from my ears and flattened her own breasts over her clothes. ¡°¡­ I can do that too.¡± No, no. That¡¯s impossible. But I¡¯ll never say it out loud, Aoi. You can¡¯t do it. ¡°W-h-a-t?¡± ¡°Owwwww! It hurts! I haven¡¯t said anything yet!¡± Please stop pulling my ear! ¡°You looked at my chest with pitiful eyes and shook your head!¡± What? Damn, I¡¯m so honest, it¡¯s all over my face and my actions! ¡°Um, are we done?¡± Prince Gatol, smiling bitterly, interrupted. Next to her, Garsha was giggling happily. ¡°You two are very close, aren¡¯t you? There was a time when Garsha and Gatol-sama were like that as well.¡± ¡°Garsha, let¡¯s talk about that another time. Here, let me give you the message from the Sea Dragon King.¡± Then Prince Gatol patted Garsha¡¯s head. They are so close. ¡°Yes, then¡­¡± Garsha, holding the crystal in her palm, closed her eyes. I wonder what she¡¯s doing. ¡± It¡¯s a type of crystal ball that projects a recorded image, and it won¡¯t play unless the magic is channeled through the correct procedure and you say the password.¡± Oh is that a magic tool. The Kazamachi family are lower middle class, so we aren¡¯t familiar with expensive magic tools. If Gasara, the magic tool geek, were here, he would be overjoyed. ¡°Ed Letty.¡± Perhaps that was the password. The crystal ball emitted a faint light and began to project something into the air. It was a humanoid¡­ woman? The vague outline of the image gradually became clearer and clearer, and eventually, the image came into focus. ¡°Hii! I¡¯m Carolia!¡± ¡­ A close-up of a woman in her thirties was shown. Chapter 187 The image projected from the crystal was that of a woman. Her long, emerald green hair swayed softly, reminiscent of the waves of clear seawater, as she waved her hand while smiling. There was was a pink coral-like tiara on her forehead? I¡¯m not familiar with women¡¯s ornaments, so I don¡¯t know the official name, but she¡¯s wearing expensive-looking accessories. The picture shows her face, neck, shoulders, and upper chest bust-up. And it¡¯s pretty revealing. She is wearing a bold peach-colored dress that sparingly exposes the northern hemisphere of the globe. To be honest, I couldn¡¯t find a good place to look. No matter how you look at it, it¡¯s amazing. The size of her breasts may not be as big as Garsha¡¯s or Mikuma¡¯s, but they are still very firm, shiny and wonderful. Ha! That¡¯s not good. Aoi just got angry at me for staring at Garsha¡¯s breasts just a few minutes ago. I have to pull myself together. I need to make Kunpei-kun¡¯s boyish side a little more calm and nice. But I can¡¯t help it, can I? This is supposed to be a magic tool that projects recorded images, right? In other words, it¡¯s recording for people to see, right? So it would be rude not to watch it, right? Then I should watch it. ¡°Hhmm!¡± A strange voice came out. The outside of my left thigh hurt like it was burning. I looked down to see thin, white fingers just barely pinching at the flesh of my thigh through my pants. It was Aoi¡¯s finger, not anyone else¡¯s, of course. Fearfully, I looked at Aoi¡¯s face. Hiii. ¡°Fufufu.¡± Aoi was staring at my face with a cute and charming smile on her face. It should have been a charming view of a beautiful smiling woman, but I felt a chill run down my spine, as if I¡¯d been doused with cold water. ¡°Ah, hahahaha!¡± ¡°Fufufu.¡± I laughed and tried to cover it up. Then Aoi twitched her temples and laughed as well. Scary! Your mouth muscles are smiling properly, but your eyes are not smiling at all! Have I ever seen such a scary smile before? No, I haven¡¯t. It¡¯s not good. How was it found out that I was looking at that woman¡¯s breasts? Did I have such a lecherous face? Hmmm. Could it be that I¡¯m frustrated? Well, I can¡¯t help it, since I eat and sleep with the most beautiful girls every day, can I? As an adolescent boy, I¡¯ve been accumulating lust, but I haven¡¯t been able to vent it even once. No, well. If you¡¯re on your own at the right time, you can sometimes¡­ Well, let¡¯s just leave it at that. ¡°A-Aoi-chan?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. I just wanted to call you.¡± ¡°Fufu. You¡¯re weird, Kunpei-san.¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m always weird, you know?¡± ¡°Now that you mention it, fufufu.¡± Oh, no. I don¡¯t feel like I can step in it for a second. ¡°Dah!¡± Jaja, no, I¡¯m not really playing. It¡¯s more like she¡¯s angry with me. ¡°Abu.¡± Ah, Nana! I¡¯m sorry! Papa was wrong so don¡¯t wave your hands angrily like that! ¡°Carolia-sama! You¡¯re being impolite to people you¡¯re meeting for the first time!¡± While I was terrified of Aoi, the image projected in the air from the crystal ball was playing. The voice was coming from off-screen. Is that the voice of the person filming? ¡°So-o? It¡¯s Yuriel-chan and Ruby-chan¡¯s kids, right? It¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°No, you can¡¯t! Please be firm at least at first.¡± ¡°Teseara-chan¡¯s so hard-headed. Let¡¯s take it easy. Come on, smile?¡± Then the green-haired woman lifted the edge of her mouth with the index fingers of both hands. The way she tilts her head at an angle, she seems to be forcing herself. It would be better if she was a little younger¡­ In terms of appearance, it¡¯s not something a respectable adult would do. ¡°Carolia-sama!¡± ¡°Alright, alright, I get it.¡± The woman, who was called Carolia, took a deep breath and straightened her back. She straightened her hair and the wrinkles on her dress and looked forward. Considering the circumstances, she¡¯s the Sea Dragon King, right? It¡¯s the same name as the Sea Dragon King Rouge mentioned in the car when we were coming to the royal capital. I mean, I was just thinking. Why do all the Dragon Kings wear such revealing clothes? Is there a rule that the Dragon King has to wear lascivious clothes? Aoi¡¯s mother, Yule, was also wearing a nightdress with a deep slit exposing her bare legs and cleavage. That¡¯s bad for the youth. Oops, the pain in my left thigh is getting worse. Aoi-chan? My honey? The pain is starting to numb, so can you give me a break here, please? You¡¯ve been pinching it all this time, haven¡¯t you? Oh, you¡¯re letting me go? You forgive me? Thank you. Sorry, okay? Ow, that hurt. I almost cried. ¡°Aoinoun, daughter of Yuriel, the sky dragon king. Roughrichte, daughter of Ruby, the earth dragon king. It¡¯s been a long time. I¡¯m the 8th Sea Dragon King, Caroliarizel Dragulina. However, the last time I saw you was when you were newborn and still small, so you probably don¡¯t remember me.¡± The Carolia in the video gave a slight, beautiful smile. In contrast to her playfulness from earlier, her dignified appearance gave me a mysterious feeling. Come to think of it, I can¡¯t find the horns that all dragon species have. I wonder if it¡¯s in a position where it can¡¯t be seen from the angle shown in the video. ¡°Now, I¡¯m sorry to bother you on such short notice, but¡­ I¡¯d like to invite you all to the Sea Dragon Island. I¡¯d like to meet and talk with you, and see the faces of the new sky dragon children. I would also like for you to be friends with my daughter Alice. She¡¯s can¡¯t leave the island, and I¡¯ve never let her talk to any other dragons that are close to her in age.¡± Oh. The daughter of the Sea Dragon King, huh. Now I¡¯m going to meet all the Dragon King¡¯s children. I wonder what kind of girl she is. ¡°This crystal will tell us when it playbacks, so I¡¯ll send someone to pick you up the day after, okay? The girl that¡¯s filming now, Tesserae. I think I¡¯ll be able to make it in time for lunch, so please wait for me at the residence of the Dailan royal family, okay?¡± Does it have some kind of already read function? This crystal is amazing. ¡°Kunepi-san, it¡¯s tomorrow.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if we can get there in time to pick up Mikuma.¡± I mean, it would be nice if I could take Mikuma with me. She has a close relationship with us, and she¡¯s helped us in many ways. I don¡¯t like the idea of leaving her behind because it feels like we¡¯re ostracizing her. ¡°Yeah, Yunno is already like family to me. If we can¡¯t make it in time, they¡¯ll have to wait. They¡¯re the ones who suddenly called for us, so they won¡¯t complain if we make them wait a little longer.¡± ¡°Is that so? Then let¡¯s do that.¡± Rouge is also good friends with Mikuma. They¡¯re both quiet types. Actually, Aoi, Rouge and the twins were the only ones whose names were mentioned in the current video. I¡¯m not even sure if I¡¯m invited¡­ ¡°Ah, that¡¯s right. You have to bring Aoinoun¡¯s husband along, okay? I¡¯ve never seen a dragon father before.¡± Oh, it was okay. ¡°Well then, I¡¯m looking forward to meeting you guys. I have some urgent business to attend to, you know? I¡¯ll be troubled trouble if you guys don¡¯t come. I¡¯m sorry for the short notice, but please?¡± Urgent business? I looked at Aoi and Rouge. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Me neither.¡± Right? I wonder what it is. I have a bad feeling about this. The image that popped into my mind was that of a rat with a smile on his face that struck a nerve. Whenever someone tries to get us to do something, he¡¯s always involved. I¡¯m scared. The other day, when Nana was overheating, the next thing I know, he¡¯s disappeared, that bastard. Is he that busy? ¡°Let¡¯s see here we have the idol of the dragon species! It was Carolia, the Sea Dragon King! Bye bye!¡± ¡°Carolia-sama! That¡¯s¡­!¡± The image was cut off with a blip. The light slowly faded from the crystal ball on Garsha¡¯s palm. Chapter 188 In the midst of the bustling hustle and bustle, there was a loud sound of a steam whistle. The sound, which shook one¡¯s core, echoed far and wide, as if to further heat up the bustling crowd. So no wonder I¡¯m so excited! ¡°¡®Whoooaaa¡­ awesome!¡± ¡°N-nii-chan it¡¯s embarrassing, so please stop.¡± What are you talking about, Shouhei? Manarails aren¡¯t even deployed in Japan yet! ¡°We¡¯re just going to take a picture, so just take one really quick.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you have to carry me on your shoulders.¡± All he does is whine! It can¡¯t be helped. I can¡¯t even see the tracks at my height in this crowd! Just one picture, just one picture, Shouhei! We, who only have cell phones and digital cameras. That moment when the manarail slows down to enter the platform. That¡¯s the only opportunity to capture the ¡®face¡¯ of the train without blurring it! The people in the line in front of us seemed to be thinking the same thing, and they were waiting with bated breath for that moment to arrive as they caught a glimpse of the other side of the fenced-off railroad tracks in their viewfinders. Damn, these guys are hardcore. They are the so-called railway enthusiasts. We were in the last row, far from the fence, about 10 meters from the front row. In the front row were professional-looking people with tripods, reflector boards, exposure meters, and so on. The worst ones brought a stepladder and got complaints from the people around them. I¡¯ll admit that I still have the guts to never back down, but it¡¯s honestly annoying. I can¡¯t see, you idiot. Because of that, families like ours, who were forced to the back rows, were doing their best to carry their children on their shoulders like this. Ah, the deer tribe father next to us. It¡¯s hard work, isn¡¯t it? Eh? Your son is only five years old? At that size? No way. ¡°Ugh, everyone¡¯s looking at me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. They¡¯re watching the railway more than you.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I¡¯m the only one. I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s this big and is being carried on the shoulders. I stand out.¡± It¡¯s all in your mind. ¡°Kunpei, I want to carry Shouhei on my shoulders too.¡± Rouge who was wearing a tank top and jeans as if saying that summer was in full swing tugged at the hem of my T-shirt. ¡°Oh? You wanna change?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to! I would hate it even more having a woman carry me on her shoulders!¡± Shouhei protested by banging my head. Haha, don¡¯t be shy, Shouhei. I get it, I get it. I won¡¯t hand you over to Rouge. I won¡¯t, so it¡¯s time to stop. Don¡¯t hit me. You¡¯re really hurting me. We¡¯re at the high-speed magic railroad station in the middle of the city center of Dailan. The station was crowded with tourists, office workers on their way to work, people in vestments and other unique Dailan attire, and all sorts of other people. Entering the station were ordinary trains and railroads, as well as the streetcars seen in Inteira, with a wide variety of passenger groups and destinations. Our goal was the manarail that Mikuma should be on. We are meeting in front of the statue of the golden sea dragon in front of this station. By the way, the twins and Aoi are staying at home. Because the twins were napping. The manarail starts from here in Dailan and runs to Francion, a large country in the center of the sphere continent. It seems that it is still under test operation, and only this one line has been laid. The number of passengers is also limited, and if I may say so, it is only for the wealthy. The ticket price is eye-poppingly expensive, and we ordinary people can¡¯t afford it. Mikuma¡¯s father seems to work for a world-famous trading company, and the tickets are paid for by the company. How nice. I wish I could ride it too. I¡¯m jealous. ¡°Nii-chan, it¡¯s coming.¡± ¡°Oh! Shouhei, I¡¯m counting on you!¡± It¡¯s about that time already! I¡¯m trembling with excitement. ¡°Oh, my. You really are a child in this way.¡± Letting out a gasp of exasperation over my head, Shouhei held up his digital camera. Alright, me too¡­ ¡°Whoa!¡± What the hell? I¡¯m being pushed! ¡°Kunpei, more people are coming from behind.¡± Oh, my God, this soft feeling and that scent! Is that Rouge sticking to my back? There¡¯s going to be big trouble if you stick your chest out like that! I mean not, are there still people behind you!? ¡°Whoa, whoa, don¡¯t push me!¡± ¡°Whoa, brother, stop shaking!¡± Well, even if you say that, I¡¯m being pushed too! ¡°Nn, it hurts. I can carry Kunpei and Shouhei and jump. Should I?¡± No, no, no! If we do that in the current crowd, there will be an avalanche of people who will come in as soon as we¡¯re out of the way, and it will be a disaster! ¡°Nii-chan, it¡¯s scary!¡± ¡°Hold on tight!¡± ¡°Nn, it hurts.¡± Ggh! Rouge, you¡¯re hugging my stomach so hard! I can¡¯t breathe! I can¡¯t! ¡°Whoa!¡± Shouhei! Don¡¯t cover your brother¡¯s face! I can¡¯t see anything! ¡°Gaaaah!¡± Rouge-san, stop! Please, more gently! My ribs are starting to make some weird noises! Help me! ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô ¡°So, Kunepi, are you that disappointed?¡± ¡°Ahh¡­¡± After frantically wading through that chaos, I managed to meet up with Mikuma in front of the golden statue of the sea dragon, which stood in front of the station. ¡°Phew, that was great.¡± ¡°Mn, I¡¯m a little dizzy.¡± Shouhei and Rouge were resting on the curbs laid out around the sea dragon statue. Hey you guys. You two strangled me at the end. Shouhei with his thighs and Rouge with her arms. I thought I was going to die! ¡°Nngh! Ahem!¡± Behind Mikuma, there was a man in a suit who coughed in a posturing manner. ¡°¡­ Yunno. Your mom and I are going to a hotel. Are you okay by yourself?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m fine, dad.¡± The man with the Japanese businessman style is Mikuma¡¯s father. Although he was wearing the same suit, he looked completely different from our father. My father looks rough and rugged. He is older than my father, but he looks strangely young. I would believe him if he says he is in his thirties. Mikuma¡¯s father looks like an¡­ elite. ¡°Ah, father. It¡¯s okay. We¡¯ll take care of Yunno¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s no reason for you to call me father-in-law, is there!¡± Hii! So threatening! I, who can lightly handle fifteen members of a biker gang, can be pressured like this by just one person! ¡°If it was the camping trip the other day, I¡¯d still be¡­ but even meeting you overseas.¡± Oooh¡­ He hates me. ¡°Listen up! I¡¯ll never let you make a move on my daughter as long as I¡¯m alive! Just try to touch her, even a little bit! I¡¯ll tie you up and kick you off the top of Mt. Fuji!¡± ¡°Y-yes!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t hear you!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take that to heart, sir!¡± Seriously scary! This fear is on par with the pressure from Aoi¡¯s mother, Yule! Another trauma for me! ¡°Dad, that¡¯s enough! Rouge-san and Aoi-chan are here too, so don¡¯t worry!¡± ¡°But Yunno! I¡¯m worried about having my daughter stay two nights in a foreign country! I¡¯m already on edge thinking about if something were to happen¡­¡± Umm, yes. I understand that feeling. I¡¯d be worried too if Jaja and Nana went away in a strange land. ¡°Mom! Stop laughing and do something about dad!¡± Mikuma asked for help from a woman who was giggling happily behind her father. She looks exactly like Mikuma grew up right, a calm and beautiful woman with long black hair. That, including the rate of growth of her breasts. ¡°Ufufu, it¡¯s fine isn¡¯t it Yunno. It¡¯s not often you get to see your father like this, is it?¡± She was also very young-looking and standing side by side with Mikuma, no one would think that they were parent and child. They look like sisters. ¡°Um, Kazamachi-kun?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± The mother suddenly calls my name, and I hurried to straighten my posture. Actually, I¡¯m even worse with her. Mikuma¡¯s mother stealthily walked up to me, got close to my ear, and whispered, ¡°¡­As long as you use proper contraception, you can do whatever you want, okay?¡± Hoy! What is she talking about? ¡°Y-yyes!¡± Catching me as I tried to run away, Mikuma¡¯s mother took something out of her shoulder bag. ¡°Ufu, use this. I¡¯m sorry it¡¯s our hand-me-down.¡± Saying this, Mikuma¡¯s mother stuffed something into the back pocket of my jeans. I wonder what it is. Is it something Mikuma¡¯s father is not supposed to see if you put it in there out of sight? I took it out of my pocket so that he wouldn¡¯t find it. What¡¯s this? The vinyl feels like it fits in the palm of my hand. Is it a package? There is a raised ring in the center of the wrapping¡­? ¡°¡­!¡± You idiot! I don¡¯t want to speak too badly of women, but you are a true idiot! I mean, did you just say hand-me-downs! ¡°You don¡¯t have one because you¡¯re so shy, do you, Kazamachi-kun? No, you can¡¯t, okay? It¡¯s etiquette.¡± No, I don¡¯t plan on using it! I mean, I have Aoi! Jaja! Nana! And I haven¡¯t even given Mikuma a clear answer back yet! Oh no! I had already explained to Mikuma¡¯s parents that Aoi and I are related! ¡°Keep it, whether you use it or not, okay?¡± ¡°Nah! Ha! Eh?¡± ¡°Promise me, okay?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± He was supposed to be smiling, but I feel a mysterious pressure from her father. I¡¯m no good with her after all¡­ Chapter 189 ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Wow! Jaja-chan! Long time no see!¡± As soon as we returned to the Dailan royal family¡¯s separate house and entered the room we were lent, Jaja flew in as soon as she saw Mikuma¡¯s figure. Jaja jumped into Mikuma¡¯s ample bosom energetically and slapped it. Wait, Jaja, that¡¯s not a toy. It¡¯s not something that makes a sound when you tap it, it¡¯s something more sublime. I mean, you. Why are you stark naked? ¡°Jaja? You¡¯re still getting dressed, you know?¡± Aoi rushed from the bed in the back, with her slippers flapping in tow. She had a bath towel wrapped around her head, and her entire body was wet. Ah, she was taking a bath. ¡°Hello, Aoi-chan.¡± ¡°Yes, hello, Yunno-chan.¡± ¡°Would you like some help?¡± ¡°Ah, please. Jaja was struggling and wouldn¡¯t let me dress her.¡± Aoi and Mikuma entered the back of the room, smiling and exchanging greetings. I put Mikuma¡¯s luggage on the dresser next to the door and opened the refrigerator. Why do girls have so much luggage? What¡¯s in this stuff? But I¡¯m the one who said I¡¯d hold it. ¡°Tea, tea, tea. Mikuma, tea is okay, right?¡± ¡°Ah, yeah. Thank you.¡± I waited for a reply and took out two plastic bottles of tea. It¡¯s so hot in Dailan. I¡¯m thirsty. I opened mine and took a sip. It¡¯s cold. Delicious! ¡°Would you like some water?¡± ¡°Oh, no? Tea is fine?¡± Really? You and Aoi both have a tendency to be extra cautious. ¡°It¡¯s been a while hasn¡¯t it, Nana-chan?¡± ¡°Dah.¡± While Aoi was changing Jaja¡¯s clothes, Mikuma was taking care of Nana. ¡°Was Nana-chan in the bath too?¡± ¡°Au.¡± Nana, who had already finished getting dressed, was dressed boldly in only a loose T-shirt and a diaper. The air conditioning is set on low, so she sweats a lot when she wears clothes for going out. If it¡¯s too cool, she might catch a cold. It¡¯s really hard to manage a baby¡¯s health. ¡°The maids at the mansion helped me out with the bath. Both Jaja and Nana were very popular.¡± ¡°Wow, you guys are well-liked, aren¡¯t you?¡± She shook her hand in front of Jaja¡¯s face as she was putting on her diaper. Jaja is a positive person who enjoys everything, so when you do this, she gets absorbed and easily lets you put her diaper on. ¡°Dah! Kya-kya!¡± See, just like that. ¡°A beauty aren¡¯t you? Jaja-chan and Nana-chan are both beautiful.¡± Now that you mention it, the maids in the Atol¡¯s mansion also liked them a lot. It seems that Jaja and Nana attract men and women of all ages. What terrifying offspring. ¡°Huh? Where are Ru-neesama and Shouhei-san?¡± ¡°It seems that the guide to sea dragon island has already arrived, so they went to greet them. We¡¯re going to leave Mikuma¡¯s luggage first and wait for the little ones to wake up.¡± They¡¯re so impatient, aren¡¯t they? We are in a foreign country and don¡¯t know what¡¯s left and right, so please don¡¯t rush us like that. ¡°I wonder if we¡¯re going by boat.¡± ¡°Come to think of it, I didn¡¯t hear anything about that.¡± Mikuma¡¯s words gave me pause. I heard that the seas near the sphere continent are rough. Shouhei has always been prone to motion sickness. This would be Jaja and Nana¡¯s first time in the ocean. They haven¡¯t even riden in our car yet. Because we don¡¯t have a child seat. Hm, I¡¯m getting a little worried. ¡°Nii-chan¡± Knocking three times on the door, Shouhei called out from outside. ¡°Oh, what¡¯s up?¡± When I answered, he opened the door with a clunk and showed me only his face. ¡°The sea dragon onee-san wants you to change into your swimsuit before you leave.¡± ¡°Swimsuit?¡± Why? It is true that Dailan is a country facing the sea, but the royal capital here is inland. As I recall, the nearest port town is the city of Inteira, where we were until yesterday. It would take three hours by car. Isn¡¯t it too soon to be asking us to leave the mansion in our swimsuits? ¡°Well, she said you can get to the island from the basement of this house.¡± What do you mean? I involuntarily turned my head to face Mikuma. Even Mikuma, who is the brains of our family, seemed to have no idea what that meant, and looked puzzled. ¡°Where did I put my bathing suit?¡± Shouhei rummaged through his carry-on bag. ¡°It should be in my bag¡­ oh, which reminds me, Mikuma, did you bring a swimsuit?¡± We brought the one we used at the river. Shouhei checked it out on the Internet and told us that Dailan has a beach, I was hoping a little¡­ that maybe Atol has a private beach and we would be invited. ¡°More or less, the hotel has a pool so my mother made me¡­¡± With a red face, Mikuma pointed to her bag, which was left next to the door. Yeah, of course, you¡¯re never going to go there because of your character. Pools and such. I mean, you can¡¯t swim. When I looked at Aoi, she was taking out her swimsuit from her own bag. ¡°Will Jaja and Nana be okay with the ocean water?¡± ¡°I think Jaja will be fine. Nana¡­¡± She was scared of the river water. Since she was so scared of fresh water, I think she would be even more reluctant to be in salt water. ¡°Then Shouhei and I are going to go change in the next room. Huh? Where¡¯s Rouge?¡± ¡°She was discussing with the sea dragon onee-san regarding if there was any way to get there without going into the water.¡± Ah, earth dragons¡­ aren¡¯t very good with water. ¡°I think she¡¯ll give up and come back in a little while.¡± I see. I¡¯ll give her some encouragement when she gets back. ¡°Jaja, it¡¯s a bathing suit, so I¡¯ll take your diaper off.¡± ¡°Aoi-chan, Nana-chan too?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s still clean, so please roll it up and put it in my bag.¡± ¡°Okay, no problem.¡± ¡°Shall I make the milk ahead of time?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll boil water, okay?¡± ¡°T-thank you.¡± ¡­ When looking at it this way, these two get along great. It might be pretentious, but as long as they don¡¯t talk about me, I think they have great chemistry. A quiet literary girl and a shy girl. Yeah, the best match. ¡°Nii-chan?¡± ¡°O-oh. What is it?¡± Shouhei, holding a bathing suit in one hand, tugged at the hem of my shirt. ¡°You were spacing out. Are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. Come on, let¡¯s get changed quickly, shall we? I left the room while pushing Shouhei on the back. Just before closing the door, I looked at Mikuma¡¯s face once more. A pretty girl. The girl who told me she liked me. I closed the door and walked down the hallway. I soon came to the next room, I saw Shouhei enter first, and I looked up at the sky through the corridor window alone. The sky of the sphere continent can only be seen through the hole in the ceiling. Hmmm. Well, I¡¯ve made up my mind. Someday, I¡¯ll definitely have to tell her, and it¡¯s definitely not a good idea to keep Mikuma tied up forever. But it doesn¡¯t have to be right now. When this trip is over and things calm down. That¡¯s when I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll have to reject Mikuma Yunno. Chapter 190 ¡°Kunpei-san, thank you for waiting. I¡¯m done changing.¡± ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m late, okay?¡± No problem. It¡¯s totally fine. I¡¯ll wait for hours! ¡°¡­ Kunpei-san?¡± ¡°Ha!¡± Ah, that was close! Aoi and Mikuma were too dazzling in their swimsuits! ¡°Ah, ah. I¡¯m not, okay?¡± ¡°Why are you speaking like that?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you? Kunpei-kun.¡± Ah, stop! I¡¯m really going to react in all kinds of ways when you get any closer, so don¡¯t! ¡°What are you doing? Are you in middle school?¡± While we were having such a farcical exchange in the entrance hall of the Dailan royal family¡¯s annex, Atol threw me a sharp jab. The swimsuit covered the whole body for competitions, it¡¯s a very serious outfit, just like this guy. But I¡¯m curious, how did you get the wings on your back into the swimsuit? Ah, it¡¯s got a zipper on the back. Kayone, dressed in a modest one-piece swimsuit, shuffles down the stairs of the entrance hall with Atol following close behind. She¡¯s got style, too. I know it¡¯s very rude to stare at someone in her swimsuit. So I won¡¯t look at her anymore. I won¡¯t look at her anymore, so please stop staring at me, Atol. You¡¯re killing me. It¡¯s hard to look directly at Aoi, Mikuma, and even Utai, and I don¡¯t know where to look! ¡°Huh? Rouge, aren¡¯t you going to change into your swimsuit?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like those clothes after all. Besides, even if it gets wet, it will dry soon anyway. I¡¯m an earth dragon, after all.¡± No, the seawater will be sticky when it dries. Besides, I feel like, you know, I¡¯m losing out. No, it doesn¡¯t matter! Nothing! ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Abu.¡± Jaja, who was being carried by Aoi, and Nana, who was being carried by Mikuma, were of course also in bathing suits. It is the same one they wore when we stayed at the cottage. Nana was wearing a pink one-piece and Jaja was wearing a white one-piece with a floral pattern. Oh, my, our princesses are so cute. ¡°It¡¯s such a waste. Ru-anesama, you are so beautiful.¡± Aoi complained to Rouge with her cheeks puffed out. She was wearing a pure white bikini and summer sandals. With her beautiful azure hair, Aoi¡¯s image was truly pure. It is hard to believe that she is a mother of two children. ¡°That¡¯s right, Rouge-san. I would call her smart or slender. She has a good-sized chest and long limbs and looks like a model. It would look great on her.¡± Mikuma, on the other hand, was wearing the same swimsuit she wore at the cottage. Red and blue striped, this was the type of bikini that has a string circling the neck. As always, it is still outstandingly destructive! Her breasts are so prominent that they seem to be about to fall out, and I am very curious about the contents of the pareo on the lower half of her body. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Maybe next time? Nana, come here.¡± Rouge replied curtly and extended her hand to Nana, who was clinging to Mikuma¡¯s chest. ¡°Dau.¡± Rouge held out her hand and the twins respond. This is a reflex action that is now ingrained in their bodies. For Nana, Rouge is her second favorite big sister after Aoi. If I¡¯m unlucky, they might get more attached to her than me, it¡¯s sad. ¡°You guys have a lot of baggage.¡± Atol muttered something as he looked around me. He looked at the shoulder bag I was carrying on my shoulder. It was a large, sturdy bag made of soft material that I had bought for the twins for their outings. My shoulders get sore from carrying it all the time. ¡°Hmm? Yeah, I¡¯ve got two babies over here. I have two babies here, so I have to carry changes of clothes, milk, diapers, and so on. Well, you¡¯ll understand someday.¡± Ah, but you¡¯re still a member of the royal family, aren¡¯t you? Maybe the nannies and maids will take care of it, so maybe you¡¯ll never understand? ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it! The sea dragon island!¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it too! But could you please lower your voice a little, Utai-san!¡± All the glassware around us are rattling! I¡¯m getting caught up in the shouting! Also, you have great breasts too! Such a childish, frilly swimsuit, yet somehow it doesn¡¯t look juvenile at all! I wonder why! That¡¯s so strange! ¡°I wonder how we¡¯re going to get there from here?¡± Shouhei, wearing trunks-type sea pants and a short-sleeved hooded parka, asks me. ¡°Who knows? Or rather, where are the dragons who claim to be our guides or whatever?¡± The Sea Dragon King, Carolia-san said, I think it was¡­ Theseara, right? We were told that a dragon with a name like that would come to pick us up. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve kept you waiting! My apologies!¡± ¡°I was a little lost in choosing a swimsuit. Oh, you all look so pretty!¡± On the second floor, the door at the back of the staricase opened vigorously, and Atol¡¯s brother, the First Prince Gatol, and his wife, Gasha-san, came out. They were wearing outrageous outfits, like V-shaped swimsuit and black string bikinis. Both of them are very vulgar in a different way, but can you please give me a break? Both of them are so exposed that I have no idea what the point of their swimsuits is. You two really make a perfect couple! I don¡¯t really want the twins to see this, as it is not a good scene for education. ¡°Well then, let¡¯s get on our way to sea dragon-sama!¡± ¡°G-Gatol-san. How are we going to get out to sea from here dressed like this?¡± On behalf of everyone, I asked the question. I¡¯ve always assumed that because it¡¯s called an island, we would have to go out to sea, but this is the royal capital of Dailan, located inland from the port city of Inteira. I¡¯m told we¡¯ll be leaving from the basement of this house, but I¡¯d like it if we could move as inconspicuously as possible. ¡°¡®Well, well, well, it¡¯s a bit of a surprise! First of all, you¡¯ve been tricked, follow me! You¡¯ll be surprised!¡± Smiling with his white teeth bared, the First Prince of Gatol said so and stomped hard on the floor right beside him as he descended the stairs. No, I can¡¯t recover if I¡¯m fooled by this outfit. Well, I don¡¯t think Atol¡¯s brother is going to do anything to fool us now, so I guess we can rest assured. ¡°Uwahh¡± ¡°Daahh!¡± ¡°Whoa!¡± Shouhei and the twins raised their voices in surprise. With a rumbling sound, an entire section of the bright red carpet on the floor of the main hall opened to the left and right. What appeared was a staircase leading to the basement. ¡°The messenger of the sea dragon king, who is not able to stay away from the water, is preparing downstairs. Come, come, let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Ufufu¡­this is so much fun!¡± The Prince couple went down the stairs in high spirits. The rest of us looked at each other and wondered what to do, but there was nothing we could do, so we silently decided to follow. I still can¡¯t keep up with those two. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô ¡°Hey, how do we get out to sea from here?¡± I ask Atol as we descend the stairs, illuminated by evenly spaced magic-lighted indoor lamps. ¡°¡­ didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Hah?¡± Atol frowned with a sullen look on his face. I also checked the faces of Kayone and Utai, who were following behind me, and they also tilted their heads, as if they didn¡¯t understand anything. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know that there was such a passageway in this house. When I met with one of the sea dragons when I was chosen to be the ¡®servant of the sea dragon¡¯, I simply took a boat from the port of Inteira to the waters near Dailan. At that time, someone named Amuril-sama greeted me.¡± Oh, so it¡¯s another first meeting with the dragon named Teseara who is waiting for us down there. ¡°Why are you in such a bad mood?¡± You¡¯ve been mumbling for a while now, did you eat something bad? ¡°¡­ Perhaps this passage is a secret, known only to a limited number of royal family members. If you think about it in terms of hierarchy and duty, only the top three brothers and the eldest sister would know about this passageway. I don¡¯t like that a bit.¡± ¡°Atol-sama, I am very happy to see you being as honest as you used to be.¡± Woah, and why are you crying, Kayone? ¡°I¡¯m sure His Highness of a few years ago would have stayed in his shell, sulking and swearing nastily. His highness has grown up, hasn¡¯t he?¡± Utai, you might think you¡¯re whispering that, but you¡¯re speaking too loudly and it¡¯s reaching Atol¡¯s ears, okay? ¡°¡­ Shut up. I¡¯ve decided it¡¯s not worth keeping quiet about. ¡®Sea dragon¡¯s servant¡¯ is a prestigious title in its own right. If it is directly related to sea dragon-sama, it would have been good to tell me.¡± ¡°You also have your own complications, huh?¡± Not only do you have a lot of siblings, but you also have to take into account your duties as royalty and the hierarchy. ¡°You¡¯re pretty dependable.¡± ¡°¡­ Kazamachi, you.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± What is it? Did I say something weird? ¡°How can you say such a thing without batting an eye at all? You¡¯re an embarrassment.¡± Then Atol turned away from me and looked at the wall. Hey, you can¡¯t go down the stairs while looking away, can you? ¡°I think the best thing about Kunpei-san is that he properly praises the great things people do.¡± Aoi, who was following right behind me with Jaja in her arms, nodded somewhat proudly and happily. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. Kunpei-kun is someone with an open and honest personality.¡± Hey, Mikuma, what¡¯s up with you too, all of a sudden? ¡°Hm, Kunpei is great.¡± Even Rouge! Seriously, what is this all of a sudden! I¡¯m embarrassed! ¡°Well, looking at it from a different perspective, nii-chan just can¡¯t think about things too much.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to end it there, Shouhei.¡± Can you please stop lifting me up and then dropping me down? ¡°Well, we¡¯ll be there before you know it.¡± ¡°Oh, looks like we went down pretty deep.¡± At Atol¡¯s urging, I looked at the end of the stairs and saw light of a different color than the room light. ¡°Dah?¡± ¡°Au?¡± ¡°Jaja? Nana? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Jaja, who was being held by Aoi, and Nana, who is being held by Rouge, were holding out their arms restlessly and trying to grab something. ¡°Dah! Udah!¡± ¡°Maama! Mah!¡± ¡°Woah, it¡¯s dangerous to lean forward, Jaja.¡± What the? Why are they both at the same¡­ Ah, right. There are things that everyone else can¡¯t see, but only the twins can. ¡°Everybody stop for a second.¡± ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Nii-chan?¡± I, who was at the head of the group except for Prince Gatol and Gasha-san who were ahead of me, stopped and everyone stopped. ¡°Kunpei-san?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Aoi and Mikuma tried to look into my face curiously. ¡°¡­ um, let¡¯s see.¡± ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Da!¡± Alba Germain taught me the process for seeing spirits before. I placed my hands on each of Nana and Jaja¡¯s heads and focused my attention only on the twins. Jaja took my hand and slapped it happily, while Nana shook her head in small increments. Nana, I¡¯m already pretty shocked, so please don¡¯t be too cruel. Let¡¯s see, I¡¯m pretty sure that rat said channeling¡­ I closed my eyes and felt only the warmth of the twins on my hands. Like this? ¡°Whoa.¡± ¡°Kazamachi, what is this?¡± ¡°Fish?¡± I heard reactions from Shouhei, Atol, and Mikuma in succession, so I guess that means it worked? This is another of Alba¡¯s words, ¡®Instead of syncing my perception to the spirit, I¡¯m going to adjust the spirit side to our channel,¡¯ was it? I don¡¯t understand the details, but in other words, it means that it¡¯s not just me and the twins, but for others to see. ¡°Is this a sea spirit¡­?¡± Aoi¡¯s face, which I saw when I opened my eyes slightly, had a surprised and stunned expression. Around her, countless small blue fish were floating as if they were swimming in water. ¡°They look completely different from that of the earth lizard spirits. I didn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°They are also different from the sky butterfly spirits.¡± I don¡¯t know about the spirits of the earth, because I¡¯ve never seen one myself, but the spirits of the sky were in the form of white, luminous butterflies. Even in the same butterfly form, the ¡®Spirit of Life¡¯ was green in color, and this little fish, probably a sea spirit, glowed blue. ¡°The spirit of the earth is a red lizard, and even now it¡¯s all over those walls and stuff.¡± ¡°The spirits of the sky are also all around us now, too. I knew that the spirits of the sky, earth, and sea dragons look different from each other, but I had no idea they were so different.¡± All three are still spirits, so why do different dragons see different things? I¡¯ll ask Alba when I meet him again. ¡°If Jaja and Nana were reacting to it, does that mean they could see it from the beginning?¡± ¡°I guess so. There are so many things I don¡¯t understand anymore, I honestly feel like my head is going to explode.¡± Once again, I looked around at the small fish drifting around me. They don¡¯t seem to be moving with any particular purpose. They are just floating around, looking comfortable. ¡°Kayo-san, Kayo-san. I saw something amazing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, Utai-chan. But it¡¯s very beautiful¡­¡± ¡°So this the spirit of the sea. The source of the sea, ruled by the Sea Dragon king¡­¡± The Dailan trio also seemed to be taken aback by the sight they were seeing for the first time. It¡¯s no wonder. A school of small fish emitting a pale blue light in the dark underground is just fantastical. ¡°Oops, we can¡¯t stay like this. There are people waiting for us.¡± ¡°Oh, yes. Prince Gatol, Gasha-sama, and the others are surely waiting for us.¡± We all came to our senses and began descending the stairs once again. Among them, there was one who looked up at the small fish with his mouth wide open and did not move. What is he doing? ¡°Hey, Shouhei. Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°¡­ Ah, yeah. I¡¯ll be right there.¡± Hmm? What¡¯s with him? ¡°Don¡¯t just stand there, or you¡¯ll fall down.¡± ¡± ¡­ Yeah, sorry.¡± There is something wrong with him. ¡°What is it? Do you have a fever?¡± I put my hand on his forehead to check, but Shouhei¡¯s hand interfered just before I did. ¡°I already said I¡¯m fine. Come on, let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°O-oh.¡± If you¡¯re fine, then that¡¯s okay. Watching his back, I started walking behind him. ¡°¡­ If I don¡¯t tell you guys, is it¡­ okay?¡± ¡°Ah?¡± I couldn¡¯t catch Shouhei¡¯s voice as he mumbled something in a whisper, and I asked back a little bluntly. Shouhei turned around and looked me in the eye. ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± ¡°¡­ Is that so?¡± We finished descending the stairs, with me feeling very uneasy for some reason. Chapter 191 ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Ubah!¡± Jaja and Nana¡¯s happy voices reverberated throughout, echoing off the walls. ¡°¡­amazing.¡± ¡°Beautiful¡­¡± ¡°Is this a limestone cave?¡± Words of admiration naturally came out of the mouths of Shouhei, Aoi, and Mikuma in succession. Of course, I too was overwhelmed by the sight I was seeing for the first time, looking up at the cave ceiling with my mouth wide open. I was at a loss for words. Is this what it means to be overwhelmed? We went down the stairs and found ourselves in a very large cave with a purple glow. Crystal-like crystalline bodies that seem to drip from the ceiling. The crystals, which had a pale glow, grew everywhere in the cave, illuminating what should have been a dim underground in a fantastical way. ¡°There was a place like this here¡± Atol was looking up at the ceiling with a silly expression on his face as well. Kayone and Utai were also entranced by the sight, their mouths wide open in fascination. ¡°What do you think?¡± The First Prince Gatol, Atol¡¯s older brother, a macho in speedos, crossed his arms and puffed up his chest proudly. ¡°Isn¡¯t it amazing? This is the magic crystal milk cave, a very precious sight that can only be produced naturally on the sphere continent, which is rich in magical power.¡± His wife, Gasha, aka ¡®Erotic String Bikini¡¯ explained happily, clasping her hands together. ¡°I knew there were many ores that reacted to magic power, but I didn¡¯t know they could react in such a beautiful way. It¡¯s amazing.¡± Mikuma put her hand on my back as she adjusted her glasses. I¡¯ve recently learned that she has a habit of sticking to people she knows when she¡¯s startled or feels lonely. Usually it¡¯s the little devil cat girl ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Saeki Ichika, but since she¡¯s not here, she must have unintentionally substituted me, who was nearby. Um, Mikuma-san? Are you aware of what you are wearing right now? If you are wearing only a thin swimsuit with a small area of fabric, and you are so close to me¡­ I¡¯m honestly very happy©¤©¤©¤©¤ or very troubled, so please don¡¯t do that. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s so beautiful, Kunpei-san.¡± I don¡¯t think she was competing with Mikuma, but Aoi also snuggled up to my shoulder while holding Jaja. I guess this is a habit of Aoi¡¯s these days, she seems to be doing it unconsciously by now, but Aoi has always wanted to stick to me. Even though I¡¯ve gotten used to it through our daily routine of joint breastfeeding, there¡¯s no reason I shouldn¡¯t be happy to be in close contact with a cute girl. Mikuma on my back, Aoi on my right shoulder. With two girls who like me between me, I¡¯m starting to lose interest in beautiful sights and such. ¡°Now, Teseara-sama is waiting for you at the underground river just ahead.¡± We moved slowly, with Prince Gatol in the lead. ¡°Kyah!¡± Mikuma tripped lightly as her foot got caught on the rugged rocky ground. I supported her shoulder and managed to stop her from falling. ¡°Thank you, Kunpei-kun.¡± ¡°Hold on tight, it¡¯s not safe. Aoi, you too.¡± ¡°Yes, thank you.¡± My left hand held Mikuma¡¯s hand and my right hand hugged Aoi¡¯s shoulder. Although I was aware that I was doing something cheeky, I couldn¡¯t help it because it would be painful just to imagine if I fell down in such a place. Especially since Aoi and Rouge are each carrying the twins. Even though we were surrounded by the fantastic glow of the magical cave, the ground was dimly lit and hard to see. It is best to be careful. ¡°Shouhei, be careful where you step, okay?¡± ¡°Hm, Shouhei, hold my hand.¡± ¡°Thank you, Ru-neechan.¡± Rouge took Shouhei¡¯s right hand with her free left hand while carrying Nana on one arm. ¡°Rouge, be careful, okay?¡± ¡°The skin of an earth dragon won¡¯t be damaged by rock like this. Even if she falls down, she will definitely protect Nana and Shouhei and they will not fall down because she¡¯s supporting her body with her tail.¡± I see, if I look closely, I could see that the long, hard, black tail that grew slightly above Rouge¡¯s buttocks was touching the ground. ¡°As long as the earth is there in the first place, an earth dragon can discern the terrain, no matter how dark it is. The eyes of an earth dragon are designed to always have a clear view of the earth.¡± I see what you mean. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô After moving through the cave for a while, I heard the sound of water. It sounds like a pretty strong current, is it okay? ¡°Thank you very much for your patience Teseara-sama.¡± Ahead of Prince Gatol, a figure could be seen. The figure placed its hands in front of its stomach and bowed deeply. Then, she slowly rose up. ¡°No, please don¡¯t worry about it. This was all due to my king¡¯s selfishness.¡± The faint light of the magical crystals illuminated the figure. Waiting there was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair. She had a large bosom that might be the same as Mikuma¡¯s©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ no, or even larger, and she was wearing a long, thin silk dress that was full of sex appeal. Is this person a sea dragon? At first glance, she looked like a human, but I could tell she was a dragon because her tail extended from the top of her buttocks, just like Aoi and Rouge¡¯s. The tail, like the scales of a fish, glimmered with rainbow colors when the light reflected off it. Aoi¡¯s and the twins¡¯ tails are covered with blue fluffy fur, which looks soft and is in fact fluffy and super soft. Rouge¡¯s tail was stubby and very long. Teseara¡¯s tail is a little shorter and may or may not touch the ground. I am not sure what is going on under the scales, but it looks like it could be flexible. ¡°Ada!¡± Jaja, who was embraced by Aoi, reached out her hand to Teseara-san somewhat happily. You really aren¡¯t shy, are you? Look at your sister, huh? You know, she¡¯s clutching Rouge¡¯s shirt tightly and anxiously sucking her thumb? ¡°Ah, well, well, well. The next sky dragon king and the next earth dragon king, it is an honor to meet you.¡± Teseara-san bowed her head again to Aoi and Rouge. ¡°Oh, no, please don¡¯t do that, Teseara-san. I¡¯m still totally inexperienced¡­¡± ¡°Hm. Me too. My mother is still completely healthy, so I¡¯m troubled when you say next Dragon King.¡± Come to think of it, I was too familiar with them to realized, but both Aoi and Rouge are the next Dragon Kings. Aoi is the daughter of the current Sky Dragon King, Yuriel Dragoline. And Rouge is the daughter of the Earth Dragon King. I don¡¯t know how and when the Dragon King will be replaced, so I can¡¯t say, but looking at the two of them now, ¡®king¡¯ doesn¡¯t ring a bell at all. Oh, so¡­ you¡¯re saying that the next generation of sky dragon king after Aoi will be either Jaja or Nana? In this case, would it be the older sister, Jaja? ¡°Uh! Dah!¡± ¡°Whoa! Jaja! Do you want to go to Teseara-san?¡± With a flailing motion of her hands, Jaja was urging Aoi to move. ¡°Well, this is just adorable. I had heard about you, but what a lovely child you are. May I touch her?¡± ¡°Yes, go ahead. Please hold her in your arms if you like.¡± ¡°I am very happy. May I ask her name?¡± ¡°This is Jaja. Jaja Dragoline. She¡¯s the older twin sister.¡± ¡°I see that your name is the same as that of the hero of the dragons. Jaja-sama, my name is Teseara, an attendant of the current King of the Sea Dragons, Caroia Riselle Drangwave-sama. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± Slowly, Jaja was handed over from Aoi¡¯s arms to Teseara-san. With a twinkle in her big eyes, Jaja jumped into her ample bosom vigorously, as if she couldn¡¯t wait to see her. ¡°Dah! Au!¡± Touching Teseala-san¡¯s face with both hands, Jaja¡¯s big smile blossomed. Yep, our little girl is cute after all. ¡°Uuh!¡± ¡°What a clever child you are. Is that your younger sister over there?¡± ¡°Hmm. This is Nana. Nana Dragoline. Nana? This is Teseara-san.¡± ¡°Nya.¡± Nana, in her full shyness, shook her head and buried her face in Rouge¡¯s chest. ¡°Nn. Nana is shy. But she¡¯s as good child like Jaja.¡± ¡°Yes, she is also a very lovely child. How adorable.¡± Teseara-san, with an enraptured expression on her face, was completely taken by the cuteness of the twins. I understand. I really understand. When our twins are together, you know. It¡¯s like this, isn¡¯t it? Yeah. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I forgot to greet you all. My name is Teseara Leliu. I am the personal attendant of the current Sea Dragon King, and I am also the educator of the Dragon Princess Arisleia. I would like to thank you very much for accepting my king¡¯s urgent invitation.¡± With Jaja in her arms, Teseara-san bowed deeply to us. ¡°Ah, let me see. I am Kazamachi Kunpei. This is my brother Shouhei.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Following Shouhei¡¯s nervous bowing, I hurriedly bowed my head as well. I¡¯m no good at this. I really don¡¯t know anything about politeness. ¡°I¡¯m Yunno Mikuma. Nice to meet you.¡± ¡°Thank you very much for your courtesy. You three are human, aren¡¯t you? I have heard from the Rat Sage. The sky dragon king¡¯s daughter¡¯s husband, his younger brother and a friend of yours.¡± It¡¯s so embarrassing to be called husband by a third party. I¡¯ve been called that a few times when I was shopping, but I¡¯m still not used to it. ¡°I¡¯m Atol Ketsa Koato Dailan, the servant of the sea dragon. Teseara-sama, it is an honor to meet you for the first time.¡± Atol quickly stepped forward next to me and bowed reverently with one knee on the hard ground. Kayone and Utai followed suit, bowing a little behind me in the same manner. Wait, aren¡¯t you overreacting a bit? It¡¯s like we were rude to greet them normally, isn¡¯t it? ¡°Thank you very much Prince Atol. I have heard that the servant of the Sea Dragon of our time is an excellent child. I will allow you to pay your respects to Caroria-sama. Be mindful not to be rude.¡± Teseara-san suddenly turned serious and dropped words to Atol. Haha, thank goodness. ¡°Hey, Atol.¡± No matter how you look at it, aren¡¯t you lowering yourself too much? ¡°It¡¯s okay, Kunpei-dono. Atol¡¯s status is that of a ¡®servant¡¯, which this country and sea dragon-sama once established. Although he is a prince, every drop of his blood belongs to sea dragon-sama. It may seem like a terrible punishment to those from other countries, but compared to the benefits our country has received and the future peace of our people, Atol¡¯s body is a small price to pay. Please don¡¯t mind it.¡± When I tried to pick up Atol, who kept his head bowed, I was stopped by his own brother, Prince Gatol, who told me so. ¡°Yes, Kazamachi. You may not understand this, but the dragon species is a race who live in hiding due to their excessive power. Dailan is a special country that has maintained itself under the patronage of such a dragon. For me, it is a great honor to be a ¡®servant of the sea dragon¡¯. There is no need for you to be concerned about it.¡± ¡°A-ah.¡± Even if you say so, I¡¯m still not convinced. But this is not Japan, and I am not a citizen of Dailan. I am also not an upstanding person who can complain about other people¡¯s values. The dragons I have met so far have been ordinary girls, including Aoi, who give the impression of being somewhat out of the ordinary. Rouge likes children, Wera and Azui are weak. Well, as for Yule, I think she is the exception to the rule, so let¡¯s leave her out of it for now. I never once felt that she was the kind of being that I had to treat her with the attitude that Atol has now. Maybe that¡¯s why I¡¯m actually bothered inside every time Atol uses honorifics with Aoi, Rouge, and the twins. But, I can¡¯t tell him to stop. Yeah. ¡°Well, enough standing around talking, let me show you the way to the Sea Dragon Island.¡± With a smiling face, Teseara-san pointed her hand to the fast-flowing river behind her. ¡°It¡¯s over 100 kilometers from here to the ocean, how do we get there?¡± It was Mikuma who asked such a question on our behalf. Although there is a waterway here, I don¡¯t think it is connected to the sea. As far as I can see, there are no boats anywhere, and the end of the waterway is further underground than here, and the ceiling appears to be even lower. ¡°I will carry you all on my back.¡± ¡°Hah?¡± I was the one who let out that dumb sound. Because Teseara-san is too slender no matter how you look at her. There are twelve of us here, including Jaja and Nana. Even if she were to take the form of a large dragon like Aoi, it would not be large enough for all of us to safely ride. I mean, the width of the river is only wide enough to accommodate ten people side by side. If Aoi were to assume the form of a dragon, the river would be too narrow for her to move around. ¡°Teseara-san is going to carry us on her back to the sea?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s true that it is a long way to the coast, and I understand your apprehension, but¡­¡± In response to Aoi¡¯s question, Teseara-san slowly extended her index finger and pointed toward the ground. ¡°We¡¯re headed down.¡± Then she smiled again. Chapter 192 With us on his back, Teseara-san dived deep towards the ocean floor at a tremendous speed. Her appearance was not that of a human, but that of a large, long dragon. This is the first time I have seen a dragon other than Aoi in this form seriously exercise its power. This smooth, white, and sparkling appearance is exactly the image of the original word dragon. Prince Gatol urged me to get on, and her back felt strangely strong, it didn¡¯t yield even though all of us were on it. When the dragon made a single cry and dove into the water with such force that I was afraid I would drown, I wondered if this was one of the powers of the sea dragon. She formed a mysterious force field in a sphere with a radius of about 10 meters from her body, and the surrounding water was diverted. It had been a few minutes since we first went underwater. I was still freaked out by this strange sensation that resembled free-fall. ¡°Whoa, whoaaaa!¡± I think it¡¯s about time I stopped trying to be cool, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯s too much for a weird scream, right? ¡°Stop making weird noises, nii-chan! I¡¯m scared too!¡± Shouhei, sitting between my cross-legged legs, complained. ¡°I can¡¯t help it!¡± ¡°This sure is scary.¡± Clinging to my left arm with all her strength was Mikuma. Her trembling breasts were gently twisting around my arms, which was one of the reasons I have been unable to keep my composure since a few minutes ago. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Hm, not really.¡± Aoi, holding Jaja, and Rouge, holding Nana, tilted their heads. I wonder if you guys are okay with this kind of thing because of your physical abilities. Aoi can normally fly. ¡°I haven¡¯t felt this fluttering sensation since the¡­ roller coaster.¡± ¡°Nii-chan is a screamer so he¡¯s no good with them.¡± ¡°Eh! Surprising! You look so tough, but can¡¯t go on a roller coaster?¡± Aah! Shouhei, stop saying unnecessary things! Especially if you give such information to Utai, who is a demonic sonic weapon, there is absolutely a possibility that it will spread to other people! She is catastrophically incapable of a private conversation or anything like that! Like recess at school. They¡¯re talking so loud that even we in the next class can hear them! I¡¯m sure Gasara and the others will find out and mess with me like crazy! ¡°Hmph, child.¡± ¡°Oh, aren¡¯t you adorable?¡± Atol and Kayone, who were sitting silently with their arms crossed, interrupted. ¡°You say that, but even Atol-sama screamed when he went to visit a theme park in Chiba and saw an attraction where the rooms fell down.¡± ¡°Kayone! Stop saying unnecessary things!!¡± ¡°Ha ha! Suck on that, Atol! You¡¯re not so bad yourself!¡± ¡°But the first time you rode that thing, you couldn¡¯t stand up for a while.¡± ¡°Shouhei! Shouhei, please!!!¡± Get over the habit of using my shameful secrets as a punchline, okay? ¡°Mikuma-san, aren¡¯t you clinging a little too much?¡± Aoi waddled up to my back on her knees and glared at Mikuma. ¡°I-is that so? Sorry, Kunpei-kun. I was so scared that I couldn¡¯t help but cling to you.¡± ¡°Oh, oh. Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± I had a feeling that no matter how I answered, Aoi would get angry, so I gave the safest answer. ¡°It¡¯s not okay, but¡­ Then, I¡¯ll take this side.¡± I felt Aoi¡¯s cool skin on my half-naked back. I-is that Aoi-chan? I¡¯ve never been hugged like that before, and I¡¯m pretty nervous about it. Aoi¡¯s tiny little bulge through her bathing suit was pressed directly against my back. My left arm was in Mikuma¡¯s huge dream mounds. Shouhei, get off my crotch for a minute. The lining of my swimsuit is not fooling anyone anymore. ¡°Dah!¡± Jaja, who was now sandwiched between Aoi¡¯s breasts and my back, slapped my back with her little hand. ¡°Whoa, you¡¯re in a good mood, Jaja. Are you okay with this?¡± ¡°Udah!¡± I put my hands behind my back and catch Jaja¡¯s buttocks. ¡°Nana is still scared, but Jaja is kind of brazen.¡± This energetic girl is really not afraid of anything. ¡°Uu, dah, ah!¡± ¡°Ouch, ouch. Jaja, daddy is naked right now, so if you hit him so hard, it will hurt.¡± My eldest daughter, who was in the middle of a high-spirited mood, was not at all reserved with me. ¡°Guooooooo!¡± ¡°Whoa.¡± Far in front of where we were riding, Teseara-san, who had transformed into the form of a dragon let out a yell. Shouhei¡¯s body shook with shock at the sudden voice. ¡°That surprised me.¡± ¡°Hm, she said we¡¯re almost there.¡± ¡°Rouge-neechan, do you understand what she¡¯s saying?¡± ¡°Yes, Aoi should as well.¡± ¡°Yes, it is the original dragon language.¡± As I recall, Aoi and the others borrowed the magical power of the spirits to get the same effect as the word sphere magical tool. That¡¯s why they can speak and understand anyone¡¯s language. ¡°Atol, can you look at that?¡± Prince Gatol, who was sitting with a straight back, called his brother Atol and pointed to the front. His dark skin looked even darker in the darkness of the sea, and his white teeth seemed like they were floating in the darkness. ¡°What is it, brother?¡± Atol leaned forward to see what was ahead of his finger and gazed at it. ¡°Look, that dim light. That¡¯s the light of the ¡®sunlight pillar¡¯ that supplies our country with magic power. You¡¯ve at least heard of it, right?¡± ¡°The royal family of long ago presented it to the dragon-sama as a magical tool to recreate sunlight with magic power, is that right?¡± ¡°Yes, the sea dragon island is an island sunk deep in the sea so that the dragons could spend their lives in peace. In exchange for their blessing, we, Dailan, ensure the maintenance, inspection, and permanence of the magic tools. In other words, it¡¯s a give and take. It¡¯s an important thing that must never be neglected. Remember that.¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± Atol¡¯s face looks somewhat younger than usual as he nods his head with a mysterious expression on his face. He is always so brusque and frowning, but in front of his eldest brother, he is nothing more than a little brother. I¡¯m starting to feel a strange sense of familiarity with him. ¡°Well, then, everyone, let¡¯s get ready to dismount!¡± Gasha-san, wearing a sexy black string bikini, smiled and turned to us. ¡°That¡¯s the Island of the Sea Dragon, isn¡¯t it?¡± Why is there such a large pool of water deep beneath Dailan, and why is there an island sunk in such a place? I¡¯m an idiot, so there¡¯s no way I can figure it out. What I do know is that there are three dragon kings there, including Aoi¡¯s mother, Yuriel, and Rouge¡¯s mother, Rubynein-san. I have no idea what they want from us, but I can¡¯t help but feel that we are going to get into trouble again. I look at Jaja, who was in a good mood in Aoi¡¯s arms, and Nana, who was anxious in Rouge¡¯s arms. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m going to do my best.¡± I mumbled softly and turned to face the front again. Whatever it is, I came to this country for the sake of the twins¡¯. What kind of father would I be if I didn¡¯t do my best, no matter what? ¡°Nii-chan, did you say something?¡± ¡°Hmm? It¡¯s nothing.¡± I stroked the top of Shouhei¡¯s head. ¡°Hey, stop it!¡± ¡°Hahaha.¡± In the meantime, a luminous object called the sunlight pillar came within a distance where we could clearly see it. The island the pillar, which was as large as a skyscraper, was on, seems to be the Sea Dragon Island. Chapter 193 We landed in a cove. No matter how many times I observed my surroundings, it was still a strange sight. This was deep underwater and even though it was supposed to be located deep beneath the continent of the sphere continent, it was brilliantly illuminated by sunlight, just like a beachside in midsummer. White sandy beaches and tropical palm trees. The sound of the waves gently lapping against the shore was soothing to the ears, and the occasional splash of water against my feet felt cool and comfortable. ¡°What the hell is going on here?¡± As I checked my surroundings, I couldn¡¯t help but think to myself. My head was already filled with a lot of question marks. If you don¡¯t explain to me soon, I¡¯m going to collapse with a fever. ¡°The sphere continent is, as the name suggests, a sphere.¡± It was Gasha, wife of Prince Gatol, who answered me. She got off the back of Teseara-san, who was in her dragon form, and spoke to us with a gentle smile as we looked around the sky and our surroundings. If it weren¡¯t for the black string bikini that made it difficult to look at her, there would be no problem at all, but the way she was so bold that even Shouhei, who was not so concerned about the appearance of the opposite sex, couldn¡¯t help but look away. ¡°The original shape of the sphere continent is a huge circular mass of earth floating in the sea. So if you dig straight down toward the ground, you will surely end up in the ocean. However, it takes a lot of equipment, money, and time to dig out that hard outer shell from the surface, but we, Dailan, have a path made by the sea dragons, so as long as we are guided in this way, we can reach this island.¡± ¡°The power of the Sea Dragon King pushes away the surrounding seawater, and the magic tool we have offered, the Sunlight Pillar, is supplying sunlight and oxygen. This is a deep-sea area that has now turned into a dungeon. Without the Dragon King¡¯s guidance, other races would not be able to enter so easily, so it is the perfect place to hide and dwell.¡± ¡°I see. If they¡¯re this thorough, they¡¯ll never be found.¡± Prince Gatol added a breathtaking supplementary explanation that only a married couple could provide, and I was somewhat convinced. As the rat sage had told me before, the original dragon species was a race that lived in hiding. Take Tusk Crag, for example. Aoi and her mother used to live on that huge inverted triangular monolith, which was at least 100 meters above the ground. It contained a dungeon inside, and although it was difficult to get to the top, there were several ways to enter. If you simply trudged through the dungeon and looked for all the entrances, or made full use of helicopters and airplanes, you could easily reach their nest at the top. It is a practical means, although it requires money and the ability to traverse the dungeon. But here, in this deep sea, it is not so. It took more than 10 minutes to descend to this depth on the Teseara-san¡¯s back. And it was so fast that I felt like I was in free fall. I am not certain because of my lack of knowledge, but I am sure that we are at least 2,000 meters below the surface. There is no way that ordinary equipment and personnel could reach such a place. Not only is there water pressure and depth, but there are also many marine creatures and aquatic monsters around. No matter how many lives we have, they will not be enough to get us here. ¡°Kunpei-kun, look at that.¡± Mikuma pointed to a dome of seawater that was being pushed apart by a mysterious force. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± The light from the sun pillar was so bright that I tried to block the light with my hand while staring at where she was pointing to. ¡°A-a big whale-like monster, it was shredded in an instant.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± At her words, I looked carefully again. But all that was there were some fine, trash-like particles of something and a stream of red mist-like water that quickly dissipated. ¡°There¡¯s nothing there?¡± ¡°Um, yeah. It disappeared right away¡­¡± Mikuma, with her mouth gaping open in dismay, was frozen in place as she looks up at the domed ceiling. ¡°The currents around this island can chop even the largest monsters to pieces. No one but us will be able to get in. This is the safest hiding place for dragon species in the world.¡± Teseara-san, who had returned to her original form was behind us before we knew it and explained the situation to us. ¡°We have our residence in a cave in the center of the island, and Carolia-sama is waiting for your arrival there. Would you like me to show you around?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± I responded to Teseara-san, who smiled and pointed to the place with her palm, with a stupid smile on my face. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô ¡°Welcome! I¡¯ve been waiting for you! I¡¯ve been waiting forever!¡± The woman who greeted us was the woman who had been projected from that crystal. She wore a revealing light peach dress and had long, soft, green hair. She wore a tiara shaped like coral on her forehead and looked happy to see us with a carefree smile like a child. ¡°Hello to you little ones there, and to the human children, right? Oh, maybe the new servant and his servants, too. I haven¡¯t had this many guests on this island in hundreds of years! I¡¯m so excited!¡± The woman was breathing roughly and jumping up and down. We were led to the innermost part of a large cave that had opened up in the center of the island. It was a shimmering place with rocks resembling transparent crystals and corals, faintly illuminated by gentle light. The interior of the cave was made to look like a palace, even though it was inside a cave, creating a majestic atmosphere. The floor was covered with pure white marble-like tiles, and several gorgeous chandeliers hung from the ceiling. It was truly a room that was suitable to be called the king¡¯s room. We were overwhelmed by its out-of-place atmosphere, and from the moment we entered the room, we were in a state of shock. Prince Atol and Prince Gatol were indeed royalty. Even though they look like they¡¯re wearing crazy swimsuits, they matched the place perfectly. ¡°Carolina Liselle! You¡¯re acting improperly, please stop! Your dignity of a king is nonexistent!¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. Although I¡¯m the Dragon King, it¡¯s not a big deal.¡± Is that a throne, or what? Teseara-san rushed toward the Sea Dragon King, Carolia Liselle, who was sitting on a large shell-like chair in the center of the spacious room with her legs together. ¡°If you, the head of the sea dragons, behave in such a manner, the entire sea dragon tribe will be disrespected! The Dailan royal family is here, too, and they¡¯re watching us!¡± ¡°Yaan, Teseara-san is noisy as soon as she comes back. Look, look, you are all surprised, aren¡¯t you?¡¡Come here, come here.¡± Paying no attention to Teseara-san¡¯s sermon, Carolina Liselle beckoned us toward her. Prince Gatol and his wife, Gasha, were the first to step forward from us, who froze, looking at each other¡¯s faces, unsure of how to move. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time. Carolia-sama. The eldest son of King Guadal, Gatol Ketsa Agul Dailan here.¡± ¡°And his wife, Gasha Dailan. I am very pleased to see you in such good health and beauty.¡± At the sight of the two kneeling on one knee a short distance away from the shell throne and hanging their heads, Atol, who had been in a daze, came to himself and knelt down in the same manner on the spot. Kayone and Utai followed suit, kneeling down on the ground. ¡°It¡¯s an honor to meet you! I am Guadal¡¯s twelfth child! Atol Ketsa Koato Dailan, the newly appointed Sea Dragon¡¯s servant!¡± ¡°And his servant and first consort candidate, Kayone Inteira!¡± ¡°And the second consort candidate for His Highness Atol! Utai Inteira!¡± Well, there¡¯s some kind of a heavy introduction going on¡­ maybe we should kneel down as well. I didn¡¯t greet Yule with such an awe-inspiring greeting. In fact, I was even blown away and knocked over by her even though it was our first meeting. ¡°Oh, well, well, well, you are all so polite. I¡¯m glad to hear that Guadal¡¯s children are doing well. ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Eh? Twelfth? Did that kid have that many kids?¡± The edges of her mouth twitched. ¡°Why are you surprised now, Carolia-sama¡­¡± Teseara-san, who was watching the situation, put her hand on her forehead and let out a deep sigh. ¡°King Dailan has eleven princes and two princesses among his four queens, as this Teseara reported to you every time they were born?¡± ¡°T-thirteen children!? Oh, I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s true! I have a strong impression of Guadal-chan as a cute little kid, so I¡¯m surprised that I can¡¯t picture it at all! No, you know what? I know Gatol-chan, Tetol-chan, and Mianate, the eldest daughter, because they come to greet me at New Year¡¯s!¡± ¡°Hahaha, if it were up to Carolia-sama, even His Majesty would still be treated like a child.¡± Prince Gatol, dressed in speedos, laughed cheerfully at the flustered Carolia Liselle-san. Atol, on the other hand, was frozen in place with an indescribably awkward smile plastered on his face. ¡®Well, well, well! Welcome, Atol! And Kayone and Utai! You all don¡¯t have to be so respectful. Come on, come on, stand up, stand up! Carolia-chan will be very troubled if you act so standoffish!¡± ¡°U-umm¡­¡± Atol, bewildered at being urged to stand, glanced at Prince Gatol with an unusual expression on his face. ¡°Then we¡¯ll take your word for it. Come on, Atol, you stand up too.¡± Prince Gatol stood up first and offered his hand to Atol. ¡°Okay, brother.¡± ¡°Ah, since she¡¯s saying that. It would be impolite to refuse to accept her words.¡± ¡°I see.¡± At that being said, Atol stood up timidly. ¡°Well! Now, those cuties in the back who are looking at me so reservedly! You¡¯ve come a long way!¡± Carolina Liselle-san pointed her finger at us, who had been keeping quiet. ¡°Well, well, well! You¡¯ve really grown up, Aoinoun-chan! Rougerichte-chan! You¡¯re so, so, so beautiful!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry Carolia-sama. I don¡¯t remember anything at all.¡± Aoi responds with a wry smile to Carolia-san as she slowly makes her way through the large hall. Jaja, in her arms, was sucking her thumb and staring with interest at someone she was meeting for the first time. ¡°It¡¯s no wonder you don¡¯t remember me! Because the last time I saw Aoinoun-chan was when she was just a little hatchling. I remember how surprised I was when Yuriel-chan, that tomboy that no one could do anything about, came to this island with a baby in her arms!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard that my mother took me to visit the sea dragons when I was little.¡± ¡°It was so cute, you know? Like this. You squeezed my fingers with your little hands, didn¡¯t you? I tickled you and you laughed happily. But that little girl has already become a mother, hasn¡¯t she? Dragon species don¡¯t care much about the passage of time, but they are different when it comes to watching their young ones grow up, aren¡¯t they?¡± She sounds like an old lady in the neighborhood. ¡°You remember Rougerichte-chan, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No, sorry. I remember meeting the second-generation head, but I don¡¯t remember meeting the eighth-generation head. Did I meet you here as well?¡± Rouge, holding Nana, tilted her head curiously. ¡°Oh my, is Grandma Ersch still alive?¡± ¡°She came to the Earth Dragon Forest about 200 years ago. My mother was surprised. I believe Aoi was there with her. Do you remember?¡± ¡°Oh, was I?¡± When asked by Rouge, Aoi replied with a wry smile. ¡°The second-generation head, huh? She was a special person even among the Sea Dragon Tribe. I wonder what she is doing now¡­ Oh, no, no, no. Now it¡¯s about the kids in front, right? Rouge could stand up and talk already, so I thought you would remember, but you were still very small. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if you didn¡¯t remember. Oh, yes, we met during our last audience at the Sanctuary, remember?¡± ¡°Sanctuary? I¡¯m sorry, Carolia-san. I don¡¯t seem to remember anything.¡± ¡°Yeah? Well, since the world clash happened, we, the dragon species, have been in a lot of turmoil. Your mother©¤©¤Rubynein-chan was also very busy, so it¡¯s not surprising that you don¡¯t know about the sanctuary that we can no longer reach now.¡± Carolia Liselle pondered something while crossing her arms and looking down I, Shouhei, and Mikuma could not follow the conversation and still could not utter a single word. Hmmm. I wonder. I feel like I¡¯ve heard that word sanctuary recently. I can¡¯t remember it well, because it¡¯s like a hazy blur in the corner of my head. I think it was something very important, but I can¡¯t remember what it was. ¡°I¡¯ll leave it at that for now! Can you introduce the new sky dragon twins and Aoinoun¡¯s husband to Carolia?¡± Carolia Liselle¡¯s sparkling eyes locked on me sharply. Hey, why does she look so happy? Chapter 194 ¡°You¡¯re the one! You must be Aoinoun-chan¡¯s husband!¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± The sea dragon king ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Carolia Liselle closed in on me with a big smile and forced me to take both of her hands and buried them in her voluptuous breasts. ¡°I wanted to meet you! Yule,-chan was talking about you in a hateful way though! You see, she has a tendency to overreact when it comes to her own children! I knew I wouldn¡¯t know anything until I saw you in person! A first for our dragon species! With a different species! Mating! No, it¡¯s not quite right to call it mating, since we don¡¯t actually need mating for our species to thrive, but look at those adorable, adorable, little guys there! Oh my gosh, they¡¯re so cute! I¡¯m Carolia-chan!¡± ¡°Dah!¡± ¡°Uh?¡± Before I could enjoy ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ or even feel my hands sinking into that captivating mound, Carolia-san¡¯s talk and gaze darted back and forth between me, Jaja, and Nana. Her fluffy green hair danced as if it were floating in the air. Jaja, in Aoi¡¯s arms, raised her hands in the air when her name was called, while Nana, in Rouge¡¯s arms, tilted her head curiously at that look and vigor in her eyes. ¡°Yes, hello! Oh my gosh, you can greet people! Great! So cute! And you! Hmmm¡­ you look like an ordinary person, but I wonder if there is something different about you? Otherwise, how could you have a child with a sky dragon? Alba Germain says that the eggs laid by Aoinoun-chan were hatched by her blood, but I wonder if that is only true of the sky dragons. Is it the same for the other sky dragons? Or do the eggs of the Earth Dragons and Sea Dragons hatch in the same way? I think the strong feelings of longing in Aoinoun-chan¡¯s part have something to do with it¡­ hmmm! Interesting! Hah! Oh yes! This is worth a try! Hey, Teseara? Are there any sea dragons that are about to ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ no, when is my next egg-laying season?¡± H-hah!? I hurriedly untangled myself from Carolia-san¡¯s hand and jumped backward. It wasn¡¯t my imagination that sent a chill of fear down my back. ¡°Carolia-san!?¡± ¡°Aunt Carolia!¡± Aoi and I both called out her name at the same time, in a frenzied tone of voice. ¡°Eight generation-sama, please calm down. It is too pitiful to have more children for such a reason. You should stop.¡± Rouge was unusually flustered as she responded. She glanced sideways at Aoi, occasionally at me, wrinkled her brow, and finally at Nana and Jaja. ¡°Dragon King-sama! How improper! You are our chief! I have always told you to think carefully before you speak, and not to act only with curiosity, inquisitiveness, and vigor!¡± ¡°Yaa, I was just joking. You don¡¯t have to get so mad.¡± Teseara-san, her face bright red, headed towards Carolia-san. Carolia-san, who was intimidated by the pressure, turned her head away and backed away with a wince, breaking out in a cold sweat. ¡°No, if no one stopped you, you were going to give Kunpei-sama a sea dragon¡¯s daughter, weren¡¯t you! If you were in the egg-laying season, you were going to impregnate the eggs, weren¡¯t you?¡± Stop it! Aoi and Mikuma alone are exhausting my spirit day in and day out, but if I have to be responsible for even more girls, I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m going to do! ¡°It¡¯s obvious I was just joking, right? I, Carolia Liselle Dragulina, Queen of the Sea, who rules over the Sea Dragon tribe, would never do such a terrible thing, would I?¡± No, even if you say that. I can¡¯t believe it at all, after seeing your excited and quick speech and your serious expression just now. ¡°Rather than that, look! I wonder if it was Jaja and Nana! Let Carolia-chan give you a hug! We haven¡¯t seen a baby dragon since Aoinoun-chan. Give me baby!¡± With a giddy expression changing seven times, Carolia-san approached Aoi and held out her hands toward Nana. ¡°Look, look, can you teach her my name¡­?¡± ¡°Oh, y-yes. See, Nana? It¡¯s Aunt Carolia?¡± ¡°Nunyu?¡± Tilting her head again, Nana looked alternately at Aoi and Carolia-san. ¡°¡­ Ah!¡± That¡¯s so unusual! That Nana! That shy, Aoi-loving Nana! She just stretched her little arms back out to Carolia-san without a hint of reluctance or squirming! ¡°Aaaaahhhh! So cute! Nana-chan, right? Thanks! Let me hold you!¡± Carolia-san, who had a slovenly smile, happily inserted her hands under Nana¡¯s arms and picked her up. She carefully placed Nana in the open bosom of her dress and rubbed her cheek against her hair. ¡°Ah, it smells so good! Why do babies smell so good? It brings back memories. Alice used to be this cute too.¡± Sniff, sniff. Pant, pant. Carolia-san inhaled the scent of Nana¡¯s head into her nostrils and exhaled with an intoxicated breath. I understand. I know how you feel and what you are saying. Both Jaja and Nana smell so soft and sweet that I don¡¯t know where they get their smell from. If you ask me what exactly it smells like, I¡¯m at a loss for an answer, but it smells so good. I can seriously smell it all day long, and in a way, it may be a dangerous thing that ruins people (mainly me). Aoi and Rouge even bury their faces in their plump bellies after taking a bath or changing a diaper and are entranced. When my father and I do the same thing, Jaja and Nana don¡¯t like the feel of my beard, so I¡¯m actually very jealous of them. It¡¯s strange. Aside from my father, I shave every morning. I feel like my beard is growing faster these days. ¡°Dah! Nya!¡± ¡°Hm, Jaja too, wants to go to eight generation-sama?¡± Perhaps she became envious when she saw Nana playing with Carolia-san¡¯s breasts. Jaja began to jiggle and flail around in Rouge¡¯s arms. ¡°Oh, dear, oh, dear! Good, good, good! Come here, Jaja-chan!¡± As Carolia-san made one arm open for Jaja, Rouge slowly and gently removed her arm from Jaja¡¯s body. Jaja, with the small wings on her back taut and floating softly in the air, dexterously moved her arms and legs and flew to Carolia-san¡¯s chest, bobbing up and down a little. ¡°Uh. Ada.¡± Although she occasionally sways dangerously, Jaja¡¯s recent flight has become smoother than before. What¡¯s amazing is that even if she accidentally takes a nap while floating, she won¡¯t fall for a while. Well, we who are watching her would feel uneasy, so we quietly take her and place her down on the futon after she has completely fallen asleep. In other words, flying is becoming a very natural thing for the twins. ¡°Oh my gosh! Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow! You can fly so well already! I can¡¯t believe that she can fly so fast, no matter how much she is the child of a sky dragon! Yaaaahhhh, she¡¯s so cute! Yuriel-chan, it¡¯s really unfair that you have such a lovely grandchild!¡± Fidgeting her body, Carolia-san gently welcomed Jaja. Ah, as I thought? Although Alba Germain had given his endorsement, it seems that the twins are maturing much faster than the sky dragons. Are they geniuses, after all? ¡°I can¡¯t believe that Yuriel-chan, the youngest and most energetic of the Dragon Kings, would be the first to have grandchildren. Oh~ Jaja-chan¡¯s hair is so smooth, isn¡¯t it? It feels good and it smells good.¡± ¡°Did my mother tell you about Kunpei-san and Jaja and Nana?¡± Aoi is usually shy of people, or in this case shy of dragons? But she approached Carolia-chan, who she seems to be meeting for the first time, without fear. She doesn¡¯t seem like a stranger at all. She feels so close to her that she unintentionally called him Aunt. ¡°Yes, that girl. She even goes to the trouble of using this underwater island as a stopover point to show off her grandchildren and daughter, you know? She¡¯s been flying all over the world for sky restoration work. Don¡¯t you think Carolia-chan would be envious if she heard such lovey-dovey things? It looks like she also goes to Ruby¡¯s place as well.¡± ¡°My mother?¡± Rouge blinked in surprise. Well, as I recall, Ruby is the Earth Dragon King, Rouge¡¯s mother. Rubynein-san, was it? I hear the name often, but I still don¡¯t know what kind of person she is. I only understand that she is the same Dragon King as that Yule ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Sky Dragon King Yuriel Dragoline, so she must be a very powerful dragon. As I recall, earth dragons are said to excel in fighting ability among dragons, so perhaps they are so powerful that my lousy imagination can¡¯t even conceive it. I¡¯m a little traumatized by Dragon Kings because of Yule, so I don¡¯t really want to meet them. ¡°Yes, compared to the earth dragons who rarely move and the sea dragons who can never move, I envy the sky dragon king who¡¯s free. Well, in return, she¡¯s much busier than me and Ruby-chan. She seems to be under a lot of stress, so when she meets with me, she brags a lot, you know? How cute the twins are, how awesome the twins are, the daughter she¡¯s proud of.¡± ¡°So mother¡¯s doing well¡­ I¡¯m glad.¡± Aoi smiled a little lonely, but happy when she heard Carolia-san¡¯s story. Well, we parted without hardly having a conversation. I was in a comatose state, close to fainting because I had attempted dragonization for the first time, so in the end, I couldn¡¯t even see Yule, let alone reconcile with her. I could only tell from Yule¡¯s condition, which was later explained to me by Alba, that she had at least flown away without any hard feelings. As long as I¡¯m living with Aoi and the twins, I¡¯d like to have a proper discussion with her someday and get her to acknowledge me in some way, but I wonder when that will be. ¡°Oh, why don¡¯t you just go see her? Since she¡¯s here now.¡± Carolia-san said something very serious in a matter-of-fact way. ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Hah?¡± Aoi and I were stunned almost simultaneously. Eh? She¡¯s here? Here? Um, Yule-san¡­ is? You¡¯re kidding, right? Tell me you¡¯re joking? I¡¯m not ready to meet her! Sorry Aoi, but I honestly don¡¯t want to see her! ¡°Now my daughter ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ Oh, I never introduced you. I am talking about the next generation Dragon King, Aliceleia, the same as you guys. Oh, by the way, I never told you why I had you guys come all the way down here, did I?¡± With Jaja and Nana under her arms, Carolia-san corrected her disheveled, sloppy appearance at once. She relaxed her beautiful emerald green hair and looked at me, Aoi, and Rouge with a dignified and sharp gaze that was different from a moment ago. Then she looked at the faces of the Dailan royalty, and finally smiled at Shouhei and Mikuma, who were not accustomed to the occasion, and Carolia-san slowly opened her mouth. ¡°Please, I want you guys to ©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤©¤ save the life of my daughter, Aliceleia.¡± Behind her, Teseara-san looked so sad that she was about to cry. Chapter 195 We headed straight down the long corridor, which was decorated with shimmering green crystals. The island of the sea dragons was far larger and more complex than we had imagined, and we would surely get lost without Teseara-san leading the way. For some reason, we walked in a single-file line down the wide corridor, and I was at the very back of the line, thinking about something. ¡°Kunpei-san, are you still¡­ afraid of meeting mother?¡± Aoi looked at me anxiously while holding Nana, who was looking around with a curious look on her face. ¡°Ah, no. Well, I am a bit, but I¡¯m not too worried about that.¡± Aoi¡¯s mother, Yuriel the Dragon King, is certainly a trauma I can¡¯t get rid of. After all, I was almost killed once. The power of the dragon that rules the sky can easily bury me, a mere mortal. But the truth is, I had already prepared myself for the day when we would face each other face to face like this. Aoi is Yule¡¯s beloved daughter, it¡¯s hard to imagine that she¡¯s such a motherly woman from her speech and conduct. I am troubled by how soon and sudden it is. ¡°I see, but you¡¯ve been looking worried since a while ago¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m just thinking about what Carolia-san was talking about earlier.¡± ¡°About her daughter?¡± Mizuma turned to face us. ¡°Ah, she said she wanted us to bring her out of the island for recuperation, but saving her life¡­ that¡¯s a bit of an exaggeration.¡± The sad face of the sea dragon king that I saw for a moment passed through my mind. Although it soon blossomed into a full-blown smile, the expression on her face gave me the impression that it wasn¡¯t just some trivial matter. ¡°Hypersensitivity to magic¡­ is it? I¡¯ve read about similar cases on the internet, but¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a little different from Atol¡¯s, but she said it¡¯s a disease unique to dragons.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard that the magic of this island is good and the magic of other places is not.¡± Mikuma crossed her arms under her chest and placed her right hand on her chin in thought. This caused her swimsuit to shift slightly, exposing more of her skin-colored area that was bad for my eyes. I quickly looked away before Aoi noticed me and turned to Teseara-san at the front of the line. She was walking with her long, silky, golden hair swaying gallantly on her back. We were now being led to the room of Alice Leia, Carolia-san¡¯s only daughter. It was located at the far end of the luxurious palace-like building built on the sea dragon island. Walking along the corridor, which was so intricate as if it was hidden, we inquire about the whereabouts of Alice Leia, and Yule. Aliceleia seems to have been born with a difficult disease and has lived her whole life without leaving her room, so she is unable to entertain us as guests, Carolia-san explained apologetically. Yule was also visiting the island of the sea dragons at the right time to visit Aliceleia. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true or not, because she was saying it with some kind of hidden meaning. To be honest, in the image I have of Yule, there is not a single scene where she is kind enough to come to visit her out of consideration for others. Well, I¡¯m aware that this is a bad prejudice, and I am reflecting on it. As I was staring at Teseara-san¡¯s big, swaying behind, Aoi, who misunderstood me, pinched me on the cheek with all her might. No, no. It was a misunderstanding. I was definitely impressed by that mysteriously slender, mysteriously almost transparent, fat ass, and I was deeply, deeply, deeply grateful for it, but it was really a misunderstanding. I can¡¯t explain it well, but I¡¯m sure it was a misunderstanding. So please don¡¯t look at me like that Aoi and Mikuma. Hey there, don¡¯t let out a big sigh, Shouhei. When you get a little older, I¡¯m sure you will understand how your brother feels. This is a sad reflexive action of pubescent boys. Oh, no, it¡¯s not like that, is it? It¡¯s not manly, is it? I¡¯m sorry, okay? I¡¯m sorry. Please forgive me. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô ¡°Aliceleia-sama, do you have a moment?¡± Knocking three times with the back of her right hand on the huge, double door, Teseara-san called out into the room. Behind her, I was restless, taking deep breaths, bending and stretching, trying to control the beat of my heart that was pounding through my body. How nice, I really envy Atol, Kayone, Utai, and the Gatol couple for not having to meet that violent dragon. I heard that they have to report or consult with the sea dragon king, who is protecting the country, so I guess it¡¯s their job as royalty. But I¡¯m still very jealous. ¡°Hm? What¡¯s wrong with you? You usually come in as you please.¡± A very young voice came back from the other side of the door. The voice sounded like an elementary school student. ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s because you¡¯ve been too busy reading to answer me. I have guests with me today, and I don¡¯t want you to be naked like usual. I told you that!¡± ¡°Eh? Did you say that? I never heard about that!¡± The voice was high-pitched, and at the same time, you could hear the sound of a lot of stuff falling down. ¡°¡­ Haa. I made sure to tell you yesterday! I will be bringing the other princesses of the other dragon tribes with me, so please make sure you are well-prepared! You probably didn¡¯t listen to my words and just mindlessly responded, didn¡¯t you!¡± ¡°Wait a minute, wait a minute, I¡¯m putting on my pants now! Auntie, can you pass those pants¡­ where are you going, auntie? Ohhhhhh! Wait, wait, wait, wait! Don¡¯t break that wall! If you break that wall, you¡¯ll flood this room! Tesera, help me! Aunt Yuriel is punching the wall of my room with a frantic look on her face¡­ stop, stop, stop! I¡¯m going to die if Aunt Yuriel fires such a huge dragon breath at me in such a small room! Teseraaaaa!¡± What is this? What¡¯s going on? The construction site level noise and loli voice screams suddenly echoed from the other side of the door to the hallway, startling us and making us back away for a moment. ¡°Alice-sama! E-excuse me!¡± Teseara-san hurriedly opened that big door with both hands. I¡¯m sorry, Alice!¡¡Hurry up and get that rampaging Koryuoh to ©¤©¤©¤©¤, eh?¡± Behind the door, which was opened vigorously. In the middle of the large room, where there was no place to step because of all the books, there was a huge bed covered with a light pink lace canopy. The books were piled up even on top of the sheets and spread out everywhere. She was in an open space surrounded by books that covered even her pillow and bedding. Her long peach-colored hair was shaggy, and her small breasts were exposed through a small camisole that was too small to be called lingerie. A very young girl who wasn¡¯t wearing any clothes was on her knees with her small, shiny buttocks sticking out. The girl was looking ©¤©¤©¤©¤ straight at me with teary eyes and an expression of dismay. ¡°©¤©¤©¤©¤ P!¡± ¡°¡­ P?¡± The girl took a deep breath, her mouth twitching and trembling. Caught off guard by such mouth movements, I asked back. ¡°Pikyaaaaaaa!!!¡± The girl¡¯s cry echoed throughout the sea dragon island, illuminated by the sunlight streaming in through the small window. Chapter 196 ¡°Wait, hey mom, wait!¡± ¡°Let go of me, Aoi.¡± ¡°If I let you go, you¡¯ll run away!¡± ¡°I won¡¯t run away, I won¡¯t run away! Ah, I was careless¡­ I forgot that my sensing abilities are dulled on this island¡­ Carolia, you set me up¡­?¡± I leaned my back against the corridor wall and looked blankly at Aoi and Yule, who were squabbling near the entrance to the room. Jaja was also curious, she stared at the antics of her mom and grandma with sparkling eyes. ¡°Did I do something wrong¡­?¡± ¡°Hm? What is it?¡± Mikuma, who was leaning against the wall next to me in the same way, responded to me speaking to myself. ¡°Oh, no. I¡¯m talking about that girl Alice. I didn¡¯t expect her to be so distraught, so I was concerned. I¡¯ve seen almost everything¡­ even though it was an accident.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised.¡± Mikuma made a deliberately dumbfounded expression as she widened her large eyes behind her glasses. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°No, I just thought that you looked less perverted than usual for having stared at a naked girl so intently. And you seem to be taking consideration of tact too, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°What? Did you think I was that perverted that I wouldn¡¯t have any integrity?¡± ¡°More like you¡¯re too inexperienced with girls so you can¡¯t hide anything, and you¡¯re terribly clumsy.¡± I was left speechless. Although I have recently begun to get a little used to having more girls around me, my ability to communicate with girls has not changed much from when I was in elementary school. I honestly have no idea what not to say and what kind of words can ruin the mood. ¡°I am a little relieved that you didn¡¯t have any illicit feelings toward such a young looking girl. Aoi-chan is about the age of a middle school student, so it¡¯s not exactly reassuring, is it?¡± ¡°Hey, hey, hey, no matter how you put it, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d look at a little girl that young with erotic eyes.¡± I wouldn¡¯t go that far. ¡°Fufu, I¡¯ll take your word for it, okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, of course.¡± We were spending time in the corridor until Teseara-san and Alice got ready to go. The sight of Alice, completely distraught and in tears, was more than enough to make me feel guilty for having seen the whole thing, even though it was an accident. So it couldn¡¯t be helped that I had to wait for a while. ¡°Kunpei-san, please stop my mother!¡± Aoi asked me for help as she caught Yule¡¯s arm, her beautiful face dyed bright red. ¡°Oh, hey, Aoi! That boy has nothing to do with this!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as ¡®nothing to do with him¡¯! Mom, you still haven¡¯t apologized directly to Kunpei-san for what happened! Come on, apologize right here, right now!¡± ¡°Ah, um¡± I¡¯m no good. I had prepared myself a lot for this, but when I saw this woman¡¯s face in person, I couldn¡¯t help but cower. It seems that the trauma was deeper than I thought. ¡°Ah, what are you doing on this island?¡± As a conversation starter, I decided to try to find a breakthrough with a natural topic. Ugh, I feel sorry for myself. I completely lost my nerves. ¡°¡­ fuuh¡± Yule gave me a suspicious glance and turned away from me like a spoiled child. ¡°Mother!¡± ¡°Ah! I know, I get it! This island is full of dragon energy, so it¡¯s a great place to rest, and I try to stop by as often as I can when I¡¯m in the area! I¡¯ve been so busy lately that even I have to rest or I¡¯ll collapse! Do you have a problem with that?¡± The mother, puffing up her cheeks at her daughter¡¯s exhortation, continued. ¡°No, no. I don¡¯t have a problem.¡± I was so taken aback by the force of her words that I involuntarily flinched before replying. ¡°Dah! Dah!¡± Jaja pointed her hands at Yule and waved them up and down. ¡°Hmm? Oh, I¡¯m sorry, Jaja. Did grandma¡¯s loud voice startle you?¡± ¡°Nbah! Bah!¡± Jaja replied to Yule smiling happily and began to float softly in the air, flapping her little wings on her back. ¡°Oh?¡± So as not to cause her to fall suddenly, I slowly removed my hand from Jaja¡¯s body. The twins have become very good at flying, but even so, I still feel a little worried when I watch them. Jaja, who awkwardly leveled her unsteady body and stretched her hands out towards Yule, began to move smoothly. ¡°Ah, dah, dah!¡± I have no idea what she¡¯s shouting, but I¡¯m sure she¡¯s doing her best, and she¡¯s making a cute voice. ¡°Dah!¡± Jaja gripped the thin fabric of her black nightdress tightly in her small hands and looked up at Yule with a sweet smile. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! You can fly so well already? As expected of my grandchild! What about Nana? Aoi, can she also fly as well?¡± ¡°Yes, Jaja was able to fly Earlier, but now Nana can fly as well. Can you praise her?¡± ¡°Of course! Amazing Jaja! In the long history of the sky dragons, you may be the first ones to learn to fly so well so quickly!¡± Yule¡¯s cheeks flushed with a discernible blush. She seemed happy from the bottom of her heart. She gently put her hands on Jaja¡¯s hips and held her body firmly, rubbing her cheeks against her face, forehead to forehead, and comparing Jaja¡¯s face with Aoi¡¯s face. Come to think of it, there were so many things going on last time that I never saw how the twins and Yule were interacting with each other. ¡°Auntie!¡± Rouge, who was holding Nana, approached from behind Yule. ¡°Hm? You¡¯re Ruby¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a long time, I¡¯m glad you remember me.¡± Rouge seemed to have a slight smile on her face. I¡¯ve only recently begun to be understood the changes in her expressions. ¡°Ru¡­ no, you¡¯re already independent, aren¡¯t you?¡± Yule combed through Rouge¡¯s hair with her free hand that was not holding Jaja, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s Rougerichte now. Rouge is fine.¡± Rouge accepted Yule¡¯s hand with a slight tilt of her head, as if she was somewhat comfortable. What is it I wonder? Rouge looks a little more childish. How can Rouge be so reminiscent of an adult and a child when she is almost the same height as Yule? ¡°Rougerichte¡­ is it? That¡¯s a good name, considering it¡¯s Ruby. You¡¯ve grown up, Rouge. I can hardly recognize you.¡± ¡°Is that so? I don¡¯t know myself.¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯ve known you since you were smaller than Jaja and Nana. You have grown up. Your body and your strength.¡± Yule roughly patted Rouge¡¯s head with the same calmness she showed to Aoi and the twins. This scene reminded me of my mother. I glanced sideways at Shouhei, who has been quiet since a while ago. He was leaning against the wall right next to the door, holding his knees and looking at Yule, and I sensed the same feeling in his eyes as I did in mine. With a troubled look. A look of envy. I guess he misses mother, too. ¡°Hm, here you can hold Nana too.¡± Nana was staring intently at Yule¡¯s face while she was in Rouge¡¯s arms, sucking on her right thumb. ¡°Ah, of course. Come on, Nana, grandma will hold you.¡± ¡°¡­ uu?¡± At Rouge¡¯s urging, Nana was handed over to Yule. It was hard to tell from Nana¡¯s face whether she recognizes her grandmother¡¯s face, which she has not seen in a long time. No, a baby¡¯s memory is not to be trifled with. Both Jaja and Nana must remember Yule well. ¡°Adah.¡± Nana slapped Yule¡¯s face as if she was checking her. The force was exquisite. Only I or my father would get hit by the twins in the face without hesitation. ¡°You¡¯ve grown up, too. Ah, it smells good. It smells like the sky and the sun, which we love. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re doing well.¡± Yule took a sniff with her nose buried in Nana¡¯s head. ¡°How are you these days? Any changes in the twins?¡± ¡°Yeah, we came for some advice. You¡¯re still staying on the island, right?¡± Aoi, who had been watching Yule holding both Jaja and Nana in her hands, smiled and nodded in satisfaction. ¡°¡­ Ah, well. I was actually thinking of leaving right away. Since it can¡¯t be helped, I¡¯ll stay with you guys for a little while longer.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, it can¡¯t be helped, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, it can¡¯t be helped.¡± We don¡¯t understand the unique communication between parents and their children. Aoi and Yule looked at each other for a while and laughed. ¡°Sorry for the wait, everyone.¡± The door to the room slowly opened at the same time as Teseara-san¡¯s voice. ¡°I am sorry that I have shown you something so unsightly. Lady Alice Leia is ready, please come in.¡± Bowing her head deeply and quietly, Teseara-san invited us into the room with the palm of her right hand. At the tip of her indicated hand, Alice Leia, who did not seem to be ready in any way, was staring at me with tears in her eyes and her face bright red. Chapter 197 ¡°I apologize for earlier. Nice to meet you, I am Aliceleia Dragulina, daughter of the Sea Dragon King Caroliariselle Dragulina. My name is long, so you can call me Alice.¡± Alice bowed so deeply that her peach-colored wavy hair almost touched the ground with Teseara-san standing next to her. Alice was dressed in a light blue one-piece dress with a white pareo-like garment around her waist. I¡¯ve heard that she is older than Aoi and Rouge, but no matter how I look at her, she looks like she¡¯s in the early grades of elementary school. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you too. I am Aoinoun, daughter of the sky dragon king Yuriel. Please call me Aoi, too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Rougerichte, daughter of the Earth Dragon King. Just call me Rouge.¡± It¡¯s kind of strange to think that all the Dragon King¡¯s daughters are here now. Alice raised her head to look at Aoi and Rouge¡¯s faces, then moved her gaze downward, and then lowered her head again with a sigh. ¡°You¡¯re all grown up compared to me¡­ and I¡¯m the oldest¡­ and I knew that, but it¡¯s still depressing.¡± Alice lifted her head while muttering something. ¡°And by the way, what¡¯s going on with you over there?¡± The place Alice¡¯s gaze shifted to was Mikuma. Her eyes were lit up as she looked around at the rows and rows of bookshelves that were many times taller than she was, breathing excitedly. ¡°Oh, um, my name is Yuuno Mikuma.¡± Mikuma greeted her as she busily walked around the room, which, despite its spaciousness, was filled with so many books that it was difficult to find a place to step. It was rare to see Mikuma Yuuno behave with such bad manners. She usually never forgets to look the other person in the eye when she speaks to them, but she was so preoccupied during her greeting. ¡°Alice, this is amazing! There are so many books that are difficult to obtain and of which we have only heard the names, or of antiquarian books whose existence has been handed down only by hearsay¡­!¡± Mikuma picked up a book, opened it, looked at the contents, and then looked for the next book, tracing the spine from one end of the bookshelf to the other with her finger, moving around like a child visiting an amusement park for the first time. ¡°Muhnnn¡­¡± Alice¡¯s tail, hidden under her dress, twitched. ¡°Y-y-y-you¡¯re interested in books, aren¡¯t you?¡± Alice¡¯s tongue tangled as she spoke too quickly, and she glided across the tower of books piled up on the floor. ¡°Yeah! Wow, that¡¯s amazing¡­ Is that the Northern Expedition by Jamestown F. Nirbelkel, who is famous for his exploration of the beastmen settlements? You can read the revised edition of the southern sojourn edition in libraries, but the northern exploration is even said to be a myth, as most of the original copies were lost during the world clash¡­¡± ¡°Uh-huh, uh-huh! In the beastman society before the worlds collided, books were only available within a narrow distribution range! Printing technology was still in its infancy stages on the other side of the world, so there were many fake books that could not be identified as authentic or fake! But that book was purchased directly from the publisher while the author was still in the North, so it¡¯s definitely the real thing! Here, this one, too!¡± Alice hurriedly pulled a book out of the pile of books and held it up above her head as if to show it off. ¡°D-d-do you know anything about this book?¡± ¡°The emblem on the cover is the collection of old magic system myths by magic researcher and novelist Arlen Nutikarios! It is said that he only gave it to some of his disciples and that there are no more than ten copies!¡± ¡°Uh-huh! One of the princes of the old Dailan royal family was taught directly by Arlen! This is an item that Mom received from the royal family after the prince¡¯s death. You see, it has a magic formula that¡¯s so ingenious and complicated that it¡¯s unimaginable in modern magic. This is a lost magic, but it is a unique magic that Arlen developed himself, and although its preservation costs more than the simplified formulas of today, it is incomparably more effective, which is why this book looks brand new! The fact that the book exists in this condition is proof that it is in Arlen¡¯s handwriting! And since it was magically reproduced from the original, not letterpress, the handwriting is also Arlen¡¯s own! What else?¡± Hmm? Suddenly, they both started talking very fast, but I had no idea what they were saying. ¡°Shouhei. We¡¯ve definitely been forgotten, haven¡¯t we?¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t even finished introducing ourselves yet, have we?¡± The two of us sat down on the classic chairs near the entrance of the room and tilted our heads. For some reason, they had been prepared separately from the ladies. ¡°I¡¯m sorry everyone. Aliceleia-sama is what you call a¡­ fanatic.¡± With a troubled look and a furrowed brow, Teseara-san bowed to us. ¡°You really have an amazing amount of books¡­¡± Nodding to Teseara-san¡¯s words, Aoi looked around. The room was spacious and has high ceilings, but it looked very cramped because of the bookshelves that were arranged like a large library. There were more than 20 bookshelves in the room, and you could faintly smell the smell of a school library from the back of the room. ¡°The sea dragons are a race of dragons with a high thirst for knowledge. Alice has never stepped out of this palace, so she must have been immersed in books where she could easily gain knowledge.¡± Yule, who was letting Jaja and Nana play on the bed, responded to Aoi¡¯s voice. ¡°Dah¡± ¡°Hmm? Does Nana like her grandma¡¯s tail? When you grow up, you will have a beautiful and magnificent tail, but your current tail is cute, too, so it¡¯s hard to give it up.¡± ¡°Aaaaah!¡± ¡°Hey, Jaja, don¡¯t chew on that, okay? You¡¯re just like your mother when you she was little. You put everything in your mouth.¡± The twins were already used to their grandmother and squealed with delight every time she tickled them or held them in her arms. A mother¡¯s experience is amazing. Whether Nana was pulling her tail as hard as she could or Jaja was biting her in various places with all her might, she was calmly handling the situation without losing her gentle smile. ¡­ The last few dozen minutes have completely changed my image of Yule. ¡°Hey Yuuno, check this out too!¡¡ ¡®m an omnivore when it comes to books, no matter the genre! You see, this is your country, Japan, right? I collect a lot of books from Japan! Here¡¯s a map, right? Here¡¯s a dictionary¡­ and over here on the bookshelf is a history book! That one is a novel, and this one is ©¤©¤©¤©¤.¡± Alice and Mikuma¡¯s conversation was gradually heating up, and it seemed that the fact that we were waiting here was not even on their minds. ¡°Ah, I have this book! I¡¯m a fan of this author, especially that series of romance novels¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s the newest one? I¡¯m not able to get the new ones unless some other sea dragon girl brings them to me! I¡¯m so jealous!¡± Hmmm, well, if Mikuma and Alice are having fun, that¡¯s fine. ¡°Nii-chan, I¡¯m starving.¡± ¡°Yeah, actually me too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Please wait a moment while I bring you some food and drinks.¡± ¡°Oh, Teseara-san. Can I use your restroom?¡± ¡°Yes, of course. I will show you.¡± ¡°Mom, can you change Jaja and Nana¡¯s clothes and diapers for me while I¡¯m in there?¡± ¡°Mhm, I¡¯ll help too. Leave it to me.¡± I felt it would be unwise to pour cold water on Mikuma and Alice, so I decided to leave them alone. After a while, Teseara-san brought us some food and we all sat around the table and had an early dinner. I was honestly impressed that even after we had finished eating all of that, Mikuma and Alice still weren¡¯t done talking. ¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô¡ô ¡°Going out?¡± ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s someplace I want to go.¡± When the two of them finally settled down, the light from the sunlight pillars outside had faded considerably, and the entire sea dragon island was dimly lit, in other words, it was nighttime. Shouhei and I were near the door, and the women have moved the book on Alice¡¯s bed and were sitting or lying down on it. By the way, Yule, Jaja and Nana were sleeping. The twins were lined up next to each other and were sleeping peacefully, using their tails as a comforter. Well, she said she came to this island to rest. She must have been as tired as ever. She fell asleep surprisingly fast. It was because of this that Mikuma stopped talking and started whispering so as not to wake her up. ¡°I heard that there was going to be a large magical tool expo in Francion, and one of the sea dragon girls who went outside brought me some brochures and corporate catalogs. I really need to see it in person to make sure.¡± Alice clutched her cup of tea, which had already cooled down, as she spoke with a complicated expression on her face. ¡°But I heard that Alice is sick and can¡¯t leave the island?¡± I asked a little louder, since the bed was quite a distance away. ¡°Pi!¡± Alice cowered and backed away as soon as she heard my voice. ¡°Hmm?¡± What? Why are you so surprised? Did I mess up on controlling the volume of my voice that badly? ¡°Y-yeah, I have a body that is easily affected by magic other than my own, so except for this island, which is filled with the power of the Dragon King and is free from outside magic, my body will rot away.¡± ¡°Rot?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a big problem?¡± ¡°Then doesn¡¯t that mean you won¡¯t be able to leave?¡± Mikuma, Aoi, and Rouge, responded to Alice¡¯s words in turn. Hey, hey, hey, it¡¯s a much more serious disease than I thought. As I recall, in Atol¡¯s case, he had a disease that caused too much magic in his body, which hurt him from the inside out. In Alice¡¯s case, it¡¯s the opposite¡­ I¡¯m a human, so I don¡¯t have it and don¡¯t get it, but is magic power such a dangerous thing? That¡¯s scary. ¡°I want you to lend me the power of Aoi and Rouge, the next Dragon Kings. Even if it is impossible with the power of other dragon species, if Aoi and Rouge are there, they can put up a barrier to protect me while moving, right? I heard that they were coming to the sphere continent at the right time. I asked my mama and pa©¤©¤ uncle Alba to listen to my selfish request.¡± I knew he was in on this too, that rat. I¡¯d like a little explanation beforehand. ¡°Me and¡­¡± ¡°Me?¡± Aoi and Rouge looked at each other. ¡°Yes, we use the Arcdragon¡¯s thermal manipulation to purify magic power at extremely high temperatures, and the sky dragon¡¯s airflow manipulation to dissipate that magic power with the wind toward the outside, creating a spherical vacuum ward. Then, using my liquid manipulation as a marine dragon, I can extract oxygen from water and fill it within the boundary to create a simple purification chamber that can be moved around, right? As for atmospheric pressure, that won¡¯t be much of a problem for us dragons.¡± ¡°Whoa, whoa, whoa, is that going to be alright?¡± It sounds awfully complicated just listening to you, doesn¡¯t it? It sounds so complicated that I couldn¡¯t help but interject. ¡°Pii.¡± ¡°Eh, again?¡± I did adjust the volume this time, though, didn¡¯t I? Is it not the volume of my voice, but the quality of my voice that¡¯s freaking her out? ¡°It¡¯s okay, right? Hey Aoi, Rouge.¡± Clearly looking away from me, Alice turned to Aoi and Rouge. ¡°Well, if it¡¯s just to that extent.¡± ¡°Mhm, it¡¯s not that hard.¡± The two of them replied in a nonchalant manner. ¡°Ah, really?¡± I¡¯m too stupid to understand it, but it¡¯s not that difficult, is it? ¡°No, no, no, heating it enough to remove magical impurities from the air without even using a large furnace is dangerous to begin with, and to move it freely while maintaining a vacuum in a place that is not even hermetically sealed is impossible!¡± Mikuma denied it. Right? I¡¯m not wrong, right? ¡°But¡­ I¡¯ve been doing that kind of training with my mother since I was little. Manipulating air currents is just a rudimentary thing, you know? I often do things like weakening the wind around the house and avoiding a bit of rain.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been doing it for a long time. I can do it even while watching TV. Since I came to Kazamachi¡¯s house, I¡¯ve been purifying the magic in the garden every day before dinner while watching TV with Jaja and the others.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Mikuma¡¯s mouth dropped open. ¡°What? You guys were doing those kinds of things?¡± I¡¯m with you every day and I¡¯ve never seen anything like that. ¡°When the wind is blowing and the laundry is about to fly away, or when we go shopping and forget our umbrellas¡­¡± ¡°The garden of the house is adjacent to the dungeon, so it is easy for contaminated magic power to flow in. If the contaminated magic power accumulates in our bodies, it will have a strange effect on Kunpei, Shouhei and father in the distant future, even if we (dragons) are fine. Besides, I don¡¯t want Jaja and Nana to be exposed to that.¡± ¡°I have been dispersing the magic of that town with the dragon-qi imparted wind for some time now. I¡¯m not sure how long it¡¯s been. I think I¡¯ve been doing it ever since my mother left.¡± ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­¡± Mikuma froze with her mouth wide open. ¡°M-Mikuma?¡± Mikuma looked at me with a robotic movement and slowly opened her mouth. ¡°What is it?¡± The movement scared me a little, so I backed away and replied. Shouhei. I know you¡¯re scared too, so don¡¯t grab my waist so hard. It hurts a lot. ¡°I think we were mistaken.¡± ¡°A-about what?¡± Mikuma looked around at Aoi, Rouge, Alice, Yule and the twins, and finally at me. ¡°We were too used to it. Dragon species are a life form that is out of the ordinary. Their power is far beyond just amazing.¡±¡± Is she excited or bewildered? The expression on Mikuma¡¯s face, which could be taken either way, made even me, who didn¡¯t understand what she was talking about gulp. Chapter 198 ¡°I¡¯ve never seen them before, those spirits¡­ are you sure about that?¡± ¡°Yeah, I was scared. He didn¡¯t respond to my calls at all, and¡­ it was strong and scary compared to an ordinary spirit.¡± It was already midnight. In the room assigned to us, Kunpei-san, Shouhei-san, Ru-anesama, Yuuno-san, Jaja and Nana were already fast asleep. Since I had just soothed Jaja¡¯s night crying just a while ago, I don¡¯t think either of them will wake up for a while longer. In the meantime, I¡¯ve invited my mother here for advice. ¡°¡­ Alba, what did that old geezer say?¡± ¡°Well, he said something about ancient winds or¡­ old friends. Frankly, I¡¯m too confused to remember.¡± It was unusual for that always aloof Uncle Alba to be so distraught. Even before I can remember, I¡¯ve known that rat sage. Mother and the other dragons would always speak ill of him, saying he was always making fun of people and playing tricks, but to me, as a small child, and to Ru-anesama, he seemed more like a good-natured and kind uncle. To be honest, he was terrifying at that time. ¡°The green butterfly I saw at Tusk Crag. I think Alba said something about it being the color that shows the reason for life?¡± ¡°Umm, yes. Kunpei-san explained it to me. When Jaja and Nana were nursing, the dragon factor flowed from the twins instead of passing the human factor to them. That is what caused Kunepi-san to create that green spirit. Jaja and Nana too.¡± I¡¯m a little worried because I didn¡¯t hear it directly from uncle. That¡¯s all I learned from Kunpei-san. ¡°¡­In other words, if you don¡¯t have both the human and dragon factor, you can¡¯t control or recognize that spirit¡­ Honestly, I have an idea, but I have no proof.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re here. I had questioned uncle so many times since then, but he kept dodging and running away, and I was reaching the limit of what I could shoulder alone. Kunpei-san doesn¡¯t remember that time, and I was afraid that if he remembered it, he would turn into the strange Kunpei-san like that time. Among the many dragons, the Dragon Kings are without a doubt the most skilled when it comes to controlling spirits. When it comes to spirits that govern the sky and wind, I can say with certainty that no dragon can match my mother, the current Dragon King of the Sky, in terms of skill and knowledge in using them. I never thought I¡¯d see you here, so I¡¯m really glad I was able to talk to you about it. ¡°As the next sky dragon king, I have already taught you most of what I know. Well, it was completely my fault that I didn¡¯t tell you about childbirth and childcare, so I can¡¯t really argue with you about that.¡± ¡°It couldn¡¯t be helped, even my older sisters Ru-anesama and Alice-anesama said they had not yet reached their laying period, so it was because I was too early, wasn¡¯t it? Well, it is true that I was very troubled and worried, but I understand your job as the Dragon King. So it¡¯s not all your fault.¡± I was the one who yearned for humans, I was the one who wanted them, and I was the one who loved children. I have never regretted a single thing since I laid the egg. Having Jaja and Nana was a wonderful thing. That much is certain. ¡°I feel a little better now that you say that. Thank you, Ai.¡± Mom¡¯s right hand reached across the table and gently caressed my left cheek as she called out my old name. It was just like when I was a little girl in our nest at the top of Tusk Crag. ¡°I think I¡¯ve taught you everything you need to know to be independent and how to use your powers. All that remains is for you to cultivate it through your own training. But there are a few things I didn¡¯t teach you, or couldn¡¯t teach you even if I wanted to. That is, as the Dragon King¡­ there are some secrets that pertain to the entire dragon species.¡± Mom looked down with her eyes downcast and somewhat forlorn. ¡°Secrets?¡± ¡°Besides tuning the sky, which was polluted and ruined by the world clash, there is another reason why I am flying all over the world right now. I¡¯m looking for the Dragon Princess.¡± The Dragon Princess? ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of her.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure you haven¡¯t. I dare not tell the young dragons nowadays, and the old ones refuse to talk. That, Alba Germain¡­¡± Uncle? ¡°Sky, earth, and sea, the dragon species are always classified into one of these three races. The Dragon Kings represent them. Me, the sky dragon king, Rubynein, the earth dragon king, and Caroliariselle, the sea dragon king, are the three great dragon kings of our time. We, who call ourselves kings, are naturally more powerful than any of the dragons of our race.¡± ¡°Uh-huh.¡± ¡°The duties of the Dragon Kings are to protect the peace of each race, the Sky Dragon King is responsible for the sky, the Earth Dragon King for the earth, and the Sea Dragon King for the oceans, and to maintain the balance of the stars. But there is one more very important task. That is to protect the Dragon Princess.¡± That¡¯s the first time hearing of it. I thought I knew everything about my mother¡¯s job. ¡°There are always three dragon princesses in every age. The Dragon Princess of Wind, who is of the Air Dragon race, has the Dragon King of the Air, the Dragon Princess of Fire, who is of the Earth Dragon race, has the Dragon King of the Earth, and the Dragon Princess of Water, who is of the Sea Dragon race, has the Dragon King of the Sea. There are three Dragon Kings and three Dragon Princesses in each of the three dragon races. The original dragon species is a race with six dragons at the top. Even we Dragon Kings don¡¯t know why these Dragon Princesses exist.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know? Even though we have to protect them?¡± ¡°The Dragon King has a duty to protect them, just as the Dragon Princess has their duties. The only people who know the details are the three dragon princesses and Alba Germain. I have also questioned the Dragon Princess of the Wind herself in the past, but no matter how much I tried to threaten her, she would not talk at all.¡± T-threaten, what in the world did you do, mother? ¡°The Dragon Princess is really laughably weak. If the beastmen, humans, and demons attacked her in the right numbers, they could easily kill her. She is the weakest of the dragon species. There¡¯s only one thing they could do that even we, the Dragon Kings, cannot imitate.¡± Even a Dragon King can¡¯t? Is there such a thing? My mother and I are sky dragons. Higher beings of the sky dragon race. We have all the various abilities of the sky dragon race. That is why the lineage of the sky dragon king is worthy of becoming one. I have been told many times since I was a child that the dragon bearing the name of its species is qualified to be king and has the responsibility to do so. What in the world is the power that such a dragon king cannot imitate? ¡°I have no idea. I¡¯ve actually seen them use that power, but I didn¡¯t even know what she was doing or what the result was. Suddenly there¡¯s a dim light, a slight breeze, and yes, it¡¯s over. Do you understand?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°The wind blew, even if it was a slight breeze, and even I couldn¡¯t detect the signs. I was still inexperienced at the time, but I, the Dragon King¡­¡± ¡°S-strange¡­¡± The power exercised by the dragon is the power of the spirits. It is impossible for a Dragon King who can skilfully use spirits, a Dragon King of the sky, to not be able to read the wind. ¡°I¡¯ve had my doubts for a long time, but now that you¡¯ve explained it to me, I understand it now. In other words, the Dragon Princesses are not using ordinary spirits, but the spirits of life. No wonder I can¡¯t see them.¡± She exhaled deliberately through her nose and leaned against the back of her chair. ¡°You said you were looking for the Dragon Princess, right?¡± ¡°I stopped sensing her presence shortly before the world clash 42 years ago. I was in a panic and asked Alba to look for her, but I didn¡¯t hear anything for about ten years. I got impatient and started to look for her myself, when he suddenly appeared and said, ¡®I¡¯m hiding her in a secret place, so don¡¯t worry about it. ¡® I was so pissed off that I just ignored him and continued to look for her. I haven¡¯t had any success.¡± ¡°Uncle didn¡¯t tell you where she was?¡± ¡°Yeah, he was adamant. The Fire Dragon Princess is living happily together with Ruby, and the Water Dragon Princess is Alice¡¯s attendant here on the island. If I am the only one who doesn¡¯t know where Hildegarde is, how do I put it¡­ that I am not appreciated?¡± Hildegarde¡­ is that the name of the Dragon Princess of the Wind? Hm? The Water Dragon Princess is Alice-anesama¡¯s attendant? ¡°Eh, Teseara-san is the Water Dragon Princess?¡± ¡°Oops, I said something unnecessary. Please don¡¯t tell my Carolia, okay?¡± Wait, wait, wait, the secret of the Dragon Kings, that easily! I thought you kept it a secret until now! ¡°¡­ Aoi, be careful.¡± ¡°O-of what?¡± Mom, who suddenly had a serious expression, straightened her posture and stared into my eyes. ¡°The reason I came to this island was because I detected an anomaly in the sky on this continent. That must be what you saw when that kid manipulated the spirit of life. When I arrived, things were almost back to normal, but in a short time, I felt a tremendous number of heavenly spirits disappear. Even I have never seen such a phenomenon before.¡± I swallowed with a gulp. My throat was parched since earlier. I guess it¡¯s not something I should be thinking about now, that I should have prepared a drink. ¡°¡®Alba Germain¡¯ is certainly on the side of the dragon. But he is hiding something from us, too. The rat would never lie about dragons. That is certain. But there is no doubt that he is hiding something important about dragons.¡± The rat sage wears a tricorne with a small body and a large staff. Who was this ¡®Alba Germain¡¯ who is so famous in the lore? We know nothing about uncle. But he knows more about us than we do. ¡°Don¡¯t trust him too much. That sage may be¡­¡± Mother turned away from me and gazed into the dimming light of the sun pillar. ¡°He may be more powerful and dangerous than us dragons.¡± I was caught up in the moment and also looked at the pillar of light. The pillar, which was illuminated at night with a glow that resembles stars, seemed too weak to illuminate the darkness of this deep sea. Chapter 199 The super-magic-conductive magnet, a crystal fused of magic and science, glided smoothly at an unbelievable speed on the guideway formed of high-magic alloy and extreme heat-resistant concrete. The sharp and stylish aerodynamic body tore through the wind, and the scenery seen from the windows of this car passed by at a tremendous speed. Thanks to an extremely sophisticated 18 different large-scale composite magic formulas, the interior was surprisingly quiet and vibration-free, and even the roar and shock waves generated by the speeds exceeding 900 km/h in normal operation were mitigated by the barrier magic on the guideway. This. This is it! This is the high-speed magic railroad! This is nothing short of amazing! ¡°Look, Shouhei! Look!¡± I called out to my brother as we sat at a round table in the far corner of the luxurious and glittering dining car, gazing at the scenery flowing by at breakneck speed. ¡°In the blink of an eye, we¡¯re in this mountainous region! We were in the heart of Dailan just a few minutes ago, but it¡¯s like we¡¯re in a different country!¡± The excitement, which I was clearly aware of, was released through my nose in the form of hot air. In other words, I was breathing hard. Well, I never thought the day would come when I would be able to ride this thing. Five minutes after the train left the station, I still was not sure if it was real or not. The train is a state-of-the-art land vehicle, the result of a combination of Japanese railroad technology and magical technology from several magical nations on the sphere continent. Considering the fact that the train is still in the experimental stage and only celebrities and business people from large corporations are allowed to ride it, the price of the train alone is enough to build a mansion. I remember reading on some online news that just to qualify for the ride, you have to spend money that I have never seen before. Sadly, there is no way that commoners like us can afford it no matter how the situation is turned upside down. And it was for 6 people including the little ones. If my father knew how much it was, his heart might stop. Well, it¡¯s nice to have a royal friend, isn¡¯t it? Thank you so much, Atol! Even if you ask me to return this debt, I¡¯ll never be able to! Don¡¯t get your hopes up! ¡°Nii-chan, calm down. The other customers are looking, it¡¯s embarrassing.¡± Shouhei, looking around nervously, warns me in a whisper. ¡°Oops, my bad, my bad.¡± I¡¯m sorry. My voice was too loud. ¡°Look, Jaja. Take a good look at it while you¡¯re at it. I¡¯m really sorry about this, but I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever be able to give you a ride again, okay?¡± I lifted Jaja up from my lap, holding her by her sides, and showed her the view out the double-glazed window. ¡°Dah?¡± Jaja stared at me curiously. No, no, not me, look at the view. It could be the view of a lifetime. ¡°What a pathetic thing to say with such bravado¡­¡± Leaning back against the back of the expensive chair, Shouhei sipped orange juice poured into a shiny glass, which also looked expensive. It seems that all services in the train are included in the fare, and you can eat as much as you like from the dining car¡¯s entire menu during the ride. What an amazing celebrity! When Atol explained this to me before we left, I nodded yes with a light heart, but when it came time to order, I was so whithered that I did my best to tell the waiter that I wanted orange juice, cola, and apple juice for Jaja, which seemed to be the cheapest on the menu. Oh, how sad are the small-town Kazamachis. Even Shouhei was too nervous to speak to the waiter. It seems to be a celebrity-only ride, because everything from the interior to the furnishings was shiny and sparkling. For us poor people, we just don¡¯t understand the chandeliers on the ceiling of the train. Is it really necessary? The footing is too fluffy and uncomfortable. I¡¯m a little intimidated to walk around because of all the expensive-looking paintings, vases, statues, etc. placed all over the place. Thank goodness I¡¯m used to it to some extent because of the Sea Dragon Island and Atol¡¯s other house. Otherwise, I¡¯m sure I would have been too nervous to enjoy the two days and one night in this luxurious vehicle. I¡¯m excited about the high-speed magic train I¡¯ve always dreamed of, but I¡¯m too restless. ¡°Ah, there he is. Kunpei-kun. Shouhei-kun.¡± ¡°Ah, Yuuno-neechan is here.¡± As I was thinking about this very sad thing and watching the scenery flow by the train window, Mikuma, who had arranged to meet me here, called out to me. Shouhei took me into consideration and got up from his seat next to me and moved to a chair across the round table from me. That kind of attention to detail, like a disgusting adult¡­ I wonder if he still holds a grudge against me for teasing him about Hina-chan. ¡°Oh, Mikuma. You should see it too, it¡¯s amazing.¡± ¡°I rode on it when I came to Dailan. Did you forget? Oh, Jaja-chan, good morning to you too!¡± ¡°Dah!¡± Mikuma made a wry, awkward smile, sat down on an empty chair at the round table where Shouhei and I were sitting, and held out her hands toward Jaja. ¡°Here, why don¡¯t you say good morning to your sister?¡± ¡°Ada!¡± Leaving Jaja with Mikuma, I slid the glass of orange juice I ordered in advance onto the round table and offered it to her. ¡°Thanks. Mmmm¡­ ahh, delicious.¡± As soon as she took the glass, she gulped down the contents with gusto and let out a big sigh. ¡°What about the others?¡± ¡°Alice was freaking out about leaving the room, so we came out to take a look around first. Jaja couldn¡¯t wait to get out of the room, and she was on a rampage.¡± ¡°They were so excited just now, nii-chan and Jaja.¡± ¡°Hahaha, Kunpei-kun, you too? Jaja and her Papa are just too much alike, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Dah! Adah!¡± Jaja squirmed against Mikuma¡¯s chest with both hands and answered with a big smile on her face. ¡°Fufu¡± Mikuma gently rubbed Jaja¡¯s cheeks. Hmm, I thought it was my imagination, but she still looks pale. ¡°¡­ you look tired.¡± The reason is obvious, but I¡¯ll ask just in case. In all probability, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s regarding Mikuma¡¯s father and me¡­ ¡°Y-yeah, my dad has been bothering me a lot since yesterday¡­ I keep trying to explain to him that nothing happened but he won¡¯t believe me. I¡¯m really sick of it.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t explain the dragon thing, and even if I did, he wouldn¡¯t believe me.¡± It was the day before yesterday that I returned from the sea dragon island. After a night of discussions with Carolia, the Sea Dragon King, we went up to the ground with Alice, seeing Yule off who was still staying on the island, and left this morning for Francion, where the magic tool exposition was to be held. We chose this high-speed magic train as our means of transportation because it allowed us to avoid people. It seems that the royalty and dignitaries of each country have their own cars prepared for them, and if they board at the terminal before the train is connected, they can travel without seeing anyone else. Due to issues with the topography and environment, the high-speed magic railroad cannot run straight to the center of the continent, so it is shaped like a circle around the sphere continent, heading toward the center. Dailan is the closest station to the end of the line, and the problem is that it takes almost two days to get to Francion, the center of the continent, even by a fast train. The private jet for the Dailan royal family is now in the United States with Atol¡¯s second or third brother, so this high-speed magic train is the best solution at the moment for the safest and most secretive way to get around. This is what Atol and Gatol-san explained to me. I thought it would be better if I could share the trip with Mikuma, who had become good friends with Alice, so I asked him to arrange the departure date with Mikuma¡¯s father¡¯s work schedule. I consulted with Gatol-san in a lighthearted manner, and was seriously freaked out by how things were progressing. When I saw how easily he could even move the schedule of the Dailan company that was doing business with the company where her dad worked, I realized that that man and Atol were really royalty. I heard that Mikuma¡¯s father had told her that he had felt let down by the fact that the business meeting, which he had expected to take a little longer, had gone through so easily. I felt a little sorry. Nevertheless, we are truly indebted to the Dailan royal family. Well, from the point of view of Atol and the others, it was probably more because it was something to do with the sea dragons than because I asked them to do it. Dailan has long been a demon nation under the patronage of the sea dragons. Although no one but the royal family is aware of their existence, there is even a sense of religious faith in the country. Atol¡¯s brother, Gatol, and his wife, Gasha, were originally invited to the exhibition as part of a diplomatic mission, and their presence helped us clear up the many problems we had as officially authorized smugglers. Nobody in our family has a passport¡­ Thank goodness we didn¡¯t have to go through Rouge¡¯s dangerous ¡®we all ride on Aoi¡¯s back and force our way through the border at night¡¯ plan¡­ which could have turned into an international problem if it had gone badly. Phew. ¡°I haven¡¯t told my dad that Kunpei-kun and his friends are on this train yet¡­ When I tried to explain it to him, he covered his ears like a child, saying, ¡®I don¡¯t want to hear about my daughter¡¯s boyfriend, I don¡¯t want to hear about him!¡¯ Mom is happily poking fun at it¡­ what should I do.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t tell them?¡± So it¡¯s not good for me to be hanging around there, is it? ¡°Our room is near the back, so I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t come to the car closest to the VIP area, you¡¯ll probably be fine. I¡¯ll make sure to tell him tonight, so don¡¯t worry?¡± ¡°¡­ Well, if it¡¯s too hard to explain, you don¡¯t have to.¡± ¡°I promised Alice-chan to go around the expo with her. Dad is here on business and mom is tired and says she¡¯s going to stay in the hotel. If I don¡¯t explain, I¡¯ll worry them even more.¡± ¡°As long as you¡¯re okay with it.¡± At any rate, Alice¡¯s dislike of me¡­ or rather, her dislike of men, is unbelievable. I had thought she was avoiding me since our first meeting, but I had no idea that she would scream and faint at the slightest approach. To be honest, I¡¯m used to girls hating me, but Shouhei¡­ He had never had someone reject him in such a straightforward manner, so even though he understood, he was quite shocked. Last night, with a serious face, he asked me if it would be better for him and Alice to go their separate ways. Now, can we really go sightseeing in Franscion without any problems? Outside the car window, we were in a lush forested area, a complete change from the mountainous terrain we had just passed through. The itinerary itself was going surprisingly well, and there were no obvious problems at the moment. And yet, for some reason, I couldn¡¯t help but have a bad feeling. ¡°Jaja-chan, do you want some apple juice?¡± ¡°Kya!¡± ¡°Okay, let¡¯s drink it slowly, no rush, okay?¡± ¡°Dah!¡± I looked at Jaja sitting on Mikuma¡¯s lap. The Kazamachi family¡¯s first family trip was full of uncertainty about the future.