Chapter 351 Gorge’s Misfortune (Self-Inflicted)
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(Gieze’s POV)
”Gieze’s team are back!”
We opened the door to the Clan house and entered the entrance hall.
”W-welcome back…”
Ms. Hanna appears from the corridor leading to the kitchen, but her smile looks strained.
”W-what happened?”
Noticing her expression, Karina rushes over to Ms. Hanna.
”Well… there’s a guest here──Mr. Gorge, you should prepare yourself…”
”Huh? Me?”
Mr. Gorge questions, pointing at himself in response to Ms. Hanna’s anxious words.
”Mr. Gorge… did you do something?”
(Is it about a woman?)
With such doubts in mind, I interrogate Mr. Gorge.
”No… I’ve been busy with exploration and childcare, so I can’t think of anything…”
As Mr. Gorge scratches his head saying that, everyone in the entrance hall, including me, gives him a skeptical look.
”Gorge! You’re back!”
Ms. Asuka’s loud voice can be heard from the dining room.
We all pushed Mr. Gorge into the dining room.
* * *
”Right away──do you recognize her?”
As soon as they entered the dining room, Ms. Asuka glared at Mr. Gorge from across the table.
The stranger wearing glasses is sitting next to Ms. Asuka.
”Oh…”
Mr. Gorge, who was about to sit at the table with them, stopped moving.
”You know?”
Ms. Asuka is glaring at him with her arms folded.
”Aria…right?”
”Hello. This is Ariane Bürgener…”
Mr. Gorge’s words made Lord Hiroya and the other members of the ‘Liz team’ who were sitting in the reception area sigh deeply.
* * *
According to Ms. Asuka, it’s like this.
- This morning, a woman with a young boy came to visit the Gorge. That’s Ariane, the woman sitting next to Ms. Asuka.
- After being kicked out of her family home in the Royal Capital, she was working at an inn in the town of Abil while giving her best at childbirth and childcare.
- Her child is almost 2 years old now, and since she has saved up enough travel expenses, she came to visit Gorge in Razia Village.
”Could it be… that child who’s almost 2 years old is…”
”From what I can see… without a doubt, that’s your child. Right now, they’re playing in another room with Kaoru and Liselle.”
Mr. Gorge, who had been listening intently without sitting down at Ms. Asuka’s words, froze.
Slowly, Mr. Gorge shifts his gaze to the woman referred to as Ariane.
”…It’s been a while. ──I’m really sorry for taking the liberty… But I really wanted to give birth…”
Ariane takes off her glasses and looks down.
”So, what are you going to do, Gorge?”
Ms. Asuka’s voice echoed in the quiet dining hall.
* * *
”Aria… is definitely the girl I picked up back during my Royal Capital days.”
Finally seated, Mr. Gorge started speaking quietly.
”She was the daughter of a bustling bakery. ──Was she the 4th daughter?”
As Mr. Gorge spoke, he threw a question at Ariane, who was still looking down, and she nodded slightly.
”She always looked lonely. So I approached her… trying to cheer her up by taking her out. Then, I realized she had a wonderful smile──and that night… we ended up sleeping together…”
”I’m such a gloomy girl…I’m no use at the store, and my big brothers and sisters ostracize me…So when Mr. Gorge asked me out on a date, I was so happy and excited.”
After that, she found out she was pregnant… and naturally her parents pressured her into having an abortion.
Because it was a child conceived by Mr. Gorge, she refused to have an abortion, and was kicked out of the house.
”Because of me, you had to go through such a hard time, huh? I don’t know how to make up for it… but I already have a wife called Asuka and a daughter called Kaoru. I can’t take care of Aria and the kids… but I’ll take care of the financial aspects──”
When Mr. Gorge had said that, Ms. Asuka slammed the table and stood up.
”Gorge! So, are you still a man? You’re the kind of pickup artist who calls yourself the ‘Seeker of Love,’ right? How about you learn a bit from your mentor Hiroya!”
”Huh? Me?”
Lord Hiroya, suddenly mentioned, looks at Ms. Asuka, seemingly confused.
”She has worked so hard, raising her child all on her own… Finally, she has come to visit the person she love, right? You’ve got responsibilities that only you can handle.”
”Asuka──”
”First, we must have a lot to talk about. Go see your child.”
Ms. Asuka gently helps Ms. Ariane to her feet and leads her toward Mr. Gorge.
Mr. Gorge wraps his arm around Ms. Ariane’s shoulder and meets Ms. Asuka’s gaze.
Confirming Ms. Asuka’s slight nod, Mr. Gorge walks with Ms. Ariane toward the stairs.
* * *
”Asuka… you really did well.”
Ms. Liz approaches Ms. Asuka and pats her on the shoulder.
”I can’t ever forgive him for what happened after they met, but…”
”Ms. Ariane──and especially her son, Craig, hasn’t done anything wrong. You did great, Asuka.”
Ms. Kazumi stands on her tiptoes and places her hand on Ms. Asuka’s cheek.
At that moment, tears welled up in Ms. Asuka’s eyes.
”Hiroya”
Ms. Kazumi gave a wink to Lord Hiroya.
At that moment, Lord Hiroya stood up from the sofa in the reception set… and became Mr. Hiroya.
”If you want my chest, I’ll lend it to you anytime. “
Immediately after, Ms. Asuka ran up to Mr. Hiroya, hugged him, and burst into tears.
* * *
(Romy’s POV)
”I’ve heard about it, and I’ve seen it a few times… but when I see the grown-up Mr. Hiroya, I still get a little scared.”
I have seen him fight in the form of Adult Hiroya when we entered the labyrinth as the ‘Liz Team’ a few times.
Its overwhelming power certainly fascinates women who see it.
Even I got wet down there.
”Gunilla?”
Since I didn’t get a reaction to my words, I looked up at Gunilla and thought… that’s no good.
Her eyes have turned into heart shapes.
”Haa…”
I gave Gunilla’s butt a smack!
And then I hit it.
”!? R-Romy… what in the world is it?”
”It’s not ‘what is it?’ Gunilla. Are you in love with Mr. Hiroya?”
Gunilla hurriedly shook her head at my words.
”Ain’t no way I’d fall for someone like Hiroya── that just ain’t happenin’!”
It was so obvious that Gunilla was denying it with her bright red face…
”Even little Hiroya… and even that big ol’ Hiroya… I can only be thankful that he’s helped us out so many times…”
And with her cheeks still flushed… Gunilla stared at Mr. Hiroya again.
(Well, considering she hadn’t been aware of herself as a woman until now… it’s a good thing, though)
I let out a deep sigh.
* * *
(Gieze’s POV)
That night──
In the end, Mr. Gorge apologized to Ms. Asuka and Ms. Ariane by kneeling down, and ended up bowing his head to the clan members, deciding to take care of Ariane and her son Craig at the Clan house.
”Basically, that means you’ve gained a second wife. …Gorge, this is a big ‘debt’ owed to you.”
It seems that Ms. Asuka had finally gotten over her troubles, she was grinning at Mr. Gorge.
”I’m Ariane Burgener. I learned all the housekeeping skills while I was working at the inn. Let me take care of not only Mr. Gorge, but everyone here too.”
Ariane-san bows to everyone as she says this.
”Thank you. I wanted Wolf girls and the others to concentrate on their studies, so I tried not to have them do housework as much as possible, but we just don’t have enough people…”
Ms. Hanna holds Ms. Ariane’s hand.
”I’ll be doing it after I finish my work at ‘Zett Merchant Guild’, so I’ve been leaving it up to Ms. Hanna…”
Ms. Carla, the ex-wife of the former knight Pressner, also seems happy.
Ms. Carla, a merchant’s daughter, uses her experience to help Ms. Sasha with her business during the day.
”I’m okay now, but… soon I won’t be able to help much anymore, so I’m really happy and grateful that Ms. Ariane came to the clan!”
Lotta, rubbing her still small belly, extends her hand to Miss Ariane.
”I originally loved housework, so… I’ll do my best.”
Ms. Ariane, blushingly smiling as she takes Lotta’s hand back.
”Uu, our jobs are going to disappear!”
”Noo wants to focus on work instead of studying!”
”Suu too, but… studying is still important…”
”That’s right, everyone. You have to prioritize your school studies. And after school, housework too.”
Uu, Noo, and Suu sulk, while Sandra, Ms. Carla’s daughter and now a co-owner with her mother of ‘Mr. Hiroya’ due to a duel, calms them down.
”I’m satisfied that we have more pretty girls around. It makes my blacksmithing work easier. ──If you get tired of Gorge, I’ll always be here…”
”””Grandpa!”””
Saying that, the dwarf triplets hit Mr. Toldo on the head with a ‘tool made by folding paper and creating a grip on one side’ that they’ve recently taken a liking to.
──Whap-whap-whap-whap!
A very nice sound reverberated through the dining hall.
”Was it called a harisen? This tool made by Ms. Kazumi makes a really nice sound.”
”Well, it’s just the sound, so it doesn’t really hurt. I’d be in trouble if Toldo is hurt, but I’d have to rely on Aluda and the others to point things out.”
Seeing this, Ms. Sasha laughs, and Ms. Kazumi replies in a surprised manner.
”I have a little brother for the first time! “
Ms. Martina is happily playing in the corner of the dining room with Ms. Hanna’s daughter Liselle, Ms. Asuka’s daughter Kaoru, and Craig, who looks a lot like the red-haired Mr. Gorge.
”Even his eyes are just like Mr. Gorge’s”
Ms. Dorothy sits nearby and watches them play.
”There are more kids now. I’m glad it’s more lively now.”
”Yeah. I want to give birth myself soon, but…”
”We’re looking forward to it too, Lotta.”
”It’s going to be really tough from now on, you know.”
Ms. Rena and Ms. Kazumi are happily watching Ms. Martina and the kids playing.
Noriss and Lotta also seem to be joyfully gazing, perhaps thinking about their own children.
”Everyone’s waiting for me to turn 12, huh? I want my own kid soon too. ──Ah! Craig! Don’t touch Martina’s breasts!”
”What are you talkin’ about, Hiroya? Craig’s still a kid.”
”That’s right, Hiroya. It’s embarrassing to be jealous of a 2-year-old boy.”
At Lord Hiroya’s loud voice, Ms. Simona and Ms. Liz burst out laughing.
”Liz, Simona… Even though you say such things, if something happened where a man touched your breasts, you know what would happen, right?”
”Hii♡ My body belongs to Hiroya… It absolutely won’t be touched…”
”W-well, you’re the only guy for me, Hiroya…”
It’s funny how Ms. Liz and Ms. Simona’s expressions instantly melt and become obedient at Lord Hiroya’s threat.
(Sigh… When should I confess to Lord Hiroya…)
Once I become independent── that’s what I decided with Karina.
Once we both become Rank B adventurers, I obtained the ‘Obu Muso Style’ Menkyokai-den (Full Mastery License).
Karina is also a magician with well-balanced skills in offense, defense, and healing.
””Haah…””
Karina and I looked at each other and sighed deeply.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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