Volume 4 Chapter 51 The Night Before Taro’s Wedding
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
[1] We moved away from the adventurer outpost.
[2] Once we were out of sight, a Love Hotel door appeared.
[3] Stepping inside, we opened another door—and there was Saoriba Town.
[4] Well, its outskirts, technically.
[5] We headed into the town itself.
[6] Brick buildings, a bustling square filled with people.
”Whoa…!”
Rozmiaque gasped behind me, eyes scanning around in shock.
”Just like that… without any teleportation circles or spells…”
Rozmiaque’s confusion makes sense, since he has just leapt through space in an instant.
”This is Master’s power, you see.”
Lifia boasts, puffing out her chest.
I smile a little, feeling a bit edgy.
It’s my power, but it’s a gift.
The town feels different from when we last came.
People are smiling bright, energy buzzing in the streets.
The market is loud with vendors’ calls, kids’ voices echoing.
Word must’ve spread that the Standpipe’s been contained.
People freed from fear, reclaiming their peace.
This change, we helped make it happen.
I feel proud, maybe.
”Lord, I must confirm something…”
Rozmiaque walks towards the church, hesitantly asking.
”About Lifia and the ladies here, their… relation to you.”
He picks his words carefully, glancing at Tifi beside me.
”Is Lady Tifi… your wife, is that right?”
His gaze flicks to her belly for a moment.
She’s pregnant.
My kid’s in there.
He must’ve sensed it.
”Wives. All of them.”
When I answered, Lifia beamed, looking truly happy. Tifi turned pink and looked away, embarrassed.
Kéa puffed out her chest, proud as could be.
Only Yomi sighed, her face deadpan and tired.
”Seriously, can you be any more shameless?”
Yomi let out another sigh and shook her head, totally exasperated.
”Married, huh…”
She looked away, but the blush on her cheeks was hard to miss.
Even though I’d jokingly included Yomi as a bride, she didn’t shoot me down.
I hadn’t even officially proposed or anything.
”You… look down on me for it?”
”N-no. They say heroes are always a bit… uh, lovers of love, right?”
But then he cut himself off.
His mouth snapped shut, like he’d swallowed his words, and he glanced over at Lifia.
”So… Lifia, you’re going to be at your lord’s side now?”
His voice was stiff, solemn, but it sounded more like he was confirming what he already suspected.
Must be a lot for him to process.
A daughter he didn’t even know suddenly appears──and she’s got a partner, too.
And to make things even weirder, that partner is the very person he’s been worshipping as the divine messenger.
Who knows what must be going through his head right now.
”Such joy! Truly, my greatest blessing!”
Huh?
”To think my own daughter will serve beside the Chosen and even be cherished by them! I──I am overwhelmed with gratitude beyond words!”
…Wait, what?
”That the child of my blood is allowed to carry the blood of the Chosen as well──this is surely the guidance of the Spirit God! I believe it without a single doubt!”
”Uh… right.”
That was a bit much.
The sheer drama of his reaction honestly made me take a step back.
To Rozmiaque, it seemed like having his daughter serve a divine messenger mattered way more than any sort of family bond.
Elves, seriously… I don’t think I’ll ever really get their way of thinking.
Rozmiaque turned to face Lifia with slow, heavy importance, and spoke.
”Lifia, serve your lord with every bit of your loyalty. Serve with all your heart──give nothing less.”
”Of course, Father.”
Lifia answered clearly, without hesitation.
She had a soft smile and her cheeks blushed pink.
…Ah, whatever.
If she’s happy, that’s all that matters to me.
* * *
As we talked, we made our way out of Saoriba’s town streets.
The church stood at the very edge, waiting for us.
A small chapel with white walls.
Out front, on the grass, children’s laughter echoed bright and loud.
One kid spotted us as we came into view.
”Tifi’s here!”
”Big sis and the others are back!”
”Hey! It’s the old guy!”
”Look! There’s an elf!”
”Is that Lifia’s big bro?”
In the blink of an eye, the kids rushed in and swarmed around us.
Their huge, shameless grins made my own cheeks loosen.
”What happened to the monsters?”
A boy, dead serious, piped up with that question.
”We wiped out every last one.”
The answer set off a firework of cheers.
”Whoa! Awesome!”
We’d just come back from the Shadow Forest, out west of this town.
That’s where we sealed the monster stampede.
Everyone knew it.
All the kids stared up at us with round, starstruck eyes.
”For real?”
”What kind of monsters did you fight?”
”Did you bring us souvenirs? Show us, prove it!”
Yomi grinned, swinging open her magic bag.
Out came a tangle of monster fangs, horns, rough scales──
”These are dusk wolf fangs, this is a dart hog horn… oh, and here, giant lizard scales!”
”Wow! That’s awesome!”
”So cool!”
Giggling and squealing, the kids nearly climbed over each other to get a closer look.
”You’re always ready, huh?”
I muttered, pretty impressed.
Next to me, Yomi just flashed a sheepish smile.
”I thought maybe… they’d be happy, you know?”
Must be her way of caring about these kids.
All that monster loot──worth a fortune if we sold it, but honestly, we didn’t need it right now.
Might as well trade it for smiles like these.
That seemed worth more.
”What about Kéa?”
”Did you bring anything, Kéa?”
”Uuuu… Just gimme a sec──I’ll sprint back and grab something!”
Kéa spun on her heel, ready to bolt.
Guess she was a little jealous that Yomi got all the praise.
”Stop right there.”
I chopped my hand down──smack!──right on her head.
”Hyah!”
She let out the cutest little yelp and froze.
”No running back now. Besides, the other adventurers probably cleaned out the place already.”
”Uugh… Roger that…”
Shoulders drooping, Kéa deflated like a popped balloon.
”Forget souvenirs. Tell them the story! They all wanna hear your adventures, right?”
”──Yes! I will show everyone my skills in action!”
Saying this, she reclaimed her smile and jumped back into the circle of kids.
”Tifi, Mr. Taro, welcome back.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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