I do not know the face of my father in this world.
My mories right after being born are a bit fuzzy, but about one or two weeks after being born, I recalled the mories of my previous life, thus forming my current personality that made []. I could properly rember everything that happened after my personality ford.
However, the one who was always by my side, raising and protecting was Mother alone. Until I went down the mountain and t the One-Eyed Knight and everyone, my world was mostly composed of Mother and snow.
Oddly enough, up until now I hadn't paid any heed to matters regarding my father. Because Mother didn't ntion him at all.
That being said, it didn't seem like it was a taboo topic that would set off any landmines. It truly felt like sothing that didn't matter at all, or that such a person didn't exist at all.
Thus, I had abandoned such human-like thoughts. In other words, I assud that the common sense of: [A child is made as a result of a certain act perford by a man and woman], did not apply to the creation of child spirits.
Spirits are capable of creating a child by themselves. That is the conclusion that I had co to during my approximately one year's worth of life as a spirit.
I don't rember what happened the mont I was born, but I had a fantasy-like image of Mother giving so of her power to snow that had fallen from the sky onto her hand, thus creating the existence known as .
But, be as it may.
When I recently went to the Capital with Mother, Fire Spirit-san made 'that remark'.
[Is she your child with 'Water'? Even though you rejected having children with !]
He certainly did say that, and Mother also did not deny it.
I wonder if 'Water' refers to a water spirit. Is my Father a water spirit?
"Mother, who is my fwa-ther?"
Just before bed, I resolved myself and tried asking Mother in our nest. Mother was currently in her beautiful silver-white fox form. Her fluffiness did not lose out to my own, and her fur was silky smooth.
As I buried my body into that silky chest fur while asking that, Mother made a grim expression.
"I am your only parent. You do not have a father."
"……but, the Fire Spirit said. That I was your child with 'Water'."
"You rembered that?"
After murmuring that in a slightly surprised manner, in the end Mother told quite plainly.
"If you go far into the southeast from here, you will reach the place where the Water Spirit lives. I did indeed pair with him to birth you."
After that, Mother continued to answer my questions while talking about spirit children are made and raised. Though I really wondered if this really was a conversation to have with a child just before bed.
To summarize things in my own way, for spirits to have children, they do need to go through the sa process that humans do. It seems that they cannot create a child on their own.
So, Mother who had started to think that she wanted children, paired up with Water Spirit-san whose nature match her own snow attribute——in this case, becoming a [pair] wasn't like becoming husband and wife, but just ant that they spent a single night together——and then after that, she beca pregnant with .
So then, does that an I'm a half-snow and half-water spirit? -is what I thought, but it seems that isn't the case.
Unlike with human children where they inherit the genes of both the father and mother, spirits inherit the attribute of one of their parents.I just happened to inherit Mother's snow attribute, but it was possible that I could have been born with the water attribute.
And if that happened, then I would have been taken into the care of the water spirit, and raised as his successor. I would have been separate from Mother soon after being born.
So, since this ti the one who wanted a child was Mother, if I, the first child, had been "water", then she would birth another child and have that one as her successor. It seems that the second child is guaranteed to have a different attribute than the first when it is born.
Incidentally, it is for this reason that if Mother had paired with a spirit who already had a successor, then she would have a 100% chance of birthing a child who would beco her successor. Since a spirit can only have a single child.
Based on what I heard from Mother, it appeared that she and Water Spirit-san didn't have any love between them. Though naturally, it wasn't like they hated each other either.
I suppose spirits don't possess the concept of marriage?
"I wanna et Fwa-ther."
I looked up at Mother and said that.
I didn't have any particular ideas on what I wanted to do when I saw him. It wasn't like I wanted Water Spirit-san to do any fatherly things, nor did I hope for him to dote on . I was just curious about what kind of person he was. It was simple curiosity.
Mother was making a sowhat anxious expression, so while speaking a bit clumsily, I properly explained that fact. I don't plan on leaving Mother's side~, I explained.
As a result, I received Mother's vague permission.
"If you are curious, then it is fine to et him once……in any case, that is a conversation for tomorrow. Today you should sleep."
When Mother licked my head, it was almost funny how quickly the sleepiness started to attack . Yawn~, my mouth opened so wide it seed as though my jaw would dislocate as I made a single yawn. Perhaps because I was in my infancy, sleepiness would rapidly co over . And once I started to think, "Sleepy" to myself, no other thoughts could enter my brain. After closing my eyes, I'd fall asleep in three seconds. 3, 2, 1……
"Then, I will be going. Be a good child and stay at ho."
The next day, after the sun had risen high in the sky, Mother left the nest in her vixen form. Starting with the Snowlea Mountain that we were on, she was going off to patrol all the mountains around this region. A spirit's job is hard work.
"It is fine to go visit the knights at the fort, but you must return before the sun sets."
"Ok~ay."
After giving a proper reply, I watched Mother's back as she left.
Even though Mother said it was okay for to et Father last night, when I ntioned that today, she was evasive and avoided the topic. As expected, she actually didn't really want to et him. It seems that she was worried that I'd have thoughts about father. Lately it seems like she's been seeing the One-Eyed Knight as her rival too. Oh, Mother.
Tonight, I'll have to fawn on Mother and stick close to her to give her so peace of mind. Children also have to take others into consideration.
After a short while, I got sick of staying ho alone and decided to head to the fort to play. Thus, I attempted to activate the transfer technique. The trick was to strongly think about the One-Eyed Knight's appearance.
It seems that Mother can transfer while targeting a specific [location], but I was still only able to transfer while targeting a [person]. Rather, right now I can only go to the One-Eyed Knight's and Mother's sides.
However, while I haven't tried it out, I might be able to transfer to Fire Spirit-san and Kugalg. Maybe it's because I'm a spirit, but it was easier to perceive the existence of other spirits. If I think about the tiny black panther appearance of Kugalg and go, "The cub form of large carnivores is so cute~!", then it feels like I might just accidentally transfer over there.
Incidentally, when I asked Mother why she hadn't used the transfer technique when she thought I had been kidnapped and thus started up the blizzard, it seems that the fire energy from the hot spring inside the fort got in the way, and she was unable to perceive my existence.
When I go to the One-Eyed Knight at the fort, I can properly sense his existence, but that was probably because he was a normal human being. His attribute is not particularly affected by the fire energy.
One-Eyed Knight, One-Eyed Knight……
My transfer technique is not perfect. I have to concentrate on my targeted person, or else it will not succeed.
However, today I was distracted.
One-Eyed Knight, One-Eyed Knight, Father, One-Eyed Knight…… like that, I was so curious about my father that I couldn't concentrate. Even as I called the One-Eyed Knight to mind, my father, whose appearance I did not know, cut into my thoughts.
Right now I mustn't think about my father.
However, the more I told myself, the more it backfired, and the inside of my head was taken over with thoughts of my father.
One-Eyed Knight, Father, Father, One-Eyed Knight……Father, Father, Father, Father……
Before I realised it, I was standing on a beautiful lakeshore. It was obviously different from the scenery of the snowy mountain nest that I had just been in. Snowlea Mountain also had a small lake, but this was also different from that.
The temperature would probably feel a bit cold to humans, but it was a bit warm for . The area around wasn't surrounded by snow, but forest. All of the trees were densely covered with green leaves. You can't see this much green on the snowy mountain.
The lake in front was extrely large, and had mist floating over it, so you couldn't see the opposite shore. The clear water glittered a mysterious erald green colour, and as the water grew deeper, that colour also beca darker. Not knowing what was lurking underneath those depths stirred a sense of unease within . It's such a large lake. It wouldn't be strange if there was a Nessie-like monster in it.
Having transferred to an unfamiliar location, I sat there puzzled for a short while. However, when I cald down and tried feeling around for Mother's existence, I was able to discover that she was quite a distance away. Thinking about how I could imdiately return to Mother's side using the transfer technique gave a bit of a peace of mind.
For the ti being I tried observing the surroundings calmly. In front of was a lak, to my right was a forest, to the left was also forest, and behind was naturally——-
"……!!?"
Forest——or not.
No, there certainly was a huge forest spreading out behind too, but imdiately behind was a different existence. When I whirled around, my field of vision was filled with "that".
Just at a glance, I could not tell what its true form was. It was like a roundish wall, with a colouring so beautiful that it stole my eyes away. It was turquoise, with faint white streaks mixed into it, creating a smooth polish. Where the sun hit it, it glittered like jewels, making want to appreciate the view forever.
I stealthily approached that wall and tried sniffing it. When I was a human, information obtained by sight was most important, but since gaining this form I've beco more dependent on my sense of sll instead.
Its scent was surprisingly faint, so odourless that I almost wondered whether or not it was just a mass of limpid water.
However, when I approached it, I realised that the wall had scales. Not like the scales of a fish, but like those of a [snake]…….
"S-Snake…….!?!?"
The instant the na of that creature entered my mind, I let out a confused scream and tumbled away in retreat.
Because that wall was so large that I had to look up at it. If its true identity was a coiled up snake, then it was one large enough to eat up in one bite.
"…………"
It seems that it's true that you can beco speechless with surprise.
My body poofed up like a cat, and I made not a single movent as I maintained my gaze on the gigantic snake.
Let's run away from here before the snake wakes up.
-is what I thought, but that plan fruitlessly fell apart. The coiled up snake that appeared to be asleep suddenly raised its head slowly, perhaps sensing the fearful aura coming from .
"……"
"……"
The two of us silently locked eyes.
However, in contrast to my eyes that were opened as wide as they could go with fear, the snake's eyes were drowsily gazing at absentmindedly.
I thought that it would attack as soon as it recognised my presence, but no matter how much ti passed, it didn't move, so perhaps it wasn't hungry. The chance of surviving increased a little.
Let's keep an eye on it while retreating step by step. While I'd like nothing more than to turn heel and run away, if a huge snake like this were to slither after at a high speed behind , I'm pretty sure I'd end up pissing myself while running away. The idea of exposing my back to it was scary.
However, as I started to step back slowly, the snake took an unforeseen action.
It slowly opened its mouth, and started to speak with a deep voice.
"Snowlea, is it? You've gotten……a bit smaller."
This snake…can talk?
I put so strength into my quivering legs. Once I knew that it could be communicated with, I felt a little relieved, even if the other party was a gigantic snake. It had reason, and wasn't just a mindless beast. It also seed to know Mother, so it was undoubtedly a spirit.
And once I thought that far, my heart started to race for an entirely different reason.
I probably ca here unintentionally using the transfer technique, so I thought about what I had been thinking about prior to transferring. The true identity of this snake was surely——-
"Fwa-ther?"
My mutter was so soft that it probably wasn't heard by him.
The large and beautiful snake looked quizzically at as he spoke, his eyes still appearing as sleepy as before.
"Has your body……shrunk? Strange things……do happen."
Father's——I'll just call him Father as I please, but Father's manner of speaking was very slow paced. Coupled together with the deepness of his voice, it made the listener feel sleepy.
I timidly called out to him.
"I'm….not Snow-le-ah. That's Mother."
"Hm? ……ahh, I see. Then…you're from that ti……the child that Snowlea was pregnant with……was you. So……you've already been born."
Father's eyelids opened ever so slightly in surprise.
"Um…are you my 'Fwa-ther'?"
I closed the distance between the beautiful snake and I, and looked up at him while talking. I was so excited that my tail started to shake. It was a bit of a shock that my father was a snake, but I was happy to et him.
I thought that he'd be more excited at eting for the first ti, but the perception of a [parent and child] relationship for a pure spirit was apparently different from that of a forr human like myself. Thus, he very calmly responded.
"Father, huh…….being called that feels a little……strange. You have not…….inherited the water attribute."
After hearing that, my tail instantly drooped down.
It seems that I had unconsciously been expecting to be welcod as energetically as Fire Spirit-san might, with a, "Ohh, you're my child! I've wanted to et you!".
Even as I grew a bit sad, I tried to persevere, since I had finally managed to et Father after all this ti.
"But, but……! I was born bee-cause Fwa-ther "pay-red" with Mo-ther, right? I wudn't have been born if'it was just Mother…….that is whyyy I think that I'm Fwa-ther's child too."
"Is that so……? Now that you ntion it……that is…true. You are Snowlea's child……and my child……as well."
My tail once again began to shake.
Alright! I got him to admit to our parent-child relationship!
I did say that I just wanted to et my father out of curiosity, but being told sothing like, "You aren't my child", from soone who was my parent did make sad as might be expected. So, I reflexively ended up pursuing the matter.
But I ended up regretting it, wondering whether or not I was being a bother only after he recognised our relationship. After all, Father seems to only really think of himself as a [sperm donor], so having suddenly insist, "You are my father!", is probably troubling to him.
Well, I do think that he is undeniably my father, at least biologically speaking. Spirits and humans just have a different way of thinking about things.
I'd hate to be thought of as troubleso. Feeling uneasy, I fell silent after that, upon which-
"Since you've taken the ti to co here……then take it easy……"
Unexpectedly, he spoke to in such a manner. I was so happy that my tail felt like it would fly off from wagging too much.
However, Father was quite good at leading around by the nose. While he said, "Take it easy", it looked like he didn't plan on entertaining much, as he placed his raised head in the centre of his coil and closed his eyes.
Eh, is he going to sleep?
"Um…Fwa-ther…….?"
When I hesitantly called out to him, he raised his large eyelids and asked, "What is it?" in his bassy voice.
"No, it's nothing."
"I see……"
Ah, he closed his eyes again.
Amidst the silence, I stood frozen on the spot for a while in bewildernt. I don't really get Father's personality.
However, it was boring to just keep standing around here, so I figured I'd try exploring the surroundings for a bit. Like Father said, I did take the ti to co all the way here after all.
First, I approached the beautiful lake spreading out before my eyes. It didn't have a sandy beach by its edge like the ocean, and instead, short grass grew thickly on its bank, cutting off abruptly where the lake's edge sat. While the shore was close by, that didn't an the bank was shallow. If I were human, the water level would probably reach up to about my knees, but for the little , there was a chance that my head would end up subrged. I'll have to be careful not to fall into the water.
I'm sure that lakes can have waves as well, but since there wasn't any wind right now, the surface of the lake was calm. When I dipped my front paw into the water, ripples soon ford in the water. While it was enthralling to watch, it felt unpleasant to wet my leg fur, so I quickly stopped.
After shaking down my wet forepaws, I then started to search for fish. I brought my face close to the lake's surface so that I could peer into the water.
"……that's dangerous."
Then, a voice suddenly called out to from behind, causing to turn around. Father was still coiled up, but he had kept just a single eye open that was looking my way. So he wasn't sleeping?
"……"
"……"
After the two of us silently stared at each other for several seconds, I took a few steps away from the lake. But I couldn't bring myself to give up on looking for fish, so I glanced back at the lake with a regretful gaze before turning back towards Father and speaking.
"I wanna see da fishes."
"……no……dangerous……co over here."
I reluctantly returned to Father's side and sat down on the ground so that I could cuddle up to his large head. While I knew that he wouldn't eat , being so close to such a gigantic mouth made feel a bit nervous.
When I peeked up at Father, I saw that after confirming with one eye that I was sitting next to him, he once again closed that eye.
After that, whenever I got bored from having nothing to do and started to approach the lake again, or tried to sneak into the forest, he'd have an eye open before I realised it. Then, he'd call back with, "Stay still", or, "Co back here".
And then, once he confird that I ca back to his side, he'd close his eyes again. Rinse and repeat. It seed that whenever I exceeded an 8-tre distance from Father, his [recall process] would activate.
He was probably worried about scampering about, but his supervision was harsher and stingier than Mother's.
I thought he'd be a more laissez-faire type, but he unexpectedly wasn't? Rather, wasn't he a bit overprotective?
Though he didn't do anything like petting my head, or hugging , or making remarks that a doting parent might say, like, "You're shoooo cutee!"……
Helpless, I killed ti by observing an ant nest next to Father, or trying to see how close I could get to the little birds resting on Father's body. ——I digress, but even if Mother were to lie down in her fox form, I don't think any birds would co to rest on top of her. It felt like Mother was held in both awe and fear by the animals on the snowy mountain. In contrast, it feels as though Father was recognised as being a part of nature.
And then, in the end I tried challenging the invisible 8-tre boundary. Distancing myself from Father in a way that I wouldn't be scolded, I enjoyed myself by playing at the very limits of the 8-tres.
When I looked back at the 7-tre mark, I could see Father gazing my way.
Sothing I also learned was it was pointless to try going around behind Father to avoid his line of sight. He'd sluggishly lift up his head and follow with his eyes.
However, it seed like I wandered around a bit too much, as he ultimately imprisoned in the "centre of his coil". What's with this thod of confinent?
"You should get a bit bigger……before walking around on your own……children……shouldn't drift too far……from their parents."
"Okay……"
I can't really tell if Father's love is weak or strong.
In the end, I spent about 3 hours by Father's side. We didn't really have a proper conversation, and we ended up taking an afternoon nap together after I was placed in his coil, but it was fun in its own way. Though I received quite a fright when I woke up from my short nap and saw Father peeking at my sleeping face from above.
After having him let out from his coil, I looked up at Father and said-
"Well, I should pwo-ba-bwee wee-turn to Mother's side now."
There was still so ti before sunset, but I should probably head back earlier so as to not worry Mother. Once she sniffs , I won't be able to hide the fact that I t Father. She'll probably sulk if she finds out that I stayed here for a long ti too.
"I see……then, co play again…….tomorrow."
"Eh, tomor-wow?"
"Yeah, tomorrow……"
It's already predetermined? Father's unexpectedly pushy.
No, it does make happy though. At first I thought he found annoying after all.
"Then, I'll co again tomor-wow."
I'll go to the One-Eyed Knight's place around noon, so I can co here before or after that. I have to make so ti so that Mother can have so exclusive mother-child ti too, so my schedule was quite full, despite only being a one-year old.
"Yeah……tomorrow……you must co. You must……."
"G-Got it."
Like that, the curtains fell on our first father-daughter eting, and after that one thing led to another——-rather, Father kept saying, "Co again tomorrow……"——so I ended up going to see Father every day.
Incidentally.
When Father changes into his human form, he turns into a beautiful man with long aqua-coloured hair. His attire was a single high quality cloth that wrapped around him like sothing a god from Greek mythology might wear.*
Spirits really take inspiration from all sorts of genres for their clothes, huh.
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