Chapter 203: Side Story - Is This a Magic Knights Order or a Magic Daycare? (1)
[Haa... You guys should never beco knights.]
I should have listened to those words.
Now, ten years after that fateful encounter, I was proudly serving as a trainee knight of the 89th class in the Magic Knights Order, cleaning the training grounds.
"I really should have listened when they told not to. Back then, I had no idea..."
Alone.
More than ten senior knights to teach, but only one trainee knight to learn—.
Lately, everyone was busy with their own work, and even Levin, the acting Knight Commander, was absent. As a result, most of my duties revolved around babysitting.
"I think it’s about ti for to go shopping with Brother~ so I believe I should be leaving now~"
"I know. Just let finish clearing these stones off the training ground."
"I think kids who have free ti should be the ones doing this instead~"
A cool, smooth tail wrapped around my arm, a refreshing contrast to my overheated body.
Perched on my shoulder, her arms clinging to my neck like a hug, a young lamia girl whispered into my ear. At so point, she had climbed onto .
Lycinia Ban Dottir. Nickna: Rine.
She was the daughter of Ban, the senior knight who once inspired my dream of becoming a knight.
"Brother stopped moving just now because he was distracted by the sensation of a maiden’s chest pressing against him~ Perhaps pretending otherwise would be wise~"
"No, I just froze because you’re cold."
Rine's mother, Hayang (yes, that was her actual na—apparently, lamia nas were rather simple), was a graceful and beautiful lamia woman. However, her firstborn daughter, Rine, was mischievous to the core, seemingly spending her days figuring out new ways to tease .
"Since Brother is clearly enjoying himself~ Though I am still a re girl, I would appreciate a little patience~"
She was a sly little thing.
Sliiide.
She always seed to find it amusing to cling to whenever we t, riding on my back. Thankfully, she was light. If she were as heavy as her mother, I wouldn’t be able to move at all.
Of course, lamias were much longer-bodied than humans (not in height or weight, but in literal length). Rine was about two ters long from head to tail, but her tail was thin enough to fit in my grasp, and her waist was so slender that I could wrap my hands around it with room to spare. She was basically a slightly elongated mascot.
"I think it would be best if we hurry and leave~"
"Alright, alright."
Giving in to Rine’s pestering, I kicked the scattered stones to the side and whistled.
Whiiistle—!
"I distinctly rember hearing that Brother and I were supposed to go alone today~ So I think it would be best if we left others behind~"
"Nope. We’re all going. Angela!"
Chomp.
Her dull, fangless bite didn’t hurt at all—just the pressure against my deltoid muscle was mildly annoying.
"Angela wants to co too! Angela wants to co too!"
"Yeah, yeah. Grab the fishbowl."
"Okay!"
With a swift kick, the stable doors swung open, and Angela burst out, her short brown hair bouncing as she dashed over, carrying the fishbowl I ntioned.
'Looks like it's still asleep, but just in case.'
Tucking the fishbowl into the sling at my waist and perching Rine around my neck, I left the Magic Knights Order with Angela.
Angela’s upper body still looked like that of a young girl, but since her lower half was that of a horse, she was about my height. Among the children I took care of, she was one of the youngest, so I held her hand to make sure she wouldn’t get lost.
"I distinctly rember hearing that Brother and I were supposed to go alone today~"
"Firstborns should act like firstborns, don’t you think?"
"Hmph..."
So of the kids had strong possessiveness, but Rine’s was especially extre. Seeing holding Angela’s hand to keep her from getting lost, she wrapped her tail around my left arm, squeezing tightly enough to cut off circulation.
Her usually warm brown eyes even shifted into the sharp, snake-like gaze of her mother, Hayang. She was seriously mad.
"Don't be like that. I’ll play with you lots when we get back."
"Brother is a liar~ I can’t trust you so easily~ Plus, I even begged Mother to let wear a new outfit today, so I think it’s unfair to bring others along~"
"Mm. Mm. You look cute."
"Your complint lacks sincerity~"
Despite her grumbling, the vertical slit in her pupils returned to a normal round shape, so I guess it worked.
Her mother, Hayang, and another lamia from their holand, Kamang, had fully reptilian eyes. But Rine, being half-human thanks to Ban, had more human-like traits.
‘Ah... I picked up Rine’s speech pattern. This is weirdly addictive.’
Anyway, since she was a half-lamia, her upper body was almost entirely human-like. The problem was that as she grew, certain aspects beca more noticeable. I’d keep that to myself—if she found out, she’d cling to even more than she already did.
As I was dealing with Rine, Angela suddenly stopped. When I turned to see why, she was staring at the market stall, drooling over the cool-looking ice cream on display.
‘I guess I have to buy so if I want her to move.’
Angela was still young, but as a centaur, she grew quickly. Her horse-like lower body carried considerable weight, aning that if we combined Rine and , we’d still be lighter than her.
I couldn’t exactly drag her along, so the best option was to bribe her with food.
"Here, Angela. Let’s go."
"Okay!"
Handing her an ice cream cone, I took her other hand to keep her from wandering off. She happily licked at it, completely distracted. Then, I held out another cone to Rine, who was still hanging around my neck.
"Want so?"
"This maiden does not enjoy such unhealthy frozen substances~ I also think Brother should refrain from eating such poison~"
"If you avoided everything bad for you, there’d be nothing left to eat."
Being a lamia, she probably disliked the cooling sensation of ice cream.
She much preferred hot, freshly boiled eggs over any sweets. She called it a ‘mature firstborn taste,’ but I suspected it was just that lamias generally lacked strong taste perception.
Still, I didn’t mind indulging her eccentricities.
'And honestly, I like ice cream too...'
As Angela and I cheerfully ate our ice cream while holding hands, Rine, clearly sulking, started tightening her grip around my neck, tugging at my ears in protest.
This was my daily life.
At this point, I was less of a knight in training and more of a caretaker for the children who ca to the Magic Knights Order searching for news about Ban.
'Really... The father who's supposed to take responsibility is nowhere to be found, so why am I the one stuck with childcare...'
"Angela!"
The sound of heavy hooves stomping through the marketplace sent Angela scrambling behind in fear.
"Eek!"
I felt her sticky, ice-cream-covered palms press against my back, while the cold ice cream sared onto Rine’s tail, making her jolt and curl up in surprise. The ensuing commotion parted the crowd, revealing a towering, light-blonde centaur.
Stella.
Technically, her surna was the sa as Rine’s—Ban Dottir. But that was a surna Rine's mother, Hayang, had specifically asked the retired guardian dragon, Seyra, to help create because Rine wanted one. It simply translated to "daughter with Ban as her father," so calling it a proper surna felt a bit... off.
Most races didn’t even use surnas, so nas alone sufficed. That included Stella, the daughter of Eileen.
Seeing Angela cowering behind , Stella shot her a sharp glare. Angela tried to hide, but her foal-like lower half was completely exposed, making it impossible to avoid Stella’s gaze.
"Mother said no snacks before alti!"
"I-I’m sorryyy!"
Stella and Angela weren’t biological sisters. By human standards, they were cousins—Stella was Eileen's daughter, while Angela was Angelica's. But centaurs practiced communal parenting, so both just called their mothers "Mom."
That ant they were half-sisters on their father's side and cousins on their mothers' side. A complicated family tree...
'Just how far did that guy go, knocking people up left and right without a care...'
"Rine, why are you covering my eyes?"
"Because Brother must not be swayed by those bouncy, criminally oversized fat deposits~"
Technically, Stella and Rine were born around the sa ti, but Stella had grown faster, already taller than and possessing a body shape nearly identical to her mother, Eileen.
Her chest was slightly smaller, but still, as a young man in my pri, I couldn’t just stare openly at a girl who technically wasn’t even an adult yet (though centaur standards considered her one). However, having my eyes physically covered like this was a bit...
"Once I molt, I’ll get much bigger, so there's no need to concern yourself with those overgrown, shedding mares~ I think just looking at them will get hair stuck to you, so it’s best to avert your gaze~"
Considering Hayang’s build, I had my doubts about Rine growing much bigger.
Even with Ban’s genes, there was no way she’d suddenly sprout huge... assets. Maybe she’d get taller, but that was about it.
"You’re old enough to walk on your own, so why don’t you use your own legs? You can’t cling to Brother’s back forever."
"But Brother loves most~ so I’ll stay here forever~"
And there it was again.
Since they were both essentially the eldest daughters (though Stella's birthday was technically earlier, which Rine always argued against by counting the ti she spent as an egg in Hayang’s womb), there was a constant, subtle rivalry between them.
The problem was that while they bickered, Rine still had my eyes covered.
"Can you at least let see?"
"If I don’t protect you, you’ll get horse hair in your eyes~"
Rine was already upset that I brought Angela along, so coaxing her out of this foul mood wasn’t going to be easy.
"Little rmaid~ Pururu, so cute~~ Pururu, it’s ~ Pururu~"
As the suffocating tension from Rine constricting my throat reached its peak, a familiar, childish song echoed from the fishbowl strapped to my waist.
'Oh... right, there was one more.'
By birth order, she was one of the eldest, but since rmaids aged incredibly slowly, Alicia was still practically a fry (a baby fish), floating around in her bowl. And as soon as she woke up, she did what she always did—sing.
Her voice, infused with rmaid magic, resonated through the water in her fishbowl, amplifying and spreading out. Stella, Rine, Angela, and even the rest of the marketplace fell into a trance, completely captivated by the lody.
"Mama rmaid~"
"Alright, alright, that’s enough."
I lifted the bowl, letting Alicia rest her little arms on the rim. This was the best way to stop her from singing further.
rmaid fry couldn’t speak outside of water because they needed their entire lung capacity just to breathe. Until they matured, their communication was limited to simple sounds, making them unusually quiet when exposed to open air.
"...I’ve lost my strength."
"Brother knows I only desire peace~"
Even so, the fact that Alicia could stop Stella and Rine from clashing made her the real strongest one here.
"Mother will be delivering horses soon. I trust you cleaned the stables properly, Angela?"
"Huh? Angela... isn’t good at cleaning..."
"I’ll help you. Let’s go take care of it now."
Strict as she was, Stella was still a reliable older sister.
If only Rine could learn a thing or two from her—urk!
"Brother’s eyes were just staring at that hairy butt~"
"She’s wearing a skirt, so there’s nothing to see!"
"Even so, your indecent gaze should be reserved for alone~"
"I wasn’t even trying to look! It’s just that Stella’s butt is at my eye level!"
Hearing that, Stella stiffened, quickly pressing down on her skirt as her face turned red. Every single day was exhausting.
"Brother, what do we need to buy?"
"Erin wrote down the list, but Narine added a few more things."
Narine was Erin’s daughter.
Actually, now that I thought about it... why did Ban only have daughters?
More importantly, wasn’t he supposed to return to the Magic Knights Order? He wasn’t off sowhere again, picking up another kid and dumping them on with a, 'Hey, can you take care of my child for a bit?'... right?
"Why am I the one raising that guy’s kids?!"
"That’s because Brother has the aura of a womanizer~"
What does that have to do with childcare?! Am I raising future brides now?!
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