"Honey!"
A woman's voice, seemingly quite annoyed, echoed through the spacious lobby.
"..."
But the man just stared at a distant mountain without answering.
"Hey!!!"
"W-wife! I've told you several tis that such language is not good!"
The flustered man tried to stop his wife by gently grabbing her collar, but the woman, who was quite angry, seed to have no intention of calming down.
"You're kidding . Language? Laan~ guaa~ge~?!"
"..."
"Are you talking about language now?! Huh?!"
"W-well..."
The man who was stuttering and couldn't continue his words, and the woman who was pushing him.
A one-sided violence taking place in the lobby of a large and magnificent mansion!
"I told you last ti, didn't I? Don't buy any magical tools!"
"But that magical tool was highly recomnded by the owner of the magical tool shop as this month's new product...!"
"Tsk! It's just this mouth, this mouth is the problem. Huh? How many tis have I told you? Buying things? Right, that's fine. But why do you keep leaving them anywhere so that the children can touch them!"
The man hung his head low at the woman's barrage of words.
"Last ti, too, our son almost got into big trouble because he touched sothing you left lying around, don't you know? If sothing had happened to him, would you have taken responsibility?! Huh!?"
"W-wife! I've told you several tis that I was wrong about that!"
"Don't you know that our daughter almost got seriously hurt too!"
"...They're my children too, aren't they?"
"And a person like that leaves magical tools anywhere?!"
The woman, as she spoke, seed to be on the verge of raising her fist.
"Dad! Mom!"
But she stopped talking for a mont at the young and cute voice calling her from a distance.
"I'll see you later... Skir... (I'll see you later, Skir.)"
The man, who was called Skir, swallowed hard at the woman's words, which she said, clenching her teeth.
"Aigoo! My daughter~"
She said, spreading her arms wide towards her daughter who was running towards her.
She smiled broadly at her cute daughter, who had bright brown hair like her own and silver eyes like the man's.
"Mommy!"
"Right, right. My daughter. Did you study hard today too?"
"Yes!"
"What did you learn today~?"
"Today~ with my teacher~ dra... what was it?"
The woman burst out laughing as the child, who was trying to say sothing, looked up at her with a flustered expression.
"Haha! Did you forget already?"
"Yes... the words were a little difficult. But~ I know the story! The story of the big dragon and the demons fighting!"
"Ah~ the Dragon-Demon War? You learned that?"
At that, the child nodded her head vigorously.
"Yes! Yes! The Dragon-Demon War! That!"
"Aigoo, my daughter. You rembered one word even though it was a difficult word? You're so admirable!"
The child's eyes widened at her mother's praise.
"Even though it's just one word?"
"Of course! It was difficult for mommy to even rember one word."
The child smiled brightly.
"Mother!"
As she turned around at the slightly more mature child's voice from a distance, this ti it was a boy who looked to be in his early teens, with the man's silver-white hair and the woman's golden eyes.
"Amarok~"
As the woman called his na in a gentle voice, the boy, who had smiled faintly, suppressed his desire to run and walked with long strides.
"Amarok. It's good that you're not running, but your stride is too big. Don't you look hasty?"
"What are you talking about? No. It's okay to run a little. Anyway, when you grow up, the desire to run will disappear."
"A-ahem!"
The woman, who had imdiately refuted the man's words, hugged her son tightly.
"Why do you keep growing~! You'll be taller than mommy soon!"
The woman playfully glared at her son, as if she were sad that he had grown up so quickly.
"Haha. But I'm still small for my age."
"Son. Don't worry. I wasn't that tall when I was your age, but look at now. So there's nothing to worry about."
"Yes. Father."
Was it because the voice that seed to resemble his own was to his liking?
Skir smiled with satisfaction.
"Ah, but I think a guest has co."
"A guest?"
"Yes. A knight will probably co to inform you soon, but I saw soone in the garden a little while ago."
"Really?"
Not long after, one of the servants opened the door and ca in.
"Your Grace, a guest has co. It is Lucas-nim."
At that, their expressions brightened at the sa ti.
"Rookie?!"
"Lucas?! Hurry, hurry and bring him in!"
At their words, the boy who was called Amarok also widened his eyes and asked.
"Huh? The one who gave and Lewin our nas?"
"Right. That's him."
Pola nodded her head with a flushed expression.
***
"Rookie!"
"Lucas!"
A welco person standing in the middle of the spacious garden.
At their call, Lucas took his eyes off the flower he was looking at and turned his body, and his black hair fluttered.
"It's been a while."
As soon as she saw his face, which was smiling brightly like the roses that were in full bloom in the garden, Pola's eyes filled with tears.
"You! Do you even know how many years it's been?!"
The voice that was scolding Lucas, with tears hanging from her eyes, was dripping with the longing she had felt.
"I know. Nine years?"
"Ten years! Isn't that really too much?! Where on earth have you been and what have you been doing to only co now!"
"Haha. You've now reached an age where that old-fashioned way of speaking suits you perfectly, Skir."
A voice that had beco quite deep.
His black hair, which had been pitch-black, also had so white strands.
"You... you've beco really handso."
"Handso? I'm almost forty."
"Hey. Can you not talk about age? It's annoying."
A smile spread on the lips of the people who had t after a long ti.
"Amarok. You've grown up handsoly."
Amarok, who had blushed, smiled shyly and bowed his head as Lucas patted his shoulder once.
"I greet you, godfather."
"Lewin. You should also greet him quickly, right?"
Skir, who was soothing Lewin, who was hiding behind her mother, Pola.
At that, Lewin peeked her head out, quickly greeted him, and then hid again.
"What a rascal..."
"You've beco a proper lady now, Lewin."
Lewin's giggling was heard at Lucas's gentle words.
"What lady? I'm still far from it."
"Ah! But we shouldn't be doing this here, let's go inside. I have a lot to tell you."
"Right. Let's go."
But as soon as Lucas turned his body, their nagging continued.
"You'll stay for a while this ti, right? Huh?"
"Right. Last ti, when Lewin was born, you only t through a crystal ball. Is it okay for a godfather to do that?"
"Let's talk inside."
"Right. We're going in now. Look. We're walking, aren't we?"
"Right. Pola's right. I'm also moving my legs hard. So hurry up and answer."
Lucas let out a deep sigh and shook his head at their barrage of words.
"Right. I get it. So let's talk inside. My legs hurt."
"What do you an? Why do your legs hurt? I know you ca here by teleporting."
"..."
"My wife is right. Didn't you co by teleporting anyway? Then why do your legs hurt!"
"It's all because you don't exercise. You only travel by teleporting without walking, so your legs hurt even if you stand for a little while!"
"..."
Lucas was now on the verge of getting dizzy.
'How on earth have they only gotten better at nagging?'
Although it had been almost forty years since he had lived as a human, Lucas was still awkward with the rapid changes of humans.
'In my previous life, it felt like I was just watching from a distance...'
Now that it was sothing he was experiencing, it had beco a very close matter.
"Right. I get it."
"So stay here for a while and exercise with !"
"Right. Ah, by the way. Have you been ho?"
Lucas shook his head slightly at Pola's words.
"Heek! You ca here first without even stopping by your house?! What are you going to do if the Count finds out!"
"Oh dear...! It's a big problem. The Count is one thing, but if the Countess finds out..."
At Lucas's gesture, they were startled and moved their gaze to the large building visible behind the mansion.
"You know that rumors still spread quickly, no matter how much Sitata has developed, right?"
Pola and Skir had gotten married not long after the tumultuous Dragon-Demon War and had settled down here in Sitata.
Right in front of the Rodrigo Count's mansion.
"Shall I go? If you tell to go now, I'll go."
"...Have a cup of tea first and then go and greet them."
"Right. No matter how fast the rumors are, they probably haven't reached there yet."
Pola and Skir quickly put away their words and stopped Lucas from leaving.
'Is it this good?'
Lucas felt a strange feeling as he saw the two of them so happy just because he had returned after a long ti.
"Right. I was just going to see you for a bit, so don't nag ."
"Right. I get it."
"Ah! Did you hear that news?"
Even on that short road to the mansion, they talked nonstop.
From the atrocities committed by a new rchant who had co to Sitata, to the story of a slave ship that had secretly co in and had been severely punished.
Although Sitata had developed and had grown into a large city, there was no rest for the wicked.
Although it was not a long road, Lucas, who had sat down on the sofa in the drawing-room, feeling a fatigue as if a whole day had passed, let out a deep sigh.
"Hoo."
"Huh? You're sighing?"
Pola's lips twitched.
"Are you tired? After walking just this much?"
"No, no."
Lucas quickly shook his head.
"Then? We're not tired yet, are we?"
"Oh dear. No."
Pola was teasing Lucas.
And Lucas, knowing that, was taking it sweetly, thinking of it as a punishnt for coming to see him after a long ti.
"Wife. Don't be like that. I was worried he might not be able to co because his legs were broken, but isn't it a relief that that's not the case?"
"..."
"Right. It's a relief that that's not the case... Then if I break his legs, will he not be able to go?"
"Oh dear! Wife. I told you not to say such harsh things!"
It wasn't that he didn't hate the sight of them exchanging glances and grinning.
"Right. You two seem to be doing well. I'll get up now because I'm afraid my legs will be broken."
As Lucas made a gesture of getting up from the sofa, trying to play along with their prank, Pola held out one hand and stopped him.
"Tsk! Where are you going!"
"Haha. Then won't you give so tea? Really... will the ducal family be able to serve guests like this?"
"The tea is being brought in anyway. Now, then, where have you been and what have you been doing to only co now?"
As they sat down and their eyes sparkled, Lucas shrugged his shoulders once.
"I'll tell you when the tea cos."
"Ho-oh..."
Skir, who had folded his eyes as if he were interested in Lucas's statent, was about to ring the bell placed in front of him.
Knock, knock-
A knocking sound was heard.
"Hurry up and bring it in!"
Could he be so happy to see a servant with a tea set?
A montary doubt flashed in the servant's eyes, and the teacups, which were steaming warmly, were all set up.
"Now, then, speak."
Lucas lifted the teacup and took his ti, savoring the aroma.
"Hurry! Every ti you talked on the crystal ball, you said you'd tell when we t, and you took your ti."
"Right. Hurry up and speak! We have to solve all the mysteries of the past ten years."
Lucas, who had been looking down at the teacup, lifted his head, smiled faintly, and opened his mouth.
[End of Chapter]
Reviews
All reviews (0)