Chapter 240 - Another Year

Lily, Sieg

One year after Windsor's birthday, the two of them had turned three.

Lara and Lucy's birthdays had passed as well.

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With Tina now attending school, I spent most of my days with my wives, all of us playing with the little ones.

Lily was adorable, a different kind of adorable from Lara.

When Lara was three... mm, she was cute too, don't get me wrong, but how to put it... she was a bit... rambunctious?

Lara had started learning magic at three and would periodically cause some kind of commotion. Lily, though, didn't seem particularly drawn to magic.

Magical tools were another story.

It started with a few small gadgets she'd happily tinker with for hours. Once I noticed, I went and picked up more of the non-dangerous variety, and sure enough, Lily loved every single one.

"Summer Mama, Green Mama."

"Hm?"

"Why does this thing glow when you pour magic power into it?"

"Because..."

Aisha and Sylphie launched into an explanation.

Sieg sat nearby, listening carefully.

Roxy had classes to teach, so she wasn't around during the day. As for Eris, she'd said something about needing to stretch her legs, grabbed Ghislaine, and headed out to hunt magical beasts. Windsor went with them. Missing a few school lessons here and there was no big deal, and honestly, hunting magical beasts was probably more fun for Windsor anyway.

While Aisha and Sylphie explained the principles to Lily, I quietly watched Sieg.

This kid was a lot like Lily. Calm. Quiet. And like Sylphie, he was beautiful, calling a boy beautiful might raise an eyebrow, but there really wasn't a better word for it. Back when I'd mistaken Sylphie for a boy, I'd thought she was a beautiful youth. Sieg was the genuine article. When he grew up, he wasn't going to have any shortage of admirers.

He loved stories. Hero stories especially, the more varied the better.

That was probably why he looked up to me, and to Ruijerd. From last year onward, every time Ruijerd and Norn came to visit, Sieg would plant himself in front of Ruijerd and fire off question after question. The quiet, reserved child vanished the moment he was standing in front of someone who walked out of a story. He lit up completely.

The strange part was that he almost never asked me anything. I still couldn't figure out why.

He'd question Ruijerd, Orsted, even the Third North God who occasionally showed up looking to pick a fight with me. All of them got peppered with questions.

But not me.

I genuinely had no idea what was going on in the head of a three-year-old.

"Brother~ what are you thinking about?"

"Hm? Nothing."

"I just asked you something~"

"Ah? What did you ask?"

"Are we still going to Miss Nanahoshi's laboratory this afternoon? She mentioned before that we should bring Lily over."

"...Right, she did say something like that."

"Then let's head out! We can pick up the kids and Sister Roxy at the same time."

"Sure. You two coming?"

Aisha scooped Lily up and nodded.

Sylphie shook her head.

"I'll pass. I don't think Sieg really wants to go to the laboratory either — I took him there once before, and he quietly told me it was boring."

Sieg's face went red immediately.

"Mom..."

Sylphie smiled and ruffled his hair.

"It's fine. We're not going to blame Sieg over something like that."

I nodded.

"How could we possibly blame you for that? You just stay home."

"Okay... Dad."

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Aisha, Lily, and I teleported directly to the lab.

The moment we arrived, Nanahoshi looked up.

"You're here."

"We're here, Miss Nanahoshi," Aisha replied cheerfully, setting Lily down as she spoke.

Nanahoshi walked over and rubbed Lily's head. Lily stood quietly and let her, only speaking once the hand landed.

"Hello, Big Sister Nanahoshi."

"Oh~ you're just as cute as Lara was at your age! I hear you like magical tools?"

"Mm..."

Nanahoshi snapped her fingers. A heap of magical tools burst out of her storage ring and clattered across the table.

She looked rather pleased with herself.

"All of these belong to your Big Sister Nanahoshi. Some are bought, some I made when I had nothing better to do. Whenever you feel like it, you can come to the lab and play with them directly. Take them all home if you want."

Lily's eyes went wide.

I stepped over to Nanahoshi's side.

"Hey. None of these are dangerous, right? Lily is three."

"Rudeus, am I that unreliable in your eyes?"

"...No, that's not what I meant."

"Then there you go. I picked these out specifically — they all do something fun, nothing harmful."

"I see. That was thoughtful of you."

"You're welcome."

Aisha appeared at my side, promptly pushed me toward Lily, and said, "Brother~ she's already playing. Go keep her company."

"Alright, alright."

They were both women. Probably had things to talk about.

I settled down beside Lily and started poking through Nanahoshi's collection myself.

"Dad."

"Hm?"

"This one's fun!"

Lily held up a ball-shaped object and poured magic power into it. It lit up immediately, and the image that appeared was... Roxy?

No, not quite. The resemblance was there, same race for certain, but it wasn't Roxy. Still very cute, though.

While I was still puzzling it out, Nanahoshi glanced over.

"That's a magic ball that shows you yourself 20 years from now. You're looking at Lily."

"Huh?"

Lily... 20 years from now... she was still this cute!

Lily held the ball out to me.

"Dad, I want to see what you look like."

"Oh!"

I poured magic power into it. The image that formed was... an older man.

Old, sure. But still pretty handsome, honestly.

Before I could finish my self-assessment, Aisha and Nanahoshi drifted over from wherever their conversation had ended.

"Ah! Brother, you'll be 53 in 20 years and still this handsome~"

"Right?"

"Mm! And your body still looks solid too. Not bad, not bad~"

"Your priorities are very strange."

Nanahoshi nodded approvingly.

"That kind of rugged handsome older man is absolutely my type."

"Ha, you still look sixteen. An older man going after you would be a genuine crime."

"Your sister Norn is with a 500-year-old man. What exactly is the big deal?"

"...When you put it that way... yeah, okay, fair point."

"Right? Hahahahaha."

We spent the whole afternoon like that, Nanahoshi, Aisha, and I keeping Lily company as she worked her way through the entire collection of magical tools.

I had to hand it to Nanahoshi. She was starting to feel a bit like Doraemon. Somehow she had a gadget for absolutely everything.

When it was getting close to time for Lara and the others to get out of school, Nanahoshi turned to me.

"Rudeus."

"Hm?"

"The magic power storage device is finished. Completely."

"I thought it looked close when I checked it last."

"Half the project was yours, so you'd know. I just wrapped up the final stretch — I had to tell you."

"So it's operational now?"

"Up and running normally."

"Ho. That really is good news."

"Right? So next it's potion research~ Bring Lily over whenever you have time."

"Will do. She clearly loves it here. That's it for today then, I need to go pick up the kids."

"OK. See you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

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I hoisted Lily onto my shoulders as we left the lab.

Aisha took my hand, and we lingered at the school gate, watching the evening light fade.

Then Aisha said, "Brother."

"Hm?"

"Miss Nanahoshi really seems to want you to spend more time with her."

"Does she?"

"She does~ You can't feel it?"

"A little, maybe. Nanahoshi doesn't like being alone."

"So you do feel it. Honestly, Brother..." Aisha's voice carried a light, teasing lilt. "Now she's using Lily as an excuse, and she can see you almost every day~"

"I was going to the lab pretty regularly anyway."

"Well, that's true."

She was quiet for a moment.

"What is Brother thinking?"

"What do you mean?"

"Brother. You dummy."

"......?"

We sat in the evening breeze, and I didn't have an answer.

Then Lara's voice rang out from somewhere down the path, bright and carrying, before cutting off abruptly, because Roxy had grabbed her by the ear.

Lara rode atop Big White with her ear pinched firmly in Roxy's grip. Lucy and Tina walked alongside them, chatting and laughing.

No matter how many times I saw this scene, it never stopped feeling warm.

Roxy spotted me.

"Rudy~ shall we head home?"

Tina broke into a sprint.

"Dad! I took on a little minion today!"

"A little minion...?"

"Yeah! Clape! He lost to me!"

"How did you beat him?"

"Using the magic scroll Sister Lara gave me!"

"...Impressive. Don't go bullying people, though. If Uncle Cliff hears about this and comes to me with complaints, I'm not taking your side."

"Hmph hmph! I know!"

I glanced over at Lara, still perched on Big White. She guiltily turned her head away.

Alright. A bit rambunctious, maybe.

But cute is cute.

➤ Next: Windsor