The next morning...
I looked out from the kitchen window. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Even
though it was a clear and calm morning, there was a tense air over the dining
hall. Seated at the table were me, my wives, the god of agriculture, Granny
Tokie (all the other gods except her and Kousuke were still asleep), and my
guests. Ende, Ney, Lycee... and Allis.
Despite the abundance of people, there wasn't much in the way of talking
going on. The only sounds were the scraping of silverware against plates and
Allis' merry cheering.
"Yummy! I love this! Mom, you have some too!"
"R-Right... I shall..."
Allis smiled over at Melle. The two were sat next to each other, tucking into a
meal of bacon and eggs.
We simply sat there staring, unsure of what to actually say. Granny Tokie had
already told her not to tell us about the future, but obviously, we had burning
questions.
"H-Hey, little Allis. How old are you?"
Looks like Elze is stepping up. I'm sure she's wondering about things as much
as the rest of us are. She looks a little nervous though.
"Pfft!"
"Wh-What's wrong? Did I say something funny?"
Allis suddenly started laughing out loud, prompting Elze to grow flustered.
"You called me little Allis! That's so funny to hear from you, Master!"
"M-Master?!"
"Mhm. You're my martial arts teacher, duh! And I'm six."
"O-Oh, I see..."
Elze is teaching martial arts?! And Allis is her student...? I guess those punches
from yesterday make a lot more sense now.
The little snippet of future information was certainly interesting. Her father,
Ende, was a disciple of the god of combat alongside Elze. It kind of made sense
that things would progress that way.
"...Hold on. If Elze is your master, then what about me? Don't I teach you?"
"You're not home very often, Daaad! And when you do come home, you're
always too sleepy to play!"
"...He doesn't come home? What is the meaning of this, Endymion?!"
"Wh—?! How am I supposed to know?!"
Melle glared at Ende and gave a shake of her head. I didn't think that was fair,
though. The future Ende was at fault, not this one!
"He's always busy with work. Or so he says..."
"So he says?! Wh-Why don't you believe him?!"
Ende was clearly getting no support from his daughter. His family dynamic
certainly seemed colorful.
"Wait, he has a job?"
"D-Don't ask more, Touya..."
"Dad's a guildmaster! He works for the adventurer's guild. Not the one in
Brunhild, though."
Oho. That's certainly interesting. I didn't think of that as a career path for him,
but I guess it makes sense. He works for them as an adventurer right now, even.
"So that's why Elze is mentoring you. Wait, what about Uncle Takeru? Wasn't
he available?"
"I wanted to learn from him, but Dad said no! He said it was waaay too early
for me to experience that kind of pain!"
"Good job, me!" Ende said, suddenly looking very satisfied with himself. I
could sympathize. I had a feeling that if she grew up with that guy as her main
teacher, then she'd end up as some battle-centric maniac.
"S-So is my child training alongside you, perhaps?" Elze went on the offensive,
asking for as much as she could now that she had an angle to work with.
Nobody dared interrupt her. We all wanted to know as well.
"Umm... Elna doesn't like fighting very much. Linne and I fight lots, though!
Actually, the other day..."
"Allis, dear."
"Huh? Um... Hehehe... That's a secret! If I tell you too much, it won't be as fun
later. I don't wanna make anyone mad! Nope, nope!" Allis said that and giggled
a bit as Granny Tokie looked her way. Seems like I couldn't learn too much
about my own kids.
Still, we had learned something. We knew that Elze's kid was named Elna and
that she didn't much like fistfighting. Hard to believe Elze's kid could be like
that, though. Elna was probably a girl's name... But why wouldn't she be
interested in fisticuffs like her mom? Based on the puzzled look on Elze's face,
she felt the same way.
Allis had also mentioned someone named Linne. I wondered if that was
another one of my kids.
I glanced over at Linze, who was making a perturbed expression of her own.
She'd most likely been thinking the same thing as me. That Linne was her child. I
was sure she had many questions, but she was clearly holding back on account
of Granny Tokie.
If you got Allis in a one-on-one, you could probably squeeze answers out of
her. She didn't exactly seem like the kind of girl who could keep secrets.
"Hey, Dad, if you're free today, we should spar!" Allis exclaimed as she tugged
at Ende's arm.
"Huh? You want to fight me?"
...A daddy-daughter deathmatch?
Ende glanced at Melle, who just looked more bewildered than anything else.
"The training ground to the north should be free. If you're interested in using
it, it could be fun to watch." Moroha casually mentioned a suitable fighting spot
as she tucked into her salad. I hadn't even seen my sister appear at the table!
"Yay! Sounds good!" Allis certainly sounded happy about it. Still, the knights
were trained by both her and Commander Lain, so they knew the schedule. If
Moroha said the field was free, then it was free.
"I'd like to watch that fight too. It could be interesting."
"Y-Yes, I... I'd like to see it as well."
"I would be curious to observe, I would."
"M-Me too!"
Everyone gradually raised their hands and voices, asking to watch the bout.
They were all clearly interested in what Allis could do... and I was no exception.
We all wanted to take the chance to learn more about what the kids from the
future were capable of. We'd definitely find out sooner or later, but... it didn't
hurt to know a little more in advance.
I saw a small bit of what Allis could do back in Amatsumi, but I had a feeling
she was holding back. Besides, I was interested in seeing just how a gold or
silver-ranked adventurer from the future would fare against Ende.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Hey, Touya. Should I go easy on her?" Ende quietly whispered to me as we
walked along.
"That's a tough one, man..."
He was fighting his daughter from the future, after all.
"You should probably try to win, right? You've gotta keep your dignity as her
dad. Plus, kids have to overcome the hurdles left behind by their folks! That's
pretty basic, yeah?"
"I-I guess so?"
"But maybe that's better done against boys... You don't want your little girl to
get all sulky and sad if you beat her up, right? She might yell about how she
hates you or something."
"Wh—?! Why would you say that?! Now I don't know what to do!" Ende
groaned. His eyes were pleading with me, but I didn't have a good answer for
him. Frankly, I expected my own kids to want to fight me at some point, so I was
going to use this battle as a frame of reference. He'd make a perfect test run.
Ende continued to worry until we made it to the northern field. It wasn't quite
as intense as the main training field, but this area was protected by a divine
barrier. In other words, you could go all-out without worrying too hard.
We mostly used this place for magic or tech experiments. Or for Moroha or
Takeru to show off their stuff. Sometimes I'd bring monsters here for mock
battles with the knights too. In one corner of the field stood a small elevated
arena for one-on-one fights, which was the main stage.
Ende and Allis both equipped fingerless leather gloves made out of monster
leather. I didn't want them smashing each other with heavy gauntlets, after all.
None of our gear fit Allis, but Linze took her sewing kit out and almost
immediately refitted those gloves to a child's size. It was kind of insane,
actually.
Don't tell me that rapid sewing is her divine benefit manifesting...?
Allis clenched her fists as if to test the tension of the gloves she wore. Gloves
were important in fistfights as they protected the fist, the wrist, and also
reduced the damage you dealt to your foe. Though the hitting part was still real,
so you could easily inflict pain. I wondered if that'd be okay.
Granny Tokie hadn't stopped anything though, so presumably, it was.
"Alright, let's begin."
On Moroha's call, Ende and Allis moved into the center of the ring.
"No magic allowed. If you fall from the area's edge, you're out. Time limit is
five minutes. If I call the match, it's over. Got it?"
Both Ende and Allis nodded. When they stood by each other, their height
difference was really accentuated. Ende was around a hundred and seventy
centimeters, while Allis had to be only a hundred and twenty.
"Now... fight!"
"Here I gooo!" Allis roared as she rocketed forward with a boom. She swung
out her fist with brutal force.
Ende swiftly caught it, but then the girl brought her left hand swooping up
toward his chin.
"Oof!" Ende groaned as he kept on ducking and diving. However, Allis just
kept the blows coming. It was a relentless assault against her dad.
"She moves precisely, she does."
"Mhm. She's maneuvering her body at just the right angle. But her moves
seem a little too predictable, don't you think?"
Yae and Hilde discussed the battle off to the side. Was she using feints or was
she actually trying? It was hard to tell. I turned to Elze to get her thoughts.
"What do you think? You're her future master, and all."
"It's hard to say right now. I might have only taught her the basics, from what
I'm seeing now... Oh, wait."
"Haaah!"
I turned to look back at the fight and noticed that Allis had balled up spiritual
energy, or chi, into her fists.
Wait, she can do that?!
"Ghaaah!"
Ende brought both arms up in a cross block, but he was still pushed back by
the impact. Allis seemed to have planned for this, as she thrust her arms out
and unleashed a torrent of crystal thorns from her hands.
"Prisma Rose!"
"Huh?!"
Before Ende realized what was coming, his legs were tangled in the vines of a
crystalline thornbush. He immediately swiped his hand at them to break them
off, then jumped back to put some distance between him and his daughter.
"Lady Melle, that was..."
"Indeed. That was my Prisma Rose ability... How surprising."
"I suppose she really is your daughter..."
The Phrase moms seemed pretty impressed, but wasn't that a violation of the
rules? Or did natural abilities using your body not count as magic? Moroha
seemed to think it was fine, at any rate.
The crystal vines pulled back and wrapped themselves around Allis' elbow.
They then pushed forward until they coalesced onto her hand and formed a
huge fist-shaped object.
"Haaah!"
"What the—?!"
Allis pulled back, then punched forward, releasing the massive fist at Ende.
The vines around it looked like a spring coil connecting to Allis' arm.
I was pretty sure I'd seen that in a cartoon before... Like a big red boxing glove
that popped out and bashed someone's face.
"Oh, that seems like an alteration of my Prisma Guillotine. What a fine use."
I was dumbfounded, but Melle was simply nodding along with the fight. It
seemed like Allis had incorporated a lot of her mother's biological traits into her
fighting style.
"Gwugh!"
Ende dodged the crystal fist, but it was yanked back in an arc and biffed him
hard in the head. Allis then followed up with a second crystal fist that was
attached to her other hand.
You're done for, man!
"Divine Style... Echoing Thunder!" Ende screamed as he blasted a palm strike
against the incoming fist.
A shattering sound rang out as it smashed into bits.
"I'm not done yet! Get pulverized!" Allis exclaimed as she charged forward
and closed the distance, lunging right for Ende's midsection. It was kind of like
watching a small version of Elze fight. That was no surprise though, given who'd
trained her.
However, I had a feeling that mirroring Elze was a bad idea. After all, Ende
trained with her just about every day. He knew all of her tricks, just like she
knew his. When it came to fighting, the best thing you could do was outsmart
your foe. And as Hilde had said earlier, her moves were predictable, since they
were similar to Elze's and all.
Ende suddenly sidestepped the incoming strike. He then swept his leg out.
Allis' legs were caught by the sweep, and she stumbled. This allowed Ende to
close in and grab her.
"Huh?! Wha—?!"
The girl was flung high into the air, where she spun around before landing
right on her back. Ende closed in and swung his fist right at her face... but
obviously stopped right before hitting her.
"Game set. Ende wins," Moroha called the match, ending the bout.
Hm... So he won after all. Well, I figured he'd win. I'm just glad he didn't throw
the match on purpose. I would've laughed if he'd gotten serious and still had his
ass beat, though.
"Geez! I thought I could beat you when you were like this, Dad!"
"Hahaha... You're a bit too young for that. No way I was gonna lose to a kid,"
Ende chuckled quietly as he spoke to the girl. He then walked over toward me.
"...You're looking kinda sweaty, man."
"Gah! She nearly took me down, dude. What the hell's with this girl? She was
full of tricks!" Ende muttered quietly as he passed me.
She's your daughter, man. You shouldn't be so surprised.
Ney and Lycee suddenly grabbed Ende from either side, firmly restraining
him.
"Agh?! What the heck?!"
"You could've stood to be gentler with your daughter."
"Indeed. Endymion... You're not acting fatherly enough."
With that, Ende was dragged off to a nearby corner.
Yikes.
Allis didn't seem to mind so much, and she promptly stood up.
"Hey, Duke! Lemme fight you next!"
"Huh?!"
I turned back to see Ende being chastised and realized the predicament I was
in. If I wasn't careful, I'd end up in the same boat as him.
"Er, well... I appreciate the invite, but..."
"I'll fight you next. That fine, Touya?"
As I sputtered quietly, Elze came over with her own leather gloves on.
Thank goodness... Saved by the wife.
"Ooh! Yeah, I wanna fight a younger version of you! That sounds cool!" Allis
said, sounding excited to face Elze. She was positively beaming, which
highlighted how much of a kid she was.
"She is strong for a child, she is. We must be sure not to fall behind, Hildedono."
"Mhm. Let's do our best to at least increase our standing with the guild."
Yae and Hilde nodded to each other. They were all registered with the guild,
but they didn't do many quests. And so, their ranks hadn't risen much. I was a
gold-ranked adventurer, but Yae and Hilde only occasionally went to the
dungeon islands to hunt monsters or patrol for lost adventurers. That was why
the two of them were only red-ranked.
If Allis was truly a gold or silver-rank like Granny Tokie had said, that meant
she'd outclassed Yae and Hilde in the eyes of the guild. Though, that was only
talking from a future perspective. She wasn't even a guild member in this era.
Still, that made me wonder just who had allowed a six-year-old child to
register... I wondered if Relisha had some kind of hand in that move. I knew
adventurers were accepted based on merit, but it was still a little much.
I wasn't really worried about Yae or Hilde beefing up their ranks, since they
could easily get to silver if they just went hunting Dragons for a bit. After that,
they'd just need to take out a Behemoth or two and they'd be set on the gold
rank with me.
Man... I guess gold and silver's gonna get pretty busy soon. Most of them are
gonna be my family members...
After the battle (Elze won, obviously), Allis wanted to walk around the castle
town, so she charged off with her family. I was relieved, since it was hard just to
keep up with her in conversation.
Elze, Yae, and Hilde went to the guild. They were keen to take on some
quests. There were no big targets in Brunhild, but apparently, there was a
Cyclops rampaging in the mountains of Roadmare. It wasn't as big a target as a
Dragon, but it was still worthwhile. I sent the trio to Roadmare with a [Gate]
and told them to call me when they were done.
In the meantime, I went to Babylon's library to look into Space-time magic. I
ended up meeting Doc Babylon and Elluka there, along with Fam, the terminal
gynoid in charge of the library.
"Magic that transcends space and time, you say... Most fascinating. Even a
genius such as I can't say much about it for sure. Unless... If we have Allis return
through a Space-time fissure, we could extrapolate point referential from that
and..."
I left the muttering doctor to herself and turned toward Elluka.
"Doesn't Noir, the black crown, use Space-time magic?"
"To an extent, but it's limited. It can accelerate time to a degree, and pull
items from parallel timelines."
"Could it travel to the future or the past?"
"Hm... I'm not so sure on that front. It could hypothetically happen, but I think
it would take a significant amount of compensation. Perhaps if you traveled in
the right way that would become irrelevant, but who knows."
The price to pay for using Noir was having your own time rewound. Your body
would be de-aged, effectively. It was a pretty cool power, but if you used it too
much or misjudged how much it'd take, then you could become a child... Or
even worse, back to how you were in the womb. That'd be too harsh a price to
pay.
"Noir can feel things through time, right? Could it sense others coming back?"
"Well... perhaps? You might find out if you activate its active ability and share
those senses for a time, but... you wouldn't want Norn to pay the price for that,
would you?" Elluka asked as she glared at me from behind her glasses. I shook
my head in response.
Norn was her sister, so she was obviously worried about me roping her into
something dangerous. I had no such plans, though. I'd hoped that Noir might be
able to figure out when my kids were coming back, or where they'd show up.
But if we had to resort to Norn paying a price for that, it didn't matter.
If my kids were anything like Allis, they were crazy powerful. If they came up
against monsters or beasts, they'd win. Though such things weren't the only
threats in this world. Some evil people could trick kids into traps and slave
traders, to name a few. I didn't want my kids getting mixed up with those
people...
To be honest, Granny Tokie would probably let me know when my kids
showed up, but I didn't want them getting into trouble like Allis had when she'd
landed here. Or rather... I didn't want them causing trouble for innocent
bystanders.
As I quietly pondered the matter to myself, Doc Babylon tapped me on the
shoulder.
"What caused this timequake, anyway? Did you ask Allis?"
"Oh, uh, no I don't know. From what I understand, it's not like we can stop it,
so I didn't really think to ask."
Allis had come here because of a timequake in the future. But presumably,
there was something that had caused it. Much like how earthquakes beneath
the ocean could cause tsunamis.
In the past, the white and black crowns went haywire and forced the invading
Phrasian lifeforms back into the gap between worlds, as well as repairing the
world barrier. Could the timequake be the result of Albus and Noir going
haywire again? I certainly hoped not.
I looked over one of the old books left behind by Palerius, but it didn't result
in me finding any new information. All in all, it seemed fruitless.
Part of me wished my kids could just call my phone when they arrived. That
way, I'd be able to just pick them up... However, that was wishful thinking.
Nothing had happened yet, but I was still very worried. I wondered if this was
something only a parent could feel.
A few days passed after that, and Allis had settled in.
"Kids are great, ain't they, Touya?" Ende smirked my way as he spoke an
easily misunderstood line.
"...What happened to you, man?"
What's up with him? What's he smiling for?
Ende was looking at a group of kids playing with the capsule machines outside
the Strand store.
...Keep staring and you'll get arrested.
"I didn't really get the fuss when she first showed up, but since she's started
living with us... I dunno, she has a real cute side to her. She looks just like Melle
when she laughs. I think I finally understand how doting dads must feel."
"...Who are you, man? Did you get swapped with a fake Ende?"
"You'll see before long, my dude. It's only a matter of time. Once you're a
dad, things just change."
"Keep this up and I'll barf."
His cheery face was really pissing me off. I felt like punching it, frankly. Maybe
a firm smack would bring him back to sanity, even. It'd be a service!
"I didn't call you up to hear you talk about your kid, man. I wanna know if you
learned anything."
"Oh, yep. We learned this and that."
I figured Allis would tell her parents more about the future than she'd shared
at the breakfast table the other day. That was why I'd called Ende up to get that
information from him.
"First up, you've got nine kids. One boy, the rest are girls."
"I know that already!"
"You do?!"
Oh wait, I guess I never explained that to Ende. Well, whatever. Just tell me
more!
"Uhhh... As for the rest, lessee... Your oldest is eleven, I think? And your
youngest is five. Your oldest kid is already a gold-rank."
Seriously? Nine kids born in the span of six years? Well, I guess it makes sense,
since they're all from different women... Wait, eleven... That's how old Yumina
was when I first met her. Don't tell me my oldest is already engaged. That can't
be?! Oh geez... I haven't even met her, but I'm already fretting... Is this how a
dad feels when he gives his daughter away on the big day?
"Your oldest isn't engaged. She says she'll only marry someone stronger than
her. And nobody's really higher than gold, so there aren't any eligible suitors."
"Phew!"
I struck a victory pose, just for a moment.
I'm not sure that's the best dating policy, but sure! Works for me!
A royal family was important, even if it was a minor one. My daughter would
be a princess, so political marriage would obviously be something we'd have to
consider.
Personally, I didn't want to force that on any of my kids, though. We could
handle most of the things political marriages were made to cover by ourselves
anyway. I wanted my kids to marry whoever they loved, and thankfully my
wives agreed.
But, unfortunately, there were mandatory state socialization events we'd
have to bring them to. That could cause issues down the line, which I was
worried about as well. Then again, if any of my daughters met an overseas
prince, fell in love, and built up a relationship... that might be okay?
Okay, I know... I'll just make sure my firstborn daughter knows how important
she is! That she doesn't just have to go to any man! He's gotta be the cream of
the crop!
Wait... what if I'm being influenced by the knowledge of the future. Won't that
impact the future? Isn't that a paradox? I don't really know... Best not to think
about it. I'll leave stuff like that to the gods.
I quietly directed all my problems toward Granny Tokie as Ende tapped my
shoulder.
"By the way... my daughter's apparently very fond of your son. You got any
feelings on that?"
"Uh, what? M-My shoulder... Wh-Why are you squeezing so hard?"
"Yeah, Allis was saying she wants to be his wife. You know... Any thoughts on
that, Touya?!"
Ack, E-Ende! Quit squeezing my shoulder! Ow! Owwww!
"My daughter's only six! Six! She's not getting married until she's older!"
"I-I don't know! Quit it, man! You're getting mad at a son who hasn't even
been born!"
Before me stood a man who truly felt the pain of a father giving away his
daughter on the big day.
Hm... I wonder how my son feels about Allis. Maybe they're childhood friends?
It could be one-sided. Childhood friends don't usually win in stories like this...
right?
I said as much to Ende and he damn near punched my head off.
Being a dad sure is rough!
◇ ◇ ◇
"Here we go!"
Allis was piloting a Chevalier unit, wielding a heavy mace in its hand. She
charged it straight toward a Behemoth. It was a giant boar, mutated from the
Tuskboar species. The great beast charged into the side of the metal soldier.
Just as those tusks were about to collide with the chevalier, it flew high into
the air. It wasn't blown back, however. It had jumped. It rolled forward and
landed perfectly behind the Tuskboar.
The Chevalier was a heavy Frame Gear, even among its peers. Most
experienced pilots still found it quite sluggish. Making it move so gracefully was
no small feat.
Evidently, Allis wasn't lying when she said she had a lot of experience riding
Frame Gears.
"RAAARGH!"
The Tuskboar swiveled around and began charging toward the Chevalier. In
response, Allis had the mech crouch and ready its mace.
"Take this!" Allis exclaimed as she suddenly lobbed the giant mace right at the
Tuskboar's head.
You're throwing it?!
A dull crunch rang out as metal collided with bone. Blood was drawn, but the
slaughter wasn't over.
"Crystal Armament!"
Crystal vines suddenly jutted out of the mech and wrapped around its arms,
converging at the hands to form crystal gauntlets.
Hey, that's Melle's...
"Get pulverized!"
The Chevalier's fist slammed into the Tuskboar's snout. Its tusks were
shattered to bits, and the beast was blasted back. Blood pooled down its
mangled face... and it slumped down, life expiring from its body.
"Yay!"
"U-Uh... I don't know what to say..." I murmured. I could only laugh nervously
as I watched the Chevalier strike a mighty victory pose.
Ney and Lycee narrowed their eyes at me.
"Whatever do you mean? Was that not a magnificent display on her part?
What could our cute little daughter have done wrong, hm?"
"Indeed. Allis happens to be a genius, and a charming young lady to boot."
...These guys are pretty hopeless.
I looked over at Ende, hoping to get some support.
"I think what Touya meant was that her method of killing it was bad. Allis
fought excellently, obviously. She brutalized that thing perfectly, even! But her
final strike there broke the tusks, which are really valuable materials. So it was a
bit of a waste, even though she did so well."
Intact Tuskboar fangs were worth a ton of money, while broken ones were
worth a lot less. You'd think someone silver-ranked or above would know that.
She was probably trying to show off in front of her parents, which was why she
was a little more reckless. That side of her definitely showed she was still a
child.
"Hehehe... How was that?!" Allis asked as she rushed toward us with a huge
smile on her face, her scarf fluttering behind her. She was brimming with
energy. If she was a dog, she'd surely have a wagging tail.
Personally, I wasn't so sure about how she'd done... But it was true that she'd
piloted the Frame Gear really well. Regardless, I wasn't going to say anything
that'd take that smile off her face.
"Mhm! That's our girl! Great job, Allis!"
"You're really strong, Allis. Maybe even the strongest Phrasian princess who's
ever existed."
Ney and Lycee took turns praising the girl... It was crazy how much they were
doting on her.
Allis leaped up into Melle's arms and gave her a big hug.
"You okay, Allis? Not hurt anywhere, are you?"
"Nope, I'm okay! I'm really strong! But not as strong as my moms!" Allis
exclaimed, purring like a kitten as Melle fawned over her. They'd gotten really
close, it seemed.
The Behemoth we'd killed wasn't on the guild's hitlist. It was a creature native
to Palerius Island. I wanted to test Allis' proficiency with a Frame Gear, so I
figured that was the best opportunity to do so.
Usually, the Behemoths on Palerius Island dwelled away from civilization,
much like Dragons. They'd hide up in the mountains or in the dense jungles,
save for the odd straggler. But for whatever reason, that Tuskboar had come
dangerously close to Palerius' central settlement, so I offered to take care of it
for them. I even promised to sell the raw materials to the queen, but they were
pretty banged up...
"Well, whatever. Ende, you can compensate them for the damage."
"What the heck, why?!"
Good luck, new dad. Go fight some big monsters to make up for your reckless
daughter.
According to Allis, Behemoth attacks still happened in the future. In fact, they
were even more common. That was because of all the pockets and wells of
mana created by the fusion of the two worlds. Obviously, there'd be long-term
effects on the wildlife.
Allis had also told me that my kids rode in Frame Gears to kill Behemoths
alongside her. Just what was I letting them get away with?! Then again, if they
were gold and silver adventurers, it was probably okay.
The Phrase threat was gone, but it seemed like retiring the Frame Gears was a
foolish idea. Though we wouldn't be seeing any more large-scale battles with
hundreds of them.
I contacted Queen Palerius, opened up a [Gate] for her men, and then they
started harvesting the Tuskboar's body. I decided to figure out compensation
later on.
Just as I was about to open a [Gate] back to Brunhild, I heard a ringtone go
off. It wasn't my phone, however, since that one was on silent in my pocket.
I turned to see if it was Ende or the Phrase girls, but it wasn't theirs either.
"Oh, that's mine," Allis spoke up, then took out a cutesy-looking phone from
her pocket. It was white with a synthetic case on it. It had little kitty ears.
Huh...? We gonna make that stuff in the future? Doesn't look too different
from the current ones, I guess.
"Oh! It's Yakumo."
"Uh?"
Yakumo? Who? What...?
"Heeeya! Mhm, I'm in Brunhild already! I'm with Mom and Dad. Uh-huh. Yep.
Where are you? Uh-huh. Yeah? Okay! Gotcha! Oh, but... Oh, she cut the call."
Allis' conversation seemed to have been abruptly cut off by the other party.
The dial tone let out a low, vacant hum. That wasn't important, however. What
truly mattered was... who made that call?
"A-Allis? Who was that?"
"Huh? Yakumo! She's, uhm... Uh... Wait, should I tell you? But... Hrmm..."
"You can tell me. If you couldn't, Tokie would've showed up. It's okay."
I didn't want to seem too forceful, but I needed to know who was on the
other end of that call... I needed to know if my hunch was right.
"Uhm... Yakumo's your oldest daughter! She's Yae's, too."
"I knew it!"
Yakumo. That name sounds so Eashenese that it had to be Yae's... And she's
my eldest? So my first kid's with Yae?! N-No! I can't get caught up in these weird
feelings!
"S-So, where is she?"
"Ummm... she was in Roadmare, but she said she's gonna go train a little.
She'll head to Brunhild after."
"What?!"
Wait, huh? What do you mean she'll come after?!
"Yakumo reaaaaaally loves to fight and train. She says she wants to meet you
when she's a bit stronger."
"No, no! Waiiit! I can't just let her wander on her own! I'm gonna get the
doge of Roadmare to put out a search party right now!"
"I doubt that'll work. Yakumo can use a spell called [Gate], so she's impossible
to find."
"Wait, she has that spell?!"
What the hell?! She's stealing one of my cooler ones from me! Can she even
use it to travel to places in the past? I guess so long as the place isn't too
different, it might work... Guess that means she'll use it to come straight to
Brunhild when she's ready?
I tried to use search magic to find her, but it was fruitless. I didn't know a
thing about what she looked like. I thought about using [Recall] to peek into
Allis' memories, but her parents seemed a touch reluctant. Plus, I didn't want to
chance things with Granny Tokie.
Just a little peek can't be that bad, right? Gah... No, I can't... I shouldn't.
"C-Can't you call her back?!"
"I could... Oh, no... Sorry. Her phone's off.
"Gaaah!"
What the heck's wrong with this girl?! She takes her training that seriously?!
Ugh, whatever... Should I tell Yae? No, I should probably tell all the girls...
I opened up a [Gate] back to Brunhild, my head abuzz with questions.
◇ ◇ ◇
"M-M-My daughter is here, she is?!" Yae, who'd been in the middle of eating,
stood up and almost sent her chair flying as she said that.
The other girls seemed surprised... and maybe a little disappointed.
I mean, she's here... but like... not actually right here.
I tried to explain the situation as slowly as I could. I knew Yae was concerned
(so was I), so I wanted to be delicate and avoid potentially hurting her feelings.
Also, I didn't want to agitate her too much.
"She is training, you say?! That is no good, it is not!"
"Gaaah! I'm sorry!"
There was nothing I could do other than apologize in this case. Yae had
grabbed me by the scruff of my neck.
"Training, huh? That sounds like Yae's daughter alright..."
"Mhm. Can't say it doesn't make sense."
Linze and Elze quietly nodded toward each other.
"Hm? Wait, if Yakumo's the firstborn, then does that mean she's the goldrank?" Sue asked, reminding me of what Ende had told me earlier. Yakumo had
to be the girl who refused to get married to a man weaker than her.
If she was Yae's daughter, then she was probably trained by Moroha... She
could even be more of a swordplay junkie than her mom... Hell, maybe she was
even a beneficiary of Moroha's divinity... That was pure speculation on my part,
though.
"Wh-Wh-What should I do?! My daughter is traversing the past all alone, she
is!"
Yae was completely flustered. I could understand her feelings. She was flailing
around a couple of chicken skewers without even eating them.
"Calm yourself. Nothing will be achieved through anxiety, Yae," Moroha called
out to Yae, trying to settle her nerves. Yae rushed toward her, skewers in hand.
"I-Is it not dangerous to leave a child alone in a strange new world, is it not?!"
"Your kid's a gold-rank, right? She's gonna be okay. And how old were you
when you first started traveling?"
"I-I was thirteen years and a half when I left Eashen, I was..."
"See? And you turned out fine. Parents should trust in their children. They're
more capable than we know."
...Is that really a comparable situation? Sure, Yae was thirteen, but Yakumo's
only eleven. Plus, how can you trust in a kid you haven't even met?!
"If something bad happens, she'll be able to use [Gate] to return. And Tokie's
spirits will be keeping a watch out for her too."
"Tokie's spirits are the time spirits, right?"
I might have been the Celestial Spirit King, but the spirits still deferred to the
gods. And among the gods, I was a small fry. Naturally, Granny Tokie far
outclassed me in that regard. For spirits, the rule of obedience generally went
like this:
Every god that isn't me > Me (newbie god) > Pillar Spirits.
I had yet to meet a time spirit... But there were all kinds that I hadn't met yet.
"It's okay, she'll come back soon."
"Hehehe... Not even born yet and she's already worrying her folks."
Moroha's light commentary did little to calm Yae, who was knitting her brow
in thought. Personally, I felt she shouldn't overthink things.
It wasn't like I wasn't worried, either. I'd been trying to think of ways to use
[Search] to track her most of that afternoon. But when I searched for "Yae's
kid," I got a ton of hits, mostly around Eashen. Thus, it was way too broad. If we
were just going off looks alone, clearly there were a lot of kids in the world that
I could mistake for Yae's.
I asked Allis about using that kind of magic later on, and she said that all my
kids (and her) had talisman-like enchantments on their smartphones that
prevented them from being found by tracking spells. Just what was future me
thinking?!
"But to think Touya's first child is with Yae... I can't help but be envious," Lu
said as she let out a small, wistful sigh.
...C'mon, don't feel like that.
Usually, you adjusted to being a parent by going through pregnancy and
slowly preparing for it, but we'd just skipped the whole thing and gone straight
into knowing our kids were going to be born, then knowing they'd be hanging
out with us soon. It all felt rather surreal.
"I-I see... So my child is to be your first, she is... S-Somehow, that is... v-very
embarrassing, it is..." Yae's face turned bright red as she mumbled that and
tried to hide her expression.
Man... my wife's way too cute, what the hell?!
"But geez... Yae's daughter's eleven?! That means she's not much younger
than me..." Sue grumbled to herself. She was thirteen and had a bit of a
complex about her relative youth. Hopefully, Yakumo didn't look too much
older than her, that'd be unfortunate.
Hm... But that's right... Sue's close to her age and she's married to me... Does
that mean Yakumo might get engaged soon?
I thought probably not, on account of the whole strength requirement thing.
That was a little relieving.
I didn't know about the future, but in the present, the only gold-ranked
people were me and Hilde's grandpa, Galen.
Galen was incredibly powerful, but Yae and Hilde definitely outclassed him at
this point. I had a feeling that if Yakumo had Moroha's blessing, then she'd
probably be stronger than him.
There are no men who have any beneficiary divinity, and there are none on
the level of... Oh no. OH NO. There is one guy.
"What is wrong, Touya-dono?"
"Nothing, just... Yae. If our daughter ever takes an interest in Ende, let's kill
him."
"I am confused, I am!"
I just need to cover all my bases, since you never know for sure. It probably
won't happen, but I still have to be ready.
While I was thinking about stupid things, Sue seemed pretty fired up.
"Yae's daughter is our daughter too! I might only be two years older, but
that's no excuse! I'm gonna act more mature!"
"She's from the future, you know? She probably already knows a more
mature version of you, so you don't have to try so hard."
"That's even worse! It means I need to make sure she only knows the mature
side of me! So I'll... Uhm... what should I do, Yumina?" Sue suddenly turned to
ask Yumina a question. I personally didn't think there was much Sue could do.
Hell, Sue wasn't super childish, even. She was more naive, which I thought was
a charming aspect of her personality.
"Ways to appear more mature, eh? Hm... Leen, would you not know more
about this?" Yumina wisely passed the buck.
"Hm?" Leen, the eldest of my wives, set down her tea and turned to Sue.
...You don't have to imitate her motions all the time, Paula!
"Clothing would be easiest, I suppose. And hair? Usually, maturity is first
gleaned from outward appearance. Even just wearing something elegant can
give you a different air."
"Ohhh, I see! That's pretty simple, yeah!"
Leen had a point. Sue looked very different when she was wearing her fancy
dresses to formal events. But even then, she looked more cute or innocent than
particularly mature or glamorous.
Still, the type of dress was definitely something that mattered. Sue mostly
liked to wear pinks, yellows, and more vibrant colors. She'd probably look
mature in something more chic.
"Hey, Touya! Help me find some mature clothes!"
"Huh? I mean, sure... I guess?"
I wasn't the person to ask when it came to fashion, but at the very least, I
could consult my smartphone.
The clothing I projected into the air caught not just the attention of Sue, but
the other girls as well. I saved each image they were interested in, since we
could take them to Fashion King Zanac later to have them made into real
outfits.
Apparently, the girls had all taken Sue's words to heart, so they all wanted to
look their best to meet their kids. That was certainly a parental thing to do.
As the girls looked through their favorite outfits, I started thinking about my
own.
"..."
An imaginary voice floated into my head, saying, "Wow, Dad! You've been
wearing that same coat your entire life?!" It might have been a product of my
imagination, but it still stung!
There's nothing wrong with this coat! It's comfy! My clothes are enchanted so
they don't wear out, too! They're practical! Ugh... Maybe I could stand to mix up
my wardrobe a little...
Feeling some compelling force in the back of my mind, I grumbled my way
through a men's fashion catalog.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Yae? Yae!"
"Ah?! Wh-What is it, Hilde-dono?!"
"Oh, it's just... Your fried egg appears to be mostly soy sauce now..."
"Hm? Ah!"
Yae was so distracted that she'd poured a mountain of sauce onto her egg... It
was quite the sight.
She'd been like that all morning. In a half-daze, barely even paying attention
to her food. Sometimes she'd even smile to herself. I had a feeling I knew what
was going through her mind, though.
"Mm... Yae's a little dazed right now, isn't she?"
"A little? Can you blame her? If I were in her shoes, I'd be as well," Leen, who
was sitting next to me, spoke matter-of-factly. She sounded a little envious, all
things considered. I hoped she wasn't feeling too sore.
The feeling of my daughter being somewhere in the world was hard to
describe. It was like a mixture of things, really. I wasn't quite upset... but I was
worried. And at the same time, I was excited. It was... strange. And good.
Probably.
It was like wanting to do something, but not knowing what to do.
"Is this gonna happen to me eight more times?"
I'm gonna die of a heart attack before this is through.
"Are all of them going to take detours? Shouldn't they come straight here?"
"Well, Leen... if you were in their shoes, would you come straight to
Brunhild?"
Leen replied with a small grunt, jabbing her fork into a fried egg.
"I wouldn't, no... It would be a rare opportunity to visit the past, and as such,
I'd take a tour."
See? I bet my kid with Leen's gonna feel the same way. Kids take after their
parents, and I've got a bit of wanderlust myself.
"Still, to think Yae's child would be able to cast [Gate], of all things. I've heard
of parents and children who share an aptitude for Null spells, but no such
pairings that ever shared the exact same spells. I don't believe Null magic is
something you inherit."
It could easily just have been a coincidence. I was capable of Null magic, and if
my kid was capable of Null magic, then being able to cast [Gate] wasn't too
unreasonable, was it?
"Fairies are highly attuned to Null spells, right?"
"That's right. To my knowledge, no fairy exists without one."
"So it stands to reason that our kid would have Null spell aptitude, right?"
Leen was a fairy, which meant that our child would also be born a fairy. The
same went for Sakura. Our kid would no doubt come out the same species as
the overlord's lineage, since those traits took biological priority.
Plus, about ninety percent of all fairies born were girls, so it was very likely
that Leen and I were going to have a daughter.
"How long did it take for you to learn Null magic?"
"I can't say for sure, but I do remember using [Discovery] at around the age of
five."
[Discovery] was a spell that worked much like my [Search] spell. It wasn't
quite as efficient when it came to tracking, however.
I was amazed that Leen could cast something like that at the age of five. But if
anything, that meant our daughter would be more than capable of doing it.
"Hrmmm..."
"W-Well, I think maybe some of them will come right here. I could see Linze's
or Hilde's doing so."
Though actually, maybe not Linze's...? If I remember right, she's probably
Linne. And according to Allis' story, she seems a little mischievous.
I could barely taste my breakfast because I was so preoccupied. I felt a little
bit bad for Crea and Lu, since they'd put in so much work.
Yae, Hilde, and Elze headed off to the guild to do more quests. They'd already
reached silver-rank... so it was only a matter of time before they struck gold.
From an outside perspective, what they were doing might have seemed a little
silly, but I could understand their reasoning.
After breakfast, I tussled with paperwork before heading to the castle town
with Kohaku in tow. There wasn't much to do, really. If any of my more serious
kids had arrived, they'd no doubt come to Brunhild right away... And nobody
had shown up yet. Hell, if they were really good kids, they'd probably give me a
call.
Still, the time travel stuff was largely unreliable. If Granny Tokie was to be
believed, they could appear any time in the following months.
"Hm... It'll be weird to meet my kids."
"I look forward to it, my liege. Especially the young prince. I shall tend to him
as a personal bodyguard, worry not."
"Huh? Wait, what?!"
Kohaku went on to insist that it was only natural.
Apparently, Allis had told Kohaku that in the future, the heavenly beasts acted
as something like my son's personal entourage. That kind of felt like something
she could've told me sooner!
"Miss Allis spoke so casually that I only assumed you knew..."
Man, she really is Ende's kid. Blunder after blunder! Can't keep her mouth
shut.
Wait, if my son had bodyguards, did that mean he was really young? Yae's
daughter, Yakumo, was acting alone and it was clear that she was the oldest.
Some cultures consider it good luck to have a girl before a boy, but what if
there's a first, second, and third princess before the prince? It's rough being the
little bro...
We weren't blood-related, but I had two annoying older sisters. I couldn't
help but feel sympathy for my yet-unborn boy.
A group of kids was playing outside Olba's store, fooling around with the
capsule machines.
Wonder if my kids'll play like this too... I'm not sure I can picture them doing
regular kid stuff... They might be more inclined to wiping out Goblins, Orcs, or...
Hold on!
I narrowed my eyes when I recognized one of the children.
"Oh, hey, Duke!"
"Allis?!"
Allis was there, playing with a little toy she'd won from the machine.
"What're you doing here?! Where are Ende and the others?"
"I got my allowance, so I'm buying some stuff! Dad's doing guild work, and my
moms are shopping right over there."
Allowance? Uh... Aren't you a silver or gold rank adventurer? You should have
tons of cash to spare.
"All my money's in the future, and I can't join the guild now..."
"Oh... Have you heard anything from Yakumo?"
"Nope. When she gets focused on something, she doesn't stop focusing on it.
Frei gets really annoyed when she's like that."
"Frei?"
"Oops."
Allis had let another secret slip... She really was bad at this. Frankly, I worried
about her.
"Who's that? Is she one of my kids?"
"Hahaha... Yep, she is. Her name's Freigard, but everyone just calls her Frei for
short. She's like a big sis to me!"
"Freigard..."
My immediate guess was that she'd be my child with Hilde. Since her full
name was Hildegard and all. That made sense to me, at least. Allis said she was
like a big sister, so that meant she had to be older than six, but how much
older?
"Hey, can you—?"
Just as I was about to ask for more information, Allis received a phone call.
Oho! Is that Yakumo?!
"Hello? Oh, okay. Coming back."
Allis cut the call short. That was fast.
"It was mom. I gotta go back with her now, see ya!" Allis said as she trotted
off, ever-merry.
"Away she goes, my liege."
"Mhm... Away she goes..."
I wondered if my kids from the future even had my phone number... I might
have changed it. They'd probably call Allis first and foremost, though. Just to
check on her.
I shrugged my shoulders, turned away from the Strand store, and carried on
my way.
"Hm? Your Highness?"
"Oh, Lanz. What's up?"
I looked up toward the source of the voice and saw one of our knights. It was
Lanz. He wasn't wearing his armor, which meant it was probably his day off. He
held a bouquet in his hands for some reason or other, which piqued my
interest.
"Heh... Off to see Micah, are we?"
"Huh?! I-I'm... Ahem... Y-Yes," Lanz nodded as he said that, a faint flush
forming on his cheeks. He and Micah, the owner of the Silver Moon Inn, had
recently started dating.
Apparently, the catalyst had been the bouquet toss at my wedding. Karen had
said that any single man who caught the bouquet should present it to the girl he
liked... and Lanz happened to catch one. Surely by coincidence and not my
sister's design.
Micah was so happy to receive the bouquet from him that they made things
official shortly after. She was quite a popular girl, though, so the news broke
many hearts among the knight order. But perhaps no man was more shaken by
the event than Dolan, Micah's dad. He did sort of come around to the idea,
though.
Lanz was from a good lineage. He was a noble knight and had a great
personality. Also, he was fairly handsome. It was hard for Dolan to write him off
entirely.
"Glad things are working out for you two. Wedding bells in the future,
maybe?"
"Oh, not until I'm a fully-fledged knight at least. I want to work harder,
enough to support Micah for the rest of her life..."
The man was crazy dedicated, you had to hand him that. A lot of Lestian men
had those ideals. Hilde even had those ideals as a woman, and her brother, King
Reinhard, was no different. Their grandfather Galen, on the other hand, was
apparently not raised in Lestia to begin with, which explained a lot.
I believed everything Lanz had to say. He was dead serious about his
intentions.
Since I was just walking with no real destination, I decided to tag along with
Lanz for a bit. We entered the Silver Moon and were immediately greeted by
Micah.
"Welcome! A-Ah, you're here!"
"Y-Yes. I'm free today, you see. S-So, uh... please take this! It might brighten
up the room?"
"O-Oh! Thank you," Micah said that and smiled warmly as Lanz passed her the
bouquet. The two of them were in their own little world.
...I'm here too, you know? I literally rule this country? Saved the world? Got
some giant robots? No? Nothing?
"Oh, Touya. When did you get here?"
"Ghhh..."
The two of them had been close even before their relationship was official, so
it was no surprise to see them acting this way. I wasn't exactly going to try and
rain on their parade, either.
"Hm? Nothing to do? Well, you haven't been here much lately, so why not
stick around?"
"Mmm... Guess I could."
I couldn't exactly say that I was aimlessly wandering, hoping to receive a
phone call from my yet-unborn children, so I just gave a vague excuse.
The Silver Moon was technically owned by Brunhild's government, but Micah
served as the manager. I used to visit often to eat at the place, but ever since I
got married, Lu got way more into the home-cooking thing, so I hadn't actually
stopped by in a while.
"It's almost lunch, so I can't do too much, but do you want anything to eat?"
"Nah, I'll just have lunch back at the castle. But could you get me and Kohaku
some fruity water?"
"No prob!" Micah said that, then merrily hummed a tune to herself as she
took her bouquet into the kitchen with her. She was head over heels in love, it
seemed.
Lanz had been pining for her ever since he came to Brunhild, and Micah just
seemed completely oblivious. I was glad it had all worked out.
"Hmhm..."
It was early in the afternoon, but the cafeteria was bustling. That was good
for business, but I wondered if Micah was okay serving so many people so
often.
"After your wedding, we started getting a lot more international travel. Plus,
the food here's great, so obviously people were gonna stop by! Micah's stuff is
the best, right?"
"Uh-huh. I get it, you're in love," I quietly muttered as I sat in the corner with
Lanz. I was wearing a hood to obscure my identity, and thankfully, it was also
obscuring my annoyed expression. There were also plants in this corner of the
room, so it was a little more secluded.
Merchants, travelers, and more roguish-looking individuals were spread out
all across the cafeteria. There were a variety of races, too. Humans, beastmen,
dwarves, elves, and even a few draconic folks as well.
A young waitress was nimbly making her way between tables. I'd never seen
her before. She was presumably a new hire. Micah managed every aspect of the
inn, so I didn't have any hand in the hiring process. I generally trusted her word
as far as employees went, so there was nothing to worry about.
"Here's your fruity water! And one for you, Kohaku."
Micah smiled as she brought over a tray with a bowl, a glass, and a jug of
fruit-filled water. It was ice-cold. I felt hydrated just looking at it.
"Who's the new girl?"
"Oh, her? I hired her a few days ago. She said she's on her way to see her
family, but she doesn't have any money, so she's staying here temporarily and
working to pay her board."
That sounded tough. I glanced over at the waitress, who was rushing all over
the place. She seemed to be in her early twenties, which put her at a similar age
to Micah.
"Have you decided what you want yet, Lanz? I'd suggest the teriyaki chicken
set."
"S-Sounds good!"
"Okay! Thanks!"
Micah spun on her heel and headed off to the kitchen once more. She
seemed really happy. Frankly, I thought Lanz could propose right that moment
and she'd say yes. It wasn't my place to interfere, though.
"Hm?"
I felt a strange presence staring at me, so I turned around and... noticed the
waitress from earlier.
Stare...
Staaaaaare...
Staaaaaaaaare...
Staaaaaaaaaaaare...
Something about the situation felt oddly familiar. What was she looking at me
like that for? Was there something on my face? Could she even see my face? I
was wearing the hood... but did she recognize me as the grand duke? Maybe
Micah had told her? I tried looking away from her, but she trotted on over and
got up in my face.
"You're Mochizuki Touya, right?"
"Uh, yeah...?"
She knows me, maybe? I sure don't recognize her.
The waitress let out a little laugh when she noticed my visible confusion.
"Don't you know me?"
"Huh?"
Do I? Who is she? I don't know anyone like her... Uh... Maybe my memory's
just acting up?"
"My liege, this girl's entire body is cloaked in strange magic."
"Huh?!"
Kohaku's telepathic warning caused me to shoot up out of my seat. Upon
closer inspection, I saw it too. A thin veil of magic coated her form. It was magic
designed to conceal, like my [Mirage] spell!
"Who are you?"
"My name's Quun. This is not the first time I've met you, Father. But it's nice
to meet you all the same."
"...Hwhuh?"
The magic around the girl's body began to waft away like cotton candy in the
breeze on a hot summer's day.
...I knew it... This IS [Mirage]!
When the spell finally dissipated, the waitress was no more. What stood in
her place was a young girl who looked to be around ten. She wore a white
princess blouse and a black gothic lolita dress atop it. She had long silvery hair
tied up in two tails, and her golden eyes flickered with a mischievous glint.
However, the most eye-catching detail was her little semi-transparent wings
that fluttered idly behind her.
A fairy... No way... Then she's...
"Pffft... Hahahaha!"
As I was trying to process what had just happened, the girl who called herself
Quun began laughing uncontrollably.
"Your face, Father! Hahahaha! W-Worth every minute! Hahaha! Oh, I'm glad I
came straight here! Hahahahahaa!"
"Er, what?"
She was hugging her stomach from laughing so hard.
"Um...?"
"Pffft... W-Wait a sec, lemme take a snapshot!" Quun said as she pulled a
smartphone out from one of her sleeves and took a candid shot of my
perplexed face.
The hell?
"Hahaha! How comical! I'll have to show this to Mother when I get home.
What a fine souvenir!"
"W-Wait a second! What'd you mean just now? You're... Are you, uh...?"
"Hm? Do I need to introduce myself again?" Quun asked as she stepped back,
gently plucking at the hem of her skirt. She bowed her head then did a little
curtsy.
"It's nice to meet you, Father. I am the daughter of Mochizuki Touya and his
wife, Leen. My name is Quun, court mage of the Duchy of Brunhild. Let's work
together well going forward, shall we?"
Her mischievous eyes stared right through me.
I knew it! She's Leen's kid! She's just like her, too! Right down to how much of
a bully she can be...
"Er, Your Highness? What did she mean by father?" Lanz asked, looking
absolutely stupefied.
"Oh... Crap."
"Hm? You must have misheard. I said big brother! We're distant relatives who
knew each other as children! We had a familial relationship."
"Oh, really? That certainly makes sense! His Highness here is capable of
transforming, much like you just did."
"Oh, is he now? Not causing too much mischief, I hope," Quun snickered
quietly as she spoke.
I don't use my spells for pranks, dammit! Did she seriously use [Mirage] and
come work here just so she could tease me?
My daughter laughed even harder when she saw how frustrated I seemed.
"We'll talk more after my shift. Later, Big Bro!"
She clad herself in magic once more, taking the form of an unassuming
waitress. Then, she vanished into the kitchen as if nothing had happened.
I was completely and utterly taken aback by what had just transpired. I never
expected to be so thoroughly made a fool of by one of my kids.
◇ ◇ ◇
"I'm beyond words, really."
"Yes, that sounds about right. It's rather funny though, isn't it? I thought you
might get a kick out of it, Mother."
"...I can't deny that."
Well... could you maybe deny it anyway?
Leen and Quun were talking. They looked like sisters no matter how you cut
it. Paula was standing by their feet, spinning around in a circle and glancing at
them both. She was definitely freaking out.
"I didn't think that Leen's child would be the first to show up..."
"They look quite similar."
"Oh... Where is my daughter, where is she...?"
Yumina and Lu talked amongst themselves as they watched the mother and
daughter pair. Yae, on the other hand, simply despaired. I could get where she
was coming from.
"I didn't think I'd be the first, though. Have the others not arrived yet?"
"Allis is here, as is Yakumo. But the latter went off on her own and hasn't
shown her face in Brunhild yet..."
"That's very like my elder sister. I will have to speak with Allis soon."
Elder sister... Man, it's kinda weird hearing it like that. Leen and Yae's kids are
sisters through me... Oh, right. I forgot to ask.
"How old are you, Quun?"
"I'm ten, Father. I am the thirdborn, at that."
"The thirdborn... So Yakumo's the oldest... Is my second child called Frei,
perhaps?"
"Oh, so you already know of Frei? That must have been Allis' doing... She talks
too much for her own good."
She's pretty careless, yeah. But that's good for us, since it means more info!
"Frei...? Who?" Sakura had been keenly following our conversation, and she
finally spoke up. I wasn't sure if she meant who like "who was she" or "whose
child was she."
"My sister Freigard is the secondborn of our family. Her birth mother is Hilde,
of course."
"M-My daughter?!" Hilde's voice grew louder as she walked toward Quun.
That meant my eldest child was Yakumo, then came Frei, then came Quun.
"P-Please tell me, Quun. Is my daughter an admirable knight?!"
Quun seemed rather taken aback by Hilde's frantic questioning.
Calm down, or else we might get in trouble with Tokie...
"Er, well... It would be biased of me to make that kind of statement. But she's
certainly a diligent knight! If not a touch... eccentric?"
"Huh? What does that mean?"
"Well, she's... No, I shouldn't. I think it'll be more interesting if you see for
yourself."
...Damn it. Not this again. I don't want any more surprises!
That sly little grin on my daughter's face all but confirmed my hunch that she
was just as much a sadist as her mother.
"By the way, Quun. You can use [Mirage], yes?"
"That's correct, Mother. I can use a total of four Null spells."
A whole four, huh? That's the same as Leen. Seems like fairies are just as
compatible with Null spells as I figured.
"All of my siblings know at least one Null spell, of course."
"Wait, seriously?!"
They've all got Null aptitude?! That's crazy! Guess it's not super surprising
though, since Yakumo can use [Gate].
"As I'd thought. This must be the result of our darling's lineage..."
"Hrm... Maybe..."
According to God Almighty, my kids would be something like demi-gods. But
they wouldn't be able to tap into divinity, and for all intents and purposes,
they'd still be mortal. I never heard anything about them having special
abilities, though... Just the potential of longer-than-average lifespans.
That said... if they were going to be raised in a place with so many literal gods
hanging around, they were probably going to be on the receiving end of half a
dozen different blends of divinity.
I wasn't sure if they'd awaken as full beneficiaries like Yumina and the rest,
but it stood to reason that they'd be on the same level as them... Perhaps even
surpassing them? As I pondered, Quun turned to me.
"Actually, Father. I need to ascend."
"You need to what now?"
"Ascend. To Babylon. I know I can access it from the warp room in the castle,
but obviously, I need clearance."
Oh, she knows about Babylon? Wait, I mean... of course she does.
There was a room in the castle that allowed you to teleport right up to the
floating isle, but you could only do so with the right clearance.
Thus, Quun, who had only just arrived here, needed me to grant it to her.
But what does she want in Babylon?
"I may look like this, but I'm quite dedicated to magical technology. Babylon's
well equipped with that kind of tech, so I'd like to give it a look over and
compare what we have in our respective eras."
"Huh?!"
That's shocking. I thought you'd be into magic like Leen, but you're into magic
tech?
To someone fond of Gollems and artifacts, Babylon was probably like a
treasure trove. That was probably why she came straight to Brunhild.
"My Null spells other than [Mirage] are [Modeling], [Enchant], and
[Program]. They're well suited to magitech and engineering, are they not?"
That was certainly true. Those spells were just about the perfect kit for it,
really. With those skills, you could probably craft just about anything.
"Oh, here. Let me show you some of my work," Quun said as she pulled a
small card from her sleeve. It looked like a storage card from the Reverse
World. She shook the card, and something large fell out of it.
"Awaken."
"What the—?!"
The small bipedal thing was about fifty centimeters tall. It was made of metal
and stood tall upon Quun's order. It was some kind of Gollem, but it was the
appearance that surprised me the most. A rounded face. Round ears. Stubby
limbs, round eyes... and a little ribbon about its neck.
I couldn't help but glance at the teddy bear by Leen's feet. She was frozen in
shock at what she was staring at.
The metal Gollem in front of me was the spitting image of Paula.
"M-Mechapaula...?"
"Its name is Parla. Give them a wave."
Parla, the robot that looked just like Paula, raised a hand into the air. Its
movements were surprisingly fluid.
"Is this a Gollem?"
"Yes. The base is a broken legacy Gollem, along with a scavenged G-Cube and
Q-Crystal. It has no functional Gollem skills, but it has some uses all the same."
Paula stood opposite Parla, and the two of them moved like mirror images.
When Paula raised her left hand, Parla raised its right. When Paula jumped to
the side, so too did Parla. When Paula began to moonwalk... Wait... when did
Paula learn how to moonwalk?
"Well, Mother? What do you think?"
"I think it's incredible. It took me two hundred years to develop Paula... It may
be a Gollem, but it's certainly impressive."
"...Hehe," Quun chuckled and smiled from ear to ear after hearing Leen's
words of praise. Her smiling face was as cute as her mother's too. Leen smiled
right back and gently stroked her daughter's hair. It was a heartwarming sight
to be sure.
The weird little bears engaging in a dance-off at their feet kind of ruined the
tender moment, though.
"Did Elluka teach you about Gollems?"
"That's right. And Doctor Babylon as well. I work with them as somewhat of a
lab assistant. Though it's minor work at best, really."
Don't downplay yourself, kid. I can use all those spells you can, but I sure as
hell couldn't create my own Gollem.
"So, is it fine, Father? Can I visit Babylon?" Quun grabbed my arm and
practically pleaded.
"Hrm..."
Damn it... Why's she so cute?
I was mostly wondering if it would be okay sending my kid to those weirdos
up there... I didn't want them teaching her anything weird. But if she was
already studying under them in the future, then it was probably too late for
that. Just what was future me thinking, honestly? He'd made some
questionable decisions.
"Okay, sure. I'll take you."
"Thank you, Father!" Quun exclaimed. Then, she smiled and gave me a big
hug.
...Th-This is dangerous. She's way too cute. Oh man, I'm not built for this.
In that moment, I understood Ende's feelings as a father, and I absolutely
hated that I did. It felt as though I'd do just about anything for my daughter,
that I couldn't resist.
I couldn't help but notice that grin on Quun's face, though... As she looked up,
Leen cut in and just about yanked us apart.
Whoa!
"...That's quite enough, darling. You've places to be, no?"
"Aha, Mother... Are you jealous, perhaps?"
"...Don't be absurd. Or shall I ban you from visiting Babylon?"
"Nooo..." Quun bellowed. Then, she pouted slightly and stuck out her tongue.
Their relationship certainly seemed like a fun one, at least.
It was weird, though. Even though Quun had only just arrived, she felt like
family immediately. As if we'd known each other for a long time.
"What a nice family scene..."
"Hrmph... Must be nice, being part of a family..."
I could feel Lu and Sue glaring daggers into my back.
Whoops... I better behave myself.
◇ ◇ ◇
"I see... So you're Touya and Leen's daughter. And a pupil of mine and
Elluka's, hm?"
"Not formally, but I have been learning under you. I also maintain the Knight
Gollems of Brunhild."
"Knight Gollems?" Leen asked, seeming curious. I was curious as well. I knew
about Soldat Gollems, but I hadn't ever heard of Knight Gollems.
"They're a specialized type of Gollem deployed around Brunhild in the future.
They're a subdivision of your knight order commanded by Yumina's Albus."
Albus? So the white crown? It's the captain of a knight order subdivision in the
future?
"Hm... A peacekeeping force of Gollems, you say? I'd be lying if I said I hadn't
thought about it. In fact, Regina and I had been discussing that very idea
recently."
"Seems to me like we were on the right track, then. Let's move forward with
the plan. We can start with what we discussed the last time."
"Hm... But if we replicated G-Cubes in that manner, then..."
The two girls started discussing a bunch of scientific crap that I had no interest
in. I didn't like the grins on either of their faces, though. They didn't look
anything other than evil when they got like that.
"Seems they're the same as ever even in the past."
"So they didn't change at all?"
I kind of knew these two were incapable of improving, unfortunately.
Hopefully, they didn't cause any more trouble in the future at least. That was
the best I case scenario, it seemed.
"Ahhh! M-Master! Master! C-Can I hug that little girl, please?!"
"Denied. No."
"I will end you."
Leen and I both replied at the same time, in our own ways.
We were in the research laboratory, which meant we had to deal with
Atlantica and her heavy breathing.
Please keep away from my child. I feel like your obedience protocol's the only
thing stopping you from molesting her. You're not getting your hands on my
daughter!
Quun didn't seem all that disturbed. She simply let out a small sigh and shook
her head.
"She's the same too, I see..."
"Ugh... So you've met her, then?"
It would seem that Quun had met Tica before, which made sense if she visited
Babylon every now and then. As a parent, I had obvious concerns about that.
I furrowed my brow slightly, only to be distracted by my daughter tugging at
my coat sleeve.
"Father, I'd like to visit the hangar. That's where your Frame Gears are, yes?"
"Hm? Yeah, why?"
The mischief in Quun's eyes had been pushed aside by bristling curiosity. It
was almost cruel how cute she could be.
I didn't know she'd be interested in our Frame Gears as well. But all of those
were kept in the hangar, since Monica and Rosetta were in charge of
maintaining them there.
Leen and I shrugged and headed over to the hangar with Quun, who seemed
just about ready to sprint there. She was very excited for some reason.
We crossed the research laboratory, the storehouse, and finally made it to
the hangar. Quun was so cheerful the whole way, which definitely hammered
her age in.
"Woooooow!"
Her eyes were positively sparkling as she looked over the hangar's interior.
Like I said... way too cute.
She toddled down the halls, looking at each and every Frame Gear. The
unique ones were included in that, like Valkyries and my Reginleif. Leen's
Grimgerde was there, too.
"Oh, it's Ms. Leen and Master, sir! Oh, is that one of your future children?"
"Wow, she like... totally looks just like Leen. Most interesting."
Rosetta and Monica descended from a nearby crane platform.
The Babylon gynoids were capable of sharing information wirelessly. It was a
sort of hivemind. They probably learned about Quun from Tica.
"We've met in the future, but nice to meet you in the past! I'm Quun."
My daughter smiled as she greeted the two gynoids. I felt a little proud as a
father. She was a very polite girl. Leen smiled and nodded by my side, so she
probably felt the same way.
"It's amazing seeing so many Frame Gears. I'm so excited, really."
"Hm? Are there no Frame Gears in the future, ma'am? Nossir, that can't be
the case. Did you just never see them?" Monica questioned Quun's excitation. It
was a fair question. If the girl had been in and out of Babylon before, surely this
couldn't have been her first time seeing our mechs.
"Many of these Frame Gears have been reconstructed and refurbished in my
era. I never thought I'd get to see the original forms of my mothers' Valkyrie
Gears. It's fascinating."
"Oh, that makes sense. I completely understand, ma'am!"
You do? Because I don't really get it. Aren't the new robots better? What's so
good about seeing the old models?
"It's okay not to understand, Father. But when you're passionate about
something, you want to see all sides of it. Like the time you told me how excited
mother got when she learned about the library for the very first time."
"...Darling... Just what are you telling our daughter?"
"Gwuh?! N-Nothing! I haven't done anything yet! Owww!"
Leen made a frightening smile as she yanked my ear.
I know it was me, but it was future me! Don't blame me yet!
"My, you two certainly seem close. Would it be alright if I left you lovebirds be
and went to speak with Monica and Rosetta? If that's fine with them, at least."
"We'd like... totally appreciate your company and stuff. It's not a problem at
all."
Quun hopped onto the crane platform and ascended along with Parla.
Leen, my ear's starting to go numb. Please.
"Good grief... What kind of girl so readily mocks her parents?" Leen muttered
quietly as she released my ear. I was simply glad to be free of the pain.
As for her complaints, we were the ones who raised that girl... I had no doubt
we'd had a lot of influence on her. She was extremely similar to Leen in a lot of
ways. She didn't compromise when it came to her interests, she was a risktaker, and she clearly had no problem tormenting others. I wondered how she
resembled me, though...
"You're similar in that you both do as you please."
"That's a little rude!"
Don't say that...
I wondered if that meant she was the most headstrong and self-indulgent of
all my kids... I looked up at Quun, who was merrily chatting about Frame Gears
with the gynoids. She looked really happy.
"Hm... Come to think of it, she's ranked at gold or silver as well, no? I wonder
if she joined the guild in order to obtain rare materials for her work."
Oh, good point. I'd forgotten about that.
I wondered if that meant Quun was especially strong, too... If she was, I
wondered if her power came from technology or magic. Her spells certainly
didn't seem suited for combat, at least.
We stood there for a time, quietly gazing up at our daughter.
"Never did I think I'd meet my child before even falling pregnant... But I
suppose you can live six hundred years and still be surprised."
That was understating it. Leen and Sakura's kids would have longer lifespans
than their siblings. If they weren't careful, they could be stuck serving Brunhild
for a very long time indeed... Not that I was keen for them to die sooner or
anything. I planned to go into hiding in Babylon at about the right time for me
to die. That would hide the fact that I was basically immortal. Then, after that,
I'd transition to the divine realm. Obviously, I'd take my wives with me. But my
kids, I'd leave behind.
I don't want my kids to live as immortal beneficiaries. I want them to lead
happy, mortal lives with families of their own. And when they eventually die, I
can see them again in the world beyond... Heh... I might look younger than
them, though... Geez...
"...Are you okay, darling?"
"...Yeah. Just thinking about how I want to stay close to you, Leen..."
"I'll be right here. Always. Whether you become a full god or not. I promise.
I'll never leave you behind, okay?"
"...Thanks."
I gave Leen a big hug and a little smooch on the lips. At that exact moment, I
heard the sound of a camera shutter go off. I glared upward at my wicked
daughter.
"Oh my! It seems my mother's rather daring! What a happy couple you are...
That's reassuring for me, all things considered!"
"...As a mother, I can't abide this. You've definitely raised her wrong, darling."
...On the contrary, I think we might have raised her right. She's more like you
than you seem to realize.
I didn't say that, of course. Instead, I simply squeezed Leen's body against
mine and chuckled.
Just what does the future have in store for me?