Chapter 14

Part 1

I thought we should go for a family vacation.

The children are steadily growing up.

Lucy has grown accustomed to the Magic University.

Lara doesn’t really like to study, but she’s still plenty energetic.

Ars is somewhat wild like Eris but he’s quite diligent in what he does, and he’s not one to pick on those smaller than him, so he should be fine.

Sieg is still quite small and he’s still a crybaby, but since he started being trained by a certain someone, he’s gotten somewhat stronger.

Lilly and Chris are still young, but they’ve recently graduated from breast milk and have begun their education.

There’s not yet a seventh, but the 6 of them are still young children.

Everyday is lively and the problems never stop.

That said, Lara and Ars have begun to go to school, and Sieg and Lilly have begun to walk, so after all of them began their studies, things have quieted down somewhat.

There’s no signs that Hitogami might be plotting something.

The truly peaceful days have continued.

So that might be why.

Why I thought that it might be time to show the children the world outside of the Magic City Sharia.

I wonder why I suddenly thought that.

Maybe because that night was particularly lively.

Lucy was keeping to herself.

Lara was playing with her food.

Ars was being picky.

Sieg was stuffing his cheeks.

Lilly was cutely sipping her soup while dirtying her bib.

And Chris was on my lap with her mouth open wide waiting for her next bite of food.

As well as three wives, one little sister and two mothers.

It was lively dinner table.

But it’s not just dinner time, lately the house is always lively.

But that’s a given.

With 6 children there’s no way it wouldn’t be.

Ars and Lara are rascals that love to cause trouble.

Lily and Chris, maybe because they’re the same age, often get into loud fights.

Lucy has it together and Sieg is rather docile, but that doesn’t mean they’re always quiet.

The noise never dies down.

So that’s when I thought:

As long as we have the chance.

I have no idea what will happen when the children grow up.

I might be somewhere fighting someone with Orsted, or some of them might have left Sharia.

When they get older, they’ll be going to School in the Asura Empire for three years, so they might settle down there.

Or they might even decide to leave the house by themselves before that.

Paul also fought with his father and left.

Something similar might happen to me.

Hitogami also has it in for me, so there are plenty of times that he could interfere.

But children never do exactly as they’re told.

Lara doesn’t like studying or training so she often runs away.

But that’s fine.

In any case, that’s what I thought.

That the children won't all be together forever.

That’s why, we should take a family vacation while we can.

Part 2

Of course, it’s not as if we’ll be circ.u.mnavigating the world.

For about a month we’ll visit some people we haven’t seen in a while and show the kids something different.

Nothing too adventurous.

So with that said, the destination is the Millis Continent.

The plan is as follows:

First we use the Teleport Magic Formation to transfer to the Holy Millis Kingdom.

There we’ll stay there for about 10 days.

The first half will be with Zenith’s parents and Cliff and the church.

After that is a field trip to the Adventurers Guild HQ, the Magic Tower, and other places the city is famous for.

Next is a trip by carriage along the Holy Sword Highway for a quick stop off at the Great Forest.

Then a visit to the hot springs in the Azure Dragon Mountain range.

And finally we return home via the Teleport circle around there.

And while we’re there I’ll make contact with the Ore G.o.d that I had put off meeting up till now.

It should go something like that.

We’ve already discussed it as a family and have been planning for half a year.

Roxy has her job as a teacher after all, and I had to consult Orsted as the company president.

The kids also have their studies, everyone has plans.

That said, the entire family had agreed.

Lucy especially, she may have gotten the idea when we visited the Asura Empire before, when she heard that we’re going on a trip she was really excited.

I already asked Elinalise if she wanted to come along and she made her feelings rather apparent.

She was quite happy to have an excuse.

She goes to see Cliff a number of times throughout the year, but she would much rather be with him all the time.

Cliff also wants to move up the ranks faster so he can bring Elinalise and Clive to him, but the Millis Church’s power struggles seem like quite the ordeal.

And since we’re going to be visiting the Latrea house, Zenith and Lilia are coming too.

I’d like to have the Miko tell me what she’s been thinking again.

Lara can apparently converse with her, but she doesn’t talk about it all that much.

Whenever I ask her, she just looks like it’s a pain.

At her age she might not understand the importance.

Leaving Lara aside, although it may be personal business, the Miko and Pope are Millis officials so I did make appointments to meet with them, so there’s a good chance I’ll be able to see her.

This time I’ve also asked Norn to come.

I promised Claire I would last time after all.

No, I don’t think I promised.

In any case, I decided it would be better to take her along while she’s still in the happy aftermath of her marriage.

And I’ve already conveyed the fact that she’s married.

No matter who the recipient is, my words will not waver. Including the fact that he’s from a Magic Race.

I still haven’t gotten a response, she might be mad.

She might just be pretending she didn’t hear.

But, it’s probably a matter of race.

At first Norn refused on the grounds that her child was still young.

Maybe because Sperd children mature fast but, Norn’s daughter Luicelia was already off breast milk and had all her teeth. Her hair is green like her father and she’s just started taking steps swinging around her cute tail, but she had yet to open her eye.

But Ruijerd said something to her.

“I’ll look after Luicelia. You should go.”

“But…”

“You have to treasure your family.”

And so Norn listened to those words heavy with emotion.

It seemed like Ruijerd wanted to go himself.

“Although I am somewhat oblivious to Human customs, a greeting is at least necessary,” he said.

But bringing along both a baby and a Sperd along on a month long trip would be a little difficult.

Although we could put a hat on them like Sieg, we can’t hide the tail, and it’s not just the green hair, but a real Sperd…

There’s no way we wouldn’t create a ruckus wherever we went.

And there’s also Ruijerd’s a.s.signment from the Beheilil Kingdom.

And so, although he was somewhat downtrodden, he sent Norn off.

“I understand. But I’m only going to greet them. I won’t be going to the hot springs, I’ll be returning home.”

“You don’t have to leave, Just take your time.”

“I want to be together with Ruijerd-san and Luicelia.”

And so, Norn, while bragging as such, agreed to come along.

I’ve left Zan.o.ba and a few members of the Mercenary corps to house sit.

Beet and Jiro are home, but just in case.

I’d be troubled if we got robbed and there’s also the care of the vegetable garden.

So that’s what our travel plans look like.

It’s somewhat roundabout, but sticking to a strict schedule isn’t as fun.

About this much is perfect.

Part 3

It’s been half a year since then.

It’s snowing as always in Magic City Sharia

We called a carriage and we’re now riding through the snow laden city towards the office.

After giving our greetings to Orsted we went through the teleport formation to Milis.h.i.+on.

The other end of the teleport circle comes out in a secret hideout in Milis.h.i.+on.

And all of a sudden we’re in the Millis continent.

I never strongly felt like I wanted to take a trip.

But since it was possible, I would have liked to take a formation leading to outside the city so we could see it from there.

Witnessing the gargantuan towers, the excitement of walking through the ma.s.sive ramparts, it’s something that has to be experienced.

That said, when we go outside to sightsee, we’ll be able to do that then.

There’s no rush.

After getting on the carriage I had prepared there earlier, we headed straight towards the Latrea house.

We have 14 people, 15 including me.

Taking that into account, I prepared 2 large carriages.

The first is me, Roxy, Zenith, Lilia, Lara, Chris and Leo.

The second is, Sylphy, Eris, Lucy, Ars, Sieg, Lily, Aisha and Norn.

We had already bid Elinalise and Clive a temporary farewell and the two headed straight for Cliff.

The kids were quite excited to be traveling for the first time, it took some time for their mothers to calm them down.

Lara seemed especially excited by the Milis.h.i.+on scenery.

It was rather surprising considering her usually unimpressed demeanour.

“Lara, don’t lean out the window.”

“…Ok.”

Every now and then she’ll start leaning forwards before Roxy tells her to sit back down.

But she still places her head out the window to look around.

I’m worried that she’ll suddenly fall out, but Leo is holding onto her clothes so she should be fine.

“…Mama, when we get closer, there are colours everywhere.”

“Milis.h.i.+on is home to many famous designers and they create many kinds of clothes aimed towards commoners, everybody here likes to dress up.”

“Even though it’s winter, there’s no snow, it’s not even cold.”

“Around here, snow doesn’t fall that often.

And when the season comes around, it rains heavily.

But that huge tower keeps it at a fixed level so the city never floods.”

Hearing Roxy explain things to Lara like that is quite calming.

Seeing the two like this just emphasises their resemblance.

She’s almost like a Mini-Roxy.

“Papa, I’m hungry.”

Chris is always happy on my lap.

It’s just, maybe because she’s scared of the outside, or she doesn’t like the shaking of the carriage, she’s been gripping my sleeve the whole time.

But if I pull it off, she’ll probably start crying.

“We’ll eat at great-grandmother’s house, so just wait till then ok?”

“K.”

My words go over smoothly with Chris.

Were it one of her mothers who said so, she would most likely have thrown a tantrum saying she wanted to eat right now.

Sylphy and the others might not like it, but when Chris is around it gives me a sense of superiority.

But when she grabs my hand like that and rubs it on her stomach, it makes me want to go buy her something.

Hey, you, stallkeep over there. Give me your most delicious apple, huh? You don’t know which one is the most delicious? Then I guess I’ll take them all. Don’t worry. Whatever’s left will be a gift to the Latrea house. Now I kinda want to say it.

Oh right, I brought a bunch of greeting gifts for the Latrea house, but I wonder if Claire will like any?

She wont say something like “I don't want such low cla.s.s filth in my house,” right?

She wouldn’t be so rude as to say it right?

While thinking that, I suddenly noticed that Lilia looked rather stiff.

“…Lilia-san, what’s the matter?”

“I’m feeling somewhat uneasy.”

“About what?”

“Claire-sama.”

There’s one major obstacle to overcome on this trip.

My grandmother, Claire Latrea.

That obstinate grandmother, when she heard that we’d be staying in Millis, immediately offered to house us.

I’m glad I haven’t replied.

Just giving a greeting and not staying at the house was also an option.

When I think about the way she treated Norn, Aisha and Lilia in the past, it makes me uneasy.

But I’m not outright against the old lady’s suggestion.

Claire has one fatal weakness, that’s my adorable children. I don’t think it would be impossible to spend a few days quietly.

So that said, first we should just go check it out and say h.e.l.lo.

And if it seems like it won't work, we can just go stay at an inn.

We came to this conclusion at a family meeting.

Even so, Lilia was still called all kinds of things last time she was here.

So it’s not unusual thinking that she might hear it again would make her uneasy

“Claire-san may say those kinds of things, but she is thinking of us. Her thinking may be somewhat inflexible though… But if it comes down to it, you can always just stay behind me.”

“No, it’s not about me.”

Lilia’s gaze moves towards Roxy and Lara.

Right this time, Roxy and Lara, in other words, Magic race descendants, are coming.

And Norn also married someone from a Magic race.

And I’ve also brought all three of my wives this time.

And Claire is an adherent Millis believer from the Demon expulsion faction.

She had previously said that she wouldn’t interfere but that was years ago.

People tend to forget small promises over time.

Of course, Roxy has already taken that into consideration.

During the family meeting she had said “There’s no problem”.

“Lara and Lily may have a somewhat hard time with it, but they already know to some extent that Demons living among humans get that kind of treatment.”

Is what she said.

Norn is also prepared for anything she might say.

I’m not worried about any name calling there might be, but I’m scared that if she says something that upsets Lara that she’ll do something weird.

I’m scared of her pranks.

Her victims have no limits.

“It will be fine Lilia-san.”

Roxy said that.

“If it’s not, then we just won’t go in at all.”

“Is that the case?”

I also have my doubts.

It’s not that I don’t trust Claire.

She did invite us after all.

I think inviting us over just to insult us would be against n.o.ble etiquette. Although I don’t know what kind of etiquette they follow in Millis.

But I still don’t think they’d invite us over from such a long distance away just to kick us out.

It’s just that, although it goes against common sense, you don’t know what someone might do when something they don’t like is right in front of them.

“…”

Zenith grabbed Lilia’s hand.

She didn’t say anything, but the meaning was conveyed.

I tapped on Lara’s shoulder.

“Obaa-chan what was that?”

Lara looked at me like it was a bother and then at Zenith, and then back at me and said:

“…Great-grandmother just worries a lot, it’ll be fine, she says.”

“Thanks.”

For once she actually pa.s.sed on the message.

Well if that’s what Zenith says, then surely it will be fine.

Part 4

The reception at the manor was welcoming.

The maid was full of smiles and the butler was polite.

At the very least it was more welcoming than the reception I received last time I came to Milis.h.i.+on.

After they took our bags we were guided to Claire’s room.

“I thank you for the long journey.”

Once Claire saw us, she said that still seated.

Still seated.

Though I won’t say her att.i.tude was poor. She’s the master of the house after all.

“Not at all, we only just left.”

“Of course. Though I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around it…”

Claire presser her fingers against her temples and looked like she wanted to say something, but she decided against it.

It was probably the fact that I use teleportation magic as if I own it.

“I’ll introduce my family.”

“Yes. As you see fit.”

They all line up.

The children, three wives and Norn and Aisha.

Today Aisha isn’t in the maid outfit, but a lovely dress.

At first glance, she could be mistaken for the eldest daughter.

Lilia is the same, but she already moved with Zenith to another room.

“Mary.”

“Yes Madam.”

Claire gave the order to the maid beside her and put out her hand.

The maid took hold of her hand and slowly helped her to her feet then handed her her walking stick.

She looked rather fragile leaning on her walking stick.

She had none of the fort.i.tude she had previously.

It seems the reason she didn’t stand when we walked in wasn’t her pride.

“Are you unwell?”

“I’m getting old after all.”

“You couldn’t possibly be so old that your legs would weaken to such an extent…”

She’s might be old enough to be called great-grandmother, but both I, and my kids were all born quite early.

I wouldn’t go out of my way to ask her age, but since Zenith is about 40, she should be around 60, 70 at most.

“Would you like me to attempt healing magic?”

“No need. You’re an outstanding magician, but this is Milis.h.i.+on and I am a n.o.ble.”

Meaning that this is something that can’t be healed with healing magic.

Well if she says it’s fine then I won’t press it, but I’m somewhat uneasy seeing her like this.

“Rather than your concern, I’d like continue with the introductions.”

“That’s true.”

Well then I guess I should start.

First is Sylphy, Roxy and Eris.

The three wives.

“This is Sylphy. The first wife I married. The house is normally left under her supervision.”

“I’m Sylphiette. I thank you for today’s invitation. I look forward to staying with you.”

As expected of Sylphy, you can see the elegance from her experience with greetings.

n.o.body would ever guess that she grew up in the Fittoa countryside.

“This is Roxy. She is from the Migurd Race, a Magic Race, and although she looks as such, she’s older than me. She’s currently a teacher at the Magic University.”

“I’m Roxy. I’m sure you have some thoughts about my race, but still, I look forward to staying with you these next few days.”

When I introduced Roxy as a Migurd, Claire didn’t even flinch.

This is the first time they’ve met, but she did already know about it.

I guess she doesn’t plan to comment on it for now.

“This is Eris. A Master of the Sword G.o.d School. She is a member of the Great Asuran n.o.ble family Boreas and the little sister of the current head.”

“I-I’m Eris. It’s nice to meet you.”

Eris is somewhat fl.u.s.tered.

At the Asuran parties she’s always calm but it seems my grandmother makes her nervous.

“…”

Claire doesn’t say anything.

She doesn’t seem to be planning to scold me for having three wives.

Next is the children.

“This is the Eldest daughter Lucy”

“I’m Lucy Greyrat! Great-grandmother, It is excellent to finally meet you! I am pleased to be staying with you for these next few days!”

Lucy gives greeting while gripping the edge of her skirt.

Claire’s face slackens a little.

Even though she’s strict with her grandchildren, she can’t help but find her great-grandchildren cute.

“The second daughter Lara.”

“…I’m Lara.”

Lara gives a bored greeting and her face says that it’s a pain.

Claire’s eyebrows knit back up.

It seems it has nothing to do with the fact that they’re her great-grandchildren.

“He’s the eldest son Ars.”

“I’m Ars! I’ll be eight years old soon! Pleased to meet you!”

That said, the only unsociable one is Lara.

The rest of them are all polite and Claire doesn’t seem to have any complaints.

After Ars, Sieg, Lily and Chris all gave their greeting normally.

“You two next.”

After I prompt them, Norn and Aisha step forward.

Together they gave what you could call an elegant bow.

Norn and of course Aisha.

“I’m Norn Sperdia. It’s been quite a while grandmother.”

“I’m Aisha. I thank you for the invitation today.”

They both give greetings you couldn’t offer complains about.

Claire, still leaning on her cane, pointed her chin at the two.

“Yes, it’s been quite a while, the two of you.”

Just that.

She didn’t ask anything about the fact that Norn was married.

Maybe she thought it would be better not to ask here.

In any case, there hasn’t been a negative atmosphere just yet.

Most likely because of the fluent greetings.

Good, goo… Aah, Lara is picking her nose.

I’ll have to tell her off for that later.

“This is Claire Latrea. She’s your great-grandmother. We’ll be staying with her for around 10 days so be pollite.”

After I say that, Claire gives a slight bow.

It’s filled with elegance as always.

I’d love for the children to learn from her.

“I am Claire. I am here to welcome you in place of the Manor’s master. Please instruct the maids and butlers as you wish. You might find the difference in culture somewhat unpleasant, but please treat this house as if it was your own.”

“I thank you for your kindness. Everyone give your thanks.”

“Thank you very much! We look forward to staying with you.”

The children all bowed at once and Claire sat back down quite pleased.

Good work.

And so, our family vacation in Milis.h.i.+on began.

Part 5

“Rudeus-san, I have something I wish to talk to you about. Do you think you could remain behind?”

Is what I thought, but right as I was about to leave the room, I was called for.

I told the rest of the family to go on without me and stayed back.

Claire’s expression was, well, normal.

She didn’t seem mad.

“Please sit.”

“If you’ll excuse me.”

I sat down in the chair in front of her as told.

And as if there was some kind of switch in the chair, someone came out with tea.

They didn’t bring out tea for my family, but I guess we weren’t sitting down.

There weren’t enough seats after all.

“There’s no need to be so punctilious. I have no intentions of reprimanding you.”

It seems I’ve been seen though.

But considering how she was before, I hope she’ll overlook me being somewhat wary.

“Then what do you wish to talk about.”

“Simply idle conversation.”

I stole a look at her face.

There was nothing behind her expression and she simply sipped her tea.

The way she drank was captivating.

There’s probably some etiquette behind the way she drinks her tea.

I drank too while trying to mimic it.

They’ve used some good tea leaves.

“Speaking of tea… Lately Aisha has started raising a tea plant. I’ve brought a bag of the leaves with me, you should try it.”

“Then we shall do that tomorrow.”

“They’re quite nice.”

Aisha frequently changes what she’s growing.

At one point she was growing some kind of herb, she even cooked with it, but she suddenly stopped.

I wonder why?

Ah, right. Chris was allergic to it wasn’t she.

When the herbs started to become fragment, her nose would start dripping.

Although healing Magic could fix the symptoms, it couldn’t get rid of the allergy itself.

“Is Aisha still not married?”

“That seems to be the case.”

“But it seems Norn did.”

“Yes.”

“What kind of person is he?”

I thought I had gotten past it, but it seems I can’t avoid this topic.

But I’m glad Norn isn’t here and she’s asking me.

“He’s of a Magic race.”

I had already said so in the letter.

Thinking that it would be pointless to gloss over it, I said that.

“I am already aware. Although he doesn’t seem to be here today. What kind of person is he?”

Oh, she meant that.

He did let his just married wife out by herself.

So she wants to know why he’s not here.

“Their child is still small, so he’s looking after the house. He told Norn that at least she should go and see her grandmother. It’s definitely not because he’s looking down on you or the Latrea house…”

Claire’s eyebrows knitted together.

“I didn’t ask why he’s not here, I wish to know what kind of person he is.”

“Eh? Aah, Of course, he’s a man worthy of trust. I’m sure I wrote this in my letter, He’s an ally of the weak and doesn’t tolerate hate. He has a strong sense of justice. Their idea of status is somewhat different from Humans’ but he’s the captain of an elite unit in a large scale army, so he has a somewhat high position in the village. Aah, on top of that, one of the『Demon G.o.d Slaying Three Heroes』Pergius-sama has his eyes on him. Also…”

“…That’s enough.”

Claire stops me half way through and looks me in the eyes.

Did I say something bad?

“Just from what you’ve said just now, I can tell you’ve left Norn in the hands of someone you trust. And if that’s the case, although I have some thoughts on the matter, it’s not my place to say them.”

“I’m thankful you say that.”

“There’s no need for that. I had already promised you that I wouldn’t interfere.”

“So you did remember.”

“Of course. My back may be failing me, but my mind is as sharp as ever.”

That’s good.

But I wonder why she was asking about that…

Because we’re simply making idle conversation aren’t we.

“In any case, Roxy-san is awfully small isn’t she.”

“It’s a trait of the Migurd Race. They are much older than they look. Aah, but it’s forbidden to call her that to her face. She’s quite mindful of it.”

“I understand that. I am a woman of the Latrea house. My mouth may be foul, but I will not find fault with other’s appearances.”

I had half meant it as a joke, but apparently she took me seriously.

“And since the previous incident, I thought it ideal to learn more about the Magic and Beast Races.”

“I think that’s a fine goal. Whether you love or hate something, knowledge itself is important.”

Rather, it’s possible to end up hating something simply because it’s unknown to you.

It’s human nature to fear the unknown.

We’re a group that acts before learning.

“But, that Lara girl is a problem isn’t she.”

“…Yes.”

“Of course I’m not talking about the fact that she’s half Magic Race. It’s about her att.i.tude towards someone she’s meeting for the first time.”

“I am sorry about that. I thought she’d be fine with at least a greeting, but lately she hasn’t been doing as she’s told.”

“…I won’t say too much about it. But it’s my outlook that strict discipline is appropriate where necessary.”

She was somewhat roundabout when saying it, but she’s probably telling me that physical punishment would be necessary.

Well that are times when that might be better.

It’s just that Lara is already quite experienced with that.

Eris is in charge of spankings after all.

She may look wild, but Eris is quite calculating

“You should understand why I say so.”

“For the future.”

“Exactly. A first impression is extremely important, it can change someone’s mental image of you. So you don’t exhaust their initial good will, and to avoid dissatisfaction down the line”

It’s starting to sound like a lecture.

But somehow it seems like Claire is enjoying herself.

“But her mother, Roxy-san despite the fact that she’s from a Magic race, she seems to be well aware.”

“How so?”

“When standing next to the legal wife Sylphy-san, she was always a step back. Her reserved greeting was also good. Her att.i.tude displays that she knows her position.”

So it was about that.

I have no intention of labelling them as legal and secondary or numbering them…

No, that’s not it.

The problem is that Roxy is thinking like that in the first place.

“Eris-san… is a soldier after all, so her att.i.tude can’t be helped.”

“I’m glad you think as such.”

“…”

Claire looks like she’s about to give another lecture.

I’d appreciate it if she didn’t say too much.

Eris is trying her best after all.

“In any case Rudeus-san.”

“Yes?”

“I thank you for bringing them along.”

Claire said that as she bowed her head.

I won't ask who.

It’s not Norn or Aisha or Roxy.

It’s no one in particular.

It’s everyone.

At the same time I realised her meaning, I understood.

That I was a bit too on guard.

That I should have looked at this more lightly, like a trip to grandma’s house.

And so, our family vacation in Millis began.