Lexion, who went behind the desk, knelt and said. Le Guin seemed to be sitting on the floor.
âUh. Why?â
A dry voice came from across the desk.
Someone who claims to be your daughter has come to see you.
âWhat? Now?â
It may be a bit late, but the statement about the mother is consistent with the data. However, there is no record that the mother gave birth to a child in the data.â
âSince there was no news, the person in charge at the time must have judged that she was not pregnant or had a miscarriage.â
It was about Philomel, but Philomel knew nothing about it.
âSheâs here right now. Would you like to meet her?â
âIâll have to see it at least once.â
Before long, a figure suddenly rose from the back of the desk.
Philomel looked sideways at Le Guinâs face. Golden eyes shone strangely under the tousled silver hair.
Having seen Eustis and Nassar, I was confident that I wouldnât budge on a tolerable handsome man, but her eyes widened.
It was so beautiful that it burned.
And he was very young. I vaguely imagined him to be old, but at most he looked only in his early thirties. The corner that resembles Philomel is⊠Do they have similar eye colors? Although her own is not a brilliant golden color like his, it is closer to the color of Forsythia.
Suddenly, Philomel recalled that Lexionâs eyes are similar.
Just looking around a little more, she met Le Guinâs sharp gaze.
At that moment, a strange sense of alienation came down Philomelâs body.
âSomething different
Somehow this man felt like a creature fundamentally different from herself and the rest of us.
âWhat is this? This feeling.â
The silver-haired man erased his sullen face when he saw Philomel and smiled seductively.
âHello? My name is Le Guin. What will your name be?â
âItâs Phil âŠâ
I couldnât reveal my real name, so I gave it a nickname. She was never called by a nickname, though.
âYes, Phil. Sit here for now.â
Le Guin prepared a place by roughly cleaning out the clutter that occupied the sofa.
âShall I leave?
âI have something to say after this, so stay here.â
âAll right.â
To Lexionâs question, Le Guin answered as if his business with Philomel would be over soon.
Philomel and Le Guin sat down and Lexion stood nearby.
âHand.â
He reached out his hand to Philomel, who was stiff with tension and wondering how to start talking.
âYes?â
âCan you give me your hand?â
Philomel hesitantly held out her hand, and Le Guin grabbed it. Hard, big handsâŠ
âHeukâŠ!â
The sudden pain made it difficult to breathe. It was the feeling of something entering her body and tearing through her body.
âUghâŠâ
âThereâs no magic. No, thereâs a bit of it, but itâs kind of like an empty shell.â
Le Guin murmured, looking down at the squatting Philomel.
âAre you okay?â
Lexion approached and protested instead of Philomel.
âThis man! You should do this after asking for permission. Itâs hard to bear if youâre not a wizard.â
âOh, Iâm sorry. I thought you were a wizard because you said you were my child.â
Philomel raised her upper body and looked at them alternately.
âWhat the hell is thisâŠ?â
Lexion explained.
âHe checked your mana by injecting his mana. Mana tells us whether youâre his daughter or not. Itâs a bit stinging for magicians, but it must have hurt you. I apologize for that. Thatâs the kind of person he isâŠâ
Le Guin added, ignoring Lexionâs subtle criticism.
âItâs ridiculously small, but the mana is there.â
âThenâŠ?â
âSheâs my real daughter.â
It was a moment of reunion that was neither touching nor dramatic.
âWhatâs this?â
In the meantime, I have pictured the moment I met my biological father hundreds or thousands of times.
From a touching encounter that cannot be seen without tears, to a development where you are coldly kicked out saying that you cannot be recognized as a daughter.
But the situation that had now unfolded was of a kind that she had never imagined.
Le Guinâs attitude was too businesslike to meet a daughter he didnât even know existed.
âThere were many things I wanted to ask when we metâŠ
Why did you leave pregnant Catherine behind? Didnât he know that he had a daughter named me?
How did you accept the âPhilomelâ in the book?
And⊠Do you have any affection for me?â
Questions that had not been asked for years floated in my heart.
Le Guin spoke first.
âYou have a lot of questions, you can ask.â
Philomele opened her mouth and asked the first question.
ââŠwhy did you leave your pregnant mother alone?â
âI donât remember, but your mother would have wanted to stay there. Other than that, I recommended staying in the tower.â
I canât understand the meaning of what that man is saying.
Even knowing that the conversations didnât mesh, Philomel focused more on other things.
ââŠyou donât remember?â
âBecause itâs been over ten years.â
I was speechless at Le Guinâs natural attitude.
Catherine and Le Guin had a one-night stand.
âMy motherâs name is Catherine Hounds. She looks a lot like me. Donât you remember anything when you see my face?â
Le Guin put his face close to Philomel and pointed his finger at her hair.
âDyeing.â
âAh.â
Come to think of it, I dyed my hair in the morning. I thought I would erase it.
When Le Guin snapped his finger, a cool energy spread through her head. In the blink of an eye, Philomelâs hair returned to its original color.
âWell, I feel like Iâm going to think of somethingâŠâ
The man who crossed his arms and searched for memories smiled brightly.
âSorry, I donât know.â
ââŠhow, how could you not remember?â
âDo you have any reason to remember?â
Philomelâs eyes grew hot when she saw a man proudly asking back.
âWhat do you want more than that? The reason you came to me even late is that you want something, right? Itâs impossible to become a wizard because you donât have enough magical power, but is it money?â
The back of my hand got wet.
Philomel realized a little later that the water on the back of her hand was her tears.
âIâll add up the amount your mother didnât take and give it to you so you wonât be disappointedâŠâ
Iâve forgotten my tears for a long time. Because the world didnât appease Philomel for crying.
âWhy are you crying?â
The manâs eyes widened as if he didnât know why.
âI donât need it. I donât need money or anything from you.â
âWhy?â
âWeâre just like strangers. Iâm sorry. I shouldnât have come to you.â
Philomel gathered her belongings and headed for the door.
âYouâll never see me again, so take care.â
As she was about to leave, Philomel turned around and gave her last words to the man who brought her into the world.
â⊠Why are you so angry?â
Le Guin looked stunned at the spot where Philomel had left.
âOh! You could have said it nicely, but you are a human beingâŠâ
Lexion got annoyed and hurriedly left the room.
Not knowing the way back, Philomel ran aimlessly. Hot tears continued to flow down as if the tear glands were broken.
I thought I didnât expect anything, but. In one corner of my heart, I was longing for the affection of my biological father. Like a fool
âWait!â
Lexion, who had followed up, called and stopped her.
Philomel wiped the moisture from her eyes with her sleeve and turned her head.
âWhat happened?â
âI will guide you to the exit. Could you please listen to me in the meantime?â
There was no other way to get out of the Magic Tower, so Philomel accepted his offer.
Lexion opened his mouth as they rode down the floating stone as they had come.
âJust in case, you donât seem to know much about your birth. Didnât your mother tell you?â
âWhat do you mean, I donât know? No, thereâs a lot I donât know. But I got to know this one thing well. The fact that my biological father is a shameless person who doesnât even remember a woman with his child.â
Even though it wasnât Lexionâs fault, the sharp words came out.
Lexion scratched his cheek.
âThatâs true, but⊠â
âIâm sorry. I took out my anger for no reason. Lexion has nothing to do with it.â
Philomel bit her lip and said.
âNo, it doesnât matter.â
âYes?â
âBecause Iâm your half-brother, after all.â
Philomele gasped at the unexpected words.
âI seeâŠâ
âIâm not surprised.â
I thought that not only the color of his eyes, but also his facial lines, seemed to resemble Le Guin.
âI heard that he never married, so he is an unscrupulous person who gave birth to two illegitimate children.â
âFour people. You have two more brothers beside me.â
ââŠâ
âBy the way, all three of our mothers are different.â
The shocking fact added to the shocking fact.
What kind of house is this?
My head is pounding.
Lexion continued.
âI wonât deny your assessment of Le Guin⊠but donât you want to know the secret behind your birth?â
Philomel nodded helplessly as he began to explain.
âLe Guin is a man who doesnât know love. He doesnât exactly know most human emotions. He wonât understand the slightest bit of parental love, attention, or whatever you want from him.â
â⊠But he had children with several women. Was it just that desire?â
âThatâs part of the misunderstanding. He has never had an intimate relationship with any woman.â
âThen how did he have so many children?â
âIt was an experiment.â
⊠Experiment?
To Philomel, who did not understand, Lexion explained further.
âIn other words, we are children born through experiments.â