CH 313

“We’re going out♪”

“Kuoon♪ Kuoon♪”

“Hey, it’s nighttime, so you can’t be too loud, Aina.”

“Yes!”

As soon as she said it, she replied loudly and pulled Aina’s cheek to calm her down. As a punishment, Ash is hugged by Makina.

“Kuon.”

“Fufu, welcome back Ash.”

“Ahhhh, Ash is ……!”

“If you don’t behave, I’m really going to leave you, okay?”

“Uhh …… I-I’m sorry. ……”

“Is it always like this, Sarge?”

When I called out to Sarge, who was flying next to me, he laughed and replied to me.

“If so, that’s fine, but …… over here too, but don’t bother the others when you get there.”

“Yes!”

“Fusha!”

“Ehhh, why are you mad, little cat?”

Aina jumped on my back and I gave her a piggyback ride. The little snow tiger on my head was intimidating Aina. I laughed at the fact that this guy seemed to be like this if they didn’t get along.

“I’ll take care of the little cat.”

“Nya!?”

“I’m relieved if it’s Nora! Lars, Urka’s house is coming into view.”

The little snow tiger had recognized that Nora is someone to be careful of because of the incident earlier, but Makina seemed to think that they had become good friends and pointed to the house ahead with a smile. I saw Urka when we were about start our journey, but it had been a long time.

“Good evening, sorry to disturb you at such a late hour. It’s Lars Irving, is Urka there?”

I knocked quietly on the front door, the door slowly opened and Urka greeted me.

“Lars? Ahhhh, it’s really Lars, it’s been a long time! And Makina too! You look like you’re doing well.”

“Oh, I’m glad to see you’re doing so well too, Urka.”

“But more importantly, what are you doing here at this hour? And your brother, Nora …… Sarge and Aina-chan too?”

“Good evening, Urka-kun!”

Urka looked at my brother and the others behind me, tilted his head curiously and made eye contact with me again, so I explained the situation to him. 

“Actually–“

When I told him that I’m with this group because of the theater request and the monsters, Urka’s eyes lit up and he took my hand and nodded.

“Of course I’m coming! I’ve been meaning to go to Royal Capital sometime, and more than anything I’m glad you relied on me! Even though Lars is capable of anything.”

“There’s no such thing as anything. I can’t see ghosts, you know. If there’s someone I can rely on, I try to rely on them.”

“Hmmm. Well, a lot happened to me when I was ten. It gives me a lot of confidence if someone strong like Lars relies on someone ordinary person like me. Now, I’m going to get ready soon, so wait for me!”

“Urka looked so happy.”

Urka went back inside the house and Makina laughed and said that to me. I felt embarrassed, so I patted my cheek and teased Sephiro.

I told him to come to the plaza when he was done getting ready, and we headed straight for Makina’s house. It’s not far from here, so we’ll be there soon.

“Now it’s my turn. Makina, please.”

“Yes! I’m home!”

As Makina cheerfully entered the house, her parents came to the door with a clatter of feet. When they saw her, they immediately raised their voice as if to say something.

“Ma, Makina!? W-What’s going on, at this hour!? Are you getting married!? Don’t tell me, I have a grandchild now!?”

“I’m glad you’re back, but …… don’t tell me, Lars-san dumped you or something ……?”

“That’s not it!? I came back because I had some business to attend to. So I thought I’d stop by and introduce you to my new master over there.”

Makina’s face is beet red and said that there’s no way she can’t make a child. We heard her whispering something like that, and we looked at her with a wry smile. Then Fath-san stepped forward and bowed to Makina’s parents with a gentle face.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Fath, and I’m a bit of a well-known martial artist. This Makina has a good sense in hand-to-hand combat and the appropriate skill, so I’m teaching her to be my successor.”

“I-I see …… So Makina has the qualities ……”

“Umu. But, of course, there are dangers involved, so I thought I’d drop by and say hello.”

The two looked at each other in confusion at Fath-san’s statement. But soon auntie opened her mouth, bowing to Fath-san.

“Thank you for taking the time and effort. She may be a little skittish and lacking in some important areas, but she’s a serious girl and always does what she sets her mind to. So I’m sure she will live up to your expectations.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that. I promise I won’t let her do anything dangerous.”

“…… I understand. Makina is also an adult, and she should be prepared to learn from you. Please train her as much as you can …… But please allow us to see her marriage to Lars-sama and my g-grandchildren, okay?”

“Father!”

“Ho-ho, I understand.”

When the uncle said to Fath-san with a laugh, Makina’s fist exploded on his shoulder. I thought it was about time, so I called out to them.

“Uncle, Aunt. I’ll take Makina again.”

“Oh, Master Lars-sama! No, it’s okay, she seems to be enjoying herself. I’ll miss her a little, but it’s nice to see her like this once in a while.”

“I’m not worried about anything if she’s with Lars-sama! Please take care of my daughter!”

“Yes, I will come again. Please write to me if something happens. Well, let’s go, everyone.”

I closed the conversation and left the place, waving to uncle and aunt who saw us off at the door.

When I headed straight to the town plaza, Urka had already arrived with a large backpack on his back, and I asked Sarge to grow large immediately.

“Oh!”

“Hey!”

“I’m leaving it to you, Sarge.”

When my brother pats him on the back, Sarge floats up and the town below quickly becomes smaller.

“Wow, It’s been a while since I’ve ridden on Sarge’s back.”

“I think I haven’t ridden him after getting the Sarge equipment made.”

Nora and Urka emerge from the basket, and the little snow tiger curls up in the corner of the basket as usual. Then Makina said to me while gently stroking the flower on the head of Sephiro, who was sitting on the edge of the basket.

“♪”

“Does he like the sky? He looked so happy when we arrived too.”

“Even though he’s a tree …… Well, Sephiro is a Treant, so maybe there’s something to it.”

“Yeah, that might be it.”

…… Is what I said, but Sephiro has the skill [Solar Striker]. So maybe he subconsciously like the sky to be closer to the sun.

“Kuoon.”

“It’s okay, Ash. Aina’s with you, right?”

As usual, Ash was curled up in fear, and Aina was stroking his back to calm him down. I say to Sarge because he is saying something disturbing.

“Ash is still small, so it’s okay. I don’t think he’ll be fighting for a while.”

Does he want to train Ash, because they’re the same male monster? Well, Ash should be a mascot for everyone, just like Sephiro.

As we were talking about this, we soon arrived at the town of Illuminate, the royal capital. To avoid causing a commotion, they looked for my house from the sky and landed straight into the garden.

“Garrrr!”

“Woof-Woof!”

“Grrrr!”

“Oh, you’re still awake!”

Radia and Schneider were waiting for me in the garden and welcomed me.

“Wow, it’s huge! And there’s a wolf and a tiger!”

“It’s a big garden. The house is big too, as expected of Lars”

“Thank you. Look, Aina. That big one is Ash’s mother.”

“……”

“?”

I thought she was going to jump at her, but she didn’t move and clung to my leg.

“…… Haha, are you scared because of how big she is ……? So you’re not afraid of Sarge because you’ve been with him since you were little.”

“No, that’s not it, Lars-niichan …… I’m not scared ……”

“What?　Then why are you–?”

The moment I asked, Aina pinched her nose, frowned and opened her mouth.

“They stink!”

“Garr!?”

“Kuun!?”

“Grrr ……!?”

Their eyes enlarged and they drooped in shock. I wonder if they smell that bad ……

There’s a lot of people here ……

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

“Looks like Aina-chan and Ash are going to be good friends.”

Well, I have a lot of things on my mind. ……

“For now, I won’t allow you to finish until the book comes out!”

……