“Uh…”
A reunion far too sudden.
And also, a reunion after such a long time.
I had been thinking I’d talk about all kinds of things once I got home—but all those words just flew right out of my head.
I didn’t know what to say, and my mouth kept opening and closing.
“It’s been a while, Fate!”
“Wahhh!”
My head was suddenly being roughly patted.
My hair’s getting messed up!?
Also, that kinda hurts!?
“D-Dad…!?”
“Hey now, why are you trying to run away? It’s been ages—let me ruffle your hair at least.”
“E-even if you say that, you’re a bit strong—ow ow ow!”
“What, that hurts? Geez, you’re still a total weakling, huh? You’ll never make it as an adventurer like that.”
“Th-that’s not true! I am an adventurer now!”
“Ha ha ha, seems like you’ve gotten better at joking!”
He doesn’t believe me…
I slumped my shoulders in disappointment.
“Fate really is a proper adventurer.”
Sofia stepped in with a bright smile.
“Oh? And you are…?”
“It’s been a while, Mr. Age. I’m Sofia Ascart. Do you remember me?”
“O-Ohhh! Little Sofia! Of course I remember you. Can’t believe you’ve grown into such a beauty!”
Looks like his attention had shifted from me to Sofia.
Dad smiled even wider and started patting Sofia’s shoulder enthusiastically.
Not really how you greet a girl…
But Sofia didn’t seem bothered at all—she just kept smiling cheerfully.
“So, what’s a lovely lady like Sofia doing with you…? Oh! Don’t tell me—you two got married?”
““Eh!?””
“What’re you surprised for? You two were super close back then. I was sure of it. Just like me and Amira, you’d make a perfect couple.”
“…”
My face burned with embarrassment.
Being seen like that and told something like that—it does make me happy…
But we’re not married yet...
And mostly, it’s just plain embarrassing…
“Oh? Speaking of which, where’d the little squirt duo go?”
“Ah—”
Aisha, feeling shy, hid behind me.
Snow did the same, hiding behind me too.
“Um…”
“Daddy, who’s this person?”
Just as I was about to explain, Aisha called me “Daddy.”
Uh-oh.
This is gonna get complicated—
“I’m Age. Fate’s old man.”
But it didn’t get complicated.
Dad crouched down and looked Aisha in the eyes as he introduced himself.
“So basically, that makes me a grandpa.”
“Grandpa? Like, Daddy’s side of the grandpa?”
“Yeah.”
“Grandpa!”
“On!”
With just that one word, Aisha and Snow seemed to let their guard down and ran to hug Dad.
He caught them both firmly and gently patted their heads.
During that moment, he glanced briefly at their beastfolk tails—but said nothing about them.
He probably didn’t understand our situation at all.
Still, he chose not to pry.
Right now, it seemed like he just wanted to shower Aisha and Snow with affection.
“…I must admit, I assumed Fate’s father would be more rough around the edges, but that’s not the case at all. He’s very kind and considerate.”
“…Yeah. I’m proud to call him my dad.”
We exchanged those words in hushed tones.
“By the way, you said we don’t need an inn…?”
“Why would you need one? You’re home. No point in renting a room.”
“But with all of us coming, won’t it be a bit cramped?”
“It’s fine. No problem at all.”
He said that with absolute confidence…
But if I remembered correctly, the house wasn’t that big.
It might be okay for one or two extra people, but with four of us, sleeping arrangements could be tight…
Still, if Dad said it was fine, then I believed him.
He’s not the type to lie or say things just to spare feelings.
“Then, we’ll take you up on your kind offer.”
We’d all gratefully rely on him.
“Hey now, that’s not what you’re supposed to say.”
“Huh?”
“There’s something else you’re supposed to say at a time like this.”
“Ah…”
I widened my eyes for a moment…
Then smiled softly.
“I’m home, Dad.”
“Welcome back, son.”
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