"Is it really okay for me to have the Snow Crystal Sword?"
That doubt hasn’t completely gone away yet.
But thanks to Mint, some of that hesitation has faded.
"Well then, I should probably..."
She was probably about to say, "head home."
But before the words could come out, the door opened.
The one who appeared was...
"Fate, about what's going to happen next..."
It was Sofia.
She looked at me, then at Mint.
Her gentle expression stiffened in an instant.
"...Oh my, oh my oh my oh my."
Sofia smiled.
A very, very bright smile.
Terrifying.
Her face was smiling, but her eyes absolutely weren’t.
"...Ah."
"Uh-oh!?"
From behind, Aisha, Licorice, and Snow appeared.
But the moment they saw Sofia, they turned around and bolted—dash dash dash!
Is it really okay for your own daughter to be scared of you?
Not that this is the moment for snarky comments.
"Fate, what do you think you’re doing?"
"N-Nothing!? We were just talking, I swear there’s nothing suspicious going on!"
"Yeah yeah, we were just talking about childhood memories~"
"But I’m Fate’s childhood friend!"
"Ehh~ but I’m also Fate’s childhood friend, you know~"
It felt like sparks were flying between the two of them.
"Fate had fun talking with me, didn’t he~?"
"!?"
Mint clung to my left arm.
Pressing herself tightly against me...
Because of that, I could feel... something soft...
"He’s better off with me, right!?"
"!?"
Now Sofia clung to my other side.
Also pressing tightly against me...
Something soft and plush, again...
"Faaate~"
"Fate!"
"Uh, no, um…"
What am I supposed to do!?
I mean, we were literally just talking—so why did it turn into this!?
No, I get it.
Sofia’s jealous, and Mint’s just teasing her because of that.
But still, I’ve never been in such a dramatic situation before...
I’m completely flustered and have no idea what to do.
My thoughts are spinning, and I can’t come up with any good words.
"Hey, Fate."
And just as I was cornered with no escape, my savior appeared: Dad.
He looked at me—sandwiched between Sofia and Mint—and let out a sigh of exasperation.
Then he walked over and said...
"What the hell are you playing at?"
"Oww!?"
He whacked me on the head.
"I want to talk about what’s coming next. Stop playing around and come to the workshop."
"I-I’m not playing around..."
"Fine, whatever, hurry up."
With those words, Dad left the room.
We were left behind...
"U-um... so that's why..."
"...You got lucky."
"...I wonder what you mean by that."
Although the two of them parted, they were still glaring at each other with smiles on their faces.
Please, I beg you.
When we moved to the workshop, I saw Licorice.
Next to her was Dad, and he was looking at the mithril we had brought back. His expression was completely serious.
It had been a while since I saw my dad’s face as a craftsman, and I felt oddly nostalgic and happy.
"Oh, you’re here."
"My apologies for earlier."
Sofia, who had come with us, lightly bowed her head.
By the way, Mint had gone back to her own house. She said it was getting late, but... I guess she had teased Sofia enough and was satisfied.
She seemed relaxed, airy, and fluffy... She looked like such a sweet girl, but in reality, Mint loved to play pranks.
"I’m going to talk about this guy."
Dad tapped the broken Snow Crystal Sword with his fingers.
"Do you think it can be repaired...?"
"I’d like to say yes... but it’s become a bit troublesome."
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