Aisha is the princess of the Beastkin village.
Snow is the god of the Beastkin.
That shocking truth had come to light…
But to me, Aisha is still just Aisha. Snow is still just Snow.
That they are an important part of my family hasn’t changed.
Just because they turned out to be incredible beings doesn’t mean I’ll treat them any differently.
I intend to continue treating them as family, just as before.
And it’s the same for Sofia and Licorice.
Though they looked surprised at first, they soon calmed down and went back to normal.
"About what comes next…"
Claudia-san spoke up as she sipped her tea.
"I’m sorry to trouble you, but… could I ask you to come to our village, just once?"
"To the Beastkin village?"
"Yes. We want to report that we’ve found the princess and the divine beast… and also, to properly thank you."
"…You know, Aisha and Snow are our family."
Sofia said this in a cautionary tone, and Claudia-san quickly waved her hands frantically in denial.
"We’re not thinking of taking them back to the village or anything like that! Well… truthfully, it would be better if we did… but seeing the princess and the divine beast as they are now, it seems like being with you two is what’s best for them."
"I… can I really stay with Daddy and Mommy?"
"Yes. If you two are the princess’s family, we would never do anything to tear you apart."
When Aisha asked this, Claudia-san smiled kindly and answered gently.
Her words didn’t seem like a lie.
Thank goodness… she’s someone who understands.
If she’d said something like:
"Aisha is a shrine maiden, so we must take her back to the village at all costs,"
we would’ve had a problem.
I might’ve kept my cool, but Sofia definitely wouldn’t have allowed it.
"Um… what about Snow?"
"Yes, the divine beast is no problem either. However…"
"However?"
"If possible, we would be grateful if the divine beast could lend its strength to purify the village."
"Purify?"
A word I didn’t understand came up.
"What do you mean by purify?"
"Let’s see… the full explanation would take a while, so I’ll skip the details, but simply put, it’s about the barrier. We want to use the divine beast’s power to erect a new barrier. Right now, without the divine beast, the village is unable to maintain a barrier…"
"And without the barrier, bad things happen?"
"That’s right… we risk letting monsters in, or even being attacked by humans…"
I see.
It sounds like they’re in a pretty serious situation.
"If that’s the case, I’d like to help… uh, Snow, are you okay with that?"
"On!"
With a confident bark that seemed to say leave it to me, Snow responded.
Even as a child, he’s still a divine beast.
Reliable.
"Yes, that won’t be a problem either."
"Thank you so much! We’ll never forget this favor for as long as we live!"
She bowed her head so low, it looked like she might drop into a dogeza.
Isn’t she a little too grateful…?
"I’m sorry to be selfish, but… we’d like to return to the village as soon as possible…"
"Okay, understood. In that case, we’ll get ready today and set out tomorrow."
"Are you sure…?"
"That’s fine, right, Sofia?"
"Yes, no problem."
"Much obliged!"
Once again, Claudia-san bowed her head deeply.
――――――――――
"Heading out on another journey?"
As I was getting ready to depart tomorrow, my dad called out to me.
"Ah, yeah…"
Come to think of it… I only just now realized.
Even though I finally came back home, I haven’t done anything that could be called filial.
And for my newly gained little sister… I haven’t really done anything brotherly for her either.
Am I… a pretty lousy son?
"Don’t be thinking weird things."
"Ouch."
He gave me a light thunk on the head.
"It’s not like I’m against you traveling. If anything, I’m in favor of it. You’re better off traveling far and wide, seeing the world. That’ll definitely come in handy for you in the future."
"…Dad…"
"Your mom feels the same way. But still, that doesn’t change the fact that we’re sad to see our son leave again after so long. So tonight, make sure you spend plenty of time with your mom and Lutecia. I’ll take care of the preparations for you."
"…I’m sorry. I haven’t done anything—ow!?"
This time, he gave me a pretty firm fist bonk.
"Don’t go thinking pointless stuff."
"But…"
"You don’t need to overthink being a good son. If you really feel like you must, then just show us our grandchild someday — that’s more than enough."
"W-what, grandchild…?"
"What, you’re saying you don’t plan on it?"
"N-no… it’s just… someday, I guess… that’s what I’m thinking."
"Good grief, sounds like it’s gonna be a while."
I’m sure my face had turned red.
Seeing me like that, my dad chuckled…
And that laugh of his was so warm and comforting.
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