Chapter 12: Orsted Corporation, Officially in Motion

It had been only a few minutes since Mother, looking like a cat dragged to the bath, had been escorted away by Sylphy-mother and the others. Meanwhile, Father—having just taken a third wife—was still being scolded and prodded by Grandmother, a devout Milis believer.

Well, considering their gods differ, I suppose it can’t be helped. If your son openly goes against the teachings you’ve devoted your life to, it’s only natural you’d be upset. It wasn’t something I could defend him over either. Watching Father shrink under the prickly complaints from my two little sisters, I clasped my hands in silent prayer for him.

When the matter of our family growing came up, Lilia-san suggested she and Grandmother move into another house, but Father firmly refused. After all, it’s only natural for the head of the household to support parents who can no longer work.

Grandfather had passed away early, leaving Father to shoulder all the responsibility for his birth family and sisters as well. Even so, he declared without hesitation that he would take care of them. Seeing that side of him only deepened my respect. With that thought in mind, I called out to Ghislaine, who had been watching quietly from the corner.

"Thank you for looking after Father and Mother, Ghislaine."

"Mm. Edith, you must also live strong."

For the past ten days she had been staying at another inn, but today, she alone was joining us at the family table. Considering that she returned to the manor with Father and Mother after they had gone out to the yard with wooden swords, she must have helped patch things up between them as their swordmaster.

And then, after exchanging a few words with Father, entrusting him with Mother and me, Ghislaine declared she would now finally go and kill the ones who had murdered her grandparents, as though a burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

I had already heard that was her intention, so I had no thought to interfere. But when she started talking about killing indiscriminately without even knowing who her enemies were or how many there might be, I nearly held my head in despair. That would be nothing but blind slaughter, ignoring every principle of vendetta.

While I was agonizing over how to stop her, Father calmly listed potential enemies such as the Water God and the Northern Emperor Aubert, and, saying it was impossible to take them alone, smoothly set up a meeting with an influential noble to persuade her otherwise.

That noble, "Ariel Anemoi Asura," was Sylphy-mother’s liege and closest friend, apparently a candidate for succession in the southern Asura Kingdom, currently in the midst of a bitter struggle for the throne.

Having met Sylphy-mother during the chaos of the Teleportation Disaster and ended up drifting even to this land, if Ghislaine were to cooperate with Ariel-sama and lend her strength to the succession war, then it might be possible to strike down those who once disgraced Grandfather, all under a righteous cause.

"At least, try meeting with her and speaking once."

"If you say so, then I shall."

Though it involved the matter of avenging her late lord, Ghislaine showed no resistance at all and accepted Father’s words. Witnessing such trust in him once again made me feel Father’s greatness. Even my little sisters, who until a moment ago had been glaring at him, now looked up to him with shining eyes.

Recognized as a warrior even by the Dragon God Orsted, possessing not only immense strength but also vast connections and the ability to weave them together, along with the new techniques he’d developed as a mage—no wonder Mother once lost confidence.

Now that someone connected to Father would be backing Ghislaine, it meant I would still have the chance to see her from time to time. With that knot in my heart finally loosened, I was able to drift into a very peaceful sleep.

──That is, until I was woken by the sound of Father’s gasping voice, like silk being torn, echoing from the bedchamber.

The next morning.

While preparing breakfast alongside Sylphy-mother and the others, I heard Father’s hoarse voice again, and only Mother appeared at the table, her face glowing with satisfaction. Truly, my parents were utterly shameless.

After breakfast, Mother went to the yard, happily practicing her swings. A dojo wouldn’t be built overnight, and she was probably keeping in mind that she might soon be dragged around as one of Orsted’s subordinates. She clearly intended to keep sharpening her skills.

Before long, Father too came down, looking worn-out compared to last night, but content nonetheless. Upon reading a letter he received from Aisha-san, however, his face immediately turned pale.

It had already been ten days since Father’s battle with Orsted. His magic and body were now fully recovered. That letter was clearly Orsted’s summons, calculated with that timing in mind.

Dressed neatly as befitting a subordinate, Father set out of the house. I tried to follow, but was caught by Mother—who was also secretly tailing him—and firmly ordered to stay home. Frustrated, I could do nothing but throw myself into housework with all my might, if only to welcome them back in perfect order.

By sunset… Father returned, hand in hand with Mother.

As if to soothe his weariness, he rubbed his cheek against Lucy-sama and was promptly made to cry, then scolded thoroughly by Sylphy-mother, then rubbed his cheek against me and was immediately knocked on the head by Mother.

The following day, Father once again left to meet Orsted. This time, he even told Mother to remain at home, so it seemed that their lord–vassal relationship was, for the most part, going smoothly.

Meanwhile, since expenses had piled up in the past months due to preparations for the battle with Orsted, Aisha-san and I took the opportunity during their absence to sort through the treasury.

Magic stones and gems were sorted by grade, tied into pouches, and labeled with tally slips. Gold, silver, and copper coins were carefully counted one by one. (Compared to Honshu’s koban, they’re really quite small… then again, the very fact that gold coins are in circulation in a land without a shogunate’s protection is impressive enough.)

"Huh? There’s a bag I’ve never seen before… whoa! What’s with this magic stone!?"
"Colored magic stones fetch an incredibly high price, don’t they? And this dagger looks no less impressive than Mother’s magic sword."

"…We definitely didn’t have anything like this a month ago. The magic stone, maybe, but something like this dagger—didn’t Eris-neesan bring it?"

"No… we only brought the bare minimum travel funds. That can’t be…"

"Ah—look, it has the same Dragon God emblem as on Onii-chan’s bracelet… This must be from Orsted…"

In other words, these were items Father had been granted when he went yesterday.

For Orsted to gift so much on the very first day he summoned Father as a subordinate… it shows just how much value Father holds in his eyes. At the very least, it doesn’t seem likely he’ll be treated poorly—which, I suppose, is a great relief.