Chapter 13: Father’s First Campaign and the Guardian Beast Leo

The day after Father started having repeated meetings with Orsted, I was taken off house chores and left sitting on Father’s lap.

I know the reason. Father clung too much to Mother and the others.

Maybe almost getting killed by Orsted made him crave human warmth, but lately, he’s been hugging Mother Sylphy while she’s doing chores, touching her whenever he gets the chance, then clinging to Mother Eris (who now refuses to answer if I just call her “Mother”) and getting punched for it… and even sticking himself all over the heavily pregnant Mother Roxy. It was obvious he had gone overboard.

Eris Mother can’t just keep punching him into submission every time, so eventually, the mothers decided to let me sit there and get petted while they focused on getting the housework done.

It’s disappointing not being included in the chores, but in a way, this is an important responsibility too. I told myself that and leaned my weight against Father’s back.

"Edith, Edithoo? Edith-tan, Edith-san-ya?"

"…What is it, Father?"

"No, no, this isn’t about rubbing cheeks. Papa won’t pet you or cling today."

"Are you feeling unwell!?"

"What do you think Papa is…?"

"I’m sorry, Father."

Apparently, I misunderstood. It wasn’t about making me watch over restless Father — the goal was to create a chance for Father and me to talk.

"Ahem… So, Edith, listen. Soon, Papa and Mama — Eris and Sylphy, I mean — the three of us are going far away… well, you see…"

"Is this an expedition?"

"Expedition… well, if you put it that way, yeah, I guess that’s right."

"Are you going to accompany Ghislaine for her revenge?"

"You already know that much, huh… yeah, that’s about right. It’ll probably take a while, but we should be back before Roxy’s baby is born. And… until then, Papa, Eris, and Ghislaine won’t be here, so…"

"It’s alright, Father. Leave the house to me."

Father, Mother Eris, and Ghislaine — not to mention Mother Sylphy, who might look delicate and adorable but is actually a magical prodigy and strong enough that even a Sacred-ranked swordsman from the Holy Land would struggle to beat her — are all incredibly powerful.

With these four together, there’s no way they’ll lose unless something extraordinary happens. Since Father pledged loyalty to Orsted, I was already prepared for him to go off to battle like this, so there’s no reason to worry. But… Father let out a low, troubled groan, clearly weighed down by something.

"So, Edith… during Ghislaine’s revenge, there might be someone we’ll have to fight who… you know—"

"You mean Lord Water God and Sir Auber, correct? I understand."

"Eh… n-no, wait, ‘understand’—"

"We were indebted to both of them at the Holy Land of Swords, but they are swordsmen. Such things happen. I’ll be fine, Father."

"Do you really understand…? This means they might die, Edith. You’ll… never see them again."

"They aren’t opponents one can hold back against anyway. To me, Father and the others’ lives are more important. So, please… don’t concern yourself with my feelings."

Honestly, if they’re siding with Great-Grandfather’s killer, then no matter how much they’ve done for us, they’re our enemies.

Sure, since I’ve never even fought in a battle before, I might hesitate to raise my sword against those two if I stood before them… but I don’t have the strength to join this war in the first place, and my feelings don’t matter in Father’s fight.

If Father or the others were killed because they were worrying about me, I… I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.

"Are you really okay with that…? After we finally got you… after leaving you alone for four years… we’re going to fight people who’ve known you longer than Papa has… and maybe kill them. Are you okay with having such a Papa…?"
"Father. Please just come back safely, together with Mother Sylphy and Mother Eris. Everyone in the family will be waiting."
"…! Got it. Got it…! Papa will protect them both and come home, Edith…!"

…In the end, he rubbed his cheek against mine anyway, and I ended up stuck in Father’s arms until the chores were done.

"From this moment, we shall commence the summoning ritual for our household’s guardian beast. Applause!"
"Yaaay!"

The very next day after we encouraged Father, who had decided to depart for battle in a month, he announced that he would summon a guardian beast to watch over the house in his absence.

Since the summoning magic circle came from Orsted, Mother Sylphy and the others seemed uneasy. But if Father and Mother couldn’t beat Orsted in the first place, this house could be trampled whenever he pleased, so there wasn’t really anything to worry about. (Besides, Father was doing the summoning himself, which made it even less concerning.)

"Come forth, Guardian Beast!"

"What’s the meaning of this… I asked you, what is the meaning of this, Rudeus Greyrat!"

When Father finally persuaded everyone and began the summoning, the first attempt brought forth something… strange.

Apparently, he had accidentally pulled in a beast that was already contracted to someone else. Since Father knew the beast’s owner personally, he returned it and prepared to try again. Truly, a troublesome beast.

"Alright, come!"
"WoOOOOOOOOOON!"

What emerged was a massive white puppy with a unique marking on its forehead.

No, “puppy” isn’t really the right word considering its sheer size… but its face looked so young and innocent that there was no better way to describe it. As always, the northern lands are completely absurd.

After that, Father spent some time talking with the “puppy” in Ghislaine’s homeland language. (I’d heard of the Beast God tongue, but he was literally having a conversation with an animal…)

The puppy was then named Leo by Father. Despite seeming a little lacking in spirit, Leo proved to be an attentive guardian, even noticing Mother Roxy’s pregnancy and showing concern for her. Thus, Leo was formally welcomed into the Greyrat family as our household’s guardian beast.

(Still, leaving Leo and Beat aside… that other round beast named Jirou… the way he insists on rice even when treated as picky, the perfect way he sits in seiza without any awkwardness… could it be…?)

"Hm? What’s wrong, Edith?"
『Father, are you studying the language of the mainland?』

"BUHHHHHHH… eh—cough—ghhk—kffhh! Ahem… ahem, aheeem… W-whaaat’s wrong, Edith-tan, suddenly talking all funny like that—"

I tried speaking to him in the mainland language just to test my suspicion, and Father dodged the question completely. That confirmed it — he must have traveled to the mainland back in his adventurer days and discovered rice there… and fell hopelessly in love with it.

I reaffirmed the greatness of rice — powerful enough to enchant even the so-called untamed tribes — and quietly buried the fact of Father’s mainland travels deep within my heart.

After all, if an untamed tribesman like Father were to show up in a mainland human settlement, they would probably kill him on sight. It was better to pretend I’d never brought it up.