Chapter 44 – A Bit Pathetic

A Bit Pathetic

A basement where no light enters.
In that place, where the only light source was a single magic lamp emitting a faint glow, the room was filled with agonized groans.

“Aaaaargh!!! My arm!!! My arm!!!!”
“Could you be a bit quieter? Disgusting human.”
The host writhing in agony with his arm literally torn off, and the butler-dressed man watching this scene as if it were pathetic.

Even though he too was missing his wrist where it should have been, the man maintained a strangely calm demeanor. As if he couldn’t feel pain.
‘…This is unexpected. To think those two people would sneak into the hall of all things.’
The man stared at the host squirming like a worm in front of him with ice-cold eyes.

After all, if this guy had handled things properly, none of this would have happened.
‘If the teleportation magic had been even a second late… I don’t even want to imagine.’
Thanks to two subordinates swallowing awakening drugs and causing a mana outburst, attention was diverted, otherwise he might have met the end of his long life.

Creak.
Just as he was sitting in a chair lost in thought, the basement door opened with an unpleasant sound.
The one who opened the door and entered was a purple-haired girl in a maid’s outfit.

“…Milene. When did you get here?”
“Just now. Phew. I sneaked away when that crazy monster teleported outside the hall. So, was it a success after all?”
…What is this deranged woman talking about? A success?

“What do you mean by success?”
“Ah. You don’t know because you joined midway. Kyahah. By the way, that, Tresian Ruby? Anyway. Slapping me just for getting one name wrong, wasn’t that a bit too emotional?”
Is she talking about when I slapped her in the hall? I should have slapped her one more time.

The butler-dressed man, with a hint of regret, asked the woman called Milene again.
“Don’t tell me, by ‘success’ you mean the success of the experiment you’ve been conducting?”
“Kyahah. You catch on quick. That’s right. Not a half-baked one like me, but a real success.”

She said with a smile, looking down at her maid outfit as if she liked it.
“…Ariel. Our only true success.”

The day after things were mostly wrapped up at the mansion.
“Ariel-nim. You look like you’re in a good mood.”
“Hehe. Do I?”

How could I not be in a good mood? My pockets are full.
Of course, I didn’t accept the compensation Marian offered me.
…Honestly, I was tempted when I first heard about it, but how could I take money from a friend?

I had to sweat quite a bit to stop Marian from forcibly giving me the promised compensation.
But how did my pockets get full, you ask? I just received small donations from the auction participants.
Especially from the guy who won the bid for my lost staff.

‘Since he was trying to get my original item, he should pay me the price.’
Of course, I didn’t hand over the staff. It’s unpleasant, you know.
Now that I’ve made some money, I won’t need to do adventurer work for a while, so I was about to spend time leisurely at home.

…The problem is that the children are currently in an angry state.
I looked at the children sitting on either side of me on the sofa.
“Ariel. I hate you.”
“I-I hate you, sister.”

Saya and Puel expressing their anger towards me. It was a sign of protest against me.
‘I guess they have reason to be angry…’
I thought it would only take a day, but due to various follow-up tasks, it took longer than expected and I ended up being away from home for two days straight.

Thanks to Marian’s consideration, my identity wasn’t revealed, but it took quite some time to testify about the hooded figures who turned to ash and about the hall.
…Apparently, Cherny had to struggle to stop Saya and Puel from going out to look for me.

“Kids. Please don’t be angry…”
“Hmph.”
“Hmph… indeed.”
Saya and Puel still turning their heads away from me, emphasizing that they’re angry.
…What kind of offer would tempt the children?

“Shall we go eat something delicious?”
Shake, shake.
“Um, shall we go for a walk?”
Shake, shake.

‘Looks like they’re really upset…’
Even proposals that they would have nodded to happily before are still met with head shakes.
‘How did I make up with Eunha when she was angry…’

I started to recall events from when I was on Earth.
*
My sister and I, who grew up without parents, only having each other to rely on.
Even we, who could pride ourselves on being closer than ordinary siblings, sometimes had our rough patches.

Most of the time, it was my fault that Eunha got upset, and I had to coax her.
“I hate you, oppa. It was my competition. You didn’t even come to watch.”
“I’m sorry, Eunha. A sudden important meeting came up today…”

That day was Eunha’s recreational boxing competition day.
Eunha was thoroughly angry at me for not keeping my promise to definitely come watch.
“Tch. Do you know how much I looked for you? I got hit once during the match because I was distracted looking for you!”

Saying that, Eunha pointed to her slightly reddened cheek.
Honestly, it wasn’t even a scratch level injury, but if I said that outright, Eunha’s wayward fist might head my way, so I reacted a bit exaggeratedly.
“A-Are you okay?! I’ll just…”

As I made a gesture as if I was about to go after Eunha’s opponent right away, Eunha stopped me with a slight smile.
“Tch. You’re overreacting… I hit them more, so don’t worry.”
“No, I’m going to teach that guy a lesson…”
“Stop it.”
“Okay.”

Eunha still looked a bit angry.
“I’m sorry, Eunha. Please don’t be angry…”
“Hmph. Then you have to grant me one wish later.”
“Okay.”

At that time, a satisfied smile settled on Eunha’s face upon hearing my answer.
*
‘Though her wishes were usually just going to an amusement park together or visiting a good restaurant.’
“Kids. I’ll grant each of you one wish, so will you stop being angry?”

As if I had nothing to lose, I made the same proposal to Saya and Puel that I used to make up with Eunha.
Then there was a reaction from the two.
“Really?”
“…Sister. Really?”

Saya and Puel were stunned for a moment after hearing my words, then they started whispering something to each other.
“”Rock, paper, scissors!””
And suddenly a game of rock-paper-scissors started between the two.
…By the way, I taught them rock-paper-scissors.

“I won!”
“Sigh. I lost.”
After a fierce battle where sparks seemed to fly from their eyes, a winner and a loser were determined.
The proud winner standing was Saya.
The loser, Puel, was kneeling as if frustrated.

‘You’ll grow stronger from this defeat, Puel.’
As I was watching this scene with fondness, Saya smiled and said to me,
“I’m first! Ariel!”

First? Ah. So they were deciding the order.
Saya’s face was full of anticipation. I wonder what request she’s going to make.
“Hug me! Ariel!”
“…Huh?”

Saya snuggled into my arms. It’s similar to usual.
“All day long!”
Huh?

“Hey, shouldn’t we be apart at least while eating, Saya?”
“Ariel. I think Puel is jealous.”
“I am not…!”

It seems “hug me all day” wasn’t just a figure of speech, as Saya was sitting on my lap even during this lunchtime.
“Ariel. Feed me that!”
…I feel like a mother bird feeding a baby bird.

‘Was she that lonely?’
Well, having been abandoned at an age when she should have been receiving love from her parents… I can understand wanting to act spoiled.
After all, when I was at the orphanage, I used to follow the director around all the time too.

“Aahn~.”
Watching her chew the side dish I put in her mouth, she looks exactly like a baby bird, not a dragon.
“…”
Puel blankly watching this scene.

“Puel, do you want me to feed you too?”
“Eh?! N-No need. Ow… I bit my tongue…”
I thought she looked envious, but was I mistaken?

“Feed me too!”
“You can eat on your own…”
“Sniff.”

After various twists and turns, we finished lunch, and Saya and I headed to the vegetable garden in the yard for a walk.
Saya was still in my arms, with her arms around my neck, burying herself against me.
It’s what’s commonly called a princess carry position.

“Hehe. I like Ariel’s smell.”
“…Really?”
I hope I don’t have a strange smell. It’s a bit embarrassing.

“Oh, the potatoes have flowers.”
When we arrived at the vegetable garden, flowers had bloomed on the potato stems sprouting from the ground. They seem to have bloomed while we weren’t visiting the garden due to recent rain.
‘What should I do…’

When potatoes bloom, it takes nutrients from the potato tubers, so normally you should remove the flowers immediately when they bloom.
“The flowers are pretty, Ariel!”
But seeing Saya’s delighted face made me hesitate to remove the flowers. Honestly, I wondered if it was really necessary.

Saya, who had gotten down from my arms to look at the potato flowers, asked me,
“Ariel. Do potatoes have flowers too?”
“That’s right. Usually, you should remove the flowers when they bloom. That’s how potatoes grow tastier.”

When I revealed this uncomfortable truth, Saya’s eyes widened as if shocked.
“Potatoes are delicious. But I don’t want to remove the flowers… Sha… Can’t we not remove them?”
Saya spoke to me softly, as if she had made a big decision.
It seems she was weighing tasty potatoes against pretty flowers in her mind.

“Of course we can. Let’s just leave them blooming prettily.”
“Yay!”
I picked up Saya, who had snuggled back into my arms, and started walking back to the house.

‘They look like they’re having fun.’
Cherny, who was watching Ariel and Saya taking a walk in the vegetable garden through the window, thought so.
Originally, demons can be considered to have no family affection.

For her, life in this house was unfamiliar yet… not unpleasant, a strange feeling.
‘I never thought I’d end up living with the monster magician of the hero party.’
“Um, Cherny-san.”
Puel, with a slightly uncomfortable look, spoke to Cherny who was lost in thought while looking at the scene outside the window.

‘…She’s jealous. Is she trying to get some counseling?’
Despite appearances, she’s lived for quite a long time. She should be able to embrace a child’s jealousy with great generosity…
“Transform into a puppy. I want to pat you.”

…or so she thought.
“Really, Saya is stupid. Sister is stupid too.”
In the end, Cherny transformed into a wolf form and was thoroughly patted by the disgruntled Puel.
‘This is a bit pathetic.’