121. Mother and Daughter Reunion

121. Mother and Daughter Reunion

“Mom!!”

Freya cried out, her voice trembling. The thought of finally being able to leave this cold, lonely warehouse filled her with emotion.

“Were you kidnapped? Oh my, I don’t know who did it, but they tied the ropes well. They seem to have talent.”

“Please untie me first!”

Frigg smiled kindly and began to untie Freya’s ropes. The ropes that had bound Freya tightly loosened instantly as if they had never been there once her mother’s hands touched them. It was a skill she had practiced more than once.

Frigg chided her daughter.

“That’s why I told you to learn how to use magic without a staff.”

“That’s something only you can do… No, more importantly!”

Freya, now free to move, picked up her staff and said. She had to find her sister as soon as possible. Find her sister, and then take revenge on the wicked people who took her.

“Please help me find my sister!”

“Hoho, I’d love to help my daughter, but I have things I need to do, you see. That’s why I came all the way from the North to the academy.”

“You can help me find my sister first!”

Frigg thought, without losing the kind smile on her face.

My daughter grew up twisted because I couldn’t take proper care of her when she was sick.

However, even such a daughter was a precious child to her parents. Frigg slowly extended her right hand. Soon, a white light shot out from her hand with a tremendous tearing sound.

BOOM!

“Gah!”

“How dare you peeping Toms look at my daughter?”

Then, beyond Freya, a human figure hidden in the darkness of the warehouse corner was revealed. It was a being with pointed, long ears, entirely wrapped in black cloth. Freya said in surprise.

“E-Elf?”

“I’ve told you time and again. Don’t set foot in the Empire.”

The elf, whose neck was held in Frigg’s hand, gasped and struggled.

“Y-you crazy bitch, how did you….”

“I hate the smell of grass.”

Her blue eyes sparkled as they pierced through the elf. The elf, holding Frigg’s arm that gripped its neck, shouted with difficulty.

“We will not return until we find the Princess….”

“If you trespass in someone else’s country, you should be prepared to pay the price.”

“The words of a scoundrel who burned the sacred World Tree and tore off its branches….”

The smile disappeared from Frigg’s face.

As the face of a dry wolf stared at her, the elf, pale as a sheet, continued to struggle meaninglessly. Frigg glanced briefly at her youngest daughter, then moved to a corner of the warehouse where she wouldn’t be visible to Freya. White magic soon obscured the area around her.

She returned a moment later.

“Freya, did you wait long? Hoho, there are many of those kinds of people these days, so I’m a bit busy. But if my daughter wants it, I can help, what do you say?”

“Ah, no… I’ll find my sister myself.”

Freya, sweating profusely, avoided eye contact.

——

“Sister!”

As I burst through the classroom door of the elementary school, I saw a familiar face.

Sparkling silver hair, eyes as red as blood. It was Iris, whom I hadn’t seen with the tanned blonde delinquent lately.

The powder falling from the classroom door was probably just my imagination. I hadn’t opened it that hard. I turned my gaze from the door and embraced Iris, who had run towards me, lifting her high into the air.

“Did you miss me, Sister?”

“Yes!”

There were many girls gathered where Iris was. She seemed to be talking to all the female students in the classroom.

Curiously, the boys in the class were huddled in the corner, and whenever my gaze fell upon them, they seemed afraid and avoided eye contact.

They seem to be shy.

“Um… but who is the person behind you?”

“Huh?”

Iris asked, looking at the naked Flora behind me.

“This is Flora. Say hello, she’s my friend.”

“Ah… but where are her clothes….”

“Well, you see, I need to buy clothes for this friend, but neither Flora nor I have a good sense of fashion, so it’s a bit difficult.”

I don’t know much about women’s clothing, and frankly, I never cared about clothes in the first place. I wore the clothes my sister gave me, but I never sought them out myself. And Flora has no memories, so there’s no need to mention it.

In this situation, it’s a bit embarrassing for an adult, but Iris is the only one who can help.

“Can you help?”

“… Yes.”

Iris pouted for a moment before nodding. Then she turned around and called a girl, but contrary to my expectation that she would talk to her, the girl bowed her head as soon as she reached Iris and buried her forehead in the ground.

Iris stepped on the girl’s back with her foot and whispered softly.

“….”

“…….”

What on earth are they talking about?

The moment I perked up my ears, curious, Iris immediately stopped whispering and lifted her foot from the girl’s back.

“You get it, right?”

“Yes, yes… I understand….”

“Hey, smile. Sister is watching.”

“Yes!”

The girl’s lips twitched as she forced a smile. Whether that should be considered a smile is… ambiguous. I smiled and said to Iris, who had returned to me.

“Is that girl a friend?”

“A friend? Ah… yes. She’s a friend. Everyone, right?”

“Yes…!”

In response to Iris’s question, the girls shouted in unison, as if they had been trained.

Goodness, she has so many friends. How surprising.

After receiving the answer from her friends, Iris looked back at me and leaned her body gently, continuing to speak. As she stroked my tail, her appearance felt strangely alluring, or perhaps that was just my imagination.

“I’ll help you pick out clothes, but in return, can I receive just one thing?”

“Clothes? Of course. You can pick out as many as you want….”

“No. Not that kind of thing.”

Her red eyes, which seemed like they would fall out at any moment, looked up at me. In them, blue eyes were reflected, creating a shimmering purple hue like heat haze.

“I want to receive Sister.”

“Huh?”

My head tilted.

What does it mean to receive me?

I couldn’t open my mouth. If I answered carelessly and said something strange, it would become an embarrassing black history. Seeing Iris say this, it must have a specific meaning… but I couldn’t deduce it with my knowledge.

After much deliberation, I had to give the standard answer: I don’t know what it means.

“Sorry, I don’t understand what you mean.”

“….”

Iris’s face contorted.

Did I say the wrong thing?

As I stammered, unsure of what to say, Iris lowered her head. Seeing her begin to tremble, I reached out my hand, worried, but then Iris lifted her head and looked up at me.

“Sister.”

“Yes.”

“Is it because I’m too young?”

“Um…?”

Beneath her red eyes, tears welled up as if they were about to fall. However, Iris seemed to be trying hard not to cry, and asked with determined eyes.

“Is it because I’m still an elementary school student? Is that why I can’t?”

“Uh….”

“I didn’t try to monopolize you like someone else, and I purely wished for your happiness, so I even changed the school to your liking….”

What on earth does she mean by changing the school to my liking?

Before I could even ask, Iris continued.

“Or is it because I’m a commoner? You’re the daughter of a Grand Duke, and I’m just a commoner, so is that why it’s not possible? Then you should have just not taken care of me, why did you give me hope that couldn’t be fulfilled….”

“Uh, um, Iris. I think you’re misunderstanding something.”

I grabbed Iris’s shoulder and said.

“It doesn’t matter at all that Iris is a commoner.”

Although I was born into a high-ranking noble family, I never felt anything about social hierarchy. When I lived in the North, I only repeated the experience of collapsing during training with my father and being buried in the snow. Moreover, since I’m a reincarnator, these distinctions feel awkward.

To me, it was absurd to say that it wasn’t possible because Iris was a commoner.

… I don’t know what ‘it’ is, but anyway.

“… Then is it really because I’m too young?”

“Yes.”

“Then later, when I grow up, will it be possible then?”

I don’t know what she’s talking about, but I decided to just go along with it. I nodded and stroked Iris’s head.

“It will be possible then.”

“When I grow up?”

“When you grow up.”

Iris lowered her head again. I could hear her stifled sobs. Wiping her eyes with her sleeve, Iris looked up at me with a determined expression. It seemed she had made a firm resolution in her heart.

“Then, until then, until I grow up, please wait for me.”

“Okay.”

“Come on, let’s go.”

With firm resolve, Iris grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the clothing store. I couldn’t figure out what kind of conversation they had even after we bought the clothes.

[Master doesn’t mind children, though.]

“… What do you mean?”

[Hehe….]

Ur, who was tied to my waist, seemed to have guessed what Iris meant, but didn’t say it. I didn’t want to command her for such a trivial matter, so I had to dress Flora with a head full of questions.

The next thing that happened was my mother appearing before me.