Ch.286286. Aunt Deia

[Stella, look at this.]

“……”

When I returned to the room again.

The moment I saw the scene unfolding before my eyes, an intense wave of fatigue washed over me.

Even after pressing my eyelids firmly and checking again, nothing had changed.

[Oh my, how cute.]

I had only been out of Soho’s room for about 1-2 hours.

The Dark Spiritmaster who had threatened to kill me was now tickling Soho under the chin and laughing.

“Purrrr!”

And Soho was laughing too, enjoying her touch while making happy sounds.

“What’s going on here?”

This situation defies common sense, doesn’t it? The Dark Spiritmaster who had clearly threatened to kill me before I left was now smiling and petting Soho.

From a distance, Stella, who had been sighing, approached me with quick steps as if she’d been waiting.

[Umm…]

But even the former Saintess seemed unsure how to explain the current situation.

[They’ve… become friends.]

I thought that was a rather inadequate explanation, but I couldn’t blame Stella.

I probably wouldn’t have known how to explain it either if I were in her position.

The Dark Spiritmaster, unaware that I had entered, continued to crouch in front of Soho, petting him.

[At first, she was worried he might try to escape somewhere, so she kept her eyes fixed on him.]

“……”

[Then I guess she started finding him cute. That, that can happen! Right?]

“It doesn’t seem possible.”

[……]

Stella and I turned simultaneously to look at the Dark Spiritmaster.

“Purrrr!”

[Oh, you’re so cute! I wonder if this is what having a cat would be like. I should have kept one in my lab when I was alive.]

That’s definitely not a cat.

[Aren’t you hungry? Should I give you something to eat?]

This child could potentially become a man-eating monster.

[Look how soft the fur is!]

A Black Mage using Heralahazad’s residual power to feel the texture of a monster.

If this were a normal situation, I would have just let it be.

[Should I, should I stop her?]

“Just leave her be. I’m curious to see how far this goes.”

[…That might take quite a while.]

Pretending not to hear Stella’s meaningful comment, I changed the subject.

About Goven, who claimed to be Sevia’s father. After hearing the whole story, Stella’s expression immediately darkened.

[This is a difficult problem.]

“Indeed.”

What made it difficult was that Sevia wasn’t old enough yet to express her opinion or understand the current situation.

[From Illuania’s perspective as a parent, it must be hard to choose what’s best for the child.]

“What do you think?”

The woman who had been a Saintess must have counseled many families. But she gave a bitter smile.

[Remember when we visited the brothel in Robern?]

“The Ophelia incident.”

We had gone to the brothel where she worked to punish a woman who killed people out of love.

[Back then, you said something while looking at the children’s souls. That there are things only parents can provide.]

“……”

[This situation is similar. In the end, it’s the parent who must make the choice. Whatever advice I give won’t be of much help.]

“I see.”

[But there is one thing I can tell you for certain.]

Raising one finger like a teacher, Stella smiled.

[Whatever choice is made, if it’s for Sevia’s sake, there’s no need to regret it.]

“……”

[Usually, these kinds of choices inevitably lead to regret.]

So no matter what choice is made, one will end up regretting not choosing differently.

That was as far as the Saintess’s advice went. From here on, Illuania would have to choose.

[What do you think?]

“Hmm.”

[After all, she’s practically your stepdaughter. You even named her.]

“Do I have that right?”

I wondered if I could take on the role of Sevia’s stepfather, even if Illuania didn’t mind.

If anything, that made me more reluctant to express my opinion on this matter.

Stella understood my position, but still.

[Please tell me anyway.]

Stella can’t relay my words to anyone else. With the feeling of unburdening my heart in a place where nothing can leak out, I spoke.

“I hope this man Goven is decent.”

[……]

“Even if he has an unsavory past frequenting brothels. The same applies to Illuania.”

[You’re hoping he’s changed? Enough to be Sevia’s father?]

“Yes, that would be the best outcome.”

[……]

Stella remained silent.

She was implicitly conveying that such a possibility wasn’t very high.

“Well, let’s wait and see what happens.”

[Yes, let’s.]

Our gazes turned back to the two in the center of the room.

[Ohhh! Ohhh! So cuuute!]

“Hehehe!”

The Dark Spiritmaster was now hugging Soho and rubbing her cheek against him.

Sighing at the reality that such a woman claimed to be my mentor, I honestly shared my thoughts.

“I guess they get along so well because they have similar mental ages.”

[…I can’t deny that.]

There are cases where adults behave like children. But even if she had been cooped up in her lab and starved for human interaction, this was too much.

And the Dark Spiritmaster was taking it even further.

[I should ask Deus Verdi if we can keep him! A name! I need to give him a name too!]

“That’s enough.”

I interrupted the deranged Black Mage who was trying to rename the child. Startled, the Dark Spiritmaster fluttered and looked up at me.

[Oh, oh, when did you get here?]

“It’s been about 10 minutes.”

[Y-you should have said something!]

“Sigh, I couldn’t bear to hear your insane talk about naming the child.”

[……]

“You know as well as I do that the child has a name, Soho. Just like you have the name Jenny.”

[D-don’t call me by that name!]

“Honestly, Jenny is better than Dark Spiritmaster.”

[That’s true, Senior Jenny.]

I wonder if it’s just my imagination that she looked more mature at 18 when I saw her in Mongma-jeon.

Or perhaps she hasn’t grown since then.

The Dark Spiritmaster flared up like she was throwing a tantrum.

[Aaaaah! I told you not to call me that! And Dark Spiritmaster is a cool name!]

As I waited to see how long she would keep this up, Stella suddenly seemed to remember something and giggled, pointing at Jenny.

[Jenny is Jaynie?]

“……”

[Wow.]

The air grew chilly.

It was such an unexpected situation that both the Dark Spiritmaster and I looked at Stella.

Realizing her joke had fallen flat, Stella blushed and hung her head.

Then horns sprouted from her forehead.

[If you don’t want to die laughing.]

A demon emerged to threaten us because we didn’t laugh at the Saintess’s joke.

“Sigh, this is exhausting.”

Whatever the case, the matter of Soho’s treatment was pushed back a bit.

* * *

“Ah, my head.”

Pressing her throbbing head, Deia sighed. How much time had been wasted with those hunters, and now this was happening.

“This house never knows peace.”

Should she really get married and leave home?

Deia rested her chin on her hand, entertaining these pointless thoughts.

Darius, standing before her, shrugged his shoulders proudly and said:

“At least I convinced Illuania to take some time before making a decision.”

He was the head of the family yet reporting to his younger sister for praise.

Normally she would have made a cutting remark, but not today.

“You did well.”

Illuania was trying to accept Goven for Sevia’s sake.

“We do need some time.”

“Yes, Illuania was trying to decide too suddenly. We should talk to Deus Verdi about it too.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Hm?”

Deia wasn’t referring to Illuania needing time to make a calm decision.

Clunk.

“You called?”

Just then, Findenai opened the door to Deia’s office. He was holding a broom.

“Why are you carrying a broom? You never clean.”

“I was playing hockey with the neighborhood kids using trash.”

“……”

Seeing this, Deia thought Findenai was truly remarkable. And he still collected his salary regularly.

“You need to earn your keep. It’s time to work.”

“I do work, don’t I? Besides smashing people’s heads.”

Picking his ear indifferently, Findenai responded, and Deia gave him a sly smile.

“It’s similar to smashing people’s heads. Except you’re using information instead of an axe.”

“Hm?”

At her meaningful words, both Darius and Findenai looked at her.

Deia spoke coldly under their gaze.

“Goven. He’s a coachman, right? But he doesn’t just transport people, he also carries goods.”

“……”

Realizing this was related to Illuania, Findenai put down his broom and listened attentively.

His previously relaxed blood-red eyes sharpened, beginning to track his prey.

“A quick investigation showed he works for Wellington Trading Company. They have an agreement with the royal family to send aid supplies to the Republic of Clark.”

“Oh?”

Findenai’s lips curled up slightly as his interest grew.

“Go and dig into him. Use the junkyard guys, use the family servants, whatever. You can even bribe people. He’s ex-Resistance, so they must have done background checks.”

“I’m not great at this, but I have subordinates who specialize in it.”

His curling lips had transformed into a sly smile. Strangely, Findenai’s demeanor seemed reassuringly reliable.

“Goven and Wellington Trading Company. The guy next to you will take responsibility as head of the family, so dig up everything.”

“…I’ll take responsibility?”

Darius was bewildered by this sudden statement, but Deia clenched and unclenched her fist, declaring coldly:

“If even a speck of dust comes up, that runaway bastard and Wellington Trading Company will both be screwed that very day.”

“Oh, this is fun! Fun! My specialty! Can I rough people up a bit too?”

“If there’s a problem, just beat them up. Darius will take responsibility anyway.”

“Yes! Pleasure without responsibility!”

With those words, Findenai left. He would immediately contact the junkyard members and start digging into Goven’s background.

“…Isn’t this too extreme? If they’re working for the royal family, they must be quite significant. If we step in carelessly, it could backfire… and I’m the one taking responsibility.”

Darius asked with an aggrieved expression, but Deia glared at him.

“Isn’t Sevia Deus Verdi’s stepdaughter? He even named her.”

Sevia, meaning savior.

She was a precious child who had stopped Deus Verdi’s rampage.

“Well, I suppose so.”

“Then I’m her aunt, right?”

“……”

“An aunt should do at least this much.”

Gritting her teeth, Deia spoke sincerely.

“I truly hope that Goven has been working cleanly. I hope he can become Sevia’s proper father.”

“If.”

Darius vaguely understood Deia’s feelings, but still asked out of concern:

“If there’s a problem?”

“Heh.”

Deia’s lips curled up slightly.

Why did her chilling smile seem so cruel?

“He’ll regret it.”

And.

“Very much so.”