Chapter 24 – Ariel. Shall We Sleep?

Ariel. Shall We Sleep?

——

“Who did you marry and have children with?!!!! Two of them at that!!!!”
…What?

No wonder the person wearing the hood looked familiar when we bumped into each other, to think it was none other than Liste.
But wait, what did Liste just say?
I had children? Me? Two of them?
“What are you talk—”
“Don’t play dumb! With… with such big children…!”

Could she be talking about Saya and Puel?
“I heard everything from Marian! That you’re raising children! Two of them! Marian wouldn’t lie, would she?”
She had been on the verge of tears since I first saw her, but now she was almost wailing, with crystal-like tears rolling down her cheeks.

I certainly want to deny it, but I don’t even know where to start correcting the misunderstandings.
At least I know who’s responsible for causing this situation.
‘Marian…!’
“Ariel.. bad. Made person cry.”
“Sister Ariel… That person looks very sad..”
I want to cry too, kids.

——

After barely managing to bring the wailing Liste into the house, I decided to wait until her crying stopped.
“Without a word.. sniff.. you disappeared…”
“Don’t cry. Stop.”
“…Cheer up…”

Saya and Puel are comforting Liste beside her.
It’s a heartwarming scene, but… somehow I feel like the bad guy.
“Then.. really.. Ariel’s children.. they’re not…?”
“I’m telling you they’re not. Think about it. Even if I had given birth to children during the time I left you all, there’s no way they could have grown this much, right?”

Although Saya and Puel might look a bit young, their appearance is about that of elementary to middle school students if compared to Earth.
…Considering that the time I was separated from the hero party was just about half a year, it’s nonsense.
“I guess… you’re right… sniff…”
Liste wiping her tears with a handkerchief.

‘She really looks like a perfectly made statue.’
…It’s not an appropriate appreciation right now, but she really looks like an exquisitely carved statue.
The reason Liste came to be called the representative of the goddess was not only because of her immense holy power, but also because of that appearance.

“Phew… I’m sorry. I caused trouble. Thank you too, little ladies.”
“Saya. Not little.”
After some time passed, Liste, who had stopped crying, apologized to us.
“It’s okay. By the way, how did you find this place?”
“…Marian told me.”

As expected, it was Marian.
“Anyway. Ariel. If it wasn’t because of children, why did you leave us? Leaving just a single letter behind at that.”
While I was having reasonable suspicions, Liste spoke to me in a voice tinged with subtle anger.
The same situation as with Marian.

Belatedly, I realized that I had done a terrible thing to my party members.
Actually, after meeting Marian, I did think about contacting other party members.
But Leon and Mona are currently in a place too far for communication magic to reach, in order to subjugate the remnants of the Demon King’s army.

I also heard from Marian that Liste was busy with her duties as a saint, so I was planning to contact them when the party members had some free time.

…To be honest, I was also afraid.
Even though I realized that they were people who wouldn’t give up on me, I couldn’t muster the courage easily.
But now that I’ve decided to face them, I can’t run away again at this point.

“I’m sorry, Liste. It’s going to be a bit of a long story, is that okay?”
“Yes.”
After asking Saya and Puel to leave us alone for a while, I explained to Liste the circumstances of why I left the hero party.
The same story I told Marian a few weeks ago.

“So that’s what happened…”
What I felt from Liste after she heard my whole story was a subtle anger.
…As expected, Marian was a bit of a special case, and Liste’s reaction is probably more typical.
It’s only natural that leaving without a word, just leaving a single letter behind, should be criticized.

I waited for Liste’s reproach with the feeling of a criminal.
“Idiot. Dummy.”
Thump. Liste, who had approached me, lightly hit my arm with her delicate hand.
“Do you know… how much I… worried…”

Continuously.
“..do you?! I… I”
Continuously. Her arms kept hitting me.
“Th-thought that… Ariel… had come to… dislike us…”

Liste continued speaking with a trembling voice as if overcome with emotion.
Even in that moment, I could feel through her delicate hands that she was controlling her strength, worried that I might get hurt.
…A glimpse of her gentleness.

“Ariel is an idiot. Really. Not even knowing how much we care about you.”
Eventually, Liste stopped hitting me and gently hugged me.
“…I’m sorry.”

Her trembling transmitted through her body.
After some time passed in that state, when her trembling had almost stopped.
Liste, who was hugging me, whispered softly in my ear.
“Now. I won’t let you go. Ariel.”

…The feeling that the force of her hug has gotten stronger must be my imagination.

After the conversation ended, we had a light dinner with the children.
“Kuu….”
Saya and Puel must have been very tired, as they were sleeping peacefully lying on the sofa.
“…They’re cute. Ariel. How did you end up raising a dragon and an elf..?”
“Well… It’s a long story…”

I briefly explained to Liste the reason why I ended up living with Saya and Puel.
The fact that Saya was abandoned by her parents and came to this house, and Puel was a victim of slave trafficking.
After hearing how Saya and Puel came to live with me, Liste looked at the peacefully sleeping children with pitying eyes.

“That’s sad…. But I’m relieved. Because if they’re with you, Ariel, these children can be happy too.”
“You think so..?”

Honestly, I’m not confident.
Can I, who grew up without parents, properly play the role of a parent for them?
“Yes. Those children always had happy expressions when they were with you.”

As if guessing my anxiety, Liste offered words of warm comfort.
Thanks to that, I feel like I’ve gained a bit of confidence.
“…Thank you, Liste.”
“It’s nothing.”

After moving the children sleeping on the sofa to their room, only Liste and I remained in the living room.
The surroundings were already enveloped in the darkness of night. It’s a bit late for Liste to return.
“Liste. It’s late… Do you want to stay over?”
“Eeh?!”

Liste seemed somehow startled. Did I say something strange?
“You don’t want to..? If you don’t want to, I can take you back with teleportation magic..”
“I want to! I really want to!”
“O-okay…”

She grabbed my hands and shook her head vigorously.
Puel and Saya are currently sleeping well on the bed in my room.
Although the bed is quite large, it’s a bit small for all of us to sleep on.

Fortunately, we have extra blankets, so it seems we’ll have to sleep in the living room. I feel a bit bad about making a guest sleep in the living room, but..
“I’m sorry but.. the bed is a bit small. We’ll have to sleep in the living room.”
“…With Ariel?”
“I’ll sleep in the living room too. I can’t let the guest sleep in the living room while I sleep alone in the bed.”
“Okay! Let’s sleep together!”

Liste smiled brightly even though she was being asked to sleep in the living room, which could be seen as rude in a way.
She must be reacting like that out of consideration for me. I feel grateful for her kindness.
“Phew…phew… Calm down…Liste…”
“What did you say, Liste? I couldn’t hear well…”
“N-nothing!”

She seems a bit flushed… Maybe it’s because her skin is so white.
I shrugged it off and went into the room where Saya and Puel were sleeping.
“Kuu…”
“Riel…sister…”

The children sleeping peacefully. They say sleeping children look like angels, and that saying is not wrong at all.
No, our children are angels even when they’re not sleeping, aren’t they?

I carefully tiptoed out of the room so as not to wake the children, took out the blankets, and returned to the living room.
“Liste, you sleep on the sofa. I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“Um… Ariel.”

Liste spoke to me with her head bowed. What is she trying to say?
“…Won’t you sleep together with me?”
“Hm? Aren’t we already going to sleep together?”

“Th-that’s not what I mean! Sleep next to me!”
She spoke to me with a shy expression.
…Does she mean we should just sleep together on the floor?
‘Maybe she feels bad about sleeping alone on the sofa.’

“I don’t mind sleeping on the sofa…”
“But I mind. Come on. Hurry up and come here.”
She had already snatched the blanket from my arms and set it up on the floor. Her movements were very swift.
Pat pat. Liste patted the spot next to her, urging me to come quickly.
“Alright. Just a moment.”

I turned off the magic lamp in the living room, then went and lay down next to Liste.

A quiet night with moonlight softly illuminating the room.
…The two of us lay side by side in the living room, quietly reminiscing about old memories.

“…It reminds me of old times, Ariel.”
“Yeah..”
When we were traveling around as members of the hero party, camping was our daily routine, so we often slept in the same place like this.
Of course, compared to those days, it’s incomparably more comfortable now.

“Marian, unlike her appearance, talked quite a bit in her sleep.”
“…That’s right. I woke up so many times because she kept hugging me in her sleep.”
.

“Did you know this, Ariel? Leon and Mona became lovers.”
“Re-really? Somehow.. I did notice signs of that before.. It’s not that surprising..”
.
“Ariel. Why did you contact Marian first? I was there too, you know.”
“Ha-haha… Sorry..”

We continued to chat happily for a long time after that.
‘I’m getting a bit sleepy…’
Maybe because of going out during the day, my eyes started to close due to the approaching drowsiness.
…Liste seemed to be getting sleepy too, her eyes half-closed.

“Good night, Liste.”
“Good night, Ariel.”
Thinking that I’d like to go on a journey with the party members again someday─ I fell asleep with a pleasant tiredness.

.
.
.
“Ariel.. Are you asleep?”
After confirming that Ariel had fallen asleep, Liste’s eyes suddenly opened wide as if nothing had happened.
Then, her shadow fell over Ariel’s face.
“It’s Ariel’s fault for being so defenseless.”

…Liste’s night was a bit longer than Ariel’s.

A warm morning with sunlight shining through the window.

‘Why am I so tired…..’
My whole body feels stiff, as if I didn’t sleep at all.
Maybe yesterday’s outing was too tiring. Or it might be because I slept on the floor instead of my usual bed.
To think I would toss and turn in my sleep enough to mess up my clothes completely.

“Hmm….”
In contrast, Liste seems to have slept very soundly, her already white skin looking even more soft and radiant.
She looks very happy…
I gazed at Liste’s peacefully sleeping face for a while, then covered myself with the blanket and went back to sleep.