episode_0027

“Irina!!”

Eleina rushed into the room when she heard something fall from beyond the door.

Following her into the room, what met my eyes was Irina, sprawled on the floor, gasping for breath.

“Irina, wake up!”

No matter how much Eleina shook her by the shoulders, Irina showed no sign of waking.

[Irina? Are you okay? Irina!] Hearing Clint’s frantic voice, I approached the desk and touched the switch in the middle of the communication device. The mana forming the screen dispersed, and Clint’s face disappeared.

“Yaru-o-nim, Irina!” I turned around, having picked up the cellphone next to the communication device, and Eleina was looking up at me with tearful eyes. It seemed her husband’s voice, which had been audible just moments ago, was no longer on her mind. This likely meant that my presence had grown more significant to her than Clint’s.

“Calm down, Eleina.” However, Eleina, in her panic, was not in a state to regain composure with just a few words. Any parent would be like this if their child suddenly fainted, but it was even more sensitive for Irina.

“This isn’t due to mana hypersensitivity.” “…Huh?” Eleina blinked repeatedly, as if dazed by my words. A tear that had clung to her chin fell and soaked into her ample chest.

“Not mana hypersensitivity, you say? But Yaru-o-nim, how do you know about that illness…?” “I’ll explain later. First, cast a healing spell on Irina.” “Yes, yes.” Eleina, though bewildered, obediently followed my instructions. Irina’s complexion quickly improved after receiving the healing magic.

“Good. Now, let’s put Irina on the bed.” “Um, Yaru-o-nim, do you know why Irina collapsed?” Of course, I did. She ended up like that because of me. Though her fainting was unexpected.

“Irina is just exhausted from excessive fatigue. Perhaps ‘body aches’ would be easier to understand?” “Body aches?” Yes. Body aches. I merely used a suggestion to make Irina feel extreme fatigue. The first reason was to mislead them into thinking it was a symptom of mana hypersensitivity. The second was to mentally weaken Irina. In fact, the conversation between Clint and Irina proceeded exactly as intended. Her longing, sorrow, and sense of absence toward her father. She even revealed emotions she would normally keep tightly suppressed. But I never imagined she would faint due to her emotions becoming so intense.

‘Next time I use suggestions to manipulate someone’s condition, I need to be more careful.’ As Eleina and I laid Irina on the bed, the blanket over her chest gently rose and fell with her steady breathing.

“Whew.” Only then did Eleina sigh in relief, patting her chest. “Let Irina sleep, and let’s go out. I’ll tell you everything about what we need to do from now on.” “From now on, what we need to do?” “Yes. It’s about our family coming together anew.” Eleina didn’t understand my words at first, but after hearing the explanation, she willingly participated in the plan. However, for making Irina like this for the sake of the plan, I had to endure a harsh scolding for several hours. The saying that a normally gentle person is the scariest when they get angry was no exception for her.

**** I almost died when I was young. Back when my family and I lived in our hometown, Greenwood. I was 20 at the time when I was walking with my mother and suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed. It was so long ago, and it happened in an instant, so I don’t remember it clearly. But my mother’s scream and her pale face from that time are still vivid in my mind. To a human, it would be like seeing a child who just started walking collapse before their eyes. If I were my mother, I would have reacted the same way.

‘Mana Hypersensitivity.’ Or ‘Aether Imbalance Syndrome.’ That was the name of the illness I was born with. The illness caused various rejection reactions due to a misalignment in the body’s mana regulation organs. When mild, it caused nausea, headaches, and a slight fever. Severely, it led to difficulty breathing and abnormal heartbeats. In the worst case, it was a terrible disease that could lead to death due to mana surging out of control within the body.

The funny thing was, mana hypersensitivity didn’t mean a rejection reaction to mana itself. If it did, there would be nowhere in this world for me to live. The rejection reaction only occurred with mana of specific wavelengths. For me, that was the mana of my hometown, Greenwood. In other words, I was born with a body incompatible with my hometown. It might seem like an absurd illness, but what could I do? I was born with it.

Anyway, after that, my days in my hometown turned into hell. Since it was a rare disease, there was no way to know the cure. All I could do was manage the symptoms at best. I had to wear a cumbersome device, some kind of filtering mechanism, at all times, without taking it off for a second. I also took mana suppressants regularly. The few friends I had naturally grew distant. My own kind would look at me with pity and unease whenever I passed by. While my physical condition didn’t worsen as before, my mental state began to deteriorate. Eventually, my parents, unable to bear seeing me like that, took me from our hometown and moved to the forest where we live now.

Silvana. The forest, which elves called ‘Serene,’ was far from any race’s territory, preserving nature as it was. Most importantly, the overall mana density was low, reducing the possibility of any rejection reactions. As my physical condition improved living in the forest, my damaged mind recovered naturally. Perhaps due to trauma, I couldn’t use magic itself, but there was no particular inconvenience. I thought it would be fine to continue living in the forest with my parents like this. What if there was little to do, and every day was boring? Just having my parents by my side was enough for me to be content.

However, my father and mother seemed to think differently from me. After about ten years of living in the forest, my father decided to return to our hometown, saying he would find a way to cure my condition. Was it to analyze the mana wavelength of our hometown? But none of that mattered to me. I had no attachment or affection for my hometown or my own kind anyway. It was enough for me just to live peacefully with my family. However, as a child, I couldn’t bring myself to stop my father, who was determined to find a way to cure my illness. My father, who said he would visit us occasionally before leaving, Never showed his face to my mother or me for 150 years.

**** “Mm.” My eyes opened at a ticklish sensation in my ear. As I opened my eyes, I saw a familiar ceiling through my blurry vision.

‘What happened?’ As my consciousness gradually awakened, past memories surfaced one by one. I was clearly talking with Dad in the room, and my emotions got intense… Right, I collapsed on the floor. Did I lose consciousness immediately after that? How much time has passed? Where’s Mom? Where’s *that person*? ‘That’s right. The cellphone…!’

“Are you awake?” “Oh…?” As I hastily tried to sit up, a voice from near the edge of the bed filled my mind. Soon after, a soft touch gently stroked my bangs. A hand larger than my mother’s, rough yet dependable.

“Dad?” “Yes, my daughter.” My father, sitting on the edge of the bed, smiled at me. Although it was hard to see clearly due to the lantern light shining from behind, it was undeniably my father’s face. Even after 150 years, there was no mistaking it.

“Is it… real?” “Of course, it’s real. My daughter, can’t you recognize your dad?” His playful words made an inexplicable surge of emotion well up within me. Against my will, my eyes grew hot.

“How…?” “How could your dad just sit by when I heard my daughter collapsed? The sun has set, but I’m glad I wasn’t too late.” So that’s what happened. Even though I knew I shouldn’t, I couldn’t help but think that collapsing was a good thing.

“Dad is sorry for getting angry earlier today. I didn’t understand my daughter’s feelings.” A warm hand covered the back of mine. It really was Dad.

“…Hmph. It’s fine as long as you know now.” Again, my mouth moved on its own, contrary to my true feelings. Still, Dad casually laughed it off.

“Irina. From today, Dad will live here too.” “Is… is that true?” “Yes. If my daughter wants it, what else matters?” While I was happy at my father’s words, a forgotten anxiety reared its head in a corner of my mind.

“But, that Yaru-o fellow…” “Hm? Yaru-o?” “Oh, speaking of which, Dad, where’s Mom?” I asked my father, sitting up and looking towards the desk. The cellphone I had placed there before losing consciousness was no longer there.

“Mom is resting in the living room right now. Why?” “Didn’t you see him, Dad? He’s a guy named Yaru-o who came from another world, with a face as sinister as a goblin’s. Because of him, Mom…!” “Calm down, Irina.” “How can I calm down? If we leave him be, who knows what he’ll do next.” “Hmm. Yaru-o, you say. I didn’t see anyone like that when I arrived, at least.”

“What?” That can’t be right? He definitely existed. I spent a week with him, even if I didn’t want to. Could it be, did he run away? There’s no way he’d give up so easily…

“Irina.” At that moment, my father’s arms gently wrapped around my back. A comforting warmth enveloped my face.

“You’ve been very anxious all this time, haven’t you? Now that Dad’s here, everything will be alright.” “…Yes.” So that’s it. It’s all over now. It was just as I thought. As expected, when Dad comes, everything gets resolved. I don’t know what happened to that Yaru-o fellow. Who cares? Dad is here now. That’s enough. It felt like I had just woken up from a long nightmare.

“…A goblin, huh. So that’s how you saw him.” “Huh? What did you just say, Dad?” “Oh, nothing. But Irina, how’s your body feeling?” “…Now that you mention it, it doesn’t hurt much.” My body, which had felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton until earlier today, was now light as a feather. Did Dad do something?

“That’s good then. There’s no time to delay, so let’s start quickly.” Saying that, Dad pushed me away from his embrace, then slowly began to take off his clothes. Not just the white outer robe he was wearing, but all the clothes underneath as well.

“Wh-what are you doing?!” At Dad’s sudden action, I instinctively raised my hands to cover my eyes. Meeting after such a long time, and he’s just stripping in front of his daughter out of nowhere!? What is he trying to do?!

“From now on, I’m going to cure your mana hypersensitivity.” Unlike me, Dad’s voice was calm. “C-cure? That’s too sudden! Why are you taking off your clothes?!” No matter what I said, the sound of Dad undressing continued without stopping. “And, you said that would take more time for clinical trials and whatnot!” “Not anymore. I’ve found a way to cure your illness without all those cumbersome processes.”

The bed creaked once. The blanket covering me was pulled aside, and I felt Dad slowly approaching. What on earth is going on? Soon, Dad grabbed my hands, which were covering my eyes, and moved them aside. My father’s naked body, which I couldn’t even remember seeing, came into view. Even the object dangling from his lower body was exposed without restraint.

‘Why, why is it so big in this situation?!’ “Irina.” “Hmph!?” I was so flustered that I couldn’t even speak properly, when suddenly Dad grabbed my shoulders. Then, with a heavily serious expression and voice: “From now on, let’s have sex, Daughter.” All the emotion from just moments before was completely blown away.

**** [Status Window] Name: Irina. Age: 198 years old. Race: High Elf. Lewdness: 30/100. Obedience: 10/100. [Special Notes] -Suffering from a rare disease: Mana Hypersensitivity. [Status] -Happy that Dad has returned. -Confused by Dad’s unexplained actions. **** [Suggestion] -Irina- [Recognize Yaru-o as Dad.]