Side Story 3 – A Boisterous Outing

I walked down the corridor, blurry but still in my memory.

As I walked down the same corridor I had once left the house by myself, with my own two feet, my feelings were truly mixed.

Perhaps it was because, unlike when I had secretly left alone, there were many people walking beside me.

After passing through a corridor that was neither too shabby nor too extravagant, I arrived at the room where I had spent my childhood.

I wondered if it might be covered in dust.

The inside of the room, which opened with a slight unease… was cleaner than I expected. To the point where it was hard to find a single speck of dust.

“It’s clean.”

I secretly wondered if it had been neglected.

Unlike my imagination, which had thought so.

Perhaps they hastily cleaned it upon hearing I would visit.

But to think so cynically, the scene inside the room didn’t seem much different from what I remembered.

Seeing traces that were not blurred by dirt and dust, but simply old, I silently gazed at them for a moment.

As I sank into thought, the women who followed me were also quiet, simply looking around the room without a word.

However, that silence did not last long.

“Is this… what you looked like as a child?”

Selina, with a slightly dazed expression, was looking at a picture in an old frame.

Waking from my useless thoughts, I approached her and checked the frame.

There, a picture of a boy with distinct features and a sulky face was held.

‘…Haa.’

Seeing that face, I felt truly strange.

Memories I thought had already faded suddenly popped out and flickered.

“Hmm… that’s right.”

With my answer, the companions who had been scattered here and there rushed over.

For some reason, Claudia, who was sniffing around on my Bed, said.

“It only smells like sunshine.”

“…Would it?”

As I chuckled in disbelief, she also grinned and turned her gaze to the picture Selina was holding.

It must have been her way of trying to ease my tension. I could feel my tension release with the chuckle that came from disbelief.

Meanwhile.

The companions who saw the picture all looked at me with strange eyes.

At the suddenly fervent gazes, I scratched my cheek and asked.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Hmm… no, I was just thinking you looked really cute when you were little.”

“…What?”

“And somehow, you also seem a bit similar to now?”

With a dumbfounded expression, I approached the companions again.

And then I checked the picture in the old frame.

…What’s similar about it?

At my sulky expression, the women gathered burst into laughter.

“It is similar, you know?”

“This is also, in its own way….”

“How did a kid like this end up like that….”

“Now that I look at it, it does seem similar.”

“You’re a completely different person compared to when you walked around the Academy with a frown.”

“Hmm….”

Each of them chiming in was overwhelming.

…It’s all good, but it would be really nice if they spoke one by one.

They ended up chatting for a long time, sharing both existing and non-existing memories.

The companions, who had been drooling like hyenas until they came to my room, once the chatter began, continued to chatter as if they never got tired.

I carefully called someone and had snacks for them to eat and drink brought into the room.

…Gathering in one place like this is rare outside of meal times, so it was an unfamiliar sight.

Even if that weren’t the case, everyone is busy with their own tasks.

Then, as the topic shifted to me, I cleared my throat and deliberately lay down on the Bed where I used to try to sleep.

It wasn’t to sleep.

…Should I say I was just a little embarrassed?

Anyway, it was a bit awkward.

Perhaps they understood me, as they didn’t bother to hold me back.

…Or maybe it was because they wanted to gossip more excitedly.

The room was spacious enough even though I used it as a child, so although their voices buzzed, I couldn’t quite hear the content.

Lying on the Bed that still felt quite large for my current body, it was natural that those times came to mind.

‘…Indeed.’

Now that I’ve let go of the accumulated misunderstandings and emotions, and think about it… I wonder if I was a bit immature.

Perhaps because the memories of my previous life weren’t that long.

Or whether my mind followed my body after being reborn into a young body, it was difficult to judge now.

However.

For myself, who lay alone in this large Bed during childhood, perhaps it was unavoidable.

Since I was suddenly born into a world where the common sense I knew was distorted, those feelings might have been even stronger.

Therefore, my goal at that time was solely to earn enough Money to recreate the life from my memories, even outside… and to devote myself to Alchemy.

Magic could have also been a good partner….

‘It’s funny to feel regret now.’

Or learning Magic again wouldn’t be bad.

Basic knowledge and talent still remain with me.

Because of that, Selina had me wrapped around her finger.

It wouldn’t be bad to walk the path I abandoned due to youthful folly again.

Now… well, I don’t have to worry about Money.

It might not be bad.

By the way.

It’s comfortable.

The large Bed that I felt was cold and uncomfortable as a child was now very comfortable.

…It might be that the Bed was changed, or that I adapted to a world that once felt only unfamiliar.

I felt quite good.

The sound of my wives’ laughter coming from afar could be heard softly.

Unconsciously, my eyes slowly closed.

Thump, thump, footsteps were heard.

Someone’s voice was heard.

“They’re smiling?”

“Hmm… perhaps they’re having a good dream?”

“Puhuhu….”

“Hmm.”

“…Don’t go up.”

“Why?”

With the voices drawing closer, I fell asleep.

I came to my senses when it was time for dinner.

The Children who had been happily playing with Mother and Older Sister clung to me as if they felt I was neglected.

“Mommy! This is yummy!”

“Yes. That’s right, eat a lot.”

“Please hug me.”

“Please stroke me!”

“Uh, yeah….”

As there were many wives, there were also many Children.

With my small body, the fact that I couldn’t indulge all their whims was simply regrettable.

If I indulged them all, they might become spoiled… well, if I indulge them, won’t someone else volunteer to be the bad guy?

If not… then it can’t be helped.

Unless they did something truly wrong, I didn’t particularly want to scold the Children.

They haven’t done anything wrong like that yet, and what can you do when Children do things unknowingly in the first place?

And when told, the Children listened well.

I did have a slight thought that they might be clinging to me too much….

Perhaps it’s because I had a childhood where I couldn’t do that.

If I couldn’t accept the Children’s desires, my heart ached.

…That’s why I keep feeling that my small body is a bit uncooperative.

What can I do? It’s something I chose, so it can’t be helped.

After finishing the meal in a harmonious atmosphere, I bathed with the Children.

Just by washing the Children’s bodies, my body got covered in foam.

But by this point, I started to feel a little uneasy.

‘…Why is it so quiet?’

Aren’t those who acted as if they would devour me any moment quiet?

The calm before the storm.

It would be a lie if I said I didn’t think that.

On the other hand, I was also a little… disappointed?

I, too… was also feeling a bit empty.

…Perhaps it was because I had sorted out my feelings.

When I first arrived here, my feelings were quite mixed.

They say it’s different when you go into the bathroom and when you come out, and it was truly so.

Anyway.

I put the Children to sleep in the room Mother and Older Sister prepared.

Since people were separately assigned to look after them, once I put them to sleep, I wouldn’t have to worry.

…Of course, if they cried looking for me, I would have to get up.

At least I wouldn’t wake up to crying.

Then, feeling a slight disappointment towards the silent women, the place I chose as my Bedroom was naturally my own room.

Standing in the middle of the room for a moment and looking at the window where moonlight streamed in, I moved my steps towards the Bed.

But… something was strange.

The Bed, which should have been flat, was bulging out.

The protruding tail told me who was inside.

“…Dia.”

The wagging tail quieted, and Claudia emerged from under the blanket.

“How did you know?”

A sly voice.

In disbelief, I chuckled like a sigh and replied.

“It doesn’t seem like you hoped I wouldn’t know.”

“Puhuhu… that’s true. What are you doing not coming in? I warmed it up nicely before you came.”

“….”

Claudia gently patting the blanket.

I, letting out a hollow laugh, carefully got into the Bed.

The words about warming it up weren’t a lie, as the Bed was very warm and filled with Claudia’s body scent.

“Hmm….”

As I inhaled that cozy and alluring scent and let out a sound, her strong hand wrapped around my waist.

“It seemed like you were waiting.”

“…Not really.”

“Really?”

Claudia, after a brief pause, said.

“But I was waiting.”

At her words that suddenly made me out to be a bad person, I narrowed my eyes, and she chuckled and kissed my lips.

My body, slowly heating up, and her body scent and my body scent mingled.

Just as the atmosphere was ripening.

With the door bursting open!

“Y-you really made the first move!”

“Oh, dear.”

Veronica’s voice was heard.