「Welcome back, Father」
「I’m home, Mother」
「How was work today?」
「The situation on the front is not good… The southern fortress of Keridoades has fallen. The west at Trawistia is still holding, but I doubt it will last much longer…」
「I see, that sounds serious」
「We have also lost contact with Marsuat’s unit. Things are looking grim…」
「Here you go, Father, dinner is ready」
「Thank you. …Ah, this dish was Hezrat’s favorite. It has been four years since he passed. At this rate, I might see him again sooner than I thought…」
I gave a bitter, knowing smile.
…………If you’re wondering what’s going on, right now I am in the middle of playing house outside with my childhood friend, Ralina-chan.
As someone who is essentially thirty-two years old, I felt a bit of resistance to playing make-believe so innocently, so I decided to weave in a heavier setting. To my surprise, Ralina-chan enjoyed it a lot.
Today, I am once again improvising as a made-up father character, and she is laughing with delight.
Honestly, I cannot help but wonder if this is bad for Ralina-chan’s emotional development. Still, since she clearly enjoys this more than normal play, we often end up doing these kinds of roleplays with heavy themes, despite my mild concern.
「Ah, Hezrat… Hezrat… Why did you have to protect someone like me…」
「Here, Father, have some more」
While I was worrying about Ralina-chan’s future, the play had already moved into its climax.
…Who even is Hezrat? I was just going along with the flow, but apparently there was someone who died protecting me.
And while I am grieving over my dear friend’s untimely death, Ralina-chan is calmly offering seconds. Is she really going to be alright?
「—You’re always playing with girls!」
The sudden shout of a boy’s voice cut into our scene, a strange mix of heartwarming and tragic.
「Huh?」
Ralina-chan also looked puzzled.
…Let’s see, who was he again? I’ve seen him around the village. If I recall correctly, his name was Je… Jade-kun?
He looked about the same age as me and Ralina-chan. Lively features, full of youthful energy, also a handsome boy. As expected of an elf(sasuga elf). Sa-su-elf.
「Hello, Jade-kun」
「It’s Jered!」
I had gotten it completely wrong, and I honestly felt bad about it.
…Oh? Ralina-chan was now hiding behind me in fear. As a man, I had no choice but to protect her.
By the way, Ralina-chan is taller than me, so she is not actually hidden behind me at all. Tragic.
「Sorry, Jered-kun. Ah, I’m Alec. So, what did you want?」
「Hmph. You’re always playing with girls. That’s so lame!」
Ah, that phase. Kids go through that stage where they tease boys for playing with girls.
…But Jered-kun doesn’t get it. Playing with girls is not lame. Maybe you can’t understand now, but you will when you grow up. In fact, it’s the boys who can’t play with girls who end up on the lame side.
「…W-what?」
At some point, I was smiling at Jered-kun with the face of a bodhisattva. He shrank back in fear.
…well, he is a good-looking kid. There’s no way he would ever end up on the side of boys who can’t play with girls.
「Hii… W-what’s your deal? I-I’m leaving」
At some point, I had started glaring at him with the face of a demon. He flinched and ran off somewhere. …So much for a successful first contact.
I thought he might end up becoming my best friend character… After all, I needed someone like him to replace my dear friend Hezrat…
「Onii-chan」
When I looked down, Ralina-chan was tugging on my clothes and staring up at me with anxious eyes.
…For some reason, Ralina-chan calls me onii-chan.
It is true I act like an older brother to her, and since I am essentially thirty-two years old, I must look very much like an older brother to a five-year-old girl.
But if a thirty-two-year-old man who is not family lets a five-year-old girl call him onii-chan, well, that could become a problem.
I once asked Ralina mama about it out of concern, but she just laughed and said, 『Let her call you what she wants. In fact, act more like a big brother to her』.
If that’s the case, then as her big brother, I should check on her when she looks worried like this.
I wonder what’s wrong with her? She seems troubled about something. I want to solve it quickly and put her at ease.
As her brother, I should know what’s bothering her… Naturally, I do…
「Do you need to use the toilet?」
「No」
Apparently not. That’s troubling. Then I have no idea. I guess I still lack experience as a brother.
「Then what is it?」
「Should Ralina… not play with onii-chan anymore?」
Ah, I see now, Ralina-chan must have been upset by Jered-kun calling me “lame”. …And she’s already on the verge of tears. Unforgivable, Jered-kun! Even if you were my best friend, making my little sister cry is crossing the line.
「That’s not true at all. I like playing with you, Ralina-chan, and I’d be sad if we couldn’t play anymore. Don’t you feel the same?」
「I do」
「G-g-good. I’m glad」
…Phew. If my pure, innocent little-sister-like Ralina-chan, someone I’ve been happily playing with for years, had said, “Even if we couldn’t play anymore… whatever”, I’d never recover. I regretted even asking the question the moment it left my mouth.
…What a pitiful sight this is: a thirty-two-year-old man, terrified of being brushed off by a five-year-old girl.
「I think… maybe Jered-kun actually wanted to play with us」
「Really?」
「Yeah. But he couldn’t figure out how to ask, so he ended up saying something mean instead」
After all, there aren’t many kids in this village. If a child around your age looks like they’re having fun, of course you’d want to join in.
…Come to think of it, he said, “You’re always playing with girls”. That means he’s been watching us often… Poor kid. I should’ve noticed sooner.
The lack of kids is probably due to elves’ low birthrate. It makes sense, if you live for centuries, having a high birthrate would cause the village, no, the world to burst at the seams.
In this super low-birthrate, high-longevity elven society, having ‘three’ kids of the same age is probably the rarer case.
「Next time we see him, I’m thinking of inviting Jered-kun to play with us. What do you think?」
「…I just want to play with onii-chan alone」
「…But don’t you think Jered-kun might be lonely? Not always, but sometimes… would that be okay?」
「Alright… then, fine. As long as it’s a boy.」
「Thanks, Ralina-chan」
So girls are off-limits? Why’s that? Does she just want more boy friends than girl friends?
—That’s probably what a dense protagonist would think.
But I know the truth. This is little Ralina-chan’s possessiveness talking: “I don’t want to share onii-chan with other girls!”
…At least, I think that’s it. If I’m wrong, this is one hell of an embarrassing delusion. I’m not entirely sure…
…Crap. I’m being completely played by a five-year-old girl.
Next chapter: Hurry Up and Fall for Me!
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