『What surprised you the most during your journey?』
While I was sharing stories from the trip, Nana-san suddenly asked me that question.
The most surprising thing…
I thought about it for a moment, but when it comes to the biggest one, it has to be that. That really caught me off guard.
The thing that surprised me the most was——
「Forest Hero?」
「That is what I heard」
So, I told Nana-san that my father had once been called the 『Forest Hero』.
「Grandfather, a Forest Hero…」
「Yes」
「Then Grandmother must be the Forest Sage…?」
「Eh? Ah, well——」
「That would make her a gorilla」
「Stop that」
What kind of thing are you saying all of a sudden, Nana-san?
It is true that gorillas are sometimes called that, but do not equate mother with a gorilla.
「Still, the Forest Hero…」
「Apparently, Forest Hero Sergent」
「It does make you laugh a little」
「Well…」
I can understand the feeling, though…
「…Wait. Was it actually okay for me to talk about this?」
「Is there a problem?」
「Well, it seems Father was embarrassed about being called that…」
It sounded like he was hiding it out of embarrassment. Telling Nana-san about it might not have been the best idea…
Jisrare-san mentioned it so casually that I ended up repeating it just as casually.
「Sorry, Nana-san. Could you forget what I just said?」
「That is quite an unreasonable request… but I will try」
「Thank you, Nana-san」
It does not sound very reliable, but I hope she does her best to keep it to herself.
「Still, that was the most surprising thing from your journey?」
「Yes. It was the biggest shock」
「…When you think about it, that has nothing to do with your journey itself」
「True…」
In other words, my journey really was that uneventful…
「Well, that about sums up this trip」
「I see… So when will you depart next time?」
「Next time… I am not sure. It will be after I deal with this face problem, but who knows when that will be…」
To begin with, I was a little worried about whether it was really okay to leave all the countermeasures to Jisrare-san…
「Ah, could it be that Master plans to shut himself in until then?」
「Eh? Ah… no, I think I will pass on that this time」
I did consider that before. I remember planning to stay shut in until the next departure.
But well, not this time. I will just go outside as usual.
「I will stay in for a few days, but after that I plan to act normally」
「So you will still shut yourself in for a few days… But Master, what about the double takes?」
「Hmm. Well, when I came back this time, I did not get that many double takes…」
When I returned yesterday, there were still some people who did a double take when they saw me, but not that many.
Quite a few just reacted normally, like, 『Oh, you are back』.
「It was tough when everyone kept doing double takes, but when they act completely normal, that feels a bit lonely too…」
Such a complicated maiden’s heart… not that I am a maiden, but something like that.
「Well, the people in the village probably do not know how to react either. It was supposed to be a two-year journey, yet you keep coming back after a day or a month」
「That is true…」
Though the way you put it is a bit…
「Even so, I believe many people are happy that you have returned. Quite a few were feeling lonely while you were away」
「Oh?」
Now that I want to hear. I definitely want to hear more about that.
Was it like that? Did the village feel empty without me?
「Of course our family, and also your friends, Master, were quite lonely」
「I see, I see」
「In addition, those who look forward to your oyuugikai, and those who usually receive money from you, were sincerely wishing for your return」
「…………」
The way you say that makes it sound like they missed the money more than they missed me…
「Well, once my shut-in period is over, I suppose I will go hand out money again… I would also like to do some appraisals after a while」
「I hope your journey has yielded some results」
「Indeed…」
Maybe I should also inform Yggdrasil-san of my return using 『Call』 while I am at it.
Apparently, from the time I informed Nana-san of my return via D-mail until now, Yggdrasil-san has not visited our house, so she likely still does not know that I am back.
If she still does not come even after my shut-in period ends, I should probably contact her myself and let her know. It would feel a bit rude for her to find out only after coming here.
I would also like to inform my other friends and acquaintances that I have returned…
But oh well. They will probably find out on their own soon enough. Elf gossip spreads incredibly fast, so it will likely reach even Lukmine Village by tomorrow… whether I like it or not.
As I was idly thinking about such things——
「Alecー」
「Hm? It is openー」
「Mind if I come in? Ah, Nana-san is here too」
「What is it, Father?」
After I responded and allowed him into the room——the Forest Hero walked in.
「Ah, of course, I do not need a reason to come by, right? It has been a month since we last met. I would not mind taking this chance to reaffirm our parent-child bond」
「Ah, yes, that is true. I also have many things I want to talk about, and I would like to hear about your journey」
Saying that, Forest Hero Sergent smiled happily.
「By the way… has something about you changed, Alec?」
「Hm? What is that supposed to mean? …Ah, could it be that I have matured a little after traveling?」
「No, not that. It is more like… the way you are looking at me feels strange. Like there is something behind it…」
「Hmm…」
「It feels like you are smirking a bit…」
「…………」
It seems Father has noticed that I have been calling him 『Forest Hero』 in my mind.
He is sharp, as expected…
「Actually, Nana-san also seems a bit strange…?」
「Oh? No, not at all, I am perfectly fine…」
It seems Nana-san has also been calling Father 『Forest Hero』 in her mind…
…No, but this is not good.
Laughing about it behind his back is not right.
In that case… should I tell him?
Yes, I should. I will be honest and tell him everything. Including the part where I already told Nana-san.
After confessing and apologizing… well, I might tease him a little too.
「Hmm, actually——」
「Young Master Alec has been making fun of the fact that Sergent-sama is the Forest Hero」
「Ah, traitor!」
That is not fair! That is not fair at all, Nana-san! What a terrible sneak attack!
No, this is beyond a sneak attack. She is trying to save herself by sacrificing me!
She actually offered me up as a scapegoat! That is unfair, Nana-san!
「Father! That is not it, I was not making fun of you! And Nana-san was laughing too! And she even called Mother a gorilla—— …Father?」
「…………」
Father is staring off into the distance… even though we are inside the room…
「Um…」
「That was Jisrare-san, right…?」
「Ah, yeah. She told me during the trip…」
「I see… Well, it is not like I was hiding it or anything…」
「…………」
No, that is definitely not true. You were absolutely hiding it.
I, your son, did not know about it until now, so there is no way you were not keeping it secret.
「But, sorry, Father. I accidentally exposed your embarrassing past to Nana-san…」
「Embarrassing past…」
「Ah, no, that is not it. Not an 『embarrassing past』, but 『a past you are embarrassed about』. Right. It is not embarrassing. Not at all」
「No, it is fine… It is just that I do not have very good memories associated with that name… And 『Forest Hero』 just… well… it kind of sounds a bit silly…」
「Ah, so you thought that too, Father」
「…………」
「Ah, no, that is not what I meant」
This is bad. My careless remarks are just hurting Father more and more.
「For now, I would appreciate it if you did not bring it up too much」
「Yes, sorry, Father…」
「Nana-san as well, if possible?」
「Of course」
What a conveniently cheerful reply… I am definitely holding a grudge over what just happened, Nana-san…
「——More importantly. More importantly, I actually had something to tell you, Alec」
「Ah, right. What is it?」
「You have a visitor」
「A visitor…?」
A visitor at this timing…
This feels strangely familiar, but I wonder…
「Yeah, just now Ralina-cha—— oof」
「Onii-chan!」
Without even waiting for Father to finish, Ralina-chan burst into the room.
Before I even had time to react, she slammed into me with a powerful tackle. Knocked over, I ended up hitting the back of my head hard against the ground.
「Ooooh… that hurts…」
「Onii-chan! Onii-chan!」
「It hurts…」
Without paying any attention to my condition, Ralina-chan collapsed into tears on my chest.
So the visitor Father mentioned was Ralina-chan after all.
It seems she came to see me, but since my conversation with Father went on a bit too long, she could not hold back and charged straight into my room.
And when she entered, she rushed past Father to reach me——or maybe not past him?
Judging from Father holding his side with a wry smile, she must have bumped into him on the way in.
And then I noticed Nana-san trying to quietly retreat out of the room.
…Nana-san has been making some questionable moves today.
「Onii-chan! Onii-chan! Onii-chan!」
「Ah, yes. I am back, Ralina-chan」
「Onii-chan onii-chan onii-chan onii-chan onii-chan onii-chan onii-chan onii-chan onii-chan onii-chan onii-chan onii-chan onii-chan…」
Ralina-chan is starting to sound like a bot, which is a bit scary, but it probably just means she was really worried about me and missed me a lot. She is crying her eyes out.
「Ahh, onii-chan is really here… I can smell onii-chan…」
「Y-yeah…」
「——I can also smell that delusional woman」
「…………」
The Ralina-chan who was just crying has now gone completely expressionless.
Her emotional swings are really something else.
Next chapter: 『Parry』
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