Chapter 184 - Birth... Day? (5)

The suffocating atmosphere, which Alon had not fully noticed, finally subsided. Muttering a disgruntled "My plaaaan...," Seollang timidly climbed back out of the box and thrust a document toward him.

"Here, Mentor. This is for you."

Even as she offered it, she kept a wary eye on Yutia.

"... This is my gift?"

"That's right!"

Alon accepted the document and stared blankly at it. Should he thank her? What was he supposed to say? He had absolutely no idea.

'... Well, it does feel a little like that.'

From the now-faded recesses of his memory came a story he had read on an online community in his previous life.

'Is this how a father feels when his little daughter gives him a letter saying she wants to marry him?'

Of course, Seollang had given him a marriage registration form, not a letter. Both parties' names were already filled in, too.

... Perhaps a single stamp from Alon would truly make them husband and wife(?)

Well, what mattered was the thought behind the gift, wasn't it? He nodded.

"Thank you. I'll gladly accept it."

"You can use it anytime! ... You can."

Seollang's ears perked up enthusiastically, only for her to discreetly tuck her tail when her eyes met Yutia's. Her childlike behavior drew a chuckle from him. He raised a hand and patted her head a few times, when something lightly nudged his side.

"?"

Turning his head, he found Yutia's hand hovering awkwardly in midair.

"What is it, Yutia?"

"Nothing. Just... nothing."

"?"

She was certainly smiling, but her voice sounded faintly sulky. After glancing at Seollang's head, she quickly withdrew her hand and let out a small exclamation.

"Oh, that reminds me. I'd like to give you a present, too."

"Whatever it is, I'll gratefully accept it."

"Hmm... I'd like to give it to you right now, but that would be difficult here. You'll have to come with me for a little while."

"... We need to go somewhere together?"

"Yes. Would you have time tomorrow?"

"Will it be a long journey?"

"Hmm... It might be?"

His schedule was tight. He had intended to leave for Greinif as soon as his birthday was over.

'It would be a little troublesome if it takes too long.'

As he deliberated, Yutia added,

"I think setting aside just one day should be enough."

"... In that case, certainly."

A delay of a day wouldn't pose any particular problem.

With their plans settled, Yutia looked around at everyone gathered in the room.

"Well, it's getting late. Why don't we have dinner?"

"Let's do that."

####

Dinner at the marquis's estate was noisier than usual. Naturally so—there were a full five more people than normal.

"Isn't this fun!?"

["Kyuuu!"]

"One more time!"

["Aaaah!"]

Seollang had abandoned her meal and started playing with Blackie off to one side.

'... Is Seollang entertaining Blackie, or is Blackie entertaining Seollang?'

Blackie had gone beyond its usual "kyu" and was letting out shrieks Alon had never heard before. He almost felt compelled to acknowledge how hard the little creature was working to be sociable.

Beside Blackie, which was mustering every last scrap of enthusiasm it had—

"Hmm. It's so pathetic it's cute."

"Indeed. Pathetically cute."

["You goddamn bastards!!! How many times must I tell you? I am a god! A god!!"]

"This part is a bit disappointing, though. Its face is sort of squashed. It might look better if we leveled it out like this."

["You fucker!!!!!!!!!!"]

"Hmm... I don't mind it as it is."

"Really? I like things perfectly symmetrical."

["If I manifest, I'll devour every last one of you first! Do not underestimate a god's divine punishment! I mean what I say! I mean it!!!"]

"Oh, anyway, all sorts of things happened in Laxas this time. It's become a real headache."

"I see."

["Don't ignore me!!!!!!!"]

Radan and Deus were playing with Basiliora. No, to be precise, rather than playing together...

"This is pretty good, isn't it?"

"Mm, indeed."

["I said, don't ignore me!!!!!!"]

It was closer to tormenting it.

When Alon turned his attention to the opposite side of the table—

"Hmm... Well, the marquis usually spends all day either researching magic or holed up in his office."

"I see."

Evan, Rine, and Yutia were having an ordinary conver—

"Other than that, he'll occasionally go outside for a walk, or take a look around the auction house. That's about it. Why do you ask?"

"Hmm... Just genuine curiosity?"

"Me too."

—sation. Or not.

Realizing that he was the subject of their conversation, Alon briefly considered joining in. Then he decided against it and slipped another piece of the remaining meat into his mouth.

'Delicious.'

Meat juices filled his mouth, and the pleasing flavor brought a faint smile to his lips.

No, it wasn't the flavor.

"You like this, Blackie?"

["Aaaah!"]

"Make its face a little more even, like this..."

"Hmm. That wouldn't be bad."

["I am a god! A god!!!"]

"Well, the marquis is usually alone."

"What a relief. Hehe."

"Indeed."

The dining room was bustling—not merely for the first time in a while, but almost for the first time ever. Warmth filled the spaces between them.

It wasn't bad at all.

No—

'... This is rather nice.'

Touching the corners of his mouth, which had lifted without his noticing, Alon watched the lively dining room for some time.

####

The noisy birthday dinner passed, and on the morning of a new day, Alon saw the children off.

"I'm off, Mentor!"

"I'll be taking my leave as well."

"Me too."

"I'll head back now, Big Brother."

Each offered a farewell, and Alon nodded once.

"Yes, safe travels. Thank you very much for the gifts. I'll put them to good use."

In truth, putting any of those gifts to "good use" seemed likely to cause a major problem. Whether they knew what he was thinking or not, all four left the marquis's estate wearing satisfied smiles.

"Well, shall we leave right away, Teacher?"

"Let's."

Alon and Yutia also prepared to depart, so he could receive the gift she had prepared.

"By the way, where are we going?"

Now that he thought about it, she hadn't even told him their destination.

"It wouldn't be much fun if I told you now. I'll tell you when we arrive."

"Hmm. From what you said yesterday, it sounded rather far away. It's already afternoon, though."

"It'll be fine."

"... Will it? Can we really get there and back in a single day?"

"Hmm..." Yutia smiled inscrutably.

"I'll tell you that in a little while, too."

"... In a little while?"

"Yes. Once we arrive."

Yutia's gift remained shrouded in complete mystery. Alon's puzzlement deepened, but he climbed into the carriage nonetheless. Soon, the carriage carrying them both left the estate and began traveling along an unpaved road through the forest.

####

How long had they been traveling along the rough road? The sun, once in the middle of the sky, slowly sank until it hung halfway down the mountains. As darkness began falling on the side opposite the sunset—

"... The sun is beginning to set."

"Mm, we'll be there soon."

Yutia glanced out the window.

"Oh, we're here."

She called to the coachman and had him stop the carriage.

"Come along, Teacher."

"Is there something in here?"

Yutia led Alon into the forest, where a thin veil of darkness had already settled. She pressed onward without hesitation, and he followed.

At last—

"... Oh."

At the sight of the space revealed at the end of the forest path, Alon exclaimed despite himself.

The scenery was exquisitely beautiful. The sun barely peeked above the edge of the mountains, its sunset glow on the verge of disappearing. Blending with it, the blue night sky slowly approached as if bidding it farewell, creating a dreamlike expanse overhead.

On the cliff beneath it, thousands of evening primroses were slowly opening with the gathering night.

"What do you think, Teacher?"

"Beauti—no, radiant."

At his lavish praise, Yutia laughed with a freshness as delicate as the evening primroses. Then she slowly walked among the flowers, until she seemed to blend completely into their midst.

Watching her, Alon—

"...?"

—once again felt the sense of incongruity that had begun surfacing little by little lately. A deeply strange, inexplicable déjà vu that kept lightly tapping at his senses.

Since possessing this body in this world, he had absolutely never seen the scenery before him. He was certain of that, and yet—

'It's as though I've seen it some time be—'

Just then—

"Teacher, did you know?"

Standing among the evening primroses with her hands behind her back, Yutia suddenly posed a question. Alon came out of his daze and asked,

"... What?"

"There are cliffs full of evening primroses like this on that mountain, and on the mountain over there, too. There's another on a mountain a few more days away."

"Do you like scenery like this? You must have visited a great many such places."

Yutia slowly shook her head. Her white hair swayed, scattering the moonlight.

"Actually, I didn't even know about them before, and I didn't like them, either. But now I really love them."

"I see. Did someone show you?"

A faint smile touched Yutia's lips. Her eyes settled wholly on Alon.

"Yes, someone did. But Teacher, do you know why I went out of my way to bring you here?"

"Honestly, I have no idea."

Still unable to identify the source of that inexplicable déjà vu, Alon quietly shook his head.

Meanwhile, Yutia had come to stand before him. She parted her lips slightly.

"It's because—I wanted to spend time with you, Teacher."

"... You wanted to spend time with me?"

"Yes. The longer the journey takes, the longer we can be together. So... I told a little lie."

"Then what you said about only being able to give me the gift there—"

Her eyes curved like evening primroses in full bloom.

"That was a lie."

"... I see."

"Aren't you going to scold me?"

"Is there any reason to?"

"But I lied, you know?"

"Something like this doesn't matter much between us."

She stilled. Silence fell for a moment.

"... Is that so?"

"Yes."

"What a relief. I was actually worried you'd scold me."

"You don't look worried in the slightest."

"You caught me? But I couldn't help it."

Yutia gave another playful laugh. Then she took a small box from inside her clothes. It was modest in size—small enough that she could easily carry it tucked away against her chest.

"... I wanted to give you a gift far more memorable than the others'."

Yutia extended her two small hands. Looking at them, gleaming translucently in the moonlight, Alon carefully accepted the box.

"Thank you. I'll gladly accept it."

"Open it after we return, once a little time has passed after I leave. Hmm... About a month should be good."

"Why?"

"That way, you'll think a little more."

Yutia did not say what he would be thinking about. Alon simply gazed at her.

With the fully settled night sky behind her, she shone with a solitary grace among the pale blooming evening primroses—so dazzlingly beautiful that, for a moment, he was spellbound.

And so—

"... All right."

That was all Alon could say.