Welcome to the Impregnable Demon King Castle

198 – The Sword from That Day (Part 1)

「I am Tia. Lem’s mother. This is my husband, Goe.」[1. TL Note: Gee I wonder what happens if you put Lem’s parent’s names together :3]

「M-my name is Milla. Lem has been very good to me in both my public and private life, so when I heard that he was heading to the Original Dungeon, asked if I could come along… So…uhm…a-about earlier at the village entrance…」

Chuckling to herself, my mom smiled wryly.

「I heard about what happened with those three fools. If I’m not mistaken, everyone simply wished to aid in driving the fools away, correct?」

Perhaps remembering what she had done, Milla’s face was dyed scarlet red.

Canary puffed her cheeks while saying “Honestly! Those three haven’t changed…!” clearly enraged.

The fools… That trio is well known to my parents as well as Fenix’s parents.

After all, they were the ones that their children got into a fight with every single day.

「Y-yes… You are correct.」

Then, my mom smiled broadly.

「Thank you very much for aiding my son.」

「…! N-no, it was no trouble at all…!」

「So…since you are the only one of the girls who came, am I correct to assume that you and Lem are…?」

Ah, the other girls who helped rescue me from the trio aren’t here, and only Milla tagged along.

My mom probably thinks that that must mean she’s my girlfriend.

「She’s a friend. …Uh, a very, very important friend.」

Crap, my face is red hot.

I was going to say that a little more smoothly or grandly, but I ended up saying it with a strained voice…

I guess even this shows my lack of experience with this sorta thing.

My mom looked stunned.

「…If you two met after you left Fenix’s party, then it hasn’t even been a year yet. Nonetheless, friend, hm…」

「Lem! You are a clever boy, but sometimes you have to be foolish and passionate! Love is a beautiful thing when it gets out of control to the point that others laugh at you…! Don’t you think so too, Milla? You want to officially call me Mama as soon as possible, right?!」

Canary, I think your true intentions leaked into the latter part of your little speech.

Milla’s face was bright red due to embarrassment, her neck was tilted down slightly and her lips were forming a smile.

「I believe that Lem is simply waiting for the right time. Of course… I would be happy if that time came sooner.」

Canary jolted as if she were struck by lightning.

「I-isn’t she adorable?! Don’t worry, Milla! Mama is rooting for you!」

From there, our meal proceeded calmly.

Well, I think it’s more accurate to say that it was lively. Milla would happily listen to the stories from the four of them about mine and Fenix’s childhood, and Canary would vigorously ask us probing questions about our relationship. It was particularly hard for me to get through…

Oh well, everyone seems to be having fun, so I suppose that’s fine.

Surprisingly, they weren’t as intense about asking me about my new job.

Just indirectly.

My dad and Hawk were in charge of cleaning up. Usually, Fenix and I would help out, but Milla chose to help this time.

In the meantime, I started to take out the souvenirs that I bought while on the journey here. There’s a lot. There’s some for Fenix’s parents, of course, and the others can be distributed to the others in the village.

「Let’s see, next is…ah, this is sake from the village with hot springs. It’s strong stuff, but has a great fragrance.」

Milla twitched at my mention of hot springs.

「Whoa, you alright there, miss? Did you drop something?」

「I-I’m sorry.」

「…Your face is red. Leave the cleaning to us, you go and have a rest.」

Milla shrank slightly at the concern from my dad and Hawk.

「P-please, do not worry. Thank you very much.」

It was a little delayed, but I remembered the events of that day as well and my face turned red.

「Oho? Ohohoho? My mother-senses are tingling. So, you two, did something happen at the hot springs~?」

「…Uh…uhhh, next are some harvested vegetables that were dipped in the hot springs in that village, which makes them pretty delicious when ea-」

「You’re not dodging the question that easily.」

I endured Canary’s tickle torture till the bitter end, holding fast to the details that she wanted to hear.

After the cleaning up was finished, Hawk and Canary had to return home.

「That reminds me, where is Milla gonna sleep?」

「You’re right, we don’t have a guest room or anything like that… Well, I suppose she could stay in Lem’s room. Lem is fine on the sofa, right?」

Is this how you treat your son?

…The idea itself was reasonable, so I stayed quiet.

「I-I couldn’t possibly…! I can’t use Lem’s room.」

While saying that, Milla’s nostrils were flaring excitedly.

「Alright…! Then how about this! Milla will follow us home!」

Canary put a hand to her chest as if she had just given a brilliant idea.

「…Are you going to lend Fenix’s room to her?」

「No, that’s no good for Lem or Milla. You’ll sleep in that boy’s room, and Milla and I will sleep together! What a perfect plan! You’re in the presence of a stupendous intellect…」

Milla said “Huh? Huh?” in bewilderment, but we had already given up.

「No…? Milla. D-do you hate me…?」

Canary’s eyes begin to water.

「O-of course not, there’s no way I would ever hate you…!」

Instantly, Canary’s face showed a smile as bright as the sun.

「Then let us go…! I’ll put you to sleep gently tonight, alright?」

Having said that, she grabs Milla’s hand and heads towards the door.

「L-Lem…!」

「Ah…if you don’t dislike it, just go along with her.」

「If Milla doesn’t want to, perhaps I can take Lem instead? We can snuggle in be-」

「I’ll go.」

「Oho, such a quick answer. Ah, young love.」

「…Sorry about all this, Lem, Miss Milla.」

「No, if anyone, it’s my fault for not thinking about where Milla would sleep…」

For example, I could have arranged for her to be picked up and sent to the camp.

「If they were lovers rather than friends, then the two of them could sleep in Lem’s room.」

Our faces turned bright red at my mom’s words.

As one would expect, I can’t just tell them that we’re Sleep Buddies so there’s no issue.

And so, the three of them left my home.

…Now then, this is where it starts.

It’s possible that Hawk and Canary were being considerate towards my parents.

They thought about creating a space for parents and child to talk with no outsiders.

…Although I can’t say for sure that Canary had zero ulterior motives.

The three of us naturally sit in chairs.

My mom speaks slowly.

「Have you…been eating well?」

「Yeah. I’m pretty sure I’m eating a more nutritionally balanced diet than when I was an Adventurer.」

Because I’ve been eating well thanks to Milla’s cooking, Cashew’s older sister Maca’s cooking, as well as at the canteen in the Demon King Castle, incidentally.

「The money you send back to us hasn’t changed at all even though you’ve changed jobs. Please don’t push yourself.」

「…I’m not. My new job pays well. They even provide me with a place to stay.」

「I see… By the way, Milla seems like a nice girl.」

「Ah, she truly is.」

Our back-and-forths are ending rather…formally? Or perhaps routine.

「…Honestly, when I saw the news about you leaving Fenix’s party, I thought “So, it finally happened.”」

「…Right.」

From my mom’s point of view, I can see what she’s getting at.

As a Black Sorcerer who wished to be a hero, I formed a party with Fenix after he graduated from the School. It’s doubtful I could have become an Adventurer if it wasn’t for him.

Since my debut, I have been constantly bombarded with negative opinions from the public, and even the voices of the live broadcasters on TV programs gave me harsh evaluations.

That is the son that she sees. The life her son lived since he was thirteen years old till now.

「I don’t know the details, but I could see it in your face. As the years went by, it got gloomier and gloomier, so I thought that it became a thankless, unpleasant job.」

「…I see.」

「However, today, members from the 2nd ranked party came to your aid, right?」

This is about what happened when I was confronted by the trio. I nod, smiling.

「You’re right.」

「At the…Tag…Tournament, was it? You were praised by the Hero of the 1st ranked party there, and in the…Raid, is it? There was that boy, right? Wraith? He said that he wanted you to join his party, didn’t he?」

「Aah… Yeah.」

I turned down Wraith’s invitation, but he hasn’t given up. He truly is the son of the Unyielding Hero.

「The Adventurer…what do you call it? Industry? It isn’t just a painful place to you anymore, is it?」

「…It’s a place worth continuing to strive in.」

It’s just a harsh place where I can continue to challenge it.

I don’t plan on giving up, but I was able to find a new dream.

No. I was able to make that which was shown to me into a new dream.

「Even at your new workplace?」

「Of course.」

「In that case, I have nothing more to say.」