Chapter 87: Housewife Descends
Until now, I’d always been among people who had a rough idea about the situation between Jess and me, so I never imagined something like this would happen.
In an instant, I’d become the cruel master of a cute and innocent beastman, trembling all over as I waved my hands.
“N-No, it’s not like that…!”
“Oh! So this is the master Jess always talks about?”
“Yes!”
“…?”
Caught in an unfathomable situation with my hands raised, Jess’s teacher whispered with a smile, “Some beastmen call their guardians ‘master.’”
“Oh, I see…”
Only then did I relax with a sigh of relief. The teacher chuckled lightly and asked, “Would you like to watch the class?”
“Oh, may I?”
“Of course.”
With that, Nero and I stepped into the classroom. As the teacher briefly introduced us, I waved at Iris, who was wide-eyed. Her cheeks flushed a faint pink.
‘Iris and Jess seem to be the oldest here.’
The age range varied quite a bit, but most of the kids looked much younger than Jess, mostly in lower elementary school. With Iris looking like a middle schooler and Jess appearing as an upper elementary schooler, there was definitely an age gap.
‘Come to think of it, I don’t really know the kids’ exact ages.’
Considering they were all slaves for years, it was even weirder not to know their ages.
‘Noah and I are probably the same age, and Iris might be a year or two younger.’
I could be confident about that since it was briefly mentioned in the original story. I remembered reading that the trashy Lian and Noah were the same age, but the details were fuzzy.
‘I wish I had a status window or something to confirm stuff like their ages.’
As I was mulling this over, Nero and my introductions wrapped up. We dragged our chairs to the back of the classroom and began observing the kids’ lesson.
The children kept turning around, struggling to focus on the class. But soon enough, they started participating enthusiastically, especially after Jess received praise from the teacher and dashed over to get her head patted.
After that, as if a new rule had been established, whenever the kids received compliments, they awkwardly approached me, asking to be patted.
These young kids, raised without parents, seemed thirsty for affection. As I patted them generously, Iris shot me a strangely cold look.
Sensing danger, I instinctively leaned down and whispered to Iris, who had come for some pets, “You’re the only sibling I have.” Her frosty gaze suddenly softened.
‘Ugh… I know this isn’t good for Iris…’
Despite this awareness, I couldn’t stop. My instincts insisted that leaving things as they were would lead to trouble.
Eventually, the chaotic class came to an end, and it was lunchtime. Following the teacher, we made our way to the kitchen.
“Wait, are you really cooking all by yourself, teacher?”
“Yes, even though there’s a magic circle, we can’t just bring in regular members carelessly.”
She knew that the annex was very close to the main building and that you needed a pass to move between them.
As she said, allowing regular members inside without caution could cause information about the executives’ residences to leak. However, assigning a trusted executive as a cook wasn’t an option since not a single one was available.
So, she had no choice but to prepare three meals for what seemed to be over 20 kids all by herself. And all while teaching classes!
“I’ll help you.”
“What?! No, no! I can’t ask a guest to do this.”
“C’mon, if we work together, it’ll be done in no time!”
Grinning, I entered the kitchen where Nero found himself with what seemed like a crystal communication device.
“Brother, I’m really sorry, but can I step out for a sec?”
“That’s cool. I’ll eat lunch here and go back to the main building with Jess and Iris.”
“Got it! If anything comes up, just tell the teacher, and she can reach me.”
“Okay!”
The communication crystals were pricey, and there was only one in the annex. I hadn’t gotten one since I rarely left the main building. Plus, everyone around me always had them handy, so I never felt the need.
After Nero left, I rolled up my sleeves and declared,
“Alright, let’s get started!”
The professional housewife had arrived in the kitchen.
*
“Yummy!”
“Yum!”
“Mmm…”
I looked on with a satisfied smile as the kids devoured their meals.
“Where on earth did these ingredients come from?”
The teacher wore a puzzled look at some of the unfamiliar spices but soon tasted the food and broke into a joyful smile, eating happily.
“Master, try this!”
Jess, with her cheeks stuffed, brought over some food she deemed delicious and piled it onto my plate.
“I’m good. You eat up!”
“Mmm… It’s so delicious! Master is the best!”
“The best! Master!”
“Master!”
My pleasant grin immediately faded as the kids shouted “Master” in unison! It was a scene where the police wouldn’t be out of place popping in from another dimension to arrest me! I quickly waved my hands.
“Don’t call me that! Just call me uncle—no, wait, brother is fine!”
Realizing “uncle” sounded awkward due to the age gap, I corrected myself, and the children obediently began calling me brother or oppa.
Some kids proudly showed off their chubby tummies, claiming they had already learned the terms for brother and oppa.
After our fun lunch, Jess and Iris got ready to head back to the main building with me. The other kids remained in the annex to eat, sleep, and live, so only Jess and Iris exited the building.
“Brother, can you not go?”
“Don’t leave!”
“Wah!”
“Sniff!”
Some kids threw fits, while others broke down in tears. It seemed they had matured too fast, as a couple of the more mature kids admonished the crying ones, saying, “Don’t cry!”
Since it was crucial to stay quiet in dangerous situations, the teacher didn’t stop them.
“I’ll be back tomorrow, so don’t cry.”
“Really?”
“Really! I’ll come with Jess and Iris tomorrow.”
The kids’ faces lit up. Although they still appeared a bit sad, they seemed content just knowing they’d see me again.
From that day forward, I started visiting the annex every day. Even though they were kids, being surrounded by people made it easier to convince Noah that I no longer needed someone right by my side.
After contemplating for a while, Noah visited the annex and nodded in agreement.
I finally had my freedom!
Every morning, I would head to the annex with Jess and Iris to help out with the teacher’s lessons and meal preparations.
I put my mind to various lessons that would be good for the kids’ education, and thus, the joyous days flowed by…
Three years passed.
*
‘…? Wait, has it really been three years already?’
When you go through the same day over and over, isn’t it strange to wonder how time flew by? Yep, that’s exactly how I felt.
‘But seriously, is this speed even normal?’
While pondering that, I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the mirror.
A face that was pretty decent (probably average compared to the others?), white hair kept around shoulder length, and my arms and legs were definitely longer than when I was 17.
‘At least I’m taller now!’
My face still showed traces of youth, but my height had increased so much that I didn’t look like a child anymore. It felt like I had changed into perfectly fitting clothes.
As I was busy checking out my transformed appearance after three years, a knock echoed.
Knock, knock.
A knock that felt a bit heavy resonated. There was only one person who knocked like that.
“Come in, Jess.”
Creak!
“Master!”
Even after growing older and becoming proficient in speaking, Jess still called me “Master!” Honestly, it made me a bit sad whenever she didn’t.
Thud!
Jess ran up and hopped into my arms. She had grown so much, now nearing 170 cm tall! If I had grown just a bit slower, I would’ve had to look up at her!
“Brother.”
From the doorway, Iris approached, smiling softly. Iris was a bit smaller than Jess since she wasn’t a beastman, which meant she was a bit shorter.
After lightly patting Jess, who wouldn’t stop clinging to my waist, I gently pushed her away.
“Hey, Jess, you’re a big kid now! No more spontaneous hugs, okay?”
“Sniff…”
Seeing her droopy ears made me want to take back my words, but I held firm. Sure, it might have been fine a while back, but it was time to teach her not to give random hugs since she was hitting her growth spurt.
“But I call you Master…”
Jess would often grasp the idea of not touching or hugging others recklessly, but when it came to me, she just didn’t get it.
“Haha…”
As Iris moved closer, she suddenly hugged my waist.
“Hugging family is okay, right?”
“Uh, r-right?”
Since there was no denying that, I nodded, albeit a bit shakily, and Iris’s face lit up with satisfaction. Jess then puffed out her cheeks and declared,
“I want to be family too!”
“No way! Brother’s mine! And Jess, your hair’s red!”
“Then I’ll just marry him!”
Heavy silence fell at the unexpected statement.
End of Chapter.
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