Chapter 508
The job offer from the Katoban Dukedom was wrapped up.
Of course, the Duke’s retainers were all fired up checking the applications, and they even had experienced wet-nurses who had helped raise me and Erich—talk about expert assistance! With such enthusiasm and skill combined, the selection process was completed in no time. The only issue was taking a while to write rejection and consolation letters to the ones who didn’t make the cut.
Anyway, among the selected candidates, half were middle-aged women who had just retired from their wet-nurse positions, and the other half were old ladies who had raised several successors themselves. It seemed like a proper balance, and I believed there wouldn’t be any issues with training.
“These guests will help us revive a long-broken tradition, so it’s best to hold a small banquet when they arrive,” I suggested.
— Absolutely correct, Your Grace. Considering the age of the guests, I will ensure a calm and grand atmosphere rather than a flashy one.
Just throwing out the idea had the head maid filling in the details on her own—seeing her in action felt like I was running AI auto-hunting! It’s so convenient.
“Make sure to include us in the banquet preparations.”
— Yes, Your Grace.
With a polite nod from the head maid, I finally tucked the communication device back into my pocket.
I always felt bad for the devoted and respectful head maid, but right now, she wasn’t the priority.
“Carl.”
Trixy spoke up, her voice slightly, just slightly trembling.
“Ah, yeah. Let’s go. Grandma must be waiting.”
What was important now was to see Grandma, who must be in a fierce inner battle between reason and instinct—that was my sole focus.
—
We arrived at the entrance of the elf residential area.
Using teleportation would have taken us straight to Grandma’s house, but I deliberately chose to land a bit further away to mentally prepare myself.
It was a bad decision.
“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness.”
“Is this for real? What do we do?”
As we walked through the elf residential area, the whispering elves around us reached my ears loud and clear.
It made perfect sense when I thought about it. Though we’d only shared the pregnancy news with Grandma, this area was a tourist hub within a cross-species protection zone. Trixy’s pregnancy news had spread all across the continent, so other elves likely heard about it through tourists.
“Three, really? The last time twins were born was in the Apels era, and now suddenly triplets?”
“Konstantina descended during the wedding ceremony. I felt like she blessed Trixy then!”
It was crucial, of course—elf-kind specialized in magic. Just looking at Trixy’s belly, they could tell new mana was circulating within her.
I felt foolish. To avoid the lion that is Grandma, I had thrown myself right into a pack of hyenas!
“But is this really okay? Isn’t that kid barely over 120?”
“From an elf’s perspective, it’s questionable, but she was raised in human society. Besides, she’s half-elf.”
“Is that so?”
Yet, despite the gloomy and embarrassing moment, I kept my ears wide open. Listening to the elves’ conversations would give me insight into the current mood among them and possibly hint at Grandma’s feelings as well.
‘This isn’t too bad.”
To my relief, the overall sentiment was neutral and somewhat supportive. While no elf actively defended us, at least no one was pointing fingers or clicking their tongues in disapproval. It was more like, “It’s a bit strange, but what’s wrong by human standards?”
I had heard that most elves were born after the founding of the Empire, so maybe that contributed to their relatively open-minded attitude. Thank goodness for that.
“Our kid won’t have to face harsh gazes.”
Trixy must have thought the same thing, as she whispered softly in my ear.
“Everyone’s good people. If anything, they’ll just think they’re cute. There’s no way they’d hurt any feelings.”
Gently squeezing Trixy’s hand, I nodded in agreement.
I could understand what Trixy was worried about. Because of the elf blood flowing through her veins, she had to build walls with humans, but she hadn’t truly fit in with elves either during her hundred years. She must have feared our children would face a lifetime of that same struggle.
It wasn’t entirely unreasonable to think so; having children was a way out of elven norms that were still so distant from us. The enormous gap might lead those kids to be coldly received. Still, like Trixy said, that probably wouldn’t happen.
“…Let’s hurry. If we stay here any longer, we’ll get surrounded.”
Of course, aside from feeling relieved, being the focus of every elf’s gaze was a bit overwhelming. With the kind of looks we were getting, it felt like if we lingered too long, someone would come up and start talking to us.
If I’d known this would happen, I would have aimed straight for Grandma’s house.
—
Mortals with predetermined lifespans seem to have complicated lives.
“Congratulations! Having three children at once? What could this possibly be if not a blessing from the gods?”
“Th-thank you, Grandma.”
The Elder offered awkward smiles as they congratulated me, while I awkwardly expressed my gratitude back to her. There was also a kindred spirit looking down, humbly avoiding eye contact.
‘What’s with that?’
I couldn’t comprehend it. When a new spirit is born in the spirit world, it’s a joyous occasion for everyone. Spirits are immortal and can eventually awaken from whatever slumber they fall into, yet the probability of new spirits being born is quite rare.
Yet, here was the Elder’s granddaughter hosting not just one, but three new lives. If she were a mortal, wouldn’t it be the best decision to have children sooner and in greater numbers?
— It’s hard to understand.
— That’s the charm of this world.
The Fire Spirit King flew in and perched on my back, responding to my muttering.
“Fire Uncle! Too hot! Get off!”
“Yeah! Fire Uncle is too hot! Water Uncle is refreshing!”
— Ah, sorry about that.
However, I barely managed to hang on amid the fairy surge claiming my back.
— By the way, Earth Lady wanted to play with you.
“Earth Lady? Really? For real?”
“Whoa! I want to play tug-of-war!”
Soon, the fairies zipped off towards the World Tree, all thrilled by the Fire Spirit King’s exaggerated claims.
I could only feel sorrow for the Earth Spirit King, who was enjoying a nap on a branch of the World Tree and would likely be disturbed soon.
— Now we can talk amongst ourselves.
— Is it an important matter?
— Not particularly, but those kids are so pure. It’s better to keep some things among ourselves.
I nodded at that. The fairies are innocent and unaware of deceit. If I said something in front of them, I’d unknowingly let everything slip out.
There’s no malice or ill-intent; those kids simply didn’t understand the notion of a secret or what it meant to hide something.
— Anyway, have you noticed?
As the Fire Spirit King spoke, our eyes directed to the Elder’s granddaughter.
More specifically, toward her belly.
— If you didn’t realize, that would be concerning. The mana is flowing, and the natural energies are strong. At least one of those three must have the potential to be a Spirit Mage.
The flames engulfing the Fire Spirit King flared up vigorously at my words.
You little rascal! If you agree, just say you agree instead of igniting flames in the middle of summer!
— Yeah, they’re at least a high-level Spirit Mage. If they are already that strong while still in the womb, once they’re born and get proper training, they could contract with us.
Yet I could feel a faint excitement in the Fire Spirit King’s voice, so I held back my words. I felt similarly.
As long as the World Tree stands, spirits can cross over to this world at any moment. This applies to all tiers, from low-level to top-tier spirits—even Spirit Kings are bound by this rule.
However, stepping beyond the vicinity of the World Tree would require a contract. No matter how powerful a Spirit King may be, without a contract, they’d be just spectral wanderers loitering near the World Tree.
‘What a pity.’
After managing to escape the boring spirit realm, they could only hang around the World Tree. Any spirit would likely scream over this predicament.
That’s why the Fire Spirit King’s excitement was palpable. It had been about 600 years since we made our last contract with a Spirit Mage. Even considering the time since the World Tree was reborn from ashes, it had been 300 years since we had anyone.
Thus the Elder’s granddaughter having such a gifted individual would bring joy. Yes, it should be a reason to celebrate.
— But will the child choose the path of a Spirit Mage?
— ……
The Fire Spirit King fell silent in response to that fundamental question.
Historically, elves have primarily chosen the path of a wizard rather than that of a Spirit Mage. There wasn’t any special reason; it was simply that talented Spirit Mages were quite rare among elves, resulting in a small number of them.
However, as the number of Spirit Mages decreased, even elves with potential began selecting the path of wizards. To be fair, those with magical talent didn’t need to venture into the new path at all. While there were occasional oddities who mastered both magic and spirit arts, they’ve always been true outliers.
Moreover, now that the World Tree is burned, the lineage of Spirit Mages has been severed. Even though the Elder contracted with a spirit another 300 years ago, he hadn’t been able to harness spirit magic since, making it fair to say the art of spirit magic was practically defunct.
Yet in the face of such adversity, would someone willingly choose the path of a Spirit Mage?
‘Not likely.’
Especially considering the Elder’s granddaughter is renowned as the pinnacle of magic, while the Benefactor reached the top with the sword. Choosing the spirit path over those clear roads would take a serious amount of courage and madness.
— So we’ll just have to persuade her.
After a long silence, the Fire Spirit King finally spoke again.
— If needed, I’ll open the treasury of the spirit realm.
— You’re crazy!
My instinctive retort escaped but was quickly swallowed. If that’s the case, then it’s all worth it to pursue the path of a Spirit Mage. The spirit realm’s treasury is a collection of treasures we’ve gathered from across the continent for thousands of years.
Deep down, I couldn’t resist the Fire Spirit King’s proposal. If we could travel the continent in exchange for treasures we wouldn’t even use, it would be a deal of a lifetime.
— Of course, that’s only if you also consider the opinions of Wind and Earth—
— Keeeek!
Just as the Fire Spirit King was about to finish that thought, a horrible scream echoed from the direction of the World Tree.
It seemed I’d have to postpone discussing things with the Spirit Kings for a while.
—
I chose to ignore the eerily familiar scream coming from afar. With fairies and spirits scattered nearby, they’d handle any mess that arose.
“So, take Clarice with you. She’s well-versed in elf history and traditional culture, which will certainly help our soon-to-arrive child.”
“I’ll feed and put them to bed as best I can!”
Right now, the main thing was to be polite and ready to welcome the elite operatives Grandma was personally sending.
“I’ll ensure that even when the work is done, they won’t want to go back.”
“Oh, that might be tricky!”
Clarice burst into laughter at Trixy’s comment, but after experiencing the Duke’s family’s genuine hospitality for a few years, she might genuinely not want to leave.
…But what era are they talking about concerning history and tradition? Perhaps during the period of the Muno Empire?
‘That’s pretty legendary.’
We’re talking about the imperial era before Apels. Just thinking about it swells my chest with pride.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
The site is fast and lightweight because there are no ads yet. However, the theme is different from Cybor-TL, so take some time to familiarize yourself.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.