Chapter: 607
Lately, I’ve found myself crawling on all fours a lot again.
The reason? It’s simple. There are three little ones in our mansion who happily scamper around on all fours.
“Oww! Owwww!”
“Our eldest! She’s the fastest since she’s the oldest!”
“Owwww!”
Hearing my praise, Maria smiled brightly and started flapping her ears.
It’s impressive. Elves can move their ears no matter their age.
‘How cute.’
That confident flap, the pride beaming on her face, and her little four-legged strut made me smile. Just like a little general, she’s destined to be one of the five dukes of the Empire, following in Trixie’s footsteps.
“Beyaaa!”
With a happy grin, as I crawled alongside Maria, Cecilia, who had been behind us, suddenly zipped past.
“Beyaow!”
She looked back at Maria and me with sparkling eyes, like she was bragging, “I’m fast too!?”
“Our Cecilia is impressive too!”
“Beyaah~”
Truly fast, so I reached down and patted Cecilia’s head. How could such speed come from such a tiny body?
Of course, no matter how fast she is, she’s still just a baby who hasn’t done much exercise. With sudden bursts of speed, it was clear she was getting worn out, so I picked her up with one hand. Crawling around shouldn’t be too much of a hassle.
While others couldn’t even dare to try my antics, I’m the proud father of triplets. This was completely manageable—
“Bar!”
This time, Katlea kicked in her own boost.
Uh oh. Carrying two of them while crawling just became physically impossible.
“Bau!”
Still, I couldn’t turn away from Katlea’s pleading eyes, which seemed to say, “Pet me and hold me!”
Well, does it really matter if it’s physically impossible? My daughters are craving their father’s embrace.
“Alright, Katlea, come to daddy.”
As I reached out, Katlea crawled over, grabbing onto my finger.
My heart feels at peace. This is what people get married and have children for, right?
“Should we play more with Daddy, Maria?”
“Oww!”
With Maria’s lively response, we started roaming the mansion again.
Of course, I wasn’t crawling on four limbs. With my precious two daughters in my arms, how could I do that?
‘Hang in there, knees.’
I was just walking around like someone who didn’t take off their shoes at home. This way, I could make eye contact with Maria. If I stood straight and left her on the floor, she’d probably feel left out and end up crying.
So I chose this method, trusting that my love for them would make my body as strong as diamond.
“Oof. Can’t hold on much longer.”
“Oww?”
Ultimately, I had to scoop Maria into my arms and walk normally.
They’re small, so I could easily wrap both of them up in my arms.
“Owuw!”
“Beya!”
“Buaow!”
Fortunately, the triplets preferred the high view over crawling on the floor.
Let’s keep this up for a while. Crawling was insane.
“Kal.”
“Trixie?”
As I roamed around with my triplets, Trixie approached, who should have been relaxing in her room.
“Can you spare a moment?”
“Time?”
At this time, I might have an abundance of time, but her unexpected request caught me off guard.
What is this? Is it a date invitation? If that’s the case, I wouldn’t mind being ordered to come along instead of just asking for time.
“I need to head to the Elf housing district urgently…”
As I tilted my head in confusion, Trixie awkwardly continued.
“Well then, let’s go.”
After handing the squirming triplets to Trixie, I straightened myself. If we were visiting my grandmother, it’s only right to make time for it, even if I was busy.
“My grandmother must be eager to see her great-granddaughters.”
I chuckled as I patted the cheeks of the triplets huddled in Trixie’s arms.
They have snow-white hair and eyes like Trixie’s, and sharing the same gender makes them look just like a young version of her. My grandma, who has only seen them through communication spells, must be longing to hold them and shower them with love.
“She’s not the one looking for you.”
“Huh? No?”
That was unexpected. I thought Trixie was hurrying to the Elf housing district to see Grandma.
“The spirit kings…”
“Spirit kings?”
That word reminded me of something from last year.
– Oh right, they said they had just welcomed a daughter.
“Yep! We’ve got three beautiful treasures now!”
– Bring them over when you get a chance. I can bless them, being a spirit king and all.
It’s true that the Fire Spirit King mentioned blessing the triplets when they came. I had been planning to take them there once they were old enough to walk, but I never expected the spirit kings to come looking for them first.
‘Is something up?’
Spirits are practically immortal, so their grasp on time is pretty loose. The fire spirit king didn’t even seem surprised after several months had passed since we last met. For a spirit king to be chasing us down within a year means there’s something important going on.
‘…I guess I’ll find out when I go.’
I was already planning to head there anyway, so it’s not a problem at all.
And I thought…
“Wait! Where are you going!?”
“I’m heading to the Elf housing district for a moment.”
“Er… Elf… district…?”
The unfamiliar words made the Crown Princess, who was munching on a rice cake, look utterly confused.
“It’s a place where folks like these little ones live!”
As the Crown Princess’s interest was piqued, I explained at her level. It’s where people with pointy ears like the triplets live.
“I want to go too!”
However, my height-targeted explanation caught the Crown Princess’s attention.
“I too! I wanna go!”
“Um, Your Highness, if you go there, His Majesty and Her Majesty will be worried.”
“It’s fine! Tebe and Aunt! I can go!”
I couldn’t bring myself to say, “They’ll be more worried if you’re going with ‘Aunt’!”
In this awkward situation, I looked to the Head Maid, who lowered her head slightly and spoke.
“His Majesty remarked that as long as Director Marghetta accompanies you, there’s no need for a report, no matter where you go.”
“Wow.”
I let out a sigh at this unexpected guideline.
What the heck, Emperor? Just how much have you been pushed around by the Crown Princess at the palace?
*
Every day felt like an eternity of anxious waiting. Have I ever been so restless over just one sunset rising and falling?
‘When are they coming?’
But it can’t be helped. It’s a matter related to the contractor, no less. The possibility of someone capable of making contracts with our spirit kings, who haven’t appeared in hundreds of years, could be unfolding.
It would be a lie to say I wasn’t excited. The others would undoubtedly be just as restless as I am.
‘They need to receive blessings from us spirits right from childhood.’
The elder’s granddaughter had three children. At least one of them must have the talent of a spirit master, and at the very least, they had to meet the criteria for high level talent. They’d be great candidates for a contract with upper-tier spirits as soon as they came out into this world.
What would happen if that kind of talent received blessings from all four spirit kings from early on? They could end up making contracts with lower or mid-level spirits, spending daily life alongside them.
The much higher spirit affinity would make it even more likely for them to bond with us upon reaching adulthood.
– Hoo… Hoo…
A mixture of excitement and fiery breath escaped me.
I had no idea whether the elder and the granddaughter intended to raise that child to become a spirit master, but they needed to nurture that affinity first. Whether or not the child makes a contract with us in the future is out of our control. It’s a necessary step.
“Hey, Fire King.”
As I heard the elder’s voice behind me, I quickly turned around.
“The children are coming today.”
– Today!
– Really?
– At long last! We’ve been waiting so long.
Almost as soon as the elder finished speaking, water and wind came rushing in from nearby.
As expected, they were just as eager.
‘The earth is lagging behind again.’
Though the earth spirit wasn’t visible, I can only guess he’s stuck playing with the fairies again. No need to worry about that.
“I never would have guessed the kings would take such a deep interest in my descendants.”
As I felt a twinge of guilt at the elder’s warm smile, I knew that the blessings from spirits always benefit elves, never harm them.
Because of this, I could stand tall. We’re not using the elder’s descendants, but instead, offering them the blessings as gifts to build goodwill. Using them isn’t even worth considering if the elder’s granddaughter outright refuses.
*
Entering the Elf housing district, I felt the intense gazes of the elves upon us.
“Are those the elder’s great-granddaughters?”
“Yeah. They were born last year.”
“Adorable… they’re such fresh little beans.”
“Look at those cute ears. Even the little ones are adorable, aren’t they?”
I sighed a breath of relief seeing that intense gaze directed toward the delightful little ones. Honestly, I was a bit worried they might give looks like, “A child married a younger child and they had even younger children.”
“…But there’s one more child, right?”
Soon, the elves’ attention shifted from Trixie’s arms holding the triplets to the Crown Princess nestled in my embrace.
“Hello!”
Noticing the attention on her, the Crown Princess brightly waved her little hand and exclaimed.
“Woohoo, hello?”
“Hey little one, where did you come from?”
The elves who had been staring blankly suddenly broke into smiles, waving back at her.
“I came from Daddy’s house!”
“Her Royal Highness, the Crown Princess!”
“Whoa.”
“What?”
At my explanation, the elves froze in place, their hands raised. Though these different races are nominally friends of the Emperor, they can’t treat the next Emperor casually.
After all, this little one would grow up to be a ruler. If she gained a negative reputation amongst these folks, it could be a huge problem. The Empire prides itself on protecting and valuing other races because His Majesty set that precedent.
Of course, favoring other races benefits national interests and reinforces the Emperor’s authority. The future Crown Princess wouldn’t suddenly retract that depending on her whims, but considering the elves are a mere handful in numbers, they’d want to tread carefully.
“Your ears! They’re so long!”
“Uh, right?”
“They’re beautiful! So intriguing!”
The elves’ expressions softened rapidly in response to the Crown Princess’s cheerful remarks.
Kids have… a magical ability to lighten the atmosphere…
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