Father’s back looked as big as a mountain when I was little, but later, as I grew up, it seemed infinitely small.
I believe that was the moment I finally became an adult. After all, my father was a firefighter.
The reason I’m bringing this up now is…
“Daddy..!”
“Little one, I’m not your father…”
A girl with black hair and a magic hat clung to me while calling me daddy.
“Licht, married man?”
“No! Mr. Mardol! You know it’s not true!”
“…That’s true.”
Beside me, Mardol, dressed as a wooden monster, was walking along with a look of amusement as he watched me and the child.
“…What’s your name, little one?”
I thought maybe she was a child who lost her parents, so I asked for her name, but,
“Can’t say it!”
The girl covered her mouth and giggled. Those brown eyes were really annoying. With a sense of dread, I lifted the magic hat.
“Daddy, why are you being silly..! Give me my hat back!”
With that, the girl puffed out her cheeks in a sulky manner. Now she even had a resentful look. Why does she remind me of someone?
‘No wolf ears… right? And the irises too, she’s just an ordinary human.’
I wanted to check if she was somehow related to the Nameless Saintess, but sadly, there were no such features.
I thought for a moment that she might be my daughter from the future. But even in a fusion fantasy world game, that would be too much to expect.
“I need to know your name to find your real parents.”
“…Daddy, you’re so clueless, I hate it.”
The girl pointed her finger at my black knight armor, scolding me. Who’s calling whom clueless here? I pressed my hand to the forehead of my helmet, feeling dizzy.
“Little one. What about your other family?”
“I came to the empire with my brother, but there were so many people, I lost him!”
She doesn’t seem surprised even seeing Mardol’s Kuer disguise? I thought it looked quite scary.
“Wow, it’s a fox slime? Your doll is cute! Hehe.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
She seemed to find the little dolls I made cute and even spoke comfortably. Good thing she didn’t call Mardol her mother.
“Little one, why do you think I’m your daddy?”
“Black helmet! Armor! Anyone can see that only daddy would wear that!”
I kept asking the peculiar girl why she kept calling me odd names, but all I got in return were words that pierced the heart. What’s wrong with being a black knight?
‘Is she confusing me with someone because of this armor?’
I glanced down at the black knight armor I was wearing. The item bought for me by the princess.
If she called me daddy after seeing this, I would have thought she was related to Mardol. After all, she had black hair too.
‘Well, they did say it’s a popular item.’
She must have mistaken me for another NPC with the black knight class. There wouldn’t be anyone else walking around in a full black helm and armor in this wide world.
‘Is it just my imagination…?’
Still, even as I tried to calm myself, she kept standing out.
In reality, black hair isn’t very common in this world. It’s mostly found in the royal family or the northern duchess line.
“Then let’s go to where that brother of yours is. Where did you get separated?”
“By the fountain! Clueless daddy. Don’t you know that either?”
I’m meeting you for the first time, so I can’t tell if she’s genuinely innocent or just teasing me for fun.
She must be talking about the fountain on the way to the academy. It shouldn’t take long.
“Daddy! I want to eat that..!”
“…Crystal apple?”
At that moment, the girl pointed to the shiny apple at the fruit shop, clutching my leg and halting my steps.
“No way. I’m not your daddy…”
“Waaah! I’m gonna cry.. Daddy..”
“Licht, let’s buy her one.”
Now she’s threatening me with tears. Her parents are probably having a tough time. Even Mardol was encouraging the purchase.
I really can’t stand kids crying; I’ve heard way too much of it in the past. What choice do I have then?
“Welcome! Oh, is this your daughter?”
“Absolutely not.”
As we walked inside the fruit shop to buy the crystal apple, a young woman sat by the register.
“Hehe, what a cute little lady. Oh..?”
“Daddy, let’s go somewhere else!”
When the shopkeeper reached out toward the girl with black hair, the mysterious girl jumped back like a startled cat.
“Don’t be a player..! Daddy!”
I wasn’t even her daddy, and I’m as far from being a player as one could be.
Love one woman for fifteen years and I get called a player?
“You don’t have to be scared. Here, your crystal apple.”
“Licht, player.”
“Absolutely not. Mr. Mardol…”
Before any strange flags could get stuck, I quickly finished the payment and handed the sparkling apple to the girl wearing the magic hat.
“Why do you say I can’t be a player?”
“…Mom told me to protect you if a girl comes near Daddy!”
After taking a big bite of the apple, the girl, now laughing, spoke words that were definitely flag-like.
‘Who is this mom? I’m a permanent solo, after all.’
If I were to ever get married, it would only be with our Saintess. Everyone else looks too similar, and honestly, I’m not interested at all.
“Eat slowly.”
“Hehe, it’s so delicious!”
The mysterious girl responded carelessly to Mardol’s warning, crunching the apple in a hurry. Is it okay to ignore a command from a princess?
“I’m glad to bump into Daddy like this! I honestly thought I wouldn’t get to meet you!”
Now she was holding one of my hands, acting like a genuine father-daughter pair. The more I watched her, the more familiar she seemed.
‘..Did her parents tell her not to share her identity for safety reasons?’
I remember seeing on TV once about writing your name and phone number somewhere inconspicuous like inside a bag for lost child protection.
“We’ve arrived.”
How long did we walk? A fountain finally came into view. I could see a boy wandering around anxiously looking for someone.
“Hey..! I’ve been searching for you!”
“Hey, sorry, big brother! I met Daddy!”
A boy wearing a sword at his waist came running toward me and Mardol. His hair was brown, and his eyes matched the girl’s.
Oh, please don’t tell me he’s calling me his father too?
“Daddy..?”
“Yeah! Anyone can see he’s Daddy!”
At the girl’s words, the boy looked up at me with half-open eyes.
“…”
“Um, what’s up? Big brother..?”
He squinted his eyes for a moment, then his face turned slightly pale. Seriously? Could it be?
Am I going to marry a brown-haired woman in the future? Just as I started to let my fantasies wander…
“..I’m sorry! This little brat is such a troublemaker!”
“Um, wait? Isn’t that our Daddy?”
The brown-haired boy wrapped up the situation for us. Thankfully, the daughter from the future wasn’t her after all.
“Of course not! Just because someone’s wearing knight armor doesn’t mean he’s our daddy! The imperial knights are our cousins!”
“But the scent…”
The girl with the magic hat bent down and apologized while holding her sister’s head. She claimed her sister was just very mischievous and clueless.
“I’m Ifrit. This is Lyn.”
“Urp! Big brother..! My name..!”
“Be quiet, Lyn. You’ve caused these people a lot of trouble.”
So, she did have a name. Unlike someone who was ‘Nameless’. Ifrit was holding Lyn’s mouth shut to keep her from struggling.
“..I’m glad it was a misunderstanding. I almost became a married man with kids.”
“She doesn’t resemble anyone, so she was cute.”
I let out a sigh of relief. There really were two people with brown eyes, making me think it was a flag or route.
“That’s a dig at me, isn’t it? Mr. Mardol.”
“..Well, maybe.”
Looks like it was just a sudden event. With one hand covering his mouth, Mardol seemed to be smiling. Dressed as a wooden monster, he looked a bit scary.
“I apologize for the inconvenience. Everyone.”
“We’ll be going now! Bye!”
They were polite and seemed to be very young. Just as I was about to end our short meeting in front of the fountain.
“Daddy. Take care of Mana Rose.”
“..What?”
The girl with the magic hat, Lyn, dashed over to me and whispered before running back to her group.
“Wait, how do you know that..!”
“Hehe, it’s a secret!”
How does she know? Even if they took the year-end exams, saying that now is a bit too odd.
The girl who left those vital words, ran off while holding her brother’s hand and disappeared into the crowd.
*
A fair distance from Licht and Mardol, in a quiet alley where no one was around.
“Ib, no matter how urgent it is, you shouldn’t be in disguise here without good magic skills.”
A boy sighed heavily, looking at the girl with black hair.
“But I hid my wolf ears..!”
“Shh, be quiet. Ib. We could get caught by ‘The All-Knowing’.”
“Okay. Got it.”
Then, the girl who had been called Lyn removed her black magic hat, revealing her true identity as Ib while placing her palm on her head to undo her disguise.
“But, Sey, why did you do that just now? That’s not like you to lie..! He’s definitely our daddy!”
The small, soft-looking wolf ears sprouted back, perked up as she voiced her complaints to her brother.
“Ib. Right now, Daddy and Mommy don’t know we exist…”
“Oh. Then we shouldn’t have done that, huh.”
Sey looked at her with a disappointing expression. He managed to dupe a man dressed as a black knight with the name he barely thought of, Ifrit and Lyn.
“You’re such a strange one. How did you end up meeting your parents in that short time….”
“Hehe, just say you’re jealous! Sey!”
“And Mom was right there too. You should have been more careful.”
Following Ib, Sey undid his magic as well. Instantly, wolf ears popped up on his head, his brown hair turning black.
“..Huh? Our mom was right there? All I saw was a pretty wooden monster decorated with flowers?”
“How come you’re so clueless just like daddy…”
Seeing her brother shake his head at her like a surprised rabbit, Sey revealed the truth to her.
“Golden wolf eyes. Only one person who has those, can be seen walking with our daddy.”
“I only smelled dirt….”
“I have better eyesight than you. No wonder you didn’t notice.”
His brown eyes gleamed slightly, emphasizing their distinctiveness. He showed a vision much sharper than someone else’s.
“Then you should have told me! Sey!”
“It’s too dangerous. You know the powers of the Demon Kings are immense.”
Ib stomped her feet. She looked at Sey with a resentful gaze, regretting her situation.
“..That’s true.”
“For now, I’m glad we didn’t get caught.”
Flipping through a slightly worn book, Sey checked the series of countless letters.
“..The notes Daddy left haven’t changed.”
How long had it been? The boy wiped the cold sweat off his brow as he spoke to his sister.
“Now let’s go home, Ib. Have you done everything you needed?”
“Yeah, big brother.. Is this really okay? The routes can change, right?”
“I hope so.”
With bitter smiles, the boy and girl with black hair vanished along with a shimmer of light.
