〈 Chapter 214 〉 Departure
*
“I did it,” said Luel, who had her hand on Gwen’s belly.
Gwen’s expression instantly brightened at those words.
“I did it…!”
She looked at me with teary eyes and said, “Thank you, Allen. Thank you…”
“No need to mention it. As long as you’re happy, that’s all that matters.”
“Allen…”
Others around us congratulated her on her pregnancy.
“Congratulations, Master.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Elsie, and you too, Sara.”
Just as the cheerful atmosphere continued,
Suddenly, Elsie grabbed Miss Weiss and shouted as they headed to the kitchen, “Then let’s have a feast to celebrate the pregnancy!”
“What? Again? But…”
Miss Weiss looked troubled.
I spoke up to reassure her, “It’s okay. I’ll cover all the expenses for the feast.”
Miss Weiss seemed to be struggling with the inn’s operating costs and her living expenses.
Well, the innkeeper wasn’t the type to worry much about those things anyway.
But with the money I had now, I could easily manage it.
“Really?”
“Yes, of course.”
Now, Miss Weiss’s expression brightened up as well.
“Then I’ll have to show you my cooking skills again!”
She rolled up her sleeves and headed into the kitchen.
“Wait… just a moment!”
Sara followed behind, trying to keep up with Weiss and Elsie.
Left with Lucy, Luel, and Gwen now.
“I should help too.”
It seemed Luel wanted to assist those two.
“I also want to go.”
“…Sister, it’s fine if you help, but please don’t interfere with cooking.”
“Why? I have decent cooking experience…”
“Anyway, you can’t.”
Luel made a sharp decision regarding cooking, even though she was the sister.
“Hmph.”
With that, the twins entered the kitchen.
Now only Gwen was left.
“Well, I guess I should go too.”
She also intended to head into the kitchen.
I stopped her for a moment.
“Gwen, but preparing the feast to celebrate yourself…”
“What does that matter? Besides, if they hadn’t been here, today’s joy probably wouldn’t have happened. I’m not the only one who should be celebrated.”
Saying that, she made her way to the kitchen.
‘Does this mean I have to help too?’
Just when I was about to head to the kitchen myself.
“Allen.”
It was the innkeeper.
He had somehow appeared next to me and called out.
“Mister?”
“Don’t call me Mister; you’re one too now…”
“What?”
What was he talking about?
“I’m still in my early twenties, you know? It’s unfair…”
“What do you mean by that? If you’ve become a father, you’re a Mister.”
“Father?”
I hadn’t been conscious of it, but thinking back, he was right.
Since Gwen was having my child, I had become a father.
“But even so, I can’t be a Mister.”
Hearing this from a real Mister only made me angrier.
“Hahaha, I was joking. But why are you reacting so strongly? Are you feeling guilty?”
“I’m not guilty.”
“Such a cute kid already a father. Time flies, doesn’t it?”
The innkeeper gazed off into the distance for a moment as if recalling the past.
Then, with a bitter voice, he said, “It feels like just yesterday I pulled you out from underground, where you were crying.”
Huh?
“What did you say?”
“Come to think of it, I never told you how I came to find you.”
No, I had heard something like that before. But…
“At that time, you just said a woman who looked like my mother abandoned me at the inn.”
“I said that to protect you from getting hurt. But now that you’ve grown up, if you want to know the truth, I’ll tell you.”
“Please tell me.”
Just as he said, I had accumulated a lot of experiences by now.
So, I was confident I wouldn’t be too hurt by reasonable matters.
Moreover, gaining knowledge was crucial at this point.
“Alright, then I’ll tell you.”
He pointed outside the inn and said, “That day, I kept hearing a baby crying outside the inn. At first, I thought it was just a neighbor’s kid, but… it felt strange. So I went outside to check.”
He had a bittersweet expression.
“But the cries were coming from underground. Fortunately, the baby looked newly born, and I dug you up from there.”
Honestly, that was quite shocking.
My mother didn’t just abandon me; she had left me buried alive.
‘Why?’
Why did she have to try to kill me?
“Do you remember what my mother looked like?”
“As for her appearance… she had gray hair, close to ashen… I can’t remember anything else.”
Gray hair.
That meant my mother was probably the First Humanity and not my father.
‘Who could it be?’
I was confused.
‘First of all, it couldn’t be Freira.’
Every time I thought of her, something in my chest tightened.
But I believed she would have wanted a child.
I couldn’t think she would abandon her child.
‘Damn…’
Honestly, it wasn’t that important anymore.
But for some reason, it still weighed on my mind.
To me, the innkeeper said, “But there must have been some circumstance. She had an incredibly despairing expression when she left the inn that night.”
“Yeah, that makes sense…”
To be honest, it wasn’t that important, as I had mentioned earlier.
“It’s alright. My mother isn’t that important to me.”
After she abandoned me, I had never met her.
I had never received help from her.
Maybe that was how it was.
So, she didn’t really matter to me.
“Your expression is darker than okay.”
“No, I’m really fine.”
“If you’re fine, then it’s not my business. But anyway, congratulations on becoming a father.”
“Thank you.”
But at that moment, I noticed something.
The innkeeper, too, didn’t seem to have a cheerful expression.
“Mister?”
“No, it’s just… I’m a little envious. I haven’t been able to become a father. My wife passed away a long time ago.”
He wore an even more bitter expression.
“…”
After a moment of thought, I called out to him.
“Father.”
“Huh?”
“Can I call you Father?”
It wasn’t a joke.
He had been somewhat of a father figure to me.
The emotional stability I gained from him back when I was still weaker than ordinary people meant a lot to me.
“Father, huh…”
Now, all that was left was for him to acknowledge me as his son.
“Well, I’ve never had a son who went around charming women everywhere.”
Excuse me?
“Hahaha, why the serious face? Of course, I’m joking.”
He replied with an earnest expression.
“Thank you. For calling me Father. And I know you’ll cherish each of those kids.”
“Then…”
“I’ll consider you as my son. It feels too embarrassing to call you that, though. Instead, how about inheriting this inn?”
Inherit the inn?
That would be great.
My life in this inn was filled with happiness.
However…
“It might be difficult. I’ll probably have to leave again soon.”
This place is certainly happy.
Not just for me, but for everyone else.
We were all happy in our ordinary lives.
But we still had things to do.
So I must leave this place.
Breaking out of everyday life, and back to our journey.
“That’s a pity.”
The innkeeper seemed disappointed.
However, I wasn’t done speaking.
“I will make sure to return without fail. And then you will hand over this inn to me.”
I would somehow save this world and return here.
When I came back, I would enjoy my happy everyday life.
With everyone else, of course.
“It’s nice to at least have a place to return to.”
“Yeah, then I’ll continue to watch over the inn.”
Finally, the innkeeper smiled warmly.
“Take care.”
For some reason, it felt like déjà vu.
Ah, it was when I first left the barrier with Gwen, right?
Even though I had said I only had three days left, he had wished me well.
This was the same.
I appreciated it, but…
I didn’t plan to depart immediately.
*
Two days passed just like that.
It was ample time for everyone to rest.
Of course, that didn’t mean we only rested.
The most notable achievement was discovering Miss Weiss’s true potential.
In her case, Luel and Gwen assessed her skills in magic and swordsmanship.
And as a result, her talent in magic was revealed.
On the other hand, her swordsmanship was found lacking.
While it was somewhat unexpected considering the combat skills she had shown when he possessed Finn…
“She has a good basic reaction time and sense, but there will be limitations with swordsmanship.”
It seemed my frailty back then had a much bigger influence.
However, her potential in magic was acknowledged to a degree by Luel, the Water Sage.
“Her magical power due to her wings is vast. If she learns just a few basic spells, she should be ready for practical use.”
Thus, she gained Luel’s approval for practical training and would join our journey.
Throughout the journey, she decided to continue learning magic from Luel.
Lastly, Luel and I announced the results of our findings on Snowflake Vision to the group just before we set off.
That the High Priest’s weakness was somewhat tied to the Demon King, thus we might need to borrow power from the Demon King’s side.
And according to Albert, we would also visit the Trial near Ice Valley.
With that announcement, everyone’s leisure time had concluded.
During the days of rest, their gazes, which had been quite relaxed, now turned serious again.
Everyone had returned to a state where they could fight, even if the enemy attacked us immediately.
‘This is why I waited to reveal it.’
The break was over.
I glanced at my companions gathered in the inn lobby and asked, “Are you all ready?”
They nodded, as if it were obvious.
Meanwhile, Lucy, who would remain behind in the inn, looked a bit disappointed.
Seeing her, Luel felt the same.
“Sister…”
But Lucy smiled brightly instead.
“Don’t worry about me. Working at the inn seems quite fun. I’m more worried about you going to somewhere dangerous.”
Her words were accurate.
What we should worry about right now was indeed ourselves, not Lucy.
Yet…
“No matter what, I’ll bring you back safely, Luel.”
I promised Lucy.
“And I will create a world where you two can travel freely.”
Lucy nodded as if she believed me.
“Yeah, I’ll leave it to you.”
Thus, she remained at the inn’s counter, where Miss Weiss originally stood.
“Alright… I’ll be off.”
I gave the innkeeper my farewell.
“Yeah, travel safely.”
“Yes.”
With the innkeeper’s send-off, I finally managed to lift my feet that didn’t want to part.
And so, we left the inn.
With this, it was a goodbye to the inn once again.
Until all the issues were resolved, I wouldn’t return.
So…
Now, it’s time for departure.
*
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.
