Chapter 184 – Birth…day? (5)

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Translated by Jinmu

Read it only at Novelbyu.com & Utoon.net

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Once the suffocating atmosphere that Alon had never fully grasped finally subsided.

Seol Lang, who had been muttering in dissatisfaction about my plaaaan, awkwardly climbed back out of the box.

Then she thrust something toward him.

“Here.
Take this, Master.”

Still sneaking glances at Yutia, she held out a document to Alon.

“…This is a gift?”

“It is!”

Alon accepted the paper and stared at it blankly.

Should he say thank you for this?
Or something else?

He genuinely had no idea.

Well…
It was that kind of feeling, at least.

A memory from a place that had long since faded.

A story he had seen in a community from his previous life.

Is this how it feels to receive a letter from a little daughter saying she wants to marry her father?

Of course, what Seol Lang had given him was not a letter, but a marriage registration form.

One with both parties’ names already fully written in.

…And perhaps if Alon simply stamped it once, they would really become husband and wife.

Well, regardless.
What mattered was the heart behind the gift, was it not?

So he nodded.

“I will gratefully accept it.”

“You can use it whenever you wa…nt!”

Seol Lang’s ears had perked up brightly, but the moment her eyes met Yutia’s, her tail drooped again.

The childish sight made a quiet laugh slip from Alon.

He raised a hand and patted Seol Lang’s head a few times.

Then.

Tap.

He felt a faint sensation at his side.

“?”

When he turned his head, Yutia’s hand was hovering awkwardly in midair.

“What is it, Yutia?”

“Nothing.
Just because.”

“?”

Her face was smiling, but her voice sounded just a little sulky.

After glancing toward Seol Lang’s head, Yutia hurriedly pulled her hand back and let out a small sound.

“Ah.
Now that I think about it, I would like to give you a gift as well.”

“Whatever it is, I will gladly accept it.”

“Hm.
I would love to give it to you right now, but that would be difficult here.
You will have to come with me for a little while.”

“…Where exactly would I have to go with you?”

“Yes.
Would tomorrow work for you?”

“Will it take long to travel?”

“Hm.
It might.”

His schedule was tight.

Once this birthday ended, he had been planning to head straight to Greynif.

If it takes too long, that will be a little inconvenient.

Seeing him hesitate, Yutia added:

“I think it will be enough if you set aside about one day.”

“…In that case, all right.”

There would be no real problem if he were delayed by only a single day.

Once their plans were settled, Yutia looked around at everyone gathered in the room.

“Then the day is getting late.
How about we all have dinner now?”

“Let us do that.”

####

Dinner at the marquis’s estate was louder than usual.

Naturally.

There were five more people than normal.

“This is fun, right!?”

[Kkyuuuu!]

“One more time…”

[Eukkya!]

Seol Lang had stopped eating and started playing with Kkamangi off to one side.

…Was Seol Lang playing with Kkamangi, or was Kkamangi playing with Seol Lang?

Kkamangi had gone beyond simple kkyu noises and was now letting out cries Alon had never heard before.

At that point, it was hard not to think the little thing was straining itself for the sake of social harmony.

Next to Kkamangi, who was doing everything it could to keep the energy up.

“Hm.
It is pathetic, but cute.”

“It is.
Pathetic, so it is cute.”

[You damned bastards!!!
How many times must I say it?
I am a god!
A god, I say!!]

“Still, this part is a bit disappointing.
Its face looks kind of squashed.
If you lined it up horizontally a little more, it would not be bad.”

[You bastard!!!!!!!!!]

“Hm.
I do not mind it as it is.”

“Really?
I prefer perfect symmetry.”

[If I manifest one day, you lot will be the first ones I devour!
Do not underestimate a god’s divine punishment!
If I say I will do it, then I will do it!
I will do it!!]

“Anyway, a lot of stuff happened this time in Laxas.
It has become troublesome.”

“I see.”

[Do not ignore me!!!!!!!]

Radan and Deus were playing with Basiliora.

No.
To be precise, they were not playing with it together…

“This tastes good.”

“Hm.
Indeed.”

[I said do not ignore me!!!!!!]

It was closer to teasing it.

And when Alon turned his eyes in the opposite direction.

“Hm.
If I think about it, you usually spend all day either doing magical research or staying shut in the office, don’t you, Marquis?”

“That is true.”

Evan, Rine, and Yutia were talking about ordinary life.

“Other than that, you occasionally go out for walks.
Or else you inspect the auction house.
Why do you ask?”

“Hm.
I was just purely curious.”

“I was too.”

No.
They were not talking about ordinary life at all.

Alon realized that he himself was the subject of the conversation.

For a moment he considered stepping in.

Then decided against it and pushed another piece of meat into his mouth.

It is good.

Juice spread through his mouth.

The corners of his lips rose slightly at the pleasant flavor.

No.
It was not because of the flavor.

“Kkamangi is happy, right?”

[Eukkyaa!]

“If we even out the face a little, just like this…”

“Hm.
That would not be bad.”

[I am a god!
A god, I tell you!!!]

“Well, the Marquis is usually by himself.”

“That is a relief, then.
Hehe.”

“Exactly.”

The dining hall had become noisy in a way that went beyond merely being busy.

Warmth filled the air between every word.

It was not bad at all.

No.

It was rather nice.

Without realizing it, Alon touched the corner of his own mouth where a smile had risen.

And he watched the lively dining hall for quite a while.

####

After the noisy birthday dinner passed.

Morning came, and with it a new day.

Alon saw the children off as they departed.

“Master, then I am off!”

“I should be going as well.”

“Me too.”

“Big brother, I am heading back now.”

Each of them said their goodbyes in their own way.

Alon nodded once.

“All right.
Travel safely.
And thank you very much for the gifts.
I will make good use of them.”

In truth, no matter which gift he used.

Something is probably going to go very wrong the moment I do.

Whether they knew that or not.

The four of them left the estate wearing satisfied smiles.

“Hm.
Then shall we head out right away, Teacher?”

“Yes.
Let us.”

Alon and Yutia also prepared to depart.

He still had to receive the gift Yutia had prepared for him.

“That reminds me.
Where are we going?”

He had never even heard the destination.

“If I tell you now, it will not be nearly as fun.
I will tell you once we get there.”

“Hm.
But from what I heard yesterday, it sounded as if it was some distance away.
And it is already afternoon.”

“It is fine.”

“…Is it?
Can we really go and come back in a single day?”

Yutia wore an unreadable smile.

“I will explain that in a little while too.”

“…In a little while?”

“Yes.
Once we arrive.”

Yutia’s gift remained wrapped in complete mystery.

Alon only grew more curious, but he climbed into the carriage all the same.

Soon the carriage carrying the two of them left House Palladio.

And began making its way down an unpaved road through the forest.

####

How long had they been traveling along those rough paths?

The sun that had once hung in the middle of the sky had begun to set and was now caught against the mountainside.

Darkness started descending on the side opposite the sunset.

“…The sun is beginning to set.”

“Mm.
We will be there very soon.”

Yutia glanced outside.

“Ah.
We are here.”

Then she called for the coachman and had the carriage stop.

“Come, Teacher.”

“Is there something in there?”

Yutia led Alon into the woods.

By then a shallow darkness had already settled among the trees.

She advanced deeper without hesitation.

Alon followed behind her.

And then.

“…Oh.”

At the space revealed at the end of the forest path.

Alon let out a sound of admiration without meaning to.

The sight before him was stunningly beautiful.

The sun was barely resting atop the edge of the mountain now, on the verge of disappearing completely.

The lingering sunset and the blue night sky slowly advancing as if to bid it farewell intertwined into a dreamlike heaven.

And beneath that heaven, from the cliffside below.

Thousands of moonflowers were slowly blooming to greet the deepening night.

“What do you think, Teacher?”

“It is beauti…
No.
It is radiant.”

At Alon’s highest praise, Yutia broke into a smile as pure and delicate as the moonflowers themselves.

Then she began walking slowly among the blossoms.

Before long, she had blended completely into the cluster of moonflowers.

And while watching her.

“…?”

Alon felt again the strange sense of wrongness he had begun experiencing little by little these days.

Something deeply peculiar.

Something that lightly tapped at his senses.

An inexplicable sense of deja vu.

Since possessing this body, he had absolutely never seen this scene before.

He was certain of that.

And yet.

It feels as if I saw this once, long ago…

Then.

“Teacher, did you know this?”

Yutia suddenly asked from amid the moonflowers, her hands clasped behind her back.

Pulled out of his daze, Alon came back to himself and asked:

“…Know what?”

“There are cliffs covered in moonflowers like this one on that mountain too.
And on the mountain over there in front of us.
And even on the mountain a few days farther away.”

“Do you like scenery like this?
You must have searched out places like this often.”

Yutia slowly shook her head.

Her white hair shimmered beneath the moonlight as if it were breaking apart into light.

“Actually, I did not know about them before, and I did not like them either.
But now, I really do.”

“I see.
Did someone show them to you?”

A faint smile spread at Yutia’s lips.

Her eyes settled wholly on Alon.

“Yes.
That is right.
But Teacher, do you know why I went out of my way to bring you here?”

“If I am being honest, I do not.”

Still unable to identify the source of that strange deja vu.

Alon slowly shook his head.

By then, Yutia had come all the way up in front of him.

“That is because…”

She parted her lips slightly.

“I wanted to be with you, Teacher.”

“…You wanted to be with me?”

“Yes.
If it took longer, then I could spend more time with you.
So… I lied a little.”

“Then that part about it being a gift that could only be given there…”

Her eyes curved like the moonflowers blooming all around them.

“That was a lie too.”

“…I see.”

“Are you not going to scold me?”

“Is there any reason I should?”

“But I lied.”

“Between us, this much is not important.”

She stopped.

Silence fell for an instant.

“…Is that so?”

“Yes.”

“That is a relief.
I was worried I might get scolded.”

“You do not look worried at all.”

“Did you see through me?
But it could not be helped.”

Yutia laughed playfully once more.

Then she drew a small box from inside her clothes.

It was not large.

Small enough that she could easily have kept it tucked against herself all along.

“…I wanted to give you a gift you would remember much more than the others’.”

Yutia held it out in both hands.

Looking at those hands, clear and luminous under the moonlight.

Alon accepted the box carefully.

“I will gratefully accept it.”

“Open it after you go back.
After a little time has passed since I leave.
Hm… about a month later would be best.”

“Why?”

“So that you will think about it a little longer.”

Yutia never said what, exactly, he would be thinking about.

Alon quietly looked at her.

Backed by the night sky, which had now arrived in full.

Standing amid the moonflowers blooming white.

She was so brilliantly beautiful that for a moment it nearly dazed him.

And so.

“…All right.”

That was the only answer Alon could give.