Yomigaeri no maou - Chapter 12

When Luru, Iris, and Gran arrived at the mansion, his mother was standing there, staring at them.

She had a calm expression.

It was as still as an unwavering sea.

But precisely because of that, Lulu instinctively felt fear.

Luru’s mother, Media, was undoubtedly calm and kind-hearted.

He was used to seeing his mother so calm, but it was very rare for her not to say anything when they met.

She usually started a conversation in a calm and gracious manner.

Yet, this time, she didn’t utter a single word.

Lulu thought that this was a dangerous sign.

And as expected, her suspicion was confirmed.

Though her voice was calm, it seemed to be suppressing some emotion when she said to the approaching Luru,

“…Where were you?”

Luru wondered if the situation had not been explained by Yumis, but probably the question was meant to ask where Luru had been and what he had done. Luru was perceptive enough to understand what hismother was implying.

“… I went to the ruins for a bit.”

The moment he finished speaking, hesensed his mother’s open-handed slap coming. Although Luru could have dodged it using his sharp senses, he felt it was his duty to accept it.

There was a slap sound, and Luru’s cheek burned with pain.

Yet, the one who seemed truly hurt wasn’t Luru, but rather Media who had slapped him. After the slap, a wobbly Media approached Luru, gently hugged him, and whispered,

“…You worried me, you know that?”

“I’m sorry… But I had to go. I knew I had…”

A typical parent might reprimand their child at this point, but Media was different.

“Is that so? Well then, it can’t be helped… Gran, did this child prove useful?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Gran hesitated for a moment but quickly replied,

“Without a doubt, hewas helpful. Tomorrow, I will explain to the village chief tomorrow… We discovered a magical machine in the village ruins. It tried to attack the village… but Luru stopped it. Perhaps because of Yumis’ barrier, the village might have held for a day, and there might not have been any casualties, but some houses could have been destroyed.”

Had Luru not been there, Yumis would have continued her barrier in the village, and Gran would have taken on the magical machines one by one.

Luru, in this sense, had proved invaluable.

Upon hearing this, Media nodded and said,

“I see… I’m glad. I was worried if he had caused any trouble. I wonder if his martial arts training with Patrick helped…”

She tilted her head slightly, indicating that she didn’t know Luru’s exact prowess.

Gran caught her drift and shared a knowing nod with Luru.

If translated, it would probably mean, “Just stay quiet, I get it.”

Then Media hugged Luru for a while. Seemingly reassured of his safety, she finally noticed the girl standing beside Gran and asked,

“…Oh, who might you be? I’ve never seen you before… You’re not from this village, are you?”

To this question, Iris, as if she had been waiting for the right moment, stepped forward with confidence, bowed deeply, and replied,

“It’s my pleasure to meet you, ma’am. My name is Iris. Due to certain circumstances, I had been asleep in the ruins that Gran and Lulu explored. They saved me…”

She then shared her story with a steady voice, full of emotion. Media listened intently, learning of Iris’ lost loved ones, her pursuit of revenge, how she ended up trapped and asleep in the ruins, and the fact that she was now an orphan.

Moved by the tale, a teary-eyed Media hugged Iris and offered,

“If that’s the case… why don’t you come live with us?”

As Media continued to discuss adopting Iris, the latter looked overwhelmed by the unexpected turn of events.

Looking at Iris, Media said, “Luru, you’d want to live with Iris too, right?”

Caught off guard, Luru could only nod in agreement.

Gran commented on the fortunate outcome of the situation, emphasizing the prestige of being adopted into a noble family, albeit a lower-ranking one. Luru felt a mix of emotions about this unexpected living arrangement with Iris.

Gran told them to meet him at the inn the next morning for a discussion and then left. As he walked away, Media thanked him with an enthusiastic wave, holding Iris who looked mentally exhausted by the day’s events.

Reflecting on the day’s events, Luru felt a strange sense of wonder about the possibility of Iris, the daughter of an old friend, becoming his sister.

With these thoughts, he muttered, “At least everything ended safely…”

The three then entered the mansion, concluding their long day.

◆◇◆◇◆

The next morning, when I went to the inn, I saw Gran and Yumis waiting eagerly, and as soon as I arrived, Yumis said,

“You finally made it.”

Because Media was reluctant to part with Iris, it took us a while to leave the house, so it couldn’t really helped if Yumis complained about the delay.

Iris, who was wearing a concealment-effect black dress crafted by demon technology yesterday, was now dressed in bright colors that due to mother’s taste.

In a sky-blue dress with a wide-brimmed white hat, she almost looked like a doll.

Although Iris’s appearance was very well put together, so there was no argument about it not suiting her, she had a tendency to prefer dark colors symbolizing darkness, a common trait among demons in the past. Iris was no exception to this, and she rarely wore brightly colored clothing, so she seemed a bit embarrassed.

Yumis, who had been grumpy when I arrived at the inn, seemed to forget about that as soon as she saw Iris. She kept stealing glances at Iris and even seemed to reach out to touch her, so I said,

“If you want to pet her, just go ahead.”

Iris, on her part, responded,

“Is that so? Well, I don’t think it will be very pleasant to touch… but please.”

And she took off her hat and offered her head in a polite manner. Yumis finally began to pet her and ended up letting Iris sit on her lap, looking quite pleased.

A giant man and an elven woman facing each other, and a girl about seven years old sitting on the woman’s lap.

I wondered if I was in some kind of family interview, jokingly thinking this while putting that aside, I decided to get to the main topic.

“So, what’s the consultation for today?”

Yumis seemed busy petting Iris, so it was Gran who answered my question.

“Well, not really a consultation… more like a question. Did you mess with Yumis’s barrier? Where did you learn that technique from?”

That was a question that got straight to the point.

Nonetheless, I wasn’t surprised since I knew this question would inevitably come up.

I calmly gave the answer I had prepared.

“I don’t mind telling you, but that’s a very important secret to me. If you want to know, you both will have to make a significant oath.”

I had no reason to hide anything, and I even thought I could tell them everything if they were willing to keep quiet about it. I had some slight concerns about whether they would actually remain silent, but there were solutions to that as well. So, I phrased it like that. However, Yumis seemed to underestimate me a bit.

“Understood. I will never… tell.”

She said that, but I responded to her words,

“That’s a lie. Just so you know, I have cast a lie detection spell here. So if you lie, I can still tell.”

“Wait, isn’t that a lie? I don’t sense any flow of magic or anything.”

Yumis looked around surprised.

“It’s true. Alright… Let’s see. Respond to the following question, whether it’s a lie or the truth. What’s your favorite food?”

“Meat.”

“What’s the name of your best friend?”

“Meria.”

“If you were to be reborn, what would you want to become?”

“A bird.”

“…From the start, it’s lie, lie, truth, right?”

I said slowly, so Yumis widened her eyes in surprise.

“You really are… doing that. But, it’s not like I intend to tell anyone?”

“You might not intend to spread it, but do you intend to tell someone?”

“True. We’re adventurers. We have an obligation to report to the Guild Master.”

“I understand your sentiment, but if you ask about how to modify the magic formula, report it to the Guild Master, it might lead to troublesome situations. I’m sorry for trying something like that. I heard about what happened from Gran yesterday, but I wanted to know more about your personality… However, I didn’t expect the topic of a contract spell to come up. Well, I guess it’s not so bad. But, did you have the intention to report it?”

“I did have the intention to report it. Although, if I was asked about it, I’d have to say it. But, as much as the Guild Master has some authority, when you consider how the situation was ultimately unproductive, a few unreported details should be fine, right? Also, Yumis came up with a reason to not report it, so there shouldn’t be a problem. And even if you do decide to talk, I can put a contract spell on you. If you don’t like that, then I won’t say anything.”

Watching the exchange between Yumis and me, Gran chimed in to Yumis.

“See? If you think of this kid… of Luru, as just a regular brat, you’re gonna fail. I told you to treat him as an equal.”

“That’s just your impression, isn’t it? I haven’t really grasped who this child is yet. There’s still much I don’t know about him… But well, understood. I didn’t expect the contract spell to come up. I’m sorry for trying something like that. I heard about yesterday’s events from Gran, but I wanted to know more about your personality… However, I didn’t expect the topic of a contract spell to come up. Well, I guess it’s not so bad. But, did you have the intention to tell?”

“I did have the intention to tell, but just as you said, I’d have to actually say it if I heard the details. However, as much as the Guild Master has some authority, considering that the mission ultimately yielded no results, it should be fine if some details go unreported, right? Also, Yumis came up with a reason not to report, so there shouldn’t be a problem. And even if I decide to talk, I can put a contract spell on you. If you don’t like that, then I won’t say anything.”

It seemed that both of them didn’t really have the intention to fulfill that obligation in the first place. They were quite laid-back and haphazard in their approach.

My impressions of them from when I first arrived in this village seemed to be spot on.

“Well, if that’s the case… Should I tell you? Is it okay with Iris?”

“Yes. As you wish, Luru-sama…”

And so, with the two of them under the influence of a contract spell, I began to tell my story.