Life with Riu had begun. She was incredibly cute, and the entire dungeon now revolved around her. No surprise there. She was an energetic little thing, crying and sleeping like it was her job. That might’ve just been how babies operated, but as a parent, it helped a lot that the way she expressed herself made her easy to understand.
All that energy meant she cried in the middle of the night most nights. Thanks to the large number of adults, though, we basically looked after her in shifts, so the burden on each of us was pretty small. Riu’s biological mother was Lew, but all of the women were her mothers in a sense too. I hoped they felt the same way too.
The girls were doing their best to help out too. Ever since Lew and Lefi had gotten pregnant, they’d been doing what they could to pitch in, but now that they were officially big sisters, it was like they’d leveled up automatically. They took care of things without the adult gang even asking or realizing. Whenever I tried to do housework, they’d hit me with an “Oh, we already did that” or a “We finished everything!” or a “You can just relax.” So sometimes I had nothing to do. They really were great kids.
But there was another reason for that. Pretty soon, they’d be busy with a new chapter of their lives, which explained why they’d started taking the initiative with chores. They probably thought they should help us while they still could. And this new chapter was them enrolling in school, starting with their entrance ceremony.
“Yup, looks good.”
The girls were all wearing their school uniforms. Well, Shii’d just changed her body to match, and the wraith triplets had possessed their dolls. Neither of those things changed the fact that they all made for an adorable sight.
“Thank you, Yukiki! I feel kinda bad, though, since you’re all so busy taking care of Riu.”
“The timing stinks.”
“Yup...Shii’s right. We want to dote on Riu more.”
The wraith sisters nodded in agreement with the three of them.
“Ha ha. You can come home every day, so play with her when you do. Seriously, thanks, girls.”
The entrance ceremony was held twice a year in the ovine village, and today was one of those days. They’d be attending the Farencia Academy of Magic. Technically, it was the only school there. It’d been founded by an ovine woman who could be considered the clan’s matriarch.
Leila had been a student there, and her mentor, Madam Eldgalia, was a teacher. It was divided into several faculties and separated by age groups, with several school buildings and other facilities on-site. Everyone in the clan was scholarly in nature, and their sole purpose was the pursuit of knowledge, which explained why they didn’t bother separating the schools. Besides, they weren’t exactly running it as a business.
Because of those factors, it essentially operated as a serious research institution, or an institution equivalent to a university in my previous life. However, the Junior Faculty that Iluna and the other girls would be in served as a place to learn social skills in addition to studying. In short, they’d be getting a well-rounded, comprehensive education.
By the way, as a student there, Leila’d skipped the Junior Faculty completely and started out alongside adults because she’d been a prodigy. Hmm... Maybe that’s why she’s a little...unusual. Yeah, that actually made a lot of sense.
While the Academy had dormitories, the girls would be commuting from home thanks to the door I’d installed connecting us to the village. That way, we wouldn’t have to worry so much. Oh, as for En, her greatsword was already in her pouch because from now on, she’d be spending many more days away from me. I’d made a replacement weapon, but part of our deal when I’d convinced her to give school a shot was that I wouldn’t go anywhere dangerous without her. Didn’t change the fact that I’d be feeling lonely...
“All right, ladies, got everything? Good, let’s go.”
“Okaaay!” Iluna and Shii called out in unison.
“Okay...” En followed up as usual.
After the rest of the adult gang saw them off, we passed through the door. Suddenly, the scenery changed completely, and we arrived at the ovine village. Well, a garden-like area within it. Madam Eldgalia had been kind enough to offer a plot of empty land she owned, and I’d taken her up on it to install the door there. This time, unlike with other doors, I’d connected it directly to the dungeon. Of course, I’d been hesitant, but since Iluna and the others would be using it every day, I’d opted to prioritize convenience. If this village, with all its technology, people, and whatnot, ended up being dangerous, the rest of the world was definitely out of the question insofar as where to send the girls for school.
“Ooh, are we already here, Yukiki?”
“Yup, it’s land we borrowed from Leila’s mentor. Look around you. You recognize those buildings, right?”
“Hmm... It feels sort of...I dunno...like a letdown to get here so fast!”
I couldn’t help but smile wryly at Iluna’s honesty. She wasn’t wrong. Where was the fun, in showing up somewhere in a split second when the first trip had taken us several days by airship? For me, the distance separating Point A and Point B was where travel got its charm. Hell, I wouldn’t even go to local tourist spots within walking distance.
Just then, Madam Eldgalia popped into view. I guessed she’d been waiting nearby since I’d given her a heads-up as to when we’d show up.
“Oh, wonderful, you made it. Good morning.”
“Good morning, everyone!”
Next to her was Leila’s younger sister, Emyu.
“Morning, ladies. Thanks for coming to pick us up.”
“Heh. This child has been looking forward to it ever since she heard you all were coming here. My word, she’s been restless all morning.”
“M-Madam Sage! You don’t need to tell them that!”
“Fine, fine. Though I don’t think you need to be embarrassed.”
“Good morning, Madam Eldgalia, Emyu! We’re happy to be here too! We can learn together from now on!”
“Emyu, we have lotsa fun together!”
“Yes...I’m excited to play with you again.”
The wraith girls followed up with excited hand-waving, like they were saying, “Long time no see!” and “We meet again!” and “Emyu, hi!”
“Th-Thank you... I’m delighted as well. I hope we can be even better friends!”
She looked a little shy as she spoke. Yeah, I remember hearing that she’s not great at socializing. Maybe it was because she was smarter than most people, kinda like Leila.
Feeling charmed by their exchange, I bowed my head to Madam Eldgalia.
“Right, then. Please take care of my children.”
“With pleasure.”
“Girls, if you have any questions or there’s anything you don’t understand here, make sure you ask Madam Sage. Don’t forget to be on your best behavior too.”
“Okay! Madam Eldgalia, please take care of us!”
“Please!”
“Please...and thank you.”
The wraith triplets also joined in, and all the girls bowed their heads.
“I look forward to teaching you as much as I can during your time in our village.”
And so, the girl gang waved goodbye to me and headed toward the school, following Madam Eldgalia. The entrance ceremony was today, but it wasn’t anything formal like in my previous life. It was more of a casual get-together, something along the lines of, “All right, meet your new friends. Everyone, please introduce yourselves.” Also unlike the ones in my old life, the parents here didn’t attend.
So this is where I say goodbye, huh? Not gonna lie, I felt a tiny bit disappointed. While those thoughts ran through my mind, I watched the girls grow smaller and smaller in the distance, and I was inundated with a mix of emotions. Then, when I couldn’t see them anymore, I went back to the dungeon.