“...and that’s what happened. It was like my emotions were on a roller coaster. Oh man, this is exactly what they mean when they say the future is bright!”
Having finished my apologies and the work I’d done to reimburse them, I’d returned to the elder’s house with Lalanoah and Ruka. Then, I’d regaled Efil and the others with what had just happened.
“Lalanoah did all that?! W-Was anyone hurt?” Efil asked.
“No, no one was even in any danger. Even if something had exploded, I’d have detected it beforehand and stopped it. Lalanoah’s magic is amazing, though; she hit the target dead center, like pow! Right?”
“Uguuhh...”
Though I turned the conversation to Lalanoah, she seemed to be tired from using magic for the first time and was sound asleep. She was so excited just a moment ago too. Goes to show how much a baby’s emotions can sway in an instant.
“I... I see. That’s good to hear. But...if she did that out of nowhere, you need to scold her properly,” said Efil.
“Huh? Scold? Uh...no, while it was sudden, I just said that no one was hurt. Also, Lalanoah’s still a baby, so I think we should be praising her for how she used magic and—”
“Master,” Efil interrupted me, “you realize that if a child plays with fire, what a parent should do is scold them for it regardless of the circumstances, right? Praise them when it’s appropriate, but scold them properly when the time comes as well. I believe both sides must be in balance for a good upbringing. You’re right that Lalanoah is not even one year old yet, but it seems she can vaguely understand us. If you at least react disapprovingly, she should understand the nuance. I understand fully how deeply you love her, master, and I think it’s wonderful. However, I think that love should make you understand how important it is to have a tempered amount of strictness as well.”
“I... Well... Right... You’re totally right...”
I could do nothing but reflect in the face of Efil’s absolutely agreeable thoughts on education. She was right that, if this continued, I would do nothing but raise our daughter up, making me a terrible father. If I had to say, I’d be going down the Gustav Route. In other words, my overbearing love for my daughter would cause her to hate me...
No! I can’t allow that to happen! Efil’s right. As a father, I need to show her my stern side sometimes! If not, her future is in jeopardy!
“You look like you’re reflecting on this deeply, master, but can you really do what the chief maid just told you to do?” Ruka asked. “Given how you’ve been acting this entire time, I honestly can’t imagine it...”
“It’s not a question of whether he can do it,” said Efil. “It’s whether the seeds of awareness have been planted inside him. Master must feel a sense of danger for the future— Ahem... For Lalanoah’s future, so the more he cares about her, the more he’ll be aware of what he must do.”
“I see...” The first thing Ruka thought was, This chief maid is really good at her job. She’d meant that in a lot of ways and was deeply convinced of it. And why wouldn’t she be? I was too.
“Hah! Hah! Hah! It seems Kelvin-dono is the type to get whipped by his partners too!” said the elder.
“‘Too’? You said ‘too,’ father?” said Wial.
“Please, Wial, keep the bullying of your father in moderation...” Nellas begged.
His head was hung low, and we couldn’t help but laugh. It was such a peaceful and heartwarming scene. But then, an emergency suddenly erupted.
“Hm. It seems the elven elder is helpless against the will of his daughter. A truly heartwarming and smile-inducing sight,” said a voice.
That impressed interjection seemed to come out of nowhere. I turned to see a girl in a beret and military-style clothing standing there in the room with us.
“Hey...where’d you come from?” If I wasn’t seeing things, it was Gloria, one of the Ten Authorities and user of Gap.
Seriously, why are you here?
“Who are you?!” Elder Nellas exclaimed.
“Gloria Rozess,” she answered.
“She just named herself normally?!”
From the elves’ perspective, an unknown person had suddenly barged into their home. Anyone would be terribly surprised if that happened to them.
“Calm down, Elder Nellas. I can at least call her an acquaintance.”
“Ah...really?” he asked.
“Yeah. That’s basically our relationship. I formally apologize for not greeting you when I arrived,” said Gloria. “I should have come through the front door to maintain order, but judging from the barrier deployed in the surrounding forest, that would cause a fuss. I was given permission by Addams to use my Authority to literally take the shortest route here: I entered through that open window over there.”
“Oh, you’re right. It is open...” Nellas mumbled.
Got it. In other words, she used stealth to avoid trouble. She must have activated Gap above the forest, gone through, and finally gotten here through the window. Oh yeah, weren’t they pretty wary when Efil and I first came to the village? In the end, her entrance was a bit much, but if you only consider efficiency, I can understand why she used Gap to essentially erase the distance to get here.
“Wow, now that I’m getting a closer look, the intruder’s a pretty lady with a really snappy outfit! Is that the fashion that’s all the rage in the capital these days, father?!” Wial asked excitedly.
“Uh, no... All the rage? I’m not...” Nellas trailed off.
“Heh! I wouldn’t know about its popularity, but this has been my style since ancient times,” said Gloria. “By dressing like this, I can always be focused.”
✦ ✦ ✦
✦ ✦ ✦
“So you stick to your own style, regardless of the trends!” Wial exclaimed, impressed. “So stoic! So cool!”
Wial-san... Is it just me or are your eyes sparkling? No, wait. More importantly...
“So you were in such a hurry you had to get permission from Addams to use your Authority. Does that mean...something’s happened?” I asked.
“Well, something like that. I have a message for you from Addams and Maria,” Gloria replied.
“A message?”
“Indeed. Just now, the seven members who will be participating in the objection system have been decided,” Gloria reported.
I sucked in a breath in surprise. “Just now?!”
The entertainment event planned for the weddings—an objection system—had drawn quite a number of applicants. Enough that preliminary selections had needed to be held to determine the final participants.
Do you all really want to prevent my marriages that much? I wasn’t sure how to feel, my emotions torn between my battle junkie nature and my role as the groom. I’d asked for participant details to be hidden until the very end in order to savor the surprise, but...
“Has it been decided who’s participating in which ceremony?”
“It has, though there was a lot of argument. Would you like to hear the details?” Gloria asked.
“Ah, well...”
Personally, I wanted to save the surprise for the day of each event. But I made sure to give Efil a look, trying to communicate this to her and asking her a silent question.
“This is simply my personal opinion,” she answered, “but in this case we should eliminate as many unknown variables as we can. Considering what happened during the academy’s exhibition match and our battle with the Ten Authorities, I believe our opponents will be powerful ones. There’s no need to handicap ourselves. But most importantly, none of us will lose.”
“I thought that’s what you’d say.”
Efil was right. With Addams and Maria-level opponents on the other side, it would be pushing it to refuse information now. Efil had clearly said that we didn’t have the leeway to let our guard down.
Yeah, I’m of the same opinion in this case. Let’s give it our all, including any countermeasures we think up.
“Okay, I’ve decided: Tell us who is participating in which ceremony, Gloria.”