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“THEY’RE harder to find than I would have expected,” I said.
“Square-shaped glasses are a recent design, after all, so they’re not as common as round frames. They probably aren’t stocking as many daily necessities as they would be if the festival wasn’t going on either.”
Father and I chatted as we walked down the street. We’d come to the same market where the animal festival was being held. It was the busiest spot in the Rhuddlan territory and home to many different shops, including those that served wealthy clients, stocking items like high-quality glasses. But we couldn’t find any square-shaped ones.
“But anyway, Siraiya, those dog ears are a cute look for you.”
“Thank you. Cynthia picked them out for me to wear at the festival. That red crest looks good with your hair, too, Father. The Rhuddlans all have such vivid, beautiful red hair.”
I didn’t think anyone in the Rhuddlan territory would recognize me, but everyone knew Father’s face, at least. That was why we’d both come in animal costumes for this outing. We didn’t want to cause any chaos if he was recognized, even if we were only there to get a single pair of glasses, so both of us wore masks to disguise ourselves.
The shopkeepers would definitely give us special attention if they recognized Father as the ruler of the territory. They might want to talk about work or unintentionally embarrass him for not buying more.
I was dressed like a dog since Cynthia picked the look out for me. Father was reusing Cynthia’s costume as an angel…or rather, a chicken.
“Yes, many members of the Rhuddlan family are born with red hair,” he said. “They say the vivid red color symbolizes those who will grow up with lots of love to share. That’s just a superstition, but when I picture the other members of my family and their personalities, it doesn’t seem so silly after all.”
“You’re true yanderes, then.”
“Yandere? What’s that mean?”
I’d assumed Cynthia’s father would know the same word she taught me—that she’d picked it up on one of the Rhuddlan family trips to a foreign land.
“Cynthia told me it’s a word from a distant country, and that it describes a deeply loving person.”
“I see. I’ve never heard that before. Cynthia’s always learning all sorts of new things.” He smiled, delighted to hear of his daughter’s vast wealth of knowledge. I couldn’t help but smile, too. I hoped that one day, when I had my own children, I would be as good a father.
Only after meeting the Rhuddlans did I finally learn what a loving family actually looked like. I still felt like I only halfway understood it, but at this rate, I was confident I would be able to build a loving family, too.
“Ah…! That’s…!” Father suddenly raised his voice.
“Square-shaped glasses?!”
Just as I thought he’d found them, I followed his gaze toward a shop selling women’s accessories.
“Look at that cute brooch!” he exclaimed. “Don’t you think it would look nice on my wife?!”
“A brooch…? Yes, I do suppose it would suit Mother.”
It was a simple, flower-shaped brooch. It would make a nice accessory for Mother, but what exactly had happened to our glasses search?
Father strode straight into the store and bought the brooch with the money he had on him. One of his servants would normally handle that part for him, but he was maintaining his disguise as a commoner today.
“My wife will look beautiful with this brooch. I just hope she likes it.”
I was certain she would. Mother loved Father very much, after all.
He smiled fondly, forgetting his original objective in coming here. When I turned my eyes toward the shop’s other items, I spotted a cute ribbon made of lace.
“This…would look good on Cynthia,” I mumbled.
“Ah, you’re right! It’s perfect for her!”
I took out my money too, and before I knew it, I was walking out with a shopping bag in hand.
“Siraiya! Let’s check out that shop over there next!”
“Okay, Father!”
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WHY, exactly, had we come to the market again?
I could barely move. Both of my hands were now filled with bags.
“Siraiya… I don’t have much money left…”
“Me neither…Father…”
At this rate, we wouldn’t be able to buy glasses. We’d finally snapped out of our trance, so we went back to our carriage to drop off our bags.
“Okay, we can’t get distracted this time,” I insisted. “Let’s find those glasses.”
“Right… It’s finally time…”
“Yes… It’s time…”
We expressed our remorse as we handed our bags over to the coachman. But then Father gave me something else.
“Siraiya, this is a gift for my dear son.”
“For me…?”
When did he even buy this? I took the small box, opened it up, and found a pair of pure-silver cufflinks inside.
“I thought it would suit you. Come on, it’s yours now.”
“Father…! Thank you so much. I’ll cherish this.”
Father shared his love with everyone, just like Cynthia. Or maybe it was more accurate to say Cynthia turned out that way thanks to her loving mother and father.
“I’d like to give you a present sometime too,” I said.
“Is that right? I’ll be looking forward to it.”
We smiled at each other, but then Father dropped an important reminder.
“Let’s just…not worry about that today…”
“Right…”
Gazing at the carriage full of bags, the two of us wallowed in regret once more.
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“THEY just don’t sell those glasses anywhere,” I sighed. “I think we’ve ended up in a back alleyway, so let’s head back the way we came.”
“You’re right. At this rate, I don’t think we’re going to—”
Just then, a nearby horse let out a shrill whinny.
“Thief! Someone, stop that man!”
I turned toward the source of the commotion. A shopkeeper was sprawled out on the ground beside his merchandise cart. Nearby, a man with a bag slung over his shoulder was making a break for it.
“Let’s stay away, Father. It could be dangerous. I’ll go and find a knight to…”
I tried to lead Father into the main street, feeling a duty to keep him safe. But instead, Father sprinted toward the shopkeeper. He quickly untied the horse from the cart.
“I’ll be borrowing this.”
With a smile, Father grabbed the long straps that attached the horse to the cart, reeled them in to a more appropriate length for reins, mounted the horse, and took off without so much as a saddle.
I feared a cart-pulling horse wouldn’t be accustomed to being ridden, but Father maintained his balance as he caught up to the fleeing man in the blink of an eye. At his command, the horse leapt up into the air.
“Aaaargh!”
The man’s scream echoed through the streets. Father had overtaken the robber and blocked his path forward. The startled man stumbled and hit the ground before trying to scramble back in the other direction. But it was too late. Father loosened his grip on the long reins, tossed them forward, and lassoed the man before he could flee. He fell to the ground, unable to escape this binding.
“Don’t resist.”
Father’s tone was calm, but the man let out an angry scream.
“Where the hell did you come from?! Who are you?!”
“Huh…?! I’m…”
He couldn’t answer that honestly. There wasn’t a need to answer a robber’s demands in the first place, but Father thought it over for a moment before responding.
“I’m the Heroic Chicken Father!”
It sounded like something out of a comedic book or a play. While the other man and I were both at a loss for words, Father retrieved a rope from the shopkeeper’s belongings and tied the robber up nice and tight.