Chapter 6:
Beloved Daughter and Romance Flag
LET’S BE CLEAR. There was no damn romance flag.
Let me introduce you to the daughter of the mana tool merchant, with whom I was having a friendly chat. She was a cute girl with light chestnut-colored hair. She was single, young, and most definitely a beauty. And, of course, she was female.
Her name was Teru. A lovely name. She was currently sitting on my lap. When I asked her, “How old are you?” she shyly responded by spreading her five fingers and saying, “Five.”
Five years old… Hey. Hey, Mister. What is this? What does she mean by five?!
She was a proper lady, despite her youth. She treated me with utmost respect. But you know, most people would assume that a man who looked as old as that merchant would have a daughter no younger than twenty. What a useless guy…
Anyway, sweet Teru wasn’t like her evil merchant of a father. She was an extremely good-natured child. To tell you the truth, I was relieved. She was genuinely happy talking to and smiling at an oddball like me. What a wonderful kid. Genetics sure do work in mysterious ways.
I was certain she took after her deceased mother. Apparently, the poor woman had contracted the same illness poor Teru had endured and died a year later after months of futile treatment. After she died, the mana tool merchant had borne the debt for the sake of their young daughter. The trials and travails of single fatherhood had left him visibly aged and bald from stress.
Teru was a healthy kid now, though I didn’t doubt she’d been ill. I didn’t know the average development cycle of children in this world, but from what I’d seen around Tibar, it didn’t seem that different from the one I was familiar with. There was an abundant supply of food, which I’m sure helped. Despite this, Teru was quite small. When I first saw her, I thought she was younger than a kindergartener. I could probably chalk that up to all the days she’d spent confined to her bed.
When I thought of how her deceased mother must have felt, knowing she was leaving her frail little daughter with such an absolutely unreliable and stupid merchant…
“Jeez, I’m gonna cry…” I muttered.
From my seat on the sofa, I absentmindedly gazed out the window to my left. The golden light of the setting sun filtered through the characteristically cloudy glass-paned windows unique to this world. At present, I was in the mana tool merchant’s home. It was located deep in a secluded neighborhood several alleys away from the main street where the punks had caused an uproar. The merchant had invited me to his home to stay for a while.
This proposal was actually a godsend. Although I had enough money to stay at an inn, I still didn’t know my left from my right in this world, including how to properly budget. In any case, I had no reason to refuse, since my accommodations would be free.
The man’s home was rather large. It was a two-story building, relatively rare for this town. Between this show of prior wealth and how well-known his current straits seemed to be, I wasn’t surprised he’d become a target for nefarious folks.
“And then, Mr. Nemaki, I, um…” Teru said.
For some time now, she had been sitting on my lap and energetically swinging her small legs as she overflowed with little-girl talk. At first she had been shy with me, but by now she had opened her heart. What a beautifully honest child. I kept thinking about how I just couldn’t see her as the child of that evil man.
“So, then, when I get bigger, I’m gonna be a camchi seller. And then, um, yeah…” she continued.
“Heh, a camchi merchant, huh? Wonderful. I’m sure you’ll be a great one.” Of course, I had no idea what a “camchi” could possibly be. However, if it meant she wouldn’t be inheriting her father’s dishonest shop, it was indubitably a worthy goal. Good luck, Teru. I sincerely support your dream.
Teru’s big round eyes sparkled, and she continued with a bashful tone, “And so, I’m gonna, um…”
She fidgeted as she rocked her feet. Unlike adults, it takes more effort for a child to summon the words they want to say. Then Teru raised her sweet, smiling face and said, “I’m gonna be Mr. Nemaki’s bride!”
“Oh, I’d be honored,” I said, surprised.
She was quite a passionate lady, and she had my thanks. Those pure, kind words had come from her heart. But I already knew that in two dozen years or so, she would happily leave the nest with some other fortunate man.
“Really. It’s an honor,” I said. Full of paternal heartbreak, I gently brushed Teru’s fluffy hair. Her eyes closed as she giggled in embarrassment.
At that moment, I felt a wave of terrible unease coming from somewhere on my right. When I turned to look, Gol, who had been sitting next to me, was slowly reaching toward the child. For some reason, her white fingers trembled violently.
“Hm…? What are you doing, Gol?”
How strange. She was the only thing I could see. So what exactly was emitting that volatile bloodlust? I definitely felt it. I was nearly convinced some invisible mana beast had appeared next to me. Although, from a rational perspective, there was no way a mana beast could be inside the house.
It seemed that after the long series of fights I had endured since coming to this world, I had become hypervigilant. That ominous presence was likely my imagination. I mean, my Gol would never do anything terrible to sweet little Teru. In fact, Gol usually treated me like an infant, so to me, she gave off an incredibly maternal impression. She probably loved small children.
I see. She’s reaching out to stroke Teru’s head. Gol really does like kids.
“Yeah, I think Gol will make a good mother,” I said. Well, I didn’t know if golems could give birth.
Nevertheless, after I spoke, Gol’s violently trembling hand suddenly halted. Then she stroked Teru’s forehead.
Ah, what an absolutely beautiful sight. Bathed in the warm light of sunset coming through the window, an immaculate statue caressed an innocent child. The solemnity of this scene exceeded that of the image of the Holy Mother depicted by Raphael.
But something about it still bothered me. “Hey, Gol. Don’t you think you’re going at it a little rough?”
Whenever Gol touched me, it was with the gentle care required to handle delicate glasswork or a treasured possession. Right now, though…
Well, Teru seemed delighted by the bit of roughhousing, so I guessed it was fine.
Then I noticed another uneasy presence. The source of this one was sitting on the sofa across the table from us. It was the mana tool merchant.
“So, you got something you want to say to me?” I asked.
Right after Teru had childishly proposed to me, the veins on the man’s wide forehead began to twitch. At this rate, he’d succumb to an early death from high blood pressure.
I decided to provoke my hated archenemy, the merchant, in the name of shortening his lifespan. “Just as I thought. Your daughter is nothing like her incompetent father—she is an excellent judge of character. Wise beyond her years.”
Blood rushed up the man’s head, turning his scalp pink. “Don’t get the wrong idea, you hear me? I’m grateful for what you did for me this afternoon. But listen here, this is a completely different matter. I won’t give you my Teru.”
“Hmph, how foolish. Who she marries is a question only she can answer.”
Ha ha, what a fool of a father! He was beyond help if he was getting worked up over the sugary clichés of girlhood.
No matter how you dote on her, Teru will one day leave you for some stranger from who knows where! Serves you right.
Of course, I would primarily be happy on account of her happiness.
And, I suppose, on the day before her wedding, I would listen to whatever rambling sorrows the merchant had left. I would expect him to treat me to an open bar’s worth of alcohol in the meantime. Ridiculing his bitter face would make for a magnificent accompaniment to my drink.