The mercenary band was useful in many ways, but they wouldn’t be particularly helpful in finding Aisha. With that in mind, I decided to borrow the strength of other organizations.
First was the Ranoa University of Magic, then the Magicians’ Guild. Both organizations held a lot of power in the Magic City of Sharia.
If the pair not being in the city was just a misdirect, these organizations would be a huge help. If they put up even a single notice in the university, the students might feed us info.
“Ah, right. I haven’t checked Zanoba’s place yet,” I said to myself.
The Zanoba Store was originally a small shop we’d opened up in order to sell the Ruijerd picture books, but a few years had passed since then. Thanks to Zanoba and Julie’s hard work, they’d expanded its scope recently. They had a large-scale workshop in the Asura Kingdom, and they were setting up branches in other countries.
The mercenary band served as security for the shop, but it was a place where Aisha rarely went. On the flip side, I was there all the time. That’s why I thought it unlikely that she’d head there. Then again, maybe that was exactly why she might go. I found it hard to believe Aisha would do something so simple, but I decided to check just to cross it off the list for sure.
First, I was going to explain the situation to Zanoba, Julie, Ginger, and Anne—three people and one automaton. This wasn’t the sort of thing I really should’ve been sharing with folks outside of the family, but I just wanted Zanoba to lend me an ear.
“This is rather uncommon for you, Master. Telling someone no without explaining yourself or hearing them out,” Zanoba said after listening to everything I had to say.
“I mean, that wasn’t my intention. It’s just that Arus is still a kid, so…”
“Children quickly become adults. In just a few years, he will be of age. As someone who also grew up quickly, you should know this quite well.”
“Yeah, sure,” I said after a pause.
It was true that I met Zenoba when I was about Arus’s age, but I also had the years I’d experienced in the other world. It wasn’t the same. If anything, I took too long to grow up.
“And it’s because of your understanding that you didn’t try to convince them, right?” Zanoba asked.
Everyone grows up eventually.
There were plenty of instances where stuff wouldn’t work out at present, but if you truly reflected on your actions and worked hard, they’d get better. That was how I’d made my way through the world. I went from being a complete piece of shit to someone relatively presentable in comparison, even if I was still only a more presentable shithead. I still felt I was better now that I had been. That’s why, even though it varied from person to person, I thought everyone was capable of growth.
“Well, what should I have done?”
“Hmm. That’s a good question. You were probably too forceful. If you were going to tear them apart, then their only choice became eloping. Even I would have done so.”
“But if nothing changed, Arus was going to grow too dependent on Aisha.”
“I do not see the problem. He could still grow and learn in that situation, though it might have taken time.”
I didn’t know how to respond. He was right that Arus could probably grow, albeit slowly, despite his dependence on Aisha. There were ways in which he wouldn’t as well, but the people around him could help address those holes. I knew that. I couldn’t say for certain that he was totally dependent on Aisha in the first place; I just had an inkling.
Arus was Eris’s son, so he wasn’t the type to just roll over, but he was also my son. It was entirely possible that he could have gotten that kind of dependency from me.
What if he was independent, just out of my sight? From watching Arus up grow up, I’d seen that he was more than Aisha’s doll, even if he relied on her too much.
So why was I still so against this?
“What do you think, Julie?” I wanted to get a girl’s opinion on this, so I glanced over at her. She was pale as she looked down at the table. “What’s wrong?” I pressed.
“Um, I…” she murmured, at a loss for words.
“Julie, do you know something? Don’t tell me you’ve been keeping secrets from Lord Zanoba,” Ginger interjected. She’d been listening this whole time with a calm look on her face.
“I…saw.”
“Saw what?”
“I saw Aisha and Arus go to the basement early this morning.”
“Huh?!” I jumped to my feet in response. This was brand-new info. There was a teleportation circle in the basement of the Zanoba Workshop, which connected to a circle in our secret lab in the Fittoa region of the Asura Kingdom.
“Julie, why didn’t you say anything?” Zanoba asked.
“You and Master Rudeus sneak into the basement pretty often, so I thought it was normal…”
“Ngh!” Zenoba averted his gaze, perhaps thinking our sneaking around had led to us missing this opportunity to catch Aisha and Arus. But this was Aisha we were talking about. She would probably have used our knowledge against us. Conversely, had we not sneaked into the basement so often, she wouldn’t have used it as an escape route.
“You didn’t notice, Zanoba?” I asked.
“I stayed at the store last night.”
“I see.”
Aisha knew his schedule and had used that to her advantage. After all, the security for Zanoba’s store was the mercenary band.
“I suppose they must have gone to the Asura Kingdom,” I said.
“I wonder about that,” Zanoba mused. “In any event, I believe it would be wise to request help from Queen Ariel.”
“Will do,” I said. First, I needed to head over the Asura Kingdom and ask Ariel for her help.
Just as I was about to leave Zanoba’s place, he stopped me.
“Master. When one has disagreements with their little brothers, sisters, sons, or daughters, one must be willing to talk things out with them in earnest. Sometimes, you must listen to what those beneath you have to say and watch over them, even if you believe you are in the right.”
I didn’t respond.
“I know it is presumptuous of someone such as myself to say such a thing, but—”
“No, I appreciate it,” I said.
It was uncommon for Zanoba to give me a talk like this. The regret he had over his little brother, Pax, must have run deep. I could feel the weight behind his words.
Yeah, it was true that—Aisha aside—I really hadn’t heard Arus out. I’d assumed he had no intention of trying to get through to me. I treated him like a child and only ever spoke to Aisha. Even now, I was ignoring Arus. I’d only intended to talk to Aisha.
I should have asked what he wanted to do. I should have asked him to express his own thoughts. It wouldn’t have been an issue to wait to make a decision after hearing him. We hadn’t talked enough. If I’d been more careful, they probably wouldn’t have eloped.
If I find them, I need to make it a point to ask how Arus feels.
Okay.