I took Aisha and Arus around to see everyone, so they could lower their heads and apologize. We hit up everyone who helped us look for them. I told them about everything that transpired. And obviously, since they were roped into all of this, I told them the truth of Aisha and Arus’s punishments.
“Hahaha! I’m glad you found them!” Zanoba said with his usual joyous laugh.
“If you’re banishing Aisha, then you wouldn’t mind if I took her for myself, yes?” Ariel suspiciously asked, but I told her no.
Orsted nodded with his usual scary look.
Alec had searched the Demon Continent and found Kishirika, who then told him where the pair were hiding with a smug look on her face, but it was already too late.
Ruijerd had a relieved but complicated expression on his face when he heard the news.
“Hah, so you ended up catching them?” Perugius said with a snort.
Apparently, he had sided with Aisha in all of this, albeit half-heartedly. I was gonna tattle on him to Orsted later.
When we went to the mercenary band, the members were standing at attention with their tails curled and staring into the air. Some of them might have betrayed me to help her out, but I wasn’t going to punish them for that. A lot of them were probably being blackmailed, and there were also those who’d sided with me, like Linia and Pursena. By forgiving them, they’d owe me one later.
Besides, none of what’d happened had been big betrayals caused by the Man-God. This was just an internal conflict. Even if the Man-God had gotten involved, the mercenary band existed all over the world. Trying to crush it would be a huge pain, and there were a bunch of members who knew how to operate the teleportation circles and contact tablets. Punishing them would’ve had more demerits than merits.
Linia and Pursena had sided with me so early on, even if they hadn’t actually helped much with the search. They really railed on the traitors. Hey, if this helped clean out the organization, I would leave them be.
None of the guys who’d sided with Aisha said she’d forced them to help, even though they looked terrified. For everything that she did, they really respected her. I hoped she understood that.
Nobody was actually mad at Arus or Aisha. I was really grateful.
✦ ✦ ✦
After the apologies concluded, it was time to deliver the baby.
Aisha and Arus’s child. The baby, a healthy boy, was my first grandchild. His name was Leroy Greyrat. He was a wild boy that resembled both of his parents; he was clever like Aisha and loved breasts like Arus.
When I asked Aisha why they didn’t make Leroy’s name from a mix of their names, she laughed and said, “Because we’re not you, Rudeus.”
Anyway, he was my grandson, but it didn’t feel real. Only a few years ago, Chris had been just a baby. It felt more like I suddenly had a new son, yet here I was, an actual grandpa.
Aisha took to caring for her son as if it was the most natural thing in the world. You would never have thought he was her first child. It made sense, since she’d helped raise everyone from Lucie to Chris without giving it a second thought. It wasn’t like she’d raised them alone, but she’d learned how to do everything. Now that she was a mother, she could handle it all.
We’d all help raise the boy, of course. Despite everything that happened, everyone accepted Leroy into the family and cared for him. That made me really happy.
Lilia in particular had a change of heart as soon as Leroy was born. She doted on him so much that you would think she’d never had any reservations about Aisha and Arus getting married. But I got where she was coming from. Lilia and I weren’t blood-related, so this was her first actual grandchild. As soon as she got over the fact that Arus was my son, she had no problems really loving the boy.
She’d be fine in the long run, but I was a little worried that she’d spoil him too much.
As for Arus, he practiced changing diapers with a super serious look on his face. He was learning the ins and outs of taking care of a baby from Aisha and Lilia. I was going to take the baby, but Arus would do most of the child-rearing. Obviously, I’d help out, but Arus needed to learn what it meant to be a father. He’d become a dad at the young age of twelve, but he had to take responsibility nonetheless.
He understood this and put his all into stepping up to the plate. On top of that, he was still attending school, and Eris had made his training even more intense than before. He was working hard in a lot of ways, all so he could one day go and get Aisha.
Huh…
It dawned on me that one day my other children would also get married, and I’d end up with more grandchildren.
This had all happened too early for Arus, but Lucie was of age. I’d heard she was dating Clive before she came of age, but he’d moved to Millis, and they’d lost touch. Maybe they’d made a promise to one another about the future, but reality could be cruel. It wouldn’t be strange if she found a new love at the academy.
Lara didn’t seem remotely interested in that sort of thing, but…she was the type of girl who’d end up bringing someone home out of nowhere. As usual, she was attached at the hip to Leo. She’d probably have to find someone Leo approved of.
The other kids were way too young for that kind of thing. Yet at the same time, I’d thought Arus was too young, and he had a kid now! Who could really say? Going forward, they might end up with someone questionable, just like Arus and Aisha.
What if Chris was super into older men, and when she was grown up, she brought home someone jobless, overweight, and thirty-four years old? I felt like I’d instinctively say no, but I’d have to hold myself back and talk things out. If he was a jobless middle-aged man, maybe we’d have plenty to talk about. No, that couldn’t be enough to sway me. He’d have to show that he was serious about her.
“Oh, my. You want my breasts? Gosh, Leroy. You’re such a mama’s boy,” Aisha said.
“Aisha, you mustn’t spoil him too much,” Lilia scolded.
“Yes, Mom.”
Leroy happily buried his face in Aisha’s chest. Lilia sat next to her with a gentle smile on her face. Arus wore a look that said, He’s so hopeless.
Pal, you’re forgetting that you were just like that when you were a baby, I thought. Wait a second. If that’s the case, what if when Leroy turns ten, he goes after Lily or Chris? Am I going to end up a great-grandpa in my forties?
I paused to consider this.
No, no. No way.
In any case, when things happened, they often happened in unforeseeable ways. Should that time arrive, I wanted to respond calmly instead of losing my cool like I had this time around.
I thought about that as I looked at the happy trio, even if this moment wasn’t going to last.