Two weeks have passed since I protected my mother.
“Yukiera, it’s Daddy,”
“Kya kya kya!”
“That lazy face reminds me of Ichiro from back in the day.”
“You were like that too, Father?”
During that time, I steadily continued the creation of the Dungeon, and I was getting increasingly busy.
The boom in otherworldly popularity had not yet cooled, and breaking news was issued daily with every piece of information that came in.
On television, historians and experts in the occult debated day and night, while on the internet, rumors fueled more rumors. Not only were the details embellished with tail ends and fins, but limbs were added, and they took on a life of their own, becoming lively, groundless gossip.
Amidst all this, I, who espoused the theory that no matter how busy I was, I had to secure time for interacting with my children with grit and spirit, or else my heart would gradually sicken and I would lose sight of why I was working, my own theory.
I managed to twist and turn, and I dedicated the time I secured to interacting with my family like this.
Since Yukiera and Sachiera gained head control, they have been frequently rolling over, and if things continue like this, they will soon be able to crawl.
When I think about the day they will eventually stand and walk, their delighted faces during my high-flying games become even more endearing.
“Ah, with the corners of his eyes lowered so lazily. Do you remember, Jiro? The face of a father who looked so sloppy.”
“There’s no way I’d remember, and how old was I then?”
“About one year old.”
In the spacious living room were me, my mother, and Suella.
Watched over by those three were the twin children, Yukiera and Sachiera.
Yukiera, with her near-white silver hair and red eyes, a characteristic of albinism, was satisfied, and then I started playing with Sachiera, who had tanned skin like Suella and black hair like mine, by lifting her high.
As the cheerful voices of the children echoed, my mother asked me about my childhood, but it was only natural that I shouldn’t have any memories from when I was one year old.
“It would be amazing if you did.”
Slightly exasperated, I took a short break… and gently set Sachiera down in my lap next to Yukiera, who was waiting.
When the sisters were together, they resembled each other, but because their colors were distinctly different, they would begin to make joyful noises as they reached out and touched each other.
“Of course. I don’t remember anything from my own childhood either.”
It wasn’t that I could completely forget about work, but I savored the happiness of being home while my daughters were awake.
I could feel it.
Troubling movements from nobles, appointments from overseas political and financial circles, ominous shadows appearing around the Testers, daily evaluations from the media, the Dungeon’s progress.
A temporary release from information that caused my stomach damage every day.
I was doing my best because I decided to, but it’s not like I wasn’t feeling stressed, so my daughters, innocently playing on my lap, were truly a source of healing.
When I extended a finger, my finger became a plaything.
When they squeezed it with their tiny hands, I felt even more healed.
Compared to when they were newborns, Yukiera’s grip had become considerably stronger.
Is Sachiera a little stronger?
“Suella’s childhood, what kind of child was she?”
Perhaps because I was watching my daughters, the topic of Suella’s childhood greatly piqued my interest.
“Well, she was a quiet child?”
“That’s a lie.”
I couldn’t see her expression because I was playing with the children, but the fact that her voice wavered indicated that her expression had also changed.
My mother, who hadn’t missed that slight hesitation, knew by my presence that she had subtly moved closer to Suella.
“I’m not lying.”
“I understand you want to hide it, but that way of speaking only makes me more curious. Come on, teach your mother. If you tell me, I’ll explain Jiro’s snot-nosed kid days with pictures.”
“Stop it, you did that before!!”
“I have one hundred and eight more secret photos of Jiro that you don’t know about.”
“What are you saying so seriously?”
My mother, who was as curious about Suella’s past as I was, was probably grinning. I tried to stop my mother, who was trying to trade my dark history, which Suella was curious about, for information, but my beloved daughter was at my feet. I tried to stop her by showing the skillful technique of shouting in a small voice so as not to startle her if I raised my voice, but if it stopped her, my mother wouldn’t be able to escape the world.
“One hundred and eight.”
“Ms. Suella, why are you swallowing? Your eyes are getting a little scary!!”
Then, I panicked because Suella was actually looking at me with a serious expression. I ended up speaking in my old tone.
“Ahem, no, it’s not for that reason that I was swayed? It’s purely because I want to continue to get along with Ms. Kirika…”
“If that’s the case, at least look me in the eye when you speak.”
Her excuse was painful.
Perhaps she realized that herself, she smiled with a slight wry smile.
Well, it’s not like I have a past that would cause trouble if it were known, and I don’t think my mother would intentionally expose anything strange.
“Incidentally, this is Jiro drawing the world map when he was three years old.”
“Is that okay?!”
Just as I was about to relax and focus on babysitting, a statement that made me think it might be something I shouldn’t show made me involuntarily retort.
“Don’t worry. I’m not that cruel. This is a photo of Ichiro drawing a map like a scribble after seeing a real world map.”
“That’s bad for my heart.”
Then, when she showed me the smartphone screen, I saw a younger version of myself, unremembered, clumsily drawing a world map in crayon on drawing paper.
Since I have no memory of that time, I can’t say for sure, but it’s just a vague recollection that something like that might have happened.
My mother is probably unmatched when it comes to making someone break out in a cold sweat in a bad way.
“That’s cute.”
“Jiro at that time didn’t call you Mother. He called you Mother. Jiro was cute then.”
“You still have your cute moments, don’t you?”
“That’s good. If you didn’t have any cute moments, you would be despised.”
My mother and Suella continued their conversation, unfazed by these heart-stopping thoughts.
I wondered if conversations between women were this nerve-wracking, and I felt a little disappointed that I hadn’t gotten to hear about Suella’s childhood.
My smartphone in my pocket vibrated, signaling an incoming call.
I had put it on silent mode precisely because I didn’t want my family time to be interrupted. Furthermore, I had informed my subordinates that I was on holiday, so the fact that a call had come meant…
“Yes?”
“I apologize for disturbing you during your holiday, Human King.”
It was trouble.
My expression instantly changed, and my tone of voice became serious.
Honestly, I hate bringing work into my private life.
Seeing my change in demeanor, the children looked up at me, wondering what was happening.
“Did something happen?”
“We received a report that the ship carrying the materials secured overseas has been hijakced.”
“…”
And importantly, everyone here possessed excellent physical abilities.
Suella, who had heard what happened, quietly stood up, lifted the children, and freed me up.
My mother looked at me with a sympathetic gaze, as if to say, “You’ve got it tough.”
“This is a diversion to gauge our reaction. Respond with Plan C. Contact the company that secured the materials and handle it. Make sure you don’t take any action that would prompt us to move. I’ll be heading over shortly.”
“Understood.”
Moreover, the ship that was hijacked was carrying essential equipment needed for the island where the Dungeon was being built. I had tried to secure it in Japan, but it was temporarily out of stock, so I had ordered it from an overseas manufacturer.
If we took any action, it would be considered an action taken overseas if a problem occurred.
Rather, I suspect they intentionally hijacked it to gauge our actions, and my holiday was ruined because of this.
“So, I’m going to work for a bit.”
“Do you need help?”
“No, Mother, you just relax. I’ll be back by dinner.”
My precious family time having been disrupted, I was a little irritated, and I thought to myself, “This is the time.”
I’ll make them understand what happens when you touch what you shouldn’t.
While using my mother’s connections might lead to an amicable resolution, that wouldn’t quell my pent-up frustration at this disrupted atmosphere.
It might look like I’m taking out my anger on someone else, but even though things appear to be progressing smoothly, we’ve actually been facing various obstructions behind the scenes.
Now is a good opportunity to at least give them a warning to calm down a little.
“Lord.”
“Sehas, I’m going out for a bit, but I have a favor to ask.”
“Yes, anything.”
Before I stepped onto the Teleportation Circle set up in a separate building of the mansion, I had one request for Sehas.
There would probably be no clues to find the hijackers. If they concealed it twice or thrice, it would be difficult to track them down even with magic.
Therefore, I should at least do what I can to feint.
“So, I’ll have you deliver a message to that side.”
“Understood.”
As I asked Sehas to convey information to our allies and at least the general outline of my plan, he nodded firmly.
“Well, unseen enemies are indeed the most troublesome.”
“That’s proof of how much you’ve risen in status, Lord.”
“Indeed.”
Whether it’s those blinded by profit, or those who see us as a threat, or other possibilities keep emerging, it’s a problem, but as Sehas says, the higher one’s position, the more enemies one makes in the shadows.
Thanks to that, I’m having the experience of having too much familiarity with the situation.
“At any rate, I need to quickly resolve this problem so I can make it in time for dinner.”
I don’t think I’ve made that many enemies out of spite, but I’ve definitely earned a lot of jealousy. Most of it is probably undeserved resentment, but while I feel I have to deal with it all, if I did, I’d never have enough time.
Most importantly, I have to return the favor for ruining my precious paid leave.
“Lord, your face has become a little frightening.”
“Oops.”
I covered my mouth, suppressing my expression, wondering if a smile reminiscent of my instructor had appeared, and my thoughts raced towards what I had to do next.
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” I swore it in my heart.
“Well then, I’m off.”
“Yes, have a good trip.”
As I boarded the Teleportation Circle, seeing Sehas off.
“They’re here.”
Keiri greeted me on the other side of the Teleportation Circle.
“What’s the situation?”
“It smells like trouble all over the place. There’s a claim of responsibility… do you want to see it?”
“Judging by the way you say that, it doesn’t sound like a legitimate statement.”
She had already started collecting information, so an explanation alone would undoubtedly convey how troublesome it was.
Thinking, “Trouble again today,” I realized that this was just the tip of the iceberg. Although I could predict that there were still unseen troubles, I couldn’t grasp the full extent of them.
Today’s word: Let’s be careful not to be swayed by troubles.
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