1.
After coming to this world, I became a little kid.
And, as it happened, there were plenty of attractive women around me.
The one who surprised me most, by my standards, was Dolores.
I had never seen anyone that beautiful in my life.
If not for how terrified and shaky I had been on the first day... I might have fallen for her at first sight.
...She was my type, too.
But after living together, becoming family, and getting used to being the one protected, it seemed certain that all the romance cells inside me had completely died off.
I was always squeezed into bed with Dolores... Even when I slept buried in her arms, it was strange that my thoughts never went as far as trying anything more daring.
My physical age was young... and blacksmithing kept me busy, too... Anyway, it was clear that Kim Yujin was dead.
Of course, that could be different if some kind of catalyst came along.
And this time, the person whose feelings for me I had noticed was Ruby—my little sister, who lived under the same roof as me.
We looked the same age on the outside, but there was a huge gap in our actual ages... Even if I had become younger, I couldn’t really see her as a woman by my standards.
I didn’t want Yuna to drag me off to the police station, and more than anything, Ruby’s world was still small and her experience limited.
You know how it is, right? When a daughter is little and says she’ll marry her dad when she grows up.
I thought it was probably something like that.
After all, I was practically the only member of the opposite sex she had spent so much time around while living together.
"Still."
Now that I had confirmed Ruby’s feelings... I should avoid provoking them or knowingly deceiving her.
I shouldn’t tease her because she was cute, or stir up her heart for no reason just because her reactions were amusing.
From now on, I needed to be considerate, as though I were dealing with an adolescent girl.
"You should go outside and try it out, right?"
I held out my fist and lightly bumped it against Ruby’s.
"Yeah!"
Ruby nodded with a bright smile.
Once we went out into the garden beyond the manor, Ruby...
She didn’t make any Vroooom! noises.
Bang! Bang!
But she flew around the sky at a rather terrifying speed.
I had worried it might be a clunker since Son Goku had supposedly ridden it for so long, but thankfully, that wasn’t the case.
Honestly, there had been something I was a little worried about. I could teach her how to use armor and things like that, but...
I couldn’t exactly teach someone how to ride a cloud, so I had no choice but to trust entirely in Ruby’s physical ability.
And as if to prove that worry groundless...
Bang!
The young princess climbed onto the cloud with remarkable confidence.
At first, she only lifted herself slightly off the ground and drifted around, but she quickly got the hang of it.
Tap.
It seemed she had even worked out her own controls—one stomp of her foot to launch the cloud, that sort of thing.
"Want a ride?"
"...No."
"...Get on."
"Uh, uhhh...!"
In the end, I was swept into the air in Ruby’s arms as well.
My feet left the ground in an instant... and held in Ruby’s embrace, I had no choice but to admire the sky.
"...Wow."
The first sky I had ever flown through was cool, yet warm beneath the sunlight.
In the end, we did not come back down to the ground until thirty minutes had passed.
"Huff... huff..."
Ruby stepped down from the cloud, took a few steps across the grass, then flopped right onto her back.
She spread her arms wide and panted heavily.
"Was it that exhausting, Ruby?"
"...Yeah."
It definitely seemed to put a burden on her.
Since it was operated using mana, it appeared to be taxing for Ruby, too.
"...I should have trained harder."
"Hm?"
"My master told me to practice controlling my mana every day... but I skipped it a lot."
Ah-ha.
With Ruby’s current specs, if she flew around to her heart’s content, she would run out of mana in a little over thirty minutes.
But if she did more of that mana-control training she had been neglecting, as Ruby said... she might be able to ride it for longer.
That was good, wasn’t it? It would be great if this gave her motivation to train in magic, too. Dolores had been no small amount of worried about that.
Equipment that grew with its owner really was nice.
Impressed that she had reflected on it, I crouched beside the panting Ruby.
She had identified the cause in her past self.
I was about to brush away the sweat beaded on her forehead and the strands of hair stuck to it when...
Flinch.
I stopped my hand.
Ah, I had decided to be considerate.
This would make the distance between us close again.
Was this much okay?
It was something I had always done, but wouldn’t it be strange to suddenly stop?
"...?"
Ruby stared intently at my palm...
But I withdrew the hand I had awkwardly extended and took out a handkerchief instead.
Then I simply placed it over her forehead.
"Wipe your sweat."
"..."
Ruby gripped the ends of the handkerchief with both hands, covered her face with it, and wriggled as she wiped herself down.
That was when it happened.
"Ruby? Lionel?"
At the far end of the garden, I spotted a woman with silver hair.
There was only one silver-haired woman who could freely cross the manor grounds.
Of course, it was Mom.
I was sure she had gone to the tower...
"...I was wondering who had been poking at the sky barrier since early this morning..."
Ah-ha.
That was why she had come over in surprise.
Dolores gazed steadily at the cloud floating beside Ruby, then gave a small snort of laughter.
"You seem to be having quite a lot of fun, Ruby?"
It was impressive that she could tell just by looking at the cloud.
As expected of Mom.
Spring!
Ruby shot to her feet, pulled up the hem of her top, and briskly wiped her face.
She put the handkerchief over the crown of her head, though. I had no idea what she was doing.
...
Ruby’s bare skin was exposed beneath her lifted clothes.
Wow.
Maybe I had only thought so because I had seen her from the outside before, but...
Ruby’s abs were... more impressive than I expected?
They were not sharply sculpted like a statue or anything, but the sleek abdominal muscles unique to a woman...
Ah, let’s stop there.
After wiping her face, Ruby held out the crest fastened to her chest for Dolores to see.
"Lionel made it for me."
Confidence practically radiated from her voice.
"...Oh my."
Dolores looked at Ruby’s crest and opened her eyes wide.
"Ruby, it looks even better than the crest Lionel made for me."
Then she smiled sweetly.
"Really...?"
Ruby must have thought so herself, because the corners of her mouth twitched as she tried to smile.
Perhaps she liked it even more after receiving praise, as she tapped the crest with her fingers.
As expected of Dolores.
The flow was going well...
"Yes. I think Lionel likes Ruby more."
Wait, wait, that was a problem!!!!
...
Ruby put a little strength into the hand gripping her crest... then glanced at me.
Ah.
Son Goku was certainly well-made equipment, so there would not be an enormous gap in performance, but Kargon was a five-star item that had been promoted to a Divine Relic. It should still be a notch above.
Her skill at setting aside such comparisons and praising Ruby was admirable, but...
It was a problem to praise her in that direction.
Dolores watched Ruby with a pleased expression, then lightly fanned her face.
"By the way... it’s quite hot for so early in the morning. Did you two play for a long time?"
"Yes."
"Lionel, you’re a little sweaty too?"
At Mom’s words...
Flinch.
Ruby’s body trembled.
...
She glanced at me, then looked down at herself.
Then she slowly began backing away from my side.
Ah, the smell of sweat?
Hey... we had been pressed together for thirty minutes.
I doubted it would make much difference to start putting distance between us now.
Besides, she didn’t even smell.
Ruby took another step back, lifted the handkerchief from the top of her head, and...
Her face gradually began turning red.
"I-I’m going to... to wash up..."
"All right. Go ahead."
When Dolores nodded, Ruby spun around and ran off.
Tap-tap-tap!
"Don’t run too fast."
Dolores added with a smile, but Ruby was already nearly at the manor door.
...
I looked up at Dolores.
After confirming that Ruby had completely disappeared, she turned her gaze toward me.
There was a smile on her face.
It strongly felt like she had deliberately sent her away.
Our eyes met, and after looking at one another for a moment, we both gave a small laugh.
"Lionel, there’s much I need to tell you."
"...Me too."
Dolores opened her eyes as if surprised, then nodded.
"Shall we go to my workshop—"
"Shall we go to my office?"
"Ah, yes."
As it happened, there was something I wanted to tell her, too.
I headed to the office with Dolores.
2.
"It can fly for over thirty minutes, and its maximum burst speed is on the level of a Eurasian eagle-owl..."
Here, a Eurasian eagle-owl referred to a spiritual beast of this world that could go from zero to one hundred in three seconds.
That was nearly on the same level as an F1 car.
Dolores read over the paper I handed her, then raised her head.
"Lionel, you made something absurd again...?"
"Yes, so..."
Apparently, in the Empire, not just anyone with wings could fly around wherever they pleased.
There were plenty of mages, so there had to be people using flight magic too, right? But it would be a problem if all of them flew through the Empire’s airspace.
So... it seemed the Empire had its own sort of flight license.
Only selected individuals were allowed to fly.
And the screening criteria were apparently very strict.
"I think she might need a license."
An unlicensed rider was a little much.
"Yes, don’t worry about that part, all right?"
Dolores placed the paper on the desk and opened her arms...
Squeeze...
She pulled me tightly into her embrace and whispered in my ear.
That was a relief.
I nodded, reassured.
That took care of one thing. I still had a few more things to tell her.
"Lionel, what’s next?"
"Ah... It’s nothing major."
I hesitated for a moment before honestly telling her what I had noticed.
I asked what she thought about Ruby seeming to have feelings for me.
I thought it was right to tell Dolores because...
If, from her perspective, she considered Ruby and me her daughter and son... well...
It could be rather troubling from a guardian’s point of view.
"I’ll make sure not to hurt her feelings... but I thought I should tell you."
...
After hearing me, Dolores did not react for quite some time.
Since I was in her arms, I could not see what expression she was making.
And after some time had passed...
"...Lionel, do you dislike Ruby?"
"What? No, it’s not like that."
The unexpected question caught me a little off guard, but of course that was not it.
"Ruby is a very pretty girl. Sometimes letters proposing marriage come even from other noble families who live far away."
Dolores continued calmly.
"There are even earnest requests to arrange a meeting... though I refuse them all, of course."
I knew. Ruby really was beautiful.
She had the kind of looks that made me look forward to seeing whether she would join the Dawn Apostles when she grew up.
I thought she could easily meet the appearance cutoff.
Anyway, I was looking forward to it, but...
............................
But after that, Dolores looked like she was about to say something, then closed her mouth.
Her fingers kept fidgeting.
"What is it?"
Unable to stand it any longer, I asked first.
"Well... Camilla once told me something before."
Camilla?
"It was advice she gave as a doctor..."
Dolores’s voice steadily grew quieter.
"If a child in their developmental years keeps making physical contact with a specific member of the opposite sex... it can have an effect on the long-term... formation of their preferences..."
...
"She said it could remain later as the standard by which they judge the opposite sex..."
Ah.
"Preferences... No, calling it preferences is a little strange. Would self-formation be a better term? It means the standard for feeling intimacy can become too firmly fixed in one direction... Ugh, that is..."
Dolores’s speech grew slower and slower.
Squeeze...
The arms holding me tightened a little more.
There was no need to ask who that specific member of the opposite sex was.
Considering where the back of my head was buried even now, well.
I could even feel her heartbeat speeding up.
"...So, I was wondering whether the reason you don’t feel drawn to girls your own age might be... because of me..."
...
"I keep hugging you and sleeping with you... and we’ve kissed, too, haven’t we?"
Having finished speaking, Dolores twisted her body, apparently embarrassed.
No, Miss Camilla, wasn’t that a little too explicit...?
"Anyway, she said that when you make physical contact, you might become unable to feel satisfied unless it has a similar texture..."
"What... it can go that far?"
"She was only talking about a possibility. She did say it differs from person to person..."
Was it some kind of imprinting effect?
Well, I got what she meant.
The first adult video you see as a teenager can often be why you cannot sleep that night.
Strong memories seem to become imprinted on the brain.
But... honestly, should I say it?
It’s already too late.
Too late.
I did not think there was any going back for me now.
I had crossed that river long ago. GG.
Camilla, you really were a brilliant doctor. You were too accurate.
But there was one point that really bothered me.
Most importantly...
We haven’t kissed on the lips yet!!!!!
I really wanted to set that one straight, you know??
...Anyway, Dolores’s concern was half right.
But that was not why I was pushing Ruby away or anything.
So I firmly made that clear.
"...I see."
The strength in Dolores’s arms loosened a little upon hearing my answer.
For now, Dolores said she understood Ruby’s feelings.
She said she would be more careful with jokes like the one from earlier.
Good. In that case, I was done with what I had to say.
"...What was it you wanted to tell me, Dolores?"
The conversation we had just had was so impactful that my mind was a little dazed.
But it was not wrong, so I accepted it for the moment.
And she had called me aside for a reason, right?
"Ah."
Dolores nodded slowly, then...
Whoosh.
"Oh!"
She lifted me up and sat me in the chair beside her.
She turned her own body as well, sitting face-to-face with me.
"Lionel, there was a message from Gaia."
"Pardon?"
From Gaia?
Slide.
Dolores opened the desk drawer and took out a pale green envelope.
The moment she opened it... the scent of grass, calming to the heart, wafted through my nose.
"Read it yourself, all right?"
I unfolded the letter she handed me.
─────────────────
[To my little baby...]
─────────────────
My baby, have you been well?
For the past several days, I missed you so terribly that I spent every night in tears...
When you stepped into the celestial realm, I cannot tell you how happy I was...
─────────────────
Ah, so she really had been watching?
─────────────────
I wanted to run to you at once and hold you, and I wanted to walk the road before you alongside you. But I feared that if you saw me... your heart might waver.
I could not bring myself to approach, for fear that you would be confused.
So, my little baby, please do not be too hurt that I did not show myself.
─────────────────
Uh, it was okay.
I had seen fake Gaia, after all.
─────────────────
But while I was watching, something truly astonishing happened.
There was a child who dared to borrow my appearance and approach you.
I cannot tell you how anxious I was that you might be deceived and take her hand.
Yet, despite my worries, my little baby recognized her at once.
You were truly wonderful, and I was so proud of you.
─────────────────
Mm, mm. Nice.
I lowered my head, feeling needlessly proud.
─────────────────
So I banished that child to the underworld.
For the next 2,100 years, she will be unable to set foot in either the mortal realm or the celestial realm, so you need not worry about encountering her again.
Then... until we meet again, my baby. Always stay healthy...
─────────────────
[From the mother who always loves you.]
─────────────────
"Huh?"
I blinked.
2,100 years??
The thing that had been folded might not have been a letter, but someone’s life... no, perhaps their divine life.
She had really picked the wrong person to mess with.
I looked back and forth between the letter and Dolores.
"Um... please tell her I read it well..."
"All right."
Dolores nodded as if she knew what I meant to say.
"It’s the first time I’ve ever seen Gaia this angry."
"..."
"By the way, to think you even went to the celestial realm. Lionel, next time... can you please make sure to tell me before you go?"
Wipe, wipe...
With a worried expression, Dolores wiped the sweat from my forehead.
"Yes, I will."
I nodded.
I would definitely tell her before going next time, but sorry, I did not want to go there again.
So I thought that was everything we both had to say, but...
"And, Lionel."
"Yes."
Dolores removed her hand from my forehead.
She looked at me for a moment... then spoke calmly.
"You know there is someone Lionel saved this time, don’t you?"
"...?"
"Cordelia Rosenfeld."
Ah.
"Yes, yes, I know."
"She has recovered a little... and says she wants to personally thank you, Lionel."
"Ah..."
"Would it be all right for you to meet her?"
Dolores waited calmly without pressing me for an answer...
But in truth, it was a simple matter for me.
It was not as though I had good feelings toward Cordelia personally, but I did not harbor even the slightest ill will toward her either.
So there was only one criterion.
"Did she leave the Company?"
"Yes, cleanly."
Then there was no problem.
"Please tell her to come."
I gave a light shrug.
In that case, there was nothing to be concerned about.
Meeting her and talking for a while was not difficult.
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