◆◇◆
Not long after Roxy left, Rudy began going outside much more often.
"Lumi, want to come outside and play with me today? Father gave us permission."
"No, Mother and I are going to tend the flowers this morning."
"Really? Can’t be helped~. I’ll go by myself, then."
"Have fun, Rudy."
Having received his answer, Rudy dashed outside without even looking back.
Tucked beneath his arm, as always, was the plant encyclopedia he had received as a birthday present.
Children his age usually like playing outside, after all.
A boy around Rudy’s age would normally rather go outside than sit quietly indoors—touching dirt, running about, bathing in the stream, and so on.
It was the age when one let loose all that irrepressible youthful energy.
If anything, it was stranger that Rudy had been afraid of going outdoors until now.
Come to think of it... why had Rudy been afraid to go outside?
When I thought about it, there was no reason for Rudy to be afraid of leaving the house.
Ever since he was an infant, he had wandered all around the house and even brought me out of my room—
So why had he never gone beyond the garden and outside the house?
I had asked Rudy directly, but he evaded the question and never gave me an answer.
Well, perhaps it had simply been the bravado of a young child.
There was no need to worry too much about it.
The thoughts of children are not something adults can readily fathom.
Leaving Rudy behind as he disappeared from sight, I followed Mother outside to the small vegetable plot where we grew medicinal herbs.
◆◇◆
I rose early in the morning to tend the garden, then steadily continued my magic studies in the time that remained.
Though calling it studying was perhaps inaccurate. Rather than learning anything new, it was an endless repetition of review that left me treading in place.
I repeatedly inscribed magic circles on the back of my hand, memorizing their forms and training myself to draw them faster.
I could not use silent magic like Rudy, after all.
In actual combat, I might accidentally draw a magic circle incorrectly, or find myself in a situation where I could not draw one at all.
So, just as a swordsman makes his sword an extension of his own body, I had to firmly establish magic circles within my mind.
I trained myself to the point that they would be engraved in my mind as surely as the self-evident fact that one plus one equals two.
Besides that, I steadily continued my own research into simplifying the structures of existing Intermediate- and Advanced-tier magic circles until they were as simple as Beginner-tier ones.
To fulfill the ambitions I had spoken of to my teacher, and to continuously hone myself, I began deliberately refraining from going out.
◆◇◆
One afternoon, Father returned from his patrol, and after we had sparred, it was time for a rest.
As I wiped my sweat-soaked body with a damp towel and enjoyed the breeze, Father suddenly spoke to me.
"Well now, I never thought I’d see you swinging a sword like this. I thought you were frail, but time truly does fly."
Father spoke with a relieved sigh, apparently glad to see me in good health.
Naturally, he would think I was frail. I had barely moved about since I was little.
My old man’s habit of remaining still had caused my parents concern.
By now, I had greatly reduced the habits I once used to pass the time when I was an old man.
"It would be even better if you talked a little more, though."
"...That is—"
There was little I could do about being quiet. Even in my previous life, I had never been particularly eloquent.
I had been taught that one should speak only when necessary: listen to the other person, think deeply upon their words, turn one’s own response over in one’s mind three times or so, and only then voice it.
[Understand? A warrior who talks too much only appears frivolous.]
[...Yes.]
[A warrior speaks with his sword. We are not courtesans entertaining patrons in a tavern.]
[Toshi, if you take being quiet too far, it might cause discord between people.]
[That is true, but still. Kondo, you talk too much, so you lack presence.]
[What can I do? It is simply how I was born. And conversation is important in all things. Saito, do not blindly believe everything Toshi says. Speak, but only after thinking carefully. That is the most appropriate way.]
[...I have received the teachings of Kondo and Hijikata loud and clear.]
One did not go out of one’s way to say pointless things.
I had learned that a warrior ought to speak only when necessary, and only after turning his words over in his mind two or three times.
[Heeey~, old-fashioned Hijikata, since you have no gift for speaking, would you stop teaching Hajime such strange things?]
[Soji!]
[My, my~. A man who says warriors speak with their swords won’t draw his blade, but glares with a face like he needs to shit~. Perhaps a warrior speaks not with a sword, but with his face~.]
[You little bastard! Want to have a go?!]
[Toshi, Soji... both of you, stop it. Saito is watching.]
[...A warrior speaks with his face... Is that it? Hm, quite a profound method of communication. I shall take that to heart as well, Soji.]
[Saito! Do not take such nonsense to heart!]
[Ahahahahaha! Hajime really is entertaining~.]
I had also learned that showing one’s outrage could become a weakness.
As a result of putting those lessons into practice, my own code of the warrior had taken root.
Being a man of few words was in my nature, but it was also meant to project the dignity of a warrior.
"...I apologize for not speaking much."
"No, it’s fine. I am used to it now, and this composed side of you suits you, Lumi, so I don’t mind. Unlike Rudy, who speaks diligently and well, I think your quiet manner is nice in its own way."
Father smiled his easygoing, kindly smile. He understood me as I was.
Still, calling a man like me composed did not quite fit... but there was no reason to spoil the mood, so I nodded.
"Unlike Rudy, you’re quiet, Lumi, but you have a charm that draws people to you. Besides, both you brothers are so sensible that I worry there’s no room for me to carry any weight as your father."
"...There is no need for you to worry about that."
"No, really. Well, it is nothing to boast about, but when I was your age, I was a mischievous brat too busy lifting girls’ skirts to think of anything else."
"...I believe that is typical behavior for a child."
"Ha. A child lecturing me on childishness—you truly are not much like a child."
Considering the age of the soul within me, I was an old man of more than one hundred and seventy. There was no arguing with that.
Still, I believed Father was properly fulfilling his role as a father in his own way.
He reflected on his own past and considered how he ought to treat his children.
He thought of us as a parent should and tried to understand us.
That alone made him a good father, I thought.
But...
"I told Rudy this too, but Lumi, if you want to become someone worthy of the Greyrat family someday, try bringing home at least one girlfriend."
"...Pardon?"
"Unlike Rudy, you are quiet, so you give off an air that makes girls hesitate to approach you. More than that, you yourself are too much like a girl. Girls will probably think of you as one of their female friends. Try being a little more manly and bold. Of course, do not forget to treat girls like a gentleman."
"What do you mean by that?"
"When I was your age, I lifted the panties of every girl in the neighborhood and stole their hearts at the same time. You may not be as charming as Rudy, Lumi, but you have your own appeal. So go and steal a girl’s heart, without fail."
It seemed Father was something of a lecher himself.
In that respect alone, Rudy had clearly taken after him.
Why did he say that I, a man who upheld the way of the warrior, was like a girl?
I wanted to ask him then and there, but I could not bring myself to spoil Father’s high spirits as he laughed so heartily.
◆◇◆
A few days later.
As usual, Rudy went outside, while I spent the morning tending the garden with Mother or passing the time playing shatranj with Lilia.
Father came home in the afternoon, and just as I picked up my wooden sword and began warming up for our swordsmanship lesson, a woman I had never seen before arrived with a child in tow, seeking Father with an angry expression.
"Hey! Paul!"
"Mrs. Ete, what brings you here?"
The woman who had appeared at our home with a terrifying expression and shouted for Father spoke as though she were accusing him.
"Look at this! Your son did this to my boy!!"
"What? My son did?"
The boy Mrs. Ete had brought with her had a blue bruise around his eye.
From my experience as a warrior, I could tell at once that it had been caused by a blow.
Listening to her, it appeared Rudy had hit that child.
"Look at that bruise! His eye has turned blue! What if it gets infected?!"
"..."
"Hey! Are you even listening?! I deserve an apology at the very least!"
Perhaps intimidated by the women’s distinctly aggressive manner of firing words like a wasp’s venomous stinger, Father apologized to Mrs. Ete at once without first hearing the full story.
"I am sorry... that my son did something so cruel."
"...Hmph."
Perhaps Father’s apology left her with nothing more to say. Mrs. Ete stared hard at his face, then slightly reddened and turned her head away.
"I-I accept your apology, but... I want an apology directly from your son! Just look at Somal’s face! It will surely leave a scar!"
"That is..."
The moment I saw Mrs. Ete continuing to talk, using her child as an excuse despite having received an apology, I understood.
That woman’s objective was not to receive an apology.
She wanted to spend more time face-to-face with Father.
My experience of having seen all manner of things told me so.
Well, that was part of it, but I had also seen a scene like this before.
Sanosuke, captain of the Shinsengumi’s Tenth Division.
Women’s attention never ceased for him, one of the most handsome men even within the headquarters.
He was a manly man, with a rugged, dashing appearance, who proudly bore the scar from having committed seppuku.
Though the Shinsengumi were feared as the Wolves of Mibu, many women spoke to him whenever he went out on patrol.
Some women in particular would even deliberately make their children bump into him, then demand an apology so they could look at his face up close.
Yes. This was the same situation as then.
I cannot let Mother see this.
I did not wish to keep watching this farce unfold.
It was hardly pleasant, nor was it a sight I wanted to see, watching a young married woman flirt with a married man in broad daylight.
Above all, I had no desire to show Mother such a farce.
Having watched the situation from behind Father, I approached the child named Somal.
"Lumi?"
"Huh? Wait! What are you going to do to my son?! Take your hand off him!"
"...[Healing]."
I gently touched the bruise around his eye with an outstretched hand, then used [Healing].
A golden light seeped into the skin around his eye, making the dark blue bruise disappear.
It erased even the slightest trace, as though the wound had never existed in the first place.
Somal squeezed his eyes shut in surprise at the sudden flash of light, but when he realized that his injury had healed, he opened his eyes wide and stared at me.
I offered him a faint smile and spoke quietly.
"It does not hurt anymore now, does it?"
"?!"
The boy suddenly stared intently at me.
Before long, he lowered his head and spoke in a tiny, hesitant voice.
"Y-yeah. It doesn’t hurt."
"...Is that so? I am glad."
"?!"
"What is it? Are you hurt anywhere else?"
"...N-no... it’s not that..."
Before the child, who seemed somehow embarrassed, could answer, Mrs. Ete touched and examined Somal’s face, then reacted in astonishment.
"Oh my, the injury is healed?"
"You are Mrs. Ete, correct? I am truly sorry. I apologize like this in Rudy’s stead. So please, I ask that you be merciful this time."
"I-I have received an apology today, so I will leave. But make sure you properly scold your son!"
Her child’s injury had healed, and she had received apologies from both Father and me.
With no more reason to remain here, Mrs. Ete left with her son after tossing out one last spiteful remark.
"Whew. Lumi, you saved me."
"It was simply my duty as your son."
Father breathed a sigh of relief that the sudden storm had passed, though he also smiled bitterly.
"Mrs. Ete turning red in the face over a children’s quarrel was quite a sight, too."
"That is simply how all mothers are."
"What? You say that as if you have been married before."
"...Ahem. At any rate, I am glad the matter has been settled."
"Still, for Rudy to forget the promise he made a few days ago... A child truly is still a child. It seems I have an opportunity to show Rudy what his father is made of."
There was a trace of confidence in Father’s expression as he said that.
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