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[Paul Greyrat’s Perspective]
It was around afternoon. I had come out into the garden to warm up before beginning sword practice with my younger son.
The moment I picked up my wooden sword, Mrs. Ete appeared at our front gate with a terrifying expression and began shouting.
She had brought along her son Somal, who was notorious nearby as a troublemaker. Somal had a bruise over his eye so large it nearly covered the eyeball itself.
As a swordsman who had survived my share of brutal battles, I could tell that it had been caused by a blow.
It was difficult to follow Mrs. Ete’s story, but in summary, it seemed Rudy had hit Somal.
On hearing that, I felt relieved inside.
He had probably been playing outside, seen Somal and the other children playing, and asked to join them.
But Rudy was different from other children.
At that young age, he was already a Saint-tier magician.
He had probably spoken too proudly, provoked their resentment, and gotten into a fight.
For some reason, my sons were very intelligent and mature, but they still had childlike sides to them.
Mrs. Ete made a huge fuss with the ferocious face of a monster, but in the end, it was only a quarrel between children.
The swelling looked severe at a glance, but it would soon go down.
It did not look as though it would leave a scar or any lasting mark.
All I had to do was scold him, and that would be the end of it.
Just as she was growing increasingly worked up, insisting that Rudy had to apologize, Lumi stepped forward and healed Somal’s injury with magic.
With her son’s injury gone in an instant, Mrs. Ete no longer had anything to complain about. Perhaps flustered, she loudly told me to discipline my son properly before leaving.
If Lumi had not been there, I might have continued arguing with her until Rudy returned.
No, my wife might have joined in from inside the house, and it could have turned into a fight between women over their children.
When that happened, matters became more complicated. I had seen through experience how a children’s quarrel could ultimately grow into a quarrel between adults.
Had Lumi noticed all that?
It was not enough that he smiled calmly at the boy his older brother had hurt. He even politely apologized to Mrs. Ete on our behalf, bringing the dispute to an end.
Normally, a child would hide behind his parents and be frightened when they were arguing right before his eyes. Yet Lumi handled the matter more maturely than I had.
He was unexpectedly steadfast and strong-willed.
Moreover, after Mrs. Ete left, he gently tugged at my clothes as I let out a sigh of relief and said this:
"...Father. ...Father."
"What is it?"
"...About what happened earlier."
"Ah, Lumi. You saved me. I’ll scold Rudy a little when he gets back, and that will be the end of it, so you do not need to worry too much."
"...That is not it. When Rudy returns, I would like you to hear his side of the story first."
"What? Mrs. Ete already told us what happened. It is just a childish quarrel. Rudy probably lost control of himself, got carried away, and used magic—that was the problem. Clever as he is, he must have had some way to handle Somal without hitting him. But I suppose Rudy is still a child after all. I need to teach him how rash it is to resort to fists, and that he must be careful when using his strength."
It was fortunate that Lumi had been here this time, but if Rudy, a Saint-tier magician, lost his temper and flew into a rage, something excessive might happen.
Rudy might think he had fought on equal footing, but those with power had to restrain that power.
Especially when he had injured someone.
First, I would make him apologize.
He might not understand it now, but he was a clever son. Surely, he would come to the answer himself eventually.
That was why I thought I should give him a stern scolding while I had the chance.
But Lumi shook his head at my words, then looked up at me with clear eyes and spoke.
"...I believe that every matter has its own circumstances. If you accept only what Mrs. Ete, who came here earlier, said at face value and do not hear your own son’s side... then I think a deep rift may form between you and Rudy. So before scolding him unilaterally, having him sit down and listening to the full story would be the first step toward being a good parent... That is what Lilia told me."
"What?"
"...This may be presumptuous of me, but... you reap what you sow. Rather than scolding him without question, I think you should hear Rudy’s position first."
His words made me remember my childhood.
Ah, I remembered it. When I was young, Father never listened to anything I had to say. He only rebuked me for my shortcomings.
Every time, I felt stifled.
In the end, unable to bear it any longer, I grew sick of my strict father blindly scolding me over every little thing in that suffocating home. After a fight, I ran away from home.
And yet here I was, thinking of scolding Rudy before I had even heard his side.
It seemed I had inherited my own stubborn, inflexible father’s blood after all.
That day, when he told me, "Get out right now," I did exactly that and left the house.
I heard that not long after I set out on my journey, Father collapsed from illness and passed away.
According to what I heard, he regretted our fight that day until his final moment.
I bore fault in that as well. No, let me be clear.
I still regret that time.
Neither one of us accepted the other’s feelings or tried to truly talk things through. We only lost our tempers, and a deep emotional rift formed between us.
By the time I tried to bridge that rift, it was already far too late.
What would happen if I did the same thing to Rudy when he came home?
He was my son, with my blood in his veins.
Surely, just as I did when I was young, if his father told him to leave, he might truly leave.
If that happened, not only I but Rudeus would regret it.
I had already endured such a painful experience, and yet I had forgotten it.
"Haa... You are right, Lumi. There is no good in beginning by scolding him blindly. When Rudy returns, I will hear him out first."
"...You truly are wonderful, Father. You listened carefully even to the words of an immature child like me. I really like that about you."
I placed my hand on Lumi’s head and stroked it as the corners of his eyes curved charmingly.
Calling himself immature and a child... This boy was not merely clever. He was far too mature.
He had deliberately said that Lilia had told him those things because claiming they came from an adult would be more persuasive than saying they came from himself.
He was only five years old, yet he could be so composed and thoughtful.
He was a son far more mature than I had ever been as a child.
Even now, he had guided me away from mistaken thoughts and given me insight.
It was as though I had an old man full of life experience at my side.
Rudy was diligent and clever, and resembled me to a certain extent. In contrast, Lumi was someone I could rely on simply by having him nearby.
Rather than a child to me as a parent, he gave the strong impression of an elder I could lean on in difficult times, as one person to another.
"I truly cannot keep up with you."
"Father, that tickles."
He spoke little, tended the vegetable garden, often held a pen, liked drinking tea, and enjoyed shatranj.
Those were not the sort of games ordinary children played.
I had worried about Lumi, who had acquired manners more suited to an elderly man of great years or a young lady from a noble household.
But with such a strong core to him, there should be no problem.
Thus, I received insight and instruction from a son younger than myself.
"Hmm."
"What is it?"
"Nothing. Sometimes, I get confused over whether you are my son or my daughter."
"...I am a boy. I am your son!"
"S-sorry. Lumi is a boy, of course."
Lumi blushed and got angry.
It seemed he disliked being treated like a girl.
Usually he was such a calm boy, but when treated like a girl, he became this angry.
It was truly strange.
Does he look like a daughter because he has been influenced so much by Zenith?
But the sight of him puffing out his cheeks and sulking was exactly like that of a little girl.
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As dinner preparations were in full swing, Lumi followed my wife and Lilia into the kitchen to cook, leaving the garden empty.
As I paced alone before the front door, Rudy returned.
At first, the scolding Mrs. Ete had given me that afternoon made me frown without thinking. But then I remembered Lumi’s words, took a deep breath, and called out to Rudy.
"Father, I’m home."
"...Rudy, did anything happen today?"
"What do you mean? I do not know."
Seeing Rudy tilt his head, I saw through the act. He was playing innocent.
I nearly raised my voice immediately, but he was a child.
He was probably afraid of being scolded, so he intended to keep pretending he knew nothing.
"Mrs. Ete came by earlier. She said you hit Somal from her family. He came here with his eye all swollen."
"Today?"
"Yes."
Rudy thought for a moment, then nodded.
"I do not know his name, but I did not hit him. I only threw mud at him."
"So you admit that you used force, at least. Do you have nothing to say about that? Rudy, do you remember what Father told you last time?"
"That a man is not strong just so he can show off?"
"That is right."
"I do not know what you were told, Father, but..."
"That is not the point! When you have done something wrong, you apologize first!"
In the end, I raised my voice at Rudy, who continued trying to play innocent.
I only wanted him to admit it and apologize first, then speak honestly with me. Why was he trying to pile lie upon lie like this?
The moment I looked at Rudy in anger...
Ah!
I saw Rudy looking straight up at me, unbothered by my angry voice, and Lumi’s words returned to me.
Normally, when children did wrong, they lowered their heads and backed down on their own.
But Rudy’s eyes met mine directly.
As if he had something he wanted to say.
Lumi might have been right.
It was not right to judge based on only one side’s story.
Even if it was an excuse, I should hear things from Rudy’s perspective.
I took another deep breath to quell my anger, then spoke to Rudy.
"...All right. Tell me what happened first. You must have something you want to say as well."
"Ah, yes."
When I lowered my voice and spoke as I normally did, Rudy stammered in surprise.
Only for a moment, though. Rudy composed himself and calmly explained.
"Actually, I was walking down the road when—"
Listening to him, I learned that he had come upon a child from the Rolls family being bullied and had helped her.
He had not hit anyone. He had merely thrown a lump of mud, and it had not even been a fight.
Come to think of it, the Rolls child had green hair.
Her family had consulted me before, saying that other children often played cruel pranks on her because they called her a demon.
If Rudy’s story was true, then he had done something he could hold his head high and be proud of.
"I see. Rudy, that was a manly thing you did. Well done, my boy."
"Ah, Father, that hurts~. Aren’t you rubbing my head too hard?"
"Hahaha! I’m rubbing it harder because you did well~."
"Ah, aah~! Father, ow...!"
If it had not been for Lumi’s words, I would not only have failed to praise him—I would have scolded him without even giving him a chance to explain himself.
And this was the son who had done something so admirable.
I had nearly done something I would regret.
Lumi’s advice had not been wrong.
Yet at the same time, my stomach began to hurt a little, and something within me shrank.
With sons this admirable, I had no weight as a father at all.
If anything, I felt my confidence as a father plummet.
No, that was only natural.
Besides...
"Father, may I bring Sylph to our house next time? I want to introduce Sylph to Lumi."
"Hm? Yes, of course."
He had made a friend without prejudice.
If I had been in his place as a child, I might have acted like Somal.
No, I should not overthink it.
For now, I should simply be happy that my son had made his first friend.
◆◇◆
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[Luminous’s Perspective]
Fortunately, Father listened to Rudy’s side of the story.
Rudy was startled when Father briefly raised his voice, but he was soon relieved that Father had listened to him and praised him. He said that he respected Father.
A contented smile came to my lips at the fact that the father and son had resolved the matter peacefully, without allowing an emotional rift to form between them.
This is for the best.
I could still vividly recall the cold looks in the eyes of my grandchildren and relatives just before I died.
I died without properly resolving the discord within my family.
Various factors had played a part, but ultimately, I too had been at fault for living rigidly and clinging to bushido.
Perhaps that had become my lingering regret.
In this life, I did not want to create discord with my family.
I wanted to build a family where we understood one another’s wishes and filled in each other’s gaps.
In a way, our family was close to that ideal.
Father listened even to the words of a young child like me, and Mother was kind.
Lilia, our maid, was as gentle as Mother as well.
Simply being among them brought peace to my heart.
◆◇◆
Some time after Mrs. Ete’s visit, Rudy brought a child home, saying she was a new friend he had made.
She was a girl with short, tousled hair and a cute face.
But—
Green hair?
I instinctively became wary as I remembered what Roxy had said before.
The girl’s hair was the same green as that of the dangerous demon race, the Speld Tribe.
I nearly reached for a sword, but Rudy showed me that the girl had no jewel on her forehead, and only then was I barely able to confirm that she was human.
I apologized to the girl, who had teared up upon seeing my brief wariness, and we became friends.
Her name was Sylph.
Her father was half elf, while her mother had beastfolk blood in her veins, which was apparently why she had been born with such hair.
"Sylph, could I be your friend too?"
"Y-yes! Thank you!!"
"That is wonderful, Sylph. I have another friend now."
Apparently, the reason Rudy had fought Somal recently was to save Sylph, who had been excluded by the other children.
She had been alone because people saw her as a demon—worse, as a dangerous member of the Speld Tribe. Thinking of how difficult that time must have been for her, I felt pity for her.
"I’m happy to be friends with such a cute girl like Lumi~."
"...Wait. I am a boy."
"Huh? A... boy?"
"That is right. Lumi and I are twin brothers."
"Whaaaaaat?!"
There had been a slight misunderstanding, but... I became close with Sylph, Rudy’s friend.
Even after we became friends, however, Rudy and Sylph played outside most of the time, so I only saw Sylph occasionally while I remained at home.
Whenever Sylph came to the house, we did things like draw pictures together or play shatranj.
Recently, I had been teaching her origami to pass the time.
"Here, this is a pig and a horse."
"Wow~! That’s amazing! How do you make things like that from a single sheet of paper?"
"Urgh, I cannot do it very well..."
"Lumi, teach me too!"
"All right. This time, I will teach you how to fold a paper fortune-telling game from a single sheet."
"Okay!!"
Sylph was mostly learning chantless magic from Rudy, so there was not much I could help her with. Still, being able to teach her even these little games made me happy. It felt just like playing with a granddaughter.
"Lumi likes quiet things, so you are just like an older sister~."
"Ahem! Sylph, I have told you before, but I am a boy."
"But the way you act is like a girl’s."
"Grrr."
For some reason, Sylph continued to perceive me as a girl.
Just where had things gone wrong?
It was a hardship I could not understand.
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