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Family Meeting
(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)
The chill of the morning air gently cooled the lingering heat of the battle. This may have been the first time I fought someone with all my might. My body was battered, making it impossible to get up. Yet, what was this emotion filling my chest? Pouring my heart into a fight felt oddly refreshing.
“――What happened? Did something show up?” (??)
“――Was it a monster?” (??)
A crowd of onlookers had gathered to witness the aftermath of the intense battle between Alfred and me, drawn by curiosity about the scars left behind by the fierce fight.
“…Liberta is…” (Alfred)
Lying on his back beside me, Alfred suddenly spoke.
“Liberta is… gone now.” (Alfred)
His words didn’t sound regretful. Alfred gazed solemnly at the sky with the steady eyes of a man ready to accept his fate. Yet, tears streaked down his strong face. Even if his mind accepted it, his emotions couldn’t follow.
A man’s tears. Alfred was never the type to whimper. If tears came, he let them flow freely. He didn’t wipe them away, didn’t try to hide them. That’s just the kind of man he was.
“Dwayne lost his mind. Tristan and Lizbeth left.” (Alfred)
He began to speak slowly, as if remembering his lost comrades.
“Lindsay’s belly… that child is mine.” (Alfred)
“So, it really is.” (Jack)
When I turned my gaze toward the base, Lindsay had rushed surprisingly close. However, she stopped at a certain distance, watching over us from afar.
“I couldn’t… protect you.” (Alfred)
Does Alfred regret it? This is how I came back. That’s enough, isn’t it?
“A single mistake, just one can change everything.” (Alfred)
“…” (Jack)
“And because I was afraid of failure, I couldn’t do anything.” (Alfred)
When circumstances change, so do people. Losing the comrades he trusted must have made Alfred’s daily life a misery. The reckless courage he once had had brought him so much as he rose through the ranks of adventurers. That cherished sword, the base, the fame in town. And his precious comrades.
The weight of their existence had gradually paralyzed this once fearless man. With every loss, he clung tighter to what remained… Lindsay, now a part of his new family, and their unborn child. Alfred wasn’t a man of defense. He was a man of action. But that irreplaceable existence was now a part of him, something he had to protect.
“But you know…” (Alfred)
Alfred’s expression changed. It wasn’t a face of despair. It almost looked cheerful.
“This is more my style.” (Alfred)
He thrust his fist into the sky, making a vow from the ground to the heavens.
“That’s the spirit.” (Jack)
“…?” (Alfred)
“That’s what makes you the leader of Liberta, Fred.” (Jack)
I praised his resolve.
—
“Goodness… I simply can’t believe it.” (Nancy)
After Alfred and I had finished being treated, Nancy-san visited Liberta’s base. She arrived after Alfred and I had wiped our dirty bodies with warm, damp towels Lindsay provided and put on clean clothes. She sat in the living room with a cup of tea we’d offered as an apology of sorts.
“What… exactly do you mean?” (Jack)
“Your absurd strength, and your nerve for leaving a young girl alone like that!” (Nancy)
Nancy-san had brought Kea with her to Liberta’s hideout after I left the Conran Inn. She’d apparently just gotten up and dragged Kea along. Since she had been working the morning shift at the inn, she was still wearing her apron. To top it off, Dwayne had apparently wandered after her in a daze.
A suspicious man following a woman leading a little girl… At night, he’d surely have been arrested on the spot.
Apparently, when he arrived near the hideout, he saw me and Alfred fighting in earnest.
“Junior-san.” (Kea)
Kea sat beside Nancy, kicking her legs playfully.
“Nancy-saaan.” (Dwayne)
Meanwhile, Dwayne, who was standing diagonally behind Nancy-san, was speaking in a senile tone that was about the same as Kea’s in terms of mental age. She held her head in her hands.
“Sigh…” (Nancy)
“Nancy-san, I’m sorry. This is all my fault.” (Alfred)
Alfred, who was still standing there, bowed deeply.
“Jack here got separated from us because of my carelessness.” (Alfred)
“…Jack-san?” (Nancy)
Nancy-san shifted her gaze to me.
Now that I think about it, Kea calls me Junior, so Nancy-san doesn’t know my name. Well, Jack was more of a nickname anyway.
“But I heard you saved Jack. Thank you so much.” (Alfred)
Lindsay, still seated, bowed her head from her spot as well. Both Alfred and Lindsay were now adults with a child on the way.
This must be what adult manners look like.
“Somehow, both of your faces seem brighter than the last time I saw you.” (Nancy)
“Huh?” (Lindsay/Alfred)
“They say ‘what’s in your heart shows in your face,’ don’t they?” (Nancy)
Nancy-san looked at Lindsay’s belly, at me, and at Kea as she said this.
If my return had made Alfred and Lindsay happier, that is enough to make me happy, too.
“Yes!” (Lindsay)
“Yeah!” (Alfred)
The two answered in unison, perfectly in sync.
These two… they were practically a married couple now. Their relationship is different from what it was when we were in the party together. I have mixed feelings about it, but in my heart, I feel they are a great match.
“Ah, that’s wonderful. Now, I must be getting back to work.” (Nancy)
Nancy-san gave a polite farewell as she stood up from the sofa. Her movements were light, her demeanor gentle—a reflection of her personality, surely.
“Excuse me, then.” (Nancy)
Nancy-san left the hideout, closing the door just as gracefully as she had when leaving the inn’s guestroom. She was probably back in work mode already.
“Ah… Nancy-san.” (Dwayne)
“You stay put!” (Alfred)
Alfred stopped Dwayne, who was approaching the front door to follow Nancy-san. Dwayne’s behavior was like that of a child.
I felt overjoyed to finally have my home and room back. However, life at the base would surely follow a very different rhythm now. With Lindsay pregnant, she couldn’t push herself too hard. Alfred, too, would be busy supporting their household.
I’ll also be doing the housework, helping Alfred earn money, taking care of Lindsay, and looking after Dwayne. It looks like I’ll be busy with a lot of things. Once things have settled down, I’ll ask Tristan and Liz to come back and then I’ll get Liberta back.
…Hmm, am I forgetting something?
“So…” (Alfred)
With Nancy-san’s departure, the hideout became a place just for us comrades. The atmosphere immediately softened with no strangers around. At that moment, Alfred immediately opened his mouth.
“What’s this child?” (Alfred)
He pointed to the girl sitting happily on the sofa, dressed in a black nun’s outfit, with rainbow-colored irises shining.
“Ah…” (Jack)
Now that I think about it, she’s the one who caused me to end up like this. The Goddess, Kea Tur de Dau.
“I had such a hard time thinking that Jack had died.” (Alfred)
“Eh, no…” (Jack)
“I never imagined you were just playing around with a girl.” (Alfred)
The disdainful gazes from the two of them pierced through me.
I don’t want to hear this from Alfred, who got Lindsay pregnant.
“Why are you with this girl?” (Alfred)
“… ” (Jack)
I glanced at Kea, but there was no sign of her going into Goddess Mode to explain everything for me.
“I’ll tell you everything, but…” (Jack)
Well, there are a lot of things I don’t understand either. I’ll tell them everything, and if they can’t understand, then it’ll be what it’ll be.
—
I explained everything I had seen up until that point.
I think I was able to tell the story more clearly and in a more organized way compared to when I told it to Lindsay.
“So, you’re saying that this child is the one responsible for Jack becoming so explosively strong and acquiring such creepy powers?” (Alfred)
Alfred seemed more interested in the secret of my strength.
“… But I still can’t use normal magic.” (Jack)
“If you can move like that, you don’t need magic.” (Alfred)
In terms of combat, that’s true, but things like starting fires, generating electricity, or creating ice are really convenient in everyday life.
“…She’s a really cute child, but is she really a Goddess?” (Lindsay)
Lindsay had a strangely sulky look on her face. She probably didn’t like the idea of me coming home with another girl as much as her son had his first girlfriend.
“Hmm…” (Lindsay)
“Ah!” (Kea)
Kea was also confused by the gazes of the three. The only thing strange about her was the color of her eyes, but everything else about her was just like a normal human girl. Meanwhile, Alfred was scratching his head with a bitter look on his face.
“Dwayne said before that the Goddess Kea doesn’t like adventurers like us, who mess around with magic stones.” (Alfred)
Dwayne, the one who gave us this information, now seemed to have forgotten about it and was absent-minded.
“If that’s the case, then this is a hideout for people she doesn’t like, so wouldn’t she normally be our enemy?” (Alfred)
Alfred’s wariness was understandable. Kea herself had spoken about human desires when she was in Goddess Mode. But right now, she showed no signs of that. Kea, seeming a bit troubled, began speaking as if trying to force out the words.
“Junior-san’s… help… the world! Ugh… save it!” (Kea)
Kea was struggling to speak, her words coming out hesitantly. She looked like a child trying desperately to express her feelings, blushing as she did. Her appearance was so innocent that she could never be seen as an evil goddess.
“So cute.” (Lindsay)
Lindsay was the first to fall for her. She immediately moved to Kea’s side and began patting her head. It was as if she had just acquired a new pet and was petting her excitedly.
“What a cute child!” (Lindsay)
“Ah… uuuu…” (Kea)
Kea silently accepted the petting, but then suddenly stopped moving, her expression turning stiff.
“Sorry, did I hurt you?” (Lindsay)
Lindsay noticed Kea’s sudden change and released her hand, but Kea’s next words caused Lindsay to freeze in shock.
“…Linda.” (Kea)
“…Eh?” (Lindsay)
“Linda-san.” (Kea)
It was a name I didn’t recognize.
“Hey, hey, this is Lindsay. Don’t mix it up.” (Alfred)
“Linda-san…” (Kea)
Ignoring Alfred’s warning, Kea continued calling that name.
“Who is Linda?” (Alfred)
“I don’t know…” (Jack)
I confirmed that I hadn’t met anyone named Linda during these past few days while traveling with Kea. The only person who helped us was Armando from the tourist association.
“Hey, Lindsay?” (Alfred)
“… ” (Lindsay)
“What’s wrong?” (Alfred)
“… Hmm? Oh, it’s nothing.” (Lindsay)
Lindsay seemed to have some idea of who it might be, but neither Alfred nor I dared to ask her about it. The atmosphere around her felt unusually heavy, and her face was tense, so we didn’t want to push it.
—
In the end, it was decided that we’d observe Kea’s future for now. As for whether we would protect her here, Alfred seemed to want to discuss it, but without further ado, Lindsay immediately said, “I want to keep her,” so it was left at that.
We also discussed what would happen next with Liberta. I wanted to suggest immediately, “Let’s bring everyone back,” but from what I heard, Tristan had been missing for about six months after going off to look for me. It seems that Lizbeth left without caring whether I was there or not, so that might be difficult. We also wanted Dwayne to go back to normal, but the town healer couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him.
So, we decided to focus on thinking about our living situation for now. Apparently, they had been making a living by selling some of the loot from our dungeon adventures little by little. Everyone had their own circumstances, but Lindsay was pregnant, and Dwayne needed protection. With the addition of me and Kea, who were both like children, the problems just kept piling up.
The Liberta family is in big trouble.
But I took the initiative to offer help with Alfred’s quests, assist with housework for Lindsay, and look after Dwayne.
Alfred and Lindsay were worried about me, but in the end, the reason the party fell apart was because of me. I have to take responsibility.
And so began a life of growing poverty for the former Liberta members and Kea.
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