Chapter 129 - <2>
Passing through the door, the group emerged onto the shore of a lake. A bright space, clearly different in character from the forest they had just been in, spread out before them. Though they were, of course, still within Ciedena Forest, the dense, oppressive feeling from before was gone, replaced by the sense that people lived here.
While the others looked around with curiosity, Ritz alone took a deep breath.
I’m finally back. If his father, Karl, knew the legend of the jewel, they could spend a few days here and then leave Ciedena without a fuss. But if he didn’t, Ritz would have to reveal everything to his companions—his relationship with the Clan of Light, and with himself.
He certainly didn't think they would see it as a weakness. They had come this far together; they were comrades to whom he could show a certain amount of vulnerability. He was prepared for that.
But his emotions still questioned whether that was truly okay. He was aware of just how extraordinary his circumstances were. The moment they knew, the way they looked at him would likely change.
There was no guarantee that they would treat him the same as always after learning the truth. What if their relationship crumbled, replaced by pity and sympathy for his situation? That was what he feared.
It would be unbearable to be joking around like usual and suddenly catch a glimpse of pity or compassion in their eyes.
Even if his relationship with the Clan of Light was the source of his loneliness, he wanted nothing to do with having that void filled by everyone's sympathy. He knew all too well that a place for himself gained through pity and compassion would be nothing more than a falsehood.
His greater worry was that he might deeply wound the pure-hearted Anna. He didn't want to hurt her, a girl who cared for her companions more than herself, with the malice of the Clan of Light. That was why, to Anna, Ritz could say nothing more than, “Don't get hurt.”
Ritz, lost in his own thoughts, was pulled back to reality by a tug on his sleeve. As always, Anna was beside him. He wondered if his turmoil had shown on his face again, but that didn't seem to be the case; Anna was still captivated by the novel scenery.
He noticed that Edward and Franz were standing on the lakeshore, a cool breeze blowing against them. Apparently, they had walked all the way there while he was lost in thought.
"What's that house?"
Anna pointed to a small cabin standing quietly on the opposite shore. It was small, but two stories tall, and looked handmade. It seemed the two men standing by the lake were looking at the same thing.
"Ah, that."
Ritz followed her gaze to the cabin on the shore. It was Karl’s pride and joy, built from the fallen trees of Ciedena Forest and bricks he’d acquired from a human settlement.
"That's my house."
"Ritz's?"
"To be precise, the house where I grew up."
"I see."
Anna nodded, looking impressed. For some reason, she seemed to find it very fascinating. He peered at her sparkling eyes and asked.
"Smaller than you expected, huh?"
"Yeah. It is."
"Did you think it would be huge since it's my house?"
"Yeah. Because you're big, Ritz. But it's a cute house."
"You think so?"
"I do. It looks like a house from a fairy tale."
It certainly did have the air of a strange, old house that might appear in an old story.
"Well, yeah. My old man spent decades building it all by himself, so it's a real mess in places."
"Your father is amazing, Ritz."
"He has nothing but time. Besides, my old man gets weirdly obsessive about strange things…"
"But it's a lovely house."
Karl would be delighted to hear that. He was incredibly proud of this little cabin. The Clan of Light was not a race that typically built such sturdy homes. Most of them spent their entire lives in the forest, so all their materials were wood. What's more, their homes were all built in the trees; none had foundations on the ground like this.
In comparison, this house was built more like a human's. In fact, it was a human's house. Having spent his formative years in the human world, Karl apparently couldn't relax unless his home was this shape. He wanted nothing to do with a house that swayed in the treetops.
But he couldn't very well have human craftsmen work in this forest. So after much deliberation, he had a descendant of the family that raised him draw up blueprints for the house, gathered the materials, and painstakingly built it all by himself.
Karl's affection for this house, born of such hardship, ran deep. As a child, Ritz had suspected several times that his father loved the house more than him. Now, that suspicion had become a certainty.
"Cute or not, it's a shack. It's falling apart all over the place."
The moment Ritz said this and stretched languidly, he sensed a killing intent from behind and spun around.
The next instant, before he could even put a hand on his sword, a powerful kick came down from above, slamming into the back of his head.
"I—"
Staggering from the swift, forceful, and sudden attack, Ritz clutched his head and just barely managed to stay on his feet. The next moment, a second attack was launched toward his chest.
"Guoh!"
The kick landed perfectly, right near his lungs. His breath caught for a moment, and the next, he doubled over, coughing violently.
"Ritz!"
Hearing Anna's startled cry, Ritz heard the footsteps of Edward and Franz rushing back from the lakeshore. He also heard the sound of Edward drawing his sword.
"What is it?!"
Ritz wanted to tell Edward, Wait, please wait, but he was coughing too hard to speak. A moment later, Edward rushed back, placing himself in front of Franz and Anna to shield them, standing behind Ritz. The palpable tension made Ritz gesture frantically, trying to stop them with his hands alone.
Amidst the tense air that had descended upon the calm, bright forest, an eerie laugh echoed.
"Uhahahahaha, you're still soft, Ritz-kun."
"...Ritz-kun?"
Perhaps caught off guard, they all stared blankly at the source of the voice. Ritz, having finally caught his breath, resentfully directed his gaze up into the trees.
A familiar blond man was hanging there upside down, arms crossed. Noticing that Ritz had recovered, the man offered him a cheerful smile.
"There's something you're supposed to say when you come back to this forest, isn't there? Hmmm, I'm pretty sure I taught you that until I was blue in the face."
Hanging upside down had made his face flush red, and even from Ritz's perspective, it was clear he must be uncomfortable, yet the man just kept grinning smugly. The fact that his face was so handsome only made it creepier.
"...I told you to stop doing that, Dad."
"Dad?!"
The voices of Edward and the others overlapped. They seemed utterly shocked. Representing the three of them, Anna asked.
"Dad... as in, your father?"
"Yeah."
It was true that he and Karl didn't look alike.
Karl was tall even among the Clan of Light, a trait Ritz had been the only one to inherit, but Ritz was even taller. On top of that, Karl was over three hundred years old but looked to be in his mid-thirties. Anyone just walking by would never think they were father and son. At best, they might be called dissimilar-looking brothers.
Edward stood there stunned, his drawn sword hanging limply at his side. But Karl Alster, completely ignoring the stares directed at him, spread his hands wide in a show of sadness and shook his head, still upside down.
"So cold, Ritz. You used to call me 'Papa,' you know."
"The hell I did! Just get down from there!"
"I'm not coming down until Ritz says, 'Dad, I'm home.'"
"Don't be ridiculous!"
Ritz clutched his head, mortified by his father's utterly embarrassing antics. The last time he'd come back, it had been after a forty-year absence, and he'd stormed out after a fight, so he'd assumed the harassment was revenge. But apparently, that wasn't it.
The truth was, Karl simply got a kick out of ambushing and startling Ritz. On top of that, he treated him like a child. Was it harassment, or did he genuinely still see him as a kid? Either way, he wished he'd stop.
For a man over three hundred years old to pull such childish pranks, he was a truly hopeless case. Ritz briefly wondered how his mother put up with this man. Or were they two of a kind?
"Just get down here."
"Is that any way to talk to your father?"
It was painfully obvious that Karl knew how embarrassed Ritz was and was enjoying it. When he got like this, the man named Karl, contrary to his appearance, was incredibly stubborn; he absolutely would not come down until he got his way. After a lifetime together, Ritz knew this all too well. It was frustrating, but he had no choice but to obey.
"Please come down."
When he said it politely but with a deadpan expression, the upside-down Karl pointed a finger at him.
"There's one more thing you have to say, isn't there?"
"I'm home, Dad."
It was Ritz's complete and utter defeat.
"Welcome home, my cute Ritz."
With a smug grin, Karl swung down from the branch. He landed gracefully on the ground with a flawless rotation, as if he weighed nothing at all, without making a single sound. The agility of it never failed to surprise even Ritz, his own son.
"And welcome to Ciedena, our guests."
Karl came to stand beside the crushed-with-defeat Ritz, cheerfully draping an arm over his slumped shoulders. He then offered the other three a warm smile. The three of them, who had been staring blankly until now, blinked as if finally snapping out of it.
"The spirits told me two human men and a girl were here, and that two of them are spirit users. Could that girl be Ritz's child? Am I going to be a grandfather?"
Karl beamed as he looked their way. Anna, who had been hiding behind Edward, cautiously peeked out.
"No. She's a companion."
He couldn't very well say she was the object of his unrequited love. But Karl easily read the subtle hesitation and nudged Ritz.
"You old dog, you~"
"Shut up."
He was even harder to deal with than Edward. As Ritz wondered what to do with him, Karl looked at Anna and froze.
The situation was so sudden that Ritz couldn't comprehend it. He looked at Anna, the object of Karl's gaze, and saw that she, too, had frozen while looking at Karl.
"...Is something wrong?"
They were staring at each other so intently that Ritz grew concerned and asked. The two of them snapped out of it and exclaimed at the same time.
"Uncle Karl!"
"If it isn't Anna!"
"...Huh?"
Now it was Ritz's turn to freeze at the conversation between two people who were clearly acquainted. Ignoring Ritz completely, Karl pushed him aside and walked over to Anna.
"It really is you, Anna, isn't it? You've grown so much!"
"Uncle, you... haven't changed at all."
"Well, that's because I'm of the spirit folk. In the two years since I've seen you, you've become very beautiful."
"Really? Ehehe. I'm happy to hear you say that, Uncle."
"It's the absolute truth. My, it's been a long time. Is Anton doing well?"
"I haven't been back to Vishnu for about a year either."
"A year?"
Karl paused to think for a moment, then spun around to face Ritz.
"You're the one who took her away, aren't you?"
"It wasn't so much that I took her away as..."
Before Ritz could explain that Anton had foisted her upon him, Karl let out a heavy sigh.
"I'm sorry, Anna. Did my son force you to leave? Maybe he wanted to kidnap you because you're just so cute."
In truth, when Anton entrusted Anna to him, it had felt like he was being burdened with her. But now, he found her truly cute and precious, and he did sometimes think he'd like to run away with her if he could, so he couldn't find any words to argue with Karl.
Without waiting for a response from the frozen Ritz, the two of them continued their cheerful conversation with smiles.
"That's not it at all. I was the one who asked to come on this journey with him."
"Is that so? If you're not happy, you can abandon Ritz and return to Vishnu anytime, you know."
It would be a problem if she abandoned me now. I want to be with her for much longer. No, this isn't the time to be thinking about that.
"Abandon him? I would never, ever do that."
Her firm declaration almost made him grin, but he hastily composed his face. He felt so flustered that he couldn't quite make sense of his own emotions.
"Really? This boy's an idiot, so don't hesitate to leave him behind."
"I have to make sure he doesn't leave me behind."
Watching them laugh together at his expense, Ritz muttered under his breath.
"...I'd never leave you behind..."
"Hm? What was that, Ritz? Something you want to say?"
"No, it's just—"
"You took her with you because she's cute, didn't you—"
"I said that's not it!"
Stepping in for the flustered Ritz, Edward, who had finally recovered and sheathed his sword, calmly asked Anna.
"You two know each other?"
"Yes. Uncle Karl has been coming to visit me every year since I was a baby."
Anna said happily. If she was a baby, that must have been about thirty years ago. It would have been after Ritz had run away from home and was no longer in the forest.
Karl, who had apparently been so surprised by Anna's presence that he'd forgotten about Edward, looked directly at him and smiled gently.
"My apologies, honored guest. I am Karl Alster. The father of that profligate son over there."
Ritz sighed in relief at the gentle smile, a complete contrast to the one he directed at Ritz. If only he had appeared like this from the start, it would have saved them all the confusion, but he knew it was just his father's nature, so there was no helping it.
"I am Edward Baldia. A friend of your son."
Edward spoke calmly and extended his hand. Karl took it naturally.
"Welcome to Ciedena."
"And this is our companion, Franz Lucina."
Edward gently pushed the back of the still-dazed Franz. The smiling Karl took Franz's timidly offered hand and shook it.
"Welcome, Franz."
After the calm greetings were over, Karl turned back to Ritz.
"Still, I'm surprised. To think you'd bring Anna here."
"I'm the one who's surprised. What's the relationship between you and Anna, Dad?"
Ritz asked, hiding his inner turmoil. Karl casually dropped a bombshell.
"She's your sister, born after you ran away from home."
"!!"
For a moment, Ritz's mind went completely blank.
Sister… In that case, what am I supposed to do, having seriously fallen in love with my own sister? Things like age difference and different upbringings pale in comparison to the fact that we're siblings. No, isn't this seriously criminal? It would have been better if they'd mistaken her for my daughter. Such thoughts swirled in his head.
But if she's my sister, isn't it natural for us to be together forever? No, but, touching her is forbidden. No, no, even if we weren't siblings, laying a hand on her would be forbidden…
Karl looked up at the completely frozen Ritz and grinned smugly.
"Wouldn't you be surprised if that were the case?"
"Huh?"
"Just kidding. You're so amusing, Ritz."
"D-D-D-Dad!"
"Ahahaha. If she were your sister, she wouldn't grow up this fast, would she? Think back to when you were thirty. You were far younger than Anna is now, weren't you?"
"Ah…"
Come to think of it, that was true. For the Clan of Light, growth was about a third the speed of humans for the first two years, then it dropped off sharply. What took humans about twenty years to become adults took them just under a hundred.
"You're such an idiot not to realize that with a little calm thought."
Ritz felt a flicker of murderous intent towards his roaring father. To throw your own son into utter confusion just to have a good laugh—what a terrible father.
"You… damn old man!"
"Sorry, sorry."
Even as he apologized, Karl's laughter showed no sign of stopping. It was Anna who explained in his stead.
"Uncle Karl brings holy water from Ciedena every year for the harvest festival. And he brings presents for the children, too."
"...Ah."
That one sentence made him understand. But Anna continued.
"Then we have the Great Sweet Potato Harvest Festival together, and he takes potatoes home as a souvenir. Last year... Ritz came instead, right?"
"Ah, that's right."
So, the package Ritz had been entrusted with when he first visited Vishnu last year was something Karl delivered every year. Come to think of it, if he went to Vishnu annually, it wasn't strange at all that he and Anna knew each other.
"That's not all. When Anna was taken in by Anton, he consulted Ciela and me because he knew her growth was slow. Anna was actually growing at more than double the time of a human, so he was worried he wouldn't be able to handle her. Plus, her eyes are a beautiful green, so it was certain she had blood close to our spirit folk."
Karl, who had been roaring with laughter until a moment ago, spoke in a completely different, gentle voice. At his words, Ritz couldn't help but gaze into Anna's eyes. Then he looked intently at Karl. The color was different, but they shared a similar, unique sparkle.
"That's why I was thinking of taking her in as Ritz's sister. So it wasn't entirely a lie that she's your sister, you know."
He said this sentimentally, then a smile returned to his lips.
"Of course, when Ritz came back, I was planning to introduce her by saying, 'We missed you so much while you were gone that we made another one. Please get along.'"
"Hey!"
"But Anton wouldn't let her go, so that plan fell through. He must have gotten attached."
It was true that Anton cared deeply for Anna. And having seen how much Anna loved Anton like a real father, Ritz understood the situation well.
"Anyway, it's not right to stand around talking out here. Everyone, please come to our home."
With that, Karl looked up above Ritz's head. As if drawn by his gaze, Anna and Franz followed his line of sight and their eyes widened. Naturally, Ritz and Edward couldn't see anything.
"So, with that in mind, honey, could you get some tea ready?"
'I understand, darling.'
An unseen, calm, and mellow voice replied. Faced with the exact same situation as a year ago, Ritz sighed again.
"If you were watching, you could have stopped him, Mom."
"Mom?!"
Once again, everyone except Ritz and Karl was shocked. It was normal for Ritz, but perhaps this situation was peculiar to outsiders.
'But darling and Ritz get along so well.'
His incorporeal mother giggled. Then, a warm breeze gently enveloped Ritz.
'Welcome home, Ritz.'
"I'm home."
"What's this, Ritz? Only being so obedient for Ciela."
Karl pouted and deliberately turned to face everyone but Ritz.
"Now then, please come to our home. We can't offer any special hospitality, but it will be better than being outside."
With a smiling invitation, Karl took the lead and started walking. Everyone obediently followed. Ritz reluctantly followed suit. Anna came up beside him, walking backwards to look up at him, and murmured thoughtfully.
"So you really were Uncle's son, Ritz."
"Unfortunately, yeah."
He said this with a bitter feeling, but his complaint was swiftly ignored by an apparently deep-in-thought Anna. With a face that didn't seem to register whether she was listening or not, Anna sighed.
"You don't look alike, so I never thought you were Uncle's child at all. Last year, I just thought he was busy and had asked a passing traveler to deliver it for him."
The expression 'passing traveler' wasn't entirely wrong. He was just a son who had run away for forty years and wandered back to his hometown.
"Besides…"
"Besides?"
"I didn't know Uncle was one of the spirit folk."
"Huh?"
Ritz's feet instinctively stopped.
"I only knew his name as Uncle Karl, you see."
"Eh?"
Even Karl seemed surprised by this, stopping in his tracks to turn around. No doubt, father and son were making the same dumbfounded face right now.
"If I'd known Uncle was one of the spirit folk, I would have realized he was your father right away, you know."
Anna smiled brightly, looking back and forth between the dumbfounded father and son who were likely standing side-by-side in front of her.
"But Anna, I've been visiting you every year for thirty years. Didn't you think it was strange that I never aged?"
"Hmm. Now that you mention it, that's true, but Uncle, you only ever had serious conversations with my adoptive father, right?"
"That's true."
"And the spirit folk don't really have a reputation for eating a lot, do they?"
"Ah…"
"That's why I never would have thought that a person who comes to eat a massive amount of sweet potatoes every year could be one of the spirit folk."
There are no gluttons among the Clan of Light. This was common knowledge.
"So they didn't think you were one of the spirit folk because you're a glutton. My old man has an abnormal appetite."
As payback for earlier, he said this, and Karl shot him a light glare, clearly annoyed.
"Is that so? Then maybe I should have shown off my spirit magic in Vishnu like this?"
With that, Karl muttered something under his breath.
"What was that?"
Ritz couldn't hear him and took a step closer to Karl, and in that instant, he was caught in a whirlwind that rose up from his feet. The whirlwind kicked up small branches and fallen leaves from the ground, tangling them around Ritz. He sometimes forgot, but Karl was a user of wind and wood spirits. Many among the Clan of Light could control several types of spirits.
"Whoa!"
Soon, the whirlwind enveloped Ritz completely. He tried to escape, flailing about, but the whirlwind followed wherever he went. Before long, the kicked-up sand and dry leaves flew into his mouth and eyes. It was unbearably unpleasant.
"Stop it, Dad!"
"Sorry, Ritz. Your father and mother are both talented spirit users, you see. When we get a little ticked off, we just tend to use spirits."
"Damn it!"
"Sylphs, go ahead and play with Ritz to your heart's content."
Karl said this with a bright smile.
"Now everyone, let's go."
"Uncle…"
Anna looked up at Karl with a troubled expression, but Karl just smiled, unconcerned.
"It's alright, Anna. We used to play like this when he was a child."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Ritz loved this and always seemed to have fun. So there's nothing to worry about."
"Oh, okay."
Anna, being an old acquaintance of Karl's, was easily won over.
"That's a dirty trick, Dad!"
"You're the one who's dirty, Ritz. You're covered in sand."
"And whose fault is that?!"
Shouting from the middle of a whirlwind didn't look cool at all. As Ritz fell behind the group, Karl called out with a smile.
"Since you're that dirty anyway, prepare the bath before you come up. The firewood is outside the cabin. The bucket's next to the wood, okay?"
"I said, whose fault do you think it is that I'm dirty?!"
"Then shall I have Ciela create a vortex to wash the dirt off you?"
Ritz knew from childhood experience that this was an act as dangerous as being washed by Anna's water dragon. He had no desire to pass out just from preparing a bath.
"Fine, I get it. I'll do it, alright? I'll do it."
"Right. Thanks for that~
As he stood there sullenly, caught in the whirlwind, Franz turned back with a deadpan expression. There was a faint hint of pity in his eyes.
"My condolences."
"Shut up."
He grumbled, and Franz gave a small wave and left. Edward was walking in front of Franz, but he seemed to be desperately trying to hold back laughter. There was no hiding the slight tremor in his shoulders. Or perhaps he had no intention of hiding it.
Having just returned home, only to be subjected to an embarrassing ordeal completely separate from his actual worries, Ritz let out a heavy sigh.