Episode 159
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“Heu-heung— Heu-heu-heung—”
Lately, Asil had been in a very good mood.
She had found Edenber’s mother, and now only the restoration of his relationship with his father remained.
Furthermore, she was maintaining an amicable relationship with the other three Divine Beasts, and she was pleased to see Lilibet and Briden, who had reclaimed Starafit, gradually settling in.
Everything was pleasant.
“Our daughter sings so well and is good at everything. Whom do you take after to be so brilliant?”
“Daddy.”
“Of course, of course. Our daughter takes after her dad!”
Arcian rubbed his cheek against Asil’s with a gaze that showed he didn’t know what to do with his affection.
Asil lightly pushed away Arcian, who was rubbing his cheek against hers until it turned red, and asked a question.
“I have something to ask.”
“Hmm?”
“What is the Origin of God?”
The Origin of God.
Everyone was making a fuss saying it would be revealed for the first time in 100 years at the Divine Beast Thanksgiving Festival, but she had no idea what it was.
So, she took the opportunity to ask her dad, who worked at the Great Temple.
Arcian explained step by step.
“It is said to be a bead-like mass of divine power created by God at the time of the nation’s founding, using the remaining power after creating the Divine Beasts.”
“Ooh.”
“Usually, it is stored deep within the Great Temple, in a place where only the Pope and the Saintess are allowed to enter. I heard they are revealing it this time to commemorate the return of all four Divine Beasts.”
There had been many anomalies at the Great Temple in the meantime.
A Saintess who had not appeared for over a century.
The vanished Divine Beasts of Monlepe and Starafit, and even the Divine Beast of Starafit who had run wild because the covenant was broken.
Truly, incidents and accidents had been non-stop.
But now, with the return of the Divine Beast of Starafit, the incidents had come to a lull and all the vacant positions were filled.
To commemorate this, the Great Temple decided to specially put it on display.
“It has been revealed occasionally in the past, so there shouldn’t be any problems, but……”
“But?”
Asil tilted her head, repeating her dad’s words.
Unlike his words saying there would be no problems, his expression was not very good.
After a moment of hesitation, Arcian added the following words.
“The Crown Prince is weighing on my mind. Especially since the mother of the Basilisk said she smelled a member of her own kind on him.”
He was referring to what Baembaemi’s mother said after seeing Reinhardt de Aliope during the Thanksgiving Festival.
“The Saintess also suggested revealing it next time, but the Pope’s will is too strong.”
Arcian shook his head as if he got a headache just thinking about it.
“Soon, they will contact Asil too. I just hope the Thanksgiving Festival ends well without any trouble.”
“It will end well. But Dad.”
“Yeah?”
“When are you going to make me a younger sibling?”
Arcian staggered at the sudden question that came out of nowhere.
“S-suddenly?”
“It’s not sudden. You said before that you wanted a younger sibling who looks like Baembaemi.”
Talking about Baembaemi’s mother made her think of Baembaemi, and thinking of Baembaemi naturally brought to mind a black dragon younger sibling who looked like Baembaemi.
Asil puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
“You two don’t sleep in the same bed these days, do you?”
“……N-no. We are sleeping together.”
“Liar. When I went last time, Dad was sleeping on the sofa!”
“That’s because Mom took all the blankets…… Ahem. Anyway, when Asil isn’t looking, we are sleeping in one bed together.”
“Then have you seen the stork?”
“The stork?”
“Yeah. They said if Mom and Dad sleep holding hands, a stork brings a black dragon younger sibling. Haven’t you seen a stork?”
Asil understood the stork bringing a baby much like how one wakes up on Christmas morning to find Santa Claus has left a gift at the foot of the bed.
If Mom and Dad had seen even a passing stork, she would have a sibling in a few days.
Thinking that, Asil’s eyes sparkled brightly.
And Arcian simply could not tell his daughter, whose face was so full of expectation, that babies are not brought by storks.
Nor could he say that since truly nothing had happened with Briana, a sibling would not be born.
“…….”
How on earth should he explain this?
He pondered while breaking into a cold sweat and finally decided to pass the answer to another beast-person.
“Dad didn’t see it because he was sleeping, but Mom might have.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. So let’s go to Mom.”
Picking Asil up, he ran toward Briana at a speed that felt like flying before he could receive another question.
Because of that, Asil had to hold on to him tightly so as not to fall.
However, unfortunately for Arcian, Briana was in her office contacting the beastmen’s forest through a communication device.
“Yes, I should return soon. I can’t be here during the historical moment of the first exchange with humans.”
Listening quietly, it seemed she was discussing something important.
Arcian tried to step back to avoid eavesdropping.
However, he could not help but stop in his tracks at the words heard through the slightly open crack in the door.
* Understood, O King. And there is another matter you must resolve when you return.
“Hmm? What is it?”
* It is to decide on the sixth and seventh husband candidates.
Arcian stiffened noticeably.
Asil, who was being held by Arcian, also clamped her hand over her mouth.
In beastmen society, the number of marriages was a measure of strength.
‘Oh my, my mom is so strong that she’s getting married two more times!’
Thinking that, she reflexively looked up at her dad…….
His expression was really, truly not good. It had sunk so low that it was terrifying, making Asil jump in surprise.
Feeling Asil’s gaze, Arcian immediately relaxed his facial muscles.
He soon returned to his usual self, but Asil could not forget the expression she saw earlier, so she tugged on his collar.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay.”
Arcian looked truly okay when he said those words.
In the meantime, Briana’s call was continuing.
* Since most of the tribes the King has formed ties with find it difficult to have descendants, I am worried the power might not be passed down properly to the next generation. I heard the number of humans is beyond imagination. To not be pushed back by them, we must also work hard……
“Alright, I get it. I just have to find one or two more after I return, right?”
Briana cut off the long-winded nagging with a face of annoyance.
“I’ve understood enough, so you can stop explaining. My ears are starting to hurt.”
* Thank you for understanding. Then I will have the candidates prepared by the time you arrive.
Eventually, the light from the communication device cut off.
Since the call was over, Asil thought Arcian would go inside immediately.
However, even after waiting for a long time, he just stood there silently.
‘What is he doing?’
She wanted to ask the reason, but the atmosphere felt like she shouldn’t, so Asil kept her mouth shut.
Her dad’s expression was certainly the same as usual, but the feeling he exuded was distinctly different from usual.
It felt much more sensitive, so to speak.
Just then, Briana, sensing a presence, came out.
“What are you doing? With Asil.”
“……I came to ask something.”
Arcian rambled unlike himself.
“I can’t remember. What was it, Asil?”
“Sibling……”
“Ah, right. Asil says she wants a stork, and that the sibling will be brought by a stork.”
“What are you talking about?”
At the absurd words, Briana, who was already tired from the nagging, frowned and took Asil away to hold her.
Arcian, who also narrowed his eyes, gritted his teeth.
Then, the moment Briana tried to pass him to go inside, he hurriedly threw out a question.
“Are you getting married again?”
“Ah, you heard?”
“Yeah……”
The end of his sentence trailed off. Then, he suddenly changed his tone and spoke rapidly like shooting arrows.
“Fine, good luck. Since you’re at it, why don’t you accept five more?”
“What?”
“Think about it. It’s not going to end with seven anyway, so might as well go to ten at once. If you’re going to accept more after that.”
It was a sarcastic attitude to anyone’s eyes.
Briana, becoming slightly offended by this, challenged him.
“Why do you care about my marriage? You and I are no longer—”
She was about to say they were nothing to each other, but Asil was watching.
Briana hurriedly changed her words.
“—it’s true we are something, but anyway, don’t worry about it. Regardless of how many people I marry.”
“I’m not worrying, I’m simply giving advice?”
“Worry about your own business. Speaking of which, you’ve only been married once.”
“Yeah. Because I don’t have a hobby of getting married multiple times like some people.”
Bang!
The window next to them shattered. The enraged Briana had exploded her energy.
Revealing all of her hidden momentum, she growled lowly.
“Just like last time, what are you doing right now?”
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