Episode 161
Instead of Rune, who was stuck in the bushes, Snowa spoke seriously after mulling over Asil’s words several times.
“Ten people. It makes me feel great to know my younger sister is that strong, but… no. Asil, you have to live with me.”
“Kyuuu!”
“Kkuruk!”
Todori and Baembaemi raised a front paw and a tail respectively, asking to be included as well.
Asil let their words go in one ear and out the other as she pulled Rune out of the bushes.
Rune’s pupils were shaking from side to side as if the shock had not yet worn off.
“Kyang…?” (Ten people…?)
“Is it a bit much? Then how about seven?”
At that, Rune’s eyes shook even more violently, as if an earthquake had hit.
Hmm, is this also too many? Then five? With those thoughts, Asil picked up Rune and headed toward the tea time area.
The situation at the table was similar to Rune’s.
Edenber was coughing after something went down the wrong pipe, and Ikart had apparently spilled his tea, as the front of the tablecloth was slightly wet.
Edenber looked up with an expression that seemed to ask if he had heard correctly.
“A-Asil—?”
“Edenber, I came because there’s something I want to ask.”
“Wh-what is… cough.”
“How would you feel if I married five people, Edenber?”
Ikart spilled the rest of what little tea he had left.
Rune covered her eyes with her tail as if she couldn’t bear to watch her son’s reaction.
And Edenber, after freezing for a moment, answered haltingly.
“Uh… I think I would be quite sad, but since it’s your choice, I will respect it.”
“Why?”
“Huh?”
“Why are you sad?”
This was it.
This must be why Papa got angry!
Like a certain ancient magician who thought of a way to measure weight in a bathtub, Asil’s eyes sparkled as she discovered a hint in an unexpected place.
“Well—because I don’t really want to see you with someone else?”
“But marrying many people means that person is just that wonderful. Do you still dislike it?”
“Yes. I like the person—no, the Beastman I like being wonderful, but more than that, I want them to look only at me.”
Edenber drew a firm line. Then, as if realizing his slip, he quickly added more words.
“Of course, it’s okay even if that’s not the case. Even if you marry ten people, I will respect you.”
“Kyang!” (Oh my!)
Rune, covering her face with her tail, let out a wail.
It seemed she was distressed because her son didn’t say a single harsh word even though the other person said they would marry ten people, behaving with such single-minded devotion.
Meanwhile, Ikart was looking at Edenber with unfamiliar eyes.
Asil turned to Ikart this time and asked.
“How about you, Father-in-law?”
“Why is that human ‘Father-in-law’?”
“Do you also dislike the idea of marrying ten people, Father-in-law?”
She ignored the interjecting Snowa and threw the question again.
Then, Ikart answered formidably.
“Marrying ten people is a very wicked deed. It is something that must never be done.”
“My Mom is going to do it, though.”
“…It is something that can change flexibly depending on the situation. However, I do not particularly prefer it.”
Ikart, who had almost insulted his prospective in-law while trying to make Asil give up her dream of multiple
marriages, hurriedly changed his words.
Rune also nodded her head vigorously from the side.
“Kyang. Kyang. Kyaaaaang?” (I don’t like it much either. It’s sad to know that the other person has someone else in their heart besides me. Asil, don’t you feel any
jealousy?)
“Jealousy?”
Come to think of it, when Todori asked how she would feel if Edenber married another woman, she felt a little bit of it.
However, since marrying several people was taken for granted in the Beastman Forest, jealousy was also recognized as an emotion that one had to swallow and get over alone.
That was why she hadn’t thought of it.
If Papa hadn’t simply been angry back then, but was jealous instead…
“Kyaaaaang kyang.” (There are people whose jealousy grows exponentially in proportion to their love.)
Rune explained while wagging her fluffy tail.
“Kyang, kyaaaaang—kyang kyang kyang.” (I have that kind of personality too, so if Ikart ever gets another woman, I’ll act very, very mean and kick her out.)
“How terrifying.”
“Kyaaaang? Kyang?” (Your expression doesn’t look very scared, though? I’m serious, you know?)
Rune and Ikart began a light lovers’ quarrel.
Edenber slightly turned his head as if pretending not to see, and Asil mulled over Rune’s words.
Papa wasn’t angry at Mom; he was jealous of the other Beastman who said he would marry Mom.
Because… he loved Mom so, so much.
Asil’s cheeks flushed a rosy red.
Arcian felt a strong sting on the back of his head lately.
It was because whenever he met Asil, whether at home or at the Great Temple, she would stare intently at him.
She would keep watching him with a satisfied smile until he disappeared from her sight, but even when he asked if she had something to say, she only shook her head and did nothing else.
At first, he thought she would eventually stop and left her be.
But for some reason, the gaze grew more piercing as time went on.
Her expression also changed from satisfaction to an intensity that seemed to be wanting something.
Just why.
What did she want from him?
But since no answer came back no matter how much he asked, Arcian continued his work at the Great Temple today while receiving Asil’s intense gaze.
“The current number of personnel alone might lead to security issues, so it would be best to deploy additional Holy Knights. 20 in the north, 10 in the west…”
My Papa works really hard.
So, when exactly are you going to reconcile with Mom?
Asil watched Arcian, who was in conversation with a colleague, with eyes shining like a hawk snatching its prey.
‘Papa, you love Mom a whole lot.’
So go home quickly and apologize to Mom!
She poured out an intense gaze attack for several days with that meaning, but unfortunately, Arcian did not understand in the slightest. He only kept asking if something was wrong.
Asil puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
‘I can’t just tell him to apologize.’
According to what Todori and Snowa said, urging an apology at a time like this could actually backfire.
They said reconciliation would go well without another fight only if it was done when the person felt like it.
That was why she was just following Papa around without saying a word…
She couldn’t even guess when his frozen heart would thaw.
Asil let out a deep sigh and moved away sluggishly.
Today, she was supposed to talk with the Temple and Imperial officials about the event to reveal the Divine Origin, so she couldn’t keep following Arcian.
“Kkuruk.”
Baembaemi, who had followed her out of boredom, patted her from inside Asil’s pocket with his tail to cheer her up.
Asil tapped the pocket as a thank you.
Then, she failed to see the person coming toward her and collided with a thud.
“Ugh!”
The other person fell on their backside, pushed by Asil’s strength.
Oh dear! Feeling apologetic, Asil quickly helped him up.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I am fine.”
He was a young priest with the hood of his vestment pulled down low.
Everything was normal, except for the fact that he left quickly as if he were in a rush, barely even listening to her apology.
Asil stared blankly at his retreating back as he disappeared in a hurry.
The atmosphere felt familiar as if she had seen him somewhere, but the face itself seemed to be her first time seeing it.
‘I guess I just saw him while passing by.’
“Kkuruk…?”
Asil gently pressed down on the head of Baembaemi, who had poked his head out of the pocket and was staring at the priest.
It seemed like Baembaemi had said something like ‘The scent of the same tribe…?’ but she wasn’t sure.
It was just as she was about to go on her way again.
Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her.
It was the priest she had bumped into a moment ago.
“Lady Erzébet?”
He called Asil softly, approached her, and looked around.
There was no one there.
In the first place, this was a secret passage that only those with permission could use.
The corners of the priest’s mouth hidden under the hood curled up.
“Haha… to think such an opportunity would
come.”
He reached out his hand to grab Asil’s wrist.
In that instant, Asil realized where she had felt the atmosphere the priest exuded.
The Crown Prince.
That very human Mom and Papa told her to be careful of!
Asil tried to leave the spot quickly.
However, Baembaemi hiding in the pocket was faster to jump out.
“Kkurururuk!”
Baembaemi, letting out a brave cry, bit down on the back of the priest’s hand with all his might.
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