Seisan Mahoushi – 253

It was good after all!!

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We went up the hill and followed after Beyron and the others.

Tigerfolk really were fast. By the time we were at the top, they were already inside of the house.

And so we went in as well. Inside, Riise and Neia were explaining things about the house to Beyron.

“The first floor has the kitchen and a place to eat! Also, a place for everyone to rest! That sofa is so soft and fluffy!”

As Riise talked, Beyron looked at the house quietly.

He was so quiet compared to his daughters.
Also, when going up the hill, he had been slower than them.

Well, he had run through that sand storm. Perhaps he was not feeling well.

As I became worried, I asked him about it.

“Beyron, are you alright?”
“…Aye, I am fine. It’s just that I was impressed by this grand house.”

Beyron said as he looked around.

“It’s a traditional tigerfolk house. When the sand storms are raging, and we cannot travel, we live in such houses. Have you ever been out into the desert before, Joshua?”
“I have never built a house in the desert. And so Neia gave me a lot of advice. In the first place, she was the one who designed the floor plans.”

I said, and then Beyron turned to her with a serious expression.

“You…”

Nei nodded awkwardly.

I wasn’t sure, but perhaps they would start fighting again.
I branced myself, but Riise’s voice soon broke the silence.

“Isn’t it amazing! And the sofa!!”

We turned around to see Riisa jumped on top of the sofa that I had made.

Without replying to Neia, Beyron answered Riisse in his usual voice.

“Stop that, Riise. What if you break it? You weren’t the one to make it, were you?”
“Ah…I’m sorry, Mr. Joshua.”

Riise apologized frantically.

“Don’t worry about it. It was made with Mope wool and iron oak. So it won’t break easily. Besides, this is your house.”

Beyron looked exasperated.

“You act so casually…it is not food. That being said, you… Did you build this in a few hours?”

Riise answered before I could.

“Yes! Mr. Joshua made all of it! The outside and the sofa and everything!”
“I can’t believe a human could use such magic… Well, I suppose I should be used to it by now.”

Beyron said, and then Riise pulled him by the hand.

“There is a second floor too! The lake is so pretty! Let’s go!”
“Alright, alright.”

And so Beyron was led away by Riise.

His eyes were turned towards the furniture in the house.

On the first floor, there was a table and four chairs.
On the second, there were four beds.

These were not designed by Neia and Riise, and so I made them in very simple shapes.
They were made of iron oak, but perhaps they did not fit the style of this house?

As I thought of such things, Riise took Beyron to the balcony on the second floor.

A cool breeze was blowing as they looked down from the hill. There were fresh green plants and a clear blue lake.

Upon seeing this, Beyron raised his voice in amazement.

I could not help but be taken in by the vast nature as well.

Riise’s cheerful voice echoed.

“See? Father? Isn’t it pretty?”
“Yes. It is a beautiful place.”

He said honestly at the scene before him.

And then, a strong wind began to blow from far away.

When I searched the sky, I saw that several airships were headed towards us.

Asuha waved at them.

“The airships that were part of the search have arrived then. Apparently, there are tigerfolk aboard too.”
“I see. This really turned into quite a commotion. I better apologize to…”

As Beyron started to move away from the balcony, he suddenly swayed.

“Father!”

We rushed to him frantically.

“Beyron. Are you alright?”

Neia and I quickly tried to support his back, but he shook his head and assured us that he was fine.

“I’m just a little tired.”

However, Neia looked at him with worry.

“Are you sure…?”
“Do you think that I am actually hiding a serious illness? No, no. I really am just tired.

He said in his usual voice.
He was not panting, nor did he have a fever. His wounds had closed, and he did not look pale.
And so I doubted he was lying.

Still, Iria fixed up a bed and said,

“In any case, you should rest for a while.”

Mette nodded as well.

“Perhaps you are hungry. I will fix up something to eat, so you should rest until then. I’m sure that Neia and Riisa are hungry as well.”
“Indeed. Melk wants to eat grilled desert apples. Until then, Melk will cast healing magic on Beyron.”

Said Melk.

Beyron looked apologetic.

“I’m sorry…”
“Don’t apologize. It’s fine. Now rest.”

I said, and Beyron nodded.

“Neia, Riise. Apologize to the others for me. They all went out there in order to search for Riise.”
“I’m sorry…”

Riise bowed her head, and then Beyron said to Neia,

“I’m sure they already know now, but tell them that we found Riise.”
“I understand… Now please rest here.”

Beyron nodded.

And then Neia bowed to me.

“Please take care of him.”
“Aye, leave it to me.”

I answered, and then Neia and Riise left the house. Asuha went with them as they headed towards the airships.

Those of us who remained made Beyron sit down on the bed.

Iria prepared some water, while Melk cast her magic. I then asked him,

“Are you sure that nothing is wrong? Perhaps there is an old wound that…”
“Don’t mock me. A wound will heal after a few days of rest. I know my body just fine. I will live long enough to become a grandfather.”

Beyron chuckled.

He looked fine.
So perhaps there was no need to worry.

“I see. That’s good. However, I never saw you unsteady on your feet before.”
“Well, I suppose it’s been a few years since I was this tired…”

Beyron’s eyes had been fixed on the furniture for some time.

Not just the furniture. It was as if looking at the house was making him tired.

Perhaps Neia had designed this house to reassemble the old house that they lived in.
She had wanted four chairs because they had been a family of four. But Beyron’s wife had died.

“Beyron. Back to what we talked about before, since we went through the effort of building this place, I hope you will continue to use it.”
“Joshua… You really like helping people. Even though there is a truce, we don’t know what will happen between humans and the Demon King in the future. And so…”
“I know that. And that’s why I want strong people like you to be close by.”
“Like us? Bat bastards?”
“Whether tiger or bats, Fendel welcomes you.”
“Heh… No one is as accepting as you.”

Beyron looked out the window at the lake for some time.

“A long time ago, the house we used to live in, it also had a view of a lake from the second floor. It was on top of a hill and there was cool wind blowing. At night, you could see countless stars… Well, they weren’t all pretty memories. I spent a lot of time drinking and being rowdy with the other men.”

Beyron said as he remembered.

“Neia was still young back then… But she remembered…”

Melk muttered.

“Hard to forget memories you want to forget.”
“Yes… Even if you want to forget them, you cannot.”

Beyron said with a look of resolution.

“I decided… There is no need to rush right now. We will stay here for about half a month then.”
“That is good. The tigerfolk of the village and the other demihumans will be happy.”
“Thank you. …That being said, we cannot just allow you to help us. And so for those who do not need to fight, I want you to teach them how to work in the fields. Also, they can carry the food and supplies we gathered. You can use them in the village.”

They really were trying to become residents of Fendel…

I nodded at Beyron’s words.

After that, we decided that we would all eat together outside. The Fendel demihumans and tigerfolk together.

As I expanded the living areas for the tigerfolk, Mette and the other demihumans cooked while using the desert apples and coconuts.

Some of the tigerfolk danced and played music, and the dinner felt like a little feast.

Beyron seemed to regain his usual cheerfulness, and I saw him whistling to Riise and Neia.

Of course, he was not very good, and I saw that Neia and Riise were laughing at him.

“Nyahaha! You are so bad!”
“Father, I’m better than you are!”
“Shut up! Fine, then you two do it!”

It was a heart-warming sight.
There were still things to do. But I was glad that we could relax and take our minds off of it for now.

I looked at them and muttered.

“…Having a family sure is nice.”

Beyron’s wife was gone.
But surely she was looking down at them from somewhere with relief.

A voice echoed next to me.

“Hehe. It really is. And they get along so well.”

I turned to the right and saw that Iria was now leaning against me.

Shortly after, someone took my hand from the left side.

“Really. It is more lively with more people.”
“Melk thinks so too. Good to have many children.”

Melk said as she hugged me from behind.

After Asuha came flying.

I thought she would change the subject, but she said with a serious voice.

“I would also like to make a family with Joshua!”

After that, the four argued over who would spend the night with me.

That was not what I had meant at all..

And then Beyron whispered something to Neia. She blushed and then walked towards me.

“Jo-Joshua… I wanted to thank you. For everything. Would you like to see the stars together? We tigerfolk have our own constellations.”
“Ms. Neia! In Fendel, we decide things in the council! You cannot just do things on your own!”

Iria interjected.

“I-I didn’t mean anything by it…”
“You will have to go through us from now on!”

As I looked troubled, Beyron just laughed.

In any case, the night in the desert was a very lively one.

It was not something temporary, but it became even more lively as the years went on.

The tigerfolk of the Grank mercenaries, and the other desert demihumans moved in, and it grew into a large city to rival Fendel.

And there, Beyron, Neia and Riise lived happily.

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Well, that’s the last chapter for now! Thank you so much for reading and supporting these translations.
In the meantime, I have picked up a new series, so please consider checking it out:

Kamigami – Mottomo Yowaki Hangyakusha –