The center of Hydrangea is the center of politics.
Not just noble villas—all sorts of related facilities lined the streets.
Near the middle of it all stood a large, eye-catching circular building.
The Hydrangea Grand Hall.
"The main attraction is the arena. There's also large, medium, and small theaters. Large, medium, and small meeting rooms. Restaurants, shops, lodging—the whole works, basically."
"Quite a lineup, huh."
"Feels like they crammed too much in, though."
"It's like a hotpot."
"What kind of comparison is that?"
Hard to argue with, but we were strolling through the outer gardens on the second floor.
Columns like a temple stood at regular intervals, and the view was magnificent.
"According to the letter, further ahead…"
Someone was approaching from the front. A small female elf, maybe?
Long green hair. Large orange eyes. Long, pointed ears. Her features were elf-beautiful, as expected.
Without exception, elves had well-proportioned faces—male and female alike. That was just the norm.
But even among elves, there was actually a range of attractiveness.
Judging by that standard, she fell into the cute category, even for an elf.
Her appearance was elf, so her real age was probably quite different from how she looked.
Well, visually speaking, she looked somewhere in her late teens to early twenties.
The moment she appeared, Axe and Mineha shouted.
"Mom!"
"Master?"
Wouldn't you know it.
She spotted the two of them, gave a cheerful wave, and walked over.
And all of us froze at the sight of her.
She paid us no mind, walked right up, and said cheerfully,
"It's been a while. Axe. Mineha."
"O-oh..."
"Master. It's been a while..."
"So you're the one with Axe?"
"Y-yeah."
"I'm Rel."
"Name's Hoss."
"I'm Emmy, Axe's mother. And Mineha's master too. Nice to meet you."
"Yes."
"Pleased."
We exchanged introductions, but... this is...
Axe, shaken to the point of breaking into a sweat, spoke up.
"M-mom..."
"What is it?"
"Y-your belly... what is it...?"
Emmy flushed slightly and let out a soft giggle.
"It just happened."
Emmy's belly was swollen enough for anyone to notice.
It wasn't the look of someone who'd gained weight — it was unmistakably a pregnancy bump.
"Huh, ah, huh?"
"C-congratulations... congratulations...?"
"Hehe, thanks."
"Congratulations."
"Congrats... innit."
"Thank you."
Emmy looked embarrassed, but happy about it.
I looked at Axe. His face said he couldn't believe it. Can't blame him.
"Wh-wh-wh-what do you mean, Mom!?"
"What do you mean, I got pregnant."
"Th-then, why...?"
"What do you mean, 'why.'"
Axe. No. That's not the issue.
"Wh-wh-wh-what do we do. Rel. Master is pregnant."
"Yeah, that's right."
Even Mineha was badly shaken.
"Hey, what do we do, what do we do?! Should I have Wof's baby too?!"
"Calm down. You. You're saying something outrageous."
"How many of Wof's babies should I have?!"
"Calm down. I get how you feel, but you. You're saying something really crazy right now."
I knew they lived together, but was it that kind of relationship?
"Still, Mineha is 10. Wof is 13... is that even possible."
"Rel, you calm down too."
"Ah, yeah. Sorry."
I'm one to talk.
Axe was grilling Emmy.
"What the hell is going on?! What is this?! Pregnant, just like that?!"
"C-calm down. I'll explain properly."
"You've been ignoring every letter we sent and doing what, Mom?!"
"I'll explain that too."
"We were finally ready to face you, to have a real conversation, and you—"
"Axe..."
"And you go and make a baby with some guy you're living with all carefree like?!"
"I-I didn't mean to, please, just listen to what I have to say."
"Can you even hear me?! Hey. Rel. Hoss. We're leaving."
"Axe?!"
"Hey."
"You sure about that?"
"Who the hell cares. Someone like this. I'm never seeing her again."
He said it in a low voice, then Axe turned around and started walking off.
We had no choice but to follow. Anything we said now would be useless.
That's when it happened.
"Wait. Axe."
Someone called out.
When I looked, a young man I didn't recognize was standing beside Emmy, who was trembling with her head down.
That's when I felt a strange sensation.
The young man had ash-blond hair and pale brown eyes.
Small white horns grew from his head. A Fawn.
He was of average build and height, and looked to be in his twenties.
"Huh? Who the hell are you?"
"Ence. Ence Hyrlant."
"You're the one who..."
Ence. The delver who's being promoted this time?
But still, what is this feeling...?
Emmy said weakly.
"Your father."
"Oh, is that so. Has nothing to do with me anymore. Just go play house with your new family."
"No. Your father."
"That's exactly what I said! Go be happy with your new guy!!"
"No, that's not it! Listen! He's your real father!!"
"........Huh?"
Right. He did look like him.
Ence looked just like Axe.
Ence said, his expression unreadable.
"Axe."
"Wh-what are you talking about? I was told my old man died."
"Yes, you were. Twenty-three years ago. He went missing in the dungeon and never came back. That much is true. But... a few months ago, when I went to visit his grave, I found them — Father and his companions, frozen in ice in the deep levels of the dungeon."
"Frozen in ice?"
"Yes. We managed to thaw them out, and they were alive. A lot has happened since then, but they're all safe now. Living together."
"........No way."
"Master. So he's Axe's..."
"Yes. His real father."
"Oh, man..."
"So that's a thing that can happen, huh."
"Master. But that still doesn't explain the pregnancy...?"
Mineha looked exasperated, almost angry.
"Well, you see... we just couldn't help it, no matter what, we really couldn't..."
"Oh well. Can't really say much about that."
"Yeah."
A reunion between husband and wife after more than twenty years apart.
It was only natural they'd end up conceiving a child. There was nothing to be done about it.
"What do I care?"
"Axe. Emmy tried to terminate the pregnancy as soon as she found out."
"...And what does that matter?"
"I know you must feel awful about it. But I was the one who stopped her."
"You did?"
"Terminating the child would only have caused Axe more suffering down the line."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Axe glared at Ens. There was killing intent in his eyes.
Mineha spoke up.
"Master. Why didn't you write back? If you'd just said one word in that letter... honestly, I can't accept that."
"I'm sorry. Because of everything that happened with Ens and the others, I couldn't go back home for the longest time. I stopped by before coming here and was handed the letter. So it's not that I intentionally kept quiet about your father or the pregnancy. There were circumstances."
"I see."
"So you're saying nobody's to blame, then?"
Axe growled.
"That's not it."
"Hey. Ens."
"What is it?"
"Your
dependent—
that thing. I'm absolutely not doing it."
"Got it."
"Then just let me land one punch!"
Axe lunged at Ens. But the fist was caught.
Even swinging with everything he had, it was stopped without effort.
"Axe. Just wanting to punch me isn't really enough, is it?"
"You...!"
Axe looked like he might draw his sword at any moment.
But Ex, while fully aware of it, remained perfectly calm.
"You...?"
"During the Great Obrowns, there's an Exhibition Match. Why don't we settle it there? Have ourselves a family fight."
"Sure. I'll take you on. And we're not family."
Axe pulled his fist back.
Hoss and I let out a sigh.
I noticed Mineha and Emmy had drifted a little ways off to talk.
Master and disciple. They'd have plenty to catch up on.
"Mineha."
"Yes?"
"Do you look down on me?"
"I think you were reckless."
"Yeah."
"But I think I understand. That doesn't mean I'm okay with it. Even so, I'm not going to stop being your disciple. But I'm not sure about Axe."
"Yeah, I know. I know."
"Axe tried to reach out."
"Yes. I read the letter."
"But is this really enough this time…?"
"Mineha. Even if I'm so unfit as a mother that he cuts ties with me, even if he despises me and hates me, even if he rejects me and says he never wants to see me again — I still love that child. I will never, ever forget that I am his mother."
"…Master. I won't tell him. I won't tell Axe a single thing."
"That's good. Thank you. I'm sorry, Mineha."
"No. Master. Congratulations again on your pregnancy."
"Thank you."
"Oi. Mineha, let's go."
"Then, Master. See you."
"Yeah."
And so, on the way back, we split off from Mineha and returned to the hideout.
It was a feeling that was... hard to put into words. I wanted a drink.
Axe probably felt the same way.
We left the hideout right away and headed for the Seedle.
If that place was a no-go, there were others.
Either way, I wanted to drink enough to drown in it.
Drink and drink and drink until I couldn't drink any more.
Going back home, I was completely and utterly exhausted.
The relief of stepping inside was a lifesaver.
"Nya?"
"Oh, it's you. You're here."
"Nya!"
Dagaa came over, so I picked her up and hugged her.
So soft and fluffy — it felt great. Without heading up to the tower, I went to Wof's room.
It's become my go-to spot lately. This room. Even though it's tiny.
Maybe because I'm always making breakfast here.
Wof wasn't around. Probably at the lab, or grabbing food, or at the witch's house.
"It's nice that things got more convenient and all, but..."
The witch's house being connected by a transfer gate for unlimited bath access is certainly appreciated.
Still, I don't exactly mind washing up in front of Wof's room either.
"Alright. Dagaa. Let's go take a bath."
"Nah!"
Through the transfer gate to the witch's house.
On the way to the bath, I ran into the witch, the owner of the place.
"Oh my, Mineha. Taking a bath, are you?"
"Yes, today. Something really exhausting came up."
"Oh my, oh my. What happened?"
"My master's pregnancy report, and that Axe's father was alive."
The witch gave a faint, wry smile.
I read her reaction. So she already knew after all.
"And then, and then? What happened after that?"
"They got into it, Axe was seriously on the verge of cutting ties, and it ended with Axe and his father fighting in an exhibition match."
"My, my. At least the worst was somehow avoided, I suppose."
"I'm not so sure about that. Say, witch — when you first heard about all this, what did you think?"
"Hmm, hmm. First of all, congratulations, I thought."
"That's true."
"And then, and then, I thought it was reckless. Just like with Mineha, I thought 'this time it really won't work out.'"
"My master was prepared for it."
"Well, well. You'd have to steel yourself for at least that much. Emmy is by no means a good mother. Regrettable as it is, that's a fact. She no doubt loves Axe as her son — that much is certain. And he's an excellent delver. Without all of that, he'd have made First Class without question. But as a mother, she wasn't good."
"That's true. The fact is, she ran away without facing her son."
That time. When the master said she'd steeled herself, that she wouldn't forget about loving him or whatever.
I wanted to yank the master's—Emmy's—cheeks as hard as I could.
I think I showed impressive restraint. Instead I just glared at her, so the master probably got the message.
The witch wagged her tail and crossed her arms.
"Oh my, how harsh."
"You'd want to say that much at least. She's my benefactor, I respect her, and that's exactly why you want to say it. Like, why—why did you go and get pregnant?"
"Now, now, it's also true that Emmy suffered. She wouldn't have had time to even think about what would happen if her beloved husband showed up alive."
"Whose side are you on?"
"Both sides, both sides."
The witch laughed.
Seriously, this person— I cracked a smile.
"Hey, witch. Changing the subject."
"What, what, what is it?"
"I'm sleeping in Wof's bed."
The witch froze. Her behavior shifted in a way that was almost amusing.
"Wh-wh-wh-what—what, what does that mean?!"
"Exactly what it sounds like. Anyway, I'm borrowing the bath."
I ignored the witch, who was still spluttering something behind me.
I felt a tiny bit better.
But my feelings were unstable—somewhere in there, I was still all murky and irritable.
After my bath, I barely bothered to dry off and dove straight under the covers of the bed in Wof's room, still wrapped in the towel.
"Pregnant... having a baby... the person you love..."
Ugh, enough! This and that and—ugh, enough! Ugh, enough!
I should've slapped her—Master, that woman with her blissful smile—right then and there!
I should've slapped her as hard as I could!!
Pisses me off. Going to sleep.