Let's talk about
She's doing well.
Despite
If anything, she might be even more spirited than before.
You could say she's the most energetic one in our household.
She doesn't gaze out the window with a listless expression like
She goes about the household chores as if nothing happened, tends to flowers in the garden or her room during the day, and in the evening, she learns magic from me before getting all clingy.
It's as if she doesn't feel any grief over Paul's passing.
Was a father not such a significant presence to Aisha?
But Norn doesn't seem to remember much about the time in
Perhaps Aisha, too, doesn't recall Paul and Zenis that clearly.
Just as Norn spent a long time as family with only Paul, Aisha had spent a long time as family with only Lilia.
Thinking that way, it's hard for me to tell her to mourn the deceased.
If the joy of her mother being alive is stronger than the grief of losing her father, then that's fine.
It's better to live happily than to live burdened by unnecessary sadness.
--- Anyway, one morning.
I had the day off, but unfortunately, both Sylphy and
I was planning to take care of Lucy and spend a leisurely day.
A husband resting while his wife works...
It sounds a bit pathetic, but taking a proper rest is also the adult thing to do, right?
Hmm, but right now I don't have any income.
We have a child now, is it really okay like this?
No, well, what I'm doing now will eventually lead to financial income if I look at the long term, so it's probably fine.
Thinking this, I saw off Sylphy and Roxy.
Confirmed Lucy was asleep.
After a big stretch, I stepped out into the garden.
The garden, which used to be a messy patch of exposed ground, had changed remarkably in what felt like a short time.
First, there were about three trees that don't wither in winter planted firmly.
These trees are said to bloom in spring, summer, and autumn respectively.
Where on earth did they come from and how were they brought here?
When I asked, I was told she commissioned the
I said the transportation must have been expensive, but she said
Furthermore, there was a section in the corner of the garden enclosed by bricks.
I knew about this because I helped make it.
Inside these bricks were the seeds I had brought planted.
Since I didn't know how to make a paddy field, it was dry cultivation.
So far, the stems were growing well.
It looked smooth, but whether we'd get any fruit was still uncertain.
Aisha was crouching in front of the small-scale rice paddy built inside the bricks.
Surprisingly, Zenis was sitting beside her.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, big brother! Weeding!"
Weeding.
This isn't some old Showa-era manga...
Thinking this, I peeked over, and sure enough, Aisha was diligently weeding.
Beside her, Zenis was silently pulling up weeds.
Come to think of it, when we were in Buena Village, Zenis did this kind of weeding too.
I guess weeding is an essential part of gardening.
"Zenis said she'd help out too."
"..."
Something about the way she said "Zenis-sama" felt a little off.
"Hey, Aisha.
You can call your mother 'Mom,' you know?"
"No. She said I shouldn't do that. She told me to call her 'Zenis-sama' or 'Madam.'"
So Lilia's instructions.
Thorough as always.
Well, even if I wanted to, it's not like Aisha sees Zenis as her mother much, so it's difficult.
When Aisha was first born, Zenis was properly motherly towards her too.
Oh well.
As long as we're family, the names we call each other are trivial.
"How long has Mom been doing this?"
"For quite a while now. At first, Mom tried to stop me too, but when I started gardening, she ended up helping. She's better at it than me."
Zenis used to do a lot of gardening when we were in Buena Village.
She cherished the plants and trees in the garden.
Maybe that's related to this behavior.
In any case, if it helps her regain her memories, there's no reason to stop her.
Still, seeing them weeding side by side like this...
They look rather close.
They aren't blood-related, though.
Are they really mother and daughter?
"Oh, right. Big brother, you have today off, don't you?"
Lost in thought, I was startled when Aisha turned around and spoke.
Her cheek was smudged with dirt.
"Yeah, I'm home all day today."
"Then come to my room later. There's something I want to show you."
"Got it."
I wiped the mud from Aisha's cheek as I nodded.
Aisha smiled bashfully as I cleaned her face.
I was, of course, aware that Zenis was watching this intently.
--- Come to my room later. There's something I want to show you.
That was quite a suggestive line.
Aisha was a precocious child.
There was a possibility she might suddenly lift her skirt and say, "I want you to see everything about me!"
No, probably not.
We were close enough to bathe together, anyway.
What else could she possibly show me?
But, being so forward made me worry about Aisha's future.
Maybe I should teach her about health and physical education too?
No, I think Lilia was supposed to handle that part.
But who knows if her knowledge is correct. Maybe I should...
Thinking this, I slipped into Aisha's room.
She said to come later, but she never specified when 'later' was.
I could just wait in her room, right?
It's not that I'm particularly interested in an eleven-year-old girl's room.
Well, I won't say I'm *not*.
"Hmm. Seems like you've kept it clean."
Aisha's room was tidy.
The cleaning was thorough, with not a speck of dust anywhere.
The bed was neatly made.
I could see various girlish trinkets scattered about.
For example, the stuffed animal beside the bed.
It was a humanoid plushie, about twenty centimeters tall.
Light brown yarn hair, wearing a robe, and holding a wand.
It's a magician.
You don't typically find stuffed animals sold around here, so she probably bought it from a traveling merchant?
I don't think Zanoba had any like this either.
That means it's quite the find.
Wait... don't tell me she made it herself?
By the window, there were several potted plants.
The seeds she obtained during our travels had clearly sprouted.
Ranging from tulip-like ones to aloe and cactus-like varieties.
The pots were of varying sizes, about ten of them lined up.
Unlike Norn's room, this was very much a girl's room.
I opened the closet in the corner. Inside were three maid outfits packed together.
All showed signs of wear, with patches clearly visible.
They were well-used maid outfits.
Aisha's height was increasing rapidly, so wouldn't these become unworn soon?
Or would someone like Lilia alter them?
Glancing at the edge of the closet, I spotted one cute, frilly outfit.
The kind with frills.
Her battle outfit, perhaps?
If *this* was what she wanted to show me, I'd feel a bit guilty.
Let's pretend I didn't see that.
I closed the closet.
I opened the drawer beneath it.
It was a land of panties.
Dozens of neatly folded pairs were packed tightly inside.
If any kid had a crush on Aisha, this place would be a paradise.
Next to it was a land of shirts.
Wait, looking closer, I could also see a few bras.
Even at eleven, my well-developed little sister had successfully acquired chest armor.
But they were still A-cups, apparently.
According to the Breast Fairy (not that one), Aisha was a rare talent, but everything has a start.
*Click.* "!"
The instant I heard a noise from behind, I activated my Foresight Eye, channeled mana into both hands, and spun around.
At the same time, I closed the drawer and pointed towards the source of the sound.
"...Who's there!"
Nothing.
No one.
Aisha and Zenis were probably still weeding.
Lilia should be preparing lunch.
Was it the armadillo, Jiro?
No, Jiro had been taken by Roxy when she went to school.
He was probably taking a nap in the university stables by now.
The horse I bought before going to Begaritt—Matsukaze—sometimes went into town to check the stables, but he wouldn't come all the way here on his own.
So, Lucy?
No, Lucy couldn't even crawl yet.
Then, something entirely different.
A thief?
A pervert trying to steal my little sister's first bra...
I crouched low, scanning my surroundings.
No one was there.
Nowhere to hide.
But something felt off.
My honed instincts were screaming that something was wrong.
Could there be an invisible enemy?
A magical item that hides one's appearance?
If so, its effect should wear off eventually.
"...A contest of endurance? Fine."
I muttered to myself.
If no one was here and it was just the house settling, I'd look like an idiot.
No, there definitely *was* something there.
The feeling of wrongness persisted.
Look carefully.
Something is different from before.
...The stuffed animal.
No, that's not it.
The door hadn't been opened or closed.
The bed was undisturbed.
The ceiling was clean. I probably wouldn't even find dust if I hit it.
That left only one thing.
The potted plants.
Right.
The number of potted plants wasn't different...
Or was it?
They didn't seem to have increased or decreased.
But something about that area felt wrong.
Just then, the sun must have peeked from behind the clouds, as strong light streamed through the window.
*Click-clack, click-clack!* "Whoa!"
The smallest pot trembled.
The plant growing inside it began to wriggle around.
It twisted its body and turned its leaves as if to soak up the sunlight evenly across its entire surface.
Every time the plant moved, the pot rattled, making that clicking sound.
So that's what made the noise earlier.
But...
"What the heck is this?"
Hesitantly, I poked it with a finger.
The plant writhed as if startled.
However, it quickly curled a tendril around my fingertip, rubbing against it.
I pulled my finger away in a panic.
The plant resumed its sunbathing as if nothing had happened.
"A moving plant...?"
How bizarre.
Could it possibly dance if I sang a song?
"...Jokes aside."
I recognized this plant.
Yes, I'd seen it many times before.
This was...
This guy was...
A Trent.
--- Trents were everywhere.
They were the quintessential monster of this world.
You could say they were the slime equivalent in this realm.
I'd traveled to many places myself.
The Demon Continent, the Millis Continent, the Central Continent, the Begaritt Continent.
Unfortunately, I hadn't gone to the Heaven Continent, but I'd covered most of the world's five great continents.
Trents existed on all of them.
If you went into a forest, you'd find them. They also appeared often in open plains.
Trents were tree monsters, but not all looked like ordinary trees.
There were Stone Trents that looked like potatoes.
Cactus Trents that resembled cacti.
Various kinds existed.
I'd heard rumors of Elder Trents that manipulated water.
But I'd never seen a Trent *this* small.
It was barely fifteen centimeters tall.
Including the roots, maybe twenty centimeters.
It had four leaves and two vines.
No flowers or fruits.
It was still a sapling.
I decided to dub this one a "Baby Trent."
Well, the name didn't really matter.
It was just inconvenient without one.
So, the problem was: Why was a "Baby Trent" being *cultivated* in Aisha's room?
"So, what *is* this thing?"
"Well, um, it suddenly started moving one day," Aisha answered nonchalantly.
"When was that?"
"Right after Big brother came back. See? Cool, huh?"
She was practically showing off.
"Yeah, it's cool. But why didn't you say anything until now?"
"I *was* going to tell you! But you seemed busy, so I kept putting it off, and then you found it first!"
Aisha puffed out her cheeks in a pout.
Adorable, truly.
But I see.
So *this* was why she called me here.
She wanted to show me this.
"Still, I can't believe there was a Trent mixed in with the seeds..."
"Huh? No, they were Bathys seeds I got from the
"Oh, really?"
"Yep. See how the vines have leaves?
In a little while, purple flowers should bloom."
Bathys flowers.
I knew the name.
An ingredient in love potions.
Aside from that, it was also a base for perfumes, so the Asura Kingdom probably still cultivated it in some areas.
But how did such a flower turn into a Trent?
"How did it start moving? Was it moving from the start?"
"Nope. At first, it didn't move. But after I repotted it into this pot, it suddenly started moving."
According to her, Aisha had sprouted the seed in the flowerbed, grown it for a while, then transplanted it into a pot.
She grew it there for a time before putting it back outside.
She'd been experimenting, with various pot sizes and different plants.
"Hmm."
The pot itself was ordinary.
Just a regular one we bought together at the general store long ago.
Nothing special about it—no magic enhancement, not a magical tool.
"You didn't do anything weird to it, right?"
"Nope. Same as the others.
I used the soil Big brother made for me.
It seems way more nutritious than the soil around here."
Then the soil wasn't the issue.
I hadn't put any particular thought into it—I just created it with Earth Magic.
The most I could say was that it might have been infused with my love for Aisha.
"Oh, but sometimes I gave it the leftover bathwater."
Leftover bathwater!
During my absence, that would primarily be the water containing Sylphy's and Aisha's sweat.
Occasionally
I see.
No wonder it might grow lewd tentacles.
Wait, no. That's ridiculous.
There's no way.
"Hmm."
In the end, what *was* the cause?
A normal seed, grown normally, turned into a monster.
Is that even possible?
It would be more believable if a Trent seed had accidentally been mixed in with the seeds Aisha received.
Trents camouflage themselves with their surroundings.
Perhaps, in the process, it chose the form of a Bathys flower as its inconspicuous shape.
Thinking that way, the logic held up somewhat.
"In any case, we should probably burn it to be safe."
"Whaat!?"
When I murmured that, Aisha let out a shrill cry.
"Why!? I went to all the trouble of raising it! There's no need to burn it!"
Her disbelief was palpable.
Obviously. If you called someone over to show off your achievement and they said they'd burn it, that's the reaction you'd get.
"...Aisha. You know what this is, right?
This is a Trent. A monster."
"But it's so small and cute!"
"It might not be now, but when it grows, it could attack people. It's dangerous."
"I'll train it properly so it won't attack people!"
Aisha clung to my waist.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
I almost said, "Fine, you take care of it. I won't help."
But it wasn't a dog or cat.
It was a Trent.
"Hey, big brother. Can't I keep it?"
Aisha looked up at me pleadingly.
"Being cute won't work. Go get rid of it."
"But this little guy hasn't done anything wrong!
It gets along with the other plants, and it listens to what I say!"
"Don't lie so smoothly. How does an earless Trent listen to you?"
"Watch."
Saying that, Aisha extended her hand towards the "Baby Trent."
The "Baby Trent" wound its vine around her slender fingers.
Aisha, with the vine still wrapped around her, tickled the underside of its leaves.
The "Baby Trent" wriggled in response to her touch.
What a strange sight.
The plant reacted like an animal.
"Okay, let go of my fingers."
When Aisha said that, the vine unwound and the plant settled in her palm.
"Which one is my pinky?"
The vine hesitated for a moment, then wrapped around her pinky.
"Middle finger."
The vine left the pinky and wound around the middle finger.
"Now stay there and wrap around the thumb."
Following Aisha's instruction, the vine, still coiled around the middle finger, extended towards the thumb.
However, it wasn't long enough—the tip just barely touched the thumb's nail.
"Okay, let go!"
Aisha played with the "Baby Trent" like that for a while.
Then, she turned to look at me.
"See? It really listens, right?"
"Yeah."
It certainly seemed possible to communicate with it.
It also seemed genuinely attached.
Maybe I should reconsider my stance.
...Trents were monsters.
In my image, they were ferocious monsters that camouflaged as trees, lying in wait to ambush travelers.
But "monster" was a broad term—some could become accustomed to people.
The lizard I rode on the Demon Continent and the armadillo Jiro were magical beasts.
However, magical beasts and monsters, if you traced them back far enough, were essentially the same thing.
If it could become accustomed to people, couldn't this "Baby Trent" also be considered a magical beast?
In terms of danger, Jiro, being much larger, seemed far more threatening.
Still, Jiro was a magical beast trained by a professional beast tamer.
"I'm worried about being strangled in my sleep or something."
"If it's a Bathys Trent, it'll probably only grow to about twice its current size even when fully grown, so I think it'll be fine."
"Hmm, but still..."
"If I get hurt, then I'll listen to you obediently!"
"It's too late if you get seriously injured!"
"Hmph... Hey, is it absolutely no way?"
At the very least, I'd never heard of anyone taming a Trent.
We didn't know its habits, or how to train it going forward.
And while Trents might be considered minor monsters, they were still dangerous.
One wrong step could lead to a major accident.
Then again, as Aisha said, if it only grew to thirty centimeters, the scale of any accident would be limited.
This was a Trent that Aisha had sprouted from a seed and raised this far.
It was hard to imagine it harming humans if it was accustomed to them, but that was a perspective based on animals.
Hmm.
"...Okay. I understand."
"Huh?"
"If you absolutely refuse to say no, then I have my own way of handling things."
When Aisha saw my hesitation, she pursed her lips in a pout.
Then, crossing her arms defiantly, she glared up at me.
"Your way of handling things?"
"I'll tell Sylphy-neechan and Roxy-neechan about *that thing*."
"That thing?"
Had I done something that could be held against me?
As I tilted my head in confusion, Aisha declared arrogantly: "The hidden room in the basement!"
"!"
Everyone has parts of themselves they don't want touched.
For me, the altar in the basement was exactly that.
It was the sacred place where I secretly visited and offered prayers after everyone else had fallen asleep.
My God was already by my side, but that was that, and this was this.
Even a sardine's head becomes a Buddha.
The act of praying helped a person feel at ease and contributed to a fulfilling daily life.
I had been doing it for years now.
It was part of my routine.
If that place were discovered, what would happen?
What would Sylphy think?
What would Roxy think?
I wanted to believe Lilia would understand.
Aisha, for her part, had apparently been pretending not to see.
But Norn would undoubtedly despise me.
And the altar would most likely be destroyed.
"Oh, Aisha. I'm saying this because I'm worried about you. Trents are dangerous monsters, and raising one might put you in danger too."
"I don't care what kind of pervert Big brother is anymore, but what would Sylphy-neechan and Roxy-neechan think? Especially Roxy-neechan—how would she feel about having her old panties displayed like that for so long?"
Grrr.
What a ruthless kid.
I was worried about *her* safety, and she was threatening me!
Ugh, damn it. What should I do?
What's the best course of action?
Just as I was agonizing over it, Suddenly, the door behind us opened.
"Um, I thought I heard my name. Did you call for me?"
"Huh!?"
"Huh!?"
Aisha and I spun around towards the door in shock.
There stood Roxy, back in her robe, having just left moments ago.
She looked puzzled.
"Wh-why is Roxy here...? School?"
"I forgot something and came back for it. It happens to be a free period now."
Forgetting something. So like Roxy!
No, that wasn't the point.
"Hey, Roxy-neechan. Big brother was looking at Roxy-neechan's panties—mmph!"
I quickly clamped a hand over Aisha's mouth.
Oh no.
"..."
"............"
Silence fell over the room.
Only by the window did the Baby Trent continue to writhe.
Roxy's eyes were fixed on it.
...Good.
For now, let's get Roxy to oppose this too.
She, of all people, should understand how dangerous Trents were.
"It's a Trent, isn't it?"
"Y-yes, exactly, Roxy!
Aisha's trying to cultivate a Trent!
But Trents are monsters, so it's dangerous, right?
Could you please tell her no too?"
Aisha grunted and struggled to pull my hand away.
Idiot. You think you can overpower me?
Even if you bite me, I'm not letting go.
Ah, wait, stop licking.
Stop slurping.
"It should be fine."
Surprise!
That was permission!
"If properly raised, Trents become attached to people. At this size, there shouldn't be any danger."
"Huh? Really?"
"Yes. They aren't seen around here, but the Migurd tribe raises Trents to scare pests away from their crops."
Is that so?
The Migurd village had things like that?
Maybe I'd seen them?
I couldn't remember clearly.
So, there was no danger.
I released my hand from Aisha's mouth.
"Aisha. Big brother was wrong."
Aisha had been watching me with a skeptical expression, but soon broke into a wide grin.
"But you were still thinking about me, weren't you?"
"Of course I was. Keeping monsters is dangerous. Yeah."
"Then, I'll keep *that thing* a secret for you."
"Thanks, Aisha. Let's go eat something tasty together sometime."
"Okay!"
Aisha moved away from me.
Then she ran over to Roxy and hugged her tightly.
"I love you, big sis!"
"......What is this about?"
In the end, Roxy's bewildered face remained.
--- And so, the "Baby Trent" became our family pet.
Of course, keeping it came with several conditions.
First, if it harmed anyone, it would be disposed of immediately.
Second, it must be properly trained not to attack people.
Third, the family must be properly informed about what kind of plant it was.
Fourth, considering the worst-case scenario, it must not be kept near the baby.
Etc.
I lectured her repeatedly about various things, but Aisha nodded without a trace of complaint.
She was a girl who kept her word, so it would probably be fine.
Incidentally, we gave the "Baby Trent" the individual name "Beet."
I looked forward to its growth.
Surely, someday, it would proudly protect Aisha's garden.
Still, to think she found that altar...
You really can't underestimate maids.
Rumors from School, Part 4: *'The house of the School Loner is inhabited by monsters.'*