--- Sylphiette's Perspective ---
I had a dream once.
It was back when Rudeus was in the Dragon Kingdom.
In the dream, a child was crying.
A child with green hair was crying.
Around them, there were dark shadows.
The dark shadows surrounded the child, hurling black masses at them.
The child desperately tried to escape, but the dark shadows pursued them relentlessly.
But ahead of where the child was heading, there was light.
As the child drew closer to the light, it hurled spheres of light at the dark shadows surrounding the child, driving them away.
The light gently enveloped the child, and the child fell into a peaceful slumber.
When I had this dream, I thought it was an old dream.
A dream from when I used to be bullied by the village children.
To have a dream like this now... I must really love Rudeus, I thought.
That's what I believed at the time, and I writhed in bed like a young girl.
Then, several months passed.
It was around the time Rudeus went to the Demon Continent.
I had a similar dream again.
But this time, it was slightly different.
A child with green hair.
The face wasn't mine.
It was a child with Rudeus's face, being chased by dark shadows.
And for some reason, there was no light ahead of the child's path.
I rushed to the child in a panic, trying to protect them from the dark shadows.
In the dream, I couldn't use magic, so I tried to swat away the dark shadows with my bare hands.
The dark shadows were sticky and wouldn't easily go away.
The child trembled in my arms.
When I had this dream, I worried that something might have happened to Rudeus.
Had he been injured? Captured?
Even though Eris and Roxy were with him...
If that were the case, I seriously considered what I should do.
In the end, he came back that very same day and my anxiety was resolved.
But in its place, a new worry arose.
This growing belly.
Could the dream be about the child inside?
But I quickly dismissed that as unfounded worry.
There was no way Rudeus wouldn't protect his child.
There was no way this child would have no light.
I was just being nervous from the pregnancy, I told myself.
I forgot about the dreams soon enough.
And then Rudeus returned from the Demon Continent.
I asked him about the child's name.
He'd said he'd think about it, and six months had passed.
I could ask after the baby was born, but if they were going to set off on another journey, I wanted to know beforehand.
"...I'm sorry. About the name — I haven't thought of one yet."
At that moment, the dream flashed through my mind.
A child wrapped in dark shadows, unable to find help anywhere.
Could this child not be loved by Rudeus?
No, that couldn't be true — I immediately thought as much, but...
That night, I dreamed again.
The child was swarmed by dark shadows, far beyond my reach.
I ran desperately to save them.
But I couldn't make it in time.
By the time I arrived, the dark shadows were gone, and the child was dead.
When I woke up, I was drenched in sweat.
It was just a dream. I was just nervous.
I wanted to believe that.
But I couldn't stop thinking about various things.
What if a child with green hair really was born...
That child would certainly be persecuted.
Just as I had been.
But Rudeus, even with green hair, would surely protect them.
Eris and Roxy too.
I knew that, so why couldn't the fear go away?
I found the answer surprisingly quickly.
I had heard about it.
About Laplace Factor.
About why my hair was green.
About how Rudeus had once been somewhat anxious about those matters.
What if the child who was about to be born was Laplace?
What would Rudeus do?
Things were a bit different now, but Rudeus had been gathering forces to fight Laplace.
If my child turned out to be Laplace, then everything Rudeus had done...
...what would happen?
I didn't mistrust Rudeus. Not at all.
I trusted him completely.
But still... what would happen?
What did I want him to do?
As I circled those thoughts around and around, I couldn't sleep at night.
In the end, I concluded that "a green-haired child might not necessarily be born."
As long as the hair wasn't green, it would be fine.
But it was green.
--- Rudeus's Perspective ---
I named the baby Sieghart.
For the girls — Lucy and Lara — we took names from their parents.
For the boy Ars, we chose a name from a past hero.
That is, we borrowed the name of the undying hero Siegfried from my previous life.
I'd initially planned to keep the name as is, but since there are many names ending in "-hart" among the Lanona people, I changed it at the last minute.
The nickname would be Sieg.
Sieg looked perfectly normal.
He cried a lot and slept a lot.
He peed and he pooped.
At least he was far more normal than Lara, who rarely cried, or Ars, who would wail the moment I held him.
Reincarnator...
No, let me not go there.
He didn't seem like Laplace to me.
"So, I've been looking at him, but... how is he? Our child..."
It had been three days since then.
The hour was late at night.
Sitting across from me was Orsted.
Between Orsted and me, Sieg slept peacefully in his basket.
He'd been crying earlier but was now fast asleep.
Even Orsted looked somewhat drowsy.
For the record, Eris stood behind Orsted.
There was no need for that level of vigilance, yet her hand rested on the sword at her hip.
"...Did you fail to understand what I told you?"
"No! Of course, of course I understand, I believe you! Laplace won't be born yet, yes, of course!"
"..."
"But, you know, you said it before, didn't you? That with Pax dead, the place of Laplace's birth became unknown. Which means! My existence could have messed things up — Laplace might appear in this era because of the human factor, something like that..."
Orsted sighed.
His expression said, "Do I have to explain this again?"
"With Pax's death, the location of Laplace's birth became unknown... but the Laplace Factor has not yet converged. In fifty years, there is a possibility, but no matter how you look at it, Laplace will not revive immediately."
Converge... I'd never heard anything about that...
But if I took his words at face value.
"Then this child is...?"
"Just an adorable baby."
As Orsted said this, he reached out toward Sieg, but stopped when he heard the sound of Eris sliding her sword from its sheath.
It would've been fine to pat his head or something, though.
"Then what about this green hair?"
Sieg's hair was green.
The same shade Sylphie once had.
"It's simply green. Whether it's Laplace Factor or simple inheritance... that's all it is."
Just green, huh.
At least he didn't shrink when I got close.
"This child is not Laplace. I guarantee it."
"...Thank you."
I thanked him, but I still harbored some doubt.
Orsted wasn't perfect.
Just because things went a certain way in the previous loop didn't mean this loop was the same — there were many irregularities.
Orsted himself had made several miscalculations.
So what if Perugius investigated thoroughly and it turned out the child really was Laplace?
That possibility existed.
Or perhaps Perugius would make a misjudgment.
Nothing involving people was absolute.
"If it's all right with you, when we visit Lord Perugius's place, could you come along? And if he says the child might be Laplace, could you protect us?"
"...Very well."
Good.
With Orsted at our backs, Perugius wouldn't resort to any heavy-handed measures.
That settled it.
Or did it?
"..."
"You don't look happy. Is there still something on your mind?"
"No..."
Since then, Sylphie had been visibly depressed.
On the surface, she seemed to act as always, but she spent a lot of time looking down.
Perhaps she felt responsible for having given birth to a green-haired child.
Of course, no one in the family cared about that.
Roxy seemed to understand her feelings to some degree — I'd caught glimpses of her doing something like counseling with Sylphie.
But Sylphie remained despondent.
I'd tried talking to her about various things.
But I didn't know what would bring her smile back.
"That's a family matter."
"I see. So, when are we going to Perugius's place?"
"When Sylphie has stabilized, we'll go."
I'd told Arumanfi to wait.
A newborn baby — it was impossible to go right away.
Arumanfi had said a curt "Understood" and left, but Perugius must have been waiting impatiently.
He'd sent someone at the earliest possible moment, after all...
Orsted had said it wasn't Laplace.
But even so, simply telling Perugius that wouldn't make him accept it.
He'd need to see for himself.
It would be difficult, but I'd bring Sylphie along too.
That felt like the right thing to do.
---
Twenty days had passed.
Sylphie's condition had stabilized.
The baby, so far, had no issues.
Sylphie was still depressed, as before.
Always wearing a dark expression, yet during the day she held the baby firmly in her arms.
She often wore a desperate look, as if to say she would not hand this child over to anyone.
"Sylphie, I think we should show Sieg to Lord Perugius."
When I suggested this to her, she looked startled and clutched Sieg tightly.
"...No."
Her attitude was feeble, as if she'd regressed to childhood.
And her expression wasn't the one she used to direct at me.
It was the one she used to direct at the bullies.
"Why... why would you say something like that?"
"We need Lord Perugius to understand that our child isn't Laplace."
Sylphie looked down.
"...What if he really is Laplace?"
"Huh? But Orsted already confirmed he isn't..."
"But he could be wrong sometimes, can't he?"
Well, Orsted wasn't perfect.
It was possible that Sieg was so impossibly cute that Orsted had said "it's Laplace but it's not Laplace" without thinking straight.
I didn't think so, but...
"If that happens..."
"If what happens?"
"I'll take the Floating Fortress by force to protect Sieg."
At those words, Sylphie looked down again.
And in a voice so faint it might vanish, she whispered, "Yeah."
---
And so we set off for the Floating Fortress.
The party consisted of me, Sylphie carrying Sieg, Eris, Orsted, and Zanoba for good measure.
I decided to bring someone who could help persuade Perugius if the worst came to pass.
"...Welcome."
Silvaril's reaction to seeing such a large group was, as always, perfectly composed.
First, sincere respect for Zanoba, Eris, and Sylphie.
A thin veneer of respect for me.
An openly displeased attitude toward Orsted.
Same as always.
"This way, please. Lord Perugius is waiting."
And along the usual route, we headed to the audience chamber.
No conversation.
Sylphie trudged along beside me, carrying Sieg.
Eris walked protectively, her hand resting on her sword's pommel.
In the rear, Zanoba walked with a tense expression, having heard the situation, alongside Orsted, whose face was hidden behind his helmet.
In that formation, we passed through the gate that Zanoba had once praised to the heavens.
From Sieg and Sylphie, I could see the phantom of white particles.
They were probably coming from me too.
What struck me as slightly unusual was that none seemed to emanate from Orsted.
Did he not carry the Laplace Factor?
"..."
Silvaril glanced at us but said nothing.
Without a word, she glided ahead.
"See, Sylphie? I told you it was different."
"...Yeah."
Without looking back, Silvaril continued walking.
We passed through a corridor lined with elegant furnishings and stopped before an ornate door.
Looking at it again, the door really was beautifully designed.
Perhaps because she'd traveled the world inspecting castles...
I could well understand why Zanoba had praised this fortress so endlessly that day.
Silvaril opened the magnificent door.
"Please, enter."
At Silvaril's invitation, we entered the audience chamber.
As expected, the same spectacle greeted us.
Pillars like great trees, a massive chandelier.
Banners bearing the crests of the human and dragon races.
Twelve masked men and women standing along both sides of the crimson velvet carpet.
And seated upon the throne, the silver-haired Dragon King.
Splendor. Majesty.
One could almost call it divine.
There was no audience chamber like this anywhere in the world.
And with Silvaril added to the scene, it was perfect...
...Wait, there was one too many.
Oh, Nanahoshi was mixed in among them.
What was she doing there?
"You've come, Rudeus."
"Yes. It's been too long, Lord Perugius."
I bowed my head while standing.
Sylphie, Eris, and Zanoba knelt, but I remained on my feet.
Ideally, I should have knelt too, but I'd recently learned that as Orsted's subordinate, I couldn't bow too deeply.
Sure enough, Silvaril looked displeased, but Perugius said nothing about it.
He simply looked foul-tempered today.
"You kept me waiting quite some time."
"My child had only just been born."
"I heard as much from Arumanfi. That's why I waited. Had it been for some other trivial reason, I would not have been so forgiving."
Truly magnanimous.
And yet, he looked irritable.
His fingers tapped impatiently against the dragon-head armrest of his throne.
"That expression of yours — you seem to understand the reason I summoned you."
"Yes."
"And this entourage — depending on how the conversation goes, you're prepared even for battle? Admirable resolve."
"...Yes."
Perugius glared at Orsted with a bitter expression.
Orsted's face was hidden behind his black helmet, but he was probably wearing his usual terrifying look.
"However, Lord Perugius, I don't believe it will come to battle."
"Oh! It won't come to battle, you say! Is that so — you're that confident in your argument?"
"Perhaps. But there's no reason to fight... Sylphie."
I helped Sylphie to her feet and showed Perugius the infant in her arms.
"Please, look. This is our fourth child."
"...And what of it?"
"And nothing. Didn't you once tell me, Lord Perugius, that if Sylphie and I had a son, I should bring him to you?"
Perugius's movements halted.
The fingers that had been tapping the armrest went still.
I pressed on.
"Lord Orsted has already seen him, and this child is not Laplace.
However, I'm sure Lord Perugius would not be satisfied without seeing for himself.
I considered whether it was even necessary to show you, but for the sake of our future friendship with you, I thought it best to go through the proper motions."
"..."
Perugius remained silent.
"However, should Lord Orsted's assessment be wrong and the child truly turn out to be Laplace..."
"..."
"I will fight."
Perugius's eyebrow twitched.
"Weren't you traveling the world to gather strength to fight Laplace eighty years from now?"
"Yes."
"And you would fight to protect that same Laplace?"
When put that way, it did seem contradictory.
If I learned this child was Laplace and chose to protect him, everything I'd done these past few years would be completely undone.
"If this child grows up and truly wages war against humanity, then... I will prepare accordingly for that eventuality."
"So you won't cut the problem at the root?"
"...Yes."
The thought that my own son might be Laplace — I'd been terrified of it, but I realized I hadn't actually thought deeply about it.
Eighty years from now, Laplace would wage war.
I'd been traveling to various nations to call them to arms, trying to lighten Orsted's burden.
But wait.
What if Laplace didn't start a war?
What if Laplace regained his sanity and chose not to fight?
The baby had just been born — there was plenty of time for persuasion.
Education was something you did for the future.
If I taught Laplace everything that came before and everything that lay ahead, he could become an ally of Orsted...
No.
Orsted had said it.
Laplace must be killed.
For the sake of extracting that dragon tribe treasure or whatever it was.
Which meant that eventually, Orsted would kill my son...
...Damn. Wasn't this a dead end?
No, calm down.
If I thought about it step by step, I could see what I wanted.
"I have always stood by my family. I joined Lord Orsted's service because there were those who would harm my family. If Lord Orsted himself were to harm my family, then I would have no choice but to fight."
"Even if the cause were your own son?"
"...I intend to teach him properly — to distinguish right from wrong.
He's still a child, but at the very least, until he comes of age... until he's fifteen, I'll protect him.
After that, if he chooses to ignore my words... then I will take responsibility and deal with it myself."
"Oh, deal with it, you say? Specifically, how would you deal with it?"
"...To the best of my ability, through re-education."
To the best of my ability.
The rest, even if he was my child...
No...
"I take it you won't say... 'kill him'?"
"No matter what kind of life someone leads, everyone makes mistakes. I want to give him the chance to start over."
That was all I could say.
I didn't want to say anything more.
I didn't want to even think about a future where Lucy, Lara, or Ars stood against Orsted and were brutally killed.
But no matter how thorough my education might be, when the time came, the time came.
People didn't grow up the way you wanted them to.
Even I hadn't grown up the way I'd wanted to.
Even if they were my children, I couldn't control them — they were separate beings.
So at the very least, I wanted to give them a chance.
It was a compromise.
"I have no children of my own, and therefore I cannot understand that way of thinking. Cultivating the seed of trouble and then reaping it yourself — your way of thinking is beyond me."
Perugius said this, and then he laughed.
"But you were the foolish man who challenged Orsted in a reckless battle to protect your wife. Of course I can't understand — and I can't accept it. But I see that you hold firm convictions."
Perugius descended from his throne and walked slowly toward us.
And then he said something shocking.
"I don't know what misunderstanding you're harboring, but that infant is clearly not Laplace. I've already seen through it."
For about five seconds, I couldn't process what he'd said.
"...Ah, is that so?"
"Arumanfi is my eyes.
Would I fail to recognize Laplace?
The shade of green in his hair is quite different from Laplace's.
His eyes are different too. His mana is unremarkable.
And that accursed curse is absent... that curse that would make the depths of one's soul tremble."
So he'd known the child wasn't Laplace ever since he'd been present at the birth?
"In other words — completely unrelated, but Arumanfi essentially crashed the delivery?"
"As for that, I must apologize. It seems the timing of the summoning was rather unfortunate. Though, had your child truly been Laplace, it would have been the best timing imaginable."
Ugh.
If that was the case, he could have just said so.
What was even the point of that.
Ugh.
"Here."
Perugius stopped in front of Sylphie.
He extended both hands toward her.
"Let me hold the child as well."
"..."
Sylphie tensed and clutched Sieg tighter.
But when I placed my hand on her shoulder, she thought for a moment before handing Sieg over to Perugius.
Perugius held Sieg gently.
With the tender, careful touch of someone handling a work of art, yet firmly.
Sieg gazed intently at Perugius's face.
"Hmm... Green hair, slightly pointed ears. Eyes like flashes of lightning, yet a gentle impression. A fine child."
"Ah, thank you."
When I thanked him, Perugius nodded.
"Very well. Then I shall bestow upon him the name 'Saladin.'"
"...Huh?"
Sylphie stared at Perugius blankly.
"What's with that vacant look? Did I not promise, once? That if you brought your son to me, I would give him a name?"
Had he made that promise?
No, I thought he might have.
When he'd told me to bring the boy, he might well have said something like that.
"But, um, this child already has—"
"Save your thanks. It's a small gift from me."
Perugius said this unilaterally, returned Sieg to Sylphie, and turned on his heel.
This child already had a perfectly good name — Sieghart.
What should I do?
The atmosphere made it impossible to refuse.
Well, fine.
Sieghart Saladin Greyrat.
The name sounded strong enough, and it rolled off the tongue well enough.
And saying it came from Perugius would add some prestige.
Yeah. Not bad.
When I said "not bad," I started to actually think it wasn't bad.
"Now then, let us get to the matter at hand."
Perugius settled back heavily onto his throne and spoke.
The matter at hand?
What was the matter at hand again?
Oh, right.
So Perugius's business wasn't about the child.
He'd summoned me for an entirely different purpose.
"Rudeus Greyrat."
He looked down at me with an utterly different, severe gaze.
What was this?
What had I done?
"You formed a pact with Attofe."
Oh.
That...
Perugius and Attofe didn't get along.
I should have mentioned it to Perugius before reaching out to Attofe...
"Despite your stated goal of fighting Laplace, you approached that woman first... Why didn't you come to me?"
"Well, you see..."
"No matter. I heard your convictions earlier, and it eased my frustration. I'll let it slide. I had originally intended to fight Laplace alone, anyway."
Was that really all right?
"Therefore, I have but one piece of business."
Perugius jutted his chin, and a young girl stepped forward.
A girl of about sixteen, wearing a white mask.
She was someone who had somehow grown to look much younger than me, younger than Sylphie.
Nanahoshi Shizuka.
She'd been quietly mixed in among the twelve subordinates, but when she stepped forward, she removed her mask.
And with a solemn expression, she said:
"The teleportation circle for our return has been completed."
"So it's finally done, then."
The one who answered was Orsted, standing behind me.
Nanahoshi looked at Orsted and clenched her fist against her chest.
"Yes. Orsted. Finally... it may not be perfect yet, but..."
"Well done."
Orsted's words were warm.
They were familiar words, but that was precisely what made them feel heartfelt.
"Yes... yes!"
Nanahoshi's voice cracked.
Her face contorted with tears about to overflow, and she tilted her head slightly upward to hold them back.
I felt like crying too, swept up in the moment.
The teleportation circle for their return.
What Nanahoshi had yearned for.
For over a decade since arriving in this world, she had lived for this purpose alone.
Battling intense homesickness, focused solely on the goal of going home.
From idea to hypothesis, rejection to new idea.
And once the theory was in place, she refined the technique while repeating experiment after experiment.
It had been nearly five years since she began her training under Perugius.
A long time.
And now, it was finally complete.
"Nanahoshi, sorry for calling you while you're busy."
"Not at all."
So the summons had come from Nanahoshi.
I was busy, certainly, but there was nothing to apologize for.
If anything, I was the one who should be sorry for never having been able to help properly until now.
"Oh, um — congratulations on your child."
"Thank you."
"I was kind of surprised... you really have been thinking things through, haven't you..."
Thinking things through, huh.
I wasn't sure about that. Knowing me, there were probably plenty of things I hadn't thought through at all.
"The final experiment will require an enormous amount of mana. I know you have much to do, but please lend me your strength."
Nanahoshi bowed her head.
Her eyes burned with determination.
The final step.
The face of someone who could see the finish line.
"Of course."
"It might take a month or two. Will that be all right?"
"...It'll be fine."
A month.
I had reasons to refuse, but no grounds to.
Part of me wanted to say "wait until I've settled things with Geese," but I wasn't such a terrible person as to bring it up.
"Thank you."
Nanahoshi bowed again.
Then she glanced over at Sylphie.
Sylphie, still looking anxious.
Nanahoshi trotted over to her and whispered something in her ear.
Sylphie flinched, then looked at Nanahoshi with surprise.
Nanahoshi nodded, and Sylphie glanced at me before nodding as well.
"Now, let's move to the location of the magic circle."
I didn't know what Nanahoshi had told her, but she made this declaration.
The audience was over.
---
After bidding Perugius farewell once more, we left the audience chamber.
We headed to Nanahoshi's laboratory to hear the detailed explanation.
"..."
As we walked through the corridor, I suddenly felt someone tugging at the hem of my clothes.
It was Sylphie.
With her head bowed, she murmured in a voice that might have vanished: "Rudeus."
Without a word, I signaled with my eyes for the others to go on ahead.
We stopped. Once everyone had moved on and we were alone, I put my arm around Sylphie's shoulder.
Gently, carefully, so as not to squish Sieg, I held her slender frame.
"Rudeus... I'm sorry. I think I got a bit anxious. Seeing the green hair reminded me of the old days, and I started worrying about the future. I thought this child wouldn't be blessed by anyone..."
"It's only natural. Anyone would get anxious. I forgot to even come up with a name."
"Yeah... and on top of that, you've been going on trips with just Roxy and Eris lately. So I felt like I had to be the only one protecting the child..."
"That's not true at all!"
Startled by my firm denial, Sylphie blinked for a moment, then smiled sheepishly.
"Yeah. I know. I knew that. Sorry."
"Oh, no, you don't have to apologize..."
"I was just feeling a bit weak."
Sylphie stroked Sieg's head.
Sieg had fallen asleep at some point. When had that happened?
"But I'm fine now. You know, watching you just now, Rudeus, I felt at ease. You'll protect him. I know that for sure."
I had no idea what in my recent behavior had been reassuring.
It was the image of a fool who had grandly flailed about, declared he would educate a child he couldn't actually educate, and given a wishy-washy answer.
But regardless, Sylphie looked relieved.
"Oh, and... Sylphiette?"
"Yes, Rudeus?"
"It's okay to be angry at me for forgetting the baby's name, you know."
"Hmm... but I'm not really angry. If anything, disappointment and anxiety won out."
Sylphie scratched behind her ear.
There was no more darkness in her expression.
The things she said still hit me right in the heart, but at least she was back to her usual self.
"Oh, right — so I should be angry next time. Got it. From now on, I'll get angry. Don't forget about me or the children!"
"Yes, ma'am."
She scolded me with a little pout.
Either way, she seemed fine now.
Work and children.
Balancing the two was going to be tough.
If I could settle things with Geese and get some breathing room, I wanted to spend more time with the kids.
"Shall we go, then? We should help Nanahoshi."
"Oh... come to think of it, what was it Nanahoshi whispered to you at the end?"
"That's a secret."
Sylphie smiled with a shy grin.
I smiled back, and we hurried to catch up with the others, walking side by side.