Volume 3 Chapter 24 Dad's Secret
I head to the living room with a soaking wet dad, a drenched Eir-Eir, and Ms. Famine.
I tried to make cocoa to entertain Mx. Margaret, but they told me, "You just sit there," so I decided to sit quietly.
In the warm sunlight, Ms. Famine and Eir-Eir are cuddled up and sleeping.
Dad is curled up a little way off.
"Dad, I've been sleeping in bed with you, but I just realized that since you're an adult man, it might not be good for us to sleep together."
I light the large flame stone in the fireplace.
The winter weather is unpredictable.
The room, which was warm just a moment ago, feels a bit chilly now that the sky has clouded over.
It might snow soon.
"Why, Lydia. I became a cute animal, just the right size for you to hug, as you wished."
"When you take a bath, do you return to your original form?"
"It would be inconvenient to stay as a dog. Plus, there's too much fur. It's easier to wash my body in human form."
"That may be true, but I wish you could have been washed while still in dog form."
"That's embarrassing."
"It's not embarrassing to sleep together...?"
"That's my role, so it's not embarrassing."
I don't quite understand the heart of a dad.
For now, I definitely understand that I shouldn't peek into the bathroom while he's bathing.
If he had told me beforehand, I wouldn't have peeked.
I warm myself in front of the fireplace with the flame stone lit, giving Dad a light glare.
"Why didn't you tell me that you would return to your original form when you took a bath? If you had told me earlier, I wouldn't have been surprised."
"I wanted to stay in that form in front of you. Because that was your wish."
"So, if I asked you to return to your adult male form, would you do it?"
"If that's what you wish."
"I prefer the dog."
"I'm not a dog, I'm your dad, but then, I'll stay like this."
Even though Dad is Dad, if he were to become a handsome adult man instead of a dog, I feel like living together would be problematic, so I want him to stay as a cute dog.
Eir-Eir and Ms. Famine would also be intimidating.
"Lyd-Lyd, I brought the cocoa. It's snack time, so I also brought my secret can of cookies."
As I relax back on the sofa, Mx. Margaret comes in with a tray of cocoa and a cute cookie tin decorated with a snow rabbit design.
They places a mug in front of me and opens the cookie tin.
The cookies inside are shaped like snow rabbits, just like the design on the tin.
"Snow rabbit cookies..."
"Aren't they cute?"
"Is this what girl power is, Mx. Margaret...?"
"That's right, it's girl power."
Mx. Margaret, who usually sits lazily outside while smoking aromatic tobacco, looks radiant today.
The red mug has a snowflake pattern, and on top of the cocoa, small marshmallows are floating.
"Girl power, Mx. Margaret..."
"Pumpkin pudding...!"
"Tarte..."
Eir-Eir wakes up and flaps her wings up and down when she sees the snow rabbit cookies.
Ms. Famine glances over here, wags her tail, and then looks down.
She doesn't seem very interested in the cookies.
I give Eir-Eir one of the snow rabbit cookies.
"The snow rabbit looks a bit like Eir-Eir."
"Pumpkin."
Eir-Eir munches on the cookie, crumbs sticking all around her mouth.
"I need to think of a new menu for the restaurant, but maybe I'll make Eir-Eir's cookies as souvenirs for the kids..."
"I'm so happy that Lyd-Lyd is thinking of a menu with high girl power for the first time... Usually, it ends up being something like 'grudges' or 'hatred,' and ultimately, a bit shady."
"Squid..."
"What's wrong, Lyd-Lyd? Now that Sir Stefan is back, have you regained your feelings for him?"
"Sir Stefan told me that I shouldn't name the sausages after everyone. I used to have feelings for him, but now he feels more like a kind older relative."
"You liked him back then, right?"
"I'm not really sure, Mx. Margaret. I was all alone, so I might have just gotten attached to Sir Stefan because he was the first one to be kind to me."
"I was the first to be kind to Lydia."
"I forgot about Dad. I'm sorry. It's a memory from when I was very little, so I couldn't remember it for a long time."
Mx. Margaret elegantly crossed their legs and lit their aromatic tobacco.
The sweet scent of orange chocolate wafted through the smoke.
"It was after I conveyed the prophecy to Mrs. Tiansa that you, a holy beast, appeared before Lyd-Lyd. I sometimes wonder what it means to be a holy beast when you're actually human."
"I sensed the presence of a saint in baby Lydia and appeared before Tiansa and Lydia. There, Tiansa made a wish to me. She wanted me to seal Lydia's powers."
"To protect Lyd-Lyd."
"Mother..."
I lowered my gaze.
I recalled my mother's figure. My mother, who didn't seem much older than me.
It's a bit complicated, but I'm really happy that my mother is safe and has come back well.
"I do not involve myself in the human world. I merely observe. However, this time... out of respect for Tiansa's strong feelings, I decided to grant that wish. After that, I watched over Lydia from afar, but it was too pitiful. So, I thought I would become Lydia's friend and revealed myself."
"Thank you, Dad. You cared about me... but because of that, you got caught by Ms. Famine, didn't you?"
"Tarte Tatin."
Ms. Famine flapped her ears as if to say, "Oh dear."
"Well, yes. I tried to be careful to only show myself when it was just the two of us, but one day, I got caught. After that, Famine really tormented me. This adorable dog form of mine."
"Tarte Tatin."
"Well, it's in the past, so it's fine. I am an fushisha (immortal). I won't die just from being tormented."
"Fushisha?"
"Fushisha...!"
"Oh no. That was supposed to be a secret. I slipped up. Please forget it."
Dad covered his ears with his fluffy hands and then hid his eyes.
What could 'fushisha' mean? I took a sip of my slightly cooled cocoa.
The sweet, creamy, and slightly bitter taste spread throughout my mouth.
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