Chapter 32
Dylan was watching a strange sight now.
The sound of the bell rang, breaking Dylan’s reverie.
“Dylan.”
“Yes?”
Mehen glared at Dylan over his glasses as he flipped through the pamphlet.
“Why are you slapping yourself when I said I would recommend?”
“Ah, ah-ha-ha. Ah.”
He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“How can a person change like this overnight?
Resisting the urge to look out the window to see if there were two suns, he watched Dylan flick through Pegrissa’s tourist brochure as Mehen flipped through the pages.
‘It doesn’t look right.’
He’d be less surprised if he’d managed to get through the room’s worth of papers in half a day.
‘Isn’t that something I see almost every day?’
Why is Mehen behaving so uncharacteristically, anyway.
“Where would it be best to go with Young Lady?”
Thanks to his nephew’s experience, Dylan is quick to recommend the best places.
“Sharit would be best, I think. It’s south of Pegrissa on the ecliptic, easy to reach by carriage, and the stable operations of the Matap and the Faraltri family are well-regarded. Best of all, the scenery is beautiful.”
“The proximity is my favorite.”
Mehen nodded. Even at times like this, he felt as if he were approving a business’s quarterly business plan or policy.
“Are you ready to leave now?”
“I think so.”
Mehen affirmed, standing up.
“Have a good trip.”
Maybe it was because Mehen had been working all the time since they first met, but as Dylan watched him leave, something about the scene struck him as odd.
“What is this?”
The Wraith of Halbern.
The scene in the office where Mehen, the ghost of Halbern’s work, disappeared.
Dylan scratched his head nervously, alone in his office.
Then he hesitated.
“I don’t know.”
He scribbled a neat letter on a single enchanted letterhead and sent it off.
Pot-!
***
‘It’s been a while since I’ve been out of town, not on a business trip.’
Mehen counted the days he had been absent from work, and was enlightened. Even in this way, it felt like a breath of fresh air.
“It’s a couple look.”
Luckily, Arellin seemed to be in a good mood.
“It’s just the same color, isn’t it?”
“…”
Arellin made a pouty face. She still hadn’t lost her chubby cheek, so it was only cute when she glared at him like that.
“Yeah, it’s a couple look.”
“Heh.”
The coats are the same color, but is that really such a good thing?
“Couple hats.”
“Yep. Couple hats.”
“I’ve never been out like this before.”
“…”
Probably not. When Arellin was younger, she used to go out with her toddler group occasionally. Though they were only short outings due to health issues.
The mysterious illness that was eating away at Arellin’s life was still there.
Perhaps noticing Mehen’s silence, Arellin spoke first.
“It’s crowded.”
“It’s a popular tourist destination.”
At times like this, the child was sometimes too perceptive.
“You don’t like it?”
“No.”
Arellin looked around, curious about the unfamiliar scenery. The most curious thing was beneath her feet.
“There’s water under my feet.”
“Yes. It’s Lake Sharit.”
“If I’m on water, why can I walk?”
“They say the whole lake is covered with some kind of special magic field, though I don’t know the details because I’m not a magician.”
“Interesting.”
He could see the lake rippling beneath my feet.
A city on water, built on top of a magic field.
Due to its special environment, it had no inhabitants and was developed from the ground up as a tourist attraction, but there were people from all over the continent who wanted to come.
“What?!”
While Arellin was momentarily distracted by the calm waters of the lake, the magic of the city caused the lake’s waters to coalesce.
The mass of water floated up and immediately passed through the magic field, transforming into a dolphin and swimming around Arellin.
“Cold.”
Arellin winced at the splash from the water dolphin.
Mehen laughed in spite of himself.
“It’s nice to watch, but why don’t we get something to eat first?”
“Sure.”
Taking Mehen’s outstretched hand, Arellin walked cautiously.
Even though she knew she was safe, the sight of the water made her reflexively cautious.
It was a huge blue lake where legend had it that the Great Hippogriff Sharit slept, but now it was just another tourist attraction.
“Dad, I’m looking at Sajo-!”
“Mum, mum!”
Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of families.
“…”
Everywhere you look, you see families. Parents carrying small children. Dads taking their sons on horseback.
He wonders if he should hold Arellin now, while Mehen groans.
Arellin’s eyes were still on the loving family.
“Young Lady.”
The steady gaze is filled with an unknown emotion. Frustrating, stinging, unfamiliar emotions.
Mehen pressed down on the emotions that threatened to shatter his composure. She could ignore them if she wanted to, and they would follow her.
She didn’t want to.
“Are you envious?”
“…It’s okay.”
The smaller hand squeezed Mehen’s larger one.
“Because I have Mehen.”
Soft rose-pink eyes stare at Mehen.
“You’re supposed to be my mum.”
“Not a mum.”
Mum’s walls are too high for a single man. But Mehen had no choice.
“Ha. Yeah.”
If you want.
“Hehe.”
Arelin smiled a little.
It was cute, he thought, and it made her smile.
“But why am I a mum and not a dad?”
“Because I have a dad.”
“Oh.”
“Even if I haven’t seen it, it’s there.”
…Why is that logical?
He couldn’t argue with her because she was right, but that didn’t mean he wanted to unseat her, did it?
“I see.”
“I like Mehen better.”
“What?”
“I like Mehen better than my dad, whom I’ve never met.”
Mehen smiles bitterly at her snide remark, in case it hurts his feelings.
“That’s a given.”
She’s been raised by a bastard, and she’s supposed to be outclassed by a lord she never met?
***
After lunch at the most famous restaurant, the two headed to the central square to watch the fountain show.
“I guess there’s a reason so many people come to watch it.”
“Is this your first time in Mehen?”
“Yes. I’ve always been too busy burying myself in papers.”
The central square was already packed with people.
“Buy flowers!”
“Buy pretty flowers!”
She didn’t usually like crowds, but sometimes this kind of hustle and bustle wasn’t bad.
“Shall I buy you one?”
“Yes!”
He bought a small bouquet, easy enough for her to hold, and held it out to Arellin, who smiled brightly.
“Hehe.”
It was a strange enough scene, with the hawking of the water people everywhere, a rare sight in Albrecht.
“Are you feeling much better?”
“Thanks.”
Arellin replied sourly.
“You’ll have to cooperate with Mum’s efforts.”
“Cooperate?”
“Oh, good mum.”
“…Huh.”
Arellin reached out and patted Mehen’s head. Mehen smirked at the first spanking of his life.
The magic circle on the floor of the plaza, above the magic field, glowed. The fountain show began at the same time.
Boom, boom, boom!
Lots of water bouncing in all directions. The masses soon clumped together and transformed into countless shapes.
Rabbits, butterflies, wolves, dolphins, fish. An unreal scene of countless water animals flying around the square.
“Mehen.”
And.
“When I die, don’t make a tomb.”
Arellin smiled faintly, holding a white lily.
“I want to disappear without a trace that I was ever born into this world.”
A low, dry voice, devoid of any emotion.
“But will you leave the flowers on your way, I love them.”
“Young Lady.”
“They’re the first flowers Mehen ever bought me.”
Mehen didn’t know how to react to this unrealistic, almost nostalgic scene.
“Arel…”
Arellin laughed, seeing Mehen looking at her like a lost child.
“It’s okay.”
“Sweetheart.”
“Because I know better than anyone that it’s an incurable illness.”
“What kind of a man? What kind of a man would dare-“
“No one in particular taught me that.”
Sometimes you don’t need to be taught something to know it.
“But you see.”
Mehen clamped his mouth shut.
“Didn’t you try not to get attached to me because I was going to die anyway?”
“No.”
“No?”
“…It’s not like that. Hah…”
He doesn’t know where to begin or how to unpack this. He felt his breath catch in his throat.
“It’s really not that.”
“Yes. I believe you.”
“Young Lady, do you really…”
“But don’t make a grave.”
The dark clear eyes met Mehen’s.
“Because I don’t want to be alone in a place where no one comes to visit me.”
In a moment of unspoken emotion, when only the sound of the breeze echoed.
“-And there you are, father and daughter. We’ve got some fun and games for you, will you join us?!”
A suitable uninvited guest has arrived.
