Chapter – 45
✠
Mom and Grandpa had agreed to my request. They set up a tent inside the ruined temple and stayed with me for two days, nursing me back to health.
“Do you know how worried I was?!”
As soon as the fever penalty lifted, the first thing I saw was Mom’s face, swollen from crying.
She hugged me tightly, weeping for a long while, and only let go after I complained that it was hard to breathe.
Mom, still sniffling, took the handkerchief Grandpa handed her. She used it to blow her nose and then returned it politely.
It all seemed so natural and unstrained.
“Your eyes are open, darling. Is your body okay?”
“Yes. I’m sorry for worrying you.”
While I was asleep, Grandpa had explained to Mom about my ability, “Divine Descent.”
There was no need for me to personally explain to her how I had lifted the Petrification Curse or the cause of my fever. Still, Mom seemed slightly displeased.
“If using Descent means you suffer this much, you should have just let the Temple handle it.”
“I wanted to see you as soon as possible.”
“…….”
For a moment, Mom’s expression faltered with emotion, but Grandpa intervened.
“Ahem! Now that you’re awake, eat your breakfast. Then we’ll go.”
Though the sun in the dungeon was already high and in reality, it might be early morning, Grandpa insisted on setting a “morning” because I had just woken up.
He laid out breakfast: orimit meatball skewers, herb salad, honey rolls, and fig jam.
Of course, it was all from my satchel bag, but he presented it as a proper meal.
“Our granddaughter is really skilled at cooking!”
“She takes after Leo.”
Mom replied, splitting a honey roll. Her movements were graceful and elegant, true to the upbringing of a strict noblewoman.
Since it was a family meal, the cheerful conversation flowed naturally.
“Did your father behave himself while I was gone?”
The knife she used for the jam glinted sharply. Was that… an aura?
“Father was faithful and only missed you.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Otherwise, why would the first thing he wanted to do when he had free time be to come visit the house where you lived with Mom?”
“Oh my, Leo… he deserves a reward when we meet. A proper one.”
Seeing Mom blush and beam like a little girl warmed my heart.
She was curious about how our family had fared in the Gillette territory.
I kept my recounting brief for the period before I possessed the body, as it was dull and tedious, and focused on the events after I possessed it.
Mom listened intently, as if trying to fill the six years she had missed with my words.
Meanwhile, there was someone here who had lost 13 years of their life.
Grandpa wanted to know about the seven years after Mom had run away, until she became the salt statue.
Mom reluctantly began to speak.
“Not the most pleasant story… right after leaving that house, I was so angry that I just rushed into an SS-rank dungeon alone without thinking.”
“Wh-what…!”
“But after getting roughed up by the boss a bit, I came to my senses. Luckily, the boss zone was open, and the boss was a mindless beast, so I could hide for a few days and escape.”
“Phew…”
“After leaving the dungeon, I needed treatment for my injuries, so I tried to warp to the city. But the teleportation stone must have been damaged during the battle. I ended up in a random forest, where my current husband found me and treated me. That’s how I ended up living with him, and eventually… we fell in love.”
“Hmm…”
“Our life was pretty poor. I could only help by hunting game. I thought about working as a mercenary under a hidden identity, but I got pregnant quickly, and the morning sickness made it difficult. After that, it was all about childcare.”
I wondered how parents would feel hearing about their daughter’s reckless premarital cohabitation. I didn’t know, but I made sure Grandpa had extra herb salad—good for calming the mind.
“…Leave the dressing out.”
“Yes, sir.”
Now it was time to ask about Grandpa. I’d been curious for a while.
“Grandpa, you said you’re a noble. What kind of family are you from?”
“Ahem! As for this old man…!”
“No need to be modest. You just rule a tiny piece of land.”
“Tiny? It’s not that tiny compared to my title!”
Their claims conflicted, so I would have to judge for myself.
“So, what’s the family name?”
“You’ll be shocked when you hear it!”
“I won’t be!”
Grandpa puffed out his chest proudly.
“Hispanril.”
“……Huh?”
What? Wait, did I hear that right?
“This old man is Aaronjaik Hispanril!”
“…Gasp.”
I recognized the name. He had been the undisputed strongest of the continent, holding first place until the protagonist had repeated his 40 reincarnations.
To confirm, I looked at Mom. She just ate her meatball skewer with a displeased expression.
Naturally, I had to ask.
“Mom… were you a noblewoman?”
“……”
Her silence was an answer.
The pendant around my neck vibrated.
<No wonder I didn’t like Grandpa from the start…>
For context, Aaronjaik Hispanril and Agnes Azlit had been schoolmates at the knight academy and famous rivals.
Grandpa saw the perfect chance to boast about his family.
He spoke in a cooing teacher tone toward me.
“Our darling is clever! That’s right! Your mother is a noblewoman! So if she inherits the marquisate, what happens? Our child becomes a noble too!”
“…!”
Gasp! A noble! My birth secret revealed! And a social rise!
‘Classic slice-of-life childcare plot…!’
[‘The Bitter Regulator of Balance’ clicks his tongue, saying you still haven’t given up on the childcare fantasy.]
They kept giving me hope.
But it was all cruel teasing.
“I have no intention of going back.”
Mom’s voice was firm. Both Grandpa and I slumped our shoulders.
[‘The Scales Judging Souls’ gently tries to lure you toward a 19+ reverse-harem fantasy instead of the childcare plot.]
Apparently, the Scales added an “erotic reverse-harem” keyword to their tastes.
[‘The Eye Watching the Chaos of All Things’ asks if you already have Bianca, pressing the point.]
Ah, stop it.
Grandpa glanced at me, then looked at Mom before speaking cautiously.
“Ah, seems the child wants to join the marquis house…”
He was subtly using me as a shield—this wasn’t good.
“Grandpa.”
“Yes?”
“Though I’m extremely, truly, seriously tempted by the noblewoman title, I respect Mom’s decision. If she says no, then so do I. If she says it’s not right, then it’s not for me either.”
“…….”
I had to draw the line with Grandpa.
Mom had suffered greatly from him in the past and hadn’t fully healed. When she had criticized him fiercely for stories she heard about him without knowing she was his runaway daughter, I had fully sided with her.
Now, I could not hypocritically change my stance just for the noblewoman title.
Regarding bloodlines, Mom’s choice mattered most—she connected Grandpa and me. Following her lead was the right thing to do.
“Y-you’re so firm…”
Mom chuckled.
“I don’t know who the adult is and who the child is here. Trying to use your granddaughter—shame on you.”
“M-m-m sorry… I have no excuse…”
Grandpa’s face turned bright red as he hung his head.
Meanwhile, Mom grabbed me, rubbed our faces together, and said,
“Oh, so pretty. You really are Leo’s daughter.”
Heavenly social rise could wait.
‘Having my family by my side is enough.’
That alone made me happy.
Besides, life at the Gillette mansion with Bianca was good, and our modest household would improve as the potion business succeeded.
So I didn’t need to become a noblewoman right away.
[‘The Bitter Regulator of Balance’ comments that you’re stuck in the tutorial period at the Gillette mansion anyway, rationalizing your stance.]
[‘The Scales Judging Souls’ laughs, saying slice-of-life childcare was never in its nature.]
[‘The Eye Watching the Chaos of All Things’ is satisfied with you being tied to Bianca.]
“…….”
Phew… can’t I block them?
