Chapter 35

I have been too complacent until now.

It seems that I lacked vigilance because no matter how much I tried to suck and lick Tia’s bodily fluids, her regenerative abilities were only rendered ineffective.

However, this incident has made it clear.

Tia’s poison can kill a person even in minute amounts.

“Don’t share food with anyone other than mom. Of course, no kissing either.”

“Mmm…”

“Did you? Kiss? With whom?”

“Aunt Irina. On the cheek…”

“Aunt did it for you, right? You didn’t initiate it?”

“Mmmm…”

“I need to make sure you don’t do that next time.”

“……….”

It seems I have been lucky so far.

Irina had been the one who took care of Tia the most when I was busy.

Thinking that, at any moment, she could have suddenly died gives me goosebumps.

Tia is a human weapon capable of easily killing people.

Realizing that once again sent a shiver down my spine.

“Does that mean I can’t play with Aunt anymore…?”

“No, you can play, but we have to keep our distance.”

“……….”

It was just a playful wordplay with slightly altered wording.

From now on, no one will be able to have inappropriate physical contact with Tia.

I will make sure of that.

For Tia’s sake and for the sake of others, it’s the best course of action.

“Come here.”

“Mmm…”

I gently rubbed Tia’s tear-streaked face with a cloth.

Every now and then, I would suck on my fingers.

It tasted salty.

Only I can lick Tia’s tears.

I am the only one who can be this close to Tia.

Thinking of that made me feel a pang of pity.

Tia will never be able to have a deep relationship with anyone in her lifetime.

“Bring me a hair tie. I’ll tie your hair.”

“Me! Here!”

As soon as I mentioned it, Tia dashed off, tugging open the drawer and grabbing a handful of hair ties.

I had bought them all in different colors and types beforehand.

Sitting cross-legged while slapping my thighs, Tia plopped down onto my lap.

It was painful enough that I almost screamed.

Does she have thorns on her butt…?

“What color do you like?”

“Blue!”

“You like blue? Shall I use this one? No? You like thinner ones?”

Ah. I should have bought just one hair tie.

Finding a hair tie that Tia likes would take a lifetime.

Are we going to repeat this every morning?

I felt dizzy.

I slipped a light blue thin hair tie with jewel-like stones around my wrist.

Then, I began to tidy up Tia’s hair, who was cheerfully humming a tune as if she was enjoying herself.

Compared to mine, her hair is surely curly, but not so wildly free.

Since it was long enough to reach her neck, I felt that more acutely.

She surely inherited plenty from my genes.

“How about just cutting it short?”

“I don’t want to. I want to grow it out like mom.”

“Hmm…”

I was also starting to find my hair uncomfortable and thought about cutting it.

But I didn’t know Tia loved my hair this much.

Now I can’t cut it.

“But how does one tie it…?”

For now, I gathered her hair as I had seen somewhere, but that’s where my movements stalled.

I could easily tie a messy ponytail, but I wanted to do it right this time.

However, having never tied hair in my life, I had no idea how to do it.

There was no alternative.

I could only go through trial and error.

I started gathering Tia’s hair and tied it.

It seemed to have become much smoother than when I first tied it.

“Ouch!”

“Ah! Sorry.”

There was a minor issue during the process of wrapping the tie, but anyway, I succeeded in tying it.

As I looked around, I noticed it was slightly out of balance, but it certainly was a ponytail.

After succeeding once, I felt motivated.

Since I had plenty of hair ties, I decided to try some other styles as well.

“Should I gather it this way?”

“Mom, my head hurts…”

“Wait a moment. I’m sorry. Can you bear with it a little longer?”

“Mmm…”

“All done! Pippi-hair!”

I quickly found it exciting.

I tried making pigtails, half-up styles, messy buns, and even braids.

Seeing as my skill was clumsy, most ended up looking strange, but a few came out quite nice.

Now I understand why little girls are so crazy about dressing up dolls.

It’s incredibly enjoyable to play with such a cute creature’s hair.

“Hmm…”

As I was tying it, I noticed her horns were a little bothersome.

Since they don’t grow straight up but slightly curve back, if I’m not careful, her hair would catch on them.

It didn’t sit well with me.

Every time I looked at them, they reminded me of her father.

If possible, I wanted to pluck them out.

If they were dragon horns, they might be even more precious than deer antlers.

“Hehe. That tickles, mom.”

“Do the horns have feeling?”

“Mmm. I don’t think so. When you touch them, it makes my head tingle and feel ticklish…”

I see.

The horns themselves can’t feel anything.

As I kept scratching them, seeing Tia shivering made my sadistic side bubble up.

Of course, I held back.

“Shall we tie it like this today? How does that sound? Do you like it?”

“Mmm! I love it! I totally love it!”

After a long time of fiddling with her hair, I completed a pretty decent set of pigtails.

It had evolved far beyond the simple ponytail I made earlier.

This was enough to make a strong impression even in the first grade of elementary school.

“School…?”

Speaking of school.

When is Tia supposed to go to school?

I stood still and examined her entire body.

I haven’t seen many children, but with this build, she should be around five years old.

Since the usual age for elementary school entrance is between six or seven, she was close to the school-going age.

At least physically.

“What shall I do about this?”

There are no public schools in this world.

If there were, it would be just a small classroom in an orphanage.

A school in this context would only refer to private schools that noble children attend.

If the goal is purely education, seeking a personal tutor might be an option, but it would lack social development.

It would be really nice if I could send Tia to school.

In just two months, Tia’s body has grown tremendously, and her words flow smoothly, yet her experiences are woefully insufficient.

She might seem to use difficult words well on the surface, but in reality, she’s just an empty vessel.

Having a sweet daughter who sees her mom as her whole world is certainly nice.

However, thinking that after I die, Tia will drift around without being accepted anywhere makes me believe it’s better to send her to school.

Because a gypsy without social skills is bound to get killed.

Of course, that was a story for when the situation allowed it.

With survival being the priority right now, I certainly couldn’t afford the tuition of a private school.

Or should I consider disguising as a new transfer to an orphanage?

Since it’s not something to decide immediately, I decided to think about it a bit longer.

“Oof. My legs are numb. Let’s get up now.”

“Hehe.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve grown horns on your butt? Does something feel sharp down there?”

I casually lifted Tia’s skirt to take a peek.

At that moment, Tia laughed and attempted to flee.

I grabbed her waist, poked her butt playfully but intended to let go immediately.

But then I saw something popping up over her panties.

“Uh…?”

Above her butt.

A black horn was sprouting.

No, this sensation is somewhat different from a horn.

Though it’s indeed hard, it feels closer to tough leather than a horn.

And considering where it’s sprouting, just above her tailbone…

“Mom? What’s wrong? It tickles! Hehe!”

“What is this…”

This is a tail.

If she takes after her father, she should take after him appropriately.

Suddenly, I felt like crying.

I embraced Tia’s waist and quietly sobbed.

.

.

.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“Uh?”

In a dark underground prison.

Alexander, stepping into the inner side and facing the hero, couldn’t help but sigh.

He was aware that this was a significant breach of etiquette toward his senior and humanity’s hero, but he couldn’t help it.

The pool of blood within the bars was enough to terrify him.

“Say that again.”

“I apologize… May I ask what on earth is happening here?”

“Sure. What’s stopping you?”

Creak.

Hero Leopard, wiping his hands with a handkerchief, pushed the prison door open.

The man wandering here for fifty years, drunk, was gone.

Instead, a beast filled with killing intent stood there.

Still, it seemed the hero hadn’t completely suppressed his excitement yet, as he let out rough breaths.

“Just throw him away.”

“……”

A handkerchief struck the priest’s chest.

Dazed, the priest, holding the blood-stained handkerchief, gazed silently into the prison cell.

A corpse with its head split open was leaning against the wall.

Now, it was impossible to guess what kind of man he was in life.

Only the neat black clothing hinted that he had been a priest in his lifetime.

“Hero, why did you kill him?”

“That bastard wouldn’t shut up. I killed him because he annoyed me.”

“Just because he’s in the cell doesn’t mean he’s a criminal. He was just confined due to the risk of escape. Killing him without cause isn’t right.”

“And so what? Do you have a problem with that?”

“If you had told us, we would have put him on trial.”

“Wow. You’ve grown up, Alexander. Talking back to a hero.”

“……”

Leopard, smiling, turned and grabbed Alexander by the crown of his head.

He successfully got under Alexander’s skin.

This was a tactic he sometimes used when he wanted to reign in the hero, who was usually half-hearted about everything.

The important thing was that if it was used too frequently, the consequence might be becoming like the corpse in that cell.

“You are the only one who knows the name and face of the Holy Maiden. I had taken special measures to allow you to interrogate the hero first, but if you kill him like this, it’ll be very difficult for us.”

“Why should I care? That bastard was talking nonsensical, so what do you want me to do? If he has a problem, he can face me in court.”

“……”

Alexander had to take a step back after a sharp shove.

Holding his throbbing head, when he looked up, the hero had already walked far away.

As the sound of the hero’s footsteps faded, the door to the underground closed.

Only then did Alexander enter the cell and examine the corpse.

Amid the shattered head, which was barely recognizable, he could see faint, glowing shards of light.

“Kuh…!”

The moment he touched it, unfamiliar memories rushed through Alexander’s mind like a flood.

The hero opens the cell and steps inside.

Then he asks if Alexander really knows the face and name of the Holy Maiden.

After his vision violently shakes up and down, the hero’s hand reaches out, and the vision cuts off.

Soon after, Alexander stepped back while bleeding from his nose, a smile blooming on his lips.

“Haha… They say there’s no one you can trust in this world.”

Hero Leopard did not want to abandon his search for the Holy Maiden.

He was hiding the Holy Maiden.

Now he was certain of it.

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