■ Reunion of Father and Son □
I couldn’t bring myself to call my stepmother “stepmother,” so I temporarily retreated.
No matter what, I was reluctant to call a woman younger than me “mother.”
It’s not like our family is some noble lineage or anything.
Sitting in the village’s only tavern from midday, silently drinking beer, Camilla, who was sitting next to me, spoke up.
“How about meeting your father directly and hearing his side of the story? You haven’t even had a conversation with him yet.”
Then Dorothea, sitting beside her, chimed in.
“Father?”
“Since Caldlasth and I have that kind of relationship, I don’t see any problem with my title, do I?”
“Why are you suddenly like this? We’re all in the same boat.”
Barnett hurriedly mediated, and the two ended their brief argument.
Meanwhile, Ozma, sitting across from us, sipped her milk and spoke up.
“I agree with Camilla. There might be unavoidable circumstances why your father couldn’t contact you. Still, you’re his only son; he wouldn’t have skipped inviting you to his wedding.”
“Who knows? Maybe he wanted a fresh start.”
“Dorothea, you should keep your mouth shut.”
Ozma gave Dorothea a stern look, and Dorothea stuck out her tongue and turned her head away.
I listened quietly to their conversation and finally made a decision.
“Alright. I’ve made up my mind.”
“Oh? Finally?”
Dorothea, who had been looking bored, spoke up with a hint of excitement.
I nodded and put down my empty beer mug.
“First, I need to meet my father, that man. I’ll make him spill everything that’s happened while I was gone.”
“Good thinking. Sitting here drinking won’t solve anything.”
Ozma patted my shoulder and then signaled to the others.
Everyone got up and started packing their things.
I told them I’d settle the bill and headed to the counter.
“That’ll be 3 silver in total.”
Paying the incredibly cheap price for the food and drinks, typical of a rural area, I put on my hat and was about to leave when the tavern owner suddenly spoke up.
“Are you Caldlasth?”
I stopped in my tracks at his words.
“Who are you?”
The tavern owner quickly took off his hood and pointed at himself with his thumb.
“It’s me, Timmy! We used to play together when we were kids!”
“…Ohhh!”
I finally remembered.
He was the kid who was always sickly and had to take herbs every day.
He looked so different from when we were kids that I didn’t recognize him at first, but seeing his eyes jogged my memory.
I shook his hand and asked,
“What happened? You’ve gotten so strong.”
Timmy scratched the back of his head, looking a bit embarrassed.
“About two years after you left the village, a passing high priest healed my illness. After that, I started exercising diligently and became what you see now.”
Timmy showed off his bulging muscles as he spoke.
He had a bit of a belly, but his build was impressive—he looked like he could take down a bear with his bare hands.
“You haven’t aged a bit, Caldlasth. No one would think you’re in your thirties. Must be all the good food in the capital.”
I waved off his compliment.
“Hey, hey, don’t say that. I just got called ‘uncle’ by a village kid earlier.”
Though I said that, I secretly felt good.
It was probably because I had been called “uncle” twice in a row.
“You’re here to see Uncle Schneizel, right? I saw him this morning; he’d be thrilled to know you’re here.”
“My father?”
“Yeah. He’s always bragging about you. Well, everyone’s used to it by now.”
Timmy gave a bitter smile and then rested his thick arms on his hips.
“Still, it’s good to see you after so long. How many years has it been since you last came to the village?”
“Uh… about five years?”
“You should’ve stopped by last time. I would’ve treated you well.”
“Well… I usually eat and drink at home when I come back to my hometown.”
I was at a loss for how to respond to Timmy’s overwhelming friendliness.
Honestly, I had completely forgotten about him until now.
In the capital, I was always getting criticized wherever I went, but seeing someone welcome me back to my hometown lifted my spirits.
I told him I’d come back tomorrow and left the tavern with the four who had been waiting outside.
“Caldlasth, you have friends here too.”
Dorothea said, her hands in her robe pockets.
I pouted at her words.
“Hey, it’s not like I only have enemies everywhere.”
“You don’t have any in the capital, though.”
“Well… that’s true.”
I couldn’t argue and just nodded.
In the past, my social circle was quite narrow, so aside from my master, I had almost no one to talk to openly.
At best, I could call the guys I met on the battlefield comrades, but most of them would drop dead the next day.
In the Magic Tower, my status was too high for anyone to approach me casually.
And even then, more people were jealous of my early success.
Being too outstanding is something to think about.
We were about to get back into the carriage we had parked in front of the tavern when, for some reason, a few village youths were loitering around it.
They turned their heads toward me, sensing our presence.
“Uncle, is this your carriage?”
“Can we take it for a spin?”
They looked like trouble from the get-go.
“I don’t know why they’re playing thugs in this small village, but their parents would weep if they knew.”
“What? Are you talking about us?”
Oops. My thoughts slipped out.
The three or four village youths surrounding the carriage suddenly stood up.
“If you’re an outsider, you should keep quiet and leave. I don’t know what gives you the nerve to act so cocky.”
The one in front muttered, cracking his knuckles.
Ah, so they thought I was an outsider.
I gestured to the four behind me not to step forward.
They all stepped back, sensing the situation.
The youths’ eyes briefly turned to my companions, but I stepped in front and spoke.
“First, let me correct your misconceptions.”
I held up one finger.
“First, I’m not an outsider.”
“Second, what I said is objectively true.”
“And most importantly, third, I’m not an uncle.”
Then I wiggled my fingers at the scowling youths.
“If you have a problem, come at me.”
Of course, the fight ended quickly.
“So, where’s your house?”
I asked, sitting on one of them like a cushion.
The one who had talked back earlier answered in a subdued voice.
“…The mill.”
“Ah, I know that house. The kid who was always sniffling when I left the village has grown up to be a thug, huh?”
“No! I wasn’t trying to be a thug!”
When I glared at him, he quickly switched to polite speech and looked up at me with a pitiful expression.
“Come on, wipe that look off your face. One, two…”
“I’ll do it! I wiped it off!”
“I’ve been through it all, so I know. Acting tough when you’re young won’t do you any good when you’re old. And in a small village like this, rumors spread fast, right?”
Barnett, who had been listening to my story, asked innocently.
“What’s ‘acting tough’?”
“Uh… putting on airs?”
“Ah.”
The conversation derailed for a moment, but I didn’t forget to discipline the guys under me.
“Hey! Your arms are slacking! Straighten up!”
Just then.
“Who are you?!”
From a distance, what looked like the parents of these youths came running.
I had overlooked this.
In a small village, rumors spread fast, but I didn’t expect them to drop everything and come running for their kids.
“Mom!”
“Oh! My baby!”
The youths I was disciplining, thinking it was time to stop, quickly ran over.
Though their behavior was annoying, I decided to let it go since I was about to stop anyway.
The miller’s son, who was under me, twitched as if he wanted to run, but unfortunately, I had no intention of letting him go.
If you leave, who will be my chair?
I crossed my legs leisurely and spoke.
“Your sons were messing with someone else’s carriage, so I was giving them a stern lesson.”
The parents, who had been shielding their son, suddenly flared up.
“How much is that carriage worth…?”
They pointed to the carriage parked next to the tavern, their tone suddenly becoming polite.
It must have looked expensive at a glance.
I made it simple.
“If this gets scratched, you’d have to sell your house to fix it.”
The parents, who had been defending their son, glared at him.
“You brat! All you do is play around instead of working, and now you’re trying to ruin the family!”
“Ouch! Ouch! Mom!”
I watched with satisfaction as they got a good scolding from their parents, then got up from my living chair.
The guy underneath glanced up at me.
He seemed to have learned what happens without my permission.
I put my hands in my pockets and gestured with my chin.
“Go on.”
He scrambled to his feet, not even bothering to brush off the dirt on his clothes, and bowed deeply.
“Thank you!”
Ah! Today, I’ve reformed three lost lambs!
I was patting myself on the back for doing a good deed when…
“Caldlasth? What are you doing there?”
“Father?”
My father, who I thought was somewhere in the village, suddenly appeared before my eyes.
