■ Clearing Misunderstandings □
My father’s name is Schnaizel.
He turned forty-five this year, a typical farmer who, after my mother passed away, raised me alone for quite some time, living as a widower.
Though not a wealthy farmer, we had enough land to get by comfortably through farming, so there was no hindrance in my father and I relying on each other to live.
We lived like that for fifteen years until I caught the eye of my Master passing by and was recruited to the Magic Tower, leaving my father to live alone in the village.
The last time I saw my father was when I earned significant merit during the Human-Demon War and received the title of Mage Knight, which was already five years ago now.
Truthfully, it was understandable that my father, being a man, remarried late in life since there wasn’t exactly a town matchmaker or anything.
But what made me feel estranged was that he never informed me, his son, about it.
And another uncomfortable point was that, no matter how you looked at it, my stepmother appeared younger than me.
I was fixing up troublemaking teenagers in front of Timmy’s tavern when I suddenly came face-to-face with my father, momentarily at a loss for words.
However, upon seeing that his appearance hadn’t changed much from the father in my memories, I internally relaxed.
“It’s been a while.”
As I said this and opened my arms, my father looked at me with an expression of “Why is he acting like this all of a sudden?” before hesitantly approaching and giving me a hug.
After releasing him from my tight embrace, my father, still unfamiliar with my actions, asked awkwardly,
“Did you eat something bad? Or did you do something wrong?”
“Not particularly. It’s just been a long time since we’ve seen each other, so I thought I’d express some affection as an unfilial son.”
I’m thirty now, and my father has reached an age where he would be considered elderly by this world’s average lifespan standards.
Honestly, I don’t think he has many years left. Unlike me, a renowned mage, my father is just an ordinary human.
Soon after, my father looked at me and asked,
“So, why have you suddenly returned to your hometown without any notice?”
“I’ve taken a long vacation. So, I thought I’d stop by to introduce the women who will become my daughters-in-law and rest for a bit.”
“…What? Women who will become your daughters-in-law?”
Upon hearing this, my father glanced behind me at the group accompanying me.
Each then introduced themselves in turn:
“The first wife.”
“The first concubine.”
“The second concubine.”
“The third concubine.”
“My lord’s maid.”
As these exceptionally beautiful women introduced themselves one by one, my father’s eyes widened in shock.
“You’re marrying all of them?”
I shrugged and replied,
“I seem to be quite popular.”
At this, Dorothea muttered irritably,
“It’s true, so you can’t criticize.”
Beside her, Barnett gave a wry smile and said,
“Give up. There’s a saying that the side that falls in love loses.”
Quietly standing nearby, Camilla concluded,
“I’ve prepared myself for this from the start, so it’s fine.”
Among them, only Ozma, who introduced herself as the first wife, carried herself with confidence.
“It’s nice to meet you, Father. My name is Ozma Zoroaster, and I will become your daughter-in-law. Though I may be lacking, please take care of me.”
“Uh… Sure…”
When the ever-elegant Ozma, dressed as a man as usual, bowed slightly and greeted him, my father nodded dumbly with a bewildered expression.
Then, moving closer to me, he whispered,
“Are you really planning to marry all these ladies?”
“Would I fake a marriage?”
As I stared at him with a look of disbelief, my father closed his mouth, seemingly having much to say but choosing not to.
“Rather than talking here, let’s head home and talk. The stares of people are quite burdensome.”
Saying this, I looked around.
True to the nature of a rural village where every second house belonged to someone familiar, it seemed rumors had already spread, as quite a few villagers had gathered to gawk at us.
Also, my companions were beauties rarely seen in such a small town, and quite a number of people had gathered to watch me reprimand the local delinquents.
Seemingly understanding my meaning, my father nodded.
I instructed Ozma and the others to board the carriage and took the reins myself.
Then I told my father,
“I’ll see you at home. I’ll go ahead.”
Startled, my father called out,
“Wait! In a situation like this, you should bring me along!”
“There’s no room inside.”
Though the carriage could seat six comfortably, I intentionally said this to tease my father before setting it in motion.
Behind me, my father shouted desperately,
“Hey! Bring me along too!”
Pretending not to hear, I flicked the whip against the horses’ hindquarters.
It was obvious that my father, left alone, would soon be bombarded with questions from the townsfolk, likely delaying his return home for quite some time.[[#]] About an hour later, my father finally arrived at the house.
“Huff, huff, you heartless bastard.”
“If you’re here, open the door for me.”
Leaning against the carriage, I pointed toward the door as I spoke, and despite his heavy breathing, my father unlocked the door.
Ozma, Barnett, Dorothea, Camilla, and Sophia disembarked from the carriage and followed my father into the house.
I entered last, trailing behind them.
Once inside, we couldn’t help but gasp in admiration at the beautifully arranged living room.
“Wow.”
It was a typical two-story house.
However, the ceiling was extraordinarily high, making the space feel more open than a regular home.
Adorned with delicate decorations, presumably done by the presumed stepmother, and warm wooden furniture, the atmosphere was cozy and inviting.
“This is a nice place.”
Even the usually picky Dorothea commenting this way meant the game was over.
Embarrassed, my father scratched the back of his head and said,
“I’m glad you like it.”
At this point, I decided to ask some questions that had been on my mind.
“Father, where did the money come from to build this house?”
To this, my father tilted his head in confusion and replied,
“Didn’t you send me the money?”
“I did give you a generous allowance, but it wasn’t enough to build such a grand new house.”
My father scratched his head again and said,
“Don’t you remember? The land deed you sent me about three years ago.”
“What? A land deed?”
Three years ago?
This was news to me, but I realized the pieces of the puzzle were falling into place.
It seems strange to both of us.
“Didn’t you send me the documents for the apple orchard near the village?”
I shook my head.
“I wasn’t in the capital at the time due to a long-term mission. Instead, I entrusted my assets to my Master.”
It seems my Master sent the land to my father without telling me.
“But what does this apple orchard have to do with you becoming the richest person in the village?”
At this, my father avoided my gaze and replied,
“After the war ended completely, the price of land skyrocketed.”
Indeed. Apple coins went through the roof.
It appears that the prices of lands on the outskirts of the kingdom, which were unpopular because they always had to consider battles with the Demon Tribe, paradoxically surged after being conquered by demons.
So this is why real estate investment is all about timing.
“In any case, operating an apple orchard in old age seemed difficult, so I sold it and used the money to build this house.”
“Well done.”
If he had held onto it, the real estate bubble might have burst, returning the value to its original level. His decision to sell at the right time deserves praise.
I decided to ask my father another question.
“By the way, why didn’t you inform me about remarrying?”
Upon hearing this, my father adopted a wronged expression.
“You didn’t come.”
“What do you mean? When?”
I never received any notice, so how could I have attended?
But my father pressed me as if he had something to say.
“No matter how busy you were, how could you not attend your only father’s wedding? Honestly, it hurt.”
“When exactly was the wedding?”
“It’s been about three years now.”
“But I wasn’t in the capital back then.”
“Oh.”
Realization dawned late on my father’s face.
It was a situation bound to cause misunderstanding.
I felt this anew.
“If you had visited the hometown more often, none of this would have happened!”
“Why are you getting angry all of a sudden?! Do you think I didn’t want to come?! They wouldn’t grant me leave from above! Leave!”
As I shouted this, Ozma suddenly averted her gaze guiltily.
Thinking about it, the only person above me right now was Ozma.
Just as I was trying to mend my accidental slip of tongue,
Click!
“Dear? We have guests?”
Finally, the problem stepmother made her entrance.
