Chapter 83

“Why is Leopard so quiet in the fortress? It’s unsettling.”

Leopard isn’t bothering me.

It must be a good thing, but strangely, there was a sense of unease in a corner of my heart.

I felt like this guy would cause trouble the moment he wasn’t visible…

Still, I decided to think that he’s probably handling things well on his own.

He’s been managing alone for 50 years.

There probably isn’t a more pointless worry than worrying about the hero.

“Mom, Mom! How do I look? Am I cute? Mmm?”

In a moment lost in thought, Tia dashed over and spun around in front of me.

She had already dressed in her school uniform.

However, under her skirt, her shirt wasn’t tucked in properly, and some buttons weren’t fastened, and seeing the sleeves I had folded to fit Tia’s arm length sprawled out made me sigh involuntarily.

She was cute.

But she looked like she had borrowed someone else’s uniform…

“I thought you said you could dress yourself confidently, but this is a complete mess. Come here.”

“I dressed myself just fine!”

“No, you skipped a button here.”

“Mmm? Really! If I went to school like this, I’d be mistaken for a delinquent!”

“….”

A delinquent, please.

More like she’d be treated as a bit slow.

I barely held back a laugh as I fixed Tia’s clothes.

Since Tia needed to learn to dress herself, I had to explain while adjusting everything one by one.

I didn’t forget to remind her about not revealing her horns by taking off her hat unless necessary, and to always keep her tail drooped to avoid it being seen.

“Ha. Done. This is how you wear the school uniform.”

“It’s so complicated…! I can’t remember any of it!”

“….”

I didn’t expect much, to be honest.

It was her first time in such a complicated outfit.

It’s supposed to be a prestigious private school uniform, after all, St. Sophia has many kinds.

I thought I’d be dressing her myself for a while longer.

“Now try putting on your backpack too.”

“I did it! I’m all set for school!”

“Ha… How cute…”

For a moment, my mind was hazy.

Tia outfitted with her school uniform and backpack was utterly destructive.

It was worth the pricey purchase from the department store.

“Tia, Tia. Do you want to bounce a bit with your backpack on?”

“Mmm? Like this?”

“Wow…”

“Mom! bl**d! Beep!”

Thump, thump, thump.

With every light bounce Tia made, her backpack would rise and fall with a slight delay, jostling around.

In the end, she ended up with a nosebleed.

I felt a bit frustrated that not only me but others had to see Tia bouncing around with her backpack.

“Mom. Isn’t it getting close to time to go?”

“That’s right. It is… Just a moment…”

I took some time as I looked at Tia’s appearance from every angle.

But I couldn’t afford to rush things.

Tia would grow up in the blink of an eye.

If I could, I would want to learn magic to take pictures right away to record Tia’s 24 hours.

Since that’s impossible for now, I had no choice but to remember as much as I could…

Fortunately, it seems that the holy maiden’s healing powers also allow for infinitely regenerating memories; I could close my eyes and recall memories from long ago as if they were unfolding right in front of me.

“Coachman!”

“Yes. St. Sophia, correct? I understand.”

It was really time to leave now.

I hurriedly took Tia’s hand and climbed into the carriage.

It had been a long time since I ran at full speed.

While panting heavily, when our eyes met, I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

I think we laughed at each other for a long while.

*

“You have to listen to the teacher. Never resort to violence, no matter the situation. And don’t make the director anxious.”

“Mmm. You’ve said that yesterday, the day before yesterday, and the day before that. I know it all.”

“And also… again…”

I thought I had everything prepared.

But when we actually arrived and it was time to send Tia off, my head was filled with worries.

From here on, I had to let Tia go alone.

I wanted to hold her hand and take her to the classroom, but I couldn’t do that.

Tia had to manage by herself.

Wasn’t that too harsh for a child who was only half a year old?

But when I saw Tia’s determined face, all the worries would blow away.

I embraced Tia one last time tightly.

“I believe in you, our daughter.”

“You worry too much, Mom. I’ve grown up!”

“Heh. You’re funny…”

It was time to let her go.

I released Tia from my embrace and checked her hair and collar.

Nothing seemed to have gotten messy.

Still, I felt the urge to fix them for no reason.

“Coachman, could you open the door?”

Feeling it might never end, I asked the coachman to open the door.

The moment the door swung wide open, Tia startled and took a step away from me.

It seemed she didn’t want anyone to see her sticking close to her mom…

I suddenly felt depressed.

Not realizing my feelings, Tia turned her back to me and confidently shouted.

“I’m off!”

“Have a good day…”

I waved to see Tia off.

I tried to suppress my slightly gloomy feelings and smiled.

To throw away any lingering attachments, I closed the carriage door and took a deep breath alone.

It’s time for Tia to be old enough to go to school by herself…

It was a strange feeling, both happy and melancholic.

But my only wish from now on is one.

For Tia to safely navigate her school life without any issues.

It’s really just that.

It would be nice if there weren’t any noisy disturbances.

“Whhhaaa! Fire is falling from the sky!”

“Everyone, run!”

“Zizi! You came to see!”

“Chirp!”

Outside the carriage, a cacophony of screams erupted.

It seems my only wish wouldn’t be fulfilled.

I tightly shut my eyes.

.

.

.

“What’s that?”

“Isn’t that a Beast Tamer?”

“Hey, you idiot. Is a divine beast just some ordinary animal?”

A phoenix.

The ancient name, Phoenix.

And now…

“Zizi! You seem happy today?”

“Chirp!”

The divine beast known as Zizi shrieked in a joyful voice.

He perched on Tia’s outstretched right arm, carefully avoiding letting his eternally burning wings touch Tia.

A grateful benefactor.

And one of the few people he could communicate with.

Though a bit clumsy, Tia was indeed a worthy master for the divine beast.

“What? I’m your master?”

“Chirp!”

“I know! If you’re the master, that means you’re the one who brews coffee and wipes the glasses!”

“Chirp…?”

Upon hearing the word ‘master,’ Tia thought of Ryuba, the tavern owner.

He was always called master by the staff and customers.

The divine beast tilted its head, realizing it needed to correct its understanding.

Perhaps Tia and it struggled to communicate effectively.

“Um. I’m not sure what being a master means, but! Zizi! Fly!”

“Chirp!”

At Tia’s command, Zizi soared into the sky.

Tia, fascinated, stuck her hand into her pocket and grabbed anything she could find and threw it into the air.

“Bring this back!”

“Chirp!”

The small object reflected sunlight and soared upward.

Zizi began to dive towards it to grab it, but once he realized what it was, his eyes widened.

A metal token.

A token with an unforgettable design etched onto it.

Startled, the divine beast closed its beak and changed direction.

The token, which had brushed past Zizi, fell right back into Tia’s palm.

“Mmm? Is Zizi scared of this?”

“Chirp…”

Tia looked up at Zizi, trembling on a lamppost in confusion.

Then she closely inspected the token that her mother had told her was important.

What in the world could this be?

Soon lost in serious thought, Tia…

“I don’t know! I want to go meet my friends quickly!”

Quickly buried her worries in other thoughts and dashed off.

Zizi just stared at her retreating figure.

Although he was granted permission to freely enter and exit the school, he had promised the great spirit not to enter the building.

“Mmm!”

As soon as Tia stepped inside the building, she became excited and her eyes sparkled.

Looking this way and that, she saw only children her age.

Everyone had confused faces as they were experiencing being separated from their parents for the first time, but Tia was just thrilled.

She wanted to talk to each one of them and invite them to play together right away.

But first, there was something she had to do.

Getting to the classroom first.

It was a promise she made with her mom.

“First year, class three! First year, class three! First year, class three!”

Tia’s class was 1-3.

She had heard that a million times from her mom, so she couldn’t possibly forget it.

With a confident face, Tia strolled down the hallway.

“First year, class three! First year, class three! First year, class four! First year, class four!”

But at some point, that memory had distorted into a slightly different form.

Oblivious to any oddities, Tia enthusiastically called for class 1-4 while moving down the hallway.

Before long, she arrived in front of the nameplate that read ‘1-4’.

Contrary to her mother’s worries, she successfully arrived safely.

She believed firmly in it, and Tia smiled widely.

Then, she pushed the door open with a creak.

“I’m Tiamat! I’m not the daughter of a dragon, but a lizard half-human! Nice to meet you!”

“……”

Entering while loudly introducing herself as instructed by her mom, she peered inside the classroom.

However, the back of the classroom was dark and quiet.

As Tia opened her eyes, what came into view was an empty classroom with not a single student present.

But there was one person who stood there.

“You are…”

“Mmm?”

A priest dressed in black robes, sharpening a gleaming dagger.

They looked somewhat familiar.

Yet, she couldn’t precisely remember, so Tia tilted her head in confusion.

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