Chapter 83 – The Snowman’s Decision
I wanted to become a warrior.
I wanted to one day be chosen by the Holy Sword and become a hero praised by everyone like my father.
I wanted to become stronger.
I wanted to have great power, close to power, enough to support the moon in the sky like my mother, who wields all magic at will.
Active in the snowy fields, protecting people from monsters,
Protecting the world by holding on to the collapsing moon,
I also wanted to become a person like that who can protect someone with all his heart.
***
I couldn’t quite realize that I had a younger brother.
Even as my mother’s belly was slowly swelling, I was surprised to see that I had a younger brother inside her bulging belly. When I put my ear to my stomach, I heard a strange sound, thudding. My mother laughed and asked me to talk to her if I was curious, but as a young child, I was very embarrassed and unfamiliar with the act of speaking to my stomach, so I took a step back. Did.
My mother, who used to be active, often enjoyed leisurely swinging in the sunlight, and I still have occasional memories of her sitting next to me or playing around with me.
Around that time, my father was particularly busy, and I was curious as to why he was going outside every day, and when I asked him, the answer came back that there was a request from the imperial castle.
“Emperor, that old man said he wanted to live longer. There is a piece of grass that is used as an ingredient for a rare elixir, and it seems to be in the northern snowfield…. No, no matter how old that old man is, he will go when the time comes.”
Such requests,
“There is an illegitimate child in the royal family, and they entrusted me to take care of it…. Are you the emperor’s illegitimate child? No, there is a second prince, and he is quite a debaucher. I heard you had an affair with a fox tribe prostitute. Princess Charlotte is taking care of that child. I heard that the second prince has no interest in children. Rather, it seems like they see it as a thorn in their eyes. “I have to watch over that child’s safety for the time being.”
Requests like this.
“The 2nd prince tried to appease her. She told me to stick to her side. She told me to f*ck off and the look on her face was incredible. Well, if she stays the same, she will inevitably lose her place to the crown prince…. “I don’t know why there’s all this fuss about wanting that damn emperor’s position.”
My father also sighed as if he was annoyed, but considering Aunt Charlotte’s status, it seemed difficult to refuse. If she refused, her aunt, who led the 2nd Holy Sword Party with her, would instantly become a laughing stock. Perhaps it was for this reason that the emperor recommended her aunt as a member of her party.
Whether I liked it or not, I had no choice. His father used to be away for long periods of time.
Sometimes it came back in a day, other times it took a week, and sometimes it took 15 days.
And that day was exactly ten days old.
I was able to recognize that it was my father through the rhythm of the knocking.
“Oh, I’m here…” … Uh… ?”
When I opened the front door, a snowstorm blew in. The snowfall was so severe that in a short period of time, there was a pile of raincoat on the ground. My father trembled as he threw down the holy sword first, and it felt like a snowball covered in white snow followed him.
Is it a snowball blown by the wind? I went over and tried to roll it out, but the snowball was bouncing and moving as if it were alive.
As the small snowball shook away the snow from its face and mouth, a person appeared inside it.
She said, opening her eyes wide, as if her mother was also very surprised.
“Undine… ? Are you an undine?”
Instead of answering, the snowman nodded his head.
The mother hurriedly took her towel and dried her undine’s wet face and hair and asked her father as if she were dumbfounded.
“Why on earth is your crying daughter with you?”
“I brought you.”
“Don’t say it like I kidnapped you…” .”
A small girl followed behind her father and stood blankly looking at us with big cat-like eyes.
A small girl whose height barely reaches the waist or belly button of adults. The way the silver hair was tied up in a rich ponytail was crooked and somewhat sloppy. Considering her age, she was a bit small for someone her age, and perhaps because she was growing a bit slower, I didn’t notice much difference from the last time I saw her.
“Hello.”
“Yes, it’s Undine. Long time no see. “Do you remember her?”
“Yes.”
Undine nodded her head brightly and cheerfully and sniffled her frozen nose.
The mother bent down on her knees, met her gaze with the undine, and, laughing, jokingly asked,
“Did this man really kidnap you?”
“Ugh… huh… ?”
My eyes blink. Focus wavers.
Undine, who was at a loss as to what to do, clutching the hem of her skirt with an anxious expression, as if the unfamiliar environment was too much for her, finally opened her mouth.
“I fought with mom and dad again…” … “
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“It was more one-sided than a fight.”
“My dad really couldn’t stand it this time and went on a rampage.”
“I guess they’re serious this time. “I saw it later and saw that DC’s mansion was almost collapsed.”
“Well, I was crying in my room because I was scared, but… My brother… My pudding… Take it and eat it… I feel sad and angry… It came out… A scary man… Ah! Another guy! But you saved me… “
“That’s why I brought you here.”
Not only are important parts omitted here and there, but the words start to become tangled. My father added a brief explanation, but it only added to the confusion. I didn’t understand at all what was being said.
But it wasn’t such a difficult problem for her mother as she just shrugged her shoulders and summed it up in one sentence.
“So, while Wash was being unilaterally manipulated by Undine and was in a state of confusion, Ignis was there teasing Undine again, and Undine became sulky and ran away from home alone, and then she met you by chance?”
“He managed to teleport all the way to the Empire at this young age. As expected, the blood of the DC family cannot be faked. But not long after, I happened to see him following a man giving him candy in an alley in the city. They were human traffickers, so I destroyed them and took Undine out. “I’m glad I found it by chance.”
“Okay… You’ve been someone who makes a living off of luck since long ago. But why did you come this way? “Have you talked to Mr. And Mrs. DC?”
“Did we talk about it?” My father answered immediately. “No.”
“Home… no, I do not want… I don’t want to go…… “
“They said so. “That’s why I brought you here.”
As Undine cried and shook her head, her mother sighed deeply as if she had nothing to say. Well, it will work out somehow. It seemed like she was muttering that.
“Eugene!”
“… Huh.”
“How many times have we seen each other? It’s a preview. “Just think for a moment that you have a sister and take care of Undine.”
The mother spoke briefly and concisely, this time lightly pinching Undine’s soft cheek.
“I’ll tell your mom well. “Let’s stay here together for a while.”
Only then did Undine’s face shine brightly.
***
From that day on, Undine followed me steadily. It may not have been because I was particularly comfortable. The disbelief in her eyes was clearer than anything else.
“Are you practicing your sword?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“… “To become stronger.”
“What do you do when you become stronger?”
“Just.”
I swung my sword sharply. It is an item made at the request of her father to resemble a holy sword as closely as possible.
Undine seemed not to be very interested in my movements, but she watched me blankly, and then quickly turned her head.
“I feel stupid.”
“Yes.”
“Both my mom and dad want me to learn magic. They say blood relatives must learn magic. “They say you have to protect the moon.”
“Yes.”
“The moon was broken because of the goddess. Also, monsters appear. But why do we have to sacrifice our blood relatives like that?”
“Well.”
“Don’t you think so?”
“Well.”
“Could it be that all you can say is yes and no?”
“…… Is it?”
The undine’s expression puffed up as she looked at me. I didn’t care and focused on swinging the sword.
“You’re strange.”
“I am not ‘you.'”
“You are you. “I don’t like you.”
“Yes.”
“Mom says it would be nice for me to marry the aunt and uncle’s child. That’s you. Where is that? “Mom, you’re an idiot.”
“Yes.”
“I will do the opposite of everything my mom and dad say. Never get married. “I won’t do it, whatever.”
“Yes.”
“Is that okay?”
Isn’t it up to you whether you get married or not? There was an undine who asked me as if asking for permission.
I nodded without thinking deeply at Undine, who opened her eyes wide, probably feeling sorry for speaking so bluntly.
“I will support you.”
***
It’s been about fifteen days since I spent time with Undine. An unexpected person suddenly appeared in her snow.
“Ta-da! I heard everything! My aunt is here! It’s Undie again! How is it? “You remember me, right?”
Where on earth did it appear? Although it has occasionally appeared in the middle of winter, it has never appeared so suddenly. The aunt looked very excited for some reason, hugged me and Undine and said this out loud.
“Are you bored? “Let’s go play, babies!”
Are you going out to have fun? Where? As I was assessing it in a daze, Undine’s eyes widened as if she was equally surprised.
At that moment, her mother spoke from afar, yawning with a tired expression.
“They said there was some kind of festival or something, and after hearing about you and Undy, they said they wanted to go together. Have a nice trip.”
“That’s right, that’s right. Festival…. But, are you really not going?”
“I’m tired. I’m sleepy.”
“… Then you stay home alone. I can’t even use my magical powers while I’m pregnant, so what should I do if a wild animal attacks me? Let’s just go together.”
“What kind of person is crazy enough to come up here?”
My mother laughed and waved her hand as if she were dumbfounded. Her aunt tried to seduce her several times after that, but her mother stubbornly refused.
After countless attempts, we left her mother in her cabin and headed to the city. Her aunt’s expression was not bright, as if she was worried about Mother Young.
“I hope it’s okay. Even if left alone… “
“Mom is not weak either.”
“I know. Still, it bothers me a little. What if even a wild animal appears? “I can’t use my magical power right now.”
“There is a barrier. And if even a bear comes, even if Undine and I are there, it won’t help much.”
So, from her mother’s perspective, it probably wasn’t any different from usual.
At that time, a strange noise caught my ear. Subtle noise. There was something passing through the trees.
“……… ?”
A sparkling presence.
A flow of noble magical power containing the energy of the stars.
I couldn’t be sure because it was only a moment, but the presence was very similar to that of the Holy Sword. I had the illusion that the windy road, which I had not known before, was going back the same way we had taken.
“Did I see it wrong?” ?”
The presence dissipated at the same time I felt it.
I shrugged my shoulders and narrowed the distance between me and Undine.