645 – The Life You Gain – 4

After the dramatic reconciliation between Athelius and the saints, good news and ambiguous news broke out one after another.

First of all, the good news is that Friedrich is finally starting to crawl. Friedrich, who frequently poked and poked Alina next to him, got out of his narrow bed and used the mansion as his stage.

And Friedrich, who had been able to move around her mansion her under his her own power her her her, was observed here and there in her her mansion her her her, as if he had been touching Alina out of boredom. How could it be that the butler who saw Friedrich in the kitchen found Friedrich in front of the warehouse 30 minutes later?

“P-D! If you go alone, you must wear an eye patch!”

“Woo?”

Even the Crown Princess was surprised by the incredible speed and stopped Frederick from running. If you try to play together, you end up far away alone.

“Youngest master! It’s dangerous if you go alone!”

“Play with us!”

Of course, the Crown Princess is only a child, so it would be difficult for her to catch up with Friedrich when he decides to move, but fortunately, we have Titi and holy beasts in our mansion. You can supervise a child who has just started crawling.

The ambiguous news that followed this good news is—

“Maza! I’m going to play with Gachi! I’m going to see Mr. Gachi today, so stay next to me!”

It is said that the triplets and Frederick also went to Athelius’ cave, where only the Crown Princess and Fedi used to go.

In fact, it is a natural thing. The triplets have grown to the point where they can walk on two feet and make sentences by combining short words. It’s impossible for children who are that smart to not know that the Crown Princess and Pedi disappear once every three days, and that even the saints were absent not long ago.

“Daddy! Us too! Us too!”

“Take us too! Have fun!”

“Play~”

Thanks to this, the triplets came running to me and begged me to take them to an unknown place.

My daughters want it so desperately, so what can I do? In the end, I decided to take Athelius because he wasn’t dangerous and the cave was clean. Frederick happened to be out of bed too, so we decided to go together.

In this way, as many as six children rushed to the cave of Athelius.

‘I’m sorry…’

In my mind, I expressed some regret and apologized to Athelius.

It’s me who wants my daughters, so I’m taking my youngest son because he can move, but for Atellius, the number of children, which was too much for two, has tripled in an instant. Even if you run away as soon as you see the children, there is nothing you can say.

Still, this will also be an opportunity for Athelius to ignite his will to live. I believe that Athelius’ heart will become even hotter if he bonds with six human children instead of a few rabbits.

I just decided to think that way.

“What are you going to do if I bring a child who can’t even walk yet?”

Athelius scolded with a passionate voice, not a passionate heart.

“No matter how much I managed it, a cave is a cave. The floor is hard, and there are occasional rocks sticking out. Why bring a crawling child when you are worried that even children who can walk might fall? How much pain must their palms and knees be in? “

“I’m sorry…”

I couldn’t even refute it by scolding him for logically perfect reasons.

That is correct. A cave is still a cave no matter how you take care of it. It is not a smooth marble floor like in a mansion hallway, nor is it covered with a soft mat, but rather a natural stone floor. If a weak child were to crawl in such a place, he would inevitably get seriously injured.

If I keep holding Friedrich, he won’t get hurt, but if that’s the case, I shouldn’t have brought him. Are you bringing a child who is overflowing with curiosity about the world to a dragon habitat and just holding him? That is just torture.

“Mr. Aja… Is it because the time is not right?”

“Aja, don’t be angry…”

However, Athelius’s criticism did not last long. Because the Crown Princess and Pedi, who were snuggling next to my legs, defended me.

“Dad, Dad…”

“Dad, don’t scold me… “

“Wooow…”

Moreover, the triplets, who saw Athelius for the first time today, hid behind my legs and cried.

Then, Athelius was clearly embarrassed. Suddenly, he became a public enemy who pressured his father in front of his children.

“I’m not angry. It’s just that this guy has a big body and a loud voice.”

“Acquaintance-Jja?”

“Of course.”

With those words, Athelius stretched out his finger and stirred the air, and the six children floated into the air.

“Wow! High! Fly!”

“Wow!”

The children, who had flinched at the unexpected flight, started laughing again.

I’m glad my kids are freakishly fearless. If I had been more scared as soon as it occurred to me, I wouldn’t have had an answer.

“…Be careful in the future.”

“Yes. I will keep that in mind.”

Athelius, who saw the children starting to laugh, let out a small sigh and ended the conversation by giving me a brief warning.

It’s embarrassing, but also gratifying. It means that Athelius’ heart is hot enough to think about the safety of Frederick, whom he saw for the first time. I’m just glad that my efforts seem to be working.

“But those children. Are they all your children except for the descendants of the great emperor?”

“Oh, yes. That’s right.”

“There are many, but they are also unique. I never thought there would be elves among the children of humans.”

Athelius, who had been upright while scolding me, laid down on the floor again and muttered in amazement.

“Even the spirit king’s energy is so strong.”

“Children with elf blood received the blessings of the four spirit kings.”

“Indeed. Then I can understand that energy.”

Athelius nodded his head in understanding.

“There are a lot of spirits attached to that child.”

Eventually, she smiled as she looked at the spirits that had clung to Cattleya’s body.

Actually, I couldn’t get used to that look either. In my head, I am happy to see this as a symbol of Cattleya’s outstanding talent, but honestly, it is not an ordinary sight for a small child to herd tens or hundreds of fireflies. I am also the father, but I wonder how amazing it is to see Athelius for the first time.

“I never imagined I would see the spirit again. When the Apels burned the World Tree, I thought I would never see it again.”

“It is only recently that the World Tree was revived. It was also possible due to a combination of heavenly luck.”

“If the luck of heaven coincides, it is fate.”

After saying that, Athelius turned his gaze to me.

“It is truly an amazing thing. To be born as a mere human being, to be called master by those who were evil spirits, and to reawaken the spirit kings who had been silent for hundreds of years. Perhaps there has never been a human being like you before, and there will never be one again.”

“That’s too much praise.”

“If this is too much praise, what can other people do?”

After giving an embarrassing compliment, Athelius tapped the paper with his fingernail and continued his speech in a somewhat quiet voice.

“If you revived the World Tree and awakened the Spirit Kings, and your children were blessed, you must be close to them. So, I would like to ask you a favor.”

“Yes, please say so.”

“…Tell them that I am sorry for cutting off the branches of the World Tree when I was immature.”

My body stiffened at those words.

What did you break now?

“Don’t look at it like that. Didn’t you say it was a time when I was immature?”

“No, that…”

His mouth couldn’t open properly. It is a world tree that is considered sacred by elves and cherished by spirits and fairies. You broke the branches of that world tree?

‘Crazy.’

I lost my mind. There was a reason why Athelius took control of the evil gods. It is virtually certain that Diligence was beaten for no reason, but the other three were beaten for a good reason.

However, if he broke off the branches of the world tree and fought against the spirit kings, then that fight was Atellius’ evil act. From the spirit kings’ point of view, it was a sudden disaster.

“I will tell you when I see you.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

However, Athelius is also making great determination and is attempting to normalize relations. He couldn’t ignore that determination, so he nodded.

‘It’s a vicious dragon.’

Of course, I thought back to Athelius’ nickname in my mind.

I don’t know who first came up with the nickname, but I think that guy could be the nickname.

It is better to pay off debt quickly before the interest increases, and it is better to sell first.

Therefore, as soon as he returned to the mansion, he immediately went to meet the Spirit Kings. I’m worried that he still has feelings for Athelius, but I’m sure he won’t take his anger out on me, who he calls his benefactor.

– Athelius?

And the Fire Spirit King, who welcomed me on a sudden visit, tilted his head at the name Athelius.

“It’s a black dragon called a vicious dragon…”

– Ah, a vicious dragon. I understand when you say that.

I recognized it right away when I said it was a nickname instead of my real name.

It’s bitter. He must have been messing around for so long that his vicious nickname “Beastly Dragon,” Would be more famous than his name

– That guy apologizes first. Apparently a lot of time has passed since the World Tree burned down. My personality has become very harmful.

“Are you okay? No matter how much he apologized, he broke the branch of the World Tree.”

I was more embarrassed by the Fire Spirit King’s calmer reaction than I expected.

It’s the world tree. Even if you cut down a bonsai tree that you have grown with great care, your eyes will turn upside down, and you have just cut off a branch of the World Tree. For a spirit who needs the World Tree to come to this continent, this is a traitor that would make an inhumane feat.

– This is said because the benefactor does not know the guy’s personality. We even said among ourselves that he might not have a father or a mother. A guy who was that eccentric apologized on his own accord.

However, the Fire Spirit King did not care. Just ‘it’s a miracle that that b*stard apologized.’ The only response was,

I couldn’t understand, but I tried my best to understand. Does it feel like the malicious commenter and pad ripper who caused all kinds of trouble online apologized first even though he wasn’t sued?

– Moreover, wasn’t the World Tree whose branches were broken already on fire at that time? There are some crazy people who burned down the World Tree, and it’s just a branch.

‘Ah.’

I was completely convinced by what followed. Thanks to seeing the basement beneath the floor, Athelius’ atrocities became milder.

Awesome, Apels. Is it you guys again?

– Well, the other guys probably don’t think much different from me. Rather, I’m glad that there are still people who remember the world tree of the past.

Still, it is fortunate that the dragon and the Spirit King were able to reconcile thanks to Apels’ great performance.

…Is that fortunate?