“……”

Materosin gently put down the éclairs without eating them.

“I’m sorry if it was burdensome. I didn’t mean to come and rush you to make a decision.”

I tilted my head.

“It’s an issue with my heart.”

I stood up from the bench and bowed to him as if apologizing.

“I’m sorry. I hope you won’t come to see me again in the future.”

“May.”

Materosin called my name and stood up from his seat. He made one last request to me.

“Could you call me ‘Dad’ just once? It’s my last request.”

His expression was so poignant that it weakened my resolve. He really wanted to accept me as his daughter, more than I had thought.

He seemed to look pathetic, and his request wasn’t that difficult, nor was it something I couldn’t grant. He was indeed my biological father, and it was just once, after all.

I slowly opened my mouth.

“Dad.”

Just then, at that moment, I heard some commotion from behind the bench. When I looked around, Persis was standing there.

He had a shocked and hurt expression.

Without realizing it, a short cry escaped my lips.

“… Dad!”

However, Persis ran away as if escaping. I tried to grab him, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it, thinking it wouldn’t be right to hold him back. After all, I was the one who said I didn’t want to be a family with him, and now he witnessed me with my biological father. I couldn’t act like I had any authority over him. 

‘But why…’

Why is my heart pounding so much, and why can’t I catch my breath?

It should be Persis who’s hurt, but it feels like I’m the one who’s hurt.

* * *

That day, I couldn’t get Persis’s wounded expression out of my mind, and in the end, I couldn’t concentrate on anything.

I was pointed out from time to time by my teaching assistant because I couldn’t concentrate, and it was nighttime without eating properly.

Unable to sleep, I wandered the empty streets at night. 

Suddenly, I ran into a familiar colleague.

“May? Why aren’t you sleeping and out here?”

As expected, it was Diego, who couldn’t sleep either and was out for a walk late at night.

I tried to ignore him, but he caught my sleeve, making my attempt futile.

“If you have any worries, tell me. I’m surprisingly good at listening.”

“…”

Feeling helpless, I followed Diego and sat on a bench under a streetlight. I thought it might be comforting to confide in him, so I told him about what happened to me today.

After a while, Diego finally spoke after contemplating how to comfort me.

“Even so, this incident might be an opportunity for the commander to realize your worth and reflect on the irresponsible things he said in the past. I think it’s a process you have to go through to return to Flotina.”

I didn’t have high expectations, but his words were comforting.

I didn’t particularly want to hear words of comfort from Diego. I didn’t even think about it. However, once I heard the comforting words, I felt a surge of strength.

It was around the time when I wanted to express my gratitude to him.

Rustle – 

I heard a noise, as if something was passing through the bushes.

Diego stood up from the bench and looked around.

“I think there’s some rat bastard eavesdropping on our conversation.”

He immediately used his magic power to search the surrounding bushes. It didn’t take long before he caught something.

“Oh? I got it.”

He caught something large and unidentified.

“What is this? It’s quite heavy.”

Using his magic power like picking a doll from a claw machine, he brought up a jaguar with black demon wings.

“A jaguar…? What are those wings?”

As I was curious, Diego’s silver aura bound the jaguar’s front and back legs, preventing it from escaping.

Diego then asked the creature in front of him.

“Are you a Mirocagon?”

The Mirocagon sighed as if it was caught up in a very bothersome situation.

“Mirocagon? Why is a demon here? This isn’t a demon-appearing area…”

“I heard that Hestia has been carrying around a Mirocagon demon recently. Looks like she brought it out secretly from a demon-appearing area.”

Diego rolled up his shirt sleeves.

“So, how should I kill you? How do you want to die?”

The Mirocagon struggled to escape but failed. It was well-known as one of the weaker S-class demons.

The Mirocagon, judging that it couldn’t escape, lowered its head as if it didn’t want to die.

“Say it. You can say that I’m an S-class demon.”

“Ha….”

The Mirocagon came under Hestia’s orders. By now, Hestia must have sent a message asking him to check if Materosin had killed May.

So, he had secretly entered the training camp and got caught by Diego.

The Mirocagon thought of a way to survive.

“You know I can see the truth, right? If you spare me, I’ll tell you the truth you want to know, one by one.”

Diego seemed interested.

“Really?”

“Really.”

Diego asked me.

“What will you do? If you say you want to spare him, I’ll let him live. If not, I’ll kill him.”

I was intrigued by the Mirocagon’s proposal, and I couldn’t bring myself to order his death.

“It seems like a decent deal.”

So, we decided to confirm the truths we wanted to know from the Mirocagon.

Diego secretly moved away more than 10 meters, taking the Mirocagon with him. Then he glanced back at me, fidgeting a bit, and soon returned with a satisfied expression, together with the Mirocagon.

When Diego sat down next to me, I raised an eyebrow.

“Why do you have a pleased expression? You even kept glancing at me.”

“It’s nothing.”

The oblivious Mirocagon answered instead.

“He asked if you had feelings for Jed Bloche.”

“Hey! That’s something you should keep secret!”

As Diego got angry, the Mirocagon flinched in surprise. Diego looked at me and chuckled.

“Sorry if it bothered you, May.”

“It’s not that I’m bothered, but… did you really have to ask something like that? Anyone can see that I don’t like Jed anymore.”

“Even so, I wanted to hear a definite answer… Anyway, I asked, so now it’s your turn.”

While Diego and the Mirocagon chatted, I had been thinking about what question to ask.

I had various things I was curious about, but this was the most important one.

“I heard that after my mother got pregnant with me, she went to find my father, claiming that the child in her womb was his. But I wasn’t my father’s biological child. If that’s the case, why did my mother tell him that I was his child?”

As I waited for an answer, I stared at the Mirocagon, who avoided my gaze.

“… I don’t know about that.”

“Where is it? You said you would tell me what I want to know as a price for sparing you.”

“Rather, ask something else.”

“No, I’m most curious about this.”

“Then I’ll tell you something even more important. Your life is at stake.”

Upon hearing that my life was at stake, Diego immediately stood up.

“My life is at stake?”

The Mirocagon met my eyes with a serious gaze.

“Hestia is trying to kill you because you’re the child of Materosin Kisel.”

“What are you talking about…? Trying to kill me? What does it have to do with Hestia if I’m the daughter of the Marquis?”

“Materosin Kisel is Hestia’s lover. Of course, you are the child of a woman he met before becoming her lover.”

My pupils shook as if experiencing an earthquake.

I didn’t know this. I didn’t want to know much about my biological father, so I hadn’t even investigated whether he was alive or not.

But to think he was Hestia’s lover…

I understand from Hestia’s perspective that my existence might not be pleasing. But does that mean she would go as far as to kill me?

“I’ve already broken off my relationship with the Marquis. I told him that it would be difficult for me to treat him as my father and not to come see me anymore. Maybe Hestia will change her mind too.”

“I don’t know. Hestia simply finds you disgusting just by being alive.”

Then what am I supposed to do? I’m just born this way. What should I do about that?

Diego’s forehead creased painfully.

“Damn Hestia… She’s of no help in life.”

“Then I’m done here, so I’ll go.”

Seizing the opportunity when the silver aura binding him weakened, the Mirocagon fled. It was amusing to see him throw a bomb-like remark and run away.

I stood up from my seat.

“I need to talk to Hestia. I have no intention of being the Marqui’s child. I won’t be in the future either, so please don’t kill me.”

“….”

Diego looked troubled, not knowing what to do.

Hestia is a crazy woman. She might really try to kill this little girl.

“I’ll go back to the lodging.”

Diego grabbed me as I tried to leave. This time, it wasn’t my clothes, but my hand. His eyes looking down at me were filled with worry.

“It’s scary to be alone.”

“But I can’t just stay here.”

“….”

“For now, let me rest a bit, and when it’s light out, I’ll go find Hestia. I’ll tell Iris and Cassius about this situation.”

Luckily, I have dependable Iris and Cassius on my side. Even if Hestia tries to kill me, they won’t allow it.

Hearing the names Iris and Cassius, Diego finally let go of my hand, seemingly slightly relieved.

“…Okay.”

Hiding my trembling hand out of fear, I returned to the lodging.