Back from Vacation
Since returning from the cemetery, my heart had been miraculously at peace.
Peaceful enough that I could even meet Erzena's eyes and hold a conversation without spiraling into panic.
Ah, of course, there were moments that weren't so peaceful—like when Mnassil tried to sneak into my room every single night—but still.
And just as the vacation had been granted out of nowhere, its end arrived in the blink of an eye.
"It'll be getting cold soon, so I'm packing you some blankets and quilts. Just take them and wash them once you get there."
"Thank you."
Mother, who had stopped us just as we finished packing for our departure, loaded a bundle of gifts into the carriage.
"And this here is goat meat from the Eastern Great Plains. I packed plenty, so eat to your heart's content."
"Whoa, that's quite a lot... No. Thank you."
Like a family saying goodbye after the year-end holidays, Miriam kept shoving more and more things into the carriage.
"Oh right, I almost forgot. Take this too."
"..."
"Honey, where were those herbs I meant to give him last year? Ah, here they are."
"Uh, Mother. That's enough..."
"Look at me, losing my head. I forgot the most important thing—fruit! I'll be right back."
"Stop, stop! That's enough!"
The carriage is going to break.
Can you not see the horses' eyes trembling with fear in real time?
They're going to work themselves to death, those poor animals.
Only after I planted myself in front of the carriage door did the torrent of Miriam's gifts finally cease.
"We really must be going now. If we leave this minute, we should arrive by evening."
At last, the true moment of farewell had come.
"You'll come again, won't you?" Mother asked quietly, visibly reluctant to let us go.
"Well, work keeps me terribly busy. If I manage to get another vacation, I'll consider it."
"That's all right. That's enough for me."
I had already said my goodbyes to Noah.
Well, to be precise, he'd grown tired of watching Mother try to hand him yet another thing for the past hour and retreated into the house ahead of us. But anyway.
Only Father remained standing in the back, exchanging nothing more than a light glance with me.
"And... I was truly glad to get to know all of you, too."
Miriam offered her farewells to the three women as well, who had grown remarkably close to her over the days.
"Thank you for your hospitality and your teachings. It was a truly meaningful vacation."
Erzena bowed her head with proper courtesy.
Then, after a moment's hesitation, she added softly.
"...Madam."
At that, Miriam smiled an unreadable smile.
"You may call me Mother, you know."
"...!!!"
Golden eyes went round as saucers.
Mother took both of her hands in hers and whispered low.
"Take good care of our son, Erzena dear. And don't you dare make him cry, all right?"
"Y-yes! Of course! I'll never lay a finger on him!"
I tilted my head.
"And where, exactly, is my opinion in all this?"
Who decided my fate without asking me?
Who promised that no one would lay a finger on me?
The fact that Erzena had seemed mysteriously more proactive ever since that day—surely that was just my imagination.
But Mother, who had been looking straight through me where I stood gaping wide-eyed between the two of them, turned her head to Mnassil next.
"Lady Mnassil?"
"Yes, my dear mother."
An answer that exceeded all expectation.
"...That one is truly hard to get used to."
Only in front of Mnassil could even the great Miriam be reduced to an ordinary woman.
"Perhaps this, too, is a bond of fate, if anything is."
But she soon composed her expression.
"Whether you are a dragon or a human, madam, we were truly glad to have come to know you."
"Ah, the feeling is entirely mutual. Especially since this place was young Nathan's old nest—that pleased me greatly."
Mnassil tapped the ground contentedly with her tail.
"We had quite the deep conversation that night. It was certainly an evening of great meaning."
Unpretentious, and utterly honest.
That was Mnassil's own peculiar charm.
In the end, Miriam smiled and gently stroked the egg nestled in Mnassil's embrace.
"Ah, and... I hope little Kirba is born healthy."
"Mm. That shall be so. For it is none other than the Central Officer who shall be this child's father. The child shall be called Kirba Kell."
At those words, Father's eyes lit up this time.
"I knew it...!"
"No, it is NOT like that, honestly!"
Who decided I was going to be the dad?
Now, the only person left was...
"Your Highness."
This time, Miriam greeted her with formality as deep as any she'd shown.
"Uu."
Elaine had spoken her first words at the cemetery, but it had clearly taken enormous effort, for she hadn't opened her mouth again since.
But that was all right.
We could take it slowly, one word at a time, from here on.
Miriam fell silent for a moment as if deliberating something, then opened her mouth with a grave expression, as though she'd made up her mind.
"Anyone who has set foot in our home, whoever they may be, may rightly be considered close kin of the Kell family."
"...?"
"Only those who feel like family have the right to enter our house. And that includes you, Your Highness—no, Elaine dear."
"!!!!"
As Elaine froze in astonishment, Miriam continued.
"So please, come visit us freely from now on. Not as a princess, but... as Elaine."
In other words, she was declaring that she would accept her as family of the heart.
"............Yes."
Elaine, who had gazed at Mother for a long, long moment, smiled the smallest of smiles.
And so the three women all boarded the carriage.
Only I remained.
"And last but not least, my son."
"You truly did decide my destiny all on your own, Mother. Thaaaank you ever so much."
I replied with deliberate surliness.
"Well, the attitude's coming through, so I'd say the vacation must have done you some good after all."
Mother shot back without missing a beat, then casually tried to slip yet another something into my hands.
"I will not accept any more gifts. Please, stop."
"Fine, fine. This is the very last one."
"And what is it this time?"
I read the label stuck to the potion box she'd handed me.
Vitality Herb Concentrate: King of the Night.
Oh, heavens above.
"Three times a day, thirty minutes after meals. Make sure you take it. That's how you'll become a beloved husband, you know."
I pressed it right back into Mother's hands.
"I don't need this! I'm just going to leave now!"
"Are you certain? I had this brought all the way from the Northern Great Forest, direct from the source. Your father isn't even allowed to have it."
Ah. Ahh.
That is far too much information.
"Why on earth would I drink this?! It's not as if I have any use for it!"
And that was when it happened.
- Creeeak.
The carriage door suddenly swung open, and Erzena tilted her head.
"Nathan? What's that?"
"It's nothing at all! Please, get back in!"
I shut the door quickly.
If she ever found out about this, it would be a catastrophe.
"I have explained this countless times, but we are not in that kind of relationship."
Please, for the love of all that is holy, stop being embarrassing.
I'm the only one who suffers for it.
At my desperate plea, Mother's shoulders shook with barely suppressed laughter.
"Yes, yes. Not in that kind of relationship. But hasn't that changed by now?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Judging by that face of yours, it seems you've made up your mind about something."
"H-have I? Do I really look that way?"
"Ever since that night you spent talking with Erzena dear, you were pacing about like a zombie—until you finally pulled yourself together."
Right on the mark.
"I'm simply doing my duty."
I forced my gaze away and offered a flimsy excuse.
Of course, even I knew by now that wasn't the reason.
I knew I had to change too.
And yet, still... how should I put it.
'It's still hard to give a definitive answer.'
I would need to think it over properly.
"Duty, is it?"
Meanwhile, Mother, having heard my answer, grinned slyly.
"Then let me ask you just a few questions."
"What now?"
"Do you live under the same roof as them?"
"Yes."
"Do you treat one another with respect and consideration?"
"Of course."
"You share meals, exchange morning and evening greetings."
"There's hardly ever been a time when we didn't."
Why was I starting to feel like something strange was happening?
"You sometimes feel let down by one another, don't you?"
"Well, there was one time I nearly got to work late because someone hogged the bathroom first."
"And yet you make up every time, don't you?"
"We usually smooth things over over a cup of tea."
Suddenly, Miriam's eyes sparkled as she declared:
"Then tell me—how is that any different from being married?"
"..."
Second direct hit.
Damn it all.
I'd walked straight into a guided interrogation.
"Nathan. You don't need to say a word—you're already expressing it to them with your whole being. Even I can feel it. I'm sure those girls know it too. That's precisely why they gathered their courage and came to you."
"..."
There was no denying those words anymore.
"How can you be so exactly like Tillian? Foolishly upright, and hopelessly, stubbornly cautious."
Miriam snorted, as though she couldn't help finding it adorable.
"Back when Tillian and I were courting, he once said something to me. Let me tell you about it."
"Father did?"
She straightened her throat and, lowering her voice, imitated him.
'I have a dream, madam. It is to become a great merchant. Yet every time I meet you, that dream trembles. And so I find it frightening to see you. Therefore, I must now put my heart aside.'
That was Father to the bone, all right.
Replaying the memory, Miriam chuckled.
"He says something that cold, and then blubbers tears and snot like that? Anyone watching would've thought I was the one who broke it off."
"..."
"And do you know what I said to him then?"
She whispered low.
'Stop your drivel and make me your wife, you fool. Instead of wasting time on worries like that, just hold on to your dream and to me—both at once.'
"Whoa."
I let out a gasp of genuine admiration at hearing Mother's shockingly blunt side for the first time in my life.
"Worry is like an endless night, Nathan. Once it begins, it only chases its own tail, on and on without end. Sometimes, you must simply make a bold decision."
"But—"
"You treated them with sincerity, and you changed their lives. And you yourself are changing, too."
"That part is true, but. Still—"
"Still, the world calls that thing 'love.'"
Words driven home like the final nail.
"...You said you have less than a month left, didn't you? Think it over carefully. What your heart truly wants."
With those parting words, Mother abruptly flung the carriage door wide open.
- Creeeak!
And what revealed itself from within...
"Ah."
"Ah."
"Uu."
Three women, pressed flat against the carriage wall, ears glued to it, eavesdropping on our entire conversation.
The three of them scrambled back to their seats and spoke with elaborate nonchalance.
"Ah, ahahaha... I-it would be terribly rude to refuse your mother's gift, after all... don't you think?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Take that without fail, Nathan! The King of the Night! I am simply dying to know how you will change!"
At the rare sight of all three women's faces flushing crimson, I let out a hollow laugh.
"Ha."
Then, my expression considerably lighter, I climbed aboard the carriage.
"...Shall we head back, everyone?"
I added, absently fiddling with the 'King of whatever-it-was' tucked in my arms.
"Home."
And so the five-day vacation came to an end.
'Yes. I should make up my mind, too.'
With one resolution in hand.
And what greeted me upon my return to the Immigration Office was—
"Holy Power! Holy Power! Holy Power!"
Completely ignoring me, freshly returned from five days away, the Five Senses Officers and the attendants were prostrating themselves toward Erzena standing right beside me.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Elaine, Erzena, and I stood struck dumb with shock.
"Ooooh, Lady Erzena! We only realized what we'd lost once you were gone!"
"Holy Power! Holy Power! Holy Power!"
"Heal us, we beg you! Deliver us from muscle aches, toothaches, headaches, and back pain!"
"Holy Power! Holy Power! Holy Power!"
Fervent hymns and prayers rang out from every direction.
Did I choose the wrong destination?
Was this the Crossline Kingdom branch church of the Holy Church, and not the Immigration Office at all?
I looked around in bewilderment.
Right in front of me lay a werewolf, eyes bloodshot, foaming at the mouth, and beside him a Quarter Kraken who had collapsed into a puddle on the floor like a raw octopus.
Back there, the Taste Officer lay sprawled out in a gaunt, wretched heap—apparently unable to wash so much as once in five days—and beside him, the Hearing Officer had turned deathly pale from alcohol withdrawal.
And every single one of them was shouting in unison:
"HOLY POOOWEEER!!!"
Ah.
Only then did I remember a fact I'd completely forgotten.
Every last bit of recovery and employee welfare at our Southern Border had been resting entirely on Erzena's Holy Power.
And these people had been driven to work for a full five days, all of that welfare stripped away.
'But does that really mean the office turns into a scene of religious frenzy?'
It didn't make sense.
"You had someone covering for me, didn't you?!"
The Northern Border's chief officer had come as my substitute, hadn't he? Plus two additional inspectors had arrived on top of that.
So why on earth was it like this?
I turned my eyes desperately toward my own desk.
And then I saw it.
At my desk, marked with a plaque reading [Dragon Scale Officer Dhin Askyrin], sat Dhin Askyrin—magnificently fallen in battle against the workload—seated with the grim defiance of a soldier making her last stand.
"C-Central Officer..."
The Dragon Scale Officer called to me in a dying voice.
"S-senior officer?"
"How... how did you people... manage this... with barely five... for four whole years?"
And without waiting for an answer, she turned to Erzena standing beside me and cried out to her as well.
"G-grant me Holy Power too! Infuse me with the source of that power called Holy Power! I cannot endure any longer!"
The immigration officer who had once commanded the Northern Border with a dragonewt's natural charisma and a soldier's iron discipline was nowhere to be found.
There was only one more soul, broken at last by the Southern Border's brutal working conditions.
I let out a very, very deep sigh and spoke.
"...I'm back."
Why did my head have to start aching on my very first day back?