Fa...ther and Daughter Role Reversal (2)
Fa...ther and Daughter Role Reversal (2)
The vast, green lawn of the mansion grounds.
As I sat there with my rear planted on the grass, my fists trembled faintly.
[How could you do this to me?]
The higher you jump from, the harder you land. Betrayal by someone you trusted is a heartache like that—unbearable.
The sense of betrayal that surged up inside me made my fists tremble.
The voice from my necklace carried that same deep sense of betrayal.
"King... we couldn't help it back then."
"That's right. When the Princess insists, how could we possibly stop her..."
"We wanted to stop her too..."
The nine fairies gathered in front of me all poured out their excuses at once.
Kali, Rio, Oru, Rudi, Dip, Peurin. And then Rinne, Raendi, Teo.
The first six names, whether by design or coincidence, fit together as if they were playing a word-chain game. The remaining three, I'd heard, were born at a different time and so their names didn't connect in the same way.
Their faces were brimming with embarrassment and apology.
But maybe because of the betrayal I felt, all of it struck me as especially irritating.
Without hiding how the corners of my eyes were rising, I shook my fist for emphasis.
[Even so, even if that's true, when your king is being bullied you should at least come over and try to stop it...]
In which nation, exactly, does everyone ignore their king being bullied?
[You're the same. How could you just lie there on your stomachs and watch...]
- Kyiiing...
The arrow-point of my sense of betrayal turned toward the spirits as well. In one corner of my mind, the image of the spirits lying flat on their stomachs and ignoring me was still vivid.
- Pururung?
[You ignored me earlier too. Why are you acting all friendly now... Gack.]
Its eyes sparkling, the baby unicorn crept up from behind and poked my back lightly with its horn.
My body, now even smaller than the baby unicorn, wobbled precariously, and then I flopped flat onto the soft grass.
- Pururung!
The baby unicorn let out a satisfied-sounding breath and then lay down next to me, following my lead.
Apparently, just like that day when I'd gone to the unicorn habitat in my young state, it simply wanted to lie down with me.
"Hehe, King. Please don't be angry~"
- Kurrrung...
Seeing me like that, fairies fluttered over to soothe me, and spirits crept up to rub their bodies against me...
To anyone looking from outside, I would have been completely buried, not even visible.
[Eheu.]
Buried among them like that, even the urge to be stubborn melted away.
My good mood had something to do with it too.
'After all, I don't have to worry about food for a while.'
I'd thought I'd be stuck shoveling tasteless, nutritious gruel into my mouth, but fortunately, that was no longer necessary.
Chewing on the savory, sweet flavor lingering on my tongue, I rolled around on the ground with the spirits bundled in my arms.
Taking that as a sign that my anger was soothed, the fairies smiled brightly and drifted closer one by one.
It was a truly peaceful sight.
Enough to make the memory of being sprawled out like laundry on the line just a little while ago feel distant and unreal.
'My body really is getting better.'
It wasn't just my imagination.
Within a single day, my body had recovered considerably.
Or maybe it would be more accurate to say I'm growing?
From a state where even crawling along was comfortable, I'd recovered to the point where walking on two legs was perfectly fine.
'If left alone, do I age back in chronological order?'
It's something I hadn't realized before, since I'd reverted almost all at once. As Lee Ji-yeon had guessed, just staying at the mansion seemed to make me revert naturally.
Lying on my stomach on the grass, both my body and mind were at ease.
Feeling this way even though I wasn't in anyone's arms was unusual for me.
My expression as I touched the grass became a little strange.
'The Tower Master of Growth must have designed this deliberately, right?'
At my fingertips... no, felt throughout my entire body, the vitality was so fresh and vast. So much so that my body was instinctively filling with abundant life force.
Siyoram was created for me.
And this building at its center was arranged into an environment perfectly suited for me to live in.
Especially the vitality that filled the estate—no matter how much I absorbed, there was never the slightest sign of depletion.
It was exactly the right environment for someone like me, who leaked vitality constantly.
'So then, is this mansion some kind of incubator... like a temperature-controlled chamber?'
My expression grew even stranger at the idle thought that suddenly crossed my mind.
"Daddy."
It was just then that Seo-yul's voice reached my ears. My observation had been narrowed down to show only my immediate surroundings, and into that range, Seo-yul stepped quickly.
My body flinched.
"Hmm? I don't see Daddy? Where could he be~?"
Seo-yul laughed playfully and moved her feet.
Swish! Following Seo-yul's path, the spirits parted cleanly in two.
The speed was reminiscent of the Miracle of Moses, and my mouth fell open.
The sense of betrayal surged up again.
But there was no time to nurse that feeling of betrayal.
"Ah, there you are?"
Because I was suddenly lifted up by Seo-yul again. The spirit in my arms fell away, and my body floated up.
"Heehee, were you playing with the spirits?"
[...Yeah...]
Her softly swaying white hair, and the five-colored wings fluttering behind her back.
Her pure-white eyes, like gently falling snow, shone with a quiet smile.
That smile was as bright and gentle as the sun. Everything around her seemed to glow warmly.
'...When did you grow so big?'
It was so beautiful, and at the same time, it felt like a fresh shock.
I knew well how fast fairy knights grew, but feeling it directly was completely different.
Of course, she's still... smaller than my original self.
But at this rate of growth...?
'......'
I felt a sudden chill of dread at the assumption that crossed my mind.
"What's the matter?"
Seeing my face trembling, Seo-yul let out a soft laugh, then pressed her lips long against my cheek.
Jolted out of my dread, I gently pressed my lips to her forehead in return.
"Hihihihihi..."
Seo-yul's laughter deepened. I smiled wryly at the sound of her giggling while holding me tight in her arms.
I wasn't sure who she took after, but Seo-yul genuinely loved this kind of affection too.
...Of course, being tucked snugly into my daughter's arms gave me an indescribable feeling, but since Seo-yul liked it, I was happy too.
After nuzzling me in her embrace for a moment, Seo-yul got to the main point.
"Daddy, Daddy, do you want to go outside for a little while to play?"
[Outside?]
I blinked for a moment at her words.
I gently widened the range of my observation.
The barrier enveloping the mansion. I observed snowflakes touching it and melting away.
.
.
.
Although I'd come to the mansion to help my body recover, it wasn't at the level where I needed to stay attached to it 24 hours a day.
Thanks to that, I could confidently agree to Seo-yul's request to go out.
- Crunch.
[Snow.]
Fresh white snow lay piled thickly across the grounds of Siyoram.
That was only natural, since it was winter. Siyoram's seasonal manifestation system was scattering snowflakes in abundance.
We stopped by the park near the mansion.
The crunching sensation beneath my feet felt familiar.
That was thanks to having wandered the snowy lands exhaustively while searching for the Reverse Side.
'Places where the snow piled as high as a person were common too.'
I'd once bounced around hopping across snow like that, so snow that didn't even reach my ankles felt almost laughable by comparison.
"Oh, sweetie? Be careful not to fall."
"It's all right, um... Miss Ellia. I'll hold onto you tight."
...But the way everyone around me was so anxious about whether I might fall was absurd.
Ellia, of course, but having Seo-yul treat me that way too was genuinely wounding to my pride.
"I won't fall. I mean, no matter how young I've gotten, do you really think I'd trip over this?"
I stopped my carefully moving legs and tipped my head.
The white fur pompom at the tip of my hat swayed gently.
"Wow...! Sweetie! Stay just like that, exactly like that! You're really, really adorable!"
"Wouldn't it be better to take the shot from slightly to the side? Yes, yes, just about that much!"
- Click! Click! Click!
[Dumbfounded.]
[Embarrassed.]
By making a fuss in protest, I only ended up being treated even more like a child.
My lips jutted out in a pout from that.
But seeing the bright smile on Seo-yul, who was holding my hand firmly, I couldn't bring myself to refuse.
Ellia, who had checked the photos she'd just taken and was smiling with satisfaction, walked over.
"Ha-yul, you need to tell us right away if you get cold, okay?"
"The kind of cold that could break through the magic we've cast on ourselves would have to be something at the level of a Unique Ability."
"Hah, you're right."
My condition could fairly be described as being in full-body armor.
A fur hat, scarf, fur gloves, thick clothes, and even boots that came up past my ankles—all of which I'd made myself.
On top of that, I'd personally enchanted everything with temperature-control magic.
Ellia and Seo-yul were dressed at a similar level.
If the weather was cold enough to pierce through all that, it would have to be something on par with the early days when the Tower Master of Bitter Cold descended.
...Then I suddenly recalled that the clothes I was wearing were things I'd made for Seo-yul to wear, and I felt a pang of misery.
"Even so, I can't help but worry."
After straightening my crooked fur hat back into place, Ellia gave me an elegant smile.
Warm feelings rose gently from that smile of hers.
"...I'm a little cold."
After gauging the atmosphere for a moment, I spread both arms wide.
Ellia's eyes went wide at my words about the cold, but at my action, she let out a little snort as if she found me cute and bent her knees.
"Euh-heu-heu, young Ha-yul has gotten so much more affectionate—it's adorable."
And then she hugged me tightly in her warm embrace. My face was buried in her chest, where a generous voluptuousness could be glimpsed even through the thick layers of her clothing.
The faint chill scattered in an instant, and Ellia's warm body heat was transmitted to me in its entirety.
"...Daddy. I could hug you too, so why do you only... with Miss Ellia..."
[Hyeok.]
[Startled.]
A snowball flew in from behind and hit me square in the back.
Startled by the impact, I scrambled out of Ellia's arms. Behind me, a sulky-looking Seo-yul was fidgeting with another snowball in both hands.
[...Seo-yul?]
"Hup!"
[Gyaaak...!]
[Coldness.]
[Chill.]
.
.
.
After that, we had a pretty fun time playing.
More photos were taken, one after another.
We rolled snow by hand with Seo-yul and built a giant snowman, and watched the water spirits—who were unusually excited—freeze solid.
We laughed as snowflakes piled up on the fairies' heads until they slowly plummeted downward.
I also played pranks on the baby unicorn by packing snow onto its horn...
Each and every one of those moments was captured in photographs, so later on, I'd be able to look at the pictures and giggle, recalling those memories fondly.
Once we settled onto a bench in the park, I asked Seo-yul, who was sitting with her hip right up against mine.
[Seo-yul, did you have fun?]
"Yes. It was really nice spending time with you, Daddy, since it's been so long."
Seo-yul answered me with a bright smile. The phrase she'd particularly emphasized—'since it's been so long'—pierced straight into my heart.
[...Let's come out often from now on.]
"I'd love that!"
Maybe she'd actually intended for that all along, because her smile at my promise grew even brighter.
At that, I smiled wryly too, and took a sip of the warm hot chocolate I held in both hands.
Pathetically enough, it had no taste.
'...Once we get home, I'll have to tell Ellia I'm hungry.'
I wasn't just gloomily downcast about it. After all, I could eat my fill of something far, far more delicious than mere hot chocolate.
With the thought of cleaning up and getting back, I cooled the hot chocolate with a soft breath and quickly gulped it down.
- Fwooong...!
[Hm?]
[Puzzled.]
It was just then.
A wind blowing from far away brushed past my body.
[Wind?]
It wasn't an ordinary wind.
It was a stimulus that stirred not my sense of touch, but my qi sense.
The air current was thick with dense, refreshing wind-element mana.
* * *
[Player Correction System: Affection]
Lee Ha-yul → Ellia Srade
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♡♡(89/100)
｢Affection｣ ｢Gratitude｣ ｢Dairy Cow?｣ ｢Chick｣ ｢Gentleness｣ ｢Possessiveness｣
▼
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♡(90/100)
｢Affection｣ ｢Gratitude｣ ｢Dairy Cow｣ ｢Chick｣ ｢Gentleness｣ ｢Possessiveness｣