Chapter 334: A Harmonious Home (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 334: A Harmonious Home (1)
Having safely concluded today’s tour, Mirabelle stretched her arms high above her head.
“Hnngh~ There we go. Another successful day.”
It had already been six years since she’d taken on the role of city guide. The number of masters and slaves she had guided now numbered in the thousands.
She was so popular that there wasn’t a soul in Eden who didn’t know of Mirabelle. Among the masters and slaves, she was famous as Eden’s mascot, or as their dear little guide.
“The city was so quiet at first.”
Though they had steadily rescued slaves on Karami’s orders, it was nowhere near enough to fill this massive city.
But after the city was built and word of Eden spread throughout the continent, countless people began to arrive.
There were cases like Velk and Seril, but they were exceptions, not even one in a hundred.
Most were frail women, regardless of their race, who arrived with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They had come all this way with the sole desire to live.
Not that just anyone was saved.
Heinous criminals with no hope of rehabilitation were sent away with only minimal travel expenses, even if the master offered them kindness.
And the rest—those who would willingly offer their souls to the Reaper just to live—were the only ones taken in and made slaves.
Those same people, whose eyes had been so steeped in despair they looked as if they could die at any moment, were now proper residents of Eden, living each day in happiness.
Not only that, but many had also met true masters befitting their destinies and become slave wives.
It was, in a word, salvation.
A complete liberation from a past that had been a pit of despair.
“That’s my master for you.”
Of course.
There may be many masters in the world, but there’s only one best.
“Mirabelle!”
At the familiar voice from the sky, Mirabelle looked up. The pegasus Miro was flying overhead, flapping her pure white wings.
Miro was the inaugural champion of the horse beastkin derby and had held the title for three consecutive years.
Now, she didn't just run; she also danced and sang on stage. Miro was, without a doubt, the most popular idol on the continent.
And yet, she was currently pulling a carriage.
The kind of person who could make a continental idol pull a mere carriage—there was only one such person in the entire world.
The carriage door opened, and Karami stepped out.
“Master!”
Mirabelle quickly ran and leaped into the air. Karami caught her gently.
As if to wash away the day’s fatigue, she immediately took a deep whiff of his scent.
“Are you on your way back from your tour?”
“Yes!”
“I see. You worked hard today.”
“It’s nothing. For you, Master, this is a piece of cake. More importantly, what are you doing here? Ah, not that I’m complaining. Seeing your face has washed all my fatigue away.”
“I was with Miro, watching Lucia and Lumia’s flight practice.”
“Oh, right. Today was their flight practice, wasn’t it? How did they do? Did they fly well?”
“Well, they—”
“Big Sis!”
The shout, once again, came from the sky. Two maids on broomsticks zipped down and landed in front of Mirabelle.
They appeared to be about four years old.
They were even smaller than the petite Mirabelle.
The two tiny maids looked like twins and were the spitting image of Mirabelle, except their cheeks were much chubbier.
They were like little versions of a younger Mirabelle.
“Big Sis, you’re in Master’s arms again!”
The second daughter, Lucia.
She was full of energy, just like someone they knew.
“M-Mommy. Ehehe…”
The eldest daughter, Lumia.
She was very timid, just like someone else they knew.
“Lumia, you’re calling me that again. You should call me Big Sis, not Mommy.”
“B-But… to Lumia, Mommy is Mommy…”
“Why?”
“I wonder…?”
The two little ones tilted their heads, unable to understand. Just then, another witch flew toward them with an unsteady flight.
It was Naredi.
“So this is where everyone was.”
“Mommy, you’re last!”
“Mommy’s still not used to flying…”
“L-Lucia. You should call her Grandma, not Mommy.”
“Why? Mommy is Mommy.”
“I wonder…?”
This time, too, they tilted their heads as if looking in a mirror. The three adults smiled softly at the sight of the little ones, which was enough to bring a smile to anyone’s face.
“How was it? Did the kids fly well?”
“Amazingly well. To think they’re flying when I was just starting to learn magic at their age… I wonder who they take after to be so smart.”
Naredi gazed at the children with a complex mix of emotions. Of course, she wasn’t jealous of them.
If anything, she was proud.
“They take after you, Master.”
“If they took after me, they wouldn’t be able to use magic at all. They probably take after Mirabelle.”
“Hehe…”
“And if the children take after Mirabelle, that means they take after Naredi as well. Wouldn’t you agree?”
“Is that how it works? Well, it feels good to hear you say that… Thank you, Master.”
Feeling shy, Naredi touched her cheek. Then she felt a gaze from far below.
Lucia and Lumia were staring up at her with narrowed eyes.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“We worked hard, too.”
“Hmph, only Mommy and Grandma get praised…”
“I want Master to praise me, too.”
“I want Master to hold me, too…”
Their gazes shifted to Karami. They had to crane their necks way back to look up at him.
Their eyes were filled with a silent plea for praise.
“What spoiled little witches you are. Come here.”
As if they had been waiting for those very words, Lucia and Lumia threw themselves into Karami’s arms. They eagerly rubbed their cheeks against him, savoring the feeling.
But this time, it was Naredi who wore a dissatisfied expression.
“What about me?”
“Are you jealous of the children?”
“An adult and a child are both slaves. Isn’t it your motto to treat all slaves fairly, Master?”
“What would you have me do?”
“Well, I’m not asking for much.”
Naredi moved behind Karami and wrapped her arms around him in a back hug.
“I’ll be satisfied with this. I’m not a greedy person, after all.”
“Ah, in that case, me too!”
Mirabelle squeezed herself into a gap and clung tightly to Karami. The four witches had him completely surrounded.
Karami gave a wry smile.
They were, every one of them, truly lovely witches.
*
Exhausted from using so much mana, Lucia and Lumia had fallen fast asleep.
Lucia slept in Naredi’s arms.
Lumia slept in Mirabelle’s.
To their mothers, the children looked more angelic than any celestial being. Their eyes dripped with honey as they gazed at them.
“How can they be so cute? They look exactly like you did when you were little, Mirabelle.”
“Really? Was I this cute?”
“I’m telling you, you were. Just look at these soft, squishy cheeks. A beautiful granddaughter and a daughter. I never imagined I’d experience such happiness at my age.”
Of course, she was in her thirties at most.
And as a witch, she looked to be in her early twenties.
Naredi couldn’t take her eyes off her daughter. A smile kept spreading across her face as she watched her.
The one Naredi was looking at was not Mirabelle, but Lucia.
Those who were observant had already figured it out.
Second daughter, Lucia.
Eldest daughter, Mirabelle.
Mother, Naredi.
Father, Karami.
Eldest daughter, Lumia.
Mother, Mirabelle.
Father, Karami.
It was, in every sense of the word, a harmonious home.
This situation had come about right after Mirabelle became an adult.
As a slave and a maid, she was finally able to perform her true service.
But as the day of her service approached, all her diligent studying became meaningless as worries flooded her mind. She was terrified she might make a mistake.
Fretting, she asked Naredi for help, begging her to come with her and assist in her service.
Naredi, who was secretly worried and felt sorry for her daughter, couldn’t bring herself to refuse the request. She served Karami alongside Mirabelle.
The so-called mother-daughter special.
The result was both mother and daughter becoming pregnant.
It was a tremendous shock.
‘T-To get pregnant in one go… And I’m a witch, no less!’
Witches were not a different species, but a unique type of human, and their special constitution made pregnancy difficult.
She remembered how much she had struggled to have Mirabelle.
To think it would happen after just one night, something she thought would be impossible.
It felt as if her entire sense of common sense was crumbling.
She couldn’t even believe she was carrying the same man’s child as her own daughter.
But what could she do?
The deed was done, and the child in her womb was innocent.
There was no need to worry about what others thought, either. Everyone had congratulated them. This was a place filled only with such people.
In the end, she decided to give birth, and that decision led to the present.
“My… you really never know what life has in store.”
“What do you mean?”
“The fact that not only did I sleep with the same man as my daughter, but I also ended up bearing his child.”
“Do you regret it?”
“How could I?”
All the anxiety and worry she’d carried until the moment Lucia was born had vanished without a trace.
The moment she saw the crying newborn in her arms, all that remained was relief and joy that she had given birth.
This was why motherhood was so frightening.
“To be honest, I felt very sorry for Mirabelle while raising her.”
Witches were persecuted. They had to live in hiding, trembling in fear of death every single day.
Because of that, there were many things she couldn’t do for Mirabelle. Moving so often made it hard for her to make friends.
Naredi was left with a lifelong guilt, wondering if that was why Mirabelle had become so shy.
“It’s okay, Mom. I’ve never once resented you for it. In fact, thanks to all that, I was able to meet the Master, wasn’t I?”
Mirabelle flashed a radiant smile to ease Naredi’s troubled heart.
“…You’re right. And thanks to that, I also got to meet our adorable Lucia and Lumia.”
Naredi looked at the sleeping Lucia with bittersweet eyes. She would give her everything she couldn’t give Mirabelle, everything she had wanted to give her, everything her heart desired.
Because this was Eden, the city of slaves.
Naredi’s expression changed, and she grinned at Karami.
“You’re quite the lucky man, Master. To have four beautiful witches like us.”
“You’ve become quite shameless. Well, I won’t deny it.”
A flower in each hand.
No, a witch in each hand.
And so, they returned home, wrapped in the atmosphere of a warm and loving family.
And what greeted Karami was…
“Oh! Mastah! You’re finally back! I thought my neck would snap from waiting. Hurry and give Miho some of your essence!”
A tiny, three-tailed fox.