Free Season Ends (1)

It was the second day since Lan-lan-i had entered puberty, and the final day of free season.

I made sandwiches for my daughter who had just hit that awkward stage. Thick-cut ambrosia bread stuffed with vegetables pulled straight from the fridge.

Fidget, fidget.

Evni joined the sandwich-making effort too. Her little fern-like hands kneaded the bread and tucked the veggies in place.

"Done..."

"All finished?"

"Yeah..."

Pat, pat.

Evni squeezed her eyes shut and savored my head pats. Once I had stacked the finished sandwiches neatly into a handmade basket, Cheonsol held out a lump that looked exactly like blood pudding.

"This lady has finished the special Vampir blood pudding. Cooking is a first for me, so I cannot say how well it turned out, but I hope Lan-lan-i finds it delicious."

"Appreciate the hard work."

I had offered to make it myself if she just handed over the recipe, but Cheonsol refused. Traditional Vampir dishes only carried their proper effect when prepared by a Vampir, apparently.

I had no idea what kind of "effect" could cling to food meant simply to fill a stomach, yet medicinal cuisine had existed back on Earth, so it was not entirely beyond understanding.

"Picnic prep is done, so we should call Lan-lan-i. Want to go get her, Cheonsol?"

"It would be better for Mad Demon to go rather than this lady."

"Got it."

Knock knock.

I rapped on Lan-lan-i's door. When it swung open, a still-messy room greeted me—tidying clearly unfinished.

Just a bed, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a wardrobe, and a handful of clothes, yet somehow she had managed to scatter everything. Looks like Lan-lan-i and the concept of organization were complete strangers.

"What?"

"Prep's finished, so come on out."

"Okay."

Little Lan-lan-i would have thrown herself into my arms yelling "Picnic! Love it!" Why had our father-daughter relationship turned so bleak?

I pushed down the bitter aftertaste and stepped outside. Lan-lan-i stared blankly at Evni nestled tightly against my chest.

"Lan-lan-i. Will you not look after your little sister yourself?"

Cheonsol held out Lulu. Lan-lan-i scooped her up roughly.

"Guess I've got no choice. Big sisters have to take care of the little ones."

Shiver!

Lulu trembled violently until Lan-lan-i tightened her arms. The shaking stopped and Lulu went quiet.

-Just carve a rock flat for a chair.

-That's why you ended up a slave. If sitting is all that matters, why bother with a chair when the ground works fine? You need some aesthetic sense.

-Grrr. Then you do it.

-There's a working spirit right here, so why should I lift a finger? Quit yapping and make it prettier!

The spirits were busy with picnic preparations as well. One look at the stone chair Lirota had produced made the scolding fully justified.

A picnic is an event where you spread a mat and sit on the ground. Chairs that high would force everyone to bend double just to reach the food.

"Make it out of dirt instead of stone. Not too high—just convex enough to give a bit of cushion."

-You heard that? Stone chairs were nonsense from the start. I told you not to assume everyone finds rock comfortable just because you're a rock spirit.

-Blood's going to pour from my ears...

Lan-lan-i dashed over and clamped a hand over Lirota's ear.

"Bleed it out, quick!"

-Huh?

"Hand over the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠blood!"

-Y-yes...

Lirota sobbed and shed tears of blood. After drinking them down, Lan-lan-i wore a satisfied smile.

"Mmm. Delicious."

"Is spirit blood truly that tasty?"

"Mom, you already know how good it is."

"That is true. Even among the spirit beasts of my homeland, few possessed blood as fine as Lirota's."

"Right?"

Mother and daughter who looked so alike shared matching smiles.

"I'm here!"

Sophia appeared lugging several oversized baskets. Her figure made stacking the lunchboxes impossible, so she carried some in both hands and nudged the rest along with her feet.

"I'll take those."

"Okay!"

Lady Sophia had leveled up a lot. She was buzzing with excitement—today was the day the results of the long free season would drop.

She had been the one to suggest the picnic in the first place. Eat in the garden while checking the results, she said.

Plenty of romance in that idea, so I was all for it.

"Look what I bought! Ta-da!"

Sophia spread a mat over what was better described as a gently mounded dirt floor than any real dirt chair, then opened the baskets.

Inside sat steaming white bread, assorted meats, and fruit, all still giving off heat.

"Quite the feast. Where'd you get all this?"

"Demeter Shop's picnic set and Valhalla Shop's Sehrimnir mixed grill!"

I had always thought Demeter Shop only sold ambrosia for broke gods, but apparently not.

"Come on, everyone dig in before it gets cold!"

"Yay!"

"Exciting..."

The kids cheered with both arms raised. I started with salad; Cheonsol went straight for the meat.

The salad shone with the freshness of its ingredients and tasted excellent. Bread was good, meat was good—everything hit the spot.

"Mom, what is this? Super tasty! Best blood Lan-lan-i has ever had!"

"Hehe. This lady prepared it herself for Lan-lan-i. I am glad it suits your palate."

"Teach Lan-lan-i how to make it too!"

"Very well. We shall craft some later."

"Yeah!"

Watching the mother-daughter bond warm up was nice. Not that I was jealous or anything.

"This..."

"Our Evni. Do the sprout veggies please you?"

"Yeah..."

True to her half-elf blood, Evni preferred greens, so I offered her undressed sprout vegetables.

No dressing meant you could taste the pure essence of the salad. Foodie Evni polished off the no-dressing greens and beamed.

"Yummy..."

Adorable. While I thoroughly ruffled her hair, Lan-lan-i edged closer.

"Does Lan-lan-i want some too?"

"Yeah."

The moment Lan-lan-i tried the no-dressing salad she screwed up her face.

"Tastes bad!"

"That can happen..."

I am not the sort of evil dad who forces a "just try it" when his daughter hates something.

In fact, great. One less mouth means more for me.

-Is there nothing for us?

"Huh? Do spirits even eat food?"

-Well, no, we don't...

"Lirota. If you want to join the atmosphere, just dig up some dirt and eat that."

-Sob sob...

I jabbed the slave spirit who dared hope to sit with the masters. For a crybaby she sure had a strong appetite.

The baskets were only half empty, yet my stomach was already packed. Excited Sophia had prepared far too much.

I patted my full belly and sprawled out; Evni instantly claimed one side. The opposite flank—originally Lan-lan-i's territory—was taken by Lulu.

"Ugh..."

Lan-lan-i fretted like a restless puppy. Caught between the urge to lie down with me and her brand-new pubescent pride, maybe?

I sincerely hoped so.

"Hyaaah. This is nice. Good ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠results in the Gods' Game, a picnic in the garden with my minions—I'm so happy!"

Sophia flopped onto the mat as well and kicked her legs freely. Her skirt rode up, giving little flashes of smooth thigh.

An invitation to visit her room tonight? I sharpened my eyesight to check for panties, only for Cheonsol to slap my shoulder.

"Mad Demon. Rest your head upon this lady's lap."

"Thanks."

Cheonsol's lap pillow. Absolute paradise. Lady Sophia was the Goddess of Healing and this garden sat inside the Divine Realm, so the place really was heaven.

I was savoring the drowsy post-meal haze when a message appeared.

"It's really over."

A strange feeling settled over me. When a regular game season ended I never felt much of anything, yet the Gods' Game was different.

The day I was suddenly summoned and contracted with Sophia. The practice battle where I claimed Evrande. Our first official match.

The first failed attempt to impregnate Cheonsol. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Meeting her again later and succeeding. Then bringing her onto our side.

Lan-lan-i's hatching. Evni's hatching—and so many more. Memories of the past flickered through my mind like a revolving lantern.

"Sniff. Everyone... you really worked hard..."

Sophia seemed just as moved; tears streamed freely. Kind Evni patted Lady Sophia's back.

"There there... there there..."

"Thanks, Evni."

Lan-lan-i thumped my back. Unlike when she was little, the blows landed solid and actually hurt a bit.

I had no idea what she was annoyed about. The moment our eyes met she flinched and bolted.

"Mad Demon. You have labored well. Please continue to look after us."

"Same to you."

We were exchanging warm words of encouragement when another message appeared.

The message promised rewards and then went silent. In contrast, a silver box dropped right in front of Cheonsol.

"This lady received a silver random box as ranking reward. Mad Demon, what is your reward?"

"Still says calculating. But our Lan-lan-i didn't get anything, huh."

"Huh?"

"Dad's sorry. If I'd known it would turn out like this, I would have made you a minion after the season ended. I made you take a loss out of pure ignorance."

Lan-lan-i, who had been spacing out, flinched hard and waved both hands.

"Lan-lan-i is fine! They said since I joined at the very end of this season, they'll settle me as a newbie next season!"

"That's a relief."

I patted Lan-lan-i's head—then flinched myself. Habit had made me stroke her without thinking.

Fortunately she did not seem to mind. I was truly glad I had not been hit with one of a pubescent daughter's special moves: the absolute "no-contact" ban.