I Gained a Real Family
High noon, the hour when the sun crept directly overhead.
An utterly unforeseen crisis finally came to pass.
It all began with a slip of the tongue that was destined to be retold forever as Yurian's greatest humiliation.
"I am famished. Why do we not drop by a restaurant in the city today, Dad?"
"Shall we? I was feeling too lazy to cook today anyw—wait, what?"
"Hm?"
"..."
"..."
Our eyes remained locked for an agonizingly long time. It felt as if we were communicating telepathically, trying to verify whether what had just been spoken and heard had truly occurred in this reality.
Sitting nearby, Tina and Glenn stared at us with wide, startled eyes.
As hard as it was to accept, it was reality. The moment that realization struck Yurian, his face erupted into a furious crimson, like an active volcano on the verge of blowing its top.
"Pfft... k-hk... pfhhahaha..."
"S-Stop! Do not speak another word!"
"Bwahaha... ahahah...!"
"I said stop...!"
"Bwaaaahahahahaha! Hey, guys! Did you hear that?! Yurian just called me Dad! Kahahah...!"
"Y-You misheard! That was unmistakably a mishearing, was it not?!"
Yurian frantically sought backup from Tina and Glenn, but both children uncomfortably averted their gazes, dodging any answer.
There was a limit to what one could play off. Watching the usually brilliant boy make such a desperate, impossible reach was hysterical beyond belief. Pathetic as he looked, it was simply too funny to hold back.
"A-Regardless, you heard wrong! We should hurry out to the streets..."
"Why, you little rascal! Do you dislike your dear old dad's cooking that much, my sweet, darling son?"
"Urk...!"
"Would you like to call me Papa today? Or maybe Father? Though Dad sounded awfully nice the first time, don't you think?"
"S-Shut your mouth! I am—!"
"Tsk, tsk! Mind your tongue when speaking to your papa!"
"Aaaaargh!"
Without a word of exaggeration, I had never laughed so hard in my life since regaining the memories of my previous life. If Tina or Glenn had slipped up and called me Dad, that would have been one thing, but of all people, it had to be Yurian. I was practically losing my mind.
Even so, it wasn't as if I couldn't understand.
Right, right, I get it. It happens all the time. Like an elementary schooler accidentally calling their teacher Mom... pfft...
The fact that it was Yurian made it gold. This was premium drinking-story material that I could milk all the way to my sixtieth birthday.
"Alright, alright, it's fine, Yurian. Some people in this world have three fathers, so what's the big deal?"
Granted, the problem in that case was the son murdering two of them.
"I completely understand. Therefore, to celebrate, Papa is buying today!"
"Please... I beg of you, please just close your mouth."
Good heavens, just how desperate was he to drop into flawless, polite honorifics? They say a cornered man is capable of anything, and this was living proof.
"K-hk... ah, whew... Alright, alright. Thanks for the laugh, honestly. Yurian, you truly are the spice of my life."
"Should I just run away from home...?"
"Whoa, sorry, sorry! I'll stop, so don't cry."
"I am not crying!"
My mood was soaring at an all-time high. It was the kind of day where I wanted to blow through cash at whatever luxury restaurant Yurian desired. Besides, after teasing him this mercilessly, paying for a lavish meal was the least I could do.
"Whew, let's get ready to—"
Just as I pushed myself up from my seat, a small hand tugged on my sleeve, pulling me back down.
"...Can you really not do it?"
It was Tina.
She gazed up at me with round, mournful eyes, her expression clouded with distress. Sensing that something unusual was in the air, I met her gaze squarely.
"Tina, what do you want me to do?"
"..."
Tina clamped her mouth shut. She pouted her lips like a duckling and fell silent.
"Tina?"
Prompted once more, she kept silence as her companion, her pupils trembling. Amid that uncomfortable quiet, she seemed to steel her resolve, finally whispering the truth in a voice barely above a breath.
"Could you... really be my dad...?"
"..."
This time, it was my turn to freeze.
It came entirely out of the blue, and I had never dreamed Tina would ask such a thing. I had only set up this orphanage out of pure necessity. I had never intended to become anyone's actual family.
After all, wasn't it true?
These children were the destined protagonists who would one day lead this world. For a nameless extra like me, who barely warranted a mention, growing overly attached would only become a burden to them down the line.
As I stood paralyzed by shock, lost in contemplation, she spoke again.
"...Is it a no?"
Tina asked, her azure eyes welling with unshed tears.
"Tina... I..."
I don't think I can do that—the words formed on the tip of my tongue, only to be choked back by the sudden memory of Tina's past.
The child of a mad dragon and an innocent human woman.
Swept up in original sin, she had wandered alone without ever receiving proper warmth, chewing only on solitude throughout her early years. The weight of that childhood bore down heavily on my chest.
Looking into those blue eyes where the remnants of that lonely past still lingered, I could not bring myself to utter a careless refusal.
A dad, huh...
It was still a concept foreign and distant to me. Frankly, I had never once imagined myself as a father. Naturally, experiencing fatherhood was impossible for someone my age, leaving me to question whether I could ever be a good parent in the first place.
Even so...
I still didn't know.
Yet I could not bring myself to coldly push her away.
Before me stood a little girl who hadn't dared to hold my hand, clinging only to my sleeve instead. Before me was a child summoning immense courage, desperately longing for warmth beyond what she had now. And shining within those sky-blue eyes was an absolute faith that made me feel special.
"Uu..."
Tina looked on the verge of bursting into tears.
Her trembling hand as she had approached—that was unmistakable fear. Her tight grip on my sleeve—that was pure courage. And the plea that had slipped past her lips—that had to be her firmest resolve.
Was I always this weak-willed?
Before that transparent, unyielding sincerity, the thick walls I had built around myself began to crumble. And beyond those fallen barriers, I saw the children stepping through.
I had to admit it by now.
What I felt was no longer mere pity; I had grown genuinely attached to them as well.
"Tina."
"I-It's okay, never min—!"
"Let's do it."
"...Pardon?"
Tina's eyes went wide as saucers.
Gently, I rested my hand on her head as she stood frozen like a plaster statue.
"Being your dad, I mean. Having such an adorable daughter is a once-in-a-lifetime blessing, after all."
"...!"
"Of course, I'm lacking in a lot of ways as a father... but I'll do my best to improve step by step."
"N-No, not at all...! There's no way you're lacking in anything..."
"Well, then that's a relief."
Without a word spoken, both Tina and I understood that one final step remained before we officially became parent and child. For the sake of Tina, who still hesitated despite having mustered so much courage, I took the initiative.
"Tina, it's alright. Call me whatever your heart wants."
Tina fidgeted, her voice timid and shy.
"Um, uu... well..."
After a long hesitation, she gathered her courage once more.
"......Dad."
"Yes, my daughter."
"Dad...!"
"Yes, my lovely daughter."
"Ugh..."
By addressing each other by our true titles, a new bond was forged between us. Overwhelmed by emotion, Tina threw herself into my arms and burst into heavy sobs.
"Waaah... Dad... Dad..."
"Yes, that's right... Come on, dry those tears, daughter."
"Sniff... hic..."
Patting Tina's back as she buried her face in my chest, I shifted my gaze toward Yurian and Glenn.
"What about you two? Want to try calling me Dad as well?"
"Calling you that when my biological father is very much alive would cause far more problems."
Never mind the fact that you were the one who called me that first, Yurian.
"I don't have either, but the Director is a bit too sacred for me to call Dad... Honestly, it feels overwhelming. Wait, huh?"
Just what on earth did Glenn take me for to suddenly launch into unprompted worship? Before I could ask, however, Glenn blinked rapidly and turned toward Yurian.
"Yurian, your father is alive? Then why are you here...?"
"It is a common tale. In this world, there are those who are fathers in concept alone."
"Ah... s-sorry."
"Do not mind it. It is not as if I harbor any particular sentiment toward him anyway."
An awkward tension settled between Yurian and Glenn. Learning about someone else's unpleasant family history was always an uncomfortable ordeal. Wiping Tina's tears, I looked back at the two boys.
"If you don't like 'Dad,' then we can just be family. Right? That's not so bad, is it?"
Family didn't strictly require the bond of parent and child. As long as hearts were connected, people could become family even without blood ties.
Looking somewhat sheepish, Yurian and Glenn each offered their own reply.
"...Well. I suppose... it does not matter much to me."
"If it's just that, I don't mind either..."
Tina delivered the final stamp of approval.
"Then starting today, all of us are family!"
Before anyone realized it, the moisture in her eyes had completely vanished. The brilliant, radiant smile of my newly gained daughter was so bright that it shoved any remaining counterarguments right back down everyone's throats.
Finding the whole situation rather amusing, I let out a soft chuckle.
What a strange world this is.
I was twenty-two years old.
An age still endlessly young, a time when the density of one's unripened years was light. Yet, as if drawn by some gravitational pull of destiny...
Today, I had gained a real family.
The Lord's chamber of the Luminel Ducal Estate boasted an overwhelmingly suffocating atmosphere.
The sole feature that could be called open was the set of vertically elongated windows stretching behind the Patriarch's desk. Yet even that served merely as a contrivance to cast a halo of light over the Lord while plunging visitors into imposing shadow. Every single object in the room was arranged to reinforce the absolute authority of the head of the house.
Accordingly, the emotion most visitors felt upon entering was sheer, suffocating intimidation.
"I was told you summoned me, Father."
"Yes, you have arrived."
Duke Luminel kept his voice deliberately low. Without bothering with pleasantries or formal inquiries about her well-being, he cut straight to the point.
"You are to be married."
"I shall."
"I am well aware of how haughty you are, so—wait, what?"
"I said I shall obey your command."
"..."
Duke Luminel was rendered utterly speechless. Even though it was an order he had issued himself, hearing his daughter's immediate compliance made him doubt his own ears.
"Do you even know who your intended partner is, that you accept so readily?"
"Would it change anything no matter who it was? Say what you will, I am nothing more than your personal property, Father."
"No father views his only daughter in such a light."
"How heartwarming. You have truly brightened my mood."
As if.
Seeing his daughter make no effort to hide her cynicism felt somewhat alien. While she had never possessed a gentle disposition, she had never before possessed the nerve to spit such biting remarks at the head of the house.
Yet in this moment, the Duke's daughter unilaterally laid down her demands.
"I only ask that you prepare a dowry befitting the illustrious name of House Luminel."
And then, she added one final condition.
"Even if that partner happens to be a nameless Commoner."