Chapter 197: Chapter 198: Well-Behaved Cats Like the Kitchen Stove! (3)

Evening had fallen.We returned to the mansion from the hunting grounds.We then feasted on the goose and deer that Cariote had caught with her arrows, and it was delicious.

“That was a wonderful meal. It was exquisite, Chef Fabian. It seems you’ve honed your skills even further while I was away at the Junk Mansion?”

As Cecily dabbed her mouth with a handkerchief and praised the mansion’s chef, the Santa Claus-look alike chef bowed his head, beaming with pleasure.

“You honor us, Fräulein 1. We all strived to improve ourselves while awaiting the young miss’s return. It’s gratifying to see you enjoy the meal.”

There are particular types of people in this world.When you receive recognition from those who are stingy with praise, it tends to boost your pride even more than usual. In that sense, Cecily’s praise was quite valuable.After all, Cecily was generally a girl full of complaints.

“You’re really playing the part of a little miss.”

I remarked while observing Cecily.

“Indeed I am.”

Cecily nodded.In contrast, Cariote remained rather nonchalant.Seeing that she didn’t even comment on the taste of the game she had brought back, I wondered if this was another form of maturity in its own way.However, Cariote’s younger sister, Dina, whined a little.

“I prefer beef to venison. Sis, why didn’t you bring back a cow instead? Weren’t there any cows in the hunting grounds? The meat near the armpit is so tasty, you know.”

Cariote didn’t bother to respond.Dina, probably finding Cariote’s reaction dull, turned her attention to me.

“Judas, why didn’t you bring back a cow!”

I was fond of beef too.I was contemplating having beef for breakfast tomorrow when Cariote, who had been silent during the meal, frowned at Dina.

“Dina, I’ve been meaning to say this for a while, is that a proper way to speak to your future brother-in-law? Try to show a bit more respect.”“Tch-.”

I hadn’t really been bothered by it.After all, I was just as disrespectful to others.But it was quite unexpected for Cariote to say something like this, so I just stayed quiet. It made me feel like I was really starting to be accepted as part of their family.

With that feeling, after we ate, night had fallen.Thinking I’d have a glass of water before bed, I came out to the mansion’s kitchen and ran into Cecily. Seeing me, Cecily clapped her hands as if it was perfect timing.

“I heard we’re visiting grandmother’s grave tomorrow. Is it possible that Dad could bring grandmother back to life? I heard you revived people as shadows?”“That’s correct.”“Then you could resurrect grandmother, right? I, Cecily, have so many things I want to ask Grandmother Leone, who was known as the lady of ladies!”

I see.Suddenly, I thought of my maternal grandmother.Unlike Cecily’s grandmother, mine was just an ordinary person who grew strawberries and grapes in the countryside.Because of that, Mom would go down to the countryside every summer to help with the farming, and I would tag along and play in the fields.At the time, it felt a bit dull, but I was still fond of my grandmother too.

“If you bring back my grandmother, I, Cecily, will show you filial piety!”

Filial piety?It was the first time I’d heard such a thing.It was also the kind of word I would never utter.But when Cecily mentioned filial piety, I became a bit curious.

“What kind of filial piety?”“I, Cecily, will massage your shoulders!”

I see.Very traditional.With a feeling of ‘let’s see you try’, I sat down on a chair in the kitchen, and Cecily stood on a nearby chair and started kneading my shoulders with her small hands.Of course, I couldn’t feel a thing.

“How is it? My, Cecily’s, filial piety!”“I really can’t feel anything, you know?”“Oh? Then how about this? Cecily Secret Style! 500x Filial Piety!”

Squeeze— Squeeze—Cecily kneaded my shoulders with considerably more force.It was better than before, but still far from enough to massage my steel-like trapezius muscles. Well, it was still cute, I suppose.

So this is the joy of raising a daughter.Come to think of it, I had never massaged my parents’ shoulders.My younger sister would hold hands with Mom and Dad, go to the market together, watch movies, and such.It’s funny for me to say this, but having a son really is useless.

Pat—At that moment, Cecily took her hands off my shoulders.

“Hmph!”

Had she realized that it would be difficult to persuade me with ordinary filial piety? I had no intention of raising my daughter by spoiling her, so I evaluated her coldly.

“Ten points.”“…Grr.”

Cecily growled like a wet cat.For Cecily, who had always lived doing whatever she wanted, the concept of ‘something she couldn’t do’ must have felt like an insurmountable wall.But this was my role as a father.If I raised my daughters by spoiling them too much and left them unchecked—

—Wow, holy shh…! I’m 25-year-old Naru Barjudas! I do whatever I want! Naru is the master of science! The boiling and freezing points of the Pangaea continent! I must experiment! Mwahaha!—How dare you put a wall in the way of me, Cecily. I’ll break it down! And I’ll make the person who designed this city plan kneel before me, Cecily, right away!—Hehe! Hina has become weird from studying too much! Hina Eye Beam!

They would oppose each other and destroy the world.If children, raised by being spoiled, enter society and raise their shoulders thinking they’re all that, the world would truly collapse!

“Tch! I hate you, Dad! I won’t talk to you anymore!”

Finally, Cecily stormed off to her room.Is she sulking?

When I was young, I also firmly decided ‘I won’t say a single word to Mom anymore’ after getting spanked with a stick.Cecily seemed to be as shocked as I was when I got spanked.But it couldn’t be helped.There were requests that were hard to grant even if I wanted to.It was true, as Cecily said, that I could raise dead people in the form of shadows. But it was limited to souls wandering in my territory, “Abyss Land”.

The rule I’ve grasped so far is that when a person dies, their soul scatters to different worlds. And each of those different worlds is managed as the territory of the respective Demiurges.It was better not to violate this regulation if possible.It’s funny for me to say this, but there were plenty of weird fellows among these transcendent beings—Demiurges.As long as someone like Nocturne, who tried to destroy the entire dimension, doesn’t appear, the unspoken rule was to not interfere with each other.Therefore, the only souls I could call as shadows were those who unfortunately fell into the hell-like “Abyss Land”.Cecily’s grandmother, Lady Leone, fortunately did not exist there. It was fortunate that she wasn’t suffering in the hellish Abyss Land, but looking at it now, it might also be slightly unfortunate.Human affairs are really like that sometimes.

Feeling a bit awkward, I scratched the bridge of my nose and looked around. That’s when I saw a familiar shadow through the kitchen window.

# # #

Cariote surveyed the garden under the moonlight.She kept glancing around.

Was she up to something?What mischief could one get into in a garden?Public urination or something?While I was imagining various scenarios, it happened.

Ahem— Ahem—Cariote cleared her throat and spoke softly.

“—.”

It was a voice that trembled strangely, like dew on a spider’s web. Even I, hiding in the shadows of nearby bushes, couldn’t make out the exact pitch.After looking around again for a while, Cariote opened her lips once more.

“Ah—“

This time it was a bit clearer.Although it was only two notes, it was definitely something that could be called singing.

Rustle— Rustle—At that moment, the bushes rustled.Cariote’s black eyes shone under the moonlight.

“A squirrel?”“No, it’s me.”

The one who rustled the bushes was me, hiding in those bushes.When I jumped out, Cariote’s eyes widened more than I’d ever seen and she shouted.

“Kyaa—oop!”

Of course, I quickly covered Cariote’s mouth with my palm as she was about to scream. If she screamed in the middle of the night, everyone would wake up.And I particularly disliked hearing a woman’s scream in the middle of the night because it was especially unnerving.

“Shh.”

When I indicated with my index finger that she needed to be quiet, Cariote nodded. She quickly adjusted her pajamas and then asked me quietly with a very red face.

“…Did you see that just now?”“You trying to sing secretly in the garden?”“In-Insolent! Singing? I was just, um… trying to relieve myself in the garden! The mansion’s bathroom is too, well, fancy, and even makes singing sounds!”

Cariote seemed mortified that she had been caught trying to sing and that someone had overheard her.I thought relieving oneself in the garden would be more embarrassing than singing, but I decided to let it slide because it was amusing.That aside, ‘Insolent!’?What an odd way of speaking.Does Cariote become haughty when she’s too flustered to maintain her usual poker face?

“Sorry I’m not a squirrel.”“Be-Be quiet!”

She was making the most noise while telling me to be quiet. I had thought Cecily’s willful behavior resembled me, but it seemed Cariote had some share in it too.Well, considering that her younger sister Dina seemed a bit silly, it wouldn’t be strange if Cariote had such aspects too.Was Cariote’s mother like that as well?Suddenly, I became curious about something.

“Earlier, Cecily was wondering if I could summon your mother, Lady Leone, as a shadow. I told her it wasn’t possible and Cecily got a bit upset because of that.”“…My mother?”“Actually, it’s not completely impossible. The method is tricky and troublesome, but since we finally have some family time, I thought it might be a bit dull to just relax at the mansion. What do you think?”“……”

Cariote, who had been flustered, suddenly became very calm.Was she lost in thought?The silence continued for about 10 seconds.Just as I was about to poke her side with my finger, wondering if she had fallen asleep standing up, Cariote spoke.

“…For the dead to return. It would go against the rules of the world. Judas, if you say it’s a tricky and troublesome method, it’s probably not something humans can handle. I-It’s fine. I think you did well by refusing.”

Swish—With those words, Cariote went back into the mansion.

1. An unmarried German woman. used as a title equivalent to Miss.