Chapter 115: CH 114

This took place about a month ago – roughly one year after the revolution happened.

“Claire-sama, did you forget to bring anything with you?”

It was morning time. Claire-sama, who was in the middle of putting her shoes on by the front door, glared at me as soon as I said that.

Yep, that kind of gaze is wonderful as well.

“Rei, tell me… Just how old do you think I am?”

“You’re almost seventeen years old.”

There was no way I could ever forget Claire-sama’s age.

I started daydreaming about what to do for her birthday.

“That is correct, I am almost seventeen. I am an adult who is already raising two daughters, you know?”

“I know. That aside, do you have a handkerchief with you?”

I asked, perhaps a bit overly concerned, as Claire-sama answered with, “You are being overbearing.”

“I have one with me.”

“What about tissues?”

“I have some with me.”

“And your lunch?”

“I have it with me.”

“Did you know that it has suspicious substances mixed in as well?”

“It has what!? What did you do!?”*1

Claire-sama snapped back.

Yep, she is full of vigor today too.

“Come on, that was obviously a joke.”

“It does not sound like a joke when you say it…”

Claire-sama had a tired look on her face.

“Claire-sama, are you feeling unwell? We can’t have you feeling like this first thing in the morning.”

“Whose fault do you think it is!?”

Mine.

And it was on purpose.

Ehehe.

“Hmm? Claire-okaasama, you still haven’t left yet?”

“If you do not hurry, you will be late, you know?”

While I was busy teasing Claire-sama by the front door, Mei and Alea had finished their meals and were now coming to see Claire-sama off.

“Did you two remember to clean up your dishes?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes, we did~”

The twins and I watched as she left, with her curls bouncing back and forth as she went.

This is also something that I’ve become quite used to.

Claire-sama and I have become teachers at the Royal Academy.

Usually, neither of us would be at home, but it wasn’t unusual for us to take turns watching over the house either.

It was Claire-sama’s turn to go to work today, and I was left to take care of the house.

“Now, you two, let’s go and brush our teeth.”

“Okay!”

“Yes.”

Mei and Alea both nodded earnestly at my words.

It seems like they’re behaving rather well today.

The girls are typically quite obedient, but lately, they’ve been a bit selfish just to poke fun at me and Claire-sama.

Although, when you consider the lifestyle that they had before, I’m actually glad that they’ve become comfortable enough to be selfish.

While looking at Mei and Alea brushing their teeth in unison, it somehow made me feel like smiling.

“Rei-okaasama, please finish it for me.”

“For Mei too!”2

“Alright, alright, one at a time.”

As I sat down on the carpet, Alea jumped in first.

She lifted her face a little bit and smiled as she opened her mouth widely.

Her baby teeth were clean and very neatly aligned.

I brushed her teeth carefully and thoroughly.

“Alright, it’s finished, Alea. Next is Mei.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Alea, hurry up and move outta the way!”

Almost as if she was pushing Alea away, Mei came towards my knees.

Mei is a bit more of a spoiled child than Alea.

Just like I did with Alea, I brushed Mei’s teeth with extreme care as well.

“Alright, it’s finished for you too, Mei. Now, go and rinse your mouth.”

“Okay!”

Mei ran in the direction of the bathroom.

Even the sounds of their small footsteps were endearing to listen to.

Because those two were quite easy to take care of, it really helped us out, as we were both inexperienced as parents.

Most likely, a majority of parents out there were having a harder time than us.

Although this happened in my previous world, all of my friends who got married and had children would always complain about how everyday felt like a war.

So far, Claire-sama and I haven’t really experienced anything like that for ourselves.

“Or maybe things are just getting started?”

It’s been about a year since we welcomed Mei and Alea into our family.

In the beginning, those two looked like lifeless dolls, and to think they’ve become this energetic now – perhaps this really is where the trouble starts.

“Ah, geez, Mei. Rei-okaasama, Mei spilled water everywhere.”

“Alea, why did you have to tell her! Mei would have cleaned it up herself! You’re mean!”

Just like that, my train of thought was interrupted by a dilemma.

I grabbed two rags and went towards the bathroom.

As I walked in, I saw that the floor appeared to be a little bit wet – with Mei trying to mop it up with a hand towel.

When Mei’s eyes made contact with mine, she looked a bit ashamed.

“Mei, it’s good that you’re cleaning up after yourself.”

“Yeah!”

“But when you’re wiping the floor, you should use a rag instead of a hand towel.”

“Ugh… I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, you just have to remember it for next time. Now, shall we clean this up together?”

I handed Mei a rag, and she immediately started wiping the floor with all of her might.

“It is unfair that only Mei gets praised.”

“In that case, do you want to help too? I have one more rag.”

“I will do it! Mei, let us have a competition!”

“I won’t lose!”

Seeing those two turn this into a competition made me want to crack a smile.

Alea was similar to Claire-sama with her fiery spirit, and had a tendency to turn a lot of things into a match between herself and Mei.

It seems that even though we weren’t related by blood, they really took after us anyway.

“We’ve cleaned it up.”

“We did!”

“Yep, it’s nice and shiny now. You two both did well.”

I gave them both a pat on the head and stroked their soft hair.

Mei and Alea looked incredibly content with themselves.

And just as I thought we had reached a happy ending…

“Which one of us did better at wiping?”

“Which one?”

“Ehh….”

I was suddenly appointed as a judge.

For a second, I thought they were joking, but they looked serious.

“Can’t I just say that both of you did well?”

I found myself in a pinch.

Sometimes, it was difficult to guess how a child’s thought process worked.

What’s more, you see these kinds of things happen a lot, where parents just brush their children off because they’re kids, but unbeknownst to them, this only results in hurt feelings.

That was something I learned quickly despite my short parenting experience.

“Well, let’s see… Do any of you know what it means to be “good” or “bad” at wiping?”

“I don’t know.”

“Dunno.”

Given that they had no idea, I saw an opportunity to change things up.

I continued.

“The first thing is how meticulous you are with wiping. In that case, whoever cleaned it the most neatly will be awarded one point.”

“….”

“So on that note, Alea did it most neatly.”

“It is my victory, then!”

“Eh-!”

Alea’s face immediately lit up, while Mei’s lips formed a pout, showing her dissatisfaction.

“However, there is also surface area to take into account as well. Whoever covered the most space is also awarded with a point. On that note, Mei wiped up most of it.”

“Hooray!”

“Ehh….”

It was Mei’s turn to show her delight this time, while Alea sulked.

“Since you both have one point, this match ends with a tie.”

“”Ehh!””

Now they were both unhappy with the results.

Oh well.

“Are you unsatisfied?”

“I am.”

“I can’t accept this!”

“In that case, would it be alright if I seriously decided on a single winner?”

“… I would not like that.”

“I don’t want that!”

“Right? So it’s a draw. You both did well.”

I pet both of their heads once again.

They still had a complicated expression on their faces though.

“Now, go and play in the garden. I’ll get some cleaning done. Relaire?”

Heeding my call, a translucent creature slowly made its way towards us from the end of the hallway.

Relaire, a water slime demon that I caught a while ago, gradually became bigger in these months.

She has grown to be about as big as a large dog.

Those days of keeping her in my pocket have now become nostalgic memories.

“Relaire, please allow us to ride on your back.”

At Alea’s request, Relaire stuck an arm (?) out and placed Alea on her back.

“Are you not getting on, Mei?”

Alea asked, inviting Mei to join her.

It seemed that they were both feeling awkward about earlier, so Alea was most likely trying to make up with Mei.

“I will! Relaire, let me on please!”

Mei accepted the offer honestly.

Relaire lifted Mei up and placed her on as well.

Just like that, the three of them went out the front door and into the garden together.

“Go a bit faster, Relaire!”

“To the right! The right!”

Relaire was Mei and Alea’s best friend.

There were other kids around the same age as them in the neighborhood, but still, those two chose to spend most of their time with Relaire.

I’m still not sure whether that’s a good or a bad thing.

That was something I should probably discuss with Claire-sama later.

“Well, it is what it is.”

Raising a child meant going through a lot of trial and error.

And I think there are some things that need to be given up along the way.

There is no such thing as a perfect parent.

“These are things I never thought about when I was a child.”

There were plenty of new things I learned through raising a child.

I don’t have any regrets about coming to this world.

However, I do think it’s unfortunate that I could not express my gratitude towards the parents that raised me.

“Whoa!”

“Rei-okaasama! Alea fell off!”

“Alright, alright, I’m coming.”

Oh man, I didn’t even have enough spare time on my hands to be sentimental.

But I was happy with the things that kept me busy regardless.

1) TL note: I tried to translate this gag as best as I could, but perhaps it got lost in translation. In Rei and Claire’s back and forth, Claire responds to everything with 持ってます/”mottemasu” (“I have it with me”, in this context). When Rei mentions adding suspicious substances, Claire responds with 盛ってます?!/”mottemasu?!” (“It’s been poisoned?!” — in this specific context), which has the same pronunciation.

2) Also, Mei likes to refer to herself in third person, which is something that many young children do in Japan. On that note, Alea speaks just like Claire, in that both of them use very formal language (e.g. わたくし/”watakushi” (first person term) instead of わたし/”watashi”, ending their sentences with ですわ/”desu wa” instead of the more commonly seen です/”desu”, among many other things).