「I don’t know if you heard this before, but half spirits are born with special abilities, and Lyne was born with the ability to attract very strong spirits to herself. That obviously caused her to be targeted by Chimera, so shortly after we were taken in by the Fifty Bells and we’ve been here since then.」
Saying that, Ashley turned to look around at that city built below a lake, while also scoffing at himself for being too weak to protect those who he loved.
「But they haven’t given up on taking her yet and they deployed an observation network shortly after, so we don’t know where their eyes might be. If we carelessly go out and they happen to see us with our son, they’ll know who he is, and knowing how they act, they’ll probably do something with him so Lyne does as they wish. That’s why it’s best if we don’t interact with our son until this battle is over.」
Ashley also longed to see his son, so he could sympathize with Lyne’s actions as he placed a hand on Mira’s head.
As Ashley had mentioned, those born from a mix of spirits and another race would inherit peculiar powers. And out of all of them, Ashley got one which was incredibly useful for someone like Chimera Clauzen to accomplish their goal faster. Because of that, Lyne was relentlessly pursued by them. Even when she was being brought to the Fifty Bells’ headquarters they were attacked countless times. As a result, they were unable to take her son as well, while also not allowing a shred of evidence of their relationship to be noticed.
Now that Mira knew the circumstances they were in, she silently let them pat her head.
「Heyy, Ashley and lyne! And the young lady is with you as well.」
Arlon spotted the three, who looked like a happy small family from afar. He was there to buy supplies as well, and apparently Ashely and Lyne were common acquaintances with him as they greeted him in return.
「I guess your wife went into another of her episodes.」
Arlon glanced at Mira, whose hair was completely disheveled from all the patting, before looking at Ashley who had a more composed look. The way Lyne would blindly follow young spirits before running into someone else, or the way she would hug children as soon as she saw them were a well known occurrence there.
Since Mira fit perfectly into the appearance Lyne seeked, Arlon could guess exactly what happened.
「But these hardships won’t last much longer. We’re about to head on a very important mission which should greatly change the situation, and even the end of all this might be near. I’m sure you’ll meet your son soon.」
Arlon declared that with a confident voice, which took Ashley and Lyne by surprise, who looked at each other before exclaiming 「Really?!」 with a very hopeful voice.
「Yes, it’s true. A very strong helper has arrived to lend us a hand as well. Do you know who that young girl is?」
「Oh right, I haven’t even asked for your name.」
Ashley spoke as if just remembering something, looking straight at the silver haired girl, while Lyne looked at her with passion as well. Having their attention focused on her, Mira puffed her chest and pointed at her cheek while saying 「I’m Mira」 with a prideful voice.
「You’ve probably heard how there’s a lot of Chimera members being captured lately? That was all thanks to her, and she’s strong enough that even Uzume recognizes her strength. Knowing all that is really reassuring, isn’t it?」
Arlon ended his sentence with a bright grin. He was normally a calm and composed person, so him smiling was a rare sight. Seeing that, Ashley and Lyne could only smile as well.
「That’s good to know. She does sound really dependable!」
Ashely spoke in delight after his eyes went round with admiration. Uzume or Kagura was the commander of the Fifty Bells Union, and everyone under her respected and admired her power, some even feared it. Because of that her criteria to judge someone’s power was really picky, commending only a handful of A rank adventurers who were at the top, or people with comparable skills.
After staring at the silver haired girl clad in cutesy clothes, Ashley looked up towards the sky covered with the lake’s surface, laughing vacantly at just how many surprises that vast world held before heaving a deep sigh.
「You can trust me. And I vow that I’ll make all of this end shortly, so just bear with it for a little longer.」
Mira was still too young to understand just how hard it was for a parent to be unable to meet their son, but she knew more than enough how hard it was for a child to be away from their parents. Mira was aware of the risks involved with promising something important like that, but she just had to say that.
「We’ll see him shortly, just a little longer…」
Lyne closed her eyes in relief after staring at Mira for a long while, having heard her promise without a speck of doubt. Then she brought her hands together against her chest, as if protecting something very dear to her. Ashley put his hand on Lyna’s shoulder, turning to Mira and Arlon thanking them silently by lightly bowing to them.
「You heard her, I’m sure knowing this was the best news you could hear.」
With that, Arlon glanced one last time at the couple before leaving towards the market to finish his preparations for the next day. His eyes during his last look were sharp, but filled with kindness, like the shine of a knight’s sword.
「Well, that’s about it. Just do everything you can do inside here in the meantime.」
Mira could guess how they might feel, being unable to leave the headquarters, so she said that before going on her way as well.
Ashley was also known to Chimera Clauzen, so he could not go out either, as much as he wished to be part of missions that went outside. In the end, he and Lyna remained there as they saw Mira off, praying in their hearts.
The street lights were barely starting to be lit when Mira headed back to the palace, walking while thinking about Ashley and Lyna.
(Hmm… Ashley and Lyna. I feel like I heard that somewhere before.)
She felt a certain familiarity with those names, but no matter how much she prodded at her vague memories nothing came out.
Having finished almost all of her shopping, Mira returned to the inner palace, where a maid then led her through an inner corridor, at the end of which the Fifty Bells Union commander’s personal room was located. Kagura was waiting inside, wearing a plain and completely different getup as before.
「Somehow you look more like your old self now.」
Mira was the first one to speak, seeing Kagura’s new attire.
「I mean, I feel way more comfortable in these.」
Kagura, wearing a red tracksuit, lifted her eyes from the papers in front of her and looked at Mira.
「So, did you finish your preparations?」
「Pretty much.」
「I see.」
Kagura replied shortly while standing up, grabbing a cushion from a mountain of them in a corner of the room, and placing it to the side of her table.
「I want to hear stories from grandpa now.」
As she returned to her earlier spot, Kagura spoke with the same curious look of a small child.
「I also had some things I wanted to ask you.」
