Chapter 66

Thank you very much for the overall evaluation of 48,000 points!

Since returning from the lord's mansion, Reta has been busy trying to cheer up her daughter all the way until the next day.

Incidentally, it's the older daughter.

Mina seemed to enjoy it, saying, "I want to go to the lord's mansion again," but Luna apparently didn't like the fact that Reta was receiving affection from Valerie.

As a result, she has been in a bad mood, muttering things like "fait accompli... forced... responsibility," which is quite scary.

She's a very proactive child, so if she gets serious, I don't know how to handle her.

So, I decided to start by trying to cheer her up.

We went out into the town and bought sweets.

Even though she complained, "I'll get fat!" she is still a girl. She couldn't resist the temptation of sweets and ended up eating to her heart's content with her sister.

Thanks to this, she is in a better mood today than yesterday.

Thanks to this, I can leisurely open my magic book and study.

The sisters are probably helping out in the inn's kitchen right now.

When I'm alone, I can't help but think about yesterday.

(Just how serious was Lord Valerie's line?)

Even a dull old man can tell that Valerie has some feelings for me.

However, Reta, who has no experience with romantic relationships or even proper interactions with women, couldn't gauge the extent of her feelings.

Speaking of feelings, the same goes for Luna.

Things are going well with Mina as a parent.

Shy Mina has grown into a very honest and reliable person. She still has a childish lisp, but in other ways, she is more mature than her sister.

Her sister, Luna, seems reliable but is actually quite lazy.

She leaves her clothes lying around and often lounges around when she has free time. It's clear that Luna has feelings for Reta.

She often throws herself around, claiming to be his wife, but Reta accepts it as a form of communication.

Of course, he strongly denies any misunderstanding that he has a younger girl fetish and would take advantage of a minor.

In any case, Luna's affection is also clear.

However, Reta still couldn't tell how deep her feelings were.

—Without any romantic experience until he became an old man, it's really confusing. Should he take it seriously or as a joke... If he makes the wrong choice, he might die.

At the very least, he doesn't want to make her cry.

He thinks the best way to do this is to maintain an appropriate distance and build a good relationship as a family.

(She might be feeling anxious.)

Luna and Mina were once part of a secret organization.

Although Reta accepted them as his family and they haven't returned to the organization, he's not foolish enough to think they'll be left alone.

Reta is having a trustworthy merchant friend investigate the organization. He's waiting for a response.

Eventually, he will have to fight the organization.

For that day, he wants to learn as much healing magic as possible.

"Reta! Are you there!? We have a customer!"

"Riggs?"

While lost in thought, a knock on the door brought him back to reality.

When he opened the door, he found the flustered dwarf innkeeper.

"Are you that flustered... Is it a patient?"

"Something like that, but I was surprised by who it was. Don't be shocked, but Lord Tieda is here in person."

"Huh?"

For a moment, Reta gave a blank response, but he quickly rushed out of the room.

For Tieda to show up at his place the day after yesterday, something must have happened.

An unpleasant thought crossed his mind.

Could something have happened to Valerie? His heart raced at the thought.

"Lord Tieda! ...And Lady Valerie!?"

Sitting in the chairs in front of the inn's reception were Tieda Roderwald, the lord of this town, and his sister, Valerie Roderwald.