Chapter 88
“I don’t know that either.”
“…Pardon?”
“First, I have to get permission from my dad.”
The Lady’s father.
= The Duke of Crost.
“……?”
Guide’s face went pale as his mind raced to connect the dots.
‘Oh dear. He’s going to cry again.’
“He-hehe. We-well then, shall we go for the interview now?”
I quickly grabbed Guide’s hand, pretending not to notice he was on the verge of tears.
I felt I had to get this over with before he started wailing again.
A short while later.
“What is it this time?”
Calyps, who was focused on his work as usual, narrowed his eyes at the sudden scene unfolding before him.
“Father. This golden seed has brought a great talent who will flourish in the future.”
‘She’s planning to cause trouble again.’
Whenever she was up to something, she always used that strange, overly formal tone.
Scritch, scritch—
Even the expression on his daughter’s face as she rubbed her hands together like a fly was suspicious.
Calyps stared at his daughter, who was giggling mischievously, before finally speaking.
“Wait a moment.”
“Yes?”
“Let me take a deep breath.”
He needed time to prepare himself mentally. After exhaling a long, deep breath, he finally nodded.
Suddenly, he found himself missing Lucas, who was likely hard at work in his successor lessons right now.
“…Fine. Bring in this ‘great talent.’”
“Yes, sir!”
The doors swung wide open. A boy appeared from behind Aisha and stood hesitantly before Calyps.
“H-h-h-hello, Your Grace.”
The boy was about the same height as Aisha.
He had matted brown hair, a pale, terrified face, and watery eyes that looked ready to burst into tears at any moment.
‘To call this a great talent… his appearance is…’
Calyps tried his best to hide his bewilderment and was about to acknowledge the boy’s greeting when—
‘…A Ferry?’
His body stiffened.
The boy wasn’t the only one who had entered the office. There was a monster, too. And not just any monster, but a ferocious Ferry, known to be a nuisance even among the knights.
A Ferry that he should have drawn his sword to slay immediately was hanging off the boy’s shoulder like a piece of laundry, staring at him.
And with innocently sparkling eyes at that.
‘I don’t know what this is, but she certainly brought in a big shot.’
Calyps let out a hollow laugh. Keeping his gaze fixed on the monster, he spoke to Aisha.
“Daughter. Explain.”
If he hadn’t developed a certain level of immunity to Aisha’s antics, he would have sliced that monster in two by now.
‘Patience.’
As a true father, he decided to observe his daughter’s eccentricity just a little longer.
“Yes, sir!”
Aisha, who had been standing tensely as if gauging his mood, perked up her ears at his question and nodded vigorously.
“Guide. Will you show the Duke what you showed me earlier?”
“Y-yes.”
At the girl’s request, the boy named Guide nodded.
Then, he stole a glance up at Calyps.
“Hi-hiieeeek!”
Terrified, he burst into tears.
“M-my Lady, I…”
“Go for it, Guide!”
Regardless, Aisha pumped her fist in encouragement.
Gaining courage from her support, the boy gave a loud sniffle and set the Ferry down on the floor.
“…….”
Until this point, Calyps remained silent, feeling a sense of responsibility for making the boy cry for no reason.
However, even if the boy was scared, he had to properly justify why he had brought a monster here.
If he failed to show anything, Calyps planned to call the servants, give the boy some chocolate or bread, send him on his way, and then lecture Aisha about not picking up just anyone from the streets.
But then.
“H-huff. B-Bibi… S-sit.”
Though the boy was sobbing, he managed to finish his command.
Thump—
The monster sat.
“G-g-good job… B-Bibi… hic… Bibi. Now, j-jump…”
When the boy raised his clenched fist into the air, the Ferry jumped.
This was a monster? Not a puppy?
In all his time dealing with monsters as the Duke of Crost, Calyps had never once seen a monster that followed human commands.
He had heard rumors of monsters being shown at illegal circuses, but even there, they weren’t trained; they were merely restrained so they couldn’t move.
It meant that monsters were never beings one could communicate with.
Except for Kyle, of course. But then again, Kyle wasn’t entirely human.
“…….”
Because of that, he couldn’t help but be amazed by the boy before him.
‘My daughter. Just what on earth have you brought home?’
“Th-this is all I-I can d-do… I-I’m sorry…!”
When Calyps remained silent, the boy, thinking the reaction was poor, began to panic.
‘This is all’?
It was ‘this much.’
“…You. Your name is Guide?”
“Y-yes.”
“Are you able to converse with the Ferry?”
“N-no. It’s not exactly a conversation… I-I just trained her to do it. I want to show you more, but Bibi can’t do continuous training without snacks yet. But if I have snacks, she can do other things too!”
So, it was possible.
“Right, Guide. Good work for now. You… go and rest. The monster’s name was…”
“B-Bibi.”
“Right. Go rest with Bibibi…”
“It’s B-Bibi!”
Calyps let out a sigh.
“Right. Go rest with Bibi. I’ll call for you later.”
“Y-yes!”
Guide nodded and shot Aisha a look, as if asking if he’d done well.
When Aisha nodded and patted him on the back, his face instantly filled with relief and pride.
Soon, a servant entered and led the boy out, and Aisha waved to him as he left the office.
Calyps watched his daughter with wonder in his eyes.
Truly, she had an extraordinary talent for bringing the strangest people over to her side.
“Isn’t it amazing? Oh, whoa?”
He suddenly scooped up Aisha, who was beaming with a bright smile.
Her mouth, which had been gathered like a baby bird’s as if she were about to start rambling, turned into a little triangle.
Calyps narrowed his eyes and asked.
“What exactly are you?”
“…Pardon?”
At the sudden question, the child’s red eyes grew wide and round. Calyps stared intently at the daughter in his arms.
“…….”
His adopted daughter was actually a spy sent to use him, the person she brought home was the King of Monsters, and now the new one she brought had the unheard-of ability to train monsters.
What were the odds of experiencing such things in one lifetime?
The biggest problem was that every single one of them held a favorable attitude toward monsters.
To the head of the Crost family, the protectors of the North, whose life’s purpose was the subjugation of monsters.
“…Sigh.”
Calyps realized anew.
Whatever the case, this child tilting her head in front of him could never be an ordinary person.
Seeing how she effortlessly brought in such strange characters, she was destined for greatness, one way or another.
She wasn’t ordinary from the start. So, a child like this…
“Good job, Aisha.”
Deserved praise.
Though his expression remained indifferent, he did his best to stroke the child’s head.
“I don’t know if this Guide fellow will be a poison or a boon to our family, but it’s better that we manage him rather than letting some strange family find him. You did well.”
“…Daddy.”
The girl’s eyes sparkled.
He never knew that red eyes so much like his own could look so happy.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly without him realizing.
“From now on, keep your mischief within the bounds of safety. Understood?”
“…Mm-hmm… Yes!”
“Good. Now, you may go.”
Having received a somewhat unreliable answer, he set Aisha down on the floor.
The child scurried to the door and waved her hand energetically.
“See you at dinner!”
‘Cute little thing.’
He nodded, finishing his farewell to Aisha. A short while later.
Bam—
The firmly closed door suddenly swung open, and the atmosphere in the quiet office shifted.
It was Knox who entered. His monocle flashed white as he panted heavily and called out to Calyps.
“Your Excellency.”
“What is it?”
“Why… why didn’t you call for me?!”
He then reproached Calyps with a disgruntled face.
“A boy who gives orders to monsters? If there was a chance to see such a spectacle, you should have naturally called me, Knox, the President of Masamo!”
“Ah. That.”
He had been planning to call him anyway. Though not to show him a spectacle.
“I’m holding a meeting about that in a week. We’ll discuss it then, so be prepared.”
“Th-then, are you bringing the boy to that meeting as well?”