Civil Servant in a Romance Fantasy

959 – Mental Preparation – 4

The Phoenix’s high-speed maneuvers were only a prologue.

– Welcome. It’s been months since I last saw you at the prayer service.

A turtle waddling along, carrying fairies on its shell.

– Still, I see you again before the sun sets. Thank you for coming.

Likewise, a tiger approaches lightly with fairies attached to it from head to tail.

…

‘Why isn’t there one?’

It’s strange. According to the pattern, there should be a snake after this. Why did it end with a turtle and a tiger?

Just as I was trying to find the land that was left alone despite the presence of fire, water, and wind, the water spirit king spoke first.

– The land is in the World Tree. It’s playing with the fairies.

“okay.”

I immediately understood what he said. I know very well how much meaning, pain, and tears are contained in the word “play.”

At the same time, I sent my condolences to the spirit king of the earth who was screaming from the world tree. The fairies are strangely fond of playing with the spirit king of the earth, so to speak, they are in the same position as Jang-saeng in our mansion.

The spirit king of the land, who is squeezed in real time by the ever-increasing number of fairies since the resurrection of the World Tree. If the spirits were not immortal, he would surely have died from overwork.

‘If there is a next life, I hope to be born as a different spirit.’

I don’t know if there is such a thing as a next life for the Spirit King, but it would be cruel to pray that he would suffer forever in his immortal life.

Isn’t it more cruel to pray for happiness in a future that will never come?

‘I don’t know…’

Only Jang-saeng in this world can understand the feelings of the spirit king of the earth.

– Hmm?

Anyway, the Water Spirit King, who greeted me, passed the letter to Tricky, and then tilted his head.

– Tricky. The spirit’s energy has grown stronger since I last saw it. It wasn’t like this before, was it?

– That’s true. My friendliness has increased to the point where I can trust other people.

The Wind Spirit King also burst into admiration at the Water Spirit King’s words and approached Tricky.

Then he brought his nose close to Tricky’s body and sniffed, as if trying to feel Tricky’s friendliness from a closer perspective.

“Oh, King of the Wind.”

– Oh, I’m sorry. Raphaella’s granddaughter also has considerable affinity for spirits. I was so happy that I made a mistake.

When Tricky, who had suddenly been nose-walked by the Spirit King, opened her mouth in a bewildered voice, the Wind Spirit King smiled faintly and stepped back.

– It seems that Tricky has become close to the spirits thanks to the children. And since she is raising the most friendly child on this continent, it would be even stranger if she were not influenced by them.

– Or maybe it’s because of the World Tree’s resurrection. Even if she was born with an affinity for spirits, Tricky grew up in a time when there was no World Tree. In that case, her innate affinity would inevitably decline, but now, hasn’t the World Tree’s energy spread across the continent?

– Indeed. That could be the case.

The Water Spirit King and the Wind Spirit King, who had been gossiping among themselves, turned their heads back to Trixie.

– Do you plan on seeing the end of the path of the spirits, not just magic?

– If you start walking now, we will actively help you.

I started doing business naturally.

The Spirit Kings are the ones who secretly or openly encourage our triplets, especially Cattleya, to walk the path of the Spirit Master. And now, these Spirit Kings are trying to seduce even Trixie, who is called the Demon Lord. What a wondrous sight this is.

‘I suggest another path for Majong.’

This is possible because she is a spirit from another world, not a continental being. Or, it could be because she sees Trixie as just a young elf, not a duke of the empire.

“I already live with the spirits, so I feel like I’ve become half a spirit master.”

Tricky seemed to know that too, as she smiled softly and answered.

“But is it okay to learn spirit magic now? Is it too late?”

– Too late! It’s not something a young, let alone a little kid would say!

– That’s right. Besides, the reason elves don’t learn both Elementalism and Magic at the same time is because they’re worried that it might lead to a mixed result, but didn’t Trixie master Magic at a young age? In that case, she could learn Elementalism as a liberal arts.

At those words, Tricky’s ears began to twitch.

As a husband, I can tell. That’s a fluttering of joy. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen anything like that.

‘Why all of a sudden.’

The sudden sight made me think quickly. What was there in the conversation just now that would make Tricky happy? Was she perhaps happy that she had learned a new field as a wizard and scholar?

No, that wouldn’t be the case. If Tricky had wanted to, she could have studied spirit magic to some extent.

‘no way.’

After discarding the possibility of a scholar’s thirst for inquiry, the words of the spirit kings naturally came to mind.

The Water Spirit King called Tricky a ‘young girl’. The Wind Spirit King praised her for achieving great magic at a ‘young age’.

If it’s not because of a desire to explore, then that’s all. I’m happy to be a young elf recognized by the Spirit Kings.

‘From the Spirit King’s perspective, you need to be at least as mature as a dragon.’

For a moment, that thought crossed my mind, but I tried to keep my mouth shut.

Because he’s not so tactless as to disturb his wife’s joy.

“Then I will learn from next year. Since the children will be staying in the elf residential area next year, I would like you to teach them then.”

– Of course. You can look forward to it.

– I will do my best to be able to make a contract with at least a high-level spirit.

And I am not brave enough to interfere with the aspirations of the two spirit kings.

– Uh… I’m here…

‘ah.’

In the midst of this chaos, the spirit king of the earth flew through the air with an unfiltered haggard aura.

It seemed like he had finally been freed from being the plaything of the fairies, but he still had fairies hanging from his body.

– What were you talking about? My hearing has been bad lately, so I can’t hear what’s being said from far away.

“Auntie Land, Aunty Land, do you have bad hearing?”

“What should I do? What should I do?”

– It’s because of you guys…

It’s truly a shame.

The time spent talking with the spirit kings of water, wind, and earth was only about 30 minutes at most. This means that the triplets were led into the house by their maternal grandmother for only about 30 minutes.

But what on earth happened in those 30 minutes? While we were chatting outside for a while, what kind of disaster happened in those 30 minutes or so?

‘That’s amazing.’

I absentmindedly looked at the mountain of plates piled up in one corner of the table.

It is definitely not an amount that three children can handle. My grandmother prepared small plates considering that children would eat them, but even considering that, it is still a considerable amount.

“Ugh, Grandma… Stop…”

“I’m full… I can’t go in…”

“I don’t want to…”

I turned my head towards the triplets who were screaming, not screaming.

The children were so full that they were slumped over in their chairs. If Mar had seen this, he would have pointed out, “It’s rude to sit like that while eating,” but the condition was so bad that even Mar would understand and ignore it.

It was such a cruel and sad sight that I cried with my heart. Have you ever seen triplets’ ears hanging down like that?

‘sorry.’

My daughters, I’m sorry that Dad is out there. If he had been a shield, this disaster could have been prevented a little.

“Are you in? Oh, the kings have come too.”

‘and.’

Meanwhile, my grandmother came out of the kitchen with a new dish.

This is a wonderful kitchen. It’s clearly the home of a single person, but how can so many dishes come out of it?

– Hey, Raphaela. These kids seem to be full now.

“No. That’s because they think they’re full. When you actually give them food, they don’t eat well.”

– Well, I feel bad about leaving it behind since my great-grandmother gave it to me.

Despite the Fire Spirit King’s logical objections, my grandmother placed all kinds of dishes on the table.

It looks pretty tasty. It looks good and smells good, so I want to eat it too. I think the triplets enjoyed it at first too.

But when you’re full, even the best smells can feel like torture. Unfortunately, the triplets have reached that point as well.

“Ugh, eueeeeee…”

“Dad… Mom…”

“We’re full…”

Eventually, he reached out to me and Tricky, begging them to get him out of this reverse-demon hell.

“Excuse me, Grandmother. How about eating the leftovers as a snack or dinner? We should eat a light lunch so that the kids can run around and play.”

Even though I had already eaten a lot, it was by no means a small amount, but I opened my mouth to persuade my grandmother.

If they eat more than this, the triplets’ weight could change by two times. They may have to ride on charity or kindness for a while instead of walking on two feet.

“Hmm. Well, it’s hard to play if your stomach is too full. It’d be better to leave it somewhat empty.”

‘Someone who knows that.’

It’s a miserable feeling. Why would someone who knows this torture this way─

“But this tastes better when eaten right away. Let’s eat what we made.”

“yes?”

“Okay, both of you sit down. We might run out, so I’ll have to make some more.”

My eyes trembled at my grandmother’s words.

That’s right. Come to think of it, Trixie and I aren’t daughter and son-in-law, we’re granddaughter and granddaughter’s son-in-law. We’re the first ones to receive grandmother’s loving food torture.

This idiot. He keeps calling me Grandmother, Grandmother, and he forgot that. What the hell is wrong with his brain?

“Is Dad eating?”

Just before I started racking my brain about how to get out of this crisis, I nodded gravely at Maria’s expectant voice.

It is the law that a father must shoulder the burden of his daughter’s crisis.

***

He smiled faintly at the sight of Carl moving his fork with a look in his eyes as if he was going into battle.

And I looked at the triplets who were leaning against the wall side by side and making a fuss.

‘You did well to come.’

Before the sun set, I had a great time wandering around with the kids.

If Karl becomes the Duke’s deputy next year and the children stay in the Servet or Elf residential district, it will be difficult for them to move together for a while.

A family trip to console the very short separation in advance. A trip where you can feel the love of your relatives and maternal grandmother.

My heart feels warm and I can’t stop smiling.