SIDE:
Druid and Ivy’s Big Step
DRUID’S PERSPECTIVE
I showed Ivy the document.
“Lord Foronda got it ready for us. He really is something.”
“Yeah. Wait… Do we really need all these people?” A look of shock filled Ivy’s face when she saw the row of guarantors. I smiled at her as she stared at the eight tiny signatures that had been crammed onto the line.
“No, they only need two.”
“But there’s eight.”
“Apparently, that was after they cut down the number of people who wanted to sign. Everyone you know has been hoping I would adopt you.”
“Huh?!”
“They’ve been worried about you. They’re all so kind.”
Ivy’s finger softly traced the signatures on the paper as she nodded. “Yeah.”
“You’ve been blessed with a lot of good people in your life, Ivy.”
“Yeah. Wow…so I get to have a family… Hmmf!” she cut off, with a sniffle.
When I saw the tears streaming down Ivy’s face, my hand paused midair. What should I do…? I never know what to do when Ivy cries. I’m supposed to console her, right? Umm…but how do I do that? I gave her head a gentle pat. Uh-oh…now she’s only crying harder. None of my brothers have had kids yet, so how should I know?!
“Um…are you okay?”
She’s accepted me as her father…and I’m already a sorry excuse for one. I think I’ll see if the bookstore has any books that might help me.
“Pu! Pu, puuu.”
“Te! Ryu, ryuuu.”
Finally, Sora and Flame broke their silence, jumped onto Ivy’s lap, and looked up at her with concern.
“Hee hee! Thanks, Sora and Flame. Don’t worry, I’m okay.”
Ivy’s eyes were puffy, but she did look all right. What a relief. Those two slimes saved my hide.
“Are you going to sign it?” I asked.
“Yeah. Where do I do that?”
I pointed, and Ivy wrote her name. Wow…this feels so surreal. I had already signed my own name—I did it when I was up all night, too nervous to sleep, so all we had to do now was turn it in.
“Wow…this feels so crazy. I’m happy, I’m nervous…but I also feel like I’m floating on air…”
I looked at Ivy. Her hands covered her smiling mouth as she stared down at the adoption paper. As I watched her, I could just feel the joy rising from her. That made me happy in turn, a smile filling my face.
“From now on, I’m happy to be your father.”
“And I’m happy to be your daughter. Oh, wow! Now I know that your full name is Druid Fanmarallia.”
Come to think of it, I never told her before. Well, I guess surnames aren’t really that important in your daily life.
“Yeah, only nobles bother to use their surnames most of the time. It’s only needed when you give birth, get married, or die.”
Are there any other times when a surname is important? Oh, sometimes you need to use it when you change your address or your adventuring post.
“Where did ‘Fanmarallia’ come from?” Ivy asked.
“It’s the name of the person who built the town of Oll.”
“Whoa, really?!”
Uh, didn’t she know that? That’s right, she spent her early childhood all alone in the forest.
“Um, yeah, everyone from Oll has the surname Fanmarallia.”
“So…does that mean everyone in a town shares the same family name?”
“That’s right. The only time people use their family name is when they move to a different town or village, or when an adventurer changes their base of operations.”
That made sense because last names exist to show where you were born.
“Wow, I didn’t know that. So that must mean there are a whole lot of Fanmarallias out there.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
I put the adoption paper in my bag. I guess I can file this in the afternoon. Oh, and I need to tell Lord Foronda that Ivy said yes. All that’s left is… Wait, I feel like I forgot to tell her something. What was it again? I told her about her parents…and we signed the adoption paper…
“Let’s go get some breakfast,” Ivy suggested, getting up from her seat.
I stood up, too. “Sure.” I know I’m forgetting something very important… “Oh, wait a minute!” I must have been over the moon about Ivy being my daughter, because I’d forgotten to tell her something vital. “Sorry, we still have time, right?” I looked at the clock and saw that we had about an hour before breakfast would be over. With a relieved sigh, I had Ivy sit down again. “I’m sorry, but I forgot to tell you something really important.”
“What is it?”
“If you don’t want to hear about it, stop me anytime.”
Sensing the tension in my voice, Ivy sat up straight and looked at me.
“I wanted you to know how Ratomi’s villagers all ended up getting arrested. Somebody sent Captain Oght evidence of their crimes…and it was your sister, Fecilla.”
“What?!”
I looked at Ivy and saw no traces of disgust on her face—she just looked numb. Maybe she could stand to hear more…
“Since Fecilla blew the whistle, her sentence was reduced. She’ll be enslaved for eight years.”
Ivy’s gaze fell onto the table. Was she okay?
“…All right. My sister… Where is she right now? Is she okay?” Ivy looked up at me, and I could tell she was sincerely concerned.
“She’s working under Captain Oght’s care right now. They say she’s working hard every day.”
“Oh…she’s with Captain Oght…” Relief filled her face, and I felt my tension melt away at the sight of it. If she had shown the slightest hint of disgust, I wouldn’t have told her anything else, but she looked like she was going to be all right.
“Captain Oght hasn’t told her…that you’re still alive.”
“Huh?! Oh, right. Everyone thinks I’m dead.”
“Yes, and nobody’s going to reveal you’re alive or where you are right now without your permission.”
“Okay…do you think I should visit her?”
Huh? For just a second, I saw fear in Ivy’s eyes. What’s she afraid of? Her sister?
“There’s no rush. You can visit her when you feel like it.”
Ivy looked surprised by my response. Maybe she thought I was trying to steer her toward meeting her sister? Well, if she hadn’t acted so scared, I might have encouraged her to do just that. But if she was afraid, I wouldn’t make her. Ivy’s feelings came first.
“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t have to see her right away.”
“Sure, let’s keep going to the capital like we planned. You can think it over after that.”
That would give her more than a year to think about it. During that time, Ivy might truly wish to see her sister, in her heart of hearts. And if she didn’t, she could take more time.
“Yeah, I’ll do that. I’m not quite ready yet…”
“Got it. Well, now that that’s all settled, let’s go eat breakfast and file this paper! And we’ll need to tell Lord Foronda the news on the way back.”
“Okay.” It was a relief to see the clouds in her eyes clearing up.
“What do you think they’ve got for breakfast?”
“I sure am hungry… Umm, sooo…”
Hm? What is it?
“Let’s go…Dad!”
Whoa! She’s called me that once or twice before, but…boy, what a good feeling.
“Hee hee!” she giggled.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay!”
LORD FORONDA’S PERSPECTIVE
“Good morning, Master. You seem to be in high spirits today…did something nice happen?”
I took a sip of the hot tea my maid Amari had poured me. It was particularly tasty today.
“Yes, I accomplished the task I set out to accomplish. I may have two visitors later this afternoon.”
Amari nodded in reply. Then, after a moment’s thought, she smiled and said, “Did you give Lady Ivy the form, Master?”
“No, I gave it to Druid.”
“Oh?! But you prepared that form after reading the faax from Lady Ivy, did you not?”
Yes, I had drawn up that form for Ivy. Her faaxes told me that she revered Druid as a father and was taking good care of him. And in Druid’s faaxes, I saw a father who cared deeply for his daughter. Everyone who knew them wished that they would become a true family, but something was holding Ivy’s feelings back. At first, I thought it might be her former family, but that was an issue for Druid to resolve. All I could do was give Ivy a little push…so I got the adoption form and had her guarantors sign it.
“I was pleasantly surprised by those cretins. It appears they are good for something after all.”
The ones who had betrayed Ivy gave Druid the push he needed. All the pair needed was a catalyst, and I couldn’t stop myself from putting in a word to send those cretins to the worst place possible. Ah well, they deserved it.
“They tried to kill sweet little Ivy, after all.”
I was, however, glad that I heard them out. Those cretins helped me make an amendment to the matter of Ivy’s skill. It took a little threatening—er, lecturing—to get them to talk, but I had no problems getting the information out. And thanks to that little episode, I forged a good relationship with Sifar and Rattloore.
“All that remains is to introduce Ivy to my sons; then everything will be perfect.”
“Please don’t, Master. I feel sorry for Lady Ivy.”
“But I raised my sons well! What’s the problem?” At the risk of sounding pompous, they really are good boys.
“The problem, Master, is that you behave diabolically toward anyone who hasn’t curried your favor. I would hate for your wicked streak to rub off on poor Lady Ivy.”
“Oh, so I’m the problem… Amari, sometimes you can be so cruel.”
Maybe she was this way because she’s known me since I was born…but she truly can be cruel. And I can’t hide anything from her, either. Truly terrifying.
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