EP.79 ZZ. SAVE Point.
***
A father’s back looks as big as a mountain when you’re a child.
But when you grow up, it seems small—almost fragile.
I think that’s when you truly become an adult.
I realized this when I saw my father, who had been a firefighter.
And the reason I was thinking about this now—
"Daddy...!"
"Kid, I’m not your father...."
—was because a small girl in a wizard’s hat, clad in black from head to toe, was clinging to me, calling me Dad.
"Licht, are you married?"
"I am not, Mardol! You know that!"
"...That’s true."
Beside me, Mardol—still disguised as a tree monster—walked along, watching the mysterious child with an amused expression.
"What’s your name, kid?"
I asked, thinking she might be lost and had gotten separated from her parents.
"I can’t tell you!"
She giggled mischievously, covering her mouth.
Her brown eyes nagged at my brain.
A strange sense of familiarity.
I sighed and lifted her wizard’s hat.
"Daddy! Stop playing around! Give me back my hat!"
She puffed up her cheeks, sulking.
She even looked at me with resentful eyes.
Why did she remind me of someone?
‘No wolf ears...?’
I had briefly wondered if she was related to the Nameless Saintess, but she lacked any of the traits of the wolf-blooded.
‘She’s just a normal human...?’
For a second, I had even entertained the thought that she was my future daughter, somehow sent back in time.
But no.
Even in a fantasy fusion world, that was too ridiculous.
"I need to know your name if I’m going to help you find your real parents."
"You’re so clueless, Daddy. I hate that."
She pointed at my Dark Knight armor with her little finger, scolding me.
Who are you calling clueless?
I felt a headache forming and pressed a hand to my helmet.
"Kid, where’s the rest of your family?"
"I came to the empire with my older brother, but there were too many people, so I lost him!"
She didn’t even flinch at Mardol’s Cuere disguise.
I thought it looked creepy, but she seemed completely unfazed.
"Oh! A Fox Slime! That doll is so cute! Hehe!"
"...Thanks for the compliment."
She even casually chatted with Mardol.
Thank goodness she didn’t call her Mom.
"Why do you think I’m your dad?"
"Because only Daddy wears black armor and a black helmet like that!"
That hurt.
What’s wrong with Dark Knights?
So she had mistaken me for someone else because of my armor?
I glanced down at my new black armor—the one Mardol had just bought for me.
If this was what made her think I was her father...
She was probably related to Mardol, then.
She had black hair, after all.
‘Well, the shopkeeper did say it was a best-selling item.’
She must have confused me with another Dark Knight class NPC.
There was no way I was the only one wearing black armor in this world.
‘Maybe I’m just imagining things...’
But even as I tried to rationalize it, something felt off.
Black hair was rare in this world.
It was usually a royal trait—or belonged to the Northern Grand Duke’s bloodline.
"Let’s go find your brother. Where did you last see him?"
"By the fountain! Gosh, Daddy, how do you not know that?"
I swear—was she innocent or just messing with me?
She must have meant the fountain on the way to the Academy.
It wasn’t far.
"Daddy! I want that!"
"...A Crystal Apple?"
The girl grabbed my leg, pointing at a shining apple displayed at a nearby fruit stand.
"No. Also, I’m not your father—"
"Hic... I’ll cry... Daddy...!"
"Licht, just buy one."
Now she was threatening me with tears.
And Mardol was encouraging it.
I hated hearing children cry.
I had heard it too many times before.
There was no winning this.
"Welcome! Ah, is that your daughter?"
"Absolutely not."
The fruit stand’s young female vendor greeted us as we approached.
"Oh, what a cute young lady! Oh—?"
"Daddy! Let’s go to another store!"
The moment the vendor reached out toward the girl,
She jumped like a startled cat.
"No flirting! Daddy!"
She hid behind my back, yelling about womanizers.
...What?
I am not your father.
And I am not a womanizer.
I have loved only one woman for fifteen years.
"No need to be scared. Here’s your Crystal Apple."
"Licht, womanizer."
"I am not, Mardol—!"
Before the flags could spiral out of control, I quickly paid and handed the glistening apple to the mysterious girl.
"Why are you saying no flirting?"
"Mom told me to protect Daddy from other women!"
She chomped into her apple with a crisp crunch, finally smiling again—
And then dropped a nuclear bomb of a statement.
‘...Who is your mom?’
Because I am a lifelong bachelor.
I have only one future in mind, and it is with our Saintess.
No other woman even registers to me.
"Eat slowly."
"Hehe, but it’s so good!"
Despite Mardol’s attempt to scold her, the girl kept stuffing the apple into her mouth.
‘Can you just ignore a royal princess like that?’
"I’m so happy I ran into you, Daddy! I honestly didn’t think I would!"
Now she was clutching my hand, acting like a real father-daughter pair.
The longer I looked at her, the more that strange familiarity nagged at me.
‘...Maybe her parents told her not to share personal information with strangers?’
That would make sense for missing children to prevent kidnappings.
I remembered seeing a TV segment once—
They advised parents to write their contact information inside their child’s bag, in a place that wasn’t easily visible.
Just in case they got lost.
How ironic.
Because now, I was the one dealing with a lost child.
"We’ve arrived."
After a short walk, the fountain came into view.
Not far away, a young boy was frantically searching the area.
"You...! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!"
"Hehe, sorry, Big Brother! But I found Daddy!"
A boy, dressed like a swordsman with a blade at his hip, rushed over to us.
He had brown hair and the same golden-brown eyes as the girl.
…Oh no.
Was he going to say I was his father, too?
"Dad...?"
"Yup! Who else could it be?!"
The girl in the wizard’s hat puffed up her chest proudly.
The boy looked up at me—
And suddenly, his face paled.
"..."
"Huh? Big Brother, what’s wrong?"
He furrowed his brows, his expression twisting in disbelief.
Wait.
Wait, wait, wait.
Was this really happening?
Was I actually married to a brown-haired woman in the future?
As my imagination spiraled out of control—
"I—I’m so sorry! My sister’s just really mischievous!"
"Huh? He’s not our dad...?"
The brown-haired boy quickly cleared things up, bowing apologetically.
Thank god.
So she wasn’t my future daughter after all.
"Of course not! If wearing armor makes someone your dad, then every knight in the Imperial Guard is our cousin!"
"But the scent is..."
The boy placed a firm hand on his sister’s head, gently lowering her hat.
She pouted.
"I’m Ipherit, and this is Lynn."
"Mmph! Big Brother, my name!"
"Quiet, Lynn. You caused trouble."
Oh.
So she had a name.
Unlike someone I knew.
Ipherit held his sister’s mouth shut as she flailed.
"Whew... At least it was just a misunderstanding. I almost became a married man with kids out of nowhere."
"She was cute, though."
I sighed in relief.
With two brown-eyed individuals involved, I had almost thought this was a scripted event leading to some unknown story route.
"That’s definitely an insult aimed at me, Mardol."
"...Who knows?"
Maybe this was just a random encounter.
Mardol covered her mouth with one hand, her tree monster disguise making her expression hard to read.
"We apologize for the trouble. Thank you both."
"We’ll be going now! Bye-bye!"
Surprisingly polite.
He was young, but his speech was formal.
With that, the siblings turned to leave—
When Lynn suddenly dashed back to me.
"Daddy. Take care of the Mana Rose."
"...What?"
She whispered it right into my ear—
Then ran off before I could react.
"Wait—how do you know about that?!"
"Hehe, it’s a secret!"
By the time I turned to chase her,
She had already disappeared into the crowd with her brother.
***
Far from Licht and Mardol—
In a quiet, empty alleyway—
"Ive, you really can’t just wander around using a disguise spell that barely works."
A boy sighed so heavily, it was as if he was trying to sink into the earth.
"But I hid my wolf ears—!"
"Shh. Quiet, Ive. Omniscience might be listening."
"Oh... Right."
The girl in the wizard’s hat—Lynn, or rather, Ive—removed her hat.
She placed a small hand on her head, undoing her disguise spell.
"But Sei! Why did you lie back there?! That was really Daddy!"
As the spell unraveled,
Soft black wolf ears twitched atop her head.
She stared at her brother, demanding answers.
"Ive. Right now, Mom and Dad don’t know who we are."
"Oh... Right. That’s a problem."
Sei gave his sister a disapproving look.
He had only barely managed to deceive their father by coming up with fake names on the spot.
"Seriously... How do you always manage to bump into them at the worst times?"
"Hehe, admit it, Sei! You’re jealous!"
"Mom was right there, too. You should’ve been more careful."
As he spoke, Sei dispelled his own disguise magic.
His brown hair turned black, and his human ears shifted into wolf ears.
"Huh? Mom was there? But all I saw was a tree monster covered in flowers!"
"You really are as clueless as Dad..."
Ive’s wolf tail stood straight up in shock.
Sei sighed and gave her a serious look.
"Golden wolf eyes. There’s only one person who would be with Dad wearing those."
"But... all I smelled was dirt...."
"I see better than you, remember?"
His golden-brown eyes gleamed, much like someone else they both knew.
A sign of inherited perception.
"You could’ve told me!"
"It was too dangerous. You know how powerful the Demon Lords' authorities are."
Ive stomped her feet, frustrated.
She pouted at Sei, feeling robbed of something.
"...Yeah. I guess you’re right."
"At least they didn’t realize anything."
Sei flipped through the worn pages of an old book, scanning the lines of text.
"Dad’s memo hasn’t changed."
After a moment, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and spoke again.
"Let’s go, Ive. Did you do everything you needed to?"
"Mm-hm. But... Sei, do you really think this will work? Can the route really change?"
"We have to hope it can."
With a bitter smile,
The two black-haired siblings vanished into a glow of light.