Chapter 17
Reina's problem with her toxic parents was safely resolved, and five years passed.
Since then, Clael and Reina had faced occasional troubles, but thanks to the Saint's blessing, they were able to resolve them with ease.
Reina had grown up healthily without anyone interfering, and now she had become a fine young lady.
Her studies for academy admission were going smoothly.
She had always been a serious girl with a quick mind.
After three years, there was nothing left to teach her, and she began studying on her own by reading books from the shrine and the library.
As for Holy Arts, she had long since surpassed him.
She had mastered magic that Clael couldn't learn on his own, and before he knew it, she could even control the power of the Holy Spirits.
With how Reina was now, she might even be able to defeat the final boss that appears at the end of the game all by herself.
(She'll be old enough to enter the academy next year... Saint Level 99, huh? I mean, seriously, was I ever really needed?)
"Is something wrong, Clael?"
"...No, it's nothing, Reina."
In the dining kitchen of the shrine, Clael shook his head at Reina, who had asked curiously.
In his line of sight was Reina, wearing an apron and stirring a pot.
Reina had grown her shining silver hair down to her waist, and her figure had matured into that of a full-grown woman.
Her beauty had become even more refined, surpassing even that of the game's heroine.
(I don't think of it as my achievement. Honestly, I wonder what I even did for her...)
Clael had used his game knowledge to raise Reina and aimed to avoid any tragic developments, turning her into a splendid heroine.
That goal was mostly achieved... but now he wondered: was he really necessary for her?
(All I really did was take Reina into the shrine. I only taught her the basics in studying, and she learned Holy Arts mostly on her own. Even if I had done nothing, I feel like she would have ended up happy anyway...)
Reina's growth speed was incomparable to that in the game.
It felt like she had grown on her own, without Clael needing to use his game knowledge.
(It was the Holy Spirits and the military police who captured her toxic parents... If anything, I've received too much from Reina.)
Clael turned twenty-three this year.
Perhaps because he had spent five years by Reina's side... his skill in Holy Arts had improved dramatically, and now he could use advanced magic like Ex-Heal even without her nearby.
Thanks to that, recently people had been coming from neighboring towns to receive Clael's healing, leaving large donations at the shrine.
(Even if I retired today, I could live the rest of my life in comfort... but have I really given Reina enough to deserve all this?)
Lately, Clael had found himself thinking about such things more often.
Had he truly fulfilled his role as a parental figure?
Weren't most fathers out there doing a much better job?
These anxieties kept surfacing in his heart.
It was probably a kind of parenting blues.
Next year, Reina would leave the shrine and enroll in the royal capital's academy.
There, she would meet a handsome romanceable character, fall in love, and end up with him.
Faced with the steadily approaching farewell, Clael had lost confidence as a father and was feeling blue.
"Alright, the stew is ready... Is something wrong? You really don't look well."
Reina placed the food on the table and peered into Clael's face.
"N-No... it's nothing, really?"
"Are you sure? Lately, you've been acting a bit strange, Clael."
"R-Reina..."
Over the past five years, Clael had started calling Reina without using any honorifics.
That was the result of her tearfully pleading, 'It makes me sad when you're so formal...' Reina also called Clael by his name.
"Do you have a fever? Excuse me for a moment."
"Ugh...!?"
Reina gently bumped her forehead against Clael's.
At an extremely close distance... her beautiful Saint-like face was right there, as if they were about to kiss.
"R-Reina... that's a bit..."
"Hmm... you feel a little warm, but it doesn't seem like you're sick. Maybe it's just the change of seasons affecting your condition?"
"I-I'm fine, really!"
"Ah..."
Clael hastily pulled away from Reina.
Reina let out a disappointed sigh, but then quickly pressed her index finger to her lips and smiled mischievously.
"After dinner, let's take a bath and go to bed early, okay? I'll wash your back tonight too."
"N-No, um... like I said before, at our age, bathing together is..."
"But Clael, you always say, 'I'm like a father to Reina.' We're like parent and child, right? Then it's not strange for a daughter to wash her father's back out of filial piety, is it?"
"I-Is that so?"
"Exactly. Or... are you seeing me as a woman, Clael?"
Reina met Clael's gaze and smiled seductively.
Her expression was strangely alluring... almost as if she were seducing him. Was it because Clael harbored impure thoughts?
"O-Of course not. I'm Reina's guardian, a father figure..."
"...I see."
Reina withdrew her smile and sat down at the table with a serious expression.
With somewhat poor manners... she roughly plunged her spoon into the stew.
"Then, it's fine for us to bathe together, right? And after that, we'll sleep in the same bed... I won't give up until you surrender, Clael."
The softly muttered words at the end never reached Clael's ears and vanished into the air like a whisper.