I brought Daisy to the marketplace where she was currently choosing the snack that she wanted. I promised to reward her for being a brave girl, and a promise is a promise. She was having trouble selecting what snack she wanted as there were so many to choose from. I gave her freedom to make her own decision as I turned my gaze to get a good look at the marketplace. There were certainly a lot of people buying fresh goods and such. While I certainly preferred the fresh goods at the port, it doesn't justify taking three days of carriage journey to purchase fresh goods there and another three to return back here.
"Look, Daddy, an apple pen!" said Daisy as she tugged on my sleeve.
"No, sweetie, that is a candy apple. Do you want this as your snack?" I asked her.
"Enn!" she nodded her head with a smile.
I purchased the candy for her, and we proceeded to head home. Ah, what an adorable child. Apple pen? I chuckled at the thought of it as we strolled back home. Hang on, that's—certainly something that only I should be able to think of. Why is Daisy mentioning it instead? Does she—have my curse as well?! OH NO!! How am I going to tell Rose?! Not only does she have stunted growth, she also has my curse!!
"Daddy, you're sweating again. Are you alright?" asked Daisy with a genuine concerned look at me.
"I'm fine. You don't have to worry. We are almost home," I told her.
Obviously, I'm not fine. Every step back towards home is like walking closer to the fiery death of Mordor. I opened the gate into our small garden, and Daisy rushed in. I stood outside to admire my house. I bought this house with Rose when I decided to marry her. We did a lot of property hunting and decided to settle upon this one. It was not a fancy house, mind you, even though I could definitely afford a more expensive one. The royalty fees from the sales of my Mermaid's Breath potion had been accumulating for so many years. So much so that my next few generations would not even need to earn a penny from the day they are born to survive. Of course, I wouldn't allow them to get lazy. I'll make sure to lock the majority of the money as fixed deposits or something and will only be opened to them when they reach a certain age.
This home of ours is just a two-storey house with a small garden located at the front where I grew a tree for shade and other alchemical ingredients. It's the perfect size for a small family, and it's not too far from all the basic necessities we need for our daily life. All in all, I love this house.
I headed in and saw that Daisy was talking to Rose about what happened earlier. Rose just smiled at her and wowed at her story. Of course, she asked why she was eating a candy apple when dinner was approaching soon.
"I'm back," I announced to Rose as I removed my shoes and placed them by the entrance.
"Welcome back, dear. I heard something exciting occurred while you were picking Daisy. Do you want to talk about it?" asked Rose as she was carrying Daisy.
"Before that, Daisy, I believe you have some schoolwork, right? Can you head upstairs and finish it before dinner?" I asked her.
"Awwwww— there are still some days before I need to hand it in. Do I have to do it now?" she asked me.
"Hmmm— tell you what, if you finish it by today, then Daddy will bring you over to the playground tomorrow. Deal?" I pulled out my pinky towards her.
"Deal!" she wrapped my pinky with hers and headed upstairs after me.
"Alright, what's going on? You don't usually bring her to the playground as you hate people staring at you. Tell me—o-nii-chan~" Rose whispered to me at the end.
Bloody hell, she sure knows how to get me pumped. We spent countless nights enjoying ourselves because she knew how to excite me. Perks of being a little sister before my actual wife.
I brushed her hair aside and stroked her cheek. Rose had gotten older after 15 years. She's 32 now and she looked more matured yet so much more beautiful. Whenever I brought her out, guys would either stare or take a quick glance at her. That, and she had also learned how to put on makeup. I wonder if it was Lily who taught her.
I gave her a deep, passionate kiss. Our lips parted and she was blushing. Even after all these years, she still blushed whenever I gave her a passionate kiss. She told me it was because I still looked exactly as I did 15 years ago when I confessed and proposed to her. Seeing my exact same face kept reminding her of that time. Yes, I've stopped growing or probably had a stunted growth at the age of 20. I'm worried that this is affecting Daisy as well. I still don't know why I stopped ageing as it just doesn't make sense.
"Rose, stay calm about what I'm about to ask you, alright? Do you think that Daisy might have some issues?" I asked her with a concerned face.
"What do you mean? Can you elaborate, please?" she asked me with a concerned look.
"Daisy doesn't feel like she's ten. Isn't she like—so much shorter than both of us when we were the same age? And also her demeanour, she's acting like she's half her age. Should we be concerned?" I asked her with a sigh.
"Ah, that. I was kind of hoping you wouldn't take notice of that," she turned her gaze away.
"Rose, what do you mean? You knew about it?" I asked her with my mouth agape.
"I am her mother. Of course, I noticed this years ago. I didn't tell you about it because I didn't want you to know," she told me.
"W— why? Am I such an incompetent husband that you didn't deem me fit to know about our daughter's condition?" I asked her with a sad look.
"Well, it did take you until today to realise Daisy's condition, but no. Zen dear, Onii-chan~ I didn't tell you about it because I promised Lily. If I were to discuss it with you, you would have linked it with your own," she explained.
"Sigh, fine. So, what's wrong with our daughter? We need to know if there's something wrong with her. Why does Lily have the right to know when the husband doesn't?" I pressed her for more answers.
She gave a deep sigh and put on some thoughts. I stared at her, hoping for an answer about our child's condition. She gave in and eventually told me about it.
"Onii-chan, you remember the time when you—died? Lily was the one who resurrected you," she said.
"Yes, I'm aware of that. You told me before and I gave her my best gratitude when she came over the last time. Is this because she resurrected me and it's somehow affecting Daisy?" I asked her.
"I did ask her about it when she came over. But—she refused to tell me what it was that she did. I did request for her to check on Daisy's condition though and she explained that there might be a chance that whatever she did to you might have affected Daisy as well. So, moving forward, we have to treat Daisy as though she's half her age. Capiche?" she explained to me.
"Is—my paused ageing due to what she did to me as well? Come to think of it, the timeline seems to tally. Didn't she go with the elves right after my battle with Tom? What if—she was punished for reviving me?" I started to grab my head with my hands.
"I don't know, dear. I suspected as much, but Lily refused to give me any sort of information about it. We just have to take it as what it is and hope for the best. Mind you, Daisy is not dumb for her age. As a matter of fact, Daisy is actually really smart, and that was why I sent her for additional lessons. She seems to have taken an interest in alchemy like you. You will have to teach her more in the future," she explained.
"Are we really not allowing our daughter to be an adventurer? She seems to be interested in seeing me fight earlier too," I asked her.
"And how, Zen? Do you think it's a good idea to send Daisy to join a guild next year when she behaves this way? What kind of parent are we to send a ten-year-old with a six-year-old mentality to her death? I'll be damned if I ever let that happen," said Rose with a frustrated tone.
Whenever Rose uses my name directly, it means that she's not fooling around. And I do share her concern about Daisy.
"You're right, I'm sorry. Come here. Everything's going to be okay. Everything will be fine. We'll take care of Daisy no matter how long it takes. I promise you on that," I gave her a hug while petting her head.
I never realised that Rose had thought about Daisy's condition while being unable to consult me. What a fool I was for not noticing it much sooner. At least the cat's out of the bag now, and we find ways to help Daisy now.
"Daddy, did you make Mummy sad again?" asked Daisy out of the blue.
We broke the hug as we were surprised that Daisy had come down to talk to us.
"Did you finish your schoolwork already? That was fast," asked Rose.
"There are a few questions that I don't understand. Can you guide me, Mommy?" she asked.
"Of course. We'll finish it after dinner then," smiled Rose as she pet Daisy's head and headed into the kitchen.
"Oh, right. What about the person you fought earlier?" she asked me.
"We'll talk about that later. Let's get dinner prepared first," I told her.
I followed my wife into the kitchen to help her prepare for our dinner while Daisy went back upstairs. I was in a dilemma about whether I should tell her that Daisy might have been afflicted with my curse. I know it's not something she would like to hear, but we swore not to keep secrets between ourselves unless it's really necessary.
"Rose— you might not want to hear this, but— Daisy might have my curse as well," I told her gently.
"Oh, I know. I heard her mumbling about weird stuff in her sleep before. I was hoping it was just a one-time thing," she sighed as she stared at the ceiling.
"Do you— regret marrying me? I am so sorry that all this is happening is because of me," I apologised to her with a genuine sorry tone.
"What? No, no— Hey, look at me. I don't regret marrying you. Never once did I think of that. Being together with you is my dream and it came true. Nothing is ever going to change that," said Rose as she held my cheeks with her hands.
I smiled and gave her a gentle kiss. We resumed our cooking duties as per usual. As always, I helped her prepare the ingredients while she did the cooking. It used to be using firewood to start a fire for cooking, but with the invention of using gas, things had become relatively easier. Of course, if we wished to bake or roast something, firewood was still the best way to go. The same goes for boiling water, as gas is not cheap since it's relatively new to us.
As I was chopping some ingredients, Rose decided to ask me.
"Zen, are you still unwilling to accept Lily as your second wife?" she asked me out of the blue.
"You know that I'm firm with my decision, right? Besides, how would we know that Lily's still single? For all we know, she could be with someone else right now," I told her.
"I doubt it. Lily won't find someone as long as you're still alive in this world. I truly believe that's the case. You do realise that she saved your life, right? Shouldn't you— you know? Repay her in some way?" she asked.
"Rose, do you think we'll still be this lovey-dovey if Lily were here? It would be you getting jealous seeing me pamper her, and vice versa. Nothing good is going to come out of having two wives. Trust me," I explained to her.
"Sigh, I don't know why you keep sticking to your principles. Either way, if you decide to change your mind one day, I'm fine if Lily joins our family. Truth be told, she is practically a part of our family now for me," said Rose as she started cooking.
I kept quiet and didn't reply. While yes, I am indebted to Lily for resurrecting me, I don't believe that marrying her is the only way I can repay her. There are other methods for me to repay someone for saving your life, and it's not just marriage. On that, I am certain.
"Are you planning to meet the guildmasters tomorrow?" asked Rose.
"Yes, I received their invitation. Seems like they're gonna get me started on a new task," I explained.
"So did I, let's go together," said Rose as she showed me her letter.
"W— what? Then who's gonna take care of Daisy?" I asked her with a surprised look.
"Oh, don't worry. I've already asked Daffodil to come over to help out tomorrow. Her daughter seems to click really well with Daisy, so I'm sure they are gonna enjoy each other's company," explained Rose.
"Alright. I guess you had everything planned out already. Let's go on a date tomorrow before heading to the hideout," I told her.
"A date? You do realise that we're already married, right?" she asked me with a confused look.
"Who says you can't date your wife after getting married? There's no such rule. I wish to rekindle our relationship further, so do allow me to do so," I explained to her.
"Alright, alright. I just love it when you get all philosophical," she chuckled.
***
We had our dinner, and Rose was tutoring Daisy with her schoolwork. I was resting on my bed, thinking about what the future holds. There are certainly a number of concerning reports about strange things happening around the world. Is this a sign of his return? Are we even capable of defeating him once again? I really wonder what they are going to assign me tomorrow.
I was transported to a familiar white room. Then the scenery changed to an empty grassland with a flat rock in sight. I didn't even realise I had fallen asleep. What do these two want to talk about after such a long time?
"Hello, boy. It's been a while," said Kirin.
"Yo," said Byakko as he sat on his favourite flat rock.
"It's been a while indeed. A pleasure to meet the both of you. What can I help you with?" I bowed to them.
"We are here to warn you about the future, boy. We noticed that the Ethereal had a lot of disturbance lately. Even us Celestial Beings are concerned about it," explained Kirin.
"Indeed. The Cosmic Beings are growing restless as of late. We do not know what is causing them to behave this way, so be careful. I'm certain a great battle is about to arise soon," explained Byakko.
"I think I can guess what it is. Most probably the Demon King is coming back, and he'll be waging war against us once again. I hope the both of you are ready for your revenge," I smirked.
"Careful, boy. We have seen the Demon King's true power and what he's capable of. He is indeed very powerful. Truth be told, he is as powerful as a Celestial Being himself. Sadly, though, we cannot help you directly in the upcoming battle. But I do not believe that the Demon King is the only thing that you should be worried about," explained Kirin.
I am certain you are all confused right now, so allow me to explain. From what Kirin and Byakko had told me, the Ethereal is a place where Cosmic Beings reside. Cosmic Beings are practically the Gods of this world. Each God has a realm of their own in the Ethereal, but they don't share it with one another. The Gods had made a pact with one another that they cannot and will not interfere with this world directly but only through vessels. I have met such a vessel in the form of a Demon Queen. She is a vessel of a Cosmic Being that I still don't know of. I have been searching for a way to communicate with Cosmic Beings for the past 15 years.
As for the Celestial Beings, they reside outside of the Ethereal. Think of the Ethereal as a house with a garden. All the Gods stay inside the house, while Celestial Beings are free to roam the garden like pets. Don't tell Kirin and Byakko I said that, or they will kill me where I stand!
Celestial Beings have a bit more freedom as they can enter this world directly but not with their true form. They can roam these lands as spirits but will have no direct participation in this world. Should they wish to, they can choose to become legendary items where heroes or champions can wield them with pride. There's a reason why these two are weapons in my possession. However, not every legendary weapon is a Celestial Being. Such as my gauntlets, Hand of the Lightning God, could possibly be an item handed by the Lightning God himself into this world. I have never met him before, though. I would have liked to shake his hand, if he still has any.
"I'm not sure if I'm ready to fight him as I am right now, but I do hope that Ivy would join us in our battle. She's the only great power that I had not met," I told them.
"Ivy? Ah—the most beautiful elf I had ever met. She fought beautifully and tenaciously during the war with the Demon King. I do wish to meet with her once more if possible," explained Kirin as he closed his eyes, taking a trip down memory lane.
"Wow, I would never have expected Kirin to be praising anyone at all. I never knew you were into elves," I said bluntly.
"I am not interested in elves in general, with the exception of Ivy," retaliated Kirin with a hmph.
"Ivy is the only elf that has piqued his interest. I wonder if he would ask her out if he met her again," mentioned Byakko with a shrug.
"I will not!" shouted Kirin.
I just sat there with an awkward smile.
"What's wrong with Lily, though? Isn't she beautiful as well?" I asked Kirin.
"Ivy is on another level. You will know if you ever have the chance to meet her," explained Kirin.
"W— what? I doubt it. Lily is the most beautiful female elf that I have met thus far," I argued back.
"Boy, what are you arguing about? You didn't even have the guts to take her as your second wife," squinted Byakko.
"Well— I just thought that it wouldn't be possible for someone to be prettier than her," I answered with a soft tone.
They both stared at me with a speechless face. It was probably because they were surprised that I chose Rose over Lily in the first place. But now, I am defending her instead.
"You do realise that Lily is just one confession away from being your second wife, right?" said Byakko.
"What?! No— one wife is all I need. I'm not getting another," I said firmly.
"Your wife even gave her approval. It's quite strange that you didn't consider her as a potential wife, seeing as she took your first," answered Kirin.
"Alright, let's stop here. I already have my wife telling me about it, and I don't need you two to remind me of it. Can we get back on topic, please?" I pleaded to both of them.
"Just remember to heed our warning, boy. We are always at your side should you need any of us," warned Kirin as the world started fading.
I bowed to both of them before the world disappeared from my vision completely.