Happy Family of 3

Arc 14 begins.

“Wow......”

Rana looked down from the second-floor window of her home at the snow-covered streets of Serelirin, and sighed at the beauty of it in spite of herself.

The town of Serelirin was a commercial hub stretching along the Saikanan Highway.

The dull, pale-yellow townscape and the cobblestones of the Saikanan Highway had nothing to boast of but their age; on a normal day, it wasn't much to look at.

But today was different.

Far to the east, gray clouds—the likely culprits for this snowfall—still lingered over Mount Nanga, small in the distance, but the weather in town was now perfectly clear.

Already beautiful as they glowed bluish-purple under their coat of snow, the streets would surely turn a lovely gold once the rising sun bathed them.

“Look, snow! It's snowing!”

Rana frolicked with a girlish enthusiasm, giving her husband, who was still curled up in a blanket on the bed, a few cute little pats.

“U, uuh...... cold......”

But her husband, Parirot, only mumbled such things, pulling his head completely inside the blanket.

“Come on, Ike! It's snowing! You can play in the snow with everyone at school today!”

Rana then patted the blanket of her son, Ikeranjel, who was sleeping beside Parirot.

“U, uuh...... sleepy......”

But this 7-year-old son said much the same thing as his father, Parirot, and fled into his blanket in much the same way.

Watching this, Rana put both hands on her hips and made a grumpy face, before the corners of her mouth curled up in a mischievous grin......

“Honestly, you sleepyheads! It's morning! Hurry up and...... wake uuuup!”

As she shouted, she forcibly ripped the blankets away from the two men!

““Uhyah~~~!?””

Stripped of their cozy warmth, the men let out pathetic screams and bolted upright!

◇ ◇ ◇

“Here you go, some Zamago bean tea.”

“Oh! Thanks, Rana-chan!”

Now, a few dozen minutes later.

Having fully woken up, the family was eating breakfast while bathed in the morning sun streaming through the window.

Slightly reddish toast, bacon from the large domestic rats called Sasame, and the recently trendy Zamago bean tea.

Neither lavish nor poor, it was a perfectly ordinary breakfast for these parts.

“Aah, it snowed quite a bit today. I wonder if they'll cancel schoool.”

“Goodness, Ike, what a thing to say!”

Rana arched an eyebrow at her son, Ikeranjel, who had already finished his favorite bacon and was saying such things while resting his chin on his hand and looking out the window.

“But we've got math today. I'm bad at math.”

“You can't run away just because you're bad at it! Now go and study properly.”

Even as she scolded him, Rana's hands kept moving.

She poured hot water from the kettle, preparing the bean tea for Ikeranjel.

“It's fine if I can't do math! I'm gonna be an adventurer!”

As he said this, Ikeranjel held his fork with both hands, striking a pose like a swordsman.

Rana set the cup of bean tea down in front of her son with a soft kotori, then sighed.

“......Ike, you know, there are plenty of villages in the world where there are no schools and people can't study at all. You're lucky enough to live in a big town and be able to go to school......”

“I get it, I get it, Mama...... Right, thanks for the meal! I'm gonna go brush my teeth!”

“Ah, hey! I'm not finished talking......!”

Sensing that Rana's scolding would continue, Ikeranjel forcibly stuffed the toast into his mouth, washed it down into his stomach with the Zamago bean tea, and—despite grimacing at the heat—quickly escaped from the dining table.

“Hahaha...... That Ike, honestly! What are we going to do with him!”

Parirot, who had been listening to the conversation between mother and son while reading the newspaper, looked up from the article and gave a wry smile.

“This is no time to be laughing!”

“Rana-chan, there's no need to worry so much. Boys of that age are all like that. They're always longing for adventure and hating their studies. I was the same way.”

“But......”

Even when soothed, Rana was worried.

She had once lived in a settlement where there wasn't even a school, and she knew well the hardships of the adventurers her son admired.

“It's okay.”

Parirot placed the newspaper on the table and stood up, slowly walking over to Rana...... and gave her a tight hug.

Then, he stroked her light-brown hair, which was shining in the morning sun.

“Don't make such an anxious face. Come on, smiiiile!”

With that, Parirot gently pinched Rana's cheek to force a smile.

“Yep, cute.”

Bending down a little to meet her gaze, Parirot looked deep into Rana's eyes.

“A smile suits you best, my princess.”

“Wait, dear......”

Rana's face turned bright red, and she looked away in spite of herself.

It had been about 8 years since she met Parirot...... and a lot had happened.

There had been all kinds of hardships.

Even so, he hadn't changed since the day they met.

He could be a bit of a goofball, but he was always cheerful and kind...... and he loved Rana.

“......Papa, Mama, what are you two doing first thing in the morning......”

Surprised by the exasperated voice, Rana looked to the side to find her son, Ikeranjel, fully dressed and ready for school.

She tried to hurriedly pull away from her husband, but he gripped her firmly and wouldn't let go.

“Hahaha! I'm whispering words of love! Love is a flame, Ike. The important thing is to keep feeding it firewood!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

At his father saying such things in dead earnest, without a shred of shame, the son rubbed his nose, looking a little embarrassed.

“Ike-kuuun! Let's go to schoooool!”

Just then, a girl's voice echoed from the direction of the entrance.

Ikeranjel's classmate, Samilty, had come to pick him up.

“Ah, comiiing! Well, Sami's here, so Papa, Mama, I'm off!”

“Yes, have a good day. Make sure you study properly, okay?”

“I know!”

Rana approached Ikeranjel, gave him a light hug, and kissed his forehead.

“......Listen, Ike. I'll say it again. Love is a flame. If you don't light it yourself, it'll never blaze up, you know?”

“Shut up! It's not like that with Sami! Anyway, I'm off!”

His face bright red at Parirot's uncalled-for comment, Ikeranjel ran off, dotabata, and shot out the front door.

“Well then, I guess I'll get ready for work too! I'm swamped today, so I'll be out at the site all day. I might be a bit late getting back.”

In the now-quiet room, Parirot said this as he stretched, and began checking the work tools in his bag.

“Well, that means I'll be running the shop by myself today.”

“I'm counting on you. Today's the day Kanantir-san comes by with a delivery.”

“Of course, I know.”

Quickly donning his cloak and slinging the bag over his back, Parirot shared a light kiss with Rana before opening the front door and heading outside.

Once the sound of footsteps treading on the snow—gyumu, gyumu—had faded completely, Rana rolled up her sleeves and psyched herself up.

“Right, time to do my best today too!”

First, she would clear the dishes and do some light cleaning before opening the shop.

Her schedule was packed today as well.

Thankfully, she was busy.

Rana began washing the dishes in the cold winter water, but the hint of anxiety that had briefly crossed her face while talking to her son was gone.

She was happy.

Spending the unremarkable days, the ordinary routine, with her family of 3.

That was, for her, the greatest happiness of all.

From now on, too, she would keep this happiness going.

With this family, the 3 of them.

With this family, the 3 of them.