The day of departure.
My entire family came to see me off at the gate.
Sylphy, with Lara in tow, Eris, Aisha, Norn, Lilia, Zenith, Lucy, Leo, and Jirou.
"Well, Rudi, be careful. It's fine since it's Rudi, but don't get careless. Come back safe."
"Sylphy, take care of the family."
"Em. I will."
I gave Sylphy a hug.
And rubbed her butt while I'm at it.
Do I really have to say goodbye to this cute butt also?
"Eris, no rigorous exercise until the baby is born."
"Got it."
"And if the baby is a girl, please give her a girl's name."
I caution Eris just in case.
Knowing her, even if it's a girl, she might give her a boy's name.
And raise her as a boy anyways.
That makes for a fun story, but it's obviously a pretty awful thing to do to a girl.
"Well then, Onii-chan. Work hard. Expect the mercenary group to be even bigger by the time you get back."
"Alright, but nothing too shady, okay?"
"Hey!"
I also caution Aisha just in case.
The mercenary group is on the right track, but don't forget, they're a group of hoodlums.
Look away from the wheel for a second, and they'll turn back to a bunch of good-for-nothings.
The only thing we can do is keep them as spotless as possible.
"Nii-san, I was in his care while his highness Zanoba was in school. If possible, do your best to prevent the worst from happening."
"Yes, count on me."
"Well then, you take care too, Nii-san."
"Norn, work hard for the student council too."
Going out of her way to come today, Norn is rather strict.
Her days will only get harder, now that she's the student council president.
"Master, may the fortune of war be with you."
"Yes, I'll return safe this time as well."
Lilia tries to light a fire under me. [3]
She's approaching retirement age.
Well, she still has some youth in her, but now's not the time for this conversation, so I can only bow for now. [4]
"..."
Zenith rubs me on the head.
Perhaps Lilia can't just leave her alone, with Zenith the way she is?
Somehow I feel that my family might have robbed Lilia of her path in life.
But, this is the path Lilia chose, probably.
"Hey Lucy, tell papa to stay safe."
"... Have a safe trip."
"I'm leaving now, Lucy."
Lucy fidgets by Sylphy's legs.
As if struggling about something.
Finally, with her mind made, she looks towards me.
"... Papa, hug."
"! Come here... okay, good, be a good girl now!"
"Mm..."
Given a rare chance to spoil her, I gave her an eskimo kiss.[5]
Maybe because I shaved this time, she didn't resist.
I let her off after charging my fill.
Finally, I speak to Julie, who's left in my family's care.
"Julie."
"Yes, grandmaster."
"You might be a slave, but you're also a guest of Zanoba, as well as my student. No one here will treat you like a slave. Consider yourself family and make yourself comfortable."
"Yes. I will do my best to not be a bother too."
Julie always took my lessons to heart.
She is fluent in human language, and has even become quite good with etiquette.
Now that I think about it, it's been 5, no, 6 years since we bought her.
Her figure remains roughly the same, though, but Ginger trained her well. She even got her period already.
She is already a respectable adult.
Should I have expected this?
"And... please take care of master."
"Yes. Of course."