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Chapter 68

When Dran left the port city Golnev to return to his hometown, Lenia Rufful Blaster Blast became worried. No, she wasn’t just worried; she was extremely worried.

Lenia, holding the nameless soul of a divine demon beast born from the once great evil god Caravis, felt a great anxiety that she had never in all her life felt before.

Lenia had such a well-proportioned appearance, it was hard to call her a human. She folded her slender arms and frowned, her appearance surely coming off as cute to many bystanders. But the aura of an anguishing divine demon beast was rising from her whole body and soul. If anyone approached her without caution, they would be attacked by dizziness and be forced to their knees.

Right now, Lenia was marching around in Golnev’s calm shopping district, looking around at all the shops selling souvenirs, groaning all the while.

The ocean demons’ raid had settled down, the resolution of the situation had been announced, and it was now a little past noon, so the number of people out on the street was particularly large.

Golnev had been shaken by the series of mysterious killings and abduction events, but since the culprit was now defeated, bright smiles now decorated the people’s faces.

But even the Golnev people with their positive atmosphere, took one look at Lenia’s pensive face and her rare beauty, and overwhelmed by her divine demon beast aura, they naturally parted to the left and right of her, creating a path.

This Lenia, walked around as if not seeing anyone around her, as she would look at a souvenir shop and start to walk toward it, only to suddenly turn back around and charge off in a different direction.

And right behind Lenia, following only three steps behind like a shadow, was Lenia’s complete opposite in both physique and personality, Irina.

When Irina first saw Lenia, she had instantly felt a sense of maternity, and continued to watch over her while smiling. She didn’t say anything. She would wait until Lenia sought out and asked for advice on her own. Until then, Irina had no intention of intervening.

This isn’t it, this isn’t it, Lenia finally voiced her various thoughts for the first time, and with remarkable fatigue, she made it to a park near the main street, and sat on a bench for a momentary break.

Irina went to a nearby stand and bought two drinks made of mashed bananas mixed with milk and plenty of sugar. She handed one of the banana milk drinks to Lenia, and then sat down on the bench too, and drank deeply.

Inside of the wooden cup were small pieces of ice floating in the drink, cooling the banana milk well as a rich sweetness spread in her mouth.

「Lenia-chan, you’re sure having a hard time choosing. Even though you’re always quick to make decisions, how rare」

Fufu, Irina laughed as if she were an older sister laughing at her worried, fretting little sister. In response, Lenia gulped down the banana milk all at once, crunching down on the ice. She then poured all her strength into twisting her lips into a frown.

Unlike her actual age, she had an extremely young appearance, and looked like nothing more than a pouting young girl.

「I’ve never done this before. If Fa…… If Dran-san hadn’t given me his orders, then I would never even think of doing something like this」

The reason for Lenia’s worries, laid within the order Dran had left with her upon their separation at Golnev, the order to prove her filial piety.

If she could do that, then she would be able to go see Dran over the summer break. That was the condition that he had given, but on top of that, even though Lenia fully intended on giving her all to show her filial piety to her parents, she just had no idea how to do that.

Besides, for Lenia, the only reason she had these parents now was because she had been reborn as a human. But to her, her real parents were Dran and Caravis, so she had never tried to do anything for her human parents before.

In addition to that, since her creator was the Evil God Caravis, Lenia largely lacked the concept of being thoughtful or considerate for other people.

Since meeting with Dran again, Lenia’s sensitivity toward other people has started to switch over from Caravis’ side to Dran’s side, but even so, that didn’t mean she would be able to convey her appreciation to someone that easily.

At this rate, she wouldn’t be able to fulfill her filial piety and couldn’t go to see Dran. Or so Lenia was thinking in the depths of her heart, full of panic and impatience. However, from Irina’s point of view, it simply looked like she was just worrying over what souvenir to get for her parents, and so Irina could only smile pleasantly at the sight.

「Fufu, you don’t have to worry so much.

In the first place, Dran-san isn’t expecting… um, I mean, he isn’t asking that much from you. If you just buy them a small gift and tell them ‘thank you for raising me all these years,’ you’ll be fine」

At this rate, it seemed like Lenia wouldn’t come up with a good solution even until after the sun sets, so Irina threw her a lifeline, by giving her just a small piece of advice.

「Mm, is it really that simple?」

「Yeah. When I go back to my parents’ home, my mother and father always say that they’re plenty happy just to see me」

Although, in Lenia’s case, it wasn’t hard to imagine that her usual attitude was one that she always kept up, even at home.

And so if Lenia acted like that at home, Irina couldn’t possibly know what her parents thought of her, and that caused endless worry for Irina.

Maybe she had accidentally said something irresponsible and unreasonable just now.

She couldn’t tell how Lenia had taken her words; she only saw how her mouth closed heavily, and not another word came out.

「…………………」

After that, Irina boarded a ship at Golnev that would take her back to her own hometown by a sea route, and that’s how she and Lenia parted ways.

If only Lenia would obediently follow Irina’s suggestion, and just buy an acceptable souvenir, Irina’s worries would greatly subside. But Lenia’s pale colored lips remained pressed firmly together in a frown, doing nothing to clear Irina’s concerns, even up until the very end as she saw Irina off at the ship.

And then, Lenia also departed from Golnev, taking an airship to Galois. From there, she rode on a passenger carriage, and traveled for three days to get to a place east of Galois, the mansion of Baron Blaster Blast. She had returned home.

She held a leather bag in her right hand, filled only with the bare minimum essentials such as a change of clothes, and in her left hand, she held the souvenir she had bought for her parents, wrapped carefully in a silk cloth. As if she was trying to bravely challenge the Demon Lord’s castle, Lenia had an expression of deep brooding as she stared up at the mansion she had been born and raised in.

From here on, depending on the actions she took toward her parents, her ability to go visit Dran during the summer break would be decided.

And for Lenia, being able to see Dran was far more important than anything else that exists in the universe.

Therefore, as Lenia stood in the face of her mission, right before she would have to conduct her plan to prove her filial piety to her parents for the first time in her life, there was a clear nervousness and anxiety showing on her face, coloring her youthful beauty with an expression no one else has ever seen before.

「Time to go」

Lenia put on a brave face, not unlike one an experienced soldier would have as they face yet another battle without any fear of their own death, and she stepped forward.

Toward the main gate, where the butlers and maids were surely lined up in neat rows, ready to welcome her home.

This is for her family!