༺ To Children, Parties Are Like War! (1) ༻
The tale of Brigitte’s kidnapping by the Walpurgis family and her return spread everywhere.
It wasn’t spread intentionally.
It was simply too big an event to be concealed.
“The creditors of the Walpurgis family are in a frenzy, aren’t they? Were they researching the homunculus? I heard they had massive debts.”
“The Yahbach Church is also dispatching inquisitors, I heard.”
“Even the lineage of the Primordials, created by the Demiurge, ended up walking to their ruin─.”
The Walpurgis family was apparently much larger and more powerful than I had thought.
Even this distant Duchy of Freesia was abuzz with the news.
Of course, it was none of my business what happened to those Walpurgis folks.
What I was most concerned about was obviously Brigitte.
A week after that chaos.
Brigitte returned to her daily life as if nothing had happened.
“Judas, starting today, I might come home late. I need to stay at school to help prepare the midterm exams.”
She looked too unscathed, despite being caught up in that mess.
But then again, it made sense.
We were people who had survived the hellish battlefield from two years ago.
The time for being shocked or heartbroken by such things had passed.
“Then, I’ll go ahead, Judas.”
Brigitte was about to leave the lab.
I waved at her and said.
“Ah, right. When you leave from work, come here instead of the lab, to the 「Junk Mansion」. I’ve cleaned up inside, got some furniture, and roughly set them up. We’re planning a party today.”
“Oh, really? You’re done already? I didn’t know.”
A week.
Enough time for God to create the world and rest for a day.
I had almost finished tidying up the mansion I had bought and brought in a bunch of cheap furniture.
Now it truly was a place that could be called ‘home’.
And I planned to have an open party in that garden today.
I should invite a lot of people.
It would be good to buy plenty of meat and alcohol.
Enkidus smiled silently, his lips curling at the thought of eating and drinking a lot.
“The mountain of trash has finally been cleared away. Honestly, I thought it was so serious that it could never return to its original state in a lifetime.”
“If you invest time diligently, there’s nothing you can’t do.”
“The same goes for the human heart. Brigitte’s attitude has improved remarkably. She seems even stronger than before like the earth hardens after rain.”
That Enkidus guy.
He’s quite perceptive.
He added one more thing.
“However, Brigitte and Judas. Your relationship seems to have become a bit more delicate. There’s some kind of awkwardness between you two. What happened that day?”
“……”
A sharp question.
His question made me think of the Walpurgis Night— and to the events that transpired that day.
Specifically, the time I escaped through a dimensional gate after the chaotic incident.
Brigitte had said to me.
─You know, I’ve been thinking. Maybe I’m Naru’s mother-.
Hearing that, I was slightly surprised.
Because I too had vaguely thought that Brigitte might truly be Naru’s mother.
But then.
Right after that, Brigitte shook her head.
━But now that I think about it today, it seems not. Let’s not talk about this.
After that, the atmosphere between Brigitte and I became somewhat delicate.
You know the kind of mood where it’s hard to just bring something up.
Yes, that’s exactly how it felt.
However.
Today is the day of the party.
After eating lots of meat, drinking booze, and lighting a big campfire, maybe I could bring it up again once the mood is better?
“Dad, Naru will go to school now too! Dad should hurry up and hug Naru…!”
Thump—
Naru spread her arms out in front of me.
It must be time for Naru to go to school.
Like a flying squirrel spreading its arms to glide—Naru did just that, and I hugged her back.
Only then did Naru laugh contentedly.
“I hugged Dad in the morning. I have to write it down in my diary before I forget. Hihi!”
Swish— Swish—
Naru took out her diary from her bag and earnestly began scribbling in it.
This past week.
Naru had started writing a diary.
It was homework from the teacher.
I wonder what’s written in it.
Honestly, I was extremely curious.
“Ah, you can’t look…!”
But Naru was quite defensive.
Even if you tried to take just a peek, she’d growl like a chihuahua that had its snack taken away.
I never thought that Naru would have a secret from me.
“I won’t look. Anyway, Naru, you know there’s a party today, right?”
“Ung, ung! Can I invite lots of friends to the party today? There might be some who will stay over! If the kids stay over, I’m going to put Yallubalu grass in their pillows to find the imp…!”
Yallubalu grass.
It was a type of grass that helped one find imps.
After all, we were in the Principality of Freesia searching for traces of imps and demons.
But because of the various incidents, we hadn’t made much progress.
I hadn’t seen Cariote for a few days; was she managing her work well?
I also had to tell Cariote, “Maybe you’re Cecily’s mother and my future wife.” But after defeating that villain boss Jack, there hadn’t been a chance to see her and talk.
But today is the day of the party.
A day when lots of people gather.
I’ve invited Cariote and Cecily, so they’ll surely come.
“Mwehehe, then this Sifnoi will take Narunoi to school…!”
“Do that.”
“Thanks to this Sifnoi’s proper education, Narunoi’s princess power—as one might call it—is rising smoothly… This Sifnoi, today, wants to write a proper wage and labor contract…!”
Sifnoi stated confidently.
Right now, Sifnoi was working without pay.
But since she was doing a good job as a babysitter, it seemed only fair to write her a labor contract.
As she had mentioned, Naru’s princess power had significantly increased over the week.
Watching Naru’s back as she headed to school, I measured her princess power with my 「Princess Scouter」.
Naru’s current princess power is C+.
It has risen somewhat.
It was because of the scroll I had acquired from the Walpurgis family.
「Walpurgis Household Scroll: A scroll containing the secret truths of the Walpurgis family. When read by someone with the aptitude, it can lead to magical achievements. Magic Ability +1, Princess Power +1」
It seemed that having Naru read that scroll had an effect.
I wasn’t sure about the magic skill, but her princess power definitely increased.
Raising princess power with an item…
It was a topic I hadn’t thought about before, but it’s worth considering more deeply.
* * *
“Tywin!”
Naru raised her hand with joy.
Tywin, entering the classroom, frowned and sighed heavily.
“…Bad luck first thing in the morning.”
“But seeing Naru should bring good luck! So, there’s a party at Naru’s house today! Tywin, want to come? Naru’s house is huge now. A mansion! Naru is the princess of the mansion!”
“……”
Instead of answering, Tywin closed her mouth.
She couldn’t say she didn’t want to go since her mother, Elle Cladeco, was scheduled to attend the party at Judas’ mansion today.
As her daughter, Tywin also had to attend the party.
“Naru, don’t get me wrong, I’m not going because I like you.”
“Really, Tywin, you’re so dishonest!”
Wham—
Naru hugged Tywin like a giant teddy bear.
Of course, Tywin struggled to get out of her embrace.
“I, I don’t like this! Idiot! You don’t consider personal space and just barge in! Get off me!”
“Naru doesn’t know about that! More importantly, Tywin smells nice! Like a princess of flowers!”
“Look at them. Naru and Tywin.”
“Are they fighting again this morning?”
“Looking at it now, they seem to be getting along rather than fighting. Despite it all, the only one who approaches the prickly Tywin is the foolish Naru.”
Chatter—
The children grew noisy from the commotion Naru and Tywin were making in the hallway this early morning.
Separated from Tywin, Naru went to each child one by one and said.
“Want to come to a party at Naru’s house today? There will be lots of delicious food!”
Party.
That was a word like magic that made the children’s hearts flutter.
It also induced a fair amount of tension.
The act of inviting someone to a party.
It could lead to quite a bit of rivalry.
If everyone but one person was invited… That child would certainly be very sad.
Such events were not uncommon.
Knowing this well, Elizabeth watched the situation with tense eyes when Naru, who had run over, said to her.
“Elizabeth! There’s a party today, and you must come too!”
Elizabeth felt a slight relief at having been invited by Naru.
Without showing it, she exclaimed brightly with as much joy as she could muster.
“Ung, ung! I’ll speak to Dad about it!”
Even as she said this, Elizabeth worried inwardly.
She worried whether her father would allow her to attend the party…
But there was a bigger worry.
‘Naru, you might not know, but for kids, an invitation to a birthday party or any party is like a war.’
“Tonight…?”
“Tonight might be a bit…”
Elizabeth saw hesitation in the eyes of the children.
Some were flustered by Naru’s invitation.
They looked at a boy seated in the corner of the classroom, who, though shorter than his peers, had a radiant face and impressive golden curly hair.
“It’s particularly noisy today.”
The blond boy muttered to himself.
Then, the children crowded around him as if they wanted him to hear.
“Does that Naru know it’s the prince’s seventh birthday tonight?”
“If this splits the kids in half, and fewer come to the prince’s party…”
“That won’t happen. This party was planned and designed by this Ceasar himself.”
Caesar.
The boy who referred to himself as ‘this Caesar’ was Caesar Von Freesia.
He was the grandson of the Golden Dwarf Duke who ruled the Freesia Duchy.
In a manner of speaking, a ‘prince’.
He knew this and somewhat flaunted it.
Of course, Naru did not care about such things.
“Ci… Ci…, Ci… what was it… Ciso! Will you come to Naru’s party tonight?”
“My name is Caesar. Caesar Von Freesia. The grandson of the great Golden Duke Julius who rules the Freesia Duchy! It’s almost midterms, try to remember your friends’ names.”
“Friend? You’re friends with Naru? Oh, holy shh…! I didn’t know! Naru didn’t even know Ciso was in class until today! Nice to meet you! I am Naru Barjudas! Daughter of Judas! The predator of winter strawberries!”
“Grrr… You’re doing that on purpose…”
“Look at that. Naru is reaching out to Tywin and now even to Prince Caesar.”
“That arrogant Caesar can’t say a word. That Naru is something else, isn’t she?”
“……”
Caesar wanted to burst out in anger.
But he didn’t because he knew Naru’s father was a very scary man.
The recent story of the downfall of the Walpurgis family.
People might have heard rumors that they were just unlucky and hit by a falling meteor, but Caesar had overheard his grandfather and his vassals talking about it.
The story was that Naru’s father, Judas, had defeated the old head of the Walpurgis family.
Not only that, but also the recent famous villains like Jack, the king of robbers near Freesia, and the necromancer of the Alubaba bandits, were actually defeated by Judas, Naru’s father. Caesar knew this as well.
‘Don’t let your guard down. This one also… might act clueless but could actually be a very bad guy. She even stole many money pouches on the first day of school…!’
A man who must become an Emperor one day.
That is Caesar Von Freesia.
Others might be fooled, but Caesar resolved never to be deceived by this seemingly innocent face.
‘Perhaps, the devil that the adults spoke of, hidden within the duchy, may be related. Could it be the devil’s scheme to disrupt my birthday party…?’
Yesterday.
The discovery of devil worshipers’ traces found in the underground chapel of the Freesia Duchy was a story known only to a few.
Caesar reached some conclusion, pondering the connection between the devil and Naru.
“Judas’ daughter Naru, it’s a challenge!”
“Alright! Naru is Judas’s daughter! The Princess of the Back Alleys! I won’t go easy on anyone, whether it’s a child, an elder, or an animal!”
Naru swung her fist, striking Caesar’s face.
With a smack, Caesar tumbled to the ground.
“Guah…!”
It was a piercing scream.
As Caesar teared up a little, the surrounding kids murmured.
“Caesar, he asked for a challenge and got hit by Naru.”
“Losing to a girl…”
“Who, who’s losing! Besides, the challenge isn’t about, about, fighting, it’s about who can invite more people and get permission by the end of school today!”
“Oh, holy shh…! I didn’t know! Caesar, sorry for hitting you! You’re bleeding from the nose!”
“…Hmph, this, this is nothing compared to the pain of my grandfather’s caning when I was young. Anyway, it’s a challenge. The loser has to include all the people they invited to the winner’s party!”
Caesar said, struggling to stand up on his wobbly legs.
An unexpected bet.
While the children were going “Ooooh,” a girl who had been watching the scene clicked her tongue and ran down the hallway.
“Who just ran by?”
“Isn’t that Horohoro from Class H? More importantly, who changed today’s lunch serving size to pounds? What even is a pound? We can’t serve the right amount like this!”
“My math book, someone scribbled yards and miles all over it! What in the world are yards and miles?! Hiiik!”
At first glance, the Graham Academy was rather peaceful.
But on closer inspection, today was full of schemes and tricks
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