Ch. 81: The Reunion

The ship arrived, and the wooden plank was set down.

Roku: “Young Master Luke!”

Luke: “Roku! Why are you here? What happened to your daughter?!”

Opposite of my words, my arms were wide open while I greeted him.

There was no way for me to suppress my joy. Of course I would be happy about this.

Roku: “Yes, yes. My daughter, her husband, and my grandchildren are also here.”

Luke: “Grandchildren?! You have grandkids, Roku?!”

Roku: “I have two grandkids, both boys who will be 7 and 4 this year.”

Haha. Roku has grandkids, huh. Yeah, Roku is about 60 years old, so that doesn’t surprise me.

He won’t just always be the kind uncle who took care of me.

Roku: “When the Tronstad Kingdom sent notices to each of the farm towns, they were seeking out volunteers to move to the Tristan Island. It really shocked me when I saw your name on the notice, Young Master. Of course, the family was different though.”

Luke: “Yeah, it’s a long story……but what about all your things?” Roku: “We only brought clothes. The notice said that home and lodging would be provided.”

Luke: “Yeah, that’s all you need. Roku, there’s an orchard on the island too. It’s been difficult looking after it on my own.”

Roku: “Please leave it to mーーEEK?!”

Luke: “What’s wrong, Roku?” Fear streaked across Roku’s face as he shrieked.

No, it wasn’t just him.

All the new inhabitants who came down from the ship and the sailors too, all looked towards one single point and shook in fear.

I turned around and understood immediately.

Luke: “Hey, Gonzo. Don’t come out all of a sudden. Please be more cautious like Kumi.” Gonzo: [………pardon me.]

Kumi: [Oh, did you call?]

The ocean rose as Kumi appeared from behind everyone.

“AーAHHHHHHHH!!”

“IーIt’s a Krakennnnnnnnーー!!”

Oh no………

I rubbed my temples as I let out a deep, slow breath and tried to explain.

I wanted to explain this over a nice cup of tea, butーー

I tried to explain, but there were some newcomers who still couldn’t grasp the situation. Since it couldn’t be helped, I waded into the water where Kumi was.

My clothes were already wet from before, so I didn’t mind.

Luke: “Heyーー Kumiーー”

Roku: “YーYoung Master?!”

Luke: “It’s okay, Roku. Kumi is a peaceful Kraken. She has a son, and she came south of Andestan to raise him.”

Kumi: [EーEveryone, my name is Kumi, the Kraken. I am terribly sorry to have frightened you all.]

She lifted me up with one of her arms, and bowed her headーーor her body?

Regardless, she bowed politely.

Kurasuke: [My momma is very nice.]

“Oh! GーGrandpa!”

Oh, is that one of Roku’s grandkids?

He’s probably the older 7 year-old. He poked his head out from the docks and clung to Roku in surprise.

Kurasuke: [I am Kurasuke. Luke is the one who gave me this name.]

Seeing Kurasuke’s wriggly body, one of the women commented about how cute he was.

Though they are different species, all children tend to be cute.

I asked Kumi to drop me off at the dock where everyone else was.

Luke: “With Kumi around, even if Pirates appeared around here, we can easily fight them off.”

Kumi: [Yes, pirates killed my elder son………..and I will never forgive them for that.]

Kurasuke: [Brother……]

Roku’s grandkid sniffled as he watched Kurasuke remember his passed brother.

“Grandpa…….I feel bad for that squid.”

Roku: “Yes, that was a terrible thing that happened to him. Then why don’t you go be friends with him, Kattsu.”

Kattsu: “Friends?” Roku’s grandkid looks at Kurasuke.

Though Kurasuke was crying, he overheard the word, “friend” and immediately looked at Kattsu with sparkling eyes.

Kurasuke: [IーI…..I would really like a human friend!]

Kattsu: “Realy? I’m……Kattsu. Nice to meet you.”

Kurasuke: [Yes! Nice to meet’chu too!]

Kurasuke stretched his arm out, but he would not be able to reach the docks from the water’s surface.

Foreseeing that, Kumi picked up Kurasuke and carried him towards the docks.

A white and thin Kraken child’s arm and a sun-burnt human child’s hand.

Both grasped one another and shook hands.

Though they were different species, I was happy to see them understand one another.

And feeling tears well up in my eyesーー

“The Miracles of Manaーーthrough time and spaceーーmay you be a catalyst to deliver the words of the spiritーー”

Luke: “Huh? What’s going on here?” “PーPlease let us pass through, Governor!”

Luke: “What?” A new group of people descended off the ship. At the front stood Royce, but his expression was intense with concentration.

Eri: “Oh, Sir Luke. Please help Royce and his companion get to town as soon as possible.”

Luke: “Princess Aires, what’s happening over there?” Eri: “They are preparing to set up a Magecraft Communication and Magecraft Teleportation device. Their Spells are for that.”

Princess Aires smiled warmly at me, but in contrast, Royce and the other Mage’s faces paled as they continued to chant the Spell.