Chapter 413: Precious Family
Precious family.
Qiong Xing continued thinking about what he could do for Mayo, both as family and as a parent.
His heart still wavered.
In the end, however, he decided to respect Mayo’s own wishes.
"People call this a familiar contract, but I do not want to use it to control Mayo or treat Mayo like a tool. I only want to hear the voice and feelings of someone precious to me, someone who is part of my family. So if there ever comes a day when Mayo no longer wants this, tell me. I will dissolve the contract immediately."
"Mayo~ Mayo~"
Mayo nodded as though saying, "I understand," and that alone gave Qiong Xing the courage he needed.
Even then, the thought of Is this really the right choice? still lingered in the back of his mind.
But if that day ever came, he could simply end the contract immediately.
Since Albe had taught him before when he made the contract with Fenrisúlfr, the process did not take very long.
"...Mama, Mama... Mama. Mama, can you hear my voice?"
"Yes... Yes, I can hear you. I can hear Mayo’s gentle and adorable voice."
The voice was even cuter than Qiong Xing had imagined and a smile naturally spread across his face.
When he reached out his arms, Mayo happily rubbed against him, and Qiong Xing embraced Mayo in return.
"Mama, Mama. Mama, I’m so happy. Mama is answering me. I’m happy. I love you, Mama."
"I love you too, Mayo. I’m truly happy that we can finally talk."
He had hesitated.
Even so, he was genuinely glad that they could finally hear each other’s voices and speak like this.
"I’m so happy, so happy. I’ve always, always wanted to talk like everyone else. I wanted to tell you, Mama, that I love you."
It was not as though Mayo had never expressed those feelings before.
But when it came to truly conveying them to someone, speaking them aloud was the best way.
Now that Mayo could finally do that, Mayo’s joy overflowed.
"Thank you. Thank you, Mayo. Hearing you say that makes me happy too."
Qiong Xing had been just as anxious because they could not communicate through words.
Since they were not the same species, he had never been sure what was truly right or whether he had been raising Mayo properly.
He had often wondered if Mayo had grown tired of having a mother like him.
That was why hearing Mayo’s voice and being told "I love you" made him so happy.
"Look, look. Just like Mama said. I can become little again like before. Does that mean I can sleep with Mama and everyone again? Can I go outside with everyone too?"
Hearing Mayo say that Mayo wanted to stay with everyone made Qiong Xing realize how lonely Mayo must have been all this time.
"I’m sorry."
Qiong Xing apologized quietly, but Mayo smiled and shook Mayo’s head.
"It isn’t that I don’t like being big. When I’m big, I can carry everyone, and I can protect you too, Mama. So I don’t mind it. But... but... I couldn’t stay by your side like before, and I couldn’t go outside with everyone. That made me a little lonely."
Mayo’s large and beautiful form was one of Qiong Xing’s greatest sources of pride.
But it also made doing things together very difficult.
Their home had naturally been built for people their size and taking Mayo outside had been difficult because of how much attention Mayo would attract.
"I know. From now on, we can be together again. We’ll all sleep together at night, and we’ll go outside together too. Just like before, with Mayo by our side."
"Yeah, yeah!"
Qiong Xing smiled at the familiar sight of Mayo’s small form.
"You were this little back then. It brings back memories."
"Does Mama not like big Mayo?"
As Qiong Xing gently stroked Mayo while calling Mayo adorable, Mayo looked up at him anxiously.
There was no way that could ever be true.
"Of course not. I love little adorable Mayo, and I also love big beautiful Mayo. I love both of you."
"I love Mama too!"
Just like in the old days, Mayo climbed onto Qiong Xing’s shoulder and rubbed against his cheek.
It was so adorable that Qiong Xing could hardly contain his smile.
"Uncle Fenrir said he’ll teach me lots of things from now on! I’ll do my best so I can protect Mama even when I’m little!"
Qiong Xing was happy to see how motivated Mayo was.
He really was.
But...
"Uncle Fenrir?"
So that was what Mayo called Fenrisúlfr.
Since both Qiong Xing and everyone else simply called him Fenrir, hearing Mayo call him "Uncle Fenrir" caught him completely by surprise.
"It seems that, in the child’s own way, Mayo is trying to show me respect."
"Fenrir."
At some point, Fenrisúlfr had arrived.
Since Qiong Xing had told him beforehand that he intended to make a familiar contract with Mayo, he had probably come to check how things had gone.
Fenrisúlfr asked if everything was alright and when Qiong Xing nodded, he laughed softly about Mayo’s choice of title.
"I suppose, from Mayo’s perspective, you really are an uncle."
"Mayo said calling me the same way everyone else does did not feel right. However, I also did not want a child that young calling me ’Lord’ or using other formal titles."
Apparently, "Uncle" had been the compromise.
It was not entirely inaccurate, either.
"Should I start calling you that too?"
Qiong Xing asked jokingly, but Fenrisúlfr immediately shook his head.
"There is no need for that."
"Thank you for worrying about us, Fenrir. Everything went well."
"I see. Then this child’s loneliness, and your worries, have become a little lighter now."
Qiong Xing smiled and nodded before wrapping his arms around Fenrisúlfr’s soft fur.
"I love you, Fenrir."
"I love Uncle Fenrir too!"
Mayo who had been curled around Qiong Xing’s neck also rubbed affectionately against Fenrisúlfr.