82 – Deja vu…
I had a bad feeling. A very bad feeling. The same sort of bad feeling as the time I decided to surprise Dad at his house since my flight landed early and I caught him and Mom going at it.
Or in other words...
'I am about to either suffer excruciating embarrassment or ridiculous amounts of cringe.'
...Yeah. That was the feeling I was getting.
But on the bright side, we had landed at Cal Mira Archipelago.
Surprisingly, we weren't the only ones.
There were a few other ships docked in the distance with what looked like adventurers coming in for the exp-filled monster event or something.
That shocked me to see.
Either these guys were hardcore level grinders, die-hard adventurers, or completely living under a rock.
Like, pretty much all of the world's major countries just got razed or gutted and they were out here without a care in the world...
...Actually, no. That was par for the course of an adventurer.
"So this is Cal Mira..." Morgan stuck close to my side as he looked around. "It's beautiful."
Bahamut hummed and said, "Besaid Island is better."
"OKAY." I rounded on Bahamut and said, "Boy, tell me honestly. Are you trolling me, or is Spira and Final Fantasy real?!"
Bahamut winked.
"You...!"
Was this how Mom felt?
I couldn't tell if Bahamut was trolling, serious, or just doing a bit.
That little brat had definitely inherited my pokerface and deadpan since it was impossible to tell if he was just pulling intel because he had access to the internet or if he was LITERALLY Bahamut from the Final Fantasy world.
And honestly at this point, I didn't know what pissed me off more.
Mirellia chuckled as she walked up behind me, looking amused. "Oh my. Is our dear Naofumi having his nerves tested by his son?"
"...No. Obviously not." I coughed and dragged Bahamut in for a one-armed hug. "Just fatherly bonding. Right, Boy?"
"Domestic abuse-"
"OI!"
Bahamut laughed and slipped from my grasp before dashing up ahead. "Come on, Morgan! Let's look for treasure!"
"H-Huh? O-Oh! Yes!" Morgan ran after Bahamut.
I sighed.
Mirellia smiled as she walked to my side and said, "I have to say, Bahamut truly is your son, is he not?"
"...I hate to say it, but clearly. And now I am extraordinarily concerned about Mina and Nina when they get here..."
Nina was a well-behaved and polite daughter. But she definitely went along with whatever Mina did.
And considering Bahamut had learned too well from me the lesson of 'better to beg forgiveness than permission...'
Mirellia hummed and said, "It should be fine. Children should be children at least once in a while."
"...Yeah." I sighed. "That's true."
I never really got that chance, so I'd be a hypocrite for not letting my kids have fun.
Too many days being dragged around by Mom and transferring schools before she settled down with Dad.
I watched as Ren headed off with Itsuki and Elena to explore the island. "Since we're on vacation, I guess we're just doing what we want?"
Mirellia nodded and adjusted her form-fitting violet dress. "That's correct." She watched as Melty and Filo chased after Bahamut and Morgan. "...You do not mind if my daughters spend time with Bahamut and Morgan, do you?"
"Not really. I guess it'll be good for them all." I walked off the ship, Mirellia walking by my side. Behind us, I noticed Yuki pulling the carriage in her bird form, looking pleased with herself.
Lyno was sitting at the front of the carriage, looking pleased with herself as well, and with quite a few... interesting bruises.
Motoyasu, however, was nowhere to be seen.
The implications were obvious.
I chuckled and said, "I guess that guy's definitely not planning to head home."
Mirellia followed my gaze and chuckled. "It appears so. A flower under each arm... Few men would be able to resist that. Nor would they want to."
I noticed Mirellia give me a pointed gaze as she finished her words. But I just shrugged it off and said, "There's nothing wrong with beauties. But there's a time and place for indulging in them. Not to mention laying proper foundations... do you know how many Empires have fallen due to inheritance disputes and in-fighting?"
Mirellia gave me a blank stare and said, "...Are you telling me the reason you are not even contemplating relationships at the moment is because of concern over inheritance disputes? When you have three children already out of wedlock and without mothers?"
"What? No. I'm saying that's why I'm setting things up so that whatever I build can't have a single point of failure like that. I'm thinking that I'll create a grand throne and hold it, but leave it empty. The Eternal Throne, claimed but unused. A reminder, a promise, and a threat all in one. If it's like that, it'll work, don't you think?"
Mirellia sighed. "I truly can never get a read on you, Naofumi..."
"Considering you married that fool of a king, I would be surprised if you could."
Mirellia blushed and said, "I was a teenager! And in love!"
"Which is exactly the problem. Love is a troublesome emotion, you know? That's why you have to make it an action instead. Like how my Mom chooses to love my Dad even though she wants to kill him half the day for how much he doesn't take care of his own health... Why are you giving me that look?"
Mirellia sighed. "...If your father is like that, then it explains much about you."
"I resent that statement."
"But it remains ever so true."
"...Anyway." I stretched and stepped out onto the sand, enjoying the warm sun and sea breeze. "Hm... What's the protocol around here? Do you own this land as well?"
Mirellia nodded. "The Cal Mira Archipelago is nominally under Melromarc's control, but it is the domain of the Earl of Habenburg."
"Oh?" I smirked. "...Should I say hi?"
"As interesting as that would be to see... he has already been informed and said you and the heroes have free reign to do as you wish." Mirellia looked amused and said, "He was already preparing to guide you and the heroes along beforehand, but when I informed him that our entourage included the one who turned the moon into a land upon its own, he said to simply allow you do as you wished."
I blinked and said, "Is it really that big of a deal? Honestly, I'm surprised no one took over the moon in the first place. It's pretty easy to get to. And usually in this sort of setting there's like a hidden race or goddess on the moon... but it was empty up there."
Mirellia snorted and said, "While a great many have had ambitions towards celestial bodies in the past, Naofumi, I can assure you that you are the first and only to have ever put action to word and succeeded."
"Huh. People must be stupid."
Mirellia sighed. "I have heard that true genius is a blessing and a curse. I have never understood the latter, but I see it now..."
I shrugged. "Being a genius is overrated. It lets you skip steps, but you still end up having to prove them for people to follow you anyway. I guess it is annoying being a genius when it's so obvious though. Like, you realize having spells that let you breathe underwater would let you breathe in space? I mean, there's a bit of adaptation needed, but if you have burn resistance, wind resistance, and the ability to breathe or constant healing, it'd be more than enough."
Mirellia gave me a blank stare and said, "...You are forgetting the necessary step of being able to breach the heavens in the first place, Naofumi..."
"That's not too hard. If you have high enough stats, just blast yourself up there. Honestly, you guys don't think outside the box enough. More land for me though, so I don't mind."
Mirellia rolled her eyes.
"...Did you just roll your eyes at me? Wow. Love truly has made you bold..."
Mirellia blushed. "E-Excuse me?!"
"You heard me." I chuckled. "It's fun though. I never knew having women be into you could be this interesting. Maybe I should have dated more back at home instead of holing myself up to research things."
Mirellia sighed. "...You truly are a dangerous man in more ways than one, Naofumi."
"Better a monster in peace than a gardener in war. But anyway." I glanced around the sandy beach with glittering white sand. "I'm guessing that there's a town further inland, right?"
Mirellia nodded. "That is correct. The path over yonder leads to the main outpost with inns and other facilities to house and aid adventurers." She paused, noticing how I was eyeing the empty beach. "...Am I correct in presuming you have no intentions of using them?"
"Maybe later, after the girls get here. But for now..." I pulled out Laevatein and pointed it at an open spot a short distance away from the shore. "...Vacation home."
"Vacation-" Mirellia blinked as the sand swirled to make a small gleaming castle by the shore. One that was quickly furnished with rooms, beds, and other proper furniture. "...Ah. Vacation home. I see."
I stared at <Parallel System> using a combination of <Synthesis>, <Shape>, and various other magic spells to design the vacation home.
Which, in short, meant I was pretty much playing Sims interior design.
Mirellia watched me work and slowly said, "You know, Naofumi. You truly are not helping the divine being allegations..."
"Divinity is overrated. It's usually restricted to a single planet, and even if not, it can shatter if disproven. I'd rather just have access to a large sum of energy, you know?"
"...I do not know whether to be concerned, fearful, or awed by such an absolutely blasphemous declaration..."
"Well, I almost murdered a god already the other day, so honestly, not impressed."
"...I beg your pardon?"
"Oh, did I forget to mention that? You see, I was sleeping, but then my kinda-sorta god daughter Rose who has special telepathic powers reached out to me in my dream. But then there was this conglomerate entity of thoughtforms and biomass that tried intruding on our chat. Since it was in a pseudodream state it had divine powers. But I just basically started disproving its abilities and then used my various tools I'd crafted since getting here to kill it. But since it realized it was losing, it tore itself away by abandoning roughly 95% of its body, so it basically became mortal in the process."
Mirellia stared at me.
I stared back. Then I said, "What?"
Mirellia sighed.