Bölüm

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“A-Ah...” said Balirossa, apparently reaching an understanding. “W-Well, I should go take Sybe on our hunting trip. Have a good time with your family, Blossom. I’ll see you later.” With that, she and Sybe took their leave.

Blossom could only frown after Balirossa as she left. “Well...” she said, gently patting Kora’s head as she clung to her leg. “it’s not like I haven’t been thinking the same thing myself, I suppose.”

Kora smiled with delight as Blossom, looking down at her with a complicated expression, patted her hair.

◇Some Time Later—Flio’s Workshop◇

Behind Flio’s house was a building he used as a workshop, for projects too large scale to work on in his room, or jobs involving dangerous merchandise or the like.

“E-Excuse me!” said Blossom, poking her head in the workshop’s entrance. “Mister Flio? Are you here?”

“Oh! Hello, Blossom!” said Flio. “I’m just working on something. Would you like to come in?”

“Well, all right...” Blossom said, opening the door all the way and stepping through. Inside, she found Flio casting some sort of spell on an enormous clay figure. “Wh-What’s that? It’s huge!”

“Oh, this?” said Flio. “I had the idea to create a golem that’s capable of repairing castle walls.” He paused his spellcasting and flew through the air down to where Blossom was standing. “So, you have something you wanted to talk about? Is it about the farm?”

“O-Oh, no, not that...” Blossom said. She shook her head. “I’m no good at this kinda stuff. I’ve been agonizing for a while about what I should do...so I figured I should ask your opinion, Mister Flio, if you’re willing to hear me out...”

“Of course,” said Flio. “You can ask me anything, if you think my advice can help.”

“Th-Thank you very much...” Blossom said, bowing deep. Then she lifted her head and tried to speak. Alas, her embarrassment must have gotten the best of her. She stood there, face bright red, hemming and hawing and stumbling over her words. “Erm, well... That is... You see...” It seemed she wasn’t about to get it out anytime soon.

Flio waited patiently, smiling his usual easygoing smile, doing his best not to put any unnecessary pressure on Blossom.

Rys, however, had a different idea.

“That’s it!” she declared, charging into the workshop. “I’ve had just about all I can stand of this!” She must have overheard their conversation from outside and lost her patience with Blossom’s sudden inability to speak a proper sentence. She barged right up to Blossom, shoving her face up close to hers without any regard for Blossom’s personal space. “So, you wanted to talk about Ura and Kora, did you? Hm?”

“Ghrk...” Blossom choked. “H-How did you...?”

“It wasobvious,” said Rys. “You’ve been looking wistfully up at the oni mountain whenever you have a spare moment lately, even in the middle of your farmwork. You’ve been sharing a bed with Kora, always looking like you have something on your mind... Did you really think we hadn’t noticed?”

Blossom flinched back in the face of Rys’s tirade. Despite her distress, however, she steeled herself and lifted her head, meeting Rys’s eyes.

“A-Actually, I’ve been thinking lately that I’d rather like to be Kora’s mom. S-So...” For a second she stumbled over her words, but she raised her head once more and tried again. “W-Well...you see, Ura says Kora’s actual mom was one of the fairy folk, which is why she had such a short life span. I looked it up, and it turns out fairy folk only live for about thirty years. Now oni life spans vary quite a bit depending on the specific lineage from what I hear, but even a short-living oni species has a life span of easily over a hundred years. Ura’s one hundred percent oni, so he’ll probably live quite a while, but Kora’s half oni as well. She’ll probably live a fairly long life, I’d imagine...”

Having said that much, Blossom apparently lost her ability to speak entirely, opening her mouth again and again only to close it without saying anything as Rys stared intently at her, arms folded. Flio, however, placed a hand gently on Blossom’s shoulder. “That’s fine, isn’t it?”

“Huh?” said Blossom, confused by Flio’s sudden words.

“I mean,” said Flio, “I think it’s fine that way.”

Blossom’s eyes opened wide in understanding. Rys, however, seemed confused. “Excuse me...” she said, furrowing her brow. “What exactly do you mean by that...?”

“Blossom is a human, right?” Flio explained. “The average human life span is around fifty years or so. Blossom’s struggling to decide if it would be right for her to be Kora’s mother, when Kora is almost certainly going to live longer than that. She’s worried about leaving her without a mother for a second time.”

“Ah...” said Rys, nodding her head in understanding. “I see...”

“And so,” said Flio, turning back to Blossom, “my advice to you is that it’s fine.”

Blossom could only stare.

“Kora wants to be with you, Blossom. There’s no mistake there. And you want to be with Kora, and her father Ura, don’t you?”

Blossom mutely nodded.

“So just enjoy the time you have together to the fullest,” Flio said, smiling his usual easygoing smile as he patted Blossom on the shoulder. “That’s what’s important, I think.”

Blossom gave it some thought. “You’re right...” she said at last. “Yeah. You’re right!” Suddenly, she realized that she had been crying. “Thank you, Mister Flio! Madame Rys!” She wiped the tears from her eyes. “I’ll be back in a second!” And with that, she left the workshop at a run. Flio and Rys watched her go, smiling fondly.

“That girl needs all the help she can get, doesn’t she?” said Rys.

“She worries so much because her feelings are serious,” said Flio. “Or, that’s what I think, at least.”

“Well, I suppose I can understand where she’s coming from...” Rys said. “Still...” She leaned forward and planted a kiss on Flio’s cheek. “For my part, I have no regrets.”

“Rys...” said Flio.

The two gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment before kissing each other tenderly on the lips. Outside the workshop, they could hear Blossom’s footfalls fading off into the distance.