The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 411: What do parents feel when their child calls them for the first time?

Chapter 411: What do parents feel when their child calls them for the first time?

"T-this is..." Fatia stared at the crystal on Zarfa’s palm.

"Diamond?" Zarfa took a sharp breath, and--was her hand slightly trembling?

Honestly, I had no idea how precious diamonds were in this world, with all the precious stones that were foreign to me, not to mention the versatile mana stones. But looking at their reaction, it seemed to be just as precious as back on Earth--perhaps more?

"So...something this rare..." Fatia looked at the entrance of the mine, her next words lost in her choked throat.

Was this girl about to cry again? She was a lot more emotional than she appeared to be.

We were already done with the purification, and I had returned the purified mana to the mine and its surroundings. I was done right during lunchtime, so we decided to have a picnic while waiting for the purified mana to get absorbed by the mine.

"Hey, are you sure about this?" Zarfa tugged on my sleeve. "Diamond mine is still very rare in this world. It’s a nigh-indestructible crystal that could store a lot of magic inside, so the demand is always high. It’s not just used for jewelry here, but also magic staff."

"Like the one used by Fatia?" I looked at the staff in her hand.

"Ah, elementalist preffered to use elemental mana stone," Fatia said. "And the best one would be...like yours, Sir."

I looked up at the hovering Alveitya and the deep green stone that used to be a part of the Heart of Forest--the crown made fully of the first elemental mana stones found in the realm of nature.

"Anyway, it’s huge! Big money! Are you sure you will just give it away?" Zarfa grabbed my sleeve and looked at me with sharp eyes.

"That’s right, Sir. This mine might be in my country, but we wouldn’t notice it if it’s not for your Salamander," Fatia added.

I looked at them wordlessly while munching on my sandwich. What a pair of weird girls. I had told them I would let them do whatever they wanted with the mine’s new resources, but look at this reaction. "Aren’t you happy? You can just take a profit from this mine if it’s so valuable. Why are you saying all of this to me, instead?"

Zarfa scowled. "Do I look like someone who would take advantage of her friend?"

I flicked her scowl and smiled. "And do I look like one?"

"...oh," Zarfa blinked while holding her reddened forehead.

"Sure, I can take the mine for myself, but that wouldn’t sit right with me," I said. How could I take a potential source of income from a place that had just been ravaged by a civil war and was still suffering from the aftermath? I glanced at Natha, who pretended not to pay any attention to our conversation, and added. "Besides, I don’t really need another source of wealth."

"Ugh--that’s right, but it’s kind of annoying for some reason..." Zarfa tilted her head. "I don’t know if you’re bragging about your wealth or about your fiance."

"Both?" I shrugged, and I could see the corner of Natha’s lips curled.

At that time, my back suddenly got heavier with a boy’s weight. "Papa, what is that rock?"

I almost spit out the fruit juice I was drinking when Jade called me that. Wh-wha-what is that? I thought it was supposed to be ’father’? Since when did it change to ’papa’?

I turned my head to look at Natha, who acted like nothing happened. Before I could question him about this change, Jade was already shaking my shoulder. "Papa, what is that rock?" he repeated with a pout.

"Uhh--ahem--it’s a precious rock, Jade. People use it for jewelry and such," I grabbed the little boy and moved him to my lap. "Here, like this one."

I showed him my ring, the one with a moonlight stone. Jade rubbed the stone and tilted his head. "Huh? But that rock look ugly..."

"Because it’s not polished yet. Once it does, it’ll become sparkly and beautiful."

"Beautiful? Is it tasty too?"

Zarfa coughed. "Tasty?"

"Mm! Like the colorful stones Papa give Jade and Ignis sometimes!"

"You mean...candy?"

"No, not candy! Candy is sweet and tasty, but colorful stone is not sweet but tasty!"

"Uhh..."

Pfft--I couldn’t help but chuckle at this confusing exchange between them. "He’s talking about elemental stone," I told them. "I gave them elemental stone for a snack."

Fatia blinked and dropped her spoon. "Elemental stone...for snack..."

"Well, I couldn’t find enough pure fire elemental mana for Ignis, so I had to rely on elemental stones to feed it. Can’t let my children go hungry, can I?"

"That one is not tasty," Ignis said. "I try eating it, but it’s tasteless."

Naturally. From what I gathered based on Zarfa’s explanation, the diamond acted more like a vessel or a catalyst and didn’t have any power or magic on its own. For these creatures who feast on natural magic, the diamond would have no taste.

"Caring for a legendary beast...is expensive, huh?" Zarfa chuckled.

"Is it?"

She threw me a cushion we brought for the picnic, and I laughed. I mean...Natha’s elemental stone stash came from his own mine, so the only cost was the wage for the miner.

"Hmm...Jade don’t care if it’s not tasty," my little boy puffed his cheeks and took a sweet candy rock from his pocket.

I chuckled and kissed the puffed cheek. "Well, that’s what Jade said."

Zarfa laughed and gave Jade a candy from Midas’s store. "I guess...if you say so."

"But I can’t..." Fatia shook her head. "I can’t just accept this..."

Ah...as expected of a righteous person. I would use her as an example when people said I wasn’t greedy enough. Look at this woman! Her country was in need of funds and she couldn’t even accept a literal diamond mine.

"Fatia," I looked at her. "Don’t you dare forget that you still have to find my inheritance."

"T-that..."

"I’m not conceding this mine to you. I’m giving this mine to the citizens who become a victim of the civil war," I stared her down until she shrunk and fiddled with her staff. "So you can use your own money to find my ancestors’ stuff without neglecting the citizens’ needs. Is that clear enough?"

Fatia nodded slowly.

"Put that in a contract if it helps you sleep better at night," I smiled. It wasn’t like I wanted to scold a good person like her.

In fact, the reason I didn’t take the diamond mine for myself even though I had the right for it, was because I knew Fatia wouldn’t be greedy for it. Her immediate response of rejecting it was enough to convince me.

It was the same with Zarfa. Well, I already knew she was a good girl. Sure, now she was a daughter or merchant, but she had the same reaction, which I had expected. And that made me sure that Midas--or at least Zarfa--would be able to watch over the management of the mine. After all, even if Fatia wasn’t greedy, I couldn’t be sure with the other aristocrats--or even her mother, the Regent.

But ah, let’s not put ourselves in another country’s problem.

"Haa...really," Fatia let out a sigh. "You keep helping us that I don’t know what to do..."

"What are you talking about? I’m still waiting for my--"

"Payment; yes, yes, I understand," Fatia chuckled. "But like my mother said yesterday, it doesn’t mean I can be thankful," she smiled and looked at me with a soft gaze that made me rather embarrassed. "And it doesn’t mean you’re not a good person."

"That’s right! Papa is a very good person!" Jade threw his arms in the air and giggled.

Nggh! I still couldn’t get used to this! Between Fatia’s words and Jade’s new way of calling me, I couldn’t help but hide behind the green hair.

"Mm, a very good boy," Natha patted my head.

That was totally different, wasn’t it?! I glared at him, but he just laughed softly and kissed my forehead, as if he wasn’t satisfied with my already reddened face.

At that time, we heard the sounds of horses coming closer, and saw the people that Fatia contacted from the nearest town along with a few of our rides. The Hero and Ian were with them too, probably meeting them while getting back from their patrol.

Quite a long patrol, I must say--or he just didn’t want to be in Natha’s proximity. It was better to not know this kind of thing.

Seeing the horses, Jade stood up and jumped energetically. "Horse! Horse! Jade want to ride horses!"

"There’s no pony here so you must ride with me, okay?" I held him so the picnic wouldn’t get messed up from getting kicked around.

Jade turned around and threw himself at me, hugging my neck. "Ride with Papa!"

Oh, Mother. Why do I get more flustered than when Natha called me ’sweetheart’?