"I see Ais as an adult?"
At that instant, a flurry of denials shot through my mind.
I had never seen Ais as an adult.
I'd taken care of her while treating her like a child, hadn't I?
How could I possibly see someone with such a small body as an adult?
The thoughts that had been raining down in my head rose all the way to my throat, but they went no further, only circling around inside my mouth.
It felt like I could blurt them out if I opened my mouth, and yet my lips wouldn't move at all.
"You really didn't see her as a child?"
At Materia's words, spoken while watching my lips open and close over and over, even that restless motion stopped, and I lowered my head.
For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to meet Materia's eyes properly.
I was reminded of the moment I'd spoken with my goddess after doing something wrong. That was exactly how I felt now.
A wave of shame that made me wish I'd simply been scolded. A strange, tangled thing made from guilt, embarrassment, and a dozen other emotions, settling heavily inside me.
"Why do I feel like this..."
Had I really been seeing Ais as an adult?
I hadn't even considered it. I thought I was seeing Ais as a child.
At least, that was what I believed.
"If you really saw that girl as a child,"
but after hearing her words, I had no choice but to realize it.
"then Vesta wouldn't have called her [Ais] with [Ms.] attached, would he?"
"Ah..."
When I took care of the children at Maria's orphanage.
When I played along with the kids in other neighborhoods.
I had never once used an honorific for a child.
Only Ais. Only Ais had been given an honorific.
Why? I didn't need to ask.
Because she was Ais Wallenstein.
Because she was the [Sword Princess] I knew.
"Ah..."
That was the mistake.
She wasn't the [Sword Princess] Ais Wallenstein I admired.
She was just a seven-year-old girl.
I had still been projecting the Ais Wallenstein I knew onto her.
Just a slightly smaller Ais Wallenstein.
Just an Ais Wallenstein with a little less common sense.
Just an Ais Wallenstein with a little more emotion.
Just... Ais Wallenstein.
"Ah..."
"I don't think you need to blame yourself. But I wondered if this might be the source of your worry."
It was true that seeing a child as an adult wasn't necessarily wrong.
She was an adventurer. Someone who carried a sword and killed monsters.
Above all else, she had to be seen first as an adventurer, not as a girl her age.
Only then could she survive, and only then could she avoid death.
Yes, as an adventurer, there was nothing more important than that.
...That was all it was.
"I'm sorry! I've got somewhere to go!"
It had nothing to do with me.
A child was a child. What else could come before that?
There was no way I could just stand by and watch a child cry.
There was no reason that she was an adventurer should mean leaving a crying child alone!!
"Do your best-!"
Carried along by a thin yet spirited voice calling from far away, I headed straight for the place where she might be.
"Did he go?"
"Arphia?"
After Vesta disappeared, the witch appeared as if she had been waiting.
No, not as if she had been waiting—she had been waiting.
For a rabbit with such a keen sense of presence not to notice her... had the witch hidden herself well, or was the rabbit simply in poor shape today?
"What an indecisive fool. To waste your time over something this trivial."
"...Hehe."
"...What's so funny?"
Even after Arphia's cutting remark, Materia kept giggling.
Arphia frowned at her.
She loved her little sister, but that gaze of hers, looking at her as if she were adorable, still hadn't become something Arphia could get used to.
Even among family, there was shame that came from being family.
Being treated as cute in return by her cute little sister was quite a trial for Arphia.
"But Arphia, even if you said he was a nuisance and all that, you still waited for him until the end."
"...What nonsense. I only just got here."
"Really~?"
Was that grinning face always this irritating?
Arphia found herself feeling annoyed with her sister all over again.
Annoyed... probably.
"Haa, forget it. So? Is everything ready for meeting that layabout?"
"Eh, eeh? What are you talking about?"
The situation reversed in an instant.
Had she not expected Arphia to know about the planned tryst? The moment the subject came up, Materia started whistling a tune that wouldn't have blown even if she tried, acting innocent as Arphia let out a sigh.
"Does that trash really mean that much to you?"
If she voiced the word trash aloud, Materia would be sad. So Arphia couldn't even freely criticize that trash to her heart's content.
She did make that trash pay dearly for it himself, of course... but that was beside the point.
Arphia had never known love at this age. Her love had only ever been for Materia, and even that was heavily shaped by the affection of blood ties.
Of course, Materia was lovable in her own right as well... but if they weren't related by blood, Arphia probably wouldn't have even tried to speak with her.
That was why she couldn't understand why Materia liked that man so much.
What was even more irritating was that... after meeting that man, Materia's smile had become truly beautiful.
It was really so flowerlike...
Yes, the expression of a woman in love, as the gods would put it.
A dazzling, beautiful expression that left no other words coming to mind.
Because of that truly happy look, in the end, Arphia would be unable to stop her and would let the meeting with that man happen.
Arphia was not so cruel to her sister that she would interfere with her happiness, even if it meant living with her own feelings for a long time.
"So this is what it means to shine just by being in love."
Of course, Materia had been beautiful even before meeting him.
But after meeting him, life had taken root in Materia.
That was why Arphia was curious.
What on earth had you gained?
How could such a short meeting make you smile like that?
How happy must you be to smile so brightly even while suffering so much?
"..."
She lowered her head and turned away.
She couldn't bear to let her sister see her expression.
"Arphia?"
"I'll follow that rabbit. At this rate, I won't be able to focus properly because I'll be too curious."
At those words, Materia's eyes widened, and then she smiled again—slightly different from before, but no less beautiful.
It was the kind of smile that made anyone watching feel warm inside.
"Thank you, Arphia."
"...Hmph."
The witch's figure vanished. Materia kept looking at the empty place where the vanished witch had been, or perhaps after her.
"Materia."
"Ah, you're here?"
She kept waiting, all the way until her other half arrived.
After my conversation with Materia, I headed straight for Loki Familia.
I'd hoped maybe she had already come back...
"No, she hasn't come back yet, has she?"
"I see..."
So her stubbornness was still the same.
"But you seem a bit different somehow. Did something happen?"
"...Yes, a little."
When I smiled faintly, Lord Loki's narrow eyes opened a little wider.
Then Lord Loki grinned with interest. Even in a situation like this, she was still smiling.
"What a shame."
"Pardon?"
"That you belong to someone else, I mean. If you were my toy, I'd have played with you until the day you died."
...Was that a joke? Somehow, I had a feeling it wasn't.
"What a real shame..."
"Enough nonsense."
"Aagh?!"
Smack! Loki's head was struck from behind as members of Loki Familia appeared.
So even they weren't entirely at ease. The discomfort was plain on their faces.
"...Are you going to look for Ais?"
"Yes."
"...Sometimes, someone needs time alone. Especially if they're an adventurer—"
"No."
I cut him off before he could finish.
I didn't have time, and I didn't need to hear it.
"She's crying."
"...!"
The Loki Familia members widened their eyes at my words.
Ignoring their reaction, I turned on my heel and started searching other places.
For now... I'd go there.
After Vesta left, the ones remaining formed a heavy atmosphere.
"No, it's not like we're happy to do this either."
"If you want to be an adventurer, this is something you have to go through..."
"It's not always a good thing to help unconditionally..."
"What a bunch of idiots."
The thought Noir muttered inwardly while listening to the murmurs.
In truth, it was less something he said to them than something he said to himself.
"What, I can't just stand by while a child cries...?"
In a way, it was obvious. In another way, it was foolish.
Ais was a child. That was an undeniable fact.
But before that, she was an adventurer.
She risked her life, wielded a weapon, and killed monsters.
In that process, the obvious fact that she was a child stopped being obvious, and survival became her own responsibility.
Anyone who couldn't control themselves, anyone who couldn't protect themselves, had no right to call themselves an adventurer.
So what they were doing was for Ais's sake, and what that man was doing was no different from ruining her.
"Haa."
And yet, the unavoidable feeling blooming in his heart still sympathized with the man's actions.
Newcomer, youngest, the child of the Dungeon.
No matter how many labels there were, to Loki Familia, Ais was still a child.
Not one person's child, but everyone's child.
Everyone probably thought the same. That was why no one stopped him.
They knew they couldn't stop him, but they couldn't even bring themselves to try.
And yet here they were, not moving, unable to decide whether to go or stay...
No, maybe they just didn't want to be the one to shoulder this situation.
They didn't want to bear the disgraceful title of overprotective guardian, a label that was almost an insult to an adventurer.
"Damn it."
Yes, in the end, this was all my burden.
Even as he grumbled inwardly, Noir picked up his weapon and headed outside.
Everyone's eyes turned to him. They were not exactly pleasant gazes, but Noir had always been the first to step forward and handle things.
He had responsibility, yes, but in the end the biggest reason was probably that he was the one with the widest reach.
Still, he was a leader in his own right. Hidden behind the great pillar that was Finn, he might not stand out, but he was another sturdy pillar who had supported many things, and still did.
"Damn it, we're spoiling the kid rotten."
"The world's really changed. Now we're out here looking for a runaway brat."
"Back in my day—"
They complained, but one by one they picked up their weapons and followed him outside.
A little later, only one goddess with slit eyes remained in the home.
"...Even if the old folks try to act like tsunderes, it just leaves a bad taste in my mouth."
As she said that, the corners of Loki's mouth curved into a gentler smile than usual.