~Chapter 46~
That expression and that tone. I’ve seen them somewhere before.
Watching the silent battle of wills as if she weren’t even there, Daphne muttered softly.
After thinking for a moment, one person came to mind.
Theo?
The look Jacquette was wearing, the way she was speaking—
Wasn’t she copying exactly how Theophanes scolded her?
Even though the situation was serious, a small laugh slipped out. Daphne bit her lip to keep from laughing.
The first to surrender in their standoff was Michael.
Unable to withstand Jacquette’s tendon-tough stubbornness, he slowly opened the mouth he had kept tightly shut.
Seeing that, Jacquette carefully and diligently fed him the soup.
The child swallowed it down in one gulp.
When she saw him eat, Jacquette’s face brightened.
After she fed him a few more spoonfuls, Michael obediently swallowed them down one after another.
Then Michael glanced at Jacquette’s soup bowl, which was gradually growing cold, and spoke.
“I’ll eat on my own now. You eat too.”
He seemed embarrassed by the situation—and perhaps a little concerned about her cooling soup.
At his words, Jacquette smiled brightly and nodded.
“Okay!”
Only after confirming that Michael was holding the spoon himself did Jacquette finally take a bite of her own food.
They had just resumed eating when there was a knock at the door.
But listening closely, it sounded less like knocking and more like scratching.
“Who is it?”
Jacquette called out between spoonfuls of soup.
[It’s me.]
At Ponti’s voice, Daphne rose from her seat.
“You two keep eating.”
“Yes—”
The children answered like baby birds, their mouths still opening and closing.
Daphne walked to the door and opened it.
Ponti was sitting outside with Iverno perched on his head.
[Daphne… take care of me too…]
The moment he saw her, Iverno made no effort to hide his sulking.
Perhaps because he was still a baby divine beast, he seemed to crave attention and care. It looked like Ponti had done his best to soothe him in the meantime.
“I’m sorry, Iverno. I need to take care of the children right now.”
Ponti, who had been waiting for their exchange to end, spoke slowly.
[May I come in?]
“Ah, yes. It’s not my room, though.”
Daphne turned her head to Jacquette.
“The divine beasts want to come in. Is that alright?”
“Yes! Of course—it’s fine! Please come in!”
At Jacquette’s cheerful permission, Daphne opened the door wider.
Ponti strolled inside with Iverno still perched atop his head.
After briefly looking around the room, Ponti plopped down beneath the window.
[I’ll impose on you here tonight.]
[I’m going to keep imposing forever.]
Iverno mimicked Ponti’s tone in a sulky voice.
Daphne smiled at him.
“That’s fine, Ivi.”
[Ivi?]
“Yes. A nickname for Iverno. Do you not like it? It’s an affectionate name.”
[A nickname?!]
At Daphne’s words, Iverno flapped excitedly in midair. He seemed to love his new nickname.
“That’s right, Ivi. You worked hard today.”
[Oh, it was nothing!]
Embarrassed, Iverno muttered to himself, lost in his own little world.
Seizing the opportunity, Daphne turned to Ponti.
“You can stay longer if you’d like.”
After witnessing the divine beast’s overwhelming power, she hoped he would remain at least until the situation settled down.
Theophanes had said himself that having Ponti nearby made it less exhausting for him to use his strength.
[No. I’m particular about where I sleep.]
Ponti firmly declined her invitation and slowly lay down.
And yet, not long after—
[Grrooo—]
“Mom, he fell asleep the moment he lay down! He’s even snoring!”
“Jacquette, we keep things like that a secret. That’s what considerate people do. Even if you see it, pretend you didn’t.”
“Oh! I’ll do that next time!”
At her innocent reply, Daphne stroked her head.
So what if she lacked a bit of tact? She was adorable.
Michael, who had been quietly eating his soup, glanced curiously at Ponti.
“He looks soft…”
Nod, nod.
“I want to touch his paw.”
Nod, nod.
“I want to use him as a pillow.”
Nod, nod.
Jacquette chattered on while Michael kept nodding in agreement.
Watching them, Daphne let out a soft laugh.
Children their age always wanted to raise big animals—or ride them.
The thought overlapped with her own childhood memories, and she stirred the remaining soup with a faint smile.
“If I ask tomorrow, will he let me ride him too? I’m curious… What was it like, Michael?”
At her question, Michael, who had been about to nod again, paused.
“Ah, me?”
“Yes. You rode him.”
“Right.”
“What was it like?”
“He was firmer than I expected… but his fur was really soft.”
“Ugh…! I’m going to ask him to let me ride too!”
Daphne smiled gently.
“Let’s ask together tomorrow.”
“Yes—!”
Since the divine beast likely couldn’t understand their speech directly, she figured she would need to act as a translator between them.
[Ugh, the snoring is too loud!]
As Ponti slept, Iverno—who had tried to sleep beside him—jumped up and slapped Ponti’s nose with his tiny wings.
Of course, the flapping of a little bird did no real damage.
[Kh… phoooh.]
Ponti paused for a moment—then resumed snoring.
Seeing that, Jacquette burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.
After laughing for a while, she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.
[Ugh—]
Iverno squirmed, covering his head with his wings in distress.
“Oh, Ivi! If it’s that noisy, don’t sleep on top of him. Come over here.”
At Jacquette’s words, Daphne stopped stirring her soup and looked at her daughter.
[Maybe I should! Hmph, that old man is too loud!]
“Grandpa must be very tired. Ivi, you should endure it—”
At Jacquette’s coaxing, Iverno fluttered down onto the table.
“Wait a second! I’ll make you a place to sleep!”
After thinking for a moment, Jacquette brought over a small basket, emptied it out, and carefully lined it with a handkerchief.
“Ivi, how about here?”
[Where, where?]
Iverno flew over at her call.
[Hmm, the nest doesn’t look very soft…]
He pondered for a moment, then suddenly seemed to think of something and sprang into the air.
He fluttered back to Ponti and perched on him.
[This is the softest thing around.]
“Ivi? That’s not right.”
[It is!]
And with that, Iverno began plucking out Ponti’s fur with his beak.
Peck, peck—tufts of fur came loose, and he carried them back to the basket again and again.
Only after gathering enough did he seem satisfied, arranging the fur into a cushion before settling down on top of it.
[Now this is perfect!]
He rolled around happily on the fluffy pile.
Despite losing a surprising amount of fur, Ponti showed no sign of waking up.
[Then I’ll sleep now. Could you close the lid?]
“Alright. Good night, Ivi.”
Jacquette watched the adorable little creature fondly before gently closing the basket lid and returning to her seat.
“Jacquette.”
“Yes?”
“Can you talk to Ivi?”
“Yes!”
Jacquette nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Michael, who had been quiet until now, spoke up.
“She’s been talking to him since the first time we found him.”
“I see.”
Daphne tilted her head slightly.
In the original story, Jacquette awakened at the age of seven.
She was only six now—it wasn’t time yet.
Without awakening, she should have been no different from an ordinary person.
Well, the strangest one here was herself.
In the original story, she had tormented Jacquette out of an inferiority complex for failing to awaken transcendent abilities.
But not now.
And to have two Transcendents born in the same generation of one family?
She had never heard of such a thing.
Everything was full of mysteries.
