In the emotional reunion, Sophia’s and her parents’ faces crumpled as they shed tears of joy.
「Father, Mother, I will introduce the master I serve and my companions that are like family.」
「A-ah, pardon me. It is our first time meeting. I am Dante von Sylphide, a Chevalier. Beside me is my wife, Freesia.」
Since an aged elf whose age is unknown introduced himself as Sophia’s father, Dante-san, and his wife as Freesia-san, we promptly introduced ourselves too.
「I am glad to meet you, I am always indebted to Sophia. I am Takumi Iruma, and I work as an Alchemist at Volton in Valkyra Kingdom. She is Maria, and beside her are Akane, the Foxkin Laeva, the Rabbitkin Marnie, the Catkin Lulu-chan, and my Arachne familiar, Kaede.」
The moment I introduced Kaede, startled expressions surfaced from Dante-san and Freesia-san. They had not noticed Kaede until I introduced her. Though this was because Kaede erased her presence, it might have been inevitable that the bodies of the two stiffened after suddenly being faced with a calamity class monster all of sudden.
「Father, Mother, Kaede is our beloved companion. There is nothing to be afraid of.」
「Is t-that so.」
「Dear, shall we bring them into the mansion first?」
「Y-you’re right, Takumi-dono, though it may not be grand, I welcome everyone to our mansion. Please come in.」
「Yes, then we will graciously accept your offer.」
Prompted by a servant of the Sylphide family, we were led into the mansion.
「I would once more like to thank you for saving Sophia.」
Having been guided into the mansion, we were thanked again by Dante-san once everyone sat down. He saw that Sophia was already freed from slavery. Above all, he could see that his daughter’s body, which he had been informed of being disabled, had returned to its previous state. That made Dante bow deeply to me.
「Not at all. Sophia always saves me as my bodyguard, after all.」
「Father, I, personally, wished to be bought by Takumi-sama. Afterwards, not only did he correct the disabilities of my body, he also dispelled the sealing curse. I would like to reciprocate the kindness I have received with this body of mine for the rest of my life.」
「Fumu, well said. Iruma-dono, please treat my daughter well.」
Dante-san bowed and Freesia-san, who was sitting beside him, followed and bowed her head as well. Since I was thinking of a way to say that Sophia must come back with us, I was surprised and ended up asking them less formally.
「Eh, is that okay?」
「Ha ha ha. Humans and beastkin might not understand the feeling, however, we elves are long-lived. 100-200 years isn’t that long for us.」
「Fufu, the Sylphide House has an heir as well, therefore I wish for Sophia to live freely.」
I was asking for their permission to allow Sophia to live with us, but Dante-san and Freesia-san had permitted it too quickly and too easily.
「Speaking of heir, is Darphy well?」
「Aah, Darphy is doing his best at the royal capital’s Chivalric Order. He returns once in a while to show his face, but he seems to be doing well.」
「If I had known that Sophia would come back, I would have called Darphy too.」
「So Darphy had joined the Chivalric Order as well. He has grown up, hasn’t he…………」
The impression Sophia had of him as a younger brother no longer remained. To an elf, 50 years is a short time, but it was a long enough time for a small elven child to become an adult.
「Is there a reason you came home at this time, Sophia?」
「Yes. At this time, Takumi and I have become A rank adventurers. Maria is B rank. Laeva, Marnie, Akane, and Lulu-chan would rise to B rank as well. Our party rank has become B rank, and we’ve obtained strength that wouldn’t simply yield to outside pressure. As such, we’ve come to Yggurle Kingdom to meet Father and Mother.」
「W-what, Sophia, you are an A rank adventurer?」
「Oh my, how amazing, Sophia.」
Dante-san said that Sophia’s younger brother called Darphy is a knight at the royal capital’s Chivalric Order. I was informed that this was necessary to succeed as the next chevalier.
As they drank tea, the parent-child conversation between Sophia, Dante-san, and Freesia-san did not cease. As if to fill up the 50 year gap.
「Are you able to take it slow?」
「……No, we plan to return in 2-3 days. I returned this time to let Father and Mother know that I am safe. I would like for Mother and Father to feel at ease because I am in the town of Volton, and that from the next time onwards, we will visit once in a while.」
「………… right, it is not too far if it is at Volton, so we can see you when we want to see you.」
「Yes, we were also aware that you were in Volton but had not thought to meet you. Now, Sophia is a free woman, after all.」
「…… Moreover, we do not know who the offender who inflicted the sealing curse on Sophia which caused her to receive serious injuries and fall into slavery is. It is much safer in Volton than it is in Yggurle Kingdom.」
Dante-san was talking about was the war 50 years ago where Sophia was heavily injured and fell into slavery. The sealing curse was a chance for her to fall into the enemy’s hands at the time. Dante-san speculates that she was cursed by an ancient elven magic device.
「It is likely that the magic device was used during a fight so I would not notice. I dare say it was someone from the side of Yggurle Kingdom.」
Being cursed by her allies was beyond Sophia’s imagination, so she doesn’t know who did it.
「Well, let’s end that conversation there then, Freesia.」
「Very well. Everyone, please stay at our mansion today.」
「Thank you very much.」
That day, it was arranged so that we would stay in Sophia’s parent’s home.
***