Episode 6: “Family”
Extremely fun, extremely interesting.
After enjoying the free hostess club, I returned home.
“Ah, welcome back, Andrews-sama!”
Tete tete, she runs.
A small Mazoku girl rushes to greet me.
It’s Tristia, my slave.
Mazoku vary greatly in physique and optional parts (like horns and tails), so it’s hard to tell, but she’s looked like this for ten years, so this is probably her adult form.
Her build is about that of a thirteen-year-old child?
Her face is also childish, and her voice is sickeningly sweet like an anime character.
Well, her pelvis is solid, so sexual intercourse is possible. And we do it.
Anyway, since she’s a Mazoku, a mysterious race, I don’t think about her age. She’s nice to hold, though…
“I have the business report for today! Today, we sold five bottles of wound medicine, twelve cough drops, three bottles of gargle, four tubes of lumbago ointment, seventeen bars of rose soap, and fourteen bars of milk soap. The total sales amount is…”
…And so, she minds the store for me.
It’s a great help!
Well, I taught her how to read, write, calculate, and even simple medical examination techniques.
So, she seems to think she should use those abilities for my sake.
From the perspective of a modern Japanese person, she might seem pitiful, but I’m not going to teach a slave about human rights or the value of freedom!
Even if I did teach her, this world isn’t rich enough for her to hope for it, and Mazoku are a discriminated class…
Mazoku are hated as the race that spawned the ‘Demon Lord,’ the enemy of the world, and in lands with particularly strong discriminatory feelings, they can be killed by guards on the spot!
Even in this town, the Mazoku’s position isn’t great, but there’s a strong aspect of giving her a position and protecting her by saying, “She’s my slave.”
Besides, the reading, writing, history, simple medical examination techniques, and pharmaceutics that I taught her are considered “secret arts” in this world.
Unlike modern Earth, where there are schools and all knowledge is open to everyone, such useful knowledge should be kept secret by a certain privileged class.
It’s almost impossible to teach it all to an orphaned Mazoku without reservation… and if that were the case, they’d be expected to spend their entire lives repaying the favor.
…Having said all that, the reason the position of slave exists in this world is because that’s the kind of world it is.
If the social situation changes so that slavery is no longer allowed, I don’t mind freeing this child.
“…That concludes my report!”
“Ah, thank you. You did a good job today too.”
“Yes! Ehehe…♡”
…Well, she has no parents or siblings, has been persecuted since birth, and has even fallen into slavery.
And since she was bought by me and experienced kindness from others for the first time, the option of leaving me doesn’t seem to occur to her.
Hmm, cute.
After washing my hands and gargling, I kiss Tristia… Tris, and then start preparing dinner.
Today… let’s see.
Shepherd’s Pie it is.
A pie made of meat sauce and potatoes.
I’ll open a jar of pre-made meat sauce, boil the potatoes…
Should I make a salad too?
Grapefruit, carrots, zucchini, and baby greens, mixed with shrimp from a jar of shrimp ajillo, dressed with oil. Maybe a little salt and pepper.
For soup, I’ll mince the leftover vegetable scraps, add mushrooms, and simmer in a granulated consommé. A miscellaneous soup.
That’s about it.
For dessert, pre-made biscuits… ah, not Japanese-style, but Western-style, so scones and hot milk will do. American-style ones, with chocolate chips kneaded into the dough, are almost like cake.
Tris and I cook together…
““Itadakimasu!””
It’s mealtime.
I’m certainly hooked on the free hostess club, but that doesn’t mean I want to be a bad husband who neglects his family.
Therefore, even at home, I make sure to communicate properly.
While eating, I chat amiably with Tris.
“Tris, how was work today?”
“It was a little busy. Everyone wanted cough medicine… it’s still cold, after all.”
“That’s right, it’s still a little cold even though it’s spring. Everyone might be catching a cold.”
“But ordinary people can’t take time off work easily… It would be nice if Andrews-sama’s medicine could cure colds…”
“The flu epidemic is over for this year. I think we’re okay for now.”
“That’s right!”
“Well, everyone who comes to the pharmacy is feeling unwell. So, Tris might think she’s only meeting people who are feeling unwell.”
“At the guild, were the Strider all well?”
“Ah, everyone was fine. The Blue Comet even went to conquer a Demon Lair.”
“The Blue Comet… If I remember correctly, that was a Strider Clan made up of only women. Were Shio-san and Margot-san doing well?”
“They seemed fine. Well, Shio was lamenting as usual that she had no money.”
“Is that so?”
“Her weapon costs are ridiculous, but she also impulse buys all sorts of things, and she still gets scammed out of her money, so she’s pretty hopeless as a member of society… No, maybe it’s because she’s a tribal person.”
“It must be hard to have no money…”
Tris says, taking a sip of wine.
“Well, I told her to come to us if she really has no money. The Blue Comet girls are all kind, so she won’t be left out on the streets.”
I said, eating the pie.
“Is Shio-san going to become one of our children too?”
“I wonder. But well, Shio wants to take me back to her hometown.”
“Hee… the southern jungle. I’ve always wanted to see it!”
Oops, this girl is naturally planning to come along.
“No, I don’t intend to go. Well, Shio probably has her own reasons, so it would be nice to go and show my face once…”
“Haa… reasons, you say?”
“Hmm, ah… Tribal people like Shio aren’t considered full-fledged unless they’re married, no matter how strong they are. She probably wants to bring a man back as her fiancé, even temporarily, to gain the title of a full-fledged member of the tribe.”
“Ah… Tribal people care about honor, after all.”
“They’re willing to die for honor without joking.”
Inconsequential conversation.
Chatting with smiles, like parent and child.
Well, we do what we have to do, but that aside, I cherish Tris like a younger sister or daughter.
Why?
Because… Tris is cute…
Cute girls have infinite value!
“Mmm, mogumogu, it’s oishiidesu ne…”
Tris says, her face breaking into a smile as she eats the pie.
Ah, cute.
This girl is really a good girl, and she’s not a handful.
She eats everything deliciously, and she relies on me a lot.
In my previous life, I had absolutely no good memories of “family,” but now I’m grateful to have her “playing house” with me like this.
She’s young, but she’s not as unreasonable as a baby or a senseless brat, and she gives me her full trust and infinite love, even opening her body to me.
An existence this convenient can’t truly be called family, so it’s “playing house”…
But as far as I’m concerned, it’s more convenient and fun than a real family, so there’s no problem.