Chapter 02 - The eldest, Elsa
After went out of the royal capital, I returned to my hometown, Yuzuha Village.
A place where I was born and raised and left to become an adventurer.
My parents had passed away when I was young, but my parents' house was still there.
The villagers cleaned it sometimes, just in case I came back. Thanks to that, I was able to live a smooth life.
The village people welcomed me, who returned after giving up on my adventurer's dream.
However, They were surprised that I came back with these three babies. I opened up to the villagers without covering anything.
And ten years later――.
The girls I picked up had been 10 years old.
"Yaaa!"
The girl with silver hair――Elsa wielded a wooden sword to me.
The eldest daughter of the three sisters, she has a dignified look.
Her height was higher than children of the same age.
She was swinging the sword sharply and powerfully that one couldn't think of her as a 10 years-old.
――But she still a child.
I took her attack with a wooden sword without difficulty.
"Eiei!"
Elsa attacked with a shout.
Her good quick decision was her strong point.
When I dodged her blow as I stepped in, I hooked my right leg on her leg.
The center of gravity swung forward.
"Wawa, wa, waa."
Elsa tried to take back her balance with one foot.
I headed to her――Pocari.
I gently swung down the tip of the wooden sword.
That was the decisive factor, and Elsa smashed into the ground. It became an awkward posture with her buttock sticking out here.
"Ouch.....", she was holding her head down.
"Game set, okay."
I laughed.
"Uuh..... As expected of chichiue. I couldn't hit with my sword again. Even though I was really all out today....."
"Fufu. I still can't get a blow from my beloved daughter."
I smiled at Elsa.
Even if I said that I resigned as an adventurer, I still did training. It would be too early to get a blow from my ten-year-old daughter.
I was still 27 years old.
"But Elsa was also in a good line. You had better swordsmanship than I used to. You might become a great swordsman in this condition."
"I can be a swordsman like papa......like chichiue too?"
"Yeah, sure."
I gently stroked Elsa's silver hair.
"Also, doesn't it hard to call. It's okay to call me papa, you know?"
"――!"
Elsa's cheeks quickly became red.
".....I, I can't do that. I'm a swordsman. I have to keep my distance from the weakness and keep doing sword practice. If not, I can't be a first-rate swordsman."
"Is the term "papa" a weakness?"
"Yes. Calling papa and eat sweets is a weakness. The swordsman must always be strong!"
There seemed to be a figure of an ideal swordsman in Elsa. Perhaps I was also influencing her by reading the swordsman's heroic tale at home.
"So that's it. It's a shame. Today's snack is an apple pie. You can't eat sweets because it's a weakness huh."
"――Pi, pie!?"
Elsa's eyes were shining. Then her expression seemed like want something, she muttered, while making both her index fingers touched each other.
".....Today, I'm a little weak."
Elsa was weak to sweets. (Note: can also be= Elsa was still naive, maybe)
When I smiled, I pulled Elsa's hand and started walking.
In her little palm, there was a callus from the sword swing.
She――Elsa was one of the three sisters who was interested in the swordsmanship.
Her eyes were shining when she saw the scene I was swinging the sword in the garden.
Every time I swung my sword, she was delighted by clapping her hands.
Even when she cried at night, she was calm down when I gave her a wooden sword.
When she was still a baby, or now when she was 10 years old, Elsa always slept while hugging a wooden sword.
When she was doing that, she felt calm and settled down.
“I want to be an adventurer like chichiue when I grow up, and I'll beat the dragon that chichiue couldn't beat."
Elsa snorted and declared it to me.
The girls knew that I was an adventurer.
The villagers had spoken to them.
Kaizer was the village's number one sword user, and he was the youngest genius in history to become an A-rank adventurer.
There were a few things I didn't like, though....
When Elsa heard it, she admired the adventurers.
And I was afraid she'll try to defeat that Ancient Dragon, which the villagers had told that I couldn't defeat it.
It was a complicated feeling for me.
As a father, I didn't want my daughter to be caught in danger by being an adventurer. freewebn ovel.com
Besides, the Ancient Dragon was a monster that I couldn't defeat, and at the same time, the culprit who burned down Elsa's hometown.
If Elsa came near to it.....
"... No, this is the parent's ego."
I shook my head to throw away those thoughts off my head.
It was not me who decided on Elsa's life. It was Elsa herself.
If she wants to be a swordsman and an adventurer, there was no reason for me to stop her. It only imposed parents' selfish convenience.
If so――.
I would teach her the swordsmanship so that she could become stronger at least. As a swordsman, to gain the power to protect herself and her loved ones.
That was what I could give to Elsa as a parent.
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