Chapter 117

And so, a few more days passed.

Thanks to our hard work, we managed to somehow replenish the money we wasted on Rice Cake.

Meanwhile, Mari, Karina, and Serena secretly worked while I was teaching cooking classes, helping to refill the funds I had squandered.

Of course, now that I know about it, the fact that they worked behind my back is already water under the bridge.

They still think I don’t know they secretly helped me.

What a thoughtful thing to do.

Still, I feel bad for making them help after I spent money out of greed.

From now on, I should really only make desserts occasionally.

Uh…

I can’t completely give them up.

Just… occasionally.

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And so, Kurt and his group finished preparing to return to Astram, and Aisia was there to see them off.

Although she had allowed Mari to become independent, seeing her off didn’t sit entirely well with her, as tears welled up in her eyes.

“You’re leaving.”

“Yes. But don’t worry. I’ll come back to visit sometimes!”

“Good. At least I can rest easy knowing you’ve found good companions.”

“Right? Kurt, Karina, and Serena are all wonderful people!”

“All three of them are rare individuals you won’t easily find elsewhere, so cherish them.”

“Of course! They’re my first companions!”

At Aisia’s words, Mari nodded in agreement without needing to say anything.

Aisia watched her actions with a satisfied smile and said, “Good. Make sure to get along well.”

As she spoke, Aisia’s gaze was fixed on Kurt.

There was a reason she wanted Mari to get along with Kurt and his group—not just because they were good people, but because she had another motive.

There’s an old saying: “If you stay close to black, you’ll turn black; if you stay close to red, you’ll turn red.”

Just like that saying, Aisia hoped that by staying close to Kurt, a transcendent being, Mari might also reach that level.

It wasn’t that Aisia wanted fame or glory from her daughter becoming a transcendent.

Rather, she had no interest in such things in human society, seeing them as cumbersome obstacles to living freely, like her father had.

What she truly wanted was for Mari’s lifespan to increase by becoming a transcendent.

Even if Mari reached the level of a mana expert, her lifespan would only double at best.

That is, a half-elf who originally couldn’t live past 300 years might live up to 600 years.

Of course, even that lifespan would be considered incredibly long by human standards, but by elf standards, it was still considered short-lived.

If both of them lived out their expected lifespans, Aisia would still have about 200 years left when Mari’s time came.

Even though doubling a half-elf’s lifespan from 300 years was already remarkable, human greed knows no bounds.

If Mari could become a transcendent, or even just approach that level, her lifespan would increase even more.

They say the greatest filial impiety is for a child to die before their parents.

Even if it was a distant future, the thought alone was enough to make Aisia depressed.

Especially since she had already lost Mari’s father to assassins, leaving the pain of losing family as a scar in her heart.

But if Mari grew stronger by Kurt’s side and extended her lifespan even further, Aisia could spend the rest of her life with her.

That was the first reason Aisia could send Mari off with a light heart.

If that weren’t the case, even if she had promised to let Mari go after losing the test, she wouldn’t have been able to maintain such a bright atmosphere.

And that wasn’t all.

“…This stir-fried onion can be turned into soup by adding water, or you can later bake bread and sandwich it in between. Also, I’ve written down the cooking recipes in a notebook and placed it on the bookshelf in the living room… Mom, are you listening?”

“…Huh? Ah, of course I’m listening.”

Mari, who was explaining the dishes Kurt had made, looked at Aisia suspiciously, noticing she was lost in thought.

Aisia, snapping out of her reverie, quickly responded to Mari’s words.

“Ugh. Kurt went through the trouble of making all these dishes before leaving, and you’re not even paying attention.”

“Hmm… As a mom, I’d rather he come back periodically to cook for us instead of leaving recipes.”

“Hey, even if Kurt is part of the group, we can’t impose on him like that. Just be content with the recipes.”

“What if he were closer than just a group member?”

“Closer than a group member…?”

Mari tilted her head, not understanding Aisia’s words. Seeing her daughter’s innocent confusion, Aisia smiled mischievously.

“Mom welcomes multicultural families.”

“…W-what!? What does that mean!?”

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it. Mom was part of a multicultural family too, you know. Hehe.”

In the short time she had known him, Aisia had come to see Kurt as a Lizardman with a good elf-like demeanor, a sharp mind, and flexible thinking.

Moreover, as a transcendent being, the biggest issue in relationships between short-lived and long-lived species—lifespan—wasn’t much of a problem.

And above all, his cooking had long since won over Aisia’s stomach.

‘Tofu Steak… Napolitan Spaghetti… Rice Cake… Hngg…♡’

Just recalling the dishes Kurt had made sent a shiver of delight through her.

And Aisia suspected that Kurt’s repertoire of vegetarian dishes didn’t end there.

Though she couldn’t ask him to cook this or that now since he was part of Mari’s group, if he were to become her son-in-law…

‘I could ask him to cook whatever I want every day…!’

As Aisia happily imagined a life filled with delicious food, Mari blushed and shouted.

“I-it’s not like that with Kurt!”

“Sure. I said the same thing when I first met your father.”

“No, really, it’s not like that! If you keep saying that, I’m leaving!”

“You haven’t even finished saying goodbye yet.”

And so, Mari, denying any relationship with Kurt, and Aisia, teasing her, bickered for a while.

“Well, it’s time to go.”

“Don’t worry too much. When my adventurer life is over, I’ll return to the Elf Village.”

“Good. Just do the adventurer thing for about 30 years and then come back.”

“No, 30 years is too short. I need at least 50 years!”

“Even so, 50 years is too long. Don’t you feel bad leaving your mom all alone?”

“Well… but I’ll visit often!”

“Then promise to visit at least once a year.”

“O-once a year?”

“What? You’re not going to say you can’t even do that, are you?”

“N-no! I’ll visit once a year!”

With Mari’s promise secured, Aisia approached Kurt.

“Kurt, I’m truly grateful to you. If it weren’t for your mediation, the relationship between Mari and me wouldn’t have been resolved so well.”

“No, family is bound to come together. It would’ve worked out even without me.”

“So humble…”

Aisia smiled wryly at Kurt’s modesty.

“And there’s one more thing I’m thankful for.”

“One more thing…?”

“That day you made Rice Cake and spent all the money. You did that to give Mari and me time to prepare for our farewell, didn’t you?”

“Huh?”

“Even though Mari didn’t notice your consideration and got angry, I could tell. You played the villain to give us time.”

“Uh…?”

“Hahaha. Thinking about it, who would just casually use expensive sugar like water for a dish like that? It was too obvious.”

“Uhh…?”

“Especially since you’re such a wise person, you wouldn’t do something so foolish. Am I right? Checkmate!”

Aisia winked like a detective who had just solved the case, pointing at Kurt. Her sparkling eyes made Kurt wear a complicated expression as he half-heartedly agreed.

“Well… you could say that.”

“I knew it. Thank you so much.”

“….”

Of course, there was no such subtle consideration in Kurt’s actions. He had simply indulged his desires without thinking of the consequences.

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As they chatted, the carriage was fully loaded.

Clatter clatter.

The loaded carriage began to roll its wheels for the first time in a while, and Aisia waved and shouted after it.

“Take care~! And see you next time!”

“Yeah. Take care. Next time… huh?”

See you next time?

Ah, this must be for Mari.

But Mari, despite Aisia’s farewell, shyly pulled her cape over her face.

So shy, and she’s not even a teenager.

And so, we set off on our journey back to Astram.