I Am Raising a Daughter in This Life

As a father (2)

this is true

Irina took a angular posture with her head bowed while kneeling on one knee.

It was a perfect courtesy.

Who is not a knight, showing such a perfect angle?

No, more than that, why are you doing this?

Irina, who was silent for a moment at my question, opened her mouth with her head still lowered.

“First of all, apologize.”

I don’t know. let’s hear it

“No matter how much Lize calls her father, I don’t think Irvin is my real father.”

That’s not wrong.

“So, if Lady Rize wants to leave this place someday, I always had a plan in mind to cut off all ties with Irvin.”

That’s a bit outrageous.

It was just sentimental to the end, and it wasn’t something I couldn’t understand, so I calmly waited for Irina’s words to continue.

“But I was wrong. Irvin was more than a father to Lady Rize, and the two of them were so closely related that I couldn’t dare cut them apart. This is an apology for making a foolish judgment without knowing anything.”

I understand why you are behaving like this.

In short, it would mean that he accepted me as Rize’s father. It doesn’t make any difference if it’s acknowledged by others.

Even so, I wondered if it was something to be done with such strictness.

When I wondered if someone was really making a fuss like this because they thought he wasn’t a knight, Irina took a step further.

“Also, from now on, I’m going to dedicate my sword to Mr. Irvin.”

“To me?”

The meaning of a knight offering his sword.

It meant serving me as my lord and fulfilling my allegiance.

It was a sudden statement, so I inadvertently asked it back, but I soon found out what it meant.

“Right. Since you recognized Rize as your guardian, are you saying that you will give me the authority to wield you until Rize becomes an adult?”

“… … That’s right.”

I felt like I knew Irina to some extent now.

It’s so ignorantly simple and honest. That’s why he followed Rize’s mother wholeheartedly, and he must have had deep affection even for her daughter, Rize.

But no matter what, Rize was still a child.

A child who can’t even handle his own power properly yet.

So it could be said that he would entrust me with things other than protecting Rize.

“I can’t just wait for Lady Lize to get caught up in harsh things because of her heroic fate. As much as Mr. Irvin is risking his life, I will not be able to live well if something happens to Lady Rize. In that case, I want Irvin to use my sword as a useful hand.”

add one.

He was an active personality who couldn’t let go of his hands behind his back.

“Isn’t Irvin-nim in a situation where he lacks an absolute ally?”

… … add another one.

It shows sharp insights that sometimes hit the mark.

As Irina said, if I tried to solve the troublesome things happening on all continents by myself, I would see Rize once a month.

It was a completely different situation, so I wasn’t happy with it either.

So I needed someone who would be my hands and feet instead of me and take care of the troublesome things.

Well, if you were a simple collaborator, you could ask for more, but that wasn’t enough.

There had to be people who would follow my instructions before anything else, who had enough ability to do so, who could follow me to the end, who were truly my limbs.

The plans I was making were risky and, in some ways, erratic.

I was fully aware of that, so I had some plans in place.

That’s why, to be honest, it was nice to see Irina’s level of strength.

“Yeah, I won’t deny it. If you have it, it will definitely be of great help. Still, I won’t let you escape from Rize’s escort mission.”

“of course. It is enough just to decide where to wield my sword.”

I was just thinking of building a little bit of trust, but I never thought I’d even get a pledge of allegiance like this.

Even so, all I wanted from Irina was to keep Rize safe. If Irina’s help was needed, it meant that it was really dangerous, so I wanted to avoid it if possible.

Even so, I don’t intend to waste the cards I already have in my hands.

“good. Let me hold that sword for a while. You can go to Rize at any time, depending on your judgment.”

“Thank you for your consideration. If you need my sword, please let me know.”

“Well, what I want right now is more about housework than anything else.”

“… … I will not disappoint you.”

I thought I should finish the serious talk soon, so I said that and gestured to Irina.

As soon as I woke up, taking an upright immobile posture seemed to completely return to being a knight.

I don’t have to do this already.

I hope you don’t do this in front of Rize.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Take it easy. Usually, the relationship between the landlord and the housekeeper is sufficient.”

“Do you have any plans that you are aiming for right now?”

“Funding.”

Perhaps it was a little unexpected, Irina opened her eyes slightly and immediately gave out a puzzled voice.

“If that’s the case, would you use my money? I used it a bit to find Lady Rize, but… … .”

“I don’t know how diligently I gathered it, but I can’t help it. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.”

As we had to move on a continental basis and proceed with our plans, the necessary funds far exceeded the units that could be operated by individuals.

Until now, he had had enough money to live with Rize, but now it was time to earn money seriously.

“Can I ask you something too?”

“Yes, please.”

“What kind of person is Rize’s biological father?”

“… … .”

Actually, it wasn’t something I was curious about, but I wanted to know about it in case Rize was curious about it someday.

However, it was not easy for any country to obtain information about the dead, and eventually stopped investigating at some point.

I thought it would be good to ask since there is someone who knows about it, but… … Irina was unexpectedly seriously worried.

Could it be that Rize’s birth had some terrifying secret or something?

“Could it be that Miss Lize is Angelina-sama… … Do you know about your mother?”

“No, I haven’t told you yet.”

“Then, would it be all right if I tell Lady Lize first and then tell her about it?”

“Let it be. You know more about Rize’s mother than I do, so help me.”

“… … Can you decide so easily?”

I know what Irina is worried about.

She must be worried about the shock that Lize will receive when she hears about her birth and her real parents.

However, it was not a story that could be hidden forever.

“I didn’t specifically try to hide it forever, I always tried to answer whenever Rize asked. Rize, who hadn’t been curious about her mother until now, must be unusual. So once… … Just wait until I reveal that I am not your biological father.”

If you think about it, it was really strange. Certainly, there are bound to be questions about the existence of a mother, but I have never had a similar question before.

That much I hoped it meant that I was doing a good job as a father.

“… … What kind of person was Angelina?”

At that question, Irina seemed to think of something for a moment, then smiled lightly and said.

“You were a most beautiful person.”

* * *

Mornings are always full of energy thanks to Rize, who is always lively.

But with only one person added, I didn’t think it would become more turbulent than that.

“Lady Rize.”

At Irina’s call, Rize, who was sitting on my lap, turned her head.

“Now that we’ve finished eating, why don’t you let go of Irvin soon?”

“Why, sister?”

“Irvin has plans for today. You have to leave now to save time.”

Irina, now somewhat accustomed to the housekeeper’s work, took on most of the housework and even managed Rize’s daily schedule.

It wasn’t coercive, though, and since he created a routine that perfectly suited Rize, it couldn’t be more reliable.

He didn’t have a very confident attitude during the interview, but he was satisfied with not only cooking, but also household chores like cleaning and laundry.

If it’s just one problem… … .

“Would you like to stay a little longer? No?”

“Um, in that case… … .”

Even if he backed down on Rize, he was too reticent.

I also don’t have a soft feeling towards Rize, but Irina was clearly visible to anyone.

He was worried that he would be swayed by Rize later.

“By the way, my knee would be softer, how about it?”

So are my knees stiff?

As I was slightly moved, Rize shook her head and buried her back in my arms.

I wanted to enjoy the feeling of victory, but as Irina said, if I didn’t start soon, it could be delayed.

Still, after satisfying Rize for a while, I spoke to him.

“Dad, I’m going out for a while. In the meantime, Irina and I are looking after the house. Understand?”

“Aren’t you going to work?”

“It’s not like that. I’ll be back soon, so I’m waiting for you. Are you fine?”

“Umm, do you really have to come soon?”

Perhaps it was because he had been with Rize for the past few days, unlike the previous times, he showed a stable appearance.

I wished they would stay like this all the time, but I still had a complicated feeling that it would be a pity if I didn’t act too childish.

side.

At that moment, Rize left a kiss on my cheek with a clear sound.

“Hee hee, have a good trip, Dad.”

Lightly surprised and happy at the same time, I hugged Rize tightly and kissed Rize’s cheek as well.

“I’ll be back soon, my daughter.”

I realized belatedly that there was an uninvited guest who was watching the happy act of affection with a teary face, but what about it?

After saying such a hearty goodbye, I left the house and headed to the mercenary guild.

But it wasn’t because of work that I came here this time.

It was the first time I had found it since exploring the Heroes’ Cemetery, but I needed to take a vacation of some sort considering what I had to do for the time being.

Among the A-class mercenaries, I was quite famous in Findel, so in the case of high-level quests, the Cornwell branch manager deliberately pointed to me.

It could be said that he firmly held his position as a mercenary, which was indispensable for the Findel branch.

I came to inform you that I will not be accepting nomination requests for a while now that I will be absent a lot.

It was late in the morning, so the inside of the guild was quite quiet.

It was quiet, uncharacteristic of a guild, as there were only a few people on the request board thinking about the few remaining tasks, or those who were doing the settlement of requests the previous day at a table set aside.

Miss Daisy, who was sorting out the paperwork at the reception desk, suddenly raised her head and put on a happy expression.

“Ah, Mr. Irvin, you’re welcome.”

“Uh, uh, don’t tell me. I’m not here to work today.”

It looked like he was about to say something annoying, so he immediately reached out and interrupted Daisy’s words.

Even so, smiling brightly made me even more anxious.

I put both hands on the reception desk and said it as if I was giving notice before making any more strange noises.

“I won’t be able to accept requests for a while because of work. Isn’t it enough to take a break to retire… … . Miss Daisy? Would you like to put down what you have in your hand?”

Still smiling, Daisy gently lifted up the paper with the request written on it, and I turned my head away with my eyes tightly closed.

Damn, you caught me really well too.

“This is a request that arrived two days ago.”

Yes, it will come as soon as 3 days.

He opened his mouth again, still ignoring the request form, with a handful of anxiety that he might have already had a twist.

“I’ll ask you first, but it’s not a nomination request, is it?”

“This is a special urgent nomination request from Mr. Irvin.”

Damn this.