After drinking Leo’s magic water and continuing on our journey back, Liza started calling me ‘papa’ after I told her that she didn’t need to be so formal.
“Thank you for helping me, papa!”
“You don’t need to thank… What?”
“Hmm? Grandfather said…that parents are supposed to be kind and protect children. And that’s what you did…”
“HAHAHAHA! She has grown quite fond of you, Mr. Takumi!”
“It’s not a laughing matter, Mr. Ekenhart. I’m not a parent…”
Mr. Ekenhart was listening as he rode next to us, and he now burst into laughter…
While I had been around children a lot, I’ve never had any of my own, so I wasn’t sure how to react.
Liza must have felt my hesitation, and she looked at me with worry.
“Are you not…papa? I don’t know much about parents…”
When she looked at me like that, it was hard to tell her to stop calling me that.
“Also…I don’t know your name…that other old man said it a few times…but I keep forgetting…”
“I-I see… Hmm. Indeed. …Well, my name is Takumi. So you can just call me Takumi.”
“…Takumi… Hmm… But it’s easier to say papa!”
“Th-that might be, but… I’m not your papa. And so I don’t think…”
“I can’t? But I want…”
“Hahaha! Now you can’t refuse. You’ll just have to accept the name, Mr. Takumi.”
“…Mr. Ekenhart… This is your fault too…”
It wasn’t that I hated being called that.
After all, it showed how comfortable she was around me now.
However, it was awkward to be called papa when I didn’t have any children.
Besides, Mr. Ekenhart had helped her too. And he had daughters already. Surely he would be better for that role…
Perhaps it was because of the beard situation?
But I wasn’t even married. And I was too young… Well, maybe not that young, but…
While I was happy that she felt that way, still…
I glared at Mr. Ekenhart who continued to laugh.
And then Liza looked up at me with that worried expression and drooping tail and ears.
I could not tell her that she absolutely couldn’t.
Who could, when they saw such an expression on her face… Well, there were probably plenty of people who could, but I couldn’t.
“Fi-fine. You can call me papa…”
“Yay! Thank you, papa!”
I pushed away any feelings of confusion for her comfort, and allowed it with a nod.
Liza smiled happily and wagged her tail and twitched her ears.
I suppose that was how beastkin expressed their happiness.
Regardless, after seeing that, I felt that I had made the right decision.
Mr. Ekenhart was just laughing, which made me less sympathetic about what Ms. Claire and Sebastian would say to him later. Really.
“Hah…so I’m a parent now…even though I’m not married…”
I muttered as Liza talked excitedly and Mr. Ekenhart laugh. Leo sighed and continued to run.
“So, that’s how it was… Liza forced me…you could say…”
“I see…very well. I’m relieved to know that. Yes, very relieved.”
Ms. Claire sighed with relief after hearing all of this, and she then returned to her more gentle self. I would have to be careful in the future so that I don’t anger her.
“So if Mr. Takumi is the papa…then that means…”
“Claire, perhaps now is not the time?”
Ms. Claire seemed like she was thinking about something, but Mr. Ekenhart warned her, and so she shook her head.
What had she been thinking about?
“As I said before, if Leo wants us to protect this child, then the house will not oppose her will. Silver Fenrirs are revered in this family…they are special. Besides, at this point, she is like a part of the family.”
With a look of serious determination, Ms. Claire made this declaration to everyone in the room, and then everyone nodded in agreement.
As for Leo, she bowed her head to Ms. Claire and barked as if to express her gratitude over this decision.
While Liza understood that we were talking about her, she seemed rather confused as well.
But one could not expect her to understand things about Mr. Ekenhart being the duke or about Silver Fenrirs being special.
She could learn about all of that little by little.