What's going on? Why don't you sit down instead of just standing there?

　As prompted, I vacated one chair and sat down at the seat next to it.

　It was a large table used for a banquet, so the distance between us was too small to sit across from each other, but that doesn't mean I was brazen enough to sit next to him.
　This position was the product of such a compromise.

............

　Seeing him again for the first time in fifteen years was so sudden that I wasn't Garnett, but I wasn't prepared for it.

　Just as I started to think about where to start, my dad opened his mouth without looking at me.

'I understand some of the situation. No need to explain.
...... I see. I knew it was my mom.
What the hell do you think my title is?

　My father poured two cups of the wine he kept in his hand and pushed one of them at me.

I've been in charge of this village since before His Majesty's accession to the throne, and even after the White Wolf Forest became under the direct control of the royal court, I continued to be in charge of the village. I've established a good reputation for getting information from the higher-ups.
"So that means ......, possibly ......
I've already figured out how well you're positioned as an adventurer ...... to that extent. It was a confirmation, though, that I'd get done once a year or so, when I felt like it.

　I scratched the back of my head with one hand from the awkwardness of being told that in a tone of voice that suppressed the ups and downs.

　I didn't think that being informed that something I'd been hiding, believing that it shouldn't be known, had actually been a secret for a long time, would cause such great emotional damage.

'If you knew about it for a long time, you should have told your mother.
'Don't be a fool. I can't tell that mother that her son who ran off and is struggling at the bottom of the guild.
...... You're right.

　It was here that I felt like there was finally some empathy between me and Dad.

　If Mom had known about my current situation, her concern would have been much greater than it is now.

　I sip the sake my father forced on me, realizing once again how unfilial I am to my parents.

　--This drink is not cheap. It's not cheap, it's pretty good.

　It's a different grade from the masses of booze that were being consumed at the banquet held earlier.

It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on a new weapon," he said. He just told me it was the good news I'd been waiting for.

　Dad took a little sip of his drink and then exhaled in confusion.

''I've also heard rumors of the new Order. It's information that would normally be out of my earshot.
I knew that much.
'I thought it was a false alarm, as expected. That it was an unexpected achievement in the Demon Lord's War, and that the story was growing into insignificance.

　I didn't expect my dad to know about the new knights as well - I was surprised that he knew about the new knights - but at the same time, I could understand why he thought it was wrong information.

''Indeed. I don't care if you're going to become a knight's apprentice like my brother (Mark) and aim for a straightforward knighthood, it's not normal to be entrusted with a knight's order all of a sudden.
'You heard about Mark from your mum and dad. I thought you'd forgotten he existed because he's your older brother.
As you can see, that's not happening. ......

　There was nothing sarcastic or accusatory in his tone of voice, but I still felt like I was being accused of not being close to my family.

　He was less than ten years old when I left the village, and it's doubtful he even remembers me.

I'd like to hear it from you. I'd like to hear it from you directly. Is the story of the New Order true?
...... Um, that's ......
If it's a security breach, don't worry about it. I'm already getting my information illegally from another source, so if you tell them, they'll just cut me off from that source.

　I pondered for a few seconds on what to do and came to a clear conclusion.

'Let's just say it's true: ....... I've agreed, but I don't know yet what exactly it's going to be.
...... Right.

　Dad loosened his tightly drawn mouth just a bit as he reduced the drink in his cup by half.

'That's why I told you,' he said, 'you're not cut out to be an adventurer. I said, 'You're not cut out to be an adventurer,'" he said, "you're not cut out to be an adventurer. You were a child who was more gifted at using people backwards than adventuring. A perspective on the abilities and personalities of others and assigning appropriate roles to them ...... in a different personality area than skills.
...... I've never heard of this before?
You just didn't listen. You were so stubborn about your dreams that you just couldn't get your head around them.

　When my own parents tell me that, I feel like they were right.

　It's true that I was extremely stubborn just before I left the village.
　I was so stubborn that I didn't listen to my parents' arguments.

''I mean, isn't that an important talent for an adventurer to have?''
I guess one of the criteria for adventurer rank is 'dungeon rank that can survive on its own'. Even if you have the talent to make others succeed, you will not achieve greatness.

　It was absolutely true, so I'm at a loss to argue with him.

'But ...... when I heard that you had turned into a successful weapons dealer and were successful, I thought, 'You've seen that?' but when it comes to the New Order, I can't say the same.'

　Dad looked down at the water surface of the liquor in his drinking vessel, not paying any attention to my reaction.

If I'd held him back, he would never have achieved such a high level of success. I'd have made him take over as village chief in the countryside and end his life.

　Then Dad kept his gaze forward and extended his hand with the liquor bottle toward me in the chair two chairs next to him.

'Congratulations, Luke,'

　Short words filled with all the senses.
　Pure thoughts that don't need any embellishments.

　Fifteen years' worth of anxiety is sublimated into one word, and I return the word with fifteen years' worth of gratitude.

...... Thanks, Dad.

　We discussed the liquor bottles and stoked the contents.

　I feel strangely lighter, and it's probably not just because of the drunkenness.

　A heavy wedge that has been stuck in my heart for a long time has fallen out and I almost feel confused by how light I am.

　As we are soaking in the mournful air without saying a word to each other, a rough and lovely voice is unexpectedly thrown at us from the entrance of the living room.

...... Oi, I'm done with the bath. Get in there and get your white wolf one too--

　I turned around almost at the same time as my dad and I saw Garnett standing there with his golden hair damp from the hot water, his face contorted as he put it away.

　Garnett was so quick-witted that he understood in an instant who and where he was with me and what we were talking about.

'Oh, um, ...... is nice to meet you. The white wolf's, not ...... that, Le, Luke, and Mr. and, er, ...... with you.
You don't need to do anything about it.
'Shut up!　There's nothing we can do about this!

　Garnett looked blown away and crowded me, shouting out that it was just an accident of meeting people.

　Dad watched the exchange between me and Garnett from the side, then moved his mouth into what looked like a smile for the first time and bowed deeply to Garnett.

'You must be Miss Alma of the Argentia family. I have heard of you. I am an inadequate son, but I beg you to take care of me.'
Hey, you too!　I know I may be missing a lot of things!　Oh, oh, later!

　Garnett, confused by my father's sudden meeting with him, has the momentum to say something outrageous.

'We have a complicated situation here too!　I was hoping I could put off my grandchildren's faces and all that!
......!

　I spewed out the liquor I was about to put in my mouth as hard as I could.

　And Dad was laughing out loud with a look on his face that hadn't shown a shred of it earlier.