All the sand in the hourglass has gone down.
　Time for a change of guard.
　Meryl kept moaning that she wanted to stay with her dad, but I convinced her to go back to the back of the truck because it would affect the battle tomorrow.
　Anna comes to me by mistake.

"Meryl. He wasn't happy about it.
I know.
Yeah. I can't believe I let you do that.
Not as much as Anna. You usually have to deal with people who are adventurers. It must be hard to keep up with such strong-willed men.
Well. I wish we were all like you. I didn't realize until I came to King's Landing that my father was an unorthodox adventurer.
Okay. Have a seat. I'm sure you've got a lot to talk about.
Yeah. I've been wanting to talk to my dad, too. Perfect timing. Now we won't have to listen to the other kids.
What. Is something bothering you?
"No. It's not like that. It's already taken care of in my mind. I just want to check in with my dad, that's all.
Confirmation?

　Anna gave a small nod.

'Hey. Dad . You're insisting on taking down the Ancient Dragon because you feel guilty that you couldn't protect our home village?
............

　I'm at a loss for words.
　A warm breeze blew, and the flames of the campfire swayed heavily. The red light made the outline of Anna's face appear in the darkness.

...... What does this mean?
Papa was originally an A-ranked adventurer in King's Landing. He was so good that he was known as a sage when he held a sword and a wise man when he used magic. It was said that it was only a matter of time before he was promoted to S-rank adventurer. But... after one mission, Kaiser Cloud was effectively forced to retire from adventuring.

　Anna gazed at the fire and caught her breath.

'After I came to King's Landing and became a guild official, I did a lot of research into the past. At first I just wanted to know about my dad when he was an adventurer. But the more I looked, the more I found that I was looking into it, the more I came up with an entry for that mission. A mission to take out a wyvern at the volcano. They killed it, but it woke up an ancient dragon. The dragon then burned an entire village to the ground in the foothills.
............
"Dad has since retired as an adventurer. He wasn't hurt so badly that he couldn't recover from his mission. I talked to some people who knew about it, and they said he brought home three babies after that mission. She wasn't even married. They said they took in what was left of the burned-out village. Hey, dad.

　That's when Anna finally turned her eyes from the fire to me.

'Those three sisters are us, aren't they?

　Crack ...... and the dry sound of branches in the fire exploding in the fire .
　In this place surrounded by thick darkness, that voice stood out clearly. It was a tone of voice that had a core of conviction in it.

　Anna had come to the truth.
　That I wasn't their real father. That I was the real reason for their obsession with killing the Ancient Dragon.
　I guess there's no point in fooling around with this one: .......

'...... Ah . . yes.

　I whispered to myself in resignation.
　The moment I admitted it, I felt the leaven that had been building up inside my chest melt away.
　That's when I realized again.
　I had always felt guilty.

I knew it was true. It was good to hear it from your mouth.
...... Does Elsa or Meryl know about this?
No. I'm the only one who knows. I didn't tell them. Maybe they'd be shocked.

　Anna held her knees and muttered to herself.

'He's been keeping this to himself for a long time, hasn't he?
"...... I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you so many times. But I couldn't. It just dragged me down to this point.



　I owed them a debt.
　I had let their real parents die because I hadn't been able to slay the Ancient Dragon.
　I was a kind of avenging their parents.

"Anna. That must have been a shock ......?
'Yeah . I knew I didn't have a mother at all compared to the other families around me, but I didn't think I'd have any blood ties to my dad. It's amazing. Maybe it would have been better if they had told me when I was a kid.
...... I was afraid to tell you guys the truth. I was scared to tell you guys the truth. I felt like if I did, we wouldn't be a family anymore.
Dad: "Dad: ......
...... Anna. Do you have a grudge against me?
...... Right.

　Anna muttered to herself.

...... Maybe I should be resentful, but I'm not. You are the one who originally separated us from our real parents. But,
But?
"No reason to hate my dad, no reason to hate him, because he got too much love. I've made too many irreplaceable memories. So I can neither hate nor resent him. ...... I still love you, Dad.
Anna: "Anna: ......
Today, when the bloodwolf showed up in the woods. I watched you and your friends fight from the back of the wagon. Elsa's stripes and swordsmanship, the way she carried herself, it was just like her father. The little gestures she made as she sheathed her sword. The way Meryl used to mix up her magic. It was just an unconscious habit my dad had when he used his magic.

　Anna said.

'And I thought, "Hey, maybe we're not related by blood. We may not be family by blood. But I got a lot of stuff from my dad. It's nothing to do with blood or genes or any of those little things. It's the good times we've had, the memories we've had that make us a real family. ...... I'm sure Elsa and Meryl would think the same thing about me.
Thanks to ...... . Anna.

　My vision blurred with tears.
　His words of forgiveness pierced deep into my heart.
　And I was proud to have such a sweet, fine daughter. To the outside world, people might ridicule me for being an idiot.
　But I'll still hold my heart out.
　I'll be their father.
　As a family.