'This landscape............ this landscape, I've seen it before.'
'What?Are you sure?'

An old abandoned house.
The air around it is heavy, and the sky seems dim.
No, ...... clearly, only the area around the building looks dimmer and duller than the rest.
The wind rumbles, and the vibrations in your eardrums go straight to your spine, sending shivers down your spine.

There should be nothing special about ...... the scenery ............, but it's just eerie, and as I stare at it, I suddenly hear these words. --.

--Did you catch that?

'In my hometown, stories about places like this are popular with some people,............, especially in the hot season.
'Yashiro. Isn't that a ghost story?
'Um, Hero-sama. It's true that the place is deserted, but there are no such stories here. It's just a normal place for my family to live.

Even if you say so, ......

This place is a haunted place no matter how you look at it, and if it were, you'd think you'd seen it on TV. That's how 'likely' the scenery is.
For example, in the window of that abandoned house, there is a ............

'............?

I looked at the window, my whole body went rigid, and all the functions of my brain stopped.

From the window, a woman with .................. long hair is staring at me with a '...... ............


'Yashiro-san!What's wrong with you?
'Did you understand me?
'Hero-sama, please be careful!
'Yes, let go of me, Theron!There are demons living here!
'No, it's my family that lives here, Hero-sama!
'But, oh, oh, look over there!There's a woman in that window!

I pointed and looked at ......

'She's gone, she's gone, she's gone!

I knew it!
I knew it was a ghost!
Because it's gone!
I took my eyes off it for a moment, and while I was at it!

'Yashiro-san, please calm down.
'Oh, oh, oh, ochi, ochi, ochi, ochi, ochi!
'Please don't say 'tits', 'tits'!
'I can't calm down!You've got milk, right?
'Your milk?
'Tits are always coming out, except for Estella!
'That's too loud!
'Everyone, let's calm down!Hero-sama, take a deep breath!

Wendy raised her voice in an attempt to pacify the situation.
...... At that moment.

'How dare you come back, Wendy?

I'm not sure if you've heard of it, but I'm sure you've heard of it.
There it is!--She almost shouted, but stopped.
What the heck, she's ...... still alive.

The woman was quite old, with wrinkles clearly etched on her face that made me think that she was always looking solemn.
She had two antennae on her head. ...... means that this is a bug man ............ or rather this is a ......

'...... mom'.

Wendy muttered in a low voice and slowly turned around.
As you can imagine, this ghostly creature seems to be Wendy's mother. ......'s, but...

'I don't deserve to be called 'mother' by someone who abandoned my home. You're not my daughter anymore. You're going to be some guy's property, aren't you?Don't come here anymore, you disgrace of the family!
'............ again,............ like that.'

Wendy's hair lifted softly, ...... and--


Bumblebee!


-- and a violent spark erupts.

'Wendy, calm down!Take a deep breath!

You'll be able to take a look at your own personal life.

'Haha ......, I'm sorry. I got excited again. ............'

When she sees my face, Wendy calms down a bit and the spark stops.
Thank God. She could have electrocuted her own mother with that thing.

'...... What the hell is wrong with you, you horrible girl!You'll end up with such an awful constitution if you get involved with humans!
'What?



Once again, Wendy's body begins to glow.
Then a small spark occurs, which grows larger and larger in proportion to the waves of emotion.

'That doesn't matter, does it!
'Oh, it doesn't matter!It's none of my business if you're used by the humans and eventually discarded!So please go home as soon as possible!
'That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that my constitution has nothing to do with humans.
'There's no such thing as irrelevant!You've gone crazy since you started lusting after that guy named Nando!Mostly, you've been taken advantage of by a sweet talker!
'Theron is not that kind of person!

A tremendous spark keeps occurring, as if lightning keeps striking the same point.
If an imaginary being called Thunder-sama existed, it would probably be like this.

'Hmph!Do you know how many people have been deceived like that?And you're one of them!

Without taking a single step toward the golden Super Wendy, Wendy's mother yells at her in a strong tone. Her gaze now turned to us.

'd*mn it!You brought all these people to ....... Did you think you could sway us with your numbers?That's too bad!I'm not afraid of humans!I'm not afraid of people!

I'm not afraid of humans! I'm not at their beck and call, I'm outnumbered, I'm not afraid of them. ...... This guy must have misunderstood something.
No, I'm pretty sure he's mistaken. ......



...... 'Sub-strain'?


I'm sure she'll ask you.
So, I won't ask now.
I'll ask for a detailed explanation later.

So this is what Cabriele was talking about when he said 'rude things that bother me'. ......

'Hey.'

Wendy's mother calls out to me with hostile eyes.

'Hey, you there, good-looking guy.'
'What's that?
'The guy who's not you!
'I said the one with the good face!
'I said, the one not you!
'You're even rude to the hero!

Wendy's spark became more intense.

'So you're saying that the other one has a better face?
'............'

Wendy's spark calms down.
'......', oi!

'Oh, um, Yashiro-san. I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one who's a fan of your work.
'That's right, Yashiro. Individuality can also be an advantage.
'Well, well, well. Cheer up, yourself. You know what they say.'A handsome face gets bored in three days, but a funny face gets used to it in three days.
'You're all out of your depth, you know!

The last two are out of the question, but Ginette's doesn't negate the 'Theron is better looking than me' theory. It's just that if the playing field is different, there's a chance you can win.
That's just an excuse for people who can't win. It's a loser's howl.

...... Well, I have no intention of challenging Theron to a face-to-face match.

'Um, ....... So, what can I do for you?

Modestly, the man with the better face stepped forward.
...... d*mn.

'Are you the one she's marrying?
'Yes ......, yes!I've had a good relationship with Wendy.'
'Hmm!I'm sure it's a 'convenient' relationship for you.
'Mother!'

Wendy's spark intensifies.
It's more widespread than ever before, and it looks like it's about to strike her mother.
The lightning-like spark stretches out like a tentacle towards her mother.

...... Hmm?
This is ......

'If you say anything more bad about Theron, I really won't forgive you!
'You don't have to forgive me!A human being would never have a proper marriage with a subspecies!You'll be treated like a slave, at best a concubine, at worst a slave!Even the subspecies of swallowtail butterflies were subjected to that kind of treatment!Even the subspecies of swallowtail butterfly people were subjected to that!


'The swallowtail butterfly tribe's thing is ......, sure ............, but that has nothing to do with Theron!
'Humans are all the same!They look down on subhumans, they prey on subspecies, and they think of subspecies as slaves.
'Mother!
'Don't call me "mother"!You're someone else's daughter now!

Wendy's spark was gaining momentum, painting the world in color.
Across the way, something like mist is spewing from Wendy's mother.
Like a mushroom spitting out spores, something whitish is being scattered around.
And when the mist-like substance touches Wendy's spark, it sparks.

...... Hmm. I knew it.

'Okay, that's enough!Calm down, both of you.'

I put my body in between Wendy and her mother, who are staring at each other at close range.

'Yes, Mr. Hero, it's ...............'
'Don't worry. Just calm down.
'.............'
'Theron.
'Yes, yes!
'Take Wendy and go make out with her out of my sight.'
'Yes, sir!............ What?'

Flirting with Theron would be the most effective way to calm down the excited Wendy.
But don't do it where I can see it, okay?I'll burn you.With fire sparks.

'Oh, um, Hero-sama ......, I'm not .......'
'That's okay. I'll take care of this.'
'............ Yes.'

A disgruntled Wendy. But you have nothing to complain about to me.
I feel sorry for her, but she's trying to be nice to me.
I don't remember doing anything to deserve it. ......
So, well, at least. I want to make things right this time at least.

'I don't have any obligation to listen to people, though.

She continues to express her displeasure, but her tone of voice is subdued.
She doesn't seem to want to say goodbye to her daughter.
Probably, like Wendy, she wants to reconcile if she can. It's just that she has no intention of changing her opinion or giving in.

'Anyway, why don't we talk calmly?
'............ I won't offer you tea. I won't invite you in. If you'd like to stand here and talk, I'd be happy to spend a little time with you.

...... Well, well, ...... what can I say ............

'You're a good mother.
'I don't want to be called "mother" by you!It scares the hell out of me!
'Well, then, old lady.
'I'm fifteen years old forever!

Wow, this brings back memories.
That's what Wendy said to me when I first met her. ...... As expected of a gene.
When I glanced at her, Wendy was trying hard to turn her face away.
Yeah. She's aware of it.

'So, can I have your name, please?
'You don't have a name to call yourselves!

What do you want me to do?
You want me to call you 'ma'am'?

'My mother's name is Valeria.
'Wendy!Don't tell me what to do!I wanted you to call me 'Miss'!

You wanted me to call you that. ......
I guessed right. I've got good instincts, you know. I'm not happy at all.

'My father's name is Thibaut.
'Oh. Thanks for the tip. Now, why don't you go talk to Theron and calm down a bit.'
'............ Yes.'

I said, and Wendy obeyed, though she was not happy.
Theron took me back the way we came. ............ Are you two going to go to the flower garden and drink honey together?...... Tsk.

'Well, now you know why Wendy didn't want to invite us here.
'I guess she didn't want us to meet these parents.'



That's what Estella seems to have read, but perhaps it's not quite right.
It's not that Wendy didn't want us to see her parents, it's that she didn't want to see herself arguing with them.
And she was reluctant because she was sure that if she met them, she would end up arguing with them.

The proof is that they didn't refuse to leave this place without us.

That means he's expecting just a little bit more.
That means I'm hoping, just a little, that we can convince these hard-headed parents.

...... Assunto was right.
We've gotten ourselves into a lot of trouble.

'Anyway, here's a suggestion. In the future, when you talk to Wendy, you should try to be as calm as possible.

Before we talk, I'll give you some advice. If things get too heated, it could be dangerous.
But ......

'What do you mean, "calm down"?If you humans hadn't gotten involved, none of this would have happened!You've made her have such a strange constitution, and you're talking about someone else!

...... I think it's wrong to blame me, since her constitution is a result of my research. ...... Well, thanks to that research, the night in District 42 is now brightly lit, and we've been saved a lot. I think it's not someone else's problem if you take into account that the research has helped us a lot.

'That's why I'm advising you to calm down because of your constitution.
'I don't need you to tell me that!
'If you don't, you'll lose everything. Your home, your life, your ...... daughter's life.
What?Huh, hmm. Are you threatening me?You've finally shown your true colors!That's why people are ......!
'No, no, no. I'm giving you a heads up. This is a major problem that is inevitable due to your constitution, and a possible catastrophe is sure to occur in the not too distant future.

In a serious tone, Wendy's mother Valeria gasped.
It seems that she is slowly beginning to feel the gravity of the situation.

You may appreciate the fact that the timing of the change of color ...... was when the daughter's life was at stake, even though he is a bit passionate and short-sighted.
This proves that he doesn't hate his daughter either.
There seems to be room to do something about it.

'Well, evidence is better than argument. Regina, why don't you share a little of the fire?'
'Hmm?What the hell is ............ that about?

As if she realized what I was trying to do, Regina nodded her head after showing some thought.
She must have seen the situation and sensed it.

Wendy's luminescence sparked to an unusual degree, and the building looked much duller than its surroundings. And then there was Valeria, spewing out a kind of mist in a fit of emotion.
I'm just guessing, but I think I've got it about right.

If you're wrong, just say 'I was wrong, heh'.
It's much better to be a little embarrassed than to leave the danger unattended.

So, here's the test.

Leave the firepower to Regina.
Please. Give me the right amount of flair and impact while avoiding anything crazy.

Regina adds a little fire to my fingertips with a small wooden spoon.
It's about the amount of green laver you get on your fingertips after eating Nori Shio chips. Is this what you want?

'Stand back a bit.
'Hey, what are you doing?
'It's okay, just stand back and watch.

Unlike Estella and Jeannette who voluntarily stepped back to see what was going on, I warned Valeria who was not seeing the situation.
And then, just as Regina did in the parlor, I put my fingers together and rubbed them, putting pressure on the sparks.
And then--

BOOM!Bumblebee!

--Hundreds of sparks scattered all over the area.


...... Regina, I think you've got the wrong firepower, don't you?

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's worth it.
I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one who's a bit nervous about this.
...... You could have gone a little easier on me, though.

'............ I'm surprised. ............ I didn't expect it to be so flashy. I don't know.
'Isn't that what you wanted?
'I'm scared. ......'
'No, I'm scared of you for sending me a random amount without a chance of winning.

If you hadn't, I would have become an arsonist.
Well, to be honest, when I saw the amount of powder, I thought, 'Oh, is that it?Shouldn't there be a little more? But... If I had adjusted the amount by myself, the whole area would have been blown up.

'What the hell are you doing?You're in danger!

Valeria barked in a devilish manner.
Yes, it's dangerous.

'If you'd let the mother-daughter quarrel heat up like that, it would've been a bigger disaster than this.

Inwardly, my heart was racing from the unimaginable firepower, but I made no pretense of it and explained the situation to Valeria.

'This is the result of simulating the inevitable accidents caused by the constitution of you and your child. If you don't want this to happen to you, don't lose your temper when you talk to my daughter in the future.


'Our constitution ......?What do you mean?

Perhaps the sparks from earlier had scared her too much, Valeria asked in a hushed voice, trying to suppress her excitement.
Yeah. I know what you mean. I was so scared I almost choked.
I was almost on the same level as Estella. Careful, careful.

'That's the one that sparked earlier.'

I point to the air.
Valeria stares intently at the area I'm pointing at. However, she gives me a quizzical look, as if she can't find anything.

'There's nothing here! Do you think I'm an idiot?

Valeria raises her voice. At the same time, a mist-like substance gushes out from Valeria's body.

'That's it, that's it.
'That?'

I approach Valeria, whose eyebrows are twisted, and gently touch her shoulder with my finger.

'What the hell are you doing?

Valeria, with her guard down, holds her shoulder as I touch her and backs away.
She's really scared of me.

'This is it.

In an attempt to calm her down, I show her the glittering powder on my fingertips.
The powder on my fingertips. It's ......

'It's scales.

The Yamamayuga people, Wendy and Valeria, have a constitution that causes their entire bodies to spew out scales when they are overcome with emotion.
The reason why Wendy appeared to emit light was probably because the glowing powder on her body surface was separated from her body by the scales, expanding the range of light.
Then, when the emotions became more intense, the light heated up and ignited the flammable scales, causing a spark.
I don't know if it was the powder or the rise in Wendy's body temperature that caused the light to heat up, but seeing as how it reacted to the ...... fire dust and sparked, I can guess that it wasn't wrong.
At any rate, the temperature emitted by these sparks is about the same as that of a futon after waking up from sleep.

And the dullness of this area is probably caused by the scales.
This is the home of the angry Valeria. The scales that are spewed out every now and then must have accumulated and drifted into the air, eventually spreading to the point of blocking out the sunlight.

If a mother and daughter quarrel in such a place,......, all the scales will eventually ignite and burn down the house and the two people in the middle.

I warned her of that danger before it happened.

Wendy might get overly concerned if I show her something like this, and if I'm not careful, she might turn to killing her feelings, so I'm going to be very careful and explain it to her later.
The usual Wendy has proven that there is no problem as long as you behave normally. As long as you don't get angry, there is no problem.
In short, if we could just get them to make up, we wouldn't have such a big problem.

'Will you listen to me, please?
'............ Hmm, hmm. That won't be necessary. If I never see her again, there won't be such a catastrophe, will there?
'Are you sure about that?
'.................. is none of your business.'

Valeria spat, turning her back on me.

'Please leave. You're not welcome here.'

With that, she turns and heads for home.
She's got nothing to say to me.

'Are you coming back, Yashiro?

Estella asks me in a whisper as she slips up behind me.
A fresh start,......
It's true that we should gather a lot of information before we talk.

Especially when it comes to "subhumans", "subspecies", and "substrains".

'Valeria.'

When I called out to her distant back, Valeria stopped, and after a few seconds, only tilted her head slightly towards me.

'...... Who do you think you're calling out to? You're a rude man.

A temperatureless voice replied.
The tone of voice is angry, disgusted, ...... and hard to read.

If you can't call me that, ......

'Valeria-chan.
'Why did you choose to call me that, Yashiro?

Estella, who had nothing to do with this, butted in.
Whenever I'm around her, she's always poking me. Is he a bother?Isn't he a bit of a dog?

It's normal to call him 'sir' in this case.
'Valeria-tan'?
'San'!
'...... Are you making fun of me, guys?'

I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm sure it's a good idea.
........................ Ah, yes. It's just as you planned.

I'm not sure what to do. You can call me Valeria, right?
'...... d*mn, people are always so pushy. ............'
'It's more trustworthy than a makeshift hypocrite, right?


'How dare you say ............ you, what's your name?'
'Yashiro.'
'Yashiro ............. I'll keep that in mind, so don't do anything too silly. I'm going to go around giving people a bad name for the rest of my life.
'Do what you want as long as it's not fake. So, what should I call you?
'.................. whatever you want.'

Valeria broke.
I'd say that's a step in the right direction.
Let's just say that she didn't reject all of them, and that this time she got something out of it.

'By the way, hag.
'Who's an old lady?

You told me I could call you whatever I wanted!How dare you lie to me!You had five seconds to change your mind!

'Valeria. We're going to hold Wendy's wedding in District 42. You can think of it as a ceremony and party to celebrate the start of our relationship.'
'......'

He paused to reject the idea, but the fact that he didn't leave indicated that he was interested in the story.
A ceremony to celebrate the marriage of one's own daughter seems unthinkable to the people of this world.

'I would like Wendy's parents to be present at the wedding. To congratulate them, of course.

I'll tell them what we're here for.
The more clearly you state your purpose, the easier it will be to bring it up next time.
If they see my face, they will think, 'You came here to talk about the wedding.

At the very least, they will understand that I have no intention of pressuring them to harm the Bug People.

'I know you can't do it right now, but I'll keep coming back until you shake your head.
'Don't do it. It's a waste of time.'
'I'll decide if it's a waste of time or not.
'Then I'll tell you once and for all!No, thank you!It's not worth celebrating. It's just a slave contract .......''

Valeria's face twisted.
I guess that's what he really thinks.
In other words, she hates it.

She hates the idea of her lovely daughter being turned into a slave by someone she hates.

Then the story is simple.
Just get rid of her entrenched prejudices and beliefs.

You'll probably have to go back and forth a few times, though.
...... Should I rent a carriage or something?
Javier, can you give me a horse? ......

'Anyway, please go home. And if you can, I'd appreciate it if you didn't come back.

Valeria turned on her heel and waved sternly.

'Okay. I'll come back.
'What do you mean, "I understand"?You don't know what I'm talking about!

Valeria raises her voice with her back turned. But there's no scales spewing.
That's the answer.

In our world, 'I'd be happy if you never came back' is interpreted as 'I don't want to admit it honestly, but I really want you to change your mind, even if you have to force me to'.
'............ There's a selfish world out there, isn't there? It's a world full of selfish, ignorant people like you, I'm sure.
'Yes, it is. So I can save you too.
'I'm not ......!
'I'll be back.'

He says it slowly and clearly in a calm voice.
I guess my thoughts got through to her.
Valeria was silent for a moment, then said with a sigh.

'.................. Do what you want.

Valeria can be persuaded.
I was sure of that when I heard her say it.

'Then we'll come back.

Valeria turned her back to me and refused to move.
If I don't walk away, she won't be able to move.
We know what's going on. We got something.
Then it's time to come back.
So I turned around and ............ there was the pervert.

'............'
'............'

A moth. It was .......
There was a huge moth that was taller than I was.
Its head was completely moth-like, and it had two pairs of four huge wings on its back. It had a distinctive large insect buttocks - or belly, to be more precise - and was a man who was, for all intents and purposes, a mountain cocoon moth.


However, the arms, legs, waist, chest, and neck were human.
The head of a moth was placed on top of the rather muscular upper body, and the buttocks were protruding in an insect-like manner, with muscular legs like those of a cyclist growing out of them.

So far, I might have been able to accept that it was an insect race,......, but!

Perhaps his wings and buttocks are in the way and he can't wear clothes. ......
In the event you're not sure what you're looking for, you'll be able to find it on the web.
The lower abdomen is integrated with the buttocks of the insect, so at least you can't see the part that gets caught in the broadcasting cord. ............ No, no matter how you look at it, it's almost a naked perverted tights man.

I'm not sure what to say.Human!

No, no, I want to scream!

'What?

Seeing such a perverted tightsman (moth), Valeria came running at full speed and gave the perverted tightsman (moth) a flying kick, scattering scales in a big way.

'Ouch! ' (Scales 'blew!')
'Where have you been roaming all this time! (Scales 'buzz!')
'No, no, to the flower garden. ...... Ouch, ouch!Tentacles, don't pull on them, Ka-chan! (Scales 'buzzing')
I'm not going to let you get away with this.I'm not sure how much ...... I'll be able to do while you're gone!Oh, God!I'm skipping dinner today. (Scales 'dabゎ')
'Oh, no!Give me a break, Ka-chan! (scales and tears 'thud')

Valeria stomps mercilessly on the fallen perverted tightsman.
A huge amount of scales spewed out from both of them, filling their vision with gray.
Smog. ......

Judging by the conversation, that perverted tightsman (moth) is probably Wendy's father, Thibault.
You're lucky, Wendy. Not like her father. I hope that gene died out in your parents' generation.

'Now I'm thinking that if I use firecrackers, I can roast them both at the same time...' ......
'Be careful, Regina. As a lord, I'm asking you seriously.

Estella smiles at the moths who are spreading scales without restraint.
Well, I guess I don't understand Regina's feelings. I guess we both want to do that if we can.

'Yashiro-san......'

Ginette was troubled by the huge quarrel between the couple.
She is flustered and asks me for my opinion on what to do.

'Leave him alone. That's one form of marriage.'
'Is that ...... it?

You know, Jeannette. Take a good look.
See how Valeria's face is all red and a little teary-eyed?

That shows her anger at her husband for not being there for her when she was anxious, but also her relief at seeing him.
It's a sign of deep trust.
It's like a joke. It's like a joking match.
It's just that in the course of their long married life, the force of their quarrel has tended to be a little violent.

'No dog eats marital quarrels. Let us turn back.

Let's take everyone back to the garden.
Let's start over.

With the hysterical cries of the woman and the desperate screams of the man in our ears, we turn back the way we came.
When I could no longer hear the noise of the couple fighting, Jeannette approached me as if she had made up her mind.

'Oh, um, ......'.

She turned her head slightly and looked up at me with anxious eyes.
I slowed down to match Jeannette's stride, and she hesitantly opened her mouth.

'...... Will the two of you be attending ............?'

That is, will Wendy and her parents be able to reconcile?
That's what concerns me the most, and that's what we're trying to accomplish.

So, I don't know what the future holds, but I say there's only one solution.

'Of course.

Otherwise, I'm in trouble, and if I'm in trouble, I'll do whatever I can to remedy the situation.

'I'm going to 'make' it so. From now on.'
'............ Yes. That's right.

You don't know what the future holds.
Then you can guide fate or whatever to make it what you want it to be.
That's all there is to it.

If you don't know what will happen, you make it happen.

That's what I've always done.
Of course I'm going to do it this time.

'Let's make this a big wedding, huh? See?'

He smiles and looks at me.
The smiles spread to the faces of the people who were walking in a line around me.

'Yeah. I'll do my best to help.
'I see. I'd like to see something like a big wedding.

Finally, he turned his gaze to Jeannette and said, 'What? I'd like to see a big wedding.


That finally cleared the cloud of anxiety from Ginette's face.

'Yes. Let's do our best.

Ginette's face, smiling as usual, was still as warm as the sun.

Soon after that, we returned to the flower garden.