That night.
I had dinner at the inn and headed for my parents' house just in time.

It was a high-class residential area lined with houses of the upper class even in the capital.
The house where I was born and raised stands inconspicuously in one corner of the district.

The fact that it doesn't particularly stand out in such a high-class residential area means that it is a magnificent house in its own right.

It is a spacious two-story house made of clean stone.
The gate is imposing and there is a small garden in the back.

I stood in front of the house under the magical streetlights in the dark, and looked up at the figure.

'I didn't think anything of it when I was disowned or when I left .......'

I'm not sure if this is the house I'm going to return to, but now that I think about it, a feeling of nostalgia comes over me.

At the time, I was only looking ahead and into the future, but now I seem to have gained enough composure to stop and look back.
I don't know if this is growth or a deterioration of my dedication.

But I didn't come here today to be sentimental.
I had in my pocket a sachet containing seventy large gold coins, or seven hundred gold coins.

It was a sum of money equivalent to two years of annual income of an average citizen living in the city, as well as the sum of the tuition for the four years I had studied at the Academy of Magic and the living expenses for the two years my parents had supported me even after I had passed the age of fifteen, which was my working age.

I took a deep breath and knocked on the door of the house.

Then I heard a woman's voice inside the house saying, 'Yes, wait a minute.
It's impossible to mishear.
It's the voice of my mother, Felicia.

A few moments later, the door of the house opens.
Felicia emerges with the house light behind her.

'Welcome William, I've been waiting for you.

She smiled with the calmness of an adult and the innocence of a child at the same time.
I think she is thirty-five this year, but she looks much younger than she is.

Her long chestnut-colored hair is tied up at her back, and her eyes are an inconspicuous brown.
However, as her son, I can say that she is quite beautiful.

Felicia looked at me from bottom to top and nodded her head.

'Hmm, William, have you grown a little taller?

'No, I don't think so. ....... It's been less than three months since you left home in the first place.

Too many things have happened to make me think that more years have passed, but in reality, it hasn't been that long since I left home and started being an adventurer.

Felicia smiles softly at my reply.

'Hmm, I guess so. Come on in, come on in.

'...... Are you sure?'

'No, what are you doing here? I heard you were coming to talk, but did you really think you'd just stand here and talk?'

'...... Well'.

Worse, that was the plan.
I'd been disowned and told not to cross the threshold of the house, so I'd taken that possibility into account.

Felicia sighs when she hears my reply.

'You're still like that, aren't you? Just come on in. Let's talk about it inside.

'...... Okay. I'm sorry to bother you.

'Yes, come in. I'm sorry to bother you.'

I followed Felicia into the house and found James waiting for me in the living room.
He was sitting at the table, having tea after dinner.

'Welcome, William. Have a seat.'

He says.
I do as he says and take a seat.
It's where I used to sit before I left home.

Felicia makes me a cup of tea and serves me sweets.
Then Felicia herself took a seat.

James and Felicia were sitting next to each other, and I was sitting next to them.
It's hard to say that we are family or strangers, but I feel a subtle distance.

But since I had come to talk to them, I couldn't keep quiet.
I made up my mind and tried to open my mouth...

But before I could, the other party made a move.

'Look, honey.

'...... Yeah, I know.'

Felicia poked James in the side with her elbow, and he cleared his throat.
What the ......?

As I wondered, James turned his gaze towards me and said: ' William.

'...... William. I owe you and your friends an apology. I'm sorry for calling you 'vulgar' when I first met you and your friends at the castle. That was my fault. I was prejudiced against the adventurer profession and assumed they were lowlifes based solely on their attitude when we first met. I apologize.

James said, bowing his head towards me.

I widen my eyes in surprise.
I'd never imagined my father bowing to me.

I think back to 'that time' as James calls it.

After being welcomed by Irene and enjoying a sumptuous dinner at the royal castle.
James and Satsuki bumped into each other in the hallway on the way home.

James looked down coldly at Satsuki and the others, who had greeted him cheerfully due to their drunkenness, but not politely enough for their first meeting, and said.

'William, I no longer have any expectations of you, but let me give you some advice. Choose your companions. If you associate with the vulgar, your quality will suffer.

When I heard those words, my blood rushed to my head and I punched James.
I couldn't forgive him for trampling Satsuki and the others with his words.

But...

'Dad......'

The one bowing in front of me now is a human being.

I realized for the first time that just like me, just like Satsuki, Mee, Cyril and Irene, he was a person who did the right thing and the wrong thing.

I thought it was strange.

I had always believed that my father, this James Glenford, was the only person who was always right and could never be wrong.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was always looking up to this man.

And that's why I was repulsed by this man alone, I suddenly realized at this moment.

As if in a flashback, I remembered the conversation I had with Satsuki and the other three when we first came to the capital.

'Well, I admit that my father is an extremely talented mage. But that doesn't immediately indicate that he's a good human being. He's not as good as he says he is, that man. ...... What, did I say something funny?

I don't think I've ever heard ...... Will say anything bad about anyone before.

"Yes, sir."

That's right. I was surprised, too.



'...... No, it's probably just my imagination, or I didn't happen to mention it. For example..."

"Hmm, that's true, but ...... I don't know how to put it, I guess I'd say it's a personal vendetta. It just doesn't feel like William."

...... I see.
So they could see me better than I could see them.

My heart felt lighter and clearer, as if something had fallen from it.

Then I looked ahead...
It's a good idea to have a good idea of what's going on in your life.

...... Yes, that's right.

I see, this is the scenario she has drawn.
Well, mother's a strong woman.

I say to James.

'I'm sorry I hit you that time, Dad. ...... I was immature, wasn't I?

'No, when it comes to immaturity, I'm immature too. No matter how old you get, you never stop learning. I'm sure you'll be able to figure out what's going on. I think I've been exposed to most of the literature on magic in the past and present, but I've never seen any mention of such a secret art.

'Yeah, that's something that was written in a scroll that some adventurers unearthed from an ancient ruin. ...... Did you ever read my graduation thesis from the Academy of Magic?

'Oh, it was a novel but not unreasonable theoretical proposal about the arrangement of magic in general... Oh, so it was derived from that theory!

'That's quite impressive. That's all you need to know?'

'No, but the details are mind-boggling...'

At this time, my father and I were talking for the first time in a long time.

Felicia, my mother and James' wife, was watching us with a happy smile on her face.