Ch 197: It’s Wrong To Take Your Anger Out On Children. Don’t Do It, Unless They’re Little Brats

After living with Merry for a week, Bal and Philia had become familiar with her. However, Bal often mistook Merry for Phia, which made Merry unhappy.

“Is the Phia you keep mentioning your wife?”

That day, Merry, bored, brought out tea and snacks for Bal and Philia to eat, then took the opportunity to ask about Phia.

“Yes, she is my beloved wife. I wonder how she is doing now.”

“That’s easy! Come on, let’s go find her!”

Bal scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

“Um… she might be difficult to find.”

“What nonsense? I am a Grand Archmage; finding someone is a piece of cake. Tell me, what does your Phia look like?”

Bal thought for a moment, then described Phia’s appearance in detail to Merry. Merry used Bal’s description of Phia to draw a portrait of her. She glanced at the portrait, then tried to slap Bal in the face. Fortunately, Bal reacted quickly and blocked Merry’s slap.

“What are you going crazy about?”

“I should ask you that! Isn’t this Phia you mentioned a member of the Demon Race? I can’t believe you’re consorting with the Demon Race! You deserve a beating!”

“Wait, Phia isn’t that kind of evil Demon Race member!”

“Shut up! I’ve changed my mind. You and your daughter get out of here!”

Seeing Merry’s anger, Bal scooped up Philia and ran outside. Philia seemed wronged; she sobbed in Bal’s arms.

“Waaah… Mama isn’t a bad person…”

After they were some distance from Merry’s house, Bal sat down with Philia under a tree to rest. He comforted the weeping Philia, his own heart aching. Philia shouldn’t have suffered this criticism. He blamed himself for his soft heart in keeping Philia. If he had been firmer then, perhaps Philia wouldn’t have suffered with him.

“Philia, don’t cry. Phia isn’t that kind of evil Demon Race member, and Philia isn’t a bad child. It’s all Father’s fault. Father didn’t think things through.”

Bal became increasingly upset, and then he hugged Philia and cried. As if to add insult to injury, a heavy rain began, making the already difficult situation for the father and daughter even worse.

Bal picked up Philia and ran, desperately searching for shelter. Finally, he found a cave. After settling down, he used magic to create a fire to dry their clothes and keep warm.

————

Meanwhile, Merry sat in the living room fuming after chasing Bal and Philia away.

“I’m blind! I can’t believe I took in someone who married a member of the Demon Race and let their child live in my house. I’m furious.”

At that moment, the magic box nearby suddenly spoke.

“Master, why do you hate the Demon Race so much?”

“It’s all because of the Mad God! The Demon Race they created rampage across this land, committing all sorts of evil. If it weren’t for my parents sacrificing their lives to protect me when I was a child, how would I be alive today?”

“But have you considered that the girl isn’t as vicious as the Demon Race? She’s well-behaved and sensible; she wouldn’t even steal food out of greed.”

“Maybe she’s just acting.”

“That man doesn’t seem evil either. You were there when he and his daughter killed the coyote. He only killed the coyote to protect his daughter. I’ve met his wife, that Demon Race member named Phia. She isn’t as cruel as you say, Master. On the contrary, she’s gentle, kind, and virtuous. Although I didn’t spend much time with her, she left a deep impression on me.”

“……Speaking of which, you keep calling me Master, but I have no memories related to you. And you say you’ve met Phia; when did you meet her?”

“That’s a long story.”

The box told Merry everything. After listening, Merry fell into deep thought. After a long while, she lifted her head.

“You mean they’re from the future?”

“Exactly.”

“……That’s far-fetched, but it explains some things. Like the special weapon Bal has. Whatever, they’re gone, so I don’t care anymore.”

Saying this, Merry, with mixed feelings, prepared to return to her room. Then, a sudden downpour broke the silence. Merry looked at the torrential rain outside; she was somewhat worried about Bal and Philia.

“Why would I worry about them? Think about something else, Merry. You still have the mission of defeating the Demon General; you can’t be distracted by this.”

Merry slapped her face, then walked back to her room.

————

The rain grew heavier, and the cave where Bal and Philia were started to leak. Bal had no choice but to use Earth Magic to reinforce the cave and raise the pile of earth at the cave entrance.

“Father, I’m cold.”

Philia, wearing thin clothes, shivered in the cave. After reinforcing the cave, Bal washed his hands with rainwater, then hugged Philia.

“It’s okay, Philia. Father is always with you.”

“Father, Philia misses Mama.”

“Me too.”

The two fell silent. After a while, Philia fell asleep in Bal’s arms. Bal looked at the sleeping Philia with heartache. He wanted to go home, but he couldn’t find a way back.

“Babel Tower… That’s right, the Babel Tower! If I can find the Babel Tower, maybe I can go back.”

Bal set his goal: he decided to go to the Babel Tower. But before that, he needed to prepare everything he would need for the journey, and first, he needed to escape this rain.

“You look pathetic, Bal.”

A woman’s voice came from the cave entrance. Bal looked towards the entrance; Merry stood there with an umbrella.

“What? Did you come to see me make a fool of myself? Well, you’ve gotten your wish, Grand Archmage Merry.”

Bal stared coldly at the woman who had made him and Philia so embarrassed. If he weren’t trying to avoid violence, Merry would probably have been pierced by a throwing knife he’d have thrown.

“I’m sorry.”

Merry lowered her umbrella and entered the cave. She looked at Philia sleeping in Bal’s arms, then at Bal’s cold gaze. She lowered her proud head and apologized to Bal and Philia.

“What do you want?”

Faced with Bal’s question, Merry was embarrassed. She slapped her face, then reached out to Bal.

“I can help you return to the future, but you also have to help me.”

“Why would you help us? We are the ‘filthy’ beings you spoke of.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think before I spoke.”

Philia, awakened by Bal and Merry’s conversation, rubbed her eyes and looked towards Merry.

“Mama?”

“I’m sorry, Philia. I’m not your mother, but I can help you find your mother.”

Hearing Merry’s voice, Philia rubbed her eyes again. She finally saw clearly that it was Merry.

“Auntie Merry?”

“Yes, it’s me. I’m sorry, Philia, I’m so sorry.”

Merry took Philia from Bal’s arms and held her, comforting her.

“I’m sorry, Philia, for making you suffer.”

Hearing Merry using Phia’s comforting tone, the usually strong Philia finally couldn’t help but cry. She hugged Merry and wept, and both Bal and Merry’s eyes reddened because of Philia’s sadness. After Philia cried enough, she fell asleep again, murmuring “Mama.”

“How can I help you?”

“Help me kill a Demon General.”

“Who?”

“Ares.”

————

Meanwhile, Phia had already seen many memories of her past life. When she picked up a new Memory Shard and began to read the memories, that familiar feeling surged through her brain again. This time, however, she was used to it. She endured the discomfort, all for the sake of saving Bal and Philia.

The scene in this shard was a battlefield, where Merry was facing a Demon Race member clad in black armor.

“Ares… why won’t you die?”

“Hmph, should I say you’re clever or foolish? You can’t kill me, because I am a child of God.”

“We’ll see about that.”

A black-haired man wearing a wolfskin cloak stepped forward, a crimson greatsword in his hand.

“Who?”

“My name is 『』, Merry’s disciple. Remember that!”

With that, the black-haired man and Demon General Ares began to battle. Phia listened to the black-haired man’s voice. Although the voice had changed, she could still sense that the person was someone she knew, but he shouldn’t have been there.

After a fierce battle, the black-haired man defeated Demon General Ares.

“See you in the future, Ares.”

After saying this, Merry approached Ares with a stone coffin. The man kicked Ares into the coffin, then he and Merry worked together to close the lid. After Merry chanted an incantation, the coffin slowly sank underground.

“You bastard!”

Ares roared and struggled in the coffin, but it was useless.

The memory ended here. Sphia watched this memory, her expression changed slightly, then she softly murmured.

“It really… changed… Good job, Bal.”