Chapter 30: Back To Daily Life

The place I was lying in was indeed the Central Temple.

I was able to borrow the Holy Law without issue using my status as a Saintess, and Butler and Diana, who joined later, went to report to the Imperial Palace.

The report stated that the Demon Lord was dead and detailed what happened there.

Since the Demon Realm is close to the Empire, reporting the Demon Lord’s death was necessary.

I wondered if it held any meaning, but ‘for now’, the Imperial family still ruled the Empire.

Their information network was second to none, so they must have noticed our trip to the Demon Realm and were waiting.

With the Prince stuck in the Duchy estate, the Imperial family wouldn’t treat us kindly.

In short, they would praise the achievement but nitpick in various ways.

But I wasn’t particularly worried.

If they mess with us, we just return the favor.

“Mommy, Mommy.”

And if anything changed, it was that Jahy now called me Mommy.

I wasn’t flustered when she first called me that. Because I also thought it would be nice to have a younger sibling or child. Being called Mommy actually made me feel good.

But the question here is, who is Daddy?

When I asked Jahy, she said Daddy wasn’t needed.

Just me was enough…

Even now, sending a glance towards Jahy, who was eating fruit beside me and playing with my hair, I asked.

“Why? Are you full?”

After resting for several days, my body had mostly recovered.

However, using divine power still felt slightly strained.

Jahy had already eaten over ten pieces of fruit.

Naturally, I thought she called me because she was full.

“The Duchess is coming tomorrow, right?”

“Uh… probably?”

“Hmm… I see.”

Jahy calls me Mommy, but calls Lilac Duchess.

I asked if she could call her more familiarly, but.

-No way, Mommy. How can I call the Duchess familiarly? My status and the Duchess’s are like heaven and earth.

That was the reply. The answer, coming from a 10-year-old’s mind, seemed too steeped in societal norms, baffling me. Even after that, Jahy didn’t change how she addressed Lilac.

It felt like she was drawing a line…

Anyway, why was Jahy asking this?

Lilac wasn’t here, having been summoned to the Imperial Palace. It seems Butler and Diana alone couldn’t resolve things.

‘Hopefully, they don’t provoke Lilac there.’

Pushing aside foolish thoughts, I countered Jahy’s question.

“But why ask that? Feeling lonely because Lilac isn’t here?”

Asking with a light smile, Jahy’s reaction was considerable.

“No??! Am I crazy to feel lonely because that person isn’t here? I just want to go out and play with Mommy alone since the Duchess isn’t here either.”

“Ahaha… is that so?”

“Of course. I only need Mommy.”

Laughing awkwardly, I avoided Jahy’s gaze.

Somehow, seeing Lilac’s image overlap with Jahy must be my imagination…

Shaking my head, I smiled again, stroked Jahy’s head, and spoke.

“Then shall Mommy and you go sightseeing in the capital? It’s Mommy’s first time in the capital too.”

Anyway, the Central Temple is located in the capital. Apparently it was established here by Imperial decree.

Since the Central Temple is within the capital, stepping outside leads directly to the streets.

And following the street straight up leads to the Imperial Palace.

Even from this window, the incredibly huge palace is visible.

How much gold plating was used? Except for a few places, everything looked yellow.

Clatter.

Hearing the sound of plates clashing, I turned my head to see Jahy stacking the fruit plates she had eaten so far.

13 in total.

Even with the source of Miasma gone, how those many fruits disappeared was a mystery.

Looking at Jahy, she seemed ready to go out.

Only one horn remained; the other was nowhere to be seen.

I refrained from asking why, assuming there must be a reason.

Smiling brightly, I got off the bed, grabbed the white coat hanging on the wall, put it on, and looked in the mirror.

Standing before the mirror, there was a girl who had gained more weight than before.
Her height was the same, but her face overflowed with vitality, making me feel inexplicably good.

Jahy, finished preparing, also ran over and stood beside me. Somehow, the height difference made us look like older and younger sisters.

Was my height around 150cm?

Roughly that, so Jahy must be around 120cm.

Instead of short me, I hope Jahy grows up strong and becomes taller than me.

‘Aren’t Demon Lords usually taller than humans?’

[That’s ancient history. Besides, that child isn’t even a Demon Lord anymore.]

‘I see.’

I cursed the Goddess who ruthlessly crushed even that small hope.

“Mommy is pretty!”

“Right? I’m pretty.”

I’ve already given up thinking as a man.

Can’t stay despairing forever just because of gender.

Looking closely in the mirror, I often thought, even without makeup, my looks could aim for the top. Though Lilac made me realize that was just a delusion.

‘She’s on a whole different level…’

How can a person be so perfect?

“Mommy, are you ready?”

Jahy’s voice brought me back to reality.

My preparation was just putting on the coat. The simple black dress I usually wore seemed to have some function; it didn’t need washing and repaired itself shortly after tearing.

What kind of magic did Lilac put on these clothes?

Nodding at Jahy, she grabbed my arm and urged me forward.

Smiling, I followed her, about to leave the Central Temple, when.

“Please take me with you.”

Edwyn, visible at the main gate, stopped us.

Seeing Edwyn after such a long time felt welcoming, and I was also curious why he was here.

“Sir Edwyn, what brings you here…?”

“Mommy. Do you know him…?”

“Uh? Oh… yeah. He’s the Knight Commander from the mansion. Say hi.”

“…Hi.”

Jahy greeted Edwyn, glaring at him with clear displeasure.

“Under the Duchess’s orders, I have been commanded to protect the young lady.”

“In the capital? Is it necessary?”

With so many people around, accidents seemed unlikely. Ah, there might be pickpockets or unpleasant incidents. Roughly convinced, just as I was about to nod.

“No. I’m going with Mommy alone. Butt out, mister.”

“M-mister…”

Edwyn’s finger trembled as he pointed at himself with a shocked face.

Sorry for him, still in his early 30s, but from a child’s perspective, he was indeed a mister.

Anyway, Jahy speaking so sulkily creates a bit of conflict.

Jahy seems to want to go alone with me. But rejecting Edwyn, who received Lilac’s order…

“Sorry, Sir Edwyn. We’ll be back before dark.”

“Then I shall follow from afar…”

Well, that much is fine.

Jahy also seemed to permit it, nodding sullenly.

However, the shock Edwyn received from being labeled an old bachelor seemed palpable even to me, so I had to leave quickly.

And so began our outing.

As soon as we entered the capital, countless people thronged the streets.

So many that the noise of people talking hurt my ears.

“Mommy, Mommy. Over there!”

“Slow down! What if you fall!”

I followed Jahy wherever she wanted to go. It was my first time in the capital too, so I didn’t know the geography well, but Jahy navigated the streets skillfully.

I worried something might happen, but the fact that Edwyn was following behind reassured me.

Moreover, it was currently festival season, so there were many food stalls and games suitable for children.

Following Jahy, trying this and that, eating, wandering around, walking.

“Mommy, I want to try that.”

Following Jahy, who shook our clasped hands and pointed somewhere, I looked in that direction.

Where Jahy pointed was a game I saw in some drama, and.

‘Dalgona exists in this other world?’

There was also Dalgona candy cutting.

What on earth is this world’s setting?

Though bewildered, I decided to just go with it, thinking it might be possible.

What Jahy wanted to do first was Dalgona cutting. She seemed uninterested in the games drawn on the ground.

Seeing Jahy solely focused on food touched my heart.

How much must she have starved in the Demon Realm to be so obsessed with food?

But this stuff is really bad for teeth. That thought briefly crossed my mind, but looking at Jahy, even that thought vanished.

‘Just need to brush well, that’s all.’

And so began the Dalgona cutting.

“Ueng?”

It ended in miserable failure.

Jahy carefully used the needle, but it broke in the middle.

A line formed horizontally, and it split in two.

“Mommy. Eat this.”

Yet, perhaps thinking it was just a game, she handed me one of the broken Dalgona pieces.

Somehow, it looked bigger than Jahy’s piece.

Having no choice, I also decided to participate.

Well… the result was, of course, failure. And it broke much faster than Jahy’s.

‘I really have no dexterity.’

It was disappointing, but being able to give Jahy the larger Dalgona piece felt better, so that disappointment quickly vanished.

After that, there were also fruits coated in sugar and even cotton candy. I don’t know why these foods exist here, but I’m satisfied.

Ultimately, we couldn’t explore the entire capital before sunset, so we decided to come out again tomorrow.

“Was it fun?”

Asking that.

Our clasped hands swayed.

“Very!”

Smiling at her words, I watched the setting sun on the horizon and returned to the Central Temple.

‘Tonight, I should make spaghetti with the ingredients we bought earlier.’