Side Story :
Ever-Changing Iris-chan
Translator : PolterGlast
It had been several
days since Irisdina had been unwell as a result of being a Dhampir.
Her fever had finally
subsided and she was feeling better, but when Somia and her family visited her
again, something happened.
Her fever returned and
she was unable to move.
An hour had passed
since Nozomu had rushed to her bedroom to check on her. When he went to check
her condition, he found something even more unusual.
"What the heck is
this!?"
Nozomu's shout echoed
through the guest house, and Somia and the others rushed into the room to see
what was going on.
"Kyaa~~! Ane-sama
is so cute!"
"Uee~~~~,
Noj~omu!”
In front of them was
Irisdina, who was covered with a futon and crying, looking abnormally young.
She seemed to be about
eight years old.
Compared to Somia,
Irisdina seemed about a year younger, and her speech was somewhat slurred.
"This is ...
Irisdina-ojōsama, you've become a little girl."
While Somia's eyes
were sparkling, Irisdina, who had turned into a little girl, ran swiftly
towards Nozomu and clung to his legs.
Most of her clothes
were already coming off, and her shirt was barely hanging onto her shoulders.
"No, no, no, how
is this possible!?"
"Ueeeeeee~~n!"
Nozomu let out a
bewildered voice while holding the crying Irisdina in his arms.
For the time being,
Nozomu entrusted Mena to change her clothes and rushed out to call Norn again.
===========================
More than 30 minutes
have passed since Irisdina's transformation into a little girl became known.
For the time being,
everyone gathered in the dining room, where Norn, who had previously examined
Irisdina, diagnosed the cause of the problem as excessive magic power in her
body.
On the other hand, her
fever, which had been so high, was now completely gone. Apparently, the
excessive magic power in her body had temporarily subsided due to the fact that
it had been used to transform her into a little girl.
According to Norn, she
believed that everything would return to normal once the excess conditions were
restored again
"I'm sorry I can
only speculate."
"No, nobody would
have expected such a situation, so it's understandable. Anyway, will things
stay like this for another couple of days?"
"I can't tell. It
is still uncertain when her magic power will increase..."
Haa~ ... Nozomu and
the others dropped their shoulders. Then they turned their attention to a
section of the dining room where the person in question was.
"Uuuu, Somia, let
me go~~"
"Ah~, Ane-sama is
cute... Alright, let's behave
ourselves~!"
In front of their
eyes, a carefree exchange between the sisters was taking place.
Somia was joyful as
she held Irisdina, who had been transformed into a little girl and was dressed
in a strangely cute outfit, in her lap.
Irisdina, on the other
hand, tried to escape from her sister's lap, but she was caught from behind and
was unable to move.
Perhaps having been
transformed into a little girl, Irisdina's arm strength seemed to have become
more appropriate for her age, and she was unable to escape even from Somia's
slender arms.
"Oh, how
beautiful my daughters are! Mena, call a painter now to preserve this scene!
No, he might not make it in time! Since it comes to this, I shall have to paint
it down myself!"
"Milord, here are
your painting tools."
"Umu!"
On the other hand,
Victor began sketching with a gleeful look on his face as Mena picked up
painting tools from out of nowhere.
The charcoal for the
sketching moved at a tremendous speed on the white canvas.
Nozomu silently walked
behind Victor and peeked at the canvas. The overall portrait of the two girls
had already been drawn roughly but wholly in balance, with a thin layer of
three-dimensional shading.
The speed and accuracy
of his work were unbelievable. As usual, he was a man who could do a lot of
things when it came to his daughters.
"By the way,
Mena-san, about Iris's clothes..."
"What about those
clothes?"
"Where did you
get those from? It's strangely cute, or I should say, flashy..."
Irisdina is wearing a
pink dress-type outfit.
Her clothes are
covered with many frills here and there, giving the impression of being
strangely cute.
The frills are not
only on her clothes, but also on her shoes and other accessories. Irisdina's
childlike, yet very well-dressed appearance gives her a lovely, fairy-like
appearance.
To be honest, she was
dressed in clothes that she would never normally wear, and the purple hair
ornament that Nozomu had given her stood out strangely among them.
"It's an outfit
that's been popular in our country lately, and I made it myself. So is there
anything wrong with it?"
"Eh? Mena-san
made it!? When?"
"Before I came to
Arcazam. It was originally made for Somia-sama, but I thought that if the
length was adjusted a little, even the current Irisdina-sama could wear
it."
Certainly, sewing
skills are necessary for maids, but at a quick glance, there were no traces of
such adjustments in Irisdina's outfit.
Nozomu himself is not
an expert when it comes to clothes, so he can't say for sure, but it certainly
is not normal for anyone to perfectly adjust such a complex and well-designed
outfit in just 30 minutes.
"How can I put
it... People of the Francilt family are somewhat out of ordinary."
"Nozomu-sama. If
I may, I would like to return those words to you. The most out of the ordinary
among all of us is you, the dragon-slayer. Please be aware of that."
"... Umm, I don't
think that has anything to do with what we're currently talking about."
"Please don't
ignore your own matters. To acquire the skill to adjust one's clothing by a
sufficient degree or to become a dragon slayer who has not been around for
hundreds of years. It is obvious which one is more difficult. Besides, if you
marry the young lady, you will also become part of the Francilt family,
no?"
"… Ah."
Nozomu could not
express in a single word the emotion he felt when he heard those words. He just
felt his consciousness fading away and a sensation as if he were floating in
midair.
"Nn~! I was very
happy to have an older sister, but I actually wanted a younger sister as
well~~"
"Muuu!"
While Nozomu and Mena
were discussing the matter, Somia's embrace became more and more intense.
Irisdina struggled to
resist her younger sister's cuddling from behind, but this stirred Somia's
emotions instead, causing a vicious cycle that accelerated their skinship.
In the midst of all
this, Somia's eyes fell on a hair ornament decorated with purple artificial
flowers, which looked somewhat out of place with the pink frilly dress.
"Anyway,
Ane-sama, may I ask what's with this hair ornament?"
"Don't!"
Somia reached for the
hair ornament without a second thought. At that moment, a loud voice, as if
ripping through the air, echoed through the dining room.
"This is mine!
Don't touch it!"
"I see. It was a
present from my brother, wasn't it? Is that why you don't want me to touch it?
But still, I can't believe you're getting so worked up over something like
this... Ane-sama is so cute after all!"
"Nnn, nnn~~!
Somia, enough of this!"
"Ah!?"
Finally, Irisdina's
patience reached its limit.
She wriggled violently
to escape Somia's restraints, then rushed toward Nozomu and hugged him.
"Nozomu, let's
get out of here!"
"Huh?"
"I don't want to
be with Somia and Father right now! Come on, we're leaving!"
"Ehh~! Ane-sama,
please don't go~!"
"No! Everyone
treats me as if I'm a toy! Nozomi, let's go!"
Somia raised her voice
in disappointment, but Irisdina, who was completely upset, would not listen to
her.
It was truly a rare
sight to see.
Almost no one, not
even Nozomu, has ever seen her show such emotion.
Nevertheless, Nozomu
understood her feelings as well. So, he decided to leave the dissatisfied
Francilt family members alone and left them to their own devices.
"... Norn-sensei,
I'm going to go with Iris to have a little break from this situation."
"Well, this place
is certainly going to be stressful for her..."
With a sigh, Nozomu
informed Norn and then left the room with Irisdina in his arms.
He then strengthened
his body with Qi so that Somia and the others would not be able to follow him,
and ran through the guest house and out of the school. The speed of his
perfectly tuned Qi-technique was so fast that even Mena could not keep up with
him.
In no time at all,
they had reached the central park.
"Phew, we should
be fine now that we're here."
"Muu, Somia,
Tou-sama, and even Mena are all awful..."
"But well, I do
think you look cute as well. Iris looks good in that kind of dress too..."
Nozomu spoke his mind
frankly while fixing Irisdina's hair, which had been a bit disheveled by the
time they arrived there.
The dress is actually
a little flashy, but it suits her well.
"She's like a
little princess," was Nozomu's impression of the current her.
"Nozomu, those
are the lines used by a womanizer, you know. It doesn't suit you."
"Haha, that's
harsh."
Nozomu let out a wry
smile at Irisdina, who immediately sensed his inner thoughts even without
saying a word, and repositioned her in his arms.
The more closely she
was held, the more her plump, young cheeks turned vermillion.
"So, now that
we're outside, where shall we go?"
"As long as I'm
with Nozomu, anywhere is fine with me!"
"Then, let's go
to the commercial district. I doubt the goods available will be as good as in
the summer, but I don't think we'll be bored."
"Un!"
The ground is covered
with snow. Not wanting to ruin her dress, Nozomu starts walking toward the
commercial district with her in his arms.
A short walk south
from the central park, they soon arrive at the commercial district.
Even though it is
winter, the commercial district is still bustling with people during the
daytime.
Uninterrupted hustle
and bustle, shouting merchants, and customers whose eyes observe the goods
coming from all over the world. Moving through the bustling streets, Nozomu
walked through the snow-covered streets, treading on the snow.
"What is this? A
lamp? Looks quite unusual..."
"Maybe it's an
Imperial-style lamp!"
Nozomu found a lamp in
a general store.
The shape resembles a
jug, with the mouth protruding to the front to protect the handle from the heat
being transmitted.
The surface of the
lamp is decorated with curvy patterns, and colored crystals are scattered here
and there. Although the materials used were cheap, the lamps were quite well
made.
"In the past, my
mother told me an old story about a genie that would come out to grant wishes
after we rub it!"
"How do I say
this ... it's a kind of weird story, huh."
"Un, the genie
says, 'I will make your wishes come true'!"
"How's the story
going?"
"The man who
obtained the magic lamp used its power to acquire a mountain of treasures and a
beautiful wife, but in the end, he lost everything because he was betrayed by
the genie!"
Apparently, just like
in other stories, the man lost himself to the charm and power of the magic
lamp, and in the end, he lost everything.
It is an absurd story.
Nevertheless, folktales often contain lessons and wisdom for living.
At the same time, they
are used to teach children to think. In that sense, this story is a good one.
"Well, shall we
go to the other store?"
"Un!"
Just as Nozomu and
Irisdina turned around to visit the next store, a familiar voice was heard
amidst the hustle and bustle.
"Ah……"
"Huh, Lisa? And
also, Shina-san?"
What were there were
Lisa and Shina. What an unusual combination.
Both of them carried
large bags on their shoulders, perhaps they were shopping.
Thinking it was a
coincidence, Nozomu raised his hand to call out to them, but the somewhat odd
expressions on their faces caused him to tilt his head back.
Both Lisa and Shina
were completely rigid with their mouths hanging open and their eyes wide open.
For some reason, Lisa
pointed at Nozomu while her whole body trembled.
"N-, Nozomu...
that-, that child..."
"Hmm? Ah,
actually..."
"Just when in the
world did you and Irisdina-san have a child!?"
"Huh?"
"…Yes?"
The unexpected
question brought out shocked voices from the mouths of Nozomu and Irisdina.
Then, upon hearing the
outrageous statement that they had made a child, all eyes around them turned to
Nozomu.
(Ah, yet another
troublesome pattern...)
Nozomu had a
premonition of the commotion that was about to break out for the umpteenth time
today. Nozomu looked up to the sky, letting out an involuntary sigh at the
whispers coming from his surroundings.
