Fracia was about seven years old. Her formal name was Fraciabell, and she was Beezel’s granddaughter.
Aurora was roughly four. She was Ruincia’s granddaughter.
The news of the Garlet Kingdom’s fragmentation had been a shock, but it wasn't something that would immediately impact our daily lives in the village.
As for the "Migration Faction"—no, that wasn't it. Regarding the "Obedient Faction," the Angels had decided to take turns acting as their supervisors.
The first one tasked with that duty was Razmaria. Apparently, she had lost the lottery.
"Granmaria. It is a bitter pill to swallow, but duty calls. Please, look after Rosemaria for me."
"Mother, Rosemaria is my daughter. You don’t even need to ask."
After Razmaria shared a laugh with Granmaria, she set off back toward the Garlet Kingdom, leading a group of about ten other Angels. I had asked her to relay the new name of the country in the region controlled by the Obedient Faction as well. I was counting on her.
It seemed Razmaria would be returning sometime next spring. That was surprisingly soon.
"Winter makes it difficult to move between cities, and that isolation is exactly what fosters misconduct," Granmaria explained. "As long as we crush any issues during that period, we can manage. Of course, we’ll have to send another supervisor next winter."
Her explanation made enough sense, so I left it at that.
By the way, before the lottery for the supervisor role was held, Reginleiv had volunteered.
"I am loath to leave the Village Head’s side, but it would be improper to weigh on his heart. I shall be the one to go and supervise."
Everyone else had immediately opposed her. Apparently, Reginleiv was considered "radical." Considering the worst-case scenario where she might accidentally annihilate the Obedient Faction, the others felt letting her supervise was out of the question.
Wait... was total annihilation really a possibility?
"When you consider her past achievements..." Granmaria muttered, averting her eyes.
Those sounded more like war crimes than achievements. Then again, when I thought about it, Tia and Granmaria also held unsettling titles like "Annihilation Angel" and "Genocide Angel." Despite their elegant appearances, the Angel Race might just be naturally dangerous.
"Well, the Angels of old were short-tempered and simplistic. They preferred solving problems with muscle rather than brains. Or at least, that’s what the world said about us," Malbit told me.
She had wandered into my room, climbed into the kotatsu, and was currently peeling a mandarin.
The Angels of old...
"I’m talking about the era when we wore things similar to that golden equipment."
I had shown the golden Angel gear to Malbit and the others when they arrived. They had looked at it with rather complicated expressions.
"That gear is from the heyday of the Angel Race... well, maybe 'heyday' is a bit much, but it’s from the era when we were 'shining.' There was glory, certainly, but there was also a great deal of shame."
In other words, the era when they called themselves "God-kin"?
Whoops, she glared at me. My mistake—the word "God-kin" was apparently taboo.
Just as Malbit reached for a third mandarin, Kierbit, who had come along and was playing chess against Kuroyon, let out a frustrated groan. It seemed she had lost.
"Kii-chan, you could have at least tried to buy some time!"
"It was impossible! He read every single one of my strategies!"
They were playing a best-of-five match, and Kuroyon had won in straight sets.
"It can’t be helped. I shall avenge Kii-chan!" Malbit declared.
Kuroyon gave a fearless smile at her enthusiasm. It was as if he were saying the warm-up was finally over. Good luck to both of them.
Since Kuroyon was keeping Malbit busy, I turned to Kierbit.
"Mmm, the mandarin really hits the spot for a tired brain," she sighed.
"Glad to hear it."
"Oh, right. Sorry for being so late getting here. I really wanted to help with the harvest."
"Well, you had your own work to do, right? Don't worry about it."
"I know, but we’re going to be in your care all winter, and since we showed up right as the harvest ended, I just felt bad..."
"Aren't you helping with the aerial patrols? Besides, you brought a souvenir this time."
They had brought about five hundred kilograms of green magic ore mined in the Garlet Kingdom. Lu was delighted to have it for her research, and the smiths, led by Gatto, were already agonizing over what they should forge with it. It was clearly quite valuable.
"Ahaha. Well, when you have that many people traveling together..."
Kierbit had brought a hundred and fifty companions with her this time. Since the total population of the Angel Race was supposedly around three hundred, that meant half the entire race was currently in the village. Ten of them had already headed back with Razmaria, though.
"Some people just wouldn't believe the stories. We had to show them the place at least once."
"I see."
I had already heard about the potential migration of the Angels. We had plenty of land, so we were ready to accept them whenever they liked, but Malbit and Kierbit’s plan was to increase their numbers here gradually.
"The Garlet Kingdom... even though it split, they’ve looked after us for a long time. We can't just cast them aside easily."
"Does that have to do with the Former King’s Younger Brother?"
"That’s part of it, but there are other similar stories, too."
I chuckled. "Maybe that 'ordeal' should have been dealt with much earlier."
"Hmm, that ordeal was what it was, but it also served to maintain the status of the Angels within the Kingdom, so it's hard to say definitively one way or the other. Though it seems I might have been a bit too fixated on it."
It was good to see her becoming more self-reflective.
"Muu." Kierbit reached for a second mandarin.
In another room, Ruincia was briefing Beezel on the current state of the Garlet Kingdom. Beezel seemed to have gathered a fair amount of information on his own, but he was no match for the sheer volume of intelligence Ruincia possessed as someone who had been on the ground. I had asked Ruincia to share information with the Demon Kingdom to prevent any unnecessary conflicts.
Since even trivial chatter could be vital, Beezel was taking notes so as not to miss a single word...
Wait.
The Civil Official Girls attending to Beezel were the ones diligently scribbling notes onto wooden boards. Beezel himself was...
"Beezel, maybe you should put Fracia down from your lap. And Ruincia, you should let Aurora down, too."
It looked less like an intelligence briefing and more like two grandparents bragging about their grandkids.
"If it’s a distraction, I can take care of Fracia and Aurora for a bit."
"No, it is quite all right," Beezel replied. He took Aurora from Ruincia as well, seating both girls on his lap. Then, Ruincia took several wooden boards from the Civil Official Girls and began writing out the specifics of the Garlet situation all at once.
"Please dispose of these once you have read them," she said.
Ruincia handed the finished boards to Beezel and gathered Fracia and Aurora back to her. Beezel hurriedly read through the information. I got it, I got it—I wasn't going to take the girls away, so he could take his time. Accuracy was important, after all.
By the way, why didn't they just use that method from the start? Oh, because they wanted an excuse to dote on their grandchildren. So it really wasn't my imagination. As the father of both girls, I wished they’d keep it in moderation.
I left a few more mandarins in the room for them. "Fracia, Aurora, you can have some, too. Just don't eat too many."
Then again, with Beezel and Ruincia there, they’d probably be fine.
Looking out into the garden, I saw Reginleiv and Suarlou instructing several High Elves and Lizardmen in martial arts. No doubt they were preparing for the upcoming tournament. Even the Beastman girls had joined in the lessons. It was good to see them so spirited, provided they didn't overexert themselves.
Tia, Granmaria, Kudel, and Corone weren't occupied with their usual tasks today; instead, they were giving tours to the Angels who were visiting the village for the first time. I’d asked them to be thorough to prevent any friction.
In particular, the introductions to Kuro’s pack, Zabuton’s family, and the Dragon Family needed to be handled carefully. I also reminded them not to forget to greet the horses and cows in the ranch area. If they felt ignored, they’d get sulky—especially the horses.
As for Aegis the phoenix chick and the Eagle, they could wait until dinner. The Fairy Queen was busy playing with the children, so she’d likely show up at dinner, too. I’d already spread the word that fruit ice cream was on the dessert menu. There was no way she’d miss that.
As I was heading back, Tia stopped me. "What is it?"
"This is the Village Head, Lord Hiraku," she said, presenting me to a group of newcomers.
Ah, that’s right—I hadn't properly introduced myself to them yet. Most of the Angels who had arrived were exhausted from the long flight over the Forest of Death, so I’d put the introductions off.
"Uh, I’m also the husband of Tia, Granmaria, Kudel, and Corone. It’s a pleasure to meet you."
I tried to greet them as warmly as I could, but for some reason, they looked at me as if they were observing some sort of rare, exotic beast. Why was that?
When I returned to the room with a fresh supply of mandarins, Kuroyon trotted over to me, practically demanding praise. I see, I see. He’d won again.
I asked Kierbit where the defeated Malbit had gone.
"She said she was still feeling the fatigue from the journey and headed to the hot springs. It’s probably just a sore loser’s excuse, though."
I figured as much. I gave Kuroyon’s head a good, vigorous rub as a reward.