Chapter 272: (Arc 14 Epilogue 3) Why the Cursed Child Sent Money to Her Biological Family

* * *

"Um, this is... what exactly is going on?"

Parirot swallowed his saliva and looked down at the objects spread out on the desk.

It was gold coins.

A large amount of gold coins were spread out on the desk in front of the chairs where he and his wife Rana were seated.

"As I said, right? These are gifts from Emi-san."

The one saying this was a small, plain-looking woman sitting across from the couple... Taiche, a special affairs official working at the Adventurer's Guild headquarters.

True to her role as an official, she had properly made an appointment before coming to this Parirot Magic Lamp Shop.

However, the only information given to the couple in advance was a brief "We have something to discuss regarding Emi-san."

It was a ridiculous way to make an appointment, but as expected, a small magic lamp shop in town couldn't refuse a request from the international organization known as the Adventurer's Guild, so Parirot accepted Taiche's visit.

And what she took out from a large travel bag with wheels when she arrived was the mountain of gold coins on the desk mentioned earlier.

Naturally, both Parirot and Rana were astonished by this.

Seeing their faces, Taiche was grinning in amusement.

Perhaps Taiche had kept the details silent because she wanted to see the couple's surprised faces.

If so, she was a woman with a nasty personality.

"Gifts... that makes even less sense. Why would that thing send gifts to us?"

Hearing Emi's name, Parirot instantly became displeased.

Rana hung her head, shrugged her shoulders, and made herself small.

"In the first place, that thing is a cursed child. There's no way it has money... Ah, so in other words, this is hush money from the Adventurer's Guild? After all, it's nothing short of a scandal for the Supreme Commander to take in a cursed child as her daughter."

For Parirot, Emi was... an enemy.

An enemy who tormented his wife's heart and shattered the happiness of their three-person family.

It didn't matter that the other party was still a young girl or that she had an unfortunate upbringing.

Because Emi was a cursed child, there was no need to consider such things.

That's why, when it came to Emi, unlike his usual cheerful demeanor, he became unnecessarily aggressive.

In order to protect his wife and family.

"Hahaha!"

Seeing Parirot, who was desperately trying, and Rana, who was starting to cower, Taiche laughed as if mocking them.

"You...!!"

"Wait, dear!"

Completely losing his temper at that laughter, Parirot stood up, forcefully pushing his chair back.

However, violence is not good!

Rana hurriedly embraced Parirot and stopped his movement.

"Hahaha... no, my apologies."

Even seeing Parirot's angry figure, as expected of a veteran special affairs official,

Taiche was not flustered at all, sat deep in her chair, crossed her legs, sipped the steaming Zamago bean tea on the desk to moisten her throat.

"It's just that your husband's statement was so far off the mark that I couldn't help but find it amusing."

While gazing at Parirot, who was forcibly made to sit back down on the chair by Rana, Taiche grinned.

"Far off the mark, you say?"

"Yes, far off the mark. This money was undoubtedly sent by Emi-san, not from us at the Adventurer's Guild."

"But that thing is a cursed child. As I just said, how could it have such a large sum of money..."

"...Then, let's start by talking about that."

Gently placing her teacup on the desk, Taiche withdrew her grin and straightened her posture.

And she let out a sigh.

"Originally, this was compensation paid by the Adventurer's Guild to Emi-san."

""Compensation?""

Hearing an unexpected word, the couple unintentionally made puzzled faces in unison.

"It's a bit of an organizational embarrassment, so I'd rather you not tell others, but... some time ago, there was an incident where a certain guild employee treated Emi-san unfairly and even exploited her."

Taiche's brow was deeply furrowed as she spoke.

She probably didn't want to talk about such circumstances in the first place.

"This money is the compensation for that incident. Phew, it was a lot of trouble. We couldn't even locate Emi-san's whereabouts in the first place. And just when we finally found her, she had become the Supreme Commander's daughter. Life is really unpredictable, isn't it?"

As she spoke, Taiche had a distant look in her eyes.

Her expression eloquently conveyed that the "trouble" she spoke of was real.

"But when we finally caught up with Emi-san and talked about the compensation, she clearly said, 'I don't need this much.'"

"Huh?"

Parirot tilted his head.

Money shouldn't be something you'd have a problem with having.

Even though she had the legitimate right to receive it, what did it mean for her to say "I don't need it"?

"I can imagine what you're thinking. Emi-san is someone who lives... apart from human economic society."

Saying that, Taiche glanced at Rana.

"After all, she has black hair and black eyes. She said that even when she entered town shops, she was never able to shop properly. She was turned away at every door. She said she had been living like that, without anyone's help."

"............"

Taiche spoke plainly while staring at Rana.

Rana could only hang her head in silence.

Rana understood.

Taiche was indirectly blaming Rana.

But, but.

What should I have done?

When I ran away from my violent husband and the village... should I have taken Emi with me?

No.

I couldn't have done that.

If I had done that, wouldn't everyone, including Parirot, have just become unhappy?

Because Emi is a cursed child.

Surely, if I had done that, Parirot, Rana, and everyone else would have been persecuted by society.

In order to protect ourselves, we had no choice but to leave Emi behind.

There should have been no other option.

But.

This is probably a sin, right?

One that Rana should always bear.

She had always been aware of that.

In her mind, thoughts kept going around and around.

"...So she said, 'I don't need money I can't use anyway.' And as a token, she only pocketed the gold coins she could hold in her small hands and refused to accept the rest."

Perhaps because Rana didn't show any reaction, Taiche found it boring, so she shifted her gaze back to Parirot and explained the situation.

"But then, couldn't your Supreme Commander have accepted it? She is that thing's mother now, right?"

"There are circumstances there as well..."

Taiche scratched her cheek and smiled wryly.

"Emi-san and the Supreme Commander... in the end, they did acknowledge each other as mother and child... it seems, but apparently, they haven't built the kind of mother-child relationship we would expect. How should I put it... they are both superhuman, so their sensibilities are quite different from ours. In any case, Emi-san seemed to dislike entrusting the money to the Supreme Commander as well."

Up until then, Taiche had been speaking fluently and coherently, but when it came to this topic, she kept using vague expressions.

It was probably because she herself didn't fully understand the relationship between Emi and the Supreme Commander.

"Then, the Adventurer's Guild should have just kept that money as is. Like other commercial guilds, the Adventurer's Guild should be able to deposit and withdraw money due to the 'Blessing of the Banking God.'"

"That was also no good. First of all, it seems she won't become an adventurer due to a promise with the Supreme Commander. Therefore, she can't make a deposit with our guild. Then, we suggested opening an account somewhere else, but she refused, saying, 'Even if I make one, I'll be discriminated against based on my appearance and won't be able to withdraw at my travel destinations anyway, so it's fine.'"

"............"

"My, my... she really doesn't trust human society at all. On the other hand, she doesn't resent human society to that extent either. We must be thankful for this point. If she hated humans... hated society, surely... terrible things would happen."

Why was Taiche's face pale?

Neither Parirot nor Rana knew how powerful a being Emi was.

That's why they didn't understand.

The meaning of "terrible things would happen."

* * *

The kettle placed on the stove lit in the corner of the shop began to make a whistling sound.

Even though winter had ended and spring had already arrived, the chilly days still continued.

The stove was indispensable for daily life.

And this kettle had been refilled with water after all the hot water inside had been used up to make Zamago bean tea before this discussion began.

Enough time had already passed for that kettle to start whistling.

"Now then, let's get back to the topic at hand. Parirot-san, Rana-san. We would like you to accept this money."

Taiche turned back to the couple and once again conveyed the words she had spoken at the beginning of the discussion.

"Is that... as compensation? Or as a nuisance fee?"

Parirot said that in a thorny tone while furrowing his brow.

The essential part of why Emi was trying to send them money still hadn't been clarified.

And of course, there was a reason for mentioning compensation or nuisance fees.

There was some kind of connection between the cursed child Emi and Parirot's Magic Lamp Shop.

Rumors to that extent had already spread throughout the town of Serelirin.

Because of that, it was true that the magic lamp shop's sales had been affected.

Ikeranjel hadn't said anything, but he must have been told something at school too.

A cursed child is truly a plague.

In this world, there is a very strong backlash against cursed children and those associated with them.

"...Is it... severance pay...?"

On the other hand, Rana muttered that.

Parirot was taken aback and turned to look at Rana's profile.

"Rana-chan, what are you saying? That's as if..."

"I'm the one at fault, dear..."

Rana began to speak in a halting manner.

"I'm the one who gave birth to that child. I'm the one who left her... no, abandoned her in the village and ran away. I'm the one who has been making that child suffer all this time. To completely sever ties with someone like me. Could this money be... that kind of money?"

Rana said that while looking straight at Taiche.

Rana had always been aware of her sin.

But she had lived her life constantly looking away from that sin.

Until now, that was fine.

Because she thought Emi had been attacked by monsters along with the village and died.

But Emi was alive.

Alive, and she appeared before her once again.

Rana was forced to face her own sin once more.

It wasn't an easy thing to do.

Even during the mediation meeting, all Rana could do was hang her head and tremble.

She had been running away.

She herself knew that.

Even so, there was nothing she could do.

However.

But.

Still.

Perhaps now, here, the opportunity for her to truly face her own sin had finally arrived.

Perhaps this was her last chance.

Thinking round and round, round and round, over and over.

Rana finally thought so.

The money laid out on the desk.

It was certainly a large amount, but it wasn't an unattainable sum.

Even without accepting it, there would be no problem with their life, the management of the store, or anything else.

But if she were to accept this money, Rana wouldn't be able to keep running away from her sin as she had before reuniting with Emi.

Every time she saw this money, every time she saw something bought with this money, Rana would remember Emi.

And she would suffer from the sense of guilt.

Considering the mental damage to Rana, it would be far better not to accept this money.

However, she could no longer keep running away.

Rana had finally made up her mind.

To constantly live in repentance.

That's why she had to accept that money no matter what.

Rana stopped being protected by Parirot.

That's the conclusion she reached.

"I see, compensation, nuisance fee."

Taiche muttered that and stared at Parirot.

"And now, severance pay, huh?"

Next, she turned to look at Rana.

Rana was no longer hanging her head.

She was looking straight into Taiche's eyes.

"All of those are completely off the mark."

However, Taiche dismissively laughed off both Parirot's disgust and Rana's determination, telling them that.

""Huh?""

Unintentionally, dumbfounded voices leaked out from the couple's mouths simultaneously.

"In the first place, while we would like you to accept this money, it was never something sent to you."

""Huh?""

Not understanding, Parirot and Rana opened their mouths blankly.

Seeing their reaction, Taiche scratched her cheek again, smiled wryly, and told them,

"This is... pocket money for your son... for buying fried bread, she said."

With this, Arc 14 has come to an end.

I know it's something I'm saying myself, but the composition was quite a mess, so it may have been difficult to read.

Good work.

Thank you for always reading "The Reincarnated Extra."

I hope you will continue to support me in the future.