Olivia’s real intentions and Ain’s future.

“……Do I really have to tell you? “

“Alright. This is the last thing I’ll ask to be explained today. So, please, can you explain it?”

Silvird made a concession on this.

He thought it would be best for his mental health to ask this now and get on with it rather than carrying it over to a later date.

“Hmm. Where should I start from? “

“Princess. If you could tell us everything, please.”

“That’s right, from the beginning.”

Martha and Chris were the first ones to make that request, that was actually closer to a command.

“I was scared to take roots on Logas…… on the Roundhart house and live there until the day I died. I knew I was doing this for Ishtalika. Still, I was hesitant to give my life for that house, and share its future.”

Olivia began to explain, but Ain was once again puzzled by the use of the words ‘take roots’.

“Please let me explain the following with this. Ain was born, Ain had the Toxin DecompositionEX skill. I thought about the possibility that he could ‘grow’ the same way the monsters do. Since he could inherit my Absorb skill.”

“Mother? “What does it mean to take root? And also, is Absorb……? “

“Ahh, I’m sorry, Ain. To take roots means a dryad is able to connect with a man by magic. Absorb, is a dryad racial skill, and I’m an Ancestral Dryad.”

Ain was further confused by that chaotic explanation.

Mother is a dryad? What’s all this about?

“You’re a dryad, Mother!? “

“Yes, that’s right, sorry I’ve kept it secret until now. I’m a real dryad, you know? If I want, I can make a lot of trees and grass grow! “

This isn’t about making a lot of things grow! Ain thought, implying this was far from the point.

“Eh, Ehhhー……”

“Can I continue? Around the time Ain’s Toxin DecompositionEX was discovered, I also discovered the Sea Crystals I was investigating during my free time. It was a place that was predicted to have them to some extent, so the result wasn’t all that surprising. So, at this point, Ishtalika’s problem had already been solved! And with that being the case, I decided to start to act. If everything was alright with Ishtalika, I decided to think of ways Ain could be happy. And that’s when I started to plan coming back home with Ain.”

Doooon!

That sound effect seemed to be heard as product of Olivia’s words.

“Even if you simply say you planned your return together…… Right, Martha-dono?”

“Y-Yeah, you totally get the feeling of ‘what in the world is this woman saying?’.”

Martha answered Chris’s question like that.

“Y-You don’t have to put it like that…… You knew Ain wouldn’t be happy in that house in the first place, right? He would only be treated as an extra to his younger brother. Even if they were to understand the usefulness of Toxin DecompositionEX.”

“Umu…… I won’t deny that. But, how should I put it?”

“The Princess’ ideas are amazing, after all! It might be necessary to review how to survey team works! “

“And since the sea crystals were not a concern anymore, I decided to look for the right opportunity to come back to Ishtalika. To be honest, this was really unexpected, but I thought I would be a good time to do it.”

Contrary to Silvird, Lloyd lavishly praised Olivia.

Next to them, Martha seemed to have thought of something, and changed her expression as she spoke.

“Excuse my rudeness, Princess. But you said you disliked the idea of taking roots, right?

“Ah……That? “

Olivia had certainly said she was reluctant to taking roots.

In other words, she disliked the idea of sleeping with Logas.

With this being the case, having the boy named Ain born was something strange.

“Can it be, Princess? You used the dryad’s trait for that? It looks to me you were too prepared, even the issue with the Dullahan’s magic stone.”

“……Hmm? “

Chris appeared to have noticed something, but Olivia simply tilted her head with a puzzled smile.

“Chris-san. Excuse me, but what is that dryad’s trait you were talking about?”

“……Princess. Should I explain it? Or is it better if you do it yourself? “

Again, seemingly aware of something, Chris asked which one of them should speak.

“……Okay. You explain it, Chris……It’s a bit embarrassing.”

“Haaa, seriously. It might become a somewhat stimulating story. Are you sure you want to hear it, Ain-sama? “

“Y-Yes, please.”

“The dryads are a unique race with low numbers. This is due to the characteristics of taking root and a certain trait. First of all, taking roots is sharing their life with another person. If one dies, so does the other. Therefore, dryads are a unique race that can only have one partner in their whole lives. That’s why, as for the action of taking roots and having intercourse with a member of the opposite sex, dryads are especially cautious about that among the many races.”

“I feel as I’m understanding her actions more and more. Lloyd……I’m getting a headache.”

“There’s nothing that can be done, Your Majesty. Here, have some tea.”

Silvird held his head after listening to Chris’ explanation, and Lloyd tried to comfort him a little.

“Uhh, but if they didn’t have intercourse……then they wouldn’t have a child, right? Then, what am I? “

“That’s the heart of this story, Ain-sama. It’s a trait characteristic to dryads. Dryads can split their core and magic stone, and create their own ‘ideal’ opposite sex partner. This can be said to be the safest form for a dryad to do it without the need to take roots. Of course, it can only be used once in a lifetime. And to be clear, the dryads, rather than focusing on the physical appearance, pay more attention to the other person’s personality.”

” ! ? Then, does that means……Ahh, uhmm……? “

“Still, the genetic information of the opposite sex is needed, so it’s not like it’s strictly asexual reproduction. In that case……Princess? “

Ain couldn’t get all this information sorted out.

Was he not Olivia’s child? He couldn’t settle down since he didn’t really understand what this meant.

“Uhh……But I mean, I’ll die with that person if I take root, right!? I was scared to take roots in someone I met for the first time and who I didn’t know that well, I felt all alone by going to Heim on my own. That’s why I think you can cut me some slack for wanting to be with my ideal cute little Ain.”

Olivia answered with that.

“Umu, umu. Lloyd-dono…… It must’ve been hard for the Princess too.”

“Without doubt. She went by herself to marry into a foreign country.”

Next to these two, Silvird was still holding his head.

“What about the genes of the opposite sex? And about the first night?”

“I used a cloth with which Logas wiped some blood after he was injured. About the first night, and the nights after that, I simply used the hypnosis ability. That’s why I never really refused him at nights. I thought that maybe…………the time would eventually come when I would be ready.”

Dryads were a race that had a minor hypnotic ability.

It wasn’t that strong, but it was enough to fool Logas into thinking he had laid his hand on her.

And for Olivia, whom that meant taking roots, this night duty was a matter of life and death. That’s why, while she steeled herself and organized her feelings, she used this little trick.

“Sorry. I still haven’t been able to sort everything out…… what does that mean? “

Ain wasn’t able to organize all this information yet, however, he understood Olivia’s feeling to some extent.

For a dryad, the act of taking root was literally placing roots for life. And if she were to do it with his father Logas…………she would have to continue living in the Roundhart house for her whole life, but because she was scared of those shackles, she couldn’t make up her mind at first.

“Essentially, this trait is the act of making the dryad’s ideal partner. In that sense, although at present Ain-sama is the Princess child…… he’s also more like a child for the princess.”

Chris spoke some shocking contents.

Did this mean Ain wasn’t Olivia’s child? He thought about it while having a chill. As they heard he was born as Olivia’s ideal partner, the tension in the room rose.

“Olivia. I heard dryads can adjust the age when creating their ideal partner. It might not be possible now that he’s a complete person, but couldn’t you wait until you came back and gave birth to Ain here? “

“……? First, I couldn’t wait. After all, if I didn’t have a child, it would’ve been a problem.”

“Can it be, Princess……?”

“I only have bad feelings about this.”

Both Martha and Chris reacted similarly.

They were slightly afraid of the words that were to come.

“Isn’t it fine for Ain to be small like this? Can’t you understand the joy of loving Ain as he gradually grows up? “

The so-called “Reverse Hikaru Genji plan”.

That’s right, Olivia had a thing for shota attributes.

And when she noticed his ideal child had Toxin DecompositionEX, she made her mind.

She’ll give this child the Dullahan’s magic stone that she had in her room.

“Alright. In many ways, I feel like I’ve been placed on the winning team.

Understanding up to this point, Ain was quietly assured of this.