Shamelessly asking for votes! đ„č
---
After Herta left, old customers entered the shop.
Well, I wouldn't call them 'old'; to me, it's been a few weeks at most, but to them, it was decades ago.
As to how I know?
WellâŠ
"Mom, Dad, is this the mystical place you told me about where I could meet grandma?" A blue-haired half-elf child said to her parents.
"That's right."
Himmel said to his daughter with an affectionate smile, and he now has a beard!Â
Besides him was his wife, Frieren, who smiled at the heartwarming scene between the two.
I stared hard at this scene and thought to myself. 'I know that each respective world has a different timespan, but this is ridiculous.'
How many days has it been since the last time they appeared here?
And now, they already have a child...?!
They have changed so much, yet at the same time they did not.
Frieren is a prime example of this, but considering she's an elf, it's understandable.Â
After all, she barely changed even after a thousand years.
If I placed her younger counterpart beside her, I doubt there's any difference between them except for the height.
Not to mention, the child isn't even a baby or a toddler, but a godforsaken preschooler!
The fact that this child is also a half-elf means her growth spurt is literally different from humans.
She might look 4 or 5 years old, but I'm pretty sure she's older than that.
"Hello, it's nice to have you guys returning and with a child." I did my best to act like this didn't surprise me, because it certainly did.
"Yeah, It's been a long time, manager." Himmel then proceeded to carry his child in his arms.
"Judging from your prior conversation, you're here to visit Flamme, correct?"Â
"That's right, manager." Himmel nodded alongside his wife.
"Right, I'll call her, but do you mind telling me what this girl's name is? And how old is she?" In the end, I couldn't contain my curiosity about this child.
Himmel's eyes lit up as if he'd been waiting for me to ask him this question, then he said with a tone filled with eagerness and pride.
"I certainly don't mind answering that! In fact, I'm glad you did, manager! My sweet and beautiful daughter is named Emilia and is 16 years old!"Â
Hearing that name, my gaze quickly shifted toward the girl, and I let out a sigh of relief.
'Damn, that surprised me a bit. If this child's hair color was white and had purple eyes, then I would start to get worried.'Â
Because that would mean they're going to be in a rabbit hole.
But the name sure is a coincidence.
"Emilia, huh..? What a beautiful name." While it's true, that name makes me extremely biased.
Because every time I think of that name, it always reminds me of a white-haired half-elf who was sweet, naive, kind and most importantly, a walking suffering device for a certain someone with a tracksuit.
And speaking of him, I should hang out with him soon.
Hopefully, he hasn't been isekai'd yet or else that would have sucked.
I already acknowledge the guy as a friend, and I certainly don't want him to suffer as he did in the original.
There's a difference between hardship and torture.
And what he experienced is definitely the latter.
While he experienced growth, he barely has any reward handed to him.
Not to mention, since I met him, there's bound to be a butterfly effect, meaning the path Subaru would take wouldn't be 'Envy '; it could literally be any of the 'IF' timelines.
"It sure is! Named her after all!" Himmel looked completely proud of it.
I let out a wry smile at this, looking at the half-elf in his arms; it's amazing how a species could grow so slowly.
She's already 16, only about 2 years younger than me.
And the next time she appears, she will be older than me already.
"I will call Flamme."
"Please do."
And so, I used her card as the receiver.
Himmel then gave him a tip for that, which wasn't much, but money is still money.
I certainly wouldn't refuse, especially knowing the value of M.C,
It didn't take long for Flamme to arrive at the shop; she greeted me first with a smile. "It's been a long time, manager."
Hearing this familiar sentence, I couldn't help but think that this is going to be a common greeting towards me from some of the returning customers.
Because of the difference in their respective time spans.
"It hasn't been that long for me," I answered back with a professional smile.
"Hah! For me, it is; the last time I visited was a decade ago." Flamme admitted with a smile of her own.
Despite her claim, her appearance hardly changed; in fact, it was as if her age regressed rather than progressed like a normal human.
Flamme looked even younger than Himmel, which was supposed to be the opposite case.
But considering how many magical tomes and grimoires she bought from the shop, it wouldn't surprise me if one of them had to do with immortality or age regression.
The results speak for themselves; to be honest, I'm surprised that she used magic to eternally preserve her youth.
Because from what I know of her, she isn't the type to stick with that sort of thing.
I didn't exactly hide the fact that I'm looking at her body, scanning from head to toe.
Flamme smirked at the attention I was giving her. "Like what you see?"
With zero shame, I replied. "I do."Â
There was nothing to be ashamed of in looking at an attractive older lady.
Because she is undoubtedly beautiful, even by the 2D standard of my world, which makes even the average joe very handsome back on his previous life earth.
She's a contender to the likes of top-tier models, both in her face and figure.
Flamme liked my response and was about to flirt back, but then she saw the half-elf behind me, immediately melting away her previous fighting spirit.
No words needed to be said; just by looking at this child, she could see the face of her disciple/daughter in her. Even if her hair color is different, she would immediately recognize who the parents are.
She couldn't stop herself from gasping in shock, looking at Emilia like she was the only thing that existed in the world.
Then slowly, she moved toward the half-elf who was looking at her with suspicion while looking back at her parents for support, but they just smiled at her.
Making the little girl flustered, not knowing what to do with this lady who was about to get close to her.
While she may be 16, her mentality is no different from her body size; she's literally a child, in mind and body.
Then Flamme knelt to her and slowly cupped her round, chubby cheeks and asked with the gentlest voice she could muster. "You're so prettyâŠwhat's your name, sweetie?"
Emilia, upon hearing the gentle tone of the lady in front of her and seeing that face filled with affection that was no different from what her parents looked at her, she finally mustered the courage to say. "E-Emilia..."
Flamme repeated the name. "EmiliaâŠwhat a beautiful name."
Emilia asked hesitantly. "W-who are you, lady...?"
Flamme smiles brightly. "Your grandma. Now forgive grandma for what I'm about to do next."
Emilia, who doesn't know what she will do, looks at her in confusion, then finds out what her grandmother was about to do.
Flamme did not hesitate to show how much she appreciated her by kissing Emilia's cheeks, nose, and forehead repeatedly.
Showing a grandmother's affection to a child she acknowledged as her grandchild.
Emilia tried to get away from the kissapocalypse by pushing her grandmother's face away, but it was useless.
Flamme stuck to her like glue that couldn't be removed and was forced to endure the onslaught of kisses from her.
Only after a few minutes did Flamme finally let go, and Emilia's face was filled with her grandmother's kisses.
A mark of her deep affection.
And after being let go, Emilia basically ran toward her parents, a little bit traumatized by her grandmother's kisses.
Himmel and Frieren laughed at their daughter's plight, making the girl feel wronged.
And like that, their child officially met her grandmother.
â
A/N: For some reason, grandparents tend to favor their grandchildren more than their actual children.
My grandma, for example, acts like a drug dealer when it's just her giving me some money.
This is an interlude before Thanos.
Support me on [email protected],Â
[email protected]/charlottes143