Chapter Two: The Demon Lord Takes His Family on a Trip

Shortly after they decided to go on a honeymoon, Anima and his family visited Garaat one last time before setting out on their trip. According to Shaer, it would take about ten days to reach the town close to the bridge, and once they’d completed their mission, the plan was to visit the royal capital. There, Shaer would take Anima and give her report to the king, using their audience to settle the Malshan case as well.

Shaer had told the family that the king, while fair, was rather strict, so their meeting could go one of two ways. It was possible that Anima and his family would end up facing prison time for hurting Malshan, leading the Scarlett family’s status as heroes to come to an unfortunate, abrupt end. To minimize Luina’s involvement, Anima decided to go alone. The other, much more favorable outcome was for the king to recognize Anima’s abilities and pardon his crime of hurting Malshan.

They had only met Shaer a couple hours prior, but her respect toward the Scarlett family was clear. The chances that she would lead Anima into a trap by inviting him to the capital were virtually non-existent. It was much more likely that she was working hard to help Anima live the peaceful life he so desired.

Their unlikely helper wasn’t currently with the four, however. After they had finished discussing their trip, she was overcome by a strong wave of exhaustion and left for Garaat before the others. She was probably already asleep at an inn. They agreed to meet at the town gates the next morning, so in the meantime, Anima and the others had some shopping to do for the journey that awaited them.

“Should we buy food first?” Anima asked, to which Luina nodded.

“It takes about four days to get to the nearest town, so I think we should buy enough food for five.”

“It has to be food that will last a while, too.”

Anima was able to feast on poisonous demons, so eating some rotten meat wouldn’t have been an issue for him, but Luina and the kids weren’t so resilient. They had to avoid buying anything that could make them sick along the way.

“Daddy! Daddy!”

While walking through the main street looking for a place to buy food, Marie suddenly tugged on Anima’s hand.

“Yes?”

“Daddy look! I wannit!”

She pointed at a little girl of around the same age as Myuke. The girl, walking with her family, was wearing an adorable backpack.

“What do you think, Luina?” Anima asked. He’d have bought a backpack or two for his lovely daughter any day of the week if it made her happy, but having Marie carry her things by herself would only put a burden on her shoulders. He wasn’t sure if letting her carry things on such a long trip was the best idea.

“Hmm… Sure, let’s buy one for her. Carrying her own luggage will help make her feel more independent.”

“‘More independent’…” Anima muttered before falling silent, his eyes glossed over.

“Are you okay?”

“One day, Marie will start a life of her own…”

“You don’t have to worry about that yet,” Luina chuckled. “She’s still little.”

“That’s true, but it’ll happen one day…”

Sadness overtook Anima at the thought of marrying Marie off to someone.

“You’re such a worrywart. What’re you gonna do when I get married if you’re so protective of Marie? You know she’s only three, right?” Myuke said teasingly.

“Myuke, married…”

Anima’s resilience knew no bounds, yet the thought of Myuke getting married off hurt him like nothing had ever hurt him before. He couldn’t imagine the bustling house at the edge of town without her. He would never get in the way of his daughter’s happiness, but imagining the day when Myuke left the house almost made him tear up. Seeing the dread well up in Anima’s eyes, Myuke started to panic.

“Y-You’re getting too upset about this! I never said I’d leave our home, so just relax! C’mon, cheer up!”

“R-Really?”

“Really really. I love you, Daddy, and I never want to leave your side. We’ll always be together!”

“Myuke… Me too, Myuke! I love you too!”

“I love you too, Myuke,” Luina added.

“I love Myukey too!”

They all gathered around Myuke and hugged her.

“A-All right, all right, I get it! Get off of me already! It’s embarrassing!” Noticing the looks shot their way from passersby, including other kids around the same age as her, she was getting flushed. So, she tried to change the topic. “So, are we buying a backpack or what?”

“I think we should. Let’s buy one for everyone.”

“For real? I can get one too?”

“Of course.” Hearing that, Myuke’s mouth curled up into a smile and her eyes shone with excitement. She had probably wanted a backpack for herself all along, but as proven when they’d bought clothes, she was always reserved about her desires. “So, where can we buy backpacks?”

“There! I saw them earlier!”

Following Myuke, they made their way to a backpack store. The trendy little shop had a wide variety of bags on display, with different sections for both children and adults. They decided to go to the kids’ section first.

“Wooow! So many! Ah! Bun-bun!” Marie ran off with stars in her eyes the moment she spotted a bunny-shaped backpack. Made from a fluffy fabric, it was almost like a plush toy. The ear-to-ear smile she wore when she picked it up and hugged it tightly was to die for. “Soooft!”

“It looks like a plushie. Do you want that one?”

“Uh-huh! I wannit! I wanna be like a bun-bun!”

“I’m happy you found a cute backpack,” Luina giggled as she watched Marie bounce up and down, the bag held tightly in her arms. “How about you, Myuke? Have you found one you like yet?”

“Hmm… Can I look around a little more?”

“Of course. I’ll take Marie and help Anima find what he’s looking for.”

The two split off from Myuke and went to the adults’ section. Anima was planning to carry Luina’s luggage as well, so he was looking for something big.

“How about this one?” Luina asked as she picked up a large, sturdy-looking backpack. It looked like it would have no trouble surviving a yank or two.

“I’ll treasure it.”

Anima promised to take good care of the bag Luina had picked out for him, then the three of them made their way back to Myuke, who just picked out one for herself. It was a plain, peach-colored backpack that complemented her beautiful red hair very nicely. It was sure to look great on her.

“I like this one.”

“Good!” Anima cheered. “Is that everything? Let’s head to the counter and pay.”

After paying for their items, the family of four left the shop. The girls quickly put on their brand-new backpacks and walked the streets of Garaat at a brisk pace, excited for the coming trip.

“Say, can I put some food into my backpack once we’re finished shopping?” Myuke asked. “I kinda want to get a feel for it.”

“Me too! Me too!”

“Of course,” Luina said, “but we’re going to buy a tent first. We wouldn’t want anyone to catch a cold from sleeping under the stars.”

“There’s no need for that,” Anima told her. “I’ll just make one with magic.”

“You can do that?” Luina asked, tilting her head in surprise.

“Yes. I can use earth and fire magic, so by bending the earth to my will, I can build us a sturdy house.”

“That’s incredible. You’re always so helpful whenever we need anything.”

“It’s my pleasure. But still, sleeping on the bare ground will be too cold. Maybe we should grab some towels and picnic blankets.”

“We have towels, so we only have to get the blankets.”

After Anima nodded, Luina changed directions to guide them to the appropriate store.

“Do you know where we can buy some?” he asked.

“Mm-hmm. I remember a place my dad brought me to buy a picnic blanket when I was around the same age as Marie.”

A warm smile appeared on Luina’s face as she recalled a sweet memory from her childhood. Anima tightly squeezed her hand and turned to face her.

“We’ll make this trip just as memorable,” he promised with the utmost confidence.

“We will.”

Luina smiled all the way to the store, where they bought a picnic blanket big enough for the four of them to sleep on. After that, they returned to the main street of Garaat. Ignoring the enthusiastic and enticing offers of the stores dotting the main street, they bought only the bread, dried meat, and cheese that they needed. After wrapping it all in paper, they put the food into Myuke’s and Marie’s backpacks and continued their journey down the paved street.

“What else do we need?” Anima asked.

“Some dried fruit, maybe?” Luina suggested. “It would make for good snacks for the girls.”

“Smacks? Smaaacks! I love smacks! They’re sooo yummy!”

“Be careful not to trip, Marie. Stay with me and hold my hand while we’re shopping, okay?”

“’Kaaay!”

Hearing the magic word got Marie excited. She rushed ahead, but Luina quickly caught her by the hand. Anima was holding Myuke’s hand, and they all peacefully made their way to the fruit stall.

“Well, I’ll be. If it isn’t Luina!”

As they arrived at the stall with a wonderful display of various bright fruits set out, a well-built woman welcomed them, waving enthusiastically. The woman was the same person who had proposed the couple’s impromptu marriage celebration three months earlier.

“Are you out with your husband again? I see you’re still head over heels for each other!”

“Do you really think so?”

The lady confidently nodded at Anima’s question.

“I’ve been at this stall for thirty years. I’ve seen countless couples come and go, but I’ve never seen any of them radiate such passion and love for each other! You can’t fool my eyes! I can see you whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears on the bustling streets! I’m sure you’re even more daring when you’re alone at home, aren’t you?”

“Oh, we are. Isn’t that right, Luina?”

“W-Well, it is, but you didn’t have to tell her… It’s embarrassing…”

The lady chuckled as she watched Luina uncomfortably fidget while her face flushed bright-red.

“Ah, I still remember you trotting all over the place with your little legs,” the lady chuckled as she watched Luina fidget uncomfortably while her face flushed bright red. “But just look at you now, getting all flustered. You’d better watch out; your little girls will fall in love before you know it!”

“…”

“Goodness, what’s with the sour look?”

The lady was caught off-guard by Anima’s silence. Myuke let out a tired sigh and shrugged her shoulders.

“He got bummed out earlier ’cause he started thinking about how me and Marie will get married.”

“Hehe, is that so? It’s no wonder—he loves you two little angels a whole lot.” Smiling as she commented on Anima’s devotion to his family, the woman’s eyes caught on the girls’ backs. “Well, look at those. Are you going on a trip?”

“A loooong trip!”

“My goodness, how nice.”

“Uh-huh! You know, Daddy buyed this! It’s a bun-bun!”

“What an adorable backpack. It looks great on you!”

“Daddy, hear that? My packpack’s ’dorbable!”

“You’re just as adorable,” Anima said while petting Marie’s head.

While they were chatting, Luina was browsing the display. She picked out a jar filled with various fruits as if it were a transparent pot of gold. Seeing that, Marie’s eyes lit up.

“Nummies!”

“Our dried fruits are really tasty. We don’t add any sugar, but they’re still packed with flavor and sweetness! Try one! You too, Myuke! Here!”

She gave each of the girls a piece of dried fruit. The moment they bit into them, their eyes popped wide open.

“Mmm!”

“It’s so sweet!”

After quickly chewing their way through the fruit, they began staring at the jar Luina was holding, virtually drooling.

“This is for the trip,” she told them with a chuckle, then hid it in Anima’s backpack. “You’ll get more tomorrow.”

“I wanna go already!”

“Me too!”

The girls’ excited voices mixed in with the bustle of the streets of Garaat. Seeing their enthusiastic smiles, Anima was reassured that suggesting a family trip was a fantastic idea.

◆◆◆

“Lessgooooo!”

The next morning, Anima and his family were ready to set out on their honeymoon under the gentle, warm sunlight.

“I’ve been waiting for you!”

After meeting up with Shaer at the town gate, they geared up and began their journey. Walking out of the town, they were greeted by flat plains as far as the eye could see. To the south, a mountain range looked over the road, adding a bit of variety to the landscape, while the scenery to the north was hidden by a lush forest. Anima had planned for them to take breaks every so often, but the wonderful sights really put them in the walking spirit, so they forged onward.

“Woooow! Mommy! Mommy, look! So geen!”

“Goodness, you’re right!” Marie was fascinated, so Luina played along. “It really is.”

“There too! Issall geen!”

“Incredible. It’s like everything around us is green.”

“Is ousside all geen? But, but, but I like red, too! And bue and white!”

Red, blue, and white. Those were Myuke’s, Luina’s, and Anima’s hair colors.

“Look up! You can see blue in the sky!”

“Wooow! It’s bue! And white too!”

“Mm-hmm, the clouds are white.”

“Red…” After circling around for a bit in hopes of finding the one missing color, she gave up and hung her head. “No red…”

“Hmm, doesn’t look like it. But I’m sure we’ll find red once we walk far enough down this road.”

“Yaaay! I love red!”

Luina was referring to the sunset, but Marie wanted to find something red as soon as possible, so she let go of Luina’s hand and ran ahead. Watching her do so, Myuke flashed a wry smile.

“You won’t last long if you start running around this early.”

“I will!”

Marie looked around curiously, then set off with her tiny legs. Her excitement wasn’t all that surprising; it was her first time outside of Garaat, after all. She was surrounded by sights she had never seen before, and things she was yet to experience. She was having the time of her life.

Her excitement had begun long before they’d left, though. She had been tapping away at Anima’s cheeks to wake him up, begging to start the trip just a minute earlier, since the moment the sun peeked over the horizon. That being said, Marie was not the only one enjoying the trip.

“Hey, you’ll trip if you don’t watch where you’re going! C’mere, let me hold your hand.”

Myuke held Marie’s hand and walked next to her, their brand new backpacks swaying with every step.

“Ah! She’s fying!” Marie pointed up at the sky where Shaer was flying ahead.

Hearing the little girl’s cheerful voice, Shaer waved at the small girl. She was to guide them all the way to the capital, but that didn’t mean she would be walking alongside them. She was a kind and understanding girl, and made sure not to be in the way of the peaceful family’s fun little trip.

“I’m so glad we have such pleasant weather.” Luina said as she intertwined her fingers with Anima’s. They looked at each other and shared a loving smile.

“I’m sure the girls would be having a great time even if it were pouring,” Anima said, watching his two daughters gleefully walk ahead, hand in hand. A simple rain wouldn’t have been enough to dampen their spirits.

“It’s no wonder. They were so excited about this trip that Myuke barely slept and Marie fell asleep hugging her backpack. I want to make this a wonderful family trip that they’ll always remember.”

“I’ll make sure that they have fun, but the same goes for you. Tell me if there’s anything you want to do during the trip.”

“You’ve already turned this into the most wonderful trip I could have ever dreamt of.”

“How so? I haven’t done anything yet.”

Luina let go of his hand for a second before embracing his arm with her whole upper body. His mouth curled into a smile as Luina’s soft breasts gently pressed against him.

“Just being with you on this trip makes me the happiest girl in the whole wide world.”