Chapter 120: My Parents

“You sure know a lot of details,” Sarah said to me.

“I remember many things my father told me… and there’s also something that really helps with the details,” I admitted. “Let me show you.”

From my travel bag, I pulled out a worn, rustic-bound notebook. Its cover was battered by time and use, but the pages were still surprisingly legible.

“My father, Edward, left this diary before he died.”

…

That morning, I was sitting under a tree, resting after the alchemy lesson I had received earlier. Even after reaching adulthood, I was still subjected to constant training by my father.

Even after my mother ran away, even after I fell ill, he never stopped teaching me—not for a single day. He always reminded me of the importance of his research, the honor of being a member of the Forster family, and that if he were to die from his illness, I would be the one to carry it on.

“Forget it. Since I’m an Awakened, I can use alchemy to make money—but continuing that cursed research? No way. Chasing that damned stone has cost this family everything. I’m not crazy enough to keep going with that. I’ll run away from home if I have to,” I muttered to myself.

“Really? Then I can come with you.”

I was startled when a female voice answered me. I had chosen this place specifically to relax—there were no people or monsters nearby, and the spring afternoon breeze felt especially pleasant in the shade of my favorite tree.

But there was one person who knew about my favorite spot.

“Emilia, don’t you know it’s rude to eavesdrop on others?” I asked the nosy girl.

“Eh? But don’t you know you shouldn’t be talking to yourself? People might start thinking you’re crazy,” the girl said as she stepped out from behind the tree where I was resting.

“I already live with a crazy alchemist. It wouldn’t surprise me if people already thought that about me,” I replied sarcastically.

“No, that’s not your reputation in town. The locals think you’re stuck-up,” she said, sitting down beside me.

“What do you want?” I asked her bluntly.

“Do I need a reason to come talk to an old friend?” she asked.

The girl sitting beside me could be called my childhood friend. At first, she would only linger nearby shyly, but as she grew used to my presence, she gradually let go of that shyness and started acting like a brat. Whenever it was time for my daily break, she would show up just to disturb my peace.

Despite her attitude, she was a beautiful woman. It wasn’t just her personality that had changed over time—her beauty had blossomed, giving her graceful, feminine curves. Combined with her long dark hair and her cyan-blue eyes, she was one of the most beautiful women in our town. She wore a white shirt under a pair of overalls.

I had to rein in my instincts to keep my eyes from drifting to her chest or her hips whenever I got distracted.

It wasn’t like I had no interest in women. I just wanted to rest there, feeling the breeze against my face, so that’s exactly what I did—ignoring her.

“Edward,” she called, but I kept my eyes closed.

“Edward,” she called again, already starting to get on my nerves.

Since she clearly wasn’t going to let me sleep, I asked irritably, “What is it?”

“Look at me and you’ll find out,” she said in a teasing tone.

Emilia’s teasing finally made me open my eyes. I figured that if I gave her just a bit of attention, I could go back to resting right after. But I was completely wrong. The moment I looked at her, all my fatigue vanished.

There she was, casually pulling down her neckline just enough to expose one breast. It looked incredibly soft, her skin flawless. Her pink nipple stood out against her pale skin, drawing my gaze instantly.

“W-What the hell are you doing?!” I stammered, completely caught off guard.

“Hahaha, you turned red like a chili pepper! Hahaha!” She quickly tucked herself back in and burst out laughing.

“Have you gone crazy?! Showing that to me… you pervert!!”

“Hey, no need to get so serious,” she said, as if it were nothing. “I just wanted to check something. We’re both eighteen, but you’ve never shown interest in any girl in town. You even said you didn’t want to get married. So, as your only friend, I figured I’d test you.”

“What kind of test is that?!”

“Whether you like women. But honestly, your reaction was even better than I expected,” she said with a smug grin.

“Don’t pull stupid stunts like that. You shouldn’t be showing your body to just any man. People will think you’re a slut,” I said, still flustered by her prank.

“Hehe, you’re worried about my reputation. How cute,” she said, smiling at me. “But it’s a bit late for that—the guys in town already think we’re dating and that we do all kinds of naughty things when we’re alone.”

“Why would they think something like that?” I asked Emilia, though I already had a pretty good idea who was behind it.

“Because I told them,” she replied with a blank expression. “Well, I didn’t mention the ’naughty’ part, but I’m sure any guy with half an imagination would assume we sneak off into the woods to have sex.”

I couldn’t hide my discomfort. She might act like a proper lady in front of others, but her true nature was something else entirely.

“Aaaah. It’s so hard being a beautiful woman,” she said, squeezing her own breasts. “Ever since they got bigger, guys won’t stop hitting on me. It’s such a pain, so I told them that to make them back off.”

“Don’t go spreading weird rumors like that!” I scolded her.

“What’s so weird about it? It’s completely normal for a guy and a girl to have sex in secret.”

“Did you or did you not say we were doing it in the woods? Make up your mind!!”

“Besides, if you don’t want to get married, that makes you the perfect guy for me to use as an excuse,” she said. The look on her face made it clear she thought her idea was brilliant.

“Don’t decide that on your own!” I shot back.

Emilia looked at me, confused as to why I was so irritated about being dragged into her problems. But then her expression shifted into a smug smile.

“Is there a girl you like, and you don’t want her to think you’re sleeping with someone else?”

I turned my face away, avoiding her gaze. “It’s none of your business.”

“Eh! You’re so rude.” Emilia threw herself against me, pressing her chest against my arm. “Tell me. Hey, Edward—tell me, who do you like?”

Her body brushed against my arm, and even through the layers of fabric, I could feel her softness. I had no intention of telling her how I felt, and since she wouldn’t stop clinging to me, the inevitable happened.

“Huh? Eh?” Emilia glanced down and noticed the reaction in my pants. “Eh… sorry, Edward. I think I went too far. Hahaha…”

She let out an awkward laugh. It was clear from her expression that she hadn’t meant to get that kind of reaction, yet her eyes lingered for a moment longer than they should have.

I took a deep breath, holding back my frustration. I hadn’t expected the girl I liked to put me in such a situation. If I didn’t keep myself under control, things could get out of hand.

“Forget it. It’ll go back to normal after a while. Just don’t press yourself against me like that again.”

“But isn’t that frustrating? It got like that, and now there’s nothing you can do about it,” Emilia said. “That doesn’t seem fair.”

She reached toward my waist and added, “It’s my fault, right? So I should take responsibility.”

…

“What is this?!” Sarah shouted as she read the pages of the old diary.

“Apparently, my father wrote about his private life in that diary. He records everything up until the end of his research—but he also included details about his relationship with my mother.”

Diane looked at me in surprise. “So your father is… being intimate with your mother in this part?”

“Your mother is kind of—” Justine began, but stopped herself mid-sentence.

But Erina didn’t miss the chance to chime in. “Maybe perversion runs in the family.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t just hear that,” I replied, clearly annoyed.

“H-Hey, is it really okay for us to read something so personal about someone who’s already passed away?” Alicia asked, her cheeks flushed.

“If you can’t handle it, just skip those parts…”

“No way!” Erina said. “That man took the time to put his feelings for the woman he loved into writing. It would be disrespectful to ignore it.”

“Even if he didn’t intend for that part to be read.”

But the girls didn’t seem to care. Even Alicia, who had been embarrassed moments ago, kept reading the diary.

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