Blankon Announcement

506 Exchange, Grandmother and Granddaughter.

"Pfft."

A laugh, as if melting the frozen air, escaped from somewhere. It came from behind the mohawk man.

"Did you hear that!? She said your head looks weird!"

"Bwahaha! She's not wrong!"

"Kids are so honest!"

"You bastards...!"

The mohawk man's comrades were laughing so hard they were clutching their stomachs. The adventurers and staff in the guild were also covering their mouths, trying to hold back their laughter.

The mohawk-headed adventurer stomped forward to stand in front of Linne, pointing at his own head.

"Hey, little girl! This is what you call a hairstyle full of spirit! It's not weird!"

"It looks like a chicken."

"Ch-chicken...!?"

Linne's follow-up comment made the comrades behind him burst into even louder laughter. Some were even rolling on the floor, laughing uncontrollably. The adventurers and staff in the guild were no longer holding back their laughter.

"Hey, Linne. You shouldn't say rude things like that."

"...Okay. I'm sorry."

Frey scolded Linne. Though she seemed spoiled, Linne was obedient to her older sister and apologized immediately.

Asia stepped forward in front of the mohawk man and gave a small bow.

"I apologize for my sister's rude behavior."

"O-oh... It's fine. I shouldn't have yelled either."

Perhaps disarmed by the graceful bow, the mohawk man also bowed his head awkwardly.

Among the girls, Asia and Kuhn were a cut above the rest when it came to manners and social etiquette. They could handle dances and other social events with ease, behaving like ideal princesses.

Well, Kuhn aside, Asia had a reason for wanting to attend social events—it meant she could spend more time with her father.

As the mohawk man awkwardly bowed to Asia, the receptionist, who had finally managed to calm her laughter, spoke up.

"Honestly, Tiles, don't pick on kids. Your face is scary enough as it is."

"My face isn't scary! It's normal!"

Tiles, the mohawk man, shouted back at the receptionist, but his comrades behind him were shaking their heads, waving their hands in front of their faces.

"It's scary."

"Women run away when they first see you."

"Your face is a weapon."

"What did you say, you bastards!?"

The group started bickering among themselves, though they were all equally rough-looking.

"These girls aren't scared of me, are they!? See, my face isn't scary!"

"Yeah, it's not scary."

"See! I told you! You guys should learn from the pure eyes of children!"

Tiles proudly declared to his comrades, taking Linne's words as vindication. Never mind that the same child had just called his head weird and compared it to a chicken.

"What's all this noise?"

As Tiles and his comrades were making a racket, a figure descended the stairs, leading Misha. She was an elf woman with long blonde hair and long ears, appearing to be in her twenties.

"Ah, it's the Guild Master."

"Oh? You know me?"

Frey covered her mouth, realizing her mistake. The woman who had appeared was Lelisha Millian, the Guild Master of Brunhild.

In the future where Frey and the others came from, Lelisha was also the Guild Master of Brunhild. As an elf, her appearance hadn't changed at all. In the future, all the children will be under her care.

"So, these children brought the Bloody Goat?"

"Y-yes! Huh!? It's gone!?"

Misha panicked when she noticed the Bloody Goat that had been on the counter was missing.

"Ah, I collected it because it was going to stain the counter with blood."

"...Can you use storage magic?"

"I can."

Lelisha's eyes widened for a moment, but after seeing the divine beasts accompanying the children, she seemed to grasp who they were.

"I'll guide you to the dismantling area. This way."

Lelisha led the children to a room deep within the guild where monsters brought in by adventurers were dismantled.

The dismantling room had large knives, special saws, and heavy-duty pliers lining the walls. In the center was a large worktable, stained with blood in several places.

Despite the thousands, if not tens of thousands, of monsters that had been dismantled here, there was no foul smell. Likely, purification magic or magical tools were being used.

"Can you place it here?"

Following Lelisha's instructions, Frey took the Bloody Goat out of her [Storage] and placed it on the worktable with a thud.

The dismantlers in the room all stared in shock. They were used to monsters being brought in via storage magic—after all, in this country, the royal family, the queens, the king's sisters and cousins, and even a recently promoted gold-rank adventurer with a scarf could use it. Normally, users of storage magic were rare, but in this country, they were relatively common.

What shocked the dismantlers was that such young children had brought in such a high-rank monster.

Lelisha examined the Bloody Goat on the table, then turned to Kohaku and the others, who were accompanying the children like guards.

"Kohaku-sama. Are these children relatives of His Majesty?"

"Yes. Ah... well, you can think of them that way. Their identities are guaranteed under our master's name."

"I see."

Kohaku and the others were known throughout Brunhild as the king's summoned beasts, capable of speech. With Kohaku's guarantee, the matter was settled.

The dismantlers also seemed to understand, nodding as if to say, "Ah, that explains it."

"Um, can you buy it from us?"

Feeling the awkward atmosphere, Frey timidly asked Lelisha.

"We can purchase it, no problem. But does His Majesty know about this?"

"Uh..."

Frey hesitated at Lelisha's question. It wasn't like they were doing anything wrong, but she still felt a bit guilty.

The children weren't supposed to exist in this time period. They had been warned by Tokie and their father, Touya, not to draw too much attention.

"Let me confirm with him if that's alright."

"Sure..."

Frey nodded resignedly as Lelisha took out her smartphone. She was likely calling their father. Leaving Lelisha to her call, the children huddled together to whisper among themselves.

"Father found out."

"Do you think he'll tell us to deposit the money in the guild?"

"W-we don't have guild cards, so we can't deposit money anyway."

Unlike in the future, in this time period, they weren't adventurers. As such, they couldn't deposit money in the guild—though their parents could "hold onto it" for them.

Their father was lenient with them, so it was likely their mother who would bring it up.

Lelisha finished her call and turned back to the children with a smile.

"His Majesty has given his permission. We will purchase this from you."

Frey inwardly sighed in relief at the Guild Master's businesslike smile. But Kohaku, standing behind her, whispered to Frey, dashing her hopes.

'A message from our master. He says not to waste the money. And to report what you buy later.'

"Ugh..."

"Sigh..."

Frey and Kuhn, who had been planning to splurge, slumped in disappointment. The other children weren't as upset, content with having some spending money.

Asia's plan to buy high-quality ingredients wasn't considered wasteful, as they could be preserved with space-time magic, so their parents were lenient about that.

However, Frey's weapon collection was purely a hobby, and Kuhn's development expenses were hit-or-miss. If his experiments failed, it would be a complete waste.

Given that, the two of them were likely to be scolded for "wasting money."

Frey let out a big sigh.

"Father might let it slide, but Mother will definitely say no... This ruins my plans..."

"It's fine. You'll get back more than what we spent at the café, right?"

"Yeah, but..."

As Alice pointed out, they would get more money than what they had spent at the café, but that was beside the point.

"Do you have anything else?"

"Ah, yeah. There's more."

Though her enthusiasm had waned, Frey took out more from her [Storage] at Lelisha's prompting. She even pulled out the less valuable items, like torn pelts and broken fangs, figuring they might as well sell everything.

"Is this... a Nidhogg's tail!? Where's the main body?"

"Ah... It's frozen and shattered. It's here, but..."

Frey piled up the frozen meat fragments next to the work table. They were completely unrecognizable.

The dismantlers picked up the frozen chunks, staring in disbelief.

"This is just..."

"The hide is ruined. The bones are useless too. We can only process the meat."

"What a waste... If it weren't shattered, we could've made so many leather armors..."

Linne, who had been the one to shatter the monster, listened guiltily. Good materials made good weapons and armor, which in turn protected adventurers' lives.

Only now did Linne realize the consequences of her actions.

"I'll be more careful next time..."

"Don't worry about it."

Alice patted Linne's shoulder, vowing to be more careful herself.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Ah, Father!"

The children emerged from the adventurer's guild. Elna was the first to spot me, and the others quickly turned to look.

"Why are you here, Father? Weren't you at the party?"

"I was worried, so I left early. It looks like you managed to exchange the items."

"They said it was a waste, though."

"Ugh..."

At Kuhn's words, Linne groaned. Ah, the ones that couldn't be used as materials. Well, any decent guild employee would have something to say about that.

"So? What do you plan to buy with that money?"

"Yes! The magic cutlass used by Pirate Jolly is in Regulus's imperial capital right now—"

"Denied. Weapons and armor are off-limits, as per Hilda's orders."

"I knew it!"

Frey groaned, clutching her head. Sorry, kid. But weren't you planning to get weapons in this time period that you couldn't in the future?

"Um, what about my development funds...?"

Kuhn timidly raised her hand. Now it's your turn? I relayed what Leen had told me.

"She said to explain what you're planning to make first. As long as it's not something too strange, she'll allow it."

Kuhn sighed in relief. Unlike Hilda, Leen was more lenient about these things.

"Father, I want to buy lots of sweets."

"Sweets?"

I was a bit surprised by Yoshino's words. It sounded more like something Frey or Alice would say.

But sweets? I thought we had desserts after meals and snacks at three in the castle. Didn't you eat at "Parent" today? Do you want something different?

"I want to bring them to Grandmother's school. To share with everyone. I want to see Grandmother too."

"Ah, I see..."

Yoshino's "Grandmother" wasn't Tokie, the Space-Time Goddess, but Fiana, Sakura's mother.

Among the children, only Yoshino had a grandmother in the same country. Frey's grandmother was in the Restia Knight Kingdom, Asia's in Regulus, and Kuhn, Linne, and Elna's grandmothers were no longer alive.

"Grandmother Fiana was the principal in the future too. We all studied under her. We owe her a lot... We'd like to see her if possible."

"I see. Hmm..."

At Kuhn's words, I pondered. Currently, the children were using an artifact that changed their appearance, making them look like different people to others.

This was to prevent chaos in the castle, as they looked too much like their mothers. But it wasn't like their arrival from the future was a secret—we'd already told Dr. Babylon and Engineer Elka.

If we explained it as a result of space-time magic, leaving out the god-related parts, it should be fine... right?

Fiana was family, my mother-in-law, so it should be okay to tell her about Yoshino. But would she believe us...?

"Wait a sec. Let me ask Sakura."

Better to ask the child about the parent.

I called Sakura on my smartphone and explained the situation. Before I knew it, she was standing in front of me. Did she [Teleport] here? Not that I should talk, but is it okay to leave the party?

"It's fine. Almost everyone's passed out drunk. It's practically over."

"Ah, I see..."

It seemed that Suika had started a drinking contest, and the circus members had been knocked out one by one. Good thing we didn't bring the kids.

"So about Fiana..."

She's Yoshino's grandmother. I want them to meet, but will she believe us? If she were like Dr. Babylon, well-versed in magic and magitech, she might understand.

"Mother is from the magic kingdom of Felzen. She understands space-time magic to some extent, so it should be fine. The problem is the other side."

"The other side? ...Ah."

Ah... the Demon King, huh...

Right, Yoshino is his granddaughter too... He'll make a big fuss when he finds out later. Should we let them meet...?

"Yoshino, what do you think of Grandpa Xenoss?"

"Grandpa? He's kind. He often buys me sweets. Though he gets a bit too excited around me and Mother."

It seems he hasn't been deemed annoying by his granddaughter yet. But in the future, he's still a doting father, and now a doting grandfather too.

"We can deal with the Demon King later. I want Mother to meet this child."

Sakura cut straight to the point, dismissing her father. Well, I guess we can deal with him later. No need to go out of our way to call Xenoss over.

"Alright, let's go see Fiana."

"What about the sweets?"

"School's out today, so the kids aren't there. We'll do that another time."

"Okay."

I gathered the children and [Teleported] everyone to Fiana's house near the school.

Fiana's house had a spacious garden and was a comfortable single-family home. When we [Teleported] into the garden, Nyantaro, who was skillfully sweeping the garden with a broom, noticed us and called out.

"Meow? Your Majesty and Princess? Do you need something from Mother?"

Nyantaro was Sakura's summoned beast, but he was practically Fiana's attendant.

As the leader of Brunhild's cats, he was also one of the heads of our intelligence agency. But seeing him sweeping the garden with an apron on made me wonder what was going on.

"Is Mother here?"

"Mother went shopping with Athos and the others. She should be back soon... Ah, here she comes."

From beyond the garden fence, Fiana appeared, accompanied by Athos, Aramis, and Porthos of the Cait Sìth. The three cats were skillfully carrying shopping bags. These three also lived here, didn't they? Fiana looked like a cat master.

"Well, well, Your Majesty. And Falne too. Who are these children? Prospective students?"

"Grandmother!"

"Huh?"

Yoshino dashed forward and hugged Fiana. Fiana, caught off guard, blinked in confusion.

"G-grandmother!? Do I really look that old!?"

Huh? She's more shocked about being called "Grandmother" than being hugged.

Fiana had white hair, but she was only in her early thirties. Even in this world where people married young, being called "Grandmother" by a child of this age would be startling.

If anything, Fiana looked younger than her age.

"Um, what's going on...?"

"Ah... It's a long story..."

Fiana looked at me with a puzzled expression, and I hesitated, unsure how to explain.

"This is Yoshino. Mine and His Majesty's daughter. Your granddaughter."

"Huh? What!?"

Whoa! Before I could say anything, Sakura had dropped the bombshell on Fiana.

"Uh, is she... adopted?"

That's one way to interpret it. I mean, it's normal to think that... Sakura's too young to have a child this big.

"No. She's my real daughter. Yoshino, can you show your horn?"

"Sure. Here."

A small silver horn sprouted from Yoshino's forehead, just above her ears. It was the Demon King's horn, a symbol of the Demon King's lineage. While it proved she was of the Demon King's bloodline, it didn't prove she was Fiana's granddaughter.

"Actually, Yoshino, take off your badge."

"Ah. Right."

At Kuhn's reminder, I realized something important. The children were wearing badges enchanted with [Mirage], which changed their appearance. The effect didn't work on us, so Yoshino looked like Sakura, making it obvious they were related. But to Fiana, Yoshino looked like a complete stranger.

Yoshino removed her badge. Fiana stared in shock at Yoshino's changed appearance, then looked back and forth between Sakura and Yoshino.

"Huh? What? What!?"

Now, where to begin explaining...

---

Side Note:

My other work, "VRMMO with a Bunny Muffler," is being published as a book.

The offer for publication had been on the table for a while, but due to the anime adaptation of "In Another World With My Smartphone" and my health issues, the timing wasn't right until now.

The publisher is the same as "In Another World With My Smartphone"—HJ Novels. The illustrator is Hamashin.

It's scheduled for release this December, less than two months from now. It will be released simultaneously with Volume 19 of "In Another World With My Smartphone."

Additionally, a manga adaptation has been decided, to be published by Square Enix.

Please continue to support "VRMMO with a Bunny Muffler," or "Usamafu" for short.