The time was just past midnight.
The tavern closed at 10 PM on four out of seven days. On two days it stayed open until midnight, and one day was our regular holiday. We opened every day at 11 AM.
When I first came to 『Suzuya』 after reincarnating (or rather, after returning from the war in Raide's memories), I was genuinely shocked.
Nimi had been keeping the tavern open until midnight every single day for seven days a week.
She was desperately trying to protect the 『Suzuya』 that my father had left behind. She never showed any fatigue in front of others and always served customers with a gentle smile, working hard with quiet determination.
Thanks to inheriting Raide's memories, I could immediately tell how exhausted she really was.
Of course, it took many long conversations with Nimi before we settled on the current schedule. The inn operates year-round without holidays, but at least the tavern gets one day off.
It was now "20 days" since I had started my "tough love" routine.
I lightly tidied up my room, warmed it with a simple heating magic tool, and headed toward Nimi's bedroom.
This was my so-called harsh treatment… though it might also be my own desire.
I knocked softly on the door. Nimi opened it with a troubled, embarrassed smile.
She had already undone her usual triple braid, letting her beautiful long hair flow freely. She was wearing a loose, thin dark-brown one-piece dress.
Because of our height difference, my gaze naturally drifted toward her chest, but I quickly lifted it to her face so she wouldn't feel uncomfortable.
"It's time for bed, so I came to get you."
"Raide-san… I'm really fine now…"
"Hmm, unfortunately I can't trust that… which means I'm taking you with me."
"Kyaa… Geez!"
I princess-carried the flustered Nimi and used my elbow to turn off the light in her room.
Her cheeks flushed a faint pink.
Both of her hands were placed modestly over her chest in a prayer-like position, causing her large breasts to sink softly around her arms.
Yep… they really are marshmallows.
As I carried her toward my room, I spoke to the quiet Nimi in my arms.
"Nimi-san, are you eating properly? You feel a little lighter than before."
"I am eating. If I don't, I'll make Raide-san worry…"
"You're still making me worry right now. I've been worried ever since that night '20 days ago'."
"…I'm sorry…"
"So I'm not letting you go until you stop doing stupid things like that. Prepare yourself."
I tightened my arms slightly, pulling her closer against me.
Nimi shyly turned her face away from mine.
"I'm… your mother, even if only by marriage, you know?"
"Thanks to you raising me so well, I can carry you like this now."
"…Since when…?"
I opened the door to my room with my elbow and closed it with my foot (a bit rude, but necessary).
I gently laid her down on the bed with a soft poof, then prepared some warm tea for both of us.
Warm tea has a relaxing effect, after all. Black tea would be nice too… but it's expensive.
I sat on the edge of the bed and handed a cup to Nimi, who was looking down slightly. She accepted it with both hands and held it near her lap.
"…Since when have you started seeing me as a woman?"
"That day. The night '20 days ago'. I saw it in your expression… and at that moment, I made up my mind."
"…"
It was the first time she had asked this question in these twenty days.
I placed my tea on the nearby table, knelt on one knee, and looked up at Nimi from below. Because she was sitting, I only had to look up a little.
"Rather than let some other man have you, I'd rather be the one to hold you. I even prepared myself to be scolded by Dad after I die. And just to clarify — I see you as both a woman and my stepmother… about half and half."
"…You say 'hold me,' but you haven't done anything like that in these 20 days."
"I don't want just that kind of thing. I love you as my stepmother and as a woman. When the time comes… I want you to give me a signal. First, though, we need to heal your exhausted heart."
"…"
"Alright, it's getting late. Let's sleep."
I climbed into bed from the opposite side of where Nimi was sitting and lay down.
I stretched my left arm out as a pillow and beckoned her over with my right hand.
"Come here, Nimi-san."
"…I don't know when I'll be able to give you that signal, you know?"
She settled beside me, curling up lightly against my body.
As she did, her two large, soft marshmallows pressed gently against my side.
With her head resting on my left arm, Nimi whispered without showing her face.
I pulled the blanket over both of us with my right hand and smiled with a slightly troubled expression.
"Yeah… that's true. When the time comes, I might do that kind of thing — as long as you don't hate it. If you ask whether I want to… of course I do."
"…Good night, Raide-san."
"Good night, Nimi-san."
I bent my left elbow, gently pulling her shoulder closer to me.
The familiar family scent I had known since childhood, mixed with Nimi's gentle fragrance.
Thanks to that sense of security, I quickly drifted off.
"Such a terrible person…"
I lightly clutched the front of Raide's shirt as his breathing grew steady with sleep.
The woman who gave birth to Raide had lost her life in exchange for his.
When Raide was ten, my husband died in an accident.
After seeing how he looked back then, I couldn't abandon him.
I took over the management of the 『Suzuya』 my husband left behind and raised him.
I wanted him to grow up kind and strong, with a heart that wouldn't break — to live straight and full of energy.
Whenever I saw his smile, all my fatigue would vanish.
When the war started, he too was sent off as an adventurer to help fill the army's numbers.
For a whole year, letters would arrive, but I spent many sleepless nights.
Still, he came back to me healthy and alive.
I couldn't bear to lose any more family.
After the war, something must have happened to him. He came back and immediately started reforming 『Suzuya』.
He introduced regular holidays, renovated the kitchen, and brought in new magic tools.
Before long, the rowdy adventurers started calling him "Instructor" and began referring to me as the landlady.
Everything was going well… until the son of the Dwarf Chamber of Commerce set his eyes on me.
Rising purchase prices, nasty rumors.
He told me he would solve it right away, but I…
Raide must have sensed it from my expression. He didn't get angry or sad.
With his usual calm, gentle smile…
He simply said he wanted me.
He started sleeping beside me because he thought my heart was tired and I might think bad thoughts when alone.
"If you're going to be alone, then let's be together," he said.
But he also told me he wanted that kind of relationship with me.
It's true we're not related by blood, but I raised him like a son.
I thought I had always treated him that way.
Yet over these past 20 days, I've found myself feeling safe in his warmth.
And… I've started to see him as a man.
"Really… such a terrible person."
Despite my words, a sense of relief washed over me, and I closed my eyes as well.
Probably… no, I had a feeling I would give him that signal soon.