Chapter 24: Fix Those Relationships, Crow!
“Hello! Is the commander here?! I brought that one black-haired dude!”
You don’t have to say it like that...
After I met Tiana, she brought me to the local knights’ division, where I was supposed to meet with their commander.
Captain Blackmore had instructed me to do so. His instructions read, “I’ve arranged for you to speak with the Sirius City division’s commander. Go there once you’ve completed your duty.”
Man, meeting important people like this makes me nervous. What if they’re scary?!
But as I fretted internally, Tiana yelled out, “Commander?! I’m coming in!”
Wh-What?
She didn’t wait for an answer, and just barged right into the commander’s office!
“Wh— Tiana?!” shouted a woman who sat in the back, surprised.
That’s the commander, I guess?
Tiana darted toward the woman, exclaiming, “I knew you were in here, mama! Mamaaa! ♡” and throwing her arms around her, smiling.
Uh... Mama? What?
***
“Sorry you had to see that,” the commander said. “My name’s Fiana von Alithlai. I’m the commander of this division...and the mother of this idiot child.”
“Mamaaa!” Tiana whined.
Commander Fiana had politely greeted me, and Tiana was next to her, holding her head (which her mother had just summarily thwacked) in tears. Quite the contrasting mother and daughter pair.
Hmm. The air around them feels totally different, despite how alike they look.
They could’ve honestly passed for sisters. Fiana looked like a more refined, narrow-eyed version of Tiana, who had a plump figure and bright, round eyes. They had the same peach-colored hair, so it could be hard to tell them apart from a distance.
“Sir Crow, was it?” Fiana began. “Was my idiot child rude to you? I fear I may have coddled her too much. She can be selfish, lazy, inconsiderate, and sometimes act without thinking, like just now.”
Ouch.
“For instance, perhaps she made outrageous assumptions and tried to pick on you, since you’re a rookie?” Fiana suggested, causing Tiana’s shoulders to shudder very conspicuously.
Huh? Why did she shudder? She’s been nothing but nice to me.
I answered honestly. “Please be at ease, Commander Fiana. She’s quite kind.”
“Kind? This kid?” Fiana asked, incredulous.
“Indeed. She reached out to me when I was lost, and kindly led me here.”
I was really grateful. I had a severe case of resting bitch face, after all. Not a lot of people would’ve willingly approached me! All the girls back at my village hadn’t even been able to make eye contact with me.
But Miss Tiana wasn’t like that! She’d not only come close to me, she’d guided me through the streets even though I’d scared her initially!
“She introduced me to an excellent restaurant, a well-stocked general store, and even a gathering spot for cats on the way here. I’m grateful for her kindness.”
“Well, she was probably just killing time wandering around and shirking her patrol duties...”
Well, that just made my dear Tiana sound like a terrible person! That was a little rude, no?! See, Tiana even grunted! That must’ve hurt her feelings!
Anyone who was ever nice to me had my unconditional support! And so I protested!
“Commander Fiana, with all due respect, casting doubt on your daughter’s actions without verifying the truth of the matter seems rather questionable,” I said.
“W-Well, I...”
“I’ve only just met your daughter, and so I don’t know what kind of person she’s been until now. However, to me, she’s been kind and cheerful, and I respect her seniority,” I declared assertively. As her mother, you should respect her for who she is now, rather than who she’s been!
“Huh?!” the commander exclaimed, turning pale.
I must’ve struck a chord with her. After a moment, she looked at her daughter and bowed her head, seemingly realizing her mistake.
“I-I’m sorry, Tiana. I’ve made terrible accusations about you based on the image I’ve had of you until now,” Fiana said. “I had deemed you the failure to end all failures just because of how you’re not only missing several screws but also weak and harbor many complexes, and because of how a few months ago, you told the youngest knight ever, Vita of House Kaambl, that she’d only joined the knights because of ‘nepotism,’ and that you were going to ‘punish’ her, then picked a fight, got beaten up, and started crying in front of someone younger than you despite being the daughter of a military family yourself...”
Trembling, the commander offered her daughter a heartfelt apology, believing that she should first and foremost believe in the possibility that Tiana had changed her ways.
In response, Tiana, twitching for some reason, said, “Y-Yeah! I’m a changed woman! I wasn’t thinking of picking on a newcomer or slacking off, like, at all!”
“That’s wonderful news, Tiana!” the commander replied. “I thought you were beyond salvation! This means you’re going to train diligently from today on, right?! You’ll devote yourself to your studies, and to your etiquette lessons as a noblewoman, right?!”
“Y-Yeah! Totally!” Tiana said, loudly breaking into tears for some reason.
Ah, it must’ve been because her mother finally believed in her! Those were tears of joy!
“Tiana!” Fiana exclaimed, her eyes filling with tears as she put her arms around her daughter.
“Mamaaa!” Tiana said, sobbing as she embraced her mother in turn.
Aww! Watching such a heartwarming scene made me feel all warm and fuzzy!
“Breaking news! Crow, a total noob, improved Commander Fiana’s family relations within one minute of meeting her!”
“He was seen beaming and exclaiming, quote, ‘Aw, Tiana must be so happy!’”