“Unc, you said you weren’t interested in using my ability—so why are you being so nice to me?”
“Shouldn’t I be the one asking that? What made you so sure it was safe to sleep here without a worry?”
“I’ve been living on the streets for two years. I’m pretty good at telling if someone means me harm.”
“That’s all it takes for you to trust someone…!”
“Besides, I’ve got foresight. Remember?”
The second I brought up my ability, Unc’s angry expression eased up a little. Still, he scolded me with a stern look.
“Even if you have foresight, it’s dangerous to trust strangers.”
“I was about to starve to death. Who cares about danger at that point?”
Honestly, if someone had offered, I might’ve sold my soul right then.
At my bitter words, Unc stared at me with this rigid, shocked look, like someone had smacked him upside the head.
Trying to lighten the mood, I curved my lips into a playful smile.
“So that’s why I stuck around. What about you, Unc? Why are you being so nice to me?”
For a moment, Unc looked like his throat had closed up—no words would come out.
I waited. Finally, he spoke, slowly, like it hurt.
“You look like my first love.”
“…Huh?”
“If she’d ever had a kid, that kid would’ve looked exactly like you.”
“Oh… she must’ve been really pretty then.”
“She was.”
When Unc let out a small laugh, there was something bitter at the edges of it. I guess it had been a love that never worked out.
There were tons of orphans in the slums. I’d always kind of wondered why he’d bothered taking me in.
I hadn’t expected there to be a story like this behind it.
Was that why Unc hated it so much whenever I called him Dad? Because it reminded him of that first love he’d never been able to have?
Feeling oddly glum, I pushed my food around and drifted into thought.
Then Unc reached out and gently tucked my messy hair behind my ear.
“You must’ve been starving. You’re even chewing on your own hair.”
“Ah…”
That tiny act made all the hurt feelings melt away, replaced by this warm, fuzzy sensation.
With a teasing grin, I deliberately bit down on my hair again, then leaned in close so he’d do it once more.
“Hehe, this side too.”
✦ ✦ ✦
After we finished breakfast, Unc and I headed over to the shopping district to pick up some things we needed.
And of course, Unc had thrown on a robe that covered him head to toe, hood pulled way down over his face. Honestly, covering up like that was probably even more suspicious, but it was clearly his best option.
A life where every minute of every day felt like someone might be coming after you—Unc was living exactly that kind of life.
…This time around, I was going to make sure Unc could live without ever having to hide his face again.
I almost reached out to take Unc’s hand, then stopped, remembering we’d only known each other for a single day. But Unc must’ve noticed my hesitation, because he quietly offered me his hand.
“…There are a lot of people around.”
His unexpected kindness made me break into a bright grin as I slipped my hand into his. His hand was so much bigger than mine that I could barely hold onto two of his fingers.
“By the way, is it really okay for you to be spending all this time on me?”
“There aren’t any jobs lined up right now. It’s fine.”
“Still, I was worried I might be messing up your schedule even if it’s not a formal request.”
“That’s none of your concern.”
I was about to say thank you anyway, but then my eyes caught on a vendor stall grilling up golden brown skewers of chicken.
“You want some?”
“Yeah. They look tasty. Three, please.”
“I like how you don’t hold back.”
Looking pleased, Unc handed over a silver coin to the skewer vendor.
Apparently the vendor had been listening in, because he immediately jumped in with a laugh.
“Three skewers, got it! Haha, your daughter sure eats well for how skinny she is.”
Ah.
Unc hated it when people assumed we were father and daughter.
I shot a glance over at Unc, whose face was slowly hardening at the word ‘daughter,’ and quickly blurted out,
“He’s not my dad.”
“What?”
“Look at this young, handsome face! He’s obviously still a bachelor—how could you mistake him for a kid’s dad?”
“Oh, uh, I see…?”
“And come on! The only thing he and I have in common is that we both have eyes, noses, and mouths. How could you possibly think we’re related?”
“Ah… I see. Sorry for the misunderstanding.”
Snorting a little, I gave Unc a proud look that said ‘see how well I handled that?’
“…Thanks.”
He still seemed just a tiny bit sour about it.
I figured the annoyance must’ve melted away thanks to my perfect save, so I was in high spirits as I grabbed the skewers and walked off the stall with Unc.
We were wandering around the shops, both hands full of skewers, when—
“Tania?”
Hearing someone call my name in this timeline was such a surprise that I spun around, only to see a familiar man standing there.
“Oh, Merchant Guild Master?”
Both Unc and the Merchant Guild Master were staring at me with matching looks that basically said, ‘Who is this guy?’
I gave them both an awkward laugh and quickly introduced them.
“Unc, this is the person who helped me get to the capital. Merchant Guild Master, this is the person I’m staying with now.”
My explanation seemed to clear up Unc’s confusion, but the Merchant Guild Master’s expression actually got worse.
“Tania, didn’t you say you were planning to enroll in the Elite Ability Training Academy?”
“Unc said it was okay if I stayed at his place for a bit, so I decided to put it off.”
“What?”
The Merchant Guild Master looked dead serious as he stared down at me.
“Tania, come here.”
He pulled me behind him and shielded me with his back.
“I thought you were a smart kid, but this was incredibly reckless. How could you just stay at a stranger’s house?”
“Tell me about it.”
I’d expected Unc to get annoyed by that comment, but instead he just rubbed his temple like he agreed.
“You have no idea how tense I was when she thanked me so readily. I’d been trying to figure out how the hell I was going to persuade her.”
Excuse me, Unc? Aren’t you supposed to be on my side here?
The Merchant Guild Master also seemed thrown by Unc’s reaction, but he quickly recovered and told us in a firm voice,
“Thank you for taking care of her up to this point. I’ll take Tania back with me to the Merchant Guild now. I’ll take responsibility for her.”
The second he said he was going to take me, Unc’s eyes turned cold and sharp, like a wild beast.
“That’s not going to happen. It’s true you helped Tania get here, but that doesn’t mean I can trust you completely.”
The Merchant Guild Master’s face twisted in irritation as he shot back with a questioning glare.
“Frankly, I’d like to know if you’re safe. What exactly do you do for a living?”
“…I’m a mercenary.”
“And do you happen to have any children of your own?”
“…I’m unmarried.”
“So let me get this straight. You want me to leave this young girl in the care of an unmarried man who’s constantly off on long mercenary jobs?”
“That’s…”
Seeing the way this was going, I hurried to step in between them.
“Hey, you guys? Two scary-looking men arguing over who gets to take a kid away doesn’t exactly look great to everyone else, you know.”
Finally, they both seemed to notice the crowd. The shopping district was packed, so we were definitely drawing attention.
“Ahem!”
“…Let’s go somewhere quiet and talk.”
“Fine. We can use the Merchant Guild.”
The Merchant Guild Master immediately led us back to the business he ran.
It seemed to be doing pretty well, since the building was pretty large and spotless.
As soon as we walked in, the little bell above the door rang and the employees started talking.
“You’re back early, Master. Didn’t you say you had business?”
“Oh, isn’t that Tania with you?”
They were people I’d gotten to know on the road to the capital. I gave a little wave as they recognized me, but the Merchant Guild Master ignored them and got right to it.
“I’m going to have a private talk with this guest. You all stay focused on work.”
Then he gestured to someone while leading Unc up the stairs.
“Ron, keep an eye on the guest for me, will you? Be polite. That’s a very important guest.”
Ron must’ve been the son he’d mentioned before.
He had golden hair, blue eyes, and a princely face. Honestly, it felt weird to say this about a kid, but he looked like the kind of pretty boy who’d break a lot of hearts when he got older.
Probably around ten or twelve?
Not that it mattered—I had no plans to speak to him with any kind of respect no matter how old he was.
Watching the Merchant Guild Master and Unc disappear up to the second floor, I turned to greet Ron, who was sprawled out all over one of the guest sofas.
“Hey.”
What I got in return was a look of utter annoyance and a voice to match.
“If you’re here to leech off my dad like some parasite, don’t try to get all buddy-buddy with me. Get lost.”
Ha. Interesting.
I figured the Merchant Guild Master’s kid must’ve hit his emotional crop failure early.
So I just plopped myself right down on the sofa—right on top of Ron.
Yup, I literally sat on him.
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