LMHS 07

Chapter 07

“Didn’t you say you had no intention of using my ability? Then why are you being so kind to me?”

“I’m the one who wants to ask. What made you trust me enough to sleep here without suspicion?”

“I lived on the streets for two years. I’m pretty good at telling who’s dangerous and who’s not.”

“Just from that—?!”

“More than anything, I have precognitive abilities.”

When I brought up my ability, the man’s angry expression softened somewhat. Still, with a stern face, he scolded me.

“No matter how good your foresight is, trusting a stranger is dangerous.”

“I was about to starve to death. What does danger matter at that point?”

If I could have, I would’ve sold even my soul.

At my self-mocking remark, the man stared at me with eyes stiffened as if he’d been struck hard in the head.

Trying to change the mood, I forced a smile and asked,

“I think I’ve explained why I stayed here. What about you? Why are you being so nice to me?”

For a moment, the man seemed choked up and couldn’t say anything.

How much time passed? Slowly, he parted his lips.

“You look like my first love.”

“…What?”

“If she’d had a child, I think she would’ve had a face just like yours.”

“Uh… she must have been beautiful.”

“She was.”

A faint, bitter smile lingered at the end of his voice. It must have been an unfulfilled love.

There were orphans everywhere in the back alleys, so I’d sometimes wondered why he’d taken me in of all people.

I never imagined there’d be a story like this behind it.

Was that why he hated it when I called him ‘Dad’? Because I reminded him of his first love?

Feeling strangely down, I was chewing on my food, lost in thought, when—

The man reached out and brushed my messy hair back behind my ear.

“You must’ve been really hungry. You’re even chewing on your hair.”

“Ah….”

At that small gesture, my lingering resentment melted away, leaving only a warm, fluffy feeling behind.

I grinned mischievously and deliberately chewed on my hair again, then leaned my face toward him as if asking for more.

“Hehe, here too.”

✦ ✦ ✦

After breakfast, we headed to the market district to buy necessities.

Sure enough, the man was wrapped in a robe that covered his whole body, his hood pulled low.

He must have figured that hiding his face so thoroughly would actually make him less noticeable.

A life spent being chased every minute, every second—that was the kind of life he lived.

…In this life, I’ll make sure he can live proudly without needing to hide his face.

I casually tried to take his hand, then realized we’d only met yesterday and pulled my hand back.

As if he noticed my hesitation, the man quietly extended his hand instead.

“…There are a lot of people.”

At his kindness, I smiled brightly and took his hand.

Though because of the difference in hand size, all I could really grab were two of his fingers.

“By the way, is it really okay for you to spend this much time on me?”

“There are no requests right now, so it’s fine.”

“Even so, I was worried my situation might mess up your schedule.”

“That’s not something you need to worry about.”

I was just about to say thank you when my gaze stopped on some golden-brown skewered chicken sizzling at a stall.

“Do you want some?”

“Yes. It looks good—three, please.”

“I like that you don’t hold back.”

With a satisfied expression, he handed silver coins to the vendor.

Perhaps he’d been listening to us, because the vendor spoke up as if he’d been waiting.

“Three, right? Haha, for how skinny she is, your daughter sure has a good appetite!”

Gasp.

He really hates being mistaken for my father!

I glanced at Aiden, whose face was slowly stiffening at the word “daughter,” and hurriedly spoke up.

“He’s not my dad.”

“What?”

“Just look at his young, handsome face. He’s obviously a bachelor. How could you think he’s someone’s father?”

“I-is that so?”

“And besides! Other than having eyes, a nose, and a mouth, we don’t look alike at all, so how could you possibly mistake us for father and daughter?”

“I-I see. Sorry for the misunderstanding.”

Snorting triumphantly, I looked at Aiden with an expression that said, Did I do well?

“Th-thanks… I guess.”

For some reason, he looked a little uncomfortable.

Thinking he must be relieved after my perfect handling of the situation, I proudly took the skewers and left the stall.

We were walking around the market together, my hands full of skewers, when—

“Tania?”

Surprised that someone knew me here, I turned around to see a familiar man.

“Oh? Guild master?”

Both the guild master and Aiden looked at me with expressions that clearly said, Who is this person?

Catching on, I laughed awkwardly and introduced them.

“Sir, this is the person who helped me get to the capital. Guild master, this is the person I’m currently staying with.”

Aiden seemed to more or less understand, but the guild master’s expression darkened.

“Tania, didn’t you say you were going to the Ability Users’ Orphanage?”

“He said it was okay for me to stay at his place for a bit, so I postponed it.”

“What?”

The guild master stared at me seriously, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Tania, come here.”

He pulled me behind his back.

“I thought you were a smart child, but that was extremely dangerous. What made you trust a stranger enough to stay at his house?”

“That’s exactly what I was saying.”

Instead of looking offended, Aiden rubbed his temple as if he agreed.

“I was worried about how to persuade her, but she immediately thanked me, and I can’t tell you how anxious that made me.”

Excuse me? Aren’t you supposed to be on my side?

The guild master, flustered by Aiden’s reaction, hesitated for a moment, then spoke firmly, as if making an announcement.

“Thank you for taking care of the child so far. From now on, I’ll take her to the guild and assume responsibility.”

At the words “take her,” Aiden’s gaze instantly sharpened like that of a beast.

“That won’t be possible. It’s true you helped Tania for a while, but that doesn’t mean I can trust you completely.”

With a displeased look, the guild master questioned him like an interrogation.

“I could say the same. Are you a safe person? What is your profession, if I may ask?”

“…A mercenary.”

“And do you have children of your own?”

“…I’m unmarried.”

“Then you expect me to entrust a young girl to an unmarried man who’s a mercenary and leaves home for long periods on assignments?”

“That’s…”

Sensing that things were taking a bad turn, I stepped in between them.

“Um, you two? When two scary-looking men argue over who gets to take a little girl, people start getting the wrong idea.”

Only then did they begin to notice the stares around us.

Perhaps because we were in a crowded market, an awful lot of attention was focused on us.

“Ahem!”

“…Let’s talk somewhere quiet.”

“Agreed. Come to our guild.”

The guild master immediately led us to the guild he ran.

It seemed to be doing fairly well—the building was quite large and clean.

When we opened the door, a little bell chimed, and the voices of staff members rang out.

“You said you had errands, but you came back early, Guild Master.”

“Oh? Isn’t that little one Tania?”

People I’d met on the way to the capital recognized me and greeted me.

While I cheerfully waved back, the guild master brushed them off and spoke.

“I need to talk with a guest for a moment. Don’t slack off—get back to work.”

Then he led Aiden up the stairs, gesturing to someone.

“Ron, stay with the guest in my place. He’s an important guest, so be polite.”

He must have been the guild master’s son he’d mentioned before.

Ron had blond hair and blue eyes, with the refined looks of a noble.

Not sure if it’s something you should say about a kid, but he looked like the kind who’d break a lot of hearts when he grew up—a flirtatious pretty-boy type.

He looked about ten or twelve years old.

Well, no matter his age, I wasn’t planning on using honorifics anyway.

I watched the guild master and Aiden disappear to the second floor, then greeted Ron, who was sprawled on a guest sofa.

“Hi.”

What I got in return was a thoroughly annoyed expression—and matching rude words.

“If you’re here to suck my father’s blood like a parasite, don’t act friendly with me. Get lost.”

Haha. Interesting.

Thinking that the guild master’s child-rearing had met an early crop failure, I plopped myself right down onto the sofa Ron was lying on.

Yes.

That means I sat on top of him.