Chapter 109: Fateful Ties
Chapter 109: Fateful Ties
#
"You made it?"
Bow.
I waited at the café entrance while the kid paused halfway up the stairs and bowed.
They didn't seem willing to climb farther until I moved aside.
"I'll wait inside."
Bow.
The kid truly was extraordinarily cautious.
By now, seeing them allowed me to relax somewhat.
But they continued to maintain a fixed distance.
That was an attitude I should learn from.
"All right... What brings you here?"
Rustle, rustle.
They settled near the entrance and removed something from the backpack.
Someday, if the opportunity arose, I wanted to see everything inside it.
Clack.
"Oh? A camping cookware set? And what's that?"
Clatter, clatter, snap.
"Whoa. That's a great find."
The kid produced several camping pots and a three-legged pot stand.
The collapsible tripod was designed to hold a pot above a fire.
It was almost as though they knew I had been debating whether to light a fire and had brought exactly what I needed.
"You're not actually a ghost, are you?"
"...?"
Even without speaking, they seemed to ask what I meant.
I couldn't see their expression, yet somehow I understood it.
"Are you offering those to me?"
Nod, nod.
"Then what do you want in return?"
The kid gently rubbed their stomach again.
Receiving all that equipment for one meal felt like taking advantage of them.
"For someone with a Doraemon-like backpack, you're always short on food."
Nod, nod.
"Why can you not find food...? Never mind. Let us prepare the meal first."
Bow, bow.
Whose child was this, to be so well-mannered?
They never came empty-handed and always brought something to trade. It was admirable for someone so young.
"There's no need to bow so much. We're bartering. Relax while I prepare everything—but don't expect too much. It's all canned food."
Bow.
"Since you brought exactly what I needed, I'll serve something I've been saving. Ta-da. Look at this. What do you think?"
The kid sprang upright.
I pulled a treasured can of oxtail soup from my duffel bag.
Still wrapped in the black raincoat, the kid spun in circles and silently celebrated.
I possessed only two cans, but their delight made me feel strangely proud.
I caught myself smiling like a father, then came to my senses and began preparing the meal.
First, I broke apart several wooden tables and chairs.
Crack. Crack.
While I stomped them into firewood, the kid produced an axe and helped split kindling.
It was impressive that they refused to remove the raincoat despite the heat.
They had to be suffering, yet their eagerness to help continued to improve my opinion of them.
"I'll cook the rice first. Yesterday's batch was a failure, so I hope this one works."
Expecting a great deal of smoke, I built a temporary hearth beside a warehouse window.
The kid easily started the fire with thin splinters cut from a chair leg.
Then I carefully measured water into the largest camping pot.
I used slightly more water than rice, placed the pot on the tripod, and increased the heat.
"Ugh... Sweat's pouring off me. It's unbearably hot. Are you all right?"
Shake, shake.
Unable to endure it, I retreated to the tables in the main café area.
After shaking their head, the kid approached the hearth and placed several small stones on the lid.
They appeared to have taken the stones from a flowerpot and hurried back from the heat.
"At least take off the raincoat. Watching you makes me feel hotter."
Bow, bow.
The kid bowed repeatedly.
Apparently that meant no. Wearing it looked painful, and watching them was painful too.
The inside of that raincoat had to feel like a sauna.
I considered pressing the issue, then decided they must have their reasons.
"I'm not going to eat you. Sit down and relax."
"..."
"I'll get things ready. In a way... yeah, you're my guest."
Bow.
"And if you came this far inside, you must think I'm safe enough. Please relax. You're already hot enough."
Bow, bow.
As I prepared the food, I coaxed the kid, who remained awkwardly standing in a corner.
Eventually, perhaps unable to think of another response, they sat and waited more comfortably.
Or perhaps my constant pacing and chatter had simply annoyed them into surrender.
In truth, I wanted to speak with them.
I wondered about basic things: their age, their name, and how someone so young had survived.
I also wondered why they had followed me, whether they were unable to speak, and why they refused to remove the raincoat.
But I decided to leave every question for later.
Forcing a conversation merely because I felt frustrated would accomplish nothing.
They didn't appear to harbor ill intentions and, for now, were simply a good trading partner.
'They must have suffered enough already. Let them rest.'
#
"Did you enjoy the meal?"
Bow.
The stones they'd placed on the lid while the rice cooked proved effective.
Unlike the previous day, the rice came out glossy and properly cooked.
Boiling and eating the oxtail soup did make us even hotter.
"Good. Here, take these."
Bow, bow, bow.
I gave the kid two combat rations.
They bent into an exact ninety-degree bow.
"Ha ha. I understand. You can stop now."
Bow.
"Travel safely. Watch out for zombies and... people too."
Bow.
I sent them off with the sort of nagging an older man would give.
The world was brutal, but the kid was clever enough to survive on their own.
While we ate at separate tables, I had considered the situation.
Wuxia novels often warned readers to be wary of the elderly and children.
The lesson wasn't to lower one's guard based solely on appearance.
All kinds of impossible things now happened in the world, and reckless sympathy could be dangerous.
Even so, human emotions weren't so easily controlled.
A tiny child was struggling to survive beneath a backpack larger than their body. Could I not help a little as an adult?
And when I considered the actual value exchanged, I still seemed to be profiting.
'How valuable is food now?'
As the kid repacked their bag to fit the rations, I took out the coffee beans.
After they left, I planned to brew coffee and enjoy an after-meal cigarette.
I searched the café cupboards and found a kettle.
"Damn... You startled me. What's it?"
Flail, flail, flail.
The kid stood directly across the counter, waving both arms.
It was remarkable that someone who had guarded their distance so fiercely had approached this close.
More disturbing was that I hadn't sensed them until they were already there.
"What is it? Did something happen outside?"
I'd assumed they had left, so their sudden presence startled me.
As I wondered what was wrong, the frantically waving kid pointed at the coffee beans in my hand.
"These? Coffee beans."
Nod, nod.
"Yes. I'm going to make coffee."
The kid pointed to themself.
"You want some too? You're this young and already smoke and drink coffee?"
Nod, nod.
"Good grief... I didn't want to sound like an old-fashioned nag, but you truly should quit smoking. No matter how bad the world has become—no, because it's become this bad—you need your stamina. You may feel fine while you're young, but later..."
A smoker lecturing someone else about smoking.
I cast the spell known as Do as I Say, Not as I Do.
Though the kid already appeared to be a smoker.
Why else would they have carried cigarettes?
I'd restrained myself until then, but once I began, the lecture poured out uncontrollably.
The kid repeatedly covered and uncovered their ears with both hands.
They weren't even looking at me.
How rude, when an adult was speaking.
Clack.
"Fine. I'll stop. Have some coffee."
"..."
"Ah, sorry. I thought you couldn't hear me."
I released the wrist I'd grabbed without thinking.
The kid hurriedly backed away.
"Running from me as though I were a bug is a little hurtful..."
Bow, bow.
Still, perhaps because the distance had already closed once, they didn't retreat very far.
I fell silent, filled the kettle, and placed it over the fire.
Coffee was said to have a diuretic effect.
An urgent bodily need while wandering the streets could be extremely inconvenient.
Urinating against a wall was simple enough, though I still had to keep glancing behind me.
'Defecating would leave me dangerously exposed...'
Brewing coffee also consumed precious water.
Considering everything, a single cup was an extraordinary luxury.
I brewed it anyway.
Pssssss.
The gentle aroma of drip coffee spread through the café.
My mood improved before I had even taken a sip.
If it felt this good, perhaps the luxury was worthwhile.
"Here. I don't know how it'll taste. Try it, and if you like it, I'll share the beans."
Bow, bow.
"You must like coffee. I'm going outside for a cigarette."
Tap, tap.
"Hm? What's this? Oh, thank you."
When I approached with the coffee, the kid remained still instead of fleeing.
They took out two square chocolates and gave me one.
I felt like a suspicious adult luring a child with treats.
'After all that caution, do they like coffee more than food?'
After watching the kid accept the cup and return to their chair, I stepped onto the stairs.
Hot wind blew through the open windows.
Was there any way to turn the steaming coffee in my hand into an iced Americano?
The moment I sat, I wanted to lie down.
#
"When are you planning to leave?"
Rustle, rustle.
"I didn't mean you had to leave now. Sit down."
When I returned after smoking, the kid was leisurely drinking their coffee.
I had expected them to gulp it down and prepare to leave.
"It's cooler here, so take your time. You might collapse if you go out now. Rest first."
Bow.
The previous time, they had vanished as soon as our trade ended.
Then again, they probably didn't want to enter the blazing sunlight either.
On the first night, we'd slept uneasily on separate floors. Now we could rest in the same room.
'How moving.'
I felt as though I'd finally coaxed a wary stray cat closer.
I sat at the opposite end of the table and took out the chocolate they had given me.
Gooey.
"It completely melted. Heh heh."
It had originally been a square piece of ABC chocolate.
The heat had rendered its original shape unrecognizable.
Rip, slurp.
Without removing the wrapper, I scraped the chocolate out with my teeth.
It had melted, but the taste was unchanged.
"Sweet..."
The kid seemed to eat theirs the same way.
The packet disappeared beneath the raincoat hood and emerged looking much like mine.
Clatter, clatter.
They must have sensed my stare, because they began to rise.
Realizing my gaze made them uncomfortable, I silently lowered my eyes to the diary.
'Let's see... What kind of person owned this diary?'
As I sat quietly indoors, the sweat covering me gradually cooled.
I was curious about the kid, but I opened the diary and did my best to ignore them.
Once I stopped paying attention, they too seemed to relax.
The sweet, languid afternoon passed that way.