Guardian Observation Day

"Papa~!"

"Aww, there's my baby! Has my little Titocoga been doing well?"

"Uh-huh! I made lots of friends, too!"

A middle-aged man scooped Titocoga up by the waist, hoisting her high into the air and spinning her around while she giggled with pure delight.

Hmph. Must be nice.

Listening to their heartwarming laughter, I sat blankly in my seat at the visitation desk.

Gift Academy was packed with high-security facilities, hazard zones, and restricted areas, which meant visitation was confined strictly to designated grounds. If someone wanted to see a student, they had to come directly to the Visitation Building.

Guardian Observation Day took place once a month.

You met up for a long-overdue reunion, had your guardian sit in on a lecture so they could feel reassured by the curriculum, shared a nutritious cafeteria lunch together, and then said your goodbyes.

That was Guardian Observation as I remembered it—the basic outline of the mini-event that triggered after the Random Papa Event.

The moment I realized what day it was, the event notification flashed in my mind alongside a dull headache. My stamina felt completely drained, probably because I had spent all night running wild with that mesugaki princess.

It's all because my codex collection rate is lacking!

If my Health stat pierced through the roof of the chart, pulling an all-nighter fooling around wouldn't leave me feeling this exhausted. When Jona arrives, I'll definitely have to ask him to buy me a bunch of rare, delicious delicacies that are impossible to find outside.

So these NPCs actually have real parents.

I had imagined they were just lines of data without actual parent assets, only receiving the occasional scripted letter, but looking around at the packed hall proved otherwise. Naturally, my own curiosity began to sprout.

My Papa couldn't just be an ink signature on parchment either; he had to exist somewhere out in this world.

So, what was his true identity?

There were countless evil organizations targeting the academy, but their names shuffled every cycle, and entirely new syndicates were frequently generated. I couldn't get a read on this particular faction at all.

A Papa belonging to the Weihimhai Foundation...

Could he be a hitman?

Like a high-ranking professional assassin!

Evil-aligned Papas were a bit of a headache during school breaks, though. When you visited them during the Home Return Event, you were often roped into helping with household chores—and if your Papa was a bad guy, the chores were naturally criminal dirty work. Still, personally, I found the prospect quite appealing.

A contract killer's targets were almost certainly high-ranking imperial officials, named knights, or corrupt aristocrats. In other words, powerful foes who indulged in fine dining and possessed immense codex value. To take down marks like that, an assassin would have to know all sorts of efficient methods for codex grinding, skill masteries, and stat optimization. Even if I already knew most of it, being taught their secret techniques or getting help with my collection would make him the ultimate dream Papa for any veteran gamer.

On the flip side, what if a genuinely nice Papa shows up instead?

If someone wholesome like Titocoga's father—who was currently giving her a piggyback ride—showed up, I might actually be deeply disappointed. Good people were usually weak, which meant they wouldn't be any help for stat grinding!

I had all these perfectly rational excuses lined up, but...

At this point, I didn't care which one it was.

I just wanted someone to show up.

"Bye, Orknodi! I'm gonna go play with Papa first!"

"Yeah. Have fun, Titocoga!"

Titocoga, who had come in to meet her guardian around the same time as me, had long since skipped out to play. Good Papa or bad Papa, butler Jona or maid Leaf—it didn't matter who, I just wished someone would walk through that door. The legs that had been swinging cheerfully in front of the window were now folded neatly together against the chair rungs, and the sheer fatigue in my neck showed every time I whipped my head around at the sound of the door opening.

Could it be... Was it really possible that nobody was coming?

Right, Jona made a promise. He said we would meet again.

There was no way he would break a promise. Butlers were working professionals, weren't they? We had a formal employment contract! Well, technically Papa was the one paying his wages, and Jona was just assigned to look after me, but still—if he was my caretaker, he had to listen to me.

I told him I would wait.

So he had to come.

My fingers closed tightly around the butler-summoning whistle hidden securely behind the necklace Papa had enclosed in his letter.

"*Haaah.* She's so pitiful I can't even bear to watch."

"That little squirt... Usually she's so tough and full of spunk, but seeing her wilt like that breaks my heart. Shouldn't we just drag her out and play together right now?"

"Leave her be," Giselle advised in a measured tone. "Orknodi wouldn't want that. As the saying goes, the joy of reunion is bound to the lonely ache of waiting."

Even after Isabelle and Son Ocheon stomped off in frustration, Giselle remained at a nearby table overlooking the visitation room. If he left as well, there would be no one to greet Orknodi when she inevitably walked out all alone.

Orknodi had endured so much persecution and hardship just carrying the name of that Foundation on her back. How could the Foundation subject her to such humiliation? They had sent a notice stating a guardian would visit, yet failed to provide even an approximate time of arrival. Because of that callous oversight, Orknodi had been sitting in that room all day, skipping the meals she loved so dearly just to keep watch, terrified that her Papa or butler might arrive while she stepped away for lunch.

"Why is that child all alone? I'm certain I saw her here this morning as well."

It was the weekend, and the Visitation Building was open to the student body. Northern Grand Duchess Irene, who had been wandering the premises after hearing rumors that points could be earned here, paused to speak.

The Ice Princess. Cold city girl. Arrogant snob.

Considering the sheer number of unflattering labels attached to her due to her reclusive nature, it was exceptionally rare for Irene to initiate a conversation, regardless of her true personality.

"Her guardian hasn't arrived yet, so she is waiting. Are you waiting for someone as well, Lady Irene?"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Irene shook her head.

"The North is not well-off enough to waste gold on expensive transit passes just for a visit. If there is necessary information, letters suffice."

Given the escalating tensions on the northern border from demonic incursions, it was hardly surprising that no guardian had traveled south for her.

"Quite mature of you."

"Because I am the Grand Duchess."

Those few words carried immense weight. Neither an ordinary child nor merely someone's daughter, she was the Grand Archduchess of the North, bearing the hopes and expectations of an entire realm upon her shoulders. Before that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crushing sense of duty, there was no room to indulge in personal happiness or comfort.

A soul every bit as pitiful as Orknodi.

Sensing the sympathy bleeding through Giselle's gaze, Irene frowned in mild displeasure and turned the question back on him.

"And what about you?"

"Ah. I am an orphan."

"...You must possess considerable talent, then."

"Haha. Well, I certainly never starved growing up. I happen to have a decent head for business. Between you and me, I used to run a black-market enterprise selling entrance exam tickets on the outside."

"A ticket scalper enrolled in the academy?"

"Absurd, isn't it? Haha. I never imagined things would turn out this way either. If I hadn't crossed paths with Orknodi, it's an adventure I never would have dreamed of in a lifetime."

"How much do you actually know about that child?"

"What is it you wish to know about Orknodi?"

To be frank, Irene was curious. Orknodi was the top student of their cohort. Beyond her overwhelming combat prowess, her bright, innocent disposition was endearing. Her sheer, unhinged audacity to casually take the back of a frost mage was baffling, as was her bizarre habit of munching on rocks. While Irene didn't monitor her every movement, she found herself unable to tear her eyes away whenever the girl entered her field of view.

"Where she belongs."

"Where she... belongs?"

A peculiar nuance hung in the air. Suspecting her intentions, Giselle pressed gently.

"Do you perhaps wish to recruit Orknodi?"

"The North is perpetually starved of everything."

The warmth of the sun.

Weapons to fight the enemy.

Liquor ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to stave off the freezing cold.

Soldiers to bleed on the front lines.

Commanders to lead them.

To Irene, who wrestled daily with chronic shortages of both material and human resources, Orknodi appeared to be a brilliant, irreplaceable asset.

"And the place she has to return to does not seem particularly welcoming."

"Orknodi is quite fond of her parents and her butler."

"We don't know if they feel the same about her," Irene countered bluntly. "If they truly cared for her, would they leave an eleven-year-old child so utterly abandoned and lonely?"

Faced with Irene's sharp assessment, Giselle had no retort. In truth, he agreed with every word.

The Weihimhai Foundation. What if every single foul rumor surrounding them was true? That Orknodi had grown up subjected to abuse, was currently being blackmailed by them, and that the only thing waiting for her at the end of her brief freedom at the academy was an even darker abyss?

If that were the case, wouldn't following Irene to the North be a far better future for the child?

In the Northern Territory, Grand Duchess Irene's reputation eclipsed even that of the Emperor of the Central Empire. Backed by her overwhelming standing, countless people would cherish Orknodi, protect ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her, and ensure she never felt lonely again. Perhaps a future might even come where he and her other friends could migrate north alongside her as her personal guardians.

Heh. Look at me... I've fallen far too deep under that child's spell.

Abandoning his lucrative trade to enroll in the academy was reckless enough, but now he was actually contemplating moving to the frozen frontier after graduation. At this rate, he could scarcely imagine a life apart from her.

"Well, I suppose time will tell."

In the distance, Orknodi buried her face against the table, mindlessly twirling a strand of her hair between small fingers. Watching her forlorn figure from afar, the two could only wait, wondering just when those shameless guardians of hers would finally deign to show their faces.