Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: What the Child Needs (2)
Finished preparing to go out, I stepped onto the road.
Even as the cold air brushed my cheeks,
the child hummed a cheerful tune, seemingly in high spirits.
It was always a mess, no matter when I heard it.
Still, I didn't dislike it.
With the child's humming as background music,
I pondered what needed doing in the village and what we needed to buy.
"Food.... and another pair of gloves for you...."
"......"
"Rabbit hay.... ah."
"?"
There was something especially important today.
I planned to buy proper painting tools for the child.
Because it would be better to provide actual tools, not just writing implements.
So deliberately,
I timed our village trip for the bookstore's day off.
Mr. Hubert would handle the shopping today.
"Today, Mr. Hubert will be with us."
"?"
"I'm not familiar with current painting tools."
"???"
"Um, painting tools are.... various implements used for drawing pictures."
The child's eyes sparkled.
A smile bloomed fully across her lips.
Is drawing that wonderful?
She clasped her hands tightly and stared up at me intently,
then wrapped her short arms around my neck with all her might.
The humming tune heard up close was a bonus.
"Yeah. As long as you like it."
"!"
"Hm, we'd better hurry. We need to arrive before lunch."
I looked down at the basket in my hand.
It held sandwiches prepared for Mr. Hubert and Lauren.
Some were flat and quite crooked.
Because the child had insisted on helping,
diligently piling on ingredients with her small hands and pressing them down firmly.
Suddenly,
I recalled the recent memory.
Was it because the result wasn't as pretty as expected?
The child's gaze wavered as she stared at the sandwiches.
Then her shoulders slumped as if utterly dejected.
She fiddled cautiously with the bread using her fingers, stealing glances at me.
Worried she might get scolded,
or that I might say it was inedible.
Whatever the reason,
it was an expression brimming with raw anxiety.
I smiled leisurely and stroked her head.
"It's okay."
"......"
"Mr. Hubert and Lauren like you, after all."
"......?"
"I don't know much, but anything made by someone you like is good just as it is."
Did she understand what I meant?
After gazing up at me blankly, the child nodded slowly.
I looked back and forth between the child and the sandwiches she had made.
"Hm, just in case...."
"......?"
"Even if those two say they won't eat it, don't worry. I'll eat it."
"!"
The child's eyes widened hugely.
Soon she regained her radiant smile.
That was a relief.
Even I know
I'm no good at comforting.
Still, the child seemed satisfied.
She hugged the basket tightly with her small hands and leaned slightly against me.
After that─
her mood was even more buoyant than before making the sandwiches.
When taking her medicine,
changing clothes,
greeting the rabbit.
She beamed nonstop.
Even now, her humming showed no sign of stopping.
I scooped her up in one arm and gently caressed her reddened cheek.
"Not cold?"
"......"
"Okay?"
"!"
Her small head nodded vigorously.
Grasping my robe with both hands, she pressed her body close again.
I slowly stroked her head.
"Oh, we're already here."
"......!"
The child's gaze, fixed only on me, slowly shifted forward.
Her eyes sparkled at the familiar scenery.
"Maybe because it's nearly lunchtime, there are lots of people around."
"!"
The child rubbed her head against my robe and buried her small body.
It wasn't fear.
Excited breaths leaked from within my arms.
"I wonder what they'll have at the market today."
"......!"
"I'm looking forward to it."
"!"
Strength naturally entered the child's grip.
With excitement plain on her face,
she clutched the hem of my robe tightly and nodded repeatedly.
I quickened my steps and entered the village gate.
Before I knew it,
I had set foot in the village more times than I could count on one hand.
The child had always been with me.
Even after the first visit, a few times,
she merely trembled, curled up tightly.
Every time people's gazes fell on her,
she flinched in surprise and burrowed deep into my arms,
and as if terrified of every sound in the world, she covered her ears with both hands and shivered.
"It's okay."
"......"
"Don't mind them. I'm here."
Did the words I repeated like a mantra each village trip help?
From some point, the child
began peeking out from my arms to take in the outside world.
At first cautiously,
then gradually curiosity flickered in her eyes,
and now excitement tinged her small breaths.
The child stretched out an arm, pointing somewhere.
It was the mushroom skewers sold at a stall.
One thing she always paid extra attention to on village trips.
"Ah, that."
"......!"
"Yeah. I'll buy it."
"!"
Once more, a high-pitched humming tune flowed out.
Good.
That I could buy mushroom skewers for the child.
As always, I stood before the stall.
"Ah, welcome."
"One set of skewers."
"Yes. One moment."
The mushroom skewer vendor
was neither particularly friendly nor indifferent toward us.
A proper distance.
He didn't start conversations,
but whenever we approached, he always greeted us with calm eyes.
Soon, the vendor handed over steaming mushroom skewers.
"Here you go."
"Thanks."
"Here, I'll throw in one of these too."
Sometimes,
he would give the child a small skewer with a couple of mushrooms.
"!"
"You should greet him."
"......!"
The child hesitated briefly,
but soon gripped her skirt hem with both hands and bowed carefully.
The vendor smiled wordlessly at the sight.
After a simple exchange of greetings, we left the stall.
Sorry to the vendor, but
one skewer was always sufficient.
"Hm?"
"......"
"Got it."
The child always,
before eating the skewer, offered it to me with sparkling eyes.
The first bite was invariably mine.
It had solidified into the child's own ritual and promise.
"Yeah. Just one bite."
"!"
After I took a small bite and handed it back,
the child grinned broadly, as if she'd been waiting, and took the rest.
And as always,
she started from exactly where I'd bitten.
"Tasty?"
"!"
"Good. That's a relief."
I hurried toward the bookstore.
Perhaps because we'd visited so often with the child by now.
The sharp gazes
seemed to dwindle day by day.
Whether resignation,
a shift to indifference,
or acceptance of us.
I couldn't read their intentions, but at least it was fortunate for the child.
That she shrank less often.
That she could now gaze at the outside world a little more comfortably.
That alone was enough.
"......!"
"Ah...."
Of course, some still harbored hostility.
The child shrank noticeably.
I patted her small back, quick to react to the sharp gaze.
I glanced sideways.
'...As expected.'
I quickened my pace.
It was the grocery stall owner.
He remained
one of those sending us hostile looks.
"It's okay."
"......"
"Don't mind. I'm right here beside you."
"......"
As we swiftly drew away,
the child's anxiously trembling breaths gradually steadied.
She exhaled carefully and clutched my robe tight.
"Let's hurry into the bookstore."
"......!"
The child nodded faintly.
Bookstore.
Mr. Hubert.
And,
the grocery stall owner.
...I felt a little bad for Mr. Hubert.
The grocery owner had discovered
that Mr. Hubert was buying our groceries for us.
Since that day,
he refused to sell groceries even to Mr. Hubert.
I learned this through Lauren.
She'd seen it by chance while passing by.
When Lauren asked worriedly, Mr. Hubert laughed heartily.
"Haha, it's fine. I can buy from elsewhere. It's not like they have anything exclusive."
"Still, elder. The other places are quite far. And pricier too."
"...Sorry."
"No need for you to apologize. Thanks to you and the child, I'm finally acting like a proper person again after ages."
After that,
Lauren often slipped us ingredients on her way out.
"I stopped by while passing."
"Bought too much and have leftovers. Okay?"
Always like that,
as if truly coincidental, so naturally.
I was grateful.
Before long, we reached the bookstore.
The door, bearing a 'Closed today' sign, was firmly shut.
Knock knock─.
I knocked slowly on the bookstore door.
Soon it opened,
and a familiar face greeted us with a kindly smile.
"Welcome."
"......!"
"Hello, Mr. Hubert. It's your day off—why the apron?"
"Because my regular reserved ahead; got to make an honest profit."
He chuckled heartily and continued.
"Planning to buy a pile of books again today, aren't you?"
"Of course."
"Knew it."
As always, I meant to lead the child to the picture books.
But today,
she shook her head and tugged my robe.
"Hm? Why?"
"......"
The child pointed to the sandwich basket.
"Ah, share the sandwiches first?"
"!"
"Hm? Sandwiches?"
"Mr. Hubert, had lunch yet?"
"Not yet."
The child hesitated a moment,
then carefully drew a sandwich from the basket.
It was crooked and flat,
but she offered the neatly wrapped sandwich with both hands.
"This one—the child made it herself."
"Oh ho."
Mr. Hubert's eyes widened slightly.
He bent down to meet the child's gaze.
"You made this?"
"......!"
The child shyly bowed her head.
After a brief hesitation, she nodded slowly.
"Now this is the most precious lunch imaginable."
"That's good. Right?"
"!"
The child's face lit up radiantly.
A soft laugh escaped her.
I closed the basket lid and picked it up again.
"Mr. Hubert. Since we're at it, let's hit the clothing shop first. We made one for Lauren too."
"Sure thing. It's about lunchtime for her anyway."
Mr. Hubert smiled and removed his apron.
The child waved her hands excitedly in tandem.
"Let's go."
"!"
While waiting for Mr. Hubert to lock the bookstore door, I gazed at the village alley.
Cold wind,
boisterous voices,
and occasionally uncomfortable stares carried along.
Still, it was fine.
"......!"
"That happy?"
Because the child smiled so brightly.
That was enough.