Chapter 35
Chapter 35
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: My Old Friend (1)
My old friend.
A being whose essence couldn't be hidden, no matter the form.
The continent's Chief God, Rakiss, who had lived as long as I had.
He had changed his appearance to avoid detection by humans,
but there was no way I, who had spent ages with him, wouldn't recognize his presence.
I smiled faintly.
"So that's what happened today."
I couldn't possibly fail to recognize my old friend.
Especially since I'd already seen him once recently.
I slowly approached Rakiss.
I felt the child in my arms shrink back, but I didn't stop walking.
Because my friend, who loved all living creatures under his care,
would never harm the child in my arms.
I stood before Rakiss.
He
stood speechless for a moment, then furrowed his brow.
Confusion,
bewilderment,
doubt.
This reaction was exactly as I remembered.
"Now he'll press his forehead with one hand soon enough."
He moved in precisely the same sequence.
Watching him, a soft chuckle escaped me.
Rakiss pressed his forehead with one hand and pointed at me accusingly.
"Row."
"Yeah?"
"...What's that thing in your arms?"
I tilted my head and looked down.
In my arms,
the child was fidgeting and staring up at me.
"Ah."
"......"
I gazed quietly at the child.
Knowing the future didn't always lead to the best choices.
Even now,
I'd already heard the same question,
and I knew he would ask it...
"...What should I say? Kidnapped her? Picked her up?"
My mind filled only with answers that would make my old friend freak out.
"Hmm..."
"......"
I hesitated.
As I chose my words,
the child clutched my robe tightly with her small hand.
Rakiss watched me silently.
In his gaze,
there was the trust built over countless ages, mingled with
faint disappointment and doubt creeping in.
In the end,
Rakiss spoke first.
"...Row."
"Yeah."
"I know you're the type who doesn't care for the world's rules or order..."
He'd noticed after all.
That I'd kidnapped this child.
A heavy silence fell.
Rakiss let out a long sigh, clenched his fist, and shouted.
"If you've gotten married, you should at least tell me!"
"...Yeah?"
I blinked.
What was my friend saying?
I slowly tilted my head and looked at him.
And then,
very slowly, I opened my mouth.
"...Married?"
"Yes!"
Rakiss nodded with conviction.
Then he ran a hand down his face and muttered.
"No matter what, you could at least give a heads-up to an old friend like me, Row."
"...Heads-up about what?"
"You wake up early for once and don't even contact me. You go and do something this huge without a word. And instead of showing me your spouse, you bring the kid first!"
I looked down at the child in my arms.
She did the same.
Her big eyes blinked up at me.
"......"
"Hmm."
I slowly glanced back and forth between them.
Rakiss looked hurt,
and the child looked baffled.
I had no idea where to even start correcting this.
"Hmm, what to do..."
I calmly pondered how to sort out the situation.
What I could do now was
probably dress up "I picked her up" in a plausible way.
As I composed my words in my head,
Rakiss lowered his hand from his face and spoke first.
"Row. So where's your spouse?"
"...Spouse?"
"Yeah. I didn't see them at the engagement, so at least let me see the face of the one you're with now."
It was hopeless after all.
Packaging words with my clumsy speech.
So—
"She's not mine."
"What?"
"I picked her up."
"...Huh?"
I said it straight.
Silence fell instantly.
Rakiss's expression twisted in a flash.
"...Picked her up?"
"Yeah."
I answered calmly.
But Rakiss didn't look calm at all.
His mouth half-open, he froze in shock.
I stared at my old friend's expression.
Flustered,
astonished,
shocked,
absurd.
Then spreading resignation.
He slowly covered his face with his palm.
"Still the same, Row..."
"Yeah."
"You really have a talent for startling me. Showing up out of nowhere at my cathedral to pray..."
His softly murmured voice carried genuine exhaustion.
The child flinched, her shoulders trembling.
I gently patted the child in my arms.
She blinked back and forth between Rakiss and me.
Rakiss pressed his forehead,
sighed deeply, and slowly raised his head.
His vivid turquoise eyes pierced through me.
"Row."
"Yeah."
"No matter what mess you get into, I'm always on your side."
"I know."
Having someone who believed in me without excuses was more reassuring than I'd thought.
My old friend, Rakiss.
He had always been that person for me.
No matter what trouble I caused, Rakiss always took my side in the end.
That trust hadn't changed over the ages.
"But, Row. Explain the situation properly. At least that much, right?"
"The situation..."
"Where, how, and why did you pick up this child?"
But today,
was a moment I couldn't gloss over without explaining.
"Three questions at once..."
I thought for a moment, then looked at the child and answered slowly.
"In some ruins. She was dying. So I picked her up."
"......"
"She'd been abandoned."
Rakiss covered his face with both hands.
His shoulders shook faintly.
I could tell just by looking.
"He's laughing."
I stroked the child's rigidly tense back.
Her small body relaxed bit by bit under my touch.
Rakiss laughed for a while,
then peeked through his fingers and asked.
"...So."
"Yeah?"
"That's why you're carrying her around?"
"Yeah."
I nodded slowly.
The child clung tightly to my robe,
glaring warily at Rakiss.
Rakiss pressed his lips together.
Then he nodded very slowly.
"...Nice."
"Yeah?"
"Still the same, Row."
It was sincere.
His eyes were warm like spring.
Rakiss took a slow step forward.
The child shrank back.
Her grip on my robe tightened fiercely.
As if she'd never let go.
Seeing that, Rakiss quickly raised both hands and smiled.
"Sorry. I won't come closer."
"......"
The child's eyes still held anxiety as she looked up at me.
I nodded slowly to reassure her.
Rakiss spoke from a distance.
"Row, just to check, the child's parents..."
"She said they're dead. She has an aunt, but she ran off leaving her behind."
"I see... I figured even if she had parents, you'd bring her along without a care."
For a moment, Rakiss's eyes sharpened as he looked at me.
"You absolutely can't do that in this era. Got it, Row?"
"...Yeah."
As expected, my friend
knew me better than I knew myself.
Just as he worried,
I had a recent record of it.
Though it was just carrying her briefly because she was clinging annoyingly.
Rakiss looked at me.
Even in his sighing gaze, there was solid trust.
"So, no spouse then?"
"Yeah."
"You're not thinking of raising the child alone, are you?"
"Yeah."
"That's even more of a problem..."
Rakiss pressed his forehead.
A much deeper sigh than before.
Having someone who knew me better than I did
meant I was seen through without room for excuses often.
I looked at my old friend and said quietly.
"That's why I called you. I don't understand humans now."
"...I see."
A brief silence.
Rakiss looked at the child.
When their eyes met, she burrowed deeper into my arms.
"......!"
"Ho..."
Then his eyes widened in surprise.
As if
a street cat he'd seen was wary of strangers.
Rakiss burst into amused laughter.
"Looks like you're doing well enough, Row."
"Am I?"
"Can't you tell from her reaction? She's on high alert, scared I'll take her from you."
"Hmm..."
"Your obliviousness hasn't changed either."
Rakiss shook his head with a laugh.
At that moment,
the child in my arms shivered.
Startled by the unexpected tremor, I looked down at her.
"......!"
"Ah..."
Fortunately,
it wasn't from fear.
Her cheeks were red, and she sniffled—clearly chilled.
Come to think of it, the snow was falling harder.
I hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief
and wiped her face.
"Cold?"
"......"
"Sorry. Let's go inside."
The child looked up at me.
She sniffled again and nodded.
"......"
I carefully wrapped her in my robe.
Rakiss watched silently, then shrugged.
"You've changed, Row."
"Yeah?"
"Never mind. Don't worry about it."
Rakiss smiled lightly and waved it off.
His expression looked bittersweet yet pleased.
"Rakiss."
"Hm?"
"Free?"
"Not as free as always... Why?"
I pointed to our cabin.
"Come in. Let's talk after so long."
"...Good idea."
Rakiss smirked and approached.
I hugged the child tighter and hurried to the cabin.
Rakiss followed leisurely beside me.
We didn't say much, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable.
It was how it always was.