Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Mer Who Wants to Get Stronger
Was the new rule actually helping?
Slight changes had crept into our daily routine.
First off, Mer was taking her medicine properly now.
She'd never outright refused it before,
but there had always been a reluctant air about her.
Proof of that was how her eyes would tremble nonstop whenever I took out the medicine.
But now—
"!"
"...Medicine? I made it ahead of time, but."
"...!"
"You want it?"
She clasped her little hands tightly, her eyes curving into crescents as she nodded.
"Yeah. Here."
"...!"
I handed her the medicine I'd prepared for Mer.
The child snatched it up and swallowed it in one gulp with her eyes squeezed shut.
"!!!!!!!!"
"Good job. Here, candy."
Even as she rolled the candy around in her mouth, there was something resolute about her.
And after soothing her mouth with the candy, she even urged me for more medicine.
'Overdoing it isn't good, though...'
I gently stroked Mer's head.
The soft, fluffy texture tickled my palm.
"You did well."
"...!"
"But no more for now. We have to stick to the set amount."
"!!!"
Mer pouted her lips and hung her head, looking a bit sulky.
I glanced down to check her expression.
Her cheeks were puffed out, her face full of grievance.
It was so cute I couldn't help but chuckle.
"I'll give you more tomorrow."
"...!"
"Let's drink it bravely again tomorrow."
Only then did Mer meet my eyes and nod.
Her gaze held a hint of regret,
but also a firm resolve to finish every drop tomorrow.
And—
One more routine had been added.
After a simple preparation, we stepped outside the cabin.
Today too, Mer stretched out both arms confidently, demanding it.
"The weather's warmed up, so we don't need as much firewood."
"!"
"Alright, got it."
I let out a short sigh and used my fingernail to carve a notch in the firewood.
Mer snatched it up as if she'd been waiting and gripped it tightly with both hands.
At that moment,
the firewood slipped from the child's hands and rolled to her feet.
"...!"
"Slipped, huh. Here."
I put the firewood back in Mer's hands.
She gripped it more carefully than before,
delicately hooking each little finger and holding on with all her might.
Even though her small hands couldn't grasp it properly,
she strained with grunts, desperately trying to hold on.
It was cute, but there was an undeniable seriousness that was hard to ignore.
"!"
Did she get it right this time?
She took the stance I'd shown her,
tensed her hands, and spread her arms wide with force.
Crack—
The firewood began to split slowly along the notch.
Little by little, ever so slightly, the gap widened in response to the child's strength.
It wasn't fully split yet, but it was a far more meaningful result than before.
"...!"
"You did even better than yesterday."
"!"
"Yeah. Impressive."
I patted the back of her small hand.
Mer beamed with a bright smile.
She tried to force it open wider again, so I quickly stopped her.
"No. That's enough for today."
"...!"
"Your hands are red. Your arms are shaking too."
"...!"
Mer lowered the corners of her mouth in disappointment.
Her eyes mixed sulkiness and longing,
but she obediently stepped back, complying with my words.
I cleared away the firewood and checked Mer's palms.
They were noticeably red.
Her fingers looked a bit swollen too, so I carefully cupped her hands.
"Does it hurt?"
"...!"
She shook her head slightly.
But her eyes wavered just a bit.
Was she holding back? Or did she just want to believe it was fine?
"Still, it'll feel better if we cool them."
"...!"
I pulled out my tail and placed it in her hands.
As the cool, smooth scales enveloped her palm,
Mer gasped in surprise, then widened her eyes at the tail.
"!"
"Feel good?"
"!!!"
Mer nodded and grinned innocently.
I could feel her tiny fingers wiggling as they gripped the tail.
Mer really loved my tail.
Today was no different.
And in the futures of other timelines too...
The scene I'd seen a few days ago flashed by, and I slowly shook my head.
I needed to bury it even deeper.
This child's today was more important than any uncertain future.
With that thought, I held Mer's hand.
"Training a little each day, slowly. Got it?"
"...!"
"If you're consistent, you'll definitely get strong."
Mer paused for a moment, then hesitantly raised her hand.
She wiggled both hands.
Making tiny fists, then opening them.
It was an adorable motion, but it clearly held determination.
"...!"
"Yeah. You're doing great."
I smiled and stroked her head.
Mer gently leaned her head into my hand.
Her small, warm forehead touched my palm.
We stayed like that for a bit.
The sky was exceptionally clear and blue.
'Nice.'
The firewood hadn't split completely,
but today was undoubtedly better than yesterday.
Days like this would surely change this child little by little.
However—
There was a problem with this method.
Morning, lunch, evening.
Even before bed.
Mer would tussle with the firewood whenever she had a chance.
She even abandoned her beloved drawing and doll play.
Suddenly, a line from the childcare book came to mind.
'To a child, the guardian's words are their entire world.'
All this stemmed from my careless remark.
It had happened not long after setting the new rules.
'If you want to follow me, get strong.'
Mer seemed determined to follow me no matter what.
She barely ate,
started drawings and abandoned them,
and groaned in worry.
But a child wouldn't know how to get strong.
"...Huh?"
"...!"
"You're asking how to get strong?"
In the end, the question came back to me.
The problem was...
I didn't properly know how young humans got strong either.
'I heard they do swordsmanship or martial arts...'
That was too much for this child.
She could barely walk, let alone hold a sword.
Moreover—
That required a teacher, and I had no interest in such things.
A single swing of my arm settled most matters.
There was no need to painstakingly correct stances
or train with metal lumps weaker than my nails.
'Strength... strength, huh...'
True strength was too early a topic for this child.
Strength was a useful means to protect me,
but it came with a heavy burden too.
After calm thought,
the conclusion I reached in my mind was—
"Splitting firewood in one go, or..."
"!!!"
"Moving a stack of firewood at once, or..."
Practical goals necessary for daily life.
In a direction that wouldn't break the child's spirit,
but would let her progress slowly.
At the time, I thought it was a good idea.
'...Too much.'
I hadn't expected Mer's passion to be this intense.
The firewood piles shifted several times a day,
she stumbled and fell but steadfastly got up and moved them.
The new clothes wore out quickly,
she got covered in dirt right after a bath,
and even with scraped palms, she showed no sign of pain and started again.
There was only one reason.
She wanted to follow me that badly.
The childcare book said as much.
'Children try to imitate everything their guardian does.'
It was probably part of that.
I was still her entire world.
It was a natural reaction, they said.
Later,
as the child grew
and experienced more, her world would expand.
She'd step out of the guardian's footsteps and forge her own path.
By then,
Mer wouldn't try to chase after me anymore.
'Might feel a bit lonely...'
The sudden thought startled me, widening my eyes.
A short chuckle escaped like a breath.
What a thing. A thought unlike me.
I stroked the child's head.
"Let's wash up and head to the village."
"...?"
"Instead of firewood, let's try something more efficient for getting strong."
"...!"
Mer’s eyes sparkled.
She set down the armful of firewood and nodded vigorously.
"Hurry inside and get ready."
"!!!"
Mer toddled toward the cabin.
...Picking up the rolling firewood was my job again today.
I took the prepared Mer and headed to the village.
First, we needed something to make her hands hurt less when gripping firewood.
And—
A tool easier to train with than firewood.
The general store merchant would know about that.
He had one of the burliest builds in the village,
and with his habit of trying everything, he probably stocked most things.
"We'll stop by the general store first today."
"!"
Mer gripped my hand tightly and nodded.
Before long,
Mer had chosen to walk on her own feet rather than being carried.
Slowly, clumsily,
but she seemed to like walking on her own.
Of course, she couldn't walk long, so we'd rest or I'd carry her midway.
"Still, you've definitely improved a lot."
"?"
"Walking, I mean."
"!"
Mer squeezed my hand and smiled brightly.
The village was just ahead.
Wind rustled through the clotheslines,
and chimney smoke slowly wafted up.
Mer’s eyes sparkled as if she'd found treasure.
"!!!"
"Yeah. We're here."
Hand in hand, we entered the village outskirts.
What greeted us was a busier scene than usual.