Chapter 10
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: About My Disciple Being a Genius (1)
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Today brought two pieces of good news.
One was the reward for completing the mission: canned goods, bread, and meat. In our current situation, proper food like this was worth its weight in gold.
Of course, I had plenty of food myself. But I had no intention of eating it directly. Why? Because it was all stolen by the Time Stop Breeding Uncle from other people.
Sure, I'd cursed that Time Stop Breeding Uncle out plenty of times. But for me to eat the food he'd stolen? No matter how you looked at it, that'd be the height of hypocrisy.
Still, I couldn't just throw away perfectly good food. So instead, I distributed it to those who hadn't received their fair share.
Of course, I couldn't hand it out openly. If anyone asked where it came from, I'd have no answer. So I stopped time and distributed it secretly. And that leads to the second bit of good news.
"I've lost a ton of weight! Hallelujah!"
Truth be told, this was the real highlight. What could you even call the Time Stop Breeding Uncle's old body? It was like those fat pig demons from the folktales, but exactly twice as bloated.
No way that could pass for human. It was closer to an orc, really. And somehow, I'd ended up in that body. At first, I seriously considered suicide.
But now, after all my hard work, it hadn't been for nothing. I'd finally shed that orcish form. Sure, I still looked like a potbellied middle-aged guy, but it was progress.
"Guess that hour of hell was worth it."
Gourmet Eater Iniestar, was it? Taking her down had taken a full hour. Thanks to that, I'd slimmed down big time. The time stop ability burned through stamina like crazy to begin with.
And I'd spent a whole hour straight sawing away at her with my sword, no breaks. It was brutal. If I hadn't built up stamina and know-how from using time stop so often...
I probably would've collapsed early, the ability would've worn off, and I'd have been 100% dead. Quorens might've scraped by somehow, the lucky bastard.
Anyway, that fight had shown me just how lacking my skills were. So today, like always, I was training hard. I might not reach Quorens' level, but at least I needed to match an average knight.
"Uncle! Uncle!"
"What."
"You training?"
"Nah, just finished."
I sheathed my sword as I answered. Lately, I'd been forcing myself to speak stiffly. Otherwise, the Time Stop Breeding Uncle's crude, shitty speech patterns slipped out.
As long as I stuck to the stiff tone, I could keep it under control, more or less. By then, the red-haired kid had come right up and grabbed my sleeve.
Looks like training was done for today. I could've kept going later on my own, but the kid would be alone without me. No helping it.
Honestly, I wondered if this was okay. I could barely take care of myself, and here I was with someone else. Sure, we knew each other, but was I taking on something I couldn't handle? I'd agonized over it plenty.
"Whoa, it's snowing."
"Winter already?"
"Uncle! Let's make a snowman when it piles up!"
"...Yeah, sure."
But seeing the kid grin so innocently like that... somehow, it just didn't matter anymore. The kid frolicked happily through the falling snow. I watched her play.
"Come to think of it, what time period is this, exactly?"
The thought crossed my mind. The game's story was about the protagonist rebuilding the wiped-out Royal Knights. Which meant, put another way, that the Royal Knights got wiped out.
Surprisingly, there wasn't much detail on the previous generation of Royal Knights. Just vague mentions of how strong they were—no explanation of how or why they fell.
It happened seven years before the protagonist joins, apparently. Given the current situation, they'd probably been annihilated already... or it was about to happen.
I'd love to stop it, but sadly, I didn't have that kind of power right now. In the end, all I could do was stand by and watch. That's when the kid popped her head in front of me.
"Uncle! You were lost in thought again, weren't you?!"
"Just had something on my mind."
"I haven't seen you for days! Play with me too!"
"Alright, alright."
Now she was climbing right onto my back, rubbing her face against the top of my head. I chuckled and let her cling on piggyback-style. This had started right after I got back from the mission.
She must've gotten really lonely without me for so long. Makes sense—she was at that age. I soothed her as I headed toward the street.
With the snow falling, people grew even busier. They pulled out their stockpiled firewood to light fires and reinforced their tents against the cold. Winter was always the worst enemy.
Especially when supplies were short. Speaking of which, how was the kid's place holding up? I'd seen it a few times when handing out food. It wasn't in great shape.
"How's your house?"
"Still hanging in there!"
"Don't need to see it to know. Come to my place."
"Huh? But..."
"No arguments. You'll freeze otherwise."
"O-okay..."
Maybe it was the cold—her face was beet red, like a ripe persimmon. She'd been playing in the snow earlier, so of course she'd feel it. I quickened my pace.
Back at the cabin, I loaded up the stove with the firewood I'd stockpiled. Then I lit it with a torch. Soon, the crackling started as the wood caught.
I'd gathered enough firewood that even after sharing, plenty remained. Same with food—I'd saved up while working guard duty. This should cover one kid easy. I pulled out a can.
"Eat up."
"I-I don't know if I should take something like this."
"Don't worry about it."
"Huh?"
"Just be a kid."
That much was true, at least. Thanks to the Time Stop Breeding Uncle's hoarded food, I could look after this kid—and others too. At least it was useful for something.
Not that I'd ever defend the guy, of course. The kid cracked open the can. I nodded as I watched her eat.
The bonfire roaring in the center of the cabin filled the space with cozy warmth. After we finished eating and were just staring into the flames in a daze, the kid spoke up.
"Uncle, can I ask a favor?"
"If it's something I can do."
"Teach me swordsmanship."
"...???"
Suddenly?
Waiting was pure agony.
Especially when it was for someone precious, and all you could do was wait endlessly. The pain doubled in those moments. And the girl knew that torment all too well.
Her mother had once told her: if you pray earnestly to the gods, your wish will come true. So the girl prayed. She prayed and prayed until her hands and feet went numb.
But in the end, the gods ignored her. Her parents never returned. Or rather, they couldn't. All that pointless waiting led straight to hell.
But today, surely...
Today, he'll definitely come back.
Just wait until today.
Unrequited feelings wear you down, gnawing at your very soul. And once more, the girl found herself waiting. The uncle had gone out on a mission. She couldn't believe it.
No way, right?
Yeah. He promised.
He'll come back for sure.
Only then did the girl realize: sitting around praying was utterly meaningless. What mattered had to be protected with your own hands. Otherwise, you'd lose it.
[What are you doing all alone?]
[Uncle...?!]
[Yeah, I'm back.]
The first person to return to her, to reward her waiting. Emotions surged within the girl. In her heart now, there was only one person: Uncle.
Bitter loneliness breeds a craving for attention. And once you feel that lost warmth again, you cling to it desperately. Because you know the cold all too well.
The girl never wanted to go back to those days. Surviving alone, offering futile prayers, clinging to false hope, forcing herself through each day.
"I haven't seen you for days! Play with me too!"
And her desperate wish turned to action. She didn't want anyone taking him away. She wanted him all to herself. But Uncle didn't look only at her. Of course not.
Because he was a hero. She knew he was sharing firewood and food with her and others. So what should she do?
How could she make Uncle look only at her? Throwing tantrums had its limits. She agonized over it endlessly. And finally, she realized: she just needed to get stronger.
"Uncle, can I ask a favor?"
Uncle, so kind and cool. But no one else knew anything about him. That's why she wished: that no one else would ever know him.
"Teach me swordsmanship."
Without Uncle, that time had been hell for her.
Now that she understood that, the girl hesitated no longer.