Chapter 638 (2/2)

And such a person tells her last request to me, and I’d make it happen. That was what I thought, and I took Romio with me, but…

「Oji-chan, who is that?」

「Oji-chan, what’s that?」

「Oji-chan, run faster!」

「Oji-chan, are you okay?」

「Oji-chan―――」

I’d never taken care of a kid before. It was so tedious and troublesome. He would sit down and say he was tired, and he would say he was in pain at the slightest thing. I was glad that he didn’t start crying in front of me, but I was really troubled by the fact that he was strangely fond of me.

Why was that, you ask? Well, I certainly handled him very well for a man of my stature. But it was just because of Murellia’s request, and I’d been asked to make sure the kid gets to safety.

But what was it about me that made him so fond of me? Was this kid crazy, too?

Still, I managed to continue my journey and even took him to an orphanage in Barbra, but… I didn’t expect him to start screaming that he didn’t want to leave me. I didn’t understand why.

But what made even less sense was that I had decided to take care of Romio. What was I doing? I wonder.

But I just couldn’t bring myself to leave Romio behind. I saw the kid’s laughing face and found myself smiling bitterly.

At such times, I remembered Murellia for some reason. And I also remembered that Black Cat Kin old hag.

The eyes of those two people. They shouldn’t look alike at all, but the eyes of the old hag who launched her attack at me, and the eyes of Murellia who asked me to save Romio, come and go in my mind. Those eyes, desperate yet clear as water.

I didn’t understand why.

「Oji-chan, what’s wrong?」

「It’s nothing, just sleep already」

「Okay…」

Why I urged Romio to sleep already even while he had a fever? It was because we’d been spotted by that monstrous High Elf. If I leave Romio here and run away, I might be able to escape on my own.

But I couldn’t do that. I just couldn’t.

I, what the hell was wrong with me…?

「Uwooh?」

It seems that I was out of my mind for a moment. I think I was remembering something from the past, but I didn’t really remember. Was it just a flashback?

Now, Sierra――or should I say, Romio’s grown-up form was in front of me. It was hard to believe at first, but he looked just like Romio. So, I decided to protect Sierra as well.

It seems that Romio’s special ability could affect and control Evil People, but…

「It doesn’t matter…!」

I could tell all the reasons why I care about Romio if I wanted to. But all of it didn’t matter.

Right now, I just had to protect Sierra. I had the power to protect him, and everything else was a trifling matter.

「UWOOOH! Hey, you big monster! I’m not dead yet! Come at me! Haaaaah!」

「Ooobeeey Meeee!」