Chapter 2 (1/2)

Chapter 2: The Uncle and Hero no. 576

When it comes to winter, roasted sweet potatoes really are the best.

But given the dry weather, the house may catch on fire, so I can only give up.

However, success! Sweet potato cakes can be made at home. Given that this is a different world, different methods have to be used to create the paste-like sweets. Of course there was wheat flour used and a bit of honey for sweetness, though the unique taste came mainly from the sweet potatoes.

It was served with a small spoon to eat it.

There was already be a layer of snow outside, so the weather wasn’t very good for customers.

Incidentally, from the start, the one responsible for cleaning the house, Elan, had continued to discreetly glance to the side. Of course I had prepared her portion, but it was really fun to tease her.

The next time she peeked over, I met her eyes.

Elan’s face went red and her hands fiddled with the broom. Embarra.s.sed, she was trying to avoid looking panicked.

“Your portion is in the cabinet, so when you are done cleaning, go eat.”

She worked extremely hard to finish her work. Ah, she really was still a child.

Not long after…

“Sweet and delicious~”

Her two hands cupped her cheeks, her eyes s.h.i.+ning brilliantly.

“That’s great.”

I gently stroked her hair. Because there were no customers today, I let Elan take off her hat. Her hair was bright silver and reached her jaw. It was very fluffy and smooth to touch. While I stroked her hair like a cat’s head (ED: awkward like me), Elan instinctively leaned close to me.

“He-hey brother, do you remember this time of the year last year?”

Elan, with her eyes closed, gently nuzzled me (TL:Hehe). I could feel the little horn on her forehead.

“Ah yeah, you were lying silently in front of my house; that really scared me too.”

“I wonder if anything will happen this year~”

Elan happily kicked her legs.

“Just eating white rice is good enough.”

“Elan, you have to work hard, no slacking off!”

Whenever I get mad, my speech tends to become more punctuated.

I sighed, and she waved her hand, brus.h.i.+ng it off.

-Bang, bang, bang

Intermittent knocking sounded at the door.

There were still customers at this time? I motioned for Elan to put her hat back on.

Cautiously, I opened the door a crack.

Late at night, the ground was snowy, and the sky seemed to go on for miles.

A fifteen year old boy with an unkempt appearance, tattered clothes, frostbites full of pus, thin cheeks, and frail body, lay prostrate on the ground.

He lifted his head and looked at me with eyes like a wounded wolf.

He seemed helpless and fearful, but his face seemed to say that even death would not make him give up.

Interesting.

“Why don’t you come in,” I said.

I took him through the side door to the house. The house was divided into two parts: the home and the shop; the home side was significantly smaller, consisting of only a kitchen and  a bathroom. A spread of blankets was usually the bed, located on floor of the shop.

I let him take a shower to wash up, gave him clean clothes, spread the bed, and had him sleep on my right side.

Elan usually slept on the left side. Of course, we used two sets of bedding. Even if we hadn’t, I wasn’t interested doing anything to little children.

“What is your name?” I asked, as I gave him medicine.

“Nord. Nord Bali Rio.”

“OK. I am the owner of this weapon shop, and that is my little buddy, Elan.”

Nord barely glanced at Elan and moved on.

To be honest, he was not truly interested in Elan; rather, his interests lay in the shop full of weapons.

He looked around as if he was trying to find the hidden treasure.

Nord didn’t seem to like talking.Well, that was fine. After all, silence was its own type of medicine as well. After a while, I used a bit of white bandage to wrap his wounds. I discovered that Nord is actually a very handsome child. If it weren’t for his emaciated body, he would be quite popular with the women.

After a while, Nord turned to me and said:

“I have no money to give you.”