Lucan and Maris walked out of the clothing shop after buying some clothes.
"I want to tell you that I'm rich, I have a lot of money, so don't think that buying some dresses will make me poor," Lucan sighed and said.
Maris liked a lot of clothes and she looked good in them, so Lucan bought all of them. However, seeing the prices made Maris regret her choices, and she said she didn't want the clothes anymore.
"Really?"
"Of course, I come from a noble family. I have enough money to live my whole life without worrying."
"How much?" Maris asked. "How much do you have?"
"Hm... I never counted, so I don't know, but probably enough to buy your parents' business," Lucan thought and said.
Maris gasped, her mouth wide open. "Really?"
"Yes, so don't worry about money. Let's go and buy you some necessities," Lucan said.
Lucan took Maris to a general store where he had bought his necessities when he first came to town.
He passed through the shop employees and went inside. Since Maris wasn't taking the initiative to pick out anything for herself, Lucan decided to add things she needed to the shopping cart: a toothbrush, towels, a bowl, forks, and other items.
As he was buying these things, he noticed a stuffed toy. He looked at Maris, and she didn't seem very interested in it, but Lucan still put the toy into the shopping cart.
Lucan needed something Maris could keep with her as she grew up. The dresses he bought would eventually be unfit for her, so it was good to buy a stuffed toy.
This stuffed toy was a fox. It was white with red, ruby-like eyes and a black nose. It was cute.
"Well, do you need anything else?" Lucan asked.
"Hm, no, I don't," Maris shook her head, looking at the fox toy. She had been eyeing it since Lucan put it in the cart. Lucan smiled, sensing that Maris really liked the toy but didn't know he had bought it for her.
No need to tell her now, Lucan thought as he bought all the items and carried them as they walked to the hair cutting shop.
"Once we cut some of your hair, you'll be cute," Lucan said.
"Cute? Me?"
"Yes, you know how cute you were in those dresses. If we do some hair cutting, you'll be even cuter," Lucan said.
"Ok," Maris smiled, excited to get a haircut.
Soon they reached the shop. The owner was a woman in her eighties. She had white hair and wrinkles on her face but still stood straight, wearing a dress and makeup.
She didn't seem like she was eighty years old. She looked at Lucan. "Hey boy, where did you pick up this girl?" she said, looking at Maris behind Lucan.
"On the road. If you want, you can go and get yourself one to babysit," Lucan said. "But you're past the mother phase, so don't go there."
"You really can't answer straightforwardly," the old lady sighed, shaking her head. "Anyways, is it that girl's hair you want me to cut?"
"You're fast to think for an old lady, yes," Lucan pushed Maris forward. "Cut her hair beautifully."
"Hm, I will, so don't worry about it," the old lady smiled at Maris. "Come here and sit on the chair."
Maris looked at Lucan once before she went in and sat on the chair.
"I'm going to drop the luggage at the temple, so finish her haircut while I'm gone," Lucan said.
"Idiot, it will only take five minutes for you to go and come back. I can't cut hair that fast."
"Yeah, I forgot, you're still an old lady," Lucan chuckled.
"Someday I'm going to show you what an old lady can do. Then you'll understand my greatness."
Lucan had already walked away, so he didn't hear what she said. Lucan found it fun to tease old lady Wanny.
Of course, he only did this occasionally and never went overboard.
After he put the things he bought in the temple and was returning to Wanny's hair cutting place, he encountered his friend, Morbis Turho.
Morbis Turho was also from the royal capital and had studied together with Lucan. He was also a noble but wasn't the first son, so he had to find a way to sustain a living.
So he came to this town and became a military person. Since he came from a noble family, he easily became one of the most influential people here.
"Hey buddy, I heard you have a secret child with a married woman. Is that true?"
Lucan blinked his eyes, stunned for a few seconds. Just where did such rumors come from?
"Hell no, where did you hear this?"
"Just people talking," Morbis said. He was tall and muscular, with armor over his body. He looked strong.
"No, just a girl came to the temple to pray. I saw she was being abused by her parents, so I decided to take her in and let her work at the temple. Now she is safe and I have a helper to help me around," Lucan said as he laughed. "People are amazing; their imagination is good."
He expected rumors about him doing inappropriate things with a little girl might spread but never expected that he had a secret child with a married woman would be spreading around.
"Abusive? Is that true?"
"Yeah, it's Karen Trading Industry's owner, her father, and his wife," Lucan said.
"Hm, let's see if I find anything shady about them."
"Good luck to you," Lucan patted his shoulder.