"Ugh, uhh...!!"
"Stay still."
She had certainly made a lot of noise while eating.
Half of the milk in the bowl had ended up on her face and body instead of in her mouth. And her eating method was something else.
Even her hair, which had been carefully washed and dried, was now soaked in milk and hung limply. Seeing this, I couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
"Ubuuup...!!"
She was making quite a racket, even though she wasn't putting much force into it.
The emotions that had dulled while absorbing the essence were now reacting to this small girl in front of me. Pathetic and cute. That was the perfect description for her.
I wiped her face with a towel, moving the surrounding magic as I did so. The magic turned into a warm, gentle breeze that enveloped the girl.
"...?"
The girl seemed to sense something, as she stopped making noise. But with her face covered, I couldn't see her expression.
The breeze carried away the excess moisture from her hair and my shirt, and they became dry and fluffy again. Only then did I remove the towel from her face.
"Phaaa...?"
She exhaled softly, her eyes darting to me before looking down again.
The girl, who had been so noisy a moment ago, suddenly became quiet. The swinging of her legs stopped, and I realized that she was much more aware of my presence than I had thought.
I had no intention of getting angry,
But there was no need to say that out loud.
I draped the wet towel over my shoulder and bent my knees, lowering myself to her eye level. Our eyes met.
The girl's eyes, which had been looking down, rolled up to meet mine, her reaction as innocent as a child's.
I moved my hand, starting from below and moving up. My hand gently wrapped around hers, which was still holding the spoon the way I had given it to her.
"This is how you hold it."
"Uhh, uhh."
Now that I had corrected her grip, it was time to teach her how to eat. I slowly brought the spoon to the bowl, scooping up the remaining cereal.
"Open your mouth."
"Aah~"
I put the spoon in her slightly open mouth.
Her cheeks, still warm from the shower, moved as she chewed.
I released her hand.
"There's no need to rush like that."
"...Rush?"
There it was.
"You don't need to eat so quickly. No one is going to take it from you. Take your time. You don't have to be cautious. Chew slowly and swallow. Understand?"
"Yeah. Slowly."
"Good. Finish up."
As I straightened my knees and back, the girl glanced between me and the spoon before.
Swish.
She adjusted the spoon back to the awkward position it had been in before. And then she began eating the cereal again.
'Well, we'll take it one step at a time.'
I knew what an orphanage was like.
But only in fragments.
I had no idea what kind of environment this little girl had grown up in.
I knew nothing about that, and the game had never mentioned it, not even in passing.
'I can guess, but…'
Regardless of age, one day, abilities suddenly awaken. That's what an awakener is. However, according to statistics, the more extreme the situation and the stronger the will or desire, the more likely one is to awaken a special ability, and even within the same series, some abilities are inherently stronger than others.
But that couldn't be stated as fact. Even the gods in the heavens didn't know for sure.
"Kkeok."
The girl, who had quickly emptied the bowl, let out a cute burp, licking her lips with her tongue.
"I can get you more if you're still hungry."
"I'm full."
She put down her spoon and rubbed her slightly rounded belly. She didn't seem to have eaten that much.
"Huaaam..."
The girl, who had been energetic a moment ago, suddenly looked sleepy, opening and closing her mouth wide. She had been dozing off on the way here, and now.
After warming up in the bath and filling her belly, sleepiness was catching up with her. There was much I wanted to say and ask, but nothing was urgent.
I put my hand under the girl's armpit and lifted her up.
"Uheo?"
"Stay still."
As I walked, her body, which was dangling down, swayed back and forth, and I couldn't help but smile.
I carried the girl to the bathroom, the only place with a sink.
'I wonder why there's a toothbrush here when he doesn't even eat.'
I asked as I held her,
"Do you know how to brush your teeth?"
"Yeah. I know."
"Good."
I took the toothbrush hanging next to the mirror and put it in her hand.
"It's big."
"It's for adults."
"Adult!!"
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at the toothbrush, and I squeezed some pink toothpaste onto it. The funny thing was that this, too, was strawberry-flavored.
"Aah~"
"Wait."
"...?"
As the girl was about to put the toothbrush in her mouth, I gave her a warning.
"Don't swallow it. It's not meant to be eaten."
"I know. Toothpaste is gross. It's spicy."
"...Even if it's sweet, don't swallow it."
"Sweet?"
The girl looked at me in the mirror and then slowly put the toothbrush in her mouth. Her sleepy eyes widened.
Gulp―
I heard a sound that shouldn't have been heard, and the girl's small Adam's apple bobbed once.
"I told you not to swallow it."
"Bweeeehh!!"
I pressed down on both her cheeks and took the toothbrush away. Then, I put more toothpaste on it and brushed her teeth for her.
"Uheoheo, uhuu, uhuui."
I held down her cheeks so she couldn't swallow as I brushed.
'I need to get her to sleep soon.'
The girl's half-closed eyes had almost fully closed.
"Don't swallow, spit it out."
"Ummumu... Bwe."
"One more time."
"Ulluullu... Ptui."
I wiped the girl's mouth with a towel after she rinsed, and then, as she yawned widely, I took her to the bedroom, passing through the library.
I laid her down on the bed where I had woken up and where I had lain for six days to recover.
"So fluffy…."
"Be quiet and go to sleep."
I started to leave the room after checking that her eyes were almost closed and pulling the covers over her, but.
Squeak―
A small hand reached out and grabbed my sleeve. With just a little force, I could easily pull it off, but I didn't. There was no reason to, and I thought it was fine to indulge a little.
Squeak― Squeak―
Soon, the girl's even breathing filled the quiet room.
The hand that had been holding my sleeve naturally fell to the bed.
"She's tiny."
It was hard to believe she was twelve years old, given her small, thin frame.
'I should borrow one of the idle priests for shopping…'
Of course, I needed to buy food, but I also needed to get footrests and other things to make the house more comfortable for a child. There were many inconveniences in the house as it was.
'The bed should be fine for now.'
I had a separate room for my books, and I planned to clear it out and turn it into her room soon.
I watched the little girl sleep for a while before turning away.
**
-It's mine!!
-I picked it up first!!
-Little kids don't need to eat much anyway.
-Aah!! That kid's shoving everything in his mouth again!! Stop him!!
-Spit it out!! Spit it out!!
"...?"
Blink, blink.
In the dimly lit room,
The winter moonlight shone softly through the large window, illuminating the room.
"Hm."
I wiped the drool from the corner of my mouth.
The sleeves of my loose white clothes were damp.
"Huaaam~"
I yawned.
I wasn't hungry. I was warm, and the surroundings were soft and comfortable. Most importantly.
"Sniff, sniff."
The room was filled with a scent that soothed my mind.
"Was it a dream… no."
I wouldn't have to fight over food anymore.
I wouldn't have to sleep on a cold, hard floor.
I wouldn't have to endure the strange gazes of ugly adults.
The tall man with the gentle voice.
The man with the big, round thing on his head.
The nice man.
He was different from the adults I had met before.
Just being near him calmed my mind. A strange man.
Scribble, scribble―
"...?"
I turned my head at the sound coming from somewhere.
A crack of light shone through the slightly open door. The sound was coming from there.
"Uhh..."
I carefully got down from the bed and walked towards the light. I peeked through the crack in the door.
"...!!"
"..."
The strange man was looking at me.
Had I done something I shouldn't have?
"Did you wake up because you were hungry?"
"No, no... I'm not hungry."
"Then, was the bed uncomfortable?"
"It was super fluffy and nice...?"
"...?"
"...?"
The strange man tilted his head slightly, and I tilted mine as well.
"Can't you sleep alone?"
"No, but..."
I could sleep alone, and I had just done so.
"...Can I come in?"
"Yes."
I quietly opened the door and stepped into the brightly lit room. I approached the strange man.
"What are you doing?"
"Can you read?"
"No."
"...Well, you can learn later. You'll probably have a good memory."
"Uheo?"
The strange man picked me up and put me on his lap. Then, he kept moving his hands where I couldn't see.
Scribble, scribble―
"What are you doing?"
"It's something you don't need to know. More importantly..."
The strange man lowered his head to look at me.
"My name is Baek Woo-jin."
"Baek Woo-jin?"
"Yes. Baek Woo-jin. And."
The strange man placed his hand on my head. It was big, warm, and felt nice.
"Baek Hana."
"Baek Hana?"
"That's your name from now on."
"My name?"
-Hey!!
-You white-haired brat?!
-You flour-like kid!!
"Do you not like it? Or do you have another name you were called..."
"No, no!! I like it!! Baek Hana!! Me, me, Baek Hana!!"
Baek Hana… Baek Hana… Baek Hana…!!
My name!!
"Woo-jin!! I'm hungry!!"
"...But you said you weren't hungry earlier."
Baek Woo-jin chuckled and put Baek Hana, who was on his lap, back on the floor.
The dark house lit up.
The girl, Baek Hana, found the cereal she had eaten earlier to be even more delicious.
And the toothpaste, which had been sweet, too.
"Waaah!!"
"I told you not to eat it."
Baek Woo-jin didn't give her a second chance.