Caretaker 1 (SC 13&14)

Sure took a while, but here it is.

This chapter was very very hard to make, I scrapped it more than once.

You'll see, and hopefully, you'll enjoy it also.

More on me by the end of the chapter.

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/Sometime in the middle of July…/

(In comparison the War game happened somewhere in the end of July)

/Chater… Chater…/

'Silver entered the Guild like he had done tens of times before, greeting whoever he had to greet, saying hello to whoever he recognized, and winking at Eina and her friends as he walked, making her roll her eyes and the others chuckle a little.'

'He did all this before making his way to his usual spot at the counters, somewhere at the far right, away from the annoying cashiers where you would hear someone screaming in anger and indignation from time to time.'

'And as usual, he didn't see the person he was hoping to see, so he had to ask someone to fetch him up.'

"... You're here." A voice resounded from behind him

"Wh…"

'Considering Silver never met Loiju outside from the confines of the Guild, you can expect his surprise when the man himself approached him from outside his field of vision…'

'This is likely the biggest jumpscare the man has ever given him, and Silver thought it could only be beaten by the news of his marriage...'

'Though the likeness of that happening was...'

"Wow… I didn't expect to see you like this… Who are you, in fact? Loiju's twin elder brother?" Silver joked

"Ha! You would be surprised at how close you were to that… Unfortunately, I am me and forever I shall be." Loiju replied with a small smile

"Neither do I have a twin brother."

"Well, I still have many questions… Such as, what brings you here, on the other side of the counter?"

"It's rare to see you doing anything outside of that table at this time…"

'Loiju rolled his eyes, laughing awkwardly...'

"Ha-ha, so funny…"

"But I'm right?"

"Yes… You are." Loiju replied depressively as he opened a small door on the counter, walking to the other side

'His expression seemed to become better as he sat on the small chair on the other side.'

"Haaa… I feel better somehow."

"Like a true workaholic." Silver pointed out with a nod

"If I'm a workaholic you are a Dungeon maniac... Hah! That would be a good Alias, I'll add it to my notebook."

'But Silver wasn't so easily defeated.'

"Heh, different from you I admit I am one." Silver retorted with a smile

"... And you say that with pride?"

'Silver shrugged.'

"Haaa, fine, you win." He said as he checked the time and looked at the doors to the streets

"Are you in a hurry to be somewhere?" Silver asked as he looked back as well

"No, on the contrary, I'm in a hurry to go back to work, things are piling up yet I can't do them."

"How odd, the reason for that being...?"

'Loiju took off his glasses to scrub his eyes.'

"All due to those brats over there." He said as he pointed at a small Elf and a 'towel' on the side

'Silver furrowed his eyebrows.'

"Elf children… Your's…?"

'But he was welcomed with a large palm in the air...'

"Stop, unfortunately for you, I have no romantic partners, and it has been so for as long as I… Fuck…"

'His last words were depressive...'

"..."

'Silver didn't make fun of him, instead, he patted his shoulder, but this seemed to make him even angrier.'

"Anyway, I can't go to work because I need to take care of two brats… Well… Half a brat and a soon-to-be brat." Loiju said after a quick reassessment

"But how did you get into this situation?"

"HAAAaaa… Don't even begin…"

'Silver didn't move.'

"I have all day, the Dungeon isn't going to move." Silver said with a small smile as he pulled a chair with telekinesis, startling an adventurer on the side

"Oi… Don't use magic in the Guild's premises…"

"I just pulled a chair…"

'Loiju pulled out a small handbook and a pen in the blink of an eye.'

"Adventurer Silver, Hestia Familia, penalty: Indiscriminate use of 'dangerous' magic within the Guild's premises after being warned multiple times. Total fine…"

"Alright alright! Stop trying to take my money." He replied in a helpless tone

"Not like you lack any."

"Yeah yeah, I can get as much money as I want but reputation is fickle." Silver said dismissively

"I'm glad you know, so please, stop using magic inside the Guild."

'Silver grunted, he definitely didn't take this advice to heart... Either way...'

'They nodded at each other.'

"Anyway, where were we?" Loiju asked as he scratched his chin

"At how you got yourself in this situation? You better say it quickly, that kid seems to be getting impatient…" Silver said as he pointed back

"What? Already? It's been 3 minutes, give me a break…" Loiju replied as he stretched his back to look at the kid

"Sigh, why do people want to have kids so much? So frustrating…"

"Beats me." Silver said with a shrug

Guess most of the time, it comes as a surprise rather than a planned occurrence, and overall, I would say parents enjoy raising children more than they complain about it.

The problem are those that don't enjoy or understand the significance of it...

"Anyway, how I got into this you ask?... Well… It would start when I was a child?"

'Silver's expression twisted.'

"Wow wow wow… Isn't that a bit too big of a flashback retrospective?"

"It would mostly make sense if I went that far, but I guess I can keep it short since we lack time."

"Pretty much, my parents wanted to know how I was faring since I never really sent letters back to my home forest, so they sent my brother, the problem is, his children are too young to be left 'alone' and away from their parent's presence..."

"Or so my own parents think…"

"In the end, my brother used this as an excuse to have a family trip, since like me, he's likely bored of living in that damn forest."

Especially ever since royalty came to Orario...

'Silver nodded in understanding.'

"Hum… I see, but didn't you tell me it's been close to 2 decades since you last saw each other? Even if you are all Elves…"

'Loiju shrugged.'

"We did talk through letters, as it's not like I have any sort of beef with them..."

"Though when I left the forest, it left a sour taste in everyone's mouth that's for sure."

"Even then, 20 years is more than enough to wash away any bad feelings between us, I did get a bit angry when I left, but that barely lasted a few months."

"However, I was never the sort to seek them out, never really saw the need to it, during these 17-18 or so years, there were 3 times where I sent them letters from my own accord, mostly because I missed them."

"As for them, at the start, they used to send more letters quite frequently, be it due to what happened when I left and also because they are... My parents."

"After that, at least once every 2-3 years?... I don't know, I just kind of reply whenever a letter comes."

'Silver looked at him with an awkward expression.'

"... You don't seem like the ideal child to have..."

Having spent that long without seeing your own kin... And it doesn't look like he's angry at all...

He's a bonafied loner.

'Loiju looked at him with a slight frown as he pointed at his chest.'

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"None, though I'm sure your parents have, it mustn't have been easy to send a child away like that."

'Loiju had a few flashbacks before his smile vanished.'

"It surely wasn't, I used an excuse saying I was going to find a wife... Never did though, haha!"

'His face suddenly grew cold.'

"I didn't."

"... My condolences?"

"... Fuck you…"

'They looked at each other for a few moments before Loiju continued.'

"Anyway, my brother was here until a few moments ago… Leaving behind those little goblins."

"What happened?"

"His wife… She has a bad constitution, not anything serious."

"Either way, when she went from the lush deep forests to the middle of a stone city full of smelly adventures… I guess you can see how her body didn't adapt well."

"She got weak all of a sudden and my brother's a softy, so he rushed with her outside, telling me to keep a tight look on the kids."

'He pointed at the other advisors before saying:'

"They helped me for a while, keeping them entertained in intervals, but it's been over half an hour already, and everyone's full of work."

"My boss told me it was okay to take a time off, but that's a ruse! He just wants to find a reason to pile work on me and take out my eternal extra time bonus!"

'His grunted once he was done, while Silver remembered this detail.'

"Oh yeah… That…"

'Silver shook his head, this lunatic was so ahead of his job schedule that at this point, he was always being paid extra time, so every time he lost work, he would go on a frenzy because that would mean he could permanently lose his extra pay.'

'Because of this, his boss keeps trying to have him rest for a few days so the others can catch up and he can get a reason to reduce his pay...'

'And once he lost it, it was difficult to say his boss would allow him to accumulate such extra hours again.'

"Sigh, it was also very hard to keep the subject of a wife away…"

"Is that really important at this point?" Silver asked with a complex expression

"Of course it is, without that as a shield, and now that my brother is flaunting his married life to me, if I don't have something to back me up as my parents won't leave me be!"

"..."

Even then, it's not like they can force you... Unless they also come.

This bastard likes to joke, but it seems he still has his own pride.

"Old Elves are patient, and at the same time not…"

'Silver nodded.'

"So, what do you plan to do now?"

"What else can I do but wait… Wait a minute."

'He looked at Silver.'

'And Silver immediately understood what was going to happen...'

"... Bro?... I don't…"

'Loiju held his hands with fierce determination.'

"Make me a favor!"

"..."

'Loiju then looked rather pitiful as he made the most lackluster weak expression he had ever seen…'

"It's not like I did anything for you, after all… Like drinking until I fell unconscious… And going to the…"

"Fine! Just stop talking…" Silver said as he face palmed

"Thank you!"

'With a smile on his face, Loiju's expression suddenly twisted .'

"Just saying, no Dungeon!"

"What?... Who do you think I am? Why would I bring children to the Dungeon?" Silver replied as his smile started to break apart

"You are a tad too unpredictable for my tastes…"

"I have my principles man!"

'It was Loiju's turn to shrug.'

"So? We have a deal?" He asked as organized some papers

"How long do I need to take care of them?"

"About an hour? That should be enough for my brother to come back with his wife from a nearby pharmacist, there are quite a few nearby, not like that's a problem."

"Is your brother rich?"

"Hm? No, why do you ask?"

'Silver rolled his eyes, taking his pouch on his waist, and dropping it on the table.'

"This is?..."

"Money, the Pharmacists in this area are quite expensive, I don't think you brought any money with you did you?"

"I rarely bring so much with me… But you're right, I overlooked that detail, my brother would likely not have enough with him at the moment… Or if he had, he might burn through his travel expenses just like that…"

And it would be too awkward to leave to grab some money at my home…

Yeah, I should go after them to make sure they're okay, I can't keep quiet now.

"Thank you, I'll visit them right away… Try to find them at least… For now, you keep watch on those kids for me…"

"I'll pay you back when I return, I just need to talk with someone first..."

"Won't you introduce them to me first?"

"Ah, right, I forgot."

"..."

This guy looks like that type of parent that would go to the market, leave, get home, only to realize he forgot his kid in the ball pit.

…

'Loiju led Silver to the small table by the window where a small elf child, likely a 6-7-year-old, sat grumpily, swinging his tiny feet as he awaited for something to happen as if he had been disciplined.'

'On the other chair, a small wooden casket with a tiny baby clad in blue towels was currently located.'

'The baby slept soundly, unaware its mommy wasn't nearby anymore.'

'It was very cute, both children in fact, the child's grumpiness and his tiny sharp ears made many female adventurers whisper as they moved on with their day.'

"Uncle, did you bring the sweets?" The boy asked with a frown

"S-Sweets?" Loiju asked as he started to sweat

Shit! I forgot I made a half-assed excuse.

"Sorry but I…"

"I want sweets!"

"This kid…"

It's all due to my damn brother!

It was obvious this was going to happen! How can you be so careless and give a poor Elf child candy, one that likely never ate such things in his entire life!?

'Loiju had already lost his patience, he would surely be a terrible dad.'

"Man, that's not how you do it." Silver whispered as he touched his friend's shoulder

"Who?..." The child asked, a little apprehensive

"T-This is Silver, the adventurer I'm charged with."

"Uhum…"

'The child didn't really seem impressed, for an Elf, much less a child, it seemed odd that he wasn't interested in the famed adventurers…'

'Though at the same time, Elven forests were normally isolated from the world.'

'Albeit, as he looked at this kid, Silver cringed a little as he remembered what the Crozzo did in the extreme North next to the Empire...'

'He shook his head in the end, focusing on the child.'

"We brought you the sweets, there's no need to fret, your uncle always keeps his promises." Silver said with a smile as a bag of paper appeared in his hands out of thin air

"!"

'The strong scent of the sweets was obviously, captured by the child, who immediately grabbed the bag without any embarrassment.'

/MUNCH!/

'It immediately started to munch on the small biscuits without caring in the least.'

"You… Why do you have such a thing?..." Loiju asked with a frown

"I also eat okay? Is it weird for me to bring biscuits around?" Silver retorted

I was going to eat that later, not a problem anyway, I can just buy more later.

"..."

He isn't wrong... Unfortunately!

'Loiju didn't reply, he should've expected it, who knows what Silver brings with him?'

"Little Hiji… I'm sorry but I won't be able to keep you company… So you would mind going with my friend here for a while?"

"Hum?"

'He looked at Loiju and said:'

"Don't wanna, gotta wait for mommy."

"You… Sigh…"

'Loiju's head dropped, Silver thought he was rather weak, such little patience for something so simple.'

"..."

It's not like we need to leave...

But I can't keep giving the kid food to pacify him.

In the first place, can't Loiju just go with them after his brother, seems a bit redundant to drag me into this situation...

Regardless, it's not like this is going to affect my schedule.

'So he once again touched his shoulder, displaying his incredible power:'

"Do you want to go eat some Jagamarukun?" Silver asked with a small smile

/Perks up…/

'The little Elf's ears twitched in a very cute way, it may be trying to hide it, but it was clear, he was very interested in the alien-like word.'

"It seems you don't want it… A shame, I heard they made new flavors…"

/Thud thud…/

"Hm?"

'Silver started to prickle Loiju with his elbow, and he finally realized it!'

"Ah yes! How could I have forgotten!... I also wanted to go there… The new chicken flavor is SO delicious…" He said dramatically

/Stop/

'The boy stopped, looking at Silver with curious eyes.'

"What is a 'Jamamamun'?" He asked with a straight face

'His cute way of saying it made a few peeking female adventurers blush.'

'And to his answer, Silver replied with large gestures so the child would understand:'

"Jagamarukun is created by adding spices to crushed potatoes and fried after adding an outer skin, it can be anything really, tough its mostly made with normal potatoes, all kinds of potatoes can work with it…"

"Like sweet potatoes…"

'That was everything the boy needed to hear.'

"I want to go."

'Silver looked at Loiju, while the latter was completely stunned.'

'He didn't say anything, but Loiju felt he wanted to say "See?".'

"It's not going to take long, though it is a bit of a walk away? Can you take it?" Silver provoked the kid slightly

"Just walking, I'm fine." The boy said as he continued to munch on his cookies

"Haha… It seems you decided…" Loiju said with a small smile

"Silver, this one in front of you is Hiji, my brother's eldest, and that little one is Fis, the youngest daughter."

"I'll go find my brother, I'll likely not take any longer than an hour… Can you just take car… Go with him to the Jaharamakun stand in the meantime?" He asked with a slightly sweaty face

I'm terrible at this...

"Depends on him? What do you think kid? Wanna roll?" Silver asked as he put his hands on his waist

"Uhum… Chomp…"

"Guess that's a yes? Champ is not really a man of many words."

"Oh no, Hiji is very, very talkative… He's just a bit shy." Loiju replied with some visible annoyance

Sometimes even...

'He then elbowed Silver and whispered:'

"Be careful, he lacks common sense as he only lived in the forest, and coupled with his childish naivety, the kid will spout nonsense left and right."

"His vocabulary is bigger than it seems..."

"It's just a kid." Silver dismissed as he brushed him aside

"I warned you, be prepared…"

'He then pointed to the counters...'

"See Eina over there? Her expression is like that because the kid called her a Grumpy Aunty, be careful of whom you meet."

"..."

'Silver was surprised as he smiled awkwardly.'

What a burn...

'Silver turned to the side, and Eina had a dark expression as she signed some papers, Misha's face was red as she held her breath, she was probably laughing not too long ago…'

"I'll bring that to heart…" Silver said in a low tone as he reconsidered what Loiju said

'Silver grabbed the baby casket carefully, but seeing it wasn't very protected, likely because the parents weren't used to dealing with this potent sun, he covered it with a small blanket, but one not thick enough to make the baby struggle to breathe or feel too hot.'

'It came from his pocket space, it was actually pretty expensive as it was made with special materials, not from the Dungeon as Silver thought the lingering smell of the Dungeon might startle a baby.'

'Don't underestimate their instincts, sometimes, in face of danger, a baby would start to cry before its parents even understood what was happening.'

"Look at you go, almost a father." Loiju teased as he held his chin

'Silver, on the other hand, was more occupied gazing at the tiny elf, he had a small urge to play with it but kept it at bay.'

"Taking care of a kid isn't hard if you know what to do, the hard thing is watching your daughter going away to sleep with a man..."

"Wow… Just wow man… You sure know what to say… And the worst possible collection of words possible…" Loiju said with a helpless expression

If he had a daughter... Just which man would dare even try with him watching over her?...

'Silver didn't really argue, instead, he gave his hand to the boy.'

"Hm?"

'But he didn't really hold it.'

"Oh? Is this due to the Elves' tradition? My apologies…"

I forgot Elves don't really enjoy touching others, and even though it's a small kid...

/Grab/

"Let's go uncle." The boy said with determination as he pulled Silver forward

'He didn't know where he was going, but how did that matter to a child?'

"I'm not an uncle, I'm half your uncle's age… He's the true old man."

'The boy looked at Silver and then at Loiju, then back at Silver.'

"Then you're a kid?"

"Pfft..."

'Loiju's face instantly got red...'

"..."

"Pfft! HAHA! Indeed!"

He's a bit too big to be a kid tough… Haha...

'Silver's expression stiffed, but in the end, he let Loiju laugh alone, he wouldn't give him the privilege of making fun of him.'

…

/Later.../

'Silver led the boy across the sunny street where they eventually entered a small passageway.'

'When they were deep enough, he stopped to confirm if there were others around.'

/Crack!/

'The stones morphed, and a portal opened in the wall of the house.'

'He didn't really say much, but the boy was flabbergasted.'

'They eventually crossed the portal and the boy stared back in disbelief as the stone gate closed.'

"Let's go, the stand isn't too far away."

"W-Wait! What was that Uncle!"

"First I'm not… Sigh, whatever."

I don't care about being called an uncle anyway, I'm not that petty.

Much less with a child.

"That was my magic, Hili." He said with a small smile

"Oh?!"

'The boy seemed excited, what a change…'

"Are you interested in it?"

"Yes!"

'It seemed he wouldn't be able to keep this short…'

"Fine, let's talk about it on the way, but you must promise me to not talk about it with others okay? Magic is very important for adventurers."

So this was the key? My job is 10 times easier now.

"Y-Yes!"

"So… What you just saw was my iconic magic spell… Teleportation…"

…

'Silver led both Hili and Fis across Orario until they finally arrived at the stand.'

'There, he proceeded to go and buy several flavors of the stuffed potatoes before sitting at a bench with them.'

'Well, only one, the other was still mostly sleeping, "What a heavy sleeper." Silver though, not even a single reaction throughout their entire adventure…'

…

'Apart from a few gazes from a few ladies in the park, Silver's time in there was pretty uneventful…'

'Until he decided to cause some mischief…'

"Hey kid, who do you think is the prettiest Elf in the world?"

"Hm? Pretty?..."

'The boy seemed to understand what the word was, so he went into deep thought before saying:'

"Grandpa's Cece's daughter is pretty... At least the others say that."

"Ho? How does she look?"

A relative, or is it the kid calling an old man grandpa?

"She has reddish green hair… A few freckles on her left cheek…"

'The boy gave a long description of the girl, it was quite impressive at how precise he was, together with his vocabulary…'

'Or perhaps, because he was a kid he had fewer things to think about so it was easier to explain?'

'In the end, Silver pictured what she would look like, so he drew a light image of her in the air, shocking Hiji once more.'

"Does she look like this?"

"N-No!"

'They spent the next 10 minutes trying to fix the image until Hiji said:'

"This is it! Sister Sari!"

(No image for you!)

'Silver stared at the image, it was indeed a very pretty elf.'

"She's pretty good, but I know a few pretty Elves myself…"

'Silver looked at him with a smile.'

"What do you think? How about we hop around as I show you the pretty Elves of Orario?"

Now that's a dynamic way of taking care of a child.

"Hm?"

'Hiji didn't seem interested in this at all...'

"I'll buy you some sweets on the way." Silver proclaimed as he used his trump card

"Yes!"

'Silver thought it was a tad too easy.'

…

'Of course, where to begin if not…'

/Hostess of Fertility/

"Something smells good." Hiji said as he sniffed the air cutely

"Of course it does, there are many pubs on the street." Silver said as he scratched his chin with his forearm since both of his hands were occupied, one holding Hiji's hand, and the other holding the basket

"Shall we go in? If you still have some space, we can even order something to eat."

Though I doubt it, kid already ate 300 grams of street food, if he can eat anymore I'll applaud him.

/Creak…/

'He opened the doors, getting inside with a slightly devious smile.'

…

/Chatter!/

/Chatter!/

"Noisy…" Hiji commented as he rubbed his ears

"That's how an adventurer pub usually is, even at this time…"

Though it's rare for them to open at this time, considering it's 9 in the morning, they usually open after 11 for lunch and then close again before 13 to prepare for the hush hours after 5.

But Mia wanted to do something different for a while, albeit I don't think it'll last long.

Though the noise isn't good for an infant…

'Without anyone noticing, Silver cast a small bubble around the baby, preventing sound from reaching it and the contrary.'

'He could easily hear everything the baby did, of course, it would be irresponsible to be isolated from the child like that, but he was making everyone a favor by making sure the baby slept soundly.'

'Silver looked around, thinking where he should sit, and he easily found it, his usual spot near the counter.'

"Come." He said as he pulled Hiji

'He quickly found a spot to sit, putting the basket on top of the counter carefully while he helped little Hiji sit on the tall chairs, like a father.'

/Shine…/

'With a bit of magic, he morphed the seat so Hiji wouldn't slip out and just like that, a personalized seat for a child was made.'

'Hiji was completely entranced by the process, however.'

/Tap…/

"Well, I didn't expect to see you so soon… Much less like this?" Mia said with a small smile as she approached him

'From their perspective, no more than an hour ago, Silver had passed through the pub to talk with them on his way to the Dungeon.'

'Thankfully, today, Syr hadn't made a bento for him, otherwise, it would've been pretty awkward to come back like this all of a sudden.'

'But the weirdness of the situation was still there.'

"Yours?" She asked with a teasing smile

"You jest, I'm not that good..." Silver replied awkwardly

"Some things happened, and I'm now helping a friend, this is Hiji, and this sleeping girl is Fis."

'While he said that, she gave the small kid a gentle smile.'

"Hello." Hiji said with a small nod as he waved his hands cutely, once again, a few adventurers found it very cute

"ZZzzz…"

'The baby didn't do much… It kept sleeping away...'

'Mia seemed to soften considerably as she looked at the two of them, below all that toughness, she still had some soft spots.'

'Even then, she didn't do much apart from staring, perhaps she felt she was too old, or too young to play with kids like that...'

"Will you order anything or just?..."

"Hm… How about a small plate? I'll still go to the Dungeon later, albeit late, I still have to work, so eating sooner shouldn't be a problem…"

"I'll divide the rest with him…"

/BUAAA!/

'As he asked for his food, the baby girl on the basket woke up, immediately starting to cry.'

'But as he planned no one apart from him heard it, albeit Mia seemed to notice the change.'

'Silver carefully took her from the basket, holding her in his arms, but she only seemed to cry harder.'

"Hm?"

I can't hear it?

'Mia soon noticed how weird it was to not hear the baby…'

"Sorry, to not startle her and everyone else, I'm controlling the sound around her… Though it doesn't seem that changed anything."

"Where's her mother?" Mia asked with a frown

"Hopefully recovering, she had a small lapse of strength not so long ago… And her father ran away with her to a pharmacist, leaving them with my friend while he was in the middle of his working time…"

"The rest of it you can kind of imagine."

"How irresponsible." Mia said with a grunt

"I do agree in a sense, but given he was with his family, leaving your children with them isn't really supposed to be irresponsible…"

"He can't really run while carrying a baby and his young child while also supporting his wife."

"That's true." Mia said as she exhaled slightly

'As he talked, Silver tried to calm her down, he even used his abilities to try and soothe her, such as playing a calm sound only for her ears, or trying to reduce the strong smell in the background…'

'Though he feared the only thing that was causing the girl to cry was the lack of her parents, and for that, he couldn't really do much, he never saw them, so he couldn't try to replicate their presence, smell, or warmth.'

'The baby wasn't hungry, didn't seem like it, much less popped its pants…'

'But he had an idea regardless…'

"It may be a bit strange, but do you have…"

"Milk? I do have something light enough to feed one… I'll add it to your bill." She said with a small smile

"Ah yes, you wouldn't be you if you didn't…"

"Whatd'a say?" She asked with a fierce glare

"You're stunning today."

"Glib tongue."

'Mia left after taking his orders and to fetch some Milk, though she wondered how he was going to feed the baby.'

'In the end, there was no need to worry as Silver controlled the wood to create a makeshift baby bottle.'

'This action wasn't missed by a few girls around him...'

…

'Not long later…'

"... What about her?" Silver asked as he pointed at a pretty adventurer on the far right of the pub

"... 4."

"4? Your standards are sure high… What about that Pallum over there?"

"... She looks like Jeremy."

"Who's Jeremy?"

"The son of the neighbor."

"... How old is he?"

"12."

"Damn…"

The kids roasting left and right…

"What about that cat girl over there?" Silver asked as he pointed at Chloe

"Hm?"

'As if noticing the gaze, Chloe turned her head to notice a rather bizarre sight, Silver holding a small baby elf that had just gone to sleep, and another elf child cutely gazing at her with his blue eyes.'

'She had already noticed them before, but now that they were looking at her, she felt it was her chance to approach.'

"Nya?!"

'Her tail moving in interest, she moved close.'

"... 1." Hiji said cruelly

"Huh? Why so low?"

"I don't like her gaze, makes me remember the old lady from across the tree, Mother said she's a baddie."

"..."

The definition of baddie sure depends on race and age huh…

"Hi~" Chloe said smugly as she approached them, her tail waving in the wind

'Hiji tried to move closer to Silver, somewhat uncomfortable around the girl.'

'Chloe felt awkward, had she done something wrong?'

'So she turned to her target.'

"Your son?" She asked playfully

"A bit too soon for that I'm afraid, son of the brother of a friend."

"That is… Quite the title."

"It's a strange story." Silver said helplessly

"They're quite cute, care to share your names?" She asked as she looked at Hiji, her tail moving in the air

"..."

"Come on Hiji, tell her your name." Silver said as he patted his head

"... hiji…"

"Nya?... I…"

'But before she could say anything, Silver shook his head, it likely wasn't a good idea to play with Hiji. If she wanted to interact with him at all that is.'

'So Chloe shut her mouth.'

He looks quite different from the usual.

Interacting with a child does bring out a different side in each of us...

...

'Albeit they talked and played a little, in the end, her duties called her, so she had to regretfully leave, despite doing barely anything at all.'

"She's gone it seems." Silver said as he placed Fis in the basket again

"Phew…"

"..."

'A single streak of sweat fell from his forehead.'

Did he notice her interest in young boys from afar?

Though, he's a bit too young for her.

"Alright them, since she is a 1, that other cat girl is at least a 5." He said as he pointed at Anya

"... Barely."

"Why?"

"She looks like a Tervos."

"Tervos?"

"It's… A fluffy creature that prowls the forest… A wolf?" The kid said in a cute ponder action

"She has that light and distant gaze they all have."

"..."

'Silver grimaced.'

So she's a puppy?

'He felt really bad for understanding his point…'

"She looks like a puppy." Hiji said with a very cute smile

"NYA?!"

'In the distance, Anya almost dropped her plates while Chloe giggled…'

…

'For the next 15 minutes, he kept asking Hiji what he thought of the girls until the food arrived.'

'Hiji's descriptions were pretty spot on, albeit they were overly naive.'

'He always classified the girls by how they looked, and his standards were obviously, very childish, such as saying a girl looked like a painting... Before adding he saw said painting in his bathroom.'

'He didn't understand what bust was and how important it was, but he would take out 5 points if the girl had something as specific as a pink hairpin because he felt it was an ugly color.'

'But Silver didn't mind, he kept asking, even while he ate his small plate of spaghetti.'

'And when it seemed he was getting tired…'

"How about one more and we'll make our way back?"

"Uhum…"

'Hiji silently drank his grape juice, some of the female adventurers girls kept looking at them, fascinated with the baby, child, and handsome "father" combo.'

'Some even approached them, some played with the baby, but most only watched from afar.'

'Hearing Hiji's words, Silver pointed at an Elf in the distance…'

'It was someone that already knew what they were doing, it had been almost 20 minutes after all, it would be difficult if they hadn't noticed with their strong senses…'

"What do you think of her?"

"... She's pretty." Hoji immediately replied

"Now we can agree on something." Silver said with a small smile

'This had an immediate reaction on the distant Elf... And some others too.'

"But she's a bore."

/Stiff.../

'Silver froze in place as he went into silence, same thing for the distant Elven girl that was cleaning the floor...'

"..."

"W-Why do you think so?"

"Her face… She's like stone… It's the same face those sisters have when they look at the older boys."

"Mother also has that look when she sees Aunty..."

"..."

"Her hair is beautiful too, I like the color."

"Oh?"

"She makes me think of what my mom tells me."

"What exactly?"

"A fairy!"

"..."

'Silver grinned.'

"That must be the most dangerous fairy in the world then."

"Hm? Why? Mother told me that a fairy is gentle."

"They certainly are, but that my friend is a unique breed." Silver joked as his smile kept widening

"Unique… Breed?"

"A special type of fairy you'll never see anywhere else."

"Different from most, she won't approach other fairies, don't you think it's quite sad?"

"The prettiest of all fairies stays away from others."

"What do you think? Does she look sad?"

"... Yes…"

'Hiji felt it was a shame, but what can he do?...'

/Yawn.../

'It seemed he already spent all of his energy.'

Walking around and eating a bunch must've taken its toll on him, he should be going into hibernation soon.

"Shall we go then?"

'The boy nodded, and Silver helped him down…'

"Hm?"

'But he noticed someone behind him.'

'A girl with silver hair just like his eyes.'

"Did you forget anything?" She asked with her cute smile

"Forget?... Ah!"

'Silver had an epiphany.'

'He turned to the counter, calling Mia from afar:'

"Can I have the bill?"

/Pressure…/

/GIIIII…/

'Syr continued to stare at Silver…'

'Little Hiji understood something as he saw her face that day…'

'Just like there were pretty, yet sad fairies…'

'There were also pretty, yet evil fairies!'

…

'Eventually, after joking a little with Syr, Silver left with Hiji and Fis…'

"So they left… How unfortunate, I wanted to squish that boy's cheeks a little." Chloe said with a small smile

"Nyaa... I'm not a puppy... I'm a cat nya!" Anya exclaimed in frustration as she whipped the floor with a mop

"..."

Stiff... Aunty... Bore...

'But Ryuu said nothing, she just kept cleaning the same table over and over again...'

'When Chloe moved to face her, she turned to the side, a bit too embarrassed to stare.'

'And this made Chloe smile teasingly as she kept trying to make eye contact, spinning around her...'

'Until she stopped, looking at the side...'

"... Do you all think I look like that?" She asked with a slight blush

"Hm?...!"

'Chloe smiled evilly.'

How fun!

/Pressure.../

"..."

'But before they could do anything, they felt an intense pressure behind them.'

'It was Syr, smiling widely as she gazed at the door...'

""...""

'Better not say anything else.' They all thought at the same time

…

'Not long later, Silver went back to the Guild with Hiji on his back, poor kid slumped down halfway on their way back.'

'In there, he met Loiju's family and talked with them for a little bit before resuming his Dungeon dive.'

'This wouldn't be the last time they would meet during their stay in Orario, but that was a story for another day.'

…

.

.

.

Notes

I wanted to add more interactions with Ryuu and the others, but I decided not to.

We'll have Caretaker 2 one day, and I plan to introduce other Elves in their adventure.

I found it fun, it wasn't supposed to be serious anyway.

What did you think?

See you guys later!