Chapter 19: Do You Need An ID?
by fnovelpia
I closed my eyes and slowly exhaled a long breath.
The unfamiliar weight of emotions settled little by little.
“…?”
“Oh…”
“!”
My eyes met the child’s.
Peeking out from behind a book, her eyes curved into crescents.
“…!”
“Hmm?”
The child turned the book she were reading toward me.
With a tiny finger pointing at a rabbit in the illustration, the child curled the corner of her lips upward.
As if wanting to share something,
The child leaned toward me—
Then, when I tilted my head with a smile, the child suddenly ducked her head down.
“Mmm…”
“Heh heh, you two seem close.”
“Do we?”
“Indeed, you do.”
The old man nodded with a faint smile.
“Just look at the child’s expression—can’t you tell?”
“…Expression?”
I studied the child carefully.
When our eyes met again, the child hurriedly fixed her gaze back on the book.
“…….”
But then—
a quick, furtive glance.
One eye peeking ever so slightly, watching me.
As if trying not to get caught,
her face pressed tightly against the book.
I kept observing them like that, but—
Aside from her ears gradually turning red, there was nothing particularly unusual.
“I don’t get it.”
“Heh heh. Then it’s fine not to.”
The old man’s soft laughter drifted by.
Scratch, scratch—the sound of a pen moving echoed faintly in my ears.
With that sound as background noise, I closed my eyes and sank into thought.
‘What else was I going to ask again?’
I calmly settled the swirling memories,
slowly sifting through them to pick out what needed to be said first.
Only then did the most important thing come to mind.
“…Ah, right.”
“Hm?”
“What should I do if I want to stay with that child?”
The old man’s hand stopped.
The tip of the pen rested against the paper, motionless for a moment.
Then, the old man shrugged.
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I mean exactly what I said.”
“Can’t we just keep staying together like this?”
It wasn’t a wrong thing to say, but…
It didn’t completely resolve my doubts.
Perhaps my question was too simple.
Where should I even start, and how should I phrase it?
I took a deep breath, organizing my thoughts once more before speaking again.
“Someone might come to take that child away.”
“Hmm…”
The old man’s eyes narrowed.
After a brief silence, he nodded cautiously.
“That could happen. The child’s aunt is still alive, after all. She abandoned the child and ran away, but…”
“…Then, if that aunt tries to take her, what should I do to stop her?”
The old man set down the pen in his hand,
interlaced his fingers, and rested them on the counter.
His gaze turned serious.
“Well, you could become the child’s guardian.”
“Guardian?”
“Legally, and in the eyes of others as well.”
Law, perception.
Things I knew of but felt unfamiliar with.
Reading my expression, the old man continued in a slightly softer tone.
“If you’re recognized as the one taking responsibility for raising the child, no one would dare interfere recklessly.”
“…I see. How can I be recognized?”
“Right now?”
“Yeah.”
The old man stroked his chin thoughtfully.
His eyes moved slowly, as if lost in contemplation.
“First, you’d need to go to the church and go through the adoption process.”
“How?”
“You’d have to verify your identity and submit a written statement of your intent to raise the child. Having a guarantor would make it even more certain.”
For some reason,
I suddenly felt like I couldn’t breathe.
The old man studied me quietly before tilting his head.
“…You’re hiding your identity, aren’t you?”
“……”
I couldn’t answer his question right away.
It wasn’t so much hiding as it was simply not mentioning it.
Though now, it’s more like I have to hide it…
After hesitating, I slowly opened my mouth.
“That’s about right.”
“Hoho.”
The old man nodded as if he had expected it and rolled the pen on the counter.
“Then it won’t be simple. The church might not accept you.”
“…Is that so?”
“Do you have anyone who could vouch for you?”
Someone to vouch for me.
Hmm.
Slowly closing my eyes, I sank into thought.
“…Here.”
“Hmm?”
“Did you serve Rakis?”
“That’s right.”
“…I think there’s a god who can vouch for me.”
The old man’s eyes widened for a moment before he let out a small chuckle.
“Hoho. For Rakis-nim to vouch for you… You’re quite something.”
“I’m serious.”
“Hmm, hearing that tone say ‘I’m serious’ feels strange.”
The old man’s hand, rolling a pen on the counter, stopped.
He shrugged and continued speaking.
“Well, with that level of conviction, I’d raise both hands and acknowledge it.”
“Conviction…?”
“Not many people take a god’s name lightly. Especially if that name could actually respond.”
Actually respond, huh…
It seemed Rakis still manifested from time to time.
That made sense.
Unlike dragons, gods drew their power from faith.
My old friend.
The patron god of this country.
‘If I made the request in the form of an oracle…’
After a brief moment of hesitation, I shook my head.
I didn’t need an identity,
But the cost would be unnecessary noise.
Humans treated gods as something grand, after all.
‘…Annoying.’
I never wanted to borrow my friend’s name again.
It was exhausting, troublesome,
And only brought meaningless commotion.
Recalling past events, I frowned slightly.
Slowly, I turned my gaze to the child.
Humming a tune, the child was happily picking out books.
‘The child looked excited.’
Seeing her bright, carefree expression somehow made me smile.
In the end,
If I wanted to live with that child,
An identity was necessary.
An identity.
An identity, huh.
I had obtained one a long time ago.
‘…Though it’s from the neighboring continent.’
I vaguely remembered using it occasionally in the past,
So I had brought that identification with me this time too.
The problem was—
I had already given it to someone else.
“Haa….”
I slowly tried to piece together my memories.
It was back when I had just started wandering,
when I had first crossed over to this continent.
A village that looked somewhat prosperous.
The clothing of the people passing by was neat,
The buildings were fairly well-kept,
And the elegant stone structures and well-maintained landscaping stood out.
‘Not bad.’
After flying leisurely for a while, I descended into a deserted forest away from the village.
I folded my wings, pulled a robe over myself,
And slowly made my way toward the village I had spotted earlier.
And so, for the first time,
I blended into the world of humans as I knew it now.
It had been a very long time since I’d been in a village inhabited solely by humans.
After wandering around for a while, just taking in the sights,
I approached a knowledgeable-looking human carrying a stack of books.
I wanted to ask how to use an identification card.
“Hey. How do you use this?”
“Hmm?”
And then—
When I handed over the ID—
The look in his eyes behind his glasses changed.
“…T-this!”
The hand holding the ID trembled violently.
His gaze, sharp behind his spectacles, was brimming with excitement.
It was the look of a researcher standing before an academic discovery.
Before I could even ask anything,
his eyes lit up, and he began bombarding me with questions.
“Where did you get this? An inheritance? Or a family heirloom?!”
“This is unbelievable. The form and style clearly indicate…”
“An artifact from thousands of years ago preserved this perfectly.”
“Did you find anything else related to this? Or maybe—!”
…I got annoyed and just gave it to him.
I did receive a considerable reward for it.
Though most of it was donated to the church since it was heavy and bothersome.
‘It’s not like I can eat paper money anyway.’
Back then, I didn’t mind giving it away.
I hadn’t planned on staying in human society for long, and if necessary, I figured I could just get another ID from the neighboring continent.
But—
Now, it was a problem.
It seems intercontinental travel isn’t so free after all.
From what I know, the only way to get to the next continent from here right now is by “voyage.”
I once went to the harbor myself, wanting to experience how humans travel these days.
But, there were no regular passenger ships, and even getting departure permission was difficult, they said.
Because it was perilous, time-consuming, and the risk of monster attacks was high.
Back then,
I waited for two or three months, but the ship never departed.
I let out a quiet sigh.
‘Other than that, how can I take the child with me…?’
Slowly, I gathered my thoughts.
About how to cross over to the next continent with the child.
‘The fastest and most certain method would be….’
[Long-Distance Teleportation] magic.
In the past,
It was the most widely used method for traveling between continents.
But humans now are far too weak to withstand the shock of teleportation magic.
If I used magic while holding the child,
That fragile little body might be torn apart in an instant.
‘Then, what about flying…?’
This time, I had flown here.
I took it slow, gliding leisurely, but I didn’t stop to rest.
Even so, it took over a week.
‘For me, it’s just a moment, but….’
I glanced at the child and muttered softly.
“…That would probably be too much for them.”
“What did you say?”
“Nothing. Never mind.”
The old man gave me a sidelong glance but didn’t press further.
The scratching sound of pen on paper continued.
I turned my gaze back to the child.
Swinging her little legs,
Flipping through the pages of a book— the child looked especially small.
‘…It would be tough.’
But, getting an identity would be much easier on the other continent.
I exhaled lightly, then slowly spoke to the old man.
“Hey, about that.”
“Hm?”
“…So it’s possible even with an identity from the neighboring continent?”
The old man’s hand stopped.
His eyes widened even more than before.
He stared at me for a moment before letting out a soft chuckle.
“You’re from the Dianos continent.”
“For now.”
“No wonder your speech and attitude felt so unfamiliar.”
The old man nodded and continued.
“It is possible. Though the process will be much more complicated.”
“…I see.”
“Well, for now, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
After briefly observing the child,
The old man studied me with an inscrutable gaze.
Not understanding, I tilted my head in confusion.
A faint smile played at the corners of the old man’s lips as he went on.
“That child’s aunt doesn’t exactly have a spotless background either.”
“…Oh?”
“Besides, with so many orphans because of the war, people tend to turn a blind eye these days.”
The old man looked at me again.
His eyes held a warmth I couldn’t quite place.
“So, for now, public perception won’t be an issue.”
“…And how exactly do we manage that?”
“Simple.”
Leaning back slowly, the old man replied.
“Just let the people around here naturally come to know that the child follows you.”
“…How?”
“Be seen together, eat together, laugh together. That’s all.”
I looked at the child.
The child, who had been reading, turned her head.
When our eyes met, the child grinned brightly and waved both hands excitedly.
The book fell to the floor with a soft sound — thud.
The way the child scrambled to pick it up was rather endearing.
Even in the midst of that, the child waved at me again.
I, too, raised my hand and waved back slowly.
“…I think I can do that.”
“Good. Then that’s more than enough.”
The old man’s eyes crinkled slightly.
The scratch of pen on paper resumed at a leisurely pace.
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