Chapter 35: My Old Friend (1)
by fnovelpia
My old friend.
Even if its form changes, the essence cannot be hidden.
The god of this continent, like me who has lived a long life— Rakis.
He had changed his appearance to avoid being discovered by humans, but there was no way I wouldn’t recognize his presence, having shared so many years with him.
I smiled softly.
“So that was today’s memory.”
There was no way I wouldn’t recognize my old friend.
Especially when I’d already seen him once recently.
I slowly approached Rakis.
I could feel the child in my arms flinch, but I didn’t stop walking.
Because my friend, who cherishes all living beings within his embrace, would never try to harm a child in mine.
I stood before Rakis.
He was silent for a moment, then furrowed his brows.
Confusion, bewilderment, suspicion.
These reactions were exactly the same as in the memory.
“He’ll probably put his hand to his forehead next.”
As expected, he moved just like before.
I let out a faint laugh at the sight.
Rakis pressed a hand to his forehead, then pointed at me.
“Roh.”
“Hmm?”
“…That thing in your arms. What is it.”
I tilted my head and looked down.
In my arms, the child was squirming uneasily, staring up at me.
“Ah.”
“……”
I looked down quietly at the child.
Knowing the future didn’t mean making the best choices.
Even now, I had heard this exact question before, knew he would ask it…
‘…What should I say? Kidnapped? Found it?’
All the answers I could think of were the kind that would make my old friend panic.
“Umm…”
“……”
I hesitated.
While I was picking my words, the child clung tightly to my robe with a tiny hand.
Rakis simply watched me in silence.
In that gaze were both the trust built over long years, and the creeping hints of disappointment and doubt.
In the end, it was Rakis who spoke first.
“…Roh.”
“Yeah.”
“I know you’ve never been one to follow the world’s rules or norms, but…”
So he had noticed.
That I… had kidnapped the child.
A heavy silence fell.
Rakis let out a long sigh, clenched his fist, and shouted:
“If you got married, you should’ve told me!”
“…Huh?”
I blinked.
What was my friend saying?
I tilted my head slowly, confused, and looked at him.
Then, very slowly, I opened my mouth.
“…Married?”
“Yes!”
Rakis nodded with a look of certainty.
Then he ran a hand down his face and muttered:
“No matter what, you could’ve at least given a heads-up to an old friend like me, Roh.”
“…About what?”
“You woke up early for once and didn’t even contact me. And now, you spring something like this on me with no warning? You didn’t even introduce your partner— just showed up with a child!”
I looked down at the child in my arms.
The child, too, blinked those large eyes and looked up at me.
“……”
“Hmm.”
I looked back and forth between them.
Rakis looked hurt.
The child looked confused.
I had no idea where to even begin correcting this misunderstanding.
‘Hmm… What do I do…’
I tried to calmly think through a way to sort out the situation.
At this point, probably the best I could do was to come up with a believable excuse for having “found” the child.
I was picking my words when Rakis, having taken his hand off his face, spoke again first.
“Roh. So where is your partner?”
“…Partner?”
“Yes. I didn’t see them at the betrothal ceremony, but surely I should at least meet the one who’s with you now?”
It was hopeless.
There was no way I could cover this up with clumsy words.
So—
“This kid isn’t mine.”
“…What?”
“I found them.”
“…Huh?”
I told the truth.
For a moment, silence fell.
Rakis’s expression twisted in an instant.
“…Found them?”
“Yup.”
I replied nonchalantly.
But Rakis didn’t look like he could stay calm at all.
His mouth hung open halfway, frozen in shock.
I quietly studied my old friend’s expression.
Confusion, dismay, shock, bewilderment.
And finally, resignation.
He slowly covered his face with one hand.
“…You haven’t changed a bit, Roh…”
“Mm-hmm.”
“You really are a master at making me panic. Showing up out of nowhere at my cathedral to pray, and now this…”
His muttering voice was full of genuine exhaustion.
The child flinched slightly.
I gently soothed the child in my arms.
The child blinked up at us, looking between Rakis and me.
Rakis pressed his forehead with one hand and let out a long sigh before slowly lifting his head.
His vivid teal eyes pierced straight through me.
“Low.”
“Yeah?”
“No matter what kind of trouble you get into, I’m always on your side.”
“I know.”
Having someone who trusted me without needing an explanation was more reassuring than I’d realized.
My long-time friend, Rakis.
He had always been that kind of person to me.
No matter the mess I got into, Rakis would ultimately take my side.
That trust hadn’t changed with time.
“But, Low. You should at least explain the situation properly. That much, you owe me.”
“The situation…”
“Where, how, and why did you pick up this child?”
But today,
This wasn’t a moment I could just brush past without saying anything.
‘Three questions at once, huh…’
I paused for a moment, then looked at the child as I slowly replied.
“In the ruins. She was dying. So I picked her up.”
“……”
“She was abandoned.”
Rakis covered his face with both hands.
His shoulders trembled slightly.
I didn’t need to see more to know—
‘He’s laughing.’
I gently rubbed the child’s back, which was tense and curled in on itself.
Her little body was stiff with anxiety, but my touch slowly helped her relax.
After a long laugh, Rakis peeked through his fingers and asked,
“…So.”
“Hm?”
“You picked her up for that reason, and now you’re just carrying her around?”
“Yeah.”
I slowly nodded.
The child clung tightly to my robe, casting a wary gaze at Rakis.
Rakis pressed his lips together and, after a moment, nodded very slowly.
“…I like it.”
“Hm?”
“You haven’t changed at all, Low.”
He meant it.
His gaze was as warm as spring.
Rakis slowly took a step forward.
The child flinched and gripped my robe tighter, as if vowing never to let go.
Seeing this, Rakis quickly raised both hands and smiled.
“Sorry. I won’t come closer.”
“……”
The child still looked up at me with anxious eyes.
I nodded slowly to reassure her.
From a distance, Rakis asked,
“Low, just to be sure— what about the child’s parents…?”
“She said they’re dead. Apparently, she has an aunt, but the woman ran off and left her.”
“I see… I figured you might’ve picked up a kid with living parents without a second thought.”
For a moment, Rakis’s gaze turned sharp.
“In this day and age, you absolutely can’t do that. Got it, Low?”
“…Yeah.”
As always, my friend knew me better than I knew myself.
And as he feared,
There had been… incidents recently.
Though I only carried that one because she was clinging to my robe and it got annoying.
Rakis looked at me.
Even through his sigh heavy expression, I could see the solid trust in his eyes.
“So, you’re not bonded to anyone, right?”
“Nope.”
“And you’re planning to raise this child all by yourself?”
“Yup.”
“That’s even worse…”
Rakis pressed his forehead again.
A much deeper sigh than before.
Having someone who knew me better than I knew myself—
Also meant I often got completely seen through, with no room for excuses.
Looking at my old friend, I said quietly,
“That’s why I called you. I… don’t really understand the world as it is now.”
“…Right.”
A brief silence.
Rakis looked at the child.
She burrowed deeper into my arms as soon as their eyes met.
“…!”
“Hoooh…”
Then she glared fiercely at him.
Like a stray cat on the street warily eyeing a stranger.
Rakis burst out laughing, clearly amused.
“You must be doing something right, Low.”
“You think?”
“You can tell by her reaction. She’s on full alert in case I try to take her from you.”
“Hmmm…”
“Still as oblivious as ever, I see.”
Rakis chuckled and shook his head.
Just then,
The child in my arms started trembling.
I quickly looked down, alarmed.
“…!”
“Uh oh…”
Thankfully,
It wasn’t out of fear.
Her cheeks were red and her nose was running— clearly chilled from the cold.
Now that I looked closer, the snow was falling harder.
I quickly pulled out a handkerchief
and gently wiped her face.
“You’re cold, huh.”
“……”
“Sorry. Let’s head inside.”
The child looked up at me.
She sniffled again and nodded.
“……”
I carefully wrapped the child in my robe.
Rakis watched silently, then shrugged his shoulders.
“You’ve changed, Low.”
“Huh?”
“Never mind. Forget I said anything.”
Rakis gave a small laugh and waved it off.
His expression was both bittersweet and amused.
“Rakis.”
“Hm?”
“You busy?”
“Not exactly, though I’m never exactly free, either… Why?”
I gestured toward the cabin we lived in.
“Come inside. Let’s catch up a bit.”
“…Sounds like a good idea.”
Rakis smiled and approached.
I held the child tighter to my chest and hurried toward the cabin.
Rakis walked leisurely beside me.
We didn’t say much, but the silence wasn’t uncomfortable.
It never had been.
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