episode_0008

Young Olivia came up to me and clung to me, pleading for her life.

“This damn woman! I saved you from almost dying!”

The man who presented himself as a slave trader twisted his face like a demon.

Though he had sinister intentions, he still pretended to act benevolently.

“…Ahem.”

Should I say something? In a situation where we didn’t know each other, saying “I’ll buy this child” felt absurd.

“If I do well, maybe I won’t have to spend money?”

I have money to raise a child. In fact, I had quite a sum of money saved up.

I hadn’t spent all the support and reward money from my days as a warrior.

But that didn’t mean I could just spend it recklessly. I didn’t want to spend it. If I could save, I wanted to save as much as possible.

It was instinctual.

“There’s no fool who buys something for ten times its worth when it costs only a thousand.”

Unless they didn’t know the market price. Even if they knew, there wouldn’t be many who would buy.

Unless it was a special situation like eating cup ramen at the top of a 5,000-meter mountain.

“What did you do to this child?”

“What?”

I decided to inquire further. With young Olivia—Olivia Unit 2—clinging to my thigh, this negotiation was in my favor.

“Isn’t he the child’s father?”

“He’s not the father but…”

When an adult man and a young girl travel together, it’s natural to assume they are related.

But what if they aren’t?

“The most suspicious relationship in South Korea.”

Women and boys, women and girls, men and boys, men and girls…

Among countless combinations, the one that looks most inappropriate is the one between a man and a young girl.

Unmarried men can’t even adopt a girl. That’s society’s perspective.

“If the child behaved, it might be different. But in a situation where she’s trying to escape, there’s nothing I can do.”

The reason the man couldn’t make excuses and hesitated was that he had done something wrong.

It wasn’t just any wrongdoing. He tried to capture and sell Olivia Unit 2 to someone who could pay a high price.

“Child abduction, human trafficking.”

Crimes that modern society can never tolerate. Even if sentenced to death, one should not appeal if they have a conscience.

“If he’s not the father, isn’t that even more dangerous?”

I pulled Olivia Unit 2 behind me. It was an action to protect the child.

“Ugh…”

Olivia Unit 1 shuddered from behind, letting out a nervous whimper.

I growled at the man. I intended to scare him away.

Then I wouldn’t have to spend any money.

“It’s a win-win situation.”

Is it really? I want to believe it’s a win-win.

That way, I can maintain my sanity.

“Get lost right now if you don’t want to die.”

As I exuded a threatening aura, the man gritted his teeth, as if unwilling to back down.

“The child… She just made a mistake. She has no intention of running away. I’m not her father, but I’m someone equivalent to that.”

“Equivalent? What does that mean?”

“I saved her life. She was the only survivor in a village ravaged by an epidemic.”

Olivia Unit 1’s words were being repeated by him. It seemed like it was indeed the truth.

“Are they talking about regression of Unit 1?”

But regression means returning to the original body. Olivia Unit 1’s soul should awaken in Olivia Unit 2’s body.

That’s regression.

“Why do they exist separately then?”

It seems ambiguous to call it regression. Rather than regression, it’s more like inheritance, past lives.

“Multiverse…”

That seems more fitting.

“If it weren’t for me, that kid would have died. When I found him, he had been starving for days and was skin and bones.”

“So what? What are you trying to say? Just because you saved a life, does that give you the right to do as you please?”

Ridiculous talk.

“Well then, I can do as I please with you too.”

“What do you mean?”

“You may not know, but I saved the world. I was a hero.”

Unbelieving eyes. Naturally.

While everyone knows heroes exist, how they come to be is unknown. There’s no way to know.

At least the Hero’s Holy Sword serves as a symbol. It only recognizes someone as a hero when they see the Holy Sword.

“But I returned the Holy Sword.”

The man scanned me up and down.

“You, a hero? Don’t make me laugh. A hero is not someone a weakling like you can impersonate.”

“Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

Indeed, based on appearances alone, Dike is clearly far from being a hero. It’s a form that is hard to believe is that of a hero by anyone who sees it.

However, that doesn’t mean he’s not a hero.

Even without the Holy Sword, the power remains. Even if wrongfully denying the title of former hero, one can freely wield the power of level 99.

Naturally, I picked up a fork.

The man’s eyes widened. As I grabbed the fork, he began to guard against me, thinking I was about to fight.

“That child belongs to me. I picked him up.”

“You’re treating people like objects. Are you a slave trader?”

“I am not a slave trader.”

Not a full-fledged merchant. A case where someone luckily found a pretty child and got greedy.

“You’re not an approved slave trader in the kingdom either. Did you just pick up a parentless child?”

“Yes.”

“But what…”

Olivia 2nd had no choice. If she didn’t follow him, she would starve to death.

So for now, I listened to what he said.

Listening doesn’t mean I couldn’t think. Olivia 2nd found a better nest and flapped her wings.

“Damn it!”

The man knew that too. Knowing doesn’t mean he could back off.

He couldn’t back off.

“Do you know how much money I spent on that brat? I saved a kid who almost died, and you’re asking how much I spent.”

The man yelled furiously. Each time he raised his arm, which seemed quite sore from being bitten by Olivia 2nd, he grimaced.

I scratched my head with the fork and replied bluntly.

“I don’t care.”

“It’s my money. It’s mine!”

“Why is he your money?”

“His face is half and half… If you take him to the noble you desire, you can get ten million. The Peegmon Viscount who reveals secrets… I’d like a viscount. So hand him over.”

“Peegmon Viscount?”

When a familiar name came up, I felt uncomfortable for no reason.

“Die if you don’t know! Get out of the way!”

The man suddenly rushed at Olivia 2nd. He threw himself towards Olivia 2nd, not me, thinking he could win by physically colliding with Dike, who looked so pathetic.

“Do you want to become like a military horse?”

“A military horse?”

“Some friends were TS’d today.”

“Shut up!”

The man was now consumed by madness. Unable to tolerate the bastard’s nonsense, he could no longer stand idly by.

He lunged forward and threw a punch.

Crack!

I struck the man’s cheek with force.

Thud!

With his eyes wide open, the man was slammed into the ground. The combined speed of me rushing towards him and the speed at which my hand reached him must have been staggering.

“Ezihagun.”

I easily subdued an opponent who was at least a head taller than me. Just an ordinary adult male.

One punch away─one slap was enough.

“Sigh.”

Denis, who had been watching the situation, approached. He bowed his head, avoiding the unkempt man.

He tidied up the tableware he had set up with care.

Lisa, who was scared, also occasionally approached and helped with cleaning. Lisa was only afraid of Olivia 2.

“What should we do now that we’re living together?”

It was a bad sign for Lisa.

“Is it over now?”

“Thank you.”

Olivia 2 was purchased for free. I’m not sure if the seller wanted it, but the item came running to me.

I did nothing wrong.

Olivia 1 whispered behind me. It was clearly a word of thanks, but her voice was full of color.

“I’ll tell you about the disease later. You can expect it.”

“… .”

Olivia 1 touched my buttocks as she pleased. I slapped away her ominous hand.

“Don’t act like you don’t like it…”

Adult Olivia went upstairs with a sly smile.

“I’ll see you later, Father.”

“Dad, I can make you happy too.”

Charlotte 1 and Nine 1 followed her. Among the three, Olivia 1 seemed to be the leader.

“No matter how strange the worldview is, treating your father like this…”

Although he’s not a biological father, but a foster father. I just can’t understand it based on my values.

While pondering, what woke me up from my thoughts was Olivia 2 hanging on my thigh.

“… Thank you.”

Olivia 2 expressed gratitude in a deep voice. I roughly ruffled his head and gestured.

“Are you hungry?”

At a time when he should be eating well and sleeping well, he probably couldn’t eat properly because of the monkeys obsessed with sex that he had as parents.

A gurgling sound continued to come from his stomach. My senses informed me of this information.

I asked Denis to prepare dinner for Olivia 2. Denis brought out a generous meal.

Olivia 2 hesitated and looked around, then picked up the spoon following Lisa.

“… Well, I’ll eat well.”

Unlike the rude 1, the 2nd was polite.

Does he resemble Tina, one of the official beauties in NTR Tsukuru games?

Even though he’s young, there’s already a glow on his face. Despite being cunning, there was elegance in his beauty.

“… Maybe washing dishes is also a matter of perspective.”

Not all plates are the same. Just because they’re buried in the ground doesn’t mean they all have the same value.

Cultural heritage is not washing dishes but discovery and excavation.

I excavated. Rationalizing it, I fed Olivia 2.

Nom nom, eating little by little. In a hurry, he started stuffing his stomach. Isn’t that choking?

I was worried.

“Eat slowly. No one’s going to take it away from you.”

“… .”

I now understood Olivia 1’s words. Why I got the 2nd.

“… I pretended not to, but I actually had lingering feelings.”

Two years. Despite this and that, there was a time spent together during the hero party era.

He felt even stronger emotions towards Tina, who started in the hometown village.

Knowing they would eventually be taken away, he still grew fond of them. Is it fate or something else?

Then a child who resembled Tina flowed into the inn. Olivia.

How could I just let him go?

When the duty as a hero became difficult and tiring, he was with Tina. When it was hard to endure loneliness in this world, he leaned on Tina’s shoulder.

Under the sparkling night sky, we dreamed of the same future.

Before long, in that future, someone else took my place. A wretched woman.

However, Tina, who exists in my memory, was a sharp-tongued childhood friend and lover. The child she bore with pain.

In a way, it could be seen as Tina’s last trace.

Knowing it was washing dishes, the reason I couldn’t send Olivia 2 to someone else.

I looked at Dennis and said,

“Sister, can you wash the baby for a bit?”

“Just take Lisa with you and bathe together.”

Since I thought it would be a bit difficult for me to bathe Olivia, I asked Dennis for help. Besides Dennis, there was no one else who could care for Olivia 2.

It was impossible for the firstborns to meet the secondborns.

“And you?”

“I’ll just see the firstborns for a moment and ask something.”

“Firstborns?”

“Yes, this is the secondborn.”

“Oh.”

Dennis also understood the meaning of firstborns and secondborns. And chuckled.

“Got it. I’ll wash Olivia 2.”

“Thank you.”

Handing Olivia 2 over to Dennis for a moment, I headed straight to the firstborns’ room.

Thud, thud, thud-.

Standing in front of Olivia 1’s room, I knocked on the door. Slowly, the door opened.

Inside the room stood adult Olivia.

Naked, wearing only underwear like in a bathhouse dressing room.

“What are you doing right now…?”

“You didn’t come up here because you wanted to treat erectile dysfunction, did you? Come in quickly.”

“Gulp!”

Olivia clenched and unclenched her hand repeatedly. I continued to feel pressure as if someone was squeezing a testicle.

A weakness. Like women who can’t move when touched on their genitals, I too had a constitution that couldn’t move when my testicles were grabbed.

Like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse, I entered adult Olivia’s room.

Creak, click-.

Thud-!

The door closed automatically.