episode_0107

After telling him to wait until he becomes an adult.

The conversation from then until we arrived at the inn was nothing unusual.

However, unlike his mouth, which calmly told everyday stories, his mind was complicated.

‘Is there something wrong with me?’

After thinking about it, Lisia inadvertently came up with such a thought.

It was time for children in their mid-teens to get married one by one.

And by the time we got to Raven, it was no longer strange to have three children.

Although there are as many different cases as there are people in the world, this is usually the case.

I didn’t want to be one of those few examples of being single my entire life.

Feeling anxious from such a simple fact, the girl wandered back and forth in front of Raven’s door.

So I decided to give it a try after a long time.

As I was thinking back to the memory of that time, which had not even been half a day, my face became extremely hot and my steps became faster for no reason.

Of course, it could not be said that there was no result at all for that courage. I even got a promise to think about it more seriously later.

The problem was that he didn’t seem to be taking it seriously.

“You should go in, no, you shouldn’t. What should I do when I go in?”

My hand went up to the doorknob and then pulled it back several times, and I guess it was around the time when I went to the end of the hallway about 10 times and came back.

At the sound of footsteps and the floor creaking beneath them, which I didn’t even try to hide, the door opened.

-Squeak

“Ah, Raven.”

“What are you doing there if you’re not coming in?”

“That’s… … .”

For a moment, I took a step back in shock, and didn’t even come up with a lame excuse for his next question.

Now that I think about it, this was the room I was assigned to anyway.

So, from an objective perspective, it was like he was just wandering around the bedroom without even entering it.

Wouldn’t he be seen as a strange child? I felt that worry for a moment, but Raven seemed to be more concerned about something else than that.

Was he trying to see if there was any special reason for waiting like this? He glanced around and scratched his head a few times as he couldn’t find a good cause.

And as if he had finally made up his mind, he stretched out his hand towards himself, who had been staring restlessly, with a small breath of energy.

“Wow.”

Because it sounds like it is.

“It was late at night. I should go to sleep quickly.”

“Eh… … .”

was placed on the bed.

And even a blanket was covered over it.

For a moment, I wandered around without understanding what was happening.

Instinctively, I slightly turned over and snuggled into the warm blanket, and at the same time, the light went out.

*****

Everyone has a standard for judgment in their mind.

The line drawn between what you can do and what you cannot do is often called conscience or morality.

The line moves around for a variety of reasons, including unforgettable experiences, faith, and simply a change of heart.

On the other hand, there were also those who stayed straight in their seats. This was exactly the case with Raven’s line about being an adult.

The standard for being an adult was different for each person because there was no objective standard.

As far as he knew, he could broadly group them by occupation and status.

High-ranking nobles did not have a regent after they turned twenty.

The church believed that children were capable of making rational decisions at the age of seven, and allowed children to attend various ceremonies.

Technicians usually begin to hand over work to their students around the age of fifteen.

And in order to become a knight, one had to train before the age of ten and be thrown into the middle of the battlefield to fight at the age of fourteen.

Based on reasonable inference, I expected that he would roughly consider it to be around that time, but I had no hope.

It was true that he liked the kindness and kindness that came from the lines drawn in that way.

Still, wouldn’t it be okay to show a little flexibility when it comes to adult standards? It was inevitable that I would feel this way.

If I have a problem, wouldn’t I be able to solve it in a clever way?

A question suddenly occurred to me, so I spoke in a low whisper.

“Are you sleeping?”

“No, I’m not sleeping yet. Why are you doing that?”

“I have something to ask you.”

The answer came with the sound of rustling blankets.

I turned my head in that direction, adjusted my posture, and lay down. Maybe it was because it was night, but even small voices could be heard clearly.

“What does it mean to be an adult that Raven talks about? Simply regardless of age.”

“It means a time when you have to take responsibility for your words and actions.”

“Then I haven’t reached that point?”

“Yes. If you ask people if you have become an adult, you will get many different answers, but for me it means two years later. At least I think so.”

I realized why he wasn’t listening to what I was saying.

No matter how smart you are, you still make mistakes, and although you may be a bit immature, I thought you could be forgiven. In short, he is just a child who needs to be looked after.

This was not a problem that could be solved by persuasion.

But it was possible to approach it from another direction. I quickly asked before I forgot what came to mind on the spot.

“… Raven is an adult, right?”

“I guess so. Because there is no one who takes responsibility for me.”

“Then, do you have to take responsibility for what Raven said?”

“I guess so.”

The conversation ended like that. Because I got the answer I wanted.

Not long after, a small snoring sound was heard from Raven’s side of the bed.

I stared at the ceiling blankly for a while, and when I felt like enough time had passed, I got up from the bed.

Even if I didn’t have to use magic, as a light person, I could not make a loud noise if I decided to do so.

And then I slowly approached the bed where Raven was sleeping. The surroundings were dark, but all I had to do was follow the outline illuminated by the dusky moonlight.

And, seeing him defenseless didn’t mean I didn’t think anything of it.

‘… ‘It won’t work either.’

When the thought reached that point, the impulse disappeared as suddenly as it came, and the action did not proceed further.

Instead, I watched his chest rise and fall with his breathing and quietly left the room.

“Huuuu… … .”

I closed the door carefully so as not to wake me up, and after taking my steps toward the vacant lot behind the inn I had planned on before, I let out a long sigh.

Does Raven know that she is constantly letting out faint regrets as if she is burning a cigarette?

After all, is it because they are not adults that they are not taken seriously?

Or is it because the relationship between the guardian and the protected is the first thing that comes to mind? That relationship has long since changed into something else in my head.

“Licia.”

“Yes, Your Highness… … .”

In the end, two people who were deeply worried ended up just taking a deep breath in this time when no one was around.

I didn’t feel lonely because there was only one other passenger. Although I knew it was a detection magic above.

This is a fact I haven’t revealed to anyone, including Raven.

In preparation for this situation, I had several alternatives in mind. It was an extension of my imagination that I used to do whenever I had nothing to do.

For example, even though my strength is weak, it is stronger when I use magic, so ‘than I thought…’ ‘Are you weak?’ They say the same thing.

Like pretending not to go up to them and making them say, ‘I trusted you, Licia.’

However, the reality that emerged after dipping one’s toes into such fantasy was not like that.

Forcing something to happen… It wasn’t right. It is true that I thought about it for a moment, but that was the conclusion. If you repay kindness in that way, you are likely to be hated.

It was the most frightening thing for me. So, for today, I took a step back.

At least since I said it, Raven must have kept it in mind at least a little bit. I also told them to take responsibility so that they don’t get away with strange excuses later.

However, I couldn’t just let go. I knew I would kick through some hole later to get out.

So, you yourself should do at least some preparation.

Anyway, age aside, there was one more problem. This was a fact that was evident from everyday conversations.

Raven saw herself as a child worthy of being a daughter.

However, such qualifications are not something that is concluded between two people, but are achieved through the agreement of all people in the world.

The reason a couple holds a wedding ceremony in a church is so that many people can see it and serve as a witness.

Likewise, if the world accepts that Licia is Raven’s daughter, it will be so regardless of the fact.

The fact that something like that was actually happening played a large part in why I was becoming more and more anxious.

Like other stories, what happened in Villach was largely distorted to suit the tastes of many people.

The narrative of the heartbreaking story between father and daughter has been very popular for a long time.

Unfortunately, the girl who was just an ordinary girl without the name saint had no power to change this.

But the girl happened to have a good friend who could do her a light favor.

“You know that Raven is my guardian, not my biological father.”

“Yes, I definitely remember hearing it a few times. But why is that?”

“It’s nothing special, can you check that later? Even a simple word is good.”

“Okay, I don’t know why you’re asking me to do that, but… That’s probably okay.”

This is it.