episode_0110

“The kid wasn’t hurt, and as you can see, I’m fine. It was the driver who caught the criminal, not me, in the first place.”

“It would be a really big deal if the child almost got kidnapped. I think the child would be in great shock, but I’m not sure if he’ll be okay.”

“You don’t have to worry about him. He was really happy that he received a medal.”

For your information, the little boy who was almost kidnapped received the Brave Child Medal.

Although his homeroom teacher came and gave him a bit of a spanking, he didn’t seem to regret it, perhaps because he was told he would receive a medal.

“Ahaha, cute.”

“He shrugged and said how brave he was, which was quite cute.”

“What, are you the kind of person who can make Dad smile like that? Why don’t you show it to me!”

He frowned at Ariando’s ridiculous cuteness and then said.

“Why is this so gross? Why do I have to do that to you?”

Are you telling me to give him a daddy smile?

“Tch! That’s cruel! I’m cuter than her!”

Ariando immediately shows arrogant confidence in her cuteness.

“Are you saying that with your own mouth?”

To be honest, although that little boy was smart, he wasn’t cuter than Ariando.

She’s cute just because she’s young, and Ariando has a cuteness that goes beyond her age.

“So you’re not cute? Me?”

“…..”

In other words, since I was telling the truth, I have nothing to say to Ariando.

I decided to just pretend I didn’t hear.

“Huh? The boss is ignoring my words.”

“The culprit has been found, so the lockdown will soon end. It was a bit uncomfortable, but it worked out well.”

I nodded and responded to Baine’s words.

“At least something like today won’t happen.”

“Aren’t you really cute? Aren’t I cute?”

“You’re cute, Ariando.”

“Really~? After all, I only have francs~”

Ariando fell into Franc’s arms.

Ariando had a hard time ignoring the small face buried in Fran’s chest.

“Sudden screening is very inconvenient.”

“Right, did we look that suspicious?”

“It’s not so much that we are suspicious, but rather that you are suspicious.”

“Does he look like a criminal?”

Suddenly all the kids’ eyes turned to my face.

I didn’t look away as if I was proud.

‘I don’t have that kind of face.’

I’ve never heard anyone call me ugly.

At least I am proud of my human-like appearance, and I don’t think it is a face that arouses disgust.

“what.”

But their reaction is a bit strange.

Because everyone was staring at me blankly.

Faced with stinging gazes, I maintained a blank expression as if asking what to do.

“Hmm hmmm.”

“Ehm.”

“What’s wrong with the atmosphere?”

The kids who made eye contact with me cleared their throats excessively.

What is it about my face that gives it this strange aura?

“Is my face that ugly?”

I am in a much better state now than when I was a mercenary in the past because I use appearance care products that are sold for free.

My skin has improved a lot thanks to consistent maintenance.

Of course, compared to the nobles who have been consistently managed since childhood, it is inevitable that they will be left out.

“Hmph, nope.”

“My uncle, what can I say, he has an atmosphere.”

“Yep.”

The kids exchange looks with each other.

There seemed to be something there, but it seemed like I was the only one who couldn’t understand it, so I felt a little left out.

At that time, Fran quietly grabbed my hand.

“???”

The kids were all watching and I wondered why this was happening all of a sudden, but a white light erupted from Fran’s hand and then disappeared.

They said it was okay because there were no injuries, but Fran didn’t seem to be at ease.

“I heard you weren’t hurt.”

“Still. You’re tired.”

Franc, who had strengthened the Holy Relic to level 11 with the encouragement of his friends, was now at a level where he could be revived if not killed.

In an instant, my body felt refreshed.

It’s like the feeling you get when you go into a sauna, sweat a lot, come out, wash up, and drink banana milk.

‘It’s addictive.’

How great would it be if you could keep receiving this?

“It definitely makes me feel refreshed. But is it really okay to accept something this great just to control my condition? It pricks my conscience.”

“You can do that, uncle. Just tell me anytime and I’ll do it for you.”

Fran says with a shy smile.

It was a statement that really moved people.

Is this what raising a child is like?

‘In the case of Fran… coxswain?’

She is still stubborn about being my wife, so if she is a helmsman, she is a helmsman.

“How do you feel about being 11th strong?”

I couldn’t take a closer look at how the sacred object had changed.

When Franc advanced to the round of 11 too easily, the kids, who had lost some momentum, were clamoring for theirs to be played again, so they were not able to take care of everything.

“I’m not sure yet. But it’s easier to use my strength than before. The effectiveness has improved a lot. Even though I’m using my strength now, it’s not hard at all to the point where it doesn’t feel like I’ve used it.”

Fran was now becoming completely munchkin-like.

It can be said that the franc itself is becoming a ‘resurrection stone’.

Personally, I was planning on making Franc’s Top 12, even if it meant investing in it.

‘You don’t know what abilities will be attached to the holy relic.’

Fran was a child who became more rewarding the more you raised him.

“You look really tired, man. Let’s go back now.”

Shine said something unexpectedly surprising.

“That’s right, your eyeball sunk in.”

“We’re not there yet.”

“We’re going! Boss, get some rest!”

The kids quickly agree with Shine’s words.

I thought they were asking for reinforcement again, but I guess they weren’t that immature.

I saw the kids off while feeling strange.

And a few days after that day.

Hash came to the general store.

With an unexpected story.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

“I need some help.”

“????”

Why do I feel a strange sense of déjà vu?

“What do you need help with?”

I decided to take Hash’s solemn attitude seriously and asked.

“I thought Narrell couldn’t come because of the lockdown, but that wasn’t the case.”

“what?”

What kind of bullshit is this?

“It was something I kept hidden on purpose. Nayrel was kidnapped.”

“…Narrell was one of the three students who were kidnapped?”

“yes.”

Suddenly, I remembered what the driver said the other day.

Among the criminals, there was someone disguised as a knight.

‘It was said that it was the knights from the family who took Narrell away.’

What if it was disguise?

The reason for kidnapping Narrell is completely understandable.

If what Hash said is true, isn’t Nayrel a capable person with a promising future?

“So what are you going to do?”

I felt anxious.

It was obvious that Hash, who cared for Narrell, would not hesitate to do strange things.

“They say they found out where Narrell is.”

Could this be information from the kidnappers I helped catch a few days ago?

“How did you know that?”

“That’s a secret.”

Hash kept his mouth shut as if he had no intention of answering.

I don’t think I found out about that fact in a normal way.

“Ha, so?”

“I will follow you there too.”

Hash said something he hoped was not the case.

“Why are you there?”

Go and ask what help you have.

You’ll be lucky if it doesn’t disturb you.

“It will help. I am strong and can be a bait.”

“bait??”

“I knew where the kids were, but rescuing them safely without harm is a different story.”

Rescue operations are difficult because it is difficult to deal with enemies while protecting the safety of the hostage.

The top priority was the safety of the hostages, but we had to be careful because we had no idea where they were trapped.

“So I decided to be the bait.”

The knights enter inside, covering the faces of criminals captured with the Awakened ability.

Hash will be disguised as a kidnapped child.

It would be great if Hash could get into the place where the kidnapped children are gathered.

The problem was that in the process, Hash was bound to be exposed to kidnappers.

“You would undertake such a dangerous operation? What kind of crazy person would allow it?”

“Everyone said no, but I insisted. I really want to do it. This operation cannot be attempted without me. They say you can change the face, but you can’t change the body shape.”

Since it’s impossible to change the body shape, wouldn’t it be a good idea to cast a real child?

If that’s the case, it’s better not to even start this operation at all.

“I’m a noble. I can do it. You’ve trained all this time to do something like this, right? And I want to help you get your friend back.”

It is said that this operation cannot begin unless you volunteer, so how can you say not to do it?

In the end, what if the operation fails and Neirel gets hurt while trying to rescue her?

“I will never be able to forgive myself.”

Tears fell again from Hash’s big eyes.

It was a look in his eyes that had already made up his mind.

“What do you want to ask me?”

“There are a lot of good things in your store. I’d like you to sell them.”

I thought we were pretty close.

The Jammins came to visit quite often, and I remember that they welcomed their visits, even if they weren’t very enthusiastic about their nature.

But the only thing you are asking me to do is to sell you something?

“Do you think the only thing I can do for you is sell you things? Do I look like such an incompetent person?”

“I didn’t mean to burden you. I had a lot of trouble coming to see you. But there’s no place that sells better products than your store…”

“That’s it! It’s normal for a normal person to deal with it so that the child doesn’t come forward. Are you working with the security team?”

“Huh? Ugh…”

“let’s go.”

I need to see the faces of those bastards who are trying to carry out a mission with a child.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

“We kept refusing too.”

“…I see.”

In a fit of rage, I went to the security station and met the person involved.

However, it turns out that the decision to carry out the operation was a unilateral request from Hash.

“We are also at a loss. We know you are anxious, but we hope you will trust us and wait for us.”

“It’s true that it’s safer for me to help you.”

Hash also responded as if he had something to say.

“We can rescue them safely without such an operation.”

The knights asked him to trust them, but Hash didn’t seem to like the knights’ willingness to try a dangerous method instead of a safe method.

“…Then how about doing it this way?”

While quietly observing the situation, I came up with an idea and told it to the knights and Hash.

“There are ways to do this operation without Hash participating.”

“This operation can’t happen if I don’t participate!”

Hash immediately refuted what I said, but unfortunately, that wasn’t true.

This is because I knew a girl with a small body who was a little bigger than Hash, but it wasn’t that big of a difference.

The girl was much older than Hash and was strong, so there was no problem in participating in this operation.

In the first place, this operation would be too dangerous for that girl.