Chapter 6
Translator: sleepingjay

Arriving at the lake, I put away my curiosities about Andrea, took off my clothes and entered the lake.

I was glad it was summer now. Though I might be vexed by the kid’s cheekiness, but all the same, a lake in midwinter would have been harmful for a child.

While splashing about, I swam in the lake.

When I casually glanced at Andrea, who stood still by the shore, he was staring frozenly at me.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and get in.”

“D-don’t be noisy!”

“Are you embarrassed? There’s nothing to be embarrassed about a kid’s body like yours.”

“You’re noisy! Shut up, shut up!”

What, did I break him?

Like a toy, Andrea kept uttering nothing but one-word syllables. It was quite funny, and I laughed a little.

In the end, Andrea entered the lake and washed his body. When we both got out of the lake, Andrea stayed obedient even when he was touched by me, so I suppose he might have gotten used to me.

I spelled the clothes we had been dressed in with the life-skills charm, Clean, and then I also dried our wet bodies with wind magic.

With that finished, we went home. When we were finally about to reach my home, the little hooligan was already dozing off, swaying like a ship.

“Before you go to sleep, eat a little bit. For sleeping, since there’s only one bed, it can’t be helped so you just sleep there. Llnderstood?’ .

Don’t wanna.”

“What are you disagreeing for? Dont talk selfishly.”

“If I sleep, you’ll be gone, wouldn’t you…? You’ll run away, right? You are planning to go somewhere and leave me behind again.”

Was this about his mother?

Or, was it about this afternoon?

“This is my house. Instead of leaving, I’d rather kick Andrea out. Understood?”

“……”

Shake shake.

Andrea shook his head. What the heck, what was he complaining about?!

“Just what should I do to get you to understand? I can only do this much for food, and I only have one bed. This place is different from your house, so no matter what wilful things you say, those things you’re used to won’t turn up, you know.”

“……Sleep together with me.”

“Nope.”

“Why?!”

This time, our positions were reversed.

Sleeping on one bed with a kid?

Give me a break, please. I was no good at kids. Moreover, in their sleep, kids would do things like hit me in the chin, kick my stomach, and push me off the bed, so sleeping with kids was something I wouldn’t do.

“Because — I won’t do things that I hate to do.”

“Oh. Is, is it because you hate me?”

“……”

In truth, I didn’t really hate Andrea.

I just didn’t like children because they were all annoying. But, maybe because I didn’t deny it, Andrea took my silence as affirmation.

The honey-colored eyes began to waver in an instant. At the sight of the boy clutching his fists and his lips jutting out as he bit on them to stop himself from crying, I again yielded.

“……You guys really are unfair. Do you think you’ll always be forgiven as long as you cry?”

“Ug, gh, waa—”

“Aah, don’t cry. I don’t hate Andrea, I just hate children.”

While he cried his heart out, I hugged him to my chest and rubbed his back.

Even though I revised my words, murmuring to his ears, Andrea still cried profusely.

……..Was there something wrong with my words?

“Have you stopped crying?”

“……”

Nod.

The small head swayed. I reheated the corn soup I’d taken out for dinner, scooped up a spoonful, and held it up to Andrea’s mouth.

“Just for today, ok? From tomorrow onwards, you’ll have to eat by yourself.”

“……Un.”

With his eyes and nose-tip dyed a bright red, Andrea ate the meal from my hand.

I placed Andrea on my left leg, and lifted what he wanted to eat to his mouth.

At times, I was envious of children.

By crying, they would be given protection by adults. It was also an unconditional protection.

Did I also have this sort of childhood, I wonder?

I think it was likely something which I wouldn’t be able to find, no matter how much I fumbled for it in my memory.

For me, unconditional love was something that might as well be an illusion.