It was embarrassing enough to come back knowing it was free; I couldn’t eat another one.
“Then would you like to try something other than the sausage?”
“Pardon? No, thank you!”
Despite my refusal, the owner this time held out a skewer with thick chunks of meat on it.
“Now, don’t decline and please try it. I am happiest when I see guests eating enjoyably.”
The owner smiled, pulling up the corners of his mouth as if that truly were his only happiness.
Thinking it would be rude to decline any further, I eventually took the skewer from the owner’s hand.
“Thank you. I’ll enjoy the meal. Porta Devia.”
And this time, I was the first to offer the phrase he had taught me, smiling slightly.
“Porta Devia. You enjoy your meal too, child.”
“Thank… you.”
The child nodded with a thank you, and the owner, without losing his characteristic smile, left again for where other guests were.
“Let’s go too.”
“But…”
“Yes?”
“What does ‘Porta Devia’ mean?”
“I heard ‘Porta Devia’ is a traditional saying passed down in this village, and it means that today is the happiest day of your life.”
Feeling somewhat proud, I explained it to the child while recalling the memory of what I’d heard from the owner.
“Today is the happiest day of my life…”
“It’s a nice saying, isn’t it?”
“…Yes. Porta Devia.”
The eyes of the child, who was muttering in a small, barely audible voice, seemed to sparkle for a moment.
I found the child quite cute like that, so I gently stroked his hair.
However, perhaps surprised by the unexpected physical contact, the child looked up at me with wide eyes.
“Oh, sorry. Was it unpleasant because I touched you without a word?”
“No, no… Because it’s dirty…”
“I’m dirty?”
“No! Because I, I am dirty…”
“Why are you dirty? You aren’t dirty at all.”
With the intention of showing him he really wasn’t dirty, I firmly grasped the child’s hand.
Then, although he had taken my hand earlier in the confusion, his body flinched as if he were still unaccustomed to such physical contact.
“Let’s go.”
I gently pulled the child’s hand to get moving again, but the child did not budge.
So, when I looked at him with an inquisitive expression to ask why, he had a face that seemed to be hesitating over something.
“Why? Do you have something to say?”
“What is… your name?”
At the child’s question, I almost blurted out my real name naturally for a moment, but then I shut my mouth.
And remembering that I had told Mary and William to call me by the name Bell instead of my real name to hide my identity during the trip, I opened my mouth.
“I’m Bell.”
“Bell…”
Seeing the child quietly mulling over
my name again and again, a smile naturally formed on my lips.
“Then, shall we really go now?”
“Yes.”
We delved back into the street.
Each holding a skewer in one hand, we walked the street holding each other’s hand.
Somehow, it felt like I had come out for a walk with a younger brother I never had.
While looking around the street, a clothing shop came into view.
Since the clothes he was currently wearing were so worn out, I planned to have the child wear new clothes before taking him to the orphanage.
So, I forcibly led the still-hesitant child inside and bought a set of clothes that fit his body.
I had felt it from the first time I saw him, but the child was very beautiful.
I was certain that once he grew a little more and his facial features became more distinct, he would
become an incredibly handsome man.
When I dressed the child in new green-toned clothes that seemed to suit his pretty appearance well, his looks stood out even more.
I didn’t hide my sense of pride and finished the payment with a satisfied expression.
By the time we left the clothing shop, the night had grown deep.
The crowds that had been bustling earlier were now gradually disappearing from the streets.
It seemed everyone had gone home for today in order to enjoy the festival tomorrow.
Thinking I had done everything I needed to do, I headed toward the inn with the child.
We were walking along quietly and silently when I felt a gaze watching us from behind, just as I had felt for a while.
And now, not only the gaze but also the sound of footsteps was getting closer bit by bit.
Just as I felt they had completely closed the distance, I turned around and quickly hid the child behind my back.
“You guys are…”
Familiar silhouettes were standing before my eyes.
Two of them were the ones I had seen earlier, and the other two were faces I was seeing for the first time.
“Hehe, we meet again.”
The massive man I had seen earlier spoke while letting out a repulsive laugh.
“What is the matter?”
“Well, you see…”
The man visibly dragged out his words.
I glared at them without lowering my guard.
“Oh? Number 5, what is with you? Did you get new clothes?”
The tallest man among them noticed the child behind my back and spoke.
“I asked what the matter was.”
“My, my, the thing is… no matter how much we think about it, we feel that selling Number 5 wasn’t right. Ah, Number 5 is the number we use to call that fellow over there instead of a name.”
“What?”
At the massive man’s words, I felt the child holding my hand flinch.
“Since Number 5 is quite useful in his own way, we’ll have to take him back.”
At the sight of the man speaking shamelessly without even blinking an eye, I almost let out a hollow laugh for a moment.
“I believe the payment was already finalized?”
“The payment was indeed finalized. But what we are saying is not that we are going to return your money.”
Adding a look that said, ‘You know what I mean, right?’, the man stared at me with a despicable expression.
“So…”
I opened my mouth, barely swallowing the anger boiling up at these lowlifes.
“Are you saying you’re going to snatch the child away from me?”
“That is correct. Ah, now you’re finally making sense.”
The four men’s legs were slowly beginning to move.
“And I saw earlier that you have a money pouch…”
As I thought, it was true that they had worn sinister expressions after seeing my money pouch earlier.
“Place the money pouch on the ground and hand the child over to me obediently, and I’ll let you go peacefully.”
“What?”
This was absurd.
Who is letting whom go right now?
“You look like a noble lady, and we aren’t that unscrupulous. So just hand over the money and the child, and we’ll send you on your way safely.”
The more I listened, the more ridiculous it became.
“I’ll give you a chance. Go back right now as if nothing happened.”
I gave them one chance to run away.
Frankly, with Belita’s abilities, dealing with four guys like these wasn’t difficult at all.
However, I was in front of the child, and I didn’t want to make a big scene on a day like today.
“Puhaha! Oh, my Lady. What could you possibly do by yourself? Do you think we’re fools? We’ve already figured out that you haven’t been accompanied by a single guard since a while ago.”
As the massive man ridiculed me, the rest of the rascals laughed along with him.
“Indeed, how could someone so precious wander around without a guard? You truly don’t know how scary the world is.”
It seemed that reasoning with them was not going to work.
I turned slightly and gestured with my head for the child to step back.
However, the child only looked up at me with anxious eyes and did not move.
‘It’s okay.’
I mouthed the words ‘It’s okay’ and let go of the child’s hand.
Then the child stepped back bit by bit, and once he was far enough away, I turned my head again to stare at the thugs.
“You’re really not going to leave?”
I asked the question, but I had no intention of waiting for an answer.
