Episode 5
I took a neatly folded piece of paper from the small bag Mother had bought me and held it out to Dean.
The paper, which said ‘11 Unexpected Tourist Spots in the Capital You Didn’t Know About,’ was torn from a magazine Mother had bought me as soon as we arrived in the capital.
And surprisingly, Hutson Street proudly held third place.
“Look here, Dean. It says they mainly sell food that native capital residents eat here.”
“That’s probably because it’s not a tourist spot. I’ll take you to a famous restaurant instead of a place like this. So let’s just go ba… My Lady?”
I passed by Dean and walked gallantly down Hutson Street. I didn’t even pretend to listen to Dean following behind and examined the shop signs.
‘Ah, there it is!’
I soon found the sign I wanted. It was an emotional sign with a moon and flowers drawn inside a large beer mug.
As I tried to go inside without hesitation, Dean grabbed my arm firmly. He peered inside the slightly open door and said.
“You shouldn’t come to a place like this, My Lady. If the eldest Lady finds out about this…”
“It’s fine as long as Dean pretends not to know.”
“But…”
“Dean is my guard knight, right? So you have to follow my words. And once we go inside, don’t call me My Lady. Dean, pretend to be my older brother from now on.”
“There isn’t a single place where we look alike, so how can I pretend to be your brother?”
“Do it if I tell you to. If anyone asks, we can just say Dean resembles Dad and I resemble Mom.”
“What about the age difference?”
“Brother, what on earth are you worried about? It’s just that our parents had a late child because their relationship was so good. Me, I mean.”
I gave a wink and passed by the still-worried Dean to push the door wide open.
Contrary to the expectation that there wouldn’t be many people since it was still broad daylight, there were quite a few people inside the dim interior.
The gazes of the people who were chatting noisily shifted all at once toward me and Dean.
“What? It’s a kid?”
“Little one, this isn’t a place for you to come. Go back and have some more warm milk.”
“Should I give you some hot chocolate at least?”
The people each made jokes and burst into loud laughter.
“Look at this, My Lady. I told you it’s not the kind of place you should come to.”
“Shh, Dean. Didn’t I tell you not to say My Lady?”
I walked vigorously, swinging my arms back and forth. As I took a seat as close to the bar as possible, Dean, who had been watching the atmosphere, sat in front of me.
I kicked my feet under the table and raised my right hand high.
“Don’t you take orders here?”
A red-haired older sister who was wiping wine glasses at the bar gave a smirk and soon approached with a menu.
“How did you come here, little one? It’s not a place for kids to come.”
“I came in because the sign looked cool while I was passing by.”
“Is that so? Aren’t you scared?”
“Not at all. The inside is cool too.”
I pretended not to see Dean, who was opening his eyes wide in disbelief.
“So, what about the menu?”
“It’s here. Look at it and call me again.”
“Wait a moment, sister. What is the recommended menu here?”
The sister explained while pointing at the menu with her finger.
“The food a little kid could eat, let’s see. The schnitzel here is okay. Do you know schnitzel?”
“I know! It’s a big fried piece of meat!”
“That’s right. Besides that, hmm, the grilled homemade sausages served with mashed potatoes are also delicious.”
“Wow, homemade, they must be tasty.”
“Sure, sure. It’s even more truly delicious if you eat it with the homemade sauce sold only here. So, what should I give you?”
I rested my chin on both hands and smiled brightly.
“But I want to eat something even more special.”
“More than this? Hmm, let’s see.”
“No, not that kind of thing.”
I looked into the sister’s green eyes and spoke clearly.
“I want to eat the chef’s special dish that isn’t on the menu. Ah, and if possible, I’d like it to use salt from the southern sea.”
Even before I finished my sentence, the sister’s eyes sparkled with interest.
“The chef’s special dish? For real?”
“Yes!”
“Do you even know what the word ‘special’ means when you order it?”
“Of course. I’m a kid who knows that much.”
The sister folded the menu with a snap and smiled brightly.
“Then I’ll go check in the kitchen first if the order is possible.”
“Yes.”
A moment later, the sister returned and told me the words I had been expecting.
“They say it’s possible. But little one, do you like this place?”
“Of course.”
“If you like it that much, do you want to take a look inside too?”
It worked. I tried hard to suppress the corners of my mouth that were trying to rise.
“Is that okay?”
“Sure.”
“Great!”
As I hopped down from the chair, Dean also stood up. Then, the unnamed sister spoke firmly toward Dean.
“Not you. This is a special showing only for the little lady.”
“…Yes? But…”
I faithfully played the role of an immature late-born sister to the flustered Dean.
“Brother! I’m already eight years old! I’m all grown up! How long are you going to keep following me around just because you’re worried about me?”
As I put my hands on my hips and huffed, Dean was taken aback.
“But, Vivi. You’re still a baby to your brother, and our parents will worry.”
“Oh, honestly! There are so many people here, what could happen? And the sister said she’s only showing it to me. What if she won’t show it to me either because you insisted on following?”
“But…”
“You’re a man with many worries. What do you think will happen here? I’ll take her and come back safely.”
“I’ll just take a quick look and come back. The sausages here look delicious, so stay and eat those!”
I gave a bright smile to the hesitantly standing Dean and followed the sister. The sister passed through the kitchen and opened a certain wooden door that was inside. There were steep stairs inside it.
I climbed the stairs with effort, and just as I almost reached the top, someone lifted me right up.
“…!”
In an instant, my eyes met with a brown-haired man.
A man with ordinary brown hair and brown eyes.
I could recognize this person’s identity at once.
Since, as a rule, only main characters have this level of glowing appearance.
“Marcu…!”
Marcus Olden!
‘My stepfather candidate!’
I muttered unintentionally and covered my mouth with both hands.
The teacher of the male protagonist and the guild leader of the underground information guild, Falcon of the Waning Moon, Marcus, was right before my eyes.
I had been worried if he might be out or on a commission, but fortunately, he seemed to be here.
While I was snickering under my hands, Marcus raised an eyebrow.
“Do you know me?”
The answer came from the sister who had followed me up the stairs.
“Could she not know, since she came all the way here?”
Marcus, who set me down on the floor, tilted his head askew and scanned me from top to bottom.
“I became interested because they said a client appeared for the first time in a while.”
He soon smirked.
“She’s just a child, not even big enough to be eaten. Hey, Anya. Are you sure you brought her in correctly?”
“I brought her in correctly. I’m telling you, she asked for a special dish with southern salt.”
“Little one, did you even know what that meant when you said it?”
I straightened my shoulders and said.
“I’m not ‘little one,’ I’m Valery.”
“What?”
“And since I came as a client, please respect me. Do you call other clients ‘little one’ too?”
Marcus wore a blank expression and soon burst into loud laughter. After laughing for a long time, he went and sat in a chair. I hesitated for a moment and then sat across from him.
“My apologies. Right, Miss Valery. Seeing that you say you came to make a commission, it seems you knew the code when you spoke.”
“That’s right. I came knowing it precisely.”
“Who sent you?”
“No one sent me; I came to make the commission myself.”
“Then who on earth told you that code?”
“Do I have to tell you that too? For free?”
“What?”
At Marcus’s bewildered retort, I straightened my shoulders and spoke clearly.
“This is a guild that values, buys, and sells information, isn’t it? If you want my information, you’ll have to pay me a fair price for it, won’t you?”
After hearing my answer, Marcus burst into pleasant laughter once again.
“Well, I took you lightly for a kid and got hit with a blow.”
Marcus, who swept back his bangs roughly, crossed his legs and waved his hand.
“Well, there’s no need to say if you don’t want to. Fine. It wouldn’t have been difficult to find out the code anyway since it’s an open secret.”
“You thought well. Let’s not doubt each other too much.”
“That’s not something that should come out of the mouth of a kid like you, but fine. Then let’s get right to the point. So, what are you trying to commission? Is there a boy bullying you?”
“I’m not in the mood for jokes.”
As I puffed out my cheeks and made a grumbling sound, Marcus swallowed his laughter.
“Then?”
I took a deep breath once and shouted.
“Please become my stepfather!”
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