Normally, Ash had no intention of letting himself get involved with someone who would cling to him.
But Roxy had just left today, and there was nothing fun to do if he went back. So he simply found a patch of grass and sat down, quietly reading his book.
The child beside him, who seemed to be called Sylphiette, also cautiously sat nearby, hugging her knees and secretly observing him.
It was only after she gave her name that Ash learned that she... no, she seemed to be a girl.
Her parents probably worried about her identity. If she were a girl, she might be bullied even worse, so perhaps they had kept her hair in a boy's style? Her clothes were also quite gender-neutral.
When she grew up, if she didn't grow into an unattractive adult, she would definitely be a pretty good-looking girl, right?
Ash glanced at Sylphiette beside him, but he wasn't particularly interested. He silently turned his attention back to the book in his hands.
After all, she was just a little girl. He really couldn't be bothered to tease her.
And so, a gentle breeze blew past, like a soft hand lightly brushing over all things, while time slowly passed in the quiet surroundings.
Sylphiette remained very well-behaved. She played by herself on the grass, but she didn't dare stray too far from Ash, as if the moment she went too far away, the experience of being bullied would happen again.
'Come to think of it, doesn't this world teach children not to go off with strangers? What if they get kidnapped? Or is it just that there aren't any outsiders around here in the countryside?', He glanced again at Sylphiette playing in the distance. Her innocent and completely defenseless appearance really made her seem like someone who could easily be tricked into leaving with another person. But that had nothing to do with him. He shook his head inside and once again immersed himself in the world of his book.
Before he knew it, the setting sun gradually sank toward the horizon, dyeing the sky orange-red. The gentle afterglow fell across the grass, covering everything in a dreamlike color... while Sylphiette remained beside Ash.
At this moment, Ash suddenly closed the book in his hands. The "smack" startled Sylphiette, and she hurriedly turned around nervously, asking with a slight tremble in her voice, "W-What's wrong?"
"What should I eat tonight?"
"Huh?", Sylphiette was stunned at first, clearly not expecting Ash to ask this question.
"Roxy isn't here, so no one is cooking. I guess I can only..."
"M-My house... c-come to my house?", Sylphiette hesitated, then gathered her courage and invited him.
"Mm, then let's go to your house!"
Compared to worrying about what to eat, it was naturally more convenient to simply let someone else decide such a small matter for him. With that thought, he nodded and agreed without hesitation.
Normally, he should have pretended to decline first, since that would have been more polite. But Sylphiette was only a child, so she didn't find it strange at all. Instead, she happily smiled.
Because she was thinking that if Ash could accompany her home, then she wouldn't have to worry about encountering anything bad on the way, which gave her a little more sense of security.
However, when Ash lifted her onto the horse and had her sit in his arms, Sylphiette became especially uncomfortable. Her small body grew stiff, and she kept fidgeting.
Seeing this, Ash couldn't help placing a hand on her shoulder. When he noticed the little girl in his arms instinctively tremble, he said somewhat helplessly, "Is this your first time riding a horse?"
"Y-Yes!", Sylphiette was so nervous that her voice became somewhat high-pitched, and her soft voice was full of unease.
"Don't worry. Even if you fall, I can pull you back in an instant."
"N-No... not... that...", Sylphiette stammered in response, her face full of embarrassment.
"Then what are you worried about?"
"I-I'm... this is my first time being... h-held by someone other than my papa and mama... S-so...", The little girl nervously fidgeted, making him shake his head, "I roughly understand why you're nervous, but you'll get used to it. If you really can't get used to it, I'll put you down and you can run on the ground?"
"Huh?"
"What?"
"S-Sorry... I-I'll try to get used to it," Sylphiette pitifully grabbed the hem of his clothes, afraid that he would simply throw her off.
"..."
'What should I do? This child seems to have misunderstood something. I really just meant to let her run for a bit. I'm not angry, and I'm not trying to bully her,' Ash was somewhat puzzled and troubled for a moment, but he quickly stopped caring.
After all, he'd eat a meal at her place and leave. There was an eighty percent chance they wouldn't meet again afterward, so why think so much about it?
———
Meanwhile, After parting with Ash, Roxy quickly headed toward the address of her employer's home.
When she arrived in front of a house, she went up and gently knocked on the door. However, the moment the door opened, she introduced herself and then suddenly realized that she seemed to have taken the wrong road because of a momentary oversight.
After all this trouble, she spent quite some time before finally finding the real employer's home.
But who would have thought that the employer's child had gone out to play at some point? After politely exchanging a few words with the married couple, she went to the guest room they had prepared for her.
Yet as she lay on the prepared bed and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, Roxy inexplicably became filled with all sorts of worries.
"What should I do... The maid won't arrive until tomorrow. What is that child going to do for dinner? What if he goes hungry? There isn't even much food at home that can be eaten directly. If I'd known, I should have bought some yesterday and put it in the cupboard."
Thinking of this, the worried Roxy suddenly sat up in bed, held her head in both hands, and blamed herself with regret.
"I really should have insisted on teaching him how to cook, shouldn't I? And... if he sweats, his clothes should be soaked in water at night. But that child has always been so careless. He definitely won't pay attention to these things. What if his clothes get moldy? Will he have to buy new ones again?"
They had only just parted, yet Roxy's mind was already filled with countless worries about Ash.
It was practically as if... after having a child, she was a mother leaving her child for the first time and going away from home, with nothing but endless concern and worry filling her mind.
Just then, while Roxy was tossing and turning on the bed, she suddenly heard an extremely familiar voice seemingly coming from outside the door, mixed with the voice of a child.
"Why does it sound like I'm hearing Ash's voice... Am I imagining it? Do I really miss him that much?", A troubled expression appeared on Roxy's face. She couldn't help vigorously patting her cheeks, as if trying to make herself wake up, while continuing to mutter to herself.
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