Watching Michelle stick her fork into the spaghetti and shove a handful into her mouth, chewing loudly, stirred up some strange feelings in me.
“Back then, her table manners were pretty excellent.”
Maybe it’s because she was raised well, but even at the simple meal laid out in the Forest of the Demon Realm, she had eaten quite gracefully—now, she was slathering food all over herself.
“Sigh.”
Wiping her mouth with a napkin from the cafeteria, Michelle lowered her hands and shook her head as if it were nothing.
“Thank you!”
As I watched her inhale her food like a storm again, a smile escaped me while thinking, “You can’t help but love her.”
“So cute.”
“Right? I bet she’d look great in a cute dress or something.”
“……”
Rin’s eyes were overflowing with honey while Hayun seemed ready to whip up some clothing for Michelle.
However, Sen looked a bit uneasy watching Michelle; having only survived in the Chokugen Faction and just enrolled in the Academy, it must be her first experience with such a small child coming close.
“Sigh.”
Seeing the two together made my stomach twist.
I wondered how we ended up like this in another life, but I was also curious why Sen had come into the Forest of the Demon Realm to kill Michelle.
“Hey, are you dating my sister and brother?”
After swallowing a mouthful of spaghetti and sipping her drink, Michelle asked.
Rin’s face turned red, but the other two firmly shook their heads.
“Nope.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Hey, what do you mean you don’t want to? I don’t want to either!”
Glaring irritably at Sen, I noticed she was picking at her salad with barely any enthusiasm.
Even though we ended up eating together, Michelle blended in without an ounce of discomfort.
“Looks like you’ve had your fair share of rejections, huh? Poor thing.”
Maybe there was a bit too much casualness in that?
“Don’t call me ‘brother,’ just call me ‘uncle.’”
“Eh? Uncle? That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”
Back then, I said I wasn’t an uncle, but given the atmosphere, I felt like one now.
“Forget it. Just call me uncle.”
“What about calling the sisters ‘aunties’ then?”
“I don’t mind.”
“Hmm, being called ‘auntie’ at this age feels a bit…”
“……”
Everyone, except Rin, wore reluctant faces. Michelle nodded enthusiastically, smiling brightly at me.
“I’ll just call you uncle!”
“Alright.”
It’s just that it feels awkward whenever you call me ‘brother.’
At that moment, the waiter brought over the pumpkin soup I had ordered. Not bothering to answer Hayun’s question about what I ordered, I fished out another spoon and handed it to Michelle.
“I don’t eat this kinda stuff.”
“Don’t just eat spaghetti, have something warm in your belly too. I think you’ll like this.”
She always seemed sensitive to the cold, often coughing a little, so I thought this might help.
Even though it was actually hot weather, she occasionally shivered.
“Wow, it really is an uncle thing, but I don’t like pumpkin…”
“It’s not that you don’t like it; it’s that you’ve never tried it.”
Puffing her cheeks, Michelle took a quick taste and looked at me wide-eyed.
“Wow, it’s delicious! I like pumpkin now!”
“Told you so.”
I remembered how much she loved anything pumpkin when we had it in the Forest of the Demon Realm, so I figured it would be safe to get one for her.
After finishing our meal, we started heading back to the hotel, but Michelle clung to me like glue, not wanting to let go.
“I wanna play with you and the sisters!”
“…Alright.”
The three who were surprised to see me unable to detach her looked at me, but perhaps out of a guilty feeling that I couldn’t protect this kid, I let it slide.
I couldn’t show her the thugs in the hotel, so we opted for a quick walk to familiarize ourselves with the surroundings.
“……!”
Suddenly, Hayun ducked behind me.
“What happened?”
I turned to see a rotund man in old-fashioned clothes walking past us.
And two guards, looking pretty skilled, were at his side, swords strapped to their waists.
“What’s wrong?”
I asked, noticing Hayun was trembling. She whispered, sticking close to my back.
“Heban Len… my uncle.”
“What?”
That bad guy who had forcibly commanded Hayun to seduce Ares and then disowned her for refusing?
Looking at the back of the wobbly guy, I felt he bore no resemblance to Hayun, but I subtly gestured to her.
“Let’s follow him.”
“Why?”
It seemed she hadn’t expected me to suggest this, and Hayun was flustered, but Sen stepped ahead to start tailing him, while Rin took Michelle’s hand and said with a smile.
“Sister, wanna play spy with the uncle? We sneakily follow that uncle behind him.”
“That sounds fun! I’m good at that! I usually sneak after my dad!”
“Wait a sec!”
Before I knew it, under Sen’s expert guidance, the sudden tailing operation began.
Heban Len’s bodyguards looked quite skilled, but Sen, having trained in the Chokugen Faction, seemed to have the upper hand in stealth and followed without much trouble.
“Sigh. Why?”
Hayun kept sighing as if she didn’t understand, but for me, it wasn’t just about her.
Right now, Bethel was swarming with people, almost like the center of the world.
Tudogs.
Sen from the Chokugen Faction.
Inspector Heini Rosales from the royal family.
And even Hayun’s uncle, Heban Len.
Feeling puzzled by this strange situation, we continued to tail him.
It took longer than expected, and I felt a bit flustered, but Heban Len was huffing hard, still opting to walk rather than ride.
Like it would be disgraceful to ride.
Eventually, he stopped at a surprisingly large mansion, and we peeked cautiously from a nearby alleyway to assess the situation.
“Is he here for that mansion?”
“Is your uncle actually walking in to find someone? He’s way too proud for that.”
“Wait a minute, that mansion is…”
“Michelle, stay with your sister here.”
“Aww, but I wanna see too.”
Rin led Michelle inside the alley, having anticipated that something might happen.
Sen furrowed her brow as a muscular guy with long hair tied back emerged from the mansion.
“Isn’t this Mikael Portren’s mansion?”
“Did your uncle come looking for Portren?”
“……”
Mikael Portren is connected to the Tudogs, and for Heban Len to come looking for him…
‘Something is definitely happening here.’
“Hey sister, did you know? This is close to our house!”
“Wait, Michelle!”
Ignoring Rin’s grip, Michelle peeked out and raced past us.
Just as we panicked to grab her, she suddenly shouted.
“Whoa! Dad!”
“What?”
It was downright shocking.
Out of nowhere, Michelle dashed into Heban Len and Mikael Portren, practically jumping into Mikael’s chest.
“Oh dear, our little princess! Have you been exploring again?”
“Yep! I had lunch with pretty sisters and some uncle today!”
“Uncle?”
Mikael frowned, instantly wondering if his daughter was playing with some strange guy. He noticed our awkwardness behind them.
“Did you kids play with my daughter?”
‘If we run away from here, it’d be weirder.’
Seeing Hayun get noticed by Heban Len, who stared at her with surprise, it was out of my hands now.
I decided to approach them naturally and greet them with a smile.
“Hello, we’re students from Aios Academy. We’re on vacation and happened to meet Michelle and play with her. She’s really cute.”
“Yeah, our Michelle is definitely cute.”
“Dad! This guy wanted me to call him uncle even though he’s a brother! Isn’t that weird?”
“Hehe, I guess so?”
Though I was saying that, my heart was racing with worry that Michelle might blurt out that we had been tailing Heban Len.
But thankfully, the other female students following us diverted the conversation.
“Since it’s come to this, why don’t you come in for some tea? It seems you’ve fed and played with my daughter.”
“Right, uncle! Let’s play at home!”
Considering the relationship between Hayun and Heban Len, it was better to decline, but Hayun piped up.
“Then, let me excuse myself a little.”
Though she said this, her grip on my sleeve was tight as if a little animal was trembling in front of a predator.
‘She’s gathered her courage.’
A sudden opportunity arose.
It was a great chance to gather information about the Tudogs and Mikael Portren, and looking at Hayun, I silently thanked her as we walked in.
Heban Len wore a frustrated expression, but whether he didn’t want to acknowledge Hayun or wanted to create a good impression on Mikael, he kept silent.
‘Seems like the latter is stronger.’
I only got a brief look at Mikael, but he exuded strong familial affection.
Surely, in front of a man like him, I couldn’t introduce Hayun as the disowned niece of his deceased brother.
‘One by one, the questions are unraveling.’
Michelle Portren.
Her father, Mikael Portren, was linked to the Tudogs, and he must have lost.
Thus, Michelle, being his only remaining bloodline, was bound to be chased by the Chokugen Faction.
In the end, it’s no wonder the girl would fall victim in the depths of the Forest of the Demon Realm.
“……”
As I held onto this bitter truth that I alone knew, I steeled my resolve and followed them into the mansion.
