Chapter 7
* * *
After finishing a simple breakfast at a brunch café in the village, the three set out in earnest to buy toys for Neya.
As it was a rural village, the shopping district was small, but it had everything one might need.
“Neya, you might get lost, so don’t let go of my hand. Got it?”
“Yes!”
Neya nodded, firmly holding Shane’s hand.
Then she turned her gaze to Gary beside her.
With a bright smile, she held out her other hand.
“Tower Lord, hold my hand too!”
“…”
Cold sweat instantly beaded on Gary’s forehead.
Gary glanced at Shane, then calmly refused.
“Sorry, Neya. The guy next to you is pretty scary. I don’t want to get yelled at for no reason.”
“Why? I’m asking you to hold it.”
Shane casually interjected, as if he didn’t care at all.
“…?”
Gary had expected Shane to glare at him with disdain, so this unusually merciful reaction left him bewildered.
“Hand, please!”
Neya waved her free hand emphatically. Gary absentmindedly took it.
Holding both Shane’s and Gary’s hands, Neya smiled contentedly.
“…”
Even as they walked, Gary kept sneaking glances at Shane.
Feeling the persistent stares, Shane finally asked irritably,
“What?”
“No… it’s just a bit unexpected.”
When it came to Neya, Shane became unusually lenient—completely different from usual. Knowing Shane’s temper, Gary couldn’t help but feel confused.
“You’re always so prickly with me and Adjua.”
“What more do you expect?”
Shane immediately turned serious.
Gary knew full well that Shane’s daily life involved cleaning up after him and Adjua, so he couldn’t say anything.
Gary subtly avoided Shane’s gaze. Shane glared at him for a moment, then sighed.
“…I’m partly responsible for bringing her here. The Duchess isn’t good at taking care of people, so I have to do it.”
“…”
Gary blinked, then said as if he didn’t understand,
“For someone as sane as you, why the hell are you working beside Adjua?”
“I’m quitting soon.”
“You’ve been saying that for years.”
“Let’s overlook the small stuff.”
The two started bickering again.
Watching them, Neya giggled.
*They get along so well~.*
In Neya’s eyes, the two looked heartwarmingly close.
* * *
Soon after, the three arrived at the toy store.
“Welcome.”
The employee greeted reflexively, then looked at the three entering.
Neya smiling brightly, with Shane and Gary on either side holding her hands.
“…”
The employee alternated glances between the two men holding Neya’s hands, then smiled warmly.
“You came out with your daughter, I see.”
“She’s not my daughter…”
Gary quietly avoided the employee’s gaze. This was exactly the misunderstanding he’d feared from holding hands. And it happened just as expected.
Shane, on the other hand, didn’t mind the comment much and spoke to Neya.
“Neya, pick anything you like.”
“Wow!”
Neya immediately let go and ran off. Her steps were full of excitement.
Seeing the toys organized by type, Neya’s eyes sparkled as she asked Shane,
“How many can I get?”
“Since it’s your first time, pick as many as you want. But from next time, only one each.”
“Got it!”
Neya answered clearly. Thanks to that, the nearby employees and customers smiled warmly at her too.
Neya wandered the store, picking this and that. Fairy tale books, blocks, and other toys—soon she had enough to fill three or four large bags.
Seeing the toys being packed, Gary whispered to Neya,
“Neya, the Tower Lord only has two hands. Maybe stop picking now…?”
He’d come purely as a porter, so the growing pile made him anxious.
“I’m paying, and you’re being stingy, Gary-ssi.”
“I’m a weak and frail mage, you know?”
At Shane’s jab, Gary made a wronged expression. Shane shook his head.
“We’ve bought a lot already, so pick just one more for last. We have other stores to visit.”
“More shopping?”
“Just one more, Neya.”
Shane ignored Gary completely.
At “just one more,” Neya pondered seriously.
“If it’s the last one, what should I choose…”
“Didn’t you need a doll?”
“Ah!”
The whole point of this outing was to buy a doll. But she’d gotten distracted by other toys and hadn’t picked one. At Shane’s reminder, Neya dashed to the doll section.
“Hmm…”
Neya pondered seriously in front of the dolls.
Then, spotting something, she smiled brightly.
“This one!”
What Neya picked up was a yellow chick doll. Just the right size to hug.
Gary, approaching, said as if surprised,
“You like chicks?”
“It’s the same color as Mommy’s hair!”
It was closer to choosing it for the color than because it was a chick.
“She really adores Adjua.”
“Yeah. They just met yesterday, but she’s already so attached.”
Even Shane hadn’t expected Neya to like Adjua this much. Both yesterday and today, Adjua had shown no interest in Neya whatsoever.
Gary, now with a gentle smile, asked Neya,
“Why do you like Adjua, Neya?”
“She’s pretty!”
Neya answered without hesitation.
“She sparkles, and her voice is pretty too. Like a princess.”
Adjua was indeed beautiful. Neither Gary nor Shane liked her much, but they had to admit that.
“And she’s my mommy. You’re supposed to love your mommy, right?”
It was one of the instilled lessons from the Catsha shop.
Unaware it was just the result of early indoctrination, the two men simply looked at Neya warmly as she said it.
Neya hugged the doll tightly and grinned.
“I have to show Mommy.”
* * *
The outing took longer than expected. Besides toys, they bought clothes and daily necessities for Neya, so it ran late.
By the time they got home, the sun was already setting.
“Mommy!”
Neya called for Adjua as she ran into the house. Shane and Gary followed, laden with bags.
Adjua was sitting at the dining table drinking tea. The noisy entrance naturally drew her gaze to Neya.
“Look at this!”
Neya held up what she’d been clutching.
It was the chick doll she’d hugged the whole way home, eager to show Adjua.
“You bought all sorts of junk.”
As expected, Adjua was indifferent. Neya didn’t mind the reaction.
“We bought tons of fairy tale books at the toy store, and pretty clothes too. But this is my favorite!”
Neya smiled brightly at Adjua.
“The yellow is just like Mommy’s, so it’s super pretty.”
“…”
At those words, Adjua’s eyes turned cold.
“And I named her Lumi…”
“Hey.”
“…?”
Neya, chattering excitedly, stopped and looked at Adjua.
Adjua spoke to Neya in an icy voice.
“You’re being noisy—go to your room.”
At the cold tone, Neya flinched.
“…”
Neya hesitated, then weakly lowered her head.
Watching the scene, Shane sighed and approached Neya.
“Neya, let’s go inside.”
“…”
Neya didn’t answer, just took Shane’s hand and went upstairs with him.
Only Adjua and Gary remained on the first floor. Gary glared at Adjua disapprovingly.
“You have to act like that even to a kid?”
“She’s annoying.”
“You’re really consistently rotten…”
“Shut up. If you have nothing to do, go get some glasses.”
No matter how Gary hinted, Adjua didn’t care at all.
* * *
With Shane gone and no one to nag, the two naturally opened a bottle of liquor.
They drank just enough not to get properly drunk. Then suddenly, Gary stood up.
“Where are you going?”
“Bathroom. Why, lonely? Come along if you want.”
“What are you saying—are you drunk?”
Adjua grimaced immediately. Gary chuckled playfully and headed to the bathroom on the second floor.
Coming back from the bathroom, shaking water off his hands, Gary suddenly stopped.
A sign on a door had caught his eye.
Standing in front of the room, Gary read the letters on the sign.
‘Neya’s Room’
Clearly written in Neya’s own handwriting.
*She looked so down… Is she crying?*
Quite some time had passed since Neya went to her room, but she hadn’t come out once, and the room had been completely silent.
Worried for no particular reason, Gary lingered at the door.
Suddenly, the door flung open.
