RCFC | Chapter 46

~Chapter 46~

“We’ll get off here! Shiz, your hand.”

“Hand!”

Shiz placed her tiny hand firmly in mine.

“Hold on tight and don’t let go, okay? There are lots of people, so don’t get separated from me.”

“Okay!”

We stepped down from the carriage together and found ourselves in a lively, bustling square.

Colorful paper fragments fluttered in the air.

The air was filled with the smells of food and exotic spices, drawing people in.

Shiz’s head spun nonstop, trying to look at everything.

“I want to see that! And that!”

“C-Calm down! Let’s go slowly, please!”

Dragged this way and that by her tiny hand, I was already getting tired. How did a six-year-old have this much energy?

She was so excited when we went to the sea last time too…

Even though we were basically running away, Shiz didn’t seem scared of the new environment—just thrilled.

Well, for her, the orphanage had been her entire world.

However, she was free to go wherever she pleased and was no longer required to wear outdated hand-me-downs.

My heart ached a little at the thought.

“Shiz, is there anything you want to eat?”

“Something to eat?”

“Yeah. Since we’re out, I’ll buy you something.”

“Then…!”

Shiz’s face lit up as she eagerly pointed at something.

“That one! I want to try that!”

“…That?”

I blinked, thinking I must’ve read it wrong, but Shiz clearly read the sign aloud.

“Yeah! I want to eat that. Grilled frog!”

“…Hahaha, stop joking. Do you even know what a frog is?”

“I do! They go ribbit-ribbit.”

“Um, you probably won’t like it.”

“No, I can eat it!”

“You haven’t been stealing weird food behind my back, right? Please tell me I’m not raising a strange eater…”

For some reason, I had a bad feeling about letting her develop this kind of taste.

“Oh look, they’re selling candied apples! You like sweets, right? Let’s go there!”

I quickly led her toward another stall. Thankfully, Shiz liked the candied apple too.

Seeing her happy made me buy her lots of treats.

I’m going to have to make sure she brushes her teeth properly tonight…

Aside from spilling a bit of sauce on her new dress, it was a fun outing.

At least, it was… until someone shouted—

“Hey, there’s a performance starting over there!”

“What? Where? Where?!”

As soon as people heard the word “performance,” a crowd surged forward.

“Waaah!”

“Excuse me! Sorry, coming through!”

Normally, I would’ve picked her up, but it was way too crowded to move freely.

“Shiz, come this way—!”

I held tightly onto her hand as we pushed through the crowd.

Only after reaching a quieter alley was I able to catch my breath.

“Phew… there are way too many people. Right, Shiz?”

“…”

“…Shiz?”

There was no reply, so I looked at the child next to me. A child was there… but it wasn’t Shiz.

“W-Who are you?”

At my shocked question, the unfamiliar boy looked at me with wide eyes, then quickly let go of my hand and ran off.

“Dad! That lady is weird!”

“…!”

Startled, I frantically looked around—but Shiz was nowhere to be seen. I clutched my head.

“Arghhh, Shiz!”

I had definitely been holding her hand—where did she go?!

***

Shiz, who had been pushed around by the crowd, finally managed to slip into a side alley to catch her breath.

“Huff… Huaaah. That was rough.”

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she suddenly realized something.

“Wait… Did I lose Relshiz unnie?”

I should’ve taken her hand tightly!

But panic didn’t last long. Shiz calmly looked around.

Big Relshiz had prepared her for this kind of situation in advance.

“If you get lost, find someone and ask them to take you to Greentail Street.”

Of course, she had also warned—

“But don’t follow just anyone.”

“Do you remember that scary guy you kicked last time?”

“Yep! That gangster guy.”

“What were the people with him wearing?”

“Um… blue? Black? With shiny gold decorations.”

“Right. A very dark blue. That’s the uniform of the Investigation Bureau.”

Relshiz had explained that anyone wearing that uniform could help.

Shiz, being a smart girl, soon spotted someone wearing exactly that kind of uniform.

Dark blue. Shiny gold decorations.

Found one!

Excited, she ran over and tugged at the edge of the person’s pants.

“Mister, excuse me.”

“Huh?”

The man turned around, and at that moment—

“Gasp!”

Shiz gasped.

He was a huge man with red hair and golden eyes.

This guy!

“You’re the one who was mean to my mom!”

“The kid from last time?”

During this time of year, with large crowds from overseas, the Investigation Bureau had lots of undercover work.

Catching spies pretending to be merchants was one of their main duties.

Felix Guifero, who had been investigating these foreign spies, stared blankly at the unexpected girl before him.

“What are you doing here? Where’s your mom?”

Of all people to run into—him.

Instead of answering, Shiz nervously stepped back. Felix raised an eyebrow.

He looked around with sharp eyes and took a step toward her, closing the distance she had tried to make.

“Kid, do you live around here? Where’s your mom?”

“She… she got lost…”

Shiz mumbled without thinking, feeling nervous.

Felix chuckled and poked her cheek.

“I think you’re the one who got lost.”

“Ow! That hurts!”

He had only lightly touched her, but Shiz pouted and exaggerated. Felix grinned, showing a fang.

“You kicked me last time, remember? Just consider it payback.”

“Geez, you’re so immature! Picking on a kid!”

“Yep. I am immature.”

Shiz kept backing away, complaining like a baby chick, but she clearly didn’t want help from this scary man.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

She turned to run—but was suddenly lifted off the ground.

“Let me go!”

“Why should I? There are too many people—it’s dangerous to walk alone.”

Feeling her feet leave the ground made Shiz’s face go pale.

“Help! Somebody help! He’s a kidnapper!”

At her desperate scream, people came running.

“Stop right there, you kidna—wait, Captain?!”

“What are you doing? And who’s the kid?”

The people who ran over were members of the 3rd Investigation Unit, working the same shift.

They soon realized the child Felix was holding wasn’t a stranger.

“Captain, isn’t that Lady Relshiz’s daughter?”

“Yeah, that’s her.”

“Gasp…”

Everyone inhaled sharply. It was the kid who kicked their captain last time!

Panicking, the subordinates rushed to take Shiz away from Felix.

“Don’t do anything to her!”

“Yeah! Even if you hate mages, she’s just a kid, Captain!”

“Please, sir, just put her down!”

“What are you talking about?”

While Felix looked confused, Nasha gently took Shiz out of his arms.

“How did you end up with this kid?”

“I don’t know. I was just standing here, and she came up to me.”

Nasha looked closely at the girl’s face. She noticed a bit of sauce on her dress.

“Um, sweetheart… What’s your name?”

“Shiz…”

“Did you come here alone? What happened?”

Nasha asked in the gentlest voice she could manage.

Shiz, finally feeling like she’d found an adult who understood her, let out a sigh of relief.

“I was holding Mom’s hand… But suddenly a bunch of people rushed in… and when I looked again, Mom was lost!”

“You’re the one who

got lost, not her,” Felix muttered.

But Shiz stubbornly insisted,

“Please find her quickly! She’s probably crying somewhere right now…”