Chapter 29: The Old Man Realizes the Little Girl’s True Identity

Just then, a sliver of skin peeked out from under her clothes.

There, I could see a dark, ugly scar.

It was the kind of mark left by a beating.

This scar… could it be… no, there’s no mistake.

That’s when I finally realized.

Her manner of speech, so ill-suited for a child her age.

And on top of that, this bizarre attitude and that scar…

Why didn’t I notice sooner…

She is… yes… she must be suffering from some mental illness.

No… I understand how she feels all too well.

When the reality before them is too harsh, people escape into delusion.

I often did the same thing back in my days as a corporate drone.

Hell… I’m ashamed to admit I’ve escaped into my own delusions countless times since coming to this world, too.

A reality that was just too harsh, too painful… an F-rank adventurer…

Hating it all, I indulged in this fantasy every single day.

The truth is, I have a hidden cheat ability, and one day, it will awaken. Then, I’ll get back at everyone who ever made fun of me, and I’ll spend my days surrounded by beautiful women in blissful happiness…

That’s the kind of cringeworthy delusion a full-grown, middle-aged guy like me was nursing.

Luckily, my delusions never progressed to the point where I started believing they were reality…

But I only managed to endure because I’m an adult.

If a little kid like this was thrown all alone into this unforgiving reality and chose to lock herself away in her own inner delusions to escape it…

Who in the world could possibly blame her?

She must have heard somewhere that a Divine Beast appeared in this town.

And so, to escape her painful reality, she started fantasizing that she was the Divine Beast Fenrir, and decided to believe it.

Just like I used to fantasize about a cheat harem life… and so on…

“…What is it, Master…? Staring at me with such eyes… Is my explanation still insufficient? Good grief… Humans are surprisingly slow on the uptake.”

“No… I understand what you’re trying to say. But…”

“What is it? Is there something else?”

Being stared at by those clear, doubt-free eyes, I was rendered speechless.

It would be easy to deny her delusion right here.

But… what would that accomplish?

Imagining her circumstances only deepened my sympathy.

Leaving this kid to fend for herself now would definitely keep me up at night.

Of course, in my current state, I can’t just take her in.

Right… I’ll talk to Emma-san and Alicia-san about it tomorrow.

And have them look for a place that can protect her… maybe the orphanage run by the Holy Church…

“No… uh… look. You must be tired today, too. For now, you can take it easy and rest here.”

As I said that, the little girl stared fixedly at me with her golden eyes.

She looked like she wanted to say something, but in the end, she just turned her head away with an irritated huff.

“Honestly… The great and powerful me is offering to submit to a frail human. One would think there would be… something… more… A certain king who once trespassed upon my domain offered all his treasures and the lives of his thousands of soldiers just to beg for his life… Oh, well… The law is the law. You did indeed defeat me, Master… Though I still… can hardly believe it…”

And so, the little girl started spouting more nonsense.

Then again… maybe it’s normal for kids this age to have fantasies about being a princess or a king…

Though for her, the delusion feels like a serious case of eighth-grader syndrome, which is a bit concerning…

Thinking such thoughts, I forced a smile at the little girl.

But… she remained as cold as ever.

I’m not good with kids to begin with…

“Um… well… may I ask your name?”

“My name…? So humans require such personal identifiers. As a Divine Beast, I have no such name. You may call me whatever you wish, Master.”

She could at least tell me her name…

Does she really distrust me that much?

But it’s awkward to keep calling her ‘you’…

“Th-then… how about Fel, from Fenrir… haha…”

“Do as you please. That, too, is the right of the victor.”

I meant it as a joke, but the little girl… no, Fel, replied as if she couldn’t care less.

Is she really okay with being so casual? It’s her own name, for crying out loud…

In any case, I’m not exactly thrilled about the idea of sleeping in the same room as her, even if she is a little girl.

What’s more, her personality… maybe because of her circumstances as an orphan… seems quite warped.

To be honest, she seems very difficult to handle.

I don’t think I’ll be able to relax at all.

As I was thinking all this, I scratched my head. What a mess…

“Hmph… Master… It appears you have a visitor. As I thought, no matter how much of a fool you pretend to be, conflict is drawn to a man like you… How interesting…”

I just figured Fel was saying something weird again, but…

A few minutes later,

BAM!

A loud noise echoed as the old wooden door flew open with the force of a kick, and several men came pouring into the room.

“Yo, Coward Mikami!”