“Before that, you haven’t finished breakfast yet, right? You have to eat first before you can go out.”

“… … Aren’t you going to leave us alone in the meantime?”

Chloran looked at me with suspicious eyes. I thought I had built some trust, but it seemed like Chloran still had doubts about me. I nodded my head with a trustworthy expression.

“Of course not. I’ll wait until you finish eating, so eat slowly. It’s not good to eat in a hurry. You might choke.”

“Hmph, nagging!”

Chloran shouted as if he was annoyed and quickly ran to the dining table. The other children also sat at the table and started eating. Well, it’s not good to eat in a hurry. I turned my head to the gaze I could feel. Jake was looking at me with brown eyes. He seemed to have something to say. I looked at him for a moment and then smiled lightly, folding my knees. As our eye level became the same, Jake’s eyes widened slightly. I raised my hand and gently stroked his brown hair. And I said.

“Let’s go to the market today and buy several books that you can read. It would be good to buy pens that you can use for studying too.”

At my words, Jake’s shoulders twitched slightly. Jake is calm and deep, but he is also full of suspicions and thoroughly censors even a word I say. Despite being only fourteen years old, he had to take on the role of an adult. It pained me to see him unable to freely express what he wanted. But the reason why Jake weighed on my mind wasn’t just that. Because Jake doesn’t exist in the predetermined future. Even though he pretended to be an adult, he could never become one.

‘But I won’t let it go like that.’

I got up and said to Jake.

“When we go to the market, we have to keep moving around, so you need to eat a lot. Even if it’s tough, you won’t mind, right?”

As I playfully spoke, Jake, who had been looking at me with a strange gaze, turned around.

“….Yes.”

Confirming that Jake had also entered the dining room, I sighed and returned to my office. It seems like I’ll need to gather more money.

* * *

Upon arriving at the market, I helped the children, one by one, get off the carriage so they wouldn’t get hurt. The children, who had been eager to come along, seemed a bit intimidated now that we were actually at the market. Even Jake, with a cautious look in his eyes, was scanning the surroundings. It wasn’t just Jake who bothered me, though. It seemed that the children going out like this together after such a long time could bring both anticipation and fear. As I glanced at the children’s expressions, I held Chloran’s hand in my left hand and Eddy’s hand in my right hand. Both children looked up at me. Chloran looked at me with a surprised face.

“What’s this?”

“oh, director?”

Eddy, too, appeared bewildered as it was the first time I held their hands like this. Roddy, along with Jake, looked at me. I smiled and said to the children,

“Because it would be a big problem if anyone gets lost, let’s all hold hands from here on.”

“What, what?”

“Hold hands?”

“I don’t want to!”

Unlike the other children who hesitated, Chloran shouted and tried to pull his hand away.

For Chloran, this kind of contact with someone other than Ren was unfamiliar. However, I didn’t let go of Chloran’s hand. To progress the relationship, I needed to find the right balance between pushing and pulling. Until now, we had maintained an appropriate distance, but now it was time to pull closer. Above all, Chloran was the most important person on today’s journey. If I didn’t hold his hand, he might disappear out of curiosity at any moment.However, I had no intention of forcibly holding his hand, as that would only cause more backlash.

I slightly winked at Ren. Ren, who had blinked her eyes, immediately caught my signal and grabbed Chloran’s other hand. Chloran, who was struggling to get away from me, looked at Ren with a surprised face. Ren said with a wide smile.

“Let’s go holding hands like this, Chloran.”

“……Uh.”

Chloran’s face turned red as he looked at Ren’s smiling face. With both of his hands held, Chloran lowered his head. he no longer tried to pull his hands away from me. I looked at Ren with gratitude, and Ren smiled back at me.

“Eddy, would you hold Roddy’s hand? Roddy is younger, so it would be nice if Eddy and Jake could look after her.”

“Ah, sure….”

Eddy replied, looking awkwardly at Roddy. Although Eddy had become quite close to the children at the orphanage, but she’s still quite awkward with Roddy, who wants to be with Ren. It was because Roddy only followed Ren, so she spent significantly less time with Eddy.

“Hey, Roddy, do you want to hold hands with Eddy…?”

Eddy asked cautiously. It was a face filled with worry, wondering what to do if Roddy refused. I also looked at Roddy with a slightly tense expression. I was concerned about how much Roddy liked Ren, so I worried about what would happen if Eddy held Ren’s hand instead. Of course, it would be fine for Eddy to hold Ren’s hand, but Ren was already preoccupied with taking care of Chloran, making it difficult for her to look after Roddy as well. Plus, I hoped that this would be an opportunity for Roddy and Eddy to get closer.

“Yes!”

Fortunately, Roddy firmly grabbed Eddy’s hand without any complaints. Eddy’s eyes widened as if they hadn’t expected Roddy to come forward so readily. Looking up at Eddy, Roddy I smiled brightly.

Click.

As I watched, I couldn’t help but feel touched by the adorable sight of Roddy. my heart felt overwhelmed with emotions.

Lastly, Jack, who had been observing the situation, automatically took Roddy’s other hand. Thus, a line was formed, connecting hand to hand. And in the middle of it , there was me.

Despite that, as someone who had been to the market several times, I took the children to places they would enjoy. The first stop was the toy store.

The children couldn’t take their eyes off the array of toys filling the ceiling. I instructed each child to choose a toy they liked, and after a while, Chloran chose a leather ball, Ren chose thread and needles, Eddy chose a cute rabbit doll, roddy chose a toy sword, and Jake chose darts. While admiring Eddy’s doll with a pleased expression, I looked at roddy, who was holding the toy sword, with surprise. Roddy was clutching the sword’s hilt with both hands. Knowing that in the future Roddy would become a gladiator to protect Ren, I gazed at roddy with complex and subtle eyes and asked.

“Roddy, do you like the sword?”

“yes!”

“Why does Roddy like swords?”

“Because I want to protect.”

Roddy looked up at me with clear blue eyes and pursed her lips.

“Ren and Eddy, and Chloran, and Jake, and everyone else”

Roddy, who was talking while folding her fingers, said with a broad smile.

“Roddy will protect the director as well.”

Although roddy was seven years old, she looked like a five-year-old due to her smaller stature compared to her peers. The sight of this little one smiling and saying she would protect me stirred up indescribable emotions within me. What should I say? Is it an overwhelming affection that cannot be controlled? Or is it a melancholy feeling to already have thoughts of protecting someone? With a complex and subtle expression, I looked at roddy and raised my hand to gently stroke her golden hair. Her twin pigtails slightly tangled under my touch.

“I will protect you, too. Roddy, eddy, ren, Chloran, and Jake as well.”

So that no one will die, no one will be wounded and scattered, so that you don’t have to become a gladiator and get injured while protecting Len.

“I will definitely protect you.”

Roddy, who was looking at me with determination, smiled broadly and nodded her head.