“You thought well. Anyway, rest. Don’t wander around alone like yesterday.”

Just before Gemvil was about to leave this time, Rodi asked in a bright voice.

“Um, by the way, mister. Do you know where that boy from yesterday is? I need to thank him.”

***

“Tch.”

I’ll tell you.

Gemvil said he wasn’t an errand boy and that she should find out such things on her own, then left.

And he said he wasn’t a mister, but Gemvil.

But she doesn’t know what to call him.

He’s like a kind but bad potato mister.

Rodi started scurrying around the mansion as soon as she finished the breakfast Bender gave her, looking for that boy.

She was told to adapt by wandering around here until she had other work to do.

She had no choice but to figure things out and study on her own.

It was always like that at the orphanage, so it wasn’t difficult.

But

“…It’s too big.”

The width of the corridor alone seemed more than ten times that of the orphanage, and there were so many stairs that she couldn’t properly get a sense of where to go.

It seemed like she might get lost if she wandered around carelessly.

Since she was told not to receive help from others here, she shouldn’t get lost either.

After thinking carefully, Rodi cut the bread she had secretly set aside earlier during breakfast into fingernail-sized pieces.

“…It’s a shame.”

They said they would make sure she didn’t starve, but you can’t trust all adults, right?

She might even go hungry tonight.

Rodi shook her head after pondering for a while.

Adapting comes first.

Rodi started walking again, hiding small pieces of bread under the stair pillars as she went.

Hiding one under a pillar, and when a slightly larger piece was torn off, putting it in her mouth because it was too precious.

While chewing, her eyes kept searching for the boy.

“But why isn’t there a single person in such a big place?”

It was as if the entire space was empty, with no sound of other people’s footsteps.

Where did everyone go?

She wanted to find him quickly and talk.

She also wanted to ask if that boy was staying here too.

Since they said there were no children here, she wondered if he had come for the same reason as her.

If so, it would be much better than staying here alone.

After wandering for a long time, Rodi finally spotted a small black back of a head just as she was getting tired.

“There he is!”

Lexiard turned around at the sound of Rodi’s confident voice.

“You.”

“Hello!”

Rodi ran over and grabbed Lexiard’s clothes.

“Thank you for yesterday!”

“Ah.”

“I’ve been looking for you to say that, I’m glad we met like this!”

She didn’t notice yesterday, but up close, he was much taller than her.

Her height seemed to only reach the boy’s chest.

While Rodi was measuring him up and down, the boy remained silent.

‘Is it not him?’

The black hair is right, but.

Just as she was about to ask if he hadn’t saved her yesterday, Lexiard, who had been looking at her with slightly surprised eyes, smirked.

“It’s good if you’re not hurt.”

That’s right, I found him!

Rodi smiled happily.

***

Lexiard smiled slightly as if responding and turned around.

He had forgotten about yesterday’s incident and didn’t expect to meet again.

He was about to go on his way after smiling appropriately, but somehow his body wouldn’t move.

Feeling something strange, like being pulled from behind, Lexiard lowered his eyes.

That girl was still holding onto his clothes tightly, looking up at him.

It seemed like she was looking for something from him, but Lexiard couldn’t guess what.

Above all, it was the first time someone had approached him so casually.

How annoying.

“Do you need anything else?”

“Are you also a newbie?”

“What?”

“Well, then do you want to be my comrade? I’m Rodi. Brodi! We can be friends too!”

***

‘Comrade, huh.’

Why would I do such a thing…

Momentarily taken aback by receiving such a proposal for the first time.

Lexiard found himself sitting in the middle of the corridor, held by Rodi.

“Thank you for yesterday! My stomach hurts so much, but after taking the medicine, it doesn’t hurt at all.”

“That’s good.”

Rodi chattered away, telling Lexiard how she came from the orphanage and how she ended up here.

It was fascinating and amusing how she could talk non-stop without taking a breath.

“The boss gave me bread, meat, and clothes. Oh, and I got my own room too.”

“Really?”

A passing servant spotted the two and was startled.

After making eye contact with Lexiard, they bowed and quickly disappeared in the opposite direction.

Through all of this, Rodi continued to chatter away, oblivious to what had happened.

“Yeah. They said if I work hard, I can get an even bigger room. I heard they were bad villains outside, but they seem kind of nice.”

Lexiard stared at the chattering Rodi for a moment before asking.

“You call Eclise ‘boss’?”

“Huh? Is that not okay? I became his subordinate. They say Eclise is the leader here. Haven’t you seen him?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ve seen him.”

Lexiard answered as if it was no big deal and smiled strangely.

Rodi tilted her head.

“You’re a newbie too, right?”

She asked Lexiard again to confirm.

“Newbie?”

Come to think of it, she had asked earlier if he was a newbie too.

Saying let’s be comrades, let’s be friends.

He thought it was strange how she was acting friendly all of a sudden, but it seemed there was a reason for her clinging to him.

“Yeah. I came in yesterday. How did you get in? Is your dream to become rich too? That’s mine. I’m going to work hard and collect a thousand gold coins.”

Rodi fidgeted with her ten fingers, opening and closing them for a while.

“A thousand? Why a thousand?”

“Yeah. I was going to collect a hundred, but they said you can’t buy a big house with just a hundred. I need to bring my friends too. What about you?”

Lexiard hesitated. He didn’t know how to answer.

He could give her a thousand gold coins right away if she asked.

Rodi, who came here for just that, had quite clear ambitions.

At first, Lexiard found it annoying and wanted to get away quickly, but he started to become curious about Rodi again.

Just like when Rodi held his hand yesterday.

“…Well, I’m similar.”

Then he’ll say he wants to be rich too.

Rodi’s eyes widened and sparkled as if a bright light had been turned on.

“Really? I thought so. Then let’s be close friends. It’s good for friends to help each other, right?”

Rodi stuck out her hand.

But when Lexiard just stared at it without shaking it, Rodi hesitated a bit.

She wondered if he wasn’t shaking hands because she said she came from an orphanage.

She doesn’t smell anymore.

“Ah, I washed my hands earlier. They say you can use warm water anytime here. If it’s dirty…”

“It’s not dirty at all.”

Before she could finish speaking, Lexiard grasped her hand.

The tension eased, and a bright smile spread across Rodi’s face.

“Then let’s be close friends!”

***

Upon learning that Lexiard had been there much longer, Rodi asked for a tour of the second floor.

He also knew the way to Rodi’s room, so she no longer had to leave bread crumbs behind.

“This is the dining room.”

“Do you eat here too?”

“Sometimes?”

“I see. The food here is really delicious.”

Lexiard glanced at Rodi, who was following him closely.

He had planned to return soon, but he changed his mind.

The feeling of being caught up in troublesome things after catching a child’s eye was gone.

The sound of Rodi’s chatter wasn’t bad, and her following him like a puppy was okay too.

So he occasionally stopped walking, watched Rodi who stood still following his lead, and then started walking again.

It was still a bit annoying, though.
Balancing these two feelings, he guided Rodi through the areas she might explore until they reached the stairs where he had first seen her.

“What are you doing, riffraff?”

Rodi, who had been chattering, quickly turned her head at the voice coming from above.

Eclise was leisurely coming down from the third floor.

“It’s the boss!”

Eclise smirked.

“How do you like it after a day?”

“It’s good! I ate breakfast too. When do I work again?”

“There’s nothing now. Adapt, kiddo.”

“Okay! Lexiard helped me tour the second floor. And we decided to be friends. Right?”

Eclise, who had already come down with his long legs leaving two steps, raised an eyebrow.

“What are you looking at?”

Eclise threw the words at Lexiard, looking down at him askance.

Lexiard nodded his head slightly towards Rodi.

“You’ve developed a strange hobby, uncle.”