Chapter 61

She covered her mouth, marveling at the sight. It was exactly as they had imagined.

“Our invention was a success.”

Little One seemed to find it amusing in his own way, running around even faster.

“Did you invent this, Miss Elena and Sir Felix?”

Professor Deros, who had returned to the room late, stared intently at their invention.

“I knew there was an invention club, but I didn’t realize you had created something like this already. Can you show it to me when we return to the academy?”

“Of course!”

Elena exclaimed excitedly.

“It would be wonderful if you could take a look, Professor!”

“That’s good to hear. By the way, Miss Elena, just in case, I’ll take care of the child.”

“What? You’ll take care of Little One, Professor?”

“Yes. If I look after him, I might find some clues, and I’ll be able to respond if anything happens.”

Professor Deros reached out toward Little One. Little One looked up at the professor, who was smiling kindly, but then turned his head away.

“No!”

It was as if he understood what the professor was saying.

Elena hesitated for a moment.

‘What would be better for Little One?’

Her hesitation didn’t last long. Little One was quite shy and only seemed to follow her. Even though Professor Deros was a good person, it didn’t seem likely that Little One would willingly follow him.

“It’s okay, Professor. I’ll take care of him. If anything happens, I’ll contact you immediately.”

Contrary to her expectations, the professor persisted in convincing her.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime graduation trip. Wouldn’t it be hard to enjoy it with a child? I’ll take good care of him.”

The professor reached out toward Little One again. This time, Little One buried his face in her chest and struggled, refusing even to look at the professor.

“There, there. Be good.”

The professor gently grabbed Little One’s arm. Little One shuddered and resisted.

“No!”

Elena knew the professor wasn’t trying to harm Little One. However, the professor’s sudden action startled her as much as it did Little One, causing her to take a step back.

Realizing she had been rude, she quickly apologized.

“I’m sorry. Little One is very shy, so I think it’s better if I take care of him. I can enjoy the festival with him.”

She had already enjoyed the Saint Esna Festival with Little One before. Now that he could walk, taking care of him was more challenging, but she could still enjoy the festival.

The professor looked at Little One with a thoughtful expression but didn’t insist further.

“All right. But if anything happens, come to me immediately.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The professor smiled faintly and left the room. However, Elena couldn’t shake off a strange feeling.

‘Has the professor always been this insistent?’

She didn’t have time to dwell on it, though, because Little One tried to escape through the slightly open door.

Squeak, squeak, squeak. The cheerful sound of his shoes reassured her.

Thank goodness for those shoes.

* * *

This time, Little One was disguised as her nephew. The story was that a cousin living in the capital had temporarily entrusted him to her.

It was a ridiculous setup, but thanks to Professor Deros casting a memory-altering spell, they managed to avoid suspicion.

Fortunately, Alice and the other students found Little One adorable.

“Oh my, he’s so cute. What’s his name?”

Having faced this question several times already, Elena was now adept at answering naturally.

“Roy.”

“Even his name is cute.”

Alice held Little One’s hand and shook it up and down. Little One, who was holding an apple in his other hand, looked up at Alice curiously. Then, he smiled, his eyes forming crescent shapes.

The students squealed in delight.

“So cute!”

“Look at those cheeks. I just want to pinch them.”

“Can I hold him for a moment?”

Little One, seemingly frightened by their enthusiasm, stopped smiling and clung to Elena.

Alice observed this with curiosity.

“He hasn’t seen you much, but he seems to trust you.”

“Yeah, it seems so.”

“Now that I think about it, maybe it’s because he’s your nephew. He kind of looks like you.”

“Really?”

Elena simply smiled.

‘There’s no way Little One looks like me.’

In reality, they were complete strangers with no resemblance. Alice probably thought they looked alike because they both had blonde hair.

“By the way, Elena, are you planning to take him sightseeing in the city?”

“Huh?”

Elena was caught off guard.

“I hadn’t thought about it.”

“I’m against taking a child around the city.” 

Penny muttered bluntly. Joy cautiously agreed.

“I feel the same. It would be hard to move around and enjoy the sights with a child.”

Alice retorted sharply.

“So, are you saying we should leave Elena behind? This is a once-in-a-lifetime graduation trip.”

Her strong reaction made Penny and Joy shrink back like frightened turtles.

“No, that’s not what I meant… We could leave the child with someone else.”

“But there’s no one else to take care of him, so Elena is doing it.”

Sensing an argument brewing, Elena quickly intervened.

“Calm down, everyone. Penny and Joy have a point.”

“Elena!”

Alice raised her voice, startling Little One, who trembled. Elena patted his back reassuringly and continued.

“I don’t want you all to miss out because of me. I’ll be fine, so go and have fun.”

“Then I’ll stay!”

Alice declared firmly.

“How can I leave you alone?”

“Alice, I appreciate the thought, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable if you stayed. I’ll really be fine, so go.”

There was another reason she didn’t share. Felix had agreed to help her watch Little One in case something happened.

If Alice stayed, it would be difficult to meet Felix. It was better for everyone if Alice wasn’t there.

Elena gently pushed Alice’s back. Thinking it was a game, Little One giggled and pushed Alice’s back with his tiny hands as well.

Alice held Little One’s hands and smiled faintly—a mix of a smile and a frown.

“All right. I’ll go out today. But if it gets too hard to watch him alone, let me know. Promise?”

“I promise.”

After much back-and-forth, Elena managed to send Alice off and headed to another room with Little One. Professor Deros had arranged a separate room, just in case the person who had sent Little One appeared.

“Why are you so late?”

Felix was already waiting for them in the room. Elena shrugged.

“Alice didn’t want to leave.”

“Ah.”

Felix nodded knowingly.

But there was a problem. While it was fine to take care of Little One, there was nothing in the room for him to play with.

She handed him the talking teddy bear, but he quickly grew bored.

“Dya-dya-dya!”

Little One kept pointing out the window, babbling angrily. She couldn’t understand his words, but she had a good idea of what he meant.

Let’s go outside! 

That was probably it.

Felix, watching the frustrated little one, picked him up.

“Let’s go out, Elena.”

“Where to?”

“We can’t just stay cooped up in a room when we don’t know when Little One will disappear again. We’re in the capital, after all.”

“Are you serious?”

Felix frowned.

“What do you mean?”

“What if we lose him in a crowded place?”

Felix tapped the sole of Little One’s shoe. Squeak. The sound was reassuring.

“We have these. Plus, the professor gave us a tracking artifact.”

Felix, holding Little One with one arm, rummaged through his pocket with the other and pulled out a necklace.

“With this, we can find him if he gets lost. Besides, it’s better for him to go out than to stay cooped up. We need to buy clothes and toys for him anyway.”

Elena’s gaze shifted to Little One’s clothes. He was wearing season-appropriate indoor clothes, but he would need a vest or something warmer for the evening chill.

‘And he does need toys to play with.’

Most importantly, she wanted to go out too. Even though she had told Alice she was fine, being stuck in the room wasn’t enjoyable.

Reluctantly, she nodded.

“All right.”

Little One, who probably didn’t understand their conversation, mimicked her.

“All right!”

* * *

Once outside, their first stop was to buy clothes for Little One. It didn’t feel right to have him wandering around in indoor clothes.

She worried they might face misunderstandings like during the Saint Esna Festival, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.

“Are you here to buy clothes for your younger brother?”

It seemed Little One looked more like a younger brother than a son now that he had grown a bit.

‘Well, there’s no way I’d have a child this age.’

Elena sighed in relief and nodded.

“Yes. He spilled juice on his clothes, and I didn’t bring a spare, so we need some outdoor clothes.”

“Wait a moment. I’ll bring some options.”

The shopkeeper quickly estimated Little One’s size and brought out several outfits.

They chose three outfits, and Little One’s favorite—a green one—was put on immediately.

Perhaps because he was wearing new clothes or simply excited to be outside, Little One enthusiastically explored the store. Wherever he went, the squeaking sound of his shoes followed.