Magic Warrior Chapter 21 Part 2 (Patreon)

No, it would almost certainly be stolen. Even when the old man got money sometimes, he spent it immediately, saying that it would be stolen.

But when he did, he was able to eat warm and delicious food.

When I told that story, Croze-sama hugged me again, and both Tiness-sama and the maid looked pained.

"All right. For now, please stay the night."

"Yes, I have already prepared the guest room for you."

Tiness-sama says I should stay the night. Is it really OK?

But if the maids have already prepared the room, it might be more inconvenient to refuse.

"Besides, those men won't give up as quickly as you think. I think it would be better to have you stay until things settle down over there."

"Yeah, that's fine, Mirell-chan saved us as well. Don't worry about it."

I decided to stay at Croze-sama and Tiness-sama's words. It was a letter that the nobleman wanted to buy. It must have been very valuable. I understood that if I walked around without the envelope and got caught by those men, I would have no future.

When I agreed to stay the night, Croze-sama, Master Tiness, and even the maid were happy.

I was taken to another room where I was stripped of my clothes, put into a bath, and scrubbed clean by several other maids who had joined me.

After that, they dressed me in beautiful clothes that had been used by Tiness-sama's daughter, and even my hair, which had never been cut, was neatly arranged. When I looked in the mirror, I saw someone else's reflection, not mine, and I felt like a princess.

--The next day.

I was tired and got up late, but rice was prepared for me.

It was a light meal with ingredients on it, as if they thought I liked bread. While I was eating in the guest room prepared for me, the maid told me that Croze-sama and Master Tiness had gone out early in the morning.

Croze-sama was a guest who had come to see Master Tiness. The master of this house, Master Tiness's husband, is also away in another town on an errand and will not be back for a while. Except for the maids and other people who work in the mansion, I was the only one present in the house at the moment.

The maid told me that I should not leave the mansion yet. The maid brought a picture book to me when I was not busy, but I cannot read the words. The maid noticed this and decided to teach me the letters while reading the book. She praised me for my good memory.

In the evening, Master Tiness came home and told me that Croze-sama was planning to show up the day after tomorrow, so he wanted me to stay at the mansion until then. That day, I was to have dinner with Master Tiness. I had only ever eaten by hand-grabbing, and when I was puzzled, they taught me how to use a spoon and fork.

I was living a harsh life where until yesterday all my waking hours were spent looking for food, but now my dinner was prepared, and I had no need of a bed or clothes.

I feel like I'm going to receive a little bit of money, but it will only be until the day after tomorrow when Croze-sama comes back, so I have to be careful to not take it for granted.

◇

The next day, maid-san told me that Croze-sama had returned. She called me to talk about the future.

"Mirell-chan, thank you. The problem is taken care of."

Croze-sama took my hand and thanked me. I didn't know what she was talking about and couldn't say anything, but as if it was the first time we met, Master Tiness stopped me.

She didn't tell me the details, but the letter I had stolen was very important and had been stolen from a nobleman's house. She said that since I had only retrieved it, I was considered innocent.

"So, Mirell-chan's future, I would like you to decide."

Even with all this kindness, I knew that I would eventually return to my old life, and if the good life continued for too long, it would be hard on me. When I told him it was okay that I was going back to my home village, I was told that they were planning to build a new orphanage there.

I kept trying to make up some reasonable excuse, but it was impossible. After all, it seems that I have to choose from the options offered to me.

The first was to join an orphanage. I had been alone all my life, and I didn't think I could adjust to that kind of life now.

The second was to be adopted, and Croze-sama was going to introduce me to someone.

The person who would take me in was not a nobleman, but a commoner. I was told that I could decide once I met him. But I had no one to call my family but my old man, and I wondered if I could become a family with someone I didn't know at all.

Third, Croze-sama will prepare a house for me and I could live there.

They are worried about the girl living alone, so they will come to check on her regularly.

They would support me until I reach adulthood, which was the most attractive and hassle-free thing I could think of. But the literacy rate in the capital was quite high, and the only people who could read at all were residents who had grown up in slums. I did not know if I would be able to get a regular job in that situation.

I would like to think that the people who have done so much for us will not just give us a house and money and leave us alone, but what about the trouble we may face later?

I wonder what that letter was all about, but I know in my heart as a child that there were many things it would be better not to know.

Croze-sama wanted me to be adopted. It would be the safest thing to do. But I doubt that I would get along with my stepfather and stepmother. However, I might be able to meet them at least once. I have nothing to lose but my life, anyway.

--The next day. Early in the morning.

Tiness-sama took me to meet the family who would adopt me.

Croze-sama said that she had to go back to her home, but from what I had observed so far, I thought that it was not a good position for a person to go to see a commoner.

I was not familiar with the behavior of the nobility, but I felt that Croze-sama was more elegant or refined than Tiness-sama. Even the way she drank tea was so beautiful that I could not help but admire it.

The house was located off the main street of the commoner's quarter. We took a horse-drawn carriage to get to the house. It seemed to be a modest carriage because it was going out of the noble district, but I think it was obvious because commoners do not use a carriage to go to their homes.

I had heard from an old man that in this city, the closer you were to the main street, the richer the people lived and the safer it was.

"Excuse us."

Lady Tiness doesn't mind, and I follow her as she enters the house.

My clothes were not the dress I had been made to wear for days, but simple clothes that a commoner would wear, although they were made of a rather expensive-looking fabric. The maid had measured me here and there a few days ago, so she must have bought them for today.

"Oh, welcome."

"Long time no see, Tiness."

He looks so scary that even a dragon would tremble with a single stare. He is tall and very intimidating, stirring up fear.

The woman beside him was plump, but her arms and legs showed well-trained muscles. She had red hair with strong waves, perhaps from a habit.

...Scary. I thought, "I don't think I can do this".

"Is that the girl over there, the one you were talking about?"

"Yes, that's Mirell-chan."

The woman mumbled, "I see," and then she was right in front of me. Before I could wonder when she had moved, she hugged me. The force was stronger than I expected. It was painful.

"Hey! If you put that much pressure on her, she'll get crushed!"

The uncle said that and lightly tapped her head, and her strength loosened. Uncle was there before she knew it.

"Oh, sorry, sorry... I want you to meet Gina as well, she will definitely agree."

"Sorry. I'm sorry, she's just got a lot of energy since she's been staying at home."

The uncle smiled and gently patted my head. Oh, maybe he doesn't seem so scary when he smiles.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

Out of the back room came a girl, a little older than me, I think. She had fiery red hair just like her mother's, and she was rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Gina's finally awake. Here's the girl who's going to be your sister."

"It's not yet decided."

Uncle sighed.

"Sister?"

The little girl called Gina seemed to have lost her sleepiness. She ran up to me and hugged me tightly. I wondered if this was a welcome greeting in this house. She was a child, after all, so the hug wasn't painful.

"I am Gina!"

"Mirell."

Tiness-sama talked with the uncle and aunt for a while, but Gina took me into the back room to play with her, and before I knew it, she left.

Looking back, if I had said I wanted to leave, the uncle and aunt would have called me.

However, the thought of wanting to go back was slowly disappearing from my mind.

Although scary to look at, this family never once looked at me with pity, even though they knew about my background. The uncle and aunt I had just met looked at me with the same kind eyes they had for Gina.

It was at dinner that I learned that the uncle and aunt were former adventurers who had retired when Gina was born, and that the uncle now worked for the guild.

It was the next day that she told me with a laugh that he looked strangely scary and that "he was just nervous".

--This is the first story of how Mirell came to have the treasure of family.

It would be a while before she would become an adventurer with Gina, meet Mark and Alphos, and reunite with Croze and Tiness.