"So, what do you think?"

Zane had a very serious contemplative expression "Repeat what you said to me one more time."

I was in the orphanage, more specifically his office, trying to convince him to let me bring Nova on a short trip. He was being very cautious of accepting my proposal which was understandable.

"Okay." This was the fourth time already, but I would do it as many times as needed "So first, the weather will be clear the next one week and maybe the one after that. Afterwards, perhaps, there will be a tempest but that is not yet set in stone. A radius of twenty kilometers, more or less, around this town has been scouted and the verdict was that the danger level is on the lower stratum with few dangerous beats and some toxic plant species like some mushrooms but other than that, it is mostly fine for a person to travel within with some proper knowledge."

"That information, is it credible?"

"I directly went to the town's administration building for most of it. Then, I talked with some people who have been on the field about their experiences to confirm said information. I'd say that there is a eighty percent chance of it being true."

"And the twenty percent?"

"It is mostly me being paranoid."

"I see…" He went once again deep into his thoughts and I just waited for his answer which appeared a few minutes later "With your information, if it is the truth, I don't see much of a problem of Lenova going into the forest. However, at the same time, I don't see why she should be going there in the first place."

"It is not like I only plan to do this for leisure. I also want to use it as an opportunity to teach her some things."

"Like what?"

"Elemental energies, for example. A bit of survival and camping knowledge and that comes with a bit of hunting if it is not too dangerous. Since I plan to travel along the river, I will also use it as an opportunity to teach her how to swim if she does not know it already. Maybe some life energy things in there, too?"

He leaned back on his chair "You know, all those things you mentioned will be taught in time even she doesn't go with you. On the contrary, it is an unnecessary risk. I will ask you again: Why should I allow you to take her?"

I could not help but furrow my brows in thought. All his arguments were reasonable and to the point. I wish I could even berate myself, but for what? I did everything that crossed my mind as necessary, yet it seemed that wasn't enough. Perhaps, in the first place, there was nothing I could.

I shook my head "I do not have anything more to add." It is important to know when to give up and this was one of those times. It was pointless to try to achieve victory when it was impossible. Rather, such behavior would make me appear zealous to others. Thus, I conceded. However, that did not mean I was not bitter about this result.

"Then there is Lenova, who is not keen on doing that camping trip with you. If I have to say, the odds of me granting permission to you are pretty grim."

I knew about that but- "Why are saying it like this?"

"Because I will give it to you."

I could not help but jump from my seat "Are you serious!?"

"Yes." In contrast to my excitement, Zane was composed

"Why?" I involuntary asked as I did not understand his reasoning

"Just because."

"What?"

"I'll repeat myself: Just because."

I held my head with my hand "I am sorry. I am unable to under- nay. I understand the words but for some reason-"

"They are not going through you?"

"Yeah…"

"Then let me put it this way: I want you and Lenova to have a better relationship and your proposal seems to align with my interest."

Although he said it so smoothly, I could not bring myself trust his words "And…"

"That's it. Nothing more, nothing less." He smiled benevolently which caused goosebumps appear on my arm

"Are you serious…?"

"I can give you my word if you cannot believe me."

"…" I stood there in silence watching him very carefully. Studying every twitch of his expression so that it could give me a hint of his intentions. However, I got nothing. Everything about him oozed his faithfulness to his words as if there was no falsehood yet it was precisely because of that that I could not bring myself to just accept it as is for I knew the one who hid behind the mask 'or at least a glimpse of himself'.

"…"

"…"

"If you don't want-"

"Nothing of the sort!" I quickly cut him off.

"Then do you accept it?" he asked without missing a beat

"Of course!" The deal was just too sweet to turn it down that I had already accepted before pondering on the consequences.

"Great!" he smiled contently which made me feel as if I had jumped straight into a trap of my own volition.

'This feeling of being led by the nose… I hate it…' I became depressed and let out a sigh, a habit that I should get rid of.

"What is wrong? Shouldn't you be happy?" The culprit decided to act oblivious to my situation which caused me to glare at him yet, he seemed completely unfazed by it which brought me even more anger.

'Welp. What's done is done.' I expelled a sigh containing my deepest and darkest emotions in hope that releasing them would bring me peace "By the way, where is Nova at the moment?"

"She must be playing with the other children outside. Why?"

"I am planning on taking her to the marketplace so that can she have a feel for it while I am buying supplies."

"Oh, yes. That would be a good experience for her. That way she will understand what to not to do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" 'Ah! I should've kept my mouth shut'

"I am saying that your fickleness and commitment to it can be very dangerous 'and here comes the rant'. For example, this camping proposal, where did it come from? The thought probably crossed your mind, then you believed it was good idea and just committed yourself to do it."

"…" He was not wrong so I could not say anything back

He shook his head exasperatedly "Who would have thought to have a camping trip these days? It has only been a little more than month since we arrived here and there is no end to the problems that we need to resolve yet you are thinking about having fun with your yet-to-be-established daughter."

I decided to just wait for the storm to pass in silence.

"At least there is the silver lining of you researching things before jumping straight into them but that does not change the rashness of your decision!" He put more strength on the last sentence, indicating that the storm was over "Still, I guess it is thanks to it that I can see how your relationship holds up…"

'I knew it! I knew something was up! It was barely a whisper, but I heard it! Basically, this trip will be a test if Nova and I can live together. If nothing happens, everything will be okay. However, if Nova, for whatever reason, has negative feelings about it afterwards then Zane will immediately pick it up and reject the adoption request. That must be it! There is no other reason for why he would have accepted my request if not.'

I did not know what kind of expression I had on my face but when Zane glanced at me but when he did, he reflexively covered his mouth with his hand. It was as if he did not mean to say it, however, this was Zane we were talking about.

My memory is never the best in terms of remembering useful stuff. However, for some reason, a piece of random trivia that took my interest at the time will be remembered for a long while and the lore behind the seemingly benevolent old orphanage manager is one of such cases.

'Is he being genuine? Or, did he create this entire show so that I watch out for my actions?... Now I do not know what's what... This why feared to have to deal with him. How do I say it? As expected of the old thief veteran.'

"Yeah… I'll go meet Nova then." Following the motto: If I cannot figure it out, then I will move along to other more pressing issues. In other words: I decided to escape.

"Not that way." I heard Zane saying. I looked back at him and noticed him pointing at a different direction than the one I was taking "It is the last door of this hallway."

'Great. Not only did I fail to escape, but I now also feel embarrassed' "Is that so? Thank you." With no change in my demeanor, I changed my direction and followed Zane's instructions.

As I was passing him, I felt the casual smile on his face was more of a knowing smile, as if I were an open book for him, which dealt incredible damage to my originally weak pride. Thus, I increased my stride so that I could get farther faster from him.

Once I felt I was far enough, I regained my calm and huffed in response to my earlier disposition. However, I decided to put it all behind me and open the door to the backside of the orphanage 'or so I believe it is'.

In contrast to the calm inside the orphanage, outside was rowdy to say the least. That was to be expected since there were about twentyish kids outside playing around. This backyard was basically an empty plot but not like truly empty since there was a few trees and low-height plants. On a first look, it gave me the impression that the builders just built the wall without changing what was inside the plot. On one hand, it seemed lazy. On the other, this was much more interesting than just an actual empty dirt backyard and perhaps much safer because the greenery could protect the kids from falls to some extent. I hoped they had gotten rid of anything that is too dangerous at least.

My presence here seemed to have caused ripples amongst the children as they stopped what they were doing and observed the intruder of their territory, namely me. The atmosphere felt awkward, but I decided to do what I usually do in these kinds of situations which was to ignore everything and focus on my objective.

I scanned the girl's group first and sure enough, Nova, was among them. It was easy to  notice her yet, at the same time, it was hard deciding whether it was her or not because, unlike the other kids who were directly looking at me, she was facing the opposite direction. I glanced over at where she was looking but there was nothing that brought my attention.

Although a bit confused, I decided to tell her the good news "Nova! Zane agreed!"

What happened next was unexpected: First, she faced in my direction, made a face as if she had bit a bug and then facepalmed. It was a sequence of actions that happened in 5 seconds, give, or take. Afterwards, she quickly made her way towards me half-jogging with a determined expression.

"Wait. What are you?" Once she arrived at my position, she started pushing me

"Shut up!" she barked in a strong yet hushed voice "Let us talk inside."

"Okay, okay! Stop pushing me."

We entered the door from where I came from. We were silent for a moment, a moment that I decided to break with- "What's up?"

She let out a frustrated sigh "Is what you said earlier true?"

It a moment of deliberation to understand what she was talking about "Oh! About the part where I said that Zane agreed?"

"Yes! That! What do you mean exactly by that? What did he agree upon?" She asked with apprehension mixed in her voice

"The camping trip I proposed, of course!" I happily informed her

She banged her head against the wall. Twice, but the second one was much lighter than the first. However, that did not cause my worry over her to decrease any less. Therefore, before she had her third time, I gently grabbed her and put enough distance from the walls.

"How?"

"Hm?"

"How did you convince Uncle Zane?"

"Well…" I thought deeply in how to answer her question "I can be very persuasive." And blatantly lied

"Let me go! I need to talk with Uncle Zane!"

"What? Why?"

"To change his mind!"

"No way!" I hugged her close to me so that could not escape "I went through great lengths to achieve this result and I won't let you ruin it all!" Somehow, the line that came out of my mouth was like those used by classic villains.

"Let go of me!" She continued to struggle for what felt like two minutes before settling down. Of course, there would be no other result if one measured the difference of our strength. Nevertheless, it still made Nova look crestfallen.

"Have you given up?" I asked her

"Yes."

"If I release you, you won't immediately run towards Zane, will you?"

"No."

"Just so that we understand each other. In the event of you lying and eventually doing just that, how far do you think you can run before I catch you?"

"Ugh." 'So, she was lying! I am both proud and peeved.'

"Okay, I am going to let you go now." I acted as I said and let Nova go. As soon I let her go, I carefully observed her actions because I seriously did not want her to somehow convince Zane to change his decision. Even though it is highly unlikely, there is always that sliver chance of it happening.

In the end, my worries were not warranted as Nova, weirdly enough, decided to follow through my instructions. Although, the crestfallen expression of hers remained there.

I relaxed my guard and told her "Well, that's that. Anything you want to add?"

"… Do I have to go on that trip with you?"

I did not really want to start a discussion about this subject. Therefore- "I'll exert my authority as an adult and ignore your opinion. So, yes."

"I feel that you should never have authority."

"What a coincidence. So do I." I smugly smiled

"Why are you even saying that with pride?"

"Just to get on your nerves."

"How amazingly accurate you are." she said with a fed-up noble lady act. Her posture, her tone and her expression were so on point that consequently caused me to break in laugher. I did not know how she got me with such a simple impression that normally would bring mild amusement from me. Perhaps because I did not expect it at all, caused me to have no defenses against it.

Once my mirth calmed down, I praised her "Okay. That got me."

"Is that so?" Nova took my praise in nonchalance

"Anyways, let us go back to the more important stuff. Tell me, why are so against the trip?"

"Would even telling you change the outcome?"

I replied in a heartbeat in complete seriousness "Absolutely."

She was taken back by my answer "Are you serious?" I was about to reply but she beat me "Do not answer that. I feel that I know the answer already." I was pleasantly surprised with her follow-up "The reason for why I don't want to go is because I am afraid."

Of all the arguments that Nova could have used, for some reason this one never crossed my mind "Afraid of what exactly?"

"Everything outside the town. Think about this: Would you let me go deeper into the forest alone?"

The answer was obvious "No." She was just a kid with barely any way of defending herself, not to mention that her knowledge was lacking. In conclusion, she was not ready. However- "In the first place, you are not going to be alone. I'll be there with you."

"Yeah. But can you protect me at all times?"

"I wish to say yes. However, I know that is an impossibility so no."

"See."

"Yeah, I see. But that gives me more reason to take you with me, you know."

"What!? Why!?"

"Because rather than being afraid of the wilds, I feel that you are afraid of the unknown which is a totally reasonable fear to have. What is not reasonable is your mentality. You are basically saying me this: I am afraid of something that could happen; therefore, I am going to avoid it as much as possible. Am I wrong?"

"Um… No." she hesitatingly answered my question "But what is the problem with that?"

"My experience tells me that you cannot avoid things forever. Therefore, it is best to have some countermeasures in place for when that happens and to create countermeasures in the first place you need knowledge and experience which this trip will offer you." 'and you won't live in ignorance'

Nova was looking at me intensively "You lost me for a second there."

"Let's see. Basically, the camping trip will be an educational trip where I am going to teach you… many things. You know, like the things I've already taught you."

"I thought that it was because you wanted to have fun messing with me or something along those lines."

A wide grin appeared on my face "Oh, absolutely. I am going to teach you and have fun while doing it."

"So, there is really no way for me not to go?"

"After what you told me, no."

She became crestfallen once again "I see…" However, it was quickly replaced by a determined disposition 'More like she has no other choice so just wants it be over as soon as possible' "What is next?"

"Next I was thinking of bringing you with for shopping for provisions with me to have an understanding of the things we need if you are not busy."

"I'm not busy so we can go right now."

"Were you not playing with your friends before? Is okay to just leave them like that?"

"No, it's okay. Honestly, it would be kind of bothersome to go back."

I tilted my head "Why?"

"Just because."

'Is because I came looking for her? I kind of understand why it would be awkward to deal with the aftermath, but it should be not that bad unless-' "Have you told them about me?"

"Well…" she averted her eyes

"I'll take that as no. However, you should have done it. After all, they are like a family to you, are they not?" 'An orphanage is, in a way, one big family. At least a replacement for one. Others may find it different, but I believe in this.'

"Family, huh……… Well, maybe. But it is hard to tell them…"

"Perhaps, but you should do it nonetheless."

"…" she remained silent

"Did you know that remaining silent is, in some ways, worse than lying?"

"Alright, alright. I'll do it." She said irritably, perhaps fed-up with my nagging 'frankly it wasn't that much'

"Good, then I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"What? Tomorrow?"

"Yes. That should leave you with more than enough time to tell them and let bygones be bygones."

She had an expression filled with mixed feelings "There is no need to do it right now… I'll do it later."

'Seriously, sometimes I think that she is my biological daughter' "If you keep postponing stuff, before you even realize, it will far too late. Here's my advice: Do it immediately and like that you won't have to worry about it anymore." It felt incredible weird for these exact words exit my mouth since I was usually on the receiving end

Although I was pretty sure she heard me, she had not moved a centimeter from her position. She was hugging herself, as if she were between a rock and a hard place, and her face described the word uncertainty.

‘Yeah, I understand. Imagine telling kids with whom you have shared the pain of being an orphan that you are going to be adopted. Some may be happy with the result; some may be sad that you are departing; and some may be jealous or even hostile that you were the one who was picked. Anyway, the word awkward wouldn’t suffice to describe the mood afterwards.’

Seeing her like this made me think that I needed to do my role as a parent and guide her to the right place. However, I was not going to hold her hand until the goal, I was just going to coax her a little.

I bended down to her level and gently told her "Do you want to go nicely or harshly? Your choice." 'To threaten or to coax someone. They are basically the same things~.'

She stiffened and spoke tentatively "If-If I pick harshly what would you do?"

"Do you want to know?" I tilted my head

She gulped "… Yeah, I do." Her eyes showed her resolve 'Why does she want to know? Does she think I am bluffing?'

"I'll grab you by the collar and throw you back in there. Oh! And I won't forget to lock the door."

"You'll lock us outside?" she weakly countered

I easily dismissed it "I'll inform Zane so that he'll open it later, but after enough time elapsed so that you'll be done with your task."

She glared at me yet instead of receiving dread, as she intended, I only felt sweet pleasure 'not in a sexual way'. Therefore, I returned her a shallow and calm smile while in a comfortable posture.

We stood there for a full minute before one of us finally broke. It was not me, of course, my pride would not allow it.

"UGH!!! Fine." So declared Nova as she faced the door, yet I did not see her do any action past beyond that

After watching her like for far too long than I would like I addressed her "… Are you going or not?"

"I told you I am!... Just let me ready my heart."

"What is there to ready? Just go out and tell them. Easy-peasy."

"Easy for you to say!"

I just shrugged in response and while at it, I glanced at her and noticed that the banter did not help much regarding her nerves.

'Okay, so be it' "Nova, do you want to hear some real and useful advice?"

"If it helps my predicament."

"It will and more."

"Well, what is it?"

"Be shameless."

"What?" she was stupefied

"Be shameless." I repeated myself "But don't forget to have a little bit of decency."

"Just like how you are?"

"Just like me or that old man who's been eavesdropping to our discussion this whole time."

"It's you girls who have been shouting near my office! And Craven, do not give bad teachings to my kids!" I heard the old man shouting but although he said that

"Yeah, yeah." I dismissed his words and addressed Nova "See." I shook my head exaggeratedly "See Nova, he placed the fault on us even though he was the one who eavesdropped."

"… I think the shameless one here is you, though. But I get it. You want me to an insensitive woman who is both selfish and petty and has no regards for the opinion of others just like you."

"Exactly!" I enthusiastically affirmed her answer 'What? Do you think mere words can go through my thick skin?'

"Fine…" she grabbed the knob of the door and took a deep breath

Right when she was about to throw herself to the lions, I immediately addressed her "Just in case, tell them that there is a high chance of me adopting you, since I haven’t signed the papers yet. Don’t want to give them false information after all.” I cheekily told her while emphasizing the word yet since I will do my utmost to achieve that objective "Anyway, off you go." I pushed her and closed the door behind her

With that, all that I needed to do today was done. Therefore, I decided to lazily pass the day by either walking around town and take in the new sights or just dip my feet in the river and watch the water flow.

No other idea came to me to pass time since I was so used to either surf on the Internet in my free time or just log into Obsidian and play it for my own entertainment. In other words, I currently did not have any ways to pass time other than working on something.

'I did try to take a nap once but, thanks to my body, all I could do was close my eyes.'

However, before worrying about how to pass time, I stopped by Zane's office.

"You are not going back on your word, are you?"

"What happened to your spunk earlier?" He did not give me a direct answer

"Nothing, I am just confirming things. So…?"

He let out a chuckle

He let out a chuckle mixed in with a sigh "Just do your thing."

"So, you're not…?"

"Do you want me to?"

"What!? No, no, no!" I quickly denied

"Then move along." He made a shooing gesture

"I'll do just that." I started walking towards the orphanage's exit

'Damn! That old man is really leading me by the nose, and I cannot really do anything about it.' I was really depressed about it since I was normally in the position of leading people in the conversation 'Welp, nothing I can do about that. Think positively! Tomorrow will be a date with Nova!'