♣Can Never Let Your Guard Down

 

 

 

♣Can Never Let Your Guard Down

 

A month had gone by since Pops passed away. I…well, I knew the day would come. His illness was getting worse, and he was getting up there in years. While Tinaris was able to help with his medication, there was no cure. After we gave him a simple cremation and held a memorial service, I regained my composure more or less.

The girl I’d adopted that day, Tinaris, turned five and was growing all too quickly. And today, she’d made a lot of manure and showed it off to me.

“I made a new kind of manure!” she proudly announced.

“Thanks. Look at this, Tina. I used the manure you made last time, and the poteitos are already ready for harvest!”

“W-Wow! Already?! The manure really is good quality!”

“Yeah. Let’s try it again.”

“Yeah!”

Last year, Tina learned alchemy to create a medicine that would ease Pops’ disease. Ever since, she’d started making not just medicine but also seasonings for food, fertilizer for the fields, soap for laundry and dishes, and whetstones to improve the farming equipment. It all made life that much easier for us. We could well have reached De Marl’s standard of living.

Perishable products and ingredients like pepper weren’t available in the area, and we could only restock when a merchant caravan passed by… But still, the way things were going, Tina and I were, by and large, self-sufficient.

“Hm,” I hummed as I looked at Tina, who looked back at me questioningly.

She really has grown. And we needed to restock on perishables…like black pepper and some seasonings. We were also short on alcohol, oil, seeds, flour…and clothes. It was about time I got Tina some new threads.

“Say, Tina.” I squatted down to look her in the eye. “Aren’t those clothes getting too small for you? Why don’t we head out to Fei Lu tomorrow and buy you some new ones?”

It would take five days to get to Fei Lu by horse. We’d have to camp out. That meant the inn would have to close for a while, and we’d need to make some preparations, but not much could be done about that.

“Besides, you’ve got a stock of all those tonics you made. Why don’t we sell them for some coin?”

“O-Oh! Good idea!”

…That’s what got your attention?

With some mixed feelings as a father, I set about finishing what farming still needed to be done before we left.

♣♣♣

THE following day, I hitched the wagon to Judie and loaded it with camping equipment. I put up the “Closed For Errands” sign on the inn’s door and took all the valuables and money with us, so there’d be nothing to steal.

While buying Tina clothes is important, maybe I should also buy her a horse. It won’t be cheap, but two horses means we could carry that much more.

As I contemplated things on the road, we reached the trade country of Fei Lu within five days.

“Woooow… It’s gotten even bigger than last time!” Tina exclaimed upon seeing the streets.

“Yeah, it has.”

Fei Lu was the closest country to the demi-human continent and a center of trade and commerce. This was also where our family doctor, Doctor Rob, ran his clinic, so we came to Fei Lu quite often. But we were always surprised to see how their territory seemed to grow every time we came.

And it’s been two years for Tina… Hm?

“I’m surprised you remember what this place looked like two years ago. You were only three at the time,” I said.

“Huh?! Ah, r-really? W-Well, Fei Lu’s gotten so much bigger that even I can remember how much smaller it was before!”

“Mm. I suppose?”

I always thought it’s hard to remember things when you’re young, but Tina probably had a good memory. Which reminded me…that shifty old adventurer recommended I send Tina to study in Saikorea or the Elven Empire of Forestria. Moving to either place was an option.

Recalling that comment made me think back on the couple who got married at our inn not too long ago—Roin and Enofa. I could have left the inn in their hands. He was interested in running an inn, so I could’ve left the Rofola Lodge to him for a while until Tina finished her studies and decided on her future.

Well, if fate would have it, they might come to visit again someday. If Tina hadn’t decided on her future by then, we could discuss it some more.

But what mattered at present was our business in Fei Lu. The customs inspection wasn’t too much of a hassle. There were only traveling merchants and vagabonds in line this time, so we got in pretty smoothly.

Fei Lu had many houses under construction, so unlike De Marl, it wasn’t surrounded by tall walls. This country had knights to protect it, of course, but I had to wonder if there were enough of them to go around. I relied on Fei Lu a lot for supplies, so I hoped the country would stay safe in the face of bandit attacks.

Judie suddenly neighed nervously as we entered the inspection post.

“What’s wrong, girl?” I asked.

The horse pounded her front hooves against the ground anxiously, shook her head, and snorted.

“What’s the matter, Judie?” Tina asked, looking at the horse with concern.

We stroked her neck soothingly, which did calm her, but… I drew my sword with my left hand and looked around. But the only people in sight were just merchants and travelers.

“…All right. Let’s start by buying a new horse,” I told Tina upon confirming everything seemed safe.

“Huh? But I thought we were going to sell the tonics…”

“We will, later. But first, we gotta find the right horse… If we don’t find a good horse right away, we’ll need to make a few trips to the stable.”

“But why do we need to buy a horse all of a sudden? We have Judie…”

“Well, once you get older, Judie won’t be able to support both of us. And we’ll have a lot of things to bring back too, so we may as well get another horse now.”

“Okay..?”

Tina still didn’t seem to understand what I meant. But either way, I decided we should hurry. We had a lot to buy, after all.

Our first stop was the ranch. There were a few large stables in Fei Lu’s west end, and while they mostly dealt with husbandry and dairy products, there were a few that sold horses as well. I’d bought a few horses there in the past.

Judie was a military horse bred in De Marl and was one of the farewell gifts I’d received when I left the knighthood. She was a proud horse who wasn’t attached to anyone else, so they might’ve decided to pawn her off on me since she was too much of a pain for them to handle…

To that end, she was a proud girl with a bit of a wild, stubborn streak. But, to put it another way, she was earnest and dependable. If only Kelt, my ex-wife, was as tolerant as Judie, I’d have been much better off… But no. It was my fault for neglecting Kelt. She didn’t do anything wrong. Trying to shift the blame to her would be wrong of me.

“Wow, look at all these horses!” Tina exclaimed as we approached the stables, her eyes shining with excitement.

“Just don’t get lost; we have a lot of places to go today.”

“I know!”

As we stopped near the ranch, I got the feeling Judie was eyeing me funny. I explained that this wasn’t cheating—that we were looking for a younger brother or sister. Tina’s gonna need a horse sooner or later. Thankfully, Judie was smart and snorted as if to show she understood. Good girl.

I called for the rancher and told him our business, after which he graciously offered Judie some water and hay.

The horse we’d find would have to get along well with Judie and suit Tina too.

“Oh, Sir Marcus. It’s been too long,” a familiar face greeted me.

It was Goyu, the father of one of my subordinate knights from my time in De Marl, a young man called Ayuu. Goyu was apparently running the ranch.

“Oh, Goyu? You moved to Fei Lu?”

“Yes, my son injured his knee in a battle five years ago… The whole family resigned from the knighthood and we moved here to help our relatives with their ranch.”

“Oh… So Ayuu injured his knee, huh…”

I let Judie inside the ranch and tied her up. We were outsiders, after all, so I couldn’t let her roam freely. The area was fenced off, so the ranch’s horses couldn’t come here either.

Goyu explained the process to me. I’d bring potential horses here and check if they got along with Judie first. Then I’d make sure they were a good match for Tina.

Goyu used to run a ranch back in De Marl, and when they moved to Fei Lu, they took all their horses with them. Impressive.

“Five years, eh…? Was it during the Jiera Defensive Campaign?”

“No… It was a monster.”

“I see…”

A monster. Those showed up every now and then, and dispatching them was part of the knights’ duties.

So that’s what happened to him…

“It’s a good thing he came back. He’s a proud, lofty knight.”

“…Thank you kindly. To have the former vice-captain of the Azure Knights speak so kindly of him… I’m sure my son will be overjoyed. Would you mind coming to visit him…?”

“Oh, ah, first I need to get a horse. My daughter should be coming back any minute now…”

“Your daughter? Oh dear! Should I help you look for her? Things have been getting dangerous around these parts as of late.”

“Mm? What do you mean?”

What he said set off alarm bells in my head. Perhaps it was my discarded knight’s intuition. “Things have been dangerous,” he said…

“Oh, haven’t you heard? There have been slavers going around Fei Lu.”

“Slavers?!”

“Fei Lu’s been growing exponentially, so there aren’t enough knights to cover all our territory. There have been demi-humans touring the land too. That makes this place a perfect hunting ground for slavers.”

“…Could you come help me look for her?” I asked, feeling a black emotion brewing in the pit of my stomach.

“Yes, of course. Let me come along. This is my ranch after all.”

“Thank you.”

Tina’s eyes were red and the fringes of her golden hair were tinted red too. She looked unique enough to draw attention. And putting aside my parental bias, her facial features were fair. She was a pretty little girl. Slavers aside, a strange man might approach her with vile intentions.

I told Judie I’d be back soon and walked outside the ranch’s outer fence with Goyu.

“Heeeey, Tinaaaa! Can you hear me?! Come here!”

She was a bright girl, so I assumed she wouldn’t go too far. And she was cautious, so she wouldn’t follow a stranger. But…

“Mm?” Goyu hummed suspiciously, holding up a hand to block the sunlight.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“That man over there seems off,” he said, squinting at a figure not far from us. “First time I’ve seen him around here. Is he a customer…?”

I was surprised he could see the man with the sun in his eyes. It was a young man. He had black hair and eyes and was scratching his head with a peeved expression. But he was waving his other hand as if signaling to us…

This is fishy.

“Excuse me, are you from around here?” he asked, approaching us. “Could I ask you for directions?”

“No… Sorry, I’m looking for my daughter. She got lost while checking out the horses. We’re looking for her.”

“Sorry, I haven’t seen any kids…” The man then gasped as if recalling something and pointed to the right. “Oh, actually, I saw a girl playing in the flower field over there.”

The man had a flippant face and was dressed far too lightly to not live in the area. But he asked us for directions?

I drew my sword with my left hand. Goyu looked shocked at my sudden movement.

“Agh!” The man staggered a couple of steps back, his slender eyes wide with surprise.

Interesting. A bit too late though.

“Marcus, what are you doing?!” Goyu asked me.

“Where are your friends?” I asked coldly.

“H-Huh? Wh-What are you talking about?” the man stammered. “I just got lost and—”

“No matter how bad you were with directions, no one would point at a sign that says ‘To the mountains’ and tell us there’s a flower field over there.”

“…W-Well, I came down from the mountain, and like I told you, I’m a little lost, so…”

“If you’re gonna lie, you could do a better job. You went mountain climbing when you’re dressed that light? The only mountain near Lei Fu is Mount Jiel. It’s the furthest edge of the continent, where the demi-humans used to live. There ain’t no flower fields up there. I can tell you that because I scaled this mountain once. So stop lying to my face and answer the question, you petty charlatan!”

“Nngh!” The man swallowed nervously as I held my sword to his throat.

He raised both hands in the air and took a step back. I carefully closed the distance, taking a cautious step forward. This way, I wouldn’t tear into his throat immediately…

“You’re one of them, right? You’re working with those slavers. You stand around, waiting for concerned parents to pop up and point them in the wrong direction to buy time. Oh, yeah, I know all about people like you. Takes me back, really. You must be working for Zabudo. Am I right? I see that piece of shit is still pulling these operations. Really, they should have been beheaded by now…”

“How…?!”

“Oh, yeah. See, despite appearances, I’m a former knight. Happened to spend a few of my campaigns chasing your boss around. Always managed to find a way to avoid the gallows, that one…”

“…Kuh…”

The anger I felt back then bubbled up within me again. Zabudo was a fairly famous slaver in this region. Edesa Kura was the only country that still encouraged slavery, so Zabudo’s outfit was operating as their underling. Even I thought they’d have been better off washing their hands of this disgusting business if no one else was willing to deal with them anymore…

But that was only part of why I felt so angry about this. I spent a lot of time as a young knight going after Zabudo. I was an up-and-coming knight. Since it meant going up against humans who were mostly untrained in combat, it was considered a beginner’s job. And it was nasty work too, so it was hoisted off on beginners like me.

I took on that task to see if I could make it as a knight. And at the time, I lacked the skill to finish the job. But the war had escalated, and I didn’t have the leisure to chase Zabudo any longer.

That was a stroke of good luck for them. And while I knew that, I had to opt-out of the pursuit. Part of it was because I was ordered to do so, but I couldn’t deny that I was hungry for glory and wanted to fight on the frontlines. Someone else would catch them, I told myself.

“And that was a mistake.”

The man glared at me wordlessly.

“I should have caught that bastard and killed them while I was still charged to do so.”

“Urgh… Agh…” The man before me started panting and sweating.

Had I killed Zabudo back then, it wouldn’t have come back to bite me decades later. Tina wouldn’t have been in danger today.

“F-Fine, I’ll talk!” The man gave in, overwhelmed by my anger and the sword held to his neck. “I’ll talk, so don’t kill me!”

Oh, that’s no good. Was my bloodlust too strong…?

This man was young. Probably a green underling. The role of distracting the pursuers was the easiest and safest one. He was likely a new hire for the slavers. I almost felt bad for him as he squatted down crying, his hands still desperately held up in the air. I wasn’t bent on killing this guy, but I looked at him with a cold, menacing smile nonetheless.

“You better be honest, pal. If you’re not, I’ll start cutting things off, little by little. Starting with your legs.”

“D-Don’t worry! I won’t lie!”

“Sorry, Goyu, but could you call Fei Lu’s knights over? We need a few more hands on deck here.”

“U-Understood!” Goyu said and ran off to get the knights.

“Well?” I returned my glance to the man, smiling at him.

The man brought his hands together and spilled the beans. By the time he finished, Ayuu, Goyu’s son, had shown up.

“Marcus, sir!”

“Hey, Ayuu. It’s been years. Good timing. Can you take care of him?”

“Let me come with you,” Ayuu insisted.

“No, having everyone come with me will be trouble. The slavers are planning a diversion in another ranch nearby too. Tell the knights the slavers should have reinforcements ‘near the sea. ’ Assuming they’re not dumb, they’ll know what to do.”

“Ah…! Understood…”

Ooh. You really are a citizen of Fei Lu by now, aren’t you? And you understood what a former knight like me was hinting at. It’d be a shame to see your talents go to waste…

Back when Ayuu was part of the Crimson Knights, he would always do the running, but with his knee being permanently damaged, he couldn’t move as quickly as he used to. I felt it was a shame he wasn’t willing to work as a knight just because he was frustrated with his leg.

Not that I doubted his injury, of course, but at least he wasn’t in my shoes. He still had all his limbs… He could at least work on training young knights for Fei Lu. In my case, De Marl’s knights insisted on inviting me to be an instructor at the knights’ academy, but I turned them down.

I had to look after Tina. That was part of why I left De Marl and went back to Rofola. The other reason was that I wanted to take care of Ma and Pops, repay them for everything they did for me… But it was too late for that now. I hoped that my presence with them in their last few years on this planet meant something at least.

“Now, then.”

Sheathing my sword, I headed down the hill. There were a few ranches built close together in this area, and newcomers could easily get lost. This was especially true for people with children. People who visited the farms didn’t just come to look at the animals, but also to watch cows being milked.

This meant there was a crowd in a large area that was easy to get lost in. And it was easy to get away with snatched children undetected, as there were plenty of barns and warehouses to hide them. It looked like a safe place, but it was actually a perfect hunting ground for slavers.

They would take children and demi-humans abducted from across Fei Lu to the shore along the shortest route possible, loading them onto ships bound for Edesa Kura.

It was a simple operation, really. The only countries situated along the shores of the human continent were Fei Lu and Edesa Kura. But that also meant exposing their route was terribly easy.

I got off the road and headed in the direction of the sea. The scent of saltwater gradually became stronger. I entered a small forest, sheltered from the sea breeze, and there, I found a warehouse, hidden a short distance from the ranches.

I crouched as I confirmed the road to the warehouse and my eyes widened in surprise.

Seriously…?!

“It’s this way. But you really are one amazing kid. Not everyone can use alchemy. You truly are a huge help. Medium-grade tonics are expensive.”

“Oh, not at all! I’m just glad you called out to me before I sold it.”

Walking on the road was a middle-aged lady with her reddish-brown hair tied up in a bun and none other than my little girl, Tina. The lady was dressed in an apron and pulled Tina by the arm, leading her to the warehouse. I loudly got to my feet, intentionally making noise to draw their attention.

“Oh, there you are, Tina,” I said, feigning ignorance.

“Oh, Dad! Where did you come from?”

“Oh, is that your father? Good day, sir. I work at one of the ranches around here, and some of our cows got into a fight and were hurt this morning. This girl said she had some tonic on hand… My apologies. I shouldn’t have taken her without asking for permission!”

She was quick to shift gears and come up with a story. Nothing like that amateur from earlier.

“That right? Then why don’t you give her one, Tina?”

“Huh…?” Tina looked taken aback for a second but came around to my suggestion. “All right…?”

“Anyway, come on, we need to check out the horses. Could you show me the way back?”

Confirming the lady let go of her hand, I wrapped my left arm around Tina.

“Huh… Whoa!” Tina exclaimed as I picked her up.

My right arm was a prosthetic and couldn’t hold a sword. I was a bit disappointed I couldn’t cut that old woman’s head off where she stood, but that wasn’t something I could do in front of Tina anyway.

A child shouldn’t have to see that kind of bloodshed.

Consider yourself lucky. You got away with your head again, old lady Zabudo.

“Here you are, ma’am…”

“Thank you, dearie. You’re a big help.”

“Take care, you old bat,” I said coldly.

“Yes. I could say the same to you, petulant child.” She regarded me with a thin smirk.

She figured out I was the knight who hunted her down all those years.

A real villain if ever there was one…

I turned my back on her and walked off, heading down the road leading back to the ranches. Tina shuddered a bit as I carried her and asked if I knew that lady.

“Yeah. She and I, we…we used to play tag. A long, long time ago.”

“Tag?”

“Yeah. You’d be surprised how fast she could run. She was pretty too. Well, back then, when she was younger… Used it to pull the wool over my eyes a time or two, I’ll admit. Eventually, I gave up on chasing her. Figured this woman might be a bit too much for me.”

“…Mmmm?” she hummed, eyeing me suspiciously.

Apparently, Tina had gotten the wrong idea about us, but… While I didn’t like her being suspicious of that, it was better than her knowing the truth. But Tina didn’t pursue the matter, so I simply chuckled.

As I walked off with Tina, I hoisted her onto my shoulders. I imagined it’d probably be more comfortable than being carried, given I only had one arm.

“Ugh… You’re too tall, so let me down!” she started to fuss.

“Oh…? You’re bad with heights?”

“I-I’m scared, so…I can walk on my own!”

“Aww…” I let out a heartbroken moan.

She doesn’t like it that much?!

I let Tina back down on the ground. Just then, I noticed Fei Lu’s knights heading into the forest. The hag probably ran after she saw my face. Would Fei Lu’s knights successfully seize control of her route?

That depends on how skilled this country’s knights are, I suppose… A smart commander would probably split up their forces to beat them to the punch.

Still, I got the feeling that crafty crone would find a way out of that bind as well. She might have been old, but they didn’t call her the Queen of Slavers for nothing. It felt like an odd thing to be confident about, but I knew she’d find a way to shake them off.

Just let death claim you already and leave us in peace… I thought bitterly.

“Sir Marcus!” Goyu hurried over to us.

“Oh, hey there, Goyu. Could you help me find a horse for my little girl? Tina, this here is Goyu. He works at the ranch.”

“Huh?!” Goyu looked surprised at how calm I was, given what had happened not an hour ago. “Um…”

“Hello there,” Tina greeted him. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Ah, yes! Hello to you too!” Goyu nodded precariously. “Let’s find you a good horse, shall we…? Come over here…”

He calmed down once he saw my relaxed demeanor. It made sense he’d be confused. We were looking for Tina just now, so going from that to “Show her a horse” probably put him on the spot.

He introduced us to an excellent male horse, which Judie seemed to gaze at with oddly coquettish eyes.

Cut it out, girl. From his perspective, you’re an old hag.

“This one feels right. How much for it?” I asked.

“Well, it’s a military steed, so it’d be 52,000 colts…”

“Ooh…”

It’s expensive… But it’s an animal. And a young male, at that. It’s probably cheap for a military steed…

We also needed to look for an inn and go shopping, so I didn’t want to squander too much time here. Haggling would take too long, and I had no way of knowing if I’d find a more compatible horse next time.

“Deal,” I said, eventually deciding to go for it.

“Thank you. I’ll go prepare the saddle and everything else it’ll need.”

“Aren’t those usually sold separately?”

“No, no, I’ll throw them in as a freebie. I couldn’t bring myself to be a greedy merchant when it comes to you, Sir Marcus.”

“You say that, but be too generous, and you’ll end up in the red before you know it.”

“Don’t worry about it. You looked after my son.”

“…Goyu, if that’s your reason…”

I had to turn his generosity down. Ayuu climbed his way up to the position of officer, but it wasn’t because I sponsored him or anything. To begin with, we belonged to knight orders of different colors: I was with the Azure Knights, he with the Crimson Knights. Ayuu became an officer as a result of the efforts he put in.

I didn’t help him in particular. His hard work was what earned him his achievements. But just as I was about to refuse, I heard a voice call out to me from behind.

“Sir.”

It was Ayuu.

“Oh, you done?” I asked him.

“Yes, we were able to rescue the children from the southwestern warehouse. We rounded up the whole outfit.”

“You did?!” I asked, my eyes widening.

The whole outfit? Then…

“You caught Zabudo too?”

“Yes, we have Zabudo in custody.”

“Are you kidding?! How did you get your hands on Zabudo?”

“Well, you told us where they’d all be…”

“I… Well, yeah, but… I figured that old hag would run for it. You caught her? Really? What did you tell Lei Fu’s knights?”

“…W-Well, I…I told them there was another way to the shore… A route only people familiar with the region know. So I told them to keep people posted there, just in case…”

I was struck speechless but then started laughing in surprised joy.

“Really now! You’re incredible, Ayuu! That crone’s given me the slip every single time, and you just caught her! Ahahahaha!”

I started laughing and slapping Ayuu on the back.

“Huh? Huh?!” He was confused by my praise.

This guy’s amazing!

After taking a minute to laugh with relief and joy, I turned to face Goyu and Ayuu, who both looked at me in surprise.

“Ayuu, you should join Lei Fu’s knights. You can command even with a bad knee, right? Seeing you this time convinced me. You can still do this.”

Ayuu’s face filled with emotion. “I… Thank you so much, sir! But my knee always feels off. I really don’t think I could work as a knight with my knee like this…”

“I understand, but letting you just fester here would be a waste… Oh, right. Tinaaa!”

“…Yes?”

I brought them over to Tina, who was with Judie a short distance away. I had her hand over a middle-grade tonic. It wouldn’t heal an old injury, but…

“If you ask the knights, they could supply you with medium-grade tonics as part of your salary. Drink it every now and then, and it should mitigate the pain better than a low-grade one.”

“B-But medium-grade tonics are expensive… And, wait. This tonic, it’s perfect quality!” he exclaimed, using his own Appraisal skill.

“My little girl here can use alchemy. If you drink some of her recent tonics, their quality should be high. With that quality, they should be as potent as a standard high-grade tonic. If your only problem is pain, it ought to fix that.”

“Sir Marcus…!”

Completely healing the injury will require him to drink high-grade tonics over an extended period, which is a very expensive treatment. But medium-grade ones should be more than enough to get rid of the constant pain.

“Well, it’ll still probably ache on rainy days. Not much to be done about that… Have you had a doctor check you?”

“Well, no. We don’t exactly have much money…” Ayuu muttered uncomfortably.

“Mister, where does it hurt?” Tina asked.

“Should be around the knee,” I answered for him.

“Mm. You can have these then!” Tina said, taking out two medium-grade tonics.

Generous of you.

“Are those medium-grade tonics…?! And they’re all perfect quality! Just one could sell for 5,000 colts! I can’t afford this!”

“Oh, their value went up by that much?” I asked.

“Yes! The Lizardmen from the demi-human continent are in the middle of some kind of infighting, which made the cost of tonics spike for us. I’m pretty sure you could find vendors that would give almost 10,000 colts a bottle for perfect quality tonics…”

Apparently, we came at a good time. Fei Lu relies on the demi-human continent for their medicine supply, and the price has gone up. We’ll be able to sell Tina’s medicine for more than I initially thought.

“Well, let’s just say that’ll be our payment for the saddle, bit, and the reins. Right, Tina?”

“Hm? Oh, yes! That’s right!”

Goyu and Ayuu were still unconvinced. This wasn’t enough. I decided to just insist that Ayuu drink it instead of selling it and asked where we could find a good inn. They quickly pointed us in the direction of a nice place in the western part of town.

With this, we had a new horse. And since the cost of medicine had gone up, we could afford to bring a lot of wheat back with us.

Once we got to the inn, I hung up my coat and sat down to relax. Tina was glued to the window, her gaze fixed on the view outside.

Guess she can be childlike sometimes too…

“We’ll sell the tonics tomorrow, Tina, but let’s start by getting you some new clothes.”

“Oh, all right. Hmm, Dad, actually there’s something I’d like to ask for…”

“Oh?”

It wasn’t often Tina asked me for something. I walked up to her, only to find her face was kind of flushed. Was she sick? Or maybe being around people all day made her a bit dizzy?

“You probably know this, but my clothes are getting kind of tight…”

“Mm? Yeah, I figured. That’s why we’re going tomorrow…”

“Could you let me pick my…u-u-u-underwear by myself? Please?”

“Of course you can.”

“A-Aah… Th-Thank you, Dad,” she muttered, sighing with relief.

I, on the other hand, stood frozen for a moment. My thoughts ground to a momentary halt. Underwear, eh? Right… Yeah, that makes sense. Of course, she’d be nervous about that. I, however, hadn’t considered it at all. But yes, it made perfect sense.

Once Tina gets old enough, she’ll need to get a brassiere…and she’ll probably say, “I’ll handle the laundry, so go away, Dad!” even louder than she already does… Yeah…

“What’s wrong, Dad?”

“Nothing. Let’s go to bed.”

“Okay…?”

 

My little girl really is growing up too fast…