Chapter 39 – Chapter 39

“Who is your father… Ah!”

I managed to curl the words that were about to come out reflexively back into my throat. Have I grown up a bit? If it wasn’t for that, I would have yelled out nonchalantly words that could reflexively hurt the child in front of me.

I looked at the child in front of me calmly again.
Unlike Miho, she has silver hair.

If there’s something in common, it’s that she has white skin that’s much brighter than Miho’s, or even pale enough to feel pale, and that her eyes are slightly droopy, so she looks passive and lacks confidence… In other words, he was a really decent-looking kid.

In the case of Miho, the most distinctive feature of a human being was her long ears.
Because I said it’s a characteristic that only elves have.

That was the case with the child in front of me.
The left one? Or should I say head side? Something sprouted there. The problem is that it may have been broken while sprouting, and only a very strange but small shape remains.

In addition, even the color of the eyes is silver, silver hair and silver eyes?
It was the first time I had ever seen such a unique and pretty color combination. Even some celebrities can’t digest it. The problem was that she was such a cute girl that the colors that even those celebrities couldn’t pull off matched well.

“…”

Like this, I just stared blankly at it to observe what it looked like.

「Flinching, flinching」

“It… Sin, I’m sorry.”

She was a child whose eyes trembled as she reflexively avoided her body even when she tried to meet my gaze.
Other than that, just by looking at his actions and eyes, it was clear that this child was carrying as much scar or fear as Miho.
She also had a rough idea of ​​why this child was here and who had brought her.

‘Looks like he’s here now.’

I muttered that to myself, but did you even read my mind?
Suddenly a voice pops out.

[After that, she has come a long way.]

It’s a surprise, you crazy bitch.

[I’m relieved that you seem to have taken good care of Miho even while I was away for a while. I think I can trust this child as well.]
[In the first place, neither I nor you have the right to decide.]

That’s right.
I remembered the contract with this ‘voice’.

“You have to become a parent to children who need protection from now on. Until they become adults and can stand on their own.”

Apparently, the ‘voice’ spoke to me.
I say ‘children’.

In addition…

‘Is this child different from the appearance?’

[It will be similar to Miho. At least 100 years old.]
[However, for these different races, the age before awakening is practically meaningless, whether it is 200 or 300 years old.]

Awakening…
For some reason, hearing such words made me realize a little bit that neither Miho nor the child in front of me were, after all, not “Humans.”

‘What race is it?’

[I’ve said it before, but I can give you some additional explanation.]
[It all starts with getting to know each other.]

Yes, you will.
‘Voice’ was also a guy with many secrets in many ways.

“…”
“Sorry, sorry… Do it, do it I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

The silver-haired child simply said he was sorry.
Because I didn’t say anything

On the contrary, I have no self-esteem or self-confidence to the extent that apologizing even though I haven’t said anything… He was a lost child.

‘Even though I thought I had narrowed the distance with the child while living with Miho, or that I had improved my skills in many ways.’

If I were a really good parent, or if I was a person with excellent skills in caring for a child…
For example, isn’t there such a thing?
Excited-looking uncle-like beings who appear regularly on programs that children like madly.

“Hello, poor old man…”

Oh wait.
It’s not him

“Hello, my children’s friends. I’m Strawberry Man, your always energetic friend!”

Well, there are people who hit the opening like this.
If they were such people, even in such a sudden meeting, they would read the wounds of the child and immediately stretch out their arms wide open and hug them gently and say, ‘Yes, I am your father from today. Couldn’t you have patted him on the back saying, “Please take care of me?”

But I…

“It’s okay.”
“… !”

“Tuk!”

Barely holding her trembling hand on the child’s head, she didn’t know what to do.

“Okay.”

Are these words to this child, or to me?
What is certain is that because of this action, the child in front of me carefully lifted up that little hand and held my palm very carefully, and then tears began to form in her eyes.

“Ugh, Dad… Sorry, sorry. Dad, Dad! Ugh ugh… !”

It might be a little frustrating, but more than that, I was angry.

‘What kind of bastards are they?’

No, there’s no need to worry.
It was clear that he was also a ‘human’.

Humans had made this child to this point. Self-esteem, self-esteem… It was cut down until it was below the floor, and it was ‘made’ so that no matter what you do, you must apologize first.

I was angry.
But now was not the time to be angry. Because I am an adult, no, because I had to become more mature than I am now in order to be a good parent to this child following Miho.
I let go of my anger and said.

“Kim Hyun-woo.”
“Kim, Hyun…”

Unlike Miho, he was a very clear-spoken child. The voice gradually creeps in, so I can’t hear it well at the end.
It was a minor problem that could be fixed if I gradually regained my confidence.

“My name is Kim Hyun-woo. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do well in the future, but I’ll try to be a good father to you. I’ll promise. Heartily.”

It wasn’t just because of the contract with the voice.
Of course, that wasn’t to say that the blessing the voice bestowed on me was irrelevant. But now, at least, I couldn’t just look at the unfortunate child who came directly in front of me as the object of a contract.
It is because he has already changed through Miho.

“Sure, you… I will help you become great adults and create a happy future.”
“Ah, ah, it hurts… Uhhh, noh…”

Then I stretched out my hands and pulled the silver-haired child towards me, bringing my ears closer. Then, while crying as if he was out of breath, the child told me his ‘name’ in my ear.

“Noah, I’m Noah… Heuk, whimper, heuh heuk.”

Is it noah

“It’s a pretty name.”

It’s a name you’ve heard somewhere in mythology, so whatever it is, it’s a name with a great meaning, right?

[… ] …]

Hey, I missed that reaction.

[… ] … What is it? It’s embarrassing.]
[Huh, no. Rather…]

The voice spoke in a somewhat warm voice.

[Really, a human being is a creature that you don’t even know.]

Okay?

[Yes… I don’t know.]
[Really, I don’t know.]

There is a big gap between me from the first meeting and the current me, so I thought the voice was very embarrassed.
Well, it was to the point where I questioned whether the me who was a eunuch and a bully and the me now were the same person.

‘It’s really amazing.’

Even the real God wouldn’t have known that I could change like this.
No, God might have known.

Big… Anyway, I thought that the first meeting with Noah was completed much better than Miho in a way. And without knowing anything at first, he had some confidence to solve it better than Miho, who had many troubles.

‘He feeds me, buys me clothes, and goes out to play with me. I’ll have to adjust my phone too.’

And in any case, if Miho and Noah got along well, it seemed like he would be much less worried than if Miho was alone in the house.
Whatever it is, the two of them can rely on each other and help each other.
This is something I was very envious of as a child.

Having a brother or sister at home.
Sometimes it’s good to be alone at home when your parents aren’t at work, but there are definitely times when it’s not good.
If you dare let me choose that… I probably thought it would be much better to have at least one brother or sister together, even if there was a quarrel.

“Noah, aren’t you hungry?”
“No, no, Noah is okay, it’s okay… Ah…”

The stuttering had to be fixed, and the low voice had to be fixed.
There was nothing to fret about.
No, it was already being fixed to some extent.

“Dad…”

Even if he didn’t know other words, Noah was already clearer than anyone else when it came to the word ‘Dad’, and he was speaking with a voice that everyone could hear.

“Yes?”
“Dad, Dad…”

As if he had been starving for a hundred or even a thousand years, Noah called out the word ‘Dad’ clearly while crying.
Like I really wanted him more than anything in the world.

“Why?”
“Dad, Dad, Dad… !”
“Yes, I am your father.”
“… Dad!”

「Wow!」

Noah couldn’t stand it again and rushed into my arms, shedding tears and burying his face in his chest, chanting the word “Dad” Over and over again.
I patted Noah on the back and said,

“From now on, I will take care of you diligently. I’ll make you laugh more than cry. Myself… Is honestly not that overflowing.”

It’s something you shouldn’t avoid if you don’t have confidence.
Because it’s something you have to do
Because that’s the role a ‘dad’ deserves.

“I’ll try.”
“Uuuuu…” … ! It hurts…”
“Yes, yes. Noah.”

It was then.

「Brush」

Just in time, Miho, who seemed like he wouldn’t know who was carrying it, rustled and stood up, and was looking this way with surprised eyes.

“Hey, hello. Here ahead…”

Miho shouldn’t have to worry.
… I was trying to say something nice, but I had no choice but to stop talking.

“Hurry up! Poof!”

“… !”

It wasn’t just me who moved my body more than I thought, it was the same with Miho.
As soon as Miho got up, he suddenly ran towards Noah.
It was precisely the action of raising both of his hands in front of him, apparently trying to push Noah away from me. It was clear that if I hadn’t lifted Noah up urgently, he would have been thrown down.

“… Ah! Ah, ah…”

However, just because it wasn’t pushed didn’t mean it was nothing.
Noah was quivering with her lips, which had already turned a pale blue complexion. The one who knew her teeth her better than anyone else was me hugging her.
That’s why I was angry.
I wanted to say something to Miho because it stung me.

“What are you doing now…”

However, Miho said in a voice that seemed more angry than me… No, he shouted with a voice that felt even the urgency he had never seen before.

“Who is your father!”

It was a voice with a sense of desperation, as if a child had been robbed of the most precious treasure in the world.