After returning to my room, Norn was there sleeping alone.
I poured a glass of water from the jug on the table.
And took a big sip.
The lukewarm water fell straight into my dry stomach.
I slowly started to wake up from my intoxication.
In the old days, I used have a constitution that was bad with intoxication.
If I drank in large amounts I would be dead drunk, but it wouldn't remain for long periods.
After I started to regain self-awareness as my head slowly started to wake up, I started to caress Norn's head gently as she was sleeping and clinging to the blanket.
I thought Norn was a pitiable child.
Even though she has to stay near this kind of father, she should have plenty she wants to say, but without saying a single word of complaint she remains well-behaved.
If Norn were to die I wouldn't be able to go on living.
"Nmmu... Father..."
Norn let out those words.
She's not awake. It must be sleep talk.
She's an ordinary child.
Different from Rudi.
If I don't protect her...
"..."
If Rudi was ordinary.
Rudi would be sleeping here like this as well.
He would have never become a home teacher and continued to stay at home, then when the teleport incident happened, he could have clung onto me along with Norn, that could have been the case.
An ordinary Rudi.
An ordinary 11 year old Rudi.
In order to protect someone that I should be protecting, how could I...
My legs were trembling.
I finally understood the meaning behind the words "11 year old brat" that Gisu was saying.
That's right.
Whether he's ordinary or a genius.
What's different?
Isn't it the same.
Even if Norn were a genius, would I have said the same thing?
To a Norn who didn't know anything, and simply optimistically continued her journey, to such a Norn.
Would I have said something like that?
Would I have held such high expectations towards you as well and said it?
After imagining it I couldn't fall asleep.
I didn't feel like laying down.
I went outside the inn, I poured a jug of water intended for putting out fires over my head.
I remembered Rudi's face as he was leaving the bar and threw up.
Who was the person who made Rudi make that face?
The water gathered up in the bucket.
Inside of it the face of an idiotic man was being reflected.
It was the face of the number one most unsuitable father in the world, that sort of man's face.
"Hah... this is, this might be no good..."
If it was me, I would cut off all ties with this kind of man.