“Onii-chan, my legs don’t hurt anymore……”
“Really!?”
While the boy let out a surprised cry, Shea joyfully removed the splints from her legs and trying to stand; however, she had no strength in her legs and immediately fall on her behind.
“The bones were just reconnected. Don’t overdo it.”
Since she hadn’t moved them for nearly a month, she has lost a considerable amount of leg strength.
She wasn’t getting enough nourishment either, her whole body was as thin as deadwood. In this situation, even if the fracture is healed, the bone could break again at any moment.
“Kid, take this and buy your sister something nutritious to eat.”
I said that as I pulled out five gold coins from the leather pouch tied around my waist and held them out to the boy.
Although the boy was surprised for a moment, he refocused his thoughts and quickly looked away from the coins.
“I am Sil, not a beggar! Didn’t I say before that I’m not looking for any handouts?!”
“No Sil, you’re not a beggar. I do not dislike that pride of yours. However, you need to think about what’s most important to you before you answer. Instead of seeing this as a handout, accept this now and return the favor with interest. This is for your younger sister.”
I used that glib to justify our meddling, and overall it sounded very persuasive to me.
Sil thought about it for a moment before he spoke out in embarrassment.
“……Alright. However, please make it copper coins instead of gold ones! Because of my looks, I can’t go shopping with gold coins.”
Sil was certainly making a reasonable argument.
A kid with gold coins would be an easy mark in the slums, and I suspect that the stores would overcharge him as well.
No, the aggressive guards are likely to take them too.
“Oh, that’s right. Sil, you are rather reliable……”
A little ashamed of my thoughtlessness, I offered Sil some praise.
“……Isn’t this mister just too careless?”
Ignoring Ariane’s stifled laughter behind me, I took a leather pouch out of my luggage bag and handed it to Sil.
During the free time I had when I stayed in an inn, I sorted the gold, silver, and copper coins into their own separate pouches.
The pouches were packed to the brim with coins, and a 「Jingle Jingle」could be heard as the pouch falls into Sil’s small hands. He was obviously shocked at the weight.
“How many coins…… are in this……”
“It should be about 300 coins. I can add some silver ones if you like?”
When I offered to give him more, Sil looked at the pouch in his hands before he shook his head like a broken toy.
“Th-This is more than enough! Please wait here for a little while.”
Standing up as he said so, he lifted a floorboard in the corner and brushed away same dust, revealing a wooden box that had been buried in the ground.
Sil removed the cover to reveal ten copper coins, and he protectively placed the leather pouch inside the box before covering it back up.
Seems like he usually hides money and valuables in there.
When Sil was finished he bashfully lowered his eyes and smiled while giving me a small “Thank you, mister.”
No matter what world you’re in, seeing a child smile always left you with a good feeling.
“Shea, your brother is a good kid.”
While I chuckled and pat her brother’s head, Shea nodded with a full-faced grin as he was being praised.
Sil, the person in question. raised a protest as he tried to fix his disheveled hair.
“Arc you really are a kind person aren’t you……”
Looking back, I saw Ariane letting out a surprised statement as she tried not to laugh at the exchange that just took place.
“I suppose it’s time we received our promised reward.”
When I said so, I noticed that Sil’s face had become rather glum as he brooded over something.
I thought that the secret path that he spoke of was non-existent, but as I was about to suggest that, Sil stood up and went to the shack’s entrance.
“……I’ll lead you to the secret entrance. Come on……”
By the time we left the shack the sun was beginning to set.
Under these circumstances, Sil lead us through the back alleys of the slums till we came upon a stone bridge that stood over a shallow creek.
The width of the bridge couldn’t hold more than two carriages at a time and it would be rather difficult to cross since the moss covering it gave it an aged feeling.