Night with SnowDuring the night after I talked with the merchant, Malton.
I slept on a futon in the boys room which was spread on the floor with boys of the orphanage sleeping on either side.
「…te…kun….」
「*yawn*」SFX : Fugaa~
I heard a dim pechi pechi sound near my ear and felt being slapped on my cheeks.
What I felt was too realistic for a dream.
「Lu…Lute,n…Lute-kun….」
「n…ga!?」
「Shhh!!! Don’t be loud. Everyone will wake up.」
It was not a dream.
Snow looked into my face as i opened my eyes
Her hands were covered down on my mouth so that i won’t let out a voice.
There are some rules in the orphanage.
The most serious crime among them is that a boy or a girl sneaks into each others room at night.
In case it is violated, one will get one day with no meal.
And yet, the honour student Snow broke that rule and trespassed into the boys room!
I think about the reason why she trespassed into the boys room to meet me.
…Could it be that Snow is night crawling!?
I’m not an insensible anime character.
I’m a live human being.
I’ve felt for a certain time that she had been fondly thinking of me occasionally lately.
For example, she would be delighted if i gently stroke her head after we did work in the afternoon together.
Even though I was attracted to Snow, it was not towards the opposite sex.
It would be closer to the love given to a younger sister or daughter.
But if we grow up and still yearn for each other in the future, I believe… becoming lovers or marriage partners might be possible.
However, night crawling was too early at the age of 5! Besides, a girl was attacking a boy!
To make me a fait accompli at this age—Snow, what a fearful child!
Although my body is that of a 5 year old like her, my mind is that of a 32-year-old『young adult』. It seems I ought to give her some lecturing.
Snow brings her face closer and whispers in my ear.
「Everybody will wake up, be quiet please? Okay?」
I nodded twice.
When i nodded, Snow slowly lifted her hands from my mouth.
「Uhm, Snow, your feelings are—」
「Shhhh!!! Not here or everybody will wake up… Follow me.」
I sneaked out of the boys’ room according to Snow’s instructions.
There was no electricity in this world. The infrastructure for gas and water also did not exist.
As if the world was as dark as being blindfolded at night.
I continued walking while Snow led me by the hand.
It turned out that she went towards the dining room.
Starlight came from the window.
Seeking the light, we sat near the window of the dining room.
And I sat on the floor while grasping my knees.
It was warm during the day but chilly at night as expected.
Our shoulders warmed each other by touching.
Though there’s also the reason of making it easier for me to listen to her whispers.
「So, what’s the reason why you broke the rule and brought me here?」
「Un… you see… there is something that I really wanted to ask you….」
If the voice was this small, the people who were sleeping in the rooms would not be disturbed.
However, it is said that girls are growing faster than boys, but she might be curious about my feelings at this age.
I understood the rush since there were other girls similar to my age at my side, but at least she could have waited until the sun came up.
It’s certainly true that popular guys have it hard.
I jokingly made an impression of flipping my bangs in my heart.
But Snow asked me with a dark expression.
「Um… did Lute-kun ever think of meeting with your mother or father?」
「…Eh!?」
「Like I said, do you want to meet the mother and father who abandoned you away?」
Huh? This was not a confession or a bittersweet
Rather, it was a serious consultation.
After giving an apology in my heart for thinking badly of Snow, I switched my emotions and asked her.
「Snow, why are you asking me this?」
「…Today, Lute-kun told sensei『it’s not like I want to meet with them after all this time』, right?」
Casting her eyes down, Snow revealed her feelings bit by bit.
「Snow wants to meet mom and dad. When we meet, Snow will ask them why they abandoned Snow away. And Snow wants to live with mom and dad… Is Snow weird for thinking like this?」
Snow’s circumstances were similar to mine.
On the same day, we were left together at the orphanage.
Then I declared,『After all this time, I never thought of meeting my parents』.
She herself felt,『I want to see them』『I want to live with them if I could』, I guess she was worried whether it was wrong to have those feelings.
Snow was savoring sadness she would rather not experience.
The reason I didn’t want to meet my parents was because I was a reincarnated being who had drawn memories from my past life.
Wanting to know the reason for being cast away by parents, to make peace with them, and to live together is not a weird thing. It’s normal. In fact, I’m the one who’s weird—I could not possibly explain it to her just like that. Conversely, it would only make her more worried.
In that case, I should explain with actions rather than with words.
I changed my position from sports sitting to sitting cross-legged.
「Snow, come over here.」
「Why?」
「Just do it already.」
Urging her a bit forcefully, I had her sit on my knees.
Snow felt a bit cramped given the closeness of our bodies, but I pressed her ears to my left chest.
「Can you hear the sound of my heart?」
「…Yes, I can hear. It goes dokun, dokun, dokun….」
「People get relieved hearing the sound of heartbeats. This is because, as babies, we are raised hearing our mother’s heartbeats.」
Oddly, Snow was now rolled up in a fetal position.
She closed her eyes and leaned her body against mine.
「Wanting to meet your parents is not weird. So, there’s no reason to feel worried.」
「Really?」
「Uh-huh, it’s true. The reason why I never thought of meeting my parents is because I have no way of looking for them.」
Humans were the race with the most populous among the 5 races.
「Just one clue: I have a star-shaped birthmark on the back of my right shoulder; I can’t just show this to everyone I meet and ask them. Besides, I have no talent as a magician; it’s hard to think that the parents who casted me out would come back and pick me up. So, it’s clear that I will never meet with my parents again for as long as I live.」
I hugged Snow close and continued talking while patting her head.
Making no signs of resistance, she listened carefully.
「But Snow is different. Unlike me, Snow has talent as a magician. Besides, the White Wolf race is a minority that lives in the snowy mountains of the North Continent. If you go north you might find some clues there. Even so, forgive me for saying『after all this time I never thought of meeting my parents』so insensitively, ‘kay?」
Throwing away children in silence was unusual.
In addition, it was a child that had talent for becoming a magician—seems like there was a good reason for it.
This might be an unpleasant way of putting it, but, if she became a magician she could earn them lots of money.
Even if they’re poor, there was no reason to let go of the golden egg.
If they wanted money quickly at all cost, they should have sent her out to some childless rich and powerful people as an adopted daughter.
If for example there was one reason to send a child with talent as a magician away to an orphanage, it was cases like: both parents died, a scramble by the relatives happened, and as a result the child’s heart became traumatized—they were given over to Elle-sensei’s place to rehabilitate.
There were also lots of other children with talent as magicians given over to the orphanage for various reasons.
「…Snow is also sorry. Snow asked such an insensitive question without thinking of Lute-kun’s feelings.」
「There’s no reason for you to apologize. I was the one in the wrong, you see.」
「If that’s the case, then Snow and Lute-kun are both in the wrong. So it’s a tie.」
「That’s right. It’s a tie.」
「As an apology, Snow will tell Snow’s dream only to Lute-kun….」
She slowly started reciting her own dream.
「You see, when Snow is bigger, Snow will become a magician. Then, Snow will go to the north continent to look for father and mother. Once Snow finds those two, Snow will ask why they abandoned Snow away. If we could make peace, then the three of us will live together in the same house… This is Snow’s dream.」
「It’s a good dream. If it’s you, then it will absolutely come true….」
I took a breath and continued.
「…But if you couldn’t find them or you couldn’t make peace with them, Snow still has me, Elle-sensei and the kids at the orphanage. Don’t forget that okay?」
「…Un, thanks Lute-kun.」
I hugged her closely in order—to transmit not just by words, but also by the warmth—to let her know she was not alone in this world.
「Is it okay to hear the sound of Lute-kun’s chest a little bit more?」
「Uh-huh, you can listen all you like.」
So as to hear my heartbeat some more, Snow nuzzled her ear against my chest.
It was surprisingly ticklish.
Bathed in starlight, Snow and I continued to bring together our bodies some more.
…I wonder how much time had passed.
I separated my body from Snow.
As I returned to my room with her, I asked.
「Should we sleep together tonight, after all?」
「Lute-kun is ecchi~~.」
Eeeh, didn’t we sleep together in the same futon just one year ago?
She then returned to the girls’ room without turning back.
「As I thought, girls sure grow fast, huh?」
The mutterings of a middle-aged man with a mental age of over 30 disappeared down the dark hallway.
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Lute, 5 years old.
The merchant Malton, who specializes in magic tools, opened a shop in the commercial city Tver.
There were several routes going between Tver and the defence city, Tallcas (so named for having tall walls and relics of the great war of old; it is the next most prosperous city after Tver in the region).
The most popular one