CH 79.3

「Hey, which team did Kraft bet on?」

「Madam’s team.」

「The White Beams are winning 70% of their matches right now and they’ve had a lot of late game upsets so it’s not a bad bet.」

「70 what? What are you talking about?」

「Statistics」

「St……what?」

「Statistics. Numbers. It tell you who the best teams are.」

Numbers? He knows numbers too?

I know that the children of the Schenkers are being educated but this guy shouldn’t have been here for 6 months yet.

「Where did you learn all those stuffs?」

「At home」

「Home? Ah, right, you came from a merchant family.」

「We’re not a merchant family. We were watchmakers.」

「Watchmakers? Watch? Aren’t watches magically made by nobles?」

「No, there are craftsmen like my family. We make each part watch by hand. The profit margin is also quite good.」

Casio smiled and said, I’ve already told you about this before.

Did you?

I don’t think it’s possible to make stuff that small without using magic though.

「Ah, then, you’re one of those who were sold because they’re sick?」

「No, I’ve never been sick.」

「Areh? Then, why?」

「My great grandfather gave me his last will and told me to go to Torquiva to serve Sawadi-sama.」

Casio stared at the ground.

「Great grandfather’s will?」

「Yeah. My family came from here a long time ago and they served the Schenkers.」

「Heh, if that’s the case, why didn’t you just come to work instead of being a slave?」

「Well, you know, I did a lot of research and the only way to serve him was to become a slave.」

「Is that so?」

「Yeah」

Yeah……

I didn’t think someone would really do something like that but I guess it’s a family matter.

「My great grandfather was a really really really great guy…..he used to cry a lot when he was drunk.」

「Cry?」

「Yeah, I’ve been hearing about it all my life.」

Perhaps trying to imitate his great grandfather, Casio began to speak with his mouth wide open and the corners of his eyes pulled down.

「I wish I had never left the temple. If only I had stayed by his side, I would have opened the gates of hell for Imadai-sama……I regret it every single day of my life and I felt like I couldn’t repent enough.」

「Gate of hell? What was that?」

「That is, my family used to be bandits and lock pickers.」

「Ah, locksmiths. Well, let me guess, your ancestor messed up and made someone stuck there.」

「Well, I’m not sure…..I have no idea」

The face staring across the sky is so mature that it doesn’t seem to be the face of a 12 year old boy.

I don’t understand how he can leave his hometown because of that….

Most of us who have become slaves are without parents and many of us don’t even have something that can be called home.

Seeing me not being able to reply, Casio crumpled up the hot dog wrapper and smiled wryly.

「However, I don’t regret coming here」

「Eh?」

「Though there’s my grand father’s will, it was me who decided to come here myself….this is the city I chose myself.」

That’s something I don’t have. Having lived a life of self-indulgence, fallen into slavery, and simply growing old.

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I turned my head toward the field.

Somehow, the hustle and bustle of the baseball field sounded as if it was separated by a single plank.

I wondered…..is he the kind of person who would want a child like this to go out of his way to serve him as a slave…..

Sawadi-sama has just been strike out from the batter box.

-0-

Some time later, on this day at the end of the year when snow had begun to flicker, I was marching around Torquiva at night with my scalekin friends.

Of course, our goal was to find the phantom oden stall.

I don’t know why I was so desperate but I just couldn’t give up until I tried.

「……so, you know, there must be a rule about where the stall goes to.」

Dutch, a tall scalekin, said that enthusiastically.