Chapter 193: Child Who Loses Little by Little (5)

Chapter 193: Child Who Loses Little by Little (5)“Out of the 27 women on this list, I found that 3 live in Freesia. Some were closer than I expected. These women are like sisters to me.”

Nine-fingered Enrico carefully tucked the worn notebook into her inner pocket as if it were a priceless treasure.

“The Kowloon Mountains were a hellish place, but it’s also where I received my greatest blessing. Helping those children was just me imitating that person...”

Enrico recounted a vivid memory of being helped by someone when she was a young girl. That’s why she couldn’t easily ignore young children in need, just as she once was.

This was the reason Hina, searching for the Shadow Council in the dead of winter, received help from Enrico and ventured underground.The whimsical good deed of an old apostate thief saved a woman, whose own act of kindness helped Hina, which ultimately benefited me.The world may seem fragmented, but viewed this way, human lives appear to be one interconnected mass.

Finally, guided by Enrico, we entered the Shadow Council.Hina’s brief journey ended here as well.In the past, Hina had entered the Shadow Council and secured the position of ‘Priestess of Gluttony’ using her knowledge of the future... and well, the rest is the story we know.

“You did well.”

I gently patted Hina’s head as she gazed at the thieves’ guild. Hina grinned with a deeply satisfied expression.

“Hina worked hard...!”

Indeed, she did.Hina had worked diligently.It was a very challenging mission as she had to conceal her identity even from her parents, but Hina silently gave her all to her role.

I wondered if she wanted to show us that yesterday and today. Hina enjoys praise, so perhaps she was seeking recognition.Well, it would be disheartening if no one acknowledged her hard work.

“Oh, you did wonderfully. Let me praise you. Come here.”

I vigorously rubbed Hina’s head and chin with my palms. Rub Rub—, Rub— Rub— Rub— Rub— Rub—. While being patted, Hina blushed, seeming both pleased and embarrassed.

“Oh, you did so well. Hina is the best. Hina is smart and articulate! Great at roughing it too! You’re the embodiment of life’s truths!”

Rub— Rub— Rub— Rub— Rub—.Hina’s face was now as red as a ripe tomato.I continued to shower Hina with more praise.

“Hina is the best! Hurray for Hina! Aruru, garuru, aruru! Hina Barjudas is the greatest! Everyone, let’s praise Hina Barjudas!”

When I raised my clenched fist high, the ruffians of the Shadow Council who had been watching us tensely exchanged blank looks.Soon enough, they started clapping or raising their hands, shouting “Wow!” or “The best!” They were quick to catch on.If they hadn’t clapped, I would have treated them to some spiral shurikens.

“Long live Princess Hina!”“Princess Hina is the best!”

Hearing the loud cheers, I felt even more elated and grabbed Hina’s waist, swinging her around.

“Hina, how can you be so amazing? Hina is completely Hina! This won’t do. I have to bite your cheeks, nom-.”“...Th-That’s enough... You can stop praising me...!”“Oh really?”

Swish—.I gently set Hina back down on the ground.How disappointing.Praising someone turned out to be quite enjoyable. I should do this more often when the children deserve it.

However, Salome clicked her tongue, seemingly displeased.

“You should have switched roles with Naru. If Hina had gone to the Kingdom of Ordor to find you, things might have gone a bit smoother.”

Is that so?Maybe.But if you ask me whether Naru could have played the role of ‘Priestess of Gluttony’ properly, well... that seemed unlikely....Therefore, Hina was the only one suited for this role.Salome seemed to realize this too and added:

“If you’re too competent, you often end up taking on roles that put you at a disadvantage. Hina, is there anything else you want to do now?”

We only had today left.Moreover, it was already lunchtime.Hina appeared lost in thought for a moment.

“I wanted to be praised, and I’ve been praised a lot, so I don’t have any more wishes.... But if there’s something I want to do now, it’s food....”

I see.She must have been hungry.

We took Hina and Horohoro up to the surface.We went to a renowned expensive restaurant in the central streets of Freesia, where meals cost at least 150,000 rene, and sat down to eat.The food was expectedly delicious.According to Hina’s evaluation, “It’s as delicious as what Brigitte makes!”

After finishing our meal, we headed to the zoo.The restaurant owner had mentioned visiting the Freesia Zoo every weekend, saying it was quite enjoyable.The aforementioned zoo was both expansive and grand, housing a wide variety of animals.

“Dad... Mom...! Look at that...! It’s a dog squirrel...! They say it’s called a dog squirrel because it’s a squirrel but barks like a dog...!”

Kong— Kong—!When Hina carefully reached out her hand, the dog squirrel scampered away with a Pitter- Patter—. It wasn’t surprising, as dog squirrels are known to be wild animals that don’t take to humans.

We entered the pet shop located in the 3rd district. It was a store that sold things like white lizards and purebred cats.

Crash—!Salome broke the glass window with her fist and stuffed a flying squirrel into a sack. The owner, who was feeding the animals, shouted in surprise at the sudden commotion.

“Thief...! Thief! A robber is stealing the store’s fluffy flying squirrel! Oh no! Thief! Wicked thieves are robbing the store!”“Haha! Let’s run!”

Salome, with the flying squirrel in the sack, escaped back to the street. Soon, we could hear loud sirens wailing in the distance. Wee-oo Wee-oo—.The guards of Freesia were quite competent, so they must have immediately dispatched upon receiving the robbery report.We could feel the blue-armored guards closing in on us from all directions, making Clank— Clank— sounds.It was a critical situation for a thief in many ways.

Pop—.I grabbed Salome’s waist and quickly ran up the wall of a nearby building. The guards could only look up at me, who had suddenly climbed onto a high roof, like dogs that had been chasing chickens.

“...Isn’t that Judas? He’s the only thief in Freesia who can move like that.”“Yeah. What is he doing now?”“I don’t know, but we received a report, so we have to catch him.”

The guards started climbing up to the roof.We might get caught if we stayed like this.

“Salome, be careful not to bite your tongue.”

Pop—!In an instant, I accelerated and sprinted across the rooftops as if flying. It must have been a speed Salome had never experienced before, as she tightly hugged my neck and screamed.

“Kyaaak!”

It was quite a cute scream.I stopped at the green park of the zoo where Hina and Horohoro had been playing. Hina, who had been waiting for me on the picnic blanket, was happy to see me.

“Dad...!”“Hina, there’s no time to explain. We need to run away. If there’s anything you want, steal it quickly!”“......!”

Hina showed a shocked expression.But as if she understood something, she nodded and hugged the pink rabbits that were quietly grazing grass near the fence.

“Hehe... as expected... it’s more fun to steal than just looking...”

While Hina was stealing the zoo’s rabbits, Horohoro also hugged rabbits in both arms.

“Mwehehe, imps are originally little devils...! We like doing bad things...!”“...Escape! ...Exit!”

Hina pointed her finger at the back gate of the zoo.Indeed, it’s important to keep an eye on escape routes wherever you go.We ran away from many things and people, each holding the items we had stolen.The sun was already setting, and darkness was the best curtain to hide a thief.

When we arrived home, guards dispatched from the Freesia Principality had surrounded the Junk Mansion. Brigitte and Cariote came out to the garden to greet us with frowning faces.

“Judas, what on earth did you do with Salome and Hina that made the guards come to the mansion? They say you stole things and robbed stores?”

Being too famous of a thief can be a problem too.Does this mean I can no longer enjoy robbing things enthusiastically?

In the end, we had to return the stolen items to the guards and compensate them for the damaged goods.Since both Salome and I knew this would happen, we didn’t feel any regret in returning the items.We just wanted to experience the thrill of ‘stealing’ something. Salome, perhaps because she hadn’t done anything thief-like in a long time, stretched and said, “I feel refreshed, like something old has been cleared out.”

Of course, the store owners grumbled, “You talk about theft like it’s some kind of sport. We were really shocked,” but still.

“Rabbits....”

Hina seemed quite reluctant to return the pink rabbits to the zoo.I thought about buying her one after returning it, but Hina soon seemed to make up her mind and handed the rabbits back to the guards.

“Stealing other people’s things is indeed bad...! If Hina wants to become an SSR princess, she shouldn’t do bad things like this...!”

That’s true.I didn’t expect to hear such words from Hina.Anyway.The day ended like this.

Hina went into her room, brought out a large sketchbook, and diligently drew what had happened yesterday and today with crayons.It was a picture diary.

“When I look at it later... I’ll surely remember what happened today...!”

I see.Hina repeated the hard days because she wanted to remember them.Like Naru, Hina didn’t have much time left, so it seems she repeated her actions and wrote a diary hoping that her future self would recall today’s events someday.

Another day passed like this, with our parting with the children approaching and having to meet them once again.