Chapter 320: Gift of Candy
Chapter 320: Gift of Candy
"Look, Mama! A rabbit!"
"I am glad. That is a cute little rabbit."
Qiong Xing could not bring himself to show what he had made when Lian reacted so happily.
"Is Yue a cat? And Rui is... um, are you sure about that?"
"Fish!"
Amid the various shapes Raon and the others were making, why had he chosen that?
Not a cool dragon, not a cute animal, but a fish.
Even as his parent, it was a mystery.
"I did offer to make other things, but he insisted he wanted a fish and would not change his mind."
It seemed Raon had also tried to persuade him, but his decision had not wavered at all.
While the adults were worried, the child in question looked very happy, so it was probably fine.
"Should we give this rose to the princess? What should we do for Beat and the Prime Minister?"
"I think they do not need it."
Sergei would probably say he was fine as long as it was edible.
"Since we made them anyway, why not? Do you not want to see how they react?"
"So you are just doing this for entertainment."
"It started on a whim anyway."
Although he looked reluctant, Qiong Xing asked Albe to help out, wanting to see Sergei reluctantly eat it, and he sighed but agreed to make it.
"So, what do you think?"
"What exactly were you expecting from me?"
At first Sergei looked displeased when it was handed to him, but perhaps realizing Qiong Xing’s intentions, he calmly ate it without much reaction afterward.
"Is it not cute? I was trying to fill in what you lacking."
"That is just you bullying me for fun."
In the end, his reaction had been surprisingly mild.
The princess and Brat received roses.
Sergei was given small heart shaped candies sealed in a bottle.
The princess happily said they were beautiful, and Brat looked delighted, saying it was almost too precious to eat, but when Sergei ate the heart shaped candies, Brat and the others quietly laughed.
"This is my affection. Are you happy?"
"Im Very Happy."
"Ahahahahaha."
Brat and the others could not hold it in and burst out laughing.
"It is just a bit of playfulness. Now, here is this one."
"...That is even harder to eat."
Even Sergei hesitated when he saw the candy sculpture modeled after Ranga, shaped in wolf form.
He looked at the candy, then at Ranga sitting beside him, his expression turning complicated.
As Qiong Xing observed him, Sergei stared at Ranga for a while before placing the candy carefully in the corner of the desk as decoration.
"I am relieved that he is being cared for."
Even if it was made in his likeness, it seemed he cared about it too much to eat it, which made Qiong Xing feel reassured.
Qiong Xing held out a hand to Ranga and said, "Come here."
Ranga glanced at Sergei’s face, and after confirming that he nodded, he approached Qiong Xing.
It was proof that he truly recognized him as his master.
"You have been brushing him properly, I see. His fur is a little stiffer than before, but it is still shiny and nice to touch."
Qiong Xing had assumed that busy as Sergei was, he would neglect it, but it seemed he had taken proper care of him after all.
"There is not much I can do. That is about the only thing I am able to do, but I do it."
Sergei said this as if offended and Qiong Xing smiled softly.
"I am glad you think that way. Ranga understands that too, which is why he stays by your side."
Just like humans, they were creatures that observed others carefully.
Anyone would want to stay close to someone who treated them well.
"He makes an effort to protect you, and you make an effort to care for him. Because both sides try, the other is able to do the same in return."
It cannot be sustained by only one side.
Trust is built through accumulated effort.
"Please sleep with him sometimes. I am sure he will be happy."
"...Very well."
When Qiong Xing gently patted Ranga and said that, Ranga leaned into him happily.
Seeing how adorable Ranga was, Qiong Xing decided he would take a nap with Fenrisúlfr today.
...
After receiving a message from Roland through Katarina and the others saying that he had finally succeeded in making soy sauce and wanted Qiong Xing to come see it, Qiong Xing decided to visit the shop the following day.
"Why are you here too, old man?"
"To protect these kids from you, obviously. Sorry, Katarina couldn’t come because she’s busy with work."
No, in the first place, nobody had invited him or asked him to come along.
If there was work to do, shouldn’t that take priority?
"Katarina really wanted to come too. But recently some troublesome adventurers have been showing up, and she’s been busy dealing with them."
"Then Grandpa should stay with her. Making a woman handle people like that by herself is..."
Qiong Xing had only come to talk with Roland today.
When Qiong Xing said that protecting Katarina seemed more important than accompanying him, Sarin responded by gently patting his head with a warm smile.
"I knew you’d say that. But Katarina herself asked me to go with you. And she’s much stronger than you think. Strong enough to easily beat down several grown men if they attacked her."
Apparently, her reputation as a former adventurer was not just for show.
Even so, Qiong Xing still worried about her.
When Qiong Xing said as much, Sarin asked him to at least stop by and see her on the way back, and Qiong Xing agreed.
"Oh, and by the way, she’s so strong that if someone really irritated her, she could probably torture them to death, pile up the bodies, and stand on top laughing triumphantly." Roland said.
What kind of serial killer was that supposed to be?
It was impossible to reconcile that image with the Katarina Qiong Xing knew.
More importantly, why did Roland know something like that?
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