Chapter 209: Family, Choices, and a Strange Old Man
If this had been something within their own group, Qiong Xing wouldn’t have said so much.
But since the other party was a princess, it was a different matter.
Right now, it was only like a sibling quarrel, so it wasn’t a problem. But if things escalated and, in the worst case, something happened to Katarina and Sarin, Qiong Xing would regret it deeply.
If the safest solution was for him to leave, then that was a small price to pay.
"I didn’t say I would leave because I don’t care about those three. It’s because they have treated me so well that I decided to leave, so that no harm would come to them."
"Yeah... sorry. I was being short-sighted."
It was probably because they cared about Qiong Xing so much that they got angry for him.
No matter how much talent Qiong Xing had for magic, in terms of status and position, he was still just an ordinary adventurer with nothing to his name.
Even if he could physically protect Sarin and the others, he couldn’t protect them from power and authority.
"And besides, she only said to leave this place, to leave this country. She didn’t say we could never meet again, right? If we want to meet, we can always do so outside from now on."
"Wow... that’s some twisted logic."
"Please call it an adult way of thinking. And if it’s outside, we can bring Cari, Leander, and everyone else to meet too."
"That’s actually nice. Then I guess I’m fine with it now."
"It’s not fine, you know? You two."
"Huh?"
A voice lower than anything they had heard before suddenly spoke, and Sarin appeared, smiling—but not really smiling.
Later, Albe would say that he looked like the boss of some villain.
Even though he wasn’t a demon, Albe said he could see a dark aura around him and was honestly scared.
"Welcome back, Grandpa. Are you hurt anywhere?"
"...No. Just hearing that made all my fatigue disappear."
Was that really something you say to your grandson?
Qiong Xing couldn’t see the dark aura Albe mentioned, but when he spoke to him, Sarin let out a relieved breath and returned to his usual smile, which made Qiong Xing feel at ease.
"I’ll prepare some tea now. What about Grandma?"
"Hm? Oh, she had something to take care of, so she went out."
"I see. Then I’ll leave some cake for her, so please give it to her later."
"She should be back soon, so you can just wait. That prince also took that foolish princess back, so you don’t have any requests today, right?"
Qiong Xing didn’t know what kind of discussion had taken place since he hadn’t seen it himself, but since the siblings had left, he no longer had any plans.
So, as Sarin suggested, they decided to wait for Katarina to return while having tea.
...
This was awkward. Very awkward.
"Hmm..."
"...Would you like another cup?"
"Sorry. Yes, please."
Qiong Xing stood up to pour more tea, but the man’s gaze never left him.
Ever since this person entered the room, he had been staring at him as if observing him closely.
It made him feel like an animal in a zoo.
He was being watched so much that he even wondered if he was being seen as suspicious. But the man kept smiling the whole time and ate the tea and cake Qiong Xing served without any hesitation, so that probably wasn’t it.
"You’re Qiong Xing, right? Thank you for taking that request before. It helped a lot. Sorry for the late introduction, but I am—"
"Stop talking like that. It’s creepy. It’s giving me goosebumps."
"You’re one to talk. Well, whatever. I’m Paulo Coelho. You can call me Paulo, or old man, or whatever you like."
His tone suddenly became rough.
The old man with white hair and a white beard wearing something like a robe and looked like a gentle and refined gentleman when he smiled.
But perhaps because of Katarina and Sarin, the way he spoke didn’t match his appearance at all.
"Nice to meet you. I mean... Sarin and Katarina have always been very kind to me."
"I can’t believe those two would dote on someone this much. What kind of magic did you use on them?"
He didn’t use any.
Absolutely none.
"I’m not really sure, but both of them are very kind. Katarina gets angry when she’s embarrassed, which is kind of cute. And Sarin... well, he can be a bit reckless, but he really adores the children."
"Are you really in your teens?"
He was.
At least in appearance.
He couldn’t exactly say that, so he just smiled and nodded.
"Still, when I heard the story, I couldn’t believe my ears... did you really give birth to that child?"
Paulo looked at the still deeply sleeping Lian with disbelief. So, thinking it would be easier to see, Qiong Xing asked Sarin who was sitting beside him to hold the child.
Sarin happily picked Lian up with a big smile and showed him to Paulo.
Paulo looked at Sarin as if thinking, what is wrong with this guy, clearly finding it unpleasant.
"At a glance, he looks like an ordinary baby. What’s his name?"
"He was named Qiong Lian."
"So, the day has come for me to hold a human child. Let me hold him too."
"I refuse!!"
Sarin immediately rejected him and quickly moved farther away from Paulo.
"What a stingy old man."
"Don’t call me old when you’re one yourself!"
"Oh my, how cruel. Why don’t you stop being his grandchild and become mine instead?"
What was he even talking about?
Qiong Xing couldn’t keep up with how the conversation kept going off track.
"Um... ah, by the way, I picked some medicinal herbs before coming here. It’s not much, but as an apology for before, if you’d like—"
"Then become my grandchild after all!!"
He had been gathering them little by little in his spare time, so he had a fair amount.