Chapter 435: A Warm Welcome
The two girls nodded uncertainly, so he mixed raspberry syrup into the water and handed it to them.
"..."
"..."
"You must be tired from walking so much. Let’s take a little break."
He told them to drink, but they simply froze in silence.
They were probably not used to being treated this way.
Realizing that they would simply have to get used to it, he gave up and took a sip of the tea Roland had brought with Ars.
"...Ah, it’s delicious."
"...It’s sweet."
The two quietly muttered that it was good, and Qiong Xing smiled softly.
"Roland."
"Yes!"
"Do you want this?"
Qiong Xing narrowed his eyes at Roland, who had been staring intently at the syrup bottle for some time, and handed it over.
The moment he received it, Roland’s eyes lit up.
"This is syrup made by simmering fruit until it becomes sweet. It’s delicious spread on bread, and also tasty when mixed with water."
"What! I’ve never even thought of boiling fruit down like this! May I have a little?"
From his reaction, it was clear he had no intention of letting it go, so when Qiong Xing told him he could take the whole bottle, Roland became even happier.
Knowing him, he would likely turn it into a product and bring benefits back to Qiong Xing as well.
Roland began muttering to himself excitedly, so Qiong Xing left him alone and collected the girls’ cups, putting them back into his bag.
"Shall we buy something for dinner as well? Ars, what would you like?"
"Fish."
"Good choice. Leander will probably bring back meat, so let’s go with fish."
With so many people now, making grilled fish might also be nice, he thought, as he nodded and took a towel from his bag and placed it over the girl’s head.
"Eh?"
"Hey, what are you doin—"
"This way, it should bother you a little less. Just a little longer, please bear with it."
Qiong Xing could not hide voices, but at least blocking their view might help ease her anxiety.
Although it would make walking a bit more difficult...
"Your feet hurt, don’t they? You can take off your shoes."
"A-um, but..."
Before she could finish saying she would not be able to walk like that, Qiong Xing removed her shoes, gently massaged her feet, and then lifted her into his arms.
"Wah, eh? Eh?"
"Alright, let’s go. Tasha, can you hang in there a little longer?"
"Eh? Ah... y-yes."
Even so, he was a man and the mother of a large family.
Carrying a girl like this was no problem for him, and he continued walking while talking with Ars about which fish to buy.
...
Suddenly, her vision was blocked and she became startled.
Kira wondered what was happening.
"Your feet hurt, don’t they? You can take off your shoes."
T-to take off her shoes?
Before she could say that she would not be able to walk, her shoes were removed and then her feet were gently massaged by warm hands.
She had never experienced anything like this before and did not know how to react, her gaze wandering in confusion when—
"Alright, let’s go. Tasha, can you hang in there a little longer?"
Being lifted into his arms and brought closer to that beautiful face made her even more startled.
Her mind could not catch up with what was happening to her, and because of that, she was unable to say she wanted to be put down in time.
"Does Ars like fish more than meat?"
"Mm, both."
"That’s good. Ars also properly eats vegetables. It’s good for building a healthy body... probably."
Probably?
"That old man only ate meat, but he was huge."
"But he looked childish, didn’t he? While building the body is important, it’s better to eat fish and vegetables together if you want to develop the mind."
The way he said it was vague, but she could not help feeling like he was implying she was not very smart.
Maybe it was just her imagination.
Since then, she had been carried the entire time and he did not seem to have any intention of putting her down.
He continued shopping while occasionally asking things like what they liked.
Why was she being held like this?
She had said her legs were bad and she had been too afraid of the stares from the people around her to keep her head up, but she had never said her feet hurt or that she wanted to be carried.
Maybe it was because she was too slow?
But even so, if that were the case, he could have simply told her to walk faster.
There was no need for him to carry a slave like her.
If anything, it would make sense for him to hit her for being troublesome.
Why? How?
Her confused mind could not find an answer, and when she turned around as if seeking help, her older sister Tasha also looked just as bewildered.
She was probably confused too.
No matter how young they were, they had been purchased as slaves, which meant their lives depended entirely on him.
Or rather, on the boy walking beside him.
"Alright, we’ve arrived. From today on, this is your home."
After that, she had not taken a single step on her own.
They were introduced to children who seemed to be about her age and she braced herself to be treated coldly.
But instead, they all smiled and said "nice to meet you" one after another and she found herself frozen in place.
"Well, well, such cute girls. From today on, please take care of us."
"This is the old lady I wanted you two to help. But you must be tired from everything today, right? I’ll prepare dinner, so go ahead and wash off your sweat with everyone in the bath first."
"A-a bath?"
What was he saying?
As a slave, a bath was unthinkable, she panicked at the idea, but before she could protest, she was taken along with several other girls to what seemed to be a bathing area.