I stood in the kitchen, my hunger no longer bothering me. The situation unfolding before me was far more interesting than anything I could eat right now.
On the bed lay my first love, the girl I had once harbored a crush on back in high school. Two years ago, we had met again at a reunion.
Things happened between us, and when I woke up the next morning, she was gone.
Now, she had appeared in my life again tonight, a child in her arms whom she claimed was mine.
I wouldn’t lie. I still couldn’t completely believe Jean. Back then, I had been little more than another classmate to her, and after graduation, we had never kept in contact. There was no reason for her to suddenly appear with a child and tell me the baby was mine.
So yes, I doubted her.
But when I held the child in my arms and gently cradled her against my chest, something inside me changed.
There was a strange feeling that she truly belonged to me.
That somehow, this little girl was a part of me.
Maybe I was simply being an emotional fool. Perhaps a DNA test would prove me wrong later, but at that moment, none of that mattered.
Holding her just felt right.
And somehow, that feeling had been enough to awaken a system.
[At your service.]
I hummed quietly before taking out my phone.
I remembered the system had rewarded me with ten thousand simply for holding the child for the first time.
As I unlocked my phone, I noticed a new message from my bank.
The money had indeed been credited to my account.
For a moment, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I checked the number again, carefully counting every zero.
There was no mistake.
Ten thousand dollars had been deposited from an anonymous account.
I immediately checked my balance.
[Current Balance: $12,321.68]
"..."
There was no mistaking it. I had genuinely received another ten thousand dollars, added to the two thousand I had recently gotten from Mark.
’What are the chances I’m actually being scammed here?’
I decided to call my bank first thing tomorrow. It was already past their working hours, and there was little I could do tonight.
But there was another reward.
One that was even harder to believe.
’What was it again?’
[A 3 LDK apartment house in the Kreacher’s Block.]
Yeah. That was far too ridiculous to believe.
The Kreacher’s Block was located extremely close to the government’s Hunter Guild, and even a modest house around there could easily be worth ten million dollars.
I shook my head.
I’d think about it later.
Right now, I was hungry.
I picked up the pot and began heating some water, taking extra care with every movement. I was acutely aware of how much noise I was making.
The last thing I wanted was for either of them to wake up.
As the water boiled for the noodles, I glanced back toward the bed.
Jean was sleeping soundly beside the baby, their hands faintly touching.
It was such a peaceful sight that I found myself leaning against the counter, simply watching them.
Hiss.
The pot gave a faint whistle.
At the same moment, I heard the baby stir.
"Mm... maah..."
Her tiny face scrunched up as she squeezed her eyes shut.
Crap. Did I wake her?
No, no, no.
I hurriedly turned off the stove and moved the pot away from the heat.
"Waaah!"
The inevitable happened.
The baby burst into tears.
I turned around and found Jean already stirring awake.
I hurried toward them.
"I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to disturb her."
I had no idea babies could be this sensitive. If I had known, I would’ve put a stone on my stomach and slept like a statue just to avoid making a sound.
Jean slowly opened her eyes.
"She’s hungry."
Her voice was rough with exhaustion. She must have been incredibly tired.
Damn it. I felt even more guilty.
"What should I do? Should I go get her something to eat?"
My hand had already reached for my wallet, ready to head outside, when Jean stopped me.
"No. Just help me with my bag."
She extended her hand, and I noticed for the first time that she had brought a small backpack with her.
I immediately handed it to her.
"I’ll go prepare her milk. Can you hold her until then?"
"I can."
I nodded and carefully scooped the little girl into my arms.
"Mm..."
Tears still rolled down her big eyes, but at least she had stopped wailing.
I smiled down at her and gently swayed from side to side, doing everything I could to make up for my mistake.
Jean made her way into the kitchen.
"Is the water in the pot good to use?"
"Ah, yes. Just be careful. It’s hot."
Whistling hot, apparently.
She nodded and began preparing what looked like formula.
I continued cradling the little one in my arms, humming a soft tune to keep her calm.
After a moment, Jean shook the bottle and turned toward us.
"She’s usually fussy... but look at her now."
She narrowed her eyes slightly at the child.
"Really? I think she’s pretty well-behaved. She only cried a little when she got hungry."
I smiled as I looked down at the little girl staring back at me.
"Her eyes look a lot like yours."
I looked up.
Jean had frozen for the briefest moment.
Then she lowered her gaze.
"Let me feed her."
I nodded.
Once Jean settled into the chair, I carefully handed the baby over to her.
I took the seat across from them and sighed.
"I’m sorry. I think she woke up because of all the noise I was making."
Jean shook her head.
"No. She usually eats around this time, so it wasn’t you."
She seemed much more awake now than she had been earlier.
Perhaps that was why I finally asked the question that had been lingering in my mind.
"How have you been, Jean?"
She froze again.
Only for a moment.
Then she sighed.
"Well, I’ve been taking care of the baby. The last time I had her checked, she weighed twenty pounds."
I shook my head.
"I’m asking about you, Jean."
She bit her lower lip and fell silent.
I became quiet as well.
Maybe some things were better left to time.
Once she finished feeding her, Jean adjusted the baby in her arms and said, "Now we just need to get her to burp before she falls asleep."
"How do I do that? Let me help."
She had only just fallen asleep before being forced awake, so I wanted to at least make up for that much.
Jean looked at me.
"Don’t you want to rest too? You look pretty beat up after the raid."
"..."
So she thought the injuries on me were from the raid, huh?
My embarrassment reached its peak.
"I’m fine, really. Besides, I have a habit of staying up late. Let me handle her."
I didn’t bother clearing up the misunderstanding and simply extended my arms.
Jean handed the baby over.
"Just walk around while gently rubbing her back. Keep her head resting on your shoulder. It helps. Usually, it only takes a minute or two."
I nodded, carefully committing every instruction to memory.
"You go back to bed. I’ve got this."
I assured her before rising to my feet.
The apartment was cramped, but I managed to clear enough space to walk around.
I held the baby against my chest, her chin resting on my shoulder while my free hand gently rubbed her back.
She was unbelievably soft beneath my touch.
There was something about holding such a tiny, fragile little creature that stirred a strange sweetness in my heart. I had to resist the urge to squeeze her a little too tightly.
Despite my urges, I took my responsibility seriously.
When I turned around, I found Jean watching me.
Her eyes were warm.
"Lay down, Jean. You look tired."
She stared at me for a moment before slowly nodding and wordlessly returning to the bed.
I continued pacing around the room, humming a quiet tune to soothe the baby.
She had cried so loudly earlier that it broken my heart.
But now, she was calm.
Every so often, she made a soft little sound against my ear, almost like she was trying to mumble something to me.
Ah...
My heart.
Just then,
"Brrpp." She let out a small burp before a long breath and relaxed against my shoulder, her head falling to the right.
I glanced at her and she was breathing more calmly and eyes half lidded.
The sight was so adorable...only for it to be ruined by
[Task: Make your child burp for the first time.]
[Reward: Frozen Tooth(S-rank)]
"...."