“Gawain, are you sure you want this one?”
On a bustling street, a blonde, red-eyed long-eared woman wearing adventurer gear similar to formal attire half-knelt in front of the little figure before her and asked gently.
Winter was approaching, and the weather was growing colder.
The long-eared woman was clearly buying winter clothing for the child in front of her.
The black-haired, blue-eyed little boy tightened the white fox fur scarf wrapped around his neck, nodded with satisfaction and firmness, and said:
“I want this one, Elinalise.”
This child-sized cloak was mainly made from the fur of some low-level rodent-type magical beast and was black in color, while the fox-tail collar naturally also came from a low-level magical beast.
Whether in terms of raw materials or craftsmanship, this piece of clothing was a high-end item suitable for nobility.
“Alright, you really have strange obsessions sometimes.” Elinalise decisively paid for it, although the price tag did indeed make her feel some pain.
Asura’s prices were still this high.
Hearing this, the little boy, just over one meter tall, turned in place with a straight face and asked as he displayed himself:
“Does it not look good, Elinalise?”
Elinalise smiled helplessly, reached out and pinched Gawain’s always expressionless soft little face, and praised him honestly:
“It looks very handsome, you know?
It’s just that you’re too stiff, aren’t you?
You won’t wear winter clothes without a white fur collar, and that handsome little face of yours too—at least show some expression!”
Elinalise, the long-eared woman, had given birth to more than ten children in her life and had raised them all until they could stand on their own.
Among so many samples, Gawain—the only one who was not her biological child—was indeed the easiest to raise and the one she was most proud of, but he was also the one she worried about and cared about the most.
There was no other reason.
It was simply because this child was too abnormal.
Aside from a desire for knowledge, Elinalise could hardly feel any of the desires that a human should possess from this child.
Even eating and sleeping required her forced supervision, as if he even wanted to quit breathing.
Strictly speaking, Elinalise was confident that she understood Gawain well enough.
She was certain that Gawain definitely had emotions and desires—he was simply suppressing himself excessively for some inexplicable reason.
Therefore, Elinalise understood that, by her side, this child would definitely not be able to change.
Gawain ignored his guardian’s boring admonition and simply asked:
“After buying things, we should set out, right?
How long does it take to travel from this city of Roa to Buena Village?”
Elinalise immediately knocked him on the head with a fist and said dissatisfiedly:
“You brat, remember to properly say thank you when you receive a gift!”
Gawain looked up in confusion and repeated words he had said many times before:
“Elinalise, I remember every favor you’ve shown me.
Do you want me to recite them to you?
Don’t worry, as agreed, I will wait until I become an adult and independent before repaying you.”
Elinalise quickly covered Gawain’s mouth, smiled awkwardly at the strange looks from passersby, and dragged him toward the direction of the carriage station.
If she were not absolutely certain that she had never taught Gawain any strange nonsense, Elinalise would almost suspect that there was something seriously wrong with her teaching ability.
She found it difficult to imagine what kind of bizarre factor had caused Gawain to become like this.
This brat was indeed outstanding.
At not even five years old, he had already absurdly mastered reading and writing in three languages, and this was only because Elinalise herself, after living more than two hundred years, only knew these three languages.
Simply put, during the more than four years they had traveled together, this brat had grown from a swaddled infant into his current young child form, and in his spare time had basically extracted and learned most of the knowledge in her head.
If Gawain were not yet five years old and his personality not so excessively twisted, Elinalise would not even mind having a companion like him as an adventurer teammate.
But for now, he was still just a brat.
Soon, the two arrived at the carriage station.
After briefly asking the staff some questions, Gawain returned to Elinalise’s side, looked up, and suggested:
“It takes six to seven hours to reach Buena Village.
You probably won’t be able to return today.
According to what you said before, the Laws family’s financial situation is not very good, so there is a high probability that they won’t have spare rooms for you.
You also don’t want to meet Paul and Zenith.
So, we should camp outside the village for one night and go find Laws tomorrow morning.”
Elinalise had already been worried about Gawain’s excessive maturity.
Hearing this, she had originally wanted to ruthlessly rub this brat’s head, but considering that he was thinking for her sake, she still sighed and said:
“I’ll just rush back to Roa overnight.
I can also relax a bit at night.”
“And also!
Laws will be your adoptive father in the future.
It’s fine with me, but don’t call all elders by their names directly.
It’s very rude!”
Gawain shifted his gaze and looked toward the end of the road, as if waiting for the carriage.
His tone remained calm and certain:
“I’ve said it many times, Elinalise, there’s no need to hide your ‘hunting’ from me.
I can just pretend to be your halfling companion.
There’s no need to insist on placing me in a boring place like Buena Village.”
As expected, she still couldn’t stand this brat.
Elinalise fiercely rubbed Gawain’s extremely soft cheeks and said angrily:
“Idiot, at least wait another ten years before saying something like that!
And sending you to Buena Village was something I considered carefully.”
Gawain did not resist Elinalise’s intimate actions at all and simply supplemented her explanation:
“I know that after hearing that Laws is living rather poorly, you felt uncomfortable, so you want to use me as an excuse to give him money.
At the same time, you also heard that the ‘annoying damn Paul’ and Zenith just happened to have settled in Buena Village, making it convenient for me to take advantage of their guilt.
Also, Buena Village is very close to Roa, the core of the territory, which is beneficial for my future development, and Sword King Ghislaine is also in this city.”
[Note: In this world, it seems customary to start learning swordsmanship at age five.
At this time, it is Karyu Calendar Year 410, and Eris has just begun learning swordsmanship.
Philip having a favor with Ghislaine should be a few years earlier, probably around Karyu Calendar Year 407 when Rudeus was born, so it is reasonable for Elinalise and Gawain to know that Ghislaine is in Roa.]
Elinalise was almost too lazy to correct him anymore.
She simply continued rubbing Gawain’s face and said helplessly:
“Don’t always be so utilitarian.
What connects these things together isn’t profit, you brat.
And regarding how you address elders, don’t make me emphasize it a third time.
I don’t want to be looked down upon by my son’s family because of your bad habits.”
Gawain retorted:
“Laws hasn’t agreed to adopt me yet, right?”
Elinalise did not seem to notice anything special about the term “brother.” She just found it amusing:
“Laws’s daughter is only a little younger than you.
At the very least, you should call him uncle, right?
Besides, Laws is a good child.
He will agree to adopt you.”
Gawain fell silent for a moment.
In the end, he could not help but ask:
“Then am I a good child?”
Elinalise lovingly rubbed little Gawain’s head, her tone firm:
“Of course.”