Chapter 6

“Uncle…?”

The man’s eyebrows twitched at the unexpected title.

Although he was the one who suggested first to be called by whatever she was comfortable with, he hadn’t expected to be called ‘uncle.’

Considering the age gap between him and the child, being called uncle wasn’t entirely unwarranted, but it didn’t sit quite right with him.

However, the child who called him that, Leciel, was innocent and cheerful.

“Do you have any other titles?”

“Surely… obviously there’s at least a 20-year age gap between us, I don’t think you want me to call you ‘brother,’ right?”

Leciel’s expression changed as she prepared to hear the words she didn’t want to hear.

“No.”

The man who had been ridiculously misunderstood, responded with an equally incredulous expression.

The man simply didn’t like being called ‘uncle.’ But to think of ‘brother’ as the next option …

He was curious what kind of thought process led to that conclusion.

“Then ‘uncle’ it is. Got it.”

As if there was no room for negotiation, Leciel cheerfully confirmed.

In fact, Leciel hadn’t immediately thought of calling the man ‘uncle.’

She simply couldn’t come up with a suitable title no matter how hard she thought.

The only titles that came to mind were unconventional ones like ‘master,’ ‘elder,’ ‘uncle,’ ‘hey,’ things which weren’t common to use or didn’t suit the man.

“I’d rather being called by my name instead of ‘uncle’.”

“But I don’t know your name, though?”

How could she call out a name she didn’t even know?

Leciel gave a puzzled expression.

“…Kael. Let’s go with that for now.”

Although there was another name he could have used, he couldn’t decide whether to reveal his true identity to the child, so he could only say a pseudonym.

“Hey, how can I call an adult by his name carelessly?”

In Korea, she might have been older than he was. But anyway, Leciel was a 10-year-old child at the moment.

It was impolite for such a young child to call an adult by name.

At least, that was common sense for Leciel.

“Huh?”

Kael frowned, thinking that she might just want to call him ‘uncle’.

But unlike Kael’s reaction indicating his displeasure, Leciel seemed to have a face that was content with the title she chose.

It somehow felt annoyingly satisfying, so Kael decided to play a little trick.

“…Fine. I’ll leave it at that, kid.”

Leciel raised an eyebrow at Kael’s words. Her gaze was filled with dissatisfaction.

“Why am I a kid?”

“Because you are.”

Just as the child called him uncle, the man also did the same.

“I’m already 10 years old, you know? I’m not a kid.”

Of course… considering her age, there was no room to object to being called a kid, but it wasn’t a flattering title.

Leciel couldn’t simply accept being called a kid.

“…You’re 10?”

Kael’s eyes widened.

He thought she was at most 8 years old, he never thought that she would be 10.

He thought that maybe she had poor physical development for his age due to the fact that she had been living in the monster forest for the past two years.

His small stature and unusually small physique were all indications.

In fact, based on appearance alone, she could pass for a 7-year-old. He had suspected her to be at most 8 years old, considering her demeanor didn’t seem as young as 7.

“What’s with that reaction? It’s as if you’re very unhappy that I’m 10.”

What was wrong with her being 10?

Dissatisfaction welled up inside her.

“It’s not that I’m unhappy, but it’s hard to believe. I thought that you were 8 years old at most.”

‘What?’

Leciel’s eyes narrowed.

No matter how small she was …8 years old??

Even though she thought she might look a little younger, taking away two years from her was a very important matter to Leciel, who valued each year of her life.

“Are you saying that I’m cheating about my age?”

“Using the term ‘cheat’ is a bit much.”

Choosing such a word instead of just saying ‘lying.’ She was quite aggressive for a child.

“Anyway!”

Leciel glared at Kael viciously, as if she was about to headbutt his body at any moment while he tried to hint that that was not the most important thing right now.

Leciel’s face showed annoyance at being treated like a kid.

“… Well, there’s no reason for you to lie to me, so I guess you’re really 10 years old.”

“Of course!”

Lying about your age because you wanted to look older was something only babies did.

But it wasn’t her. Even though she might have a 10-year-old body, she was not that childish.

“Even so, I don’t think it will make any difference.”

“Why!”

“Whether you are 8 or 10 years old, you are still a child by my standards.”

“Huh, I’m glad that you’re older than, uncle.”

Leciel, who was enraged at being treated like a child, deliberately emphasized the title ‘uncle,’ as if she could not bear to be defeated.

However, Kael didn’t seem to care much.

“Then that’s it. I am the old man, and you are the little kid.”

Leciel’s eyes were shaken by the sight of Kael not taking the slightest hit.

Adults were indeed adults.

“No, I object! I’m not a kid, so please call me by my name. You know my name!”

“Oh, I don’t remember.”

Watching Leciel squirming around, Kael was secretly amused and made fun of her on purpose.

‘… ‘I guess it’s because she’s a girl.’

His only son didn’t react even when he deliberately teased him.

Every time, he just looked at himself indifferently with the expression that seemed to say, ‘Is my father crazy?’ on his face.

If his face bothered him more, he would nag him and tell him to rest for the night, or he would just straight ignore him and leave.

If it seemed like he was in serious pain from working too much, he gave him some sincere advice to go on vacation.

In comparison, Leciel was a child who was fun to tease.

She would provoke who provoked her without hiding any expression.

If he had a daughter, would he have felt this way? Perhaps because she was a girl, she had a different charm from his son.

Therefore, Kael’s playfulness, which he had been suppressing for a long time since no one accepted him, came out.

“Not even a day has passed since you said my name.”

“Is that so?”

Even though he remembered Leciel’s name, Kael responded naturally.

“Well, what can you do? You’re old, so your memories may be blurry.”

Leciel said deliberately and sarcastically.

“Being the little one is nice. You’re a kid so your memory will be very vivid.”

‘This guy is really!’

Leciel got angry at Kael’s retort without showing signs of giving up.

“Yes! I am a diligent child, so I will go to work hard. So, you please stay calm here.”

Leciel said, thinking that continuing the conversation with Kael would only make her feel frustrated.

Now that the man had woken up, he should have eaten quickly, but unfortunately, the remaining meat was only enough for her to eat, so she had to hunt again.

He was a patient thus she couldn’t just tell him to eat grass.

If he ate well, his wounds would heal quickly, and he would recover well.

“Going to work?”

Kael asked back with a puzzled look.

“I think I need to get some food.”

“Is there a way to get food?”

“I have to hunt birds for the most important, meat. And the rest is gathered from the forest.”

Leciel replied nonchalantly.

Kael’s expression showed surprise at Leciel’s unexpected answer.

To think that she hunted birds with such a small stature and even smaller hands, was unbelievable.

Although he would believe it if it was his own son since there was nothing strange about it.

“Is there anything I can help with?”

“Please rest quietly since you’re injured. It’s not a difficult task that requires help from an injured person.”

Especially, taking Kael into the forest was dangerous.

Although the monsters were considerate to her, it wasn’t the same for Kael. They might attack Kael while she was focusing on hunting.

At least, if he stayed here, the monsters outside wouldn’t attack Kael.

As a result of strict training, the monsters never entered the house without Leciel’s permission.

“Well, as an adult, I feel uncomfortable sending a child hunting alone.”

“With that kind of condition?”

Looking at his appearance, he did not appear to be a patient, but since it was Leciel who personally checked Kael’s injuries, she knew that he was currently in no condition to move his body.

Even if that wasn’t the case, Kael’s face was distorted from time to time despite his nonchalant expression.

It was really a very slight twitch, but since Leciel was more observant than anyone else, it wasn’t that difficult to notice.

He already seemed to have difficulty sitting right now, so what kind of help could he give her with that body?

“… sorry.”

“It’s okay. When you get old and your memories start to fade, your body will also rot, so just rest.”

“Thank you for your great respect for the elderly.”

Kael accepted Leciel’s words as if the age attack was nothing.

“Ah, you don’t have to worry that the monsters might attack while I’m away. And I’ll also tell Mimi and Chacha not to attack you again.”

“Of course. But I feel sorry for sitting still when I already owe a lot, so if you need any help, just let me know.”

Although he didn’t think there would be anything he could help with after spending two years alone here, still, sitting still and depending on others wasn’t in line with Kael’s character.

“Okay. I’ll be back. Uncle.”

Leciel waved her hand and bid farewell. She picked up her bow placed in the corner before leaving. Before she left, she communicated with Mimi and Chacha to not attack Kael again.

After Leciel left, Kael quietly looked around the house.

The house probably wasn’t built in the monster forest from the beginning, so it was likely that the child, who was about 8 years old at the time, built it.

Judging from the sloppy shape of the bow, it was probably also made by the child herself.

The child must have had quite versatile skills, considering she had survived here by herself for two years.

Kael quite liked the child in many ways. Even though he didn’t have a lot of conversations or spend a lot of time with the child, there was still something he noticed.

This included her unusual behavior of calling monsters cute names like ‘Mimi’ and ‘Chacha’, as well as her bold behavior of calling him ‘Uncle’.

Since it was his first time experiencing something like this, he became more fascinated.

For a moment, Kael’s eyes turned to the monsters.

They were on guard, watching him. But they did not attack and stayed still.

After a while, the monsters that had remained moved as if they had sensed Leciel’s presence through their senses.

Mimi and Chacha ran to Leciel, wagging their tails and ears like puppies welcoming their owner.

‘… If I went out and told others about the scene I saw, I would probably be treated like a crazy person.’

“Are you there, uncle?”

“Yes.”

Leciel returned from hunting earlier than expected and looked at her prey with a triumphant expression.

“Nice workmanship.”

At that level, it was safe to say that the hunt was carried out by someone who was expertly trained with a bow.

“Let me.”

Leciel smiled brightly, feeling good at the first compliment she had received in two years.

Kael chuckled because she was such a child.

Leciel began cooking in earnest with the prey she had caught.

For this purpose, Leciel borrowed the dagger from the man and skillfully cut the prey.

Her movement looked like it belonged to a craftsman.

After 30 minutes, the meal was complete.

“Shall we eat now?”

She had worked hard in the morning, thus was very hungry and felt like she could eat deliciously no matter what she ate.

“Thank you for the meal.”

Kael took a bite, looking at the food that looked better than expected.

At that moment, his expression became subtle.@@novelbin@@