I wake up and look at the clock: 7:45~, the village should be bustling and hustling now...
Hmmrgh... I'm hungry...
I quietly traverse around the house and look at the pantry, only bread remains. Before making breakfast I also check my dad in case he's at risk of waking up. Gently opening a small smidgeon, I see that he will be sleeping for a while, given the bottle at hand and rancid stench - good.
Picking up a knife, I cut a small slice of bread and slowly eat the half of it, the other half would be better used as a mid-day provision. Drinking water, I leave the house, ready for a new day. While normally I should be looking for a more permanent job that would accept a scrawny lad such as myself, instead I decided to go to the inn where Mr. Emerade and Sol reside.
"Excuse me, is Mr. Emerade available?"
"Kid, we're 7:56 in the morning! Do you think people realistically rise that long? Maybe I shou--"
"Oh hey, little scamp, came here to see us, eh?"
I see Mr. Emerade in a more casual attire and unkempt hair. The receptionist is in stupor "H-How? Isn't it too early?"
"Oh, in my country, the day starts at 6:00 AM, so I woke up quite late by its standards. It's nice having a goodnight sleep unimpeded... Though I guess it's due to my habit of waking up early, I still didn't sleep in late."
"Uh... That's nice and all, but can I... See Sol, sir?"
"Ah, she's still sleeping. Though given how hyper she can be right off the bat... You can go inside our room, I trust you that you won't pull anything funny. I will find out."
"O-Of course!..."
"She will wake up soon-ish, so that's why I'm letting you see her right off the bat. I'll go fetch some breakfast."
"Thank you, sir."
I was given the directions of their room and here she is, Sol. She's hugging some kind of plush doll close to her heart and she looks... Serene. I guess that's a given considering that she's asleep, but still.
I wandered around the room, seeing various notes scattered around. Some of it I can decipher, but the vast majority... I don't know what any of this means. Well, scientists are weird, so they ought to have all sorts of weird words in them. Especially in that squiggly handwriting... Can't distinguish 99% of it. Sylvie's handwriting is better.
There are also some neat clothes in the drawer... Pretty jealous considering my feels pretty itchy and rough.
"Mmph..."
Hm? Is Sol waking up? Gotta check on her.
"Mama..." She grumbles in her sleep, clutching the doll even tighter to herself "I don't wanna leave..."
Was she dragged here against her will? If that's the case, then why? This guy doesn't seem to involve his daughter anywhere, so why bother bringing another tenant with him?
"Hmm... Veroni-ni..."
...
"I don't want to leave..."
"You're already here."
She blinks for a few seconds and just stares at me, trying to process... The fact that I'm here. "F-Fortune...?"
"Yep, that's me. Figured I would surprise you."
Surprisingly, she doesn't seem to react all that strongly towards me implying that I broke in without any permission and she just averts her gaze "Hmm... Where's daddy?"
"He'll arrive soon with breakfast. You should start getting out of bed."
"M'kay..."
She lazily gets out of the bed and makes it neatly, putting the doll on top of the pillow. Concerned that she needs some privacy, I exit the room, saying that she should call me back when she finishes dressing. She nods and I wait. It's genuinely odd seeing such an energetic girl from yesterday because so... Calm, downcast even. Maybe it's because she misses her family.
"... I'm ready." Sol knocks gently
I enter the room back again and see her dressed more appropriately, however her rather despondent look still remains.
"Is?... Is everything alright?"
"... Yeah. It's just... I had a dream... And I didn't want to wake up from it..."
"... Sorry about waking you up then."
"It's okay... I just... Really love my family. I treasure them more than anything else in the world. So I want to be with them."
"But isn't your father with you?"
"I know, but still... There's no mom and there's no Veroni-ni."
"Let me tell you this then, the fact that you are not alone is something that you should appreciate highly. And the fact that you have someone waiting for you is also something that you should also appreciate. That's... Something my sister used to say to me. When she would go away for long periods of time, I would miss her, and she too missed me when she came back - so I think they miss you too."
"... Maybe you're right." She finally smiles and hugs me "Thank you, Fortune."
"H-H-Hey! Ain't that a bit too intimate?!"
"Breakfast's here!"
Oswald comes inside with a tray and he puts it on a bedside cupboard.
"Three plates? Sir, you didn't have to..."
"It's on the house. You're our guest after all, so I'm happy to oblige, Fortune."
"... Thank you, Sir."
A proper meal... It's been a good while since I had those, especially after... Nevermind, gotta keep my mood positive for once. God... It's so tasty...
"It's so disgusting!" Sol whines and Oswald looks at her sternly, saying that she must eat her breakfast. Well, that's aristocrats for you. When eating food: rich people can eat whatever they want whenever they want to eat; when poor, whenever they can, even if it happens to be rotten meat.
"Look at Fortune. He's enjoying himself, so you should too!" Oswald forces Sol to finally put a piece of humble omelette inside her mouth. She makes a very funny grimace, that I can't help but laugh. Obviously she's not happy about it.
"Come on, eat it. I doubt you'll be eating anything for the rest of the day. And well, if you want to get revenge on me, you gotta have your energy levels topped up, so gobble up." I teased with a sly smile and it finally made Sol to start actively eating her breakfast. All the while she looked at me with pure rage and determination.
"Oh my, Fortune. You have a natural talent. If you knew how difficult it is for me to convince Sol to do anything. Such a trouble child."
"Well, my sister would always motivate me to do her bidding by telling me all those promises if I did what she wanted me to do... And well some beating was also used here."
"Ouche."
"Here! Now let's play! Let's play! Let's play!" Oooh she's pumped. Alright!
"Alright, let's see what we can do. Maybe a pillow fight?"
"I'll destroy you!"
It's funny how a rather solemn morning turned into this in a matter of minutes. It kind of reminds me how Sylvie would brighten up when she would play with me, especially early on in my life. Her gloomy expression would change into one of pure wonder and excitement - and that's what made me happy. It's when Sylvie was happy, I was too, truly happy. And now, it feels almost the same. A rather downtrodden Sol shines once again as we play games together. And now that I think about it, Sylvie would offer to play games with me when I was feeling heavily depressed... I feel like I understand her more now.
"Hyah! This is what you get, meanie!"
Sol... Is my treasure. In spite of how annoying she can be - she is the person I want to treasure most.
"Tee-hee, let's try again!"
I lost everything. My sister. My mom. My baby girl. My unborn sibling. These people don't know what I went through, but that doesn't mean I care about them any less.
"I'm having so much fun, Fortune!"
Please, Sol, smile for my and everyone else's sake.
"Alright, time's up. Sol, I know play time is fun, but you mustn't skip over your studies, alright? Thank you Fortune for being with my daughter today. It seems Sol is quite fond of you."
"T-Thanks, Sir. If you don't mind, can I see Sol more frequently? I... I want to be her friend, truly."
"Of course! But, aren't you worried about our departure? We won't be staying here for very long; just a week - are you sure?"
"I'm sure."
"Then you're more than welcome to greet and visit us. Again, as long as you don't hurt Sol, you should be fine."
"I would never."
I leave their room in the inn and look at the time: 15:37, still plenty of time to search for a job. There was this nurse though that said she wanted to keep Sylvie... Maybe I'll check on her and get to know that "Cathy".