Chapter 2: Childhood (2)
Thats how Sien and I started eting every three days.
She was always the first to arrive and wait for at the agreed eting place.
I wondered how early she ca, as it was always her who waited for .
While eating the bread she brought from ho, I learned many things about her.
Sien was 9 years old, two years younger than .
Although not aristocratic, she grew up in a wealthy house. Both her parents were doctors.
Considering how rare it was to have both parents as doctors, I found it surprising.
As I suggested, she brought food every ti we t. She also told that all of that food was secretly brought.
There were also so parts where my expectations for her were different.
Contrary to what I thought, that she would be bright and have many friends, she grew up sowhat lonely.
"I'm the only one?"
"Yes. You're my only friend, Berg."
She shyly revealed this during our third eting.
"I used to get sick often, so I didn't have ti to make friends."
"..."
"But when I saw you, I went 'wow!' and couldn't let you slip away."
"What does 'wow' an?"
"I don't know. But I went 'Wow.'"
She was overjoyed by the fact that we beca friends.
Perhaps thats why she didn't realize that our relationship wasn't normal.
Friends don't snatch food from each other.
They don't just listen without reacting like I do.
Our relationship was one-sided, with no reciprocation, but Sien was content with just that, always chirping next to .
She had many interesting stories;
Stories of shaking hands with a brave little wolfman in the neighboring city she followed her parents to,
Stories of seeing a statue of a dragonkin warrior,
Stories about a demon king who existed two hundred years ago,
Stories of an aged elf chief who disregarded her,
Stories of seeing a dwarf of similar height crafting jewelry
She had so many interesting stories that made wonder if there was a reason for her to et .
She seed to have traveled a lot, perhaps due to how wealthy she was.
And every ti I listened to her stories, I could truly feel the vast distance between us.
"You were sick, so how did you travel so much?"
"I traveled because I was sick. I had to move around to get treatnt. But I'm okay now. I don't get sick often these days."
"..."
"Don't you have any interesting stories?"
I shrugged in response to Sien's question.
It wasn't that I found her botherso.
I simply had nothing to say.
The stories I could share were neither bright nor interesting like hers.
At best, I had stories of fighting with soone, getting injured, or doing sothing foolish with Flint and Max.
Our worlds were too different.
However, Sien kept trying to blend in with .
As a result, there were several aspects that she had to tolerate to be with .
First, the place where we t.
It wasn't exactly a slum, but we t in a place where people didn't co often.
It was entirely because of .
I didn't know if it would be the sa with Sien by my side, but even whenever I left the slums alone, people pointed fingers at and avoided .
It was sowhat natural, considering that people from the slums were known for stealing things, but there were also many who found us inherently dirty and repulsive, like cockroaches.
If I foolishly crawled out to a brighter place with Sien, I didn't know what kind of trouble we might encounter.
The guy from the slum, I, might be grabbed by the village elders and accused of approaching an innocent girl, only to be beaten right there.
That's why the place where we t was a bit ssy and dark, but Sien seed to have no complaints as long as she could be with .
"Is it delicious?"
She was even concerned about whether the food she brought tasted any good.
"..."
And as ti went by, whenever I saw her kindness, a conscience that I didn't know existed would prick .
I am using her.
I am filling my stomach by taking advantage of her.
She sees as her only friend, but I don't see her as a friend.
Every ti I saw her innocent smile, the food wouldn't go down my throat. Even though the food she brought was softer and more delicious than any other food.
It was sowhat natural for to change a little after experiencing these emotions.
In order to respond to her pure sincerity, I gradually tried to think of her as a friend.
Our unnatural relationship continued for about two months, and by the ti we beca comfortable with each other, when I no longer accepted food from her, I started introducing Sien to the entertainnt of the slums.
After all, friends do enjoyable things together, right?
"Here, watch. Kaak...!"
"B-Be... Berg... Isn't this a bit an?"
Through the window on the second floor, Sien said with a worried expression as she watched find my next target to spit on among the nurous people passing through the alley.
"..."
Seeing her expression, which showed no enjoynt at all, my enthusiasm also waned.
Without a word, I spat the saliva on the ground nearby and made her wait there for a mont.
Then, I fetched water in a small bowl and tried again.
"Here. Watch again."
Instead of spitting, I splashed the water down.
"Ah, it's cold!"
The person passing by looked up in surprise as the water drenched his neck, and Sien and I hid behind the window.
Compared to spitting, it wasn't as fun or risky, but Sien held her breath and closed her eyes as if sothing big was about to happen.
"..."
And as I looked at her like that, I realized that this was much more fun than spitting.
Unconsciously, a smile appeared on my face.
"It's okay now."
As I spoke, Sien opened her eyes wide and looked up at .
Looking down again, the street was full of people laughing at the person drenched in water.
Seeing that no one was displeased with my prank, Sien finally smiled brightly and said, "This is really fun, Berg...!"
As I began to genuinely treat her as a friend, we quickly beca close at an unbelievable speed.
Her presence was comfortable, and it no longer felt like an unnatural relationship.
Like Max and Flint, she also felt like another one of my friends.
We spent a year together like that.
And when she turned 10, she declared.
"Berg! I think it's not enough to just be friends."
"What?"
"I don't know because I don't have any other friends, but aren't we closer than other friends?"
I pondered for a mont, wondering if that was true, and it seed like it was.
"So?"
When asked why she said this, she blinked her eyes and avoided my gaze. She hesitated, biting her fingers.
It was a habit that surfaced whenever she was nervous.
"...Let's beco best friends."
After a long pause, those were the words she spoke.
I couldn't understand her hesitation, wondering what the difference was.
"What changes if we beco best friends?"
"It's different...!"
She suddenly let out a frustrated sigh.
"When we're best friends, you have to prioritize above anyone else! And I'll do the sa...!"
As we grew closer, I started teasing her more often.
For so reason, her irritated appearance made laugh, making want to tease her even more.
"I have no intention of being best friends with a bed-wetter."
"What? Berg-"
"-Besides, I'll be the only one at a loss. You don't have any other friends anyway."
"..."
However, at that joke, Sien's expression quickly darkened.
She couldn't argue back at all and blinked her eyes, looking lost.
"Sien?"
"....."
She couldn't even answer my call and pursed her lips. Without a mont's hesitation, she turned her body and left.
I hurriedly grabbed her departing figure and patted her gently.
"Hey, Sien...! It was just a joke, why are you like this?"
Did I cross the line?
Sotis I forget. She's not from the slums. I should regulate the level of pranks accordingly as well.
The fact that she had no friends might have been a sensitive topic.
To comfort her, I spoke.
"You were sick. How could you make friends-"
"-Do you have soone closer to you than ?"
But the words she spoke surprised .
"What?"
"Do you... have a friend more precious than ?"
She frowned anxiously, as if she was disappointed not because I joked that she had no friends, but because I rejected the offer to beco best friends.
As I looked at her like that, I let out a long sigh.
With that sigh, the tension surrounding us dissipated.
Erasing the mischievous expression from my face, I smiled and said, "Let's beco best friends."
"If you're lying to ease the anger-"
"It's not like that, Sien."
I was sincere.
Because of her, I felt myself brighten as I saw a world I hadn't experienced before.
I had begun waiting for the day I would et her as well.
Max and Flint might feel resentful, but I made my decision.
"Let's beco best friends."
At those simple words, a big smile spread across Sien's lips, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Holding onto tightly, she was overjoyed.
Perhaps at that ti, I underestimated the power of the term 'best friends.'
Contrary to what I thought, that becoming best friends wouldn't bring much change, we beca even closer.
The frequent etings were proof of that.
We went from eting every three days to every two days, then to every day.
We ate together, washed together, and lived together, playing many pranks.
Max and Flint expressed their dissatisfaction with my behavior, but I didn't listen.
I only had the thought of prioritizing my best friend in my mind. I only wanted to et Sien.
I couldn't help it. When I was with her, I could escape the gloomy atmosphere of the slums.
Just seeing Sien's smiling face made all my worries disappear.
And so, another year passed.
We had been friends for two years now
And best friends for one year.
In the year when Sien turned 11 and I turned 13...
Sien's parents passed away in an accident.
She too beca an orphan like .
End of Chapter
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