Chapter 153 : Unchanging
Luis maintained his composure.
Who could it be?
An enemy?
It was highly probable.
But then, why approach so covertly?
Where and how did they find out my identity?
My mind raced.
Even so, my wrinkled hand was holding onto the employee who handed this note.
“Umm……”
When I called him in an old voice, the employee smiled and asked.
“Is there anything else you need, sir?”
“It’s not that. You said this paper was on the seat……?”
“Ah. Yes. That’s right. Why?”
“Did you happen to see who put it there?”
“Huh? I don’t know about that. Wasn’t it you who left it, sir?”
I hurriedly smacked my head with my hand.
“Oh my. Look at my mind. That’s right, it’s mine. I’m sorry. I forgot.”
“Haha. It’s alright. Have a good day!”
“Thank you.”
I received the employee's greeting with a smile, but the eyes hidden in the wrinkles around them flashed sharply, scanning the surroundings.
Eating, conversing, looking at the nu, everyone was focused on their own business.
There were no particularly suspicious movents.
‘Is he alone.’
There were no watchers.
That ant he was confident that I would co out the back door as requested in the note.
I trudged towards the back door.
Just as he suspected, now that my identity was exposed, I had no other choice.
‘I’ll handle him here.’
Clank!
I opened the back door and stepped outside.
The alley behind the building.
To the right, I could see the main road leading to the plaza, and on the opposite side, the alley continued deep, creating a gloomy atmosphere.
‘Where is he?’
The man was nowhere to be seen.
But not knowing when or where an attack might start, I tensed up and drew up my mana.
It was then.
I felt a presence.
Rustle!
Behind the trash can for food waste.
I quickly pulled a dagger from my clothes and threw it in that direction.
No. Just as I was about to throw it, I confird the silhouette that ca into view and, with astonishing dexterity, retrieved the dagger again.
It was, surprisingly, Parnaci.
“……I knew it. It was you!”
His face was overflowing with an unconcealable light of excitent upon seeing .
***
The staff break room attached to the restaurant.
Parnaci placed a teacup on the table, sat down, and smiled broadly at .
“Still handso. Just like when you were young!”
I had taken off my face mask.
I figured there was no point in hiding it since my identity was already revealed.
More importantly, I had a question.
“How did you know it was ?”
“Haha! I knew you’d ask.”
Parnaci grinned.
“Yugen-nim once said sothing like this. No matter how much a person's appearance changes, there's one thing that never changes.”
Only then did I let out a small gasp.
I rembered hearing this story before.
“The look in your eyes.”
“Right. The look in your eyes. I was already thinking it was strange anyway. A grandpa I’d never seen before, at the sa ti, in the sa clothes. And looking at with the sa eyes. But strangely, the look in his eyes was familiar. At first, I just let it go, but from the second and third etings, I started to beco sure. Ah. This person knows , and I know this person too!”
“…….”
“And during your last visit, I rembered you.”
I was so dumbfounded that I couldn't help but raise one corner of my mouth.
Hearing it like this, it seed plausible.
Especially for soone with a good mory and intuition.
‘I was careless.’
Or maybe, deep down, I had hoped that Parnaci would recognize first.
“I’ve been looking forward to this mont.”
At Parnaci’s serious voice, I lifted my head and looked at him.
“I believed. That Shadow would return one day.”
A decade is a long ti, enough to change mountains and rivers.
But even in that ti, there was sothing that hadn't changed.
“Since that day, I’ve never once forgotten Shadow.”
“…….”
“Thank you for coming back.”
I stared at him quietly.
I could feel his sincerity in his eyes and voice.
It wasn't a lie.
Just a mont ago, I had been half-doubting whether Parnaci would even rember Shadow.
I felt like a fool.
“Thank you for not forgetting, and for waiting.”
“What do you an thank you. It’s only natural.”
At the sa ti, I was certain.
That if I asked for help, the Parnaci before would gladly grant it.
Just as he had in the past, Parnaci would help Shadow in every way possible, as if it were his own business.
Perhaps that’s why.
From this mont on, a great greed began to take root in my heart.
The situation was not good.
With a war against the massive force of the Beltus Cult looming, Shadow was desperate for even the smallest bit of help.
An all-out war was out of the question; it was a war where we only had a chance of winning by waging guerrilla warfare based on informational superiority and the advantage of being in the imperial capital.
In this situation, Parnaci's help would undoubtedly beco a strong pillar of support for Shadow.
Parnaci, who had extensive experience in business in Icata, had many connections.
He was also financially well-off, his shop could function as an intelligence post with a little work, and it could also be used as a refuge to hide in case of an unforeseen crisis.
There was nothing more to consider.
“Actually, I was a bit unsure when I saw the wanted poster for the skull mask. But, it seems I was right. What on earth happened? What's this about the Beltus Cult? And what's this about attacking the academy?”
Just in ti, Parnaci asked about the matter first.
“First, the wanted skull mask is indeed the master.”
“Huh? Then is the announcent that the skull mask recently attacked the academy true? That’s quite different from the Shadow I know.”
My brow furrowed.
“It is true, but there are complicated circumstances that are hard to explain. We don't have ti right now, so I will tell you when I get the chance later.”
“Ah. Then it's fine. Whatever you say, I trust Shadow. If there are circumstances, then so be it.”
“Thank you.”
“Hey. There you go again. What are you thanking for? If anything, I should be thanking you. You know well how much this Parnaci has received from Shadow, don't you? Starting with this shop, everything I have now, how well I eat and live, is all thanks to Shadow.”
I didn't bother to deny it.
He was right, and it felt easier to bring up the subject since he thought that way.
So I was about to ask for a favor.
“Dad.”
Suddenly, the break room door creaked open, and a small head popped through the gap.
Seeing her, Parnaci's face lit up and he spread his arms wide.
“Oh, my lovely daughter, Jaygie! Co here! That’s right!”
Parnaci, who had hugged Jaygie as she entered the break room, asked.
“Do you rember?”
I nodded my head.
“She’s my treasure. What do you think, she’s grown a lot, right?”
“She has.”
“……Who is he, Dad? Does he know ?”
“Hehe. Of course. I told you before, didn't I? A long ti ago, I almost lost our daughter. And I told you about the boy who saved her.”
At Parnaci’s words, Jaygie, who had been constantly glancing at my face, widened her eyes.
“Huh? N-No way?”
“That’s right. This oppa is the Luis-oppa who saved you. Say hello.”
Jaygie's pupils trembled uncontrollably.
Her face, which had already turned bright red.
“Th-Thank you.”
Then, when our eyes t, she hurriedly turned her head to the side, and Parnaci guffawed at the typical reaction of a teenage girl.
“You little rascal. Is he that handso?”
“B-Be quiet, Dad……!”
Now Jaygie's face was like a volcano about to erupt.
Despite that, she stubbornly didn't leave her spot, and Jaygie, who was standing there as if she urgently needed to poop, suddenly squeezed her eyes shut and reached out her hand next to .
There was the cleaning uniform vest that I had taken off.
“Th-This. Here. G-Give it to !”
“……?”
“T-To wash! As, as a token of my gratitude!”
Then she ran out of the break room as if her life depended on it.
The door slamd shut, so I didn't even have a chance to say anything.
“Ah! D-Definitely co to pick up your clothes tomorrow!”
At the urgent voice heard from across the door, Parnaci finally burst into the laughter he had been holding back.
“Pfft. Puhahaha!”
Even after that, Parnaci spared no praise for his daughter.
Saying that although she seems that way, she has the personality of a general, so he sent her to a swordsmanship class where she was told she had talent, and asked what I thought.
A smile never left Parnaci's lips as he bragged about his daughter and I quietly listened to his story and answered before getting up from my seat.
“Huh? You’re leaving?”
“Yes. I’ve been away for too long.”
“Ah, really? That's a sha.”
I quietly watched Parnaci, who was smacking his lips, and then put on the face mask I had taken off.
In the end, I couldn't ask Parnaci for help.
To be precise, I chose not to.
Parnaci. He was currently living a life of perfect happiness.
He had a job, a ho, and a family.
He had things to protect that were more important than Shadow.
I couldn't bring myself to force danger upon such a Parnaci.
Yes. It would be forcing him.
A coercive demand, knowing that Parnaci wouldn't refuse, and using that heart.
What's more, in the past, we had the ability to pay ample compensation, both materially and spiritually.
But unlike then, now there was nothing we could promise.
‘……I almost threw away my conscience for greed.’
I smiled bitterly and left the break room.
“Then, I’ll be off.”
Just then, Parnaci, who was seeing off, asked from behind.
“You’ll co again, right?”
“…….”
“Co whenever you feel like it, like it’s your ho. You guys are always welco!”
I answered by bowing deeply in greeting.
As I left, Parnaci watched my retreating back with a wistful look and muttered.
“You’ve grown so much I almost didn't recognize you. You were just a quiet child back then. You’ve beco an adult.”
But, that stubborn look in your eyes is still the sa, Parnaci thought.
At the sa ti, a mory surfaced in his mind.
A mory of that day that he could never forget, no matter how much ti passed.
‘Who are you?’
‘I’m hungry.’
A cold winter.
A child with hair as white as the snowflakes falling from the sky and eyes of pure white.
‘Hah. What did you say?’
‘Please give so food. I feel like I’m going to starve to death.’
‘……Co in.’
That was my first eting with Parnaci.
“It was absurd.”
Thinking back on it now, that act of kindness was the best choice of Parnaci's life.
In truth, at that ti, Parnaci was not in a position to offer food to others or perform acts of kindness.
He too was on the verge of bankruptcy, unable to handle his growing debt.
A shop he had painstakingly opened with a loan.
Fortunately, business was good.
It seed like he would be able to pay off all his debts.
But the peace did not last long.
From the perspective of a loan shark, it was hard to watch Parnaci's shop do well.
So he hired thugs to appropriately ruin the shop, and as he intended, the shop's sales gradually dropped.
The interest grew, and the debt gradually beca unmanageable.
‘Hey, Parnaci. Why aren’t you paying back the money?’
‘Just wait a little longer. Right now, it’s tight just paying my employees.’
‘What? You son of a bitch, are you kidding ? You have money for your employees but the money you borrowed from us isn’t money? What kind of crappy situation is this?’
‘You disappear when it’s ti to pay!’
‘Haha. Us? When? Hey, you think you can get away with just talking?’ This won’t do.’
Eventually, the thug reached out to Parnaci's daughter, Jaygie.
‘Please! Please leave my daughter alone! She’s only three! One week! I’ll pay you back in one week!’
‘Double. Huh?’
‘Okay! Double! So just let the kid go!’
‘What nonsense? If you can't pay in a week, she gets a new dad. Here. Peek-a-boo! I’m your daddy now. Say it, Da.ddy!’
Waaaaah──!
‘Geez. Crying like a brat. Anyway, I’ll raise her well, so co find her when you have the ability to pay back the money, okay?’
Parnaci gritted his teeth.
But there was nowhere to ask for help.
And just when he was thinking the worst, the one who reappeared before him was none other than .
‘……I’m sorry, kid. I’m not doing so well right now, so I can’t give you any more food.’
‘I didn’t co for food. I saw.’
‘Hmm? What did you see?’
‘I saw the thugs taking your daughter. I saw it. Should I find her for you?’
Parnaci lost his reason to anger.
‘You little brat. Are you mocking ? Or are you dying to get yourself killed!?’
Despite that, my shabby eyes shone clearly.
‘Did you forget? You’re the one who saved when I was about to starve to death.’
‘……!!’
‘I owe you my life, so it’s only natural to repay it with my life. I’m not scared at all. I’ll save her for you.’
Parnaci couldn't say a word.
Because he was ashad.
Ashad of himself for just lanting his situation while his daughter was kidnapped.
And, ashad of himself for feeling a mont of relief and expectation at the words of an abandoned orphan offering to help him.
‘For a little brat, you sure know how to talk in an interesting way, don't you? You.’
It was then.
That man appeared.
‘Who are you……?’
At Parnaci’s question, the man took off his fedora and introduced himself.
‘My na is Yugen.’
***
“……It was truly a fateful eting.”
Parnaci, who had been floating in the past, lost in mories, lifted his head and looked up at the blue sky.
“I miss you, Yugen.”
Then, rembering sothing he had forgotten, he snapped back to his senses.
The busy lunch rush was about to end, and it was break ti.
There was a mountain of things to do, like buying and preparing ingredients that were running low for the evening service.
“The kids will be waiting.”
As expected, as soon as he entered, the manager found him with an urgent look on his face.
“Boss! Where on earth have you been!?”
But the reason he was looking for him wasn't because of the shop's work.
“So custors have been looking for you for a while now.”
“Custors were looking for ? Who?”
At the manager's following answer, Parnaci stopped dead in his tracks.
“……Who did you say? Luis?”
“Yes. Luis.”
Among the people Parnaci knew, there was only one person nad Luis.
And that one person had just left after a long-awaited reunion.
‘Then who is the person waiting for out front?’
For a mont, Parnaci shivered at the inexplicable chill he felt in his neck.
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