I picked her up on the way

It took only a half an hour before Bourne arrived at Shiraito Falls since the location was very close to the destroyed town. He stepped down from his motorcycle and set up the camera to take a picture of this waterfall. He also told Meredy to help him since if he didn't do so this girl might be standing or sitting in silence which made him troubled.

Bourne had learned some psychology in the past and had learned that the mind of the victim was tragedy was quite simple.

There were several cases, but for this little girl, it was dependency and the fear of being abandoned, especially when he wasn't friendly toward her.

'If this girl's grown up slightly...'

Bourne didn't have a hobby to collect a loli, but he was wondering why they kept coming toward him. He sighed and decided to continue his job in silence.

Meredy stared at Bourne timidly and curiously, wondering what Bourne was doing. She looked at the waterfall and it might be her first time to be here. She had to admit that it was very beautiful, but she wasn't in the mood to enjoy it.

Looking at Bourne who had been silent, Meredy was afraid that she had made him angry, and she was afraid of being thrown. In her crisis, he was the one who helped her, protected her, and reassured her, however, at the same time, she was afraid to cause him trouble.

Meredy was wondering whether she was being hated, but she didn't want to lose him...

---

After the job ended, Bourne camped out before he returned. He looked at Meredy and said, "Come here, you should eat more. If you don't eat your body won't grow. You don't want to have a flat chest in the future, right? You're at the age of growing, a diet is still early for you."

"......"

Meredy blushed and stunned since the first sentence which came out from Bourne's mouth after that serious conversation was so perverted, but she nodded since she was quite hungry.

Bourne caught a fish on the waterfall before, and made a simple grilled fish with salt. He was quite hungry and also ate with Meredy, but he noticed Meredy's glance from time to time.

"Do you have something to ask me?"

Meredy was quite timid, but she still asked, "D, do you hate me?" She was afraid to hear his answer. She closed her eyes and wanted to close her ears, but she decided to be brave and waited for his answer.

"......."

Bourne didn't answer Meredy's question which made her became even more scared.

A second was like a minute, and two seconds was like an hour.

Sweat kept dripping on Meredy's forehead and then she heard him sigh which made her heart dejected however...

"No. I don't hate you."

"......"

Meredy was stunned since this answer was so unexpected. She thought that Bourne hated her and felt troubled by her, but his answer was so fast and no hesitation, telling her that he didn't hate her.

'What was that long pause?'

Meredy wanted to question that question, but she decided to hold it.

Looking at Meredy's perplexed expression, Bourne wanted to laugh at this moment and thought that loli was really fun.

"I don't hate you so you don't have to worry."

Bourne patted Meredy's head and said, "In the morning, let's see the fish."

"Huh? Fish?"

Meredy wasn't sure why Bourne invited to see a fish, but she nodded and smiled since she knew that he wasn't hated by him.

---

Meredy had a serious expression on her face, looking at the surface of the water near the waterfall.

Shiraito Falls was a very large waterfall and there was a large lake around it which could be used to fish a fish.

Meredy held a small fish pole while looking at the group of fishes which surrounded her bait.

Bourne was sitting beside her with a sleepy expression since he had just woken up in the morning. He didn't expect that the energy of children was so high that this girl seemed to be recovered at night.

Bourne was very good at coaxing girls, and coaxing a little girl was also as easy as pie.

Meredy kept staring, but then she noticed that Bourne's bait started to move and she knew that he had caught a fish.

"Bourne! Bourne! You've caught a fish! Hurry up and take it out!"

Meredy shouted, but then she noticed that he didn't give her a response and saw him sleeping on the portable chair which made her puff her cheek. "Bourne!" She shook his arm several times to wake him up.

Bourne opened his eyes and raised his fishing pole, then the fish was dancing in the air after being caught by him.

"Fish!!!"

Meredy's eyes shone brightly when she saw the fish.

Looking at Meredy's reaction, Bourne knew that a loli loved a fish. He made a note on his brain and if the same trouble was coming then he should bring a loli to fish and he might also need to create an artificial lake on his house in the future so he could fish anytime.

Bourne caught the fish and thought to make it into their breakfast. Looking at Meredy, he said, "Meredy, we'll go back after this."

"Go back, where?" Meredy asked. She had to admit that Bourne was really fun, and it made her not want to leave him so when she heard that he was going back, she was curious where they would go back.

"My house," Bourne said.

"Your house?" Meredy asked.

"Yes." Bourne looked at Meredy and asked, "Before that, can I ask you something?"

Meredy nodded.

"Is there something that you want to do?" Bourne asked.

"What do I want to do?" Meredy asked.

"Yeah. Doctor, chef, businessman, army, etc, is there something that you want to do?" Bourne asked.

Meredy thought for a while and remembered her dream. She wanted to become a bride of someone and when she looked at Bourne, her cheek flushed. She looked away and felt embrassed.

"......"

Bourne felt weird when this reaction and asked, "Are you alright?" He checked Meredy's forehead to see whether she had caught a cold or not, but it seemed that Meredy's face became redder.

"I, I'm alright!" Meredy said.

"Just lay down for a while," Bourne said and felt that it would be troublesome if this girl suddenly caught a cold. He stood up and let her lay on his portable chair.

Meredy nodded with a blush.

"........"

Bourne stood up and stretched his arms, forgetting the fact that the child in this world was very precocious.

---

Ur and Ultear received a message from Bourne using a Lacrima communication that he would go home soon. Both of them had prepared themselves and wondered what kind of surprise Bourne would bring them.

"Are you sure that he's going to bring back a girl?" Ultear asked. Unlike Ur, she believed in Bourne since she had seen Boure's dedication himself to stay in that hell-like place for five and half years to return Ur back.

"It's alright. Even if he brings them, it doesn't really matter, the more, the merrier, right?" Ur's mind was quite easy since she didn't really mind him bringing another girl since she knew that her disciple (man) was a very talented guy and awesome. It was normal for him to attract the attention of girl since she along with her daughter also had fallen for him.

"......." Ultear was speechless, but she couldn't accept it since she felt the three of them were perfect, adding more people was too much in her opinion.

They were waiting for a while and heard the sound of his motorcycle. They quickly came out to welcome him.

"Bourne!"

"......"

But then they were stunned when they saw a little thing beside him.

"She's Meredy. I picked her up on the way before," Bourne said.

Looking at the little girl beside Bourne, Ur and Ultear were wondering why this guy acted as if picking up a stray cat on the street.