Just a Quick Check!

Having enjoyed a delicious meal, there were naturally many dishes to wash.

Since Hope had done the cooking, the dishwashing naturally fell to me.

Hope had pouted and insisted on washing the dishes too, but I pushed back firmly, saying I needed to show some adult responsibility. In the end, she reluctantly nodded.

"...Ugh, being small makes even washing dishes such a chore."

Stretch!

I stretched my stiff body out with a satisfying pull.

Thankfully, my hips didn't creak or crack like an old person's. Proof that I was still young—hooray!

Anyway, once I finished scrubbing the dishes nice and clean, I placed the apron—well, more like a random piece of cloth—in the kitchen.

"Huh? Hope?"

When I jumped down from the small stool Hope had made for me to reach the sink, I noticed her standing at the orphanage's front door.

What's this? Did someone come by?

Curiosity bubbling up, I forgot to even dry my hands as I scurried over to the door.

"Hope, what are you doing there? Did someone come by?"

"Oh, Miss Eve!"

"I told you, you don't have to call me 'Miss.'"

"But you're still my teacher."

"...Hmph. Anyway, why are you standing here? Did we get a visitor?"

Because Hope had only cracked the door open a sliver, I couldn't see the visitor clearly. Judging by the long shadow, though, it looked like a very tall person.

"Ah, well, the sun is standing outside."

"...The sun?"

"Hey, you shouldn't talk about adults like that."

I tilted my head at the mysterious term 'the sun' for only a moment.

Soon, the door opened fully, and through the gap came a blinding light.

A dazzling, yet all-too-familiar, burst of sunlight.

It was none other than the brilliant shine of Uncle Alex's bald head.

"Ahh!"

"Miss Eve! Are you okay?!"

"My eyes! My eyes...!"

Realizing the person behind the door was our forever-bald Uncle Alex, I began putting on an award-worthy performance that would rival any actor.

Not for any particular reason.

I just couldn't resist teasing him whenever I saw him.

Maybe it's an instinct for kids.

"...I may be bald, but it's not that bad."

"Oh no, when did you catch on?"

"From the start. Your acting skills are good, but you lacked sincerity. Still, I almost fell for it."

"Darn."

So close.

If I had focused a bit more on the details, I might have fooled him.

"You look healthy, and full of energy too. That puts my mind at ease."

"Hehe, I'm so happy you cared enough to worry about me after just one night apart."

"So grow up quickly, alright? To the point where I don't need to worry anymore."

"I'm already grown up, you know."

"Of course, of course. Our little adult, Miss Eve."

As always, we bickered lightly.

The usual back-and-forth between Uncle Alex and me.

While we were having our typical banter, Hope seemed to mutter something.

"...Tch."

"Huh? Hope, why are you pouting like that? Are you feeling unwell?"

"It's nothing, Miss."

"Ha ha."

"...And why is Uncle Alex laughing and even making a V sign?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Tch..."

Hope had gone unusually quiet. Was it because Uncle Alex was here?

It felt like she disliked the situation of me and Uncle Alex talking alone.

Oh-ho.

I see now—Hope must be quite shy.

Well, of course. She'd probably find it easier to talk to another child like me than to an adult like Uncle Alex.

Looks like I'll have to step in and help out a little.

"...Ta da!"

"W-what?! Miss Eve?!"

"How about now? Feeling a bit more relaxed?"

"N-no, this is too close! I mean, your clothes...!"

For someone struggling with awkwardness, there's one surefire solution:

Close conversation while sticking with someone they feel comfortable around!

By being near someone familiar, they gain a sense of security, which in turn helps them muster the courage to build new relationships.

That's why I now had one of Hope's arms tightly hugged as I clung to her.

Her body feels so warm...

Was it from nervousness, or was her cold still not fully gone?

Hope's body was burning up. It even felt like her temperature was rising more and more.

"You've got this, Hope!"

"Ah... ahhh..."

For some reason, even though I was holding her closely, Hope couldn't bring herself to speak to Uncle Alex.

Her face just kept getting redder and redder.

It seemed she was even shyer than I thought.

Could she really find it so embarrassing to say a single word?

But before I came over, she seemed to be chatting just fine.

Hmm, maybe she's the type who finds it easier to talk when she can't see the other person.

Considering how she used to wear that oversized black robe to cover her whole body before coming to the orphanage, it made sense.

"Hm..."

"I'm jealous."

"Huh?"

My train of thought was derailed by Uncle Alex's sudden muttering.

"Jealous."

"...Why are you saying that Uncle?"

"I'm just so, so jealous."

Uncle Alex's unexpected declaration of envy left me speechless.

He kept repeating it, pouting as he did so.

Wait, now its the other one?

"I'm jealous—some don't even share their names, while others get to link arms!"

"Wahhh, ahhh, ughhh..."

It was chaos.

On one side, Hope was stammering incoherently.

On the other, Uncle Alex was muttering with his lips sticking out in a pout.

"What is going on all of a sudden!"

What even was this?

It felt like some bizarre whack-a-mole game—fix one problem, and another one pops up.

"What's everyone's problem?!"

* * * *

That awkward, inexplicable moment dragged on for a while until it finally ended when I let go of Hope's arm.

"Hrm, my apologies. That was not very adult of me."

"M-me too. I'm sorry, Miss..."

"...Hmph."

What on earth had just happened?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't figure it out.

"Don't let it happen again."

"Yes, ma'am!"

"You too, Uncle."

"Understood."

"Phew..."

In the end, I gave up and decided to forget about it.

Dwelling on an unsolvable problem would only give me a headache.

I just needed to remember one thing for next time: Don't link arms with Hope.

"No, you can't!"

"...Huh? What do you mean?"

"Uh, well, um, it's nothing."

"Hope, are you sure you're not sick? Are you overexerting yourself again?"

"No, I'm fine!"

Suspicious.

"...Really, I'm not sick."

"All right."

Even as I gave her a pointed look, silently urging her to tell the truth, Hope shook her head firmly and insisted she was fine.

It was a little doubtful, but if she kept saying so, I decided to believe her.

It's an adult's role to trust children, after all. And ever since the incident with the dinner table, we'd promised not to lie to each other.

No need to worry, right?

"Wait a second, Eve! Your...!"

"Yes?"

"Your clothes—what's going on with them?!"

"My clothes...?"

At Uncle Alex's words, my gaze naturally dropped downward.

"Oh."

And that's when I noticed.

So focused on calming Hope, I'd completely forgotten the state of my clothes.

My shirt was torn to the point that stepping outside like this would practically be public indecency.

"Ah."

Seeing my utterly indecent outfit, I felt my head spin, my vision going blurry.

"Ahhhhhh!"

"E-Eve! Calm down! I didn't see anything—I mean, I brought spare clothes just in case—"

"What do you mean, just in case?! You pervert!"

"No, I mean I brought the clothes the villagers gave as gifts! I misspoke!"

"Ahhhhh!"

The fact that I'd been like this the entire time...

This was unbelievable.

Unable to bear it any longer, I screamed and bolted toward my bedroom.

But just then—

"What's going on?!"

"What's all this noise?!"

It seemed the villagers outside had heard my screams because they began storming into the orphanage.

"What the heck?!"

"Oh, right... They did say they'd come in if I didn't show up within an hour..."

Why the villagers had been waiting outside the orphanage, I had no idea.

But that wasn't the issue right now.

"Ahhh! Don't come in!"

"Are you okay, little one?! Are you hurt?!"

"I'm fine! Just don't try to open the door, please!"

I was now engaged in a desperate standoff with the villagers.

I understood their concern, but the timing couldn't have been worse!

If they opened the door now, I might just die of embarrassment on the spot!

"Little one! We just need to check if you're physically okay! This is the doctor speaking!"

No, no! Just checking is way too dangerous right now!

"At least five minutes—no, three minutes! Please wait!"

Please!

* * * *

[Emoticons]